07 | ✨First Impressions✨ #1

In this issue: The Company You Keep, Daisy Jones & The Six, How I Met Your Father S2, and Not Dead Yet.

Hello, hello!

I’ve gotten back into the groove of watching TV more regularly these days and perhaps thankfully, not all shows are binge-able as they follow the “on-air” broadcasting method and only release episodes weekly. However… it would be a missed opportunity if I wrote about them only once they’re completed. So voila, a new segment on SYWT!

First impressions will strictly be all about shows currently airing and whether you should bother checking them out or not. These shows won’t have a rating, but if it calls for it, I will put down a proper review once the season is done. Let’s go!

The Company You Keep

Genre: Crime Drama

Language: English

Gist: A con-man and a CIA agent start dating without knowing each other’s real identity.

First Impressions: As Wattpad-ish as the Gist sounds, this show was instantly addictive! I, hand on my heart, did not expect to like it this much! ABC used to be my staple when I was a teen, but the shift to streaming in the last few years made me forget how good cable dramas can be. TCYK isn’t the best show you’ll watch, but if its three episodes are any proof, it will certainly be a show you’ll enjoy munching on for years on end.
Although a good portion of the viewers will be lured in by Gilmore Girls’ resident heartbreaker, Milo Ventimiglia, I actually enjoyed the supporting cast way more, especially how they finesse their cons.

Daisy Jones & The Six

Genre: Musical Drama

Language: English

Gist: Daisy Jones & The Six amass worldwide fame in the 70s. Twenty years later, a documentary pieces together what happened the fateful night they crashed and burned.

First Impressions: I wasn’t initially going to watch this, but anything that trends on Twitter (including this one) is bait enough for me to bite. Riley Keough’s performance as Daisy Jones is a pleasure to watch, and while the show has an emotional pull and is really well-made, it certainly needs to kick it up a notch and work its way up to a crescendo.
Will I keep watching it? Most likely — after all, I haven’t read the book so I am curious about what led to the big bad disbandment and the aftermath.
Oh, and it does have some good songs! That’s definitely a plus!

How I Met Your Father S2

Genre: Sitcom

Language: English

Gist: A HIMYM spin-off that follows Sophie recounting how she met her kid’s father through her misadventures with Jesse, Valentina, Charlie, and Sid.

First Impressions: Let’s preface this by saying “I know, I know,” season 1 was… bad. The show should’ve personally sent every viewer a condolence card. So… why am I still watching it?

• Well, I can’t get my eyes off one of my childhood icons, Hilary Duff, so there’s that.

• It was a decent way to spend twenty minutes of my break time every Tuesday.

• I really like solving mysteries and wanted to figure out who the father was!

The good news is that S2 is a major improvement! Not only has the show found its groove, but it’s also reminiscent of HIMYM in the nicest ways possible — commendable plots & gags, Easter eggs, emotional arcs, Sophie & Val in rad fits, and an intriguing enough mystery. For twenty minutes of entertainment, what more can you ask for?

Not Dead Yet

Genre: Sitcom

Language: English

Gist: On top of being jilted by her fiance, an obituary writer starts seeing dead people. Don’t freak out, Nell!

First Impressions: After being excited by the overall concept and it being a Gina Rodriguez-starrer, the first few episodes did not do it for me at all! It felt almost too sappy and flat, despite the fact that it had actors like Hannah Simone and Lauren Ash who have a great comedic faculty. In fact, one of the reasons I have stuck to watching it is because of Ash’s character, who is as unapologetically unhinged as her counterpart in Superstore. At this point, she’s carrying the show on her back just as a side character.
I might continue watching it but only because of the “20-minute entertainment” factor. Otherwise, it leaves much to be desired.

And… scene!

There’s a lot of pressure when I have to evaluate an entire season & sum it up in a succinct review, so I loved experimenting with this new “segment,” which definitely gives me more room to share my thoughts. Did you enjoy this? Should I do more of these?

Before I go:

1. As an MCU fan, I enjoyed this film theory about why Ant-Man 3 didn’t do so well.

2. If you’d like to read the previous issues, here’s a link to SYWT’s archive.

3. Looking for any title in particular? Cue the database — This has the list of movies/TV shows covered so far with ratings and links to the newsletters they were reviewed in.

4. What’s stuck in my head:

   Lat8r sk8r,

   sal.