Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another Whatcha post. Today, our Geekly writers share which television shows and movies they’ve watched over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been watching. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get us started.
Kyra’s Shows
Yes! It’s a Whatcha Wednesday, and I’m mentioning the show, Wednesday. I watched Wednesday for the first time this month, so I’m late to the party. I enjoyed the first season. I may even need to do a deep dive for the Wednesday Addams character as she’s had an intriguing transformation through the decades (I even have some of the original comic strips). So good. I liked the nods Tim Burton makes to the original Addams Family television show throughout Wednesday while allowing the show to forge its own path.
Wednesday isn’t just a retelling of the Addams Family. It’s a reimagining. And I appreciate how Wednesday has created this new boarding school environment. With Joanne Rowling showing her colors as a transphobe, Wednesday offers a great alternative for an LGBT community left disenchanted with Hogwarts. Of course, Enid and Wednesday’s budding friendship drives Wednesday’s first season. While a little predictable, the first season’s murder mystery was fun.
Wednesday’s second season may have a more complex mystery, but it suffers from bloat. The first season weaved in small callbacks to the original series; the second season pumps in more callbacks to the original series, the Nineties movies, and Wednesday’s first season. This season also pivots away from Enid and Wednesday’s relationship, which makes sense for the story (I won’t spoil it here), but the lack of this pair’s chemistry hurts.
This may be an unfair assessment for season two. I’m trying to stay ahead of weekly Geekly posts so I’ll have more time to work on my novel (something I’m sure Wednesday would approve of), and I’m writing this entry a week before the second half of Wednesday’s second season releases. I’m sure there will be some great payoff during Wednesday’s second half. You may get a second post for Wednesday next month.
I’m enjoying Wednesday’s second season and can’t wait for this season’s conclusion.
I also binged Netflix’s Trainwreck series. This series (of about hour-long mini documentaries) varies in its watchability. Each episode of Trainwreck has excellent production, don’t get me wrong. It’s the subject matter for each Trainwreck episode that makes or breaks the show’s watchability. I couldn’t stand the Storm Area 51 documentary. I wanted to reach through my screen a slap the kid who started that trend. But I felt for the Balloon Boy’s parents. It seemed like an honest mistake, and it was clear Balloon Boy Falcon’s mother wasn’t fluent in English. P.I. Moms was eye-opening. While I don’t care for reality TV, it’s a shame this show fell apart. And the Poop Cruise made me second-guess going on a cruise ship. Yikes!
That’s all I have for Whatcha Watching this month. Let’s check in with Season and Skye.
Season’s Shows
I got nostalgic last month, Geekly Gang. I remember watching the original Fruits Basket anime (2001) on my CRT TV from a folding chair in the basement, using my Nintendo Wii, while taking notes for my ninth-grade physical science class. Good times. I was upset that the 2001 anime never finished the Fruits Basket manga, which continued way after the anime ended. Being stunned when the 2019 anime came out, a few years after I graduated from high school, doesn’t begin to describe what I felt at the time.
Nostalgia aside, there are aspects of the story that haven’t aged well. The premise is goofy enough on its own–people turning into animals of the Chinese Zodiac when hugged by a member of a different gender (male and female in this story). Many of the characters in Fruits Basket adhere to ideas of masculinity and femininity. The men suck at housework while the women are expected to do it. At least, as far as Tohru Honda (the female lead) goes. There is a character in the show who enjoys wearing women’s kimonos because he feels more at ease wearing them, but gets made fun of for it by some of the characters. If you’re willing to look past these things, Fruits Basket (2019) is an enjoyable watch that lets you turn off your brain.
Fruits Basket (2019) doesn’t take itself seriously in the beginning. Things ramp up toward the end, but there are still many comedic moments. Most of the characters have a lot of depth. Even the side characters who were around for, like, two episodes.
Fun fact: The original English cast of Fruits Basket (2001) reprised their roles for Fruits Basket (2019). I’m not sure about the Japanese cast.
That’s all from me. What have you been watching this week, Skye?
Skye’s Movies
I’ve never been a huge fan of The Conjuring franchise. While I enjoyed the first film when I saw it 5 years ago, it didn’t make me eager to watch the rest. Only after the recent release of The Conjuring: The Last Rites did I think, “It might be time to watch The Conjuring movies.” Over the past month, I watched 9 Conjuring movies. This includes the Annabelle spinoff trilogy, the 2 Nun films, and The Curse of La Llorona. What did I learn? Hollywood loves doing the same thing.
Are all the Conjuring movies the same? No, but they have striking similarities. Typically, there’s a cursed object, haunted house, or tormented family. Spooky stuff happens, experts show up, the spirits freak out, and the power of Christ compels them. I must admit, of The Conjuring films I watched, the ones bearing the “Conjuring” title were my favorites. These movies owe their watchability to the star power of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren (played by Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga). Every time they were on screen, they shared an unrivaled chemistry that made their relationship much more real and adorable.
Do I recommend The Conjuring series? It depends on what you’re into, but if you like spooky films involving ghosts, demon possessions, and haunted dolls, I’m sure you’ll like the Conjuring franchise. Also, I gotta admit that I have a soft spot for Annabelle Comes Home. It’s just a fun romp through a carnival of horrors.
Skye’s Show
Watching the Netflix Ranma ½ remake came as an accident last month. I hadn’t intended to watch it anytime soon, until I woke up one day and decided to binge the whole first season. Overall, I feel like Ranma ½ (2024) did the original series justice while reintroducing it to a new generation. As a fan of the original, the main thing I noticed was a lack of alterations. The Ranma 1/2 (2024) team made changes like modernizing the animation, changing voice actors, and adjusting the pacing of the story. The show’s story remains untouched.
Because of that, I can’t help but ask, “Then why remake it at all?” I have 4 seasons of the original series on DVD box set, so why wouldn’t I just watch that? I know modern film and TV culture has shifted media consumption to online streaming, but Netflix could’ve just as easily put the original series in their library. I still enjoyed Ranma ½ (2024), but that’s essentially the same thing as saying I enjoyed Ranma ½ (1989). Take that as you will, and feel free to watch Ranma ½ (2024) if you don’t have access to the original. Otherwise, just watch the original.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle again. Those are all the shows and movies our writers watched over the past month. What’ve you been watching, Geekly Gang? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
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