Disney+'s WandaVision (2020) 6 6

[piper]

That's a good lot of reviews.  It sounds like the critics like it because of the change in tone/style from the typical MCU fair.

I just hope they stick the landing.

Ratings for TV shows are always tough because they only get to see the first two or three episodes.

[Bosco685]

5 minutes ago, piper said:

That's a good lot of reviews.  It sounds like the critics like it because of the change in tone/style from the typical MCU fair.

I just hope they stick the landing.

Ratings for TV shows are always tough because they only get to see the first two or three episodes.

Agreed!

[Bosco685]

It's the first three episodes they reviewed.

Review: Marvel's trippy Disney+ sitcom 'WandaVision' is funny but frustrating

Quote

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now big enough to include the Great American Sitcom.

 

The blockbuster movie franchise is taking some of its stars to the small screen, starting with Disney+'s "WandaVision" (first two episodes streaming Friday, then weekly, ★★½ out of four), a messy but pleasantly silly superhero sitcom starring Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany as "Avengers" heroes Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and Vision.

 

It's the first live-action Marvel series made for Disney+, a more A-list and heavily promoted outing than the handful of shows with lesser-known film heroes that have populated series on ABC, Freeform, Hulu and Netflix since Marvel first dipped into TV with ABC's "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." in 2013.  It also more directly relates to the Marvel movies, akin to required summer reading for comic book devotees. (The stars of "WandaVision" have hyped it as a necessary watch before the upcoming "Doctor Strange" film.)

 

The first episode plays out like a superheroic version of an episode of "The Van Dyke Show," as the couple entertains Vision's new boss and his wife at a dinner party. Kathryn Hahn shows up as their brassy, nosy neighbor, Agnes. It's only near the end of the first half-hour episode that the series even hints that it's anything other than a glossy sitcom spoof. 

 

The next two episodes follow in much the same pattern, each jumping ahead a decade in sitcom history. For the 1960s outing, the theme and the couple's house is a riff on "Bewitched"; for the third, 1970s-themed episode, the world turns to color and the house has its own version of the iconic "Brady Bunch" staircase. 

 

With each installment, a few more cracks in the sitcom facade appear, but the bigger mystery is unveiled at an excruciatingly slow pace. In the second episode, Teyonah Parris is introduced as mysterious neighbor Geraldine, but those who have been following Marvel casting news will know there's more to her than that. The third offers some tantalizing peeks at what might really be going on but stops short of explaining it. As a weekly series, it's an aggravating and unsuccessful structure. 

 

In "WandaVision," there is no question that the pair has chemistry, or that Olsen is a bonafide star. She is hilarious and magnetic, and her 1950s affect is particularly amusing as she spouts zingers. There's an argument to be made that a more interesting series (probably not made by Marvel) here that focuses only on sitcom spoofs, even though after three parodies in a row, some of the jokes begin to feel a bit repetitive. 

 

But maybe that's the problem with the show: It's too attuned to its corporate responsibility to tie into the films and other TV shows to focus on being its own TV show. TV writers often hype their shows as "10-hour movies," admitting from the word go that they believe the cinema to be the higher form of art. But there are beautiful, transcendent stories to be told on television that celebrate the medium. For a series that purports to be a love letter to one of TV's most classic genres, the sitcom, it struggles to claim an identity as a TV show at all. 

 

But hey, maybe there will be some cool fight scenes later. 

 

[@therealsilvermane]

5 hours ago, Bosco685 said:

It's the first three episodes they reviewed.

Review: Marvel's trippy Disney+ sitcom 'WandaVision' is funny but frustrating

 

This Kelly Lawler lady from USA Today is a tough customer who seems to not care for comic book properties that much. She even gave the fantastic HBO Watchmen a hard time.

In her review, she seems to get annoyed that WandaVision isn't apparently a standalone story and that you have to have seen previous MCU movies to really get it. Does she want MCU stories to not be interconnected? I mean, that's one of the reasons the MCU has such a huge following, that the stories all connect. And Marvel is the only Studio that knows how to do it right (they started it after all).

[Bosco685]

6 hours ago, @therealsilvermane said:

This Kelly Lawler lady from USA Today is a tough customer who seems to not care for comic book properties that much. She even gave the fantastic HBO Watchmen a hard time.

In her review, she seems to get annoyed that WandaVision isn't apparently a standalone story and that you have to have seen previous MCU movies to really get it. Does she want MCU stories to not be interconnected? I mean, that's one of the reasons the MCU has such a huge following, that the stories all connect. And Marvel is the only Studio that knows how to do it right (they started it after all).

You need to check Metacritic. She actually comes up positive as a rating.

As far as that last fanatical comment...

[Bosco685]

In case anyone runs into this problem.

 

[Bosco685]

Watched the first episode (around 30 minutes).

Weird, but naturally we know in advance there's a deeper story to be revealed. Though the immersion into 60's sitcoms can feel dated and yet comfortable to lower your guard.

Looking forward to seeing where they take this.

[sagekilz]

From initial reviews coming in, I'm getting the sense that this is literally a sitcom including Wanda and Vision, with mundane storylines about making dinner and quarreling with the neighbors.  I don't find that interesting, not in the slightest.  It's not to say I won't watch it however I fail to see how this is going to be captivating?  Am I missing something?

Edited January 15, 2021 by sagekilz

[piper]

I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep, so I watched Ep. 1 & 2.

I have no idea what's going on behind the scenes but the vintage tv sitcom feel is well done.  I felt like I was watching an episode of Bewitched.  The acting is very well done.  The commercials are a nice touch.

I'm interested to see where this goes.

[piper]

2 minutes ago, sagekilz said:

From initial reviews coming in, I'm getting the sense that this is literally a sitcom including Wanda and Vision, with mundane storylines about making dinner and quarreling with the neighbors.  I don't find that interesting, not in the slightest.  It's not to say I won't watch it however I fail to see how this is going to be captivating?  Am I missing something?

I think this is a slow burn that will be worth the investment.

[sagekilz]

1 minute ago, piper said:

I think this is a slow burn that will be worth the investment.

Hopefully the payoff doesn't happen in the last 'episode'.  I'm not looking for boommichaelbayexplosions but the slow burn had better be worth it.

[Bosco685]

7 minutes ago, piper said:

I woke up in the middle of the night and couldn't get back to sleep, so I watched Ep. 1 & 2.

I have no idea what's going on behind the scenes but the vintage tv sitcom feel is well done.  I felt like I was watching an episode of Bewitched.  The acting is very well done.  The commercials are a nice touch.

I'm interested to see where this goes.

When they noted in advance to ensure to watch the commercials, I can see what they meant. But that name - again? 

Is there any other family in the MCU that can be associated with making creative devices?

6 minutes ago, piper said:

I think this is a slow burn that will be worth the investment.

I think so too. They are not going to rush in and jump to the big reveals. And I am okay with that. Make us hungry! 

4 minutes ago, sagekilz said:

Hopefully the payoff doesn't happen in the last 'episode'.  I'm not looking for boommichaelbayexplosions but the slow burn had better be worth it.

I think from that final scene they were revealing the excitement will start soon. 

[piper]

11 minutes ago, Bosco685 said:

When they noted in advance to ensure to watch the commercials, I can see what they meant. But that name - again? 

Is there any other family in the MCU that can be associated with making creative devices?

I think so too. They are not going to rush in and jump to the big reveals. And I am okay with that. Make us hungry! 

I think from that final scene they were revealing the excitement will start soon. 

I thought the one about the watch was pretty good.

[piper]

I'll also add that it was like a mix Twilight Zone, Pleasantville, Bewitched, and even a little Stepford Wives.  Somehow it all works...

[Rip]

I watched the first 2. Bewitched meets the Twilight Zone.

Fun!

Edited January 15, 2021 by Rip

[Bosco685]

2 hours ago, piper said:

I thought the one about the watch was pretty good.

[Bosco685]

1 hour ago, Rip said:

I watched the first 2. Bewitched meets the Twilight Zone.

Fun!

I liked Episode 2 more than 1. Brought back good memories of early TV shows. 

[Rip]

2 minutes ago, Bosco685 said:

Yea where can I get that watch.

 

Or the toaster LOL

[Bosco685]

1 minute ago, Rip said:

Yea where can I get that watch.

 

Or the toaster LOL

Bets on who the voice is from the radio?

Spoiler

It sounds like that agent from Ant-Man

 

[Rip]

Good chance or someone new.