Show Snob’s Premiere Review: Watch, Pass, Wait and See (November 13, 2023)

Last week was a great week for premieres, but first let’s look back at our recommendations from the week before from Show Snob’s Premiere Review:

• Black Cake (Hulu): Continue to Wait and See. The show is OK, but just not interesting enough to recommend. Though the back story on Benny this week had some intriguing points.
• Invincible (Amazon Prime Video): Continue to Watch.
• Lawmen: Bass Reeves (Paramount+): Continue to Not Watch.

Vigilante: Hulu

This new South Korean show is basically Batman with a hoodie. A young boy sees his family brutally beaten and murdered and the killer is allowed to go free on a technicality (very Batman).

As the boy enrolls in the police academy, he starts to hunt down criminals who have either not been incarcerated or were not incarcerated for long enough. These criminals are either brutally beaten or killed outright; especially if they don’t apologize or repent.

The media gives him the name Vigilante and he becomes a celebrated hero against the judicial system that is too soft on crime. Hulu released two episodes of Vigilante and they were pretty violent and bloody.

The story is good, but if the show continues to be a “criminal hunt of the episode” each week, it might not hold interest.

Vigilante – Watch

The Buccaneers: Apple TV+

It is the debutante season in London, so four American girls travel to England to try to find husbands. When they are not drinking tea, they are drinking champagne and lots of it.

They dance, frolic, drink, sing, and seduce rich lords in London and the countryside. Engagement proposals come fast and furious.

Some of the girls are excited. Some are not so sure.

One possible suitor, in particular, may be a complete con. In general, The Buccaneers isn’t sexy enough, the dark family secrets are not dark enough, and the bad boys are not bad enough, which puts this more in the young adult category.

The Buccaneers – Pass

For All Mankind – Apple TV+

The first episode of season 4 was released on Friday. It is possible to start off with season 4 but there is a huge amount of backstory that might cause confusion without watching season 3.

Joel Kinnaman (Hanna) returns as Commander Baldwin and Daniel Stern (Home Alone) debuts as the head of NASA. For All Mankind is an alternate history which asks the question, “What if the Russian and American space programs progressed very differently?”

In season 3, there was a space race to Mars. Season 4 takes place 8 years later (maybe 2008) and focuses on the colonization and commercialization of Mars.

For All Mankind is light science fiction in that there aren’t really lasers, warp speed, and aliens. The alternate history is done extremely well by subtly showing how small changes in history could ripple into major changes, which makes for a really entertaining show.

One of the best parts is the beginning of each season, where they show different outcomes in Presidential races (Gore wins), sports championships, and other pop culture events. Instead of shootouts, laser fights, and space battles, the show focuses more on the human and technical challenges of space travel and throws in a little action for good measure.

For All Mankind – Watch

Colin from Accounts: Paramount+

When I read the title, Colin from Accounts, I didn’t think Colin was going to turn out to be a paraplegic dog. And that may be the most normal thing about the show.

Based in Australia and starring Patrick Brammall (Evil) and Harriet Dyer (American Auto), Brammall actually hits the dog with his car when Dyer flashes him when crossing the street. The show is basically about how Brammall and Dyer share custody of the dog and how their relationship ensues.

Colin from Accounts is very, very funny. Sometimes a little raunchy, sometimes a little subtle, and sometimes absolutely wild.

Colin from Accounts – Watch

The Curse: Paramount+

Starring Emma Stone (Zombieland) and Nathan Fielder (The Rehearsal), The Curse is about…I am not sure what it is about. Stone and Fielder are husband and wife, trying to film a reality show about their philanthropic work in Espanola.

The show is so uncomfortable and awkward I can’t tell if it is supposed to be funny, dramatic, or trying to make some point. As the premiere unfolds, each scene gets worse and worse.

Some scenes are disgusting, some scenes are just ridiculous, and some scenes are just awful. This is the worst show since HBO’s The Idol.

The Curse – Pass

Beacon 23: MGM+

Starring Lena Headey (Game of Thrones) and Stephan James (Homecoming), Beacon 23 is a science fiction drama on MGM+. The premise is that the space station, Beacon 23, where Headey and James reside, helps starships navigate away from deadly radiation and dark matter.

But the real story revolves around that fact that James’ character isn’t who he says he is, and Headey is investigating some interesting minerals that we don’t yet know the significance of. Beacon 23 is good science fiction.

Great story, unknown mysteries, good science, and weird characters make this show really good. The only issue is that it is on MGM+.

You can see the first episode for free on Amazon, but maybe you have to wait until the series is over. Get the MGM+ free trial and binge it over 7 days.

While you are there, binge From.

Beacon 23 – Watch

Which of the following shows that we mentioned have you watched? Let us know in the comments below!