Category: Television

Why is Cobra Kai Good?

I’ll try not to include spoilers but no promises. If you are planning to watch the show but haven’t gotten around to it, you might want to be safe and stop reading now.

You have been warned.

Jen and I had a discussion this morning about Cobra Kai the TV series. Specifically, why is it good? When the show was first announced I, like many people, assumed it was going to be a spoof based on some jokes in the show How I Met Your Mother (one of the characters insisted that The Karate Kid was a story of a wholesome rich kid who got screwed out of his karate title and his girlfriend by the new bully in town). It’s not though. It’s just a continuation of the Karate Kid story (not you, Next Karate Kid). Johnny has grown up to be a loser. Daniel has grown up to be successful with a happy family. Johnny meets a nerd and decides to teach him karate and three seasons worth of bloody hijinks ensues.

If you look at it objectively and break it down into its core pieces, is it good? The acting isn’t terrible. Some of the kids are hard to watch but for the most part it’s okay. No one in The Karate Kid was getting a best actor award, and we’re pretty much on par with that today. The writing is pretty suspect. The boss fights in the season two and three finales were gratuitous to say the least (especially season two) and could have made the same points with 75% less violence. Granted, gratuitous does not necessarily mean bad. The dialog is often funny, but the overall story is completely telegraphed. You can literally see what’s coming multiple episodes ahead. I know surprise twists aren’t really the point here, but still… You could see the dramatic ending of season three happening during season one. It’s that predictable. Of course, that didn’t mean there wasn’t literal cheering in our living room when then dramatic ending to season three happened.

The show is 100% nostalgia and fan service. Seriously, there is nothing else here. Even that is hard to understand though. I saw the Karate Kid in the theater in 1984. I was 13. It never ranked as a favorite for me, not even close, but I liked it. It was fun. When the sequel came out I saw that in the theater too. Not so much for part three. I still don’t think I’ve seen that at all. That could explain why I like the show. It’s bringing me back to a simpler, more innocent time yadda yadda yadda. I can get behind that, but how does that explain my 18 year old step son? He loves it! He sat there cheering along with the rest of us. It’s not nostalgic for him, so where is his pre-existing emotional connection?

So the question remains? Why is Cobra Kai so good? Why have we hung on every shot for three seasons? Why are we all bummed out that we have to wait until next January for season four? How did they do this to us? They pulled a fast one on us and I want to know what happened. Was it hypnotism? Was it brain washing?

Why is Cobra Kai so damned good?

Beware

Home improvement shows on HGTV should come with a warning label. Everything going on here is their fault. We watched a bunch of episodes of Property Brothers* and now we’re turning the house upside down.

First it was the bedroom closets. Then it was the furniture arrangement. Then it was the bed. Then it was the end tables. We should be done with this room this weekend. After that it’s going to be the kitchen.

We aren’t doing renovations because Covid, duh. We’re making changes that are simple enough that a klutz with no home improvement skills (me) can pull them off.

The actual renovations will be in the cellar and they will wait until after Covid is cleared out. Pretty much everything in the cellar, from beneath the floor tiles up through anything actually sitting on the floor is so badly water damaged that it’s got to go. The floor and the walls and the drop ceiling all have to go. The HVAC ducts all have to go. I think once Covid is gone and we can let a work crew into the house we are going to take anything savable out of the cellar and put it somewhere. Everything else can be taken out by a junk removal service or something. Then we bring a contractor to take up the floor, take down the drop ceiling, and fix the walls. It’s going to be a nightmare, but there is so much water damage that there isn’t a choice.

The cellar can’t be blamed on the Property Brothers and HGTV, but all the upstairs stuff can. How dare you, HGTV. Put a warning label on these shows. Stay safe, everyone.

*Do you think either of the Property Brothers, or any of the staff and crew who work on the show have ever used the phrase, “property bros. before property hoes”?

The Stand: No Spoilers (Mostly)

I started watching episode six of the new mini series version of The Stand. I have to say something publicly and it won’t include any story spoilers, but it will give an opinion on one aspect of the production that may color your ideas a bit. Probably not, but maybe.

You’ve been warned:

Get out now if you want to remain 100% uninformed.

………

Okay, here it goes: Ezra Miller needs to retire. This is hands down the worst performance ever. Ever. He needs to be punished for this. He needs to go to his room without any supper and never come back again.

I’ve seen him in exactly two scenes and that’s enough to make the entire series suddenly feel unwatchable. Dude is that bad.

Dream or Nightmare

I had a dream that we went on vacation to some unnamed beach hotel. The cast of the show The Flash was there. I was trying to impress them by telling them I was in a cover band and we played a Genesis song. They were polite, but they were also not impressed.

Was it a dream or was it a nightmare?

You decide.

HGTV

We just binged an entire season of the HGTV show Brother Vs Brother. The show where these two twins buy huge houses and do renovation competitions. We weren’t planning it. We definitely didn’t mean to do it. It just happened.

They bought two century old houses for 2+ million dollars each and then sold them for 5.5+ million dollars each. I think I’m in the wrong business. Totally.

Crazy Friday

I’m 94 minutes away from a long weekend. There is talk of watching Hot Fuzz tonight. I need this work day to end now. It’s been wacky from the word go. Uncle! That’s me crying uncle for the day. Enough. Here, I’ll do it again, Uncle!

I have a research project to do this weekend. There is talk of a Roomba. Do I want to open the door to the oncoming robot apocalypse in order to keep my floors clean? The answer is probably yes, but it’s expensive.

This is also our last weekend with Bellana before she goes back to school. We must make it a good one, Roomba not withstanding.

WandaVision is out. The list of Marvel Cinematic Universe things I have not seen is now up to one movie and two TV episodes. WandaVision will be covered this weekend. Thor II… someday.

The Boston Bruins are 1-0 on the season. A perfect 56-0 is literally in our grasp. No it isn’t, but statement like this after one game are pretty obligatory.

Trump is still impeached, again. Trump’s term ends in five day.

88 minutes until the weekend. I need a vacation. I need a Covid-19-free vacation.