Streaming Gems 5- Iconic Shot: Vapes Soulfully

Contributors

Editor

• Mia Sherry

Deputy Editors

• Luke Bradley • Seamus Conlon • Katie McKenna

Designer

• Seamus Conlon

Contributors

• Jessica Allen • Sadbh Boylan • Cían Donohoe • John Dugan • Cat Early • Kane Geary O’ Keeffe • Caroline Kelly • Liam Kelly • Lucy McCabe • Florian Radtke • Eve Smith • David Wilson

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Table of Contents

3 - Streaming Gems 5- Iconic Shot: Vapes Soulfully 6 - Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The case for season 6 7- Netflix has Mommy Issures 9 - Comfort Shows 10 - The Battle of the Binge 11 - I Hate Suzie

12 - The Mafia Only Kills in Summer 13 - Best Needle Drops 15 - Hannibal - Cleaning Meat From the Bone 17 - Mr Robot - What Makes a Masterpiece? 19 - Modern Masterpiece - Twin Peaks 21- War and Peace

23 -To The Leftovers with grief 25 - Adult Animation 26 - Aaron Sorkin - Iconic Showrunner 27 - C’mon C’mon Review 28 - Annette Review 29 - Best Episodes - From the TFR editors

Tim Robinson’s surreal magnum opus has more than a few tricks up its sleeve. I Think You Should Leave reaches such immense heights of absurd vulgarity that the brief and intense moments of pathos punctuating its sketches feel like a punch to the throat. Like the desolate Fisher King of The Waste Land, its endlessly quotable dialogue has left me with “fragments I have shored against my ruins”. Snippets of I Think You Should Leave run through my wandering mind and drive me to delusion – Carmine Laguzio, sloppy steaks at Truffani’s and Tim decrying in a boardroom “I almost killed myself when Julie got me chode jeans for my birthday”. His face is one of contradictions, with eyes that are both sunken and protruding and a mouth that is at once thin-lipped and gaping. Its rhythms are Eliotic. Its neologisms are Joycean. Its perpetually despairing everyman is drawn straight from the pages of Beckett. Robinson is the Don Quixote of the internet age, and we, the audience, are a motley troupe of Sancho Panzas, destined to lumber in his wake. In the words of my favourite YouTube comment on ITYSL’s small screen personae: “I feel physically sick every time Tim plays a normal person”. - Jessica Allen

‘It’s not a show, it’s not a character: it’s a vibe’ – Jason Sudeikis. Looking back at the series that have streamed over the past 18 months, nothing has quite had the sheer impact of Ted Lasso. This fish-out-of-water comedy follows a part-time American football coach with an old-fashioned sensibility who finds himself thrown into the deep end - ultimately tasked with Saving an English Premier League club knee-deep in crisis from relegation. Jason Sudeikis, an actor-comedian best known for funny but forgettable roles is perfectly cast as the lead character. His performance has certainly propelled the character to iconic status. Whenever Lasso appears on screen, I can’t help myself but smile. While his uber positivity and legendary moustache outdoes even that of Ned Flanders, I must praise Sudeikis for his profound ability to tap into the more vulnerable side of the character. In essence, Lasso is a sensitive man who is covering all his pain and trauma through his relentless optimism. With its sharp script and finely balanced tones, Ted Lasso is fully aware of the outlandish premise, even embracing its weirder side. How this all works so well is pure alchemy - a testament to Sudeikis, his fellow writers and supporting cast. I truly believe Ted Lasso should be watched by as many people as possible, regardless of the person’s initial interest in soccer. Being an Apple TV exclusive, it is a shame how inaccessible this series will be to many. However, its deserved awards recognition and overwhelmingly positive word-of-mouth certainly helps increase its broader visibility. Hopefully this momentum can sustain into the coming seasons. Full of

Warmth and sincerity, Ted Lasso is a breath of fresh air from the cynicism and nastiness that has crept into the sport and wider society. If only we could all channel our inner Lasso…

- Liam Kelly

Having spent a lot of time last year scouring Netflix for new shows to get lost in, the one gem I always return to is Rick Gervais’s AfterLife (2019). Although it’s just six episodes, it has everything you’d want.

AfterLife tells the story of Toni, who lost his wife to cancer and now wants to kill himself, believing not caring about anything anymore in everyday life is his superpower. So far, so bleak. You might ask yourself, why would I want to watch something seemingly so depressing? Simply put, you don’t want to miss out on a brilliant cast/characters. Rarely are characters so well written that they feel cut straight out of real life. Seemingly they have been created with members of the cast in mind to give them life and it turned out wonderfully. Gervais has previously done it like this in his charming pseudo documentary Derek. The soundtrack is an impeccable selection of songs enhancing every scene with that extra touching layer. Although dealing with a sad subject matter the show is incredibly funny while never failing to deliver the serious moments in a genuine and touching manner. In writing— absolutely nailing the tone alone— the show is a masterpiece. Not caring about anything might be Toni’s superpower, but the show proves there is more than enough to care about in AfterLife.

If you find yourself always digging for new gems on streaming sites this certainly is one to uncover. Should you find yourself craving more rest assured there is AfterLife 2 while a third and final season is currently being produced.

- Florian Radtke