u/KneeHighMischief

For me it's Angel from Hell (2016). It was a CBS sitcom starring Jane Lynch as a "guardian angel" that decides to make herself known to the person she's been protecting her whole life.

This was a single cam show which CBS historically doesn't have a great track record with. Adding to that it was a somewhat conceptual show. They recently struck with Ghosts but that's also usually something they don't try with comedies.

If it wasn't bad enough with those things going against it CBS also aired the episodes completely out of order. Now the show wasn't deeply serialized like Lost but it did make things feel slightly disjointed.

Unsurprisingly CBS pulled it after just four episod. They then burned off the remaining episodes in the summer.

It's a shame because I think it was a genuinely funny show. Lynch had great weirdo chemistry with Maggie Lawson (Psych) as her charge that isn't sure if she's insane. The rest of the ensemble her family: Kyle Bornheimer & Kevin Pollak were good as well. It was created by Scrubs vet Tad Quill & he knows the format so well.

Unfortunately, it's not included with any streaming service right now. Still, I think it's worth the effort to track down. Is there a similar show that had no chance of making it that you'd recommend?

American Housewife (2016) was a refreshing sitcom when it first started airing. The concept wasn't groundbreaking. A lower income family moves to a snooty rich suburb & the mother Katie (Katy Mixon) feels like she constantly has to defend herself from everyone.

As the show went on it feels like the hard edges gradually were sanded down. It also became yet another sitcom that got more cartooney the longer it went.

Season 5 was filmed at the height of the pandemic. Going into it two of the main cast members exited. First Julia Butters who played her daughter Anna-Kat left after breaking out with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. She was recast by Giselle Eisenberg.

On a more ominous note Carly Hughes (part of Katie's friend group) walked away citing harassment & a toxic working environment. This led to the creator & a line producer stepping down after an ABC investigation.

The show took another hit as Ali Wong, the other friend group member, only appeared in a brief scene per episode via FaceTime. She had maybe 7 minutes of screen time before she was written off. The two friends were replaced by Jake Choi & Holly Robinson Peete.

To bolster things two side characters took on expanded roles. Jerry Lambert, who played the school principal & Evan O'Toole, who played Anna-Kat's friend Franklin. Franklin began to take over the series heading towards the end in a way that almost echoed Urkel.

I understand making TV is extremely difficult & doing it in the middle of a global pandemic must've been absolute nightmare. So I don't want to be unbelievably harsh to those involved.

It's just the show felt so completely disconnected from its start for almost the entire season. It's unfortunate because there was a fair amount of promise initially.

Just got done watching the first season. Didn't know much about the show besides horror, comedy, Dippold & Rhys.

There were more than a few moments throughout the series that felt genuinely unnerving like the party guests walking into the lake. The show also did a fantastic job of making the town just feel wrong.

The production team deserves a lot of credit. So much of the artwork seems okay at first glance. The longer you look at it, you realize it's wrong. Also the props which seem innocuous but also deeply weird (Daddy's Home! board game).

Matthew Rhys is probably a large reason I jumped on board. Ever since The Americans I've tried to check out everything he's involved in.

Tom is an amazingly well-rounded character brought to life. He's full of impotent rage & acts like he's a perpetually exposed nerve. There's so much sadness under the surface. You get the impression he's extremely careful about letting it out because he's worried he might not be able to stop.

The whole ensemble is great. Wasn't too familiar with Kate O'Flynn. She's a definite scene stealer as not silently suffering assistant Patricia. Their riff on the slasher chase with her was insane. It felt like the They Live fight scene with its length.

The wait for season two hopefully doesn't feel interminable. It's part of why lately, I've been waiting for some shows to wrap before starting. They've created so much that feels worthy of exploring. I understand 10 eps is becoming the norm but I definitely would've been happy with more of this.

Obviously YMMV. That's my takeaway after having binged it in one go.

Joanna Page started laughing when faced with so many tasks. She just was utterly swept up by the absurdity or joy of it. Presented with a funny scenario or even just seeing the setup, she broke into a fit of giggles.

Amy Gledhill responded the same way frequently as well. Joel Dommett wasn't as laughter prone before starting a task but his excited puppy energy was almost always on full display.

Initially it seemed like they were trying to slot Armando Iannucci into the role of the elder statesman that can't be bothered like Julian Clary or Sanjeev Bhaskar. That didn't last very long. It became obvious he was more a slightly tipsy Grandpa at a gathering just being goofy & pulling faces.

Kumail Nanjiani was the closest to the hyper competitive archetype. He occasionally questioned points allocation & was the contestant most likely to be upset in general. Even then he was maybe a 2.5 out of 10 on the Ed Gamble Scale.

It was a real interesting energy. Joanna, Amy & Joel had so much glee for the proceedings. I wouldn't want to see this dynamic every series as conflict can bring out some amazing programming. I enjoyed what they created here though.

Currently re-watching The Good Place & Maya Rudolph as The Judge is a character that I think sticks out like a sore thumb. Even though the show has many outlandish moments her performance is just so big & broad.

It's like she's playing to the back of the auditorium. Obviously she's an award winning performer & she's doing exactly what was requested of her. I just find her character to be a bit of a drag on what's an overall almost perfect series.

I don't think I've ever seen any criticism for it. Is there a performance that hits similarly for you?

This chunk of time in 1990 produced an embarrassment of riches:

State of Grace 9/14/90

Miller's Crossing 9/21/90

Goodfellas 9/21/90

King of New York 9/28/90

The Krays 11/9/90

The Godfather Part III 12/25/90

Having all these released at the same time definitely effected the box office for the smaller features. Goodfellas justifiably dominated the conversation. It's a very strong group overall though.

In terms of the more lesser known entries State of Grace has Sean Penn as a cop that returns home to go undercover against his childhood friends Gary Oldman & Ed Harris in Hell's Kitchen. The rest of the cast is great with John Turturro, Robin Wright & John C. Reilly. Jordan Cronenweth who was the cinematographer on Blade Runner does an outstanding job here.

The Krays is one that I enjoy so much. Martin & Gary Kemp of New Wave act Spandau Ballet star as the infamous East London gangster twins. It's a biopic of sorts, I don't feel like the early sections of them growing up are pat.

The film was directed by Peter Medak, who has an extensive filmography but feels underappreciated IMO. Michael Kamen does a great job capturing the late 1950's era along with some weirdness. Billie Whitelaw is the standout as their doting mother that they're dedicated to.

All six films could make for a great (if exhausting) marathon. As I said above all these coming out around the same time probably worked against the non-majors but it's just such a cool collection of films all rolled out in a short window.