But sometimes I just rely on instinct - where the past memories of movies / reviews / actors or whatever defines instinct I choose a movie or documentary but rarely a series Because series needs investment in time.
Only Murders in the building was one such series I whimsically picked (I think driven by the combination of the 2 of the most underrated funny actors Martin Short & Steve Martin) and saw the first episode enroute to Bangalore. I loved it so much that by the next day I finished the series. It was much before it garnered good reviews from many many people. I just finished Season 2 and I quite liked the way S2 built the past stories of the lead actors into the present. I think most of the reviews were not very favourable (season 1 was better according to the press) but personally I liked it. Of course S1 had the novelty which any 1st season of a series has..It’s like most marriages / relationships - 1st year is the best because there is no benchmark.
So, what do I like:
I like the lightness of the series - In a stupid parallel I thought it was very much like the Rishikesh Mukherjee / Basu Chatterjee + Amol Palekar movies of 70’s. You come out feeling good and happy and a smile automatically comes to your face.
The characters are fallible, they all have a problem past, like all of us which haunt us, we run away from them & in most cases unknowingly drives our present.
The fact that both lead actors are 70+. At 53, I can relate to the relationships they have with their families, their need of feeling loved and cared for & a kind of silent rejection by society as people whose time of fun & frolic is in the past.
I also like the overall production value, the Aconia building and the beautiful houses with rugs and interior designs done in a fashion that each house looks different but very upstate NY.
Lastly I love the pets & special appearances by Sting, Shirley Maclaine and many others which brings in a change and also lifts the show from it’s regular rhythm.
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