Through A Brightening Lens - Friday Video Distractions, by Mike N.

  Another Friday's arrived. How it can continue to simultaneously seem to be upon me in a flash, and yet have the week seem so interminably long baffles me. While the week's worn on me, the time has flown, so I don't find myself with the time to hit multiple items here.
  I recently got around to checking out the first (and so far only) season of Kidding on Showtime, despite it having premiered back in September of 2018. Having more shows and movies available to watch than one can easily find the time for is one of the more enviable problems, though, and one up-side to catching up to a show rather late is that there's either more of it or, if it's been renewed, one's caught up much closer to when a new season will arrive.
   The series stars Jim Carrey as Jeff Piccarillo, known popularly as "Jeff Pickles" by legions of adoring fans. He's a children's show host in the combined mold of Mr. Rogers and Jim Henson, complete with a parade of puppets that inhabit his tv fantasy kingdom: Mr. Pickle's Puppet Time. He and his show have become beloved icons to more than one generation of fans, staples of PBS broadcasting, and represent likely billions in global branding.
   It occurs to me that for many, the mocking sarcasm of so many of Jim Carrey's roles may make it more difficult to accept him in this one. If that's the case for you, I'd just suggest you try to reset that perspective before taking a look. I think that what they're building here, which includes some initially deeply-concealed darknesses, makes it worthwhile.
  The series also stars Frank Langella, as Sebastian Piccarillo, Jeff's father. A pragmatist who runs the nuts and bolts of the operation, including the merchandising, which suits his temperament, while trying to leave Jeff free to produce the show by his own, generally pure and unsullied lights -- though their founding arrangement gives Sebastian more ultimate control.
.  Catherine Keener plays Jeff's sister, "Didi", who is the head puppet maker for the show. She's a sweetly introverted person with hidden depths, who is on her own journey of discovery. Before the first season's out, we even find that she's provided telling insights into the people in her life, via her work.
  Judy Greer plays Jeff's wife, Jill, who is a nurse, while Cole Allen plays the dual role of Will and Phil, identical twin sons of Jeff & Judy.

  When we meet them, we soon find out that it's nearing the one year anniversary of a devastating tragedy, the death of their son Phil in a traffic accident. Matters are running increasingly tense as it's clear that Jeff still hasn't processed the loss, and his attempts to do so in his official role as Mr. Pickles, have so far been deemed less than appropriate by his father and others who depend on maintaining the brand.
  He's estranged from wife Jill and surviving son Phil, and his behavior is becoming increasingly questionable, potentially threatening all that he and his family have built. This leads Sebastian to begin to scheme how to replace Jeff in advance of a complete meltdown.
  The show is alternately funny and sad, actually poignant, as we see how pure, positive and without guile a soul Jeff is. While there's an unworldly naivete to Jeff, we're reminded that he's not stupid, just deeply, sometimes tragically, giving and sincere. Seeing him remain optimistic and intensely interested in the well-being of others in the face of so much abuse made the rare moments when something has moved him to tears affecting.
   From the opening scene - a guest appearance on an episode of Conan - we see evidence that Jeff Pickles' sincere message has endeared him to millions, including people one might expect were too hard-hearted to be touched by it. He brightens some small, protected corner of their inner world, inspiring an almost religious respect and affection.
  As ever, no show is for everyone, and even in a quick survey I find more than a few reviewers who didn't connect with the show's characters and themes, the lowest of this group having self-congratulatorily made comparisons to Ed Norton's character in Death To Smoochy, and so written it off to their meager satisfactions. Their loss.
  The episodes are roughly 30 minutes long, so binging through the ten-episode season isn't a big investment of time, though as there's a great deal to process I found myself splitting it up into three sessions.
   Season two (which will be arriving weekly) is set to begin February 9th. As season one ended with a surprising (at least to me) twist, I'm glad I hadn't watched this way back in 2018 and been left hanging all this time.
     I hope you've had a good week, enjoy the weekend, and have an even better week on the way.
                  -Mike N.

Shows and movies hit on in previous posts:

 Sept. 20th: Mindhunter (Netflix)

     Sept. 27th: What's The Matter With Helen, The French Connection, and Frenzy. (Early '70s R-rated movies I saw with my mom)

     Oct. 3rd:    Preacher (AMC), Stumptown (ABC), Sunnyside (NBC), The Good Place (NBC), and Jack Ryan (Amazon Prime).

     Oct. 11th:  Joker (still in theaters), and In The Tall Grass (Netflix)

     Oct. 18th:  El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (Netflix)

     Oct. 25th: Dolemite Is My Name (Netflix)

     Nov. 1st:   Watchmen (HBO series), The Kominsky Method (Netflix)

     Nov. 8th:   Seconds (1966 movie, currently available as part of Amazon Prime)
     Nov. 15th: Dr. Sleep (current theatrical release, but probably not for long), Horace and Pete (2016 web-produced series, currently on Hulu)
     Nov. 22nd: NOS4A2 (AMC, now on Hulu) and Man In The High Castle (Amazon Prime)

     Nov. 29th: The Irishman (Netflix), The Mandalorian and The World According To Jeff Goldblum (both on Disney+), light touches on Watchmen (HBO) and Ray Donovan (Showtime)
  Dec, 6th: The Booth At the End (Amazon Prime), and Us (HBO).

Dec 13th:  Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (Amazon Prime), The Feed (Amazon Prime), 6 Underground (Netflix movie).

  Dec 20th:A Christmas Carol (FX), The Expanse (Amazon Prime), Killing Eve (BBC America)
  Dec 27th: Lost In Space season 2, and first impressions of The Witcher, both on Netflix.
  Jan. 3rd: Black Mirror (Netflix) and Phillip K. Dick's Electric Dreams (Amazon Prime). 
  Jan 10th: Undone (Amazon Prime), Witcher (Netflix) and Dracula (Netflix/BBC One).

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