Hello, readers! After a short break, I am back with a list of some great titles I’ve watched over the last two months. If you’re looking for something to stream, keep scrolling to see what’s worth a watch!
- Gilmore Girls
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A classic early 00s show, “Gilmore Girls” follows Lorelai and Rory Gilmore’s close mother-daughter relationship in the small town of Stars Hollow. Across seven seasons and a Netflix revival series, viewers come to love the two and all the other characters that inhabit their lives. Signature trademarks in the show include fast-talking, pop-culture references, and lots and lots of coffee. Like every long-running show, it has its good and bad seasons and storylines. Its early seasons follow strong stories and characters, but the show slips up a little bit around season five. The aforementioned Netflix revival leaves the show in an even bigger mess. Over time, Rory becomes something she is not and a bit of a brat, and Lorelai’s facade as a cool adult fades and reveals she is simply an overgrown child. Still, “Gilmore Girls” is a fun watch and a great comfort watch in an uncertain, crazy world.
Rating: B+
- Buffy: The Vampire Slayer
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Another show that ruled the airwaves in the late 90s and early 00s was “Buffy: The Vampire Slayer.” Sarah Michelle Gellar stars as the titular character who must balance high school woes with the woes of keeping the world safe from vampires and other demons. Luckily, Buffy has the support of her Watcher, Giles, and her two best friends, Xander and Willow. Don’t let the title fool you, “Buffy” is a fantastic show! Gellar does a fabulous job of portraying all the layers of Buffy Summers and kicks major butt in every episode. The show also features strong, clever writing and keeps the narrative going across multiple seasons, balancing so many different television tropes in the process. What I thought would be a cheesy teen drama turned out to be fun and, at times, an emotional rollercoaster that I ended up loving with all my heart.
Rating: A+
- WandaVision
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Another show with unexpected heart, “WandaVision” is the first Marvel television show for Disney’s streaming app, Disney+. Taking place after the events of “Avengers: Endgame,” we find Avengers Wanda Maximoff, a.k.a Scarlet Witch, and Vision in what appears to be in various television sitcoms ranging from the 1950s to the modern day. From there, viewers are led on a fun and mysterious ride through the world of “WandaVision.” There’s very little I can say without spoiling the show, but it is a must-watch! Elizabeth Olsen definitely proves herself to be a spectacular actress with a wide range of skills and does an excellent job carrying the show with her performance. It also seems to set up the next phase of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Overall, “WandaVision” proves that the MCU can provide more than just action, but also strong, emotional storytelling with a deeper meaning than just needing to save the world.
Rating: A+
- Ginny and Georgia
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After a string of great shows, all of that screeched to a halt with this show. “Ginny and Georgia,” Netflix’s latest original teen-aimed show, is described as a darker “Gilmore Girls,” which is somewhat accurate. Fifteen-year-old Ginny and her 30-year-old mother Georgia pick up their things yet again and move to a small town in Maryland for a better life. While the two are somewhat close, their relationship deteriorates when Ginny begins to settle in with her new friends and when some secrets regarding Georgia’s past slip out. This show had me questioning whether I, a 22-year-old, was too old. The conversations and lingo these kids used made me feel completely out of touch with people I’m supposed to share a generation with. I also felt like the show couldn’t figure out what it wanted to be. A coming of age drama? A mystery? A cheesy, campy show? It tried to be all these things, but they couldn’t find a way to balance and integrate the elements from each of these shows. The series was about 10 episodes, but it felt like a total chore to finish this show.
Rating: C-
- Kid90
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If you’re looking for something a bit more nostalgic about teen years, look no further. “Punky Brewster” star Soleil Moon Frye was a vlogger before it was even a thing! After growing up as a child star, Frye spent her teen years documenting her life and other actor friends growing up in Los Angeles. Featuring interviews with some other 90s legends, like Mark-Paul Gosselar and Brian Austin Green, Frye uses her footage and reflects on many of the growing pains and relationships that made her who she is today. While not everyone can relate to living it up in LA with the biggest teen heartthrobs of the day, Frye does an excellent job of making her experiences relatable to all audience members and reflecting how influential our young adult years can be.
Rating: A-
- To All the Boys: Always and Forever
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In this final installment of the beloved “To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before” series, Lara Jean and her love, Peter Kavinsky, are preparing for their final year of high school and deciding where to go to college. Along the way, the couple runs into more barriers that seem to prevent them from furthering their relationship and their personal dreams. Since I’ve read the book series, I didn’t have that big of expectations for this movie. I really felt that the book series kinda floundered after the spectacular first opening, with each subsequent sequel adding unnecessary drama to the Peter/Lara Jean relationship. What I did like was the personal growth we see in Lara Jean, which I never felt like we got in this film. Since the internet seems to love Peter, myself included, I felt like there was an emphasis on the relationship rather than LJ. At times, the movie just seemed to drag on without much of a plot or purpose other than to show off Noah Centineo’s good looks. I just feel that this story could’ve ended a long time ago…
Rating: C