mrscumbag Reviews

Tracker (2024– )

Hitting viewers with flashback less than 15 minutes into the first episode is a dealbreaker.

[22 February 2024]

Nope. You haven't even properly introduced the protagonist and you're already dumping us into flashbacks? Just terrible and an immediate dealbreaker. I'm tired of movies and TV shows repeatedly taking viewers out of the moment and ruining their own pacing.

They are tedious, lazy crutches for poor writing and characterization. Same goes for dream sequences. Won't hang around long enough to see if there are any of the latter.

Other than that, the lead actor doesn't seem to have any real charisma or presence on screen and felt like he was out of his depth. There's really no reason to watch this unless you have literally nothing else going on.

Mysteries at the Museum (2010– )

Unwatchable

[3 November 2022]

To describe this show in a word: Hyperkinetic.

It's ALWAYS moving at a million miles an hour. No shot will last more than a few seconds before switching to another or rapidly zooming in or out for no reason (and this is, of course, always accompanied by an obnoxious sound effect) other than to appeal to those with extremely short attention spans and who need constant movement and stimulation, lest they look down at their phones and lose interest.

The music is constant and loud, often drowning out the narration and never letting up, even for a second. It feels like I'm being berated by music and sound endlessly, and it makes it impossible to just relax and to concentrate on what is actually being SAID.

This shocking amount of overproduction may appeal to some, but it makes this show an absolute chore to watch, and after each of the few episodes I have watched, I really had to wonder how much information was really communicated vs how much sheer noise and color were mercilessly assaulting my senses. It just isn't worth watching any more episodes, in my opinion.

I guess this kind of thing probably appeals to younger people, but I prefer documentaries to be a little more subdued and concerned with communicating facts and information, rather than assuming that if they stop jingling keys in front of my face for more than three seconds, I'll lose interest.

It's a little insulting, now that I think about it.

It's also a shame - I've quite enjoyed Wildman's work on other shows - particularly Cities of the Underworld. He can do much better than this.

Meet, Marry, Murder Hosted by Michelle Trachtenberg (2021– )

Strange and stilted

[3 November 2021]

I'm a fan of Michelle Trachtenberg, and of true crime which is why I had this on my watchlist.

That's why it sucks that the show is a total letdown. Trachtenberg, while being a good actress, is so thoroughly out of her element here. Her cadence is bizarre and it seems as though she's having trouble reading her lines fluidly or in a way that sounds natural. If the show manages to get a renewal for a second season, I hope she can improve.

It's also weird that the narrator of a crime documentary series refers to herself in the first person and states personal opinions (even though they're obviously pre-written) regularly. It's also strange to show the host. It's just completely unnecessary and feels crass that they are leaning into a celebrity personality so hard. It all just feels so wrong and a tad disrespectful to the victims of these crimes.

The crimes themselves are interesting enough, I guess. But they aren't presented in an overly compelling way and often feel padded out and repetitive to fill the runtime. It seems very by-the-numbers, and there are plenty of other shows that not only present true crime better, but have presented some of the very same crimes featured in this show better, and without the stilted narration and repetition.

I really can't understand why this made it past the pilot/pitch, to be honest. If it didn't have the star power of Michelle Trachtenberg, it would have died immediately, of that I have no doubt.