I needed to buy a toothbrush. This was a rare occurrence for me, as my dentist usually gives me a toothbrush at the end of my twice-a-year visits. But, I think last visit the office didn’t have any toothbrushes; anyhoo, November 1 I needed to replace my brush, so I headed to the dental care aisle at CVS.
It was as if I’d woken up from a coma.
With the exception of kiddie toothbrushes, all of the toothbrushes were now battery-powered. All of them. Where were my standard manual toothbrushes? How had the world changed so radically in so short a time?
Thank goodness for reliable pleasures like television. And speaking of twice-a-year visits, here’s my biannual wrap-up of the shows I’ve been watching.
LOVED
2026 Men’s World Cup (Fox) When I learned that many 2026 World Cup matches would be held 20 minutes away at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey, I thought, “Cool, I’ll get to go in person!” That was not remotely possible for not-billionaires, so like the rest of the globe, I watched on TV. And fell in love with the sport all over again. How far could Team USA go? Could the great Messi triumph again? [Answers: Not very far; no.] Only 7 months till the Women’s World Cup!
LIKED A LOT
Mulligan (Netflix) While looking up The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins last year, I discovered another series that 30 Rock vets Robert Carlock and Sam Means had created, producing two seasons of episodes in 2023–24: the animated, post-apocalyptic comedy Mulligan. Survivors of an alien attack attempt to restart society on Earth. With the voices of Tina Fey, Ayo Edebiri, Ronny Chieng, Rachel Dratch, Daniel Radcliffe, Sam Richardson, Chrissy Teigen, and more, this is frequently hilarious and super sharp. Oh how I especially loved Dana Carvey as an old southern senator!
Jimmy Savile: A British Horror Story (Netflix) With a character in the 28 Years Later films based on disgraced English media personality Jimmy Savile, I figured I’d like to learn more about the real person. Savile was what I imagined celebrities to be like when I was a kid: a hit on radio and TV, traveling around doing good works, dipping a toe in just about everything. Turns out that’s not all Jimmy was dipping. I didn’t “enjoy” this two-part documentary from 2022, but the story is fascinating, certainly with shades of Epstein.
LIKED
Widow’s Bay (Apple) I liked this but thought it was really overrated. It felt more like an anthology series than a continuing story, with some episodes much more entertaining than others. And the comedy sometimes seemed misplaced.
The Hawk (Netflix) Lots of big laughs from this series reuniting Will Ferrell and Molly Shannon. I don’t like living in a world where there are two series about former golf greats trying to regain their mojo. This one is so similar to Owen Wilson’s Stick, it even co-stars Owen’s brother Luke in the Timothy Olyphant role. Yet I enjoyed The Hawk quite a lot until a disappointing season finale.
Life, Larry, and the Pursuit of Unhappiness: An Almost History of America (HBO) After the comedic heights of Curb Your Enthusiasm, really one of my favorite things ever, how could this possibly compete? And, sadly, it doesn’t. There is some hilarity and some inspired concepts, but with the people involved — starting with Larry David and Barack Obama — it should’ve been much better.
The Beast in Me (Netflix) OK, Matthew Rhys, I’ll give you another chance after Widow’s Bay, in this psychological thriller with Claire Danes. I liked it but it’s nothing special; it really felt like network TV. And yes that is an insult.
IT: Welcome to Derry (HBO) I loved the movie adaptation of IT, and liked Chapter Two, so sitting on my couch for a prequel series seemed easy enough. The opening credits sequence is terrific and the 1956 song playing is so charming, a compilation by artists Patience and Prudence sits in my Discogs wantlist. The show is basically more of the same but is scary enough, and we get a rare Madeline Stowe role. Oh, and there’s a cool cameo. The season-ending episode was impressively cinematic.
Katla (Netflix) Jeez I watched a lot of Netflix. I do not expect you to recall my recent obsession with Icelandic writer/director Baltasar Kormákur, but I had to find another series he’d created, and this 2021 offering did the trick. An almost abandoned rural town and visiting scientists cope with the aftermath of a year-ago volcano explosion. Something creepy is happening in that ash! For fellow Kormákurphiles, we get three actors from Trapped/Entrapped! And we get Alexander and Bill’s brother, Walter Skarsgârd! The series is spooky and fucked up, yet fails to all come together. Kormákur does have a feature film I need to watch.
The Punisher (Disney Channel) I enjoyed Spider-Man’s bromance with The Punisher in Brand New Day, so I settled in for this 2017–19 (plus bonus episode in 2026) Marvel series also starring the great Jon Bernthal. Things are much, much darker than in the Spidey movie. There is a lot of fighting and shooting and torture. In season one we get Richie from The Bear. There’s also a woman, in season one she’s a newspaper reporter, in season two the same character is a lawyer. Shrug. Any time characters need privacy, they go to a decrepit section of the waterfront. Could’ve been a drinking game. Also much overuse of one character critiquing another, and that second person replying something to the effect of “Yeah, well did you ever serve? Did you ever pull the trigger? Did you ever have a buddy die in your arms?”
JURY’S STILL OUT
Phony (Hulu) My phone really wanted me to check out Phony, so I did. The always reliable Connie Britton is the mom — or is she? — and Sam Nivola is super likable as maybe/maybe not her son.
ONE AND DONE
Brothers (Apple) I like Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson. We might need a true detective to figure out why they made this so-called comedy.
GAVE UP AFTER 7 MINUTES, 25 SECONDS
Me, Myself, and I (Tubi) I had looked up former Daily Show correspondent Brian Unger and stumbled across this 2017 sitcom. Bobby Moynihan and John Larroquette — who I both like — are 2/3 of the same person at different stages of their life. Compelling concept, crummy execution. On the bright side, I spelled Larroquette correctly on the first try!
YES, I STILL WATCH THE SIMPSONS
I paid attention to most of last week’s episode, about a forgotten attraction at Krustyland.
LOOKING FORWARD TO
I was about to start the Carrie series when I realized I should probably first watch the original Carrie movie. I’d never seen it; a babysitter had frightened me describing the plot when I was 7. Half a century later: Ooh that was a good movie! So probably I’ll watch that show? And maybe the one where Amanda Seyfried plays Elizabeth Holmes.
SHOWS I USED TO WATCH AND IN MANY CASES STILL DO
Links to Edition I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVIII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXVIII, XXIX, and XXX.
Jack Silbert, curator