The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel

I've been on top of this series right from the moment it premiered. I looked forward to every single season and even set notifications to make sure I wouldn't forget to start watching again once a new season came out. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel did something that not many other series have ever done before, which is getting better and better with every new season! I don't even think I've seen a single episode that bored me. Not even a little! The character building, the actors, the settings, the outfits, the jokes, the storyline, all of it was absolute perfection.

I've told so many people about this series and it amazes me - but equally annoys me - that this series got so little media attention (at least where I'm from). It should've gotten at least as much attention as Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead. (Both of which actually DID have several to many episodes that bored the hell out of me, just saying. I didn't even finish The Walking Dead - I mean, who did?! - because at some point the series literally died and kept walking.)

I'm sure some people might not agree with me, but let's be honest; the rating doesn't lie. This series is an absolute and unique piece of art!

About the actors. Rachel Brosnahan did an amazing job as Midge Maisel... but the series wouldn't have been the same without Alex Borstein (Susy Myerson) and Tony Shalhoub (Abe Weissman)! These two take comedy to a whole new level and I love them for it!

I totally understand why they did what they did with the final season but I still don't love it. Season one and even season two and three were so charming and captivating because it was such a insular succinct story and world-you felt safe in this little world they created through the music and actors and characters and sets and costumes especially. Season four and five try to get too big and expansive which again I understand why-they were trying to build more into it and expand the story to the very end of Midges life, and explore some other themes and aspects of her life that weren't able to just be covered in the 1960s world and time frame. But honestly we didn't need it-it wasn't necessary; we would've been perfectly happy staying in the small world they created and just exploring and enjoying that place in space and who the character was in that time we didn't need to see the bitter or not bitter end. They also REALLY did us dirty by dropping Luke Kirby and Lenny Bruce almost entirely from the fifth season. They were so good together and the performances of them two on screen were so fun and so rich and so meaningful and we didn't get to see any of it or enjoy that! Again I understand that they felt Lenny Bruce served specific purpose and he wasn't really needed for that purpose in the same way in the fifth season but again we just wanted to enjoy the characters on screen we weren't asking for some great deep thing we just wanted to see them! Not only that but we got cheap replacement of Gordon ford-like who cares about him! His scene with midge were so meh! I DID love Carr and his rel with Susie-super cute.

The fifth season was also like a Gilmore girls reunion in a way that didn't really make sense. For example they brought back Milo as handsome man completely pointlessly and a lot of the other "funny" bits they were including throughout the season seemed very forced and pointless (eg zeldas plot) again because we lost a cohesive arc and line for the whole story so it just felt like bits and pieces together. They were good bits and pieces with some good writing and good jokes and good feeling moments (Tony shaloubs restaurant speech) but it didn't all go together cohesively because they were trying to do too much.

Also Midges character more broadly-and really Amy Sherman Palladinos writing-she seems to have these strong independent women but over and over the story progresses and the characters are lifted up both on this show and Gilmore girls by these magical men who fall in love with the leading ladies and basically do everything and give everything to them so it's like you're preaching independence yet there's always a man being the catalyst moving the plot forward. And this next point which mostly I like because I like living in a happy idealized world which is how ASP writes (except when it comes to the romantic relationships of her characters then it's all disaster and garbage over and over again-which is not what we want!), everyone always LOVES the main character. For example, I found it extremely unbelievable that male writing staff would be so quickly accepting and supportive of MM! So yeah while last season was solid and actually pretty good as far as endings go, I miss the MMM of season 1 And I miss Luke Kirby.

To call a programme marvellous might sound a bit pompous but with this it was totally apt. There have been a few TV shows that are more than just things to watch. Programmes like THE SOPRANOS, MORSE/ENDEAVOUR, GAME OF THRONES become part of your life . The characters become real people you care about and the writers, gods!

THE MARVELLOUS MRS MAISEL Shouldn't this marvellous but it is. It's only about a young woman who wants to be a stand up comedian. So what - nothing special there. What makes this marvellous is both the characters and the luscious authentic 1950s/1960s feel. The feel is just so real that you'll start to believe you were actually born fifty years earlier than you were.

The entire cast are all perfect - how many times can you say that about everyone but they are. Rachel Brosnahan however is indeed marvellous. This show has something for everyone: style and substance, comedy and tragedy, silliness and absolute believability.

This is a comedy about stand-up comedy, so it has to be pretty darn witty. And it is. But it's so much more.

The characters are incredibly likeable, particularly the lead who suffers sexism and setbacks with a plucky determination and a dream all her own. Those surrounding her are fascinating and unique, from her father (wonderfully played by Tony Shalhoub) to her manager and others, including a recurring version of Lenny Bruce, which is quite a gas.

The setting offers more flavour as we see, hear and smell late 50s Manhattan, particularly through the lens of an upper middle class Jewish-American family.

It's a show that is rich in personality and consistently so over 3 seasons. You'll be hooked by episode 2. Enjoy and, ahem, "tits up".

We've recently retired and are enjoying a lot of television time. The good news is there is a lot of TV available. The bad news is that it can't possibly all be good. At some point as you flick through the options, you can't help but laugh at the absurdity of some of these shows. I get the challenge to producers and artists to fill hundreds of channels, 24/7, I really do. I've learned to seriously adjust my expectations. But frankly, the ones that look promising and don't deliver are more disappointing than the ones that didn't look appetizing in the first place. You get what I'm saying, right?

All that said - don't be afraid to have high expectations of this show. Just make sure you listen closely to the dialog so you don't miss one delicious bit of hilarity which often occurs in simultaneous dialogue at a dramatic moment.

The acting is crisp, the caricatures of a rich New York Jewish family in the 50s are spot on. Rachel Brosnahan is intelligent, independent, strong and funny. Her energy paired with Alex Borstein's drollness leaves me clamoring to find out how this all plays out.

(PS - if you like it, I encourage you to take the time to fill out Amazon's survey which will help them decide whether to continue this series. I'd hate to see it go the way of their terrific series, Good Girls Revolt, which was discontinued after one season because it premiered in the thick of the 2016 election when its primary audience was otherwise occupied.)