361. Web-series Reviews – 176

More web-series reviews…

Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies & Scandal – Came out in 2024.  When Ashley Madison, a dating site for people seeking adulterous affairs, is hacked, millions of users' intimate data is exposed, wrecking marriages and destroying lives. This three episode documentary series from Minnow Films and director Toby Paton explores the creation of the website during the dot com boom, the people who used the site to explore a part of their love lives they felt was missing, and the hack that made it all come crashing down.

A review from IMDB...

I can remember when the Ashley Madison scandal hit the news. I didn't pay an awful lot of attention to it at the time. I was disgusted with the site then and still find it disgusting today. So why would I watch this documentary? Curiosity finally got the better of me.

This documentary basically gives you the breakdown of what Ashley Madison is/was and describes what happened when the site was hacked in 2015. There's inclusion of former employees and people that were effected by the release of personal data from that event. The part that I found interesting was more behind the scenes of dirty dealings within the company.

I am not someone that feels sorry for the people involved with the site. These were adults that consciously and willingly looked to have an affair outside of marriage. Yes, there may have been a few that were in open marriages but the majority were not. Do I sound self-righteousness? Yes, because I do not believe you should enter into a monogamous marriage then decide it's okay to cheat on your partner. Either open up that communication that you're needing something more/else or get out of the relationship. Marriage is a choice for most of us. If you want multiple partners have at it if you can be honest about it. This conviction if mine is why I rated a 7 for the series.

Listening to the former employees annoyed me to no end. It was like the former CEO Noel was a cult leader and they all followed his lead. Everyone tried to claim they were monogamous in their own relationships however it was okay what they were doing at work because it wasn't them. They refused culpability while knowing there was multiple levels of shadiness happening. Smarmy.

If you have any interest in some of the particulars to the Ashley Madison hack then this will be an easy series to watch. Are you supposed to feel sorry for the people involved? That's left up to you at the end of the series.

My Take – Worth a watch!

 

Bodkin – Came out in 2024.  A group of podcasters sets out to investigate the mysterious disappearance of three strangers in an idyllic Irish town. But when they start to pull the strings, they find a story much bigger and stranger than they expected.

A review from IMDB...

The pluses? The cast, including the dozens of extras that add layers of believability to the odd little Irish town.

The story, a cold case about a long ago trio of missing persons, combines with a creaky Pod-cast Scooby Do adventure, and it meanders a lot. This makes the early episodes a bit slow. The action picks up in the later episodes starting with #5. However, the narrative begins to jump around a lot, flashbacks from other characters perspectives, and hops from one character to another too often.

The eventual resolution of the multiple threads is both a bit of a letdown, and a whirlpool of wrong assumptions getting vetted one by one.

The comedy isn't as non-stop as some reviews and the trailer suggests. It's dark and filled with the personal demons of the heroes complicating their efforts. The personal renaissance each person goes through is satisfying, if a little too neatly accomplished. There are some sly funny moments though, filled with irony and a lack of self awareness.

The three protagonists are conflicted individuals, performed very well by a surprising cast. Siobhan Cullen's Dove is an unrepentant b!+@# who has big problems brewing back home in London. Robyn Cara, who has made a career of playing ditzy characters, at first seems to be playing true to form, but her character Emmy reveals more depth and complexity as each episode unspools. Will Forte is an acquired taste, and his character, Gilbert, is a doofus who's made big mistakes that are nipping at his heels. He continually gets in his own way trying to be nice. Fortunately he becomes less of a tool as the season nears its conclusion.

David Wilmot turns in a great performance as Seamus Gallagher, the mysterious townsman with a scary past, who is trying to embrace a "normal" life.

I recommend it, it isn't high art but there are some laughs and good performances.

My Take – Worth a watch!

 

The 8 Show – Came out in 2024.  8 people in need of money are invited to appear on reality variety show Money Game. The 8 people are to stay at the studio that consists of nothing but concrete walls. If they are able to hang in there for 100 days, they can divide the winning prize of 44.8 billion won equally. But, everything they spend for, including necessities like food, water, electricity, costs 1,000 times more than normal prices and are deducted from the winning prize.

A review from IMDB...

I liked the beginning and saw the potential - that's the reason why kept watching. I can see the similarities with the movie "The Platform" and series "The Squidgame", but there are still some original thoughts behind it too.

The references about the society and the capitalism made depth to the series' plot, but characters poor choices, unnecessary violent scenes and torture part made me fast forward a few parts from the series. Especially the torture scene made me feel sick and in my opinion, it kept going too long too keep me interested in the series. It made me forget all the depth and the potential in the show and I fast forwarded to the end just to see how it ends.

I think that the potential was wasted many times during the show. The characters and the acting was good, but in some point it was the same things all over again - upper floors against the lower floors. The graphic scenes seemed to be there just to shock you - there was no deeper meaning or story behind it.

From the episode 3 or 4, the writer seemed to take all the easy roads to keep the story going. If only the writer was able to keep the original thought alive and the deep references about the society through the whole show, we would have a masterpiece in our hands.

If there would be season 2 (which the ending scene might be promising), I'm not sure if I would watch it. The ending was not as deep as the great beginning would have deserved, so I'm not sure if the series has anything else to offer for season 2 since the original idea was already lost during the episodes 3, 4 and 5.

My take – An ok watch!

Adios till next time😊!