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Open Source Idiom
Jan 4, 2013
From Marti Noxon (Buffy, Mad Men, the first season of UnREAL) comes my newest obsession, and a show I hope will turn out to be the sleeper hit of the year. Other than Killing Eve, Or Barry.



DIETLAND!

A blackly comical satire of those "little girl in the big city" films, Dietland is the story Plum Kettle, a self-help writer living in New York City. Plum is an essentially lovely person: she's generous, kind, a great singer, a talented writer, and she's completely and utterly consumed by her feelings of inadequacy. By day she writes for Daisy Chain, a glamour magazine for young girls. By night Plum obsesses over her weight, and the hope that she can one day afford the cosmetic surgery she believes will help her find the acceptance she craves. Something's gotta give.

Enter Jennifer.



Not a single woman, but an entire organisation, Jennifer is a group of radical feminists who powered by the same sort of pressures that brought about the #metoo movement. Jennifer's MO is to kidnap and murder the kind of slimy shits who the law can't touch, usually in highly public ways. Plum and Jennifer cross paths early in the season, and... well, I've no idea, I've only watched two episodes. I'm sure it'll be amazing.

In case you haven't realised yet, Dietland is a kind of feminist version of Fight Club. It's cool and funny, has funky animated sequences and has the potential to get really loving crazy (and crazy violent). I'm there for that, and I hope you guys are too.

Cast: Joy Nash as Plum Kettle.


"It can be hard saying goodbye to bad behaviors, such as eating."
Yes, she knows her name sounds like an Enid Blyton heroine.

Julianna Margolies as Kitty Montgomery.


“Being a member of the idle rich is a fate worse than poverty."
Plum's boss. Narcissitic. Terrifying. Not very observant -- so she's two thirds of the way to being a lizard person.

Tamara Tunie as Julia Smith.


"I know I taught you to question authority, but not mine."
Basement dwelling makeup witch who's intrigued by Plum Kettle. Armed with some very strong opinions and no regard for personal space, she's decided that Plum could be a great fit for her new brand of radical feminism. Also armed with machine guns.

Robin Weigert as Serena Baptist.


"Some subversive ideas in there. ...We noticed."
A very normal person, Serena is a therapist who runs the peaceful collective organisation Calliope House where she is not affected by her traumatic past in any way, shape or form. Definitely won't turn out to be crazy.

NOTE: Be kind to us, readers. Stick book spoilers under black bars.

Airs Monday nights on AMC, 9/8 Central, followed by Unapologetic, an aftershow hosted by Aisha Tyler. First two episodes are already out.

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Big Bad Voodoo Lou
Jan 1, 2006
Watched the extra-long premiere last night. My wife and I both loved it and can't wait for more.

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
Only seen the first episode but I mostly liked it a lot. It lost me a little with the Beauty Closet stuff, which was exactly the point where we needed answers but just got mildly irritating obfuscation instead, but I’ll definitely be watching more.

Also, what’s “the Y”, which is talked about early on in the episode? The conversation makes it sound like some kind of medication, but I’ve only ever heard that term used to refer to the YMCA.

e: Marti Noxon answered me on Twitter!

https://twitter.com/martinoxon/status/1004505200642678784?s=21

Escobarbarian fucked around with this message at 00:29 on Jun 7, 2018

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


I don't know that I'm sold on it just yet, but I'm interested enough to keep watching. It'll probably depend on how quickly the plot moves. If they keep Plum in the dark (or the periphery) for too long she'll end up being the least interesting part of a show ostensibly about her.

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


Anyone still watching this? I feel like the plot is actually starting to move forward now, so hopefully the next episode will be better.

Big Bad Voodoo Lou
Jan 1, 2006
I'm still enjoying it, although I thought the withdrawal/tiger hallucination episode dragged horribly. The last episode was much better, and things are definitely moving forward now.

MiddleOne
Feb 17, 2011

Did not expect things to go all Black Lightning there at the end.

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
I’m a couple behind now but I’m glad to hear it picks up

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


I take back what I said last week, the plot's not moving at all.

Open Source Idiom
Jan 4, 2013

Tiggum posted:

I take back what I said last week, the plot's not moving at all.

Really? I thought this episode was amazing. The "magic trick" scene was incredibly moving, and the way the show is slowly reorienting the head of this conspiracy from Tamara Tunie to Robin Weigert (who is doing some really, really great work) was really good, clever writing. Plus the magical realism thing is really working for me, particularly those lovely trick shots that make Plum look like Godzilla at the end -- neat touch having the ceiling lights quake and wobble when she stamps.

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


Open Source Idiom posted:

Really? I thought this episode was amazing. The "magic trick" scene was incredibly moving, and the way the show is slowly reorienting the head of this conspiracy from Tamara Tunie to Robin Weigert (who is doing some really, really great work) was really good, clever writing. Plus the magical realism thing is really working for me, particularly those lovely trick shots that make Plum look like Godzilla at the end -- neat touch having the ceiling lights quake and wobble when she stamps.

But nothing is happening. Like, if I tried to summarise the plot so far I'd just end up describing the characters because they haven't actually done anything yet.

MiddleOne
Feb 17, 2011

:ohdear:

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
How has this show been since episode 3? Worth catching up? Has anything happened yet?

MiddleOne
Feb 17, 2011

Uh, that would be one way to put it.

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


Escobarbarian posted:

Has anything happened yet?

They still haven't got to the fireworks factory.

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
I am so mad at Edgar from You’re the Worst right now!!!

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
gently caress I knew as soon as she met back up with fat fetish guy that something like this would happen :( poor Plum

This show is still too slow for its own good but that’s AMC budgets for ya. I really like all the character development though.

MiddleOne
Feb 17, 2011

Escobarbarian posted:

I am so mad at Edgar from You’re the Worst right now!!!

Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
Note: don’t watch episode 9 with a hecka buzz on, it will mess with your comprehension

Excited to watch the finale tomorrow!!!!

Tiggum
Oct 24, 2007

Your life and your quest end here.


I feel like now, at the end of the season, we're at the point we should have been at by episode three or four. We've finally reached the end of act one and it did not need to take this long to get here. If there's a season two I'll probably watch it, but I hope they pick up the pace.

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Escobarbarian
Jun 18, 2004


Grimey Drawer
^^^^ yeah agreed

also gently caress off Verena

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