Update 2026-01-03-Television-2025.md

Dictated edits

Author: chrisglein

_drafts/2026-01-03-Television-2025.md

@@ -4,47 +4,46 @@ title: "Television in 2025"
 tags: television 2025 year-in-review
 series: 2025 Year In Review
 ---
-My TV year was a mix of comfort-food continuations and a couple of genuinely fresh surprises. I’m keeping the highlight list intentionally small this time: a favorite that fully delivered, and two new shows that grabbed me rather than coasting on prior affection.
+A mellow year for television, at least for me. Not a strong list of juggernauts that knocked me off my seat. But certainly some diamonds in the rough.
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 (If you’re catching up: here’s [Television in 2024](https://chrisglein.com/2025/01/03/Television-2024.html) and [Television in 2023](https://chrisglein.com/2023/12/30/Television-2023.html).)
 
 ## [Star Wars: Skeleton Crew](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4a73a750-f18c-450a-b9f7-d9f40974ff9d)
 [![Star Wars: Skeleton Crew](/media/posts/skeleton-crew.jpg)](https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4a73a750-f18c-450a-b9f7-d9f40974ff9d)
-This is exactly the kind of Star Wars story I want more of: adventurous, a little strange, and not burdened with having to be the center of the universe. It feels like it’s having fun exploring the galaxy again, and that energy is contagious.
+The pitch for this is basically The Goonies, but Star Wars. You know, kids swept up in an adventure way over their heads. Also pirates. This one is pretty blatant. With a peg leg eye patch droid with a pirate accent and everything. I found it charming. It didn't try to be too much. No big mythology. No interweaving to a grand epic. Just a story about kids seeking secret treasure and missing their parents.
 
 <p class="playLine"><span class='playIcon disney'></span>Watched on <a href="https://www.disneyplus.com/browse/entity-4a73a750-f18c-450a-b9f7-d9f40974ff9d">Disney+</a></p>
 
 ## [The Studio](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-studio/umc.cmc.7518algxc4lsoobtsx30dqb52)
 [![The Studio](/media/posts/the-studio.jpg)](https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-studio/umc.cmc.7518algxc4lsoobtsx30dqb52)
-I’m a sucker for stories about making things—especially when the tone can swing between warm, sharp, and a little bit painfully accurate. This one hooked me fast. It has that “oh no, this is too real” quality while still being fun to watch, which is a tricky balance to land.
+I think we're most accustomed to Seth Rogan in the stoner role. The show has him continue the pattern of plane a bumbling loser, but this time he's a studio executive? The show has the experience of everything continuously just about to fall apart. With millions of dollars in the hands of people making bad decisions. It's also a very well filmed show. There's an episode that's a "oner" and is also about the process of filming a "oner" that is incredibly anxious to watch. Well, sometimes the ongoing outright failure of the characters graded on me a little bit, overall I felt like this show captured a great mood.
 
 <p class="playLine"><span class='playIcon appletv'></span>Watched on <a href="https://tv.apple.com/us/show/the-studio/umc.cmc.7518algxc4lsoobtsx30dqb52">Apple TV+</a></p>
 
 ## [Andor: Season 2](https://ondisneyplus.disney.com/show/andor)
 [![Andor: Season 2](/media/posts/andor-season-2.jpg)](https://ondisneyplus.disney.com/show/andor)
-It’s rare for a show in a gigantic franchise to feel this confident about being patient. _Andor_ continues to be Star Wars at human scale: pressure, compromise, and the slow accumulation of choices that eventually become a rebellion. Season 2 kept its grip on me the whole way. No notes. More of this.
+I've talked about my love for the first season of Andor before. The second season essentially tells the tale of how we get to the overt to Italian totalitarian empire. Which frankly in the year 2025 is not a neutral story to be watching for entertainment. This one hits closer to home than you'd think for science fiction. It doesn't quite hit the high highs of the first seasons, multiple cascading climaxes. Instead, only really having one. So instead of being the best thing ever it's just merely really good.
 
 <p class="playLine"><span class='playIcon disney'></span>Watched on <a href="https://ondisneyplus.disney.com/show/andor">Disney+</a></p>
 
-
 ## [The Bear: Season 1](https://ondisneyplus.disney.com/show/the-bear)
 [![The Bear: Season 1](/media/posts/the-bear-season-2.jpg)](https://ondisneyplus.disney.com/show/the-bear)
-Stress-TV with moments of real tenderness. I respect it. I also need to be emotionally braced before pressing play.
+This show is beautiful shots of food and food preparation alternated with extremely stressful environments where everyone is yelling at each other. So simultaneously very pleasant and very unpleasant. It's very well done. The characters are all very engaging. Even as they are broken. Also, it's hard to watch this and not start picking up the lingo and saying "yes chef".
 
 <p class="playLine"><span class='playIcon hulu'></span>Watched on <a href="https://ondisneyplus.disney.com/show/the-bear">Hulu</a></p>
 
+## Psychodyssey
+I had previously enjoyed watching the documentary around double fine adventure, and also the Amnesia Fortnight movie. The same game developer and film crew come together this time to document the entire experience of creating Psychonauts too. The sequel to one of the most innovative games that slipped under the radar for years. I watched this documentary after completing the game, of course, which was quite excellent and a worthy follow up to its predecessor. I had no idea that this documentary was going to be as long as it was. We're talking around 30 full length episodes. and I certainly wouldn't have expected my daughter to be into watching this with me. But she was. We watched the whole thing together. It's very much a nuts and bolts of game development, see how the sausage is made, workplace, drama, and product on fire. Not what you would assume is desirable television content for a tween. But we both found it fascinating.
+
 ## And the Rest
 
 Here are some other shows I watched (or started) that are worth a little mention.
 
-- **The Rings of Power: Season 2**: I’m still here for the world and the slow creep of inevitability. Sometimes it’s uneven, but the Middle-earth vibes remain strong.
-- **Interview with a Vampire**: Stylish, intense, and fully committed to its mood.
-- **Detroiters**: Weird, warm, and funnier than it has any right to be.
-- **Long Strange Trip**: A great “fall into the story” documentary watch, even if you’re not a Dead completist.
-- **Three Body Problem**: Big ideas and cosmic dread. Sometimes it’s a sprint, but it’s hard not to admire the swing.
-- **Silo: Season 2**: I’m not done yet, so I’m reserving judgment. Still, having read the books makes the adaptation choices extra interesting to watch.
+- **The Rings of Power: Season 2**: the series seems to be divisive. And with my own deep fullness, for the Lord of the rings source material, I should be a critic. instead, I remain a fan. This is tackling a story from an important. In the history of middle earth. And I think it's doing it with just the right amount of gravitas. I'm still along for the journey.
+- **Interview with a Vampire**: i've read some of Ann Rice's vampire books, but weirdly not the first and famous one. For me my experience with that is the movie from the 90s. Which I am very fond of. This new adaptation I'm actually enjoying immensely. But I'm not done with it and feel unable to give full commentary. I'm certainly enjoying giving these characters in this world of darkness more time to breathe.
+- **Three Body Problem**: the book wasn't originally written in English, but that's how I read it. And now here we have an adaptation to television. It's pretty far removed from the source. I thought the book was interesting in some of its concepts, but ultimately just fine? As a show it felt even more clunky but also… Just fine?
+- **Silo: Season 2**: the show takes some pretty serious liberties with the source material. Which hay is to be expected, but it means in those moments where the show doesn't quite come together. It's very easy to be yelling at the TV wondering why they changed something that worked really well on the written page. ignorance is bliss yes? In the second season were into the full bleak revolution of these suppressed people. I found it very distracting the way, the show intercut between the different storylines of our main protagonist and the main silo. To me this underserved some of the more dramatic moments from the book around the vault and the flooding and the whole story of that new world.
 - **Arcane: Season 2**: Still an absolute feast for the eyeballs. I enjoyed it, but I don’t know that I have a ton of new things to say beyond “yep, still gorgeous.”
-- **Severance: Season 2**: I wanted to love it, but it didn’t fully click for me this time around.
-- **Station Eleven**: Beautiful and melancholy in a way that lingers.
-- **What If…? Season 2**: Great premise, uneven hit rate, but the best episodes are delightful little alternate-universe snacks.
+- **Severance: Season 2**: everyone was super into the second season. I remain super triggered by the "innie" corporate existence and how similar it can feel to some of my less empowered work experiences. I had a bit of a sleepy response to the second season. But I know I'm the minority.
+- **Station Eleven**: there was an interesting different sort of post apocalyptic premise behind the show. But it didn't stick to my bones. I found it just a bit dissatisfying.