"No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention" by Reed Hastings and Erin Meyer (2020)

"A feedback loop is one of the most effective tools for improving performance.  We learn faster and we accomplish more when we make giving and receiving feedback a continuous part of how we collaborate.  Feedback helps us to avoid misunderstandings, creates a climate of co-accountability, and reduces the need for hierarchy and rules."

Reed Hastings is the CEO of Netflix, and Erin Meyer is an author, professor and business consultant.  Prior to No Rules Rules she wrote another book, The Culture Map, which informed this book on Netflix's corporate culture.

And what is Netflix's corporate culture?  According to No Rules Rules it involves, as the quote above suggests, a lot of non-hierarchical decision making.  People working at Netflix are given a lot of freedom (and responsibility) to make decisions, but this freedom exists in a highly competitive work environment, wherein underperforming employees work under the constant threat of losing their jobs.  Netflix, according to the book, encourages its employees to gamble big, but their gambling must also be consistent, their decision-making process communicable to coworkers, and they must be open to criticism (feedback) when their bets don't pan out.

It's a corporate model very much in line with the age we live in, and moreover one that seems very practical to me.  But is it how Netflix actually operates?  I honestly have no idea.  This book is a good introduction to their way of thinking, but it's understandably light on the details.

Related Entries:

"Marvel Greatest Comics: 100 Comics That Build a Universe" by Melanie Scott and Stephen Wiacek (2020)

"The Narrow Corridor" by Daron Acemoglu and James A. Robinson (2019)

"Me" by Elton John (2019)

"Extreme Economies" by Richard Davies (2019)

Thoughts on Marvel's The Defenders

It is now time to binge-watch Marvel's The Defenders!  Let's get down to it!

1. Hype?

We'll see how it goes.  At this point I'm far less excited about The Defenders than I would have been a year ago.  Since the first season of Daredevil it's been a barrage of hallway fights, dudes walking down alleyways, and boardroom confrontations.  I'm not really looking to this series for any kind of resolution because a) at this point any kind of satisfactory resolution would be impossible, and b) you know they already have more shows planned, right?  Why would they kill the golden goose?

But maybe, just maybe I'll have the chance to watch Jessica Henwick jump around in yoga pants again.  Damn, girl...

Episode 1

2. Off to a good start.

Danny and Colleen fight a mystery assailant in Cambodia.  Matt Murdock tries to put his career as Daredevil behind him.  Luke Cage gets out of prison and tries to help his community.  Jessica Jones tracks down a missing husband.  The transitions between the various characters are handled well, and this episode goes by quickly.

Sigourney Weaver really elevates this series.  She's already a far more interesting villain than her boring henchwoman, Madame Gao.  I'm only hoping the next episode has more action.

Pause for lunch!

Episode 2 

3. Stick! 

Charlie Cox/Daredevil continues to be the most interesting actor/character in the Marvel Netflix series, and Finn Jones/Iron Fist continues to be the least interesting.  This episode is good, and it was nice to see Luke Cage and Iron Fist finally face off.

And hey there's Stick talking with Alexandra.  Hopefully Scott Glenn pops up again later.

Episode 3

4. So that's what this "Black Sky" thing is.  Kind of a letdown after all that buildup in Daredevil.

The conversation between Luke Cage and Danny Rand in this episode is ridiculous.  Bringing the "Black Lives Matter" vibe into this show feels forced.  Danny and Luke would have had to interact more to have that conversation.  As it is they're in way too much of a hurry to resort to racial stereotypes.

The part of this show when Danny goes to "confront" The Hand is very silly, but it leads to a good fight scene.

5. Iron Fist?

It's been a season already.  Couldn't they have thought of some way to make the Iron Fist look cooler?  I mean it's just a glowing hand.  Not particularly threatening.  Fire?  Smoke?  I think this show probably had the budget.

Episode 4

6. Yawn.

Talky and boring.  Stick shows up in the Chinese restaurant and does a really shitty job of explaining everything, then three of the four Defenders basically take his word for it.

And why, exactly, does Jessica feel the need to crash the car through the window?

Episode 5

7. Why is it that characters in movies and TV series never think that people who've lost their memories won't recover them?  Don't they watch movies and TV series?

8. ???

So... instead of bringing Colleen to the emergency room they bring her to the... police station?

Colleen is, by the way, a really difficult character to sympathize with.  She spends a lot of time mourning the loss of her cult.  I get that she's having an identity crisis, but when ninjas are involved her "issues" just make her look like a crybaby.

This thing where the Japanese member of The Hand conducts monologues in Japanese while the others comment in English is getting really, really irritating.

9. Finally some real violence.

That beheading near the end there was not bad.  You'd think that with all the people carrying swords we would have seen a dismemberment much earlier in the series?

Pause for dinner! 

Episode 6

10. The Marvel Syndrome?

Alexandra and her inner circle are becoming increasingly generic villains.  This series would have been a lot better if they had been either genuinely threatening, sympathetic in some manner, or both.

And that twist at the end?  Weak.  However this plays out, I'm starting to feel like the writers of this show failed to understand Elektra as a character.  I'm not trying to be one of those "just like the comics" guys, but there's a point beyond which a character becomes unrecognizable as that character.  Elektra in this series is a case in point.

Episode 7

11. Double yawn.

So she's the bad guy now?  Uh... ok.  That sure came outta nowhere.

I tell ya, I'm really looking forward to the last episode.  So much talking and so little fighting.  Who are these people?  And why are they doing what they're doing?

Episode 8

12. Fight!

So much fighting.  Matt fights Elektra.  Luke and Jessica fight ninjas.  Danny fights Madame Gao.  Colleen fights that teacher guy from The Hand.  Kicking, and punching, and throwing, and slashing.  But most of the fighting is in a very dark place, and most of the fighting doesn't feel very exciting.

I'm really not buying Luke Cage's acceptance of their "plan."  Based on what we've seen so far, I'm really not buying him being cool with SO MUCH death and destruction.  For that matter, I'm not seeing Jessica buying into their plan, either.  That's vigilantism on a whole other level, and their rationale for doing what they do sounds like it might have come from the Al-Qaeda handbook.

And why in the fuck did XXXX have to sacrifice XXXXself in the end?  Why not just have Luke, Jessica, or Danny knock XXXX out?

The Final Verdict:

Pretty boring this one.  Instead of a grand finale, it feels more like a retread of things that were better in earlier series.  The characterization is a mess, and the fight scenes are only slightly better than those seen in Luke Cage and Iron Fist.  All in all better than the previous two Netflix series, but not by much.

This, and no Jessica Henwick in yoga pants.  LAME.

As for me, I think I'll wait to read the reviews before I watch any of the future Marvel Netflix shows.  The Punisher interests me, but if I hear that it's a watered down version of that character I might just give it a pass.

Other Entries on the Marvel Netflix Shows:

Thoughts on Marvel's Iron Fist
Marvel, DC, and Live-Action TV
Marvel's Jessica Jones
Thoughts on Daredevil Season 2
Thoughts on Marvel's Luke Cage

Stranger Things, and Growing Up in the 80s

I was born in 1975.  This means (of course) that I was five in 1980, and fourteen in 1989.  For this reason I tend to look back on the 80s with a lot of nostalgia, though I realize that for many people there were better decades.

My fond memories of the 80s led me to the Netflix series Stranger Things, which I watched in its entirety last weekend.  As of May 2017 it's still in its first season, with a second season on the way in October.

Going in, I was a bit skeptical.  It seems very fashionable to wear the 80s influence on one's sleeve these days, and I wondered whether the references would be painfully obvious (things like Thriller and breakdancing), or if they'd be more subtle.  A lot of movies and TV shows set in the 70s will bring you right out of the narrative with some jarringly inaccurate disco scene, or a car that doesn't belong in that decade.  Since I know the 80s even better than the 70s, I figured there'd be similar anachronisms in the show.

Thankfully the show is true to its decade, and I'm happy to say that Stranger Things is pretty good.  I'm not saying that it's perfect, mind you.  It's not nearly as good as Westworld.  But it is a solidly crafted homage to 80s horror movies, with just the right number of references to things like Dungeons and Dragons, John Carpenter's The Thing, and Chris Claremont's Dark Phoenix saga.  And it doesn't hit you over the head with these references - they're just there, usually in the background, where they should be.

It's also good to see Winona Ryder on screen again.  Yes, she's been in movies, but her role in Stranger Things is so much better than most of what she's done in recent films.  I thought she was great as Michael Shannon's love interest in The Iceman, but that movie was a while ago.

Next season, to make things even more 80s, Sean "Goonies Never Say Die" Astin will be making a regular appearance on the show.  Having Astin as Ryder's boyfriend should be fun, and one can only hope that other 80s stars will pop up at some point.  I know Tom Cruise is too much to hope for, but B-listers like Val Kilmer, Anthony Michael Hall, Phoebe Cates, and John Cusack seem within the realm of possibility.  My personal choice would be John Murray, brother of Bill, because you just don't get more 80s than that guy.  Anyone else remember Moving Violations?

Now that they've established the "reality" of this show, more 80s trappings could be introduced without overwhelming the plot.  We've already heard the Atari mentioned in the last episode, and with the second season set in 1984, it's high time to introduce the NES and (even better) the Sega Master System.  Many of us gave up Dungeons and Dragons for Super Mario Bros. during that year, so it makes sense.

Oh, and there's also the album of the same name by Van Halen.  And if you're going to do that, you could also do the song of the same name, "(Wake Up) It's 1984" by Oingo Boingo.  

And... what about toys?  Masters of the Universe?  G.I. Joe?  Transformers?  Food?  Chuck E. Cheese?  Wendy's "Where's the Beef?"  "Avoid the Noid?"  Reaganomics?  Star Wars (as in the defense system)?  Cyndi Lauper?  Billy Joel?  Prince?  Those shoes with the pockets?  MTV?  Early thrash metal?  Hair metal?  Stallone vs. Schwarzenegger?  The ninja fad?  David Cronenberg? VHS tapes?

I could go on, and on, and on, but I'll stop for now.  It's not good to get too caught up in nostalgia, and it's a while before the next season of Stranger Things appears on Netflix.

Thoughts on Marvel's Iron Fist

Watched all of Iron Fist, and yes, I deserve a medal.  Below are some thoughts.

1. "Whitewashing"

You can't whitewash a character that was already white.

This said, I wouldn't have minded if they'd cast an Asian actor as Iron Fist, but in that case they might just as well have done Shang-Chi.  People complaining about Marvel casting "people of color" as Heimdall, Nick Fury, or Valkyrie need to get a life.  It's 2017, and many of us would prefer these movies reflect the racial makeup of the world around us.  They're comic book characters for chrissakes.  The most interesting/entertaining interpretation wins.

Episode 1

2. The title sequence is lame.

Really, it's the worst yet.  Not sure what they were thinking with that kung-fu/calligraphy thing.  

3. The fight choreography makes me miss Daredevil.

Couldn't they have at least speeded it up a bit?  Or rehearsed more?  At least then it wouldn't look so incredibly fake.  Some of the later fight scenes are better, but that's obviously not Finn Jones behind the mask.

4. It starts off a little too much like Batman.

A younger, hippy-ish guy returning from his travels in the East?  Heir to a large fortune?  Opposed by an upstart within his father's company?  Where have I seen this before?

5. Finn Jones looks (and sounds) a helluva lot like Leonardo DiCaprio.

Really, he does.  That scene where he carjacks the guy reminded me A LOT of The Departed.  This said, he's not a bad actor.  It's only that he's trapped in a terrible script.

6. Jessica Henwick is FINE.

Hands-down the sexiest woman in any Netflix show yet.  I'd even put her above Elektra.

Episode 2

7.Better.

This episode is much better than the first, though it does drag a bit towards the end.  Joy Meachum is a bit slow on the uptake, but the plot makes more sense.

Episode 3

8.FINE.

Jessica Henwick in white shorts and a tank top.  Jessica Henwick in yoga pants.  Damn, girl. 

The scene where Danny tries to "teach" Colleen will probably rub people the wrong way - cultural appropriation and all.  But I think that if the viewer can put his or her sexual/racial sensitivity to one side, it makes sense given where they are in the plot.

9. In too early?

This show might have been better if they'd started with episode 2.  Episode 1 was a clumsy way to get things going.

10. WTF?

Wait, what?  Colleen Wing is all like: "We don't dishonor ourselves by fighting for money," and then she's fighting for money?

Episode 4

11. And now she's fighting for money again.  Apparently to help one of her students?  I don't know for sure, but wouldn't Financial Aid be a better solution?

Side Note: This development makes even less sense given where the students end up in a later episode.

12. The dynamic between Danny and his "adopted" family doesn't seem realistic.  He misses them, they try to screw him out of both his company and his legal name, they try to push him out of penthouse windows, they're giving him the company lock, stock, and barrel, he's protecting them from hatchet-wielding assassins...

Episode 5

13. Hey, that's Rosario Dawson!

The Night Nurse shows up.  This after Jeri Hogarth from Jessica Jones made her appearance in episode 3.  Claire Temple's reticence regarding Matt Murdoch, Jessica Jones, and Luke Cage is starting to seem kind of strange.

14. Fight!

Finally a good fight scene.  The fight in the shipping container felt like something from Daredevil.

15. Another familiar face.

Madame Gao, hinted at in previous episodes, is finally revealed.  I am, however, confused as to her allegiances.  Her presence in the penthouse would seem to indicate that she's a member of the Hand, but her much earlier appearances in Daredevil would suggest otherwise.  Maybe this will be explained later on?

Whatever Madam Gao's true designs, I've a party to go to tonight, and further episodes will have to await tomorrow.

Episode 6

16. Better or worse?

This episode has problems, but I think it's closer in tone to the comics that inspired it.  Ward is more interesting as a drug addict, and even though The Hand's version of Fight Club is kind of lame, Danny's fight with his last opponent is one of the best yet.

Episode 7

17. Getting Shakespearean around here...

Wow, the raiding of the Hand's drug operation was a real non-event.  Made me miss Daredevil all over again.  And then a murder at the end.  If this episode had just focused on Ward, and ignored Danny altogether, it would have been much better.

Episode 8

18. Nonsense!

This corporate takeover subplot is nonsense.  On what planet do corporations function like that?

Danny, Colleen, and Claire go to China.  How convenient that there's an English-speaking beggar sitting, inexplicably, in an alley behind the warehouse they're trying to infiltrate!

Episode 9

19.???

How dumb ARE these people?  They knew The Hand were fighting them with poisoned swords and spears in China!  Why does it take them so long to figure out that Colleen's been poisoned? 

And yes, the tinfoil throwing star thing is fucking ridiculous.

20. Getting better?

But hey, the bad guy is finally getting interesting.  Hopefully they saved the best for last.

Episode 10

21.Now this episode was MUCH better!

Episode 11

22. Cause for optimism.

Also much better.  The interplay between Davos, Danny, and Colleen makes the whole show more interesting.  This is what the whole thing needed from the beginning: more interesting characters, conflicting in the pursuit of various agendas.

Two more episodes to go, but it's late and I have work tomorrow.  I plan on watching episodes 12 and 13 after that.

Episode 12

23. A quick one.

Snuck in an episode before work.

The biggest problem with this whole series is that Danny's attachment to the Meachums is never explained.  It's not a given that he'd be so devoted to them.  Without such an explanation, his desire to constantly come to their rescue lacks the kind of dramatic weight it would have otherwise had.

The Hand just aren't good strategists.  What the hell happened to these guys since the second season of Daredevil?  Shouldn't they be a lot more menacing?  Shouldn't they have a better plan?  Isn't long range-planning what any good conspiracy relies upon?

League of Shadows > The Hand.

Episode 13

24. Plot wholes.

When you think of all the story threads this series has to tie up in ONE episode, it truly boggles the mind.  There are, for example:

a. Danny's quest to defeat The Hand, or at least stall them until the Defenders series hits Netflix.

b. Danny's desire to rid the Rand Corporation of the Hand, which is, by the way, a job he hasn't really started yet.

c. Danny's identity crisis: is he "Danny Rand" or "Iron Fist?"  Does he belong in New York or K'un L'un?

d. Danny's attempt to overcome his ADHD.  Kidding about this one, but really, he has to be the most ADHD superhero ever.  He makes the Hulk look positively solemn.

e. Ward Meachum's quest to kill his father.

f. Joy Meachum's quest to not be such a clueless retard.

g. Their dad's quest to put them in control of the Rand Corporation, and to eliminate Danny from the picture.

h. The Hand's quest to coerce Danny into joining them.

i. The Hand's larger quest to... do whatever it is that they've been hinting at since the second season of Daredevil.

j. Jessica Henwick's quest to look smokin' hot in tight clothing.  (Actually I think we can check this one off the list)

k. Marvel's quest to create a martial arts superhero that doesn't remind you too much of Batman.  (Sorry, Moon Knight).

l. Probably a bunch of other stuff that I ought to care about, but don't. 

25. "Game over, man!  Game over!"

Come on, Danny.  Did it really take you that long to figure out who the bad guy really was?  It's been obvious for a while now.

26. Olivia Newton-John

Hogarth's quip about Danny being from Xanadu had me thinking.  What if Danny really was from Xanadu?  As in the Olivia-Newton John vehicle of the same name?  He'd be from this 70s version of the future, with lots of singing and dancing, and that would be both SUPER WEIRD and excellent at the same time.

27. "... corrupt your chi..." 

Wouldn't want to do that.  That would suck.

28. WTF? (2)

Who the hell carries a matchbook around?  What is it, 1980?

29. Davos pulls a Baron Mordo.

This was just a stupid idea.  But hey, he's also talking to Joy, who's not that quick on the uptake anyway.  How does he fail not to notice Madame Gao at the next table?

30. Hole plots. 

Let's see, shall we...

a. I don't know, did he?

b. Corporate purge FAIL.

c. No idea.

d. Not too hopeful.  Maybe he can score some meds in the Himalayas?

e. Done, and done.

f. She might even be more retarded than I thought.

g. Didn't work out for him.  Very sad.

h. Looks like maybe they forgot all about it.

i. Who knows?

j. As said above, we can check this off the list.

k. Sorry, Marvel.

The Final Verdict: Fairly disappointing, but slightly better than Luke Cage.

Get ready for The Defenders!  "Mid 2017" (sometime)!  It's gotta be better than Iron Fist, right?

Other Entries on the Marvel Netflix Shows:

Marvel, DC, and Live-Action TV
Marvel's Jessica Jones
Thoughts on Daredevil Season 2
Thoughts on Marvel's Luke Cage

Thoughts on Marvel's Luke Cage

I realize that I'm a bit late coming at this one.  I got hold of it the first day it was released, but I've been busy with work, and I haven't been able to watch it as quickly as I usually do.

Below are some thoughts... 

1. The fight scenes are boring

The thing that made Daredevil so cool was the fight scenes.  That fight down the corridor with the Russian mobsters, for example.  Luke Cage, by comparison, just walks into a place, gets shot a few times, and that's it.

2. There's no sense of risk

Luke Cage, as far as anyone in the show knows, is invincible.  He gets hit, he's ok.  He gets shot, he's ok.  He gets hit by a rocket launcher - and he's still ok.  Without the threat of harm, most of the events which unfold in the series are completely uninteresting.

Which isn't to say that Luke Cage might not have some intriguing vulnerabilities which could be exploited by his adversaries.  The people he loves, for example.  Or perhaps, as one character suggests, he might be susceptible to drowning or poisoning.  But for whatever reason, his enemies don't think it's worth their while to probe him for weaknesses, and we're left with a strange situation in which they attempt to fight him in the most conventional manner possible - even though they've seen such methods fail again and again.

This is also true of the "Judas bullet" they use in later episodes.  Diamondback has a rifle with a scope, he's firing from a short distance away, and yet he proceeds to shoot Luke Cage in the stomach.  Why not shoot him in the head - either from the beginning or later on, in the theater?  And why only shoot him in the shoulder afterward, allowing Luke to escape?

The whole thing that made Daredevil so compelling was his vulnerability.  He could either be hurt physically, or emotionally through people he cares about.  This is another reason why his fight scenes were better - after they concluded you saw either Daredevil's injuries, or the reactions of his friends to these injuries. 

And why is Luke Cage so terrified of going back to Seagate Prison?  He has super powers.  I really don't think it's the same ball game once you've got super powers.  What are they going to do at Seagate?  Put him in solitary?  With only concrete walls to hold him in?  The guy can punch through steel!
 

3. Mike Colter is a terrible actor.

I'm just going to go ahead and put this out there.  When you think of all the other, more talented black actors they could have cast in the role, it's hard to figure why they settled on Mike Colter.  Yes, he's handsome.  Yes, he's big.  But he lacks what other, better actors live and breathe by: presence.

I realize they're too old, but just imagine what someone like Denzel Washington, Laurence Fishburne, or Delroy Lindo might have done with a role like Luke Cage.  No doubt they'd struggle with the awkward dialogue, but in those moments where they had to project their inner conflict, you'd really feel what they were going through - even if they said nothing at all.

4. Some of the people in this show are GREAT actors, but they struggle with bad dialogue.

Alfre Woodard being the prime example.  She could have done so much more with a better script.  The actor who plays Cottonmouth is also excellent, but he's often reduced to a stereotypical heavy.  The actor who plays Diamondback, despite getting some of the best dialogue, spends most of the time chewing scenery, and responding to other characters' badly written lines with a gravity they don't deserve.

And why doesn't anyone in this show ever use the word "fuck?"  It works overtime to throw in slang, even for the white characters, but at the most anyone ever says is "shit" or "bitch" or "nigger."  Are you trying to tell me that people in Harlem don't use the word "fuck?"  Really?

The people writing this show had a line to walk between slang and "normal" speech, and they failed spectacularly in this regard.  It gets better in the later episodes, but not by much.

5. The music is cool.

This is one of the few good things I have to say about Luke Cage.  The music is always good.

6. Misty Knight is a wasted character.

Honestly, what does she DO in this show?  She almost always shows up too late to do anybody any good, and her inability to identify the perpetrators of any crime prompts one to question how she ever made detective in the first place.

7. What is Luke Cage trying to do?

"Clean up Harlem?"  Why?  How?  He has to know that defeating Cottonmouth (or Diamondback) is only the tip of the iceberg, and that neighborhood-specific villains don't exist in reality.  Harlem is just one part of a very big, very populous city, and eliminating the one bad guy who happens to live in his neighborhood just provides more breathing room (and territory) for other bad guys, outside of that neighborhood.

What I'm trying to get at here is that a lot of the problems that Luke Cage attempts to fix are more global that he'd like to admit.  For all his busting up safe houses and bringing down local gangsters, he ought to realize that he's just pushing the criminal element outside of his neighborhood, NOT outside the city.

Yes, Daredevil's base of operations is Hell's Kitchen, but at no point in that show do they imply that he's set on cleaning up that part of New York in isolation.  His battles with the Kingpin and The Hand range all over New York.

8. The writers didn't do their homework.

One of the things that made Daredevil so great was the attention to detail.  You can tell that they bothered to research how the criminal justice system works in New York.  Not only from the legal aspect, but right down to how land is zoned and how beat cops do their job.

In Luke Cage all of the prison officials, policemen, and reporters are little more than cardboard cutouts, appearing and disappearing whenever the story seems to require it.  They are, in other words, not really people at all, and this is a shame because fleshing them out better would have given the show better legs to stand on.

The police procedural aspects of this show improve a bit by episode 8, after Misty assaults Rosario Dawson's character, but it's still a far cry from what has been done in countless other, police-related shows.

9. This show lacks balls.

This show is, to some extent, topical, but it needed to embrace that topicality, and not shy away from it so much.  There are so many squandered opportunities - opportunities to talk about police brutality, about gun control, about the democratic process, and about the ways in which a community can address societal ills.  In the end it's just good guys vs. bad guys all over again.

10. Many of the critics are either too blind or too scared to judge this show on its own merits.

No way does Luke Cage deserve the praise it's receiving.  No way does this show deserve 4.5 stars out of 5.  No way does it deserve a "B" rating.  No way does it deserve descriptive phrases like "beautifully crafted" or "the best Netflix/Marvel series so far."

I'd give it 3 stars out of 5.  Maybe 2.5.  I'd give it a solid "C."  And nothing about this show is "beautifully crafted," except maybe the music.  The best Netflix/Marvel series so far?  Not even close. 

11. In conclusion...

Out of the Netflix shows thus far, I'd have to rank Luke Cage dead last.  Daredevil's second season was probably my favorite, even with the weak conclusion.  Behind Daredevil's second season I'd place the first, which meandered a bit, but featured some excellent plotting and characterization.  Behind this I'd put Jessica Jones, which had a great villain, but a lead character's whose actions seemed inconsistent with her character.  In many respects Luke Cage combines the weaknesses of all three shows, having a weak ending, a lack of focus, and a character that often does inexplicable things.

(I realize that in my previous review of Jessica Jones I put it above Daredevil's first season, but I have since changed my mind.)

Here's hoping Iron Fist is better.  I know one thing: after watching Luke Cage sleepwalk through fight scenes, I'd love to get back to some kung fu fighting.

Marvel's Jessica Jones

There goes my weekend!  I spent about 11 hours last Saturday and Sunday watching Jessica Jones on my computer.  As you may know, I was a big fan of the Netflix Daredevil show, and I was hoping Jessica Jones would be just as good.

Like Daredevil, the first season of Jessica Jones is 13 episodes long, and each episode takes up 50 minutes.  As is to be expected, I remember the episodes near the beginning and end much better than the ones near the middle, and certain things that I liked or didn't like about those middle episodes may have escaped my memory.  I was up until midnight last night watching the show, and parts of it are indeed a blur.

Given the length of a TV season, I also find it hard to discuss Jessica Jones on its own merits.  Instead, I find it easier to compare it to Daredevil, which is/was most people's introduction to Jessica Jones anyway.

The Hero/Heroine

I think Matt Murdock was a far more interesting protagonist than Jessica Jones.  His character was more clearly drawn, and the moral ambiguities inherent in his character were more compelling.  The lawyer/vigilante aspects of Daredevil were one of the strengths of the show, while Jessica's self-esteem issues and post-traumatic stress disorder sometimes make for a convoluted mess.  I think the damage the Purple Man inflicted on her could have either been explained better, or was overemphasized.  At times it seemed like her psychological damage would have had a paralyzing effect on her, rather than the opposite.

One of the problems with Jessica Jones is also the use of her powers.  In the context of the show, Jessica rarely needs to use her powers, and the moments in which she does are often jarring, and brought me out of the moment.  Contrast this with Daredevil, in which his powers are really part of the character, and essential to the situations in which he finds himself.  When all is said and done, Jessica Jones didn't need superpowers, and giving them to her seemed like an unnecessary distraction.

I will say that Jessica's relationship with Luke Cage was one of the strengths of her show.  I think if they had just put more of this into the series it would have been much better.

The Bad Guy

I loved Vincent D'Onofrio's portrayal of Kingpin, but David Tennant is so much better as Killgrave.  Yes, his character seems a bit inconsistent by the last few episodes, but this is nothing compared to the stuttering indecision that the Kingpin experiences toward the end of Daredevil's first season.  In Killgrave we have a deeply threatening villain with serious mental and emotional problems.  In the Kingpin we have a threat that doesn't quite pan out.

Watching Jessica Jones, I often found myself wondering what an interaction between Tennant's Purple Man and D'Onofrio's Kingpin might look like.  It would have been great to see them in a scene together.

Supporting Cast

Both Luke Cage and Carrie-Anne Moss's character Hogarth are more interesting than any of the supporting characters in Daredevil.  Luke Cage is an enthralling addition to the Marvel Cinematic/TV Universe, and I'm looking forward to his show next year.  Hogarth might have been my favorite thing about Jessica Jones, and when she disappears for a few episodes toward the end of the season I found myself wondering where she went, and what she was doing.  I really hope she shows up again in Luke Cage's show.

The guy who plays Foggy Nelson (can't remember his name) on Daredevil is great, but his character is a bit slow on the uptake.  Probably the best of Daredevil's supporting characters is the Kingpin's girlfriend Vanessa, but she was underused in that show.  The Russian gangsters were also excellent.

Plot

This is the part of Jessica Jones that truly outshines Daredevil.  Daredevil was fu*&ing AMAZING for the first few episodes, but seemed to peter out near the end.  His costume was a disappointment, and the whole battle between him and the Kingpin seemed both forced and rushed.  A lot of the drama surrounding Matt's true identity dragged on, as did Matt's Catholic hand-wringing and discussion of "what the right thing to do" might be.

Jessica Jones ties together much better, even if the character's actions don't always make the most sense.  I think the episode where she goes to live with Killgrave was a misstep, but after this detour the series finds a firmer footing.  Like Daredevil, the climax of the show isn't quite as BIG as you hope it will be, but it's still a more definite conclusion than what they did in Daredevil.

Annoying Characters

In Daredevil it was the Kingpin's accountant, and by the end of that series it was Deborah Ann Woll's character.  In Jessica Jones it was her neighbor the fraternal twin and Simpson, the cop.  Neither the accountant nor Deborah Ann Woll's character were even half as annoying as the twin and the cop, so there's a point for Daredevil.

Fight!

One of the highlights of Daredevil is the fight scenes.  This is in keeping with the character.  Jessica Jones isn't really a fight-related character, so it's not fair to compare the two shows from an action perspective.  Whereas Daredevil is all about kicking ass and setting a tone, Jessica Jones is about setting a tone... and occasionally kicking ass.

Even so, there's a good fight scene between Jessica and Luke Cage near the end of the series.  It's done well, but it's nothing like that part in Daredevil where he rescues the child from the Russian gangsters.  Now THAT fight was epic!

Overall

I think that taken as a series, Jessica Jones is the obvious winner.  This might not be fair to Daredevil, since that show was first and thus offered a template for Jessica Jones to build upon.  Just the same, Jessica Jones has a better bad guy, a better plot, and a better supporting cast.  It's definitely not as re-watchable as Daredevil, which is more of a straight crime/action drama, but it is far more memorable.  I'm hoping that elements of Jessica Jones show up again in Luke Cage - a proposition that seems likely.

As for Daredevil, season two is also on the way next year.  It will be interesting to see what that show makes of The Punisher, and also how the Kingpin continues to cause trouble after his incarceration at the end of season one.

A Trivia Question

What celebrated 80s sex symbol makes several appearances in Jessica Jones?  Clue: "Joel, every now and then say 'What the fuck.'  If you can't say it, you can't do it!"