Living with Yourself: Season 1, Episode 8 “Nice Knowing You” (B+)
This episode was decidedly irreverent but also pretty fitting in a lot of ways, and would serve as a moderately satisfactory finale should this show not be renewed for a second season. We didn’t know who grabbed Miles at the end of the previous episode, and it turns it wasn’t actually anyone nefarious but instead two rogue agents from the FDA, reminiscent most of Laura Benanti’s overeager mail police officer from “The Detour.” Bridget Everett, most recently seen in a more serious role on another Netflix production, “Unbelievable,” was highly memorable as the children’s vitamins agent who was furious that the polygraph didn’t work since she wanted nothing more than to prove the existence of clones and that Miles was the one behind it. It didn’t help Miles much that he couldn’t remember the name of the first girl he kissed, and the fact that the room was being used to store breast milk was pretty much a guarantee that he was going to end up drinking it. I like that he managed to win Kate over with his corny dance moves, though that lovely reunion ended as soon as he realized that Kate had slept with his clone. I was glad that the clone wasn’t up to much other than trying to end his own life since we had last seen him, and challenging Miles to be able to do something right looked like it might turn sour quickly. Fortunately, Miles didn’t kill him, and they even managed to find some common ground before Kate arrived with that bombshell news about her pregnancy. I wasn’t always thrilled with this first season, but I think I’d be up to check out what a clone coparenting situation might look like.
Season grade: B
Season MVP: Aisling Bea as Kate
Showing posts with label Living with Yourself. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Living with Yourself. Show all posts
Monday, December 16, 2019
Monday, December 2, 2019
What I’m Watching: Living with Yourself
Living with Yourself: Season 1, Episode 7 “Piña Colada” (B)
It’s interesting to see how Miles being a clone of himself presents certain problems that this new and improved version can’t possibly comprehend aren’t positive. The important thing that I think Kate realizes is that this new Miles was created, and that even though he has the memories of her husband, his personality doesn’t match the man at all. He came on way too strong with a perfect breakfast in bed, unable to dial it down and try to meet somewhere in the middle of her expectations and what he was offering. It’s intriguing that their sex wasn’t all that successful despite a whole lot of passion, and that’s probably because, despite certain enhancements, Miles is the same man he used to be, as in the original. I’m continually compelled by Aisling Bea’s performance as Kate, and I’d love to see her earn a surprise Golden Globe nomination to go along with Paul Rudd’s more expected bid next week. Miles read Dan into the big secret about the clones, and now it appears someone else snatched the real Miles before his clone could, possibly whoever is in charge of the clinic since they’re concerned about the secret getting out. It was chilling to see Miles walk in the door and loudly boast “Honey, I’m home!” before taking a moment to ruffle his hair and fine-tune his impression of the man he’s going to impersonate. Let’s hope Kate is able to tell the difference and does something to try to locate the husband she doesn’t even know is missing yet.
It’s interesting to see how Miles being a clone of himself presents certain problems that this new and improved version can’t possibly comprehend aren’t positive. The important thing that I think Kate realizes is that this new Miles was created, and that even though he has the memories of her husband, his personality doesn’t match the man at all. He came on way too strong with a perfect breakfast in bed, unable to dial it down and try to meet somewhere in the middle of her expectations and what he was offering. It’s intriguing that their sex wasn’t all that successful despite a whole lot of passion, and that’s probably because, despite certain enhancements, Miles is the same man he used to be, as in the original. I’m continually compelled by Aisling Bea’s performance as Kate, and I’d love to see her earn a surprise Golden Globe nomination to go along with Paul Rudd’s more expected bid next week. Miles read Dan into the big secret about the clones, and now it appears someone else snatched the real Miles before his clone could, possibly whoever is in charge of the clinic since they’re concerned about the secret getting out. It was chilling to see Miles walk in the door and loudly boast “Honey, I’m home!” before taking a moment to ruffle his hair and fine-tune his impression of the man he’s going to impersonate. Let’s hope Kate is able to tell the difference and does something to try to locate the husband she doesn’t even know is missing yet.
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
What I’m Watching: Living with Yourself
Living with Yourself: Season 1, Episode 6 “Neighbors and Friends” (C+)
One of the benefits of Netflix and other streaming shows is that episodes can be whatever length they need to, leading to an installment of the usually hour-long “Mindhunter” season one running just thirty-four minutes because that’s all that was relevant for the selected storyline. Cable and streaming shows are also considerably truncated from the typical twenty-two or so episode usually commissioned from broadcast networks, which means there shouldn’t be a filler episode in which pretty much nothing happens. That’s what I felt about this twenty-two-minute episode that didn’t feature much of anything, and did so little to move the story forward. Kate dinged Miles in a way that he didn’t realize at the start, telling him that it was funny how different the two of them actually were, and he went in for his fertility appointment without his wife knowing, which could lead to something down the road but not if she’s already made other arrangements. Trying to salvage the debate didn’t go too well, and getting peed on and finding out that his clone hasn’t shown up to work in a week were not good news at all. Now it seems like he’s being kidnapped by someone, and I do hope that the final two episodes of the season can course-correct. I’d like to see more of Kate and also the two clones conducting their parallel lives, since, as this show seems to suggest, Miles as a character isn’t particularly interesting, and so featuring just him wallowing in his misery naturally won’t be terribly compelling.
One of the benefits of Netflix and other streaming shows is that episodes can be whatever length they need to, leading to an installment of the usually hour-long “Mindhunter” season one running just thirty-four minutes because that’s all that was relevant for the selected storyline. Cable and streaming shows are also considerably truncated from the typical twenty-two or so episode usually commissioned from broadcast networks, which means there shouldn’t be a filler episode in which pretty much nothing happens. That’s what I felt about this twenty-two-minute episode that didn’t feature much of anything, and did so little to move the story forward. Kate dinged Miles in a way that he didn’t realize at the start, telling him that it was funny how different the two of them actually were, and he went in for his fertility appointment without his wife knowing, which could lead to something down the road but not if she’s already made other arrangements. Trying to salvage the debate didn’t go too well, and getting peed on and finding out that his clone hasn’t shown up to work in a week were not good news at all. Now it seems like he’s being kidnapped by someone, and I do hope that the final two episodes of the season can course-correct. I’d like to see more of Kate and also the two clones conducting their parallel lives, since, as this show seems to suggest, Miles as a character isn’t particularly interesting, and so featuring just him wallowing in his misery naturally won’t be terribly compelling.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
What I’m Watching: Living with Yourself
Living with Yourself: Season 1, Episode 5 “Va Bene” (B+)
Maybe it’s a good thing I decided to stick with this show. This was the best installment yet, and that was mainly because it was all about Kate. Aisling Bea already turned in some fine work in the previous episode, and now she delivered in an incredible way this time. I enjoyed the measure of time as “B.C.” or before cloning, and I like that the moment, always scored with the same music, of the real Miles walking in to deliver his clone’s punchline is a central turning point for every episode’s catch-up. I was happy to see Ginger Gonzaga from “Kidding” as Kate’s business partner Meg, who for once had less to say than the person she was with, at least when Kate finally chose to let their client have it by telling him forcefully that he needed to grow up. That was a formidable scene, and it made sense that she’d need to have an outburst like that after dealing with the client who thought they were from Goodwill and the overconfident Da8er CTO. What I didn’t realize is that she had made a profile on the dating site just before Miles went in to close himself, just as serious a step as going in to try to put the deposit down on the IVF without Miles being involved. Showing up to the date at the end demonstrated that she wants to retake control of her life, but meeting the other Miles is a major move that’s going to make the real Miles really mad, unless this is a clone of Kate that we’re seeing, which will even worse since the real Kate won’t be happy one bit about that.
Maybe it’s a good thing I decided to stick with this show. This was the best installment yet, and that was mainly because it was all about Kate. Aisling Bea already turned in some fine work in the previous episode, and now she delivered in an incredible way this time. I enjoyed the measure of time as “B.C.” or before cloning, and I like that the moment, always scored with the same music, of the real Miles walking in to deliver his clone’s punchline is a central turning point for every episode’s catch-up. I was happy to see Ginger Gonzaga from “Kidding” as Kate’s business partner Meg, who for once had less to say than the person she was with, at least when Kate finally chose to let their client have it by telling him forcefully that he needed to grow up. That was a formidable scene, and it made sense that she’d need to have an outburst like that after dealing with the client who thought they were from Goodwill and the overconfident Da8er CTO. What I didn’t realize is that she had made a profile on the dating site just before Miles went in to close himself, just as serious a step as going in to try to put the deposit down on the IVF without Miles being involved. Showing up to the date at the end demonstrated that she wants to retake control of her life, but meeting the other Miles is a major move that’s going to make the real Miles really mad, unless this is a clone of Kate that we’re seeing, which will even worse since the real Kate won’t be happy one bit about that.
Thursday, November 14, 2019
What I’m Watching: Living with Yourself
Living with Yourself: Season 1, Episode 4 “Soul Mate” (B)
This episode was an improvement, though I’m still not sure that I’m seeing this show’s long-term viability. In catching us up to the shocking ending of the last episode, we saw how the two Miles really couldn’t coexist very well, and how original Miles got fed up with his clone overstepping. Introducing his twin brother, also somehow named Miles, proved awkward, but it was nothing compared to Kate’s reaction back at the house. Watching this episode was totally worth it for the formidable showcase of Aisling Bea’s talents, underused up until this point. The way she dealt with two different Paul Rudds was absolutely fantastic, and I think there’s a great case for her as a deserving awards contender after her work here. She really didn’t like the idea of the clone being in her house, and obviously she was on good enough terms with the original version of her husband who decided to go in for a dangerous medical procedure on his own to be sleeping with him when the clone came over to get some hair so that he could have a clone wife of his own. That’s a worrisome twist since she’d surely go ballistic if it ended up happening. Though we only saw them for a brief scene, I enjoyed the welcoming, wandering wisdom from Miles’ sister Maia, played by Alia Shawkat from “Search Party,” and Jon Glaser from “Parks and Recreation” and “Girls” as Henry. We’ll see how far it gets clone Miles, who has set his sights firmly on the one woman he can’t have, unless there are two of her.
This episode was an improvement, though I’m still not sure that I’m seeing this show’s long-term viability. In catching us up to the shocking ending of the last episode, we saw how the two Miles really couldn’t coexist very well, and how original Miles got fed up with his clone overstepping. Introducing his twin brother, also somehow named Miles, proved awkward, but it was nothing compared to Kate’s reaction back at the house. Watching this episode was totally worth it for the formidable showcase of Aisling Bea’s talents, underused up until this point. The way she dealt with two different Paul Rudds was absolutely fantastic, and I think there’s a great case for her as a deserving awards contender after her work here. She really didn’t like the idea of the clone being in her house, and obviously she was on good enough terms with the original version of her husband who decided to go in for a dangerous medical procedure on his own to be sleeping with him when the clone came over to get some hair so that he could have a clone wife of his own. That’s a worrisome twist since she’d surely go ballistic if it ended up happening. Though we only saw them for a brief scene, I enjoyed the welcoming, wandering wisdom from Miles’ sister Maia, played by Alia Shawkat from “Search Party,” and Jon Glaser from “Parks and Recreation” and “Girls” as Henry. We’ll see how far it gets clone Miles, who has set his sights firmly on the one woman he can’t have, unless there are two of her.
Thursday, November 7, 2019
Take Three: Living with Yourself
Living with Yourself: Season 1, Episode 3 “Green Tea” (B-)
I found this episode to be tiresome, and my desire to be a devoted fan isn’t exactly being fulfilled. Miles was doing a decent job of creating a helpful balance between his two selves, somehow managing to allay questions from his wife about his major money withdrawal and finding time to pursue his passions while his other self was a true superstar at work. Watching him set up in the morning when his clone left right after Kate did felt almost rhythmic, though it’s understand that eventually he was going to find it unsustainable. I’m not sure what to make of Jerry Adler from “Rescue Me” and “The Good Wife” as Mr. Hillston, who was obsessed with the fanciest possible pork, served with a side of terrifying stories from his time in a concentration camp sending an innocent boy off to be killed. Why that was included makes little sense to me, and I think the character could have been drawn differently and still prompted a similar response from Miles. I was ready to give up on this show completely, but then the final scene had to go and really change everything, making me wonder if it’s about to finally get undeniably interesting. Dan spotted the other Miles approaching and seemed to realize that something was going on, though he doesn’t necessarily know that his amazing treatment was actually a cloning operation since his former self didn’t survive. The combination of finishing the punchline and the music worked well to convince me that at least one more episode might be worth it.
I found this episode to be tiresome, and my desire to be a devoted fan isn’t exactly being fulfilled. Miles was doing a decent job of creating a helpful balance between his two selves, somehow managing to allay questions from his wife about his major money withdrawal and finding time to pursue his passions while his other self was a true superstar at work. Watching him set up in the morning when his clone left right after Kate did felt almost rhythmic, though it’s understand that eventually he was going to find it unsustainable. I’m not sure what to make of Jerry Adler from “Rescue Me” and “The Good Wife” as Mr. Hillston, who was obsessed with the fanciest possible pork, served with a side of terrifying stories from his time in a concentration camp sending an innocent boy off to be killed. Why that was included makes little sense to me, and I think the character could have been drawn differently and still prompted a similar response from Miles. I was ready to give up on this show completely, but then the final scene had to go and really change everything, making me wonder if it’s about to finally get undeniably interesting. Dan spotted the other Miles approaching and seemed to realize that something was going on, though he doesn’t necessarily know that his amazing treatment was actually a cloning operation since his former self didn’t survive. The combination of finishing the punchline and the music worked well to convince me that at least one more episode might be worth it.
Saturday, October 26, 2019
Round Two: Living with Yourself
Living with Yourself: Season 1, Episode 2 “Made in a Strip Mall” (B)
It was cool that this episode started with following the new Miles and his experience waking up in the clinic after the procedure and going home with a simple warning that he shouldn’t look the first time he uses the toilet. Barging into the meeting with lots of energy and inspiration took all of his colleagues by surprise, including Dan, who you’d think would have known that this would happen given how the procedure did exactly the same thing for him. Kate seemed shocked that he wanted to cook such a fancy dinner, and being a brand new him isn’t going to just undo all the problems that they’ve had in the past. Encountering his former self at just that moment caught us up to where we were in the first episode, with them heading straight to the clinic to find out just what had happened. The doctor slipping when he was protesting the additional money they wanted as blackmail for not reporting them to the FDA revealed the kind of expectations that people have when they seek a miracle cure like this, putting on his fake accent so that clients wouldn’t think of him as a person. It was never going to be easy for one of the Miles to just leave and head to another country, and getting a call from Kate was enough to prove that solution wouldn’t be permanent. The exposition is slow on this show that’s clearly meant to be binge-watched, and so we’ll see how long I last since I’m not going to be digesting it in that format.
It was cool that this episode started with following the new Miles and his experience waking up in the clinic after the procedure and going home with a simple warning that he shouldn’t look the first time he uses the toilet. Barging into the meeting with lots of energy and inspiration took all of his colleagues by surprise, including Dan, who you’d think would have known that this would happen given how the procedure did exactly the same thing for him. Kate seemed shocked that he wanted to cook such a fancy dinner, and being a brand new him isn’t going to just undo all the problems that they’ve had in the past. Encountering his former self at just that moment caught us up to where we were in the first episode, with them heading straight to the clinic to find out just what had happened. The doctor slipping when he was protesting the additional money they wanted as blackmail for not reporting them to the FDA revealed the kind of expectations that people have when they seek a miracle cure like this, putting on his fake accent so that clients wouldn’t think of him as a person. It was never going to be easy for one of the Miles to just leave and head to another country, and getting a call from Kate was enough to prove that solution wouldn’t be permanent. The exposition is slow on this show that’s clearly meant to be binge-watched, and so we’ll see how long I last since I’m not going to be digesting it in that format.
Monday, October 21, 2019
Pilot Review: Living with Yourself
I'm trying something new with my pilot reviews, so from now on, check out video takes on each new series, which I'll embed below and you can also watch by subscribing to movieswithabe on YouTube.
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