I'm fine! Yeah, and your voice just went up eight octaves.

Continuing my trip down The Guardian's Top 50 TV Shows of 2021.  

#30 : Master Of None

Once Aziz Ansari was sucked into #MeToo’s bonfire of reputations, it seemed unlikely that he would ever make more Master of None. When he did, staying behind the camera for a new series subtitled Moments in Love, it was with a completely new focus. This run concentrated on Lena Waithe’s character Denise, and was composed of still, quiet episodes that paid off stunningly.


I always meant to watch Master Of None, but never quite got round to it (along with a million other series).  And then "Aziz Ansari was sucked into #MeToo's bonfire of reputations" (more on this later, but "bonfire of reputations" is not a good phrase to use) so I wasn't sure if I was supposed to.   But if The Guardian (who are very much Guardians of what's allowed and what isn't) recommend it, then I guess I have to try it.  But do I start at the beginning or do I just watch this season?  "Completely new focus" suggested to me that I didn't have to start at the beginning and I'm running out of time in the year, so I dived in with season three, episode one.

And yeah, from what I saw, I think The Guardian got it right with "still, quiet episodes".  They're very well composed (both visually and narratively) snapshots of Denise's life as, well, I guess "shit happens (or doesn't)" is probably an accurate description as any.  I thought it was all well done - but, did you notice the "from what I saw" back there?  I KNOW that it's good for me to learn more about others' life experiences, but on the strength of one episode, I just found I couldn't relate to a successful, thirty-something, lesbian, African-American author (I've got no idea why).  I could have powered on through, but I think I'd have started resenting it - and I do suspect that if I'd started from the beginning I might have cared more about everyone, so I'm going to put it on hiatus and maybe come back to it later.

However, I will say that the one episode I watched was really well done - it was powerfully written and acted, beautifully shot with a quietly devastating conclusion.  Lena Waithe and Naomi Ackie do the heavy lifting on the acting front and work exceptionally well together as a couple still finding their way.

Now - what should I say about the Aziz Ansari and #MeToo?  Probably nothing, if I'm honest but I think it's fair to say he's no Harvey Weinstein - but does that make the situation more or less relevant to the wider discussion?  There are certainly arguments both ways and I doubt anything I can add will help - I will say that I have some concerns about the original article though.  It's certainly interesting that Aziz hasn't denied the event happened and he has attempted to address it - one of the best comments I saw stated that his contribution has been "flawed but valuable".  And it's hard to imagine what a perfect contribution from anyone could possibly look like.

However, it does seem like this series of Master Of None hasn't done him any harm (unlike some of his comedy shows) and the fact that Lena Waithe (who is very highly regarded) continued to work with him has to count for him.  As I said, from what I saw, this is an impressive piece of work and I can quite believe a lot of people will love it and really relate to it.  But I'm afraid I couldn't and I struggle to imagine that will include too many people I know - I hope I find the time to revisit it from the beginning, but I'm not sure it will happen.

#29 - I really liked this
#31 - Just watch it, OK?

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