The fantastical world of Marvelous Mrs Maisel
I gave in, I succumbed to The Marvelous Mrs Maisel! For many years my mother and sister have been imploring me to The Gilmore Girls. While they weren't the only to recommend it to me, they were my main beseechers, and while I never denied that what I had seen of it seemed to be well written with endearing characters, I just never found the time. 'There is too much other good TV I need to watch first' and 'I'll watch it one day when I retire' (along with learning to play a MMORPG) were among my favourite excuses.
The 1950s period setting for the series, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel intrigued me (Mad Men still has a lot to answer for), and when I realised it was from Amy Sherman-Palladino, the creator of Gilmore Girls, I knew I'd found an out to my Gilmore Girls shaming. Just eight episodes, released all at once on Amazon Prime would be easy to finish off. Little did I know just how easy it would be to consume. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is a delightful confection, so full of engaging, charming characters and witty dialogue, you'll quickly be swept up by it. Oh sure, it's an utterly fantastical re-imagining of the period - as if the main character would be allowed to get away with being to wilful, independent and defiant in the real 1950s without being sent to a mental home! But there is enough polish on this series to suspend your disbelief. With some fascinating insight into the subculture of stand-up comedy at the time, before the internet made variations on the craft so accessible, there plenty to keep you interested. I must admit towards the end of the series, I did find myself hanging-out for Mrs Maisel's stand-up sets, wanting to skip the intervening, interpersonal drama, but I do concede it wouldn't have been the same without it. Each routine of the title character has extra resonance thanks to the context of the characters personal life from which it emerges. I'll definitely be watching the next series when it inevitably comes out. So can you get off my back about the Gilmore Girls now!
The 1950s period setting for the series, The Marvelous Mrs Maisel intrigued me (Mad Men still has a lot to answer for), and when I realised it was from Amy Sherman-Palladino, the creator of Gilmore Girls, I knew I'd found an out to my Gilmore Girls shaming. Just eight episodes, released all at once on Amazon Prime would be easy to finish off. Little did I know just how easy it would be to consume. The Marvelous Mrs Maisel is a delightful confection, so full of engaging, charming characters and witty dialogue, you'll quickly be swept up by it. Oh sure, it's an utterly fantastical re-imagining of the period - as if the main character would be allowed to get away with being to wilful, independent and defiant in the real 1950s without being sent to a mental home! But there is enough polish on this series to suspend your disbelief. With some fascinating insight into the subculture of stand-up comedy at the time, before the internet made variations on the craft so accessible, there plenty to keep you interested. I must admit towards the end of the series, I did find myself hanging-out for Mrs Maisel's stand-up sets, wanting to skip the intervening, interpersonal drama, but I do concede it wouldn't have been the same without it. Each routine of the title character has extra resonance thanks to the context of the characters personal life from which it emerges. I'll definitely be watching the next series when it inevitably comes out. So can you get off my back about the Gilmore Girls now!
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