Hype 1.2 - The Cure for Pain

Hype - The Cure for Pain

Genre: Crime / Dark Comedy

Director: Stephen Merchant

Writer: Dominic Wilkins

Cast: Seth Green, Charles Baker, Nick Swardson, Alicia Silverstone, Stephen Merchant, David Cross, Daniel Stern and Sarah Polley

Plot:
David (Seth Green) is putting on his raging rabbit costume. He’s in the stands at the local little league baseball stadium. One of the newest rookie, Steve Dunn (Nick Swardson) is next to him in a squirrel costume. David teaches him to slide town a stairwell and land gracefully on his feet. He brought along their superfan Wilson Devereaux (David Cross) to judge if Steve is ready. David, who’s been doing this for a long time, does it like it’s nothing. Steve tries to replicate his movement, but he falls midway through, hurting himself. Wilson says their newest recruits are trash and David says to go easy on him, it’s not easy, he would like to see him try. Steve decides to head back to the locker room, he doesn’t think it’s the right move from him. David takes off his costume and lands it to Wilson, who wants to prove he can do it, but first he wants David to take a picture of him in the costume, he can’t believe he’s wearing it. Wilson tries to slide down the stairs and hurts himself. David says he told him so and he heads out in the locker room, only to see Steve taking a bunch of painkillers, the thing he’s addicted to.

David tells his girlfriend Jessie (Sarah Polley) that it isn’t going to work. She says she saw it coming with her psychic powers and told him so, but he doesn’t believe her so called powers have nothing to do with it, it was just common sense to think that taking a bunch of drug addicts and put them in mascot costumes would work. Jessie says that it worked for him though. David says he doesn’t have an addiction, but Jessie asks him not to lie about it. She read his hand the other day and everything pointed towards alcohol addiction. David asks her if it was more the traditional signs of alcoholism that gave it up and Jessie is mad that he doesn’t believe in her psychic powers. She turns around and closes he nightlight.

The next morning, David comes into work and enters Sarah’s (Alicia Silverstone) office. He tells her that it isn’t going to work and she asks him why not. He says they can’t hire drug addicts like that, they are still vulnerable. He caught Steve swallowing painkillers yesterday. The mascot business isn’t for everyone. Sarah thinks otherwise. She believes she’s giving them a second chance in life after everyone else gave up on them, and besides what he might think, being a mascot isn’t a noble job. He wants to know what her “big plan” is for the business and she says he just has to wait and see.

They come out of her office and take the presence. Everyone is there, except Dennis. Sarah asks if anyone knows where Dennis lives and Chuck (Charles Baker) says he does. David waves his hand in front of Steve, who doesn’t respond right away. He points it out to Sarah who notices Steve is probably high on painkillers. She says it’s better for him to be there than for him to be out on the streets. Sarah asks for David to go to the stadium with Chuck and Steve while she takes care of Dennis.

Sarah stops at Dr. Stewart’s office on her way to Cholowski’s. She brings Stewart (Stephen Merchant) with him because she’s afraid of what she might find. They knock on the door, but don’t hear anyone. She knocks again, still no response. Stewart tries for the handle, it’s unlocked. They get inside his house and can’t believe how dirty it is. Stewart finds Dennis (Daniel Stern), passed out on the ground. Sarah is horrified, but Stewart assures her he isn’t dead. He finds crystal next to him.

David is practicing the mascot drills with Chuck and Steve. Wilson is also there, monitoring them. David asks him if he leaves in the little league stadium and Wilson says he wonders the same thing sometimes. David warns him that it is pretty suspicious to see a lonely middle aged man hanging around a place prominently frequented by kids. His brown tracksuit doesn’t help his case either. Chuck is done with the drills and he stops by David. David asks him if he’s doing good and Chuck says he just wants to turn his life around, leave this dark chapter of his life behind. It thinks this is fun, it’s the cure for his internal pain. David is glad he likes it and he could very well be good at this if he keeps practicing.

Sarah arrives at the stadium, alone. They ask her if Dennis is alright and she says he’s doing fine. She tells there’s a game tonight and you knowhow passionate kids are about their kids. She just needs them to put on a good show between the fifth and sixth inning. That’s all she needs. The organizers already know about it and they need them to race each other. Of course, they should entertain everyone during the game, but they should go all out for the race. She says Chuck and Steve will have sponsored costumes, so it will bring in extra income, David will keep the local team’s mascot costume. She tries to leave, but David asks her if her “big plan” was just to get sponsored mascots and she tells him to wait and see.

During the game, David is his usual self, but he can’t dare to watch his new colleagues, botching every move and choreography. The only thing they are able to do is take pictures with children, not that it’s hard. The time has come for the race and superfan Wilson Devereaux introduces the contestants. The crowd is behind David and it lets the mascots know. The run goes exactly as they planned with everything going well. David is victorious and the crowd is happy. From the crowd, Sarah looks on, satisfied.

After the game, she meets up with her mascots. Dennis is with her this time. She unzips a sports bag, filled with money. David asks her where she got all that money and she says it comes from the concession stands. He asks her how she got the money and she says that for a man of his height, he sure asks a lot of questions. He can leave that to her and he keeps doing what he does best. No questions asked and the money will be there. Chuck counts the money with Steve. They both say that they’ve never held this much money in their hands. Steve says he could buy a week’s worth of painkillers with it and Sarah says that’s what she wants them to forget. Chuck says being a mascot is truly the cure for his pain, he hasn’t thought about heroin all day. David pats him on the back saying he did a great job.

When David comes back home with his part of the money, Jessie is proclaims that she saw it in a vision. David rolls his eyes and asks her to keep quiet about it, before going to bed. What a crazy day.

Hype off to a darkly humorous start with addictions to alcohol, painkillers, heroin, meth and sports all getting their moments. Seth Green is an interesting choice as the sad-sack lead. I will be tuning in next time to see where Wilkins and Merchant are planning on taking this tragically comedic premise.

The feel I get from the pilot doesn't reassure me for the rest of the series. Following the long development progress and script troubles, the characters feel like they are known simply from their problems and seem to be puppets for the showrunners to use at their ease, without proper character development, especially in the supporting cast.

For a show that had a troubled development from script to screen, I must say that Dominic Wilkins really worked his way out of the hole, with a dark kind of comedy that translates well to the screen with Stephen Merchant's style. Definitely intriguing and an original premise, I'll tune in next week.

Human 1.4 - Sadness Part 1

Human : Sadness Part 1
Genre : Sci-Fi / Drama
Showrunner: Michelle MacLaren
Writer : Ann Morrow

Cast: Justin Theroux, Letitia Wright, Bryan Batt, Michelle Fairley, Adrian Rawlins, Theodore Pellerin and Stefanie Scott

Plot : Julia (Michelle Fairley) picks up the note she just dropped on the floor. She just found out they are stuck in a simulation and her boss doesn’t know how to get them out. She wonders if he gave her colleague a similar note, so he leaves the house to see Adam (Bryan Batt). Eva (Letitia Wright) follows her. She claims she wants to see James (Justin Theroux). Julia allows her to come and they enter Adam’s house. James is sitting on the couch, starring at the wall and Adam is walking around the house. He’s happy to see Julia, but from the look on her face, he doesn’t think this discussion will go well. She closes the door and he points out that he doesn’t think it’s your classic social call. She asks him if he had a note in the house and he says he didn’t see one. She shows him the letter and Adam sits on his bed in disbelief.

Charles (Adrian Rawlins) is in panic mode. He thought Julia was going to be professional enough to keep it to herself and wait until the job is completed, but instead, she did the rational thing and told Adam. His parrot tells him he’s an idiot and he begs him to shut, only for the parrot to repeat after him. He looks down on them and wonders how he’s going to get them out of there. 

Julia and Adam are sitting on the couch and starring at the wall, just like James did moments ago. James and Eva and spending time together in the backyard, James pushing Eva in a swing. Adam breaks the silence and looks at them, innocently playing. He says they have no idea what’s happening. Julia says it was a crazy plan to begin with and she regrets being a part of it. Adam is more optimistic, saying Charles will find a way to get them out of here. James and Eva come back inside and notice they are sad. They analyse them and get sad themselves. They wonder what life is all about, and Adam is happy with the progress, pointing out that they perceived another emotion. Julia sarcastically says it’s great and she takes Eva by the hand and tries to go back to her house. 

Charles had a plan and he decided to experiment with the simulation even further. He takes control of two random citizens and make them move in the house next to Julia’s.

Julia is blocked by their two new neighbors, Jacob (Theodore Pellerin) and Mary (Stefanie Scott). Jacob is holding balloons and Stefanie cooked a pie. They say they are here to party! Adam welcomes them in and serves pie to Eva and James, but Julia is indifferent. Adam tells her to keep it cool, this is all part of a plan and they are doing this for a reason. She says they may be doing this for a reason, but it doesn’t do anything to the fact that they are stuck in a simulation. Adam says it’s time for her to accept it and wait. Nothing can happen to them here. She says he’s right and she includes herself in the party. They laugh together, but suddenly, Jacob and Mary catch fire. Adam rushes to take out the fire and Eva is devastated by Mary’s death and James is devastated by Jacob’s. Eva points out Mary breaded her hair and James enjoyed playing catch with Jacob. Adam and Julia say they could try to do the same and they leave each other, for now.

Julia is breading Eva’s hair in her room and talk about how they feel. Eva places her hand on Julia’s lap and points out that she can feel her sadness and it makes her feel sad too. Eva says she misses Mary a lot and James even more. Julia isn’t as good as Mary to bread her hair. Julia says she’s sorry and she starts to cry on Eva’s lap, who console her. Adam is throwing James a football, until James decides they should chase each other with it, essentially play football. Adam, who played football in high school, think it could be good to remind himself of his good days. He takes the football and starts to run, but James is too quick for him and he absolutely obliterates him. Adam lays on the ground hurt, and James says he’s sorry. He misses Jacob, whom he could tackle as hard as he could. He also misses Eva too and he wonders if Adam misses Julia. Adam says Julia isn’t his Eva, but he wishes she were. Adam starts to cry from the pain and sadness and James says he can feel his sadness and tries to console him.

Charles is happy that progress is being made. He wonders why the two new androids explode and he says he will try to experiment again. He begins to wonder if he’s too mean with Adam and Julia, but he says he’ll work on a solution as soon as the androids will be able to learn feelings on their own and don’t need monitoring all day long. It will all start when Adam and Julia will stop be so desperate and do their job. 

She-Hulk 1.4 - Issue #4

She-Hulk : Issue #4
Genre : Superhero / Comedy / Legal
Showrunner: Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Writer : Chad Taylor

Based on the Marvel Comics characters

Cast: Jenny Slate, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Kate Walsh, Finn Wittrock, Eric Andre, Richard Kind, Domenick Lombardozzi, Sanaa Lathan and Storm Reid

Plot: Dan Jermain (Domenick Lombardozzi) sits on a bus home, taking up three seats and prompting those around him to move - afraid they might get contaminated by his radiation. When he gets home from work, he tries to do some normal tasks around the house just to feel normal again. Not longer after, his daughter Veronica (Storm Reid) gets dropped off by her friends. Dan peaks out the window at them and waves but soon realizes that his newfound super sense of hearing can pick up on their conversation. He hears them making fun of what a freak Veronica’s dad has become, while another friend comments that she finds it kind of hot. Veronica hightails it out of there and, when she gets inside, makes a beeline for her room (totally ignoring Dan).

There is an air of silence at the dinner table later that night with Veronica, Dan, and his wife Lori (Sanaa Lathan). Lori asks how the lawyer proceedings are going and Dan says he likes his attorney. Lori grows snippy, saying she didn’t know it was a her and wondering if he meant he “liked her, liked her”. This makes Dan angry and he starts to freak out. Veronica storms off, which she was going to do anyways. Lori tries to calm him down, mentioning how the doctor said he would literally melt if he became too angry.

Later that night, we find that Lori is preparing from bed and Dan enters. When he takes off his shirt, she feels his skin to see if it is anywhere back to normal. She asks if he is going to sleep in here tonight but he says he’ll do the guestroom again. She asks if it was because of the fight earlier but he reminds her of the last time he slept in the same bed as her and almost crushed her in his sleep when he rolled over. They go their separate ways. While in bed, Lori makes a routine nightly phonecall to a friend. She starts to cry, opening up about her insecurities and worries about Dan now that he is superhuman. Not only is she worried for his health but she is also worried that he is going to be more likely to cheat on him with a new fan or go join a superhero team and leave her and Veronica behind.

The next morning, Dan’s family are eating a Saturday morning breakfast when they hear a knock on the door. It is Jen. Dan invites her in and Jen tells them not to be alarmed with what she is about to show them. And she reminds them of lawyer-client privilege and to not tell anyone what she is about to show them. They all agree and before they know it, she has turned into She-Hulk.

Veronica is in shock, telling her dad she didn’t know that he knew THE She-Hulk. Dan says he didn’t either. She reminds them again about lawyer-client privilege before going into an abbreviated version of her backstory and her transformation into She-Hulk. She says that her own personal experience has led to a realization of Dan’s argument.

When the She-Hulk was invented, the old Jennifer Walters ceased to exist. It is kind of like the mythological Phoenix Force. She can tell they’re all starting to get confused so she says to stick with her. It is said that the Phoenix Force can attach itself to a human soul, with that human becoming an entire new entity. And while those are just rumors and hearsay, she and Dan are true examples of this happening. Dan Germain died when Danger Man, a whole new entity, was born. And Dan is not coming back so his family should be compensated for the loss. Dan is starting to catch on and likes Jen’s argument but Lori grows irate and says she can’t handle anymore of this nonsense. She leaves and Veronica follows her.

Dan runs out after her but she is already driving off. He starts to have an angry meltdown, destroying things that surround him. She-Hulk asks what he is doing and he says he is going to get so angry that he will blow himself up - so his family will finally get the payment. She says that is absurd and that they will win this case but he is not having it and pushes her away. At this time, she transforms back to human Jennifer and says that if he is going to do it, he’s taking her with him. He can’t bring himself to hurt somebody else so he calms down and begins to cry. She is stearn and tells him she’s getting him his money.

Mallory Book (Kate Walsh) sits stunned in the courtroom. Jen looks to the camera, smiling:

“$85 million dollar settlement - enough for treatment AND family counseling. Face That Never Lost a Case, my ass.”

Back at her law office, Jen is congratulated by all, including Leibovitz (Richard Kind). Mary (Phoebe Waller-Bridge) pulls Jen aside and tells her she has some thing urgent to show her. She pulls her into her office and opens up the TMZ-esque front page of the Daily Bugle.

Paparazzi Geoff (Eric Andre) approaches hotshot bachelor Dr. John Jameson (Finn Wittrock) at the airport and asked him his thoughts on the She-Hulk. He says that he finds something about her very attractive and laughingly says for her to call him. Jen sits somewhat speechless while Mary looks at her and says Jen is totally going to sleep with John Jameson, isn’t she?

Jen slowly looks towards the camera with an approving look.