Yeah, I was thinking that comparing it to the Princess Bride is not an insult.
But I will agree that both are hyped a huge amount. Are they worthy of the hype? Well, I feel they are, but I can certainly see where others may not.
Like many people, I also watched Umbrella Academy. I liked it a lot. It has that Watchmen feel in that it explores what happens when super-powered people are out there living life with serious personality flaws. Fortunately, these guys weren't as amoral as the Watchmen (I'm looking at you, Comedian), but in many regards, their backstories were darker than the Watchmen. It doesn't help that the founder of the Umbrella Academy was a terrible human being who justified his abuse as part of the greater good. It's like the X-Men if Xavier were an amoral sociopath.
But the characters were pretty cool. They delved into most of their backgrounds to show us why they became the way they were, such as Allison not using her power anymore and why Klaus became a junkie.
The hitmen were a fun pair to watch even though they were awful murderers. They were perhaps more fun to watch than the two angels in Preacher season 1. They griped about bureaucratic decisions that made life harder for them like they were working in a cubicle or in construction.
I wasn't fond of how the season ended, but I can't think of any other way to end it given the storyline. Fortunately I read that season 2 has been greenlit, which is good because that would be a really awkward way to end the series.
I also watched Russian Doll. Nobody warned me that these episodes were only 25 minutes long. I fell into the one-more-episode trap and accidentally watched the entire series 4 hours later. Honestly, this may work best as a binge since it's really just watching a single three-and-a-half-hour-long movie. Since it has the same conceit of Groundhog Day and Run, Lola, Run, it helps to keep these scenes fresh in your memory, especially to see where the characters deviate. It has a couple of interesting twists that were enjoyable to watch.
I recommend Russian Doll, though I admit that the first episode took a while to hook me. I'm not sure why. I just didn't initially feel a connection with any of the characters, but they warmed up to me, and it was interesting to see what happens in the first episode comes back later. Yes, I know one should expect that in a movie about repeating the same moments, but there's something a little deeper here.
All in all, some pretty good Netflix shows.
I'm also watching Deadly Class. Kind of a guilty pleasure at this point. It's a ludicrous concept, but that hasn't stopped me before. Like, why would a secret school for assassins have a cheerleading squad? What sport are they expected to face other schools? Its absurdity reminds me of Snowpiercer. It's a wacky concept, but that concept really only acts as a backdrop for a story about societal struggles. In the case of Deadly Class, it's all about high school cliques in a world where teachers break students' bones and random pissed-off people could show up and threaten their lives. It's very obviously based on a comic, though I've not read it.
What's really interesting about Deadly Class is that the nihilism of the outcasts speaks to my teenaged self. I was never part of the punk or goth scenes in the '80s, but I felt a connection to them as they continually get bullied. That may explain another reason why I'm still watching this show.
I'm also watching Miracle Workers. Daniel Radcliff is nailing it as the socially awkward, mediocre worker. Steve Buscemi is doing a good job at playing a slacker (reminiscent of the Dude, which is interesting considering his role in the Big Lebowski). I was initially amused by Buscemi's portrayal of God, though I'm getting a little tired of his incompetence. I suppose it could be an explanation of why life on Earth is so fucked up, as the angels work tirelessly behind the scenes to put right a world run by an apathetic and incompetent God. I'm finding the scenes with God to be a bit tedious and overplayed while I'm more interested in the two lower angels trying to influence events on Earth with severe consequences thanks to the butterfly effect.
I also started watching Into the Badlands. It doesn't have great reviews, but I always found the commercials to be intriguing. It's an interesting post-apocalyptic setting where guns are universally outlawed, so you get some fancy kung fu. It has a samurai feel with each baron commanding his army of loyal soldiers with one soldier questioning the morality of his duty. Seems promising enough, though I'm only on like episode 3.
Sheesh, I've been watching a lot TV lately.