Unlocked: A Jail Experiment | Through the Shattered Lens

Election Coverage

I was hoping that the Democrats of Maine would show a little decency and reject Graham Platner but it didn’t happen. Two years from now, everyone will claim they were against Platner from the start.

George Gently (YouTube)

George Gently and Inspector Bachus investigated a murder in 1968. The killer turned out to be a smug child. It was a pretty depressing episode.

Kyōryū Sentai Zyuranger (Shout TV)

Jeff and I watched three more episodes of this Japanese series on Saturday morning. The space witch is still trying to conquer the planet. Fortunately, there’s always a giant robot around to stop her.

The Larry Sanders Show (HBOMax)

Jeff and I watched a handful of episodes of this old 90s show over the week. Garry Shandling played a neurotic talk show host. Rip Torn was his producer. Jeffrey Tambor was the sidekick and Bob Odenkirk was the agent. The show made me laugh a lot more than I expected I would. Rip Torn could make any line funny. One scene, with Jeffrey Tambor singing Spinning Wheel, will stay in my memory forever.

Mike Judge’s Beavis and Butthead (Paramount Plus)

I finally watched season 3 this week. I’m amazed that Beavis and Butthead are still alive. Tom Anderson’s War Stories are so wholesome.

Night Flight (NightFlight+)

On Friday, we watched an episode about how bands were using animation in their music videos. The episode was from the early 80s so the animation really wasn’t that impressive.

The Simpsons (Disney+)

After watching Glengarry Glen Ross on Friday, I watched an episode featuring Old Gil (who was clearly based on Jack Lemmon) overstaying his welcome at the Simpsons home. “Eggs a la Harold Stassen …. because they’re always running!”

Twisted Yoga (Apple TV+)

This was yet another docuseries about a cult. This ran into the same problem that a lot of cult documentaries run into. It’s hard to have much sympathy for anyone stupid enough to get brainwashed in the first place.

Unlocked: A Jail Experiment (Netflix)

On Sunday and Monday, I watched the second season of this reality show about what happens when prisoners are allowed more freedom than usual. Prisoners just aren’t that interesting. There’s only so many times you can listen to someone say, “Treat me like a man,” before you get bored with it.

Other than the shows that I watch for my retro television reviews, I didn’t watch a lot this week. I was busy with other things. (Luckily, I did get to watch a few movies.) Here’s a few thoughts on what I did watch.

On Wednesday, I watched a screener for Chaser, which is a thought-provoking and surreal science fiction series that can currently be viewed on Prime. I was flattered to get a chance to watch it for free and to review it. I posted a review of the show on Friday so read the review and watch the show and leave a comment detailing how much you liked my review.

Abbott Elementary returned this week. Janine was offered a full-time job with the District and she accepted it, much to Gregory’s disappointment. To be honest, I’m kind of bored and more than a little frustrated with Janine and Gregory. Gregory’s inability to act on his feelings has crossed the line from being an sweet example of social awkwardness to just being annoying. My hope, as it has been from the start, is that Janine will realize that she is meant to teach and we’ll finally be done with all of this District nonsense. That said, I did enjoy the AI storyline and Jacob’s shock at discovering that no one was reading his emails. We’ve all known someone or had a friend like Jacob. I would totally subscribe to Mr. Johnson’s newsletter.

I watched an old episode of Night Flight on Friday. It dealt with androgynous rock stars so, not surprisingly, the majority of it was made up of videos from David Bowie and Queen.

Today, I binged the new Netflix reality show, Unlocked: A Jail Experiment. Shot in Little Rock, Arkansas, the show dealt with a sheriff who decided to give one cell block a good deal of freedom to see if they could handle it. It was an interesting show, though a lot of it seemed to be staged. It was hard not to notice that the camera was always in the perfect position to pick up the most drama. I also had to laugh at the inmates who said they were worried about getting caught doing something illegal but who then proceeded to make a shank or brew jail moonshine while the cameras were pointed straight at them. I mean, when Miller was making his shank and bragging about how he was going to use it against anyone who got on his nerves, did he not realize that show’s footage could probably be used in court? Unlocked was a slightly more amusing version of 60 Days In. Speaking of which, the sheriff on this show was surprisingly likable, especially when compared to the majority of the law enforcement people who have appeared on 60 Days In.

And that’s that, with the exception of the retro shows that I watch every week for this site. As I said, I didn’t watch a lot this week. I’m running behind on both Survivor and The Amazing Race. And, at some point, I’d like to watch the latest seasons of The Bachelor and Farmer Wants A Wife. Hopefully, I’ll soon be caught up.