3.5/5
The Squid and the Whale.
10 Episodes. Based On: 'Squid Game' by Hwang Dong-hyuk. Produced By: Studio Lambert & The Garden. On: Netflix.
May the odds always be in your favor. Dammit! Wrong game. Still, Netflix's 'Squid Game' is making a killing. The South Korean, most successful and streamed show on the service announced a hugely anticipated second season, this year. Until then, the wait may not be over, but you can still enjoy 'The Challenge'. A reality TV game show based on the series, whose sets are so alike to the actual arena itself, that I almost (almost) believed my sister that they actually kill the losers of this competition with millions in the piggy pot on the line. But this isn't when we were kids, and you tried to convince me back in the day that the world was actually black and white, like it was on TV. I'm not falling for this one (am I?). Instead, a collection of contestants waiting on sidewalks from all across the world (Australia, Chicago, London) are hit with the kind of squib like paint bullets which make you think they really should be wearing goggles. Did they never watch Ant and Dec's response in 'Byker Grove'? "He can't see, man!"
Even though the next middle-aged white guy (I can't talk) who says "let's go", or "we in here" is getting red light green-lighted, 'Squid Game-The Challenge' still meets and then exceeds all expectations. It's got all your favourite games for your umbrella academy, like the one with the doll, and maybe even a tug-of-war. But it's the selection process that reveals so much more about us as humans. You'll be as disgusted as you are of the sound of them all licking their biscuits, which is something I never thought I'd write about (notice I just said, write). This show may be a winner takes all designed to screw each other over, but do some have to be so burger stealing blatant about it? Not convincing us to pick up the phone, or that they mean well as those who've done the behind the back crime, react like that Drake Toronto Raptors fan meme of former Golden State Warrior Kevin Durant getting injured in the NBA Finals in real time to his betrayal bringing forth someone else's elimination. This show may be chock-full of b######s and b#####s, but the biggest one is karma. Don't get used to anyone you meet in the 'Big Brother' like diary room for too long, now.
This show may be a student of psychology's dream (I myself was eliminated from that form of competition), but don't hold on to much hope for humanity here. The only thing more grating than the backstabbing, the gen z lingo used by the millennials heading for father time myself, or even the biscuit licking, has to be the shameless self-promotion. Sure, there's nothing wrong with confidence, and you're not going to win this game without it, but tone it down a tad. "I'm the greatest!" Modest too. "I think my best quality is...", your humility, maybe?! And trust me, this is just a game and a show. God didn't put you here to do this, he's busy with much more important issues in the world right now. Just hold on to your umbrella and be done with it, maybe. But this inhuman ignorance displayed here isn't, 'Squid Game-The Challenge's' fault, they're just holding up a black mirror to it all on Netflix. And we're more than happy to lap it up like cats for these contestants who are all about the cream ruling everything around them like Wu-Tang. So what does that make us? And would we do the same? After all, this is 'Squid Game'. Whose pink boiler factory setting suit and PlayStation fencing mask, plus Tenenbaum tracksuit made for last year's most popular Halloween costume. This trick is straight scary, but still a treat before Christmas. And with a second season of this on order too, let the real games begin. TIM DAVID HARVEY.
Further Playing: 'Squid Game', 'Big Brother', 'Who Wants To Be A Millionaire'.
No comments:
Post a Comment