Y tu Luna también: Pan y circo: Season 1, Episode 1 – “Chronicles of the Pandemic: COVID-19 and Its Consequences” (2020)

Diego Luna wears a lot of hats on this show. In addition to creating it/originating the idea, he hosts the series and has also produced and directed the second season. His hand is especially apparent in this episode, which, by its nature, draws attention to how it was made.

The conceit of Pan y circo is simple. In each episode, Luna brings together five people to discuss a particular topic through the lens of their areas of expertise, the conversation happening over the course of a sumptuous meal prepared by a talented chef.

COVID hit after the filming but before the release of the first season, so Luna and his team decided to pause, innovate, and figure out how to create a new first episode that would take place in quarantine. As became so familiar to us in 2020, the dinner guests now meet over Zoom and the chef is Luna himself, who cooked the meal according the COVID protocols and had it delivered to the guests before filming. In that brave new world of the 2020 COVID era, Luna and his guests discuss the wide-reaching effects of the pandemic.

I feel like the early days of COVID caused many in the entertainment industry to want to pull back the curtain a little on their process. Rather than the usual movie/TV magic, there was a sense of “we’re all in this together” and a desire to let the audience see the strings a bit more, as it were. That’s true here, where part of the episode includes clips of Zoom meetings between Luna and his team prior to filming the dinner, brainstorming how they can make this work. We also see Luna asking a chef for advice on how to prepare a meal in a COVID-safe manner.

Once the Zoom dinner begins, it’s the same “artificial digital togetherness” so many got used to and later discarded as people decided they were cool with the pandemic. That quarantine feeling of, “This is weird, and it’s definitely not ‘normal,’ but I’m so glad to see other people’s faces I’ll take it!” Once Luna instructs them on how to reheat their various courses, the ball gets rolling and the discussion starts.

(A quick side note about the meal: the dishes—homemade soup and vegetarian lasagna, with fresh bread and guava rolls from a bakery—make my mouth water something fierce. Also, Luna and his team go all in on the boxes they prep for the guests. In addition to three courses, bread, and wine, the boxes also include salt and pepper shakers and a bottle of olive oil.)

The guests in this episode include an activist, an author, a social psychologist, an epidemiologist, and a chef. Together with Luna, they discuss all sorts of aspects of the pandemic, from the personal to the professional to the societal. Just a few topics that get pulled into the larger discussion of the pandemic are Mexico’s economic disparities, the fate of restaurants, increases in domestic violence, and access to abortion under travel restrictions.

The author initially thought he’d do well in lockdown, since he writes from home anyway, but now the rest of his family is home with him. “And that changes the environment,” he observes. “And I live my lockdown, and I live their lockdown, too.”

The chef wrestles with public safety and looking out for his employees, closing his restaurant due to government mandates but worried if there’ll be a restaurant to go back to at the end of lockdown. He also talks about the need to reinvent how they do things in light of the pandemic. He says, “If we did not make these changes from the bottom up at this time, we were going to be spending all the emotional and economic effort to keep things the same as before, instead of really rethinking it and making this fundamental reassessment.”

Interspersed amid the conversation are clips from political press conferences, infographics, and footage of the quiet world outside. Additionally, we see footage from an interview Luna had with the undersecretary of prevention and health promotion.

The whole thing offers a nice mix of facts, debate, and more personal observations. This isn’t the sort of show that features people from different “sides” talking about an issue. While the guests all come from different fields, their ideologies are more aligned, and so it’s more about a group of likeminded people bringing their own experience to a particular problem. It’s like these are the guests Luna chose for a dinner party—the point is to inform and collaborate, not prove anyone right or wrong.

I will say that the subtitles can be a little difficult sometimes. Because this is a show that uses onscreen text in different ways, from infographics to guests’ occupations/titles, there are times when the English translation for a graphic cuts off the translation for what one of the participants is saying, and vice versa. I have no doubt it works perfectly well in Spanish, but the show is so packed with information, both visually and auditorily, that the subtitles don’t always know which thread to follow.

Luna makes for a good host. In his opening narration, recalling the before-times with, “We were happy and didn’t know it,” he brings a soft compassion, and the building-the-episode scenes are relatable as he works to navigate COVID with everyone else. I enjoy watching him instruct the guests about the different parts of their meal (the author needs a little direction just to open the box!), and in his interview with the undersecretary, he’s friendly and personable without throwing softballs.

This was a really interesting question he had for the epidemiologist, in response to a discussion about globalization and how nations will sink or swim together:

“Invoking that speed or that connectivity or that globalization, doctor, right now some vaccines are being developed and we are seeing a certain international cooperation to get that vaccine. Is there a world where that cooperation could happen in prevention? Or will that coordination always come from disaster?”

On the whole, a nice first episode, and I think going back to address COVID, knowing the rest of the season was filmed prior to the pandemic hitting, was the right call. Here are my first impressions.

Recommend?

In General – If you’re interested in informative/talk show-type series, I think I would. I like how it’s set up as a dinner, and the conversation goes in some interesting directions.

Diego Luna – While I definitely prefer seeing Luna act, this is a neat project, and I like his ethos behind it. If you’re interested in Luna as a person beyond just his work as an actor, I’d say it’s worth a watch.

Warnings

Thematic elements, language, and drinking.

Joel Fry-days: Difficult Second Coming: Episode 3 – “The Angel & the Girl” (2016)

There’s one non-Joel Fry episode in between that I also watched, and now this is the third and final episode of Difficult Second Coming. Overall? Eh. The concept is mildly entertaining, but the show doesn’t really do much with it.

JC has been seeing a girl named Holly, and although He really likes her, He’s not sure how to tell her His true identity. During a kickback at the flat, He attempts to open up to her.

I’m not sure if the creators of the series only planned to make three episodes or if they just made as much as they had money for. At any rate, it feels more like a short series of sketches than a genuine show, meandering subdued slice-of-life comedy with a bit of “second coming of Christ” threaded in. Of the three episodes, this one feels the least defined and, for me, the least interesting.

A few nice moments here. I enjoy JC sitting outside for a smoke with one of His flatmates, asking, “At what point in a relationship would you introduce that you are the Son of God?” And I like that he begins his heart-to-heart with Holly via an awkward, “So, you know the Bible….” On the whole, though, this episode is more about vibes than story.

Not much of Mark/Joel Fry. Although he actually has more lines and a bit more screentime than in episode 1, he’s mostly just there as ambience for the kickback, smoking and chatting with another of the flatmates. His best moment comes when Carl butts in to tell them a joke, assuring Mark, “This is right up your street—you’ll like this.” Of course, the joke crashes and burns, and we get a nice bit of comedic timing from Fry with Mark’s wordless reaction to the punchline before launching right back into his earlier conversation.

Final thoughts:

Accent Watch

London.

Recommend?

In General – Nah. It just didn’t grab me.

Joel Fry – Not a must. Mark is entertaining when he has a chance to be, but this is a very minor role without much going on.

Warnings

Language (including the R-word,) drug use, mild sexual content, and thematic elements.

Other Doctor Lives: W1A: Series 2, Episode 4 (2015)

*Spoilers from episode 3*

Series 2 finale. The third and final season is a bit longer, but it also has more episodes with Joel Fry, so woohoo for that! As a season ender, this episode leans quite a bit into the awkward humor, which can make it hard to take at times. However, I think they pull it around in the end.

First, a couple updates from the last episode. Ian and Lucy have had an understated will-they-won’t-they thing going on since the start of the series, and they’re seeing even more of each other now that Lucy has been promoted to the newly-created Director of Inclusivity. But things have suddenly gotten more complicated—in episode 3, Anna was panicking before her speech at the BBC Better launch, and when Ian went in to help calm her down, she wound up kissing him.

Okay, onto the finale! Ian is due to make a speech about the BBC’s commitment to inclusivity, so he’s invited Lucy to join his weekly “Way Ahead” meeting. This puts her in the awkward position of trying to talk a bunch of white execs through the BBC’s current inclusivity numbers and setting target goals. Making things even more uncomfortable is Anna. Since they kissed at the BBC Better launch, she’s been talking to Ian in the same brusquely indifferent tone as usual, but she always wants to be around him. Will has been a bit at loose ends since Izzy got moved to a position in development, and he wishes he had a reason to spend more time with her.

Our character of the week is Jack Patterson, played by Jonathan Bailey! Previously, he was Anna’s PA, but since her elevation to Director of Better, she got him a place in development as well. While I know Will has a crush on Izzy, I’m not sure about Jack, but I think he does too. Things could be tense/awkward between these three when they were all working in the PA area together, and that only ramped up after Will’s internship ended. With both Jack and Izzy now in development, I get the feeling that Jack thinks the “proper” balance has been restored, but Will might have something to say about that. 

Poor Lucy in this episode, oof. She’s surrounded by white people who are quick to tout how much they absolutely agree with her about making the BBC look more like the British population but are both clueless and indecisive about taking steps to actually get there. Even getting them through the first, smallest baby step is like herding racially insensitive cats. One exec keeps saying she wants him to fire staff, while Siobhan insists that the answer to all their problems is simply to “viralize” a young South Asian weather forecaster with a beard, exclaiming, “I mean, he’s so BAME, it’s practically coming out of his ears.” (BAME is like the British version of BIPOC.) Later in the episode, Ian’s big speech is heavy on emphasis and light on substance: “Also, we’re going to commit—and we’re absolutely committed to this—we’re going to commit to exceeding those [inclusivity] targets by a minimum of 10% across the board, as soon as we know what they are.”

When it comes to work, Anna’s role as Director of Better still mostly just amounts to her saying, “The fact is, this is about being better,” in meetings. And on a more personal level, she’s no friendlier or more demonstrative to Ian than she was before they kissed, but she’s always there, especially when Ian and Lucy are together. She invites herself along to Ian’s speech (because she strongly feels Better should be represented) and hires a car for the two of them, even though Ian’s told her he invited Lucy to come as well. It’s a tangled web that I imagine will need to get unpacked in series 3.

Here are a few good bits from David Tennant’s narration in the finale:

• More Syncopatico jokes – “The BBC has recently introduced a fully-integrated, cloud-based room booking system in its public commitment to make the technology in Broadcasting House more intelligent than the people who work there.”
• This pretty well sums up the centrist/blandly liberal “commitment” to inclusion (also, if you were wondering what BAME meant, here it is!) – “The world of inclusivity is a world full of acronyms, and both BAME, which stands for Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnics, and LGBT, which stands for something else altogether, are almost perfect examples of how they can work.”

Y tu Luna también: American Dad!: Season 9, Episode 2 – “Poltergasm” (2013)

*Episode premise spoilers.*

I can’t remember when I stopped watching American Dad! I feel like it was after this point, because I think I have vague recollections of this episode, though I can’t say for certain. Compared to animated shows like The Simpsons or BoJack Horseman, which have featured their share of very deliberate guest stars, the old Seth MacFarlane shows on Fox feature prominent film actors showing up in surprisingly small or random roles. Diego Luna’s part in this episode isn’t quite a throwaway, but it’s not something I’d have expected to pop up in his filmography.

Not long after breadwinner Stan’s latest round of scheduled sex with his wife Francine, strange and paranormal things start happening around the house. It becomes clear that the family is being haunted by a ghost of sorts: the ghost of Francine’s long-dormant sexual pleasure. If they’re to escape its wrath, Stan is going to have to satisfy his wife for the first time in years.

Even though it’s been years since I’ve watched American Dad!, I fell back into the swing of the show pretty easily. Blustering alpha Stan. Unchallenged housewife Francine. Boundary-pushing daughter Haley. Nerdy son Steve. Kooky alien in the attic Roger and dryly sarcastic East German spy in the body of a fish Klaus (Stan works for the FBI, just go with it.)

There are some amusing bits in this episode, like Stan putting on the national anthem as mood music—“Ah, Frankie Scott Key, he’s like the white Marvin Gaye”—and a training montage for Stan to get “in shape” for foreplay. This is a fun line: “Stan, just because a Jack-in-the-box doesn’t pop out, it doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy you cranking the handle!”

Maybe it’s because, in the years since I used to watch Seth MacFarlane shows, I’ve seen stuff like Sex Education and Big Mouth, but this definitely feels less “edgy” to me than it once would have. It’s actually kind of nice, the idea that Francine going along with a dissatisfying sex life actually manifests a physical presence to voice its frustrations. She’s been prioritizing Stan’s ego over her own needs for so long that her pent-up energy needs an outlet, while Stan is so impressed with his alleged prowess that he hasn’t stopped to pay any attention to what his wife really wants.

Part of the reason this “poltergasm” is manifesting now is due to Haley’s new hook-up buddy, which is where Luna comes in. As his character Mauricio explains to Francine, he and Haley are “benefits,” a.k.a. friends with benefits, but without the friend part. As they conduct their ongoing sex marathon, Francine’s long-ignored desires are reignited.

Mauricio isn’t a complicated character, or a very original one. His basic function is to be hot and have lots of sex, which he does. As per the animation, he’s hunky, tireless, and inventively acrobatic. Luna gets in a few entertaining line readings, such as when Mauricio carries Haley up the stairs to her bedroom, telling her, “Please, save your legs for spasming.” But there’s nothing special here.

Recommend?

In General – A mild maybe. This is a decent episode of an okay show, and it has its moments.

Diego Luna – Not a must. Luna gets the job done, there just isn’t much to it.

Warnings

Sexual content/references, violence, disturbing images, and language.