I felt guilty for not liking this show.<\/p>\n
I tried 3 viewings and it just seemed dumb.<\/p>\n
Thanks for the review !<\/p>\n
John Gentry<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
You lost me at fakokta. Best show on TV.<\/p>\n
Tom Lehr<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Totally agree, Bob. Refreshing to hear a like-minded take. Everyone I’ve talked to LOVES this thing. I don’t get it. It’s a thoroughly decent show. The cast is good\u00a0and the humor is pretty fun, but comes at the expense of the horror element. You can’t have it both ways. And the 300 year flashback was a huge miss. Lost all momentum and the humor didn’t translate either.<\/p>\n
Trevor Dauten<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I thought it was hysterical and creepy and specific\u00a0and atmospheric. And smart!<\/p>\n
Not for everyone though, I’ll allow.<\/p>\n
Jacob Moon<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
LOVED IT, thought it was fantastically funny and dark humour horror. I slogged through the series week by week and agree, the mushroom episode was particularly hysterical. I am a fan of quirky shows and this one hit the spot with clever writing and interesting characters. Way to go Apple.<\/p>\n
Margaret Hamamoto<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I understand what you\u2019re saying. Those two episodes were hilarious and there were some other fine and funny moments, performances, not to mention\u00a0plot holes. The acting and humor\u00a0is what puts this show on the map. \u00a0Watching Matthew Rhys\u2019s face when the founder was eating the Vienna sausages was mint. Stephen Root was great throughout. My wife said the show reminded her of Lost and I can see that and hope it doesn\u2019t go too far down that road. At least it\u2019s very funny. It\u2019s pretty good escapism.<\/p>\n
Harold Love<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I thought it was entertaining, nothing more. Gave me a bit of a JAWS vibe with the mayor insisting everything is fine, we can\u2019t cancel summer and so on. Matt Rhys was phenomenal in the Beast In Me, which is why I wanted to see Widow\u2019s Bay.<\/p>\n
Derek Beere<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I couldn\u2019t keep up with the villains: a sea hag, the guy they exhumed (couldn\u2019t tell if he was a villain), the Halloween Michael Myers guy, the weather, the crawling creature from the night in the hotel and whatever was in the basement in the finale.<\/p>\n
The scene where the old woman sketches out the family lineage on an overhead projector that went on and on and on was perhaps the most annoying scene in television history for me. \u00a0It seemed like an attempt at humor but we got the point 30 or so seconds in, why keep it going for what seemed like an eternity?<\/p>\n
Outside of that Matthew Rhys is a terrific actor.<\/p>\n
John J. Petrocelli<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
With all due respect I couldn\u2019t disagree more. This was the most fun I\u2019ve had watching a tv series in quite awhile. I found the mix of comedy and horror perfect and I\u2019m not particularly a fan of horror. I rewatched each of the episodes at least once just to catch things that I\u2019d missed. The show was created by Katie Dippold who was a writer for Parks and Recreation and the office humor is very reminiscent of that show.
\nThe homages to Jaws and Halloween and Lost are just a few of the treats here. From your review I can\u2019t really understand why you are so strongly against it but to each their own. I will add that I enjoy a weekly drop of a show. Like The Pitt my wife and I looked forward to each new episode and didn\u2019t feel rushed into watching episodes back to back and we got more out of them.
\nEnjoy your emails and appreciate your opinions even when I disagree.<\/p>\n
Kevin Bennett<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I actually thought there were a couple of good episodes. There was some good tension in there, and I really didn\u2019t mind some of the baloney that was happening\u2026 I think the reality is that they\u2019re dragging it out to 10 episodes when they could easily bring it down to eight. I think the episodes are too short and that\u2019s why they turn it into Ten shows\u2026 they should each be 15 minutes long and bring it down to eight.. my wife and I never watch week two week anymore.. we wait till there\u2019s at least 3\/4 of the episodes done before we\u2019ll watch it.. and I think that gets us into the show more.. so at that point, I really can\u2019t go and kill it because we\u2019ve gotten into a flow \u00a0with it. Still much bigger hyped than what it was worth..<\/p>\n
Peace,<\/p>\n
Jason Miles<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I enjoyed it! It\u2019s not that unusual to have a show \/ movie that is crepey but has humorous moments. \u00a0Knives out for example. I know tons of ppl who love it<\/p>\n
Evan Rogers<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I\u2019m sorry you hated it \u2014 God knows I\u2019ve invested time in streaming shows that I wished I had back \u2014 but \u201cWidow\u2019s Bay\u201d is my favorite show in years, full stop. Once my wife and I found out the episodes dropped at 9pm EST Tuesdays, we planned the night around it in old-school Appointment Television fashion.<\/p>\n
I can\u2019t recall seeing a show that balances multiple tones and tensions so skillfully, with the scares landing as effectively as the gags. The acting is laser-focused from the leads to the secondary characters, and the world-building shows thought and care.<\/p>\n
And this is why I appreciate reading what you have to say, \u2018cos I am fully and completely surprised that this didn\u2019t land for you. But that\u2019s the nice thing about this moment in time \u2014 on to the next show.<\/p>\n
Best, Erick Haight<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
We couldn’t figure out WHAT this show was supposed to be, genuinely creepy or creepy funny. I thought the last episode wth Ruth, unsinkable \u201cI will be leaving work at 3\u201d Ruth, was great, and of COURSE it was stingy at the end set up Season 2.<\/p>\n
The party reveal with Patricia\u2019s punch recipe and instructions was hilarious.<\/p>\n
But most importantly, I now know how to spell \u201cfakokta.\u201d Boning up on my Yiddish glossary!<\/p>\n
Cheers,<\/p>\n
Henry Eshelman<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Don’t go all meshuga on me here, but I believe it’s actually spelled\u00a0Fakakta. \ud83d\ude42<\/p>\n
Harry Levy<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
It was slow. \u00a0Weird. Incomprehensible at times. \u00a0Uneven acting.<\/p>\n
That’s said it had just enough to finish it. \u00a0Could I recommend it? \u00a0Not really.<\/p>\n
Would I watch season 2? \u00a0When there is so little to watch at times and searching gets to be\u00a0such a drag, at times? \u00a0Maybe.<\/p>\n
Larry Lootsteen<\/p>\n
Waterloo, ON<\/p>\n
Canada<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Wish you had written this BEFORE I watched it, Bob. What a waste and had to be one of the most disappointing finales I\u2019ve ever seen.<\/p>\n
Brad Ketchum III<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Watched it and loved it. Just the right amount of wry humor, wit, spooky stuff and jump scares\u00a0 (but not gratuitously gory like 90% of the mediaverse.\u00a0 Rhys plays it straight and all of the characters are quirky and wonderful. What’s a matter with you Bob? I usually agree with all of your recommendations.<\/p>\n
Cathy Hausman in Mamaroneck<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Well you can’t be right about everything, but I really liked Widow’s Bay.<\/p>\n
Gary Wisner<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
The self contained episode 6 was the beginning of the end. Downhill from that point onwards. Can\u2019t get that time back<\/p>\n
Andrew Richardson<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
The plot came full circle for me when the bloodline\u00a0reveal happened.\u00a0That came out of nowhere and was perfectly executed. The fact that it sets up a new season is irrelevant\u00a0to me. If the show ended forever after this season, I’d be fully satisfied. Not fond of “endings” to begin with. I like a dangling cliffhanger.<\/p>\n
Steve Schalchlin<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I think you\u2019re in idiot if you don\u2019t like this show.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s X-Files in its balance and Rhys and the supporting cast balance horror and comedy brilliantly.<\/p>\n
The whole \u201che was taken by the fog\u201d bit in episode one was worth the cost of admission. It gets better though if you\u2019re willing to wait until the evil hostess party bit. How is that not the perfect balance of funny and macabre?<\/p>\n
Trey Zenker – NYC<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the worst – started off ok jumped the zombie shark and got stoopid fast – watch it win awards with a big awareness campaign and cringe away.<\/p>\n
Luke Joerger<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
We always line up Bob\u2026I feel the same way about Widow\u2019s Bay.<\/p>\n
Sam Jones<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I really tried to watch this show because I really liked Rhys in that Netflix show \u201cThe Beast in Me\u201d w Claire Danes. Rhys was really good in that.<\/p>\n
But the first episode of \u201cWidow\u2019s Bay\u201d was so slow and so not funny that my wife and I just could not get through it.<\/p>\n
We just looked at each other and said \u201cnah\u201d and then we watched a 10 year old episode of \u201cSVU\u201d and we were much happier.<\/p>\n
thanks,
\nMark Feldman<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Anyone who doesn\u2019t like this show:
\n1. Has terrible taste
\n2. Missed half of it because they were on their phone.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s the funniest show I ever seen in a long time. Give Kate O\u2019Flynn the Emmy now.<\/p>\n
Ben Nesvig<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
This is a series that flummoxed us. Some amazing episodes. Some downright ridiculous (digging up the old mayor for example. But the end. How can this be? A cliffhanger is one thing, but this ending resolved nothing. Felt like a waste.<\/p>\n
Bob Menzies<\/p>\n
Vancouver Island<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I watched it walking on the treadmill to pass time. My wife asked me if it was good. I told her only if there is nothing else to watch.<\/p>\n
David Schurr<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I wanted to like it but when they had a 500 year old person it jumped the shark!<\/p>\n
Randy Wind<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
OMG Bob, we couldn’t agree more! We just finished the last two episodes and were so happy to read your view since we kept saying throughout both “This is SOOOO BO-RING”!<\/p>\n
Also agree that the two episodes you highlighted were amusing, as was the homage to Michael Myers. Though the latter was primarily because of Kate O’Flynn, who was great throughout.<\/p>\n
Probably won’t bother with S2, since you know that Tom will never throw that trolley switch…<\/p>\n
Milton Lewin<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Wisdow\u2019s Bay was everything that you said and more. The writing was on the whole terrific- why – because it focused on \u201ccharacter,\u201d unique, specific, and most off them a mix of tragic and comic, unusual. And it was very funny… until it got scary. Then it got scary and did that well. So it was intentionally a hybrid genre w\/a mixed tone. \u00a0Not easy to do, yet they pulled it off for the most part. I did agree with you that in the end there was a big \u201chuh\u201d, a let down or a \u201cso what\u201d factor. That was disappointing. It needed to be more of a whammy so to speak. Just FYI Hitchcock said he wouldn\u2019t embark on a narrative unless it had 13 whammies (major story beats – like first leavening that the island is cursed). This is why Tarrantino says that series aren\u2019t nearly as satisfying as features except for the great series because they can just go on and not commit. Remember the end of season one of Fleabag. It\u2019s an f\u2019n whammy of a higher order, an epiphany. This one went out “not with a bang, but a whimper.” I still thought the writing and directing and acting were terrific, but if an ending doesn’t pay off big-time, as Ricky Ricardo says \u201cyou\u2019ve got some ‘splaining to do.\u201d<\/p>\n
Howie Wiseman
\nformer cellist with rock band Lighthouse
\nassociate professor emeritus, screenwriting<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Yeah I made it about 1.5 episodes and then Tapped out<\/p>\n
Jason Taylor<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I loved it and surprised that you did not mention the character Dale. Patricia was terrific. But Dale was done so well, so over the top, such great dour expressions and in that season finale, RUN! I think I peed my pants.<\/p>\n
Roy Pascarella<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Couldn\u2019t agree more! Watched the first episode and couldn\u2019t buy in. Matthew Reyes is one of my favorite actors, but this series is a waste of time.<\/p>\n
Keith Bishop<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
not a big fan of this, and of horror ghost stuff, but bc of reviews and rhys I watched. \u00a0I agree, there are some epiosodes I really enjoyed, and it did start out slow, I almost gave up. but its not bad and i liked it much better than \u00a04 seasons-i didnt love S1 and gave up on S2 pretty quickly<\/p>\n
Brian Barry Esq.<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Sometimes I feel we are not experiencing \u00a0the same show or same recordings.<\/p>\n
Other times I think you\u2019re in my room watching the same show or listening to the same record\u00a0 but in this case, if you don\u2019t think that K \u00a0Callan AS RUTH \u00a0doesn\u2019t deserve an Emmy for her performance in the finale\u00a0and that the show doesn\u2019t set up season two absolutely perfectly Then you and I are absolutely not on the same Jimi page!<\/p>\n
Morley Bartnoff<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
This is a show where your really need to put your phone down. \u00a0There are so many quiet little throwaways that are hysterical.<\/p>\n
Tim Redman<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
It’s a comedy first, not second. If you saw it that way from the start you may have enjoyed it more. It’s one of the better shows Ive seen in years.<\/p>\n
Bob Kalill<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Thanks, Bob, for confirming my initial thoughts on the show after watching 2 episodes.<\/p>\n
So we left it and have gone back to some classic movies and shows.<\/p>\n
Watched Midnight Cowboy, Taxi Driver, Apocolypse Now, Godfather 1, 2, 3 and are currently watching Deadwood (on season 3 and then the movie) and The Wire is next on our list. We’ve seen all of these before, they are so good they are worth watching again.<\/p>\n
And so much better than Widow’s Bay.<\/p>\n
Best Wishes,<\/p>\n
Jim Wills<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I could barely get past your first line which included the word fakokta.. I heard it many times growing up but have never thought how it was spelled..thanks for the laugh!! Maybe I\u2019ll watch Widows Bay, maybe not.<\/p>\n
Best,<\/p>\n
Dayle Levy<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Bob – I will accept farkakte, ferkakte, \u00a0nothing less<\/p>\n
deborah wilker<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Widow’s Bay season 1 was fun enough but all the hoopla I see online about it is overkill. I’m a fan of Stephen King style horror and loved how the show runners didn’t take themselves too seriously. They have fun with the classic horror tropes, there is some great comedy and characters, and some truly frightening bits. But, ultimately, I agree that sometimes the show just\u00a0fell flat and dragged. The “twist” was easy to spot from a mile away.<\/p>\n
This isn’t on the same level of a Breaking Bad, Sopranos, the Wire, or even Severance, etc. It’s good, not great…yet. I’ll definitely see how Season 2 shapes up. Perhaps this show will get stronger with more seasons.<\/p>\n
Sean Geraty<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I loved Widows Bay. I thought it was a hoot. And I loved it precisely because it kept me offkilter the entire time. The show has an inspired cast, but for me what distinguishes it is the writing. It\u2019s really fresh and confident and I appreciate all the left turns.<\/p>\n
I know you\u2019re really down on streamers that dole out content week by week but sometimes it works to let us savor a good show. It becomes \u201cappointment television\u201d and the anticipation is part of the fun.<\/p>\n
TomKB<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a terrific show. The build in the conversation week by week is a big part of its success. You\u2019re missing the podcast tv world which has become a major aspect of marketing and analysis. It\u2019s fine if it\u2019s not for you. I\u2019ll say the ending was not as strong, I\u2019ll give you that. All the best from Delaware!<\/p>\n
Ron Ozer<\/p>\n
Programming – Elkton Music Hall<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
The only thing this waste of time revealed is that it is abject garbage… Good morning Bob<\/p>\n
Charles Michael Green<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
Thanks Bob,<\/p>\n
I wasn’t sure how I felt, but fakokta sums it up nicely…<\/p>\n
J.B. Brenner<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
It’s one of those shows (the majority of shows nowadays) which are neither good nor bad.<\/p>\n
They are beige.<\/p>\n
But yeah, Rhys is a very fine actor.<\/p>\n
And I ain’t watching Cape Fear. If Javier Bardem is boycotting Israel, well, I am boycotting you back, you…(expletive of your own choosing.)<\/p>\n
All love,<\/p>\n
Baptiste-Elias Pi\u00e9gay-Natanson<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what \u2018fakokta’ means, but it *sounds* like a perfect description of this show. We just finished watching the finale and sat there looking at each other thinking \u201cwe spent how many hours watching this fakokta?\u201d<\/p>\n
You expect resolution, with maybe a hint that there could be another season. Not this time. No, most things unresolved, and new clues(what happened to the guy in the shelter basement?. The reveal about Tom\u2019s son. Is Ruth still alive?<\/p>\n
I did enjoy the acting, particularly Kate O\u2019Flynn, and of course Stephen Root (whom you didn\u2019t mention).<\/p>\n
I\u2019ll watch season 2, if there is one.<\/p>\n
Phil Schawe<\/p>\n
PS – OK I looked it up:\u00a0\u00a0messed up, ridiculous, broken, or utterly foolish<\/p>\n
_________________________________________<\/p>\n
You asked, I actually liked it. Some episodes better than others. Betty Gilipin, always watchable and the Boogeyman episode was tense. It was an original story line.\u00a0 So much of the same stuff on streaming, this was different.\u00a0 4 out of 5 stars.<\/p>\n
Alan Segal<\/p>\n
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I felt guilty for not liking this show. I tried 3 viewings and it just seemed dumb. Thanks for the review ! John Gentry _________________________________________ You lost me at fakokta. Best show on TV. Tom Lehr _________________________________________ Totally agree, Bob. Refreshing to hear a like-minded take. Everyone I’ve talked to LOVES this thing. I don’t […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23375","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-television"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p96vPs-651","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23375","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23375"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23375\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23376,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23375\/revisions\/23376"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23375"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23375"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lefsetz.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23375"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}