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I’ve been watching Russian Doll on Netflix over the last few days and enjoying it very much, though with the slight sinking feeling that it’s not a million miles away from “Everything Happens (For No Reason)” which I could have got on TV well before this had the commissioners seen its potential.
It’s certainly the best of the alternate universe/Sliding Doors genre on offer at the moment, though personally (mild spoiler) I think it’s a pity that it seems all wrapped up within one series (maybe… I suppose there is scope for more, but it would be a different show) and would have liked to see them really explore the possibilities of reliving the same day/days over and over again before being killed. But that might just be me.
It’s got excellent performances, some good laughs and surprises and seems to understand the logic of how alternate universes would work and how everything wouldn’t just be the same. But I am someone who would be very happy to watch a TV series where each episode was Phil Connor reliving Groundhog Day and never managing to escape and to find out that everything was happening for no reason. The commissioners for my show were keen to know why everything was happening and for me to give a reason. I said that that might become apparent over many series, but there was a pretty fucking big clue in the title that there might not be a reason you stupid fuckers. Though I did actually have some ideas (not that we would get near them in the first series) I was keen to discover more for myself in the writing. Perhaps others like drama because it brings order to the chaos of life, but I like things that reflect the true nihilistic chaos. It’s perfectly possible that there’s a God but the He or She has pretty much no idea of what’s going on either. Or an afterlife that gives us no clues to anything. Or someone gets trapped in a day of their lives for no fucking reason and can never escape.
Russian Doll is written by people who get this though, and to be fair it’s more of a drama than I think my show would have been/would be. But it’s annoying to be ahead of the curve and then be overtaken by the curve and end up in the middle of the curve or not on the curve at all. There’s an alternate Universe where all my shows are being made, but I am much more of a cunt in that Universe, and that me never updates his blog so it’s swings and roundabouts.
