Thursday, 13 February 2020

This Is Us - Season Three (2018 Dan Fogelman)

We are behind - IMDB lists up to Season Six... Could only get this by buying a DVD from Germany.

In the wake of his Ron Howard war movie, Kevin starts looking into his dad in Vietnam - that episode (4) is Flashback City.


Meanwhile, Kate is trying to get pregnant, Toby goes off his meds, Randall runs for councillor.

Not a show for people who don't like flashbacks, as we're then cutting between not-dead-after-all Uncle Nicky being visited by his brother Jack in the seventies, and by the three kids now. Then episode involving Beth and her mum and dad and her childhood as a ballet dancer.

Short episode lengths and ad breaks provide some scenes that are shorter that you might like, but when we're not in full flashback mode there's lots of good cross cutting expertly weaving in the old events. Not sure there's anything like it. We were trudging through The Trial of Christine Keeler but gave up, and one of the reasons was there was no one to like in it - the exact opposite of this show.

Lyric Ross is impressive again as the troubled adopted daughter. With Milo Ventimiglia and Mandy Moore, Sterling K Brown (Randall), Chrissy Metz (Kate), Justin Hartley (Kevin), Susan Kelechi Watson (Beth), Melanie Liburd (her cousin), Chris Sullivan (Toby), Jon Huertas (Miguel). Nice to still see William in flashbacks, with the lovely smile of Ron Cephas Jones.

And all the various incarnations of the kids must be worth a mention:
Aged 17: Niles Fitch (rather good as Randall), Hannah Ziele, Logan Shroyer.
Aged 10: Mackenzie Hancsicak (Kate), Parker Bates (Kevin), Lonnie Chavis.

At times Enoish music from Siddhartha Khosia, shot by Yasu Tanida. Many different writers, usually credited as one per show.

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