Binge Watching

One of my largest struggles in the field of media is that I just really don't like television. It has become an issue when I discover TV content related memes on Reddit or Ifunny. The only reason I ended up watching the Mandalorian and the Witcher was because of all the memes associated with the two shows. Even though I may not watch much television, it's easy to know which shows are popular because of memes. Here's a look at some of the shows that I surveyed during this public health crisis

Tiger King

Tiger King is a true-crime documentary that details the life of zookeeper Joe Exotic. It focuses on the big cat conservationist community more than it does on the tigers themselves, with individuals like Carol Baskin who runs Big Cat Rescue and with collectors such as Joe Exotic.

While Joe Exotic is a zany character, it is the memes about Carol Baskin that have made Tiger King a "must watch" show. There is a large belief that Carol Baskin murdered her husband. I, as a neutral reporter, can say that the way they set up episode three of the series made incriminating Carol Baskin much easier. It feels as though the network worked hard to create a murder mystery that most likely did not happen. Yet, it's the memes about this potential murder that I have driven thousands of fans into watching the show.

My rating: 6/10 - Tiger King isn't what I would consider being a documentary - more like Jersey Shore meets Siegfried and Roy. Tiger King capitalizes off of the drama that has transpired between Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin, the issues that members of their communities have faced, and trying to create a murder case with Carol Baskin as the main subject. That all being said, it is shot incredibly well and has made a tremendous uproar within meme communities. I do not believe Tiger King would have received the attention that it did if COVID-19 never happened.

Ozark

Ozark is a crime-drama series that stars Jason Bateman and Laura Linney as a married couple who flee with their family to the Ozarks after a money-laundering scheme for a Mexican drug cartel goes wrong. They are then forced by the drug lord to launder a massive amount of money or else they all die. With more work than they can handle, the family becomes entangled with the local criminals around the Lake of the Ozarks.

Ozark has had a smidgen of meme content that follows the show. It follows along the same lines that were said about "Breaking Bad" and "The Wire" with individuals making a collective voice praising the brilliance of the show and that it is "the greatest series I have ever watched". Any hate the show has received is generally based upon the individual perception of other "favorites" by comparison. If anything, look at Rotten Tomatoes "Best Shows of 2020 So Far" and you will find Ozark ranked at #8 with a 97% fresh rating. (By comparison, Tiger King is ranked #18)

My rating: 9/10 - Ozark is fantastic! It holds elements of many of my favorite shows at a steady pace followed by drastic moments. I don't need the cronies at Vox to tell me it is "just another White Guy Anti-hero Show" when the reality is that shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Sopranos are all incredibly successful. Characters that teeter the line between good and evil are just so much more interesting than just a single character dynamic. Just look at the ratings for the last season of The Walking Dead and you can't tell me that I'm wrong.

The Magicians

The show follows the series protagonist Quentin Coldwater as he is enrolled in Brakebills University, discovering that it is a school of magic and that his favorite fantasy series is, in fact, a real world. This discovery only brings forth immediate danger as a villain, only known as "The Beast", remains a looming threat that can potentially kill Quentin and his fellow classmates. While Quentin searches for a way to combat the beast, his best friend Julia must come to grips with the fact that she was denied enrollment to Brakebills after discovering that magic is real. As the story progresses, Quentin must find what it takes to go Fillory and kill the beast while Julia searches for magic outside of Brakebills.

The Magicians really doesn't have meme content that goes beyond its die-hard fans. I was introduced to the series by my girlfriend and we have been progressing through the seasons steadily. The series finale aired on April 1st, 2020 on the SyFy network.

My rating: 7.5/10 - The Magicians is a great series but sometimes it reminds me of the first season of Supernatural where the special effects could be a bit subpar. The show is open to many different groups with characters from the LGBT community and a culturally different cast, however, season one caught media attention because of a rape scene and the sequences that followed this. I would personally recommend this show if you wanted a more mature version of the Harry Potter series.

Conclusion

Ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb come from a variety of sources, which means that in most cases the rating of the show comes from the general perception of its audience. When it comes to my ratings, feel free to take it with a grain of salt. If you are incredibly interested in watching Tiger King, go do it! If you thought The Magicians was terrible, offer me an alternative show that follows a similar theme. It is up to you to decide whether or not you enjoy a show, so don't let individual perceptions stop you from enjoying an experience. After all, this is coming from the guy who as a kid thought Last Action Hero was one of the best movies he had ever watched.