Have you ever been at a loss as to what to watch? Too many shows to pick from? We’re here to give you our opinions on what we feel is worth watching. Check it out and then let us know in the comments below what you’re choosing for tonight!
Kyle’s Choice
In 1984, audiences cheered as Karate Kid underdog Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) executed his iconic crane kick to take home the trophy at the All-Valley Under-18 Karate Championship, stealing the title away from despicable Cobra Kai student Johnny Lawrence (William Zabka). YouTube Red’s new series Cobra Kai revisits these characters nearly 35 years later, as their bitter rivalry is reignited. Since he won the karate tournament decades earlier, Daniel LaRusso has made quite a great life for himself. He has a loving wife and two children and owns a successful auto shop/dealership franchise. He gives out bonsai trees to every customer (in honor of his late karate master Mr. Miyagi), and uses lots of karate metaphors in his TV ads and billboards. Meanwhile, life hasn’t been so kind to Johnny – he is a far cry from being the popular kid in high school. He works a crummy job as a handyman for thankless rich people, doing odd jobs such as cleaning dead rats out of their gutters. He still drives an old Pontiac Firebird from the 80s, has a teenage daughter he never sees, lives alone in a messy apartment, and doesn’t even get a second glance from the women he tries to hit on.
Today, YouTube Red has released all 10 episodes of the first season of Cobra Kai. I have checked out the first two, and while the acting isn’t likely to win any Emmys, I did find the series to be a lot of fun and filled with nostalgia. The show has this nice mix of humor and drama, with lots of callbacks to the original movie. I had re-watched the film before checking out the series, but there’s really no need to, as the first couple of episodes include a lot of clips to refresh your memory.
The series twists things up a bit in a fun way, changing the roles of the characters from the movie. This time Daniel is more of the villain, and Johnny takes on the Mr. Miyagi role. Johnny blames Daniel for the state of his life, and every time he sees one of his TV ads or billboards, he grows more and more angry. Daniel has become a bit obnoxious in his success, and Johnny wants to take him down. So when his new neighbor, Miguel (Xolo Maridueña, Parenthood), asks him to teach him self-defense, Johnny decides to start his own school and bring back ways of the Cobra Kai. It is a lot of fun to check back in with these iconic characters decades later, and I look forward to seeing how the first season plays out. Will these two always be at odds? Will Johnny teach his students the same dirty tricks his Sensei insisted on? What kind of revenge does Johnny have planned? And is Daniel truly the villain now, or will things go back to more familiar territory?
I’ll also be watching/recording The Goldbergs, Alex, Inc., Modern Family, American Housewife, Designated Survivor, Survivor, The Blacklist, The Americans, Archer, The Expanse, Krypton, and Colony.
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