Have to start by saying that we’re REALLY enjoying both of these shows – different as they are. Having gotten that out of the way, we also can’t help but find ourselves cringing a bit at certain points in every episode.
With “Bad Monkey”, it’s mainly the bad guys – particularly Meredith Hagner as Eve Stripling. I don’t think I’ve ever met anyone so completely lacking a moral compass IRL and I pray that I never do. Honorable mention goes to Michelle Monaghan as Bonnie Witt. Taken together, these two make a pretty strong case for celibacy. Still – Vince Vaughn as Andrew Yancy, Ronald Peet as Neville Stafford and Natalie Martinez as Rosa Campesino more than compensate (Natalie Martinez pulls you back from the whole celibacy train of thought) and turn this into a really fun show. Worth a watch.
“The Old Man” couldn’t be more different – every character in this show, with the possible exception of Alia Shawkat as Angela Adams, is humping a huge pack of original sin along with them throughout and none of them are easy to like. Additionally, it is very hard to know who to sympathize with – it’s a collection of incredibly flawed anti-heroes, all of whom are pursuing morally ambiguous outcomes. I find it to be confusing at best and conflicting at its worst. My only caveat – and it’s only my suspicion at this point – is that the true antagonist (Joel Gray as Martin Bote) hasn’t been brought solidly into the story yet. When that happens, it may give us the opportunity to rally around the sorry crew that have carried the show to this point. Overall, it may be a little harder to watch but it’s still very worthwhile.