Time Crunched Critics
Time Crunched Critics is a podcast for busy TV fans, offering honest, straight-forward reviews to help you decide what's a worthwhile watch and what's a safe skip.
Check out our Weekly Crunch episodes for quick reviews of all the shows on our weekly watch-list.
Check out our Extra Crunchy episodes for detailed deep-dives into specific shows/films/topics.
Check out our Crunch Wrap episodes for complete summaries and recaps of entire TV seasons (spoilers abound; details about themes/characters/plot points/fan theories/more), to get you all caught up and ready for a new season to drop!
Email us @ timecrunchedcritics@gmail.com to share your thoughts and/or to help us decide our next watch.
Time Crunched Critics
Weekly Crunch - Imperfect Women, Widow's Bay, Miniature Wife, & Apex
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Weekly Crunch = NO SPOILERS btw. Just reviews.
This week the Time Crunched Critics review the complete season of Imperfect Women, discuss their initial impressions of Widow's Bay and Miniature Wife, and review the new Netflix thriller film, Apex. Jennifer recommends three recent documentaries for all you true-crime documentary fans. Plus, they give their Be Kind, Rewind picks of the week.
Have a show request or recommendation? Have a question or a comment? Email us at timecrunchedcritics@gmail.com. We'd love to hear from you!
Welcome back to another weekly crunch.
SPEAKER_00This week we started two new shows, finished one show, and even watched a new movie.
SPEAKER_03Yes. And I went on a documentary watching spree, so I'll be doing a docudump.
SPEAKER_00I'm not hooked on the name. But the alliteration's there.
SPEAKER_03Welcome to Time Crunched Critics.
SPEAKER_00We're two TV lovers who watch a little too much TV, so you don't have to.
SPEAKER_03We're here to give you our honest reviews on what's a worthwhile watch and what you can safely skip.
SPEAKER_00Because we know what it's like to be crunched for time.
SPEAKER_03Alright, I was thinking we could start with Imperfect Women.
SPEAKER_00Well, hang on, hang on, hang on. Oh I think I gotta say this is this is the 20th weekly crunch.
SPEAKER_03It is.
SPEAKER_00It's a milestone.
SPEAKER_03It's a milestone. It's not our 20th episode.
SPEAKER_00No.
SPEAKER_03Because we've done some extra crunchy and crunch wraps. Oh yeah. Um, yeah. 20 episodes of weekly recaps. Here we are.
SPEAKER_00We did it.
SPEAKER_03Congratulations. Anyways, back to the weekly crunch. I was thinking we could start with Imperfect Women since that is a show that we completely finished, so we were gonna be able to give a time crunch trading on it. What do you think?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, let's do that.
SPEAKER_03Why don't you read the synopsis for all our listeners?
SPEAKER_00Imperfect Women is a glossy murder mystery thriller centered on a decades-long f female friendship fractured by jealousy, loyalty, secrets, and power. The story unfolds through shifting perspectives as a woman's murders sends shockwaves through the lives of the women connected to her, with suspicion and emotional fallout constantly evolving. All eight episodes are currently streaming on Apple TV.
SPEAKER_03And we talked about Imperfect Women a few weekly crunch episodes ago. Back when we first started watching and we had just watched the first three episodes. I think, if I remember correctly, our early impressions were a little slow, kind of boring, not exactly standing out in an already overcrowded murder mystery thriller landscape. And we were hoping that it would find its footing. Now we finished them, all of it. Mike, do you think it got better? Did it find its footing? What do you think?
SPEAKER_00If you remember, I definitely was not hooked at first because, like you said, it's it was overcrowded. This didn't do anything just to stand out to me. Um, and I just kind of didn't care for it.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_00But as the season went on, it kind of shifted things up enough where I was slightly, slightly more interested, I would say. The the story's told from a couple different perspectives, and that gives kind of a fresh twist on it.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, and the first three episodes was all the same perspective.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03So it was it was interesting in that way. They did them kind of in like chunks of three. So I guess maybe that first perspective was just more boring than maybe the other one.
SPEAKER_00You could just get it out of the way. Um, why lead with that? I wonder.
SPEAKER_03But it was interesting how they chose to do it in multi-episode arcs. Yeah. You know what I mean? Instead of just like one episode this, one episode that.
SPEAKER_00So Yeah, I yeah. I I think had that been more clear from the beginning, I would have been slightly more interested because I didn't really I didn't know there that was how it was gonna go. Yeah. And I didn't really care for the first um three lines of the story. I think once you mix in other people's perspective, it gets more interesting. Yeah, it was it was very vanilla at first and it it got better, which which I guess is rare. You know, it's it's nice to see a show kind of um improve in my mind.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think parts of it really did drag though. Like there were episodes that I preferred less than other episodes. Yeah. I feel like maybe it could have been condensed.
SPEAKER_01Sure.
SPEAKER_03I'm not sure. I think this is based off a book, so you know, I don't like they gotta do what they gotta do. But I do think that overall it did eventually get better. I agree with you. But I still think in this saturated market of murder, mystery, thriller, twisty stuff, it just was like, yeah, like I'll forget it.
SPEAKER_00Yeah. I mean, it got better, but it's still very meh. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And there were there were definitely, I mean, the the late the lead three actors were very great actresses, they did a great job, but still, I can't look at Elizabeth Moss and not see June from Handmaid's Tale. And like even when it was her perspective and she got to really showcase some of her emotional talent, you know, because she can really get there. I was just like, it's June. Yeah. And then zoom in and twitch. That is not her fault. That is a me thing, but it's just it is I'm just sharing my opinion and experience, and that it's hard. Like, she was just this really intense character for so long, so many years. It's really hard to see her in something that's not yeah, but she still plays it similar, she she goes to a very similar place.
SPEAKER_00No, it's it's definitely not the first person this has happened to, it's not gonna be the last. Yeah. Um, I mean, how mad can you be? Like that's you know, that show is paying the bills. Totally.
SPEAKER_03But I do think that if you like a glossy, because this one's uh has some glass to it. If you like if you like the glossy, twisty character driven and like a melodrama almost, I think that this could scratch that itch for you. But if you really wanted something that was grounded and realism and like tight plotting and maybe unpredictable twists, then this one might frustrate you. I feel like the twists were predictable for me.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna say I'm gonna give it a 5.5 time crunch critic rating, I think, for me. Which falls in my meh. Yeah, right. Um five to six is watchable but forgettable and inconsistent.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I mean, we watch a lot of this type of show in and I'll also I'll give it a five, and but that's up, you know, because it was because the first three episodes it was leaning. The first three were about a three, and um so it it improved somewhat, but you just have to be patient and get to some of the other perspectives.
SPEAKER_03It does take a while to get there, but you know, you can give it a shot.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_03But if you don't, like it's okay.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, you can you can't do that. I don't think you're missing out.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I don't think you're missing out on something that was like groundbreaking.
SPEAKER_00Right. Should we move on to something a little better?
SPEAKER_03Yeah, I think we should go on to Widow's Bay.
SPEAKER_01All right.
SPEAKER_03Which is a new a new show we just started watching. There are currently two episodes out as of this recording. Um, and then it's gonna be a weekly release. This one is on Apple TV. Do you want to read the synopsis?
SPEAKER_00Widow's Bay is a genre blending horror comedy set on a remote, fog-soaked island off the coast of New England. The story follows skeptical mayor Tom Loftus, who's determined to revive his struggling town by turning it into a tourist destination, despite locals insisting the place is very, very cursed. Jennifer, what are we thinking about Widows Bay?
SPEAKER_03So I really love the premise of this show. It feels like the kind of setup that could lead to a lot of creative and interesting storytelling. I'm hopeful that the show actually is gonna follow through with that potential. So far, I'm into it.
SPEAKER_00You know what though? Like, I'll just I'll just say this. So the synopsis that I just read and a couple others that I read when we were deciding whether or not to watch it described it as comedy, horror, drama, mystery. Like just basically all the genres, right? And there are, I mean, there certainly are some funny parts, but it's not like um uh I I would say that it's more is thrillery than comedy or you know, mystery than comedy. I think now when I think of comedy horror, I'm thinking of the one where they do hide and seek. Do you remember the name of the that movie that we watched?
SPEAKER_03That was called hide and seek.
SPEAKER_00It was called okay. Um when they when they talk about comedy horror, now my mind goes to hide and seek.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, this is not hide and seek, right?
SPEAKER_00Because that was definitely like you know, it was pretty funny, but then also lots of people are dying in gory ways. Right. And this is um this, you know, they they're they're not out to throw a bunch of puns at you, although some parts are are a little bit.
SPEAKER_03I just think it's the characters. The characters are what makes it funny, how they're playing things, who they are, and just the absurdity of some of the things that people are saying, and then you have the mayor who's kind of more grounded, you know, and and more glossy.
SPEAKER_00No, no, I was just joking.
SPEAKER_03I mean, I think that's I just think that he hit the way that he interacts with these people that are a little weird and a little whatever, it makes it funny.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, no, that that's true, but I but that's the heat. I thought it was realistic too for like this small town island. Yeah, you know, that is it wasn't like you know, over-the-top comedy, it's just like this is just the ins and outs of the thing.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, but I definitely giggled and even to myself, even if I didn't laugh out loud, I was like, oh, that was smart. Oh, that was like that was kind of a funny thing. You know, I did get a little nervous in episode two, though, because it felt like they suddenly threw a lot of elements into the mix, similar to how you felt about uh what was it, Paradise season two, when you thought that there was like too many sci-fi ideas happening. I kind of felt like that with this episode a little bit when they went to the the inn and just a lot of different stuff was happening. Like I just I'm really hoping this doesn't turn into like a kitchen sink situation where it's every supernatural monster magic element that you can think of. I want it to be I want the scope to be more narrowed and focused, and we'll see. I mean, right now we're still learning about what it is that the curse is, right? But I just hope it's not like everything you can think of. You know what I'm saying?
SPEAKER_00They take a while to build to the horror in the first place. I mean, I feel like the first episode it was uh very approachable for someone who doesn't even care for horror genre.
SPEAKER_03It's super eerie and and moody and creepy, but it's not too bad. I don't think I think that if you're like really not into scary, I think you could still watch this. I what did you think, Mike? I mean, were you scared?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, so that's the problem I find myself in because like I think this show is interesting, but I hate jump scares, I do not want them. And I've there was like one, yeah. So this show doesn't have many, yeah, but it kind of makes you feel like it's gonna have more in my mind. And that makes it that makes it hard for me to watch. And I think I think in some ways that's kind of the point. Like it's supposed to make you a little uneasy, yeah. On the edge of your seat, but it's not what I'm looking for most of the time, and I like that.
SPEAKER_03Um I'm okay with that feeling. So I think it just depends on your like what you like.
SPEAKER_00You you know, you know what you like, but but I think the the story itself, I I like the setup so far. I love the setting. I think I'm going to I think I'll probably continue to watch it with one eye open.
SPEAKER_03For sure. I think the setting's great. I love the island with like no Wi-Fi and the fog and kind of feeling like you're stuck there. I love Matthew. Is it Breeze? Is that the actor's name? I'm not familiar with I mean, he was in The Beast in Me, yeah, which we watched and talked about. And he's been in other stuff too, but I think that him as this in the lead is actually really perfect. I think he naturally kind of comes off really creepy. Like he kind of has a creepy look or vibe or something to him, but he's also funny and he's a good actor. Like he can do that. So I think he's a he's just like extremely watchable. I'm I'm like, this is working. This is working.
SPEAKER_00Like he was he he was too aggressive to be, you know, to be watchable for me, but he was a good character. And I was when I saw his face again, I was like, oh, is he just gonna do this character again? No, he didn't. He has he has range. It's it's nice.
SPEAKER_03He he's someone who I don't see that other guy in that role that he played. This is uh a new a new character. So, anyways, and I think all the performances so far are great. I think the casting in this was really great. I'm not like cringing at bad acting or anything. It really feels it really feels good. I think I'm excited to keep watching. I don't think it has cracked my top tier favorites list yet for like my all-time favorites or anything. It's too soon to tell. I can see it getting there. I'm invested, maybe not obsessed yet. Yeah, I'm I'm I'm excited to keep going, and we'll talk about it when we wrap it all. But I really, I really am hopeful for this one.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, I gotta admit, I read about an app that tells you when jump scares are coming. I might have to get that for this.
SPEAKER_03There was literally one jump scare in the second episode.
SPEAKER_00The thing is, like, I I don't want that feeling so much, but I want to know the story.
SPEAKER_03You want someone to watch it before you and say there's a jump scare at minute 5.30, so plug your ears.
SPEAKER_00Just you know, relax until minute 5.30, then maybe look away and then come back. Yeah. Because I am like the story is interesting to me, but I I just don't like that stuff. It's kind of like the other um horror movies that we talked about in the past where it's like for the most part, it's just kind of an interesting story, but every once in a while they just kind of get you. Yeah. You got nowhere.
SPEAKER_03And like you're just not in love with that.
SPEAKER_00I I don't love it, but I mean it I get it, right? It is silly after they do get you. Yeah. Like you have to laugh at yourself, but it's it's not something I want.
SPEAKER_03All right. Well, let's move on to the other show that we started. It's called How do you pronounce this? Do you say miniature or miniature?
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna I'm gonna go all the syllables here. Miniature. Because I say miniature. Miniature. I think miniature, miniature, miniature.
SPEAKER_03I'm gonna use both of them.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, let's just do it.
SPEAKER_03Miniature. You're imperfect. I am imperfect. This miniature wife, miniature wife. I honestly wasn't totally sure if I wanted us to talk about it on this episode, only because all of the episodes of this, this is a peacock show. This is a new peacock series. All of the episodes are out right now, so you can watch all of them. And when that happens, I like us to watch all of them and then like give a full well-rounded whatever. But this one's taking us a while. It's gonna I don't know how how when we'll finish it. And I just thought we could at least just give a let people know we're watching it and what our takes are so we don't have to go go too deep.
SPEAKER_01And we can always great. So I don't know.
SPEAKER_03For those of you who don't know, The Miniature Wife is a science fiction romantic dramedy about a long married couple whose already messy power dynamics are thrown completely off balance after a technological accident. Literally, when scientist Les Littlejohn accidentally shrinks his wife Lindy, a once successful author, down to six inches tall, their strained marriage becomes a battleground where resentment, ambition, and control take very real physical form. Give me your what's what do you think? Do you want to keep watching it?
SPEAKER_00So I don't have a lot of nice things to say. I mean, I I think this show, I think it got promoted heavily.
SPEAKER_03It did.
SPEAKER_00And it wound up on, you know, the some of the lists for that reason, but it doesn't deserve it necessarily. I I thought like we watched the pilot and I was like, okay, it is just about what it says on the tin, right? And um, and I was like, oh, maybe the pilot just came on too strong and the other ones will get more interesting, but I didn't feel that way. Uh I so I don't know. I don't I don't care for it. I don't really care for the setup or or most like most of the characters, like I don't really care about the one thing with like with Matthew McF um Fadden, who plays the the main character, the head scientist. Yeah, it's it's interesting because on like on succession, him and Greg, I forgot the actor's name for Greg, but him and Greg, like that duo was really funny.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. I think he's doing great actually in this.
SPEAKER_00I think he's really the I liked him in Succession. I liked him and Greg in Succession because I feel like that actor can he's he can turn the comedy on and off, or at least he did so with his character in succession. So like he can fill the role of you know, CFO or CEO, you know, whatever he was in succession, but then also get in some quick back and forth with Greg or do something else kind of funny, but then also play it serious. And on this show, like it's just all trying to be like funny nonstop, or just kind of like the goofy, you know, mad scientist type person, like and it just that's too much of that, right? Um, and I I think it's limiting him because he was able to showcase kind of more um aspects of his acting on succession, and here it's just like just the silly goofy scientists.
SPEAKER_03Well, I mean, they do the flashbacks to their life. I mean, it's more than just this man that shrunk his wife. It's also they have all these marriage problems and like other stuff is happening. There's other things in the plot besides just this, which is nice. And I think that kind of has lent itself to showing his depth as an actor, some of the emotional scenes with his wife and like the romantic-y scenes and stuff like that. I think he's showcasing his work. I'm not loving it, I'm not hating it. The concept is definitely unique and fun. It's also pretty illogical, of course, but you know, I do wish it moved a little faster. I do feel like the pacing is a little slow at times.
SPEAKER_00Well, because it seems like they really only have the one bit, right?
SPEAKER_03Like, yeah, it's been, I think we've watched five episodes and it's kind of like been the same thing. It's like we get it, so now what's the next thing? Yeah, yeah, yeah. But we'll see. I think I'm gonna keep watching. This is one that honestly, I don't know when we're gonna finish it. I don't know how fast we're gonna watch it because we have other shows that we're watching and other things we like, and we're time crunched. So this will be we'll do our best.
SPEAKER_00I'm gonna safely skip this one. You're not gonna watch the rest? Well, I mean if it's on, right.
SPEAKER_03Can it be my walking pad show or something? When let's move on from the miniature wife.
SPEAKER_00Miniature.
SPEAKER_03Miniature.
SPEAKER_00Minotaur wife minotaur. Oh, that's the show. The minotaur wife.
SPEAKER_03What's a minotaur?
SPEAKER_00What's a minotaur? Half man, half bull, or half woman, half bull in this case. What should it be? Like is there a lady a minotaur? Well, I I guess I don't know why I'm asking you.
SPEAKER_03Would it be called a womanotaur?
SPEAKER_00All right, let me get my facts straight. Female Minotaurs are often called minotauresses.
SPEAKER_03Okay.
SPEAKER_00Alright, that didn't deliver. I thought it'd be something it's all good.
SPEAKER_03I like learning new vocabulary.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_03And I'll The Minotaur wife.
SPEAKER_00I'll remember that. Coming uh or the Minotaur S wife coming to Peacock.
SPEAKER_03I like womenotaur better. All right, the next film we're gonna talk about is Apex. Apex is a new Netflix action thriller movie, and it is about a grieving woman who seeks solace in the wilderness only to become ensnared.
SPEAKER_00Miniature. Yep.
SPEAKER_03In a deadly game of cat and mouse with a serial killer.
SPEAKER_00There you go.
SPEAKER_03I can honestly say that I enjoyed watching this one. I was engaged the whole time. I was genuinely entertained. I think it looked really cool. It looked real. It didn't look CGI heavy or anything. The wilderness, the Australian wilderness and everything, like the mountains that they were climbing, everything was looked really cool. I think it was like the perfect length. We could watch the whole thing in one night and still have a little bit of time for the office after where we we don't just watch this movie before bed. Like, will I remember it in a month? Probably not. But while I was watching it, I was having a good time, and sometimes that's enough.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03Like it doesn't have to be this big Academy Award-winning, like long-standing thing. It was, I think it was a great movie to throw on for a Friday night. If you like that kind of cat and mouse chase, Charlie's Therone is like is is great. Um, and but really Taryn Eagerton, he plays a man in it, and he is so good. I thought he just delivered. I was really impressed. I don't think that the emotional side of the story was particularly strong. The movie touches on some really big themes like grief and trauma and some stuff that happens and how you overcome it. But it didn't really go too deep into it or explore them. And they had like a huge named actor at the beginning who you know isn't in the movie the rest of the time. And I'm like, oh, that is interesting. I thought there would be some flashbacks or something. I was like, Oh, sure. I I just thought we were gonna dive deeper into some stuff, and I'm like, oh nope, okay, we're we're just not gonna touch on that. So it's it's this is really just more like a straightforward survival thriller. Yeah, don't expect anything more. That's what you get. I thought it was a fun, solid ride. I enjoyed it.
SPEAKER_00I mean I think what you said pretty much sums it up. Like, if you're looking for uh, you know, it's it's Friday night and you need a movie to throw on, just throw in this, like why not? But yeah, you know, you're probably not gonna remember it in a month. I mean, it doesn't stand out more than that, but it's it's a fun watch. I mean, the I'm fine saying that. I'm I don't know how much the actors would want to hear something. I don't know who signs up for. Like, meh, it was fun. Throw it on. I would love to play in a movie like this. A forgettable one?
SPEAKER_03Yeah. Because it would look like it was fun to make.
SPEAKER_00Oh, okay.
SPEAKER_03That's what's that's what it's about. I will say there was one thing that I kept getting frustrated with like the entire time we were watching. What's it? Do you remember? Her hair.
SPEAKER_02Yeah.
SPEAKER_03I'm so I get so annoyed with movies and shows when there's when the actress gets their hair wet and it's like perfectly parted down the middle, and then that's kind of like wet in front of their face, and they don't put it behind their ears or move it, and they're like, she's running for her life, and her hair is just like perfectly in front of her face. Um, she always has her little strands out, and she'll be in the water and then get out of the water, and it's her hair's perfectly parted, and it's just like this beautiful damp hair. And I'm like, what? She's Charlize Therole and she looked beautiful the entire time. And I was like, Is this real? But I'm not, you know what? It's not supposed to be real. Just enjoy the movie. She looks good.
SPEAKER_00I can confirm that you brought that up quite a lot. But I just I just didn't, I just didn't get it.
SPEAKER_03I think I I always want to be like, put your hair behind your ears. When I see girls working out with their hair down, it also makes me like have the heebie jeebies. I'm like, oh my god just put your hair up. Like, aren't you sweating and there's hair? I it's like I could feel the sweat on my neck with my hair on it, and it's like uh. And that's how I felt when I saw her. I was like, she's running for her life. Put your hair behind your ears so you can freaking see. You're gonna trip over everything.
SPEAKER_00We just gotta keep the arms pumping so she can run faster.
SPEAKER_03But she looks good. That's what's important. I'm about to do a full docudump.
SPEAKER_00We're gonna we're gonna come up.
SPEAKER_03Let's just what's uh what is a better phrase than docudump. Documentary dump. A docudump. Dump the doc. It's gonna dump a few docs on you.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I think just go for it. We're gonna we're gonna we're gonna uh workshop that name though.
SPEAKER_03Well, I've been deep in true crime documentary mood for the past couple of weeks, I'd say. I wanted stuff I could throw in while I was walking on the walking pad and while working on my crochet blankets because they are taking me so long. So I wanted something kind of like low effort, high interest viewing type of stuff where you don't have to follow a plot because sometimes that gets hard when I'm doing my crochet stuff. So I'm not gonna go super in depth in these. I'll keep it brief. I just wanted to let the listeners know that there are some solid documentaries out there if you are itching for one. Okay. First up on Netflix, there's a brand new three-part documentary. So three like hour-long episodes called Should I Marry a Murderer? This was a really easy, solid, right? The answer should be no.
SPEAKER_01Okay. Uh-oh.
SPEAKER_03This was a really easy, solid binge. It covers a story that I had never heard before, so that also hooked me because I feel like I know a lot of true crime stuff. This happened in another country, so maybe that's why. But the premise is super wild. A woman meets a man online, they have a whirlwind romance, get engaged after a few months of dating, then he confesses to a serious crime that he committed years earlier. And then the series is just following her, grappling with what to do next and how, or you know, how to move forward, or if at all, with that. And so the documentary is told entirely through her lens, this woman's lens. It's really about her experience more than anything else. And so it was just interesting. I I would have loved to know more about the victim and like who he was, and maybe his family could have been interviewed, or it would have been nice to have their perspective. But this was just a unique telling of this interesting situation through this woman's lens, and she had so much footage because she like Snapchat at everything and like would take videos constantly.
SPEAKER_00With the filters, yeah, like the ghost filter or something.
SPEAKER_03I don't know, like I don't know, one with stars on your eyes. I don't know, I don't Snapchat, but um, she has a lot of like footage from them dating and stuff. It was it was just not boring, it was an interesting story, and you're gonna be frustrated. I I was frustrated at her, I was frustrated with the police department and how they handled things, but you do kind of get closure, and so it kind of all wraps up. But I just thought I was like, oh, this was a pretty good documentary. It was it was unique. I would recommend this one for true crime people who like it, and it's it's easy, it's three episodes, and it's on Netflix. The next documentary that I watched was on Peacock, and this one was called The Gilgo Beach Killer House of Secrets. This is a four-episode docuseries that offers unprecedented access inside the home of the alleged serial killer Rex Hewerman, including interviews with his ex-wife and his children. It explores decades of investigative failures, the long delayed arrest, and most interesting to me, the emotional fallout for his family. I I was somewhat familiar with this case. I definitely had listened to a podcast about it in the past, but I had forgotten a lot of the details. So this documentary really just refocused the story for me. But it wasn't just about the crimes and like they didn't go into detail about how he committed each of these crimes. It was a serial killer, right? It's not that kind of documentary. It's more so it's all about the family. How did they not know? Like he was doing this in the house that they lived in. Like, did they really not suspect anything? And it kind of goes deeper into how he conducted himself in a way that he wouldn't get caught with them because a lot of the public was like, There's no way you didn't know that he was torturing women in the basement, right? So this is not a documentary that goes case by case, victim by victim, like, you know, this is Sasha Jones and she was stabbed 18 times. It's not like that, which is kind of nice. It's it's like we know that that happened and they touch on it, but it's more so about this family and like how they are still like, did he do it? I don't know. Maybe it maybe he didn't do it. I I think I'm I I I everyone's telling me he did it, like they're truly going through the process of grieving and questioning and stuff like that. Again. Can you imagine? No. And again, the wife, I was frustrated with her. It was like very polarizing at times, like listening to her her talk, and it's like it's just she's hard to listen to. Like, she comes across just as extremely attached, actively choosing ignorance, which is really frustrating. Um, you can kind of feel yourself yelling at the screen a little bit, but there is some growth and some things that come from it, but it's not I wouldn't say that the this one wrapped up in a bow like the other one did more. Like it kind of left me going, ooh, like this is just a sad situation, like for everyone. But I just thought it was interesting, again, perspective. Um family.
SPEAKER_00I've never thought about it, but it is it almost as if the wives are in like it's you're in an abusive relationship, uh, you know, and uh they s people in those relationships sometimes stick around for uh psychological reasons that you know are hard to understand unless you're in that situation.
SPEAKER_03And that's exactly how it is in the situation, and they go into that, like how she had just gotten out of a really bad marriage and he kind of saved her. You know, there's a lot of of that, like weighing in of the psychology behind these decisions and stuff like that. So this one was definitely more of a harder watch than should I marry a murderer? This these this is like vicious serial killer disturbing, and then obviously his family is like it was sad, you know? Right. Should I marry a murderer didn't focus on the victim at all, so I didn't really get that that piece. It was more about this girl infiltrating or being in between the police and her fiance and whatever. Anyways, the final documentary I watched was called Trust Me, the False Prophet. This is also a four-part investigative docuseries that follows cult experts. So this is about the cult. The cult, what one, right? Um, that follows cult expert Christine Marie and her videographer husband as they embed themselves inside the FLDS adjacent community. Over time, they uncover disturbing evidence about self-proclaimed prophet Samuel Bateman exposing manipulation, sexual abuse, and a massive systemic failures that allow this cult to continue operating. So this one was really frustrating. Honestly, cult documentaries always are frustrating for me. It's impossible not to sit there screaming, What are you doing? Wake up. But that is also the power of a cult. And the show does a good job of illustrating that psychological grip. This is a cult I already had some background on, thanks to there's another documentary. It's called Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey. That one's on Netflix. That focuses on the FLDS church as well and its former leader Warren Jeffs. So I would recommend watching that one first if you want.
SPEAKER_00That's a name I recognize, yeah.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, yeah. Because he went to prison. He was like the um polygamous man who was the self-proclaimed like prophet of this church.
SPEAKER_01Half the cults I know.
SPEAKER_03And yeah, he ended up going to prison. And so, so this documentary is this woman and her husband moved there after Jeff Warren's or Warren's Jeff's, whatever his name is, um, was in prison, and they were like, We gotta help some of these women in this, because people women are still in the cult and they're still talking to him in prison and like bowing down to his picture or whatever. And they kind of go in and she's because she had been in a cult before, so she kind of was empathetic, was like, I'm gonna help these women. But then as they're doing that, as she's living there, this guy basically is like, Hey, I'm a prophet. God came to me and told me to to basically take Jeff's place. And so the women were like, Okay, God said it. So then he married all these, he basically just did everything that Jeff guy did. Yeah, and so then this woman got it all on tape because she was filming a lot of stuff, and she was telling him that she was filming a documentary about, I don't know, whatever, whatever, but then kind of became friends with him, and then she was giving the police information, and they were like, You gotta stay our informant because we don't have enough to we don't have enough to get this guy, which is crazy. I don't know how you can like not have enough. Yeah, and so that was what was frustrating. So she basically was a mole in this for years, and she got a lot of footage, and yeah, it was a lot. This one was a harder watch. This obviously, like when it comes with children and sexual abuse of children and all that stuff, that's a lot harder to watch. They obviously don't show that, but it's implied and talked about, and so this one was definitely one that I was like, oh my gosh, I was so mad. But then at the end, you get there's some hope res restored and some stuff. But this one was just again really interesting. It was just this woman's perspective as kind of being the mole and doing the police's work for them, which is kind of similar to how Should I Marry a Murderer was? Because she also had to kind of play the mole role. So it was just, anyways, these are three documentaries that I watched and I just wanted to say them out loud because they're not bad. All right, now it's time for our Beekind Rewind segment. I'm just gonna go first, quick. Speaking of clever names. Okay, yeah. Because my pick this week is very much inspired by my recent documentary Spree. So I wanted to recommend one of the most gut-wrenching and unforgettable documentaries I have ever watched in my entire life. Oh man. It was called Dear Zachary. This was 2008. Dear Zachary tells the story of a man named Andrew Bagby who was murdered by his ex-girlfriend. And she also just happened to be the mother of his son, Zachary. So the director of this documentary, he initially went out to, he was a close friend of Andrew, and he originally set out to make this documentary as a way to introduce Andrew to Zachary so Zachary could grow up and watch it someday and like know his dad. So it's like, this is the this is the life of your dad, kid, that you never got to know. But then during the making of this documentary, everything changes because there's a lot of stuff that happens. It's the documentary evolves into like this devastating story about Andrew's parents and their fight for custody, truly horrific events, series of events that follow. I don't even want to give it all away. I just I cannot overstate how emotionally crushing this documentary is. I wept. Like I really did. There are shocking twists. It's this absolutely infuriating portrayal of the jud Jud of the justice system and a level of tragedy that honestly kind of it could feel unbearable at times. It is just one of those. I'm making it sound like, why would I watch this? Why would I watch this? It's so devastating. And what I think that it's just so unforgettable. Like I will I can still see so much of the documentary in my mind, and I watched it in 2008. You know, and it's just has stayed with me so vivid vividly. I just remember so many details all this all these years later. And to me, that's truly a powerful documentary. And I've seen it once. I don't even know where you can watch it.
SPEAKER_00I mean, I it's see, these shows are tough because it's like the the way you're describing it makes me just not want to watch it, even if it's really good, you know.
SPEAKER_03Like honestly, it's I just dear Zachary, it's it was just so good in like a such a sad way. But yeah, if you're a fan of true crime, go for that one. What is your be kind rewind pick of the week, Mike?
SPEAKER_00Well, this one's a little out of left field. Wanda vision. I think it this deserves some setup because Wandavision is a show that takes place in the MCU universe, something that's you know, pretty much at at this moment run its course, I guess. Yeah. So I just, you know, our listeners don't know.
SPEAKER_03Like, um we don't like superhero movies. Yeah, no, so uh right. And we loved Wandavision.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, well, let's let's go back to the heyday of like this deserves a little bit of setup. Okay, in the heyday of the like the MCU movies, you know, we'd see the occasional one, but they're not really our thing, right? And then it was all kind of coming. Um, you know, the the 10-15 years of storytelling was coming to a head when they released um The Avengers, right? They you know, I I remember you and I like watching a couple of these movies, not being too hooked, but it you know, that was the the hot ticket at the moment, and they were all after 10 or 15 years, all the stories are coming together in the Avengers. I think by the time we knew the final movie was coming out, we're like, let's just get into this. And we looked it up and like, how do you watch the movies in order? blah blah blah. And so we were preparing for the final movie, and you know, some of them we much watched maybe 10 different movies to kind of prepare. And I would say some were good in a surprising way, and some some weren't. Like, like I said, we're not huge fans of the MCU universe, but you know, overall I enjoyed that experience of kind of wrapping up in that world. And anyway, fast forward to um the reason I was it was I was reminded of it is because this was all you know, that's done in the past, but now you know COVID hits and you know things are strange, right? And so we're at home, we're looking for shows to watch, here's Wanda Vision. And I remember, you know, this is a story about um the the the Scarlet Witch and Vision, and so I'm kind of half expecting um superhero-y type things to take place. I turn it on, and it's basically Nick at night, no spells, you know, no superheroes, no uh, you know, not nothing like that. And it just caught me so off guard. And for a long time that show was like that. I and it was just such a genre-bending thing in a way that I appreciated because, like, like I said, I liked some of the MCU movies, but I don't like the typical comic book style of stuff.
SPEAKER_03Yes.
SPEAKER_00Um, and this one is not that, at least at first.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, at least at first, and even how it wrapped up to it got, I mean, it gets to the superhero-y thing, but it still stays in that little world, and it doesn't go out too much bigger than that, and that world progresses, like you start with Nick at night with classic TV shows, and then they go through the decades. Every episode's a new decade, right?
SPEAKER_00Not everyone, but a but they do transition, and it's like, oh, you recognize the show, but it's not a particular show at the same time.
SPEAKER_03It was just such a unique concept how they did it.
SPEAKER_00And during that time where things were wonky with the pandemic, it's like I I kind of just needed something to just you know something genre-bending like that.
SPEAKER_03But I think people would still like it today, yeah. Because it's it is genre-bending and it's really well acted, they have a lot of really great people casting this.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, and I thought it was it was interesting enough. I I you probably do need to be somewhat you have to be familiar with Wanda and Vision. Exactly. So that's kind of tricky because I feel like if you already are, you know you know about the show already.
SPEAKER_03But if you if you don't, and like you're like me, you don't like superhero stuff, maybe watch Avengers and then watch Wanda Vision. I don't think you have to like go back and watch what are all the movies.
SPEAKER_00No, that that's why it's kind of a unique recommendation here. But if you haven't given a shot and you're a fan, somewhat like you've enjoyed some of the MCU movies, maybe give it a shot.
SPEAKER_03Yeah, that's pretty cool. I wonder if they're gonna do another.
SPEAKER_00I think people are a little burnt out on that as a whole, but like I just I was just thinking of that show. I was like, what a unique thing, and it just came at the right time for me personally.
SPEAKER_03Yeah. That is a wrap on today's episode. We covered a lot. We covered some some new shows and a movie and some documentaries and a couple throwbacks. We've got you covered.
SPEAKER_00We've hit our apex.
SPEAKER_03We are still watching a lot of good stuff, and we'll get back with another episode soon.
SPEAKER_00I'm looking forward to Widows Bay. I'm gonna get that app though, where it's gonna tell us I'll hide it from you so you're generally scared, and I'll be under the covers.
SPEAKER_03That sounds good. Well, until next time, happy watching.
SPEAKER_00Goodbye.