Russian Doll

Russian Doll

With an uninteresting name, if fitting, Russian Doll is a funny/dark reality/time-traveling series on Netflix. It is a twisted Groundhog Day and Happy Death Day with a bit of Quantum Leap. You can also throw in Final Destination in there with the reset idea.  With some issues with the last episode, the series overall is pretty entertaining.

Blending sci-fi with comedy and dark drama, this is not a show you could get away with on a normal network. It would take a Netflix or HBO to get away with this sort of blending genre.

Netflix released the Bandersnatch episode which has a lot of similarities to Russian Doll. She is a videogame coder just like the main character in Bandersnatch. The videogame analogy is also similar to the Bandersnatch episode. I find this intriguing due to both shows hitting on the same vibes. Both shows also use the strange "time-resetting" premise as a way to look into the darker sides of the human condition.

Natasha Lyonne is very good in this series and she is basically the lead in the series. She is cynical and reckless, yet very likable too. She's flawed but has some redeemable aspects to her. Lyonne is simply born to play this character. If I had one issue with her is that this is just a slightly more upscale version of her character from Orange is the New Black.

Charlie Barnett is the other lead, so to speak, you just aren't supposed to know it yet. I am not going to reveal the twist with his character, but it is a nice giant twist going into the mid-season.

-Groundhog Day Remix: There are clear allusions to Groundhog Day and they're too numerous to point out in this review. One of the biggest ones is the homeless man that keeps showing up early in the series and she tries to save his life.

-Making fun of Hipster and New York culture: The party she resetting to has a bunch of these trendy yet disconnected of artistic people that aren't really her friends.

-Who is controlling the resets and deaths?: The show really implies that there is something bigger controlling the deaths. Is it death like Final Destination or God-like in Quantum Leap?

While I wanted more sci-fi elements with this series, I am fine with the show focusing in on the characters and their history with others and childhood. I even like the dark almost Silent Hill style the series takes on in the last portion of the series. However, it is the weakest part.

Russian Doll is a nice breath of fresh with its mixture of a sci-fi idea and its real-world setting. The two leads are good and work well together given their different outlooks in life. The show ends on a hopeful yet different premise from the beginning. I give this show a guarded recommend because some of the more personal and relationship storylines might turn people off.

Grade: B

Black is the new black..or black is the new orange.