Pop Culture Diary: This Week's Reviews, Reads and Roundups: 'The Comeback,' 'The Owl Service,' More

What I've Been Into...

"The Comeback" I'm in season 2 of this brilliant, cringey HBO series starring Lisa Kudrow, with every intention of barreling through the third as well.

I was confused when I started watching, though, because I thought the show was new, but quickly learned that it dated from 2005. That, amazingly, was more than 20 years ago! But I've now sorted out that the show has aired in fits and starts. Season One, yes, aired in 2005. But the second season aired in 2014, and the third, final, season debuted last March. So, in a way, it is new. And, also, old.

Anyway, Kudrow is hilarious as Valerie Cherish, a one-time sitcom star struggling to revitalize her fading career. The first season captures her starring in a reality series about her quest, and, simultaneously, in a new sitcom, playing the aunt of a much younger actress.

It quickly becomes clear to everyone but Valerie that her dreamed-of comeback is a fantasy. The reality series is essentially a slow-motion car wreck, conceived as a way for viewers to observe her professional demise without pity. Her sitcom role, meanwhile, is an exercise in endless humiliation. She craves the camera, but is present only for comic relief, with every laugh coming at the expense of herself.

Kudrow's performance demonstrates a range of talents never displayed back when she was on "Friends." As Valerie, she's both poignant and ridiculous. We feel her hurt and disappointment even as we laugh at her ridiculous behavior. A full range of emotions flits across her face as she works to hide her frustration and sadness with a smile. The late Robert Michael Morris is lovably amusing as her steadfast friend, cheerleader and hairdresser Mickey Deane.

The show highlights the superficial, youth-focused egoism of our culture and the futility of struggling to stay relevant rather than aging with grace, acceptance and well-earned wisdom. It's a comedy, and a cautionary tale.

"The Owl Service" by Alan Garner. Garner serves up a dollop of wyrdness set in the Welsh countryside in this very spooky novel from 1967.

Floral patterns rimming the edges of old set of plates take the form of paper owls, fly away and disappear. There's a hole in a rock in a field left by a thrown spear. Three young people find themselves playing out the roles of a trio locked in a tragic love triangle from long ago.

While written for young adults, the book is very adult, and very strange. Steeped in myth and mystery, fans of "The Wicker Man" and similar tales likely will enjoy it.