So I watched stuff
Sep. 30th, 2007 08:50 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
bop_radarI finally got some downtime this Sunday and caught up on all this new TV floating around...
Oh, Heroes! How I wish I wasn't still sucked in to you! But I am. Let me be quite clear. At this point in time I am watching for one character and one character only: Noah Bennett. Unfortunately for me, he kicked ass in the first episode of season 2 so I'm hooked right back in again...
For me, the problem with Heroes is that it lacks heart. It's all plot twists, scattered ensemble cast and shiny but shallow images. I don't wish to be a spoilsport for those of you still enjoying the show (I know many of you do!) so I will probably scale back my reviews this season. Though I must say after watching the first ep of season 2, I was twitching to get online snark about it. ;)
So, brief thoughts:
- clearly the creative team put their heads together over the hiatus and decided that not only did they need more characters, they needed more INCEST. Yuh. Sure, guys! So we get intensely melodramatic Hispanic brother and sister who are mistaken for a married couple Just what the show needed! *baffled*
- Keeping up the incest watch... is it normal for a father to walk you to school when you're in the eleventh grade or whatever Clare's in? Because I personally wouldn't have been caught dead near my father in public at that age! I love Noah, though, so I'll let that scene off the hook.
- But did anyone else find Claire creeping off to make secret phonecalls to her real biological father just a little creepy? Especially since he was acting like a scorned lover. And they were emo-ing over their shared loss, with papa downing drinks in a seedy bar and Claire sprawled suggestively on her bed. Ahem.
- Also creepy, for me, was Molly and Parkman shacking up together. Molly troubles me. They seem to be playing her as very adult and this gave the scene where Parkman confronted her about her paintings an inappropriately domestic feel to me. Also, they're straining to the limits of that little girl's acting repertoire.
- No clue what's going on with Nathan and his Twoface thing in the mirror. And the beard does nothing for me so unless he loses it soon, he's slipping in my affections. And as for Peter showing up in that container, I was just too tired to care.
- The Hiro plot was kind of adorable. Though I still wish his character had matured into something a little more weighty.
- Highlight of the episode was definitely Noah's throwdown with his boss. :D If he keeps that stuff up, I'll keep watching.
Pilot eppys...
Bionic Woman
Oh, Katee! Why must your show be so crap?! It took me all day to get through the pilot... it was painfully bad to begin with and I had to turn it off. But I tuned back in for the fight in the rain, and I gotta say that that totally hooked me in. The slash is out of control and Katee is mesmerising. I really hope Michelle's acting improves because I fear I'm going to end up watching it regardless. Sigh. It wasn't just Michelle that was bad though. I didn't think much of any of the cast apart from Katee, and the writing clunk clunk clunked. What a pity.
So I think I will watch it, but not as a high priority.
Journeyman
OMG, could it be any more boooooring? I love Kevin McKidd but I really don't think I can go there... during all the mental downtime I had during this show (because there was so little to engage with) I found myself very perplexed as to how a journalist had managed to afford that huge house and score those ridiculously snooty attractive women. Didn't like the wife. Livia seemed ok but no personality to speak of. Blah.
Reaper
I was seriously underwhelmed. I keep forgetting that I'm not actually a big fan of Kevin Smith. I always get caught up in everyone else's squee and then remember that I usually find his humour a bit on the flat side. I didn't mind the lead guy and the general premise, but the Devil was surprisingly dull, and I really really hated the sidekick friend. I know he was meant to be obnoxious but there was just no hook-in there at all for me. And I think his haircut was the straw that broke the camel's back for me... nul points!
Chuck
This is a completely ridiculous show. And for that reason, I kinda liked it. ;) There were aspects I didn't like (the sister), but a lot that I did (the absurdity, the lead chick, the lead guy, some of the humour). I think it had potential and I might watch another ep or two to see how it goes. There were a couple of little things that really made me laugh--like 'Captain Awesome', because I KNOW SOMEONE LIKE THAT! He's Canadian and I am not kidding: everything is 'awesome!' to him, in a booming Canadian voice. So, very silly show but entirely watchable.
Gossip Girl
Now this, I did like! :D SO much fun! Gotta love watching attractive rich brats self-destruct. *beams* I know nothing about the books but this show looks like a lot of fun. It's OTT, sure, but actually quite well acted. It's well paced and edited and it seems to have a good range of characters to hook into. Ok, admittedly I'm a total sucker for this stuff. Perhaps because I spent my adolescence watching real bitchy rich kids get rewarded for their shallowness... I enjoy the TV fiction version where they suffer and struggle to overcome their vapidity a lot better. ;)
Definitely a keeper for me. I like Dan a lot--he's probably my favourite so far. His dad's a close second, and how weird is it for me that I'm feeling caught between generations on this show? The whole 'forgotten band of the nineties' thing made me feel very old. ;) Though I choose to believe that this will just double the fun for me on the show--I can ship the kids and the parents! :D
I thought both Blaire (Blare? Blair?) and Serena were very well cast--Serena actually succeeded in seeming 'nice' and B has got the queen bitch thing down pat. The rest of the boys didn't do much for me character-wise but nice eye candy. So far, I've got very few complaints and am looking forward to the next ep!
Pushing Daisies
This was the other real winner in my eyes. I found it completely disarmingly adorable. I love the surrealism and old-fashioned storytelling style. Though I do wonder how they will manage to sustain it. The central premise is fascinating and I found myself really hooked into the concept. Imagine you couldn't pat your own dog! :( The lead guy seems completely lovely--I think I've fallen for him already, which is probably a big part of why I like the show. I'm sad that the lead chick is such a skinny little thing (could she eat more?) but despite that she totally charmed me. I thought the chemistry between the two of them was great too and found it completely adorable when they smooshed monkeys and held their own hands. /smitten
Loved the pilot, thought it was very well written and put together. But I'm just slightly nervous to see how it will go on an ongoing basis. It felt like a great idea for a film, rather than a TV series. We'll see!
I watched House too and as usual have little to say about it. *g*
Oh, Heroes! How I wish I wasn't still sucked in to you! But I am. Let me be quite clear. At this point in time I am watching for one character and one character only: Noah Bennett. Unfortunately for me, he kicked ass in the first episode of season 2 so I'm hooked right back in again...
For me, the problem with Heroes is that it lacks heart. It's all plot twists, scattered ensemble cast and shiny but shallow images. I don't wish to be a spoilsport for those of you still enjoying the show (I know many of you do!) so I will probably scale back my reviews this season. Though I must say after watching the first ep of season 2, I was twitching to get online snark about it. ;)
So, brief thoughts:
- clearly the creative team put their heads together over the hiatus and decided that not only did they need more characters, they needed more INCEST. Yuh. Sure, guys! So we get intensely melodramatic Hispanic brother and sister who are mistaken for a married couple Just what the show needed! *baffled*
- Keeping up the incest watch... is it normal for a father to walk you to school when you're in the eleventh grade or whatever Clare's in? Because I personally wouldn't have been caught dead near my father in public at that age! I love Noah, though, so I'll let that scene off the hook.
- But did anyone else find Claire creeping off to make secret phonecalls to her real biological father just a little creepy? Especially since he was acting like a scorned lover. And they were emo-ing over their shared loss, with papa downing drinks in a seedy bar and Claire sprawled suggestively on her bed. Ahem.
- Also creepy, for me, was Molly and Parkman shacking up together. Molly troubles me. They seem to be playing her as very adult and this gave the scene where Parkman confronted her about her paintings an inappropriately domestic feel to me. Also, they're straining to the limits of that little girl's acting repertoire.
- No clue what's going on with Nathan and his Twoface thing in the mirror. And the beard does nothing for me so unless he loses it soon, he's slipping in my affections. And as for Peter showing up in that container, I was just too tired to care.
- The Hiro plot was kind of adorable. Though I still wish his character had matured into something a little more weighty.
- Highlight of the episode was definitely Noah's throwdown with his boss. :D If he keeps that stuff up, I'll keep watching.
Pilot eppys...
Bionic Woman
Oh, Katee! Why must your show be so crap?! It took me all day to get through the pilot... it was painfully bad to begin with and I had to turn it off. But I tuned back in for the fight in the rain, and I gotta say that that totally hooked me in. The slash is out of control and Katee is mesmerising. I really hope Michelle's acting improves because I fear I'm going to end up watching it regardless. Sigh. It wasn't just Michelle that was bad though. I didn't think much of any of the cast apart from Katee, and the writing clunk clunk clunked. What a pity.
So I think I will watch it, but not as a high priority.
Journeyman
OMG, could it be any more boooooring? I love Kevin McKidd but I really don't think I can go there... during all the mental downtime I had during this show (because there was so little to engage with) I found myself very perplexed as to how a journalist had managed to afford that huge house and score those ridiculously snooty attractive women. Didn't like the wife. Livia seemed ok but no personality to speak of. Blah.
Reaper
I was seriously underwhelmed. I keep forgetting that I'm not actually a big fan of Kevin Smith. I always get caught up in everyone else's squee and then remember that I usually find his humour a bit on the flat side. I didn't mind the lead guy and the general premise, but the Devil was surprisingly dull, and I really really hated the sidekick friend. I know he was meant to be obnoxious but there was just no hook-in there at all for me. And I think his haircut was the straw that broke the camel's back for me... nul points!
Chuck
This is a completely ridiculous show. And for that reason, I kinda liked it. ;) There were aspects I didn't like (the sister), but a lot that I did (the absurdity, the lead chick, the lead guy, some of the humour). I think it had potential and I might watch another ep or two to see how it goes. There were a couple of little things that really made me laugh--like 'Captain Awesome', because I KNOW SOMEONE LIKE THAT! He's Canadian and I am not kidding: everything is 'awesome!' to him, in a booming Canadian voice. So, very silly show but entirely watchable.
Gossip Girl
Now this, I did like! :D SO much fun! Gotta love watching attractive rich brats self-destruct. *beams* I know nothing about the books but this show looks like a lot of fun. It's OTT, sure, but actually quite well acted. It's well paced and edited and it seems to have a good range of characters to hook into. Ok, admittedly I'm a total sucker for this stuff. Perhaps because I spent my adolescence watching real bitchy rich kids get rewarded for their shallowness... I enjoy the TV fiction version where they suffer and struggle to overcome their vapidity a lot better. ;)
Definitely a keeper for me. I like Dan a lot--he's probably my favourite so far. His dad's a close second, and how weird is it for me that I'm feeling caught between generations on this show? The whole 'forgotten band of the nineties' thing made me feel very old. ;) Though I choose to believe that this will just double the fun for me on the show--I can ship the kids and the parents! :D
I thought both Blaire (Blare? Blair?) and Serena were very well cast--Serena actually succeeded in seeming 'nice' and B has got the queen bitch thing down pat. The rest of the boys didn't do much for me character-wise but nice eye candy. So far, I've got very few complaints and am looking forward to the next ep!
Pushing Daisies
This was the other real winner in my eyes. I found it completely disarmingly adorable. I love the surrealism and old-fashioned storytelling style. Though I do wonder how they will manage to sustain it. The central premise is fascinating and I found myself really hooked into the concept. Imagine you couldn't pat your own dog! :( The lead guy seems completely lovely--I think I've fallen for him already, which is probably a big part of why I like the show. I'm sad that the lead chick is such a skinny little thing (could she eat more?) but despite that she totally charmed me. I thought the chemistry between the two of them was great too and found it completely adorable when they smooshed monkeys and held their own hands. /smitten
Loved the pilot, thought it was very well written and put together. But I'm just slightly nervous to see how it will go on an ongoing basis. It felt like a great idea for a film, rather than a TV series. We'll see!
I watched House too and as usual have little to say about it. *g*
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no subject
Date: 2007-10-02 02:42 pm (UTC)Heroes: You know, I don't actually disagree with the argument that the show lacks heart, but I've found that I don't really care that it does. Sometimes, I do want to watch something just to see how the plot twists and turns. And honestly, if I gave everything the level of emotional investment in the characters that I give to Smallville, I'd be one exhausted TV viewer. *g* So I guess Heroes is my guilty pleasure. I don't feel guilty for liking it because its quality is so poor, but rather I enjoy it like one enjoys guilty pleasures: I don't ask much of it beyond "keep me engaged for an hour or so," and it does that for me. And I do like several of the characters, so I'll keep watching even though it doesn't always move me emotionally.
Bionic Woman: I'm going to give it two more episodes before I decide whether to drop or keep it. I do think Michelle Ryan is somewhat miscast because she's not particularly believable right now as a badass, but I also think there's room for her to grow into the part in a way that suits the story. IOW, Jamie has to come to terms with what's happened to her, so Ryan's ... greeness as an actor works for where the character is in the story right now.
The other reason I'm willing to give BW a chance is because from what I understand, the creative team recognized there were "issues" and there's been some course correction going on behind the scenes. But my time these days is very limited, so if it doesn't get more engaging in the next two weeks, I'm giving it the cut direct.
Journeyman: I redid my pedicure while it was on, so yeah, I'm with you on "could that have been any more boring?" The answer is "only if it actually -- instead of just figuratively -- put me to sleep." And I wanted to like it, because I loved Kevin McKidd on Rome and I really enjoyed Moon Bloodgood on Daylight. But it was a snooze-fest of the highest order.
Reaper: I think it has room to grow. I found the cast to be very appealing, but the writing wasn't as charming/engaging as the actors were. I don't know how much involvement Kevin Smith will have with it on a day-to-day basis, so I can't say how much of the 'Kevin Smith'-ness of the pilot is a function of the fact that he also directed it. I know what you mean about KS, though -- I'm not quite on wavelength that's necessary to really appreciate the slacker-chic humor/dynamic (like, I don't think Clerks is nearly as funny as a lot of other people do) and I can see where, if his influence on a weekly basis is as strong as it was in the pilot, the show could grow very thin for me very quickly. But Ray Wise is really a keeper as Satan and for him alone, I'm willing to give it a few more weeks to really win me over.
Chuck: ITA that the ridiculousness of this one is part of its charm. I'm not sure that tone/dynamic can be sustained for 22 hours, which is why I'm not letting myself get overly attached to it, but as shiny, happy, silly spy-candy, it's working for me right now. And I do enjoy Adam Baldwin as Casey. Give me a Cranky Misanthrope who's nevertheless trying to do what he believes is the right thing for the right reasons, and I'll go there with you, at least for a while.
Gossip Girl: This one didn't work for me, largely because there wasn't a single character that I liked or identified with or admired. I have to have at least one character with whom I can do at least one of those things for a show to grab me enough to watch it on a regular basis. So far, GG doesn't have one. But I agree that it was well-acted and it is beautifully filmed.
Pushing Daisies: I have heard nothing but good things about this and it's definitely the premiere I've most been anticipating. I'm looking forward to checking it out tomorrow night.
no subject
Date: 2007-10-03 08:17 am (UTC)I hear you! That's actually very true. And I think it's why I will keep watching Heroes anyway, but I probably won't meta it as much. Though who knows?
I'm going to give it two more episodes before I decide whether to drop or keep it.
Good idea, and I think I'll do the same. I didn't know about the course corrections behind the scenes--that makes me even more inclined to reserve judgment. I also think TV pilots have really improved in recent years but they used to be terribly clunky and I've seen more than one show recover from a clunky pilot!
And I wanted to like it, because I loved Kevin McKidd on Rome
Right! Me too! But no.
(like, I don't think Clerks is nearly as funny as a lot of other people do)
Me neither!
Ray Wise is really a keeper as Satan and for him alone, I'm willing to give it a few more weeks to really win me over.
That seems a key drawcard for many people, but he honestly didn't do much for me. *shrugs* One of those personal things--he just didn't click for me and without that extra hook I think I'll be drifting elsewhere.
I'm not letting myself get overly attached to it, but as shiny, happy, silly spy-candy, it's working for me right now.
Yeah, early days but it seems fun so I'll keep watching it while I'm still enjoying it.
So far, GG doesn't have one.
Honestly it doesn't really have one for me either and I think the only thing tugging me to this show is that I was conditioned at an early age to get hooked on bitchy elite school stories... I rather wish it wasn't so, but it's one of my things. /ashamed
I'm looking forward to checking it out tomorrow night.
Hope the hype doesn't spoil it for you. My reservations are to do with where they'll go from here but I loved the pilot and found the lead very endearing.