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auntiemeeshI've been watching lots of shows lately and I've some thoughts. You can assume there will be spoilers behind the cuts. FYI, I left a little bit of space between shows, so you can click on one link without fear of being spoiled by another link.
Dollhouse
I was intrigued by the premise of this one. It's no real secret that I'm a fan of Joss Whedon. I'm not a particular fan of Eliza Dushka; Faith wasn't my favorite Buffy character. Although her character had a lot of sympathetic traits and an interesting series arc, I think Dushka oversold things a bit. However, I didn't hate her, either, and I'm a sucker for a familiar face. So I tuned it to watch the first episode.
First impression - I wanted another episode when the first was done.
The Pros
1. Echo is beautiful in the way I like - able to be a girl but also a totally kick-ass chick (see my love for characters such as Aeryn Sun, Max Guevara, Zoe Washburne). Although we don't see too much of the kick-ass in this episode, it's definitely implied in the motorcycle race, if nowhere else.
2. We're given just of her background to be curious, but not enough to spoil the allure of mystery.
3. With the ability to have her reprogrammed into a different person every week, there is a lot of variety in directions the show can take. This is only potential at the moment, as there is no way to know yet, how well they're going to take advantage of that set-up.
4. Shiny high-tech sci-fi stuff always catches my attention. I'm a little bit like a bird like that. I get easily distracted by the shiny.
5. The moral ambiguity of what they are doing in the show could be used to very good effect if Whedon has the courage and vision to take it there.
6. A good supporting cast. Tahmoh Penikett and Harry Lennix, just to name a few.
The Cons
1. The moral ambiguity. If not properly handled, it could just come off as highly offensive and irresponsible. I trust Whedon to tell a complex story but he's not perfect and he's not the only one responsible for this show.
2. The plot device of wiping and recreating Echo's character each week could make it difficult for the sort of character development that makes me tune in each week to see what's going to happen next. (Now, it looks like they're trying to prevent that by giving the Echo character :as opposed to her assigned Character of the Week: a bit of independence that shouldn't be there - that could go either way. Either it could give her the character development they need, or it could become overbearing in the 'oh she's so special she's overcome the programming no one else could' way.)
3. The Shiny only holds my attention for a little while. If they aren't able to provide substance to back up the shiny, it just becomes so many little bits of aluminum foil.
4. All the pretty people. I know, it's television, of course it's going to be populated with pretty people. But still. All the pretty people walking around in pajamas with zen-like calm during all the scenes in the laboratory or center or whatever it is will get old really, really quickly. Once again sending out the message that you're really only worth paying attention to if you're young and heart-stoppingly beautiful. Boring and not at all true.
Overall, an intriguing premise, more pros than cons and an initial desire to see more makes this one a cautious win.
Numb3rs
I was a very late comer to this show. I'd seen promos for it when it first started but for whatever reason, I didn't bother to watch it. This past summer I decided to bite the bullet, started from the beginning and powered through. For the most part, I really like it. The characters have a lot of depth and texture, any show prominently featuring Judd Hirsch and Peter MacNicol is a winner in my book, and I like the family tension between Don and Charlie. Currently, I'm really enjoying the religion arc that is going on with Don. Although I'm absolutely not a religious person of any bent myself and have very little knowledge of the Jewish faith in particular, I sympathize with his feelings of being lost and searching for direction or a tether or something, and turning to his abandoned religion to find this. I think the show writers have handled the storyline with a great deal of intelligence and sensitivity, showing an ability to work with an issue that could have been badly mishandled and hasn't been.
That being said, I've been a little bit frustrated with the rotating female cast. I have loved Sabrina Lloyd in everything I've seen her in and I was disappointed to see her disappear. I'm not quite as keen on Diane Farr, mainly because of the nasal quality of her voice, but Megan Reeves was a good character that was written into a dead-end. I'm honestly not too keen on Aya Sumika (Liz Warner) mainly because she's so freaking rail thin she could make Twiggy look fat in comparison. But I really like Sophina Brown (Nikki Betancourt). Her character has a lot of attitude, and right at first it was a little too much, but she's grown on me to the point where she's one of my favorite characters of the show. Which means she'll probably be gone next season, to be replaced by some other disposable token FBI female. I hope not, though, because she's cool.
And then there's the geeks. God bless the geeks. One thing I like about this show is that it presents very smart people as being more than just giant brains and social misfits. Charlie, Amita and Larry are undeniably extremely smart, but they're also at least somewhat in touch with the world. They understand references to pop culture, they have an acceptable level of ability to handle social interactions, and while the other characters may not always understand them, they do respect them. And the writers respect them as well, allowing them to be fully drawn, consistent, three-dimensional characters.
Overall, it's not my very favorite tv show ever, but I enjoy spending an hour a week with Epps and their extended family of friends and co-workers.
Bones
I love this show far more than I expected to when I first started watching it, midway through the first season. I love it mainly for the banter, the cameraderie between all the characters. It has its flaws, mainly the overuse of the 'bash on geniuses' gag. I get tired of Brennan, and in earlier seasons Zach, saying "I don't know what that means" anytime anyone makes any pop culture reference. The idea that because a person is smart automatically means that they are one-dimensional, superb in their field and completely incompetent everywhere else, is ridiculous and frankly offensive to intelligent people all over the world. But the characters are pretty consistently written, and there is just so much love between, and I'm a little bit of a sucker for that sort of unstated bond between groups of people. Witness my love of shows like Farscape, Numb3rs, Stargate Atlantis and others.
This show also has the combination of Geek and Goon, brains and brawn that I find terribly appealing. David Boreanaz is very appealing in this show, more cuddly than sexy. Seeley Booth has a softer edge to him than you'd expect of an ex-Army Ranger, capable of deadly violence when needed, but not as outright dangerous as, say, Angel. He has a lot of vulnerabilities that have been brought into the open in the past four seasons, and his respect for the 'squints' has grown along with his fondness for them.
Overall, this is a show that I love madly for reasons that have very little to do with the skeleton of the week.
There are others, but I've been at this for over an hour now and I'm tired of thinking. So I'm returning my attention to Northern Exposure. Oh my God is Rob Morrow young in this show! He's so cute in that 'raging against the unfairness of life' thing Joel Fleischman had going, but to be honest, at this point in time, I much prefer the man that he has grown into. I find that these days it's hard to get emotionally invested in shows that are populated with people who look barely old enough to tie their own shoes. They're pretty enough, but I like characters with a little more history, life, depth, whatever you want to call it. I suppose this is a natural product of the aging process, but it means I'm no longer the targeted audience and I won't get want I want as often. *sigh*
Dollhouse
I was intrigued by the premise of this one. It's no real secret that I'm a fan of Joss Whedon. I'm not a particular fan of Eliza Dushka; Faith wasn't my favorite Buffy character. Although her character had a lot of sympathetic traits and an interesting series arc, I think Dushka oversold things a bit. However, I didn't hate her, either, and I'm a sucker for a familiar face. So I tuned it to watch the first episode.
First impression - I wanted another episode when the first was done.
The Pros
1. Echo is beautiful in the way I like - able to be a girl but also a totally kick-ass chick (see my love for characters such as Aeryn Sun, Max Guevara, Zoe Washburne). Although we don't see too much of the kick-ass in this episode, it's definitely implied in the motorcycle race, if nowhere else.
2. We're given just of her background to be curious, but not enough to spoil the allure of mystery.
3. With the ability to have her reprogrammed into a different person every week, there is a lot of variety in directions the show can take. This is only potential at the moment, as there is no way to know yet, how well they're going to take advantage of that set-up.
4. Shiny high-tech sci-fi stuff always catches my attention. I'm a little bit like a bird like that. I get easily distracted by the shiny.
5. The moral ambiguity of what they are doing in the show could be used to very good effect if Whedon has the courage and vision to take it there.
6. A good supporting cast. Tahmoh Penikett and Harry Lennix, just to name a few.
The Cons
1. The moral ambiguity. If not properly handled, it could just come off as highly offensive and irresponsible. I trust Whedon to tell a complex story but he's not perfect and he's not the only one responsible for this show.
2. The plot device of wiping and recreating Echo's character each week could make it difficult for the sort of character development that makes me tune in each week to see what's going to happen next. (Now, it looks like they're trying to prevent that by giving the Echo character :as opposed to her assigned Character of the Week: a bit of independence that shouldn't be there - that could go either way. Either it could give her the character development they need, or it could become overbearing in the 'oh she's so special she's overcome the programming no one else could' way.)
3. The Shiny only holds my attention for a little while. If they aren't able to provide substance to back up the shiny, it just becomes so many little bits of aluminum foil.
4. All the pretty people. I know, it's television, of course it's going to be populated with pretty people. But still. All the pretty people walking around in pajamas with zen-like calm during all the scenes in the laboratory or center or whatever it is will get old really, really quickly. Once again sending out the message that you're really only worth paying attention to if you're young and heart-stoppingly beautiful. Boring and not at all true.
Overall, an intriguing premise, more pros than cons and an initial desire to see more makes this one a cautious win.
Numb3rs
I was a very late comer to this show. I'd seen promos for it when it first started but for whatever reason, I didn't bother to watch it. This past summer I decided to bite the bullet, started from the beginning and powered through. For the most part, I really like it. The characters have a lot of depth and texture, any show prominently featuring Judd Hirsch and Peter MacNicol is a winner in my book, and I like the family tension between Don and Charlie. Currently, I'm really enjoying the religion arc that is going on with Don. Although I'm absolutely not a religious person of any bent myself and have very little knowledge of the Jewish faith in particular, I sympathize with his feelings of being lost and searching for direction or a tether or something, and turning to his abandoned religion to find this. I think the show writers have handled the storyline with a great deal of intelligence and sensitivity, showing an ability to work with an issue that could have been badly mishandled and hasn't been.
That being said, I've been a little bit frustrated with the rotating female cast. I have loved Sabrina Lloyd in everything I've seen her in and I was disappointed to see her disappear. I'm not quite as keen on Diane Farr, mainly because of the nasal quality of her voice, but Megan Reeves was a good character that was written into a dead-end. I'm honestly not too keen on Aya Sumika (Liz Warner) mainly because she's so freaking rail thin she could make Twiggy look fat in comparison. But I really like Sophina Brown (Nikki Betancourt). Her character has a lot of attitude, and right at first it was a little too much, but she's grown on me to the point where she's one of my favorite characters of the show. Which means she'll probably be gone next season, to be replaced by some other disposable token FBI female. I hope not, though, because she's cool.
And then there's the geeks. God bless the geeks. One thing I like about this show is that it presents very smart people as being more than just giant brains and social misfits. Charlie, Amita and Larry are undeniably extremely smart, but they're also at least somewhat in touch with the world. They understand references to pop culture, they have an acceptable level of ability to handle social interactions, and while the other characters may not always understand them, they do respect them. And the writers respect them as well, allowing them to be fully drawn, consistent, three-dimensional characters.
Overall, it's not my very favorite tv show ever, but I enjoy spending an hour a week with Epps and their extended family of friends and co-workers.
Bones
I love this show far more than I expected to when I first started watching it, midway through the first season. I love it mainly for the banter, the cameraderie between all the characters. It has its flaws, mainly the overuse of the 'bash on geniuses' gag. I get tired of Brennan, and in earlier seasons Zach, saying "I don't know what that means" anytime anyone makes any pop culture reference. The idea that because a person is smart automatically means that they are one-dimensional, superb in their field and completely incompetent everywhere else, is ridiculous and frankly offensive to intelligent people all over the world. But the characters are pretty consistently written, and there is just so much love between, and I'm a little bit of a sucker for that sort of unstated bond between groups of people. Witness my love of shows like Farscape, Numb3rs, Stargate Atlantis and others.
This show also has the combination of Geek and Goon, brains and brawn that I find terribly appealing. David Boreanaz is very appealing in this show, more cuddly than sexy. Seeley Booth has a softer edge to him than you'd expect of an ex-Army Ranger, capable of deadly violence when needed, but not as outright dangerous as, say, Angel. He has a lot of vulnerabilities that have been brought into the open in the past four seasons, and his respect for the 'squints' has grown along with his fondness for them.
Overall, this is a show that I love madly for reasons that have very little to do with the skeleton of the week.
There are others, but I've been at this for over an hour now and I'm tired of thinking. So I'm returning my attention to Northern Exposure. Oh my God is Rob Morrow young in this show! He's so cute in that 'raging against the unfairness of life' thing Joel Fleischman had going, but to be honest, at this point in time, I much prefer the man that he has grown into. I find that these days it's hard to get emotionally invested in shows that are populated with people who look barely old enough to tie their own shoes. They're pretty enough, but I like characters with a little more history, life, depth, whatever you want to call it. I suppose this is a natural product of the aging process, but it means I'm no longer the targeted audience and I won't get want I want as often. *sigh*
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From left field where I live
Date: 2009-02-15 05:29 pm (UTC)Shatter #1. What has Rob Morrow done since Northern Exposure? I sort of thought he was a one hit wonder.
Shatter #2. David Boreanaz is on Bones? I have seen this show a few times although I find it too bizarre a depiction of the medical world to tolerate. I don't really know much about him except that he is the son of the weather guy on my local tv station.
Re: From left field where I live
Date: 2009-02-15 05:54 pm (UTC)David Boreanaz is, indeed, on Bones. He's the FBI guy (as I said in the post, I love these shows where there's a combination of FBI/police/military and science)
no subject
Date: 2009-02-15 06:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-16 02:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-02-15 08:41 pm (UTC)Also, the everyone-has-three-PhDs thing ticked me off. It shows a complete lack of knowledge about how academia works! I need at least some pretense of believability in my shows. Like Stargate. Sure, they go through portals to other planets, but at least nobody has more than one PhD. :P
no subject
Date: 2009-02-16 02:54 am (UTC)