What I've Been Watching
JERICHO
A few weeks ago, I condemned the TV series Jericho as insipid trash. Here's a quick recap: it's the touching story of a small Kansas town that is cut off from the outside world by an apparent nuclear holocaust.
It had all the hallmarks of the bad US drama*: 2 dimensional characters; "I love you dad" schmaltz in every episode; easy outs for hard decisions; love triangles where nobody gets hurt. In addition to these problems, there seemed to be numerous betrayals of the fascinating premise that made me watch the thing in the first place. Why was everybody still driving their cars everywhere when they should be running out of petrol already? Why was nobody really starving?
But I'm going to have to eat some of the words above, because, about halfway through the first season, a strange thing happened: some of the characters grew a third dimension. And then, two genuinely outstanding episodes -- 14 and 15 arrived together. Finally the gas and the food begin to run out. Finally, hard decisions with real consequences have to be taken. The post apocalyptic world is starting to kill some of the characters off in a way that makes you think, maybe, this isn't a cartoon after all, where everybody gets to go home before the credits roll.
I'm not going to apologize to the makers of Jericho -- plenty of TV series work hard to build appreciation early on. But I will recommend my fellow NetFlix users give it a decent chance. Get past the halfway mark and you might just start to love it.
GAME OF THRONES
Episode 9 of series 2 was absolutely excellent and dealt exclusively with the Battle of the Blackwater.
Personally, I love battle scenes for their own sakes, the spectacle etc, But lots of people I know are bored by them.
This episode, however, should do a lot to convert the haters. It gets to the very heart of what makes war intrinsically interesting, i.e. the lives of real people, people we care for, are in the balance and we don't know, we can't know (unless we've read the books), who is going to make it out alive and how their fortunes will be changed. Every blow struck in this wonderful episode, seemed to have a direct bearing on important characters, the hated and the loved in equal measure. Great stuff.
HIT AND MISS
Sky Atlantic's series about a pre-op transexual hitman had a really promising opening episode. Chloe Sevigny was wonderful as the lead. The only false note for me was the training scene where her punching looked so unconvincing. No biggie. I look forward to episode 2 tonight.
What are you guys watching? Anything good?
*Especially damning in this, a golden age of American television
A few weeks ago, I condemned the TV series Jericho as insipid trash. Here's a quick recap: it's the touching story of a small Kansas town that is cut off from the outside world by an apparent nuclear holocaust.
It had all the hallmarks of the bad US drama*: 2 dimensional characters; "I love you dad" schmaltz in every episode; easy outs for hard decisions; love triangles where nobody gets hurt. In addition to these problems, there seemed to be numerous betrayals of the fascinating premise that made me watch the thing in the first place. Why was everybody still driving their cars everywhere when they should be running out of petrol already? Why was nobody really starving?
But I'm going to have to eat some of the words above, because, about halfway through the first season, a strange thing happened: some of the characters grew a third dimension. And then, two genuinely outstanding episodes -- 14 and 15 arrived together. Finally the gas and the food begin to run out. Finally, hard decisions with real consequences have to be taken. The post apocalyptic world is starting to kill some of the characters off in a way that makes you think, maybe, this isn't a cartoon after all, where everybody gets to go home before the credits roll.
I'm not going to apologize to the makers of Jericho -- plenty of TV series work hard to build appreciation early on. But I will recommend my fellow NetFlix users give it a decent chance. Get past the halfway mark and you might just start to love it.
GAME OF THRONES
Episode 9 of series 2 was absolutely excellent and dealt exclusively with the Battle of the Blackwater.
Personally, I love battle scenes for their own sakes, the spectacle etc, But lots of people I know are bored by them.
This episode, however, should do a lot to convert the haters. It gets to the very heart of what makes war intrinsically interesting, i.e. the lives of real people, people we care for, are in the balance and we don't know, we can't know (unless we've read the books), who is going to make it out alive and how their fortunes will be changed. Every blow struck in this wonderful episode, seemed to have a direct bearing on important characters, the hated and the loved in equal measure. Great stuff.
HIT AND MISS
Sky Atlantic's series about a pre-op transexual hitman had a really promising opening episode. Chloe Sevigny was wonderful as the lead. The only false note for me was the training scene where her punching looked so unconvincing. No biggie. I look forward to episode 2 tonight.
What are you guys watching? Anything good?
*Especially damning in this, a golden age of American television
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