We live in crazy times. I don't watch any of these shows on television. I download them on my computer and watch them that way. Then, because I've probably missed a few episodes, I buy the entire seasons on DVD and watch the whole thing over a few days. Anyway, the current trend for top-class drama seems to be: science fiction themes; ensemble cast; an arc storyline (meaning if you miss a few episodes you might as well forget about it); in-depth analysis (including flashbacks) of the histories of all the main characters to illuminate their motivations in the present; inter alia. Most of the following shows conform to these criteria. Maybe this means something. If it does, I can't figure it out. solo1's television shows
This is one of an increasing number of shows who use Babylon 5's groundbreaking work in showing us how story-arc shows can work. It was looking a bit weak in the middle of season three, this year, but it really picked up towards the end. It's beginning to look, unlike The X-Files, for instance, that the writers and creators really do have an overall plan for the plot. The story is driven by almost, but not quite, providing answers to questions which naturally arise in the narrative, and if the viewers aren't asking, the characters are. And, as with real life, it seems that every answer we get just leads to more questions. Season one was all about the hatch - getting it open and finding out what was in there. Now no one cares about the stupid hatch. Season two was about the survivors who landed in the other part of the airplane, on the other side of the island. Now no one cares about the other survivors, or the other side of the island. Season three was about The Others, the people who were on the island before the airplane crashed, and who had been harassing the crash survivors for no apparent reason. Season four was about ultimately successful attempts to have them rescued, and their own attempts to escape. Season five was about how the people who managed to get off the island get back to the island, and why. If that sounds confusing, it is. And watching the show really doesn't make it any clearer. But the real strength of this show is in the characters: their own backgrounds, which are revealed in flashbacks; how the interact with others; and how they cope with their terrible fates. Season six, so far, has been about ... well, I'm not sure. But it looks as though the writers are making a real effort to wrap things up. I have a feeling that no matter what they say in the final episode, someone somewhere is going to feel like he's been trolled. HeroesI'm going to keep this discussion to season one, because, despite stealing the central idea from Alan Moore's Watchmen, it was top quality television, and badly let down by subsequent seasons. One day, during an eclipse, a bunch of people who find that they have superpowers, and they all gradually realise that they are part of some greater plan. And if there is no greater plan, some of them are determined to manufacture one of their own. It's great fun watching the characters learn to use their powers, sometimes to get out of trouble, and sometimes walking themselves straight into it, and hopefully learning from their mistakes. Season two dropped the ball, as they say, by introducing new character no one could possibly care about, taking too long to present the characters with real and present dangers (instead of just following their family dramas), lingering too long in feudal Japan, and of course that horrendous sries of episodes set in Ireland, which made anyone with a real connection to Ireland wince, turn off the television and in one extreme case (Dan Brown fan, Becky), throw herself out a window. It was difficult to get back into the series after that.
Battlestar Galactica is over now, but it was a show that keeps re-inventing itself, to great effect. The first season was mainly a paranoid and panicked escape run from almost certain annihilation. The second season suffered from some Lost-ification, with flashbacks involving the background stories of various characters, and the introduction of a mythology for the bad guys who refused to be defined. The third season, however, is like a kick in the head, with the writers taking the brave step of making us identify with terrorists, suicide bombers, and so on. The fourth and last season concerns the very sincere efforts of the characters to find Earth. Spoiler Alert: They find it. Also, some of the best-loved characters turn out to be cylons, which you'd think would get in the way, but for some of them it doesn't seem to make a difference at all, they just carry on. In other news, Grace Park, the actress who plays Boomer, is totally hot - and if you break one, there are bunches of others.
Joss Whedon's post-Buffy project is so good, it got cancelled before the end of the first season. The good news is that you can see the whole series in the DVD boxed set. Letters have been written, and petitions have been signed in an attempt to secure another series. So far all those efforts have been unsuccessful. However, they did make a movie, Serenity, which took the edge off for a little while. Need more Firefly.
Psych is lovely. I love Psych. You should too. More text here.
For a show that often makes no sense at all, it's surprisingly watchable. And for a show made in the 1960s, it's surprisingly modern. Although the set-up is fairly simple, it defies any sort of logical analysis. All we know for sure is the following:
The rest really is up for grabs. They keep changing the rest of the information, like they do with Springfield in the Simpsons where in one episode there are docks and ships, and in another it's obviously landlocked. In any case, the best reactions to The Prisoner I can show you are the BBC website reviews, which are so funny, you should check them out even if you don't care about the show.
This show is supposed to be about the interior workings of an obscure British government ministry, which changes names several times and which doesn't seem to do anything constructive or relevant. In reality, everything that happens in the show is either leading into, or dealing with the aftermath of, one of Malcolm Tucker's famous shouty, sweary, Scottish-accented, vicious invectives. Everyone in the show is terrified of him, and despite having no electoral mandate, he seems to be more or less running the entire country on his own. I cannot emphasise enough how amazing this character is. As soon as you see him gearing up for a mad shouting spree, you can sit back and enjoy the show. Because no matter what he says, or how he says it, it will be wonderful. I promise. |
