New tv! Old tv! Basically, it's all tv, all the time.
Elementary
In short: Loved the characters, thought the plot was meh, hate the idea of this being a procedural.
The longer version would start with how much I don't like the procedural aspect and how I can see myself becoming quickly annoyed with the fact that the show is one. Now, don't get me wrong, I love procedurals. I watch a ton of them, including cop shows (Rookie Blue), lawyer shows (The Good Wife, Suits), medical shows (um, I don't think I'm watching any currently, actually), but Elementary could be so much more. And that's why I'll probably resent it if they don't do any overreaching mystery arcs. Hopefully season-long, but at the very least several episodes long.
Longer arcs can be tied so much more personally to the characters and will further character development that much quicker. Not to mention how much I love speculating about drawn-out mysteries and it will up my investment in th show considerably. I mean, there's a reason why I was so invested in Veronica Mars and at least 50% of that reason is how much I loved the mystery aspect of it from the very start.
It's weird, though, because I've loved mystery novels and thrillers all my reading life (starting with Nancy Drew and The Famous Five), but I've never enjoyed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If we're talking brilliant bullies who solve murders, give me Poirot any day. Hell, give me Nero Wolfe. Sherlock Holmes is just kind of boring to me. He has none of Poirot's or Wolfe's foibles, none of their personality. And Doyle's way of developing mysteries just don't appeal to me because I never feel like speculating, I'm just along for the ride. A really good mystery, to me, is one where I'm just one step ahead of the author - but only because they want me to be - and the outcome is still a surprise.
Sure, this Sherlock is less Sherlockian than the one in BBC's version, but in a modern world that doesn't validate Sherlock's white male privilege at every turn, I can totally see this as a variation of the character. At the core of Sherlock, after all, is his brilliance and his deductive abilities. If the world didn't allow him to behave like an asshole and if his ego was recognized by his parents as something that a child might need therapy for, I can totally see this permutation.
As for Watson, I've never gotten a feel for the character, probably because I haven't cared all that much. But with Lucy Liu as Watson, I think I'm gonna care a whole hell of a lot.
Ugh, I can already see myself becoming totally invested in these two. I'm not 'shipping away yet, but if they keep it up, it won't be long, that's for sure.
I will definitely keep watching and here's hoping it will turn into more my kind of show.
(Wow, LJ's new and "improved" Scrapbook sucks SO HARD. I finally had to upload these to my site.)
((Also, I just bought a new computer and installed Photoshop after about six months doing nothing and six months before that doing very little, so I'm trying to get the feeling back. It doesn't help that I can't get Photoshop and my browser to play nice with each other. In Photoshop things look great, and then I take it over to the browser and it's too dark and overly saturated and just plain bad. Yuck.))
Revolution
Now Revolution on the other hand, I don't have much to say about. I liked it less than Elementary, but since I had zero expectations, I'm fine with what I saw and will keep watching, because the ending left me intrigued.
The kids are kind of blah, but I'm hoping they'll improve. And that their storylines will keep building and turn into something that I can invest in.
I'm also hoping they know where they're going with all this and that they don't pull any punches getting there. So often lately when I watch new shows I feel like they're saving their really good stuff for later, for season 5, for sweeps. I say they should tell their story as if they'll get canceled any moment. And if they reach the end of the story they're telling, keep going, or begin again. If you've created characters and a universe rich enough, you should never run out of stories to tell.
My wish list for returning shows
So, my new computer is kind of awesome compared to my old workhorse.
Since I updated Firefox to 15.0, though, Tumblr isn't working very well for me. I can't like posts, enlarge images or watch videos. My best guess it's a conflict between the new version and one of my extensions but I can't figure out which one it is.
Oh, and AdBlock Plus isn't working right either. The AdBlock Plus issue is only on the new computer, so maybe it didn't like that I copied my profile from my old computer. Maybe I'll just uninstall and reinstall it, see if that fixes things. I had the Tumblr thing on my old computer as well.
Anyone else been having issues with Firefox 15.0?
In short: Loved the characters, thought the plot was meh, hate the idea of this being a procedural.
The longer version would start with how much I don't like the procedural aspect and how I can see myself becoming quickly annoyed with the fact that the show is one. Now, don't get me wrong, I love procedurals. I watch a ton of them, including cop shows (Rookie Blue), lawyer shows (The Good Wife, Suits), medical shows (um, I don't think I'm watching any currently, actually), but Elementary could be so much more. And that's why I'll probably resent it if they don't do any overreaching mystery arcs. Hopefully season-long, but at the very least several episodes long.
Longer arcs can be tied so much more personally to the characters and will further character development that much quicker. Not to mention how much I love speculating about drawn-out mysteries and it will up my investment in th show considerably. I mean, there's a reason why I was so invested in Veronica Mars and at least 50% of that reason is how much I loved the mystery aspect of it from the very start.
It's weird, though, because I've loved mystery novels and thrillers all my reading life (starting with Nancy Drew and The Famous Five), but I've never enjoyed Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. If we're talking brilliant bullies who solve murders, give me Poirot any day. Hell, give me Nero Wolfe. Sherlock Holmes is just kind of boring to me. He has none of Poirot's or Wolfe's foibles, none of their personality. And Doyle's way of developing mysteries just don't appeal to me because I never feel like speculating, I'm just along for the ride. A really good mystery, to me, is one where I'm just one step ahead of the author - but only because they want me to be - and the outcome is still a surprise.
Sure, this Sherlock is less Sherlockian than the one in BBC's version, but in a modern world that doesn't validate Sherlock's white male privilege at every turn, I can totally see this as a variation of the character. At the core of Sherlock, after all, is his brilliance and his deductive abilities. If the world didn't allow him to behave like an asshole and if his ego was recognized by his parents as something that a child might need therapy for, I can totally see this permutation.
As for Watson, I've never gotten a feel for the character, probably because I haven't cared all that much. But with Lucy Liu as Watson, I think I'm gonna care a whole hell of a lot.
Ugh, I can already see myself becoming totally invested in these two. I'm not 'shipping away yet, but if they keep it up, it won't be long, that's for sure.
I will definitely keep watching and here's hoping it will turn into more my kind of show.
(Wow, LJ's new and "improved" Scrapbook sucks SO HARD. I finally had to upload these to my site.)
((Also, I just bought a new computer and installed Photoshop after about six months doing nothing and six months before that doing very little, so I'm trying to get the feeling back. It doesn't help that I can't get Photoshop and my browser to play nice with each other. In Photoshop things look great, and then I take it over to the browser and it's too dark and overly saturated and just plain bad. Yuck.))
Revolution
Now Revolution on the other hand, I don't have much to say about. I liked it less than Elementary, but since I had zero expectations, I'm fine with what I saw and will keep watching, because the ending left me intrigued.
The kids are kind of blah, but I'm hoping they'll improve. And that their storylines will keep building and turn into something that I can invest in.
I'm also hoping they know where they're going with all this and that they don't pull any punches getting there. So often lately when I watch new shows I feel like they're saving their really good stuff for later, for season 5, for sweeps. I say they should tell their story as if they'll get canceled any moment. And if they reach the end of the story they're telling, keep going, or begin again. If you've created characters and a universe rich enough, you should never run out of stories to tell.
My wish list for returning shows
- Community - don't screw things up, don't screw things up, don't screw things up.... *fingers crossed*
- Downton Abbey - for it to return to form and be more like the Christmas Special and less like season 2.
- Fringe - all I want is a good ending.
- Hart of Dixie - for all that I 'ship them, I don't want Zoe and Wade together at the start of the season. Get George out of the way first.
- The Good Wife - I really really REALLY don't want Alicia and Peter to get back together. REALLY.
- Homeland - THE BRODY AND CARRIE HOUR. ALL EPISODE, EVERY EPISODE.
- Lost Girl - I don't want Dyson to be in love with Bo again. Ugh no. It was boring enough the first time. (By the way, anyone know when this is returning? I figured the January 2013 rumor was only for the US, but shouldn't it air earlier in Canada?)
- New Girl - less CeeCee/Schmidt. They started out fun, but soon they started dragging everything down. More ensemble fun times, please!
- Once Upon a Time - for the love of all that is holy, could we please do without the adultery and lying this season? At least for characters that I actually want to 'ship?
- Parks and Recreation - keep making me happy!
- Revenge - more Nolan, less Daniel!
- Up All Night - all I really want is for the spoilers I heard not to be true. If they are, I'm probably dropping this show.
So, my new computer is kind of awesome compared to my old workhorse.
Since I updated Firefox to 15.0, though, Tumblr isn't working very well for me. I can't like posts, enlarge images or watch videos. My best guess it's a conflict between the new version and one of my extensions but I can't figure out which one it is.
Oh, and AdBlock Plus isn't working right either. The AdBlock Plus issue is only on the new computer, so maybe it didn't like that I copied my profile from my old computer. Maybe I'll just uninstall and reinstall it, see if that fixes things. I had the Tumblr thing on my old computer as well.
Anyone else been having issues with Firefox 15.0?