Netflix fix
Catching up on old shows seems to be the name of the game for me right now. I finally finished all of Fringe, which I had seen the first three or so seasons of a couple of years ago but decided to start from scratch. It was definitely worth the rewatch, although it's also true that I found the final season underwhelming. The characters and humor kept my interest, but I found the central conceit of the first seasons much more compelling than the dystopian future element. Still, it felt satisfying to see everything wrapped up. I wish the show had gotten more attention when it was on the air, Olivia is a fantastic protagonist, John Noble deserved a boatload of Emmy's, and the supporting cast was gold. Ah well.
Currently watching The West Wing, which I am having a bit of trouble with. The cast is great and the first season whizzed by alright... but as it goes on I find myself half enthralled and half irritated. The dialogue can be brilliant but is also distractingly loaded with authorial tics, particularly that cutesy repetition gag. And the fact that the same verbal style is shared by all the characters starts to wear after a bit, I like mannered dialogue fine but a Mamet movie only lasts 90 minutes and then you're out. It doesn't help that most of the female supporting cast is starting to really annoy me. Giving it till the end of season 2 to pull me back in.
And finally; Forever Knight, which I'm watching with my roommate. We just finished off season 2 and it's still quite entertaining in a mid-90s vampire police procedural sort of way. It's a relic from an era when genre television had smaller budgets and far less ambitious goals story-wise but its also fun to see how many things it actually did first which we'd later see in Angel and other vampire shows. Plus Nigel Bennet pops in regularly to keep things from ever getting to serious.
Next up, maybe some M*A*S*H?
~Originally posted over on my website.
Currently watching The West Wing, which I am having a bit of trouble with. The cast is great and the first season whizzed by alright... but as it goes on I find myself half enthralled and half irritated. The dialogue can be brilliant but is also distractingly loaded with authorial tics, particularly that cutesy repetition gag. And the fact that the same verbal style is shared by all the characters starts to wear after a bit, I like mannered dialogue fine but a Mamet movie only lasts 90 minutes and then you're out. It doesn't help that most of the female supporting cast is starting to really annoy me. Giving it till the end of season 2 to pull me back in.
And finally; Forever Knight, which I'm watching with my roommate. We just finished off season 2 and it's still quite entertaining in a mid-90s vampire police procedural sort of way. It's a relic from an era when genre television had smaller budgets and far less ambitious goals story-wise but its also fun to see how many things it actually did first which we'd later see in Angel and other vampire shows. Plus Nigel Bennet pops in regularly to keep things from ever getting to serious.
Next up, maybe some M*A*S*H?
~Originally posted over on my website.