Catching up with the TV
Matador had me at 'undercover as a soccer player'. It seems to be playing for graphic violence with a humorous edge and slightly Bond-style villains. First episode feels like a cross between Chuck and CSI: Miami which is about as disconcerting as you imagine. It shows early promise of never, ever passing Bechdel and women's characterisations are unremarkable and stereotypical. Calling it now: the protagonist's teenage sister will have plot significant boy trouble sometime in the last half of the season. Poor little acting-out sexually imprudent team owner's daughter likewise is pretty uninspiring. But did I mention undercover as a soccer player? And I have some hopes for the high cheek-boned, fair-haired CIA handlers as a source of much steely-eyed grumpy mirth as Bravo makes their lives hell.
The Strain is gruesome, pretty, very SF in tone, has that boring protagonist who is married to his work with an estranged wife/child combo blah blah blah. May watch another episode for Jonathan Hyde and Sean Astin. All the women appear to exist in relationship to a man: the estranged wife, the colleague who caters to him, another character's mother, someone's daughter etc etc. It's only the first episode but not starting well. It is a nice change that the vampires are grotesque parasites and clearly not intended to be sexy beasts.
Teen Wolf continues to be its own special self. Scott's journey of learning to be the Alpha is by turns charming, sweet and hilarious, with the usual TW caveat of not minding the plot holes and narrative oddnesses like Jackson and Isaac being name-checked by Finstock as gone but not the obviously missing Danny. I wonder if a lot of TW's problems are not the show runner's epic incapacities as a story-teller (put down the id, fellow, and back away slowly) but the way it can't mesh horror and comedy very well. Which is sad and odd, because they are two great tastes that go together like cherry and chocolate. Allison's absence, both physically and narratively, is saddening and disconcerting. Stepping up the Scott/Stiles and Scott & Stiles to the point where fanworks makers are paying attention is lovely.
True Blood has made me very cross. That Eric is alive while Tara and Alcide are dead is crap. I wish Pam would go on a bloody rampage and kill Bill, Eric and oh, I don't know, everyone. I enjoyed seeing Ginger's backstory and knowing that Eric and Pam ran a video store for what, twenty years? Their stylin' 80s gear was sensational. I don't see me long for the show, though. As gorgeous as Askars is, Eric, Sam and Bill bore me titless these days, the show still has far too little Lafayette and now it has no Tara at all.
I'm also giving Taxi Brooklyn and Murder in the First a go. The first has been charming, has Jacky Ido, and promises to centre a relationship between two women, one a cop, the other her childhood friend now boss of a crime family. The second has Tom Felton being creepy, James Cromwell chewing up the scenery in his stately manner, and Taye Diggs being sad and beautiful which is pretty much enough for a few episodes worth of my time.
Here are some recs I made on twitter last week:
Right On Short and hot Stiles/Malia
Declassification series SGA gen, some lovely John & Dave Sheppard, the fan art will make you laugh
Just Between Bros Sweet, hot, awkward in a good way Scott/Stiles
This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth.
comments.
The Strain is gruesome, pretty, very SF in tone, has that boring protagonist who is married to his work with an estranged wife/child combo blah blah blah. May watch another episode for Jonathan Hyde and Sean Astin. All the women appear to exist in relationship to a man: the estranged wife, the colleague who caters to him, another character's mother, someone's daughter etc etc. It's only the first episode but not starting well. It is a nice change that the vampires are grotesque parasites and clearly not intended to be sexy beasts.
Teen Wolf continues to be its own special self. Scott's journey of learning to be the Alpha is by turns charming, sweet and hilarious, with the usual TW caveat of not minding the plot holes and narrative oddnesses like Jackson and Isaac being name-checked by Finstock as gone but not the obviously missing Danny. I wonder if a lot of TW's problems are not the show runner's epic incapacities as a story-teller (put down the id, fellow, and back away slowly) but the way it can't mesh horror and comedy very well. Which is sad and odd, because they are two great tastes that go together like cherry and chocolate. Allison's absence, both physically and narratively, is saddening and disconcerting. Stepping up the Scott/Stiles and Scott & Stiles to the point where fanworks makers are paying attention is lovely.
True Blood has made me very cross. That Eric is alive while Tara and Alcide are dead is crap. I wish Pam would go on a bloody rampage and kill Bill, Eric and oh, I don't know, everyone. I enjoyed seeing Ginger's backstory and knowing that Eric and Pam ran a video store for what, twenty years? Their stylin' 80s gear was sensational. I don't see me long for the show, though. As gorgeous as Askars is, Eric, Sam and Bill bore me titless these days, the show still has far too little Lafayette and now it has no Tara at all.
I'm also giving Taxi Brooklyn and Murder in the First a go. The first has been charming, has Jacky Ido, and promises to centre a relationship between two women, one a cop, the other her childhood friend now boss of a crime family. The second has Tom Felton being creepy, James Cromwell chewing up the scenery in his stately manner, and Taye Diggs being sad and beautiful which is pretty much enough for a few episodes worth of my time.
Here are some recs I made on twitter last week:
Right On Short and hot Stiles/Malia
Declassification series SGA gen, some lovely John & Dave Sheppard, the fan art will make you laugh
Just Between Bros Sweet, hot, awkward in a good way Scott/Stiles
This entry was originally posted at Dreamwidth.
comments.