(no subject)
I found myself severely disappointed with both Bad Robot offerings last night.
Some of the flashbacks in previous episodes have been a little iffy, but what the hell was that on my television last night? It seemed like there was almost complete disconnect between Charlie's flashbacks and what they were supposed to accomplish, i.e. providing the motivation for him pumping Ethan full of lead. The flashbacks themselves were fine and in keeping with what we've learned of him so far--he had a heroin problem, he was in a downward spiral and making increasingly bad choices, and a part of him yearned to be the person his latest girlfriend thought he was, though his weaknesses made that impossible. Fine. His previous self-loathing and ever-present sense of failure ties in neatly to his berating himself that he failed to protect Claire. Fine. But it's an enormous leap to have him mow Ethan down, one that hasn't been well-supported by any of his character development so far. Tacking on the godawful anvillicious ending flashback where the old girlfriend tells him he'll never be able to take care of anyone was simply not convincing. In fact, it's completely artificial and forced.
It's an entertaining show, and I know it's never going to be terribly deep, but I still find myself getting impatient with its unwillingness to show any character in a truly negative light. A fair amount of the dramatic tension comes from characters behaving badly, but there's always some kind of elaborate justification or background story or set of circumstances to let us know that they're at heart all good souls. It is, above all else, extremely predictable. I hope it's part of the show's plan and there's some metaphysical reason why all of these people who share the same type of darkness are on the island together. Otherwise, it lends a sameness to all of the main characters, especially since some of them--Sawyer in particular--aren't that three-dimensional to begin with. Perhaps that's why I tend to find those who don't fit the pattern--Locke with his messianic gleam, Boone with his emptiness, his need to throw himself into a cause and fixate on another, Shannon with her perfect selfishness--more interesting. When push comes to shove, I don't know what path they'll take.
I've been trying all day to put my finger on what felt off about last night's Alias and not really succeeding. I think it had something to do with the pacing, the weight given to the different elements of the episode. Or perhaps it was trying to fit two different dramatic elements together without enough time. One element is the slow reveal--the mysterious and monstrous transformation of the agent couple, Sydney getting bitten, and then the acceleration of her symptoms as she and her friends race to find a cure. The other element is the drug itself and what it does to Sydney in particular. Her life has been so full of secrets and betrayals, double- and triple-dealing; all of her relationships are tangled and marred. The fears manifested in her hallucinations--that her father still could not separate her from her mother, that Vaughn had betrayed her by marrying Lauren (something she'd done so well to suppress in the past)--were incredibly interesting.
I think I'm disappointed that they spent so little time on the second element, that it was over and done with in ten minutes or less with a quick and easy solution while most of the episode focused on the slow reveal and the race for the cure. Since Sydney was going to develop the hallucinations anyway, they should have been the focus of the storytelling. They were dramatic enough without all the buildup. It feels like a missed opportunity.
I dearly loved Dixon's confrontation with Sloane, though. I'm so happy they're giving Lumbly more to work with this year. I had just started to feel like Dixon was being too accepting of Sloane's leadership, like the show was forgetting the history between those two, when they pulled that scene out of the hat.
I usually do my Wednesday night TV viewing at D.'s house in Pacifica. Last night he and I took the dog for a walk on the beach beforehand. I love living where you can walk on the beach in February in nothing heavier than a leather jacket. It was a beautiful night, clear and relatively calm, just a few tendrils of mist rising above the coastal hills and glowing from the city lights on the other side.
There's a great interview with Ben Browder in the Chicago Tribune about his upcoming roll on Stargate (scroll down to "Fargate special"). He's funny.
Some of the flashbacks in previous episodes have been a little iffy, but what the hell was that on my television last night? It seemed like there was almost complete disconnect between Charlie's flashbacks and what they were supposed to accomplish, i.e. providing the motivation for him pumping Ethan full of lead. The flashbacks themselves were fine and in keeping with what we've learned of him so far--he had a heroin problem, he was in a downward spiral and making increasingly bad choices, and a part of him yearned to be the person his latest girlfriend thought he was, though his weaknesses made that impossible. Fine. His previous self-loathing and ever-present sense of failure ties in neatly to his berating himself that he failed to protect Claire. Fine. But it's an enormous leap to have him mow Ethan down, one that hasn't been well-supported by any of his character development so far. Tacking on the godawful anvillicious ending flashback where the old girlfriend tells him he'll never be able to take care of anyone was simply not convincing. In fact, it's completely artificial and forced.
It's an entertaining show, and I know it's never going to be terribly deep, but I still find myself getting impatient with its unwillingness to show any character in a truly negative light. A fair amount of the dramatic tension comes from characters behaving badly, but there's always some kind of elaborate justification or background story or set of circumstances to let us know that they're at heart all good souls. It is, above all else, extremely predictable. I hope it's part of the show's plan and there's some metaphysical reason why all of these people who share the same type of darkness are on the island together. Otherwise, it lends a sameness to all of the main characters, especially since some of them--Sawyer in particular--aren't that three-dimensional to begin with. Perhaps that's why I tend to find those who don't fit the pattern--Locke with his messianic gleam, Boone with his emptiness, his need to throw himself into a cause and fixate on another, Shannon with her perfect selfishness--more interesting. When push comes to shove, I don't know what path they'll take.
I've been trying all day to put my finger on what felt off about last night's Alias and not really succeeding. I think it had something to do with the pacing, the weight given to the different elements of the episode. Or perhaps it was trying to fit two different dramatic elements together without enough time. One element is the slow reveal--the mysterious and monstrous transformation of the agent couple, Sydney getting bitten, and then the acceleration of her symptoms as she and her friends race to find a cure. The other element is the drug itself and what it does to Sydney in particular. Her life has been so full of secrets and betrayals, double- and triple-dealing; all of her relationships are tangled and marred. The fears manifested in her hallucinations--that her father still could not separate her from her mother, that Vaughn had betrayed her by marrying Lauren (something she'd done so well to suppress in the past)--were incredibly interesting.
I think I'm disappointed that they spent so little time on the second element, that it was over and done with in ten minutes or less with a quick and easy solution while most of the episode focused on the slow reveal and the race for the cure. Since Sydney was going to develop the hallucinations anyway, they should have been the focus of the storytelling. They were dramatic enough without all the buildup. It feels like a missed opportunity.
I dearly loved Dixon's confrontation with Sloane, though. I'm so happy they're giving Lumbly more to work with this year. I had just started to feel like Dixon was being too accepting of Sloane's leadership, like the show was forgetting the history between those two, when they pulled that scene out of the hat.
I usually do my Wednesday night TV viewing at D.'s house in Pacifica. Last night he and I took the dog for a walk on the beach beforehand. I love living where you can walk on the beach in February in nothing heavier than a leather jacket. It was a beautiful night, clear and relatively calm, just a few tendrils of mist rising above the coastal hills and glowing from the city lights on the other side.
There's a great interview with Ben Browder in the Chicago Tribune about his upcoming roll on Stargate (scroll down to "Fargate special"). He's funny.