Somewhere in all of this I've been doing my quals reading.
So Glee was better this week--in fact, I'd say it was almost good: the tone was about right, the background minorities got a storyline (sort of), and Acafellas was inspired--not in the least because it complicated the teacher character. Acafellas was another thing in what's clearly been a long line of things that Will has tried to give his life meaning, and it's the same with Glee. It takes the character out of Dangerous Minds territory and makes him about as likable as everyone else on the show, which is to say not very.
Also watched FlashForward (airs Thursday, but I found a leak on the web), and it was interesting enough that I'll watch next week. The premise is mind-blowingly awesome, which helps paper over how generic the characters are (so far). And I watched the first (TV) episode of Sanctuary--I'm not sure I understand how much of it is material from the webisodes--and it's nothing special--except for Amanda Tapping, who I always liked on Stargate and who, it turns out, is a pretty good actress. I might watch the show when I want something mindless. I thought Warehouse 13 would fill that slot for me, but it turns out it's actually just dreadful. This is a show that actually put the two leads, a man and a woman, on a cart that would only run if both of them had their hands on the bar used to steer it. This is a metaphor for how they have to work together.
The real problem with Warehouse 13 is that it utterly lacks logic. I'm not talking about scientific accuracy here; I've sat through a lot of mediocre to bad sci-fi in my day and care very little about whether the science is "real." I just want it to be internally consistent. Warehouse 13 doesn't even bother to explain why the objects do what they do (aliens? demons? ectoplasm? science run amok?) . The truth isn't "out there": there's no truth to be had. Each object is just a MacGuffin, existing solely so the cardboard characters can have something to do every week. The Warehouse itself is literally just a room full of future episodes. I love genre television & I love procedurals, but what's interesting about them is what's left over after you apply the formula (character, texture of a universe, alternate histories, ideology). Here there's absolutely nothing left over.
Fringe was something of a disappointment: the mystery was fine, and the reveal about Charlie was exciting--if not unexpected, since the actor spilled the beans about his "firing" earlier this summer--but Olivia spent most of the episode in a hospital bed on the verge of tears while an Olivia surrogate ran around doing the investigating. The twist at the end of last season was so good that to have her just come back with no memory of what had happened is ridiculous. And I'm worried that a sidelined Olivia might be a motif throughout the season, since everyone keeps saying that Peter's going to become more active this year.
Also watched FlashForward (airs Thursday, but I found a leak on the web), and it was interesting enough that I'll watch next week. The premise is mind-blowingly awesome, which helps paper over how generic the characters are (so far). And I watched the first (TV) episode of Sanctuary--I'm not sure I understand how much of it is material from the webisodes--and it's nothing special--except for Amanda Tapping, who I always liked on Stargate and who, it turns out, is a pretty good actress. I might watch the show when I want something mindless. I thought Warehouse 13 would fill that slot for me, but it turns out it's actually just dreadful. This is a show that actually put the two leads, a man and a woman, on a cart that would only run if both of them had their hands on the bar used to steer it. This is a metaphor for how they have to work together.
The real problem with Warehouse 13 is that it utterly lacks logic. I'm not talking about scientific accuracy here; I've sat through a lot of mediocre to bad sci-fi in my day and care very little about whether the science is "real." I just want it to be internally consistent. Warehouse 13 doesn't even bother to explain why the objects do what they do (aliens? demons? ectoplasm? science run amok?) . The truth isn't "out there": there's no truth to be had. Each object is just a MacGuffin, existing solely so the cardboard characters can have something to do every week. The Warehouse itself is literally just a room full of future episodes. I love genre television & I love procedurals, but what's interesting about them is what's left over after you apply the formula (character, texture of a universe, alternate histories, ideology). Here there's absolutely nothing left over.
Fringe was something of a disappointment: the mystery was fine, and the reveal about Charlie was exciting--if not unexpected, since the actor spilled the beans about his "firing" earlier this summer--but Olivia spent most of the episode in a hospital bed on the verge of tears while an Olivia surrogate ran around doing the investigating. The twist at the end of last season was so good that to have her just come back with no memory of what had happened is ridiculous. And I'm worried that a sidelined Olivia might be a motif throughout the season, since everyone keeps saying that Peter's going to become more active this year.