(no subject)
(Mostly) brief thoughts on a few things I've watched in the past week:
Grimm - This is a case where I feel like the creators of the show came up with a fantastically entertaining idea, then put it aside for a much less interesting one. What this show SHOULD have been is the adventures of Aunt Marie, the monster slaying middle-aged librarian. Yeah, that would have led to some people saying it was derivative of Giles, or that it was Buffy all grown-up and working in a library, but so what? The fact is that Giles (demon-hunting librarian) and Buffy (demon-killing female) are still far more unique characters in the TV landscape than tormented cops, who are a dime a dozen. So now it's just another gloomy police procedural, with a bland leading man forced to keep his secret from his girlfriend and his police partner, which I'm sure will lead to lots of angsty misunderstandings. Eh, I didn't hate it, and the Big Bad Wolf good-guy character could be fun, but all I can see when I look at this show is the wasted potential of a much better show.
Once Upon a Time - In contrast to Grimm, I do think there's a pretty interesting concept at work here, but I'm not yet sold on the execution, which feels a little too slow so far. I'm finding the transitions between the fairy tale world and the "real" world to be somewhat awkward, but that's something that could be smoothed over in time. I like most of the actors, and there's more than enough potential to stick around and see how it plays out for a while, but I feel like there's something, an element of tension, maybe, lacking in how the story is being told so far.
American Horror Story - Was it just me, or did Zachary Quinto's boyfriend look distractingly like Alexander Skarsgaard? I thought the scene between Addy and Constance's boytoy, and also the scene between Addy and Violet, was actually very sweet, which is the first time I have applied the word "sweet" to anything about this show, so I guess I should have known that poor Addy was doomed. Also, that "pretty girl" mask is possibly the most terrifying thing we've seen yet.
Plot point that defied belief this week: That Ben and Vivian would leave their teenage daughter alone on Halloween night in a house that's on a murder tour and has already seen one home invasion from murder groupies. Come on, isn't Halloween the night when weirdos (like, for example, a guy who murdered his family in the house and recently buried a body in the backyard) would be flocking to a house with a history like this one? Violet would be safer walking alone through the streets of Los Angeles, asking strangers for candy. Or, you know, she could just go to the hospital with her parents. BUT, nitpicking the character choices on a show like this one, which is basically pure television crack, is ridiculous. The characters do what the need to do in order to set up the next insane/horrifying/crazypants event. And I'm okay with that! The next episode is written by Tim Minear, so I'm definitely interested in seeing what he does with the completely balls-to-the-wall, anything-goes formula that's been established in the series so far.
Homeland - I'll keep it brief, because I don't really have anything to say, but this is still EASILY the best thing I'm watching this fall. No spoilers, but what I love about it is that so far, it's been an excellent combination of strong plotting and pacing married to complex, interesting characters. Obviously, I know a lot of people can't watch this because it's on Showtime, and if you don't have Showtime (or other, ahem, means of acquiring pay cable shows), then you're out of luck until it comes to DVD or Netflix streaming or whatever. However, if you do have the means to watch it and you're not because it sounds grim/uninteresting/jingoistic/simplistic or just plain boring, then I encourage you to give it a chance, because it's not any of those things.
Grimm - This is a case where I feel like the creators of the show came up with a fantastically entertaining idea, then put it aside for a much less interesting one. What this show SHOULD have been is the adventures of Aunt Marie, the monster slaying middle-aged librarian. Yeah, that would have led to some people saying it was derivative of Giles, or that it was Buffy all grown-up and working in a library, but so what? The fact is that Giles (demon-hunting librarian) and Buffy (demon-killing female) are still far more unique characters in the TV landscape than tormented cops, who are a dime a dozen. So now it's just another gloomy police procedural, with a bland leading man forced to keep his secret from his girlfriend and his police partner, which I'm sure will lead to lots of angsty misunderstandings. Eh, I didn't hate it, and the Big Bad Wolf good-guy character could be fun, but all I can see when I look at this show is the wasted potential of a much better show.
Once Upon a Time - In contrast to Grimm, I do think there's a pretty interesting concept at work here, but I'm not yet sold on the execution, which feels a little too slow so far. I'm finding the transitions between the fairy tale world and the "real" world to be somewhat awkward, but that's something that could be smoothed over in time. I like most of the actors, and there's more than enough potential to stick around and see how it plays out for a while, but I feel like there's something, an element of tension, maybe, lacking in how the story is being told so far.
American Horror Story - Was it just me, or did Zachary Quinto's boyfriend look distractingly like Alexander Skarsgaard? I thought the scene between Addy and Constance's boytoy, and also the scene between Addy and Violet, was actually very sweet, which is the first time I have applied the word "sweet" to anything about this show, so I guess I should have known that poor Addy was doomed. Also, that "pretty girl" mask is possibly the most terrifying thing we've seen yet.
Plot point that defied belief this week: That Ben and Vivian would leave their teenage daughter alone on Halloween night in a house that's on a murder tour and has already seen one home invasion from murder groupies. Come on, isn't Halloween the night when weirdos (like, for example, a guy who murdered his family in the house and recently buried a body in the backyard) would be flocking to a house with a history like this one? Violet would be safer walking alone through the streets of Los Angeles, asking strangers for candy. Or, you know, she could just go to the hospital with her parents. BUT, nitpicking the character choices on a show like this one, which is basically pure television crack, is ridiculous. The characters do what the need to do in order to set up the next insane/horrifying/crazypants event. And I'm okay with that! The next episode is written by Tim Minear, so I'm definitely interested in seeing what he does with the completely balls-to-the-wall, anything-goes formula that's been established in the series so far.
Homeland - I'll keep it brief, because I don't really have anything to say, but this is still EASILY the best thing I'm watching this fall. No spoilers, but what I love about it is that so far, it's been an excellent combination of strong plotting and pacing married to complex, interesting characters. Obviously, I know a lot of people can't watch this because it's on Showtime, and if you don't have Showtime (or other, ahem, means of acquiring pay cable shows), then you're out of luck until it comes to DVD or Netflix streaming or whatever. However, if you do have the means to watch it and you're not because it sounds grim/uninteresting/jingoistic/simplistic or just plain boring, then I encourage you to give it a chance, because it's not any of those things.