Dear TV Shows: You Can't Have it Both Ways Edition
Dear Flashforward: There's so much here that I like, but it's bogged down with a lot of stupid and very poor pacing. Maybe list format will help explain my quibbles with this show:
What I Like:
1) John Cho and Gabrielle Union: These two actors have great chemistry and their relationship is realistic and compelling. The tension between their two visions of the future is interesting and pits them diametrically against each other: fate vs. free will.
1a) John Cho is great, all around, and his character really should be the star of this show.
2) The argument made by Al's suicide for free will in this crazy, mixed-up world. If you're not around to fulfill your flashforward, he figures, the bad things he saw in it won't happen to other, innocent people. I'm curious to see what the readers do with this plot aspect from here on out. (But sad that we had to lose a cool character like Al to get there.)
3) Every time there's a bird on screen now, I get antsy. Is it heralding another flashforward?! Or just a set-dressing coincidence?
What I dislike:
1) The writers of the show assume that viewers will forget the content and therefore cram in exposition-laden dialogue and/or re-show the same flashforward over and over again. Attention, writers: we are not stupid, we do not forget, and we don't need to see/hear anything again to remember it.
2) Point 1 leads to Point 2, which is that the plot is moving along at a glacial pace. For example, there's the idea that Charlie from Lost and the British guy who's going to wreck Penny's marriage to Ralph Fiennes are the ones responsible for the flashforwards. OK, wow! Villains in our midst! What's their angle? Is this science or techno-babble? AND WILL WE EVER FIND OUT?! Because three episodes after this idea has been introduced, there's still no movement on it, other than ominous rumblings about it being true. An idea like this one is a loaded gun, and it needs to go off soon, or I will be sorely disappointed. If this turns out to be a red herring, heads will roll.
2a) Speaking of Charlie from "Lost"; I mean, Simon: Great bad guy so far, if for no other scene than that almost R-rated sex scene on the train and his confession about his flashforward. This show needs more like that--creepy and evil.
3) The "cast of thousands" problem: Like "Heroes", this show has too many characters at the moment, to the point where a lot of them are fading into the background, or SHOULD fade into the background. I'd really like the writers to narrow their focus and tell a tighter story with fewer characters.
Dear Office: Aw, don't ever change. Well, maybe a little, but not much. We need more subtle scenes, like Tobey showing Pam how to throw a punch, as if he's been planning to punch Michael for years, but never quite worked up the guts to do so. We need more Andy singing and more thwarted Dwight. I would dial down the awkward a notch, but that's just me.
Dear Code Geass: WTF. I mean, sincerely, what the hell is going on here? You can either have a re-write of world history and a rebels-taking-down-the-empire show, OR you can have a harem-esque, high school romantic comedy drama anime. Mixing the two leads to some really, really weird moments. It's like Star Wars with a cast of far more cliched characters, reset in a Southern California high school; Darth Vader's the superintendent of schools, Luke Skywalker's a scrappy transfer student with a plan to cancel all pep rallies, and Princess Leia's the captain of the swim team. It works well, but only sometimes, and in that weird, fanfic-y way that doesn't necessarily equal quality. Oh, and did I mention that there were giant robots? It gets crazier: our hero, who is supposedly plotting the downfall of an evil empire that's bent on world domination is also a full-time high school student. There are hints of some sort of alien invasion, although it's never quite codified how and when this will happen. And, for no apparent reason, there's onscreen masturbation from a character we know almost next to nothing about, intercut with clips of the hero/anti-hero bickering with his subordinates over battle strategy. I've got nothing against masturbation, but the scene is weird and poorly timed and serves no narrative purpose whatsoever. The fanservice is strong with this one.
I should say that this anime is pretty; the character designs, the military vehicles and weapons, and the costumes are beautifully rendered and amazing to look at. (There are several characters in this who I would love to cosplay, had I the figure to do so and the sewing skills to make those amazing clothes.) I also like that some of the minor characters actually appear to be doing something and have real motivations, instead of littering up the story's landscape and appearing only when it's necessary for them to say something dramatic or sacrifice themselves. I also dislike, mightily, the very ham-handed and railroading way that the show is setting up the main character to square off against his best friend: They're on opposing sides of the conflict! One of them thinks the ends justify the means! The other doesn't think so! They bicker about ideology! AND YET! They don't realize that they're each other's greatest foes! Yeesh, anime, want another truckload of crap symbolism to shovel into that plot?
I *do* love, inexplicably, the robots. I don't usually care much for these machines, but man, that Lancelot is GORGEOUS. I am curious to see if our hero/anti-hero can succeed with his nutcase plan, and I do plan to watch the full series, but this anime is like Cheetos: I KNOW I shouldn't have too much of it because it makes me feel a little nauseated afterwards.
Sincerely,
Constant Viewer
What I Like:
1) John Cho and Gabrielle Union: These two actors have great chemistry and their relationship is realistic and compelling. The tension between their two visions of the future is interesting and pits them diametrically against each other: fate vs. free will.
1a) John Cho is great, all around, and his character really should be the star of this show.
2) The argument made by Al's suicide for free will in this crazy, mixed-up world. If you're not around to fulfill your flashforward, he figures, the bad things he saw in it won't happen to other, innocent people. I'm curious to see what the readers do with this plot aspect from here on out. (But sad that we had to lose a cool character like Al to get there.)
3) Every time there's a bird on screen now, I get antsy. Is it heralding another flashforward?! Or just a set-dressing coincidence?
What I dislike:
1) The writers of the show assume that viewers will forget the content and therefore cram in exposition-laden dialogue and/or re-show the same flashforward over and over again. Attention, writers: we are not stupid, we do not forget, and we don't need to see/hear anything again to remember it.
2) Point 1 leads to Point 2, which is that the plot is moving along at a glacial pace. For example, there's the idea that Charlie from Lost and the British guy who's going to wreck Penny's marriage to Ralph Fiennes are the ones responsible for the flashforwards. OK, wow! Villains in our midst! What's their angle? Is this science or techno-babble? AND WILL WE EVER FIND OUT?! Because three episodes after this idea has been introduced, there's still no movement on it, other than ominous rumblings about it being true. An idea like this one is a loaded gun, and it needs to go off soon, or I will be sorely disappointed. If this turns out to be a red herring, heads will roll.
2a) Speaking of Charlie from "Lost"; I mean, Simon: Great bad guy so far, if for no other scene than that almost R-rated sex scene on the train and his confession about his flashforward. This show needs more like that--creepy and evil.
3) The "cast of thousands" problem: Like "Heroes", this show has too many characters at the moment, to the point where a lot of them are fading into the background, or SHOULD fade into the background. I'd really like the writers to narrow their focus and tell a tighter story with fewer characters.
Dear Office: Aw, don't ever change. Well, maybe a little, but not much. We need more subtle scenes, like Tobey showing Pam how to throw a punch, as if he's been planning to punch Michael for years, but never quite worked up the guts to do so. We need more Andy singing and more thwarted Dwight. I would dial down the awkward a notch, but that's just me.
Dear Code Geass: WTF. I mean, sincerely, what the hell is going on here? You can either have a re-write of world history and a rebels-taking-down-the-empire show, OR you can have a harem-esque, high school romantic comedy drama anime. Mixing the two leads to some really, really weird moments. It's like Star Wars with a cast of far more cliched characters, reset in a Southern California high school; Darth Vader's the superintendent of schools, Luke Skywalker's a scrappy transfer student with a plan to cancel all pep rallies, and Princess Leia's the captain of the swim team. It works well, but only sometimes, and in that weird, fanfic-y way that doesn't necessarily equal quality. Oh, and did I mention that there were giant robots? It gets crazier: our hero, who is supposedly plotting the downfall of an evil empire that's bent on world domination is also a full-time high school student. There are hints of some sort of alien invasion, although it's never quite codified how and when this will happen. And, for no apparent reason, there's onscreen masturbation from a character we know almost next to nothing about, intercut with clips of the hero/anti-hero bickering with his subordinates over battle strategy. I've got nothing against masturbation, but the scene is weird and poorly timed and serves no narrative purpose whatsoever. The fanservice is strong with this one.
I should say that this anime is pretty; the character designs, the military vehicles and weapons, and the costumes are beautifully rendered and amazing to look at. (There are several characters in this who I would love to cosplay, had I the figure to do so and the sewing skills to make those amazing clothes.) I also like that some of the minor characters actually appear to be doing something and have real motivations, instead of littering up the story's landscape and appearing only when it's necessary for them to say something dramatic or sacrifice themselves. I also dislike, mightily, the very ham-handed and railroading way that the show is setting up the main character to square off against his best friend: They're on opposing sides of the conflict! One of them thinks the ends justify the means! The other doesn't think so! They bicker about ideology! AND YET! They don't realize that they're each other's greatest foes! Yeesh, anime, want another truckload of crap symbolism to shovel into that plot?
I *do* love, inexplicably, the robots. I don't usually care much for these machines, but man, that Lancelot is GORGEOUS. I am curious to see if our hero/anti-hero can succeed with his nutcase plan, and I do plan to watch the full series, but this anime is like Cheetos: I KNOW I shouldn't have too much of it because it makes me feel a little nauseated afterwards.
Sincerely,
Constant Viewer