Visual elements
I am locked in as a fan of Heroes, but I think we all knew that was coming. I've reached the point of being frustrated at having to wait a week for the next episode -- worse than that, after next week's episode there's a gap until the end of January. Hiro continues to be the best thing about the show, although I'm quite intrigued by the character of Mr. Bennett, who appears to be a long-time professional hunter of the powered types. What's nice is that the producers and writers are laying their cards on the table and answering lots of questions raised by the series -- and raising more for the future, of course. There's a definite sense of direction with the show, and an apparent lack of interest in spinning things out for as long as possible -- we now not only have a Big Bad revealed for the season, we have an explanation for how he came to be, with only an explanation of the mechanism behind him (and we're lacking a mechanism for several of the Heroes; this is something that will likely be explained before long, however.)
I'm poking around in the television past as well -- I'm watching episodes of MacGyver here and there, scattered throughout the seasons. I like Richard Dean Anderson's performance in Stargate SG-1,and have heard endlessly about the merits of his first show. It strikes me as fairly typical 1980s production line television, full of plot-heavy formula and not especially redeemed by Anderson's performance (his acting was certainly rough around the edges at the start.) It doesn't surprise me that the "Alan Smithee" credit turns up on a few episodes, and the writer's credit on the pilot screams WGA pseudonym to me as well. The central conceit of the show was its gimmick -- MacGyver was not only a troubleshooter who could go anywhere, he was the supreme improviser who could concoct the items he needed for investigation, rescue, evasion and escape from whatever happened to be lying around. It's a cute conceit, with some at-times interesting minor science and a likeable lead, but the end result isn't particularly great television. Then again, compared to some of the shows running at the same time, it likely seemed a gem.
The episode I just watched, "The Secret Of Parker House," has the producers using the show to tell a gothic tale of murder and deceit; the script is pretty much by-the-numbers and the direction too flat to impart any suspense. The most notable thing, perhaps, is an appearance by a very young Teri Hatcher -- looking about fifteen, her voice high and squeaky, and her long hair bundled up in a hairstyle so horrendous it should have made a comeback for an episode or two of third or fourth season Lois & Clark. It's a bad episode indeed, where I almost wanted Hatcher to explode from the overload of perky she brought with her, one of those things where the story is set in a bizarre little hick town ruled over by a Sheriff with an anthracite heart. It was the fourth-season opener, and truly a sad enterprise.
I'd fire up an episode of Have Gun-Will Travel to wash away the stain of that sorry tale, but it's late, I'm tired (and rather cold) and I think that I will instead fire up iTunes and crawl into my nice warm bed.
I'm poking around in the television past as well -- I'm watching episodes of MacGyver here and there, scattered throughout the seasons. I like Richard Dean Anderson's performance in Stargate SG-1,and have heard endlessly about the merits of his first show. It strikes me as fairly typical 1980s production line television, full of plot-heavy formula and not especially redeemed by Anderson's performance (his acting was certainly rough around the edges at the start.) It doesn't surprise me that the "Alan Smithee" credit turns up on a few episodes, and the writer's credit on the pilot screams WGA pseudonym to me as well. The central conceit of the show was its gimmick -- MacGyver was not only a troubleshooter who could go anywhere, he was the supreme improviser who could concoct the items he needed for investigation, rescue, evasion and escape from whatever happened to be lying around. It's a cute conceit, with some at-times interesting minor science and a likeable lead, but the end result isn't particularly great television. Then again, compared to some of the shows running at the same time, it likely seemed a gem.
The episode I just watched, "The Secret Of Parker House," has the producers using the show to tell a gothic tale of murder and deceit; the script is pretty much by-the-numbers and the direction too flat to impart any suspense. The most notable thing, perhaps, is an appearance by a very young Teri Hatcher -- looking about fifteen, her voice high and squeaky, and her long hair bundled up in a hairstyle so horrendous it should have made a comeback for an episode or two of third or fourth season Lois & Clark. It's a bad episode indeed, where I almost wanted Hatcher to explode from the overload of perky she brought with her, one of those things where the story is set in a bizarre little hick town ruled over by a Sheriff with an anthracite heart. It was the fourth-season opener, and truly a sad enterprise.
I'd fire up an episode of Have Gun-Will Travel to wash away the stain of that sorry tale, but it's late, I'm tired (and rather cold) and I think that I will instead fire up iTunes and crawl into my nice warm bed.