Thirty Days of TV: Twenty-Five

[selenak]

Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)

Well, I fulfilled various resolutions I had in this regard over the winter (Borgen, Once Upon A Time, The Wire), and one of the shows I had been casually eying because it's supposedly a modern genderbent version of The Count of Monte Cristo, Revenge, appears to have gone down hill in its second

Comments

[abigail_n]

I think you'll like Person of Interest, though it is a very strange show (and not intentionally so, I think). It's well-made, but what throws me about it is that I find the main character to be absolutely the least interesting thing about the show, and am in general much more interested in the show's world and background than in the procedural plots (which are often quite by the numbers).

Still, it's a show that in its second season introduced a crime-fighting dog, and not only manages to do so in a way that didn't feel ridiculous but instantly made the dog my second-favorite character (my favorite character is an AI - draw whatever conclusions you will from the fact that my two favorite characters on the show aren't human). And Emerson is very good - the entire supporting cast, really. If only Caviezel wasn't such a giant charisma-suck...

[selenak]

Having seen Cavieziel in the abysmal remake of The Prisoner, I can believe he's a charisma suck and wonder why he keeps getting cast, but the rest sounds encouraging!

[reverancepavane]

Well Caviezal is playing an almost total burn out case on his last legs, so one could argue it's actually good casting. And Emerson's character is supposed to be an high-functioning autistic with no social skills at all. So it's no surprise they aren't the most empathetic of characters.

But for all that I do find it quite enjoyable to watch. And I definitely agree with abigail_n about the computer (but then I've always liked cybernetics).

[abigail_n]

[vaysh]

Have you seen Treme? I enjoyed it immensely (first season).

[selenak]

No, I haven't, but as David Simon is involved, I started to get curious, so thank you for pointing it out which is further inducement!

[vaysh]

Treme was a real surprise to me, because I did not know what to expect. It is a mix of documentary and fiction but not, as usually, with the fiction supporting the documentary "fact" parts, but the other way around. The documentary parts strengthen and give more depths to the stories told. Also, I mostly hate music films and anything to do with jazz, but in Treme, even the minute-long music scenes worked wonderfully for me. It helps that the show is not solely about musicians. There is a diverse cast of characters from all walks of life. My favourite is Creighton Bernette (John Goodman), an English professor who struggles to write a novel of the Great Flood of 1927 and slides into depression because of what is happening to New Orleans after Katrina.

And, non-native speaker comment, I totally needed the English subtitles to be able to follow the show.

[abigail_n]

Seconding the recommendation of Treme, which I think is probably the best show on TV right now. It's deceptively slow-moving, and despite its subject matter, quiet and at points very funny, but it slowly creeps up on you. It's also a show that seamlessly incorporates music into its storytelling, and addresses one of my TV pet peeves by treating art and artistic endeavor as work, not something that just falls into your lap because you were born with "talent."

I know a lot of Simon fans were underwhelmed with Treme because it wasn't another Wire (not having watched The Wire yet, I'm in no position to say), but I think it's brilliant.

[mymatedave]

I do recommend Person of Interest, slight case of mystery of the week but the series arc is well worth watching and the two leads are great fun.

[rozk]

I've just been watching Season 2 of Person of Interest having given up on Season One and am now rather in love with it. Cavaziel is a big white space in the middle of it, but that actually works for me - he is playing a deeply flawed person who erased much of himself for the job and then became disillusioned. I love the recurring minor characters and suspect one or two recent interesting figures will recur a lot too.

[willowgreen]

I'm still thoroughly enjoying "Revenge." It's completely implausible, but so what? Emily Van Camp and Madeleine Stowe are both still amazing.

[buffyannotater]

Yeah, the funny thing is "Revenge isn't as good this season" has become almost a pop cultural meme at this point, even though, if I had no access to the Internet, I never would've noticed any drop-off in quality. I still don't. Same with Once Upon a Time, actually. A lot of people are complaining about Season 2. With both shows, the canvas has become broader and more complex, and I'd argue that they've both improved. The only thing I can guess with Revenge is that people have become frustrated by how long it's taking Emily to carry out her ultimate plans, even though, barring an Alias-level series concept gamechanger, her fully carrying them out would likely mean the end of the show, anyway.

Emily Van Camp and Madeleine Stowe are both still amazing.

YES.

I highly recommend Revenge, btw, selenak. It's the rare American soap that is so well-crafted and well-written that it completely bypasses the "guilty pleasure" label. It's complex, layered (the "revenge" theme plays out on countless, twisting levels), brilliantly acted, and extremely

[crossoverman]

I basically agree with everything Rob says about "Revenge" - I don't really see a noticeable drop in quality, even if it's not quite as fresh as it once was. It is very well crafted and very well written - not just "for a soap" but for television in general. Well, for network TV anyway.