This is my speaker’s corner where I can rant about popular culture, geeky and general stuff that amaze or irritate me. Many things do. Irritate me, that is.
It is the new original story (for TV) on CW about a gang of superheroes and villains teaming up together to fight a common enemy. And the bunch has a better fit than The Avengers.
There is a Legends of Tomorrow comic but it supposedly has nothing to do with the TV show.
CW is no virgin when it comes to superheroes, as both the gritty drama Arrow and the more light-hearted and sometimes insane and silly The Flash has both run successfully for a couple a years. And let us not forget about Smallville (2001-2011). We are talking about 10 seasons of Superman here. A real blast from the past.
I am a superhero fan. I have seen all of the recent superhero movies. Some I did not like very much (read what I think about The Avengers: Age of Ultron) and some, like Ant-man I really enjoyed.
The superhero genre usually means human melodrama mixed with super talent(s), i.e. cool special effects. And I prefer more of the latter. But there needs to be a story there. Arrow almost lost me when the drama got too much air time (read why here) but The Flash got me back.
LoT takes some of the most colorful characters from Arrow and The Flash and give them an insane scifi playground; a couple of bad guys, some flying lovers, two geniuses, a black guy and Rory from Doctor Who.
Superheroes and time travel.
People, what’s not to love?!
The creators and writers are having fun making this shit up!
I am talking Doctor Who and Star Wars spoofs aplenty.
Laserguns, time masters, Cronos the Bounty Hunter, spaceship AI.
But best of all, you know you have the ultimate super villain when you meet the 4000 year old Vandal Savage (Casper Crump). You just know what to expect with a name like that. And it delievers.
It is genuinly funny, fast paste with special effects and explosions out your ass. And when the team goes to Norway in 1975, I am sold.
Shadowhunters is the brand new TV adaption of YA author Cassandra Clare’s bestselling series The Mortal Instruments (paranormal romance/urban fantasy).
In the US it airs on ABC Family, now named Freeform (Netflix for the rest of us), which sadly is the only interesting thing about the show.
First off, I have read the books. They are okay. Perhaps a tad cliché for my taste but then again, I am no young adult anymore.
I have even seen the movie from 2013. It was bearable. Mostly because of the casting.
Now somebody has been unfortunate enough to be responsible for Shadowhunters the TV show. So please, whoever is in charge, put an end to this travesty.
It is not imperfect. It is total GARBAGE.
I am actually not that concerned of the changes in the cast. Like so many fans.
I like Lily Collins but not a fan of her as Clary Fray in the movie. Therefore, I welcomed Katherin McNamara, except for the fact that she sucks at acting.
I do not even care that Luke is black. Tokenism or not.
I can even tolerate the new high tech X-men base that is the no-longer gothic Institute.
The only one that actually can act is Alan Van Sprang. I am certain he can give the oomph that is Valentin Morgenstern. I loved him as Sir Francis Bryan in The Tudors and as King Henry II in Reign, but the writers do not bother explaining or give time to the antagonistic Circle or Valentin. Hell, they do not even bother about Shadowhunters that much.
What they do care about is showing of model perfect, beautiful people.
Mannequins.
Locked in selfie mode.
Look at the official teaser (all the way down, at the end of the rant).
If you think it looks weird, low budget and unfinished, this is also how the rest of the show looks like.
I am talking plastic swords with LED- lighting and ill-fitted supermarket cat eye contacts.
Hey, it is cheaper than CGI!
You know what will save even more money? Let’s not actually show the fight scenes! Just hint at it. Cheaper than paying a fight choreographer.
In my research for this rant (yes I actually do work at it) I found what creator Clare herself says about the show.
Clare states on her homepage (and seriously, it is really all her, high lights and all): “Please understand that I have nothing to do with the decision to make a television show instead of more movies. I have nothing to do with any casting or recasting decisions. I HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE WRITING OF THE SHOW OR ITS PLOT. […]“.
Shades of Blue is a brand new cop show from NBC starring a Latina pop singer, one sober Drea de Matteo, a multiform support cast and haven’t-aged-a-day-since-the-80’s Ray Liotta.
First off, we are introduced to a bruised and crying Jennifer Lopez breaking down in front of her webcam.
We get that e-v-e-r-y-t-h-i-n-g is falling apart too slowly to realize and too quickly to see it coming.
I must admit, Lopez is a better actress than I give her credit for.
2 weeks earlier, NYPD Detective Harlee Santos’ (Lopez) rookie partner Michael Loman (played by Dayo Okeniyi), straight outta the Academy, makes an epic mistake.
He kicks down the door and shoots a suspect only to find that the gunshot he heard was from a video game the perp was playing, no gun in sight.
With absolutely no time-out, Santos rearrange the crime scene and their story, so it matches a how-not-to-be-fired-on-the-second-day-script. Because the perp was a bad guy. No doubt about it.
She even shoots her poor rookie partner in the vest. Without warning him, and she is somewhat cold and eerily calm while doing all of this.
This is not her first rodeo.
When asked later why she did not warn him, she answers, “Cause you would have flinched. And I’m not that good a shot.” Okay, then. That makes it alright, I guess.
And even when she meets her teenage daughter and banters her, she still seems emotionless.
But it does not feel limited to Lopez’ acting. I actually believe she is this cold.
The first time she is even remotely emotional is when the rookie seeks her out, telling her that he wants to come clean when talking with Internal Affairs. He even suggests keeping her part out of it all.
Her reaction is to rant on how HER daughter is HIS daughter because the badge makes them family, and that she saved him today and that he need to save her tomorrow.
Her boss Lt. Wozniak (Liotta) is of course in on it all. They all are. Santos and a bunch of colleagues meets in the cold unit in a backroom somewhere, getting their dirty money. Mr. Lt. Police Boss is in charge.
Okay, so she has money problems. Her daughter’s school is too expensive. However, her boss is there for her. He is taking care of it all. Just like family should.
Enter the FBI.
And trouble.
Because corruption is still corruption. Even if it makes a good and safe family, and it has cleaned up the neighborhood.
Santos needs to choose between her family and her dirty cop family. And I am guessing this will fuel the drama and suspense of this show.
Liotta is marvelous as a loving father figure gone psychotic dirty cop. The rest is kinda meh.
I enjoy the 80’s flare and Lopez is actually not that bad. I like her character (before the FBI). Here’s hoping she keeps her cool and not fret out. Keep the suspense and less drama.
There is also something about the weird tension between Santos and FBI agent Robert Stahl (played by Warren Cole) I find musing.
I am having trouble finding words to describe exactly how excited I am about The Expanse!
A picture is worth a thousand words, so here I am. All fired up!
This space opera could be the next big thing since Battlestar Galactica (2004-2009)!
It seems to be the answer to all my prayers. If I prayed. Which I do not. But if I did, I would pray for something like this.
I am a huge scifi fan and there has been a serious lack in the space-opera-on-TV since BG.
I love TV shows like Star Trek (any of them), Farscape (1994-2004), and Babylon 5 (1994—1998) etc. Although not space operas per se, not even these scifi shows have worthy successors.
I have been mildly interested in the deteriorating Falling Skies (2011-2015) and the more bearable Defiance (2013-2015).
I even tried Dark Matter (2015-), but it did not hook me. DM is scheduled for a season two, so I might pick it up again, but it is not likely to happen anytime soon.
I gave Killjoys (2015-) a try. A choice I do not regret. If you are into fun-loving, high-tech, guns blazing, and adventurous scifi, you will not regret watching it! Season two is already scheduled.
Now I crave something more complex with depth.
The Expanse is a serious contestant in winning me over, as the scifi slut I am. Four episodes in, it promises a lot and I am certainly intrigued. Belly up and all.
It is based on a series of novels called The Expanse by James S. A. Corey. There is actually a duo hiding behind the pen name, Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. The first one in the series is Leviathan Wakes from 2011, so it is relative new. They have released five novels and counting.
More delightful, the Syfy channel is responsible for this bowl of goodness.
It is about time that the channel sheds its lame, low production escapist B-movie status. The channel did give us cheesy movies like Sharktopus (2010) and Sharknado (2013). And, yet again give us pompous space opera dramas like they did with BG.
Honestly, the trailer is kinda meh. After watching the first four episodes (of 10 total), I do not feel it represents the show fairly. So I beg you, see episode one instead.
The first episodes paints a big picture with broad strokes, introducing a well of characters and plotlines with little information to go on. Characters die at a rapid rate and I am guessing blindly who will be the remaining main cast.
Three characters stands out though.
Police detective Joe Miller, played by Thomas Jane (Punisher from the movie with the same name and Ray Drecker from Hung) is on a missing woman assignment while his home world Ceres erupts into chaos.
Chrisjen Avasarala, a United Nations executive played by Shohreh Agdashloo (Stefania Vaduva Popescu from Grimm) is trying to prevent war between Earth and Mars.
Ship Officer Jim Holden, played by Steven Strait (D’Leh from 10,000 BC and the forever hunky Warren Peace in Sky High) quickly finds himself and crew sole survivors of an attack, with failing air supply and the enemy close by.
Action, drama, survival, terrorists, space travel, technobabble, mystery, political thrills, secrets, military strategies, culture clashes, tech noir, explosions, conspiracies, you name it!
A 13- episode second season is already scheduled to air early 2017.
We have just left Christmas celebrations behind us. A holiday full of jolly nostalgia and hard core glitter use.
I must admit, I am not that into Christmas traditions. Christmas will be upon us anyway, I say.
So without seeming too grinchy or scroogey I really do not see the appeal of watching the movie Love Actually (2003) more than once. The rest of the TV schedule (at least in Norway) is full of crap B-, C-, and D-movies not worth your while, and the A-listers keeps running and running, staling for every channel you switch on to.
But the holidays is a perfect time to catch up on movies, TV series and shows!
I especially like to indulge in mini-series because they often fit perfectly into my holiday schedule. Short and effective stories with high production value and the best part, you do not have to wait a year for the next season!
So while everyone else was watching and talking about Making a Murderer (2015) (I was saving it for the new year’s celebrations), I was thrilled when I found the new TV adaption of Agatha Christie’s murder mystery And Then There Were None (2015). Perhaps more known as Ten Little Indians.
First class British crime and costume drama from BBC One.
Oh, Holy Night.
Jackpot!
First published in 1939, the novel is recognized as Christie’s masterwork, and has been adapted many times on screen, TV and the stage.
The story is as simple as it is meticulous.
It is Saw set in 1939 without traps and all the gore. And without the possibility of making it out alive.
The mysterious Mr and Mrs Owen invites eight strangers to a secluded Soldier Island. Greeted by the butler and cook when arriving, it is quickly revealed neither they nor any of the guests have actually met the Owens, and that their hosts are nowhere to be seen.
Completely alone on the island, they are interrupted after eating dinner by a recording that reveals that all ten of them have been complicit in the deaths of others but has managed to escape notice and/or prosecution.
Ten artfully crafted table pieces and an American children’s rhyme (Ten little Indians) are also important pieces in the continuing story where the characters are killed off one by one. Until there are none left.
TV show Homeland (2011-) is interesting for many reasons.
Carrie Mathison (portrayed by Claire Danes) is a strong female lead. She is actually one of the most complex female characters I have seen on TV.
All while not being stereotyped as the sexy female skimpy outfit hooker agent (Yup, an older rant here).
That and the sensitive portrayal of Bipolar Disorder make Homeland a series to watch.
I know the show has been criticized for its stereotyping of Muslims (originally based on the Israeli series Hatufim/Prisoner of War (on my to-watch list)), and for fear of exhausting the story. Both equally legitimate but not the focus of this rant.
Before watching it, I was afraid that the show was only a copy of 24, but what do I know? I have not seen 24. And probably never will.
I am glad I gave Homeland a chance.
I am impressed by the portrayal of Bipolar Disorder in the first season. Somebody knows what they are writing about!
It is off course simplified. It needs to be, to tell the story.
And the story is not about bipolar disorder, mental illness or awareness at all.
Claire Danes is perfect for this role. I have personally been a fan since My So-Called Life (1994-95) but feels she has made some weird choices during her career. Now, as Carrie, I feel she is right at home, playing on her strengths as an actress.
Her subtleties, wide range of emotions and expressions are executed perfectly. Carrie is intense and somewhat unpleasant.
Her strengths are also her weaknesses. I would actually go so far as to say that she is excellent at her job, not in spite of, but because she is Bipolar.
Claire makes her believable and watchable.
Carrie is pushy, confrontational and ambitious without becoming bitchy.
Her highs and lows intricately played out; from incoherent, maniacally chaotic to her dark and silent meltdown feels raw and real.
Carrie is flawed but never flat.
Christine
If you have questions about Bipolar Disorder or other mental health issues, please contact your national and/or local mental health organizations and clinics.
It seems like every show on TV these recent years consists of one or several crazy people. Usually solving things.
Some of them are known to us as Superheroes. As if that makes everything alright! Sorry, this rant is not about supes. Or is it?
I am not here to put labels, but as one who wants awareness, I am curious about how mental health issues are expressed or implied on mainstream TV-shows. What is this interest in the psychotic yet helpful?
Why is it almost always connected to behaving as a douchebag?
Does mental illness/high intelligence give a free pass to behave as a dick?
Is it just another bad boy (needs saving) trope, a fixation on the Eccentric, or just another tribute to the Genius?
Or are they in fact the new superheroes, their issues often described as talents and gifts in an almost supernatural sense. A common man hero, sort of. More common than the common man becoming a superhero, that is.
Or is it a poorly concealed, yet bogus pat on the shoulder to all fighters out there, living, enduring or barely holding on.
Cue: Heroes by Alesso ft. Tove Lo.
Some of the shows are following this trend head on. I have made a compilation rant of them. I might have missed some. I might have ignored some.
House M.D. (2004-2012)
Honestly, I have not seen enough of this show to say anything meaningful about it. But then again, there might not be any meaning to it at all. I have however seen enough to make highly astute guesses. Because lets be honest, every episode is the same one.
House is being an asshole but occasionally he shows a couple of seconds of remorse or goodwill. Enough to like him, or at least accept his bullshit. Not to forget; he saves life!
His superpower: He can medic-babble for 40 minutes.
Dexter (2006-2013)
I saw perhaps half of the first season back in 2006 so I am really just shooting blanks here.
As I remembered it, it was no confusion to the fact that Dexter is mental, but he was not an unsocial jerk. He just could not stop killing (bad) people. How people would sit through this for seven years is beyond me.
His superpower: a never ending supply of duct tape and plastic wrapping.
Monk (2002-2009)
Adrian Monk is the human personification of OCD, complete with 312 fears and phobias. The show is comedic in its form but portrayed with so much love you are compelled to see his beauty.
His superpower: Did I mention he has 312 fears? It is a miracle he gets out of bed in the morning!
Bones (2005-)
It is implied that forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan has Asperger’s.
I have only seen an episode here and there, but I get the impression that she comes of as a strong female lead in spite of her challenges. Flawed but lovable.
Bones superpower: When she points a finger out in the air, a three-dimensional graph or other medical image pops up, showing someone’s insides.
Homeland (2011-)
Carrie Mathison is another strong female lead on TV. I am immensely impressed by the portray of bipolar disorder in the first season of Homeland.
Carrie is very good at what she does, but her strengths are also her weaknesses. It deserves a better mention than just a paragraph in a compilation rant, so I am writing a whole post on her, but this is all I got for now.
Her superpower: A never-ending supply of highlight markers in different colors.
Perception (2012-2015)
This investigating duo consists of a flat Rachael Leigh Cook and a scrubby heterosexual Will from Will&Grace, complete with flannels and a 3-day beard.
His mental health problems are first referred to as visions, incidents, then goes on to be called conditions, schizophrenic hallucinations and finally recognized as Paranoid Schizophrenia.
Not a good show. However, portraying the different phases of his illnesses is very good although oversimplified.
Superpower: His hallucinations are just as smart as him.
Elementary (2012-)
This show tries to remake Sherlock (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle) in a more modern version. By moving him to the US, giving him some AA advice and a female Watson. Not to forget, a female Moriarty. You know you are witnessing post-modern stuff when half the characters change their gender. It is however, worth watching because of the cast.
Sherlock’s superpower: Animal companion: Clyde the turtle.
The Following (2013-2015)
A change from the other shows, The Following does not have a psycho investigator. Ryan Hardy might suffer from different disorders he self-medicates with alcohol and self-sacrifice, but it is this shows antagonist Joe Carroll that is the crackpot. Although I believe his followers must be even crazier because this cult leader is as charismatic as a wall-to-wall carpet.
Why someone would follow this man, and why people would watch this, is still an enigma to me. Perhaps that is Carroll’s superpower.
The Blacklist (2013-)
Yet another crime/drama/mystery worth mentioning. Reddington is leading agents around in a maze, not sure when he will turn on them or not. Is he psychotic, desperate, fatherly or only out for revenge? Is he an intuitive genius or has he staged everything from the beginning?
Reddingtons superpower: No one beats him at party planning.
Scorpion (2014-)
If one genius is not lovable enough, why would you bring in some more? Now we have a whole band of them. Are they mental or just unpleasant? This is a relative new instalment of the “crazy and obnoxious helping the happy (?) untalented”. This show lost me just a couple of episodes in.
Superpower: Instant WiFi access.
The Bridge (2013-)
This one is on my to-watch-list. In fact, all of the versions are on it. You have the Swedish/Danish original Broen, the US version The Bridge at the border to Mexico, and the UK version The Tunnel between UK and France.
Sonya Cross (US) seems like a flawed and strong female protagonist. I have read somewhere that she is supposed to have Asperger’s but it is never explained during the show. Anyway, I am looking forward to checking this one out.
Hannibal (2013-2015)
This is also on my-to-watch-list, but is it yet another version of the crazy leading the blind?
It is based on the novel Red Dragon (Thomas Harris, 1981) about our favorite cannibal Hannibal Lecter. What is not to love?
Christine
If you have questions about mental health issues, please contact your national and/or local mental health organizations and clinics.
I have now finished the 1st season and let me be clear; I am horrified!
Annie Walker, a young sexy female CIA trainee is handpicked and fast-tracked suddenly finding herself Operative.
This could have been a funny twist on the sexy female agent trope. Perhaps that was what they were going for but let me tell you why and how they fail. Miserably.
Introduced as a pretty tomboy, Annie quickly evolves into Action Junkie Barbie.
When called in by a (male) CIA/military trainee officer, she awkwardly blabbers on admitting to sleeping with her taekwondo instructor. Which btw, is not against the rules. She has already checked.
In a couple of seconds, she is transformed into a geeky-girl-next-door type who knows how to google.
The CIA clears her after interviewing her with a series of questions about her sex life. We now know her beach relationship with ex Ben Mercer ended ugly, she is fluent in six languages and she likes to wear outrageous cleavages. It is a good thing her breast barely manages an A-cup or it would be boobies all over the place!
She comes off as a man-eater as we see her flirt with Conrad, a man she just met on the steps of her new CIA home. Who, in all honesty, is flirting with her.
Her awkwardness is yet again apparent when she tries to walk through security without her passkey. Switching her from sexy confident to silly and girly.
Here lays the secret to what I hoped this show would be like.
Already we have seen Annie as confident, silly, headstrong, naïve, determined, awkward, sexual, weak, smart, emotional and strong. Not completely one-dimensional.
It gives me hope.
However, there are signs I do not like.
Her commanding officer points out that she is the best driver of any women the CIA academy (?) ever have had. WTF?!
And, Conrad is goading her to make the no-passkey mistake.
The bureau needs Annie because she can pass as a hooker. Seemingly, as the only other woman in this department, Annie’s female boss gives her this assignment. As if that makes everything all right!
Her boss is another example of the sexist craftsmanship of the writers. She cannot trust her unfaithful husband, and continues to interrupt his business meetings throughout the entire season trying to shame him in front of others. Resulting in high bitch levels herself.
Auggie, a blind agent now acting as the geeky IT guy and obviously the romantic lead in this show, he cannot judge her by her looks. He has instead perfected the skill of listening to how other men talk to women to find out if they are sexy or not.
Back to Annie.
She flirts wherever she goes. It is her secret weapon but is seriously rattled when finding that her contact guy is an ugly middle-aged man, and she frowns at the ordinary looking man her sister sets her up with. Not giving it a chance in hell.
Instead of CIA mentoring her so she slowly gets better at what she does, everybody seems to be goading her and then laughs or yells at her for not doing her job well. Her ex being the only actual reason she is there.
She screams like a girl, cannot walk in those high-heeled Louboutins as if her life depended on it, and is manipulated by everyone around her.
At one point, her ex and her new loverboy bickers about how to best keep her safe, while she is there. Doing nothing.
Every episode ends with her being rescued by a man. She tries to fight but is defeated every fucking time.
In the second episode, just to be certain we get how womanly weak she is, she is equipped with a panic/rape alarm and pepper spray. Emphasizing her (gender) as a victim.
When Annie’s only female to look up to, her boss, gets the career opportunity of taking her husband’s job, making her the highest-ranking woman in the history of the CIA and do an amazing job at it.
In spite of all her confrontations with her husband, she turns the offer down willing to fight with him (instead of against) keeping their marriage true.
Is this actually an accurate portrait of a working woman in the patriarchy? Especially working in a male-oriented workplace?
Because when ex Mercer romantically asks Annie to change her ticket the next day, all I hear is, “Please sacrifice everything for me! As a man I cannot, but you are only a woman. You can.”
Stories have a correlation to the world we are living in. They are man-made. There is nothing natural about stories.
Shortly after 9/11 a bunch of mainstream Hollywood movies best described as revenge movies came on the scene. No one explicitly taking on the subject of course, it was too early to do that.
We have struggled for a long time now with an enormous amount of post-apocalyptic movies and TV-shows. It does not seem to fade away.
Not so strange when crisis after crisis has had the world in turmoil this last decade. Economic collapses, political and environmental disasters. You name it!
Post-apocalyptic themes and zombies usually follows vampires, a leech that not so strangely correlates with economic changes in society.
I am not kidding. You can google it.
What comes after the post- apocalypse?
Babies, is the right answer!
We need something stabilizing. We need society to move one. We need the family to stay together and we need hope. Nothing says hope like a baby.
I do hope this fad is short-lived.
The last time we had a wave of pregnancies was during the mid-90 to mid-2000 and every drama/comedy in mainstream cinema had at least one pregnant woman or unprepared parents in it.
TV science fiction is now picking up the torch, expecting and bursting with babies.
Extant combines pregnancy with alien intrusion. As if it was not hard enough, Halle Berry need to struggle with aliens, a husband on a mission and Roboboy too.
This show tries hard at many things. Thankfully, they have money enough for visual effects, good actors and a solid production.
Perhaps it would be a better show if they had not done both the ‘alien pregnancy conspiracy’ plot at the same time as the ‘Roboboy is just like human boys’ plot.
The Lottery is seriously taking the subject of pregnancy, or the lack of, straight on. This show has potential.
I know. It is just another way to say they fucked it up.
It was supposed to be Children of Men for TV but perhaps they got too afraid it would look like a copycat? Children of Men was good on as many levels as this show is bad.
Okay, you had a beautiful baby. Can we please move on now?
This is a difficult rant to write but the necessity has become alarming.
My Whovian affinity began with me accidentally watching part of an episode at a friends’ house. Tennant was the Doctor. I admit, I remember it as a bit embarrassing.
However, one thing was clear.
The Doctor might be in almost every scene but the show is not about him.
Awkward, there was still something there. Enough for me to want to check out more.
I wanted to part-take. I liked the whole space and time concept, although wibbly wobbly timey wimey.
Before I jumped on the new series bandwagon, I decided to watch the old stuff first.
It took me a year to go through it all.
From 1963 up until 89, including the movie from 1996.
I was hooked.
Early on, my theory about the Doctor was confirmed.
His part in the story became clearer through each regeneration. The Doctor is as much a character as the Tardis is. The story was not about him.
The new instalment changed this.
Doctor Who needed to follow the New Golden Era Formula for TV series. Which means an emphasis on character driven plots (hooks) at the expense of story driven ones.
He became the main character.
He became a man.
He is not.
He is an alien.
We needed him to fulfill the (epic) hero role. Complete with romance and everything. With the ugly and embarrassing affair of Rose and the 10th Doctor as the result.
The Doctor is not supposed to be a romantic hero.
He is a tool. A device.
I do not want to figure him out, or know more about him because there is no unresolved mystery there.
You do not need to watch many TV shows before that numbing feeling that you have seen this before comes creeping along.
I have two problems with TV mystery/sci fi dramas today:
A) The Formula itself.
B) The character driven story.
A) The Golden Formula is basic = 1) Solve one (story) plot per episode. 2) Solve one arc plot per season. Usually 22 episodes.
Only 3-4 episodes connects directly to the arc plot, so a season contains mostly of one-offs. Usually, there is at least 2×2 episodes that follows the ‘to be continued’ rule, either around mid-season and/or season finale.
B) It is completed with character driven plot (character hooks) instead of story hooks. It is no longer the story that keeps us coming back for more. It is the characters.
You can’t have one without the other, you say?
Start making good story hooks then!
Every episode begins with up to 5 minutes of character development, a tiny bit of information gathered through lines or actions.
It then continues to easily solving the story. Which is the same one, only changing the backdrop, character name and the actors that play them. In some cases, not even that.
In the last minutes of each episode, we are again treated to some tiny bit of character info, only enough to keep us hanging on (hook), tuning into the next episode.
This New Golden Era Formula has become more obvious with the current binge-watching epidemic. You can actually time the scenes and hooks in every episode!
Advertisements must take some of the blame. A show needs hooks before going to break, usually 2-3 times during a 40-45 minute episode, but ads cannot take the blame for character driven plots.
Alias (2001-2006) is the show that stands out to me as the one first perfecting this formula.
It is a rollercoaster of hooks and plot twists heavily character driven. Sidney solves the same case every episode, the only change is with which wig. It is her relationships, her friends, her parents and employers, all summed up as ever-changing allies and enemies that moves the story forward. One minute at a time.
In 2004, Lost added flashbacks to the mix. A narrative device I now only think of as the Mother of all Evil.
The only way to escape boredom is if you find the characters interesting, lovable or not. If sucked in, you are trapped in a maze of hope.
Will they fall in love? Will he ever trust again? What happened to make him so cold-hearted? Which is all questions about the character.
Person of Interest (2011-) comes highly recommended by fans but it follows the Formula to the point of it being ridiculous. Sorry folks, Reese and Finch are just not that interesting for me to get an addiction. #StillNotAFan
However, in the shadows of the Formulistic Maze there is hope lurking.
I firmly believe that the successes (critical acclaim) of shows like Fargo, The Leftovers, True Detective and (not surprisingly) Intruders, partly is because they dare to break free of the Formula.
The Leftovers final episode came and went with a lot less fuss than I expected.
From the first episode there was this massive built up frenzy from fans, critics and hostiles. Mostly from frustrated fans looking for answers.
Surprised by my own reaction while I watched The Leftovers, it spurred not only reflection on my part but also writing a blog entry on fantasy genre and God where I raise the question of the sudden appearance of God everywhere in (new) fantasy fiction.
More surprised, I had so much nothing to say that one entry was not enough. That is why you are reading part two.
Rich conservative Christian individuals/organizations/churches/ congregations/cults/whatever they call themselves, are no virgins to media production.
They have their own radio and TV channels. Hell, they have even conquered the Internet! Streamlining their message, teaching people to be good Christians. All over the world.
Now however, it seems they are getting their hands dirty by putting their hard-earned dollars into mainstream media production, funding a more hidden message. Making the Christian God a natural part of everything.
You sense I am not a fan.
You sense right.
There is nothing natural about God.
And, nothing natural about my reaction to The Leftovers.
It shook my soul. My skepticism went haywire, casting me out into total chaos, ending up as an emotional ball of unresolved anger.
Why?
The Guilty Remnants (GR).
Every time the story lingers on these white clad, chain-smoking and silent folks, my stomach hurt. They anger me.
They make me uncomfortable. They scare me because the only thing I know about them, leaving the last two episodes out of it, is that they leave everyone and everything behind (although still part of the society) swears to silence, wears only white and chain-smokes.
Their mission is to make people remember.
Up until the final episode, it is unclear what people are supposed to remember. Making it universal. Whatever you have regrets about becomes what you should remember.
Up to a point, they only stalk people.
Soon they move on to breaking into people’s homes stealing photos and clothes. Leaving family and friends of those raptured with less to remember them by.
It is an effective way to piss people off. I am not the only one reacting badly to the GR and I am not even part of that world!
In the final episode, they top their weirdness by placing human-sized dolls looking like those raptured in their own clothes in the exact same situation they were raptured from.
At the same time, I am not that outraged anymore. Because now I have a clearer picture of who they are and what they want.
The more I know, they crazier they get, the calmer I stay.
A post- apocalyptic pandemic scenario and a US Navy guided missile destroyer.
Straight of I get a Battlestar Galactica feel. A hint of old school sci-fi, like with real sets and everything.
In addition, there is a present and an imminent danger.
Not in a far future. Furthermore, it is on our earth. No parallel worlds. No aliens.
Oh Gosh, I am getting my hopes up!
Not 12 minutes into the episode, the Russians attack.
Ah, I see.
A nostalgic nudge to 80’s and 90’s action movies with American number one favorite enemy Russia. I am cool with that.
From there on EVERYTHING about this show goes horribly wrong.
Half way through episode 2 I am getting increasingly uncomfortable as our heroes searches Guantanamo Bay for supplies.
Freed because of the virus, Al-Qaida prisoners rule this playground hell-bent on killing everyone although the virus is killing everybody anyway.
So not to be confused with our heroes, Al-Qaida is dressed in their standardized uniform complete with orange neckties, afghan turbans and beards.
It is as if they never left the Afghan mountains.
They are even accompanied by an exotic soundtrack.
Do the US and their military need a pat on the shoulder?
Here represented by the Navy. The finest of the whitest. Yeah, I am talking about their iconic white ceremonial uniform.
Is their reputation THAT tarnished?
‘Cause in my mouth this tastes awfully like propaganda.
Russia is the enemy throughout the season. Thank goodness, we have evolved though!
Our hero captain speaks Russian.
In addition to reading books.
About Russian military captains.
However, there is no Russia anymore. Only forces operating on their own authority according to what is left of the US Government holding out in a bunker underground, hanging on the US of A is still standing strong!
Although it is in shambles.
Just like Russia.
But in control.
Unlike Russia.
The ongoing threat by the Russians and the one from the Al-Qaida is only the beginning.
Meet El Toro. The drug lord type living it easy in the Nicaraguan jungle he calls his own.
He molests young girls, preferably right before they hit puberty. He is surrounded by jungle music with sounds of monkeys and bongo drums.
So to best get that jungle vibe.
Still not convinced this show is crap?
Every military person on board is understandably American. Therefore, we need an intelligent alibi.
Thankfully, the scientists guesting the destroyer are British. The man is however a traitor.
He does not speak much in the beginning. When he does, it is with the Russians. Therefore, you accept his stone cold nature without blinking while the female scientist runs around all emotional.
To top it off, he has red hair and bad acne scars across his face for goodness sake!
Of course, he is bad.
I mean British.
To complete this work of crap, the Asian-American engineering guy does not stop reading while eating and one of the two Afro-American guys you get to know, is the first to die. On an away mission of all things.
A few episodes into it, I find myself becoming more and more a fan but at the same time increasingly frightened that it is a relationship not worth investing in.
The Canadian TV-series Orphan Black has taken audiences and a bunch of critics with storm. It is renewed for a third season airing in 2015.
I admit I was sceptic in the beginning.
As I watched episode two and onwards I got over the Ringer copycat thing and started to really enjoy the clone story. It is nothing like Ringer, you just need to get past the first episode.
The first season is okay. Some cool tweaks but the genius part is solemnly Tatiana Maslany’s fault. The second season is much like the first one, not introducing enough clones though.
The abbreviated summary full of spoilers is this: There are these clones, right. In the beginning they do not know but through hula hoops of coincidents, true detectiving and a suicide, they or at least some of them discover each other and their true origin.
Which is the same gene pool.
Perhaps even an international adoption agency. The details are a little bit blurry about that.
The clones played by Maslany only look alike. Which is not THAT difficult since the same actress plays them all.
Their personalities however are very different. Due to their upbringing.
Classic Nurture vs. Nature.
The interesting part is that their differences does not stop at simple personality traits but also in their sexual identity and orientation. Including one being a lesbian and one a transgendered/transsexual male.
Are you born heterosexual or is that a choice? Choice, in this case being a very complicated concept.
I do get why pro-gay right activists still cling to the “I (They) am (are) born this way” argument although I find it archaic. Their demands on equal rights not diminished by it not being their nature.
Although it is more likely that it is a combination of the two and not versus, this show has made a stand. At least made a statement.
They both portrait family as a non-homogeneous group of individuals defined by their good and their bad qualities. Not perfect families.
Of the two I recommend Raising Hope.
It is a highly non-functioning family portrayed with so much love and kindness that the Pritchett/Tucker-Pritchett/Dunphy-alliance, although both gay and multicultural, comes out as just petty.
Although both MF and RH is a tad goodie two-shoes, it seems that a “in your face” type of humor is seeping through many new comedies lately.
Humor so explicit it is only comparable to the cumshot in porn. 2 Broke Girls is an example.
Where 2BG mostly joke about sex, Mom joke about fucking up life with drugs and alcohol but mostly fucking up your children’s life for the same reasons.
It is somewhat trashy. I can handle that.
Between the three generations portrayed, there is so much psychological and emotional abuse, and child neglect; it just gives me an iffy taste in the mouth.
I did not laugh through the whole season. I was uncomfortable all the way.
Then it strikes me.
Perhaps this is exactly why this show is worth watching?
It is honest.
It portrays flawed and somewhat broken females struggling to redeem themselves as individuals, as women, mothers and as a family.
Some would claim that the Bible is the most successful fantasy story ever written. Some would say the Bible is Truth. Nothing but the Truth.
The fantasy genre often contain some type of religion, being polytheism, monotheism, or any theism of you choosing. Usually made up especially for that story.
However, using ideas and iconography from established philosophies and religions is usually not put-upon.
The Chronicles of Narnia without C. S. Lewis’ Christian belief could perhaps be a story, but permeated with it as it is, it would also be a very short and nonsensical one. Aslan would perhaps not suffer so much though.
The new trend is using Christianity unashamed.
For years, you could enjoy demons and even angels without questioning if God is real or not.
Hell used to be a place where bad things happens repeatedly, with freeway gates shuffling living and dead back and forth. With or without Lucifer’s blessings.
Lucifer might not even be a part of it. When he was, he did it without longing for God’s approval because God did not need to exist in the story.
Now it seems we need to have God smack in the middle. We cannot have demons and angels without it being a fight where God is a main player, although missing from the picture.
Personally it has been an especially busy summer. So many seasons to catch up with. So many new TV-shows and series.
It has been crazy!
While I was checking out new stuff, I suddenly had an epiphany.
I am stricken with the Three Episodes Curse.
I am a firm believer of trying things before I judge them unworthy.
Usually applied food wise but it did make sense to expand the use.
Anyway, I check out many shows each season, meaning I actually watch pilots and not just read about them. Some I of course throw off the boat after reading the show’s title. I am not a masochist.
I do, however, pride myself doing an honest effort of exploring new stuff. To the point of it becoming an OCD.
However, I must never EVER watch the third episode if I am not sure where I stand after episode two.
Watch episode Three and I have invested enough time and energy to be hooked by faulty plotlines, cheesy dialogue, crappy characters and a laugh track.
To not become a hoarder of TV-shows I need to nip it in the bud and stop watching after episode two.
I am usually good at it. Practice makes perfect, you know.
However, I admit I do fail sometimes.
Now I am stuck with Justin and Danny’s awkward bromance in Undateable.
A friend requested a rant about the hit TV-show Vikings.
To be honest, it was a difficult rant to write for many reasons.
The Canadian TV-channel History has done a good job with the show. No horns on their helmets. Or wings.
Oh, Hollywood, how you have mislead generations!
Which makes me willing to forgive them almost everything else at this point. I should know. I am Norwegian.
However, the request was a rant so; here is two things that irritate me about the show.
Why are they so dirty all the time?
Vikings were very fond of cleanliness. Supposedly, they were the clean freaks at the time. Washing their face every morning and bathing once a week, when the rest of Europe thought it okay to wash once a year. Combs and different grooming tools for men and for women are very common findings.
So yeah, a battle can be messy and bloody, but they did not wallow in the gore longer than necessary.
Why the nuclear family?
My biggest problem with the show is the portrayal of family, its structure and morals. It is very similar to the nuclear family, but the nuclear family is a modern concept. Vikings lived their life in big family groups consisting of multiple families often with some blood ties to each other, and their servants.
Does Lagertha react so violently to Lothbrok’s suggestion that Princess Aslaug pregnant with his child, could join them out of love or power? Her place seem secure. She has given him a son. And, she has Lothbrok by the balls. But then again, Aslaug is a Princess.
Lothbrok explains to Lagertha that it is his child and that he have to take care of it. Why?
In addition, what is this talk about ex-wives and boyfriends?
Why, oh why?
Princess Aslaug now “married” to Lothbrok (we did not see it, did we?) is full of jealousy when telling him off for flirting with a thrall/slave girl in the longhouse. “Oh, you think it strange for a pregnant woman to want her husband to be supportive and kind?” she demands.
Poor Lothbrok!
He seem surrounded by women with ideas and concepts of a modern kind.
A stereotypical high school themed TV-series famous for its annoying cover versions and mash-ups, aggravatingly nutty characters, disturbingly surreal plots, exasperatingly great voices and vexingly flashy choreography.
Among others.
A little bit about the third episode “The Quarterback”, where everybody gets to say goodbye to Finn, i.e. Corey Monteith. “Seasons of Love” set the pace. The whole gang performed the song from Rent, a musical not afraid to dwell on dark and sad events, yet successfully celebrating life and love. Doing it honestly, heartfelt and endearing.
I am not going to dig into the sadness and awkwardness of this episode. It seems everybody already has. Wallowed in the sadness, that is.
I am much more interested in the lack of sadness outside this particular episode.
It is unnerving.
First off, nobody mentions Finn at all in the first two episodes.
Corey died during the summer and the first episode aired in September, so I guess some changes was needed in the post production.
Finn is non-existent in both episode 1 and 2, except for a fraction of a second in the first, when Rachel looks at a photo of the original club members on her mobile phone.
Episode 4 starts with a recap, done famously as always. Rachel as Funny Girl, Kurt’s band, Sue as principle, Bree the bitch, Nurse Penny, and true love. They all get mention. Finn, his death or anything from the previous episode, is not.
After the recap, you would think that they would take things slow, gradually bringing normality back. Instead they treat us to an upbeat “A Katy or a Gaga” episode.
Trust me; I am a fan of both. However, it just feels wrong.
It does not end there.
The whole season (especially up to episode 11) is chemically free of Finn. As if he never died. Actually, as if he never existed.
Suddenly we have the Nationals, where they milk his death for all it is worth, calling it Finn’s legacy. Thankfully, Ian Brennan did not let them win.
From now on Finn is still gone yet part of Glee, and their life. In a more natural (as natural as this series is willing to let it be) way.
What Glee try to teach us most of all is that Music is Therapy.
Cast and crew wants to celebrate his life in episode 3, but they fail. Then there is too much celebration, as life goes on (at one point there is even hand puppets) during the first half of the season.
It is not long before True Blood season 7 fires up its engines and takes off. We are talking DAYS.
It is in this celebratory moment, I ask myself: What the fudge happened to True Blood season 6? Fudge yeah, I am using a grandma Stackhouse proofed swear word!
Is it the production? The writers?
Is it me?
The acting, lighting, sets, make up, plotlines, sex, they all sucked.
BIG TIME.
And not in that oversized hunky, sweaty, sexy, southern sucky way we all have learned to love as TB.
Praise Charlaine Harris, I loved the Southern Vampire Mysteries novels. I became a fan girl from the very first page. Although, I never did get the Bill hang up.
Anywho, I have read the novels. Some multiple times with the same result. It only makes me love them more.
I have read the ending. I know who stays alive, dies, and lives dead forever. However, I thought Harris hurried the love story in the end. Ultimately, I can only say that I am as satisfied as far as a junkie can be, now that it is over.
Moreover, I love TB. I love the fact that TB created its own storyline. It is, or more was, surprisingly good and hot blooded on its own.
I love that they did not kill Lafayette. The one thing I actually miss in the books.
However, I am not any closer to finding out what happened to TB season 6.
TB storyline has changed so much from the novels; I cannot say where they should have taken it. However, the season 6 story is not crap. It is poorly executed.
It is the first time I am not looking forward to next season. Which is also the last one.
Do I dread it? Yes.
Will I watch it? Yes.
By the way, did I mention earlier on that Alan Ball left the show after season 5?
CW is no virgin when it comes to superheroes, as both the gritty drama Arrow and the more light-hearted and sometimes insane and silly The Flash has both run successfully for a couple a years. And let us not forget about Smallville (2001-2011). We are talking about 10 seasons of Superman here. A real blast from the past.
ed on a series of novels called The Expanse by 
christines rant 