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.
I am hoarding TV shows and while this makes me seem friendless, lazy and pathetic, it gives me great joy and even some deep frustrations, but mostly it gives me food for thought.
So not that sad actually.
When watching so many TV shows simultaneously you start seeing connections between them. Even when there is none. But that is a medical condition and not the subject of this rant.
Lately TV shows combine police investigations with sci fi and/or supernatural threats. Most of them even turning to the fantastic when working cases. It is quite the trend!
Multiple reality checks vs sci fi/fantasy.
Badge vs evil, sort off.
Wearing said badge is usually a very competent female Afro-American police officer. What most of them have in common; a white male bringing chaos into their world.
Men who rely on their gut feeling, magic and even crime.
Men with a mission.
With secrets.
Men who need protection.
From themselves, but mostly from others.
Should I tread lightly now, you say?
Being a white middle-aged middleclass woman.
Detective Carter is a confident single mom and an excellent detective. She is in control of both her work and personal life; although you could say, she is somewhat boring. No romantic entanglements, no shady business, but manages to balance her work and family duties like a pro.
Some would claim that Reese is not chaotic at all and right they are, he is a total neat freak but he is still a chaotic part of Carters life. First, he is a suspect then an ally, a partner and a friend. Somewhat stupidly he ends up being a unfulfilled romantic connection. All while he tries to do good by doing a little bit bad.
Following along this path almost exactly is Fox’ show Minority Report (2015-) based on the movie from 2002 with the same name.
Megan Good plays Detective Lara Vega, solving murders 10 years after the Precrime ended. She is a remarkable and very capable detective. Never needed any help doing her job before. She even manages to handle her ex being her boss.
Until Dash (Dashiell Parker).
A half shy, half-autistic precog living in a milk jar for six years played by Stark Sands, who sees the crimes before they happen but has no clue whom the victim is or the guilty party.
Dash desperately wants to help. In addition, hide from whoever is looking for him and the other precogs. To disrupt Vega’s life even more, his visions comes with an unsettling timing. And they spend equal time trying to cover up their workings from exes, police and powers to be. His criminal brother Arthur Watson (played by Nick Zano helps out, to keep the chaos rolling.
To be fair, she was already gifted/cursed as a Witness as a child but this has never been a problem in her adulthood. She does have a crazy and criminal sister who did not handle what had happened to them that well.
Like all the others, Mills is very capable, on her way to become FBI but a couple of resurrections, one headless horseman and an evil witchy wife later, her life is in shambles. I say she handles it all very well.
Also worth mentioning, although only support cast member, is the lovely but disgraced State Trooper Amanda Fisher (Jill Marie Jones) in Starz‘ Ash vs Evil Dead (2015-) hit TV show.
We know Ash (Bruce Campbell) from the previous comedy horror movies to be cheesy, resourceful and unlucky. And Fisher needs to get to him before anything more evil happens. She is however not immune to his charms. With fatal consequences.
Disruptive white men have not only been a black woman’s problem. White women have also had their share of uncontrollable white male partners.
FBI Special Agent Olivia Dunham (played by Anna Torv) in Fox’ Fringe (2008-2013) collaborates with criminal Peter Bishop (by Joshua Jackson) and his crazy father, Dr. Walter Bishop (by John Noble).
US Secret Service Agent Myka Bering (Joanne Kelly) in Syfy’s Warehouse 13 (2009-2014) is a by-the-book agent. She has an eidetic memory and is all about details. A rising star that suddenly finds herself stuck with the recovering alcoholic and rule bender agent Pete Lattimer (Eddie McClintock) with a knack for vibes.
Finally, but not forgetting Agent Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson). She iconized the trope in The X-files (originally aired 1993-2002, new mini-series in 2016), keeping control on Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) was a full time job. It is also one of the most anticipated new season of a sci fi show EVER. And the first episode delievers. Especially when it comes to Mulder’s usual lift off and Scully carefully bringing him down and back to reality.
I am still amazed how fucked up their communication is, and yet we still watch it. Mulder never explains anything, but rambles on about THIS thing (never pronouncing what the specific this IS) being the most important bit about IT (?) and that they have to whistleblow it. Scully always shutting him down but never makes him actually explain it. She never asks why or what he is talking about. Either she is a Mulder mind reader or she does not care at all. Watch trailer for the new mini-series underneath.
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.”
Bitten is a crap show. I am surprised by the news of a second season, starting January 2015.
The werewolf setup is simple.
Elena is bitten by a big dog when visiting her fiancé Clayton Danvers (her former boss at the University) at his home estate. Alas, it was not a dog.
Against all odds (!), she survives which means she is the only female werewolf in the world. ‘Cause girly were-pooches cannot handle the change. They die.
They (writers and production) try hard to make her the hero. Molested as a child, she has this whole rape-revenge thing going on. Unfortunately, she is an uninteresting character played by Laura Vandervoort, a non-awe-inspiring actress.
Sure, she is a surviving bitch who does her own fighting and demands a lot of sex but she does not come out of it empowered. The rest of the time, she just comes off as lame. Very sexual, but still lame.
To no-ones’ surprise, werewolves are either born or bitten. Organized in one Pack with a Pack Master and a set of rules spread around the world. Secrecy the number one rule.
Individual wolves (Mutts) live outside the Pack either by choice, lack of knowledge or by Packs decision, and are therefore the sworn enemy of the Pack.
Born werewolves (males only) always has a pooch for a father and a human mother. They usually grow into their hairiness during early puberty. However, if bitten the change is immediately.
When a baby boy is born, Fido is supposed to kidnap the baby and raise it within the pack, which means raising it among men only. Now, this I find refreshing!
The pack members’ masculinity is quite, eh, feminine. They really are just soft cuddly puppies really.
And stereotypical.
Strong, muscular, healthy, protective and brutal when necessary.
Men of integrity.
There is a lot of hugs, kisses and different displays of physical affection, even love, between them. They ugly-cry when Antonio dies, snot and all.
They are comfortable with their own, and each other’s nudity.
They always gather around the kitchen table for huge meals. A table also used when members are wounded/dying, so it is constantly covered with either food or blood.
Clayton is the irrational one. Acting out every emotions whether it is love, happiness, anger or destruction in a pair of jeans and flannels. He is their best fighter (with a mean streak), introverted, moody, scruffy, pushy and protective. He craves Elena. Going against everything, just because he wants her. Willing to sacrifice himself. A typical male hero, that is. But he is smart too. He is a professor at the Department of Anthropology.
Clayton tears up on multiple occasions, after interrupted moments with Elena, when begging Elena to come back and save him from his rampaging. And, ultimately when Elena puts their former engagement ring back on his finger comforting him that there will be no more sacrifices.
Jeremy is the conflicted father figure. His own father threw him in a lake as a puppy with a rock around his neck. He is the law, love and soul of the pack. He has saved/adopted/taken responsibility for everyone in the Pack at one point. He is artistic too. His paintings displayed around the house.
Antonio and Nick, actual father and son (i.e. kidnapper and victim) are business types dressed in suits. They have a loving relationship. Nick is comfortable with both sexes in bed, sometimes together. He is Elena’s favorite shopping stand-in and generally a metrosexual man.
Logan is the outsider in the pack. Raised by his mother he had a painful upbringing. So much that he became a psychologist. Or, is it that he is the only African-American member in the pack? Complete with an African-American girlfriend. Now an expectant father, he decides to run and hide his family from the Pack.
Clayton is not the only one craving Elena. He is getting competition from the Mutts, now organized.
Since she is the only bitch that can give them beautiful and true puppies, her status is skyrocketing.
The Mutts worship her as The Mother/The Goddess/The Bitch. An archaic patriarchal enjoyment of women. As a baby making machine.
The Pack equally needs Elena but recognized as Clayton’s (somewhat unwilling) partner, it is a non-issue.
It is however clear that Packmaster Jeremy is weak (as a man and as a leader) because he is not using her full potential when he chooses not to rape her.
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?
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 