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TV post...
Apr. 10th, 2012 04:53 pmAfter a fairly long dry spell of meh, it's actually a good time to be watching TV again for me, so let's do a TV post!
First, the last couple weeks I've been engaging in something I actually do fairly rarely... marathoning TV shows I've already watched. Two in particular, because (in one case) the new season and (in the other) a new sequel series are starting. Those are Game of Thrones, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Aside from both being awesome, they have other things in common as well:
Birds used as messengers
Lots of Ice
Mostly-extinct dragons
Characters who are underestimated because a physical disability/difference but who are in fact among the most awesome characters.
Watching these both at the same time (I did about 2/3 of Avatar, then switched to GoT the weekend before season 2 of GoT, then back to Avatar), it's only natural to consider mashing them up, but let me assure you, there's NO WAY TO DO IT THAT IS NOT TOTALLY !@$@!ED UP. But occasionally hilariously-so, even if you really can't map them directly, you'd have to consider it a fusion world where some characters are combined, others exist side by side, and others have totally new roles. Like, Winterfell might be the waterbenders, making Katara and Sokka Starks. That would naturally put the Fire Nation as Lannisters, despite Daenerys being more connected to fire and dragons (she could be the last airbender, though!). Tyrion/Iroh might be a fusion character, providing both the voice of reason and all the awesome. But there's no way to make it work, trust me (and yet, why can't I keep myself from trying? Oh well, I'm sure it'll pass)
Anyway, let's separate them (which is probably for the best), and give some thoughts on the rewatch, followed by my thoughts on the new stuff:
Avatar: I was worried it wouldn't hold up, but it really did. Oh, sure, it's a kids cartoon, and there are all sorts of little flaws if you look for them (Earthbenders using their powers in totally awesome ways in some episodes, but completely ignoring ways to be awesome when surrounded by stone buildings in others being one off the top of my head... same for Waterbending sometimes), but it's probably one of the best cartoons I've seen. It's the type of cartoon that if I worked on it, I'd be extremely proud of... in fact, I sort of 'play' with franchises as a secondary stream of enjoyment... thinking of ways that I'd make it better if I had my way and was in control, but with Avatar, it's one of the few cartoons where I almost wouldn't change anything except trivial things. It's got a long continuing storyline that actually wraps up, and virtually every episode actually makes progress towards that goal (I was particularly surprised how tight the first season was... I expected there to be a fair amount of throwaway episodes, but there weren't... season 3 had a couple more where I think they tried to pad things out), the heroes occasionally totally lose, people die (not many, and certainly not as many as in a real war, but it is a kid's cartoon), and, of course, there are some awesome characters.
Particularly Toph (I love the running joke of the team forgetting she's blind, or of her playing with it by talking about things she couldn't possibly know), and Sokka (badass normal and comic relief character rolled into one), but many of the characters are great.
It was great we-watching it again, but it wasn't just for fun, it was because starting soon (and the first two episodes are already available) is The Legend of Korra!. I'll get to some minor spoilery comments after the cut, but first, general thoughts: I really enjoyed it! I was worried that after all the build up, they wouldn't be able to deliver, but the action was good, the animation and character designs awesome, and I loved the overall look, a sort of 1920s vibe crossed with Steampunk (and of course, the obvious asian influence). Best of all, it really does feel like a WORLD, one that actually could exist somewhere... too many cartoons fail on that. The only non-spoilery thing, in seeing the first two episodes, that I have to complain about are that, right now, I don't have as many awesome characters to latch on to as Avatar did. I like Kora, Bolin might be fun, Mako hasn't had much time to develop (and many, just hearing his voice I never would have guessed he's voiced by David Faustino... Bud Bundy of all those years ago), the kids are kids, not even as relatable as the Avatar kids (but of course, they're younger as well), and everyone else, so far, seems to be an authority-figure-type. However, it's only two episodes in, and it took a whole season before ATLA got Toph and a half season before Zuko became much more than a angry antagonist.
A few more thoughts with a few more spoilers (nothing big) behind the cut: ( Read more... ) All in all, a very good start.
Game of Thrones: Season 1 (which just earned a Hugo nomination for best Long Form dramatic presentation) really benefits from a second watch. The first time through, I had a lot of trouble telling people apart and didn't pick up on connections between characters because of it, so on the second time, things I missed or didn't know were important early one stood out. Still liked the same characters most: Jon Snow, Tyrion, and Arya (not in that order), but there are plenty of awesome ones.
Still think the sex and nudity gets a little too... gratuitous, sometimes as though they had a contract that there had to be one sex scene or a certain number of bare breasts per episode (and I seriously hope the Ros character has some major role in the later books/seasons, because otherwise her scenes could be eliminated entirely and probably improve the whole)
Season 2 is already started, only two episodes in, and watching it on the tail of a rewatch of the first season, it feels like a direct continuation... that is, if you hadn't told me where the season breaks were, I wouldn't have known a new season started (and if you'd told me one had, I'd have placed it probably a few episodes before season 1 ended). That's good, but at the same time, leaves me without much to say... the characters I liked, I continue to like, and there are great scenes throughout. Of the new stuff (minor spoilers)( Read more... )
Anyway, Korra and Games of Throne will keep me looking forward to TV for the forseeable future... and when GoT ends, Falling Skies (which is enjoyable, but not great) should be starting up.
Now, on to some other shows, either starting up again or starting to wind down, that I feel compelled to offer some thoughts on...
Ultimate Spider-Man: No... no, no, no, no, no. Why? We had such a GOOD cartoon with Spectacular Spider-Man, and I can understand the (stupid) corporate reasons it had to go, and could have forgiven it if it was replaced with something awesome, but.... this? This?
The animation's good, I guess. And I actually like the idea of (minor spoilers)( Read more... )
But no.... it's not the idea... it's the presentation of everything else. Like the constant cut-away gags... what is this, Family Guy? And the last episode where they literally made it like a video game fighting game two different times in the episode, complete with an announcer and score. Or having Peter constantly break away to give a bio on every villain or supporting character they encounter, instead of having their details explained through the action and dialog. What, have kids attention spans dropped THAT much since I was one?
But worst of all is crap like ( Read more... ) Bah. I guess I'll continue to watch, but... man, disappointed.
In slightly better news, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes started up again, and while I'll never love it the way I do a few other shows, it's at least solidly enjoyable on a regular basis. I also need to catch up on Young Justice and Generator Rex (which I believe is, sadly, ending).
Moving away from cartoons, we have other shows that are either ended, continuing, relatively new that I've given a chance to but haven't commented on, and just in general I have a few thoughts on.
House: This is supposedly the last season. Is it really too much to ask that instead of constantly pulling the "Shocking development! Oh, no, wait, it turns out House is just messing with everybody to prove some obscure point!" card, they actually make some big developments that lead to wrapping up? Seriously, I can't take them seriously anymore. Ehh, really I only still watch this because there's not much else on Mondays at that time.
Speaking of...
Alcatraz: I wanted to like it. I like the leads. Unfortunately, it seems to be exactly as I feared... it's just a series of one-shot criminal-chasing stories with the 'twist' that the criminals are all from the past... which might be cool enough, except that they never ONCE seem to ACT like they're from the past in any way. They seem to be able to slip into the modern world with no trouble, even getting jobs without existing in any database. When they're holding someone hostage, they remember to get the cell phone, too! I simply can't buy the premise, because they're not selling it... and when I can't buy the premise, the mystery about it doesn't thrill me. I have no confidence I'll be able to believe whatever backstory they come up to explain it, because they can't even get the simplest part of their story believable. I was already expecting a crappy LOST style ending just because of the creators, but now I'm expecting that they couldn't possibly do anything BUT one. If it survives at all, I'll continue to watch if nothing good is up against it, but it's not good enough to download.
Fringe: Have been going a little cold on the series this year. There were a few standout eps (like the Astrid ep), but mostly... it all just feels like a waste. And this last episode really solidified something for me (spoilers, both for the season as a whole and the most recent Lincoln ep): I'm thinking more and more that this season should have completely abandoned the storyline about ( Read more... )
Once Upon A Time: Yes, surprisingly, I'm still watching this, but I don't really care all that much. Aside from too many characters having cartoonish morality, which I guess is kind of expected, my main problem is the lack of... momentum. I'm sick to death of shows that tease that there's going to be some big change, the bad guy's going to get exposed, only to 'surprise twist' at the end and the bad guy saw it coming and was able to cover up. Or the character who knows the truth and might convince Emma/the world about it dies. It's gotten beyond predictable, and there's no tension whatsoever, you know that nothing big's going to change until the season finale, and even then, they're probably planning to stretch
it out for years.
I really want a show that actually DOES things, that doesn't HAVE a status quo that must remain intact until the end (or at least, when it has a status quo, doesn't insult our intelligence by constantly trying to fool us into thinking that they might be changing it)
(And seriously, Rumplestiltzkin? ( Read more... )
Supernatural: I just don't care any more ever since ( Read more... ) I watch mostly to mock. The show is really just hackwork now... remember how I praised Avatar for being a world that feels like a real world, that most cartoons don't manage that? Supernatural doesn't manage it either. It doesn't make sense by its own rules. Whatever the writers think is a good idea at any given moment is what they'll do, there's no cohesive whole like it had in the first couple seasons.
These aren't the only shows I watch, but they're the only ones I feel the need to comment on at the moment.
First, the last couple weeks I've been engaging in something I actually do fairly rarely... marathoning TV shows I've already watched. Two in particular, because (in one case) the new season and (in the other) a new sequel series are starting. Those are Game of Thrones, and Avatar: The Last Airbender. Aside from both being awesome, they have other things in common as well:
Birds used as messengers
Lots of Ice
Mostly-extinct dragons
Characters who are underestimated because a physical disability/difference but who are in fact among the most awesome characters.
Watching these both at the same time (I did about 2/3 of Avatar, then switched to GoT the weekend before season 2 of GoT, then back to Avatar), it's only natural to consider mashing them up, but let me assure you, there's NO WAY TO DO IT THAT IS NOT TOTALLY !@$@!ED UP. But occasionally hilariously-so, even if you really can't map them directly, you'd have to consider it a fusion world where some characters are combined, others exist side by side, and others have totally new roles. Like, Winterfell might be the waterbenders, making Katara and Sokka Starks. That would naturally put the Fire Nation as Lannisters, despite Daenerys being more connected to fire and dragons (she could be the last airbender, though!). Tyrion/Iroh might be a fusion character, providing both the voice of reason and all the awesome. But there's no way to make it work, trust me (and yet, why can't I keep myself from trying? Oh well, I'm sure it'll pass)
Anyway, let's separate them (which is probably for the best), and give some thoughts on the rewatch, followed by my thoughts on the new stuff:
Avatar: I was worried it wouldn't hold up, but it really did. Oh, sure, it's a kids cartoon, and there are all sorts of little flaws if you look for them (Earthbenders using their powers in totally awesome ways in some episodes, but completely ignoring ways to be awesome when surrounded by stone buildings in others being one off the top of my head... same for Waterbending sometimes), but it's probably one of the best cartoons I've seen. It's the type of cartoon that if I worked on it, I'd be extremely proud of... in fact, I sort of 'play' with franchises as a secondary stream of enjoyment... thinking of ways that I'd make it better if I had my way and was in control, but with Avatar, it's one of the few cartoons where I almost wouldn't change anything except trivial things. It's got a long continuing storyline that actually wraps up, and virtually every episode actually makes progress towards that goal (I was particularly surprised how tight the first season was... I expected there to be a fair amount of throwaway episodes, but there weren't... season 3 had a couple more where I think they tried to pad things out), the heroes occasionally totally lose, people die (not many, and certainly not as many as in a real war, but it is a kid's cartoon), and, of course, there are some awesome characters.
Particularly Toph (I love the running joke of the team forgetting she's blind, or of her playing with it by talking about things she couldn't possibly know), and Sokka (badass normal and comic relief character rolled into one), but many of the characters are great.
It was great we-watching it again, but it wasn't just for fun, it was because starting soon (and the first two episodes are already available) is The Legend of Korra!. I'll get to some minor spoilery comments after the cut, but first, general thoughts: I really enjoyed it! I was worried that after all the build up, they wouldn't be able to deliver, but the action was good, the animation and character designs awesome, and I loved the overall look, a sort of 1920s vibe crossed with Steampunk (and of course, the obvious asian influence). Best of all, it really does feel like a WORLD, one that actually could exist somewhere... too many cartoons fail on that. The only non-spoilery thing, in seeing the first two episodes, that I have to complain about are that, right now, I don't have as many awesome characters to latch on to as Avatar did. I like Kora, Bolin might be fun, Mako hasn't had much time to develop (and many, just hearing his voice I never would have guessed he's voiced by David Faustino... Bud Bundy of all those years ago), the kids are kids, not even as relatable as the Avatar kids (but of course, they're younger as well), and everyone else, so far, seems to be an authority-figure-type. However, it's only two episodes in, and it took a whole season before ATLA got Toph and a half season before Zuko became much more than a angry antagonist.
A few more thoughts with a few more spoilers (nothing big) behind the cut: ( Read more... ) All in all, a very good start.
Game of Thrones: Season 1 (which just earned a Hugo nomination for best Long Form dramatic presentation) really benefits from a second watch. The first time through, I had a lot of trouble telling people apart and didn't pick up on connections between characters because of it, so on the second time, things I missed or didn't know were important early one stood out. Still liked the same characters most: Jon Snow, Tyrion, and Arya (not in that order), but there are plenty of awesome ones.
Still think the sex and nudity gets a little too... gratuitous, sometimes as though they had a contract that there had to be one sex scene or a certain number of bare breasts per episode (and I seriously hope the Ros character has some major role in the later books/seasons, because otherwise her scenes could be eliminated entirely and probably improve the whole)
Season 2 is already started, only two episodes in, and watching it on the tail of a rewatch of the first season, it feels like a direct continuation... that is, if you hadn't told me where the season breaks were, I wouldn't have known a new season started (and if you'd told me one had, I'd have placed it probably a few episodes before season 1 ended). That's good, but at the same time, leaves me without much to say... the characters I liked, I continue to like, and there are great scenes throughout. Of the new stuff (minor spoilers)( Read more... )
Anyway, Korra and Games of Throne will keep me looking forward to TV for the forseeable future... and when GoT ends, Falling Skies (which is enjoyable, but not great) should be starting up.
Now, on to some other shows, either starting up again or starting to wind down, that I feel compelled to offer some thoughts on...
Ultimate Spider-Man: No... no, no, no, no, no. Why? We had such a GOOD cartoon with Spectacular Spider-Man, and I can understand the (stupid) corporate reasons it had to go, and could have forgiven it if it was replaced with something awesome, but.... this? This?
The animation's good, I guess. And I actually like the idea of (minor spoilers)( Read more... )
But no.... it's not the idea... it's the presentation of everything else. Like the constant cut-away gags... what is this, Family Guy? And the last episode where they literally made it like a video game fighting game two different times in the episode, complete with an announcer and score. Or having Peter constantly break away to give a bio on every villain or supporting character they encounter, instead of having their details explained through the action and dialog. What, have kids attention spans dropped THAT much since I was one?
But worst of all is crap like ( Read more... ) Bah. I guess I'll continue to watch, but... man, disappointed.
In slightly better news, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes started up again, and while I'll never love it the way I do a few other shows, it's at least solidly enjoyable on a regular basis. I also need to catch up on Young Justice and Generator Rex (which I believe is, sadly, ending).
Moving away from cartoons, we have other shows that are either ended, continuing, relatively new that I've given a chance to but haven't commented on, and just in general I have a few thoughts on.
House: This is supposedly the last season. Is it really too much to ask that instead of constantly pulling the "Shocking development! Oh, no, wait, it turns out House is just messing with everybody to prove some obscure point!" card, they actually make some big developments that lead to wrapping up? Seriously, I can't take them seriously anymore. Ehh, really I only still watch this because there's not much else on Mondays at that time.
Speaking of...
Alcatraz: I wanted to like it. I like the leads. Unfortunately, it seems to be exactly as I feared... it's just a series of one-shot criminal-chasing stories with the 'twist' that the criminals are all from the past... which might be cool enough, except that they never ONCE seem to ACT like they're from the past in any way. They seem to be able to slip into the modern world with no trouble, even getting jobs without existing in any database. When they're holding someone hostage, they remember to get the cell phone, too! I simply can't buy the premise, because they're not selling it... and when I can't buy the premise, the mystery about it doesn't thrill me. I have no confidence I'll be able to believe whatever backstory they come up to explain it, because they can't even get the simplest part of their story believable. I was already expecting a crappy LOST style ending just because of the creators, but now I'm expecting that they couldn't possibly do anything BUT one. If it survives at all, I'll continue to watch if nothing good is up against it, but it's not good enough to download.
Fringe: Have been going a little cold on the series this year. There were a few standout eps (like the Astrid ep), but mostly... it all just feels like a waste. And this last episode really solidified something for me (spoilers, both for the season as a whole and the most recent Lincoln ep): I'm thinking more and more that this season should have completely abandoned the storyline about ( Read more... )
Once Upon A Time: Yes, surprisingly, I'm still watching this, but I don't really care all that much. Aside from too many characters having cartoonish morality, which I guess is kind of expected, my main problem is the lack of... momentum. I'm sick to death of shows that tease that there's going to be some big change, the bad guy's going to get exposed, only to 'surprise twist' at the end and the bad guy saw it coming and was able to cover up. Or the character who knows the truth and might convince Emma/the world about it dies. It's gotten beyond predictable, and there's no tension whatsoever, you know that nothing big's going to change until the season finale, and even then, they're probably planning to stretch
it out for years.
I really want a show that actually DOES things, that doesn't HAVE a status quo that must remain intact until the end (or at least, when it has a status quo, doesn't insult our intelligence by constantly trying to fool us into thinking that they might be changing it)
(And seriously, Rumplestiltzkin? ( Read more... )
Supernatural: I just don't care any more ever since ( Read more... ) I watch mostly to mock. The show is really just hackwork now... remember how I praised Avatar for being a world that feels like a real world, that most cartoons don't manage that? Supernatural doesn't manage it either. It doesn't make sense by its own rules. Whatever the writers think is a good idea at any given moment is what they'll do, there's no cohesive whole like it had in the first couple seasons.
These aren't the only shows I watch, but they're the only ones I feel the need to comment on at the moment.
