Note: This is my honest opinion on the show. Keep in mind when reading this that my expectations are sky high.
Season 1
I'm undertaking an impossible task in my mind. I'm trying to review and grade what many consider to be the greatest comedy television show ever made. In theory, I'm approaching the series as a person who will be untouched by nostalgia and will be one person's voice on how the show has aged in the two decades since it aired.
My credentials for why I'm the right person for this task: Outside of maybe a few episodes I have no recollection of having watched, I had never seen the show before I started. I think I saw The Simpsons Movie, but I don't remember liking it and I don't remember basically any of the movie. Then again, my tastes in 2007 were much different than they are now.
I'm not quite totally sure what I expected, but this show is different than whatever that expectation was. I didn't expect the characters to be like... human beings. I didn't expect - except for the occasional visual sight gag - for it to be easy to envision these characters existing somewhere in real life. It was rather foolish of me given its reputation, but that is something that for whatever reason caught me off guard.
I also expected it to be a lot funnier. Am I alone on this? It seemed like a lot of the humor came more from satire and the situations, and rarely resulted in anything more than a slight chuckle. I will say the season gradually got funnier and funnier as the season progressed. Still, I'm talking like one or two laughs in episode one to four or five by the end. It's a little low for its reputation.
The good news -for me at least - is that the second season marks a strong improvement on the first. The momentum is rising and its not hard to believe that the peak of the show is on the horizon. To put it in another way, the weakest episodes of Season 2 reminded me of the best episodes of the first season. That may be a slight exaggeration, but only a slight one.
I know there are maybe a couple episodes in this season that are considered "classic" episodes, but I can't say I agree a lot. To me - and this is coming from a newcomer so feel free to take this with a grain of salt - a classic episode of The Simpsons (and this is rather arbitrary) contains a hilarious episode of television coupled with social satire and strong character beats.
This is my expectation at least because I don't think the second season provided me with it. The show nailed down the character beats and social satire, but they haven't quite figured out in my mind how to couple that with laugh-out loud humor. I don't require my comedies to have laugh-out loud humor, but I feel this show is the exception only because I have extremely high expectations. I wish I could approach this having no knowledge of the show's history, but I do and that will of course color my perception. Classic may be the wrong word. Perhaps "one of the best episodes in the series" would be better.
A few episodes however did stick out in my mind. They either were funnier than the rest of the pack, had a more touching story, did something that stuck out as original, or I just happened to like it better. I loved "Treehouse of Horror", which I'm excited about because I know it's an annual feature. "Dead Putting Society" had its weaknesses, but I loved the Ned Flanders scenes (and I'm aware some of the things he does in this are inconsistent with what he became, but that doesn't really affect a newcomer).
"Bart Gets Hit By a Car" is good mostly for Lionel Hutz, as voiced by Phil Hartman. It's also the first appearance by unethical Dr. Nick Riviera. "The Way We Was" lacked humor but was sweet and also featured the first appearance of McBain. I don't think I'll ever not find McBain funny. "Oh Brother, Where Art Thou" was pretty brilliant for going the unusual route of condemning the common man and for Danny Devito, who made a memorable and sympathetic character in 22 minutes. (Well him and the writing)
"Lisa's Substitute" is a great episode of television not because it's funny, because it's got three great story lines that are harsh and real - things I don't think cartoons did before this show. It seamlessly interjected Bart's run for class president, Lisa's crush on a substitute teacher, and Homer's feeling of inferiority as a parent. You are emotionally empty if you don't find the ending of this episode to be touching. Episodes like this are what I didn't expect from The Simpsons.
The second season managed something the first season did not in another aspect. It sneakily made me care about the characters. I can't pinpoint an episode or time when I started to care what happened to them, but by the end of the season I did. I feel like Homer is a fully fleshed out character at this point as is Lisa and Marge. Bart is very much a caricature in my mind and I'm not sure he ever becomes a character, but this season wasn't it.
Overall, this show seems right on the brink of greatness. It's got everything except for the laugh-out loud humor. I don't know if this show will ever get to laugh-out loud humor, but that is my lone complaint about the show thus far.
I am completely geared up to love the third season. I care about the characters, the show's quality has improved drastically since it's inception, and it gets funnier each episode. I've been introduced to guest characters and already have a fondness for certain ones. (McBain, Flanders, Lionel Hutz) I don't know when I'm going to start the third season, but I can virtually guarantee that it will come a lot faster than the time between the first and second seasons.
Hope you enjoyed this and since this is a post on a very well-known and loved series, I'd love to hear your thoughts on my post.
Playlist
1. "Vitamin C" - Can
2. "Incinerate" - Sonic Youth
3. "Lovely Day" - Bill Withers
4. "Bad Moon Rising" - Creedence Clearwater Revival
5. "Stabbed" - Brotha Lynch Hung ft. Tech N9ne & Hopsin
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
Sunday, September 8, 2013
Breaking Bad: "To'hajiilee"
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WOW! So that just happened. Each episode I've been impressed and shocked at how fast the plot is escalating and then I remember we only have "x" amount of episodes left in the series and it makes sense that the dominoes are falling as fast as they are. That still didn't make this any less shocking.
Ok so I guess I'll start at the end of the episode since that's the freshest in my mind. When Hank, Gomez, and Jesse showed up in the desert to greet Walt, I think we all knew that some way, somehow Walt was getting away. That led to the inevitable conclusion that Hank and Gomez would probably end up dead.
And we all probably knew that Todd's cousins would ignore Walt and go towards the site anyway. So while I was expecting the ending to some degree, it didn't lose any of its shock value because Hank's probably going to die. Hank, the character we've spent five seasons with, will die most likely. The deaths are going to start and main characters will start falling.
What a brilliant, brilliant plan by Hank and Jesse to outsmart Heisenberg who was tricked every step of the way. First off, they go after Huell in a sort of genius idea to make Huell think he's going to die. Poor Huell. Basically, the writers came up with a plausible way for Huell to rat. He thinks Jesse is dead (with a convincing picture) and it's hardly a stretch to assume that Saul would rat on him as long as it benefits Saul.
He reveals enough information for the rest of the plan to work, which basically is just that the money was in barrels. They take a picture of the barrel with money inside of it, send it to Walt, and convince Walt that Jesse is going to burn the money. I'm pretty sure Jesse has burned money before in this series so I think Walt takes this threat seriously.
Jesse remains a weakness for Walt as he would never believe Jesse would rat on him. He doesn't even think it's a possibility. As a side note, I think Todd's cousins knew that Jesse was a rat or a possible rat and it could have been a reason they decided to go to the site - besides the fact that they are crazy.
So Jesse's threatening to burn money he doesn't have and Walt falls hard for it. His ego wouldn't allow his money to be burned. Walt had the picture and he thinks Jesse found the GPS for his car, but if Walt would have put a little thought into it, how in the world would Jesse have obtained that information? He'd need to be a cop because no way in hell would that company release that to an average citizen. Then he would have known Jesse was working with Hank.
But Walt doesn't even think that's a possibility so he freely admits to all of his crimes, unknowingly screwing himself over. He realizes it just in time to call his Nazi buddies to set up the end of the episode. Now is the time when Walt starts getting people he cares about killed. Does he still care about Hank? At least enough to not want him killed.
Walt made a solid gamble on going to Andrea's and thinking it would lead Jesse there. It probably would have worked too if not for the fact that Hank had Jesse's phone. Either way, Walt was maybe a bit too confident it would have worked - which is usually the case with him.
The episode's open was probably the weakest of the season though I think that's more because of how strong the previous four were. Walt is SO good at making meth, he's made Jesse his near equal and Todd a solid 76%. Lydia would be satisfied except Todd's not sure how to make the meth blue. I think needing Walt to teach Todd (and the millions of potential profits) provided Todd's cousins the necessary motivation to shoot at the end of the episode. They need Walt and they need him alive.
I guess I should mention that they telegraphed Hank's potential death pretty clearly. His phone conversation with Marie was as obvious a signal of "HEY THIS CHARACTER WILL DIE" as any I've seen in a while. I know Hank's not dead yet, but if he survives this, he's Superman. Also the flash-forward in the premiere indicates Walt is both free and without family so Hank dying would heavily support that.
Things are escalating quickly and the ending is near. Still unclear how they get to the flash-forward from this point, but it's at least a little clearer. Walt's arrested right now, but he looks to be free very soon - kind of - and he's likely responsible for yet another death. Can't wait until next week.
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Breaking Bad: "Rabid Dog"
Four episodes left. So far I'd say that season five part two has lived up to its hype. Walt looks primed for destruction and yet, I still have no idea how in the world he gets to the point where his house is abandoned and seemingly everyone knows he is Heisenberg.
The tension was high throughout the entire episode for me. Inexplicably, I thought something would happen when Walt Jr. and Walt were having a conversation by the pool. This season has accomplished the dichotomy between nothing happening and anything possibly happening.
In the open, Walt walks into his gasoline-infested house looking for Jessie. I was on the edge of my seat that entire time expecting Jesse to jump out at Walt - even though that wouldn't really be a Breaking Bad thing to do. They spent a good four minutes or so on the scene and it was a false alarm. But it worked because we spent the entire time wondering where the hell Jesse could be. His car was exactly how he left it when he planned to burn Walt's house down.
Walt tries to cover his tracks - and actually in my opinion comes up with a very feasible story. If Walt wasn't always full of shit, his family would have bought it. But not even his clueless son thought he was telling the truth. If I were Walt, once Walt Jr. presented the story that Walt passed out, he should have jumped on that. But his pride got in the way like it usually does and he doesn't want to come across weak.
Walt Jr. is really easy to buy off - not that I blame him though. I mean that car would buy me off from wondering too much about where my dad has been. This time it's a sweet hotel. I still await the day when Walt Jr. finds out. Please let this happen sometime. Please. I think RJ Mitte is a good enough actor to pull this off - not that it would be a very easy scene to play. Mitte nails any material he's given in my opinion.
So Saul Goodman really thinks killing Jesse is the way to go. He compared killing Jesse to Old Yeller. Interesting comparison. (I found it funny - any scene where Saul tries to make a euphemism for killing somebody, it's usually hilarious). And in a surprising scene, so does Skylar. Skylar has become a very interesting character. It's really easy for her to say to kill him though since she's not involved and will never see it. (Which is why it's surprising, but ultimately makes sense)
But that scene definitely nailed down that Skylar has long since been compromised. I don't think there's a greater anti-drug message out there than this show. Sure, you might make money (although you probably can't cook meth like Walt can - in fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say you can't), but you only compromise your morals and just about everyone you care about as well and put yourself and everyone you love in danger. So yeah go ahead and try it if you want.
The Jessie reveal was satisfying. When we left him, I'm not sure I could buy that he would just "change his mind" as Walt puts it. Well, he didn't. You see Hank has shown a penchant for following his targets on his own accord many many times so it was not a dues ex machina thankfully. So he saves Jesse from burning Walt's house down - not unselfishly because he realizes burning his house down in the long run really won't hurt Walt like Hank wants to hurt Walt.
So he takes Jesse under his wing and gives him a place to sleep. Bringing him into the office wouldn't have made a lot of sense because there is no evidence. I assume either Hank realized this or he wanted to make Jesse comfortable. Either way works. Jesse presumably tells a story that we have watched unfold over five seasons - from his point-of-view. I'm sure this won't be the last time we see his testimonial before the season is over.
So Jesse becomes a "snitch," which I don't have a problem with. The stigma over "snitches" is unfortunate and odd. It's mostly due to television shows involving characters who have that stigma - but in their case, usually being found out resulted in death. Here? Oh Jesse might be able to sleep at night and look at himself in the mirror. Those aren't that important I guess.
Walt agrees to meet Jesse in person and despite everyone giving him advice that he needs to get rid of Jesse, he does not plan to do it. He wants to explain to Jesse why he did it. He wants Jesse to think highly of him because he looks at him as a son. It's some kind of abusive father-son relationship, but usually fathers still care in some creepy and weird way for that son.
In a bit of extreme coincidence, Jesse sees a rather large man who looks like he's protecting Walt. If he really had a plan to kill Jesse, I think it would have been more subtle. Nonetheless, it's a rather large coincidence, though I think the show has had worse ones so it didn't bother me a whole lot. I'm still a Jesse fan and I've stated I wanted Jesse to kill Walt, but this might be just as good. Jesse's call to Walt was pretty awesome and properly scared the shit out of Walt.
Walt calls Todd as result to kill Jesse and I don't think that was a very good decision by Walt. It's probably part of Jesse's plan in fact which we probably won't find out until we see it play out - just a guess. Walt started the season with four things against him and now two of them are teaming up. Cancer doesn't appear to be a huge threat in the immediate future and Lydia is nowhere to be found in this episode. Hank and Jesse though have the most motivation and want to see him utterly destroyed. Walt's imminent destruction is coming.
The tension was high throughout the entire episode for me. Inexplicably, I thought something would happen when Walt Jr. and Walt were having a conversation by the pool. This season has accomplished the dichotomy between nothing happening and anything possibly happening.
In the open, Walt walks into his gasoline-infested house looking for Jessie. I was on the edge of my seat that entire time expecting Jesse to jump out at Walt - even though that wouldn't really be a Breaking Bad thing to do. They spent a good four minutes or so on the scene and it was a false alarm. But it worked because we spent the entire time wondering where the hell Jesse could be. His car was exactly how he left it when he planned to burn Walt's house down.
Walt tries to cover his tracks - and actually in my opinion comes up with a very feasible story. If Walt wasn't always full of shit, his family would have bought it. But not even his clueless son thought he was telling the truth. If I were Walt, once Walt Jr. presented the story that Walt passed out, he should have jumped on that. But his pride got in the way like it usually does and he doesn't want to come across weak.
Walt Jr. is really easy to buy off - not that I blame him though. I mean that car would buy me off from wondering too much about where my dad has been. This time it's a sweet hotel. I still await the day when Walt Jr. finds out. Please let this happen sometime. Please. I think RJ Mitte is a good enough actor to pull this off - not that it would be a very easy scene to play. Mitte nails any material he's given in my opinion.
So Saul Goodman really thinks killing Jesse is the way to go. He compared killing Jesse to Old Yeller. Interesting comparison. (I found it funny - any scene where Saul tries to make a euphemism for killing somebody, it's usually hilarious). And in a surprising scene, so does Skylar. Skylar has become a very interesting character. It's really easy for her to say to kill him though since she's not involved and will never see it. (Which is why it's surprising, but ultimately makes sense)
But that scene definitely nailed down that Skylar has long since been compromised. I don't think there's a greater anti-drug message out there than this show. Sure, you might make money (although you probably can't cook meth like Walt can - in fact, I'm going to go out on a limb and say you can't), but you only compromise your morals and just about everyone you care about as well and put yourself and everyone you love in danger. So yeah go ahead and try it if you want.
The Jessie reveal was satisfying. When we left him, I'm not sure I could buy that he would just "change his mind" as Walt puts it. Well, he didn't. You see Hank has shown a penchant for following his targets on his own accord many many times so it was not a dues ex machina thankfully. So he saves Jesse from burning Walt's house down - not unselfishly because he realizes burning his house down in the long run really won't hurt Walt like Hank wants to hurt Walt.
So he takes Jesse under his wing and gives him a place to sleep. Bringing him into the office wouldn't have made a lot of sense because there is no evidence. I assume either Hank realized this or he wanted to make Jesse comfortable. Either way works. Jesse presumably tells a story that we have watched unfold over five seasons - from his point-of-view. I'm sure this won't be the last time we see his testimonial before the season is over.
So Jesse becomes a "snitch," which I don't have a problem with. The stigma over "snitches" is unfortunate and odd. It's mostly due to television shows involving characters who have that stigma - but in their case, usually being found out resulted in death. Here? Oh Jesse might be able to sleep at night and look at himself in the mirror. Those aren't that important I guess.
Walt agrees to meet Jesse in person and despite everyone giving him advice that he needs to get rid of Jesse, he does not plan to do it. He wants to explain to Jesse why he did it. He wants Jesse to think highly of him because he looks at him as a son. It's some kind of abusive father-son relationship, but usually fathers still care in some creepy and weird way for that son.
In a bit of extreme coincidence, Jesse sees a rather large man who looks like he's protecting Walt. If he really had a plan to kill Jesse, I think it would have been more subtle. Nonetheless, it's a rather large coincidence, though I think the show has had worse ones so it didn't bother me a whole lot. I'm still a Jesse fan and I've stated I wanted Jesse to kill Walt, but this might be just as good. Jesse's call to Walt was pretty awesome and properly scared the shit out of Walt.
Walt calls Todd as result to kill Jesse and I don't think that was a very good decision by Walt. It's probably part of Jesse's plan in fact which we probably won't find out until we see it play out - just a guess. Walt started the season with four things against him and now two of them are teaming up. Cancer doesn't appear to be a huge threat in the immediate future and Lydia is nowhere to be found in this episode. Hank and Jesse though have the most motivation and want to see him utterly destroyed. Walt's imminent destruction is coming.
Thursday, August 29, 2013
Breaking Bad: "Confessions"
First things first, I am posting this on Thursday night instead of Sunday simply because I have been unable to watch the episode until today. This Sunday I will be in St. Louis and will almost definitely be able to write my immediate thoughts that night. With that said, I have avoided any commentary on the episode and all opinions were formed by yours truly.
I suppose this season will be the season of the cliffhangers. To the surprise of no one, Jesse does not team up with Hank and reveal Walt's identity. There's just simply too much hatred between the two to allow that to happen. Jesse is a pretty smart guy and figures out quickly that Hank basically has no evidence to support his claims. He also correctly concludes that Hank is on his own and not backed by the DEA.
Todd has a rather large mouth as he freely reveals the train theft that happened last season. That seems to not bode well one way or the other for Walter. I wasn't completely clear on what was going on, but I'm pretty sure they are after Walt: they want him to make meth again so they can make a lot of money. They seem like the type of people that would go to extreme lengths to make that happen.
Walt devises a plan that's both brilliant and breathtaking. This show is so good at creating an event that seems impossibly unlikely and then when it's revealed, it seems like it's the only way to go. Walt makes a "confession" (hence the title), but twists the events in a way where Hank is the mastermind. Sure enough, the money trail would lead to Hank's recovery. His convoluted story would make some sense to somebody who has no idea of the situation.
As Hank and Marie both watch the tape in shock (and creating a meme of epic proportions), they are our audience surrogate. We also stand in a sort of amazement and awe at what Walt managed to do to get Hank off his back. I'm not sure it'll work in getting Hank to cool it off, but it's hard to deny Hank is screwed unless he gets concrete evidence, which is made all the more difficult because Walt has retired (for now).
Walt unnecessarily tries to manipulate Jesse into going into hiding, but Jesse sees right through it and calls him out on his bullshit. Walt knows how to respond to this though and just hugs him and lets Jesse cry. It was kind of touching except for the fact that Walt has done absolutely horrible things to Jesse.
Then the big moment of the episode when Jesse finds out that Walter poisoned Brock. Oh my, this is one of those reasons I love the show. I'll give two specific reasons: 1) The show was not going to let Jesse NOT know that Walt poisoned Brock. It just does not do things like that. Everything will get revealed by the end. 2) They needed it to be in a way that was realistic and not a convoluted plot device. They succeeded at that.
Jesse is depressed and doesn't care so it would make sense that he would decide to have weed in his pocket and not care that Saul objects. We've also heard about how formal and official this guy has been for a while so it would make sense that Saul would be afraid Jesse won't be accepted if he has weed in his pocket. And the beautiful reveal as Jesse is having second thoughts and starting to get afraid of leaving his own life so he turns to weed and can't find it. He realizes Saul took it away and that makes everything else so clear to him. Just great writing.
And hey! We got funny Saul Goodman. I wasn't expecting anymore but the writers managed to find some comedic bits for Saul in this episode. The Saul gets punched in the face and has his gun stolen from him. Come to think of it, I'm not sure how Jesse knew Saul had a gun there. Minor complaint.
So we leave the episode with Jesse possibly setting the White house on fire. Here's where the flash-forward kind of comes at a disadvantage. Ok, so he may succeed at least a little in lighting the insides of the house on fire, but the house is staying. I don't know, I just don't see the fire actually doing what Jesse intends because we know the house doesn't collapse. Still, this will show that Walt and his family are not safe and throw everything into disarray for him no matter what happens.
I know they are pushing back this Walter Jr. reveal, but man it's got to happen. There's no way that they end the show with him not knowing. I'm just waiting for when. And it looks like Walt (and the writers) have a nice built in excuse for Walter Jr never going to Hank and Marie's with Walt's cancer. Smart.
I'm pretty confident at this point Jesse will die. Just my personal guess. We'll see how the rest of the season plays out, but I don't see how both he and Walt will manage to live.
Playlist
1. "Kick Klack Bang" - Ces Cru
2. "Baby Says" - The Black Keys
3. "Verbal Intercourse" - Chef Raekwon ft. Nas
4. "Better Days" - Citizen King
5. "Electric Feel" - MGMT
I suppose this season will be the season of the cliffhangers. To the surprise of no one, Jesse does not team up with Hank and reveal Walt's identity. There's just simply too much hatred between the two to allow that to happen. Jesse is a pretty smart guy and figures out quickly that Hank basically has no evidence to support his claims. He also correctly concludes that Hank is on his own and not backed by the DEA.
Todd has a rather large mouth as he freely reveals the train theft that happened last season. That seems to not bode well one way or the other for Walter. I wasn't completely clear on what was going on, but I'm pretty sure they are after Walt: they want him to make meth again so they can make a lot of money. They seem like the type of people that would go to extreme lengths to make that happen.
Walt devises a plan that's both brilliant and breathtaking. This show is so good at creating an event that seems impossibly unlikely and then when it's revealed, it seems like it's the only way to go. Walt makes a "confession" (hence the title), but twists the events in a way where Hank is the mastermind. Sure enough, the money trail would lead to Hank's recovery. His convoluted story would make some sense to somebody who has no idea of the situation.
As Hank and Marie both watch the tape in shock (and creating a meme of epic proportions), they are our audience surrogate. We also stand in a sort of amazement and awe at what Walt managed to do to get Hank off his back. I'm not sure it'll work in getting Hank to cool it off, but it's hard to deny Hank is screwed unless he gets concrete evidence, which is made all the more difficult because Walt has retired (for now).
Walt unnecessarily tries to manipulate Jesse into going into hiding, but Jesse sees right through it and calls him out on his bullshit. Walt knows how to respond to this though and just hugs him and lets Jesse cry. It was kind of touching except for the fact that Walt has done absolutely horrible things to Jesse.
Then the big moment of the episode when Jesse finds out that Walter poisoned Brock. Oh my, this is one of those reasons I love the show. I'll give two specific reasons: 1) The show was not going to let Jesse NOT know that Walt poisoned Brock. It just does not do things like that. Everything will get revealed by the end. 2) They needed it to be in a way that was realistic and not a convoluted plot device. They succeeded at that.
Jesse is depressed and doesn't care so it would make sense that he would decide to have weed in his pocket and not care that Saul objects. We've also heard about how formal and official this guy has been for a while so it would make sense that Saul would be afraid Jesse won't be accepted if he has weed in his pocket. And the beautiful reveal as Jesse is having second thoughts and starting to get afraid of leaving his own life so he turns to weed and can't find it. He realizes Saul took it away and that makes everything else so clear to him. Just great writing.
And hey! We got funny Saul Goodman. I wasn't expecting anymore but the writers managed to find some comedic bits for Saul in this episode. The Saul gets punched in the face and has his gun stolen from him. Come to think of it, I'm not sure how Jesse knew Saul had a gun there. Minor complaint.
So we leave the episode with Jesse possibly setting the White house on fire. Here's where the flash-forward kind of comes at a disadvantage. Ok, so he may succeed at least a little in lighting the insides of the house on fire, but the house is staying. I don't know, I just don't see the fire actually doing what Jesse intends because we know the house doesn't collapse. Still, this will show that Walt and his family are not safe and throw everything into disarray for him no matter what happens.
I know they are pushing back this Walter Jr. reveal, but man it's got to happen. There's no way that they end the show with him not knowing. I'm just waiting for when. And it looks like Walt (and the writers) have a nice built in excuse for Walter Jr never going to Hank and Marie's with Walt's cancer. Smart.
I'm pretty confident at this point Jesse will die. Just my personal guess. We'll see how the rest of the season plays out, but I don't see how both he and Walt will manage to live.
Playlist
1. "Kick Klack Bang" - Ces Cru
2. "Baby Says" - The Black Keys
3. "Verbal Intercourse" - Chef Raekwon ft. Nas
4. "Better Days" - Citizen King
5. "Electric Feel" - MGMT
Friday, August 23, 2013
Orange is the New Black Review
Orange is the New Black is the best thing Netflix has ever done. It's kind of important to note I think House of Cards was ok and ultimately disappointing and Arrested Development had individual moments that paralleled the original but was mostly not terribly funny. (I'm not even going to mention Hemlock Grove). If it feels like that note is meant to somehow tamper your expectations, it's not, this is a great show.
I sort of think this show is worth checking just for the fact that it's one of the most unique out there. Nearly every character is female, about half of the women are minorities, one of the characters is a transgender woman, they portray a bisexual relationship in a way that doesn't feel exploitative (well in the early episodes it does), and then there's the source material, a show about a low security women's prison. Nearly everything about this series is original.
But it's a damn good show on its own merits, ignoring the previous paragraph. The show gradually gets better and better until you find yourself unable to stop watching. For a show that doesn't really relate to me in anyway possible, I found myself engrossed in these character's lives. These are sharply-drawn, memorable characters that you can't really help but to root for. Yes, they are criminals, but this is a low security prison, so none of their crimes are the sort where you instantly think they are awful people. The show doesn't shy away that these people are guilty, but shows how and why they are guilty through flashbacks.
OITNB was created by Jenji Kohan, also the creator of the popular Showtime series Weeds. I have never seen Weeds and was well aware that certain people may have been turned off by this show because of how bad Weeds became. While I have not seen Weeds, I say with a fair amount of confidence that this is considerably better than Weeds. I mean it pretty much has to be judging by what I watched and what I've heard of Weeds. So don't let the fact that she made Weeds spoil this for you, and hey if you liked Weeds, this is most likely a better although very different show.
Looking back, I'm kind of blindsided by what the characters became. To use a specific example, there's a character named "Crazy Eyes" who is a caricature in the beginning, but begins to actually form a unique and sympathetic identity. That's why it gets better as it goes along. The characters usually start as a stereotype or caricature, and after they get their own flashback episodes, it creates depths and two-dimensionality that you never knew was there.
The show's character that leads us into this world is Piper Chapman, played well by Taylor Schilling. She's not really that likable to me personally - not that it matters a whole lot. She's rich, privileged, and selfish although to the show's credit, it acknowledges all that. Larry, her boyfriend played by Jason Biggs, is cut in the same mold, although he's a bit more frustrating because prison doesn't "change" him or make him at least aware of it like Piper is. Throughout most of the season, Larry is the least interesting part of the show, and I don't think it's Biggs faults, it's just a whole lot less interesting than the inmates and mostly nonessential to the plot.
It doesn't really help that I'm not that invested in the love triangle of Chapman, Larry, and Alex Vause, played by Laura Prepon of That 70's Show fame. She's alright in this role. She certainly improves as a character as the show goes on. But the love triangle isn't all that interesting to me.
When The Wire starting airing, the world was exposed to some previously unknown African American actors who got a shortage of jobs due to lack of good roles. Well, OITNB does the same thing for women, African American women, and one transgender. Let me go through the cast of characters for you:
Poussey, played by Samira Wiley, and Taystee, played by Danielle Brooks, are one of the funniest comedic pairings ever. They also strike the right note when they need to get serious and are genuinely touching in certain scenes. 'Crazy Eyes' as mentioned above is played by Uzo Aduba, who I really just can't praise enough for making this character into an actual human being. There's Nicky, played by Natasha Lyonne, who may just have stole every scene she's in.
"Red," played by Kate Mulgrew of Star Trek fame, is the Russian chef dictator of the prison. She's not actually that good at cooking, but if you tell her that, she'll starve you. There's Pennsatucky, played by the always reliable Taryn Manning (incredibly typecast, but she doesn't seem to mind here). Lastly, there's Sophia, played by Laverne Cox, who is an actual transgender. She's very good in this and helps gain exposure for transgender women.
There's also more prison inmates, prison staff and prison guards that would make this post altogether too long. A special shout-out though goes to Pablo Schreiber, who plays a character named "Pornstache." He's about as sleazy as he sounds, but he has probably the most memorable one-liners on the show (a large number of them where apparently ad-libbed by Schreiber.)
OITNB benefits from Netflix's structure in my mind, because it's a show that can and will be binge-watched. So future warning to people who have things to do: wait a little to watch this show. When you have a decent amount of time on your hands, you'll finish it within the week. Actually, I don't think this really happened until the middle episodes, but I think a fair warning is necessary. It's addicting.
Certain TV shows I like to review I think of as advertisements for the show in that I really do want the people reading this to watch it. This is one of those shows. I wholly encourage you to watch it as soon as you can. It takes a little to hit its stride, but when it does, it doesn't stop until the season is over and you're wondering when Season 2 will come out. (It'll be quite a while I suspect.)
Playlist
1. "Black Water" - Timbre Timbre
2. "Still D.R.E." - Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dog
3. "The Party & The After Party" - The Weeknd
4. "Whirring" - The Joy Formidable
5. "Accident Murderers" - Nas ft. Rick Ross
I sort of think this show is worth checking just for the fact that it's one of the most unique out there. Nearly every character is female, about half of the women are minorities, one of the characters is a transgender woman, they portray a bisexual relationship in a way that doesn't feel exploitative (well in the early episodes it does), and then there's the source material, a show about a low security women's prison. Nearly everything about this series is original.
But it's a damn good show on its own merits, ignoring the previous paragraph. The show gradually gets better and better until you find yourself unable to stop watching. For a show that doesn't really relate to me in anyway possible, I found myself engrossed in these character's lives. These are sharply-drawn, memorable characters that you can't really help but to root for. Yes, they are criminals, but this is a low security prison, so none of their crimes are the sort where you instantly think they are awful people. The show doesn't shy away that these people are guilty, but shows how and why they are guilty through flashbacks.
OITNB was created by Jenji Kohan, also the creator of the popular Showtime series Weeds. I have never seen Weeds and was well aware that certain people may have been turned off by this show because of how bad Weeds became. While I have not seen Weeds, I say with a fair amount of confidence that this is considerably better than Weeds. I mean it pretty much has to be judging by what I watched and what I've heard of Weeds. So don't let the fact that she made Weeds spoil this for you, and hey if you liked Weeds, this is most likely a better although very different show.
Looking back, I'm kind of blindsided by what the characters became. To use a specific example, there's a character named "Crazy Eyes" who is a caricature in the beginning, but begins to actually form a unique and sympathetic identity. That's why it gets better as it goes along. The characters usually start as a stereotype or caricature, and after they get their own flashback episodes, it creates depths and two-dimensionality that you never knew was there.
The show's character that leads us into this world is Piper Chapman, played well by Taylor Schilling. She's not really that likable to me personally - not that it matters a whole lot. She's rich, privileged, and selfish although to the show's credit, it acknowledges all that. Larry, her boyfriend played by Jason Biggs, is cut in the same mold, although he's a bit more frustrating because prison doesn't "change" him or make him at least aware of it like Piper is. Throughout most of the season, Larry is the least interesting part of the show, and I don't think it's Biggs faults, it's just a whole lot less interesting than the inmates and mostly nonessential to the plot.
It doesn't really help that I'm not that invested in the love triangle of Chapman, Larry, and Alex Vause, played by Laura Prepon of That 70's Show fame. She's alright in this role. She certainly improves as a character as the show goes on. But the love triangle isn't all that interesting to me.
When The Wire starting airing, the world was exposed to some previously unknown African American actors who got a shortage of jobs due to lack of good roles. Well, OITNB does the same thing for women, African American women, and one transgender. Let me go through the cast of characters for you:
Poussey, played by Samira Wiley, and Taystee, played by Danielle Brooks, are one of the funniest comedic pairings ever. They also strike the right note when they need to get serious and are genuinely touching in certain scenes. 'Crazy Eyes' as mentioned above is played by Uzo Aduba, who I really just can't praise enough for making this character into an actual human being. There's Nicky, played by Natasha Lyonne, who may just have stole every scene she's in.
"Red," played by Kate Mulgrew of Star Trek fame, is the Russian chef dictator of the prison. She's not actually that good at cooking, but if you tell her that, she'll starve you. There's Pennsatucky, played by the always reliable Taryn Manning (incredibly typecast, but she doesn't seem to mind here). Lastly, there's Sophia, played by Laverne Cox, who is an actual transgender. She's very good in this and helps gain exposure for transgender women.
There's also more prison inmates, prison staff and prison guards that would make this post altogether too long. A special shout-out though goes to Pablo Schreiber, who plays a character named "Pornstache." He's about as sleazy as he sounds, but he has probably the most memorable one-liners on the show (a large number of them where apparently ad-libbed by Schreiber.)
OITNB benefits from Netflix's structure in my mind, because it's a show that can and will be binge-watched. So future warning to people who have things to do: wait a little to watch this show. When you have a decent amount of time on your hands, you'll finish it within the week. Actually, I don't think this really happened until the middle episodes, but I think a fair warning is necessary. It's addicting.
Certain TV shows I like to review I think of as advertisements for the show in that I really do want the people reading this to watch it. This is one of those shows. I wholly encourage you to watch it as soon as you can. It takes a little to hit its stride, but when it does, it doesn't stop until the season is over and you're wondering when Season 2 will come out. (It'll be quite a while I suspect.)
Playlist
1. "Black Water" - Timbre Timbre
2. "Still D.R.E." - Dr. Dre ft. Snoop Dog
3. "The Party & The After Party" - The Weeknd
4. "Whirring" - The Joy Formidable
5. "Accident Murderers" - Nas ft. Rick Ross
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Rewind: Star Trek Season 1
I'm going to write this review with a heavy dose of context involved because it'd be unfair and impossible to grade this without it. Star Trek suffers mightily from being the first to do many of the things they did. I don't exactly know which specific things they did first only that many of their then original story lines are now played out and cliche.
So I'm going to try and focus my complaints on things they could control. I got to be honest though. In terms of 2013, having never seen the show and admittedly having seen many of its copiers, Star Trek is not a good show. It's not a show I would recommend anyone watch unless they are like me who want to watch a show that started it all.
I understand why it was considered great. I can see some of the things that made it great. There's a few things that I personally think Star Trek had control over that they did wrong, but most of it happens to just be a bi-product of being aired in 1966. I can't think of another example of a show that is considered so great to age so incredibly badly.
The biggest obstacle that makes the show hardest to watch for me personally is William Shatner. He's an atrociously over-the-top actor that I can't take anything seriously. I'm not the first to make this complaint, but you have to see it to believe just how bad he is. This show is basically content telling us how awesome Kirk is at everything, which gets old pretty fast. Also, the villain of the week structure is both a positive and a negative. When the villain is bad at acting, it really just makes the episode borderline unwatchable.
Then, there's the things it can't control. The first season is a whopping 28 episodes at 50 minutes an episode. It shows at times that the writers are struggling to come up with original ideas. I'm impressed at how many times it does. It was also 1966 so the networks demanded that the show would wrap up each episode nicely and just completely ignore the deaths of many Enterprise passengers.
I'm impressed with the writing, specifically the writing for Spock. I'm pretty amazed at how they seemed to write such good lines for a character with no emotion. I totally bought it. Leonard Nimoy is a large reason why as he's a genuinely good actor and one of the reasons I choose to continue watching the show. I also think DeForest Kelley is a pretty good actor, sometimes aims too over-the-top, but frankly it's barely noticeable when Shatner is his opposite.
The show did have a weird fixation on wanting to prove Spock's dedication to logic as a fault. Sometimes, it made sense to criticize, such as Spock figuring out the best chance to survive is by letting crew members stay on the planet and likely die. Other times, they do a poor job of showing why logic was wrong in that certain scenario. Almost always logic is the best way to make decisions.
The first season is filled with many merely ok episodes, a few great, a few awful, and then "A City On the Edge of Forever" which is considered a classic episode and rightly so. I would strongly suggest you watch that episode. It has aged quite well. It's kind of like how the only 80s movies that have avoided the 80s touch (in a bad way) are those that are movies set in the past. Well most of this episode takes place in 1930. And I got to say, I was impressed at the design of it - it reminded me very much of Once Upon a Time in America - which came 20 years later.
I guess a small mention should go to the show's poor special effects (doesn't matter) and sometimes blatant sexism. Not to mention the aura of Kirk is irresistible to just about every woman Kirk wants, which makes little sense. But those are products of the 1960s and apparently Star Trek was a very progressive show at the time.
Anyway, Star Trek was a landmark point in television that just hasn't aged very well. Despite that, there are still some episodes that are really good even now, but some have suffered mightily. I'd recommend this show only to those that are purely watching to get a sense of history, or to those who will someone be able to pick the good from the bad.
I'll attempt to highlight ones I particularly enjoyed - however this took me about six months so I could be forgetting some.
1. Pilot: The Cage - I know Star Trek would be different without William Shatner, but I liked this version of the show better with Jeffrey Hunter. Either way, it's worth it just for the contrast.
2. The Naked Time - Funny episode where crew acts all out-of-character
3. The Corbomite Maneuver - Memorable villain
4. Balance of Terror - This involves bigotry towards Vulcans, Spock's race - Got to be some strong subtext since at the time racism was still pretty common
5. The Squire of Gothos - Godlike being who wants playthings (read: humans) is pretty scary
6. This Side of Paradise - Pretty funny episode where Spock has feelings and smiles
7. Devil in the Dark - Some monster is attacking miners - memorable
8. Errand of Mercy - Not sure I recommend, but this is the beginning of the Klingons, popular villains.
9. The City on the Edge of Forever - Best episode by far of any in the first season
10. Operation: Annihilate - Season finishes strong with five good episodes of last six
So there's 10 episodes you can watch without having to suffer through mediocre or just downright bad episodes. I don't know if they are bad because they aged badly, or they've always been bad, but some are just bad in 2013.
I will attempt to watch the second and third seasons - thankfully the episode list dwindles down to 26 and then 24, but I'm not sure I'll write about it. Frankly, I'm not sure I'll have anything new to say, but I might anyway just to recommend episodes.
Playlist
1. "I Want You Back" - Jackson 5
2. "Ordinary People" - John Legend
3. "Hello Operator" - The White Stripes
4. "Otherside Remix" - Macklemore ft. Fences
5. "Your Ass Got Took" - Scarface
I guess a small mention should go to the show's poor special effects (doesn't matter) and sometimes blatant sexism. Not to mention the aura of Kirk is irresistible to just about every woman Kirk wants, which makes little sense. But those are products of the 1960s and apparently Star Trek was a very progressive show at the time.
Anyway, Star Trek was a landmark point in television that just hasn't aged very well. Despite that, there are still some episodes that are really good even now, but some have suffered mightily. I'd recommend this show only to those that are purely watching to get a sense of history, or to those who will someone be able to pick the good from the bad.
I'll attempt to highlight ones I particularly enjoyed - however this took me about six months so I could be forgetting some.
1. Pilot: The Cage - I know Star Trek would be different without William Shatner, but I liked this version of the show better with Jeffrey Hunter. Either way, it's worth it just for the contrast.
2. The Naked Time - Funny episode where crew acts all out-of-character
3. The Corbomite Maneuver - Memorable villain
4. Balance of Terror - This involves bigotry towards Vulcans, Spock's race - Got to be some strong subtext since at the time racism was still pretty common
5. The Squire of Gothos - Godlike being who wants playthings (read: humans) is pretty scary
6. This Side of Paradise - Pretty funny episode where Spock has feelings and smiles
7. Devil in the Dark - Some monster is attacking miners - memorable
8. Errand of Mercy - Not sure I recommend, but this is the beginning of the Klingons, popular villains.
9. The City on the Edge of Forever - Best episode by far of any in the first season
10. Operation: Annihilate - Season finishes strong with five good episodes of last six
So there's 10 episodes you can watch without having to suffer through mediocre or just downright bad episodes. I don't know if they are bad because they aged badly, or they've always been bad, but some are just bad in 2013.
I will attempt to watch the second and third seasons - thankfully the episode list dwindles down to 26 and then 24, but I'm not sure I'll write about it. Frankly, I'm not sure I'll have anything new to say, but I might anyway just to recommend episodes.
Playlist
1. "I Want You Back" - Jackson 5
2. "Ordinary People" - John Legend
3. "Hello Operator" - The White Stripes
4. "Otherside Remix" - Macklemore ft. Fences
5. "Your Ass Got Took" - Scarface
Monday, August 19, 2013
Breaking Bad: "Buried"
This episode had a lot of plot to get through. I liked this episode less than the pilot, but so many things move and nothing really stuck out as bad that I didn't mind a whole lot. Things are clearly being put in place to set up the future.
That could sound like I'm complaining that this episode is only really about moving the plot forward, because usually that tends to be a weakness. Thankfully, it feels pretty natural and in character so again a plot episode isn't bad, I just found it less interesting.
Walt has played his card and immediately calls Skylar, but he's beaten by Hank to the punch. Hank meets Skylar in a restaurant and I like how slowly we realize Hank wants to get Heisenberg so much, he doesn't particularly care what will happen to Skylar if she tells. He's more so intent on getting Walt at all costs.
His dinner conversation shows his pride is hurt (further shown in a scene with Marie where he says he plans to quit when he tells them his brother-in-law was Heisenberg) with Skylar. People don't give Skylar enough credit as a character. She holds her own and figures out what Hank's doing pretty quickly.
Then Hank uses Marie to try and get Skylar to break. I think Skylar remained quiet both because she was trying to figure out what to do and to not say anything incriminating. Also, she clearly felt bad as Marie came to the realization that she knew about Walt when Hank got shot. That scene led to a slap in the face - a good one at that. Walt getting punched and Skylar getting slapped has to be a parallel in that the lines are drawn as its the White family versus the Schrader family.
Also, Lydia's not going away any time soon as she's kind of terrifying in her brief scene. Willing to wipe out the drug runners, but not willing to look at the carnage? Damn, that's... that's some cowardice right there. Also, Todd and his "connections" are responsible as Lydia needs a better batch to send to Czech Republic. Again, Todd feeling no remorse for helping kill ten people or so, but then tenderly helping Lydia walk back to her car? You've got to love the writing on this show.
Jesse continues losing his shit and I wonder if this will lead anywhere. I mean I know it will lead somewhere, just if Jesse will help convict Walt or not. I don't think he will personally, which kind of makes that cliffhanger less impactful for me. There's six episodes left so he certainly could.
So six episodes left and they somehow have to make up about nine months worth of time leading to the destruction of the White home, Heisenberg being known as Walt, and Walt apparently separated from his family with the need for a huge gun that you don't buy if you're desperate. Not sure how they'll do it, but I have as little doubt as I can that they will do something spectacular and fascinating.
A theme is that none of the characters are looking so great right now. I fear Hank's life has to be in danger since Lydia and Todd are probably coming after Walt now to get him to cook. Jesse was caught with a bag full of money, and although he's distraught enough to not say anything, that's not really a good position to be in. Saul was threatened to "get sent to Belize", which might be foreshadowing of some sort. (And if the spinoff makes you think differently, they could do a prequel) So, I guess the question for me is who dies first, because there will be deaths aplenty.
That could sound like I'm complaining that this episode is only really about moving the plot forward, because usually that tends to be a weakness. Thankfully, it feels pretty natural and in character so again a plot episode isn't bad, I just found it less interesting.
Walt has played his card and immediately calls Skylar, but he's beaten by Hank to the punch. Hank meets Skylar in a restaurant and I like how slowly we realize Hank wants to get Heisenberg so much, he doesn't particularly care what will happen to Skylar if she tells. He's more so intent on getting Walt at all costs.
His dinner conversation shows his pride is hurt (further shown in a scene with Marie where he says he plans to quit when he tells them his brother-in-law was Heisenberg) with Skylar. People don't give Skylar enough credit as a character. She holds her own and figures out what Hank's doing pretty quickly.
Then Hank uses Marie to try and get Skylar to break. I think Skylar remained quiet both because she was trying to figure out what to do and to not say anything incriminating. Also, she clearly felt bad as Marie came to the realization that she knew about Walt when Hank got shot. That scene led to a slap in the face - a good one at that. Walt getting punched and Skylar getting slapped has to be a parallel in that the lines are drawn as its the White family versus the Schrader family.
Also, Lydia's not going away any time soon as she's kind of terrifying in her brief scene. Willing to wipe out the drug runners, but not willing to look at the carnage? Damn, that's... that's some cowardice right there. Also, Todd and his "connections" are responsible as Lydia needs a better batch to send to Czech Republic. Again, Todd feeling no remorse for helping kill ten people or so, but then tenderly helping Lydia walk back to her car? You've got to love the writing on this show.
Jesse continues losing his shit and I wonder if this will lead anywhere. I mean I know it will lead somewhere, just if Jesse will help convict Walt or not. I don't think he will personally, which kind of makes that cliffhanger less impactful for me. There's six episodes left so he certainly could.
So six episodes left and they somehow have to make up about nine months worth of time leading to the destruction of the White home, Heisenberg being known as Walt, and Walt apparently separated from his family with the need for a huge gun that you don't buy if you're desperate. Not sure how they'll do it, but I have as little doubt as I can that they will do something spectacular and fascinating.
A theme is that none of the characters are looking so great right now. I fear Hank's life has to be in danger since Lydia and Todd are probably coming after Walt now to get him to cook. Jesse was caught with a bag full of money, and although he's distraught enough to not say anything, that's not really a good position to be in. Saul was threatened to "get sent to Belize", which might be foreshadowing of some sort. (And if the spinoff makes you think differently, they could do a prequel) So, I guess the question for me is who dies first, because there will be deaths aplenty.
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