tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41298400054833297032024-03-13T06:09:35.735-04:00TV LairTV Reviews.Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.comBlogger1634125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-5335263589265896432014-05-04T19:25:00.000-04:002014-05-04T19:25:30.677-04:00A Quick UpdateI have largely turned off comments since most of them being made are for older articles and are largely spam. Since I get an e-mail every time someone makes a comment, it was starting to become an annoyance.<br />
<br />
The domain name will likely expire soon. I might repay the domain fee renewal but I need every dollar I have right now as I move into my own apartment and look for a paying gig. If I don't, you can check out the archives of this blog at:<br />
<br />
thetvlair.blogspot.comCarloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-2398939156891499682013-10-04T19:28:00.000-04:002013-10-04T19:28:45.085-04:00The End of the Lair
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When I
started Television Lair, I wanted to explore why I liked the shows
that I watched. I wanted to know what drew me towards Castle, Fringe,
Parenthood, Parks and Recreation, etc. and why I didn't want to watch
other shows. Obviously, an entertainment factor was in play but what
went into creating that factor was always an intriguing concept. I
had also become an avid reader of the AV Club. It's their standard of
high-quality analysis that I have always aspired for. There was also
an early attempt to create a community and also turn the blog into a
television business analysis blog. The first failed as I didn't have
a readership to create a community around. That was my fault. The
second largely fell to the wayside. It's entirely possible that I
might actually start doing that on a semi-regular basis because I
think television business is just as interesting as programming. As
it stands, I have no plans of actually doing that so I wouldn't
expect anything.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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When I
first started the blog, the reviews weren't as long as they are now.
They also weren't as good. At the same time, they were barely time
consuming. I could knock out most reviews in an under an hour. As
time went on, I improved the quality of my writing. As the quality
picked up, I started to make them longer. What used to take me less
than an hour now took at least three hours per review. The blog has
become a bigger commitment that demands more and more time. This
would be fine if I was getting paid, if people were reading the
actual reviews, and/or if I was still motivated to do this. The first
hasn't become true. There are ads (aimed at covering the cost of the
domain) but I haven't made enough money to actually get a check. It's
possible I do have a couple loyal audience but most of my reviews
hover around 10 page views. As for motivation, I've got admit that I
rarely actually want to write a review. It's become such a
time-consuming hobby that leaves me with very little time to do
anything else and it's also become stressful.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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All of
these factors kept me plugging along because having a blog looks good
on my resume. Nobody might be reading it but at least I could claim I
was doing it. It's a claim that I can now use: I ran this blog for
two years. Alas, I must shut it down. Why? I have five reasons. The
first is that I have fulfilled the purpose of the blog. I believe I
have a greater understanding of what makes a show entertaining and
good. The second is that college is requiring more and more time.
When I first started this blog, I was a sophomore. The little time
commitment it took per review and the less homework I had made doing
this blog feasible. Now, I'm spending more time doing college work
while this blog demands I spend more time doing it. I just don't have
time for Television Lair anymore. The third reason is that I don't
want to do it anymore. I don't think I need to justify that. The
fourth reason is that practically nobody reads. This didn't used to
bother me but it's kind of like I'm wasting my time on something I
don't want to do anymore for nobody's benefit. The fifth, and final
reason, is that I want to dedicate my free time doing other things.
As I noted, I might revive this blog with a different focus on doing
semi-regular business analysis. I might work on screenplays and/or
other writings. Basically, it's to open up my time for something I am
interested in doing.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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I had
always planned on ending this blog in May. I was dedicated to doing
that but then I realized something: I'm a week behind. I'm going to
be a week behind for as long as I have to spend my time on college
work. This is going to turn the blog into a bigger stress than it
needs to be-considering nobody reads it. I've considered dropping the
amount of reviews I do weekly but...it's still going to be a major
time commitment. So I'm doing the most sensible thing:</div>
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</div>
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I'm closing
the blog right now. I'll keep paying for the domain name and keep the
reviews up. You can always read this for history's sake. I might, as
I said, convert this blog to doing business analysis. As of now, I'm
doing doing reviews. I'm not going to catch up: The Michael J. Fox
Show is the final review. If you have any questions of what I think
about any news shows/episodes, drop a comment at any time.</div>
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</div>
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It has been
a great adventure. I liked this doing for the longest time...and I
hate quitting earlier than I expected. At the same time, I must admit
that the time for reviewing shows has passed.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
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The
Television Lair is now abandoned.
</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-69684811506455241182013-10-04T02:05:00.002-04:002013-10-04T02:05:28.378-04:00Parenthood Season Four<div style="text-align: center;">
Parenthood</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Season 4</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
2012-2013 Season</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/09/parenthood_9770.html">Family Portrait</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/09/parenthood_20.html">Left Field</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/09/parenthood_27.html">Everything is Okay</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/parenthood.html">The Talk</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/parenthood_11.html">There's Something I Need to Tell You</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/parenthood_25.html">I'll Be Right Here</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/parenthood.html">Together</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/parenthood_30.html">One More Weekend with You</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/parenthood_30.html">You Can't Always Get What You Want</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/12/parenthood.html">Trouble in Candyland</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/12/parenthood_15.html">What to My Wondering Eyes</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/parenthood.html">Keep on Rowing</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/parenthood.html">Small Victories</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/parenthood_18.html">One Step Forward, Two Steps Back</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/parenthood_24.html">Because You're My Sister</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-6985549046119427952013-10-04T01:34:00.001-04:002013-10-04T01:34:19.712-04:00The Michael J. Fox Show
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<b>The Michael J. Fox Show</b></div>
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<b>Episode 1: Pilot</b></div>
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<b>Episode 2: Neighbor</b></div>
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<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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</div>
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The Michael
J. Fox Show is a series about a news anchor with Parkinson’s
disease that goes back to work. It is partially based on Michael J.
Fox's real life. I will be covering this show weekly.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
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<br />
</div>
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The Michael J. Fox Show has a slightly interesting history. Michael
J. Fox is a popular television star who became a household name due
to his role as young Republican Alex P. Keaton in Family Ties. He
became a film star with the classic Back to the Future trilogy and
Casualties of War. He would later star in Spin City until he was
forced to semi-retire from acting due to his health. He was diagnosed
with Parkinson's disease and the symptoms got too severe for him to
continue to work on a daily basis. He's managed to make a come-back
by having all of his characters written with Parkinson's in mind. The
peacock network is in desperate need of a comedy hit. The Office is
now gone and it's largely cleaned it's comedy slate. The only series
to survive, Parks and Recreation, has always been a critical darling
but it's never been able to attract a large audience. It makes sense
that the network would look at one of their former stars and hope
that he still has a large enough following to launch a new comedy. He
was interested in starring in a comedy again so they ordered the
project straight to series with a twenty-two episode order. This
risky move meant bypassing the pilot season which means the network
had very limited quality control. If the pilot was a disaster, the
network couldn't forever hold it back. They would have a very limited
time to retool it. The episode order is an even bigger risk.
Twenty-two episodes is a large order. If the series fails to attract
an audience, the network is on the hook for the whole season unless
it goes back on it's word. NBC sees The Michael J. Fox Show as the
potential messiah but these first two episodes should serve as yet
another warning of why skipping the pilot season is rarely worth it.</div>
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</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
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It doesn't matter how many times I say it: a series can often take
time to find it's legs. It doesn't matter because audiences have a
very limited patience when it comes to growing pains. They might be
willing to stick around if they like what's already there but they
will abandon ship if any promise they see isn't fulfilled quickly.
That's what makes the pilot so essential to the future of the series:
it determines how strong the early episodes are going to be. The
Michael J Fox Show has a lot of promise but the pilot is so rough
that I'll doubt a lot of people will be sticking around. The primary
problem is that this one-hour premiere wasn't very funny. There were
occasional chuckles here and there but it never came close to
actually making me laugh. The pilot had the issue that there was only
one writer coming up with the jokes but it's concerning when a
writing team actually churned out a second episode that was worse.
Second episodes are tough but they shouldn't be uninspired. After
all, the second episode is the second pilot. It rehashes the premise,
makes sure everybody knows who everybody is, and hammers home their
relationships to each other. What's more is that because it's not an
origin story, it can provide a sketch of how the show is going to
look like on a weekly basis. The pilot for The Michael J. Fox Show
was a very busy origin story that it never really has a lot of fun.
It sets up the premise, characters, and relationships but it's never
really that funny. The second episode is worse because it uses those
characters to depict a largely typical sit-com plot. Okay, some
elements have been modernized but it's mostly been-there-done-that.
It's more like the writers are doing this because it's their job
rather than because their actually having fun with these characters
and relationships. The cast is game enough but when the writing feels
more obligated then art, it's hard to really jump on board.
Structurally the series has some flaws: the workplace and domestic
need to be better balanced out. The series can work that out over
time but it needs to solve the “I'm having fun” watching this
factor. I should be having fun rather than experiencing a chore.</div>
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</div>
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The Michael J. Fox is in many ways a typical show so it's no surprise
that most of the characters are stereotypes at this point. The main
character is Michael Henry. It's no surprise that Michael J. Fox is
able to play a character based on himself very well...at the same
time, it's disappointing to see how thinly written his fictional
version is written. There is more to Michael J. Fox than Parkinson's
Disease but often that seems to be all that there is to Michael
Henry. His major conflict in the second episode arises from his happy
surprise that a stranger found him attractive despite his disease. If
the series wants to mime Parkinson's Disease for humor, all the power
to it. It just shouldn't allow it to overwhelm Michael Henry to the
point where that's all he is. It makes sense in the first episode to
concentrate on it because that's an important part of who he is. It
also explains why he has to go back to work and why he left. At the
same time, couldn't we have gotten a little more? I mean, we get he's
a loving husband and father but they don't really make up a
personality. The major challenge for future episodes due to this
over-reliance on Parkinson's Disease is going to develop him out so
he's an actual person. If the series doesn't, it might find itself
with a reputation where every other joke is about Fox having the
disease. That's not really a reputation that the show should be going
for nor do I think that it is.</div>
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</div>
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The rest of the characters are stereotypes as well. Mike is married
to Annie. I have a feeling Betsy Brandt accepted this role because
it'll be a cake-walk after Breaking Bad. Her character type is
basically the snarky wife. She's supportive of her husband up to a
point. She loves him and her kids but she won't take any bull. It's
an okay character who slightly subverts the typical housewife but at
the same time affirms it. The daughter, Eve, is really into being
progressive and artistic. The son, Ian, is into girls. He also
flunked out of college. Graham is basically the cute kid who does
cute stuff. Leigh is Mike's sister who is very demanding and
egocentric. That's the family. Mike also has two co-workers. Harris
is his boss. I love Wendell Pierce so I'm hoping the series is able
to work him in more but he's largely being presented as a womanizer.
The final character is Kay, the segment producer that has an
obsessive crush over Mike. Overall, they all need to be fleshed out
over the coming weeks. The good news is that it does have a cast that
would be able to easily work with improved writing. At the moment,
they're being wasted.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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The Michael J. Fox Show is one that the peacock network has laid a
lot of their hopes on. They made a huge commitment by skipping the
pilot season with a straight-to-series twenty-two episodes. A leap in
confidence that might have been misguided. The weak one-hour premiere
wasn't funny. It was actually kind of a chore to get through it all.
There are some structural problems but the series but the writers
should hold off solving those for later. They need to make this show
fun first. Mike Henry would be a solid underdog protagonist if he
wasn't almost completely defined by Parkinson's Disease. The rest of
the characters are largely stereotypes that could easily have come
from any typical sit-com. Laying their hopes on Michael J. Fox was
the smart move to make. Allowing him to land in a piece of junk?
That's just bad business...and tragic.</div>
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</div>
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Here's hoping it gets better.</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-31660654822397680612013-10-02T03:43:00.001-04:002013-10-02T03:44:17.484-04:00Revolution<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>Revolution</b></div>
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<b>Episode 1: Born in the U.S.A.</b></div>
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<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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<br /></div>
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Revolution is
a show set in a world where electricity has died.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
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<br /></div>
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Revolution
had a troubled first season. There were some decent installments in
there but it was mostly a season filled with weak characters, forced
relationships, and a nonsensical plot that ultimately ended in
frustration. The potential that the premise could have had was
largely lost as the production dropped swords in favor of guns. The
concentration on turning the power on gave the writers some focus but
it ultimately backfired as it consumed the show. It also had the
unfortunate side-effect of actually causing people to root for them
to succeed which would undermine the whole premise of the show. The
last thing any writer is going to want is to root for the show to
effectively end. The finale was so frustrating that it ultimately
hurt my view of the series as a whole. The twist at the end was so
confounding that it actually made me less excited for the second
season of Revolution. It was such a terrible piece of television that
it also made me completely give up on Revolution. Lucky for the show,
I decided I might as well stick around because I like the genre, I'm
a fan of Giancarlo Esposito, and because it was still decently
entertaining. It helps that I don't really like giving up on shows
since it means the investment I had put into earlier episodes was
wasted. I like to think of myself as a very loyal viewer. Obviously,
there are shows I do end up giving up on (2 Broke Girls comes to
mind) but I try to make them as rare as possible. So this is the way
I entered the second season: disillusioned with the series,
distrustful of the writers, but hopeful that the series can somehow
pull itself together. Even if it can't, at least I can expect to be
entertained. It's an odd relationship with the series but it's an
important one to make note of because it's how I approach it and
therefore the reviews. So I'm happy to report that I'm cautiously
optimistic about this second season.</div>
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It is my
theory that what makes an amazing television series wonderful is that
it has great characters interacting with each other. It's a very
risky move for any series to separate it's characters for a long
period of time. It basically limits the potential interactions they
could have with other characters which limits the great scenes any
episode could theoretically have. Revolution seems like it's making a
mistake when it splits up it's characters into three different
groups. Now granted, this is nothing new of the show. The first
season had ended with a main group trying to chase after a group of
characters working for a distant antagonist. At the same time, this
managed to somewhat work because the protagonists stuck together
while the antagonists were grouped separately. They might not have
been in the same vicinity but they were also related in the same
plot. It rarely felt like they were in different shows for this
reason. The second season is different because it actually splits up
the characters into groups that have very little to do with each
other at this point. This could be risky: it limits possible
interactions and it might cause the series to feel like there's three
different unrelated parts. At the same time, Revolution might make it
work. After all, the interactions are only worthwhile if the
characters are any good. Revolution has exactly one character who is
any good and he's paired with his son-the only compelling
relationship on this show. What makes the risk worth it is because
splitting the characters up might force the writers to actually flesh
them out. Overall, it's a risk that might not ever pay off but if it
does then Revolution will be stronger in the long run. Who knows?
This might solve the weak characters charge.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The first
season of Revolution had two separate main plots: rescuing Danny and
then trying to turn the power back on. There were a few sub-plots
(including an actual war) but the narrative focus largely
concentrated on these two goals. The second season of Revolution
begins with no major goal in sign. Miles, Rachel, and Aaron have
found a new home in Texas with Rachel's dad. Aaron has found a new
love interest but his dark secrets create a barrier between them.
Miles appears to be going back to his old habits of appearing with
blood on his hands and burning down sheds. As for Rachel? She's gone
crazy. It's not the most perfect, ideal life but at least their
alive. Just as Miles is getting ready to leave, the town is placed
under threat by a war tribe from the Plains Nation. It's an
interesting development that leads to some shocking moments. The
first is that Miles actually loses a fight and gets captured. It
looks like the writers are toning down his superpower ability to win
any fight and sneak in anywhere this season. It's also pretty much
established that we're back to melee fights as guns are used more
sparingly. Revolution is embracing the promise laid out in the pilot
over it's universe. Aaron gets attacked and actually dies for three
hours. Luckily, the nanomachines are acting weird or his pendant has
magical powers so he's able to come back to life at the end of the
episode. It's a pretty shocking development that helps sell the idea
that more fantastical or science fiction stuff can now happen.
Whatever the case, it's a pretty effective cliff-hanger that at once
allows the audience relief that they didn't just kill off Aaron while
making them wonder what exactly is going on. How is Aaron still
alive? A good question that actually makes me want to watch the
second episode.</div>
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<br /></div>
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The other two
groups are given their own plots. Charlie is continuing her quest of
trying to find Monroe in order to kill him. She actually gets a
chance and takes it. Only her assassination attempt fails because a
third party intervenes by kidnapping him. I'm interested to know who
this third party is. I'm not sure I like the promise of grouping the
show's two weakest characters/performers on the show together but
hopefully they can bring out new sides of each other. The other group
is Tom and Jason. The two are actually in Georgia. The two are
looking for Julia at the refugee camp. When they can't find her, Tom
almost kills himself. Luckily, his son is able to talk some sense
into his father by using their unique love-hate relationship. At the
end, the two listen to the people who claim to be the United States
government claiming their back with supplies. Tom is a little
suspicious of this plus their claim to have proof that Monroe
Republic and Georgia Federation nuked each other's capitols. He
thinks their imposters. It's a decent effort to make the cliff-hanger
from the finale better but this development ultimately isn't enough
to change my opinion of how terrible it was. After all, I had no way
of knowing that when I saw it. It's pretty obvious this will likely
be a force that unites all of the characters against them but
hopefully their more developed by the time this happens. Overall, a
promising sub-plot with the best character/actor this show has.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
Revolution
has a pretty promising second season premiere that might have just put
this show on the right path. Separating the characters is a risky
move but it might be the right one necessary to develop them. The
whole war tribe is interesting because Miles was captured and Aaron's
resurrection. The Charlie and Monroe pairing is a bit concerning but
hopefully this allows the two weakest characters to improve each
other. As for the final pairing, it's pretty promising and it ties
directly into the main bad guys of the season.</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-19260644386892982872013-10-02T02:55:00.005-04:002013-10-02T02:55:45.962-04:00Revolution Season One<div style="text-align: center;">
Revolution</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Season 1</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
2012-2013 Season </div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/09/revolution.html">Pilot</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/09/revolution_26.html">Chained Heat</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/revolution.html">No Quarter</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/revolution_10.html">The Plaque Dogs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/revolution_17.html">Soul Train</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/revolution.html">Sex and Drugs</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/revolution.html">The Children's Crusade</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/revolution_14.html">Ties that Bind</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/revolution_28.html">Kashmir</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/revolution_28.html">Nobody's Bullets But Mine</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/03/revolution.html">The Stand</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/revolution.html">Ghosts</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/revolution_12.html">The Song Remains the Same</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/revolution_27.html">The Night the Light Went Out in Georgia</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/revolution.html">Home</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/revolution_12.html">The Love Boat</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/revolution_19.html">The Longest Day</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/revolution_24.html">Clue</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/revolution_30.html">Children of Men</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/06/revolution.html">The Dark Tower</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-68872206172693201532013-10-02T02:51:00.000-04:002013-10-02T03:45:22.521-04:00Revolution<div style="text-align: center;">
<b>Revolution</b></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(2012-Present)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/10/blog-post.html">Season One</a><br />
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/search/label/Revolution%20Season%20Two">Season Two </a></div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-51288483804753908862013-10-02T02:40:00.001-04:002013-10-02T02:40:29.377-04:00Nashville
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>Nashville</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>Episode 1: I Fall to Pieces</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>Season Two</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
Nashville is
a series about the country music scene and the political scene of
Nashville.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
Nashville is
by all intents and purposes an interesting series to think about.
It's a show that has surprisingly good country music, it's embraced
it's soap opera nature, and it has some of the best performances on
broadcast television. It's managed to pick up it's narrative speed so
things actually seem like they're happening. At the same time, it's
almost impossible to actually get excited about this show. I don't
think I've ever gone in my head “I can't wait until Nashville comes
on the air.” I dropped this series from the review roster after the
thirteenth episode because it simply wasn't a fun series to review on
a weekly basis. I tried sticking with it as a normal viewer but I
didn't want to put in the effort to keep up with it. It really wasn't
until a few weeks ago that I went on Hulu and finished the first
season. I mean, I know this show has good enough writing and acting
that I should be watching it but...it's hard to motivate myself to
actually do it. The first season ended on a cliff-hanger that didn't
really work. The car crash felt more like a mid-season cliff-hanger
than a season finale cliff-hanger. The marriage proposal was between
two characters I could care less about. It really didn't make me want
to watch the second season premiere at all. The only reason I saw it
was because I wanted to check in on the show for the blog and because
I have a television where I can watch live broadcasts. It was on
after Modern Family so it didn't require any effort from me to tune
in. I'm sure if that wasn't the case then I wouldn't have bothered
tuning in. It's not a decision I would have regretted it. I have no
real interest in continuing to watch Nashville and this premiere
didn't really give me any reason to do so. This is because Nashville
has a lot going for it but it can't help but be one thing: immensely
boring. Why is that?</div>
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</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
I think it's
because there are so many elements of Nashville that I simply don't
care about. Gunnar, Avery, and Scarlett are three very uninteresting
characters that take up a huge chunk of the running time. In case
you're wondering, Gunnar and Scarlett have broken up but they're okay
with being friends and singing buddies by the end of the episode.
She's ready to have her singing career under Rayna's label while
embracing the idea of being single for now. In addition, she tries
her best to help her uncle before having a small crisis on whether
she should help him at all. Avery doesn't really do much but he is
supportive of her. As for Gunnar? A significant portion of the
episode is spent trying to make him accept that things are over with
Scarlett so he can start to move on. Will, an actually interesting
character because he's fighting his homosexuality so he can be a
country star, throws a party so that Gunnar can meet new girls. This
doesn't really work but Gunnar does take some steps in the right
direction. That's what happened but the problem is I don't really
care about Gunnar. He's such a bland character and the attempts to
make give him a dark edge have largely failed miserably. He's better
than Avery (I still hate Avery with a passion) but it's hard to root
for him when he's so boring. As for Scarlett? She was okay at first
but her naïve personality has gone from being adorable to being
flat-out annoying. The fact that their part of the show remains such
a strong part of each episode is simply mind-numbing considering how
little they actually add to Nashville. The only good part about this
part of Nashville is Will but the premiere largely treats him as a
supporting character. Granted, the actor playing him is now a series
regular so he's here to stay but the premiere doesn't really seem to
reflect this promotion.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
I've watched
a lot of shows where there's whole sections that I'm not interested
in but the fact is Nashville is mostly from boring from beginning to
end. The country music is good but you can easily listen to it
without watching the visual montage that usually accompanies it
without really missing anything. A huge flaw with the premiere was
that it sidelined Rayna. She's in a coma for pretty much the whole
episode. Considering how Connie Britton is one of the two powerhouse
performers on Nashville, this decision makes very little sense. It's
like removing one of the few pieces that actually works in
Nashville's favor without doing anything to compensate. The writers
do try to create some tension that she might not make it but come on:
did anybody actually think the show was going to kill off it's
Emmy-nominated actress? Obviously Rayna was going to wake up. There
is another reason she was put in a coma and that's because of Deacon.
He's arrested because he claims that he was driving while drunk. He
feels guilty for what he's done and he's terrified that he might be a
father so he basically locks himself up. He refuses any counsel and
is willing to suffer the consequences. The lawyer realizes that his
non-cooperative nature was because he feels guilty so she
investigates Rayna's injuries. The evidence concludes that Rayna was
actually the person behind the wheel. Deacon is let go from jail but
he still has to deal with almost killing the love of his life and
having a daughter. It's a good crisis to tackle and the show handles
it well enough but at the same time...it really wasn't drawing me in.
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
The show also
employs some pretty silly twists. The first is the idea that Lamar
actually killed his wife because she was leaving him. It's the kind
of over-the-top twist that's made because Lamar is supposed to be
this antagonistic character. He's not the most likeable villain but
if the police are right then Lamar will quickly find himself with no
fans. It's hard enough to root for him to have a relationship with
his daughter when he's so contentious but at least you can understand
his frustrations towards Rayna's career. His power hungry nature is
hard to swallow but it's tempered by Powers Boothe's charisma. Having
Lamar kill the mother of his children? There is nothing to offset
that. It's an over-the-top twist that actually turns him into a
literal threat and continues to feel out-of-place even on this
current, soapier version of Nashville. The second twist is that Peggy
gets a miscarriage but lies about it. Oh my gosh, really? That's
where you're heading Nashville? Full soap territory? A few other odd
plot turns is that Scarlett suddenly has a childhood friend we've
never even heard of. I don't mind a show changing a few things up but
that just felt very forced in. As for the show's best character?
Juliette tries to use Rayna's memorial to sell her album and learns
that Deacon is Maddie's father. It's a bit odd she's very underused
in this episode.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
Overall,
Nashville is a show that I'm losing a lot of interest in even
casually keeping up with. It has good writing, performing, and even
tackles some strong character drama but never in an actually
entertaining or compelling way. The music simply isn't enough to even
draw me in anymore. The season premiere itself had some separate
issues: concentrating on characters I don't care about, removing
Rayna from most of the episode, and over-the-top twists that don't
really work. The season premiere might keep fans happy but it's the
latest piece of evidence that this show simply isn't going to work
for me. So with this I bid adieu from Nashville. It's doubtful I'll
ever cover it again or even watch another minute of it.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
Sayonora,
Nashville.</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-77005736795568591492013-10-01T01:35:00.004-04:002013-10-01T01:35:22.679-04:00Modern Family
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>Modern Family</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>Episode 1: Suddenly Last Summer</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>Episode 2: First Days </b>
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
Modern Family
is about a traditional nuclear family, a multi-generational family,
and a gay family.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
Modern Family begins a one-hour premiere. There are two episodes that
aren't really related but they both open the season.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
The first episode takes place over the summer. A significant portion
of the episode concentrates on most of the characters trying to get
rid of their kids. It sounds awful but they are hoping for some kind
of break. For Phil and Claire, it's to have a kid-free week. For Jay,
it's to avoid being bombarded with Gloria's Colombian family. It
makes sense although the latter is largely playing on racial
stereotypes. The two suffer different obstacles. Jay is worried that
Gloria's close attachment to her son might make her reconsider
sending Manny to Colombia by himself. He has to pull all of the stops
to make sure that Manny is able to get on board. This creates some
pretty good comedic scenes. At the end, he's the one that really ends
up missing Manny. On the other side, Phil and Claire have to find a
way to get their kids to change dates. This task is largely left up
to Phil. Phil tries his best to manipulate Alex into changing the
dates she helps Habitat for Humanity by making her feel guilty for
going so far away. When he needs her to change again, he basically
makes the point that he has to learn to let go and she has to become
independent. The reason he has to change is because Luke refuses to
budge because he likes a girl. As for Haley, Phil has to bribe her
before threatening her. In the end, he's able to get what he wants.
I'll admit I was a little confused during the episode because Phil
talked about Haley going back to school. Since she had graduated high
school but been kicked out of college, it seemed like a continuity
disconnection. It's possible I had forgotten that she had decided to
attend community college from last season but it would have been nice
to have gotten a reminder. It has been three months after all.
Overall, these two plots were solid on their own but they really
weren't anything special. They had their moments but they were
predictable.</div>
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</div>
<a name='more'></a><br />
<br />
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
The reason the first episode was simply genius had to do with Cam and
Mitchell. As many of you know, gay marriage was ruled legal in
California. Guess where this show takes place? California. The legal
ruling basically means that Cam and Mitchell can now get married. The
two get excited over the prospect because it's what they've wanted
this whole time. Only this is where the series explores the new
social reality of gay marriage (in California and some other states):
who proposes? In a heterosexual relationship, it's the guy who
typically pops the question. The girl might undermine tradition by
asking but it's generally expected that the guy do it. In a
homosexual relationship, both members are guys. So who asks? The two
get the idea that they should ask. Mitchell wants to do something
romantic for once in his life while Cam wants to surprise Mitchell
with the question. The two of them go to their respective friends
(Mitchell to Claire, Cam to Gloria) to get advice on how to do it.
The two try their best to concoct their plans but they are their own
obstacles. In the end, there is a perfect proposal when the car
breaks down. The two start to replace the tire when the two start
reminiscing and just as their about to put on the new tire...they
look at each other and say “yes”. In that moment, the only
question being asked was not with words but through their love that
they could feel through each other. It was simply a perfect
television moment...one that will be remembered for the eons to come.
For this reason, the first episode was simply and utterly perfect.
It even justifies the latest Best Comedy Emmy this show has won: when
Modern Family gets it right, it really gets it right. There are many
ways they could have written the proposal but the “yes” at the
same time is a great one. It even answers the question of who should
ask: it doesn't matter as long as the answer comes out to be yes.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
The second episode of the one-hour premiere was actually stronger as
a whole. It basically concentrated on the very idea of first days.
Luke and Manny start high school. The two of them basically try to
get away from their parents as quickly as possible. Phil and Gloria,
feeling rejected by their offspring, decide to go get coffee
together. Only the coffee shop they chose is currently closed because
they're filming a commercial in there. The two get cast as extras. We
get some funny sequences where they keep messing up the shoot because
they actually say things or they do some terrible miming. They bonded
over the fact that their boys are growing up to be teenagers. While
them becoming extras in a commercial was a bit sit-commy, it managed
to work because it had the right heart. The other plot had to do with
Cam. Cam has lost his job as middle school music teacher due to
budget cutbacks. He does get a job as a substitute high school
teacher. His first assignment is to teach AP European History. Here's
where Modern Family is a little odd: he's subbing on the first day of
school and yet everyone acts like their in the middle of the
semester. What? Logic aside, he's offered the opportunity to
permanently teach the class if he does a good job. Only Cam doesn't
actually know anything about history so he tries his best to fake it.
I'm not sure if the viewer was supposed to root for him to teach a
subject he doesn't know anything about. If anything, I felt way more
for Alex even though this plot was largely about Cam. She basically
forces him to admit that he shouldn't be teaching history. All hope
is not lost because Cam is able to use his knowledge of football to
become a coach. Only since this is like the only high school that
doesn't pay their high school coaches, he'll also be forced to teach
a PE class. It's a good plot even if it's a bit convenient that just
as Luke and Manny move to high school, he follows them. Oh, well,
hopefully this means we get a story with all three of them.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
The final first day has to do with work. Claire starts working for
her dad as he starts to groom her to take over the company. Only she
doesn't have the best day because she wants the employees under her
to like her. She brings them cookies, tries to make jokes with them,
and agrees to have dinner with the weird employee. The weird employee
her dad is planning to fire as soon as he can find a non-weird
replacement. What does Claire do when she finds out the weird
employee is buying a house? She warns him he's about to lose his job
of course. The weird employee lashes out by bringing down their whole
system. It's a plot filled where Claire is wrong because she refuses
to listen to her dad. In trying to be friends with the weird
employee, she messed up the company. It's the weakest plot in terms
of laughs but it still works well.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
Overall, Modern Family began the season on the right foot. The first
half had some predictable plots when it came to trying to get rid of
kids but they still had their share of laughs. The proposal was
simply a top-notch television moment that might be the one Modern
Family is remembered for the most. The second half was stronger as a
whole despite it's weaknesses. It might have been sit-commish and
illogical at times but I ended up laughing more.
</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
<b>Other
Notes:</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
Nolan Gould (who plays Luke) looks a lot older since the last season
finale. Rico Rodriquez (who plays Manny) doesn't.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 8;">
The footage at the end of Jay eating all the cookies is comedy gold.</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-80351457377229104672013-10-01T01:35:00.001-04:002013-10-01T01:35:03.496-04:00Modern Family Season Four<div style="text-align: center;">
Modern Family</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Season Four</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(2012-2013)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/09/modern-family.html">Bringing Up Baby</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/modern-family.html">Schooled </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/modern-family.html">Snip</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/modern-family_20.html">The Butler's Escape</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/modern-family_26.html">Open House of Horrors</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/modern-family.html">Yard Sale</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/modern-family.html">Arrested</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/modern-family_18.html">Mistery Date</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/12/modern-family.html">When a Tree Falls</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/12/modern-family-episode-10-diamond-inthe.html">Diamond in the Rough</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/modern-family.html">New Year's Eve</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/modern-family_20.html">Party Crasher</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/modern-family_27.html">Fulgencio</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/modern-family.html">A Slight at the Opera</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/modern-family_16.html">Heart Broken</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/modern-family_24.html">Bad Hair Day (Mini-Review)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/03/modern-family.html">Best Men</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/modern-family.html">The Wow Factor</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/modern-family_8.html">The Future Dunphys</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/modern-family_15.html">Flip Flop</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/modern-family.html">Career Day</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/modern-family_14.html">My Hero</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/modern-family_23.html">Games People Play</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/modern-family_29.html">Goodnight Gracie</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-5880592590987298552013-09-30T23:12:00.001-04:002013-09-30T23:12:40.944-04:00Back in the Game
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 136;">
<b>Back in the Game</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 136;">
<b>Episode 1: Pilot</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 136;">
<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 136;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 136;">
Back in the
Game is a show about a single mother coaching her son's little league
team with her father. I will be covering this show weekly.</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 136;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 136;">
<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 136;">
<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; text-decoration: none; widows: 136;">
Back in the Game can be a bit tough to explain because of it's three
different elements. The first part of the show has to do with the
title: baseball. It's about a tough single mother and her aggressive
father coaching a little league team that frankly has no ability to
really play the game. The second part is the single mother trying to
raise her son. The final element is trying to have a relationship
with a father that struggles to show any kind of emotion outside of
angry. All in all, the show is about all of these things about
equally which is what makes the series difficult to define. On the
one hand, it's a family comedy on two different levels. At the same
time, it's the baseball that brings these two levels together while
providing conflict. This creates a series with an unsound structure.
How many episodes can the writers come up with about a sucky baseball
team? It seems like an idea that's better suited for a movie than a
long-lasting television series. Granted, the premise of the series
will have to be downplayed as the series goes along. I just wonder
how the writers plan to keep everything connected once they can't
rely on the sport to provide the stories on a regular basis. The main
problem with Back in the Game is that it ultimately is about
something that appears to have a short shelf-life. That's a concern
that is for later: the series has to survive these early episodes
first. The long-term problem is something writers can leave for the
future because first they have to know there is one. The good news
for the show is that it's on the Wednesday Night Comedy Block for the
network which will help it attract an audience. On the other hand,
the standards for what it's expected to get is going to be higher.
For this reason, the structural problems of the premise isn't
sufficient for me to really be worried. What I can talk about is the
show in it's current state.</div>
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The pilot for Back in the Game is a bit of a mixed bag. It was very
disjointed. I think the best way to explain this is by the way it
opened. The pilot introduces us to the Cannon family by showing us a
member along with an action that helps define who they are. In many
ways, this technique is like the show showing us it's three different
elements. At the same time, the three elements don't always come
together like they should. It says a lot that we don't really get to
know any member of the baseball team (outside of Danny and Michael)
until a huge montage scene towards the end. That's a huge part of the
show that we have to be introduced to in the last act. Baseball is
present throughout the pilot but the actual team isn't really all
that present. The other two elements are present and they do come
together but there's still a sense that they only fit together
tangentially. It's going to have to be to future episodes to find a
way to have them fit together in one piece. As for the comedy, the
pilot is only moderately funny. There are moments where I laughed a
lot and others where the comedy simply fell flat. This isn;t a
completely bad thing as pilots generally struggle with comedy. Their
not only busy with exposition but a team of comedy writers is usually
better than a single person (or in this case, a comedy pair). There
are things to like but not enough to make me fall in love with Back
in the Game but the potential is there for a good comedy.</div>
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The show has three main characters. The most obvious is Terry Gannon.
Terry is a tough single mother who is trying her best to raise her
kid. She agrees to coach a little league team for all of the kids who
couldn't make it on any other team. She might be tough but she does
have a soft side when it comes to her kid. It's pretty obvious to see
where her father's influence rubbed on her but also where she
rejected it. She's probably the most developed character in the pilot
but she's not a three-dimensional person yet. She needs to be fleshed
out more so that “tough with a soft side” isn't all that there is
to the character. Her father, The Cannon, is basically a really
angry, assertive, angry character. That's all there is to him. While
Maggie Lawson is a winning leading lady, James Caan gets a lot of
mileage from his character. He could be fleshed out more but so far
his stereotype is working. As for the son? He basically takes the
soft side of his mother but none of the toughness. He's trying to
impress a girl in the pilot: this provides the catalyst that leads to
his mom coaching the little league team. He's not athletic at all and
his primary move to throw his opponents off-balance is to kiss them.
As bold as having two pre-teen boys kiss on national broadcast
television was, it would also be nice if there as a little more to
Danny. The three main characters are fine and I like how Terry is
basically the mid-way point between the two but they all need to be
fleshed out more.</div>
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The baseball angle allows the series to have quite an ensemble cast.
The primary antagonist of the show is Dick, whose personality is in
his name. Terry gains a new best friend in Lulu. Lulu is the wealthy,
socialite, shallow idiot of the show. That's not a bad archetype to
have because they can be funny when written well. She has a son,
Michael, who is obviously gay. Add to the cast is Vanessa, the girl
that Danny likes. Vanessa right now is not even a character but
rather a plot device. She's the reason Danny goes out for the
baseball team but she doesn't have much of a personality at this
point. She's currently “dating” David, the school's bully. There
is a small suggestion that David might be gay as Danny thinks he'll
be scared of a kiss. The rest of the ensemble is the actual team:
Michael, a fat kid, two weird fat twins, a kid who likes to play with
fire, and a foreigner who doesn't understand wearing shows is not
optional. There's a lot of stereotypes at play here but that's
largely because the show doesn't have a lot of time to introduce any
of them. That's especially true since we have to meet all of them
within a single act. It's quite a Herculean feat. It makes sense some
characters would stand out more than others but I hope that future
episodes allow us to get to know this team a little better. After
all, the team's existence is ingrained within the show's premise.</div>
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Back in the Game has a slightly complicated premise that will present
problems down the road. Of course, first we have to get on the road.
The pilot is a mixed bag as it felt disjointed and it was only
moderately funny. The three main characters are all solid but they
could be fleshed out a bit more. It was nice to see Terry having
traits from both of them. The rest of the ensemble cast is made up of
stereotypes but that's because of how little time we get to know
them. Overall, it's a show with a lot of potential if given a chance.</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-85847118648582629712013-09-30T21:44:00.000-04:002013-09-30T21:44:00.405-04:00The Middle
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<b>The Middle</b></div>
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<b>Episode 1: The Drop Off</b></div>
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<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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<br />
</div>
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The Middle is
a show about the Heck family, an average family in Indiana, told from
the perspective of the mother.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
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</div>
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The Middle begins it's new season with a momentous moment: Axl
heading off to college. The only person who seems to think this is an
actual important event is Frankie. Axl just wants to get there and be
done with it. He doesn't want to make this a big deal. He's been
looking forward to college parties and independence from his parents
for so long that he can't wait to move into his dorm. He has a vision
of his life where he's going to use an inflatable palm tree and a bag
of sand to turn his room into a tropical oasis. He thinks college is
just going to be a lot of fun but doesn't actually take it very
seriously. The fact that he doesn't spend his money on anything he
actually needs is a sign that he doesn't even realize how significant
moving away from home really is. I have to admit: I kind of
understand how it's like to be Axl. At the same time, my experience
was very different. It might be because I didn't go forty-eight
minutes away from my house but to a completely different part of the
country. I'm from San Antonio, Texas but I go to college in Boston.
It's so far away that I have to take a flight to visit home. My
parents came with me to move me in, help me buy everything I needed,
and helped set up my room. I was very thankful for their help but I
also couldn't wait until I was moved in and free from them. I wasn't
anywhere close to being dismissive of them but I wanted to start my
new life. I understood it would be far from my support structure but
it wasn't until I was on my own that I realized what that truly
meant. I could definably understand, and even relate, to where Axl
was coming from. He was probably a bigger jerk than he needed to be
about it. After all, leaving the nest is an exciting idea. Having to
say goodbye to your child as they leave your home? That's more
terrifying than anything.</div>
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What I love about the premiere is that we spend most of it on the
road. The Heck family goes on so many detours that they turn a
forty-eight minute ride into one that lasts five hours. This allows
the show to give every kid their own story. Axl has his desire for
independence continually being delayed by his family. Sue is trying
to get accepted into a program where she's in charge of sophomore
mentors for freshmen. As for Brick? He's given a cell phone by
Frankie because he's now in middle school. Her justification is that
he's mature enough to have a cell phone but he needs one because he
tends to wander off is hilarious. It's a weird juxtaposition that
comes back to haunt her as Brick continually loses his phone. The
three stories continually prop up throughout the episode in
unexpected ways. Let's take Axl for a minute: the first delay is
brought up on by him. When Frankie learns he didn't buy anything he
was supposed to, she forces the family to go to shopping for what's
recommended by the college. It's a funny moment that perhaps shows
that Axl really isn't ready to be on his own. The next is a huge
twist where Axl finds out that his grandparents had set up a bank
account for him. They had been putting money in there ever since he
was born to give him some spending money. Only Axl isn't going to be
able to use it because his parents kept pilfering it to cover costs.
His reaction is basically what you would expect: he's angry with a
very immature response. The plot gets resolved when he's finally at
his college dorm. He leaves his parents to go to a kegger (of ice
cream) before coming back home. It might have taken them five hours
to get him there but he is only forty-eight minutes away after all.
Which is a perfect way to say that they can always bring him home
when they need to while giving him college sub-plots when they don't.</div>
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The Axl plot is great but so are the two other plots. Sue is really
excited about the possibility of being in charge of the sophomore
mentors. After all, it's the key to becoming secretary or something.
She did well in the interview but the school didn't get her essay.
She had trusted Frankie with faxing her application to the school.
Only she didn't because she basically forgot. The school is willing
to read her essay if she turns it by two o'clock. This leads to a mad
dash where they have to find a faxing machine. Once they find it, Sue
is panicked because the last page of her essay was stained by
Frankie's purse freshener. She tries her best to read it but she
can't remember what she wrote. This involves writing a new version of
the paper within a minute. She sends the essay in right before she
remembers what she wrote. She does end up getting it even though they
didn't read her essay. That's largely because her main competitors
were disqualified for different reasons. The Sue plot was basically
what you would expect: she's trying out for something, takes it like
it's the most serious thing in the world, and her whole family has to
be there for her. The good news is that it's one of the few times
where she actually makes it.
</div>
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The Brick plot was related a bit to the Axl plot. Frankie buys Brick
a cell phone. He's going to be in middle school soon so he should in
theory be responsible enough to have one. Just like Axl isn't really
ready to live on his own, Brick isn't responsible enough to actually
keep track of it. He continually loses it over the course of the
episode. In the end, Mike takes the cell phone back before realizing
it wasn't the one they gave Brick. It's a nice resolution but it also
plays into Frankie trying to deal with her son going to college. She
gives Brick a cell phone as a gift because he's growing up but also
because it's her way of trying to stay in touch with him. Her
children are growing up so the cell phone is an attempt to keep her
close. The climax of the episode comes at the dorm when she finally
loses that Axl is out of her home. She has a huge goodbye prepared
for him that she's forced to give to Axl's oblivious roommate. A
roommate that is so invested in playing video games that he not once
acknowledges that they even exist. All in all, Brick's plot therefore
ties into Axl leaving in multiple ways: whether they're ready as they
grow up and Frankie trying her best to remain relevant in her
children's lives.</div>
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The Middle has a pretty excellent season premiere. The whole idea of
putting the whole family together to take Axl to college was a genius
way to create comedy and conflict. Axl's desire to just get there and
his discover of his non-existent bank account were great. The Sue
plot was a bit typical but the happy ending was worth it. The Brick
plot maybe went a little over-the-top sometimes but I never stopped
laughing. Overall, the closing speech by Frankie showed the heart the
episode maintained. The Middle has opened the new season with a great
opening that promises the show is nowhere close to winding down.</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-52643975250690752872013-09-29T12:30:00.000-04:002013-09-29T12:30:09.719-04:00The Middle Season Four<div style="text-align: center;">
The Middle</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Season 4</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(2012-2013)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/09/the-middle.html">Last Whiff of Summer (Part One)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/09/the-middle.html">Last Whiff of Summer (Part Two)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/the-middle.html">The Second Act</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/the-middle_12.html">Bunny Therapy</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/the-middle_20.html">The Hose</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/the-middle_27.html">Halloween III: The Driving</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/the-middle.html">The Safe</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/the-middle_18.html">Thanksgiving IV</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/12/the-middle.html">Christmas Help</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/12/the-middle_16.html">Twenty Years</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/the-middle.html">Life Skills</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/the-middle_20.html">One Kid at a Time</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/the-middle_27.html">The Friend</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/the-middle.html">The Smile</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/the-middle_17.html">Valentine's Day IV</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/the-middle_24.html">Winners and Losers</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/03/the-middle.html">Wheel of Pain</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/the-middle.html">The Name</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/the-middle_9.html">The Bachelor</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/the-middle_16.html">Dollar Days</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/the-middle.html">From Orson with Love</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/the-middle_15.html">Hallelujah Hoedown</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/the-middle_23.html">The Ditch</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/the-middle_30.html">The Graduation</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-79408568072002877402013-09-29T02:04:00.002-04:002013-09-29T02:04:10.796-04:00New Girl
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<b>New Girl </b>
</div>
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<b>Episode 2: Nerd</b></div>
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<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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New Girl is a show about four best friends who live together.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
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<br />
</div>
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I'd like to
begin this review by talking about a sense of dread I felt halfway
through the episode. It's odd. I went from completely laughing out
loud to realizing that shit this wasn't going to end well for
Schmidt. It's a sense that remained throughout and even beyond the
episode. I didn't stop laughing: there was no way to stop as just
about every single joke landed. I enjoyed the whole episode but there
was a small part of me that was worried. It's a good feeling to have:
it means I'm so invested in the happiness of these characters that I
don't like it when it's threatened. I don't want Smitty to lose Cece
or Elizabeth. His whole charade of failing to actually pick one is
going to come back to haunt him when they both find out. There's no
way that Elizabeth is going to accept this and I sincerely doubt Cece
will either. The two of them will break up with him. You know, I'd
prefer he be with Cece at this point but I'd be perfectly happy if he
chose Elizabeth. I just want Schmidt to be happy and he's currently
on a path that's going to devastate him. It's not like he's happy
right now. He might have modeled his office after Don Draper's but
it's not big enough to actually be a replica. In other words, he
can't actually be Don Draper. He can't have two women in his life. He
might have been able to avoid telling the truth this week but his
streak can't last. So overall, there's a surprising amount of tension
in this storyline that I didn't really see last week. 'Cause, hell,
this is going to end badly for Schmidt and I'm dreading when that
happens.</div>
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The
funniest plot of the night had to do with a cat. Winston has agreed
to help take care of Daisy's cat which implies that their
relationship should be more serious than casual. He asks her to be
exclusive but is bothered because there just happened to be a guy
taking a shower in her bathroom at the same time. While he worries
that Daisy is not willing to commit to his relationship, he takes out
his frustration on the cat. He actually tries to kill the cat. Now,
animal cruely is no joke. It is not funny to kill animals. In fact,
killing the cat would not only be crossing a line between what's
funny and what goes too far but it would render Winston unlikeable
for the rest of time. There's no way anybody would ever root for him
after he purposefully killed an animal. So why was this so funny?
Because we knew that New Girl wouldn't actually go through with it.
The cat was going to be alive by the end of the episode. So we could
laugh because we knew that the cat's life wasn't actually in danger.
Winston did indeed come to his senses. He realizes his issue is with
the cat's owner so he breaks up with her when she admits she slept
with the guy even after they became exclusive. Only he decides to
keep the cat. I have no idea whether there's actually going to be a
cat in the apartment or not but I hope there is: I can't get enough
of the cats really liking Schmidt's nipples. It is simply such an
absurd oddity that gets me every time.</div>
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The actual
main plot of the episode went with Nick and Jess. We don't actually
get an episode where the two are doing couple stuff. The writers
decided that instead their going to show how Nick could potentially
lead Jess down the wrong path. Jess is happy at her new job except
for one thing: the mean clique of teachers don't like her. For some
odd reason, she wants their approval. It might be because she was the
nerd in high school. This is when Nick decides to solve this problem
for her. He's able to win over the mean teachers by offering them
free alcohol at his bar. When he realizes that Jess' instincts won't
win them over, he encourages her to drink to be cool. To go against
her instincts of what she should do. Only Jess takes this too far
when she agrees to break into her principal's backyard to mess with
his hot tub. Nick is forced to try to stop her: one of the best
moments in the episode is when he has to try to stop Jess from
committing a felony and when he has to try to stop Winston from
killing the cat. Anyways, the plot ends with Jess realizing that
gaining the approval of the mean teachers isn't worth losing herself.
Nick realizes that he has to be careful because he could accidentally
turn Jess into himself.
</div>
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Nerd is a
pretty hilarious episode of New Girl filled with many amazing
moments: the elevator scene where the guys discuss their problems
without pressing the button, the cats loving Schmidt's nipples, and
Nick having to deal with two extreme situations at the same time. All
three plots were done very well. The Schmidt plot was him attempting
to juggle two girls at the same time was funny but it came with a
healthy sense of dread. The cat plot was simply inspired and freed
Winston up for a new love interest. Jess' plot with the mean girl
teacher was funny but relevant because Nick could be a bad influence
on her.
</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-58741847486862726182013-09-29T01:01:00.002-04:002013-09-29T01:01:45.965-04:00Person of Interest
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<b>Person of Interest </b>
</div>
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<b>Episode 1: Liberty</b></div>
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<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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<br />
</div>
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Person of
Interest is a show about a team of vigilantes who try to stop planned
violent crimes before they happen.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<u>Spoiler
Ahoy!</u></div>
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<br />
</div>
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I think the season premiere of Liberty was interesting. I'm not
necessarily talking about the content but the route the writers chose
to take. The second season had ended with a lot of narrative momentum
as the finale was a culmination to where the second half was going.
This season premiere doesn't pick up on a cliff-hanger. It's not
mythology heavy at all. What we instead get is an episode that could
have easily fit anywhere else during the season. There is a normal
weekly number that they have to save and the serialized element is
kept to just a few scenes. This does not feel like a season premiere.
So why pick a rather normal episode to begin the season with? Did the
writers just get lazy? No, I don't think so. I think they went with a
normal episode because they wanted to show the new status quo of
Person of Interest. Things have changed. I don't just mean
narrative-wise. The machine may be free now but the way it interacts
with Reese and Finch remains the same. They're still getting the
numbers, their still trying to stop crimes before they happen, and
their dynamic remains largely the same. What I'm talking about is the
promotion of some of the cast members into regular roles. Sarah Sahi
(who plays Shaw) and Amy Acker (who plays Root) are now members of
the main cast. This premiere was about showing how Person of Interest
was going to work with them appearing on a regular basis. It's also
about showing us what's happened to Carter and her new goal for the
season. Fusco largely stayed where he was although that's liable to
change. The point of this premiere was basically to situate the
viewer in the new reality.</div>
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The first change is Shaw joins the team when they need her. She's
like a more trigger-happy Reese. She's more willing to actually kill
people and likes her weapons. She has great chemistry with Reese and
Finch and doesn't mess up the dynamic between the two. If anything,
she's able to actually add to it. As for the second change, Root is
basically separated from the action so far. She's stuck in a mental
asylum where she's trying to sort out the methodology of her actions.
She's stuck in an argument with the machine over whether she should
kill her therapist or not. I imagine she wants to while the machine
is content to let the man live. After all, this is a machine who
clearly values life enough to help the government fight terrorism and
our vigilantes save people. It fits Root's character to want to kill
someone she sees as an obstacle. Now obviously I'm okay with Root
being in the show but I hope the writers are able to integrate her
more into the action rather than keeping her separate from it. She's
a great character but it's always how she interacts with our main
characters that makes her memorable. The final change has to do with
Carter. She's keeping Elias hidden and she's been demoted to being a
street cop. Fusco is left all alone as a detective. Still, she's
investigating HR with the intention of finally bringing them down for
good. All of these changes have been good but as I said: I'm hoping
Root fits into the series better as the season goes along.</div>
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</div>
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So what was the premiere about? The number that comes up belongs to a
sailor who accidentally got caught up in a diamond struggling ring by
a Marine Special Forces Unit. The sailor gets in trouble because of
his friend. His friend stole some cuban cigars that just happened to
have some of the diamonds inside of them. The Marine Special Forces
noticed they were missing and they are willing to do anything to get
them back. Since our sailor has some of these cuban cigars, the
marine special forces basically strap the friend into a bomb in an
attempt to trap Reese in a room. By the end, the marine special
forces go down, Elias' man gets most of the diamond, and the sailor
decides to continue his military career. Reese advises him to turn
down the offer from the CIA. The friend also gets in trouble for his
theft of the cuban cigars. Overall, it was a pretty typical and even
forgettable plot. You can't expect every single procedural episode to
have a memorable weekly case but it's disappointing that Person of
Interest began a season with such a forgettable one. Here's hoping
that the one next week is better.</div>
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</div>
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Overall, there really isn't that much to say about the premiere of
Person of Interest. There was a sub-standard weekly case that was
utilized to show the new status quo. There is nothing wrong with this
and it did start to slowly build the narrative momentum. Carter
revealing her board of HR members and Root admitting she's debating
killing her therapist to his face were strong enough to make me
excited to watch the next episode. Overall, it might not have been a
big bang but it was still a solid way for the season to start.</div>
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Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-70934621574796506362013-09-28T23:39:00.001-04:002013-09-28T23:39:03.777-04:00Person of Interest Season Two<div style="text-align: center;">
Person of Interest</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Season Two</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(2012-2013)</div>
<br />
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/09/person-of-interest.html">The Contigency</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/person-of-interest.html">Bad Code</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/person-of-interest_21.html">Masquerade</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/person-of-interest_28.html">Triggerman (Mini-Review)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/person-of-interest.html">Bury the Lede</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/person-of-interest.html">The High Road</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/person-of-interest_19.html">Critical</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/12/person-of-interest.html">Til Death </a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/12/person-of-interest_13.html">C.O.D. (Mini-Review)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/12/person-of-interest_18.html">Shadow Box</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/person-of-interest.html">2πR</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/person-of-interest_15.html">Prisoner's Dilemma</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/person-of-interest.html">Dead Reckoning</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/person-of-interest_11.html">One Percent</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/person-of-interest_18.html">Booked Solid (Mini-Review)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/person-of-interest_26.html">Relevance</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/03/person-of-interest.html">Proteus</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/03/person-of-interest.html">All-In</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/person-of-interest.html">Trojan Horse</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/person-of-interest.html">In Extremis</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/person-of-interest_9.html">Zero Day</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/person-of-interest_16.html">God Mode</a></li>
</ol>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-25823877542567325282013-09-28T23:28:00.001-04:002013-09-28T23:28:24.753-04:00Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
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<b>Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.</b></div>
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<b>Episode 1: Pilot</b></div>
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<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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Marvel's
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. is a show about a special team of humans
having to deal with the superhuman. I will be covering this show
weekly.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
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<br />
</div>
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The Marvel Cinematic Universe is currently the hot Hollywood
franchise. It's currently very popular and it has no sign of slowing
down. The high-budget superhero movies have taken the very smart
approach of being interconnected so that they take place in the same
continuity. This means that people who watch every movie will be
rewarded and to put all of the characters into the same movie. The
Avengers is the culmination of the first phase of the franchise. It
is the third-highest grossing film of all time. In many ways, the
franchise is like a mini-series. Every installment follows a
different character, building the universe, before it builds into a
climax that involves all of them. The franchise has made billions for
the Disney empire. It makes perfect sense that the people at Marvel
would dream about a television series that ties into the movie
franchise. There's a lot of money to be made in television and having
people invested into a weekly series might tie into even more ticket
sales at the box office. It's not just on the business end as a
weekly series allows the creative types to explore the Marvel
universe. They won't just explore the universe from the superpower
perspective but from those who have to deal with them. The lower
budget of a television series might be a limitation to how much they
can show on a weekly basis but it's also a perfect excuse to tell
smaller stories. Sure, we might not be following Iron Man on a weekly
basis but we do get to follow the agents who investigate him. That
might not be as exciting but it fits television a lot better. If
anything, this is the X-files of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Anyways, this is the highest drama premiere for ABC in a few years.
It premiered as a big hit. The question is will it keep it's ratings?</div>
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The thing about this show is that a lot of people had a lot of
expectations. Many people seemed to be disappointed in SHIELD. They
were expecting something more but all they got was another television
series. Was I disappointed? My theory is that if I expect something
to be amazing then I will rarely be satisfied. I try to go in with no
preconceived expectations of the quality going in. When I saw the
trailer, I saw what this show was going for. There will definably be
a serialized element to the show but we'll be covering weekly cases.
That's fine for me because television does that really well. What's
fascinating is that this is actually following the film formula
pretty well. Think about it: every film installment follows a single
character. It's like every episode of SHIELD is like a singular film
but with a single constant: the organization and it's agents.
Basically, my point is that I'm not disappointed. This is basically
what I was expecting: a normal television series that just happens to
be set in the Marvel universe. I don't really see anything wrong with
that. The question is now that people seemed to have realized this,
will the ratings hold up? I hope they do because the version of
SHIELD we did get is a lot of fun. It's about as meaningful as the
Marvel films, which is to say they really aren't, but the focus on
characters is there. So the plot of the pilot isn't very complicated.
A guy gains superpowers via some weird technology, he changes, and
he's threatening to explode unless he can be saved by the team. The
pilot only has to show HOW the series is going to work every week.
It'll have to be up to future episodes to truly run with it and
create memorable plots. Am I excited? Absolutely. SHIELD might not
necessarily be great right now but then again not a single Whedon
show has had a great pilot. Buffy the Vampire Slayers had a pretty
terrible first season. Dollhouse didn't really get amazing until
later in it's run. Firefly's pilot was better but still had several
weaknesses. In other words, this is about on par with Whedon shows.
This is exactly the kind of pilot, as well as the level of quality,
that people should have been expecting if they had been realistic.</div>
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The real strength of any television show is going to lie in it's
characters and their relationships. The team dynamic is what makes
any show that depends on weekly cases to survive. SHIELD is setting
up all three of them in the pilot but it hasn't nailed them yet. It's
going to have to depend on the next few episodes to flesh out the
characters, their relationships, and how they work together. The
person who brings the team together is Phil Caulson. Just about
everybody who saw The Avengers (which is pretty much everybody) knows
that he died in that movie. His sacrifice allowed the team to unite
and defeat the alien invasion. This is a show set in that universe
and it's not a prequel. How is he alive? That's one of the big
questions that the pilot doesn't really answer. It's flimsy excuse is
basically revealed as a lie right after it's told. Caulson is
basically the same as his movie character so he's obviously more
developed than the rest for this reason. It's interesting to see what
has largely been a side character in the films take the lead in his
own series. He might be popular but that doesn't mean he's a strong
enough character to carry a show. It's tough to see how well he'll be
able to handle it based on the pilot alone but there's a lot of
potential. Whatever the case, I'm intrigued to see where the show is
planning take him.</div>
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The rest of the characters need to be better developed but they each
have a role on the team. Melinda May is is a legendary agent who has
a very bad/good reputation. It seems like she was a great warrior
until something happened that causes concern for her being on the
field. She's hired as the pilot but it's easy to see how she might be
tempted to get in the action. Grant Ward is an agent who is basically
the field agent who generally works alone. He's not happy about being
a member of a team. Leo Fitz is an agent who makes cool weapons for
Grant to use. Jemma is an agent who basically acts as their medical
examiner. The final member of the team joins at the end of the pilot.
Sky is a hacker who is obsessed with superheroes. She's clearly going
to be the person who deals with technological obstacles. It's smart
to give every member of the team a specific role because it gives
everyone something to do. For the most part, there is very little
dynamic. The only two characters who have any are Fitz and Simmons.
The rest are just starting to work together. The actual team might
need more development and to develop a dynamic but I'm intrigued
enough to keep checking things out. After all, Whedon shows are great
once the characters and relationships have been developed beyond
their basic introductions. I have no doubt this will be repeated.</div>
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</div>
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Agents of SHIELD is the most hyped new show of the season. It doesn't
come as a surprise it opened big. There might have been some
disappointment by some viewers but I think SHIELD was still off to a
great start. The show has the following to work on: fleshing out
characters, developing their relationships, and figuring out a team
dynamic. I have no doubt that this will happen as the series
develops.
</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-2742274423677011622013-09-28T21:26:00.001-04:002013-09-28T21:26:16.818-04:00Lucky 7
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<b>Lucky 7</b></div>
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<b>Episode 1: Pilot</b></div>
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<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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<br />
</div>
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Lucky 7 is
a show about a group of gas station workers who win the lottery.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
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</div>
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I think that the lottery is the biggest waste of money of all time.
It might only cost a couple of bucks per ticket but it adds up over
time. One could theoretically spend hundreds of dollars over the
course of a few years on tickets and never win. Money that you could
save up in order to buy a toaster or a television. At the same time,
the hope of being a lucky winner is what strives people to buy these
tickets. It offers them a way out of poverty. An escape from their
life of having to work from eight-to-five every day in order to make
end's meet. Lucky 7 is a show about what happens when regular people
who participate in a lottery pool get the winning numbers. The
interesting part about this premise is that there are two ways for
the viewers to take this show. The first is escapism. They can
pretend that they are like these characters, that they won the
lottery. The second is that they can see the show as an insult. One
where they've never won the lottery but these characters managed to
do it. It's mocking them for their misfortune. In this economic times
where people have trouble even finding jobs, a show about winning the
lottery can either be timely or disconnected. I can't say for sure
which one a viewer might take. It wouldn't surprise me if the reason
that Lucky 7 might be a hit is because of the escapist element. Who
wouldn't want to win the lottery? On the other hand, if the show
doesn't make it, it might be because the audience would have resented
that these characters won the lottery while their struggling
financially. I certainly would like to see how the audience reacts to
this program. As to my own reaction, I didn't like Lukcy 7. The
characters were all weak, the narratives weren't compelling, and I
was relatively bored. As it turns out, making a show about regular
people winning the lottery means that it's exploring typical
problems. Typical problems might work in comedies but it's difficult
to make them work in a drama.</div>
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The narrative in Lucky 7 never really picks up. There is an attempt
to pump adrenaline in the beginning to get people excited but it
lacks the proper execution. It felt like a forced, stilted,
halfhearted attempt. The rest of the pilot is relatively uninterested
as it doesn't really contain any compelling material. There are the
expected plots of a couple of characters who are forced to commit a
crime because they need the money for their families. An overweight
girl is trying to go on a diet while dealing with the possibility
that her husband is cheating on her. The show attempts to add a layer
to her plot by revealing that her girl has suffered problems since
her miscarriage. Which is tragic but doesn't really make her more
interesting. There is a girl who probably stole her identity or
something seeing as how she's confirmed about proving she's who she
is to the lottery board. She also wants to be able to buy her
daughter what she wants. The guy who stopped buying into the lottery
pool in order to save up the money. The girl whose parents want her
to marry a doctor. There isn't a single plot in there that piques up
my interest. I'm not really given a reason on why I should keep
watching Lucky 7 because I don't care about any of these characters.
This is a huge issue with Lucky 7. I guess it's nice we get to see
their lives before the lottery win but it would have been nice if
that was contained within the first two acts. It might be different
if we actually got to see how the lottery affected their lives during
the pilot rather than merely hinting at the possibilities.
</div>
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</div>
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I don't really care about any of these characters. It's an ensemble
drama but the closest this show has to a protagonist is Matt Korzak.
Matt is pretty dull and bland. He has the same worries as many
people: he's trying to keep his girl together while trying to provide
for his family. He's an everyman whose forced into pulling an inside
theft job due to his money issues. He's not particularly interesting.
There's a part of the show where the writers tease us with the
possibility he might not get the winnings since he technically didn't
pay in. It came down to an election where we don't know who voted for
him or not. I imagine this is to create relationship drama later on
but it's one of the many instances where the show tried to force
tension. Was there any doubt he wouldn't get his winnings? He's the
closest thing we have to a main character. It's just like the scene
where the lottery numbers were announced. We already knew they were
going to win so dragging it out just seemed unnecessary. His
half-brother, Nicky Korzak, is an ex-convict who claims to be
reformed. His first solution at hearing about Matt's problems and his
own impending debt? To commit a crime. Yeah, he's definably not
reformed. It's hard for me to really relate to him. The two brothers
take up a huge chunk of the time because of their involvement in a
crime. I guess this makes sense. What's worse is that Matt's
girlfriend is so annoying and such a complainer that I'm actually
repulsed by her. I wonder why he would want to be dating to someone
who uses sex to manipulate him.
</div>
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</div>
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It's too bad none of the other characters are any better. Denise
Dibinsky is an overweight woman who realizes her husband is cheating
on her. She suffered a miscarriage in the past which has caused her
marriage problems. She's suffering serious issues but I didn't really
care because she never won me over. The series assumes that simply
presenting her is enough to make me care about her. Leanne Maxwell is
a single mother who is going to have issues proving who she is.
That's basically her whole personality right there. Samira Lashari is
resisting her parent's pressure to marry a doctor. That is until she
meets him where she presumably hits it off with him. Once again, I
have no reason to really care about her. The final lottery winner is
Bob Harris. His whole character is presented as the nicest man in the
world. Nice is a good attribute for anybody to have but it doesn't
necessarily make that person interesting nor does it really create a
lot of opportunities of conflict for that character. There is one
worker who doesn't win the lottery, Antonio. Antonio is a romantic
who misses out winning because he never thought it would actually
happen. He's been able to save $700 instead of putting money into the
lottery pool. It's good that the series is keeping one of them poor
to not only compare how his life has stayed the same with those who
won the lottery but also to create conflict. His wife is a bit
disappointed in him so this will strain his relationship.</div>
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Lucky 7 presents a pilot that is deeply flawed. The premise is okay
but the issue is with everything else. The characters are largely
dull, boring, and we have no reason to actually care about them. The
plots aren't compelling nor are they interesting. A mixture of weak
characters and weak plots create a show that creates no incentive to
watch a second episode. Ultimately, Lucky 7 isn't a very good drama
despite it's strong cast.</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-3920539826922216212013-09-28T20:25:00.001-04:002013-09-28T20:25:25.299-04:00The Goldbergs
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<b>The Goldbergs</b></div>
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<b>Episode 1: The Circle of
Driving</b></div>
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<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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</div>
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The
Goldbergs is a comedy about a family in the eighties. I will be
reviewing this show weekly.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
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</div>
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I'm going to be honest and state that I'm rooting for the Goldbergs.
It's a project that was of interest to me ever since the pilot stage
since I'm interested in the idea of having a new, modern version of
The Wonder Years. Of course, there's a difference between wanting a
project to be good and that project actually be going. The Goldbergs
pilot is very rough as there are at least four major problems that
are holding it back-some of them might very well be the reason the
show doesn't make it past it's first seasons. The first problem is
that The Goldbergs is actually kind of annoying. Now the whole idea
of the show is that it's autobiographical. This is based on a family
that actually existed, said the things, and lived through these
situations. This is supposed to add a level of authenticity to the
comedy. It makes sense somebody would look at their past and create a
sit-com out of it. I know of many times where I think my life would
make a perfect comedy. The Goldbergs is slightly held back by it's
real life inspiration. I don't know about you but I don't like it
when a loud family is screaming near me. It's frankly annoying. Now,
it makes sense that a member of the family might find the yelling to
be entertaining. They are after all a part of the family dynamic
rather than an outsider. The Goldbergs invites us into the family but
we are just spectators to a household we're just getting to know. The
yelling on the Goldberg is annoying for that reason. We're not a part
of it, we don't know them well enough, so it's more like a strange
family that is yelling at the top of their tongues right next to you.
Now this annoying feature will likely be less of a problem as the
producers find a way to tone it down and we get invested in the
family. Of course, the issue is that this is going to make it
difficult to get to know them. It's already hard enough getting
anyone to watch a new show. Having that new show put up such an
obstacle into getting that person invested? I wouldn't be surprised
if all the yelling that adds authenticity is the very same element
that makes it hard for viewers to stick around The Goldbergs. If
that's the case, it might kill it.</div>
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The Goldberg has a major problem when it comes to the time period.
I've read multiple reviews and they seem to suggest that the
producers are approaching the eighties as a secondary feature of the
show. In other series, the time period is a character in-and-of
itself. It becomes a reason to watch the show because it adds
cultural value, it plays into a viewer's nostalgia, and it adds a
layer of realism. Mad Men is partly an iconic show because of it's
managed to capture the sixties time period. The Wonder Years was
fantastic partly because it explored how the time period affected the
experiences of a young Kevin Arnold. The Americans blew me away
partially because it explored the Cold War through a unique
perspective. The eighties remained crucial for that show to work. I
could name other projects where the time period helped to define the
show. The people working on the Goldbergs have claimed that this is a
family comedy that just happens to be set in the eighties. There's
some pop culture references to the time period but the decade is
never allowed to become an actual character. We're not being
transported back to the eighties. The only reason we would know it's
set in the eighties is the style, the references, and the fact that
it tells us. It's all very artificial. If that's the case, why not
just move the family into the modern age? The situations, the
characters, the dialogue would still work. The pop culture references
would have to be updated but that's an artificial change. The
Goldbergs' refusal to actually be a time period piece despite being
set in the eighties hurts the show. It hurts the show because it
makes the eighties hook unjustifiable. It hurts it because we don't
see how the eighties affected the family. If the Goldbergs wants to
become great then it needs to embrace it's historical setting. It
needs to make the eighties a character.</div>
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The third problem of the Goldbergs is a truly mystifying one. Just
think about who the main character of this show is. Everything points
to the little kid: he's recording everything, he's the young version
of the creator, and he provides the narration. This is a show coming
from his point of view. There's a small sub-plot where he tries to
get a waitress to remember his name. Basically all we know about him
is he likes to record his family and his hormones have made him a
pervert. This leaves what is arguably the main character of the
Goldbergs to be very undeveloped. Why? The pilot barely spent any
time with him. It focused on the other members of the family. The
main character is therefore sidelined on his own show in the pilot.
That is mystifying. I could see why they might have gone with Barry's
plot (it's relatable and easy to tell) but it also meant we can't get
to know Adam. Which is odd because this might be a show about his
family but he's the one telling us. The show's refusal to put Adam
front-and-center is even more nonsensical about it's refusal to make
the time period integral into the show's structure. These two
decisions are conscious ones that ultimately stop the Goldbergs from
really being able to work.</div>
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The final problem with the Goldbergs is that it feels like a typical
family. We've seen this family on television before. Okay, there
might be a level of authenticity because it's based on a real family.
When I was reading through comments after watching the show, people
who didn't stick through the abrasive yelling complained that the
show simply wasn't original. It's easy to get that perspective. I
mean, it's a harsh indictment to see a show about a real family and
then claim that wasn't original. It's basically to reject that
family's uniqueness. So I don't want to say that the Goldbergs isn't
an original show. At the same time, I can't tell you to expect
something new. Granted, that's partially because the Goldbergs
refused to make the time period an integral part of the show. If it
had explored how the eighties influenced their family dynamic then
maybe the show wouldn't seem so typical. Ultimately that's the
problem with the Goldbergs: it's an adaption of the creator's
childhood but he doesn't actually have anything to say about it. He
fell into the trap of thinking his family is so funny and assumed
that was enough. It never is. If he was using this show as a way to
actually explore his family dynamics, the ways it was shaped, and to
get to a deeper understanding of why he grew up that way then I think
this show wouldn't feel like “been-there-done-that”.</div>
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The Goldbergs suffers a lot of problems. There's the yelling which
becomes abrasive, it's refusal to make it's time period a true part
of the show, it's inability to concentrate on it's main protagonist,
and how typical it all feels. The first one will drive away viewers
before they come invested into the family, the second one removes a
huge value to the show, the third leaves it's narrator ultimately
undeveloped, and it's last one gives people no reason to watch. Now,
I'm rooting that the show is able to solve it's issues and become
worth watching. I'm hoping that The Goldbergs either proves me wrong
or it's able to fix it's issues. Whatever the case, I'm willing to
give this show a shot on my review roster and on my viewing schedule.
Because I really want this show to succeed.
</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-90372565314468954252013-09-28T17:24:00.001-04:002013-09-28T17:24:59.779-04:00Trophy Wife
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<b>Trophy Wife</b></div>
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<b>Episode 1: Pilot</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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<br />
</div>
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Trophy Wife
is a show about a reformed party girl who marries an older man with
two ex-wives and three kids.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
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<br />
</div>
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What's the most important attribute for a comedy? If it's funny. The
only question a comedy has to really answer: will it make me laugh?
Don't get me wrong: a great comedy will be funny and have great
characters, strong plots, interesting themes, and other elements.
It's just that those other attributes don't really matter unless the
show is able to make people laugh. The pilot for Trophy Wife is so
busy setting up it's premise, the characters, and their relationships
that it largely forgets to make me laugh. Oh, there were moments: the
sassy Asian kid in the car, the hamster sub-plot, and the closing tag
all made me laugh. The rest of the pilot? It was so busy having to
establish everything that there was very little room for the comedy
to actually breathe. There was simply a lot going on that a lot of
the jokes got lost. The ones that didn't largely fell flat. In other
words, Trophy Wife suffers a lot of problems that comedy pilots
suffer: trying to maintain a balance between being funny and
introducing the viewer into the world. The pilot for Trophy Wife
isn't very funny but there is a lot of hope that future episodes will
be able to fix this. The closing tag perhaps show what the series is
capable of when it doesn't have to deal with exposition: forcing
Jackie to find a hide-away key was simply a comedic stroke of genius.
So there is every reason to believe that Trophy Wife will figure out
the comedy part as it goes through it's growing pains. So, the answer
is that Trophy Wife isn't funny....yet. So what about everything
else? Trophy Wife sets up an interesting dynamic that should lead to
a strong series. In fact, it's a bit surprising that Trophy Wife
isn't on the Wednesday Night Comedy Block considering how it's the
most likely to succeed of the ABC new comedies. The Goldbergs has
it's own set of issues that could potentially hold it back while Back
in the Game's premise is a tougher sell. Trophy Wife, on the other
hand, has an easy premise and it's issues are less likely to hold it
back. Please note that most likely to succeed is a guessing game at
best: Trophy Wife might end up failing partially because it's growing
period is going to be rough. There is no doubt in my mind this show
is going to take a while to figure things out and that might cost it
the early ratings it needs to survive.
</div>
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What I think is the most interesting part about Trophy Wife is the
dynamic of the wives. Malin Akerman plays Kate. Kate is a reformed
party girl who wants to establish her place within the family beyond
being just a trophy wife. She's in love with Pete, wants to help
raise the kids, and seeks to be accepted into the family. She's met
by three opposing factors: Dr. Diane Buckley, Jackie, and the kids
themselves. The kids basically resist her and the two opposing
personalities of the two ex-wives clash with each other and with
Kate. Dr. Diane is a no-nonsense woman who is very critical of
failure. Jackie is a new-age person who is more about the emotional
approach. The two are opposites which by itself creates a classic
dynamic structure: two opposites trying to guide Pete into their
path. When you add Kate, the dynamic becomes more compelling and
interesting. Suddenly you have a new force who wants to be important
but who clashes with both of them. Kate can't possible live up to Dr.
Diane's insane standards but she's more grounded than Jackie. The
realm of conflict is strong. As for the kids? They all present their
own challenges that undermine her. It is this dynamic that helps set
Trophy Wife apart from the other family comedies out there. It is
indeed what might drive it to be the strongest of the new ABC
comedies this fall. Of course, setting up the dynamic is partially
why the pilot isn't that funny. The next few episodes will have to
find ways to get the most out of the dynamic. Once the show has it
figured out, it should in theory be a laugh riot. So the core
conflict creator within Trophy Wife is strong.</div>
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Trophy Wife is an ensemble comedy built around Malin Akerman. Kate
Harrison is a protagonist that should be relatable due to her desire
to fit in and prove herself. The last two points are something that
anybody could not only understand but root for. She might have to
earn her place in the family but there are remnants of who she used
to be due to her best friend. This creates a more complex character
than if she had completely given up her life to be a mother. One of
the things the pilot gets right is that it builds everyone's place in
the show around her rather than just placing them into the universe
with little regard. For instance, she's married to Pete. Bradley
Whiford is a great actor and he makes Pete work. Pete is basically a
smart husband who likes to have fun. In many ways you can define his
character by who he married. His first ex-wife represents his
intelligence, his second his emotional side, and his third is sort-of
a combination between the two. His first ex-wife, Diane Buckley, is
played wonderfully by Marcia Gay Harden. Buckley might have a soft
side but she likes to present a tough exterior. Michaela Watkins
plays the other ex-wife, Jackie Fisher. The two-wives might be
connected to Kate through Pete but it's their dynamic with the
protagonist that really helps establish their actual role in the
universe. The two are going to butt heads with each other and with
Kate. The final adult character is Kate's best friend and support
system away from the family, Meg Gomez. It's nice to see Natalie
Morales on a series regular role as she's a good actress. Meg is the
typical best friend who helps keep Kate attached to her old life.</div>
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All of the kids are also forming the basis of their relationship with
Kate. Hillary Harrison (played by Once Upon a Time's brilliant Bailee
Madison) is the typical teenager. She's not interested in being
friends with Kate at first but she does take a story from Kate as
inspiration to smuggle vodka through water bottles. Her
non-interested nature is a great way to establish conflict with Kate.
Her brother, Warren, is a childish dork who is now getting
interesting in dating girls. This combination should lead to some
good comedy but it presents room for misunderstanding between Kate
and him. The final character, Bert, is an adopted Asian kid with a
lot of sass. Overall, the kids are all forming their own unique
relationships with Kate. They all therefore form a dynamic not only
amongst themselves, their biological parents, but with the
protagonist as well. Now, granted, they still need to be developed
more but this is only the pilot.</div>
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Overall, Trophy Wife is a show that has a very strong dynamic. The
two ex-wives and the three kids promise to create a lot of conflict
that should be ripe for comedy. The characters and premise are
strong. At the same time, Trophy Wife is still going to be undergoing
some growing pains as the writers figure out how to make the dynamic
work. At this point, I can't recommend Trophy Wife because it's
simply not funny enough. At the same time, I won't dissuade anyone
from checking it out because it has the potential to become a
consistently funny show.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<b>Conclusion:</b></div>
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<br />
</div>
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The voice-over narration is unnecessary and annoying.</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-31808347827377561322013-09-28T16:35:00.001-04:002013-09-28T16:35:26.109-04:00Hostages
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>Hostages</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>Episode 1: Pilot</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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<br />
</div>
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Hostages is a
television show about a doctor's family who is taken hostage when she
has to operate on the President. I will be reviewing this show
weekly.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
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<br />
</div>
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The idea behind Hostages is a complicated one. I'm not talking about
a viewer understanding the premise of the show. It might be a little
tough to actually explain to someone in a couple sentences what the
show is about but it's not beyond comprehension. No, I'm talking
about how long the premise can actually drive the narrative before it
becomes ridiculous, idiotic, and/or stale. There's only so long that
a family can be held hostage before the writers run out of ideas to
actually make it work and believable. This presents Hostages with a
weird conundrum going forward: how will the series work in the
long-term? The behind-the-scenes interviews and article pieces hint
that this first season will be completely resolved by the end. It
will largely be self-contained and act as a mini-series. The second
season will hit the reset button. It'll have a completely new
narrative with the same characters. This hopefully suggests that the
title “Hostages” becomes more metaphoric than literal since I
don't think viewers are really going to appreciate the same family
being taken hostage more than once. So we can take it that the
mythical second season will actually have a different premise that
somehow builds on the original. Okay, so the long-term survivability
of the premise being able to drive the narrative is kind-of solved.
You still get into the point that this first season is going to have
fifteen episodes. A whole season that takes place over the course of
two weeks isn't impossible to do but I'm currently doubtful if
Hostages, in particular, can pull it off. Let's assume they do have a
plan: this still means they have to come up with what every episode
is going to be about. Fifteen episodes is a pretty big order and I
wouldn't be surprised if it stretches the premise to it's limits.
This worry about how the series will work as it goes along is a
strong one but it shouldn't be enough to not check the pilot out.
After all, first the series has to survive before we have to worry
about the how. First we have to deal with the immediate problems.</div>
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The pilot has a lot of problems going forward. The reason that I
doubt that Hostages can actually carry out the first season over two
weeks is a matter of tension. Tension is integral to any series but
it's the lifeblood to a series like Hostages. You need to feel like
you have been taken hostage with the family. There needs to be a
level of uncertainty that make you hold your breath. For all the flak
that Homeland has gotten, it's tense episodes are unlike anything on
television. Hostages should be a show where any wrong move could end
up disastrously wrong for the characters. Where you don't know if
their going to survive or how they'll be able to live two weeks under
constant guard. These are people with guns that are taking over their
lives. They have lost a lot of their freedom. The very existence of a
hostage should be sufficient to instantly create a lot of tension.
It's a bit shocking that Hostages completely fails at setting up any
tension. I'm not entirely sure why that is but I think it has to do
with the execution. The pilot opens up to the family sitting down in
front of the coach. They look a bit worried but we soon realize that
men with guns are surrounding them. It's an incredibly tense idea. In
execution? It's more comical than anything. The pilot never actually
makes you feel like the family is in danger. That's partly because of
them having to survive the two weeks in order for the first season to
work. It's also partly in scenes where one of the men in guns tries
to comfort the son by showing him that the dog is still alive. Like
the head hostage taker notes, the family is supposed to fear the
hostage takers. They don't have to be liked by the family. In a weird
sense, it's a bit odd when the pilot basically admits it made a
stupid move. In showing that the dog is still alive, the pilot
betrays any sense that the family is in any actual danger. Once that
element of danger is removed, everything becomes melodramatic. There
is no tension. So the question should be how can Hostages keep the
tension going for fifteen episodes but rather it's how can Hostages
work when it can't even get the tension going in the first place? The
fact that I have to ask the wrong question is likely why Hostages is
ultimately doomed: it's lifeblood of tension isn't there.</div>
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The main protagonist of Hostages is Dr. Ellie Sanders. She's a
well-respected doctor who was chosen to operate on the President of
the United States. This is a pretty big honor even if the surgery is
rather routine. Of course, Hostages messes up there. If the President
needed the surgery because he only has a limited time to live then
the tension builds. Anyways, Dr. Sanders is a tough lady who tries to
act that operating on the President is no big deal. The humble doctor
finds her life thrown upside down when her family gets taken hostage.
Dr. Sanders is told she has to kill the President or her family will
be killed. She's the kind of character who subversively finds way to
resist her captors which at least gives her enough agency to keep the
narrative flowing. The choice presented to her is a pretty big one
with major consequences either ways. The stakes are high for her. At
the same time, the tension isn't there because the stakes are too
high. Is she actually going to kill the President? She's the heroine
and this is network television. I mean, come on, she's the only
family member that doesn't have a secret exposed in the pilot. I
doubt that she'll actually be forced to end the President's life. Is
she going to allow her family to be killed? That sound you hear is me
laughing at the very idea. I'll be shocked if a single family member
ends up dead. The hostage takers didn't even kill their dog. So the
stakes might be high but it's a bit difficult to buy into them. Toni
Collette does a great job but the role is so trite that she makes for
a very standard protagonist. If perhaps the stakes had been higher
and she herself had a secret then maybe she would work better in
creating tension.</div>
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The rest of the characters are just as troublesome. The antagonist is
Duncan Carlisle. He's an FBI agent whose motivation is that he wants
to help his family. It's implied his wife's health is being held
hostage (GET IT? LOOK AT THE LEVELS OF HOSTAGE-TAKING) by someone in
the White House. He's being forced into taking the family hostage. I
like the levels of grey and it helps make Duncan be more compelling
than Sanders. At the same time, it also basically means he's going to
be an anti-hero. I don't expect this anti-hero to be an actual threat
to our family which he kind of needed to be. His team is made up of
three members that are largely forgettable. There's one who wants to
be liked by the son, a girl who is all tough, and a black one. I
don't remember their names. As for the Sanders family? The dad is a
typical husband who cheats on his wife. I do think it's a bit odd
that when the hostage takers threatened to kill his whole family, he
still told his wife to resist their instructions to kill the
President. They threaten to expose his affair? All of a sudden, he
wants her to do what they ask. The guy's priorities are out of wack.
What? He doesn't care if his kids die as long as his wife thinks he
was an honorable man? His daughter, Morgan, is pregnant from her
secret boyfriend. Typical teen drama. The son, Jake, owes money to a
drug dealer. Oh great, more typical teen family. There is nothing
that makes the Sanders family interesting or stand out. At this
point, the most compelling character is Duncan but his levels of grey
undermines the show because it means he's no real threat. Which means
there is no tension.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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Alas, there are a lot of problems with Hostages. The question of how
long the premise can keep going is one we shouldn't be asking because
it's doubtful the series will last long enough for us to find out.
The problem with Hostages is there is no tension in it's execution or
writing. The main protagonist is offered an interesting choice but
she's a typical network heroine that will find a way to save her
family without killing the President. The anti-hero Duncan might be a
compelling character but his existence undermines the tension that's
already there. It might have been better to reveal details about his
life after the pilot so we gain a greater understanding of his
motives after we already feel that he's a threat. The hostage-takers
are all largely forgettable while the Sanders family is to typical to
really be interesting. Hostages isn't a completely terrible show but
it has many problems that it needs to solve before we can even talk
about it's future.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<b>Other
Notes:</b></div>
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<br />
</div>
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I don't know but I would think that when a doctor is chosen to
operate on the President, the doctor gets a secret security
attachment to ensure that something like this doesn't happen. I could
be wrong.</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-25070669375488105532013-09-28T15:49:00.001-04:002013-09-28T15:49:01.375-04:00The Blacklist
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>The Blacklist</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>Episode 1: Pilot</b></div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="widows: 8;">
<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
The Blacklist
is about the most-wanted criminal helping a rookie criminal profiler
catch criminals. I will be covering this show weekly.</div>
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<br />
</div>
<div align="JUSTIFY" style="font-weight: normal; widows: 8;">
<u>Spoilers
Ahoy!</u></div>
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<br />
</div>
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The Blacklist is not the most original show. The whole idea of a
criminal helping the police has been explored by White Collar and
Breakout Kings. The Blacklist is slightly different because the
criminal in this case turns himself in for the sole purpose of
helping them. I'm sure that anybody familiar with pop culture can
also point to numerous other inspirations that the creator had when
crafting this series. Of course, we don't necessarily need our
television series to be original. That's an almost impossible task in
today's culture. We've heard almost every single kind of story that
we can tell. What matters is that the Blacklist manages to offer
something fresh and that it's entertaining on it's own right. The
pilot is able to do both. It's able to set up a series with a weekly
mystery that provides a formula for every episode. It's not
surprising that this will behave like a normal cop show but it also
provides a serialized mystery for the show. The biggest question is
Red's motives for helping the police, and specifically the criminal
profiler he insists on talking to, remain up in the air. The criminal
profiler also finds out that her husband has a secret stash of fake
passports, money, and a gun. The weekly cases provide the viewer on
what to expect every episode but the serialized aspect basically
helps hook the viewer into tuning into every one. The structure of
the series is sound. As for the fresh perspective, I think it's
there. Red's desire to help the police catch criminals might be
mysterious but this helps to add a fresh layer into the idea. He
wants to be there which makes it look like he's having fun. It's no
surprise that this sense of fun is able to permeate through the
television set into the viewer. It helps that Red is a pretty unique
character but that's partly due to James Spader's performance. The
Blacklist might not be the most original show but that doesn't mean
you shouldn't watch. It might offer a weekly case but it's serialized
nature should help to win over skeptics of the procedural aspects.
Overall, the Blacklist is a strong, fun new series that has the
potential to become something great.</div>
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The pilot of the Blacklist is pretty strong. I'll admit the weekly
case isn't that interesting. There's this Eastern European who seeks
revenge on the United States for bombing a chemical factory that
wiped out his hometown. He's using the kidnapped daughter of the
general who ordered the attack to bomb a zoo. Red Reddington tries to
help the police to stop the bombing from taking place and saving the
girl. It's a pretty typical case that does nothing new. This is
disappointing because the pilot is the first showcase a writer has to
present what they're able to deliver. At the same time, the pilot's
concentration is less on the weekly case and more on setting
everything up. It'll be interesting to see what the series is able to
deliver when it's figured everything out. The weekly case might not
be that strong but everything else is. The serialized portions of the
Blacklist is basically what helps the pilot sell itself to the
audience. It's able to set up the actual premise in strides, the
questions it sets up are intriguing, and the relationship between Red
and Keen is already turning out to be pretty interesting. The dynamic
that the series went for is starting to work so that one is
interested even in the pretty standard weekly case. It is in fact
because of this that the pilot of the Blacklist is not only able to
entertain but even stand out. It helps that the pilot employs a pace
that never allows the action to slow down. It goes from one plot
point to the other in rapid fashion. This helps build the tension and
build enough narrative momentum to keep even the most skeptical
viewer engaged. Overall, the weekly case could have been stronger but
everything else is already working like gangbusters.</div>
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The most interesting character in the Blacklist is Raymond “Red”
Reddington. It's a role that James Spader is clearly having a lot of
fun. Red is an anti-hero. He's a career criminal who had a reputation
of being a concierge. This has allowed him to develop a network of
criminals. That puts him in a perfect position to help the police
catch the bad guys that they might not even know exist. His sneering
attitude, criminal background, mysterious motives, and James Spader's
performance helps to create an instantly compelling character. He
insists on only talking to Elizabeth Keen. Keen is a character that's
going to need to be developed in the next couple of episodes because
she's a bit underdeveloped at this point. What's worse is that what
we're told about her doesn't necessarily mesh with how we meet her.
When we first see her, she's a loving wife whose worried about her
first day at work. Confusingly, she's also chosen that day to have
the final interview with the adoption agency. You'd think she'd space
them out so that she would have some breathing room but she clearly
likes to multitask massive moments of her life. Anyways, she's
basically presented as a normal person who is in a happy marriage.
When she's forced to profile herself to her new boss, she tries to
sell herself as an abrasive whose difficult to manipulate. Red seems
to agree with her assessment. It just feels like the first meeting is
inconsistent with what the creator actually wants us to think who the
character is. Granted, she does later stab a pen into Red's neck and
finds out that her marriage is a lie. The former is a move of
desperation that at least sells the idea she's tough. On the other
hand, her husband's secret identity clearly shows she's not immune to
manipulation. The main character, Red, is a strong anti-hero who is
basically the reason you'll be watching the series for. His
interactions with Keen is strong which helps create a strong dynamic.
The thing holding the dynamic back? Keen's character needs to become
more consistent and better developed. Once that happens, the dynamic
will become a classic.
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The side characters of the Blacklist are basically one-note at this
point. This really isn't a big surprise. The Blacklist pilot had to
set up the premise, the main characters, their dynamic, and a weekly
case. This left absolutely no room to properly develop the side
characters. Keen's husband is Tom. Tom is basically presented as the
typical loving husband but the pilot establishes that he has some
secret life. This helps make him slightly more intriguing. The pilot
establishes an FBI agent named Donald Ressler. That's basically his
character: FBI agent. The boss is Harold Cooper. Cooper is basically
defined by his job as well. The first priority of The Blacklist
should be to sort out Elizabeth Keen's character but the second
should be to develop the side characters.
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The Blacklist is a show with a lot of potential. It's not the most
original show but it's able to offer a fresh and fun perspective.
It's weekly case reveals how every episode will work while the
serialized aspect will keep people tuning back in. The pilot does
have some problems: the side characters are undeveloped, Keen is
presented inconsistent and is underdeveloped, and the actual weekly
case is average. On the other hand, the dynamic between Keen and Red
is strong but that's partially because of James Spader's performance
and Red is a strong character by himself. The pilot is very
entertaining. Overall, the Blacklist has a strong opening but it's
going to need to sort things out as it goes along to truly be a great
show.</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-4940781367873120722013-09-25T01:20:00.001-04:002013-09-25T01:20:47.578-04:00Mom
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<b>Mom</b></div>
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<b>Episode 1: Pilot</b></div>
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<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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Mom is a
television series about a newly sober single mother raising two kids
and dealing with her formerly alcoholic mother.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<u>Spoiler
Ahoy!</u></div>
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<br />
</div>
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There are four elements at work to the structure of Mom. The first is
that it obviously follows a mother, Christy, trying to raise her
kids. She's a single mother whose struggling to do it on her own. She
has a teenage daughter she predictably can't connect with and a
younger son. This is a familiar premise but it's one of the other
elements that help give Mom a slightly different perspective than
other shows. The second element is that it also follows Christy's
strained relationship with her mother. This is possibly the strongest
part of Mom. The third element is a workplace comedy. Christy works
at a restaurant. I'm not entirely sure why this element is a
significant part of the series but it has two whole characters and a
major sub-plot attached to it. The fourth element is what helps set
Mom apart. It's what can potentially make the first and second
element feel fresh: it makes Christy (and her mom) a recovering
alcoholic. This basically helps add dimensions to her relationship
with her daughter, son, and mother that otherwise wouldn't be there.
It helps to explain why she's just a waitress. Three of the elements
come together to create a cohesive whole that could lead to a pretty
funny sit-com. The fourth element (the workplace) is completely out
of place. Yes, Christy as a working mother is important to her
identity. I just don't buy that we actually need to see her work or
that it has to be an important element of the show simply because
it's too different. It's possible to have both but the balance is
difficult to maintain and the pilot of Mom doesn't do a very good job
there. This structural problem can hold back Mom. It could also
learn how to balance it with the other elements so that it actually
compliments and is complimented by the first two elements. Of course,
having this many elements complicates Mom to the point where it might
not even matter as viewers struggle to connect with the show. The
structural flaws of the workplace might be Mom's undoing, it might
not be, and having four elements might make the show too busy.
</div>
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All four elements are explored by the pilot. The first element has
two separate plots. A main one where Christy tries to connect with
her daughter. Her daughter is sleeping with a boy. This concerns
Christy because she's afraid that her teenager might repeat her
mistakes. At the same time, she has to find time to make it to her
son's talent show. This requires taking time off work. When she
arrives at the school, it's the wrong day. She gave up a whole payday
for nothing. She has a lot to handle on her plate as a mother. The
second element is when her mother attempts to reconnect with her
after a period of prolonged, angry silence. Christy has a hard time
allowing her mother back into her life but only buckles down to save
her relationship with her own daughter. Christy and her mom start
working on actually building a relationship. It's a good plot because
the two characters are so similar and yet there is a wide gulf
between them that stops them from having a normal mother-daughter
bond. The fourth element plays into Christy's Alcoholics Anonymous
meetings, how it has affected her relationship with her children and
mother, as well as how life keeps throwing obstacles at her that test
her resolve. The final element is played when she's sleeping with her
married boss. The relationship with her boss feels forced to begin
with but it's largely there to show that Christy continues to make
mistakes in her life. There's also a chef that likes to scream and be
mean. This is why I doubt the workplace element is ultimately going
to help the show: the pilot is already straining to integrate it into
the rest of the show. I mean the best they could come up with is
Christy sleeping with her boss? It also takes time away from the
other elements.</div>
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The main character of Mom is Christy. Anna Farris is a winning
leading lady that takes this role and simply owns it. Christy is a
fully-developed character that is attempting to rebuild her life
after alcohol has destroyed it. She's a strong network protagonist
because of her recovering alcoholism. It shows she's not perfect but
that she is trying to get better. Her path to redemption makes her a
heroine we could root for even as she does things that frustrate the
audience. It very well might give her more leeway than she would
otherwise have. The other main character of Mom is the brilliant
Allison Janney. Janney portrays Bonnie, Christy's mom. Bonnie
struggles to accept her own faults but she does want to redeem
herself at the same time. There's a reason she refuses to ask her
daughter for forgiveness (refusing to own up to her mistakes) but at
the same time promises to be the mother Christy always deserved
(redemption). The two characters are both seeking the same thing. The
interesting part about recovering alcoholics is the way they attempt
to rebuild bridges they have burned down. Just as Christy attempts to
be a mother to her teenage daughter by reconnecting with her, Bonnie
is trying to rebuild her relationship with Christy. At the same
time, Christy finds it difficult to forgive her mother for her past
actions. Christy might have become her mother but that doesn't mean
she likes her. This helps create conflict between the two of them. It
provides the show not only with a way to create conflict but also a
heart that should ground the series. It helps that Farris and Janney
already have good on-screen chemistry that helps sell the idea that
their mother-daughter. The two main characters of Mom who have a rich
and even compelling relationship.</div>
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The rest of the cast will need to be understandably developed as the
series goes on. Christy's daughter, Violet, is a typical teen girl.
She's rebellious, likes to party, and has a hard time connecting with
her mom. Christy's son, Roscoe, is a little more naive and he does
desire his mom's attention. The two kids aren't developed much in
this episode. We do meet Roscoe's dad, Baxter. Baxter is not the dad
of Violet which makes me want to know the backstory a little more.
Anyways, Baxter is basically a typical dumb pothead kind of
character. Matt Jones plays the character type well. Violet's
boyfriend, Luke, is a member of the main cast. Luke is very similar
to Baxter except I don't think we see him with a shirt on. That's the
only difference beyond their age. The workplace element of the show
has it's own couple of characters. The first is Gabriel, Christy's
boss. Gabriel is the boss who is married but secretly seeing Christy.
He doesn't have much of a personality at this point beyond being a
mistake for Christy to make. I like Nate Corddy and I hope he's given
more to work with in future episodes. The final character is Rudy.
Rudy is a chef who is really into food, is mean to his employees, and
only cares about himself. I like Rudy but he is just a stereotype who
has no unique relationship with Christy. Which begs to call into
question on why he needs to be in the show in the first place. The
side characters are presently all flat but I wouldn't be surprised if
they get more dimension as the show goes along.</div>
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Mom is the latest offering by legendary producer Chuck Lorre (The Big
Bang Theory, Two and a Half Men, Mike and Molly). It's a funny enough
pilot that promises a strong series. A series that has four
elements-even though one is out-of-place at the moment. The home life
is familiar and the workplace needs to be integrated better but the
recovering alcoholic hook helps provide the show with a fresh
perspective. The two main characters and their relationship with each
other is very strong. The side characters need to be developed more
but that's typical of a pilot. Overall: a strong pilot that should
provide CBS with a consistent performer.</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-271121157119007572013-09-25T00:28:00.002-04:002013-09-25T00:28:10.641-04:00Castle
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<b>Castle</b></div>
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<b>Episode 1: Valkyrie</b></div>
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<b>By: Carlos Uribe</b></div>
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</div>
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Castle is
about an author who helps the police with their investigations.</div>
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<br />
</div>
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<u>Spoiler
Ahoy!</u></div>
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<br />
</div>
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The premiere picks up on that swing set scene where Castle proposed
to Beckett. He had defied expectations that he was going to break up
with her and instead wanted to commit to spending the rest of their
lives together. That was one part of the cliff-hanger that the last
season had ended on. The other was Beckett's job offer to work for a
federal agency that handled national security cases for the Attorney
General. The show immediately reveals the answer to both: Beckett is
going to take the job and she accepts Castle's proposal once she
confirms he's not using it to keep her from advancing her career.
It's like the show had set up a decision where Beckett had to pick
between her job and her relationship but the answer was simply “yes”.
She went with both. This makes sense even if it made a lot of their
relationship conflict at the end of last season kind of melodramatic.
The premiere skips ahead two months. Beckett is now working as a
federal agent, Castle is finishing up a book tour, and the rest of
the characters are basically living their normal lives. The issue
with this set-up is that the whole series is based on Castle helping
Beckett solve cases. Only Castle can't help because he doesn't have
the national security clearance. He's not even allowed to know
details about the cases because every piece of evidence is
classified. I'm afraid the show doesn't tackle this issue properly.
There were basically three options the show could have taken for the
premiere. The first is the one I would have preferred: Beckett is on
her own for the whole episode. This would allow the series to
establish the new status quo and to truly establish the gulf it
establishes between her and her fiance. This could leave room for the
second episode to start upsetting the status quo. This is a strong
decision because it gives viewers a hint of Beckett's new job without
having Castle as an element. The show rejected this presumably
because that would have meant having the titular character out of the
main plot. The second decision is to have two cases: one in New York
City and one with the FBI. This temporary two-case solution would
have allowed the old show to co-exist with Beckett's new job and give
the whole cast something to do. There is no rule that Castle can't be
helping Javier and Ryan because he loves solving mysteries. The third
option is to concentrate on Beckett's new job and to have Castle
interfere. The show went with the third: this pushed the existing
ensemble members to the background and didn't really show us how
Beckett survives without Castle.</div>
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The main plot of Castle has to do with Beckett's investigation into a
stolen motherboard. Castle is able to get involved when he spots a
single piece of evidence: a picture of a blown transformer. He's able
to use Esposito and Ryan to find it's location. That's basically the
only time they really appear except in one scene at the end where
Javier reveals the existence of ghost bases to Castle. The good news
is the show advances Ryan's baby expectancy plot by having him
prepare by practicing swaddling a doll but they are seriously
underutilized in the premiere. It's like their not even main
characters. Missing from the premiere are the captain and the medical
examiner. It's too bad the writers couldn't find a way to work them
into the show but they would have had no role to play. In many ways,
this breaks up the team dynamic to the point where Castle barely
registers as the same show we watched last season. It's a shake-up
that might upset some viewers but it's temporary. There's doubt
Beckett will return to being a New York City cop for whatever reason.
Anyways, Castle's involvement is quickly discovered by the
investigating agency. They basically reprimand him. Castle realizes
it can't like before so he's able to set aside his curiosity. Only he
gets kidnapped by the suspect. The suspect quickly dies and the boss
of the federal agency scares Castle about the implications of trying
to help Beckett. The case gets solved at the end of the episode...or
does it? It doesn't as Beckett deduces it was all a distraction and
set-up to distract from the real crime: stealing a chemical weapon.
This leads to a cliff-hanger where Castle's life is put in danger
because he was infected by the chemical agent. He has twenty-four
hours to live. I'm sorry if I'm not dying to see the second part
because there is zero chance Castle is going to die on a show named
Castle. At least, not until the series finale. That's the gist of the
episode. The big nature of the case is a bit annoying because it
ramps up the stakes a little too high to truly be believable. There
was a bigger problem with getting invested in the case: the team
solving it.</div>
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A show is made up from it's team dynamic. We don't just watch a cop
show to see crimes getting solved but to see a team we like go
through the process of figuring out the perpetrator. Castle has been
able to succeed for so long because Richard and Beckett have good
chemistry but also because the team supporting them has good rapport.
In other words, the team dynamic was a reason to watch an episode of
Castle. What happens when you remove the dynamic? You get to see a
case being solved by a team who you really don't care about. This is
basically what happens on this case of Castle. You have Beckett.
She's a good detective but it's always been her banter with Castle
and relationship with her two junior detectives that help make
solving crimes feel dynamic. This week she's paired with Rachel
McCord (Lisa Edelstein). Rachel and Beckett actually make a good
detective pair that could work well in their own show but there's two
limitations in Castle. The first is that it's hard to get invested
into their partnership when you know it's going to end after two more
episodes. The second is that the show doesn't have a lot of time to
actually develop it to a point where it's anywhere near as strong as
Castle and Beckett. The rest of the team is basically pretty
forgettable and their roles in the case are basically minimized. In
other words, the only dynamic really at play here is between Beckett
and McCord with an occasional interference by Castle. It just can't
be as wealthy as it needs to be to make the process familiar or even
fun. So while the case might have been well-written, the weak team
dynamics means solving it isn't as entertaining as it should be. It
certainly doesn't help that Valkryie's case is as ridiculous and
over-the-top as it can be but it would be a lot easier to stomach if
Castle and Beckett were solving it.</div>
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The final part of the premiere is with Castle's home life. I'm going
to admit something I never thought I would say: I think it's time to
let his home life to fade into the background. This premiere is a
perfect example. Martha is basically given nothing to do and it's not
like she really plays a major role in Castle. She used to be Castle's
emotional center but I think Beckett has replaced her in that role.
Alexis used to be a teenage daughter so having Castle be her dad
helped humanize him but she's grown up. There is no reason to have
her in the show beyond the fact that we have become invested in her.
It's true I like Alexis but I have no issue permanently sending her
to college where she can be happy. His home life used to help ground
Castle and help direct him. It helped ensure audiences didn't
completely abandon him. That's no longer the case. Castle has a new
emotional rock that humanizes him at the same time: Beckett. So their
roles on Castle are no longer justified. The plot we get this week
with Alexis is pretty silly: she has a boyfriend whose a fruitarian.
He's as annoying to the audience as he is to Castle. There is no
purpose to him beyond creating false conflict and trying too hard to
get cheap laughs. What's worse is that it seems out-of-character with
the otherwise mature and grounded Alexis. What does she see in this
guy? I don't get it and it's hard to imagine that this is the same
Alexis we've gotten to know. So what gives?</div>
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Castle opens it's sixth season with an episode that has some
structural problems. The team dynamic is largely gone, the case is
over-the-top and ridiculous, the stakes are too high to believe, and
we don't get a sense of Beckett's capabilities in her job without
Castle as an element. What's worse is that the premiere reveals a
huge structural problem with the series beyond the premiere: the
unnecessary and presently unjustifiable of Castle's home life as a
regular presence. At the same time, I didn't completely hate the
episode. Beckett and McCord did have sufficient chemistry to keep the
narrative going and the beginning was a nice resolution to the
cliff-hanger. I just think that better execution or a different
option on how to proceed should have been taken. The season premiere
of Castle is good but it has some serious problems.
</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4129840005483329703.post-1982573509420565692013-09-25T00:27:00.000-04:002013-09-25T00:27:04.630-04:00Castle Season Five<div style="text-align: center;">
Castle</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Season 5</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
(2012-2013 Season)</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<ol>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/09/castle.html">After the Storm</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/castle.html">Cloudy with a Chance of Murder</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/castle_10.html">Secret's Safe with Me</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/10/castle_18.html">Murder, He Wrote</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/castle.html">Probable Cause</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/castle.html">Final Frontier</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/11/castle_15.html">Swan Song</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/12/castle.html">After Hours</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2012/12/castle.html">Secret Santa</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/castle.html">Significant Others</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/castle_17.html">Under the Influence</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/01/castle_23.html">Death Gone Crazy (Mini-Review)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/castle.html">Recoil</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/castle_15.html">Reality Star Struck</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/02/castle_21.html">Target</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/03/castle.html">Hunt</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/03/castle_22.html">Scared to Death</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/03/castle_28.html">The Wild Rover</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/castle.html">The Lives of Others (Special 100th Episode Review)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/castle_19.html">The Fast and the Furriest (Mini-Review)</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/04/castle_28.html">The Squab and the Quail</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/castle.html">Still</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/castle_12.html">The Human Factor</a></li>
<li><a href="http://www.televisionlair.com/2013/05/castle_19.html">Wasteland</a></li>
</ol>
</div>
Carloshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15259399757525387944noreply@blogger.com0