Just another police procedural?
Graceland have a few things that sets it apart from the mold, like several agencies working together and--more importantly--living together in their housing named Graceland, but overall this was a pilot with a lot more disappointment than intrigue. They take on too many of the Graceland residents in the same episode, and paint all of them with cliched simplicity.
It's no secret police procedurals of different kinds are my bread and butter, or my guilty pleasures as it might well be better known as. The technologies and sidekicks change, but the platform stays the same. While they do rock the platform here, it's hard to be enthusiastic about it all when it's done so lifeless as here. None of the agents pitched in the pilot are of any interest to me, and then they've actually managed to make a show in this genre that not even I have any interest to check out further.
1.01 ★☆☆☆☆ Overall pilot score
Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Saturday, April 27, 2013
Justified, Season 3 & 4
Justified is the kind of show I like to watch entire seasons in one, rather than follow weekly. I did the same with seasons 1 and 2 back in the day, and somehow I never got around to season 3 before even the fourth season had passed by. It's a strange beast. The simple 19th century lawman procedural in the modern world is a bizarre mash-up that makes me think of The Wire done light in a Winter's Bone world, with characters that rarely make the same kind of impact those important ones did in the before mentioned show and movie. All in all it makes it better than most procedurals, but nowhere near the greatness of The Wire.
Season three spends a lot of time with a mafia local wannabe going at it with the Crowders, and with the Limehouse-crowd at arms length taking up a lot of time as a stripped Bennett-family kind of influence (see season 2). It makes for a less interesting season all together, with lesser obstacles, lesser intriguing characters and less charm than both this show have done before and others have done in the same vein.
Season four takes the old-secret angle, chasing down an old fugitive with unknown new identity as its main gear. Good old Boyd Crowder becomes a poor-man's Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or a poor-man's 'Stringer' Bell (The Wire). However you choose to see it, it's less appealing than it once used to be. Heck, by the time season four has ended I'm confused whether or not this actually is just another guilty pleasure of mine.
Thankfully there's a few things that works really well as we take our steps around in Raylan's world, and much of it is thanks to a certain kind of humor that works built on the world itself. Not quite enough to make the entertainment value outshine the lesser interest I feel for these seasons compared to earlier ones (or greater show's...), but enough I'll still probably tune in for season five once its done. At least by now I know it's with lesser expectations and a more guilty pleasure mind.
It also makes me ponder whether or not I shouldn't take a look at revisiting The Wire sooner rather than later...
Season 3 ★★★☆☆
Season 4 ★★★☆☆
Season three spends a lot of time with a mafia local wannabe going at it with the Crowders, and with the Limehouse-crowd at arms length taking up a lot of time as a stripped Bennett-family kind of influence (see season 2). It makes for a less interesting season all together, with lesser obstacles, lesser intriguing characters and less charm than both this show have done before and others have done in the same vein.
Season four takes the old-secret angle, chasing down an old fugitive with unknown new identity as its main gear. Good old Boyd Crowder becomes a poor-man's Spike (Buffy the Vampire Slayer) or a poor-man's 'Stringer' Bell (The Wire). However you choose to see it, it's less appealing than it once used to be. Heck, by the time season four has ended I'm confused whether or not this actually is just another guilty pleasure of mine.
Thankfully there's a few things that works really well as we take our steps around in Raylan's world, and much of it is thanks to a certain kind of humor that works built on the world itself. Not quite enough to make the entertainment value outshine the lesser interest I feel for these seasons compared to earlier ones (or greater show's...), but enough I'll still probably tune in for season five once its done. At least by now I know it's with lesser expectations and a more guilty pleasure mind.
It also makes me ponder whether or not I shouldn't take a look at revisiting The Wire sooner rather than later...
Season 3 ★★★☆☆
Season 4 ★★★☆☆
Monday, April 22, 2013
Falling Skies, Season 1 & 2
I always knew I would tune in for Falling Skies sooner or later, mostly because of Jessy Schram. I've been a fan of the girl ever since her stint at Veronica Mars, but also because of her minor roles elsewhere, and as such always felt like I had to check out series where she got bigger parts.
And I've never made any secret of my lack of love for everything Spielberg, so it's most definitely despite his executive producing the show I finally gave it a go.
There's a distinct difference in the two seasons thus far aired, but I'm not gonna spend time looking into those. As far as the quality goes, they are both pretty much in the same ballpark, even if they did pick up from the opening few episodes.
It's easy to think of The Walking Dead while watching Falling Skies. Zombies are swapped for aliens, but they do in both cases take backseat for the human connections and interactions within their groups. While the potential of both shows are great, Falling Skies falls shorter than TWD--much because of the typical Spielbergian bright side attitude. The potential is equally great--or even better--but the execution is on both FS-seasons just a notch below the disappointing second season of TWD. With only ten episodes a season they have the proper framing to make it tight and quality, but still spend too much time wallowing in scenes and situations that are too light and family-friendly. Pick up the dark side, and there might actually be something there.
As long as Jessy Schram keeps getting credited, I'll still probably tune in for another season.... My expectations aren't very high thou, so more of a guilty pleasure kind of thing. That's also why I rate it according to my Guilty Pleasure's three star system.
Season 1 ★★☆
Season 2 ★★☆
And I've never made any secret of my lack of love for everything Spielberg, so it's most definitely despite his executive producing the show I finally gave it a go.
There's a distinct difference in the two seasons thus far aired, but I'm not gonna spend time looking into those. As far as the quality goes, they are both pretty much in the same ballpark, even if they did pick up from the opening few episodes.
It's easy to think of The Walking Dead while watching Falling Skies. Zombies are swapped for aliens, but they do in both cases take backseat for the human connections and interactions within their groups. While the potential of both shows are great, Falling Skies falls shorter than TWD--much because of the typical Spielbergian bright side attitude. The potential is equally great--or even better--but the execution is on both FS-seasons just a notch below the disappointing second season of TWD. With only ten episodes a season they have the proper framing to make it tight and quality, but still spend too much time wallowing in scenes and situations that are too light and family-friendly. Pick up the dark side, and there might actually be something there.
As long as Jessy Schram keeps getting credited, I'll still probably tune in for another season.... My expectations aren't very high thou, so more of a guilty pleasure kind of thing. That's also why I rate it according to my Guilty Pleasure's three star system.
Season 1 ★★☆
Season 2 ★★☆
Thursday, April 18, 2013
Piloting - Defiance
SyFy returns to its roots with Defiance, but how well does it stack up on its own?
I'm honestly not sure. One thing is certain. Defiance manages to take on quite a few cliches and much spent stereotypes in its two-hour pilot-episode. If you managed to get through it without once thinking about Firefly, Romeo and Juliet and half a dozen other well known shows, stories and movies, you're a better person than me.
But just because it indulges itself in cliches and well spent formulas in its opening, doesn't really prove its going to be one thing or another. The real test comes with the next 3-4 episodes, and the direction it takes then. For a pilot, these plot-devices works well to establishes outer perimeters for all characters we're introduced to. It's how they let their characters develop that matters in the long run, and by doing it this way they did at least not lose their audience in very complex new world. It's pretty easy to get a general feel for what's in store, and thus not to complicated to have certain characters different set of audiences will leech onto.
Our center of gravity is without a doubt Nolan and Irisa, the two strangers arriving in Defiance. A human father-character and an alien adopted daughter, both well equipped to take on danger. Personally I found Nolan a bit too typical for the kind of center protagonists of these kind of shows, but Irisa's got potential. I just fear--from the little we saw in the pilot--that she's gonna be spent wrong. Then again, I'm a sucker for strong female fighting-spirits characters...
The pilot got its share introduction, politic family feud, action in both war and brawl, drama and a slight bit procedural lawkeeper. Some of it worked, some of it was intriguing and some of it left me feeling like I've seen it all before. I'm far from convinced we've got a hit on our hand, but for a pilot it got me invested enough I'll certainly tune back in for a few weeks.. That's not nothing.
1.01 ★★★☆☆ Overall pilot score
I'm honestly not sure. One thing is certain. Defiance manages to take on quite a few cliches and much spent stereotypes in its two-hour pilot-episode. If you managed to get through it without once thinking about Firefly, Romeo and Juliet and half a dozen other well known shows, stories and movies, you're a better person than me.
But just because it indulges itself in cliches and well spent formulas in its opening, doesn't really prove its going to be one thing or another. The real test comes with the next 3-4 episodes, and the direction it takes then. For a pilot, these plot-devices works well to establishes outer perimeters for all characters we're introduced to. It's how they let their characters develop that matters in the long run, and by doing it this way they did at least not lose their audience in very complex new world. It's pretty easy to get a general feel for what's in store, and thus not to complicated to have certain characters different set of audiences will leech onto.
The pilot got its share introduction, politic family feud, action in both war and brawl, drama and a slight bit procedural lawkeeper. Some of it worked, some of it was intriguing and some of it left me feeling like I've seen it all before. I'm far from convinced we've got a hit on our hand, but for a pilot it got me invested enough I'll certainly tune back in for a few weeks.. That's not nothing.
1.01 ★★★☆☆ Overall pilot score
Valentine (2008-09)
Valentine was something like the ugly step-sister of Rob Thomas' Cupid, with modern setting for the Greek Gods, including Aphrodite, Cupid, Hercules and Ares. I didn't find it difficult to understand they pulled the plug, because there's really not a single reason to allow as many as eight episodes to air.
It was poorly written, characters wasn't used anywhere close to their potential, it was a b-cast, and they never quite managed to balance the soulmates-of-the-week storyline with their larger overall arch. In short; a lot of wasted potential.
Overall Quality ★☆☆☆☆
It was poorly written, characters wasn't used anywhere close to their potential, it was a b-cast, and they never quite managed to balance the soulmates-of-the-week storyline with their larger overall arch. In short; a lot of wasted potential.
Overall Quality ★☆☆☆☆
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Life Unexpected, season 1
I really enjoyed the opening, and the whole premise and feel of this show. Marketed as Juno meets Gilmore Girls, it had the exact vibe needed to not seem like false marketing. Sadly they needed way too few episodes to make some really annoyingly bad choices, and by mid-season I wished Polaha's leading character died a horrible and explicit death. That sadly didn't happen, not surprisingly, and the more they dug into his character... the weaker it got. Enough so, it completely ruined any hopes the show had of succeeding.
Robertson isn't half bad, but it's no doubt Shiri is the talent. Sadly her character also takes a few dips too many into puke-worthy territory, and whomever the showrunner was should have been sacked early into the season. They are nowhere near the potential it had, racking up sad little repeats of characters becoming less and less interesting.
I'll still check out season 2. hoping they understood how far off they were heading and salvaging it with good off-season choices. Mostly thanks to Shiri I'm not quite ready to give up on it yet, but then there's also Caulfield to look forward to.
The highlights of season 1 is no doubt the interactions between Shiri and Kerr's characters, and Shiri's acting and presence. The lowest points being uninteresting dramatic choices starring Polaha's character, and his acting isn't much better. That's another reason I'm not running towards Ringer despite its star being Buffy-star Sarah Michelle Gellar.
S.1 ★★☆☆☆
On sidenotes I've also checked out Shiri in Dating Rules from my Future Self a couple of months ago. I've only seen s1 of that show as well so far, but it's lighthearted entertainment well worth checking out. The second sidenote is the fact I noticed Shiri just released a press release about her pregnancy, so best wishes and all that. Hopefully she'll still get around to a new starring TV-show role sooner rather than later, for her talent is huge and she'll be missed until she return.
Wednesday, December 12, 2012
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, season 3
It's the final year of high school, a new player arrives to shake up the line between good and evil, we get introduced to The Mayor, it's the final season before Angel goes off to the spin-off world of L.A., and the Buffyverse get familiar with a whole new set of supernatural as werewolves and witchcraft are just a couple of elements taken further.
Honestly; it's increasingly difficult to say something useful about seasons without spoilers, so I'll just skip to the episode ratings if that's okay with you...
3.01 ★★★★★ Anne
3.02 ★★★☆☆ Dead Man's Party
3.03 ★★☆☆☆ Faith, Hope and Trick
3.04 ★★★★☆ Beauty and the Beasts
3.05 ★★★☆☆ Homecoming
3.06 ★★★☆☆ Band Candy
3.07 ★★★☆☆ Revelations
3.08 ★★★★☆ Lover's Walk
3.09 ★★★★★ The Wish
3.10 ★★★★★ Amends
3.11 ★★☆☆☆ Gingerbread
3.12 ★★★★☆ Helpless
3.13 ★★★☆☆ The Zeppo
3.14 ★★★☆☆ Bad Girls
3.15 ★★★★☆ Consequences
3.16 ★★★☆☆ Doppelgangland
3.17 ★★★★☆ Enemies
3.18 ★★★★☆ Earshot
3.19 ★★★★☆ Choices
3.20 ★★★★☆ The Prom
3.21 ★★★★★ Graduation Day (1)
3.22 ★★★★★ Graduation Day (2)
S.3 ★★★★★
The big news of this season is Faith, called upon as Kendra died last season. She doesn't just shake things up, but give Buffy new challenges on most fronts throughout the season. Compared to Faith, the big bad of the season isn't all that. The other important arch is of course the Angel-kind. I for one wasn't to sad that particular saga came to an end, as his layers was mostly played out. Unlike my man Spike, Angel really couldn't hold my interest too long.
3.01 Anne
I really enjoyed the opener of the season. As Buffy ran away at the end of the last, we catch-up with her alone in the big city. Not only is her lonesome torments interesting, but also the case of the week have stuff going for it. It's only the opening of season six that starts of better.
3.04 Beauty and the Beasts
The case of the week side isn't very interesting, but Buffy's personal life get increasingly interesting with the return of her former lover.
3.09 The Wish
The second 5-rating of the season brings us an alternate reality as Cordelia Chase gets her wish. How would life have been in Sunnydale if Buffy never came there? Somewhat funny, somewhat deep and all the way enjoyable.
3.10 Amends
Some prepare for Christmas, and other struggles with the ghosts of murders past. In hindsight I clearly remember quite a few scenes and moments later on in the show that elevated far past this big one, but it did get emotional there for a while...
3.13 The Zeppo
I always found Xander's storylines mostly boring, and I quite frankly did so here as well, but the interesting part is really the way they turned this episode up-side down by following the B-story rather than the A-story. It makes playful use of cliches, and take more than a few stabs at their own 'verse. Nothing like a little self-awareness to remind us they're not full of them self.
3.21 & 3.22 Graduation Day (1&2)
The last half of the season is really all of very high standard, but it's not until the final two episodes they manage to hit top scores again. The Mayor, Faith, Angel, Ascension and --once again-- choices, are keywords to the end of another season. A season of high quality, but personally I think they managed to hit the really high heights of the show later on....
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