The Omnibox: all things television

[Town Heretic]

Started watching Chance, the return of Hugh Laurie to tv. I've always been a fan of Laurie. His range and talent is impressive, but this vehicle just seemed too intensely depressed...maybe it's because the improbable House was more compelling in his belligerent, irascible attack on everything that stood in his path. Laurie's Chance seems thin by comparison, weaker, more human maybe but less interestingly so. It would have been a bolder move to have found an intelligent comedy, or a character far removed from his last, notable stint, one that wouldn't invite the comparison and disappointment.

But that's just one opinion.

 

[Lighthouse]

Started watching Chance, the return of Hugh Laurie to tv. I've always been a fan of Laurie. His range and talent is impressive, but this vehicle just seemed too intensely depressed...maybe it's because the improbable House was more compelling in his belligerent, irascible attack on everything that stood in his path. Laurie's Chance seems thin by comparison, weaker, more human maybe but less interestingly so. It would have been a bolder move to have found an intelligent comedy, or a character far removed from his last, notable stint, one that wouldn't invite the comparison and disappointment.

But that's just one opinion.

Did you watch The Night Manager? It was on AMC here in the states.

 

[Town Heretic]

Did you watch The Night Manager? It was on AMC here in the states.

Haven't seen it yet, but I'd like to. What did you think about it? He's the villain of the piece, isn't he?

 

[Lighthouse]

Haven't seen it yet, but I'd like to. What did you think about it? He's the villain of the piece, isn't he?

Yes he's the villain, but more antagonist than stereotypical villain.

 

[Lighthouse]

I'm watching Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency right now.

 

[ok doser]

Frodo!

 

[Town Heretic]

Another thing I love about Netflix is its cache of great shows from the not terribly distant. I've been watching The West Wing again, making my way through it year by year, an episode a day. Politics aside, though I love how both sides are often represented by sharp, principled protagonists, the writing is so crisp and remarkably good it underscores how derivative and poorly cobbled so much of what's on today has become...a bit like watching Casablanca then renting Marvel Avengers Civil War. lain: Now don't mistake me, there have always been solid shows surrounded by nearly complete carp, but the standards, from conduct to dialogue and narrative structure are, to my mind, uniformly and significantly degraded in most of the artistic outlets of popular culture.

The Tiffany Network had its string of silly hillbilly fare, once upon a time, but much of it had sharp edges, sub rosa and none of it had the crass center of Two Broke Girls or the equally low sensationalism driven reality drivel. And even the good bits are so morally compromised or confused it's hard to know who we're supposed to root for...or why.

 

[Lighthouse]

Frodo!

:chuckle:

 

[Town Heretic]

Another surprise, of a less compelling sort, has been discovering the Voyager iteration of Star Trek. Outside of the original series I've never had much use for any of it, but this series, which I never saw in its network run, has surprised me. It's much closer to the original in approach and feel. Picard had too many people crowding his bridge for story lines and I never thought much of most of the supportive actors. The other Trek vehicles never managed to hold my interest. Voyager is different. It's wildly uneven, but moving through the run I'm finding any number of episodes that remind me why I loved that first series. It's underrated among the Star Trek offshoots, to my mind.

 

[PureX]

Another surprise, of a less compelling sort, has been discovering the Voyager iteration of Star Trek. Outside of the original series I've never had much use for any of it, but this series, which I never saw in its network run, has surprised me. It's much closer to the original in approach and feel. Picard had too many people crowding his bridge for story lines and I never thought much of most of the supportive actors. The other Trek vehicles never managed to hold my interest. Voyager is different. It's wildly uneven, but moving through the run I'm finding any number of episodes that remind me why I loved that first series. It's underrated among the Star Trek offshoots, to my mind.

I agree about this series. And I read a little bit about their productions. And it turned out that the "Next Generation" (with Capt. Picard) series was plagued with all kinds of infighting and confusion and petty power struggles behind the scenes. And it took them several seasons just to establish a cohesive direction for the storyline. Some of the actors didn't get along and wanted to make other actors leave, and so on.

Whereas the production of "Voyager" was far more organized and intended from the start.

I recently watched the "Deep Space 9" series and found that to be pleasant surprise, also. I had never really watched it when it was on TV, I think because I didn't like lead character, much. But I was pleasantly surprised when I finally took the time to play through the series. It was quite good, I thought.

 

[SaulToPaul 2]

I am enjoying the new MacGyver, and Kevin Can Wait.
Kevin James seems to be Doug Heffernan in everything he does, maybe he's just being himself.

 

[Town Heretic]

I agree about this series. And I read a little bit about their productions. And it turned out that the "Next Generation" (with Capt. Picard) series was plagued with all kinds of infighting and confusion and petty power struggles behind the scenes. And it took them several seasons just to establish a cohesive direction for the storyline. Some of the actors didn't get along and wanted to make other actors leave, and so on.

I tried and wanted to like it, but I think the chemistry problems came through for me. Outside of story lines that centered on Picard, I lost interest. I don't think the actors around him were up to the comparison, though the fellow who played Data was good, as was the doctor. I can't recall her character name. The Klingon was a parody, to me. His number one and the psychic seemed straight off a soap opera lot. And a lot of the dialogue and plot lines felt that way too. Too many characters fighting for time without having established a good reason for anyone to want the exploration.

Whereas the production of "Voyager" was far more organized and intended from the start.

The only glitch in Voyager was the Kas/Seven of Nine fiasco. I had just made peace with Kas's hair when they wrote her off to bring in Borg Barbee and the worst vocalization of a major character on a tv show I've ever suffered through. She toned the delivery down a bit as time when on, but it always felt like a ploy to draw me to the show in the worst sense. But then, that's one systemic problem of nearly every Star Trek incarnation, the hypersexualization of female characters. . . to be fair, that's probably true of most science fiction that makes the small or big screen, sadly.

I recently watched the "Deep Space 9" series and found that to be pleasant surprise, also. I had never really watched it when it was on TV, I think because I didn't like lead character, much. But I was pleasantly surprised when I finally took the time to play through the series. It was quite good, I thought.

Ah, the Sisko factor. :chuckle: They went out of their way to make him unpleasant at the outset. The one thing I'll say for it was that it seemed more interested in story arcs than the easier to follow episodic approach of the first series and, to a lesser extent, Voyager.

I thought Enterprise had real potential, but I only saw a few of those. The theme song was tragic and almost enough to put me off sitting through an episode. Made no organic connection to the series. And, of course, the female Vulcan suffered from a bit of the Seven of Nine treatment. I hear the end of the series was a continuation of the Scott Bakula curse, so I'm glad I didn't wade in too deeply on that one.

 

[Lighthouse]

... the doctor. I can't recall her character name.

Beverly Crusher. Wesley [Wil Wheaton] was her son.

 

[Lighthouse]

The second half of American Horror Story this season is doing a better job at the horror than the first half. Well, really, better than all previous seasons, IMHO.

 

[PureX]

I tried and wanted to like it, but I think the chemistry problems came through for me. Outside of story lines that centered on Picard, I lost interest. I don't think the actors around him were up to the comparison, though the fellow who played Data was good, as was the doctor. I can't recall her character name. The Klingon was a parody, to me. His number one and the psychic seemed straight off a soap opera lot. And a lot of the dialogue and plot lines felt that way too. Too many characters fighting for time without having established a good reason for anyone to want the exploration.

Yes, the doctor role was one of the points of contention on the show. Diana Muldaur was a friend of Gene Roddenberry but didn't do well at all as Picard's 'love interest', and didn't gel with the rest of the actors, either. It broadened the riff between the writers and Roddenberry who was getting old and a bit "off" his game even though he was given a lot of executive power. Patrick Stewart wanted Gates McFadden but she had heard about all the contention on the show and didn't want in. Stewart had to talk her into it and she demanded extra protections from the chaos in her contract.

All that chaos showed up in the final product in characters that didn't interrelate, well, and stories that tended to be clumsy and disjointed. however, they did make some good decisions up front about that show that helped to save it in the long run. One of my favorites being that they turned character traits from the original Star Trek series into independent characters in Second Generation. Like Spok's intellect becoming "Data". Uhura's communication skills becoming "Diana Troy". Bone's prickly personality becoming "William Riker". And Kirk's machismo becomes "Lieutenant Worf". It did make for a lot of possible stories and interactions that the relatively small crew in the original series did not offer to the writers. And over the course of seven seasons, they did get around to exploring most of them.

The only glitch in Voyager was the Kas/Seven of Nine fiasco. I had just made peace with Kas's hair when they wrote her off to bring in Borg Barbee and the worst vocalization of a major character on a tv show I've ever suffered through. She toned the delivery down a bit as time when on, but it always felt like a ploy to draw me to the show in the worst sense. But then, that's one systemic problem of nearly every Star Trek incarnation, the hypersexualization of female characters. . . to be fair, that's probably true of most science fiction that makes the small or big screen, sadly.

Yes, both Kess and "seven" ware eye candy. But I actually like the "seven of nine" character. Or rather what the character offered to the plot. An ongoing thorn in their sides. The embodiment of pragmatic skepticism. The only thing I didn't like about the "Voyager" series was the premise. It was tiring having that singular goal of "getting back" constantly being thrown out as a possibility, and then yanked away. I thought of it as lazy writing to keep reusing that same plot over and over.

The holo-doctor was a fantastic character. My favorite on the series.

Ah, the Sisko factor. :chuckle: They went out of their way to make him unpleasant at the outset. The one thing I'll say for it was that it seemed more interested in story arcs than the easier to follow episodic approach of the first series and, to a lesser extent, Voyager.

I thought Enterprise had real potential, but I only saw a few of those. The theme song was tragic and almost enough to put me off sitting through an episode. Made no organic connection to the series. And, of course, the female Vulcan suffered from a bit of the Seven of Nine treatment. I hear the end of the series was a continuation of the Scott Bakula curse, so I'm glad I didn't wade in too deeply on that one.

I just couldn't get past Scott Bacula. Don't know why. Just couldn't. So I have not seen much of that series.

 

[Town Heretic]

Having already given the Stewart iteration more thought than I spent actually watching that series, moving to...

Yes, both Kess and "seven" ware eye candy. But I actually like the "seven of nine" character.

We both missed the spelling, but you win the horseshoe contest, Kes. I thought she was attractive, but that element wasn't leaned on as hard as it was with Seven, right down to the clinging body suit. She grew on me, but only after she'd humanized her delivery a bit. I recognize that might have been part of an intentional arc, but her early speech patterns, the affect, was as jarring to me as going back to listen to Spock yell at everyone on the bridge for the first part of season one in the original.

The only thing I didn't like about the "Voyager" series was the premise. It was tiring having that singular goal of "getting back" constantly being thrown out as a possibility, and then yanked away. I thought of it as lazy writing to keep reusing that same plot over and over.

I liked the premise, but agree the now you have it/now you don't approach to potential easy courses home was a waste of time. Just leave the quest as the excuse for the voyage and touch upon it once in a blue moon. I mean, no one watching ever thought the chance was going to work out. That's the end of the show, so...

The holo-doctor was a fantastic character. My favorite on the series.

Agreed. If I changed anything it would be to make him, the captain, and her number one the concentration, with Seven and the rest filling in the Scotty, Sulu, Uhuru type augmentation and side bar episodes. Much of what Seven brought to the table could have been handled by him, except for the body outfit (God forbid) but that's just common sense.

I just couldn't get past Scott Bacula. Don't know why. Just couldn't. So I have not seen much of that series.

I like him and think the show gave him a chance to get beyond the one note character he played so famously before, but that theme music...ye gods was it awful. Eating mayonnaise out of the jar with a spoon awful. But, again, they butchered the end of the series, so.

 

[PureX]

Just one last note, I liked that the "seven of nine" character was as empty in character as she was full in that body stocking. It seemed to be an acknowledgment of the "eye candy" tradition, somehow. And that she was an 'irritant' rather than a femme fatalle to the other characters in many of the plotlines made it just that much more interesting, I thought.

 

[patrick jane]

What about this new series Goliath with Billy Bob?

 

[PureX]

On to some other favorites:

I highly recommend "Detectorists" on Netflix. As in metal detecting, not chasing criminals. So far there are only two seasons out, and being a British comedy, the seasons do not include a lot of episodes. But they are each wonderful. Every character is unique and equally quirky in their own way. And in a plot where not a lot actually happens, they manage to keep you very interested in what's going to happen next.

"The Ranch" - Not a bad show as sit-coms go, but the constant and totally unnecessary foul language is a big negative for me. I'm not against the use of such language on TV as it is a part of life, and theatre will naturally need to reflect that. But honestly, when I meet people in real life who use foul language that often and that unnecessarily, I avoid them as being emotionally and intellectually immature human beings. Just saying.

"Glitch" - The Aussies have been making good TV for a while, now. I wish Netflix would acquire more of it. And this is a good example. So far, the Americans and the Brits have both tried this 'people coming back from the dead' idea. and they both flopped. Now the Aussies have decided to give it a go. And I have to say it's pretty well done. The pilot has them digging their way our of their graves, which, lets face it, is just foolish. But I suppose there was no way around it, and once they climb out, it does become much more interesting and somewhat more believable as it explores the bizarre and interesting psychological possibilities that might occur if such a thing actually happened.

"Dark Matter" - What can I say, I like sic-fi. If you do too, try this one. It's a bit too 'twenty something' oriented for my usual taste, but I went with it, anyway. It's a somewhat tired premise: a bunch of people waking up together, with amnesia. But the sic-fi aspect allows for a lot more interesting possible pasts for the characters than would occur in present day. So that juices up the well-worn premise by a lot.

"Highway Through Hell" - Surprisingly fascinating! We see those giant tow-wreckers on the highways, but we don't realize how much real carnage those drivers and their crews have to actually clean up. And how much expertise it takes to do it without becoming a part of it, themselves.

 

[PureX]

What about this new series Goliath with Billy Bob?

So far I have not been bored enough to try it. Do I really need a show about some mega-corp taking over our lives? Isn't the reality of it depressing enough? And let's face it, a little bit of Billy Bob goes along way.

But this is all 'prejudice prior to investigation', as they say. So maybe some evening when I'm really bored, I'll run the pilot. Hasn't happened so far, though.