cordelianne (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
cordelianne) wrote2005-10-06 10:41 pm
cordelianne) wrote2005-10-06 10:41 pm
I think I speak for everyone here when I say, huh? (btvs 1:11)
I think the success of Lost (high ratings and Emmy wins) has caused many other shows on television to try and emulate Lost's penchant for baffling the viewer. Of course the creators of Lost are trying to confuse on purpose, whereas I suspect that other shows aren't that deliberate. Here's some questions that came to mind when watching an assortment of hour long shows this week (most comments have spoilers for the last couple of aired episodes, so click on the show title to read my questions):
The O.C.
So Marissa goes to a new high school and manages to make friends with clones of her already existing friends? Couldn't the writers have created different and more interesting people for her to be friends with? If they couldn't do interesting (which I'm beginning to suspect they can't), I'd have settled for different - variety is good.
Reunion (1987)
Why is this show so boring? Why couldn't they at least have more bad/cheesy lines like: "I'll wait as long as it takes. And if it takes longer than that, then I'll still be waiting."
Threshold
So a plane full of people are somehow harmlessly exposed to the alien signal (okay suspending disbelief now), and the only person to actually see the weird spirally thing is a pre-pubescent boy (fortunately for the boy, kids and animals are unaffected by the signal)? Really? So no one else in our technologically obsessed age was also using their laptop on the plane?
I actually enjoy Threshold because of the fun banter between the characters, so I'm not really upset about this issue. I'm also hoping that later episodes will have the team discover or investigate whether others on the plane were affected.
Numb3rs
How great is it that Navi Rawat (the crazy slayer, Dana, on Angel, and the ex-girlfriend, Theresa, of Ryan who gave birth to his kid on The O.C.) is in the credits of Numb3rs? Also, is David Krumholtz cuter than ever? Yeah I know those aren't real questions, sometimes I enjoy being shallow.
The 4400
Speaking of shallow: How awesome is it that Summer Glau (River in Serenity) is in the first couple of The 4400 season 2 episodes?
Invasion
If Invasion is trying to be a Lost rip-off, why didn't the brother die when the lights in the water grabbed him? Don't the show creators know that after seeing a pilot ripped out of a plane and his bloody remains hung on a tree branch, that some guy being attacked by a light in the water and surviving just isn't that compelling?
Smallville
Why was the best part of the season premiere when James Marsters materialized from the Kryptonite spaceship? Oh wait, I actually think I know the answer to this question: because I love James Marsters whereas I don't love Smallvile and it's sloppy plots and lack of character developments nearly as much. However I do love Chloe and wish that Clark would stop being all about Lana and be into Chloe.
Close to Home
Why did Close to Home's obvious attempt to manipulate my emotions and cause me to cry during the climatic courtroom scene actually work? Does the show know how to control women's hormones? Do the creators of the show realize that they need to make Annabeth's life less perfect or else we'll all start to hate her?
I also wonder: would I have watched this show if it didn't have Christian Kane (Lindsay from Angel) starring as Annabeth's husband?
Lost
Do I have a short attention span or has Lost lost it's shininess? What's with showing us the EXACT SAME SCENE but from different perspectives? Why did the point of this only seem to be to drag out revealing info to the viewer? Why have the flashback scenes (often my favourite part) seemed pointless except to bash us over the head with a theme? Has Hurley's sole purpose on the show become saying "dude"?
Nonetheless, how awesome was Locke's reaction to watching the orientation film? "We're gonna need to watch that again."
I may be annoyed/baffled/bored by a few of the above shows, but there's still some shows that are rocking my world and nicely proving that I do not have a short attention span:
Gilmore Girls
When Lorelei was sorting through her videotapes my thought was: "Cool. She has as many tapes of television shows as I do. Hmm. It's possible I actually have more." I also loved her logic for not getting rid of her tapes, I use similar logic.
How could I not love a show that uses "snarktastic"?
It was so sad to see how Rory and Lane have drifted apart.
Oh the pain continues, but it's playing out so well. The last scene with Lorelei was just heart-breaking. Who knew that Rosie O'Donnell could facilitate a poignant scene?
Everwood
It's back, it's back!!! And Ephram's back! I'd forgotten how many subtle twists and turns a single Everwood episode takes, each time causing me to rethink my conclusions from previous scenes.
How adorable are Hannah and Bright? I loved Amy's haircut, very reminiscent of Rory's first year of university haircut (although trendier).
Veronica Mars
So I'm definitely loving the new season! Unlike Lost which seems to be jogging in place, Veronica Mars has taken off in a totally new and interesting direction while maintaining what made it excellent last season.
Here's what I'm loving:
"Normal is the Watchword" (2:1)
- The exploration of class and race in the context of an engaging storyline.
- All the interactions between Veronica and her Dad, Veronica and Wallace, and all three especially "Your mother and I have an arrangement. I behave myself and she doesn't leave me" and Keith's suggestion that Wallace pinch his nipples to help him with the drug test.
- "Can Dick and Beaver come out to play?"
- Steve Guttenberg's smarmy character, although I wasn't that into his daughter (what's with the obviously fake wig?).
- The set-up for another awesome mystery: What caused the bus to crash off the cliff? I suspect that this mystery is somehow involved with the increased class tensions/violence in Neptune and who killed Felix.
- That Veronica dumped Logan after he torched the community pool. As much as I love the characters as a couple, it's more fun to watch when they're at odds. Also, I wouldn't want Veronica dating Logan when he's doing horrible stuff like that.
- The cute scene that shows her and Duncan getting back together. Sure I find Duncan bland but it's nice to see Veronica happy (even if I suspect it will be temporary).
- Bitchy Meg, very fun ... you know, until the bus went over the cliff.
- I was surprised by how entertainingly funny Dick is, especially these lines about Veronica: "And Logan's special lady friend who I approve of wholeheartedly and without reservation," and "Would you and your girlfriend -- whose quick wit I find enchanting -- like to take a trip back in style?" Because I'm always a sucker for humour, I could feel myself warming to the jerk that is Dick. I was in stitches over his leering "Hello, friend" to the girl with the bad wig (Gia).
- Veronica's clinging to Duncan. Well, I don't like it but I have faith that this is purposefully being set-up as an indication of issues to be explored in future episodes. ie. Are Duncan and Veronica clinging to nostalgic memories of their past relationship?
- The West Side Story references (Jets and Sharks). Someone involved with this show loves musicals because they've also notably referred to The Wizard of Oz and Grease. Since Duncan and Logan have acted out Grease previously, I'm now imagining them consuming lots of musicals together when they were younger. hee hee
"Driver Ed" (2:2)
- My favourite scene was when Logan and Veronica met each other in the hotel hallway. The awkwardness .... excellent. Also "If the cuddling's the best part, he's not doing it right." I was also intrigued that Veronica tried to find out who Logan's with. Very interesting.
- I could totally see the whole "bus driver having an affair with neighbour and planning to run away, so not suicide" coming but still enjoyed the episode. Especially since it totally caught me off guard with the ending. Who was that on the beach with Veronica's name written on his palm?!
- Kevin Smith! The really sad thing is that his character is really believable. The tacky paraphernalia about the bus with halos reminded me of these truly horrible candles that I was forced to sell once. There was a picture of Princess Diana and the words "Candle in the Wind" on each candle. shudder.
- Veronica gaining access to the police station and Lamb's reaction.
- Meeting Mr. Casablancas. He totally feels like Aaron 2.0. Which made Logan's comment to him - at the shooting range - so perfect: "I think my father had a similar philosophy. Of course, he's a murderer, so...."
- Sexy Logan and Kendall scenes. Shirtless Logan. Wait, the scene where he's completely clothed was my favourite scenes? What's wrong with me?!
- Wallace solving a mystery on his own. Loved that Wallace called Veronica and said "Whatcha doing?" for a change.
- "Jackie." "Oh." Possibly my favourite line of the show. I'm also very interested in getting to know more about Jackie. It's exciting that Wallace gets a love interest this season.
To conclude I must quote from my favourite exchange on television in the past few weeks, courtesy of the Weaver mother on The Amazing Race: Family Edition:
Weaver Mom: God bless you.
Helpful Trucker: God bless you too.
Weaver Mom: Stick to the Lord. Do you know the Lord?
Helpful Trucker: Ah yes, he's my friend.
[They high five each other.]
Weaver Mom: We'll be spending eternity together.
If that exchange had been scripted, it would have been criticized for it's ridiculous lack of believability. Not many people high five each other when they discover they share a religion. Although maybe if high fiving was more a part of religion there'd be less religious conflicts. I think I'm going to start asking people if they know Veronica Mars and if they say yes, I'll high five them ... hey we all have our passions!
The O.C.
So Marissa goes to a new high school and manages to make friends with clones of her already existing friends? Couldn't the writers have created different and more interesting people for her to be friends with? If they couldn't do interesting (which I'm beginning to suspect they can't), I'd have settled for different - variety is good.
Reunion (1987)
Why is this show so boring? Why couldn't they at least have more bad/cheesy lines like: "I'll wait as long as it takes. And if it takes longer than that, then I'll still be waiting."
Threshold
So a plane full of people are somehow harmlessly exposed to the alien signal (okay suspending disbelief now), and the only person to actually see the weird spirally thing is a pre-pubescent boy (fortunately for the boy, kids and animals are unaffected by the signal)? Really? So no one else in our technologically obsessed age was also using their laptop on the plane?
I actually enjoy Threshold because of the fun banter between the characters, so I'm not really upset about this issue. I'm also hoping that later episodes will have the team discover or investigate whether others on the plane were affected.
Numb3rs
How great is it that Navi Rawat (the crazy slayer, Dana, on Angel, and the ex-girlfriend, Theresa, of Ryan who gave birth to his kid on The O.C.) is in the credits of Numb3rs? Also, is David Krumholtz cuter than ever? Yeah I know those aren't real questions, sometimes I enjoy being shallow.
The 4400
Speaking of shallow: How awesome is it that Summer Glau (River in Serenity) is in the first couple of The 4400 season 2 episodes?
Invasion
If Invasion is trying to be a Lost rip-off, why didn't the brother die when the lights in the water grabbed him? Don't the show creators know that after seeing a pilot ripped out of a plane and his bloody remains hung on a tree branch, that some guy being attacked by a light in the water and surviving just isn't that compelling?
Smallville
Why was the best part of the season premiere when James Marsters materialized from the Kryptonite spaceship? Oh wait, I actually think I know the answer to this question: because I love James Marsters whereas I don't love Smallvile and it's sloppy plots and lack of character developments nearly as much. However I do love Chloe and wish that Clark would stop being all about Lana and be into Chloe.
Close to Home
Why did Close to Home's obvious attempt to manipulate my emotions and cause me to cry during the climatic courtroom scene actually work? Does the show know how to control women's hormones? Do the creators of the show realize that they need to make Annabeth's life less perfect or else we'll all start to hate her?
I also wonder: would I have watched this show if it didn't have Christian Kane (Lindsay from Angel) starring as Annabeth's husband?
Lost
Do I have a short attention span or has Lost lost it's shininess? What's with showing us the EXACT SAME SCENE but from different perspectives? Why did the point of this only seem to be to drag out revealing info to the viewer? Why have the flashback scenes (often my favourite part) seemed pointless except to bash us over the head with a theme? Has Hurley's sole purpose on the show become saying "dude"?
Nonetheless, how awesome was Locke's reaction to watching the orientation film? "We're gonna need to watch that again."
I may be annoyed/baffled/bored by a few of the above shows, but there's still some shows that are rocking my world and nicely proving that I do not have a short attention span:
Gilmore Girls
When Lorelei was sorting through her videotapes my thought was: "Cool. She has as many tapes of television shows as I do. Hmm. It's possible I actually have more." I also loved her logic for not getting rid of her tapes, I use similar logic.
How could I not love a show that uses "snarktastic"?
It was so sad to see how Rory and Lane have drifted apart.
Oh the pain continues, but it's playing out so well. The last scene with Lorelei was just heart-breaking. Who knew that Rosie O'Donnell could facilitate a poignant scene?
Everwood
It's back, it's back!!! And Ephram's back! I'd forgotten how many subtle twists and turns a single Everwood episode takes, each time causing me to rethink my conclusions from previous scenes.
How adorable are Hannah and Bright? I loved Amy's haircut, very reminiscent of Rory's first year of university haircut (although trendier).
Veronica Mars
So I'm definitely loving the new season! Unlike Lost which seems to be jogging in place, Veronica Mars has taken off in a totally new and interesting direction while maintaining what made it excellent last season.
Here's what I'm loving:
"Normal is the Watchword" (2:1)
- The exploration of class and race in the context of an engaging storyline.
- All the interactions between Veronica and her Dad, Veronica and Wallace, and all three especially "Your mother and I have an arrangement. I behave myself and she doesn't leave me" and Keith's suggestion that Wallace pinch his nipples to help him with the drug test.
- "Can Dick and Beaver come out to play?"
- Steve Guttenberg's smarmy character, although I wasn't that into his daughter (what's with the obviously fake wig?).
- The set-up for another awesome mystery: What caused the bus to crash off the cliff? I suspect that this mystery is somehow involved with the increased class tensions/violence in Neptune and who killed Felix.
- That Veronica dumped Logan after he torched the community pool. As much as I love the characters as a couple, it's more fun to watch when they're at odds. Also, I wouldn't want Veronica dating Logan when he's doing horrible stuff like that.
- The cute scene that shows her and Duncan getting back together. Sure I find Duncan bland but it's nice to see Veronica happy (even if I suspect it will be temporary).
- Bitchy Meg, very fun ... you know, until the bus went over the cliff.
- I was surprised by how entertainingly funny Dick is, especially these lines about Veronica: "And Logan's special lady friend who I approve of wholeheartedly and without reservation," and "Would you and your girlfriend -- whose quick wit I find enchanting -- like to take a trip back in style?" Because I'm always a sucker for humour, I could feel myself warming to the jerk that is Dick. I was in stitches over his leering "Hello, friend" to the girl with the bad wig (Gia).
- Veronica's clinging to Duncan. Well, I don't like it but I have faith that this is purposefully being set-up as an indication of issues to be explored in future episodes. ie. Are Duncan and Veronica clinging to nostalgic memories of their past relationship?
- The West Side Story references (Jets and Sharks). Someone involved with this show loves musicals because they've also notably referred to The Wizard of Oz and Grease. Since Duncan and Logan have acted out Grease previously, I'm now imagining them consuming lots of musicals together when they were younger. hee hee
"Driver Ed" (2:2)
- My favourite scene was when Logan and Veronica met each other in the hotel hallway. The awkwardness .... excellent. Also "If the cuddling's the best part, he's not doing it right." I was also intrigued that Veronica tried to find out who Logan's with. Very interesting.
- I could totally see the whole "bus driver having an affair with neighbour and planning to run away, so not suicide" coming but still enjoyed the episode. Especially since it totally caught me off guard with the ending. Who was that on the beach with Veronica's name written on his palm?!
- Kevin Smith! The really sad thing is that his character is really believable. The tacky paraphernalia about the bus with halos reminded me of these truly horrible candles that I was forced to sell once. There was a picture of Princess Diana and the words "Candle in the Wind" on each candle. shudder.
- Veronica gaining access to the police station and Lamb's reaction.
- Meeting Mr. Casablancas. He totally feels like Aaron 2.0. Which made Logan's comment to him - at the shooting range - so perfect: "I think my father had a similar philosophy. Of course, he's a murderer, so...."
- Sexy Logan and Kendall scenes. Shirtless Logan. Wait, the scene where he's completely clothed was my favourite scenes? What's wrong with me?!
- Wallace solving a mystery on his own. Loved that Wallace called Veronica and said "Whatcha doing?" for a change.
- "Jackie." "Oh." Possibly my favourite line of the show. I'm also very interested in getting to know more about Jackie. It's exciting that Wallace gets a love interest this season.
To conclude I must quote from my favourite exchange on television in the past few weeks, courtesy of the Weaver mother on The Amazing Race: Family Edition:
Weaver Mom: God bless you.
Helpful Trucker: God bless you too.
Weaver Mom: Stick to the Lord. Do you know the Lord?
Helpful Trucker: Ah yes, he's my friend.
[They high five each other.]
Weaver Mom: We'll be spending eternity together.
If that exchange had been scripted, it would have been criticized for it's ridiculous lack of believability. Not many people high five each other when they discover they share a religion. Although maybe if high fiving was more a part of religion there'd be less religious conflicts. I think I'm going to start asking people if they know Veronica Mars and if they say yes, I'll high five them ... hey we all have our passions!