I've pretty much done nothing but praise this show since I started writing about it. I jumped in at the right time with two hilarious episodes. This one, while still having funnier moments then say How I Met Your Mother, wasn't quite as good so I figure I'd focus on the negative this week (You're welcome, Ken). I don't mean to beat a dead horse but the biggest handicap of this show continues to be Winston, a character that the writers have no idea what to do with and continue to shoe horn into episodes. This week we were supposed to be interested in him breaking up with a girl who I had forgotten he was even dating. It's been three weeks since we've seen or heard anything from her, yet we are supposed to somehow be invested in the relationship. The breakup does bring potential good news, maybe this is freeing up Winston to play a bigger part in the show, but I felt the same thing when he got his own radio show and that was two weeks ago and we haven't heard anything since. I get that from a writing stand point the show is about Nick and Jess, most great sitcoms are propelled by a will they or won't they story line and Nick and Jess play that role in this one, but this show excels as a ensemble comedy, not a Jess show or a Schmidt show, and keeping Winston on the fringe is wasting a ton of comedy.
On the bright side... I can't get enough of Jess's bad impressions, keep'm coming New Girl writers! And the Nick quote of the week is "Little kids are scared. I just don't like them (haunted houses)."
Even though it was funnier then any How I Met Your Mother this year, it felt sub-par for what New Girl has been putting out this season so it's going down as a loss... 2-1
Wednesday, October 31, 2012
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Walking Dead: Walk With Me
THE GOVERNOR HAS ARRIVED! Most of us who have read the comics have waited two long years for the moment when we would be introduced to The Governor and Woodbury. I have to admit it wasn't what I expected, but it also far from unsatisfactory. Some speculated that Merle would become The Governor, so when he showed up in the first 10 minutes of the episode I was sure he was the guy. What an entrance! It was everything you would want from The Governor, obvious crazy and bad ass violent. But the writers decided to go another way with the character of the Governor, a more subtle route with Merle just a lap dog. They did away with the crazy biker running a city of psychos and gave us a straight laced politician type running a stepford wives community. I have to admit, I'm excited about this new Governor, there's something way creeper and potentially more volatile about a crazy man who seems to have his shit together. You can feel the crazy bubbling under the surface and get apprehensive about when it's going to blow. I do think the fish tank at the end was over doing it. It really didn't serve any purpose other then to let us know the guy isn't right, and I felt that was established enough during the episode. I've always been a bigger fan of subtle and the fish tank was anything but.
I was going to write something about how creepy I found Michonne's pet zombies, the way they just stand there without jaws or arms, rocking back and forth moaning. But then she did away with them and removed that problem. The show hasn't gotten into who those zombies were yet and I'm not sure that they will, but in the comics they were her boyfriend and best friend, so the suddenness of her actions was a little startling, yet was a great study into the character. She carried around these zombies who she was emotionally attached to, yet was will to sacrifice them in a second if she thought they effected her chances of survival.
So far this season the show seems to be heading in a great direction. It has picked up some of the most compelling stories from the comics and appears to be doing them justice. While not lifting them word for word, they have put their own twists on them, twists that change things slightly but keep the heart of the stories in tact.
I was going to write something about how creepy I found Michonne's pet zombies, the way they just stand there without jaws or arms, rocking back and forth moaning. But then she did away with them and removed that problem. The show hasn't gotten into who those zombies were yet and I'm not sure that they will, but in the comics they were her boyfriend and best friend, so the suddenness of her actions was a little startling, yet was a great study into the character. She carried around these zombies who she was emotionally attached to, yet was will to sacrifice them in a second if she thought they effected her chances of survival.
So far this season the show seems to be heading in a great direction. It has picked up some of the most compelling stories from the comics and appears to be doing them justice. While not lifting them word for word, they have put their own twists on them, twists that change things slightly but keep the heart of the stories in tact.
Monday, October 29, 2012
Book Review: Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said by Philip K. Dick (48 in 2012? #36)
I seem to have found a theme running through the books I read, or at least the ones I have read and wrote about this year. I feel I have written quite a bit about the idea of identity. It seems to be something lots of authors feel the need to explore. Wither they are dealing with their own issues with the subject or it's just a topic that is easy to mine great stories from, it has popped up time and time again in the books I have read for this 48 in 2012 challenge. Flow My Tears, The Policeman Said is yet another example of an author exploring the loss of identity and the bigger issues this may lead to. This story uses the idea of celebrity and it's fleeting nature to question how me define ourselves.
Philip K. Dick is widely considered one of the greatest science fiction writers ever. This novel is certainly proof of his genius. Although it never reads as well as Vonnegut, the ideas conveyed are truly impressive and the world created is amazing. Some of the dialogue may feel forced and stiff but it does little to undermine the true genius of the story Dick has created. The characters are well drawn and compelling leaving the reader to care for them even if the world they live in and the actions they take seem a little odd.
Flow My Tears is set in what would have been the future when the novel was written in 1974. The feeling of being outdated can be the downfall of many a science fiction novel, but Dick was able to create a world that still feels fresh and possible today. With the small exception that LPs were still the predominate form of playing music, he made a world that could still happen. When thought in the context of when it was written, he may have even been ahead of its time with the way it deals with the idea of celebrity. I wonder what Dick would have thought of today's insane obsession with celebrity, an obsession that seems to add to the points made in Flow My Tears.
This book isn't for everybody. As much as it may be a strong satire, it is still very much a science fiction story. If you're not a fan of science fiction you will probably find it dense and confusing or just plane boring. But, lucky for me, I love the genre and this book.
Philip K. Dick is widely considered one of the greatest science fiction writers ever. This novel is certainly proof of his genius. Although it never reads as well as Vonnegut, the ideas conveyed are truly impressive and the world created is amazing. Some of the dialogue may feel forced and stiff but it does little to undermine the true genius of the story Dick has created. The characters are well drawn and compelling leaving the reader to care for them even if the world they live in and the actions they take seem a little odd.
Flow My Tears is set in what would have been the future when the novel was written in 1974. The feeling of being outdated can be the downfall of many a science fiction novel, but Dick was able to create a world that still feels fresh and possible today. With the small exception that LPs were still the predominate form of playing music, he made a world that could still happen. When thought in the context of when it was written, he may have even been ahead of its time with the way it deals with the idea of celebrity. I wonder what Dick would have thought of today's insane obsession with celebrity, an obsession that seems to add to the points made in Flow My Tears.
This book isn't for everybody. As much as it may be a strong satire, it is still very much a science fiction story. If you're not a fan of science fiction you will probably find it dense and confusing or just plane boring. But, lucky for me, I love the genre and this book.
Thursday, October 25, 2012
New Girl: Models
I'm struggling a little with how to tackle these New Girl posts. It's a different beast then the other shows that I write about since it focuses more on the jokes then the plot. The shows style falls somewhere between How I Met Your Mother's high concept devotion to story and 30 Rock's laugh packed devotion to stacking jokes. Since the show deals less with where things are going it's hard to write about how the plot has been developed. I could list all the jokes that made me laugh, but that would be way to long and not at all interesting. So I'm left somewhere in between.
Sometimes I think this issue becomes a dilemma for the writers of the show as well. How much attention should they pay to plot and how much to jokes? This episode felt like a mini exercise in that argument. While the premise of the episode, if we met now would we be friends, was really interesting and well set up, by the time we got to the end of the episode it felt a little under served. I felt like the conclusion to the question was, who cares, but that wasn't very satisfying. And once again, the Winston character is left as an also ran, third wheel who has little to no involvement. There could have been more conflict involved and, if the writers were more apt to focus on plot, it felt like a big enough issue to carry into other episodes. Instead, we get a funny episode that serves its jokes well but falls short of what it could have been.
Now that I got that small criticism out of the way, Holy Cow, that was a funny episode. New Girl is quickly becoming the most quote filled episode on TV. "You want to momma bird me the cookie?" is as totally absurd and totally hilarious a line as I could imagine hearing. Other favorite lines of mine included, "You should take that off. It's crazy," and "Did you guys watch porn together again?" I could also use more Russian cracker ads, that whole bit was silly and would make a great joke to carry through the season. But the genius of this show isn't just in its writing. The physical humor is amazing as well. Zooey's work in the scene where she is trying to model the car is probably the funniest thing broadcast all year. It was something I could see Lucile Ball or Carol Burnett doing and I couldn't imagine those two legends making it any funnier. I was on the floor laughing.
It may not always know how to deal with the story lines, but New Girl certainly knows how to handle the funny and for that I give it another win, 2-0.
Sometimes I think this issue becomes a dilemma for the writers of the show as well. How much attention should they pay to plot and how much to jokes? This episode felt like a mini exercise in that argument. While the premise of the episode, if we met now would we be friends, was really interesting and well set up, by the time we got to the end of the episode it felt a little under served. I felt like the conclusion to the question was, who cares, but that wasn't very satisfying. And once again, the Winston character is left as an also ran, third wheel who has little to no involvement. There could have been more conflict involved and, if the writers were more apt to focus on plot, it felt like a big enough issue to carry into other episodes. Instead, we get a funny episode that serves its jokes well but falls short of what it could have been.
Now that I got that small criticism out of the way, Holy Cow, that was a funny episode. New Girl is quickly becoming the most quote filled episode on TV. "You want to momma bird me the cookie?" is as totally absurd and totally hilarious a line as I could imagine hearing. Other favorite lines of mine included, "You should take that off. It's crazy," and "Did you guys watch porn together again?" I could also use more Russian cracker ads, that whole bit was silly and would make a great joke to carry through the season. But the genius of this show isn't just in its writing. The physical humor is amazing as well. Zooey's work in the scene where she is trying to model the car is probably the funniest thing broadcast all year. It was something I could see Lucile Ball or Carol Burnett doing and I couldn't imagine those two legends making it any funnier. I was on the floor laughing.
It may not always know how to deal with the story lines, but New Girl certainly knows how to handle the funny and for that I give it another win, 2-0.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
The Walking Dead: Sick
Stuff went down between the time last season ended and this one began. We saw hints of it's effects in last episodes opening scene, the desperation and cold hearted calculation. But the point was driven even further home this week with the downward spiral of one of the characters the group has come to rely on. A change has occurred in Rick and it is equal parts chilling and depressing. The total bleakness of the world has seemed to final break Rick and brought him to a point that seems impossible to come back from. His cold hearted killing of the inmates when pushed to far, the canyon wide distance between him and Lori in the final scene, this isn't the same Rick that we have come to love over the last two seasons. This is a man who has been pushed to the limits of humanity to keep himself and his family alive and the depiction of the toll that has taken is impressive to see.
Even with this wonderfully depressing painting of a hero spiraling out of control the writers were able to give something that they have kept from us for two seasons, hope. For the first time in the shows history we were given a small gleam of hope as Hershel awoke after getting bit. If you can separate the bite from the body, maybe you prevent the zombie virus from spreading. I not sure the Hershel is in the clear, but just the fact that he has beaten it thus far is more hope then we have been given. If the virus can be beat the question can become have these people descended to far to come back instead of what's the point of even trying to go on. I've said before, for this show to be effective we have to feel that there is something for these people to be living for, and this is the first time we have been giving the feeling that it may all be worth it.
Aside from the major story lines, my favorite scene was the inmates first attempts at attacking the zombies. Yes, it was gallows humor, but all the prisoners trying to shiv the zombies in the gut made me laugh. Add the other looking on in disbelief and disapproval and you have a great bit of story telling and an entertaining moment in a morbid setting.
Even with this wonderfully depressing painting of a hero spiraling out of control the writers were able to give something that they have kept from us for two seasons, hope. For the first time in the shows history we were given a small gleam of hope as Hershel awoke after getting bit. If you can separate the bite from the body, maybe you prevent the zombie virus from spreading. I not sure the Hershel is in the clear, but just the fact that he has beaten it thus far is more hope then we have been given. If the virus can be beat the question can become have these people descended to far to come back instead of what's the point of even trying to go on. I've said before, for this show to be effective we have to feel that there is something for these people to be living for, and this is the first time we have been giving the feeling that it may all be worth it.
Aside from the major story lines, my favorite scene was the inmates first attempts at attacking the zombies. Yes, it was gallows humor, but all the prisoners trying to shiv the zombies in the gut made me laugh. Add the other looking on in disbelief and disapproval and you have a great bit of story telling and an entertaining moment in a morbid setting.
Monday, October 22, 2012
Book Review: In Cold Blood by Truman Capote (48 in 2012? #35)
There are only two responses one has when reading a “classic” for the first time. You either see the genius that warranted the title or you don’t get it at all. Once dubbed a great novel the book loses any right to a middle ground. I’ve never heard anyone read Hamlet or Great Expectations or To The Lighthouse and say, “It was alright.” In Cold Blood, widely considered the novel that launched the true crime genre, is easily considered a “classic” in most book circles and I would find it hard to believe that anyone would read it and not see why. Truman Capote may have created a genre, but this novel transcends any label. It’s a great novel period. Capote’s ability to give us the known facts and then weave in what we can only assume occurred turns his book into a complete story that is truly impressive. Capote goes beyond a mere story about a horrible crime and gives us a deep character study that delves into the mind of a killer.
What makes In Cold Blood such an amazing novel is the way it depicts such a horrendous crime then goes back and makes the reader feel sympathy for the killers, or at least one of the men involved in the crime. We will never know for sure what exactly happened in that house, who was responsible for exactly what action. Even Capote’s wonderfully retelling couldn’t fill in those blanks. But we do know that these two men are responsible, yet the picture Capote paints leaves us feeling for men who didn’t seem to feel for anyone else. In Cold Blood is as much about what circumstances create criminals then it is about a specific crime. It tells us why about a crime that seemed to have no apparent why even if the answer is hard for most of us to digest.
Of course, at the same time Capote is building the back story of the killers, he also gives us a wonderful depiction of the victims and the quiet town they lived in. He is never unsympathetic towards the horror of the murders. We may understand better why they were committed but he also makes sure we never lose sight of how tragic they were, what kind of horrendous effect it had on a whole community. We may grow to feel bad for the killers and the circumstances that led to their actions, but we never feel the punishment is undeserved.
In Cold Blood may have launched a whole genre, but it still remains the perfect true crime novel. It is as complete a depiction of a crime as one could imagine. It shows the horror of the crime, the effect it left behind, and the psychology of the killers. And it does it all with wonderful prose and compelling structure. Capote created a classic that still stands up even though it deals with a crime that occurred 53 years ago. If you haven’t read In Cold Blood, you really should. I promise you won’t “not get it” or think it was “all right.” This is a classic that deserves the title.
Friday, October 19, 2012
Fall TV 2012-13: Part 3
I watch way to much TV, because here's part three of me breaking down the fall shows I watch and there's going to be at least one more...
Arrow
This was the show I was most excited for and, so far, is also the new show I have enjoyed the most. I should preface those comments with, I am a huge Green Arrow fan. He's right there with Batman and the Flash as my top three all time favorite superheros. I find it kind of amazing that others thought him worth of his own television show, but I'm not going to argue. Is this the best show ever produced? Not by a long shot. Was it filled with cheesy moments and forced drama? Not as much as it could have. This show isn't going to solve any world problems, even if Oliver Queen is the biggest liberal in the DC Universe, but it does look like it is going to entertain.
VERDICT: It's on my season pass and isn't going anywhere
Nashville
If you know anything about me, you are probably dumbfounded at seeing this shows name pop up in this post. There is almost nothing about this show that is for me. I have less then zero interest in country music and these types of dramas hold very little that is compelling to me. But the show has one huge thing going for it... Mrs. Coach! I'm pretty sure I would watch anything Connie Britton shows up on. I did, after all, sit through every episode of American Horror Story last year. The weird thing is, I kind of liked this pilot. There was some interesting drama set up, some interesting characters established, and Connie Britton is in it. Against all odds, I may be watching this show for a while.
VERDICT: It's going on my season pass
Once Upon A Time
I think I kept watching this show last year because it was clever and different, but I'm starting to feel like the luster is disappearing. I've found myself really struggling to get back into the show so far this season. It still has all the elements that made it a solid watch last year, but it's starting to feel like old hat; everything that was fresh and original last season feels stale in year two. They need to find a way to keep the show original, shake up things without losing the good storytelling that made last year a fun watch. It's still safely on the watch list, but it's quickly heading into the realm of background noise.
VERDICT: Ended last season at #21, might drop a bit
666 Park Avenue
This was marketed as Rosemary's Baby the TV show. That's quite a description to live up to and probably not a fair one at all. This isn't Rosemary's Baby. It isn't even a weak rehash. There have been very few creepy moments and nothing scary. And the drama isn't compelling at all. Nashville had more suspense in it's pilot then three episodes of this show combined. I'm holding out hope that it's building towards something more interesting then what we are seeing now, but I'm sure I will be holding on much longer. This show has another episode or two to show me something and then it's gone.
VERDICT: On final notice
The Walking Dead
Even though I was a little critical how graphic the violence got in the season opener, this is still one of my favorite shows. I love the way it deals with both the violence and psychology of such a traumatic event. If the opening scene of the first episode is any hint at what's in store this season, we are in for a great ride.
VERDICT: Ended last season at #3, and is strongly entrenched there
Arrow
This was the show I was most excited for and, so far, is also the new show I have enjoyed the most. I should preface those comments with, I am a huge Green Arrow fan. He's right there with Batman and the Flash as my top three all time favorite superheros. I find it kind of amazing that others thought him worth of his own television show, but I'm not going to argue. Is this the best show ever produced? Not by a long shot. Was it filled with cheesy moments and forced drama? Not as much as it could have. This show isn't going to solve any world problems, even if Oliver Queen is the biggest liberal in the DC Universe, but it does look like it is going to entertain.
VERDICT: It's on my season pass and isn't going anywhere
Nashville
If you know anything about me, you are probably dumbfounded at seeing this shows name pop up in this post. There is almost nothing about this show that is for me. I have less then zero interest in country music and these types of dramas hold very little that is compelling to me. But the show has one huge thing going for it... Mrs. Coach! I'm pretty sure I would watch anything Connie Britton shows up on. I did, after all, sit through every episode of American Horror Story last year. The weird thing is, I kind of liked this pilot. There was some interesting drama set up, some interesting characters established, and Connie Britton is in it. Against all odds, I may be watching this show for a while.
VERDICT: It's going on my season pass
Once Upon A Time
I think I kept watching this show last year because it was clever and different, but I'm starting to feel like the luster is disappearing. I've found myself really struggling to get back into the show so far this season. It still has all the elements that made it a solid watch last year, but it's starting to feel like old hat; everything that was fresh and original last season feels stale in year two. They need to find a way to keep the show original, shake up things without losing the good storytelling that made last year a fun watch. It's still safely on the watch list, but it's quickly heading into the realm of background noise.
VERDICT: Ended last season at #21, might drop a bit
666 Park Avenue
This was marketed as Rosemary's Baby the TV show. That's quite a description to live up to and probably not a fair one at all. This isn't Rosemary's Baby. It isn't even a weak rehash. There have been very few creepy moments and nothing scary. And the drama isn't compelling at all. Nashville had more suspense in it's pilot then three episodes of this show combined. I'm holding out hope that it's building towards something more interesting then what we are seeing now, but I'm sure I will be holding on much longer. This show has another episode or two to show me something and then it's gone.
VERDICT: On final notice
The Walking Dead
Even though I was a little critical how graphic the violence got in the season opener, this is still one of my favorite shows. I love the way it deals with both the violence and psychology of such a traumatic event. If the opening scene of the first episode is any hint at what's in store this season, we are in for a great ride.
VERDICT: Ended last season at #3, and is strongly entrenched there
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