The 2010 - 2011 TV season begins Monday. I believe some shows have started but the majority of the shows I watch are getting their first episode next week. Here's what I'm following and why.
MONDAY:
House, MD --
We left off last season with House and Cuddy making out. WHAT?! Six years and now they start making out? HOW WILL THEY MANAGE SEASON SEVEN? I am curious to see what kind of things they can put House through while still keeping him House. However, I have been scared by How I Met Your Mother's treatment of characters who get together who should be together, so I am unsure if they will manage to pull through this drastic change. Still, it will be exciting and different and could re-energize the show.
How I Met Your Mother --
So, I hated season 5 of this show. Maybe it was the way I watched it, spread out like it is, or possibly its that the writers decided to ruin Robin, who is my favorite female on television, but either way, season 5 was not a good season for me. The last episode was probably the best (because DON IS GONE!) And it was a good place to be leaving off, with change in the air. I think the next season may be able to lift me out of the funk I am in with this show, but we shall see.
Castle --
A third season for Nathan Fillion? SHOCK. But this show has so much excellent, and raw, potential. They had the sense in the finale to have Kate realize she might like Castle enough to give it a go. They are pushing the boundaries they have set up with the week to week stuff and I like it. How far they can go, we will see, but I think that they are clever enough to make it work, and Nathan and Stana are going to make it work with the chemistry enough for me to give up on the writing and still love the show.
TUESDAY:
Glee --
We all know I don't like Glee about 75% of the time. I had my rant before. In my season finale episode wrap up post, which never got published, I mentioned that the finale of Glee was where the writers really got some pay off, and THAT IS HOW PACING IS DONE GUYS. Maybe they will take it from there, but I worry that its a once in a blue moon kind of thing. I have also heard they are cutting down on music and that is not okay with me. But, on the plus side, Kurt is getting a boyfriend and I think this season may have potential, we will have to see.
THURSDAY:
This is the big night.
Bones --
This past season bored me a little, gotta say. It wasn't that it wasn't good, but the little things started to get at me that didn't used to. Like the palm trees that DO NOT EXIST IN WASHINGTON, or the fact that the Washington Metro has a very specific look, and they ignored it, or the fact that that building that was at "American University" could not exist on this campus. But, I like that they have managed to move into a new place with the Bones/Booth relationship. The taking a year break I think is actually an amazing idea. I thought it was well conceived, if not thought out. I will be interested to see where they take it and what's going to happen.
30 Rock --
Oh Tina Fey. I am so hoping that she gets to have a boyfriend this season. I think it would be more fun to see her doing stuff like learning to accommodate someone else into Liz Lemon's life, then her doing the stereotypical ridiculousness they make her do on the show. I will probably be disappointed on this point, but I will continue to watch because its smart and funny.
Big Bang Theory --
Sheldon and a girl. I am a huge Sheldon/Penny shipper, but I think that the relationship that is going to unfold (spoiler) is going to be interesting to behold. I believe that it will, in fact, help my Shenny cause, as it will allow Sheldon to grow and become someone new. Leonard, Raj and Howard must also have face time, but I believe that the real draw of the show now is Sheldon. I worry, however, that BBT will lose its sense of who the show is about like HIMYM did, going from ensemble show to the Barney/Sheldon show. They may not make the same mistakes though, and we can hope that is true.
Grey's Anatomy --
Why? Why, you ask me. Well, Grey's has been a battle for me. I sometimes watch and I sometimes don't, but I believe there could be some interesting stuff coming from this season. It may also be heading towards its conclusion, as Ellen wants to get out of the Grey's business, and I am unsure if Lexie Grey can be the Grey in the title. Its going to be an interesting season, and may result in strangely good episodes.
Private Practice --
See, you should have waited until I said this show to ask me why. Not only is this worse then Grey's, all of the show has turned into a horrible mess of "WHO'RE YOU SLEEPING WITH?". But CHARLOTTE AND COOPER ARE GETTING MARRIED. LOVE.
So that's the new season for me. Maybe a new show will catch my eye. I am debating Nikita, as a new show, but I'm unsure if I'll have time, slash it looks a little trashy. So we'll see. If anyone has suggestions, I'd love to hear them.
Showing posts with label glee. Show all posts
Showing posts with label glee. Show all posts
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Friday, May 28, 2010
The Problem With (Glee)
I have a very good friend with whom I share a lot of TV and books and movies who once described watching Torchwood as being like crack: you know its terrible for you, you know its not amazing TV, but you have to keep watching, and when you don't, you go through withdrawal. I thought the part about having to keep watching and withdrawal to be apt (I have not examined Torchwood closely enough to decide whether its really terrible or not, I think its because I'm scared to). But the point is, some shows are like crack, and I think a prime example is Glee.
Glee's pull is the music. A show where people sing? Its like having a musical every episode and that's awesome. I love musical episodes -- they tend to be my favorite episode in a series. I love musicals in general, and so I decided to try Glee.
The major problem with Glee is not the characters (though they could use some work), nor is the plot (hackneyed and cliche in some places), its the pacing. I know I have already discussed pacing -- but that was the good kind of pacing, the kind that draws you in and compels you to keep going. Glee either is attempting this and failing, or the writers have no idea what's going on.
I started Glee after four episodes had aired and felt the compulsion to tear my hair out. They stuff so much plot into those four episodes that it feels like a full half season. Rachel and Finn happen far too quickly, the emotional pull of Emma and Will is too rapid for me to love them. Quinn is pregnant and its really Puck's, but she makes Finn think its his, and Terri is faking a pregnancy. Too much stuff is going on in four episodes for one season, let alone four episodes. The problem continues as the show goes on.
The central plot at the beginning of the series -- that glee club has to succeed in order to continue -- fizzles and dies as the series gets its back nine and so we lose the suspense that could have been built. Terri has an outrageous plan that is so stupid it hurts and degrades Will's character to a chump. Seriously? He wasn't aware that his wife was being really weird about her pregnancy? The plot meanders in and out, and attempts to be interesting, but because it was blown too early, you lose that chance.
The other thing you lose is emotion. I found this particularly jarring in recent episodes when moments that are supposed to be heartwarming just didn't make sense. I am bothered by the Rachel finding her mother storyline. Yeah, it could be interesting eventually to find out about Rachel's mother -- but leave that for another couple of seasons! You have another two already ordered, why bring in something that forces emotionality on the audience when it hasn't been built too? I was confused, sincerely confused, as to why Rachel would want to find her mother. She explained at the beginning that her "two gay dads" had found a surrogate, and yet when the mother thing came up, she suddenly wanted to know why her mother had given her up.
Well, because your mother was a surrogate, and your two gay dads wanted you and had paid money to have you.
The sudden jump to finding her mother happened in two episodes -- and herein lies another problem. This show seems to not understand the concept of time. Terri has been faking her pregnancy since after Quinn got pregnant, and yet Terri had to start padding right away while Quinn still looks like she's not in the slightest pregnant. Additionally, Terri's plan to have Quinn give her the baby during Quinn's spring break seems to be all wrong, as spring break for Jesse already happened and Quinn still doesn't look pregnant. We also spend so much time waiting for sectionals/regionals and get told its coming up so soon, yet because of that we lose the urgency that the writers were looking for.
I suppose the point of this is, Glee is an example of a show that has pacing problems. Its not a good show as a result, and is therefore like crack -- you have to keep watching it because maybe there will be a time when the writers realize what their doing and the show will become good. And in the meantime you get to listen to music. Yes, fast paced is good, but there is something to knowing when too much is happening in a show for its own good.
So take the lesson from Glee. Pacing is important. Work on it, and you might have something that is worth it, instead of just addictive (and will eventually make you lose your teeth).
Glee's pull is the music. A show where people sing? Its like having a musical every episode and that's awesome. I love musical episodes -- they tend to be my favorite episode in a series. I love musicals in general, and so I decided to try Glee.
The major problem with Glee is not the characters (though they could use some work), nor is the plot (hackneyed and cliche in some places), its the pacing. I know I have already discussed pacing -- but that was the good kind of pacing, the kind that draws you in and compels you to keep going. Glee either is attempting this and failing, or the writers have no idea what's going on.
I started Glee after four episodes had aired and felt the compulsion to tear my hair out. They stuff so much plot into those four episodes that it feels like a full half season. Rachel and Finn happen far too quickly, the emotional pull of Emma and Will is too rapid for me to love them. Quinn is pregnant and its really Puck's, but she makes Finn think its his, and Terri is faking a pregnancy. Too much stuff is going on in four episodes for one season, let alone four episodes. The problem continues as the show goes on.
The central plot at the beginning of the series -- that glee club has to succeed in order to continue -- fizzles and dies as the series gets its back nine and so we lose the suspense that could have been built. Terri has an outrageous plan that is so stupid it hurts and degrades Will's character to a chump. Seriously? He wasn't aware that his wife was being really weird about her pregnancy? The plot meanders in and out, and attempts to be interesting, but because it was blown too early, you lose that chance.
The other thing you lose is emotion. I found this particularly jarring in recent episodes when moments that are supposed to be heartwarming just didn't make sense. I am bothered by the Rachel finding her mother storyline. Yeah, it could be interesting eventually to find out about Rachel's mother -- but leave that for another couple of seasons! You have another two already ordered, why bring in something that forces emotionality on the audience when it hasn't been built too? I was confused, sincerely confused, as to why Rachel would want to find her mother. She explained at the beginning that her "two gay dads" had found a surrogate, and yet when the mother thing came up, she suddenly wanted to know why her mother had given her up.
Well, because your mother was a surrogate, and your two gay dads wanted you and had paid money to have you.
The sudden jump to finding her mother happened in two episodes -- and herein lies another problem. This show seems to not understand the concept of time. Terri has been faking her pregnancy since after Quinn got pregnant, and yet Terri had to start padding right away while Quinn still looks like she's not in the slightest pregnant. Additionally, Terri's plan to have Quinn give her the baby during Quinn's spring break seems to be all wrong, as spring break for Jesse already happened and Quinn still doesn't look pregnant. We also spend so much time waiting for sectionals/regionals and get told its coming up so soon, yet because of that we lose the urgency that the writers were looking for.
I suppose the point of this is, Glee is an example of a show that has pacing problems. Its not a good show as a result, and is therefore like crack -- you have to keep watching it because maybe there will be a time when the writers realize what their doing and the show will become good. And in the meantime you get to listen to music. Yes, fast paced is good, but there is something to knowing when too much is happening in a show for its own good.
So take the lesson from Glee. Pacing is important. Work on it, and you might have something that is worth it, instead of just addictive (and will eventually make you lose your teeth).
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