Monsters of Television

“I’m home. Wherever that is.”

Were it not for Pretty Little Liars I doubt I would have checked out Switched at Birth. While original content is not new to ABC Family, only in recent years has it proven to be a great cable contender. Switched at Birth carries on this new found tradition and is sure to aid ABC Family in its ratings and legitimacy as a home for great television.

Is the show landmark? No. Is it bringing new stories or ideas to the table? Yes and no. But it doesn’t always take innovation to make a hit or to tell a good story. Switched at Birth tells the story of two teenage girls who are just that: switched at birth, and the toll it begins to take on the two families involved. That’s not an unheard of story. But what makes the show interesting is the characters. And the inclusion of deaf culture. And the social commentary.

Oh yeah. And some of the people who are on the show.

The genetic quest for truth begins with a blood test. A student administered blood test. Who the hell green lit that? Terribly irresponsible. Bay’s (cool girl name alert) parents are both A so she must be A or O. Science lesson for you, kids. Bay, who is AB,  is really bothered by this blood test. She remarks that she and her mother are very different, always have been. Their hands, their bodies; they’re not alike. Was she adopted? No. But apparently she thinks it sometimes, and people ask her if she was. Bay says she needs something from her mother, no matter how odd it might sound. Six weeks later, a genetic lab has determined that it is 99.9% unlikely that Bay is the daughter of her parents. A mix up (way too light of a term for what happened) must have occurred at the hospital. See, that’s why you mark your babies before they’re taken away, right Dwight?

Read more »

“You objectify me then you deny me?”

Yeah, you right.

With a show about New Orleans, you might expect the number of scenes featuring topless women to be much higher, especially when it follows a show like Game of Thrones (which I think is only rivaled by Dream On in the gratuitous nudity department).

That’s not to say that I feel like there’s a certain quota that needs to be met or anything (though I’m pretty sure HBO execs have it on their checklists) or that the show needs nudity to stay interesting. It really doesn’t. I keep watching every week, boobs or no, and stay pretty entertained. It’s just that, as a person that’s never been to New Orleans, the town has a certain reputation. That reputation is invested in plastic beads and some drunk women making some decisions they may not normally make. Other stuff, too, like parades and tradition. But this is what late night tells me is most important.

The reason why I bring this up is because we’ve gotten to another season’s episode dedicated to Mardi Gras and, of course, nudity is far more common when Carnival shows up. But even though there are more scenes with nudity (three), two of them are just flashes or obfuscated by chaos and only one involves actual sex. Whereas other shows use nudity as a weapon against the audience’s distraction and to bring in a certain demographic every week, it’s almost like Treme doesn’t want to call attention to it. Even the episode itself, what you would imagine would be the most important episode dedicated to the most important day in New Orleans, isn’t as climactic as you’d think.

Sure, stuff happens and it’s important but, in a show that’s not really into cliffhanger storytelling, what should be a pinnacle episode is really just another building block. This is a story of the New Orleans that is more than Fat Tuesday and that we don’t end either of these seasons during Carnival contributes to that theme. In fact, that many of the major characters of the show are either disinterested in or not in attendance of the festivities is probably an important point.

Read more »

Rosie who? I no longer care. But I still love "The Killing."

Man, I loved this episode.

With her son missing, Sarah and her partner Holder scour the town in search for him.  I loved the tense interplay between Sarah and Holder, the palpable fear on Sarah’s face as she faces the same horror as the Larsens, the sense that both these detectives are so damaged but trying so hard to return to “normal” relations with their respective families. During her 10 hour search for her missing son, Sarah must face not only fear of loss but also her inadequacies as a parent. Best moment? When Holder compares Sarah to an orphaned cat who has never been taught to hide her own feces.

Heres the rub.  Do you know what was the primary trouble with this episode? It wasn’t an episode of The Killing.

Read more »

“We stand behind you, Lord Stark.“

He of the squinty eyes, very fine beard, and the stupidly noble and honorable heart.

Before I start in on the episode (and I did like it, so breathe easy), we need to talk about that little scene with Ros, the other whore, and Carcetti. For the run of this series so far, and now perhaps reaching the pinnacle of it, Game of Thrones has made sex boring.

Now, and forever, I will only associate sex with Aidan Gillen talking about the lost, unrequited love of Catelyn Stark (those Stark women, be they by blood or by marriage, linger don’t they?). Or Harry Lloyd talking about dragons.

So thank you, Game of Thrones. You’ve been the best form of birth control anyone could ask for. Well done, and kudos to you.

And now to the episode. Read more »

“You’re twice the man I thought you were.”

Imaginary friends.

Hm.

Certainly glad I stepped back from my typical rule and did the first half of this two-parter, because otherwise I would’ve just talked about the ending of this episode the entire time instead of enjoying what pleasures “The Rebel Flesh” offered. At least I was right when I said that “The Almost People” would take a sharp turn in tone (all those glorious horror gestures are all but gone here).

But here I sit, trying to decide if that ending really works for me.

The rest of the episode is pretty standard fare. Lots of running through hallways, the Doctor being clever and proving his points left and right (“No, I’ve helped him into an act of humanity.”), and it’s all very just kind of there. It’s just not particularly interesting, really, to me. Whereas “The Rebel Flesh” at least had style and mood going for it, “The Almost People” is so blandly by the numbers that it kind of offends a smidge.

But here I continue to sit. Mulling. Read more »

I realized, based on my excitement for this episode, that I hate the majority of superstars out there right now. Most of the featured artists in this season have blown. Kanye is someone whose music I love so I was pumped to have the crews dance to songs I actually enjoy. The fun part about this week was the crews weren’t dancing to just one song, it was a medley of Kanye songs. That’s how deep and awesome homeboy’s discography is.

With only three crews left I was wondering how the show was going to fill an hour. One answer came in the form a group dance featuring the remaining crews. These don’t really do it for me. They try and feature the strengths of each crew while simultaneously have them dance as a single unit, but I find the performances to be rather lackluster. Even dancing to the amazing “All of the Lights” wasn’t enough. Is it the lack of challenges? Is it the lack of competition? I dunno, but I am underwhelmed. Another answer was longer dances. This I liked. The other answer is coming later in the review.

So read on.
Read more »

“For him. It’s my way of being close to him.“

Despite all his big talk, Dean has a horrible sense of what makes for a good first date.

Taking a break from the regular format for an episode that really stood out for a number of reasons, and to talk about its place within Supernatural‘s framework in general.

At its core, Supernatural is a show about family (at least so far, but I don’t see that changing). I mean, yes, its unifying relationship is about two brothers (and their father, of course) so it’s not that much of a stretch to make that claim.

Like I said in the review of the first disc, I really like the introduction of Jo and Ellen as another take on not only hunting, but also presenting a different gender take on the challenges. And “No Exit” gives an opportunity to explore those challenges.

Plus it’s pretty damn creepy, isn’t it?

Read more »

“Who can rule without wealth or fear or love?“

Sure. I could've picked something else. But why would I?

Hey, so I liked this episode.

I mean, I still had problems with the episode, but at least the boulder of exposition has been pushed down the hill and will begin to pick up speed.

I hope. I don’t know if I could tolerate the show suddenly falling back into exposition mode with only fours of story left for the season. That would totally kill all the really nice momentum this episode kicked up, and that would make me very cross.

Read more »

“I’m making changes.”

This is what Huddy closure should look like: House in a final dramatic gesture to Cuddy's horror. So sweet.

Let me tell you why this was a good episode of House and it’s probably not for the reasons you think.

It’s not because of the structure of the narrative. In season finales past we’ve seen so many different ways for them to break the formula, some great (season 4) and some not so great (season 6). By comparison to those episodes, this one is pretty straight-forward. Yeah, we have interviews with Cuddy and Wilson that set up the last five minutes but nothing like Amber in the bus accident. Really, if it weren’t for the extremity of those five minutes, it would probably line up with anything else this season.

That very well might have been the intention, to keep it in line with most of the rest of the season. For most of the hour, it doesn’t even feel like a season finale of any show, let alone one in the rich tradition of this particular series. It’s kind of a rope-a-dope. But again, not for the reason many people think.

It’s not what actually happens at the end that makes this episode very good. It’s what it means. And it means a lot of things: breaking through, connection, finally getting on the other side of things after walling everyone out. But, most importantly to me, it means that all that Psych 101 Wilson, the Ducklings, and Cuddy communicate through is just as much crap as I think it is. With a single action, House looks around at everyone that claims to be the foremost experts in all things Gregory and says, “Don’t pretend like you know me.” And that is why this episode is special.

But let’s stop beating around the bush.

Read more »

“It’s interesting that you refer to them as ‘it’ but you call a glorified cattle prod ‘she.’“

Bubble bubble toil and trouble indeed.

I normally don’t review the first part of a Doctor Who two-parter, but since I’m going to be doing it again the week after next for the mid-season break, I figure I might as well do it here.

The other reason, beyond setting a minor precedent for myself, is that I feel like the episode deserves a little defending. The reaction from a lot of folks I know was fairly cool, with someone using the phrase “tepid” to describe it on Twitter. And the episode isn’t great or even all that good, but it does some nice things that I think need to be acknowledged.

Of course, this review will be a little shorter than others, if only because there’s a little bit less to say as the episode is mostly just set-up for past 2. However, (All of that turned out to be false.) I have a feeling that part 2 will (heheh) depart from the cool vibe this episode engages, so we may get to two tonally different episodes. And I’ve gone through that anxiety recently enough that I don’t want to make the same mistake twice.

Read more »