Okay, you know what? I'm not gonna do it. Because right now, mine is one of millions of blogs spouting their opinions, defenses, eviscerations, and the like, of last night's episodes. And I hate being sheep. But last night, the Husband's BFF brought over Deuce the Wonder Puppy (no longer a puppy), and instead of being annoyed by all the attention she wanted, I was grateful to have a distraction from the blandness occurring onscreen.
I made a promise to the Husband that I would commit to this season (totally walked away last season before everyone else started complaining - I watch too much TV, something has to be completely fascinating to me to keep me watching), and commit I will. Most likely with several bitchy comments.
I actually had problems with Heroes from the beginning, but I liked the concept. And that's where the problems start. The idea of "concept shows" leave me a little cold. The "we're trapped on a island and weird things are happening and we can't get off and OMG and Holy Shit! is the island moving?!?" Yes, I am unafraid to be the lone geek on the planet who hates Lost.
Here's the thing with me and TV: I love it, but I don't need to be challenged by it. We live in a big complicated messy world populated by citizens who are contradictory in their equal parts frustrating and lovable ways. I live in a world that acknowledges the gray aspects of humanity daily. So I don't celebrate it on TV as some do. I know there are those who love that. Who love the open-endedness of complicated story arcs, and the way good guys aren't always heroes or heroes aren't always good guys. And I can see the appeal. These are intelligent shows that cater to adults and reflect life in subtle ways even if they take place on an imaginary island that travels through or exists outside of time.
Me? I like completeness. I like turning on a television show and knowing the main story to which I am introduced will be resolved. I like having heroes on my TV that are unrealistically good, because I don't think it's too unrealistic. For example, Eureka is about as fantasy as TV gets, but Jack Carter's Everyman is a lone True Good Guy in a sea of geniuses (genii? genium?) who have relied too much on their intellect to swim through life. Jack, who cannot think his way out of every situation, has to therefore be the one unafraid to take action. And he does so, even with reservation, because it is the right thing to do. I love Jack Carter because he represents to me why I watch TV: not to see characters acting hyper-realistic in a fantastic setting, but people acting heroically, no matter the setting.
I started watching Heroes because I wanted to see a group of people struggle and come to terms with their gifts. And I knew some of those people would be "bad guys." So for every Sylar, shouldn't there be someone- Anyone?- who is willing to be the hero? Evil characters are more interesting if they actually have a foil. Oh sure, we have Hiro ("Hiro from Heroes is the only true hero."), but he isn't Sylar's equal, and right now he's annoying the piss out of me for not realizing that events we witness in a hypothetical future aren't certain to occur because simply becoming aware of those hypothetical future events automatically changes them. Someone who teleports through time and space should know that by now. So Sylar? boring and whiny to me. Peter? So needs to pull that stick out of his ass (did the season one finale never happen?). Nathan? Okay, you can keep doing what you're doing (because you do it so well), but DO SOMETHING, for fuck's sake. Actually that last bit? Goes for all of you.
ETA 3 things: 1. Parkman thinking the turtle was talking to him? Priceless. 2. Why always the city blowing up (or whatever)? 3. Sorry I did the thing I said I wasn't going to do in para 2.
To make up for the whining, I include my pic of the day:
Deuce the Wonder Puppy (no longer a puppy)
6 comments:
First off you are not the lone geek that does not like "Lost" -- I too am not a fan. Don't care for JJ Abrams in general because I kind of feel like he's the sell-out version of Joss Whedon (geez I'm being a harsh bitch today...lol).
I'm one of those that does like complex characters and complex morality tales, but I think people sometimes confuse being confusing with being interesting. There's only so many twist and turns a person can take before it stops being interesting and becomes ridiculous.
"Firefly" I think is one of the most complex ideas to be done on TV, but the thing about Joss Whedon is that his shows have the down to earth feel to them and really focuses on the characters and not wowing us with "look how smart I am" stories. so despite the good guys that are bad guys to societies standards and a complex conspirousy involving a seer -- it doesn't leave you feelign completely....lost.
also, very cute puppy.
Plus you have to take into account the strength of Joss, which lies in character development and building. His characters underwent believable changes, they grew, they were real, even when put in unreal storylines.
I want complex characters, but I want that complexity to reflect what is truly complex about us as people. Not to just throw loophole after loophole into their character development in order to create conflict on a show. That is, I believe, the biggest weakness of Heroes. It is a show whose title characters act incomprehensibly in order to keep wowing an audience. If you can't have faith in even one of your main characters, how are you supposed to care about what happens to them?
Yes, exactly. If you can make your characters connect to people and feel as if they are geniune and not characitures of real people, I think your audience is more willing to go on these incredible and even sometimes ridiculous journeys with you. That's why Buffy works -- which is a ridiculous premise, but the characters are so loveable that you want to see how they are going to grow and evolve
Well, count me in on those who HATE Lost. I started watching it but after the first season, it just kept getting weirder. There are more people on that damned island than there are in some small towns in the Midwest for crying out loud. What happened to the weird animals and the thing shaking the trees in the forest?
They keep throwing more and more stuff into the mix and it just became stupid. Kind of like Alias. I HATE shows that keep adding more mystery to the mystery.
That's what killed the X-Files for me. Yes, there are aliens, no there aren't, yes there are. By the end of the series I didn't care.
Never watched Heroes.
Quite frankly, the only show I feel compelled to watch every week is Criminal Intent. I confess to be fascinated with Pushing Daisies and I'm feeling like I'm missing out on Dexter but I can wait for the DVDs to come out.
I have no interest in either Lost or Heroes. They just seem like children's programmes to me - not intelligent enough even to be good adult fantasy TV. There never feels like enough substance in a show like that and they are not attractive to me.
I like to see strong, believable (well, nearly) characters in situations that I can relate to some part of. So, like MusicWench, I appreciate LOCI and also a British series called "Life On Mars" which I do heartily recommend, if you can get past the 1970's Northern British accent and slang.
Loved Firefly, but I need absolute peace and quiet to watch it as I cannot always follow the dialogue easily. I don't know why this is. But the dialogue in that show seems to carry an awful lot of plot-related weight (as in LOCI) so if I miss a bit, I can lose the thread. Of course, I may just be getting old and going deaf.
Nice to know I'm not alone in the Lost hatred. Of course, Keyser Soze hasn't weighed in yet! ;)
I see Abrams, et al, as having the same problem Chris Carter did with The X Files in bowing under the weight of his own mythology. But it took Carter six seasons to start cracking under the pressure. I think Abrams comes up with brilliant ideas that are better suited to movies than TV, so his follow through fails on many levels.
And Lozzie, I've always wanted to watch Life on Mars, but I didn't have BBCA when it was being shown here so I'll have to see if there are DVDs available. I would love to hear some of that slang.
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