Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Oh, The Drama!
I'm enjoying the fall TV season so far. I've tried out some new shows and returned to some old faves. Out of the new shows, I think I'll jettison one for sure: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The premise of this show was irresistible to me: A behind-the-scenes drama about a Saturday Night Live-type show? How could it miss? Well, it could be created by Aaron Sorkin and employ some of the hammiest actors the US has to offer in the main parts. At least The West Wing was bearable because the high-quality actors managed to tone down the overwrought writing and contrived scenarios. The cast of Studio 60 seems to be competing for the Least Believable Character award on every episode so far. And the woman who plays Harriet, Matt's love interest and a supposedly super-talented comic actor, is so disappointing she makes you want to turn off the TV whenever she has a scene, as if that would save her the embarrassment of failing to measure up to what the character is touted to be. She's not funny, not smart, not attractive or charismatic in the least.
One show that grabbed me from the beginning and keeps me in its grip is Heroes. This show lives up to its big ideas and fascinates and excites in a way that very few TV shows ever have, IMHO. The story lines are almost all well-written and conceived (I say "almost" because of the stripper-single-mom story line. Sick of that character before I ever laid eyes on her.) It might manage to expand its focus beyond the American characters, with prominent roles for a Japanese and an Indian character. The only gripe I have with this show is its shocking tendency to indulge in unmitigated, unnecessary gore. I'm completely turned off of the CSI-based trend towards disrespecting and dehumanizing the human body by showing it in ever-more disturbing states of deconstruction and dismemberment. Heroes doesn't need it and, comic-book chic aside, the show runs the risk of becoming a joke if it continues to obsess about the myriad ways you can destroy a human body.
It totally rocks in every other respect, though. You should watch it. Just keep the remote handy for switching channels away from the cheerleader with the torn-open chest looking around for her vital organs during her own autopsy. Seriously.
I'm enjoying the fall TV season so far. I've tried out some new shows and returned to some old faves. Out of the new shows, I think I'll jettison one for sure: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. The premise of this show was irresistible to me: A behind-the-scenes drama about a Saturday Night Live-type show? How could it miss? Well, it could be created by Aaron Sorkin and employ some of the hammiest actors the US has to offer in the main parts. At least The West Wing was bearable because the high-quality actors managed to tone down the overwrought writing and contrived scenarios. The cast of Studio 60 seems to be competing for the Least Believable Character award on every episode so far. And the woman who plays Harriet, Matt's love interest and a supposedly super-talented comic actor, is so disappointing she makes you want to turn off the TV whenever she has a scene, as if that would save her the embarrassment of failing to measure up to what the character is touted to be. She's not funny, not smart, not attractive or charismatic in the least.
One show that grabbed me from the beginning and keeps me in its grip is Heroes. This show lives up to its big ideas and fascinates and excites in a way that very few TV shows ever have, IMHO. The story lines are almost all well-written and conceived (I say "almost" because of the stripper-single-mom story line. Sick of that character before I ever laid eyes on her.) It might manage to expand its focus beyond the American characters, with prominent roles for a Japanese and an Indian character. The only gripe I have with this show is its shocking tendency to indulge in unmitigated, unnecessary gore. I'm completely turned off of the CSI-based trend towards disrespecting and dehumanizing the human body by showing it in ever-more disturbing states of deconstruction and dismemberment. Heroes doesn't need it and, comic-book chic aside, the show runs the risk of becoming a joke if it continues to obsess about the myriad ways you can destroy a human body.
It totally rocks in every other respect, though. You should watch it. Just keep the remote handy for switching channels away from the cheerleader with the torn-open chest looking around for her vital organs during her own autopsy. Seriously.
# posted by becca : 9:32 AM
