shows i have seen so far and what i thought of them
I've already written about Prison Break, but I've watched some other new shows, too.
Reunion
You've probably heard about the premise of Reunion. One of a group of six friends has been murdered, and the season will review the events leading up to that crime, with each episode representing one year. 1986 was unimpressive. Yes, I'm dying to know who dies, who killed the victim, and why, but that doesn't mean I'm going to watch the show. Watching "1986" was excruciating. The costumes and sets were very "like, OMG! It's 1986!", and the characters were simple stereotypes: the rich kid, the poor kid, the pretty girl, the plain girl, the slutty girl, the nerdy guy. It felt very much like a bad teen novel. I have a feeling this show will be this year's Desperate Housewives for me (but not have any of the success that DH has had.) All year I would read recaplets of what was happening on DH and think, "hmm, maybe I was wrong. Maybe the show really is good." But then I would remember how much I hated the few episodes I watched, and I think Reunion will be the same way--compelling ideas but poor execution. I may watch one more episode, just to be 100% sure (I believe last night's what pre-empted for Bush's speech), but only if nothing else conflicts.
The War at Home
I once read something about a show (and it may have been this show, actually, but I can't remember) that described it as though it was a refugee from the Fox lineup of the early 90s. That line pretty accurately describes TWAH, a poor man's Married With Children. I hated Married With Children, by the way. The first few minutes weren't that bad, but the show quickly went downhill when it tried to make racism funny. I love when shows tackle taboo subjects, but it has to be with an awareness of the uncomfortability of laughing at something like that, and this show has no awareness of anything. I'm curious as to how it will do this year, sandwiched between The Simpsons and Family Guy, but I have a feeling it won't make it past 5 episodes.
Everybody Hates Chris
I obtained a preview DVD of this, and it was pretty good. Not hysterical, not the funniest show ever, but not bad. One problem that I think the show might run into is that (to me) the best parts of Chris Rock's routines are the more "adult" jokes, and he can't really lay those out here. If this weren't on against the O.C., I would probably watch it.
That's what I've watched so far, but I've got The Biggest Loser and Survivor Guatemala waiting for me at home.
Reunion
You've probably heard about the premise of Reunion. One of a group of six friends has been murdered, and the season will review the events leading up to that crime, with each episode representing one year. 1986 was unimpressive. Yes, I'm dying to know who dies, who killed the victim, and why, but that doesn't mean I'm going to watch the show. Watching "1986" was excruciating. The costumes and sets were very "like, OMG! It's 1986!", and the characters were simple stereotypes: the rich kid, the poor kid, the pretty girl, the plain girl, the slutty girl, the nerdy guy. It felt very much like a bad teen novel. I have a feeling this show will be this year's Desperate Housewives for me (but not have any of the success that DH has had.) All year I would read recaplets of what was happening on DH and think, "hmm, maybe I was wrong. Maybe the show really is good." But then I would remember how much I hated the few episodes I watched, and I think Reunion will be the same way--compelling ideas but poor execution. I may watch one more episode, just to be 100% sure (I believe last night's what pre-empted for Bush's speech), but only if nothing else conflicts.
The War at Home
I once read something about a show (and it may have been this show, actually, but I can't remember) that described it as though it was a refugee from the Fox lineup of the early 90s. That line pretty accurately describes TWAH, a poor man's Married With Children. I hated Married With Children, by the way. The first few minutes weren't that bad, but the show quickly went downhill when it tried to make racism funny. I love when shows tackle taboo subjects, but it has to be with an awareness of the uncomfortability of laughing at something like that, and this show has no awareness of anything. I'm curious as to how it will do this year, sandwiched between The Simpsons and Family Guy, but I have a feeling it won't make it past 5 episodes.
Everybody Hates Chris
I obtained a preview DVD of this, and it was pretty good. Not hysterical, not the funniest show ever, but not bad. One problem that I think the show might run into is that (to me) the best parts of Chris Rock's routines are the more "adult" jokes, and he can't really lay those out here. If this weren't on against the O.C., I would probably watch it.
That's what I've watched so far, but I've got The Biggest Loser and Survivor Guatemala waiting for me at home.
posted by Erica @ 7:28 PM
1 Comments:
At 3:12 PM,
Erica said…
I don't know, I don't think it's necessarily a question of getting over your past. He's certainly not the only writer to mine his childhood for material.
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