Episode Title: Strange Love Writer: Alan Ball Director: Alan Ball Originally Aired: 09/07/2008 Grade: A
The opening sequence is an interesting choice because we begin the show with characters that we will never see again. It actually works well because it was important to point out that a) vampirism is a worldwide (or at least nationwide) issue and b) anyone can be a vampire, including good ol’ boys. Also, opening credits. They are awesome. Possibly the best theme song on television right now.
Sookie Stackhouse could be easy to hate, but Anna Paquin somehow balances her out just right. She’s sweet without being a pushover, naïve in a way that seems more brave than stupid, and personally, I find that gap between Paquin’s front teeth endearing. She also has fabulous chemistry with Stephen Moyer.
Bill Compton may be in danger of becoming a dull character, but he’s plenty compelling at the moment. The fact that he willingly left Merlotte's with the Rattray’s did not go unnoticed. Sookie seemed to gloss over it, but he was desperate enough for real human blood to leave with those two skanks, so he can’t be that noble.
Tara is obnoxious. She has the potential to be great, though, so I’m not making a final judgment on her yet. She must have some kind of reason for being so volatile, right? Plus the expression on her face when Jason tried to hit on Dawn was absolutely perfect--she managed to look both disgusted and hurt at the same time. Her WTF reaction to Sookie listening in on her thoughts about Jason having “kind eyes” was also priceless.
Sam Merlotte is a nonentity so far—don’t love him, don’t hate him. I’m a sucker for unrequited love stories, though, so maybe he’ll grow on me.
Sookie's brother Jason is… naked? For a character that’s written to be a thoughtless jerk, he’s oddly likable. I haven’t put my finger on why yet, but it’s not just because he has a great ass. The graphic sex was surprisingly tolerable—I often avoid cable dramas because they tend to do this sort of thing just because they can, but I’m going to give Alan Ball the benefit of the doubt and assume it’s there to do more than just up the sex and violence quota.
And Lafayette! He just might be one of those characters that you love even when you don’t like him. I’m curious as to whether he’s bisexual or not, because Dawn and Arlene telling him they don’t want to have sex with him seems odd if he only likes men. That whole conversation was just strange and difficult to untangle. Not that sexuality isn’t fluid, but I still don’t make a habit of pointing out to my gay friends that I don’t want to sleep with them. Or that I do. Either way.
Overall, this was a great premiere. It’s campy, it’s ridiculous, it’s melodramatic, it’s funny, and it’s entertaining, but it’s also got some genuine pathos and intelligent writing. For the record, I have never read the books, and I don’t plan to. I much prefer to just enjoy the show, rather than get attached to the books and risk getting angry when they change something.
Other Thoughts
-I don't know where the show is filmed, but the insect sounds in the outdoor scenes, especially at night, make me homesick for Tennessee. Such a beautiful, comforting sound.
Easily my favorite show of the season, out of new and returning shows alike.
The pros:
-Both the characters and the show in general are charming and fun, and the plots are ridiculous in just the right “don’t think too hard” way.
-Continuity has been fairly dependable so far.
-Most of the episodes have “long” jokes that start at the beginning and carry through.
-The show doesn’t take itself too seriously yet still manages to evoke emotional engagement.
-Zach Levi’s Chuck Bartowski is the cutest thing since cute, Adam Baldwin is Adam Baldwin, and Yvonne Strahovsky is a toothy, pretty, blonde, AND she has acting chops.
-There was that Dark Crystal joke.
The cons:
- Chuck sometimes gets dumbed-down a little too much for the sake of humor.
- They're clearly still trying to figure out how far they can take the really broad, slapstick-y humor without going too far.The characters have come out of this fairly unscathed so far, but it still has the potential to bite the writers in the ass if they’re not careful.It’s fine to make Chuck the butt of some jokes, but don’t take it so far that he loses his dignity and viewers can’t respect him anymore.
Pushing DaisiesSeason 1: A
Each episode is like a perfect little gem of quirky murder mystery, off-color humor, charming character interaction, and bright, pretty colors.And PIE.God, every time I watch an episode, I fucking crave pie.
The pros:
-The humor is very, very sharp, a perfect mix of goofy and clever at the same time.
-Kristin Chenowith.That is all.
-Chuck’s outfits are to-die-for.
-Digby.Again, that is all.
The con:
-The Ned/Chuck romance.It’s bittersweet, but it’s also kind of hard to get invested in the romantic relationship of two people who can’t physically touch.Some might find it refreshing.I find it anti-climactic.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles Season 1: A-
I had high hopes for this one given the cast, and thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed.
The pros:
-The show is heavily dramatic in a way that can feel oppressive, but it’s definitely not afraid to go dark, which is what saves it from being a self-important, melodramatic mess.The writing team takes the show seriously, and this actually seems to work in its favor.
-When these characters are upset, they have good reason to be.When bad shit goes down, it’s actually BAD.
-The show balances its themes and characterizations very well.
-Summer Glau’s performance as Cameron is immensely watchable and mesmerizing, and her respective relationship with each of the other characters not only ties things together in terms of plot and theme, but also forms part of the emotional heart of the show and. Quite a feat for a cyborg who isn’t even supposed to have emotions herself.
-While it’s been quite subtle so far, they’re not entirely shying away from human/cyborg physical attraction, particularly between John and Cameron.Yes, I put this in the pros category—these writers aren’t total pansies about the emotional and moral issues that cyborgs bring up.I mean, isn’t this stuff at least partly what sci-fi is all about?
-That pool scene in the finale was brutallly gorgeous.
The cons:
-The weakest link is, unfortunately, the Connors themselves—Lena Headey’s Sarah Connor is likable enough and certainly a compelling badass, but the character is also a bit flat.I don’t dislike her, but I don’t care about her as much as I should, given that her name is in the title of the show.
-John Connor is also quite likeable, but he whines a bit too much about things that he should know better than to whine about.I think this problem could be at least somewhat mitigated if Thomas Dekker learned to whine in a funny way rather than a, well, whiny way.Actually, he did this pretty well on Heroes, so it’s not like it’s outside his range.
-The addition of Brian Austin Green is a bit of a mixed blessing.The character is compelling and well-acted, and Brian Austin Green is actually kind of… hot—who would’ve thought that would ever happen?But the character also prevents Sarah from having to make tough moral decisions, which certainly helps to cement her as a “noble hero,” but also makes her less interesting (you could argue that Cameron plays the same role for John).So on the one hand, I love the character and I’m selfish enough to be glad he was added as a regular for the second season, but on the other hand, I do think he diminishes Sarah.
- I’m not sold on the voiceovers.I know they’re supposed to reflect and deepen whatever is happening on-screen and tie to the theme, but I often find myself listening to the VO and then rewinding to actually watch the scene.They’re not as bad as the voiceovers on Heroes, but maybe they need to be used more sparingly.
Returning Shows
Heroes Season 2: C+
It was just plain bad, and we all know it.
The pros:
-Kristin Bell’s character started off as an annoying bad girl type but somehow managed to bring on some real pathos.
-HRG is never a bad thing.
-Shirtless Zach Quinto.And shirtless Milo if you’re into that, which I’m not.
The cons:
-Everything else.ESPECIALLY MAYA.
Friday Night Lights Season 2: B
Definitely a sophomore slump, though not without some high points.
The pros:
-It’s still better than most of the crap on TV.
-Coach Taylor’s coaching stint away from Dillon was handled well.On the one hand, you could say it was unnecessary because he just ended up going back.But I think it was important to address his dream of coaching college ball, show that it’s actually not where his heart is at, and get it out of the way so we can get on with him coaching the Dillon Panthers without the bigger dream hanging over his head.
-Santiago could have been a lame addition to the cast, but the storyline between he and Buddy Garrity was actually compelling.
The cons:
-The murder storyline.It was completely ridiculous and out-of-sync with the tone of the show.That, and Landry deserved better.
-Something just didn’t feel quite the same.The stories started to feel more polished and writer-ly, whereas in Season 1, the rougher edges made it all seem more real.
-Many of the characters were either underused, or given uninteresting and poorly-developed storylines, particularly Smash and Tim Riggins.
-Julie Taylor.The girl is an unbearable, horrid little monster of a teenager.
-As I said in a previous post, the writers were trying to work with a theme about trustworthy adults versus predatory adults.This could have been great, and in some cases it was—Coach Taylor has always walked this particular fine line, and the Santiago/Buddy storyline dealt with this beautifully—but they also ended up going the easy way with sexually predatory adults.The combination of Julie’s creepy Journalism teacher and Matt’s affair with his grandmother’s nurse was just overkill, especially since we already had the Tim/Jackie storyline last year.
Supernatural Season 3: B+
Season 3 was a little on the bumpy side.The first seven episodes were almost entirely blah, but I think this season also contains some of the series’ best episodes.
The pros:
-New writer Jeremy Carver, who penned both “A Very Supernatural Christmas” and “Mystery Spot,” was a wonderful addition to the team.
-Most of the episodes from “Fresh Blood” onwards were really standouts for the series.
-They actually killed Dean!
-I… liked Ruby.
The cons:
-The first part of the season dragged.Really.A lot.
- As I mentioned above, there were a lot of truly great episodes, particularly in the latter half of the season, but the season didn’t really come together as a cohesive whole in terms of the overall plot arc.It might be partly the fault of the writer’s strike, but it still counts.
