Random Stuff

Kings – I was actually planning to blog about this show, because despite being a bit heavy and self-important, I mostly liked it. But it essentially came and went during my break from blogging, so typing up my notes about the first three episodes seems rather pointless.

Fringe – It’s so much better now! I started out yelling at Anna Torv every time Olivia was on the screen, but bringing in Olivia’s sister and niece has effectively humanized her and let viewers see that yes, she does feel things. That, and Torv has simply settled a bit more comfortably into the role. The first episode back after the hiatus, in which Olivia bonded with the strange, otherworldly boy, was a perfect example of how successful both Torv and the writers have been at re-tooling Olivia. I cared about and believed in her connection to the boy because I’ve already seen her interact with her niece on a regular basis. The show is still far from perfect, but I quite enjoy it now and would love to see it renewed for a second season.

Reaper – Every single episode this season has tempted me to delete this from my DVR’s series recording. Because I HATE Sock. I mean really, really hate him. First of all, he’s an asshole. TV assholes can be charming, but Sock just… isn’t. He’s sexist, he’s crude, and while yes, he does help Sam out with his missions sometimes, he’s not even nice to his friends the majority of the time. I don’t even see much of a soft underbelly from the guy—he’s just a dick. Adam Baldwin and Nathan Fillion excel at portraying charming assholes. Hell, Sam’s half-brother Morgan on this very show is a charming asshole! Maybe the problem is that Sock isn’t a TV asshole—he’s the exact same kind of jerk that I meet in real life and want to kick in the nuts.

And his character’s dickishness was hammered home even further by the disgusting, sexist, and arguably racist storyline between he and his stepsister. I’m not even talking about the incest, because while it’s still a bit taboo, they are not blood relations. It’s the fact that her character had NO SUBSTANCE whatsoever. She was an airhead with boobs and a cute butt (also, Eriko can’t act her way out of a paper bag). And Sock was a stalker-ish creep, and yet he still got to sleep with the girl. And then she just left! The point was what, exactly, aside from probably grossing out a large number of the show’s female viewers? It certainly didn’t allow me to see a softer side of Sock.

Still, as much as I despise Sock, I do like Sam. And I like Ben and Nina even more. I like that Ben can be goofy and sensitive and like animals without being subjected to dozens of gay jokes per episode. I can’t even put my finger on why I like Nina, but something about the actress is charming to me. I also love Morgan, though I think that has more to do with the actor’s beautiful voice than with the pretty face and dazzling smile. I could listen to the guy talk for hours. I’m glad that he’s also on Gossip Girl right now, but I’d actually love to see him on Mad Men. He has the perfect look for it, and I think he could do really well with the mannered, uppercrust dialogue on that show.

Gossip Girl – I’m going to finish out the season, but I’ve grown pretty tired of these characters. It’s just the same things over and over again in different configurations, except not as fun or interesting as a lot of others shows that follow the same repeating pattern. I’m probably most tired of Blair, not because of the actress—I think Leighton Meester is great—but because of the writing. She’s the paramount example of a character who keeps doing the same thing over and over, namely be a vengeful, backstabbing twit who never seems to learn from the ginourmous shitstorms that rain down on her head as a result. I get tired of Chuck at times, as well (again, not the actor’s fault), but it was pretty cool that he finally apologized to Jenny for the date rape incident in the show’s pilot episode. Still, the show is just… tired. Then again, if it gets a third season and these kids go to college, maybe it will actually overcome the "high school kids go off to college" curse and become fresh again? Probably not, considering that the current characters are all going to different schools, but it's not impossible...