Monsters, Inc.

t.v. land

life at bennington is like a t.v. show. because every week there is a theme due to the parties. like t.v. shows have madonna (glee), cruise ships (ace of cakes), and wedding (every t.v. show ever) themed episodes, we have ricky business (leigh), spring break (welling), and peter pan (fels) themed weeks. sorta makes the term go by a bit faster.

See Post tags #bennington #college #parties #television #fels #leigh #welling

nurse jackie.

is the shit.

See Post tags #television #nurse jackie

why glee and trueblood could have been great shows, but decided to suck instead.

ok, this is going to be rant number two of this evening.

lets start with ‘glee’,

i was not optimistic when i first heard about this show. i don’t really like fox, and i was so sure this was their attempt at a ‘high school musical’ like franchise to drag in that tween demographic. out of curiosity and boredom, i watched the first episode and found that, while the lighting and tone felt weird, i actually liked it a bit. i thought there were some really great characters, and some good writing. and right off the bat the show dealt with some risque issues for a show with that kind of premise. i think one moment that really got me was when rachel saw the music teacher working with a male student instead of her, and she goes off to claim to the principal that the music teacher was touching the other student inappropriately in order to make herself more successful. thats when i realized this show was not going to tip toe around certain issues, and that this was not a squeaky clean bundle of musical morals and cheesiness that high school musical was.

i decided to watch the second episode when it aired in september because i wanted to see where the show was going. and i was again mildly impressed with the show. while i still had issues with it i decided that it needed a chance to figure itself out. so i kept watching, and while the writing was sappy at times, there was a really great and kind of gritty sense of humor in many scenes. not to mention that sue sylvester is an unbelievably fantastic character, and jane lynch’s performance as her in my opinion was the driving force behind the show. 

i liked ‘glee’ because it had a good blend of the musical theatre aspect, (even though thats totally different from a real glee club, but i’m choosing to ignore the fact that the show ignores the fact that a glee club is acapella, as opposed to show choir which is what the club on glee really is), and the high school aspect. the story lines were compelling and well paced, and the characters were developing in a way in which the audience could identify with them. at least, this was how it was for the first part of the first season. 

and the the second part of season one premiered, and ‘glee’ began to suck. and here is why. they fell into the trap, they got too popular, and they bit off more than they could chew. and in an attempt to gain even more popularity, they decided that each episode had to have a theme that would appeall to the biggest group of people possible. now there is nothing wrong with a show trying to get more viewers, the problem comes when they begin to alienate them. each episodes became about what guest star they could bring on, and what recently popular pop song or artist they could showcase. plot lines began to spin out of control, because there were simply too many. it was like watching ‘pirates of the carribean 2 or 3’ every week. 

the first part of the season had plenty to work with, bordering on too much at times, with quinn’s pregnancy and terry’s fake pregnancy, and the puck/quinn/finn/rachel love square, and the terry/will/emma/ken love square, and the glee club fighting off sue and the school board in order to stay alive. but these plot lines worked because they were intertwined, and campy, but fairly believable. 

in an attempt to ensure that all the characters got air time and a story line, more and more plotlines were introduced, (kurt/finn family plotline, who is rachel’s mother?/jessie st. james, cheerio v glee, etc… yep, there are even more), the more ridiculous the show became, not to mention the harder to follow. i mean, if you think ‘lost’ is complicated, don’t watch ‘glee’.

what drives me crazy is the fact that these writers have made all these ridiculous plot lines in an attempt to make the show interesting, but what they have done is made it completely unrelatable. they dig themselves into holes, and then magically the problem that the whole episode was building up to is resolved by a random character’s decision to forget the whole thing, or some guest star b-list celebrity swoops in to save the day. 

and the shit the kids get away with, i cannot believe the stuff shuester lets them get away with. there is one scene where santana and mercedes are openly fighting during rehearsal. in song. which itself is campy, annoying, and unbelievable not only because they are singing, but because no teacher would allow students to behave that way. 

i understand that the show is supposed to be a little fantastic, and like a musical in that sense. but i’m sorry, they have tried to do too much too soon, and because of that the writing suffers. sue sylvester barely poses a threat anymore because every time she threatens the glee club, by the end of the episode, she suddenly doesn’t care for some random reason. 

what made ‘glee’ different and more appealing than ‘high school musical’ was that it dealt with more serious issues that teens deal with, such as sexual orientation and teen pregnancy. now, the show trivializes them, especially in the case of kurt, who’s struggle with his sexuality and his relationship with his father had so much potential to be great story lines, are generally really stereotypical, going for cheap tears from the audience instead of emotional depth and development from the characters, which is unfortunate. 

though i do want to say that i have been impressed with mike o’malley’s, who plays kurt’s dad, ability to deliver a really great performance in spite of some really terrible writing.

if ‘glee’ had not succumbed to the appeal of flashy guest stars, multiple ridiculous story lines, and weak, tweeny-bopper attracting song choices, then the show might have been better, and i might still be watching. 

moving on to ‘true blood’, which i promise is a much simpler and shorter rant.

i wanted to watch ‘true blood’ because i thought the advertising campaign was really cool, and i thought the concept was great. 

i really liked a lot of the first season, though, like ‘glee’, it could be really campy and ridiculous, but you take the bad with the good.

again, there were some really great characters.

here is a problem i have seen with every vampire franchise, it is never just vampires.

while i am aware that the writers are following the books, this is something i wish they had chosen not to do. 

the original premise of the show, according to the ads, was a world where vampires existed alongside humans, and what the social, economic, legal, political, and spiritual implications this would have on the country, specifically the south. similar to the idea behind x-men.

now i don’t know about you, but that sounds interesting as fuck to me.

but then they had to follow the books to the fucking letter, and bring in all that other stuff, shape shifters, werewolves, crazy ancient greek goddesses, and so on.

now, i could have accepted sookie’s mind reading abilities along with vampires, because that is a huge part of her character, and very interesting to consider. what would your life be like if you could constantly hear other peoples thoughts.

in my opinion, bringing in all of that fantasy stuff really takes away from the show, it alienates the audience, leaving behind a group of weird obsessed followers. 

if the writers had just taken the characters from the book, which are all really great, then i think the show could have been really great if it then focused on what the effects of vampires would have on america, especially since in a sense, it parallels the gay rights issue facing our country now. i am not saying being gay is equivalent to being a vampire. thats retarded. what i am saying is that similar questions of civil rights arise. though, of course, in terms of vampires, its much more complicated. which is why i think ‘true blood’ could have been really interesting. 

but instead its gotten really really crazy, and full of really annoying fantasy creatures and concepts. which, to me, makes it silly, boring, and at times, cringe and eye rolling worthy. 

and i sincerely apologize for this being so long.

See Post tags #television #true blood #glee

Another re-discovery I’ve made this weekend.

Bored to Death. Its amazing, some of the best writing, acting, and literary jokes I’ve seen. Also its all Brooklyn. Check it out.

See Post tags #bored to death #television