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Thursday, May 10, 2007

When Did TV Get Good Again?

Like all at once - all the shows have kicked it up a notch. Apparently like rehab, a little hiatus can be good for you.

Heroes
Heroes was never actually bad - but it was off to a shaky start. Characters, locations ... plotlines seemed rather scurrious. The show spent a lot of time trying to explain itself. Subplots spent a lot of time doing nothing. It was still entertaining to watch an Otaku pause time, sure, but the show wasn't entirely a must watch.

Now the show is capable of handling multiple plots, characters and concepts with ease. Multilayered is a buzzword often tossed around for modern television writing capable of busting out of the normal two plot formula - and if Heroes is anything these days ... it's multilayered. A conversation between Claire and Peter alone is working on at least two levels - the personal story about their relationship with their family and ... well, trying to save the world.

Lost
Oh, Lost ... where have you been? You scared us for a bit when you started adding new characters just to fill out some additional episodes. You left behind all sorts of loose ends and ideas that quite honestly - we almost sold off because we weren't sure if you wanted them anymore. It got so bad that it seemed like your own characters were fed up with the story.

But when you're back, you're back. It's almost easy to forget such things as Locke acting like a complete weirdo when he is now such an utter badass. We were a little afraid you had almost left the whole idea of being mysterious behind so that instead you could have steamy caged love scenes and campy sappy backstories. Not now. They mystery, suspense and thrills of the island are giving us that season one smell that we ourselves had almost forgotten.

Veronica Mars
A sheriff showdown? Old friends cropping up? That girl with the unforgettable grin? What what? Romantic subplots funny and curious but not overpowering? Yeah, V is back with a vengeance for at least a few episodes. Sadly she's likely to get cancelled shortly thereafter - but at least she can leave with some styl.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

My wife said at about the 40 minute mark "this is a terrible episode...so boring". I think it was because she was grading papers and not really paying attention. The last 20 minutes, though, and I think she was getting a different vibe.

Me? I was riveted the whole time, and especially after Ms. Linus said "Benjamin". The pressure just built from there, all the way to the crucial last scene with John and Ben. Just awesome stuff.

It's almost enough to make me think "maybe 3 more seasons isn't so bad" but I'm not backing off on that. I think it should end, and quickly. We'll see if they can continue this kind of pace until 2010. I'm dubious.