Television Grab Bag
9:06 AM Posted In American Idol , Desperate Housewives , Dollhouse , Joss Whedon , Simon Cowell , Television , X Factor Edit This 0 Comments »
Some various musings because none of these really deserve a full entry.
Another one bites the dust…
I’m a week behind in my Desperate Housewives because my PVR was replaced this weekend, unceremoniously, and with it, all my PVR’d programs. Regardless I managed to track down the first episode of the winter season that picked up right where the plane crash left off, and need I say more? WTF DH! For one, I’ve lamented on this before, this show has become so ridiculously soapy. It went from being a satire of the television housewife to a show that regularly incurs acts of god – from tornados to plane crashes – and increasingly ridiculous ripped from the daytime soaps plot lines. Beyond that, this episode pissed me off on many levels. Why did you have to kill Carl, and beyond that ruin my hopes for a shiny, happy future for him and Bree by doing that stupid dream sequence? It would have been more interesting to see that relationship play out imo, and him and Bree had crackling, unexpected chemistry. What kind of message are you sending out to show that messed up marriages lead to fatness (or in Susan’s case, a generic chubbiness that’s average by US standards) and skinniness is the only way (or not) to keep a man? I don’t have much to say about Angie’s dream sequence, other than I like her as an actress and I’m sad her storyline on the show seems super lame and detached from the rest of the ‘wives. Eva Longoria’s was also stupid and shows how irrelevant she’s been this season. And Lynette’s…I have mixed feelings. At first I was shocked that DH would tackle such a sensitive topic as a disabled child, and then I was moved nearly to tears by Lynette’s ‘make your own sandwich’ rant, and then I was like “Oh of course. This is la la land where your disabled child can turn out a-ok and graduate law school with practically no problems to be seen.” Frustrating! I’m shocked this show has still dominated the ratings as much as it has in the last couple of seasons as it’s moved increasingly into glib territory. Perhaps it’ll be the next daytime soap and run for decades and decades. At least Mark Cherry will have his pick of housewives to kill off as they get too old for TV.
An Ode To Epitaph 1
So I finally got around to watching last season’s finale on Dollhouse, and I suddenly *got* it. The episode was amazing – it bridged the gap between the creepiness of the first season and the (too) rapid movement of the second season, and showed that the ‘brothel’ known as the Dollhouse really only existed to fund research that would put Rossum in full control of minds around the world. The episode channelled the desperateness of films like Children of Men, but also made you care about the small cast of new characters introduced (including the lovable actress that played Vi on Buffy). You also got glimpses of where the show was going, which put a whole new spin on the progress made this season. If the show was always going to head in this direction – sooner rather than later granted, had Joss introduced this premise even earlier (or at least had the episode broadcast on TV) I think we’d be in a totally different situation. He also failed to fully connect the many personalities of Echo to the ‘person’ that Echo becomes. It’s also weird that Caroline eventually appears and seems to be the conglomerate Echo we’ve hung around with this season. Regardless, this episode made me truly sad the show is ending – but also aware of the flaws (hi, the first three episodes of this season still felt too much like the monster-of-the-week format that plagued S1) – and hopeful that Joss’ next project really takes off. The guy’s got a cult following and if networks give him a chance, he can make magic happen.
X Marks The Spot
I’m pretty sure I called this about three or four years ago, when the X Factor launched this massive winner whose name escapes me now (ha) in the UK when I happened to be doing an internship over there for a month at the BBC. I predicted, as I had stopped watched American Idol after the third season, that eventually Simon would bring the X Factor format over here to freshen up (or replace, as it did in the UK) the American Idol format. Sure enough, it’s recently been stated that Simon has signed on Paula for The X Factor, which he sure enough is bringing over here. Although AI is still a ratings juggernaut, it’s hardly producing megastars anymore – Adam Lambert is the freshest thing to walk off the show in years but I couldn’t name you a single song of his, nor imitate his voice, because he’s not on my radar at all. Carrie and Kelly still continue to dominate (and I still like em both) so that’s two stars out of something like seven seasons – it’s time for a change. For the record, my inbox featured an email from People with the subject line “What Is The X Factor?” In my own words – it’s nearly identical to AI but you can compete in three different categories: groups, older solo artists, and younger solo artists. This is the show that brought us Susan Boyle, one of the older soloists. Will I watch it when the show begins its reign over here? I’m sceptical, but maybe. Regardless, whoever airs this show is a smart cookie because it might bring back lapsed AI viewers (like myself), plus the huge AI fan base, for a fresh new spin on manufactured by the fans talent shows.
Those are my thoughts!
Britt’s On
Another one bites the dust…
I’m a week behind in my Desperate Housewives because my PVR was replaced this weekend, unceremoniously, and with it, all my PVR’d programs. Regardless I managed to track down the first episode of the winter season that picked up right where the plane crash left off, and need I say more? WTF DH! For one, I’ve lamented on this before, this show has become so ridiculously soapy. It went from being a satire of the television housewife to a show that regularly incurs acts of god – from tornados to plane crashes – and increasingly ridiculous ripped from the daytime soaps plot lines. Beyond that, this episode pissed me off on many levels. Why did you have to kill Carl, and beyond that ruin my hopes for a shiny, happy future for him and Bree by doing that stupid dream sequence? It would have been more interesting to see that relationship play out imo, and him and Bree had crackling, unexpected chemistry. What kind of message are you sending out to show that messed up marriages lead to fatness (or in Susan’s case, a generic chubbiness that’s average by US standards) and skinniness is the only way (or not) to keep a man? I don’t have much to say about Angie’s dream sequence, other than I like her as an actress and I’m sad her storyline on the show seems super lame and detached from the rest of the ‘wives. Eva Longoria’s was also stupid and shows how irrelevant she’s been this season. And Lynette’s…I have mixed feelings. At first I was shocked that DH would tackle such a sensitive topic as a disabled child, and then I was moved nearly to tears by Lynette’s ‘make your own sandwich’ rant, and then I was like “Oh of course. This is la la land where your disabled child can turn out a-ok and graduate law school with practically no problems to be seen.” Frustrating! I’m shocked this show has still dominated the ratings as much as it has in the last couple of seasons as it’s moved increasingly into glib territory. Perhaps it’ll be the next daytime soap and run for decades and decades. At least Mark Cherry will have his pick of housewives to kill off as they get too old for TV.
An Ode To Epitaph 1
So I finally got around to watching last season’s finale on Dollhouse, and I suddenly *got* it. The episode was amazing – it bridged the gap between the creepiness of the first season and the (too) rapid movement of the second season, and showed that the ‘brothel’ known as the Dollhouse really only existed to fund research that would put Rossum in full control of minds around the world. The episode channelled the desperateness of films like Children of Men, but also made you care about the small cast of new characters introduced (including the lovable actress that played Vi on Buffy). You also got glimpses of where the show was going, which put a whole new spin on the progress made this season. If the show was always going to head in this direction – sooner rather than later granted, had Joss introduced this premise even earlier (or at least had the episode broadcast on TV) I think we’d be in a totally different situation. He also failed to fully connect the many personalities of Echo to the ‘person’ that Echo becomes. It’s also weird that Caroline eventually appears and seems to be the conglomerate Echo we’ve hung around with this season. Regardless, this episode made me truly sad the show is ending – but also aware of the flaws (hi, the first three episodes of this season still felt too much like the monster-of-the-week format that plagued S1) – and hopeful that Joss’ next project really takes off. The guy’s got a cult following and if networks give him a chance, he can make magic happen.
X Marks The Spot
I’m pretty sure I called this about three or four years ago, when the X Factor launched this massive winner whose name escapes me now (ha) in the UK when I happened to be doing an internship over there for a month at the BBC. I predicted, as I had stopped watched American Idol after the third season, that eventually Simon would bring the X Factor format over here to freshen up (or replace, as it did in the UK) the American Idol format. Sure enough, it’s recently been stated that Simon has signed on Paula for The X Factor, which he sure enough is bringing over here. Although AI is still a ratings juggernaut, it’s hardly producing megastars anymore – Adam Lambert is the freshest thing to walk off the show in years but I couldn’t name you a single song of his, nor imitate his voice, because he’s not on my radar at all. Carrie and Kelly still continue to dominate (and I still like em both) so that’s two stars out of something like seven seasons – it’s time for a change. For the record, my inbox featured an email from People with the subject line “What Is The X Factor?” In my own words – it’s nearly identical to AI but you can compete in three different categories: groups, older solo artists, and younger solo artists. This is the show that brought us Susan Boyle, one of the older soloists. Will I watch it when the show begins its reign over here? I’m sceptical, but maybe. Regardless, whoever airs this show is a smart cookie because it might bring back lapsed AI viewers (like myself), plus the huge AI fan base, for a fresh new spin on manufactured by the fans talent shows.
Those are my thoughts!
Britt’s On
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