2007-04-04 - 4:10 p.m. Its been a while We show great loyalty to the hard times we�ve been through. One thing that I find that I�m becoming more and more aware of is that you can�t escape from the person that you are. While that sounds stupid at first, hear me out, it�s a fairly big realization. And I think that there are things in yourself that you want to change. I mean god honest � you want to change them. But in life � you start to realize that these mistakes and these faults ARE you. They are what make you the person you are. They are the fundamental building blocks for your dreams, desires, and your personality. For example, think about it this way � if you didn�t have any faults � you wouldn�t have goals or dreams. Your self doubt and unhappiness is often a driving force in moving your life forward. But the trick is � even when you move forward � you don�t escape these things. Because in essence, they are what compelled you to take action in the first place. In a godless world � the same argument could be made for humanity � why be moral if there are no repercussions to those actions? This is topic I have no ability to discern, so instead I will update you on stupid things. First. TV. TV is good. It�s much better than movies now a days. There is more character development and room for stories to be told. Now I think the HBO shows do it best for the simple reason there aren�t any commercials and they tell their stories in about 13-14 episodes. 20-24 stretches any show a little thin at times. Take the last episode of 24 where Jack Bauer works with a retarded autistic guy. It was really horrible. The best part was these scene when he breaks out this complicated computer data in a �not Rainman� voice. But in reverse order � here are the TV shows I�ve been watching and why they are good. Nip/Tuck -- I just finished Season 3 on DVD and it�s a really good show. It shocked me in the way that Footballer Wives shocked me. I think the best way to describe this show is a really slick nighttime soap opera. You�ll never be like �this is really a quality show� but at the same time you�ll really enjoy watching it. I will say that I like the show for its pretty great look � its scandalous storylines � and its two main characters who make it so hard to like them, you do. They pull it off very well � and the Father/Daughter team will warm your heart (honestly they are very good). Lost -- Yes I�m still watching. I like Season 3 so far. There are some fluff episodes, and I think the storytelling is trying to still keep the plot character driven � but the problem is that the mystery is so compelling � it�s almost killing the show. People are so hooking into trying to figure out the Big picture � the small details are becoming annoying and unwelcome by fans. Losts biggest problem in my eyes is that the first season hooked both your 18-35 Male (for the Sci-Fi mystery) and the female viewer (for the drama and character development). So now when they do Sci-fi angles � it pisses off the non-sci-fi fans, and when they do an episode on Hurley�s belief that he is bad luck - the Sci-Fi fans get ripped that the overall story arc isn�t developed. I feel bad for the writers in a way because they can�t please anyone, then I remember they are rich, and I don�t feel bad anymore. Lost still has it � but unlike the beginning of the show where each character was a mystery, and interesting, now I dread Kate flashbacks, knowing that its going to be mostly filler and tales of how she can�t settle down. 24 In my opinion the best gimmick show for the number of years its been on. 24�s gimmick allows it to escape many of the things that hamstring most other shows. When something happens on most dramas � you find that characters move on too quickly or they deal with the subject for too long. How often do you wish some new character would go away? Or sometimes aren�t you just sick of the three show story line? Not in 24. Retarded kid � MOVE ON! Kim�s being attacked by a Cougar � WE DON�T HAVE TIME!. Jacks got a bomb to stop � and so the show doesn�t have time to stop, and because of that the little bad things are easily escaped by the shows continual need to plow forward. Loose ends are okay. Sometimes things aren�t solved in 15 minutes, and because of that the audeience can suspend their disbelief and not chalk the mistake up to bad writing. In essence the Tour de Force performance of Jack Bauer dominates everything else that happens on the show � and as long as Jack�s doing something � you�re pretty much hooked. Heroes I put this above 24 in my terms of shows I�m digging because Heroes is just that good. The episode �Company Man� was probably the best hour of TV I�ve ever seen. Heroes is a delightful treat of a show that walks a tightrope of fun and drama. The mystery is genuinely good and it doesn�t jerk you around at all. The show is able to reveal things soon after they introduce them, meanwhile building subtle things in the background. The story doesn�t lose focus even when it does an episode focusing on one person. Its really been on of the best hours of TV. Now mind you � the pilot was the exact opposite of the Lost pilot. The Lost pilot made me react �I�m watching this show until it goes off the air�. The Heroes pilot almost made me take it off my DVR. (thank god I'm lazy) It hit its stride around the 3rd show. I have lots of praise and lots of high hopes for Heroes, and I look forward to where they are going. Its been a great trip thus far. Battlestar Galactica Above 24, Lost, and Heroes??!?! Yes. Not easily, but I have to give battlestar the credit it is due. It�s the one show I watch that I NEED to see. It really has a compelling story line, engaging characters, and one of the best settings ever. The concept is Sci-Fi. But there are no aliens. Humans grew out of earth and spread. Over the many, many years � the human colony of New Caprica lost contact with Earth. Earth became a legend, like Greek Mythology. Anyway, this settlement which was a full colonized planet, had a robot rebellion. That was 40 years ago. They were sent off into space, and a truce was declared � for 40 years no contact was made. 40 years later the robots return and destroy the planet. Only a handful of survivors are left, thanks to an old ship with outdated technology called Galactica � which was immune to the technological attack. The Cylons have a plan. The survivors are fleeing for their lives, chasing a mythical place called Earth. And everything I stated above happens BEFORE the show begins. If you get a chance to see it on DvD � I would do it. Sopranos -- I watched the Godfather far later in life than I ever should have. I feel the same with the sopranos. I�m absolutely captive to this show right now and I�ve only watch Season 1 and 2 on DVD. Now there isn�t anything that�s breathtaking about it. There is no scene like �exodus� in Battlestar, or the jaw dropping moments during �Company Man� in Heroes � but what you are dealing with is one the best written shows on TV. Let me give you one example of that. The show is so well planned out, that every main character is mentioned SEASONS before they appear. Compare this to Lost with Nikki and Pablo. The show takes the challenge of �mobsters� and reinvents it for the 90�s and 21st century. Tony himself is a simple man, dedicated to old ideals, but living in the modern century of wire tapping, and cell phones, and the media � which exposes, characterizes, and spotlights the Italian mafia. The mastery of the show isn�t the plot, which is very good, but the way it�s able to create the modern mobster in present day. Tony himself has panic attacks from the stress of the world he lives in and the responsibilities of raising his family in an immoral business. Where as the old gangster types, Michael Coreleon, would never have dealt with emotions or stress that the job they do creates instead silent suffering with their angst -- Tony�s doctor has him see a psychologist and treats him for depression. There is no one dimensional characters on the show. The psychologist, Tony, his wife and his family are all developed and develop in this world that Tony tries to fearlessly keep in tact while he is being challenged internally by his friends, and externally by the FBI, as well as rival crime syndicates. If you�ve never seen the Sopranos, you should. | |||||||||||
