(no subject)

[shadowkat]

Now that the new television season is almost over...only two more series yet to premiere this season, okay make that three: The Game on BBCAmerica, State of Affairs on NBC, and Ascension on Syfy (and I can't figure out when, which is annoying because it's the only one of the three that intrigues me.) Anyhow, now that it is over - and if anyone has any info on Ascension, please share - there's only three tv series that seem to be keepers. Although, I appear to be watching six of them.

They are:

1. Gotham - possibly the best series based on the noir and superhero fantasy trope that I've seen. Also Jada Pickett Smith's portrayal of Fish Mooney put Lana Parilla's take on Regina on OUAT to shame. I only compare the two, because a friend, who I got hooked on Gotham, explained to me today that for some reason she finds Gotham a lot more entertaining and better than OUAT, which gets on her nerves. (I'm guessing because it's campy? OUAT not Gotham. With a hefty helping of cheese and directed at children and families?)

2. The Affair...which is a bit slow, but a nice character study.

3. Forever - sort of Elementary meets Highlander, with an appealing lead...but I've admittedly not watched it in a while.

Other than that? Eh. I'm still watching Constantine - because I like the lead, and I'm curious to see where it goes. Also they appear to be fixing some of the problems. But - the Judeo/Christian mythology is the focus, and that doesn't quite work for me. I wish these shows would just focus on the Demons, like Buffy did and ignore the Angels. I often find the Angel references grating. Jane the Virgin - I'm struggling with - I keep surfing the net during it. Also the satire is a bit too on the nose at times. The Flash which is a bit too predictable for its own good, and not a favorite trope of mine (gee-whiz kid gets super-powers and learns life isn't as nice as he thought. Run-of-the-mill superhero coming of age tale. Bored now.) But ...parts of it intrigue, and maybe it will get better. How to Get Away with Murder - Scandal this isn't, it lacks the satirical bite of Scandal, and the warmth of Grey's. It's just an over-the-top anti-hero soap, which could be fun, if the supporting characters resonated a bit more and felt less like entitled brats. The best thing in it is Viola Davis, but she's not as much the focal point as she should be. We're in her student's points of view - and they aren't interesting or compelling.

I gave up on Red Band Society and the Mysteries of Laura. And most likely will give up on everything else but Gotham at some point. But who knows.

A lot of it has to do with tropes, some work for me, some don't.

In other news - both Gotham and Mysteries of Laura are renting out my church for filming purposes, which is kinda cool.

Comments

[liliaeth]

I find it odd that you think Flash is run of the mill, whereas to me, it's the Batman-story that's become run of the mill. You know, cynic anti-hero stuff is just so ... done. What makes shows like Arrow work, is that they don't allow Olliver to remain a cynic and make him better. What makes Flash unique, is how optimistic it is, how for once they go for a genuine hero, because those have become far too rare in the past few years.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Hmm...maybe I've just seen more of the Flash trope than you have?
OR define it differently?

Here's the list of tv shows/movies that fit the trope. To clarify? The trope starts out optimistic, but somewhere along the way the hero is faced with something horrible about his powers or a big tradeoff and must deal with it.
So it's deceptive and weirdly just a coming of age tale or "the heroes journey" which has been a bit overdone since Hollywood decided it was a goldmine.

* Superman I, II, and III,
* Smallville
* that superhero series starring Julie Benz and Michael Chicklis that lasted one season
* Wonder Woman (1970s)
* Grimm
* All the Spiderman series
* The Avengers
* Captain America
* The Fantastic Four (I & II)
* Thor (I & II)
* Justice League

The Batman Trope:
*Supernatural
*Angel
* Constantine
* Arrow
* Chris Nolan's Batman movies
* Iron Man

Neither:
* Misfits
* Heroes
* Man of Steel
* Marvel Agents of Sheild
* Gotham

[feel-the-joy.livejournal.com]

Maybe it's the Disney self-promotion that annoys your friend? I know sometimes they are so in-your-face with it that I roll my eyes, even though I like the show. Regardless, I am currently really enjoying OUAT, I think it's the best it's been since the first season. Maybe not quite AS good, but certainly better than the last two seasons. I did enjoy those seasons, but the writing was missing something....

Really liking Gotham, too. I don't normally care about superhero shows, but this one looked interesting. I decided to check it out, and was immediately hooked. All the actors are very well-cast and clearly having fun. That really makes every episode a joy to watch, although the show has other merits as well. I hope it gets picked up for another season.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

No, it's not the Disney self-promotion...it's the campy nature of the series. She has similar issues with superhero series. And, this season isn't working for her - as well as last season, doesn't find the "Frozen" bits appealing - in part because she never saw Frozen, so can't connect at all to Elsa or Anna. I think it is a trope thing.

I actually am enjoying this season more than I expected, but the Snow Queen is admittedly a favorite story trope of mine. More so than Peter Pan and Wizard of OZ, so I agree with you.


Agreed on Gotham. I think Gotham is doing pretty well, it's actually doing better than Sleepy Hollow at the moment - which is interesting.

[feel-the-joy.livejournal.com]

Ah, I see. That's exactly the reason I don't normally like superhero shows myself, actually. For some reason I find camp works fine in fairy tale stories but not with superheroes. I guess because with the former the entire premise is fantastical so camp is to be expected. With the latter, the heroes and villains are fantastic, but everyone and everything else in their world is attempted to be portrayed realistically, which just makes the camp of the super heroes/villains stick out more and feel out of place. Then the whole concept of the show just seems ridiculous. That formula only works if the characters aren't *too* campy (such as Gotham) or the show doesn't take itself too seriously, like Sleepy Hollow.

Speaking of SH, I agree its quality has fallen behind Gotham. I thought it got off to an awesome start, but it's been lagging lately. Most in the fandom, including me, agree that there has been too much of the Crane Family Drama and don't like the marginalizing of Jenny and Irving. Fortunately, in a couple weeks the show will start fleshing out the Mills family.