Television Reviews...The Catch and OUAT

[shadowkat]

1. Hmmm....Once Upon A Time appear to be renewed for another season?
Why? I just finished watching the musical episode...and, oh dear. The cast can certainly sing and they sing their hearts out. But the plot, the writing, and the lyrics...don't quite work and are rather lackluster and unmemorable. It's also repetitious at this point. We've had Peter Pan, the Evil Queen, Wicked, and now the Dark Fairy, all curse the town with the help of Rumplestilskin, who appears to be related to practically all of them in some way or responsible for their power. And each time, Emma has to do something to save everyone. I don't blame Jennifer Morrison for saying this is her last season. Good for her. Wish Robert Carlyle would do the same.

At any rate, I'm finally done with it. Deleted the nine episodes the proceeded it, without watching them. There was no point. After seeing the musical episode, I didn't care what happened previously or how they all got there.

The problem with this series has always been the writing. The acting is actually fairly good, the casting for the most part is up to snuff, and the special effects and production value is all there -- but the writing...I keep wondering how these people got their jobs? The plots don't quite hold together, the story has been stretched almost too thin, and the characters that could have been developed and explored never quite are without falling back into cliche. And the dialogue which had potential never quite zings.

On FB someone compared it with Once More With Feeling. And they were right, it pales in comparison. Whedon actually is a good writer. He can write a singable and memorable lyric and song. The man understands poetry and composition. He also knows how to further character and story with song. The writers of OUAT have no clue.
It felt like ratings bait. Which I admittedly fell for. Very similar to The Flash, except it was oddly better.

Anyhow...what's bewildering about Once Upon a Time is it appears to have been renewed for another season? What else can it possibly say? I think it should have ended with the musical episode. But oh well. It ended for me with the musical episode. I don't know if I'll watch the season finale or not. On the fence. I have a feeling they are planning on killing off Emma. I'm hoping they just write her and Hook and her family off into the sunset...into their happy ending.

I almost wish the series ended with the ending of the third season or fourth, with Regina sending Emma and Henry back to our world without their memories, and everyone else back to the Enchanted Forest. Storybrook itself dissolving into the ether. Those seasons worked and that ending was brilliant.

I think continuing after that ending...stretched the show too thin and in some ways killed its magic.

I've decided that some television series last too long. It's better to find an ending. The curse of television. It often doesn't know when to end things.

2.) The Catch -- wish this show would get another season. Although, not surprised it hasn't. While I liked it for the most part, it had a lot of problems. The casting was all wrong for the most part. And the writing/direction felt off. Casting is often 90% of it, as Ridley Scott recently stated -- that 98% of his success is that he has a good eye for casting. He does. Shondra Rhimes and her crew...don't, they are off a lot of the time. Grey's and Scandal, aren't bad, but also uneven. How to Get Away with Murder -- was horribly uneven, only two or three people in its cast work - but it's writing also had issues. I tried to like it. The Catch -- with the exception of Rhys, Daniel, Margot, and Tommy Vaugh, not good casting. Alice, Benjy, Ethan, Justine, Val, and Sofie never quite grab you and they really needed too. Particularly Alice and Benjy, who were supposed to be the leads.

And the plotting/story was very jagged and jarring. Too busy, and too much happening, almost as if the writers couldn't focus or got bored and felt stuff needed to be added.

So, while I wanted more of it, at the same time I desperately wanted to fix it. Just wish ABC would renew it and cancel OUAT and Marvels Agents of Shield, both of which I gave up on this year. Well, no, I gave up on Marvel Agents of Shield last year. Once I gave up on in January.

3. Decided to switch to Google Chrome finally. It's working better than Firefox. Faster interface and less bugs. Also, charger is working better. Was concerned. I may be able to put off buying a new computer for a bit longer.

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

I almost wish the series ended with the ending of the third season or fourth, with Regina sending Emma and Henry back to our world without their memories, and everyone else back to the Enchanted Forest. Storybrook itself dissolving into the ether. Those seasons worked and that ending was brilliant.

I agree that would have been a good ending and fans could have done a lot with it from that point on. And yes, I completely agree that it's a show that has long outlasted its original premise and is basically a nighttime soap with all the ludicrousness that entails.

Very similar to The Flash, except it was oddly better.

Definitely better. It at least seemed more organic to this world because the Flash effort was absolutely a stunt in search of a reason.

On FB someone compared it with Once More With Feeling. And they were right, it pales in comparison.

I also thought about it. The funny thing is that the OuaT version was very slick, too much so. Buffy's try was very organic, much broader in nature, and in the long-run, much more relevant. It set up the season, it wasn't a one-off. The songs were also more memorable, though I may be biased there having heard them so often.

On the fence. I have a feeling they are planning on killing off Emma. I'm hoping they just write her and Hook and her family off into the sunset...into their happy ending.

Well they can't do that because Hook is returning without her. Which in itself is just "Eh?"

You may also have something with The Catch. Personally I wasn't sorry about it ending, and I thought it did it in a very good place, really. But I agree that the leads were not compelling. I liked Krause back in Sports Night but that plastic surgery has not helped him be more expressive. And Alice was bland. The only character that really stood out to me was Rhys.

[shadowkat]

I liked the songs better in The Flash (although I don't watch the Flash and only watched the musical episode... and the songs were pop songs and not really new numbers...). So yeah.

To date I think Buffy is the only one that has successfully pulled off a musical episode, with the possible exception of Xenia. Scrubs wasn't bad. Grey's Anatomy's was unwatchable. OUAT sort of falls closer to Scrubs. It was at least watchable, just not memorable. I think we can blame Whedon for starting this trend. I'd blame Xenia, except Xenia was long gone before Whedon attempted it.

The funny thing is that the OuaT version was very slick, too much so. Buffy's try was very organic, much broader in nature, and in the long-run, much more relevant. It set up the season, it wasn't a one-off. The songs were also more memorable, though I may be biased there having heard them so often.

On FB, I wrote a very long response to the individual who compared OMWF to Xenia and OUAT, and said they were better. I said, uh, no. OMWF had layers neither of the others did. For one thing OMWF commented on the musical format. A friend, who'd never watched the show before, watched it and was incredibly impressed -- they said, "whoa, it's making fun of itself and the musical format." Whedon actually deconstructed a Sondheim musical and did a meta-narrative on it and the format within his story. There's a brilliant line in the Xander/Anya number -- where Xander looks at the audience, and says, move it along, nothing to see, and look perturbed that he's being watched. Whedon broke down the fourth wall but did it in a way that wasn't jarring and worked.

Also, each song fit the character...no one else, except Xenia came close to doing that. Rest in Peace is a brilliant take on Spike as a character and it fits the actors vocal capabilities, and the character's journey. Buffy's opening number -- Going Through the Motions, makes fun of the whole hero//damsel trope and what it is to be a hero, at the same time commenting on depression. I mean it is a brilliant song and had me in tears -- because it perfectly describes what it is like to be depressed.

OUAT in contrast, does not do that. It felt thrown together, with a few quick and rather slick production numbers and vocals, deftly avoiding having people who can't or don't want to sing and dance do it. While OMWF had everyone do it -- because hello, it would make no sense if they didn't to some extent under the curse. And OUAT's numbers don't tell us anything new. I just don't think it worked that well. And it felt like ratings bait in the same manner the Flash did. (Although, I enjoyed the Flash's musical numbers more...but I also don't watch it, so the fact that it did not fit the story or further it in any way, didn't bother me.)


Well they can't do that because Hook is returning without her. Which in itself is just "Eh?"

I know, right. So I guess they have to kill her off? Haven't seen it yet. Or split them up? She's supposed to do one quest episode next season, but the guy who played Neil did the same thing after he died.

I read about why that happened...Colin aka Hook apparently has one year left on his contract. He started a year after she did. And he's a fan favorite.
I think they were surprised when she told them that she wasn't renewing. Because I honestly think they intended to keep her on.


Agree about The Catch. I think it ended in a good place, which leaves things open enough for fans to play with, and closed enough to let go of. It was a realistic ending. And not too neat, nor too much of a cliff-hanger. They've wised up and stopped the big cliff-hangers. While I'd have liked more...I can't say I'm upset that it got cancelled or surprised.

But I agree that the leads were not compelling. I liked Krause back in Sports Night but that plastic surgery has not helped him be more expressive. And Alice was bland. The only character that really stood out to me was Rhys

Rhys kept stealing the show from everyone. He really was the only thing that stood out.

Didn't know Krause had plastic surgery, that explains a lot. It has not helped him. He's rather stiff in this. I liked him in Parenthood, Six Feet Under and Sports Night -- but I think he was miscast here. They needed someone edgier...more like the guy playing Hook on Once Upon a Time or similar to Patrick Dempsey. Sexy. Krause just isn't sexy. John Simms Rhys was sexier than Krause.

And yep, I agree, Alice was bland and also miscast. Also poorly developed. They began to delve into the character but not early enough. The actresses playing Margot and Felicity were more interesting.

That was a big problem with it...the casting, and well the writing...It had a lot of potential. I really liked the idea, but poor execution. I've had the same problem with OUAT, great ideas, bad execution. Ugh.

[yourlibrarian]

My memory of the Scrubs musical is pretty hazy by now but I remember thinking it was fun -- especially the "guy love" song. Of course, being a comedy Scrubs fit a different sort of niche with it, especially since it routinely played with the fourth wall.

Speaking of where Xander looks at the audience, and says, move it along, nothing to see, and look perturbed that he's being watched. Whedon broke down the fourth wall but did it in a way that wasn't jarring and worked.

Yes there were several nods, including the one where Buffy says "And you can sing along." They did it in dialogue too when they got word Dawn had been kidnapped and Buffy said "It must be Tuesday."

I thought Hook actually arrived 2 seasons later but perhaps not. I agree that they probably hoped to keep Emma for another year or two. And yes, though I didn't see S1 I would have expected it to completely turn on the lead male being utterly charming. Krause managed urbane, which definitely fell short. It was a very Hollywood style casting with looks over substance.

As for the plastic surgery, it's just sadly so prevalent it's almost a requirement. Apparently almost all actors start it by age 30. At that age it's usually only apparent if you had been watching them closely before. But by 40 and 50 it really starts to show. I've been terribly distracted by Darryl Hannah's poorly done surgery in Sense8. She's got that pulled back eye look that makes all actresses look alike (I'd say it's the Kim Novak look only not so bad yet in her case). I was actually thinking of this issue while watching Home Fires as well, populated at least partly by older women. I'm sure they had work done as well but it's not that stretched-tight appearance so that they actually look their age and still look like themselves in their younger years. In something which would never be seen on U.S. TV, the central affair in the series is between two middle aged people and the woman is ordinary looking and overweight. I doubt she'd get more than a background speaking role in the U.S. these days!

[shadowkat]

See, I don't consider Krause all that attractive, and he lacks edge. And yes, the first season required someone who was attractive in the way that Ethan Ward was, except more charming and edgy. That's why it sort of fell flat.

Odd on the plastic surgery, I know someone who has had it -- and it doesn't affect her at all. Meryl Streep had it -- and is okay. I think some just have bad plastic surgery and it freezes their facial muscles. In fact the actress I know who had it done wondered why it was so badly done on others, because there are good surgeons out there.

I wish they didn't do it. Aging is natural, and people begin to look interesting and distinctive. Although...sometimes you do need it -- to see. Droopy eye lids. My Aunt had it done for that reason.

Mary Tyler Moore had horrific plastic surgery as did Joan Rivers.

I agree on British TV -- they seem less obsessed with looks somehow. Casting is less "pretty" focused. Well, except for Call the Midwife, which feels like it is slanting slowly in that direction, but not to the degree US TV does. It's odd, but the less "pretty" Brits were actually more interesting in the Catch than the oh so pretty Americans. Good acting doesn't always equal pretty.

[yourlibrarian]

Yes, there are genetic predispositions where it makes sense to do it, particularly in such a looks-oriented job -- a particularly loose neck or jowly face, for example. But besides it possibly being a poor job there are other drawbacks.

I remember that Cary Elwes did a guest spot on some show and I didn't even recognize him for a while. It wasn't the surgery but apparently what had happened after. He had gained weight but since his face was all pulled back, the weight instead showed up around his chin and neck making it bulge out around the edges of his face. It not only looked awful but unnatural as well. Apparently the weight gain was temporary because I've seen him look better since, but the whole problem with the surgery is that you have to maintain everything else the same as well.

The other weird thing is when someone who's had surgery is alongside people who haven't had surgery. Jon Stewart has done it before but I thought it was a bit of dick move on his part to bring it up again during the Daily Show reunion episode of the Late Show. They had a clip of him from 1999 where he almost looked like a different person and he pointed out how everyone else looked the same or, in Ed Helms case, possibly even younger. And everyone (except possibly Colbert who otherwise dyes his hair) had had work done so it wasn't much of a surprise. But it was also very obvious.