Television Stuff -- Ringer and Revenge Redux

Watched Revenge and Ringer again this week. And while it is unfair to compare them, it's difficult not to. Revenge is the episodic/serial combo that I think many Ringer fans were looking/hoping for and never got because Ringer is a straight up serial, complete with cliff-hanger plot twists. Revenge on the other hand is turning out to be in some respects an "anti-Fugitive set-up", although that's admittedly pushing it, since the character stays in the same place and does plan everything she is doing in detail, while the Fugitive was sort of unorganized and reacting to stuff. In other words, we have a "pro-active" protagonist for a change of pace, normally they are "re-active". So this is new. Also, Revenge couldn't be further from the "save one person each week" trope that the Fugitive started way back when. Revenge is more along the lines of the "destroy the rich wicked nit wit each week". Or as one friend likes to put it - exact "justice". Feels very Alexander Dumas to me, and the characters are as twisty as Dumas' were, also I think the writing is as clunky and cliche at times (admittedly not a fan of Alexander Dumas writing, just his plots - I think he overwrites (over-wrote?) or writes in flowery prose). Perhaps he's better in French? It could very well be the translation.

[ I've always wondered about translations...would I like Tolstoy better if I knew Russian? Or Garcia Marquez less if I understand Spanish? I know Voltaire's Candide and Georges Simenon's Maigret read differently in their native tongues, as did Le Petite Prince. Can the texture, the beauty, the meaning be lost in the translation? Makes me wish I had a facility for language - no one in my immediate family does, although we all did try really hard - Momster took four years of German, Popster - six of Russian, Kidbro - three of Spanish, and Me? Six of French. Of the four of us, only my father and I can read the language or do an occasional bit from it - but we're also the only ones who attempted and failed miserably at it in College. My inability to learn languages crushed all hope I had of becoming either a diplomat or a foreign correspondent. I guess I should count myself lucky that the language that I am somewhat proficient at is the international language of the moment - English. Sorry for the whiny tangent.]

Anyhow...Revenge starts out the same as Ringer did this week - with a mislead, that turns out to be dream. Revenge does this the correct way, while Ringer makes a complete mess of it. If you want to know how not to do a false dream sequence that starts out an episode - that's pretty much it. ( spoilers for Ringer and Revenge, because impossible to discuss without them )