Supernatural and other tv shows..
Jul. 29th, 2007 08:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkatAfter spending two hours this morning doing laundry in a sweaty crowded laundramat,complete with a mosquito who bit me on the leg, retreated homewards, made bed up clean and broke in the new air conditioner by reading, watching the telly, and knitting all day. Good day for it too, since the sky threw a tempertantrum complete with thunder, lightening and pouring rain.
Anywho... I feel I should apologize to the folks on my flist regarding Supernatural. I was wrong. You were right. Yes, I've changed my mind. It happens.
I've now watched about fifteen episodes? Maybe more? In sequence. And I have changed my mind about the series. With a few minor exceptions, such as the Amber Benson vampire episode, it is overall a well-written, well-acted, fairly innovative series that reminds me a great deal of John Carpenter and Howard Hawks buddy Westerns, Cop dramas, and horror films. It also is reminiscent of the old style 1970s shows such as Koljack the Night Stalker and Starsky and Hutch, with a bit of Maverick thrown in. At any rate, I'm really enjoying this series at the moment. The writing is fairly clever in places, and the chemistry between the regular or re-curring characters is spot on.
Also, the horror stories are innovative, not repetitive, not predictable, and based on versions of actual urban horror stories. On top of that - they actually further the main characters emotional arcs and act as metaphors for what is going on with them.
Saw two today that are great examples of that. One about a murderous clown at a carnival and the other about a Trickster Ghost - a tale that I have not seen done in quite this way before. Both creepy, yet with a sense of humor.
What you have to keep in mind about Supernatural is that its a story about two brothers.
The entire series is in the brother's point of view and only veers from their point of view to either set up B-plot or to show what the villians are doing and set up the scare.
Each time it veers from their point of view, it is deliberate and makes perfect sense.
While women are not always shown in the best light, it does make sense - since we are in the brothers' pov and neither brother was raised by their mother or for that matter has had a long term relationship with a woman. Add to that - one saw the mother killed by a demon, the other his girlfriend. Women to the brothers are a liability or something they can't have, forbidden fruit. Plus they were raised by a bitter, vengenful man, played by the brilliant Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who devoted his life and his sons to taking down the demon who killed his wife - not caring who got hurt in the process. John Winchester is not unlike the gun he is named after - and he reminds me a great deal of the Western stars of yesteryear, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Clint, Glenn Ford, James Arness....I admit it - I am a woman who adores Westerns. Even if they are sexist. Actually I sort of preferred them that way. The politically correct Westerns of the 1980s and 1990s just felt odd. And I felt guilty about that. Still do. So I keep that to myself. Oops. Guess not so much anymore.
The show does have two interesting female characters in it - which I sort of wish they'd decide to make regulars or more recurring - "Jo" and her mother "Ellen" - the wife and daughter of a hunter that John Wincester partnered with.
The mythology of the series is fairly dark and fairly tight. Tighter than Whedon's was.
And based heavily upon urban legends and folktales. Unlike Whedon, the writers aren't creating monsters based on gothic or sci-fi tradition but rather on the urban horror tradition or oral narrative. Which is different, and far scarier. The tales we told around the camp fire or in the dorm or even over drinks in college - in an attempt to scare ourselves silly. Stories that were often based on fact or a kernal of truth. Hence the term legend. They are embellishments of what actually happened and are therefore far scarier than your average vampire, zombie or ghost story. The writers also reference the classics - HP Lovecraft, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Doris Lessing, Shirly Jackson, and others. The grand masters of the horror tradition and instead of blending it with science fiction like Doctor Who or Whedon often did, they blend it with the Western - which was often dirtier than sci-fi, more rugged, less stylish. Less tech heavy.
The soundtrack is kick-ass. Van Morrison. Spinal Tap. Stone Temple Pilots. I really want the CD of this series - when it gets released. Some true classics.
And the art direction? Consistently dark and brooding, yet bad-boy cool. The car the boy's drive reminds me of something out of John Carpenter or Quentin Tarantino film - 1950s or 60s, with Jimmy Dean behind the wheel, and James Woods riding shot-gun. Or maybe Michael Marsden. The look - makes me think of the film The Crow - starring Jason Lee - the original film. Complete with Jane Siberry singing in the background.
Yet it also has humor. Jensen Ackles and Jared Palecki share a banter that makes me laugh out loud. And Ackles may have the best one-liners I've seen since well, Marsters, Spike.
Also, Ackles is hot. But so is Palecki. As they take turns playing bad boys. Showing the edges of gray.
One episode - can't remember the name of it - is about an Avenging Angel who kills bad people seeing the bad people as demons - the episode is direct reference to Bill Paxton's Fraility, but it examines Paxton's themes from that film from a completely different angle, and still leaves some questions unanswered.
Really enjoying this series. Right now it is amongst my favorites of the summer and I'm definitely going to be DVR'ing it next year, regardless of what is opposite. Have decided to sacrifice 30 Rock and The Office in favor of Ugly Betty/Greys and Smallville, Supernatural. Which manage to meet both sides of my personality - my guy geek side, and my chickflick side. So yes, it is possible to love both. Sitcoms? They live in syndication forever.
I'm also watching Smallville - which was really good last year, again with a few minor exceptions. Welling actually has figured out how to act and keep his own opposite Rosenblum. And Kristen Kuerk is doing more than just looking pretty. Eric Endurance's Lois is a great addition, as are Jimmy Olsen, and Oliver Green - who is clearly taking Bruce Wayne's place in this series - since they can't get the rights to use Batman. Sort of happy about that, since I know less about the Green Arrow. Smallville is doing some interesting things and entertaining the heck out of me.
Tried Mad Men with Wales, we were both bored. Of course it did not help that the actors mumble and are difficult to hear. We had to keep rewinding to figure out what they were saying. Also as Wales put it - it is a bit too blatant about its sexism and racism.
Yes, we know the 50's were a bit like that...but we don't need it repeated in every frame.
We gave up on it twenty minutes in.
Also gave up on Rescue Me finally. Again was just bored. The characters don't appear to be evolving and it is just depressing. I'm tired of watching people scream at each other. I can see that in my real life on a daily basis don't need to watch it on television. Also Denis Leary's character is terribly whiny and starting to get on my nerves.
Saving Grace ? Not sure about this one. A bit too preachy. A bit too obvious. But I like Holly Hunter and the rest of the cast. I'll watch two or three more then decide.
Doctor Who - the jury is still out. It's incredibly campy and silly. And Freema Agyman isn't impressing me. Tennant is almost too twitchy for my taste. And the monsters a tad over-the-top. I should state at this point that I'm not overly fond of camp. The campier episodes of Buffy turned me off as well - never liked Go Fish, Reptile Boy, or a good percentage of the episodes in the first season. I found them silly not funny. It's my sense of humor, which is admittedly on the dark side of the fence. At any rate - I did not like the second episode with Shakspeare and the Witches, nor did I like the episode with the Runaway Bride, but I did like the one with the hospital on the moon. Have not seen the last two - still on DVR. So will wait until I see a few more before deciding one way or the other.
The previews for Torchwood look like a lot of fun and much better than Doctor Who.
(No, James Marsters isn't going to be on it yet. We're getting the FIRST season. The episodes with Marsters won't premiere in the States until Fall 2008 - if that. So, when I say that Torchwood looks interesting, it is not because Marsters is going to be on it.)
Anyone watching The 4400? Is it just me or is this beginning to resemble the X-Files? Or rather the X-Files meets the X-men? It even has it's own version of the lone gunman and the cigarette smoking man. Not sure I like the similarities - X-Files government conspiracy stuff got on my nerves.
PS: Does anyone have any cool Jo or Ellen icons from Supernatural? Really like those two characters.
Anywho... I feel I should apologize to the folks on my flist regarding Supernatural. I was wrong. You were right. Yes, I've changed my mind. It happens.
I've now watched about fifteen episodes? Maybe more? In sequence. And I have changed my mind about the series. With a few minor exceptions, such as the Amber Benson vampire episode, it is overall a well-written, well-acted, fairly innovative series that reminds me a great deal of John Carpenter and Howard Hawks buddy Westerns, Cop dramas, and horror films. It also is reminiscent of the old style 1970s shows such as Koljack the Night Stalker and Starsky and Hutch, with a bit of Maverick thrown in. At any rate, I'm really enjoying this series at the moment. The writing is fairly clever in places, and the chemistry between the regular or re-curring characters is spot on.
Also, the horror stories are innovative, not repetitive, not predictable, and based on versions of actual urban horror stories. On top of that - they actually further the main characters emotional arcs and act as metaphors for what is going on with them.
Saw two today that are great examples of that. One about a murderous clown at a carnival and the other about a Trickster Ghost - a tale that I have not seen done in quite this way before. Both creepy, yet with a sense of humor.
What you have to keep in mind about Supernatural is that its a story about two brothers.
The entire series is in the brother's point of view and only veers from their point of view to either set up B-plot or to show what the villians are doing and set up the scare.
Each time it veers from their point of view, it is deliberate and makes perfect sense.
While women are not always shown in the best light, it does make sense - since we are in the brothers' pov and neither brother was raised by their mother or for that matter has had a long term relationship with a woman. Add to that - one saw the mother killed by a demon, the other his girlfriend. Women to the brothers are a liability or something they can't have, forbidden fruit. Plus they were raised by a bitter, vengenful man, played by the brilliant Jeffrey Dean Morgan, who devoted his life and his sons to taking down the demon who killed his wife - not caring who got hurt in the process. John Winchester is not unlike the gun he is named after - and he reminds me a great deal of the Western stars of yesteryear, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Clint, Glenn Ford, James Arness....I admit it - I am a woman who adores Westerns. Even if they are sexist. Actually I sort of preferred them that way. The politically correct Westerns of the 1980s and 1990s just felt odd. And I felt guilty about that. Still do. So I keep that to myself. Oops. Guess not so much anymore.
The show does have two interesting female characters in it - which I sort of wish they'd decide to make regulars or more recurring - "Jo" and her mother "Ellen" - the wife and daughter of a hunter that John Wincester partnered with.
The mythology of the series is fairly dark and fairly tight. Tighter than Whedon's was.
And based heavily upon urban legends and folktales. Unlike Whedon, the writers aren't creating monsters based on gothic or sci-fi tradition but rather on the urban horror tradition or oral narrative. Which is different, and far scarier. The tales we told around the camp fire or in the dorm or even over drinks in college - in an attempt to scare ourselves silly. Stories that were often based on fact or a kernal of truth. Hence the term legend. They are embellishments of what actually happened and are therefore far scarier than your average vampire, zombie or ghost story. The writers also reference the classics - HP Lovecraft, Stephen King, Clive Barker, Doris Lessing, Shirly Jackson, and others. The grand masters of the horror tradition and instead of blending it with science fiction like Doctor Who or Whedon often did, they blend it with the Western - which was often dirtier than sci-fi, more rugged, less stylish. Less tech heavy.
The soundtrack is kick-ass. Van Morrison. Spinal Tap. Stone Temple Pilots. I really want the CD of this series - when it gets released. Some true classics.
And the art direction? Consistently dark and brooding, yet bad-boy cool. The car the boy's drive reminds me of something out of John Carpenter or Quentin Tarantino film - 1950s or 60s, with Jimmy Dean behind the wheel, and James Woods riding shot-gun. Or maybe Michael Marsden. The look - makes me think of the film The Crow - starring Jason Lee - the original film. Complete with Jane Siberry singing in the background.
Yet it also has humor. Jensen Ackles and Jared Palecki share a banter that makes me laugh out loud. And Ackles may have the best one-liners I've seen since well, Marsters, Spike.
Also, Ackles is hot. But so is Palecki. As they take turns playing bad boys. Showing the edges of gray.
One episode - can't remember the name of it - is about an Avenging Angel who kills bad people seeing the bad people as demons - the episode is direct reference to Bill Paxton's Fraility, but it examines Paxton's themes from that film from a completely different angle, and still leaves some questions unanswered.
Really enjoying this series. Right now it is amongst my favorites of the summer and I'm definitely going to be DVR'ing it next year, regardless of what is opposite. Have decided to sacrifice 30 Rock and The Office in favor of Ugly Betty/Greys and Smallville, Supernatural. Which manage to meet both sides of my personality - my guy geek side, and my chickflick side. So yes, it is possible to love both. Sitcoms? They live in syndication forever.
I'm also watching Smallville - which was really good last year, again with a few minor exceptions. Welling actually has figured out how to act and keep his own opposite Rosenblum. And Kristen Kuerk is doing more than just looking pretty. Eric Endurance's Lois is a great addition, as are Jimmy Olsen, and Oliver Green - who is clearly taking Bruce Wayne's place in this series - since they can't get the rights to use Batman. Sort of happy about that, since I know less about the Green Arrow. Smallville is doing some interesting things and entertaining the heck out of me.
Tried Mad Men with Wales, we were both bored. Of course it did not help that the actors mumble and are difficult to hear. We had to keep rewinding to figure out what they were saying. Also as Wales put it - it is a bit too blatant about its sexism and racism.
Yes, we know the 50's were a bit like that...but we don't need it repeated in every frame.
We gave up on it twenty minutes in.
Also gave up on Rescue Me finally. Again was just bored. The characters don't appear to be evolving and it is just depressing. I'm tired of watching people scream at each other. I can see that in my real life on a daily basis don't need to watch it on television. Also Denis Leary's character is terribly whiny and starting to get on my nerves.
Saving Grace ? Not sure about this one. A bit too preachy. A bit too obvious. But I like Holly Hunter and the rest of the cast. I'll watch two or three more then decide.
Doctor Who - the jury is still out. It's incredibly campy and silly. And Freema Agyman isn't impressing me. Tennant is almost too twitchy for my taste. And the monsters a tad over-the-top. I should state at this point that I'm not overly fond of camp. The campier episodes of Buffy turned me off as well - never liked Go Fish, Reptile Boy, or a good percentage of the episodes in the first season. I found them silly not funny. It's my sense of humor, which is admittedly on the dark side of the fence. At any rate - I did not like the second episode with Shakspeare and the Witches, nor did I like the episode with the Runaway Bride, but I did like the one with the hospital on the moon. Have not seen the last two - still on DVR. So will wait until I see a few more before deciding one way or the other.
The previews for Torchwood look like a lot of fun and much better than Doctor Who.
(No, James Marsters isn't going to be on it yet. We're getting the FIRST season. The episodes with Marsters won't premiere in the States until Fall 2008 - if that. So, when I say that Torchwood looks interesting, it is not because Marsters is going to be on it.)
Anyone watching The 4400? Is it just me or is this beginning to resemble the X-Files? Or rather the X-Files meets the X-men? It even has it's own version of the lone gunman and the cigarette smoking man. Not sure I like the similarities - X-Files government conspiracy stuff got on my nerves.
PS: Does anyone have any cool Jo or Ellen icons from Supernatural? Really like those two characters.
