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Mar. 10th, 2014 06:48 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. Finally watched the 7th and 8th episodes of True Detective, which Emily Nussbaum of the New Yorker didn't like".
While I don't completely disagree with her - True Detective like pretty much all the other crime series on television repeats ad nauseum old tropes, I did like the finale better than Nussbaum did - but unlike Nussbaum, I'm less enthusiastic about this trope. Also if you give me interesting and compelling characters - I'm happy regardless of the trope or scenario.
The only series that I've seen in this trope (emphasis on "that I've seen" since I can't comment on tv shows that I have not seen nor feel inclined to see) that seemed to break new ground or have something new to say on the subject - was Broadchurch. (I have not seen The Americans, outside of one or two episodes during the first season. Nor have I seen Top of the Lake or The Fall. Or Wallander, so can't comment on those series.) Admittedly, this is no longer a genre that I like all that much, hence the reason I haven't seen them, well that and the fact that I don't have time and don't get all these channels. If you don't like the genre all that much or the subject matter or the trope doesn't interest you - you will not be inclined to watch the series or book, etc regardless of how badly everyone else loves it or trendy it is. (We aren't lemmings after all, at least not the last time I checked.) In short, it is what it is or we like what we like.
Regarding this particular genre: I'm at the point in which...I know going in that the following items will most likely be evident.
* of course the bad guy is a serial killer or sexual deviant or child molester [Seriously they can't do anything else? The only murders worth exploring are these?]
* at some point the hero is going to be a suspect or someone incredibly close to them is
* innocents - either young women or children are graphically abused or killed
* the detectives in charge or the leads - are world-weary, and worn out by life, often stoic or philosophical, and self-hating and/or self-destructive. (Will admit this is somewhat realistic, when I was interning in Public Defender - I never met a happy Public Defender or homicide cop. World-weary yes, happy no. It's a cliche for a reason.)
* it takes forever to solve the case and the audience usually figures it out ahead of time (also admittedly realistic - you would not believe the red tape.)
* And it often takes place in the gloomy or deserted countryside (not so realistic...more of this happens in the pretty suburbs than most people would like to think.)
* The killer is usually a character we meet up front in some fashion but the detectives don't figure it out until the end ( nifty television device, hardly realistic)
At the end of the day: The story really isn't about the killer or who did it, but how working the case deconstructs and reconstructs the detectives and their relationships. ie. The effect of violence on our internal and external lives - which is actually the only reason I've ever watched these things, and their saving grace.
It really doesn't matter who the killer is or who the victims are in some of these - it's about the detective. Prime Suspect was amongst the initiators of this particular trope and actually my favorite. Few have come close to the layers of that series, and alas, I'm not certain this has exactly. Nor has it come close to the complexity of Broadchurch. It is however far better than either The Killing or the Bridge, both of which I gave up on.
There's some great character moments - between Martin Hart and Rust Cohle. And the arc of their beleaguered partnership and impossible friendship, which is and is not a bro-romance, is worth the watch. Particularly as played by Harrleson and McConaughy, who could literally play and have at different points played either role. I rather liked the finale scene of the series - where the two men, in their late 40s/early 50s discuss the stars while smoking a cigarette outside a hospital. In that scene - it becomes clear that through their investigation of this case, which spanned 17 years, they've come to understand each other and how violence can damage a person. I enjoyed the series for that moment alone - which they earned. The mystery? Meh. It was predictable and done before too many times to count.
And the romantic relationships? Typical. But the character study was compelling in places and worth the watch.>
2. Any Rufus Wranwright fans lurking - if so, can you recommend an album for me to try? I'm flirting with Poses and Out of Game, but don't know which is better.
While I don't completely disagree with her - True Detective like pretty much all the other crime series on television repeats ad nauseum old tropes, I did like the finale better than Nussbaum did - but unlike Nussbaum, I'm less enthusiastic about this trope. Also if you give me interesting and compelling characters - I'm happy regardless of the trope or scenario.
The only series that I've seen in this trope (emphasis on "that I've seen" since I can't comment on tv shows that I have not seen nor feel inclined to see) that seemed to break new ground or have something new to say on the subject - was Broadchurch. (I have not seen The Americans, outside of one or two episodes during the first season. Nor have I seen Top of the Lake or The Fall. Or Wallander, so can't comment on those series.) Admittedly, this is no longer a genre that I like all that much, hence the reason I haven't seen them, well that and the fact that I don't have time and don't get all these channels. If you don't like the genre all that much or the subject matter or the trope doesn't interest you - you will not be inclined to watch the series or book, etc regardless of how badly everyone else loves it or trendy it is. (We aren't lemmings after all, at least not the last time I checked.) In short, it is what it is or we like what we like.
Regarding this particular genre: I'm at the point in which...I know going in that the following items will most likely be evident.
* of course the bad guy is a serial killer or sexual deviant or child molester [Seriously they can't do anything else? The only murders worth exploring are these?]
* at some point the hero is going to be a suspect or someone incredibly close to them is
* innocents - either young women or children are graphically abused or killed
* the detectives in charge or the leads - are world-weary, and worn out by life, often stoic or philosophical, and self-hating and/or self-destructive. (Will admit this is somewhat realistic, when I was interning in Public Defender - I never met a happy Public Defender or homicide cop. World-weary yes, happy no. It's a cliche for a reason.)
* it takes forever to solve the case and the audience usually figures it out ahead of time (also admittedly realistic - you would not believe the red tape.)
* And it often takes place in the gloomy or deserted countryside (not so realistic...more of this happens in the pretty suburbs than most people would like to think.)
* The killer is usually a character we meet up front in some fashion but the detectives don't figure it out until the end ( nifty television device, hardly realistic)
At the end of the day: The story really isn't about the killer or who did it, but how working the case deconstructs and reconstructs the detectives and their relationships. ie. The effect of violence on our internal and external lives - which is actually the only reason I've ever watched these things, and their saving grace.
It really doesn't matter who the killer is or who the victims are in some of these - it's about the detective. Prime Suspect was amongst the initiators of this particular trope and actually my favorite. Few have come close to the layers of that series, and alas, I'm not certain this has exactly. Nor has it come close to the complexity of Broadchurch. It is however far better than either The Killing or the Bridge, both of which I gave up on.
There's some great character moments - between Martin Hart and Rust Cohle. And the arc of their beleaguered partnership and impossible friendship, which is and is not a bro-romance, is worth the watch. Particularly as played by Harrleson and McConaughy, who could literally play and have at different points played either role. I rather liked the finale scene of the series - where the two men, in their late 40s/early 50s discuss the stars while smoking a cigarette outside a hospital. In that scene - it becomes clear that through their investigation of this case, which spanned 17 years, they've come to understand each other and how violence can damage a person. I enjoyed the series for that moment alone - which they earned. The mystery? Meh. It was predictable and done before too many times to count.
And the romantic relationships? Typical. But the character study was compelling in places and worth the watch.>
2. Any Rufus Wranwright fans lurking - if so, can you recommend an album for me to try? I'm flirting with Poses and Out of Game, but don't know which is better.
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Date: 2014-03-11 02:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-03-11 04:04 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2014-03-12 12:00 am (UTC)