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locker_monsterIt's the winter break for most TV shows, so I thought I would post some thoughts:
- Castle. I thought Castle proposing married to Beckett would be lame, but it's not that bad. They're obviously going to stretch out this engagement; you can't have your leads rushing to get married. Beckett becoming an FBI agent or whatever didn't last long, which was a shame. They could have rebooted the show a bit. Not that dumping the existing cast would have been any fun. But it is nice to see Beckett smiling and happy. Castle brings that out in her. Aside from that, it's the same show it was six years ago, which is fine. As long as it puts Nathan on my TV, I can't complain. :-)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Okay, I have to admit that the show is going through a rough patch. Ratings aren't great and the stories are kind of uneven, but I think the show needs time to find its feet. It's the first season, after all. Even Buffy wasn't great right off the bat. It took another season before it really hit its stride. I think the same will happen to AoS. Once they writers find their voice, the plots and characters will settle. I mean, how do you define the show? Is it a superhero show? A sci-fi show? A spy show? A procedural?
The one thing not working for me is Skye. A lot of the show is her journey and I really don't care about her. First she was a hacker, and then it seemed like she was a mole, now she's looking for her parents while training to be an agent. She pushes the team to think outside of the box sometimes, but, I don't know, it feels unnatural sometimes. Her dialogue is too snappy, if you know what I mean. Joss' trademark is his awesome dialogue, but coming from Skye, it feels clumsy.
The rest of team works for me. Coulson is still laid-back and he has his dry humour but he's struggling with his death and resurrection, too. Seems like they'll address this topic in the new year. Is he a robot? A clone with Coulson's memories? Did S.H.I.E.L.D. bring him back with magic? Every time he talks about Tahiti, he says "It's a magical place", like he's programmed to say that. Oh, loved the little Dollhouse shout out they had when Coulson had that quick flashback to Tahiti. "Did I fall asleep again?" Maybe Coulson's a Doll! May I love, too. I'm glad we found out why she's called the Calvary and what happened to her to cause her to seek a desk job. She may seem strict and uncaring, but for a good reason. I hope we see her loosen up a bit as the show goes on. I didn't expect her and Ward to hook up, but hey, why not. Is Ward developing a crush on her? That's going to be awkward. ;-)
Actually, seeing Ward in more socially awkward situations would be fun. Also, his shirt conveniently came off during November sweeps. Huh, how did that happen? I like Fitz-Simmons, too, but they need to do more. "Fzzt" was a good episode because it featured Fitz and Simmons a bit more than usual, but the rest of the time they're in the lab or spouting off technobabble. It'd be neat to see them training to be field agents, too, or at least learning a few of the basics. I just want a scene where the two of them are learning to shoot guns and Fitz is horrible at it but Simmons totally gets the hang of it.
Just some random thoughts that have been collecting for awhile: So much for the much hyped Thor tie-in episode. It barely tied in. We saw the team picking up the pieces in Greenwich and that was just for a minute. I know we can't have cameos like Fury's in "0-8-4" all the time, but the frost beast running around London at the end of the movie was so calling out to be handled by the team. I like that each episode is handled like its own little Marvel movie. Each episode ends with something that could be an end credits scene in any Marvel movie. And is Lola the failed hover car that Tony's dad introduces during the Stark Expo at the beginning of the first Captain America movie?
- Arrow. Arrow is actually a good example of a show with great potential starting off kind of weak and really gaining strength towards the end of the season. So hopefully AoS pulls through an does the same. I'm loving season two of Arrow. They've found the tone of the show. It may seem ridiculous sometimes, but it's a comic book show, so it comes with the territory.
Ollie has a solid team now and the writers know what to do with most of the characters. The only one really sucking right now is Laurel. I don't think the writers know what to do with her. Is she Ollie's love interest? Is she a damsel in distress? Is she a hard nose lawyer? Is she a drunk? Her character is all over the place. It's so dumb that she's popping pills. Yes, she had a rough year. Her boyfriend died when half of the city was destroyed and she blames herself, but she's better than that. Five years ago, she lost a sister and Ollie and her mother walked out and her dad took to drinking and she never broke down then. Why now? I just want her to be Black Canary so she doesn't have to mope around.
So, Black Canary was actually Laurel's sister. Um, sure, that works. Perhaps, in the future, Sara dies and that inspires Laurel to take up the Black Canary mantle. It was kind of cool to see Ollie hanging out with another hero who wasn't a psycho. I'm sure Sara will come back at some point. There's potential to introduce Ra's Al Ghul since Sara, and Malcolm Merlyn, are linked to him and the League of Assassins. The Lazarus Pit seems to be kicking around, too, sinceCaptain Jack Malcolm Merlyn came back from the dead. This worries me, though. It's a far too convenient way to bring back dead characters. Still, this is a comic book show and retconned deaths will be nothing new. ;-)
Things I'm loving (in no particular order): Lance! I love Paul Blackthorne. And poor Quentin. The guy's life hasn't been the greatest since the vigilante showed up. I'm glad he's supports Ollie now. "Broken Dolls" was totally like a buddy cop film with the two of them investigating. And it gives Lance more to do, too. He's part of Ollie's little network. And I found it hilarious that he could figure out in two seconds that Sara was Black Canary but he can't work out that Ollie is the Arrow. Okay, yes, Sara is his daughter, but come on. Ollie dated Laurel for awhile and Ollie and the vigilante showed up at the same time. Also, Ollie and the Arrow have the same build and scruffy beard. Oh, Lance, no wonder you're an officer now. ;-)
Felicity! Team Arrow! I love that Ollie has a support network. Dig is his partner. He's got Ollie's back. But I worry for Dig. He goes around without a mask or anything to obscure his face. People are going to recognize him since he's Oliver Queen's driver and bodyguard. Perhaps Barry should have made him a domino mask, too. And Felicity. She's capable in her own ways and always willing to help out. I didn't see her as love interest for Ollie until "State v. Queen"; it suddenly clicked for me then. Now I want them to get together or at least acknowledge that there's an attraction there. But being Ollie's love interest shouldn't define the character and I'm glad the show is in no rush to get them together. UST is good for now.
Random introduction of Barry Allen! He's cute, but I don't know how they're going to pull off a grounded Flash TV show. The guy has superpowers so that doesn't naturally lead itself to a grounded storytelling approach. And how are they going to pull off his costume? On Smallville, everyone wore sunglasses and hoodies. Will Barry be wearing red tights? I guess we'll find out in the fall because you know the CW will totally pick up the show after the pilot is filmed. The set-up for a Flash show wasn't bad. Barry is still a forensics guy and he's always late. They added some stuff about his mom and super speedy killer; I guess that will be the arc of the show. He's also lean, as opposed to bulked up like Ollie, which I like. The Flash is a runner. It's more about speed, not strength. Barry and Felicity were cute, but we know it's not meant to be. I wonder if they'll introduce Iris on the spin-off. We did see a glimpse of Linda Park, Wally's love interest. And Barry made Ollie a domino mask out of kooky compressed material. Ha!
Oh yeah, thank god Ollie wears a mask now. That grease paint thing was ridiculous.
So much to look forward to in the new year. Evil Slade! Eye-patch, goatee. Deathstroke, baby! I bet Ollie had to fight Slade on the island. Ollie so stabbed his eye out with an arrow. The Deathstroke mask we see at the beginning of the season was totally foreshadowing the reveal of Slade as the villain. Shado's dead, which sucks. I wasn't rooting for them, but I really thought she would stick around as Ollie's teacher (Off topic, but I totally knew what she said in Chinese to Ollie in "Three Ghosts". Three years of Chinese university classes finally paid off!). Brother Blood and maybe H.I.V.E. and possibly Ra's Al Ghul. I know more DC trivia, thanks to numerous cartoons, so it's easier to get excited when they reference stuff.
Random: Thea is Malcolm's daughter? Really? Really? Are they setting her up to be an evil archery villain? They say Nanda Parbat funny on the show. The stress seems to be in the wrong place. Nanda Parbat, not Nanda Parbat. John Barrowman runs the "Par" and the "bat" together. And yay, John Barrowman is back! Steven Amell did not look well during "The Scientist". He had to cancel an appearance at comic book convention in Edmonton in September due to the flu; I bet that's when "The Scientist" was filmed. And it was funny how it was randomly Christmas in "Three Ghosts".
I didn't pick up any other new shows. Maybe once the season is over and shows get renewed I'll check some of them out.
And Sherlock is back on January 1st! YAY!!!
In honour of it's return and Doctor Who's approaching Christmas special, have a Wholock vid:
It's quite good overall but there are some bits that look a little weird. Shame this will never happen in real life.
- Castle. I thought Castle proposing married to Beckett would be lame, but it's not that bad. They're obviously going to stretch out this engagement; you can't have your leads rushing to get married. Beckett becoming an FBI agent or whatever didn't last long, which was a shame. They could have rebooted the show a bit. Not that dumping the existing cast would have been any fun. But it is nice to see Beckett smiling and happy. Castle brings that out in her. Aside from that, it's the same show it was six years ago, which is fine. As long as it puts Nathan on my TV, I can't complain. :-)
- Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Okay, I have to admit that the show is going through a rough patch. Ratings aren't great and the stories are kind of uneven, but I think the show needs time to find its feet. It's the first season, after all. Even Buffy wasn't great right off the bat. It took another season before it really hit its stride. I think the same will happen to AoS. Once they writers find their voice, the plots and characters will settle. I mean, how do you define the show? Is it a superhero show? A sci-fi show? A spy show? A procedural?
The one thing not working for me is Skye. A lot of the show is her journey and I really don't care about her. First she was a hacker, and then it seemed like she was a mole, now she's looking for her parents while training to be an agent. She pushes the team to think outside of the box sometimes, but, I don't know, it feels unnatural sometimes. Her dialogue is too snappy, if you know what I mean. Joss' trademark is his awesome dialogue, but coming from Skye, it feels clumsy.
The rest of team works for me. Coulson is still laid-back and he has his dry humour but he's struggling with his death and resurrection, too. Seems like they'll address this topic in the new year. Is he a robot? A clone with Coulson's memories? Did S.H.I.E.L.D. bring him back with magic? Every time he talks about Tahiti, he says "It's a magical place", like he's programmed to say that. Oh, loved the little Dollhouse shout out they had when Coulson had that quick flashback to Tahiti. "Did I fall asleep again?" Maybe Coulson's a Doll! May I love, too. I'm glad we found out why she's called the Calvary and what happened to her to cause her to seek a desk job. She may seem strict and uncaring, but for a good reason. I hope we see her loosen up a bit as the show goes on. I didn't expect her and Ward to hook up, but hey, why not. Is Ward developing a crush on her? That's going to be awkward. ;-)
Actually, seeing Ward in more socially awkward situations would be fun. Also, his shirt conveniently came off during November sweeps. Huh, how did that happen? I like Fitz-Simmons, too, but they need to do more. "Fzzt" was a good episode because it featured Fitz and Simmons a bit more than usual, but the rest of the time they're in the lab or spouting off technobabble. It'd be neat to see them training to be field agents, too, or at least learning a few of the basics. I just want a scene where the two of them are learning to shoot guns and Fitz is horrible at it but Simmons totally gets the hang of it.
Just some random thoughts that have been collecting for awhile: So much for the much hyped Thor tie-in episode. It barely tied in. We saw the team picking up the pieces in Greenwich and that was just for a minute. I know we can't have cameos like Fury's in "0-8-4" all the time, but the frost beast running around London at the end of the movie was so calling out to be handled by the team. I like that each episode is handled like its own little Marvel movie. Each episode ends with something that could be an end credits scene in any Marvel movie. And is Lola the failed hover car that Tony's dad introduces during the Stark Expo at the beginning of the first Captain America movie?
- Arrow. Arrow is actually a good example of a show with great potential starting off kind of weak and really gaining strength towards the end of the season. So hopefully AoS pulls through an does the same. I'm loving season two of Arrow. They've found the tone of the show. It may seem ridiculous sometimes, but it's a comic book show, so it comes with the territory.
Ollie has a solid team now and the writers know what to do with most of the characters. The only one really sucking right now is Laurel. I don't think the writers know what to do with her. Is she Ollie's love interest? Is she a damsel in distress? Is she a hard nose lawyer? Is she a drunk? Her character is all over the place. It's so dumb that she's popping pills. Yes, she had a rough year. Her boyfriend died when half of the city was destroyed and she blames herself, but she's better than that. Five years ago, she lost a sister and Ollie and her mother walked out and her dad took to drinking and she never broke down then. Why now? I just want her to be Black Canary so she doesn't have to mope around.
So, Black Canary was actually Laurel's sister. Um, sure, that works. Perhaps, in the future, Sara dies and that inspires Laurel to take up the Black Canary mantle. It was kind of cool to see Ollie hanging out with another hero who wasn't a psycho. I'm sure Sara will come back at some point. There's potential to introduce Ra's Al Ghul since Sara, and Malcolm Merlyn, are linked to him and the League of Assassins. The Lazarus Pit seems to be kicking around, too, since
Things I'm loving (in no particular order): Lance! I love Paul Blackthorne. And poor Quentin. The guy's life hasn't been the greatest since the vigilante showed up. I'm glad he's supports Ollie now. "Broken Dolls" was totally like a buddy cop film with the two of them investigating. And it gives Lance more to do, too. He's part of Ollie's little network. And I found it hilarious that he could figure out in two seconds that Sara was Black Canary but he can't work out that Ollie is the Arrow. Okay, yes, Sara is his daughter, but come on. Ollie dated Laurel for awhile and Ollie and the vigilante showed up at the same time. Also, Ollie and the Arrow have the same build and scruffy beard. Oh, Lance, no wonder you're an officer now. ;-)
Felicity! Team Arrow! I love that Ollie has a support network. Dig is his partner. He's got Ollie's back. But I worry for Dig. He goes around without a mask or anything to obscure his face. People are going to recognize him since he's Oliver Queen's driver and bodyguard. Perhaps Barry should have made him a domino mask, too. And Felicity. She's capable in her own ways and always willing to help out. I didn't see her as love interest for Ollie until "State v. Queen"; it suddenly clicked for me then. Now I want them to get together or at least acknowledge that there's an attraction there. But being Ollie's love interest shouldn't define the character and I'm glad the show is in no rush to get them together. UST is good for now.
Random introduction of Barry Allen! He's cute, but I don't know how they're going to pull off a grounded Flash TV show. The guy has superpowers so that doesn't naturally lead itself to a grounded storytelling approach. And how are they going to pull off his costume? On Smallville, everyone wore sunglasses and hoodies. Will Barry be wearing red tights? I guess we'll find out in the fall because you know the CW will totally pick up the show after the pilot is filmed. The set-up for a Flash show wasn't bad. Barry is still a forensics guy and he's always late. They added some stuff about his mom and super speedy killer; I guess that will be the arc of the show. He's also lean, as opposed to bulked up like Ollie, which I like. The Flash is a runner. It's more about speed, not strength. Barry and Felicity were cute, but we know it's not meant to be. I wonder if they'll introduce Iris on the spin-off. We did see a glimpse of Linda Park, Wally's love interest. And Barry made Ollie a domino mask out of kooky compressed material. Ha!
Oh yeah, thank god Ollie wears a mask now. That grease paint thing was ridiculous.
So much to look forward to in the new year. Evil Slade! Eye-patch, goatee. Deathstroke, baby! I bet Ollie had to fight Slade on the island. Ollie so stabbed his eye out with an arrow. The Deathstroke mask we see at the beginning of the season was totally foreshadowing the reveal of Slade as the villain. Shado's dead, which sucks. I wasn't rooting for them, but I really thought she would stick around as Ollie's teacher (Off topic, but I totally knew what she said in Chinese to Ollie in "Three Ghosts". Three years of Chinese university classes finally paid off!). Brother Blood and maybe H.I.V.E. and possibly Ra's Al Ghul. I know more DC trivia, thanks to numerous cartoons, so it's easier to get excited when they reference stuff.
Random: Thea is Malcolm's daughter? Really? Really? Are they setting her up to be an evil archery villain? They say Nanda Parbat funny on the show. The stress seems to be in the wrong place. Nanda Parbat, not Nanda Parbat. John Barrowman runs the "Par" and the "bat" together. And yay, John Barrowman is back! Steven Amell did not look well during "The Scientist". He had to cancel an appearance at comic book convention in Edmonton in September due to the flu; I bet that's when "The Scientist" was filmed. And it was funny how it was randomly Christmas in "Three Ghosts".
I didn't pick up any other new shows. Maybe once the season is over and shows get renewed I'll check some of them out.
And Sherlock is back on January 1st! YAY!!!
In honour of it's return and Doctor Who's approaching Christmas special, have a Wholock vid:
It's quite good overall but there are some bits that look a little weird. Shame this will never happen in real life.
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Date: 2013-12-14 09:09 pm (UTC)Perhaps this was always the game plan, introducing more comic book-y elements as the show develops. Or maybe the writers just realized the show is more fun when you stick a bit closer to the crazy origins of some of these characters. I don't mind really. It's kind of like Lost. The show only really took off for me when they introduced the time travel element.
A Young Justice show would be cool, but I cringe to think about it being on the CW. Ugh, angsty teenagers/twenty-somethings. Ooh, they're introducing Nightwing, aren't they? Maybe that's part of the set-up.