Orange is the New Black... I'm sorry, it's just not as good as everyone says

     If you read my writing, you know that I'm not a confrontational writer.  When I say I don't like something, I hedge my writing carefully, and hopefully I don't make anyone who disagrees with me angry.

      But I have some real problems with Orange is the New Black.  I think I just finished the 11th episode of the first season.  My wife likes the show more than I do, and has gotten sucked into the cliffhanger aspects of the stories.  I probably could have quit after one episode.

      I've got lots of problems with the show, but probably because it has the potential to be very good.  There are some great elements to the stories.  The writing sparkles.  It's a tour-de-force.

1.  The show is overwritten.  Most of the characters are just way too witty.  I have this problem with a lot of TV and movies, but mostly with modern ones.  Wit is a tricky thing.  I find it really annoying when everything being said is one clever remark after another.  Most people are not that clever, and it seems unbelievable to have characters like that.  There are exceptions to this rule.  (I watched The Big Lebowski last night, and that's an example of how to do it right - by creating a heightened reality, it allows all of the characters to be fantastic.)

2.  The characters are inconsistent.  This has been a weird issue for me, but the writers seem to think they're writing multifaceted characters, when they actually are just adjusting the personalities to fit.  The primary example of this has been Crazy Eyes, who started off as a creepy stalker, adjusted to be a literary and well-in-control inmate, to having a nice moment with Chapman during this last episode.

3.  While I can't speak to how these people would be on the outside, or even to the specific pressures of being inside, I have a hard time believing that people would behave in certain ways.  Starting with the first couple episodes, Red starving Chapman for "insulting" her food.  The authorities know, but choose not to interfere.  There's a big difference between Red penalizing Chapman by forcing her to skip one meal, and refusing to feed her for several meals.  This is something that the institution would take issue with.

4.  I'm not a doctor, obviously, but I believe that the death of an inmate from an overdose compared to the body from a suicide by hanging would result in different corpses.  The show covered this up pretty well, but it still made some annoyed groans from me.

5.  Chapman, as a protagonist, is really not a likable character.  It's not her fluid sexuality, either.  It's that she spends so much time in the series talking about how these people aren't bad, how it's just a matter of a bad choice catching up, etc.  Then she proceeds to make bad choice after bad choice.  Her making the decision to go back to Alex is just bizarre.  She seems to do it out of a desire to get even with Healy for putting her in SHU.  And I can just imagine that once she gets out of prison, she would realize that it was a terrible decision, then she'd defend that bad choice by saying something like "you weren't there!"

Some thoughts on Game of Thrones

Back when the show started airing, I watched just about all of the first season.  I found it mildly enjoyable, but the quality seemed to vary.  Some of the stories were interesting, others were dull, some were confusing.

I decided that I really had to watch the show with subtitles.

So I finally got around to that.  I've watched the first two seasons with subtitles, and I'm a little past halfway on the third season.

First, the story is indulgent.  I had this feeling during the later stretches of Battlestar Galactica as well.  The story is just a juggling act.  A lot of the characters are introduced only for the sake of having people to kill off.  The truly important characters are shuffled around, and won't get killed off until there's an appropriate moment.

Second, the overall story feels predictable to me.  During the first couple episodes, as the general story was taking shape, I realized that the eventual king was obvious.  There are two stories taking place further away from all of the backstabbing and other political and military developments.  Jon Snow and Daenerys Targaryen.  Both of these have longer term stories that don't directly intersect with the other stories.  This means that they are effectively safe - they have an opportunity to develop, consolidate their power, and eventually take over.

Personally, I only noticed Snow fitting in this role.  I hadn't considered that Daenerys would also "win" until my wife mentioned that it was her theory.

This isn't a spoiler; it's only an observation, based on the structure that has been used.

There's some fun to be had, but I find that most of the characters are a little flat.  Littlefinger always lies about everything.  Joffery is a petulant little evil bastard.  And so forth.
Tyrion is enjoyable, partly because of the performance, but also because he seems to be one of the most engaged, moral characters.  He tries to keep things from falling apart, and he avoids hurting people he doesn't have to.

I'm surprised that the show has been that successful.  I usually feel like there's a risk when a show doesn't lend itself to rewatching episodes.  Maybe there'd be a certain reward to rewatching the whole series after it's over, but in the meantime... I don't see why anyone would want to revisit any particular episode.

Pinkie Pie is getting annoying.

Over the first two seasons of My Little Pony, I really liked Pinkie Pie.
At some point, I realized that her enthusiasm actually reminded me of someone that I didn't particularly like.
There are people who throw so much enthusiasm into any relationship they have, and at first, it feels great.  You feel like you've met someone who is really interested in you.  Then you find out that they put this much - or more - enthusiasm into every person they meet.
At that point, I lose all interest in talking to them.  If you can't tell how much they actually like the person they talk to, they're effectively lying.

Anyway, I was able to look past this problem with Pinkie Pie.
During the third season, I felt a little more on-the-fence about her actions.  I liked Too Many Pinkie Pies.

But during this fourth season... I really don't like her much anymore.  She's moved from being excitable and helpful to mostly just being a straight-up annoyance.  Her excitement isn't appropriate or harmless now, it actually seems like it would be a real pain to deal with.  The majority of her lines are difficult to understand, because she screams them.

She moved from being a flawed character to being a flaw.


I also feel that Rainbow Dash has gotten more two-dimensional.  We get her throwing the word "awesome" around.  It's a shame, since I really liked her Wonderbolts Academy episode.

The music has been a really mixed blessing.  The third season had some songs I liked.  The fourth season seemed like more of an effort to make the show sound a little more Disney.  The first two seasons still had much stronger music.

Big Bang Theory... I love and hate you.

I've watched almost every episode of Big Bang Theory.  I think I may have missed one or two, but it's not the kind of show where missing an episode makes a big difference.

There are lots of complaints out there about the pseudo-nerd culture they exhibit.

I agree with this.  I like seeing reference to cultural touchstones that I already enjoy - although I think the show has had a strange fascination with DC characters.

The problem with this is that there isn't much substance to these points.  They're fleeting, and they're often used as an excuse to give Penny an opportunity to make fun of the others for being interested in these things.

I'm okay with that.  I don't like it that much, but I can deal with it.

This last episode bothered me a little more.
The problem was that no one was nice to anyone else.  The best it got was the passive response of Leonard.  Everyone expressed contempt for one another, which hurts my feelings for the show.

I know there's a lot of thought about Seinfeld being a bunch of terrible people in the city.  Except they're not.  They don't hate each other.  Their humor is rarely ever based on the personal attacks that come with Big Bang Theory.

Honestly, I can't tell why I watch Big Bang Theory.  Maybe once an episode or so, there will be a moment or two that I like, but in the meantime, it seems mean-spirited.

Portlandia

I remember hearing a segment on NPR about Portlandia back when it first started.  It sounded interesting, but it seemed more like something that I would have a hard time appreciating.
     I've started watching the show on Netflix.  I'm about halfway through the second season.

     I really like it.  It's a fascinating sense of humor.

     What stands out to me is how peculiar the format is.  It would be easy to just describe it as a sketch comedy show, but it's a bit bigger than that.  There are a wide number of recurring characters.  But it isn't just about developing characters over a period of episodes.  It's the universe that the show inhabits.
     I find myself compelled to Portlandia.  There's a greater sense of personality to everything in the show.  We get a feel for neighborhoods, coffee shops, skate parks, businesses.  Everything feels like it fits together.

     Partly because of this show, I think I would enjoy living in Portland.  Plus, I really love having overcast weather.

The Simpsons, specifically post 9th season

      I've been watching The Simpsons since the Christmas Special airing.  I was part of the original craze.  While I never bought a t-shirt, my enthusiasm for the show only grew over the run of the show, at least up through sometime around the 7th season.

      I still watch The Simpsons.  I have every released season, and usually put an episode on before falling asleep.

      The show hit a stride of perfection around the 4th season, and this stride continued, with some minor variation, through the 6th season.  Starting with the 7th, we had some weaker episodes.  Many of them are still considered classics, but episodes like Sideshow Bob's Last Gleaming and Marge Be Not Proud are good, but don't stand up to repeat viewings as strongly.  There are still a few solid classics in there - Team Homer is still fantastic, and I've had a real affinity for Homer the Smithers.
     The 8th season continued this trend.  Some of the episodes have bits that people remember and really love, especially ones like You Only Move Twice, or A Milhouse Divided.  I've never had great feelings about Burns, Baby Burns, and I find Mountain of Madness to be kind of dull most of the time.
     This season also hit with Homer's Enemy.  This episode severely split fans, and not in the way that some of the others did.  Some really viewed it as being in bad taste.  I remember I didn't like it at all at first, and now I've come to respect it.
     Season 9 is where things tipped a little more toward the 'weak' side of the spectrum.  The Principal and the Pauper really bothered some more people.  I never cared much about it.  But I found episodes like The Cartridge Family and Bart Star to be unusually poor.  Their clip show episode, All Singing, All Dancing was one of the worst I had seen to that point.  There were still some good jokes, but there was also much more filler and weak material.

     It's this point that soured a lot of casual fans.  There are a lot of people who just can't get past how fantastic the show was during the 4th season.

     This show has gone through many, many writers, many show runners, and most importantly, many, many episodes.  They aren't all going to be as spectacular as the best of them.
      Also, the show has changed, and it no longer has the same type of satirical edge that it had.  It's a bit more obvious.

      I've accepted this.  I still find the point, starting in the 9th season, and declining around the 12th or 13th season, to be hard to watch, mostly because the jokes haven't aged as well.  But after that, the show rebounded in quality.  It's still more silly than it was, but it's considerably better.

      What bothers me is that so many people seem to take pride in how little they've watched the show since their youth.  Or how much they assume that a decline in quality is permanent.

Under The Dome

     I love Stephen King's work.  I've seen nearly every movie based on his works.  In fact, I'm going to consult a list right now.  The things I haven't seen-
     The Dead Zone
     Pet Sematary Two
     Sometimes They Come Back... Again
     Hearts In Atlantis
     The Mangler 2
    Firestarter 2
     Riding The Bullet
     The Mangler Reborn
     No Smoking
     Children of the Corn: Genesis
     Carrie (2013)

     Battleground (1986, Soviet?)
     Golden Years
     The Revalations of Becka Paulson
      The Dead Zone (TV series)
     Kingdom Hospital
     Bag of Bones

     Anyway, I cut King a whole lot of slack  He tends to write stories that are remarkably compelling, but work toward an ending that doesn't live up to the promise of the rest of it.  There are exceptions, of course.
      I like the premise of Under The Dome.  There's a lot of promise, and I've heard that the book is great.  But I can't abide this absolutely terrible TV show.

     First, the cast is a real problem.  Most of the actors are trying to channel other, better actors.  Big Jim?  I can't look at his acting without seeing someone trying to play Jack Nicholson.  I would love to see Jason Segel play Junior.
      Second, the scripts are terrible.  I'm not talking about structure yet, or even plotting.  I'm concerned about the terrible writing.  Basic exchanges between characters are packed with lines that don't actually make sense.  They exist only to pad out the scenes, and give a sense of urgency.  There are lots of instances of these, but I can't recall most of them offhand.  In this last one that I watched (the 11th of this season, I think) one of the kids that can touch the mini-dome helps Barbie out with trying to save the girl who was shot.  Somehow, as a result of seeing this happen, the kid reaches this nonsensical conclusion that Barbie is supposed to be crowned the king inside the dome.  This would be fine, if the kid were supposed to be an idiot.  But he's supposed to be fairly logical, and does a lot of his work by the numbers.

     Third, the momentum that this show has is all over the place.  They try to divvy up the action enough to keep things interesting for a whole season.  Instead, the show just comes across as completely unbelievable.  I think that each episode is supposed to take place over a single day.  That's pretty good.  But it's also a difficult problem for people writing episodes.  There's a bit of riot, which I think happens around the 3rd or 4th episode.  People seem to have calmed down since then.  I think the town would have really disintegrated a little more over 11 days.  Instead, they're craving entertainment, so they participate in a fight club as an alternative the barter system.