I'm trying to catch up on a number of other TV shows that I have unfortunately missed over the last year. Here's some quick thoughts on what I have seen so far.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D Season 3 (completed)
The biggest problem with this show is that there are too many episodes per season. If they cut down to say thirteen a year it would make the storylines more focused, the characters have more urgency and the padding less obvious. The Inhuman plot has been going on way too long and Grant Ward / Hive turned out to be a bit of a damp squib. Let's hope he's dead once and for all. I'll keep persevering though if only for Clark Gregg, who is entertaining no matter what he's doing.
Stranger Things Season 1 (four episodes in)
Yes I know I'm well past the zenith of the popularity and water-cooler chat for this show but I have to say - the hype was right. It's brilliantly acted, impeccably plotted, well paced and feels like I am mainlining every great 80s movie at once. I'm struggling to only watch one a week. The wife gave up when it started to become a bit scary (she's a real horror-phobe) but I'm loving every second.
Mr. Robot Season 1 (six episodes in)
This is a difficult one because for every great episode so far there has been one where is seemed to be going nowhere. The last one I saw with the shock twist regarding Shayla was excellent though. Thankfully Tyrell continues to be the oddest, most deviant corporate villain in recent memory, Christian Slater plays Christian Slater as if he's never been away but Eliot is at turns fantastically clever and frustratingly stupid. It does raise some interesting questions about big business and globalisation and I want to like the show but I'm not 'feeling it'' really. Still with only four episodes left of season one hopefully the pace will start to pick up.
Suits Season 6 (six episodes in)
I used to adore "Suits". After the end of "Boston Legal" it was the smartest, funniest legal drama on television and in Gabriel Macht they found a genuine star. The problem is, they wrote themselves into a corner with the plot about Mike being a fake lawyer, so they had to bite the bullet and get him found out and put in prison at the end of season five. It was a bold choice to start season six as an exact follow on from that moment rather than jumping forward in time, but I'm not convinced it was the right one.
Now the show has become even more insular with everything serving the attempt to get Mike out of jail quicker. It feels like all the characters do is argue with each other, Harvey Spector jumps through ever more elaborate hoops and seemingly can break the law whenever he feels like it and the once lovable Louis Litt has become a parody of himself to almost cartoon-like proportions. There is no way I am giving up on the show yet, but it's beginning to feel like it's best days are behind it.
Legends Of Tomorrow Season 2 (six episodes in)
It's cheesy. It's lightweight. It's characters are paper-thin. But ultimately it's just fun. This is super-heroics that harken back to more innocent, less cynical age. It was a shame they lost Wentworth Miller as Captain Cold, as his dry slow delivery of every line was a highlight of season one and the lack of Arthur Darvill as Rip Hunter so far this year hasn't helped (although I know he'll be back at some point). I doubt I'll ever want watch it again, but it's harmless 'comfort food' television - and sometimes we all need that.
Daredevil Season 1 (five episodes in)
I'd really been looking forward to watching this and so far it hasn't let me down one bit. For me, Charlie Cox is perfect casting as Matt Murdoch and Vincent D'Onofrio makes a chillingly amoral Wilson Fisk. The fight scenes are extremely well choreographed and while there is a lot of violence (that 'head in the car door' sequence in episode four was brutal) it's not gone over the top. If I have one criticism it's that I'd like to actually see Matt use his 'powers' more but maybe that will come with time. Thankfully they have not gone down the full Frank Miller route but seem to be combining the best of the various comic book runs across the decades. A straight tie with "Stranger Things" as my favourite of this crop of shows.
Preacher Season 1 (five episodes in)
This is not the classic comic book. It may have the name. It may have the characters. It may even use some elements of the plots. But an awful lot has been changed. It's definitely only "inspired by the work of Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon". Some of it is fine - I have no problem with Tulip as a black woman for example or the changing of the timeline of certain events, but other parts - I'm not so sure. Odin Quincannon should not appear this early, nor was he a resident of Anville. Where is Jesse Custer's tragic backstory relating to his hideous grandmother? (at the moment we seem to just have something about his dad also being a preacher). Oh and Joe Gilguin as Cassidy? He ruined "Misfits" for me and his hapless mugging is only just about tolerable here.
It's agonisingly slow in places. The Saint of Killers story in the Old West should be in every episode but only seems to pop up intermittently so you forget what happened previously. It feels like this is a six episode season stretched out to fill ten hours. Before you think it's all griping from me, there are positives. The scenery is stunning. There is a good mix of gore and weirdness and comedy. The fallout from Jesse telling Quincannon to serve God were brutally shocking. I have hopes that these first few episodes were all just scene-setting and the real story is going to start soon. Fingers crossed.
No comments:
Post a Comment