(no subject)
I haven't posted here in so long. Since Smallville ended I haven't had much use for it. Since I spend most of my time posting on Tumblr (as luckyll20), which as helped keep my Clois obsession going even now. Still haven't gotten over these two.
But I found myself a new show to obsess over.
I got into Homeland recently and I absolutely love it. It is the best and most addictive show I've watched in so long. It's extremely well written, there's amazing performances, great well written and wonderfully fleshed out characters, and filled with storylines and mysteries. The two leads have some of the best chemistry I've seen.
And Carrie Mathison is officially my favorite character in tv right now. I adore her. She's right there behind Lois.
As great as the mysteries the show is more about the characters and I love more bacuse of that. It says a lot about a show and how amazing it's characters are when an episode in a spy thriller, that as two pairs of characters spending the episode talking, sharing and exposing secrets, getting to know each other, and trying to find common ground, is considered the most important episode of the series by the producers and according to almost every reviewer and fans, the best episode of the show so far and one of the best hours of tv in general.
One many surprisings things about the show was how fast they answered the shows main questions. Or revealed a lot of the twists and important information at the right time instead dragging it out. It's interesting because in an interview I read with one the producers that's what the network wanted. For them spread out everything they did in one season over two seasons. Also the one episode that I consider to be kinda weak in comparison to the rest of the show was also the one the network left them with no opinion on. Alex Gansa's telling of how he wanted the episode was going to play out is how it should have played out and would have helped sell the storyline a little better. Kinda makes me have faith in these showrunners which makes me feel better about the show.
I don't know if one of the reasons this show comes off so well is because of the way the producers are handling it. I totally believe it when they talk about having a plan and I've read them talking about every episode and they surprisingly have an answer for everything they chose to do and and didn't and why they went that direction. It shows that they actually thought these things through and how it benefits the characters and storylines. Instead of just throwing a bunch of twist and turns and dramatic moments. It also helps that they seem pretty open about the stuff they didn't feel came as great as they tried to make it (even the ones the audience generally liked.) I kinda like producers who can say "we tried really hard to make this work but I think we could have done better."
The only thing that worries me for now is that I don't know how long they can keep a premise like this going on for without hurting the show in an attempt to keep it on air as long as possible. Watching the show and reading interviews have done a lot to make a me feel better about this, that I am genuinely are willing to believe the producers have a plan and this won't happen. I can't wait for s2.
The Good Wife
Stuff I liked:
- The way they used Diane this season. I absolutely loved her. This was by far her best season. She's was amazing throughout the entire season. I always liked her dynamic with Will and we got quite a bit of it. She was calling out a lot characters this season and I loved her in everyone of those scenes. One of my complaints for this show is that at times it felt like they treated Diane more like a glorified guest star then an important regular character and I'm glad they fixed that this season. More Diane is a great thing for the show.
- Will getting more screentime and a proper storyline. With all vague comments thrown around the show about him and his past it was nice to put some focus on that. Could have done without Celeste though. His scenes where he was being questioned by Wendy Scott-Carr is one of my favorite scenes of the whole season. Snarky Will is fun. Moments like this was especially needed after he spent so much of the season more angstier then usual.
- I usually enjoy the Colin Sweeney episodes. He's a good character in general but mostly I love his scenes with Alicia. They have a weird dynamic that I really enjoy. It was great to see him again even if the episode weren't quite up to the standards of his others.
- Minus the Grace going missing storyline (which I didn't mind since it was more about Alicia and less about Grace's usual weirdness) and the annoying tutor stuff, I feel like there as been less of the kids this season, Zach especially. That's good for me.
- I liked the Will/Alicia stuff. I didn't mind that they broke up. I think they did a great job with the aftermath as well. It was very mature and classy. Alicia doesn't seem to be ready for anything too complicated and definitely not a serious relationship. And I get it. Poor Will, though. I knew he was more invested in this relationship then she was but even though I don't think Alicia did anything wrong (since she upfront with him throughout their relationship where she stood on what this was to her) those last few episodes they were together really made feel for him. But at the same time maybe because of the unfair Alicia bashing that went on for a while there in fandom, I really like appreciated how they had Will handle the break up. No blaming and bad feelings.
- The Peter/Alicia stuff was pretty good. Going into this season I expected some ugliness there given the way they left things. I wouldn't have minded it either. Just as along as they don't consider pairing them up again, I still like their scenes together. And I think they handled it well.
- Alicia and Jackie's rivalry killed me. I kinda loved that. So many great moments here. I know that whole scene where Jackie is trying to go through her laptop is kinda silly but the whole thing still cracked me up. I can't help but wonder if Jackie is going to end up having to move in with Peter and the kids after she's released from the hospital. And Jackie getting to live with the kids (and Peter) and getting to around them being around while Alicia is on the outside, is what I think Jackie wanted in the first place. So I'm actually interested in seeing where they are going with this and how plays out.
- Cary and Alicia finally working things out and Cary working at Lockhart Gardner again. I was starting to think the were never going to move past this rivalry. And I loved that it finally happened.
It wasn't brought up much this season so far but I don't like that storyline in general. It worked so well in s1 and it was one of the many reasons I loved the show to begin with. But it was way past the point where this rivalry between them made sense in any way, from both sides.
I had no idea why, since s2, Alicia took things involving him so personally and why she seemed to think Cary doing what he needed to for his clients was about him being purposely vindictive and trying to get back at them. When in s1, when he was actually an ass to her, they had an interesting dynamic and she actually admitted to liking him. And as Cary done anything since getting fired that was solely to hurt Lockhart Gardener or just Alicia because of any bitter feelings? It was toned down in s3 but there are still moments where she seemed surpirsed that he didn't screw them over.
As for Cary, I understood his feelings when they chose to keep Alicia and fire him. One of the many things I loved about this show was that he was never portrayed as the awful villian character opposite the saintly Alicia. Yeah he was an ass to her, but the show also gave him a pov that made me get where Cary was coming (even if I didn't like how he chose to deal with it) and why he'd feel the way he did at the same time. But it had been a while since then and I think he should have been over that by now. Especially since he had a good job and, and before things went sour during the last few episodes in s3, he seemed happy where he was. There was no reason to bring it back the way they did during his scene with Will and Diane in s2 where the discussed him coming back. It just made him seem petty and childish. I don't mind holding on to a little bitterness in s2 but that was too much.
It feels like the show wanted to keep the Cary and Alicia rivalry going because it worked so well in the first season but they couldn't come up with a good enough reason to do so. So they are dragged this storyline even if it meant keeping the characters stuck in storyline that didn't make any sense anymore.
So I'm glad that is over with. And I loved the few scenes that had during the back half of s3. I like Cary and Alicia interacting. As great as their rivalry was in s1, I loved those moments when they worked together as well and they are pretty different people so there is still room for conflict even if they are on the same side.
Stuff I disliked:
- The way they handled the Kalinda and Alicia fallout. I hate that they ignored this storyline for most of the first half. I can get behind the idea of them wanting to avoid each other but the way it played felt more like an excuse to put off dealing with this storyline till later. I hated that they used the Grace situation as a contrived way to get Alicia make the first move. The fact that they had Kalinda trying afterwards as well having Alicia mention that things will have change between them was a step in right direction. It helped me get over my annoyance about that a little but I still wished it had been Kalinda who was shown bothering to try and fix her relationship with Alicia. I think this was huge missed opportunity for some character developement for Kalinda.
- There wasn't enough Alicia. The show is at it's best when it centers around her personal and professional life.
- The unecessary tutor plotline. It didn't take much time but it was still annoying. I don't get the purpose of these plotlines they give her. Is this supposed to be some attempt at bringing in younger viewers? Because I don't see these storylines accomplishing that.
- Kalinda's husband being some shady over the top sounding villian type character. Why? This reminds of the Blake stuff we got with Kalinda season 2. And she already walking around breaking things with bats. The Kalinda scenes in The Dream Team even reminded me of season s2. People asking her how she is and she making some vague comment in that lifeless way of hers about how she's okay and as things handled. And the having bunch of scenes just like this in the middle of Kalinda wandering around hitting things and the show trying to be dramatic about it while playing up the dark, mysterious and isolated side of her. Atleast Alicia knows already.
But I found myself a new show to obsess over.
I got into Homeland recently and I absolutely love it. It is the best and most addictive show I've watched in so long. It's extremely well written, there's amazing performances, great well written and wonderfully fleshed out characters, and filled with storylines and mysteries. The two leads have some of the best chemistry I've seen.
And Carrie Mathison is officially my favorite character in tv right now. I adore her. She's right there behind Lois.
As great as the mysteries the show is more about the characters and I love more bacuse of that. It says a lot about a show and how amazing it's characters are when an episode in a spy thriller, that as two pairs of characters spending the episode talking, sharing and exposing secrets, getting to know each other, and trying to find common ground, is considered the most important episode of the series by the producers and according to almost every reviewer and fans, the best episode of the show so far and one of the best hours of tv in general.
One many surprisings things about the show was how fast they answered the shows main questions. Or revealed a lot of the twists and important information at the right time instead dragging it out. It's interesting because in an interview I read with one the producers that's what the network wanted. For them spread out everything they did in one season over two seasons. Also the one episode that I consider to be kinda weak in comparison to the rest of the show was also the one the network left them with no opinion on. Alex Gansa's telling of how he wanted the episode was going to play out is how it should have played out and would have helped sell the storyline a little better. Kinda makes me have faith in these showrunners which makes me feel better about the show.
I don't know if one of the reasons this show comes off so well is because of the way the producers are handling it. I totally believe it when they talk about having a plan and I've read them talking about every episode and they surprisingly have an answer for everything they chose to do and and didn't and why they went that direction. It shows that they actually thought these things through and how it benefits the characters and storylines. Instead of just throwing a bunch of twist and turns and dramatic moments. It also helps that they seem pretty open about the stuff they didn't feel came as great as they tried to make it (even the ones the audience generally liked.) I kinda like producers who can say "we tried really hard to make this work but I think we could have done better."
The only thing that worries me for now is that I don't know how long they can keep a premise like this going on for without hurting the show in an attempt to keep it on air as long as possible. Watching the show and reading interviews have done a lot to make a me feel better about this, that I am genuinely are willing to believe the producers have a plan and this won't happen. I can't wait for s2.
The Good Wife
Stuff I liked:
- The way they used Diane this season. I absolutely loved her. This was by far her best season. She's was amazing throughout the entire season. I always liked her dynamic with Will and we got quite a bit of it. She was calling out a lot characters this season and I loved her in everyone of those scenes. One of my complaints for this show is that at times it felt like they treated Diane more like a glorified guest star then an important regular character and I'm glad they fixed that this season. More Diane is a great thing for the show.
- Will getting more screentime and a proper storyline. With all vague comments thrown around the show about him and his past it was nice to put some focus on that. Could have done without Celeste though. His scenes where he was being questioned by Wendy Scott-Carr is one of my favorite scenes of the whole season. Snarky Will is fun. Moments like this was especially needed after he spent so much of the season more angstier then usual.
- I usually enjoy the Colin Sweeney episodes. He's a good character in general but mostly I love his scenes with Alicia. They have a weird dynamic that I really enjoy. It was great to see him again even if the episode weren't quite up to the standards of his others.
- Minus the Grace going missing storyline (which I didn't mind since it was more about Alicia and less about Grace's usual weirdness) and the annoying tutor stuff, I feel like there as been less of the kids this season, Zach especially. That's good for me.
- I liked the Will/Alicia stuff. I didn't mind that they broke up. I think they did a great job with the aftermath as well. It was very mature and classy. Alicia doesn't seem to be ready for anything too complicated and definitely not a serious relationship. And I get it. Poor Will, though. I knew he was more invested in this relationship then she was but even though I don't think Alicia did anything wrong (since she upfront with him throughout their relationship where she stood on what this was to her) those last few episodes they were together really made feel for him. But at the same time maybe because of the unfair Alicia bashing that went on for a while there in fandom, I really like appreciated how they had Will handle the break up. No blaming and bad feelings.
- The Peter/Alicia stuff was pretty good. Going into this season I expected some ugliness there given the way they left things. I wouldn't have minded it either. Just as along as they don't consider pairing them up again, I still like their scenes together. And I think they handled it well.
- Alicia and Jackie's rivalry killed me. I kinda loved that. So many great moments here. I know that whole scene where Jackie is trying to go through her laptop is kinda silly but the whole thing still cracked me up. I can't help but wonder if Jackie is going to end up having to move in with Peter and the kids after she's released from the hospital. And Jackie getting to live with the kids (and Peter) and getting to around them being around while Alicia is on the outside, is what I think Jackie wanted in the first place. So I'm actually interested in seeing where they are going with this and how plays out.
- Cary and Alicia finally working things out and Cary working at Lockhart Gardner again. I was starting to think the were never going to move past this rivalry. And I loved that it finally happened.
It wasn't brought up much this season so far but I don't like that storyline in general. It worked so well in s1 and it was one of the many reasons I loved the show to begin with. But it was way past the point where this rivalry between them made sense in any way, from both sides.
I had no idea why, since s2, Alicia took things involving him so personally and why she seemed to think Cary doing what he needed to for his clients was about him being purposely vindictive and trying to get back at them. When in s1, when he was actually an ass to her, they had an interesting dynamic and she actually admitted to liking him. And as Cary done anything since getting fired that was solely to hurt Lockhart Gardener or just Alicia because of any bitter feelings? It was toned down in s3 but there are still moments where she seemed surpirsed that he didn't screw them over.
As for Cary, I understood his feelings when they chose to keep Alicia and fire him. One of the many things I loved about this show was that he was never portrayed as the awful villian character opposite the saintly Alicia. Yeah he was an ass to her, but the show also gave him a pov that made me get where Cary was coming (even if I didn't like how he chose to deal with it) and why he'd feel the way he did at the same time. But it had been a while since then and I think he should have been over that by now. Especially since he had a good job and, and before things went sour during the last few episodes in s3, he seemed happy where he was. There was no reason to bring it back the way they did during his scene with Will and Diane in s2 where the discussed him coming back. It just made him seem petty and childish. I don't mind holding on to a little bitterness in s2 but that was too much.
It feels like the show wanted to keep the Cary and Alicia rivalry going because it worked so well in the first season but they couldn't come up with a good enough reason to do so. So they are dragged this storyline even if it meant keeping the characters stuck in storyline that didn't make any sense anymore.
So I'm glad that is over with. And I loved the few scenes that had during the back half of s3. I like Cary and Alicia interacting. As great as their rivalry was in s1, I loved those moments when they worked together as well and they are pretty different people so there is still room for conflict even if they are on the same side.
Stuff I disliked:
- The way they handled the Kalinda and Alicia fallout. I hate that they ignored this storyline for most of the first half. I can get behind the idea of them wanting to avoid each other but the way it played felt more like an excuse to put off dealing with this storyline till later. I hated that they used the Grace situation as a contrived way to get Alicia make the first move. The fact that they had Kalinda trying afterwards as well having Alicia mention that things will have change between them was a step in right direction. It helped me get over my annoyance about that a little but I still wished it had been Kalinda who was shown bothering to try and fix her relationship with Alicia. I think this was huge missed opportunity for some character developement for Kalinda.
- There wasn't enough Alicia. The show is at it's best when it centers around her personal and professional life.
- The unecessary tutor plotline. It didn't take much time but it was still annoying. I don't get the purpose of these plotlines they give her. Is this supposed to be some attempt at bringing in younger viewers? Because I don't see these storylines accomplishing that.
- Kalinda's husband being some shady over the top sounding villian type character. Why? This reminds of the Blake stuff we got with Kalinda season 2. And she already walking around breaking things with bats. The Kalinda scenes in The Dream Team even reminded me of season s2. People asking her how she is and she making some vague comment in that lifeless way of hers about how she's okay and as things handled. And the having bunch of scenes just like this in the middle of Kalinda wandering around hitting things and the show trying to be dramatic about it while playing up the dark, mysterious and isolated side of her. Atleast Alicia knows already.