Sunday, November 12, 2017

Thoughts on 5 New TV Shows

1. Ghosted - Cute show, but a little cheesy. It reminds me of a sitcom from the 90s - not a specific show, just seems like it belongs in that decade as opposed to this one. That's not necessarily a bad thing; sometimes you just want to watch something easy and mind-numbing on a Sunday night. Adam Scott and Craig Robinson have great chemistry and I laugh out loud at least once during every episode. I really like Amber Stevens West (from Greek and 22 Jump Street). She is just a ball of sunshine (and so stunning). I don't know if it's a show that will last because it feels like a throwaway, and Fox doesn't really give new shows a chance to grow. I'll keep watching, though.

2. The Mayor - Again, another cute show that is also a little cheesy. I probably wouldn't continue to watch if it weren't for the comedic graces of Lea Michele and Yvette Nicole Brown. Michele pretty much plays a grown up version of Rachel, if Rachel was into politics instead of performing, but I'm perfectly ok with that because she shines as this type of character. I think overall the show is a little simplistic and kind of dumbed down for a general audience (every episode is basically saying "politics is hard!").

3. Kevin (Probably) Saves the World - First, this show should be a 30 minute sitcom instead of an hour long. It would be soooooo much better if it moved faster. Each episode is way too dragged out for dramatic effect. Second, I think Jason Ritter and JoAnna Garcia deserve a show that is much stronger than this one (but I LOVE them as siblings!). Third, as someone who isn't religious, this show is outrageous. It's sort of like Touched by an Angel (a show that my mother adored) and Ghost (like how everyone thinks he's crazy for talking to a person that's not there). Fourth, again, as someone who isn't religious, I appreciate that his mental health is questioned. It gives me an explanation to hold my interest. In my mind, he's actually having a mental breakdown, and not actually seeing this "spokesperson" for God. Which, sadly for me, I've witnessed someone have this exact breakdown. After an ex and I broke up, he ended up in a psychiatric ward because he claimed he saw Jesus. This is someone who was never even religious (I blame it on the meds he was prescribed because he was "sad". Anyway, another subject for another time, perhaps).

4. Ten Days in the Valley - Really terrible show. I'm surprised at how strong the cast is, compared to how awful the writing has been. The show doesn't even make sense - I mean, this woman doesn't even really seem that concerned about her missing daughter. She even continues to GO TO WORK?! I don't have sympathy for her at all. And wouldn't the cops realize that her assistant is also her ex-husband's girlfriend? Or does she have another identity? That was never made clear. Anyway, the whole "mystery" they are trying desperately to set up is null and void because every character is dull and I don't even care enough about the daughter to keep watching to see who did it. I'm pretty sure it will be cancelled soon anyway since it was already pushed to Saturday nights.

5. Mindhunter - Very strong show. I love the pace - there is a ton of ground to cover, but it never seems like it's rushing to tell the "big" story. It focuses on small discoveries, and getting to know each character. It's super weird to watch Jonathan Groff in a very serious "straight" man sort of role, and it was very jarring at first, but he is nailing it more and more with every episode. He still has his sense of sarcasm, just minus the singing and dancing. Anna Torv is AMAZING. And casting the spectacular Lena Olin (otherwise known as Irina Derevko, AKA Mamma Bristow from Alias) as Torv's girlfriend is THE BEST casting I've seen in a while (if you are a super fan of both Alias and Fringe, then you probably screamed out loud, as I did). My favorite actor in the show, though, is Bill Tench. It's such an understated, classic old school "FBI guy", but his line delivery is perfect and his character is more nuanced than you expect. I also absolutely loved how the final episode ended *spoilery info ahead* - we get a glimpse into this "mysterious" character for a few minutes here and there during the season, but the final shot is focused on him. I looked up who it was and found it's the infamous "BTK Strangler" (I assume most people looked up who it was earlier on, but I went along with the intrigue). I think the importance of this being the final shot is to show how the rest of the series will go. This proves the potential of spanning decades, considering this man wasn't caught until 2005. So, is next season going to jump ahead? Netflix has said it's planning for five seasons - maybe one season per decade?

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