Beginnings and endings
Sep. 27th, 2013 12:17 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
next_to_normalSo... the Dexter finale... happened. And it was even more terrible than anticipated, but it produced some marvelous snark. I think my favorite is the AV Club review, which summed things up thusly:
"The Dexter team outdid itself. Some folks would say “This show is as shitty as it can possibly be, so now we can rest on our laurels.” But not Scott Buck and his team. They never stop striving to create the most offensively stupid show on television. And look, if that was the objective here, a slow clap is in order."
It's not all shade, though! Or, well, yeah, it is, but some of it is insightful shade. Like this: "And besides the ponderous final shot being incredibly silly, it’s the one time the writers decided to be ambiguous in a moment that didn’t call for it. ... And given the show’s general aversion to subtlety or ambiguity, the final scene doesn’t come off as an assured artistic choice so much as a non-ending inserted because there were no better ideas."
And this: "All season, I’ve argued Dexter declined because the writers refused to tell any story that might turn the audience against Dexter, or even feel slightly conflicted about his actions. ... Every character, every plot development, every bit of dialogue was in the interest of burnishing Dexter’s image." UGH SO MUCH YES.
And you can pretty much pinpoint the moment the show gave up on being good, the moment that, in hindsight, was the first clue that this show was never, ever going to let Dexter actually be the bad guy. That moment, if you're wondering, is when the writers ended what up until then had been a excellent and daring season by copping out and having Lila kill Doakes rather than let Dexter do it. I forgave the show for its mediocre and uneven seasons because I still believed we were going to someday rise to the compelling storytelling of the early seasons. A couple times, it almost seemed like the show would manage a comeback... only to fall down harder than it had before.
I suppose Scott Buck was right, in a way, when he insisted that this is how Dexter had to end. The ending of a series this bizarrely inconsistent and bafflingly illogical could really ONLY be so laughably bad it finally united viewers in their loathing of the finale.
In conclusion: SAD LUMBERJACK DEXTER.
In happier news - and by that I mean devastating, because it's Breaking Bad - here are a slew of links to prepare you for its series finale on Sunday:
* Vince Gilligan explains the title. I kind of love that somehow, throughout the entire development of the show, NO ONE said, "Hey, uh, no one actually knows what this phrase means...?"
* The entire cast was on Conan for a full episode, but the best/weirdest part was when Bryan Cranston read an erotic fan letter: "I am fantasizing about having sex [long pause] with Aaron Paul. [Aaron: "YES!"] And - and! For you to be there watching... I am not sure what your role would be, but I think I want you there."
* A supercut of every bad thing that's happened to Jesse Pinkman. I AM JUST SURPRISED IT'S ONLY FIVE MINUTES LONG.
Also wrapping up are The Bridge and Broadchurch. The latter is fabulous, and you should totally watch it before Fox does an American remake that sucks all the life out of it. The Bridge... I don't know. I really want to like it, and I'm hopeful that the show will improve now that the ridiculous serial killer arc is over.
On the other side of things, it's fall premiere time. \o/ Here's what I've watched of the new shows so far: Agents of SHIELD, Brooklyn 99, Ironside, Mom, and Trophy Wife. None of them really impressed me, but I'll keep watching SHIELD, Mom, and Trophy Wife for Marvel, Allison Janney, and Bradley Whitford, respectively.
In returning series, HIMYM continues to be the Lucy to my Charlie Brown. I DON'T KNOW YOU GUYS. I actually kind of liked the premiere? And I kind of am hoping a season where we actually get to MEET THE MOTHER might be, idk, good? Also caught The Mindy Project and Nashville, neither of which did anything terrible in their season premieres, lol, so I will continue to watch but have very little to say about them, just like last year.
So what are you watching?
"The Dexter team outdid itself. Some folks would say “This show is as shitty as it can possibly be, so now we can rest on our laurels.” But not Scott Buck and his team. They never stop striving to create the most offensively stupid show on television. And look, if that was the objective here, a slow clap is in order."
It's not all shade, though! Or, well, yeah, it is, but some of it is insightful shade. Like this: "And besides the ponderous final shot being incredibly silly, it’s the one time the writers decided to be ambiguous in a moment that didn’t call for it. ... And given the show’s general aversion to subtlety or ambiguity, the final scene doesn’t come off as an assured artistic choice so much as a non-ending inserted because there were no better ideas."
And this: "All season, I’ve argued Dexter declined because the writers refused to tell any story that might turn the audience against Dexter, or even feel slightly conflicted about his actions. ... Every character, every plot development, every bit of dialogue was in the interest of burnishing Dexter’s image." UGH SO MUCH YES.
And you can pretty much pinpoint the moment the show gave up on being good, the moment that, in hindsight, was the first clue that this show was never, ever going to let Dexter actually be the bad guy. That moment, if you're wondering, is when the writers ended what up until then had been a excellent and daring season by copping out and having Lila kill Doakes rather than let Dexter do it. I forgave the show for its mediocre and uneven seasons because I still believed we were going to someday rise to the compelling storytelling of the early seasons. A couple times, it almost seemed like the show would manage a comeback... only to fall down harder than it had before.
I suppose Scott Buck was right, in a way, when he insisted that this is how Dexter had to end. The ending of a series this bizarrely inconsistent and bafflingly illogical could really ONLY be so laughably bad it finally united viewers in their loathing of the finale.
In conclusion: SAD LUMBERJACK DEXTER.
In happier news - and by that I mean devastating, because it's Breaking Bad - here are a slew of links to prepare you for its series finale on Sunday:
* Vince Gilligan explains the title. I kind of love that somehow, throughout the entire development of the show, NO ONE said, "Hey, uh, no one actually knows what this phrase means...?"
* The entire cast was on Conan for a full episode, but the best/weirdest part was when Bryan Cranston read an erotic fan letter: "I am fantasizing about having sex [long pause] with Aaron Paul. [Aaron: "YES!"] And - and! For you to be there watching... I am not sure what your role would be, but I think I want you there."
* A supercut of every bad thing that's happened to Jesse Pinkman. I AM JUST SURPRISED IT'S ONLY FIVE MINUTES LONG.
Also wrapping up are The Bridge and Broadchurch. The latter is fabulous, and you should totally watch it before Fox does an American remake that sucks all the life out of it. The Bridge... I don't know. I really want to like it, and I'm hopeful that the show will improve now that the ridiculous serial killer arc is over.
On the other side of things, it's fall premiere time. \o/ Here's what I've watched of the new shows so far: Agents of SHIELD, Brooklyn 99, Ironside, Mom, and Trophy Wife. None of them really impressed me, but I'll keep watching SHIELD, Mom, and Trophy Wife for Marvel, Allison Janney, and Bradley Whitford, respectively.
In returning series, HIMYM continues to be the Lucy to my Charlie Brown. I DON'T KNOW YOU GUYS. I actually kind of liked the premiere? And I kind of am hoping a season where we actually get to MEET THE MOTHER might be, idk, good? Also caught The Mindy Project and Nashville, neither of which did anything terrible in their season premieres, lol, so I will continue to watch but have very little to say about them, just like last year.
So what are you watching?
no subject
Date: Sep. 27th, 2013 04:48 am (UTC)I AM LAUGHING SO HARD
OMG I SWEAR I HAVE BEEN ASKING EVERYONE I KNOW IF THEY WATCH BROADCHURCH. Honestly, I found the S1 finale kind of ridiculous, though it is a quality show overall.
SHIELD was so not impressive. You'll have to tell me if the next episode is an improvement tbh.
I would be enjoying HIMYM a lot more if they just freaking let Ted's epic unrequited love for Robin GO ALREADY. WHO ACTUALLY CARES? ALSO TED IS A NICE GUY TM. GODDAMMITTTTTTT.
no subject
Date: Sep. 27th, 2013 02:25 pm (UTC)I'm mostly curious what they plan to do for a season 2. It seems complete as a miniseries.
IDG Ted's continued ~thing for Robin. It has been like EIGHT FUCKING YEARS. GET OVER IT. For some reason, the writers have decided that the Mother should be "the one who finally makes him get over Robin," which... is weird and unnecessary, tbh. Of course, I'm also at the point where I legit anti-ship Barney/Robin, so I really don't care either way.
LOL Ted is SUCH a Nice Guy, but he's always been kind of a douche, so.
no subject
Date: Sep. 27th, 2013 01:15 pm (UTC)I would have liked to stick with Broadchurch but FioS took my BBC America away and then the website didn't stream the episodes. Waiting for Netflix to get it, I guess :-/.
I was looking forward to the return of both Elementary and Parenthood last night but fell asleep before I could watch either. Hopefully they'll both have good seasons, since they're the only network dramas I decided to stick with (and placed in the same timeslot, ha ha ha.)
no subject
Date: Sep. 27th, 2013 03:37 pm (UTC)Stupid FioS!
I need to watch last night's Parenthood, too. I've still only seen the first couple eps of Elementary, so that will be a while, lol.
no subject
Date: Sep. 27th, 2013 01:16 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: Sep. 27th, 2013 03:39 pm (UTC)