Concept v. Sustainability

You know, I think I would be the last person to claim that I am losing my obsession passion for television these days, but there does seem to be a definite drop off. The new fall season is in full swing and right now I am only actually watching two new series (two more that I will try premiere later this month though). That's kind of a record low for me. It's...weird.

At the moment I don't hold high hopes for either of the two I am currently watching (Terra Nova and Ringer) getting picked up for a second season. In the case of Terra Nova, I think that's a shame, because I feel like the show has a lot of potential and I am quite honestly enjoying the hell out of it right now. I am just pretty certain that the ratings have no shot at justifying another season of a show with this kind of budget. I'll just have to enjoy my dinosaurs on television while they last and hope that BBC America decides to air the next season of Primeval sometime soon. Ringer, on the other hand? Well, that's a different story.

Here's the show's premise in a nutshell: Twin sisters Bridget and Siobhan have been estranged for several years, and they live very different lives. Bridget is a recovering drug addict/former stripper about to testify against a mob boss in his murder trial and then (presumably) go into witness protection. Siobhan is a New York socialite with a wealthy husband and an artistic boyfriend (who happens to be married to her best friend). The night before she is supposed to testify, Bridget freaks out and runs away from police protection and reunites with her sister Siobhan. The two seem to be making up, hanging out at Siobhan's summer beach house and riding around in Siobhan's fancy speed boat. Then Bridget falls asleep on the boat, and when she wakes up Siobhan is gone, leaving behind an empty pill bottle and her wedding ring. Assuming her sister killed herself, Bridget then makes the snap decision to assume Siobhan's identity in the wake of her sister's conveniently timed suicide, and returns to New York to begin living her sister's life, all the while trying to hide out from the FBI agent and mob boss looking for her. She quickly learns that Siobhan's life is not as idyllic as she had believed it to be (shocker, that).

Okay, let's stop for a moment and acknowledge what this show is: It is a nighttime soap opera. Seriously. It's just got a higher budget and slightly glitzier production values than what you find on during the day. Normally, a show like this wouldn't even enter into candidates for my viewing time. The only reason it is on my radar at all is that Sarah Michelle Gellar (you know, Buffy) is the star of the show, so I have been hearing about it for months. I still wasn't all that interested. I mean, I don't actually really like Sarah Michelle Gellar that much to be honest (as an actor, that is, I am sure she is a lovely human being). She was never my favorite thing about Buffy. But early reviews of the pilot said it actually was a pretty entertaining hour of television and that there was real possibility there. Also, I found out that Ioan Gruffudd plays one of the main characters. Sure, sure, most people know him as Mr. Fantastic from The Fantastic Four. Whatever. He's Horatio Hornblower (from the series of television movies adapted from C.S. Forester's novels), and I will always love him for that. So, his presence got my interest up. Add that to the fact that it airs at a day and time when I'm not watching anything else, and I figured I could give it a try.

It's...okay. My husband was around this week when I was watching it, and I caught him giving me a sideways look of "Are you really watching this?" on more than one occasion. At this point, I feel like Ringer is a train that is destined to derail, I just don't know when or how, but I am kind of curious to find out. So I keep watching. I will give it the season, at least (unless it just goes way too far down the rabbit hole for me to follow). But unless there's a huge game changer, I don't see me watching past that point. Heck, I really don't understand how there could even be a second season.

Ringer is the perfect example of a phenomenon that I have been noticing in television a lot more often these days. Have you noticed how many shows have come and gone recently because as interesting as their concept was, it just wasn't sustainable for more than a season's worth of stories? It's getting a little bit ridiculous. It's like everyone gets excited by the pitch about how cool and original and all kinds of other excited adjectives the concept is, but no one stops to actually sit down and think about how much of a story there is to actually play out.

Because at some point? Bridget won't be able to pretend she's Siobhan anymore. The FBI agent will connect the dots, her "husband" will notice that missing scar, her snotty "stepdaughter" will overhear a frantic phone call, her jilted ex-"lover" will...oh wait, we've already gotten to that one, haven't we? You get the picture. Either way, the concept can't be sustained, and at some point the charade is over. Sometimes, that is okay, because sometimes it is in the aftermath of that revelation where the true story really lies. But way too often, nobody stops to figure out what happens next before they start making these shows. The stakes are so freaking high for Bridget's identity being discovered that sure, maybe she'll go down in a blazing ball of glorious flame, but once she's down, there's no getting back up. There's no story left, at any rate. So maybe the solution is to keep her secret, well, a secret? But no. Because once that goes on long enough, it also stops being interesting. How many near misses can she have? How many times can she talk her way out of an awkward situation? You see where I am going with this.

I mean, don't get me wrong, if they decide to blow the whistle on Bridget halfway through the season and actually turn the story's direction ninety degrees into a whole new direction and somehow manage to pull it off? Well, damn, I will give them a medal for genius storytelling. But right now I just don't see it. Right now it seems like this is just yet another high-concept show that would have made a perfect movie, but that really was never intended to be a long-form story.

It's like the people making television these days don't even grasp the concept that television is, in fact, long-form. Yeah, everything should have an endgame, but the best series actually take their time to get there, in a way that lets the viewers invest themselves in the story and the characters, and makes us actually care about what happens. Why do those shows seem to have become an endangered species?

Also, who the heck has twin daughters and names one Bridget and one Siobhan? I mean, really, who?

New TV Scorecard: Outcasts

Okay, okay, I know, technically Outcasts isn't new. It's already completed its first season (and I think entire series) run across the pond. But it just premiered on BBC America this past week, so it's new to me. Avoiding spoilers has been no easy feat, either. At least now I am finally free to read the episode reviews io9 posted back when the show aired in the U.K. You can find the first one (which covers the first two episodes, so maybe wait until next week) here.

So. Outcasts. My initial take is that there seems to be a lot going on here, without many answers provided to the viewers. I am not complaining about this, just making a note. The basic premise of the show is that humanity has for some unspecified reason had to flee Earth. A group of pioneers has settled on a new planet called Carpathia. They've been there ten years and everything is not, of course, copacetic. On the ground we've got two factions gearing up for what is likely to be a very messy conflict. There is also a possible third group outside of the colony, unbeknownst to most of the colonists. I am guessing the folks in this third group are the titular outcasts, since it doesn't seem as if the primary Carpathians are Earth's rejects. In the air, so to speak, we have the incoming transport from Earth. As the story unfolds we quickly learn that it has been five years since the arrival of the last transport, as well as that the current arrival is likely to be the last. A little deft exposition also reveals that many of the transports that have arrived have had problems actually landing due to the ships being ill-equipped to deal with reentry into the planet's atmosphere.

I would be tempted to call this first episode purely set up, except it answers far too few questions to qualify as such. Instead I think it could better be termed an introduction into the world of Outcasts, an intriguing one at that. My only real quibble is the wasted use of Jamie Bamber. Don't get me wrong, he really got to flex his acting muscles here, but come on. Why make him go crazy and die in the very first episode? That's not cool, man. The many questions raised about his character's motivations (and sanity) were rendered moot before we could even begin to explore them. Why, then, raise them in the first place?

Bottom line: Right now I don't really have an attachment to any of the characters. I don't really know where my sympathies do (or should) rest. The episode spent a lot of time spread out between all of the different characters (two of whom died before it was over), and not enough with any one to really let us get to know them. But. That being said, I am very curious to see where it goes from here. So far this is my kind of science fiction. I will definitely keep watching. Bonus, with the knowledge that Jamie Bamber isn't a regular cast member, I can probably just enjoy the very short ride without being too disappointed when it is over.

Here are a few questions I will be hoping are answered before that end does come:

1. Who, exactly, are the outcasts in this scenario? Why are they outcast, exactly?
2. What happened on Earth to make humanity leave in the first place, and why  does the evacuation seem to have gone so poorly?
3. What is Cass' secret?
4. Why does Protection and Security think that they can keep anyone protected and secure without guns when no one appears to be enforcing the weapons ban?
5. Why does it seem like anyone who wants guns can get them, especially in light of said weapons ban?
6. Why the heck didn't the Carpathians let Earth know about the shoddy transport construction before they lost contact with those they left behind?

I may need to figure out how to turn on the close-captioning on my television before the next episode though. I had a hard time following some of the dialects, even with my regular exposure to the Brits. Still, all in all, a solid first entry if you're the sort who is willing to give a story the chance to unfold.

First Impression Rating: 8.75/10 (It loses a quarter of a point for killing Jamie Bamber off so soon. Alpha-Girl over at Pink Raygun knows what I mean.)

~*~*~

Another Friday has come along, folks. Don't forget to check out Gronk today!

Your Mileage May Vary

Okay, first things first. This post contains spoilers about the most recent Doctor Who episode (to air in America, anyway, the Brits are a week ahead of us), "The Almost People," and anything that has come before. It also contains links to even more spoilerific posts about said episode. Consider yourself warned.

Read on only if you desire to be spoiled...

So, "your mileage may vary." I have seen that phrase used in regards to this episode on two different sites already. What it means, basically, is that both commenters acknowledge that anyone watching this episode is likely to have a very different take on it than anyone else. Boy howdy is that correct. Just reading the discussion on Flick Filosopher's site, which has been going on for a week since the episode aired last weekend in the UK (grr, silly BBC America, now we are behind), is enough to show that there are several different interpretations as to what actually happened..

Here are links to that discussion if you are interested or curious, they are well worth the read, especially if the episode left you as confused as it left me.

Flick Filosopher's review of the episode.

Flick Filosopher's post (and ensuing discussion) pondering the ramifications of the episode.

io9's review of the episode.

I hesitate to call this episode "polarizing," because there seem to be way, way more than two reactions to it. I don't think this is necessarily a hate it or love it episode. There are so many shades of grey in this thing that I am amazed it is only credited with having one writer. Of course, I am sure the input of many many people went into the writing of this episode (as with every episode), but there are so many ideas in there, it just seems insane that one person could have largely been responsible for the whole story.

The big conundrum seems to be this: When the Doctor disintegrates Flesh!Amy at the end of the episode, does he, in fact, negate everything the episode (and the one before it, as this was the second of a two-parter) has been trying to get across about the sacredness of the sentience of the Flesh?

I will be honest with you. When I actually watched the episode, I was so caught up in the shock of the reveal (i.e., that Amy was actually not Amy but Flesh!Amy and that actual Amy was being held captive somewhere about to go into labor) that the greater implications of the Doctor's actions with regards to the Flesh didn't even occur to me. But reading the reviews and then the discussions (on Flick Filosopher, at least, I try to steer clear of the io9 message boards for my sanity's sake) I do think it is a fair question.

The Doctor spent much of the first episode trying to get the humans at the factory to accept that their Gangers, once released from their control, were in fact just as much real people as their template humans. He made more than one point about the fact that the Flesh was sentient even in goo form. He went through the whole charade of switching with his own Ganger to illustrate to Amy that the Flesh versions of people were pretty much identical to their templates in every way. He stabilized the surviving Gangers from the factory so that they could live the lives they felt they deserved as much as the humans. He even encouraged Miranda to speak to the corporation about recognizing the sentience of the Flesh so that the rest of the world could accept this truths learned in the factory. Then he turns around and zaps Flesh!Amy out of existence, just like that.

There has been much back and forth as to whether Flesh!Amy was sentient at all, just how sentient the goo version of the Flesh really was, and whether or not the suffering pile of discarded Flesh!Jens were actually a truth or a clever ruse set up by Flesh!JenPrime to get Rory on her side, yada, yada, yada.

For what it is worth, here is my take on the whole thing.

1. I do think the way in which the factory workers utilized the Flesh and then discarded or "decommissioned" their Flesh Gangers after use was incredibly inhumane if the Flesh was at all sentient and able to feel the pain of the process, which seems to be indicated.
2. It seems the way the Doctor disintegrated the Flesh with his sonic screwdriver was a slightly more humane and less painful process for the Flesh. I do think he was reluctant to do it, however, and only did so when he felt it was the only option available.
3. It seems unclear what happened to the disintegrated Flesh. Did it return to goo state Flesh or was it just gone forever?
4. It also seemed to be indicated that Flesh!Amy was later Flesh technology, so I agree with some of the arguments that it is likely the Flesh that made Flesh!Amy didn't feel the pain of being disintegrated like the earlier models because maybe Miranda's recount of the incident at the factory got the people behind the tech to iron out that wrinkle. I feel like this is likely because the Doctor seemed so surprised that the Flesh was sentient, and at the level of sentience, but he was clearly familiar with later versions of the technology. If the sentience was an issue in later models, he would likely have been aware of it.
5. I suspect that the Doctor knew that, even if sentience was a possibility for Amy's Ganger once she was separated from Amy's control, he didn't have any means at his disposal of allowing the Ganger to remain intact once removed from Amy's control. To do that to the Gangers at the factory required a massive solar storm at the source of the controlling harnesses, which the Doctor doesn't have access to in the case of Flesh!Amy. So severing the link, restoring Amy's consciousness to her actual human body, was going to require decommissioning of the Ganger. So perhaps if the Flesh had to be decommissioned, doing so by sonic screwdriver really was the most humane way to do so.
6. It is clear that the Doctor felt it extremely imperative that Amy's consciousness be returned to her human body as soon as possible (probably because she was in labor, but I suspect there were also a few other reasons).

So...I don't think that what the Doctor did in offing Flesh!Amy was quite the same as killing the factory Gangers would have been. I think he regretted it, especially in light of what he learned while at the factory. I also think that he truly believed he had no choice. Why that was the case, we are only left to guess, but I do think it was.

I also don't think that the ending of the episode necessarily undoes the groundwork leading up to it in regards to the independent Gangers. I think perhaps the point of that groundwork was to illustrate that those who are willing to use the Flesh to do their dirty work, knowing its possibility for sentience (and it is hard to argue that future generations could be unaware of this possibility) are the least moral kind of beings there are. I also think they serve to explain to us what the heck was going on with Amy and her quantum pregnancy. Then of course, this also seems to establish, and indeed emphasize, the differences between Flesh!Amy and the Gangers. The Gangers, once zapped, are completely separate entities from their template humans, able to exist, think, act, and feel independently from (though certainly similarly to) those humans. Flesh!Amy is not able to do any of these things. She is an avatar. She is, for all intents and purposes, actually Amy, who is unaware that she is not present with the Doctor and Rory in body as well as in mind and spirit. Without intervention, her Flesh body could not exist separately from her human body once her consciousness had been restored to her human body. Given the problems we saw faced by the independent Gangers, would not that kind of intervention be more cruel than simply allowing the Flesh to return to its natural state?

That is my take on it, at least. Maybe I am rationalizing because I, like many others, want to believe the Doctor acted with the best of intentions. I do not pretend he is incapable of cruel or mercenary acts, even murder. But I do believe that he does not perpetrate such acts unless they are the last resort, and almost always for the greater good. Or what he perceives as the greater good at any rate. It is, after all, entirely subjective.

But hey, your actual mileage may vary.

Next week though, dude! River Song's origin explained?!?! Rory out for blood! (Good lord, I hope they don't kill him again.) I do know one thing though. It is gonna be a hell of a wait after next weekend until the back half of the season starts back up.

Willpower, I Don't Have It

Well, I did it. I swore up and down I wouldn't, and then I went and did it anyway. For the first time since I stopped working at the cable company we once more have a subscription to premium movie channels, sigh.

So, I may or may not have mentioned before, but I love Torchwood. In fact, the only reason I started watching Doctor Who is that I had learned its spinoff would begin airing on BBC America and I thought seeing the parent show would help me to understand what the heck was going on. Everything about Torchwood just sounded awesome and intriguing to me, and my assumption that I would enjoy it was not wrong.

I mean, come on, they had a freaking pterodactyl in the lab for the whole first season! Also, Ianto, my favorite character (Jack is awesome, but Ianto was just so very...Ianto) had the same birthday as me (day and year) and I thought that to be very cool.

You can imagine my dismay when after the last season (a shortened mini-series), it seemed as if the cards had been dealt and there would be no more new seasons. Bummer, man. But then the news came down that BBC had partnered with the network Starz to fund more seasons and production of the series would move (at least partially) to America and it would indeed continue. Huzzah! Except...it would no longer be airing stateside on BBC America but instead on Starz network. Sigh.

I really thought I would be okay not subscribing to Starz. My original plan had been to just purchase a season pass to the show on iTunes and watch the new episodes with a day or two delay that way. Except. I really don't actually like watching television shows on my computer. I don't even watch that many videos--if it's a "funny video" that is getting passed around the web and it is more than a minute and a half long, I am more likely to just pass than to watch it. Web series, usually clocking in at a maximum of ten minutes long, are the far edge of my patience for such things. I know that TV on the computer is the way of the future and whatnot, but as I have said before, we have our humongous television for a reason: I like to watch things on the BIG screen. This fad of watching television shows on smaller and smaller devices (tablets and phones, for instance) just baffles me. Those screens are so tiny, why bother? But whatever. To each his own and whatnot. My personal preference is to watch it on my television rather than the computer. I know there are ways to watch it through the television from the computer but those are not any ways I want to mess with.

Also, it goes without saying that I will want to get the new season of Torchwood on DVD when it comes out. I really didn't want to shell out the money for the season pass and for the DVD set, that just seemed silly. Still, I would have to pay more than the cost of both on an annual basis to subscribe to the channel. For just one show that seemed even sillier. Then I learned that Netflix actually had a deal with Starz allowing subscribers to view the network's original programming via their streaming services a day or two after it airs.  Cool! Perfect solution! Through the magic of our gaming console, we do have Netflix on our television! But wait a minute, Starz, afraid of people not subscribing to their network if they can just watch the shows right away on Netflix, just renegotiated their agreement with the company. As of April first, there is a 90 day turnaround between the show airing and being available on Netflix. Still sooner than DVD, but...three months.

I was resigned to just hold off and wait until the 90 period had lapsed or the show came out on DVD, until all of the campaigning for the series on the internet started up. I just realized I am too excited about the new season. So I did a little searching around with my cable provider to see if there was any sort of good deal I could get, and I found one. For only a dollar more than just getting Starz, I upgraded to the next level of service up, and I get all of the Starz family of channels as well as the Showtime channels, a few other movie channels, and a few other general channels that I am actually interested in. Even better, currently existing customers upgrading to that tier get a three month discount that for me, since it was only a one level jump in service, comes out to getting the new channels for free for three months. Not too shabby I'd say. So I am all set for the new season of Torchwood, and my husband is just shaking his head at me in bemusement, glad I have something to keep me distracted from how many gigs he has coming up.

Still, I would hate to think I subscribed to all of those channels for just one show. That is still pretty silly. Lucky for me Starz just this past weekend started up a new series that I have also had my eye on (but was more willing to wait the 90 days for). I watched the first two episodes of Camelot yesterday and I have to say I am already pretty hooked. I have found the endless variations in Arthurian legend fascinating since my high school days (at least), and I am very curious to see where this goes. Though, wow, they aren't afraid to be showing off some flesh, are they? Oh well, I'm a big girl, I can handle it.

Since I got Showtime in the deal, I thought I might also give The Borgias a try. The first episode is in my DVR waiting to be fired up.

Boo for no willpower, but huzzah for new period dramas!