Well, after five seasons, Chuck aired its series finale this past weekend.
Personally, I found it a little...lacking. I mean, it had its moments. As convoluted as getting Jeff and Lester to the concert hall was, when I realized where they were going with that, I certainly gave a hearty laugh. Their rendition of "Take On Me" was pretty fantastic. Also disturbing. But mostly fantastic. In true Jeffster fashion, really.
As far as the whole "Sarah's memory loss due to the Intersect" plot, it was really just all kind of meh, honestly. If I'm being truthful, I found the entire last season to just be increasingly ridiculous, and not the traditional fun Chuck brand of ridiculous. There were some genuinely wonderful character moments throughout the season, and even in the finale. Ellie and Awesome's swan song was one I particularly enjoyed. Because it felt like something those two characters had been building to over the course of the series in general and the season in particular. Even Casey and Morgan got nice sendoffs showing their growth as characters and as a result of the events of the series.
But Chuck and Sarah? They got totally shafted. This whole season they had been building to retirement from the spy life, going legit, buying a home to be a grownup couple in, and starting a family. That would have been a natural, wonderful, well-deserved ending for them. We didn't even need Sarah to be pregnant--just end with them making the down payment on their house and it would have been perfect. I think what the writers were trying to give them with this ending was a fresh start. Sometimes that is the right way to end a series. In this case, I would argue that it was exactly the wrong ending though. These two didn't need a fresh start. Their relationship, amazingly enough, was actually pretty solid and healthy (especially when we're talking television romance).
The whole thing was just jarring and it felt like a letdown to me. It would be forgivable had this been an unexpected series finale. But it wasn't. Everyone knew going into this season that it was the last. They had plenty of time to wrap up loose ends and craft a solid ending. Which is not what I felt we got. Instead they spent the season introducing all sorts of new concepts and craziness and it all felt disjointed. It's like instead of trying to craft an organic close to the series with the episodes they had left, they just decided to go full tilt and pull out every crazy idea they had left on the drawing board. Nothing really got room to breathe and grow and develop like it should have. So in the end we're just left with a big mess. It's kind of sad, because I fear that is how I am going to forever remember the show, as a big old mess. Which is a shame, because I remember there was a time when I used to truly enjoy and look forward to this show. Now, I'm really not that bothered that it's gone.
Chuck is definitely a show whose time had come. So, so long, Chuck. So long, Sarah and Morgan. Casey and Ellie and Awesome...I hope you all find happiness in that television heaven that is "happily ever after." Thank you NBC for a show that was at least entertaining for a while, and thank you for finally closing the chapter on it once it could no longer sustain itself.
On the bright side, my Friday evening DVR schedule just got a little less complicated. Dear NBC, can you please move Grimm to the seven p.m. slot so I can watch it live and still watch Fringe live too? That would be awesome. Oh man, Fringe. There's a show that I fear is also coming to its close, and this one I'm not ready to see go. Oh well, it's been a bubble show since it first came on the air. Maybe the universe will surprise us and we'll get lucky for one more season. I mean, yeah, it's Fox. But hey, who knows, right?
Showing posts with label NBC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NBC. Show all posts
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Friday, May 20, 2011
Avoiding The Extremely Ridiculous
Lately I have been watching the first two seasons of the old 90's teen series California Dreams. It has made me quite thankful for the advent of Netflix, and my subsequent subscription to the service. Without Netflix, I probably would have bought this when it came out on DVD out of pure nostalgia and then ended up a month or two down the line selling the set and wishing I hadn't wasted my money.
Watching this show is a weird experience. It's not entirely bad, mind you, but I would be hard pressed to say that I am completely enjoying watching the show again. If you're not aware of this show, it was part of NBC's late Saturday morning lineup aimed at teens and preteens. It was probably the most successful of those series after Saved By The Bell, with which it had much in common. Instead of focusing on the group of kids' hijinks in school, however, California Dreams was centered around the band formed by the main cast and followed their attempts to get gigs and deal with the "typical" teenage problems all while balancing life with the band. I say "typical" with quotes like that, but actually I have to admit, even though the drama is heightened for television, the actual issues the show dealt with for the most part were things that, as a teenager, were often a big deal to me. It is just that the problems and their solutions are so ridiculously portrayed that I have a hard time taking it seriously now.
But when I was a kid, I adored this show. It was second in my affections only to Saved By The Bell, I have to admit. That's why I wanted to watch the show again, after all. But it doesn't really hold up well to the test of time, I suppose. I don't know how surprising that is, given that even after my complete rewatch of all of SBTB, I ended up giving away those DVDs.
It probably doesn't help that I married a professional musician, so the whole band aspect of the show now just makes me cringe. Also the music, while being mostly inoffensive, is so bland. The band didn't have its own sound, they just played whatever kind of sounded like what was popular at the time. Watching it now, having the experiences with actual musicians that I have, I just feel like these kids are posers. I know, I know, it's silly. It's just a television show. But my life has altered the way I look at that kind of stuff. Plus the producers apparently had no idea what live music was supposed to sound like. I mean, come on. Sigh.
So why I am I still watching? Well, there is the part of me that is enjoying the trip down memory lane. As I said, I did love this show once. It is nice getting to revisit with that Cori of a bygone day and remember her hopes and dreams (and subscription to Big Bopper). Like I said, it is not all bad. The show has its amusing moments. Besides, as I ride out the last of my pain meds from this week's dental escapades, it is the perfect level of mindless distraction.
It's been getting more and more awkward though. True sitcoms are few and far between these days, and of those that are still around, I don't watch very many of them. Those that I do enjoy are, I would like to think, a little bit off the beaten path and have evolved past the old-school format. California Dreams, though, is from a time when that old format was flourishing. As someone who is trying to be a storyteller, the formulaic approach to the show is, at best, tiring to sit through. It makes me very glad to have access to all of the smart, well-written, modern shows I have access to these days.
There is a fine line between funny and ridiculous, and this show wasn't even trying to stay behind it. I have found as I get older that some of the more obvious attempts at humor--the physical, the slapstick, the playing dumb--are much more rarely able to make me laugh than actual wit. What makes this whole experience awkward for me personally is that I have recently been thinking that I want to try my hand at writing something funny.
The people behind National Novel Writing Month recently announced that they want to do a NaNoWriMo Summer Camp this year. The idea is to allow people who really can't devote the kind of time required in November or the people who want to write more than one novel in a month during the year a chance to have the fun in a month other than November. My writing buddy (who is a teacher, and for whom November was very much less than ideal) and I of course want to participate in the summer camp.
I know, I know. But Cori, you haven't even actually started revising your novel from last November! Why would you want to write another one? Yes, yes, you're right. But...let's not talk about last year's book right now. It will get done if it gets done and right now is not that time.
But back to summer camp. So, my friend and I want to try our hands at another novel-in-a-month this summer. After giving it some thought, I told my husband I wanted to just write something fun and silly. Silly. Not ridiculous. Not unintelligent.
Quite some time ago I mentioned that I wish I could capture some of the fun and funny the way that the Harry Potter books do. Every night I read a few pages of those books to my daughter (we're on the last one now), and whenever there's a funny scene, it just makes me itch to create something in the same vein. So when I say I would like to write something fun and silly, I am thinking something like my favorite bits from Harry Potter. Something along the lines of greats like Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. But watching California Dreams, I have started getting worried that perhaps that is the best I will be able to do. Hence the awkward.
Not gonna stop me from trying. Hopefully my fears are what will help me avoid that particular path. I mean, I don't even have an actual story in mind yet, it's early days. But oh my goodness do I hope it's more Neville causing a distraction by turning into a canary than Sly and the rest of the guys dressed up as girls getting hit on by the football team. Sigh.
Note to self: All of the writers I listed above to emulate are British. Perhaps it would be a good idea to watch lots of Coupling and drink lots of tea while getting prepared to write. Also, avoid setting it at the beach with surfers in a rock band.
Check.
Watching this show is a weird experience. It's not entirely bad, mind you, but I would be hard pressed to say that I am completely enjoying watching the show again. If you're not aware of this show, it was part of NBC's late Saturday morning lineup aimed at teens and preteens. It was probably the most successful of those series after Saved By The Bell, with which it had much in common. Instead of focusing on the group of kids' hijinks in school, however, California Dreams was centered around the band formed by the main cast and followed their attempts to get gigs and deal with the "typical" teenage problems all while balancing life with the band. I say "typical" with quotes like that, but actually I have to admit, even though the drama is heightened for television, the actual issues the show dealt with for the most part were things that, as a teenager, were often a big deal to me. It is just that the problems and their solutions are so ridiculously portrayed that I have a hard time taking it seriously now.
But when I was a kid, I adored this show. It was second in my affections only to Saved By The Bell, I have to admit. That's why I wanted to watch the show again, after all. But it doesn't really hold up well to the test of time, I suppose. I don't know how surprising that is, given that even after my complete rewatch of all of SBTB, I ended up giving away those DVDs.
It probably doesn't help that I married a professional musician, so the whole band aspect of the show now just makes me cringe. Also the music, while being mostly inoffensive, is so bland. The band didn't have its own sound, they just played whatever kind of sounded like what was popular at the time. Watching it now, having the experiences with actual musicians that I have, I just feel like these kids are posers. I know, I know, it's silly. It's just a television show. But my life has altered the way I look at that kind of stuff. Plus the producers apparently had no idea what live music was supposed to sound like. I mean, come on. Sigh.
So why I am I still watching? Well, there is the part of me that is enjoying the trip down memory lane. As I said, I did love this show once. It is nice getting to revisit with that Cori of a bygone day and remember her hopes and dreams (and subscription to Big Bopper). Like I said, it is not all bad. The show has its amusing moments. Besides, as I ride out the last of my pain meds from this week's dental escapades, it is the perfect level of mindless distraction.
It's been getting more and more awkward though. True sitcoms are few and far between these days, and of those that are still around, I don't watch very many of them. Those that I do enjoy are, I would like to think, a little bit off the beaten path and have evolved past the old-school format. California Dreams, though, is from a time when that old format was flourishing. As someone who is trying to be a storyteller, the formulaic approach to the show is, at best, tiring to sit through. It makes me very glad to have access to all of the smart, well-written, modern shows I have access to these days.
There is a fine line between funny and ridiculous, and this show wasn't even trying to stay behind it. I have found as I get older that some of the more obvious attempts at humor--the physical, the slapstick, the playing dumb--are much more rarely able to make me laugh than actual wit. What makes this whole experience awkward for me personally is that I have recently been thinking that I want to try my hand at writing something funny.
The people behind National Novel Writing Month recently announced that they want to do a NaNoWriMo Summer Camp this year. The idea is to allow people who really can't devote the kind of time required in November or the people who want to write more than one novel in a month during the year a chance to have the fun in a month other than November. My writing buddy (who is a teacher, and for whom November was very much less than ideal) and I of course want to participate in the summer camp.
I know, I know. But Cori, you haven't even actually started revising your novel from last November! Why would you want to write another one? Yes, yes, you're right. But...let's not talk about last year's book right now. It will get done if it gets done and right now is not that time.
But back to summer camp. So, my friend and I want to try our hands at another novel-in-a-month this summer. After giving it some thought, I told my husband I wanted to just write something fun and silly. Silly. Not ridiculous. Not unintelligent.
Quite some time ago I mentioned that I wish I could capture some of the fun and funny the way that the Harry Potter books do. Every night I read a few pages of those books to my daughter (we're on the last one now), and whenever there's a funny scene, it just makes me itch to create something in the same vein. So when I say I would like to write something fun and silly, I am thinking something like my favorite bits from Harry Potter. Something along the lines of greats like Douglas Adams and Terry Pratchett. But watching California Dreams, I have started getting worried that perhaps that is the best I will be able to do. Hence the awkward.
Not gonna stop me from trying. Hopefully my fears are what will help me avoid that particular path. I mean, I don't even have an actual story in mind yet, it's early days. But oh my goodness do I hope it's more Neville causing a distraction by turning into a canary than Sly and the rest of the guys dressed up as girls getting hit on by the football team. Sigh.
Note to self: All of the writers I listed above to emulate are British. Perhaps it would be a good idea to watch lots of Coupling and drink lots of tea while getting prepared to write. Also, avoid setting it at the beach with surfers in a rock band.
Check.
~*~*~
Oh, and as it is Friday already (when the heck did that happen?), don't forget to swing on over and check out this week's Gronk! I am super excited because preorders for the first Gronk book start next week. Huzzah! Also, now I want to make a Gronk plushy....
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Chuck, I Am Giving You A Reprieve
Remember a while back when I said that I wouldn't be too disappointed if Chuck ended up not getting renewed for another season? Yeah, wow, I am so glad that didn't happen.
This season has definitely been a roller-coaster of quality, and I have been fighting the urge to just stop watching completely. Honestly the only reason I didn't is because it doesn't really conflict with anything else I watch. No, the Monday night glut of television shows comes in the 9 p.m. CST slot--why the heck does everything come on at 9 p.m. on Mondays? Upon hearing that the next season will be both shortened and the final season of the show, however, I figured I could probably just stick it out.
After this week's season finale, I am really glad that I did. I am actually looking forward to the next/last season!
I don't want to get into spoilers, but I will say that the season ended with a bang, and in a way that I really wasn't expecting. It made me care about Chuck and Sarah as a couple again, it reminded me why I love a lot of the ancillary characters, it made me laugh. I remember when this show used to make me laugh a lot. I loved it for the smart goofiness it started off with. When the smart turned to clichéd and the goofy turned to schmaltzy slapstick (yes, it may be a fine line, but there is a difference), it started to lose its appeal to me. But the season finale managed to restore my faith in the series.
Even if a few of the big shakeups that occurred at the very end of the episode (and if you've seen it, you know in particular which one I am referring to, I am sure) get reversed right off the bat, I expect we can get at least one highly entertaining episode out of the new premise. The other changes that occurred set the stage for a change in the formula that seems natural, a believable outcome of the story and events so far. I look forward to finding out where things go from here.
Add to this the fact that it is a shorter season--something which I have been starting to feel is a key element to keeping a story-driven series well-executed--and the fact that everyone goes into this knowing it is the final season. Well. I think that means we are going to have a chance to see a real conclusion, one that is well done, that grows organically out of everything that has come before, and one that feels right. I also think it will give them a chance to take some risks, be they emotional or action oriented, that we would not otherwise have a chance to explore. I think we're gonna see some magic here, folks, I won't lie.
Plus, NBC has been kind enough to move Chuck to Fridays for the fall. Maybe come September my Monday nights (and subsequent Tuesday DVR catchups) won't be so crazy! Of course, I still have to get through the summer, where a certain programmer has decided to move all of their shows I have any interest in to Monday nights, opposite my long-standing summer Monday night television date. Grr.
But, Chuck, woohoo! Here's hoping that it gets the swan song it deserves, eh?
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