pir

I am in the middle of season 3, which means I am a glutton for punishment. I like the entire cast, even Carol, except for Original-Phil, or as he is now known, Tandy. They've retooled him to be less of a moronic, narcissistic sociopath with a penchant for destroying everything he touches, so are we supposed to like him better now that he only lies half the time? Considering the high score the show had in its first season, and what a prominent role he plays, he must be appealing to some people. This show does have a certain comedic flair strewn about which feels fresh and alive, but every good moment gets immediately buried by Tandy once again aggrandizing himself while knowing less than nothing. And so every man joining the group who actually does know something that might help them survive past the time when gas and canned food have gone bad must die, or otherwise this group would have dumped Tandy long ago because he is actively harmful aside from being more annoying than a 24-hour long scratch fest on a chalk board. If I found myself at the end of the world and he was the only other human, I'd move to the other side of the Earth to get away from him. And since this is all conceived and written by the comedian who portrays him, my opinion of Mr Forte is that I will never watch anything else by him. How is this inspired comedy genius? Monty Python is inspired comedy genius; this is mental **** for people who never grew up past age 15. From a science fictional point of view this is complete dreck. The post virus world is pristine and clean, without any bodies anywhere, which is explained with inept handwavium. The comedy is all-pervasive; there are very few introspective moments, and the characters who provide those generally don't live long (I can tell a redshirt pretty much by the end of the episode where they join the cast). I guess the moral is the less thoughtful you are the more likely you'll get to live after an apocalypse; which might soothe the current anti-science sentiment in America. Some good points beyond the generally capable cast: a fat man who's not the butt of anyone's (but Tandy's) joke, a black man who's not the criminal or magical negro, and a gay man who's not a mincing, lisping stereotype. Alas the women don't get off that well; at first glance they looked like a competent foil to Tandy's idiocies, but at this point one is a lush, one is psychotic, one is mildly kooky, and one is a cipher.

weeds started out as pure comedy, and it was hilarious. over time it transmogrified into a comedy-drama, and while that was a bit disorienting, it was still quite good much of the time with a sharp and biting sense of dark humour. in season 5, however, the balance has shifted even further into drama, and now the comedy no longer works for me because the contrast is too stark, nancy looks entirely self-centred, andy only flatters himself that he's grown up, and celia/doug/dean are still as juvenile as ever, except now it's no longer funny but tedious. i no longer like any of the main characters, and i think nancy is the biggest loss for me. shane is the only redeeming character at this point, and he's not got enough screen time. i don't think i'll even bother with season 6. too bad; this was my favourite comedy and i miss it.

i did not expect to like this show as much as i do -- i originally checked it out merely based on its high score here. i have no affiliation with biker clubs (i prefer japanese crotch rockets to harleys any day). but i am solidly hooked -- way to take a subculture that's distasteful to most and instead of vilifying a caricature of it, making it believable, understandable, and nuanced enough to display the many shades of grey colouring the human conscience. if anything, in order to show us the moral ambiguity of the bikers, the show portrays nearly all law enforcement as venal, overly ambitious, justifying the means for the sake of the end, which ends up romanticizing the bikers; i'd like more realism there.

great production values, fabulous location shoots, non-stop action, and the signature theme music can't save this show from being predictable, without depth, and ultimately forgettable. o'loughlin's acting is stiff even when bantering with buddy cop scott caan -- who is a ray of light in this otherwise uninspired show. i give a new show's ensemble several episodes to gel, and daniel dae kim and grace park are usually worth watching, but here the premise alone will probably make me stop watching: all-american cop show wish fulfillment -- shoot-to-kill, no holds barred, no questions asked, immunity from oversight (!), the end justifies the means, the bad guys are irredeemably bad. i am sorry, but that just bores me. i noticed myself drifting off even during the action scenes; i just didn't care whether mcgarrett got the evil terrorist who killed his father -- and that's saying something after those strings were pulled.