TV Meta: Bones, Studio 60
Sep. 18th, 2006 11:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
thebratqueenStudio 60? Loved. It's cute how AS has his little fic kinks, like "Woman of power has to deal with a crisis while wearing a formal gown." Granted the format of a TV show isn't going to be as powerful as the White House so you're not going to get a moment like the president walking in with "I am the Lord your God." But it's still smart and I like that. I like how Matt and Danny's friendship works. How you see it by the little moments like "Are you okay?" being the first question with regards to the failed drug test. Things like that placed there and simply being there are something that I love in my TV, and I adore shows that give them to me.
I think AS is also showing good signs of improving his handling of alternate POVs, and so far Harry seems a lot stronger than Ainsley in presenting a conservative character who can speak his or her views without the writing behind it ultimately coming down to AS himself saying "You know, fuck if I know why they feel this way, but I'll try to word this passionately and hopefully that'll carry it." (Not that I hated Ainsley, I liked her. I'm just saying that when she had to do things like explain why she didn't support the ERA she really didn't offer earth shattering insights into the subject, esp. when compared to the speeches heard by one-off characters like the father of the murdered gay kid when asked about Hate Crime legislation.)
Casting-wise I'm undecided on Stephen Weber and Amanda Peet. I think they made a good call making Stephen somebody you're not supposed to like since I think that covers the uncomfortable dissonance you get looking at him and going "Hey! It's Stephen Weber! That is very much Stephen Weber! Woo boy, Stephen Weber right there!" And Amanda... I don't know if she's got that je ne sais Sorkin quality that you got out of Felicity Huffman or Alison Janey when it comes to doing the dialogue, but OTOH I do give her props for good facial expressions. I liked how she quietly viewed this as a welcome challenge, and I loved the subtle change on her face when she realized she didn't know where her office was.
So we'll see.
So that's S60. Now Bones. I realize this aired last week but hey, I just got caught up on my Tivo.
If I send maybe a buck fifty over to their offices do you think they could hire some better writers? Because based on the writing in both seasons now I can only make the educated guess that if I did that I'd be providing a dollar raise on what they're currently paying.
I said this about first season VM and I'll say it again: If I of all people can figure out whodunit in your MOTW? Your mystery sucks. It's called the law of conservation of characters. Print it out in a VERY large font and wallpaper the writers' room with it after you fire the current set and thus have the empty space for a week.
And I can only hope that Emily Deschanel is going down on the rest of the cast in her off hours because the only good thing about that show is the interest and chemistry they bring to the party. Our protagonist, however, can't act. And I've tried to give leeway for how her past history made her what she is, and at least lately she's not being written like her every statement is created on a macro. But when, as she was in 2.1, she's standing on her mother's grave supposedly being moved to tears I shouldn't be looking at that and remembering Lindsey in Arrested Development scrunching her face up and saying "I used to be able to do this!" And when, as in the last episode, she's... I dunno, wracked by the inner turmoil of dealing with a foster kid case and/or dealing with some lunch indigestion I should be able to know A) what she's trying to accomplish in the first place and B) That the editor didn't accidentally leave in the take where Emily stared randomly out of the car window and watched the pretty birdies fly by because she couldn't remember her line.
Everybody else though? Great. Even Cam who I felt had a good vibe from minute one, even though - and again here's the bad writing - they did have that instance of trying WAY too fucking hard to show off how cool she was by having her intro be "Oo! She's so fucking awesome that she's TIMING SOMETHING USING THE WATCH ON A DISEMBODIED ARM! HOW FUCKING AMAZING IS THAT??? ARE YOU IMPRESSED YET????"
But beyond that she's a person, she's got a clear place in the dynamic of the group even though - and I think this is key - her place is that she's not really in the group yet, per se. So here's a character who's supposed to be a bit of an obstacle and you still get that with her, while Bones is supposedly the one they adore and, okay, the other actors make me believe they have reasons to like her (Zack loves the science, Hodgins loves that he can put pigs through a wood chipper, Angela's actress has successfully proven she can make us believe Angela cares deeply about someone we haven't even seen so somebody standing next to her is a walk through the partk, and of course David gives the furniture erections just by standing next to it). But from Bones herself I get nothing. Other than the control-freak "Mine!" you get no idea that she even sees these people as people, and that goes about a thousandfold for her and Angela because how the flaming fuck did these two not only become friends but best friends? What in the hell is Angela getting out of this?
So... yeah. Part of the many reasons why the show does air, and it is on my Tivo, but I'm not sitting on the edge of my seat watching it unfold in real time as I'm doing with S60 or, for that matter, Project Runway.
I think AS is also showing good signs of improving his handling of alternate POVs, and so far Harry seems a lot stronger than Ainsley in presenting a conservative character who can speak his or her views without the writing behind it ultimately coming down to AS himself saying "You know, fuck if I know why they feel this way, but I'll try to word this passionately and hopefully that'll carry it." (Not that I hated Ainsley, I liked her. I'm just saying that when she had to do things like explain why she didn't support the ERA she really didn't offer earth shattering insights into the subject, esp. when compared to the speeches heard by one-off characters like the father of the murdered gay kid when asked about Hate Crime legislation.)
Casting-wise I'm undecided on Stephen Weber and Amanda Peet. I think they made a good call making Stephen somebody you're not supposed to like since I think that covers the uncomfortable dissonance you get looking at him and going "Hey! It's Stephen Weber! That is very much Stephen Weber! Woo boy, Stephen Weber right there!" And Amanda... I don't know if she's got that je ne sais Sorkin quality that you got out of Felicity Huffman or Alison Janey when it comes to doing the dialogue, but OTOH I do give her props for good facial expressions. I liked how she quietly viewed this as a welcome challenge, and I loved the subtle change on her face when she realized she didn't know where her office was.
So we'll see.
So that's S60. Now Bones. I realize this aired last week but hey, I just got caught up on my Tivo.
If I send maybe a buck fifty over to their offices do you think they could hire some better writers? Because based on the writing in both seasons now I can only make the educated guess that if I did that I'd be providing a dollar raise on what they're currently paying.
I said this about first season VM and I'll say it again: If I of all people can figure out whodunit in your MOTW? Your mystery sucks. It's called the law of conservation of characters. Print it out in a VERY large font and wallpaper the writers' room with it after you fire the current set and thus have the empty space for a week.
And I can only hope that Emily Deschanel is going down on the rest of the cast in her off hours because the only good thing about that show is the interest and chemistry they bring to the party. Our protagonist, however, can't act. And I've tried to give leeway for how her past history made her what she is, and at least lately she's not being written like her every statement is created on a macro. But when, as she was in 2.1, she's standing on her mother's grave supposedly being moved to tears I shouldn't be looking at that and remembering Lindsey in Arrested Development scrunching her face up and saying "I used to be able to do this!" And when, as in the last episode, she's... I dunno, wracked by the inner turmoil of dealing with a foster kid case and/or dealing with some lunch indigestion I should be able to know A) what she's trying to accomplish in the first place and B) That the editor didn't accidentally leave in the take where Emily stared randomly out of the car window and watched the pretty birdies fly by because she couldn't remember her line.
Everybody else though? Great. Even Cam who I felt had a good vibe from minute one, even though - and again here's the bad writing - they did have that instance of trying WAY too fucking hard to show off how cool she was by having her intro be "Oo! She's so fucking awesome that she's TIMING SOMETHING USING THE WATCH ON A DISEMBODIED ARM! HOW FUCKING AMAZING IS THAT??? ARE YOU IMPRESSED YET????"
But beyond that she's a person, she's got a clear place in the dynamic of the group even though - and I think this is key - her place is that she's not really in the group yet, per se. So here's a character who's supposed to be a bit of an obstacle and you still get that with her, while Bones is supposedly the one they adore and, okay, the other actors make me believe they have reasons to like her (Zack loves the science, Hodgins loves that he can put pigs through a wood chipper, Angela's actress has successfully proven she can make us believe Angela cares deeply about someone we haven't even seen so somebody standing next to her is a walk through the partk, and of course David gives the furniture erections just by standing next to it). But from Bones herself I get nothing. Other than the control-freak "Mine!" you get no idea that she even sees these people as people, and that goes about a thousandfold for her and Angela because how the flaming fuck did these two not only become friends but best friends? What in the hell is Angela getting out of this?
So... yeah. Part of the many reasons why the show does air, and it is on my Tivo, but I'm not sitting on the edge of my seat watching it unfold in real time as I'm doing with S60 or, for that matter, Project Runway.
