Quick TV series reviews
I think I have forgotten how to sleep. I think this is what happens when you are self-employed during a recession. Most nights I will toss and turn and try to think of productive uses of my time. Tonight I thought I would try something different and post some quick reviews of shows I have watched on my Tivo in the last few weeks.
1) Being Human (BBC America) - This is a British series about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost living together in a small apartment in London. That description does not do the show justice as the writing is pretty good, the actors fairly convincing in their roles and the show itself has a lot of heart. Being Human concentrates on the stuff inside us all which makes us human, even if you happen to turn into a violent harry beast every 28 days or you happen to be dead. Worth a look especially if you are disappointed with the soft-core porn show that True Blood has become.
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Speaking of True Blood, what the hell happened to HBO? This was the network that brought us The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under and Deadwood. Now they seem intent on becoming a high-production value version of Spanktravision. True Blood, a show about vampires in a small Louisiana town, went from being a harder-edged Buffy the Vampire Slayer to a near pornographic atrocity on my sensibilities. I am not a prude. I like my porn as much as the next guy, but this show has been pushing the limits of plausibility in order to get people naked and humping. HBO's most recent comedy hit is a show called Hung about a guy who is, well, Hung. This show's greatest sin is that it is not funny.
As much as I think Entourage is funny show, possibly one of the funnier shows on TV, I would like to challenge the producers to do an episode without a graphic sex scene. The latest news from the network is that Diane Keaton has been signed to play a feminist icon who tries to light a fire under the movement by launching a dirty magazine for women. The as-yet-untitled show could be interesting, or it could turn into another schlock excuse to show a lot of people humping.
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2) Three Sheets (FLN) - I like to drink and I appreciate exotic alcohols, so this should have been the show for me. The producers killed it in two ways. First they hired some lame comic to be the shows host. Second, and the one I cannot get past, they insert lame sound effects into every aspect of the show. If someone is sipping a drink you get a loud sipping sound, or a slurping sound. Pour a drink and you get a couple of different Glug Glug kind of sounds. Seriously, this show feels like it was edited by a junior high school kid using IMovie on his dad's laptop. Avoid this show like the plague.
3) Nurse Jackie (Showtime) - Starring Edie Falco, I wasn't sure about this show. A half-hour dramadey about a nurse in a big city hospital who abuses pain-killers in order to disguise a back injury which would surely cost her her job. I was lukewarm at first, lots of moral ambiguity in this series, but the strength of Falco's performance and the sharp writing won me over. Best example, after all the characters in the episode had been verbally abused by a mental patient who thought he was God, Falco's character goes outside and yells to the man to "Stop Bothering my nurses. Pick on criminals and white guys." She then tells god to get back on his meds. Really, this is good, You should all watch it.
That's it for now.
1) Being Human (BBC America) - This is a British series about a vampire, a werewolf and a ghost living together in a small apartment in London. That description does not do the show justice as the writing is pretty good, the actors fairly convincing in their roles and the show itself has a lot of heart. Being Human concentrates on the stuff inside us all which makes us human, even if you happen to turn into a violent harry beast every 28 days or you happen to be dead. Worth a look especially if you are disappointed with the soft-core porn show that True Blood has become.
----
Speaking of True Blood, what the hell happened to HBO? This was the network that brought us The Sopranos, The Wire, Six Feet Under and Deadwood. Now they seem intent on becoming a high-production value version of Spanktravision. True Blood, a show about vampires in a small Louisiana town, went from being a harder-edged Buffy the Vampire Slayer to a near pornographic atrocity on my sensibilities. I am not a prude. I like my porn as much as the next guy, but this show has been pushing the limits of plausibility in order to get people naked and humping. HBO's most recent comedy hit is a show called Hung about a guy who is, well, Hung. This show's greatest sin is that it is not funny.
As much as I think Entourage is funny show, possibly one of the funnier shows on TV, I would like to challenge the producers to do an episode without a graphic sex scene. The latest news from the network is that Diane Keaton has been signed to play a feminist icon who tries to light a fire under the movement by launching a dirty magazine for women. The as-yet-untitled show could be interesting, or it could turn into another schlock excuse to show a lot of people humping.
---
Back to reviews
2) Three Sheets (FLN) - I like to drink and I appreciate exotic alcohols, so this should have been the show for me. The producers killed it in two ways. First they hired some lame comic to be the shows host. Second, and the one I cannot get past, they insert lame sound effects into every aspect of the show. If someone is sipping a drink you get a loud sipping sound, or a slurping sound. Pour a drink and you get a couple of different Glug Glug kind of sounds. Seriously, this show feels like it was edited by a junior high school kid using IMovie on his dad's laptop. Avoid this show like the plague.
3) Nurse Jackie (Showtime) - Starring Edie Falco, I wasn't sure about this show. A half-hour dramadey about a nurse in a big city hospital who abuses pain-killers in order to disguise a back injury which would surely cost her her job. I was lukewarm at first, lots of moral ambiguity in this series, but the strength of Falco's performance and the sharp writing won me over. Best example, after all the characters in the episode had been verbally abused by a mental patient who thought he was God, Falco's character goes outside and yells to the man to "Stop Bothering my nurses. Pick on criminals and white guys." She then tells god to get back on his meds. Really, this is good, You should all watch it.
That's it for now.
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