So I rarely talk about TV because I rarely find myself with the time to watch it. This week was a bit of an anomaly where I found myself in the position to DVR 5 or 6 pilots for the new fall TV lineup. I thought I’d take a minute and post my feelings about new shows hitting the air these days.
Fear the Walking Dead
Let’s be honest here. Any real fan of The Walking Dead really has to watch this don’t they? We’re all enthralled by the greatest horror drama on television so it’s only natural that most of us would want to see how it all started. For it’s part FTWD carves it’s own path as more of a slow burn than an action packed walker – fest like it’s predecessor. It stays very true to the old (read “George A Romero”) school zombie mythos which always makes a point to let us know that the zombies are the second most dangerous threat with the real menace coming from the survivors. The character Daniel puts it this way and I think this is clearly foreshadowing of things to come. “Men do these things not because of evil, they do evil because of fear.”
Along with The Walking Dead, I think FTWD really transcends horror into the realm of just very good TV drama. This one is a main stay of my Season Pass manager and I watch it weekly. It’s just not the kind of show I can let ever get a few episodes in arrears. I need to know what’s happening with the characters and that’s the biggest compliment I know how to give it.
Really as soon as I saw the commercial for this one I knew I had to give it a chance. Starring the unbelievably gorgeous Priyanka Chopra. I mean seriously, this lady is so pretty it makes you want to slap your mama! She’s beautiful with one of the most alluring voices I have ever heard cone out of someone’s mouth, but the character she plays on the show “Alex Parrish,” is highly flawed. Far from the wholesome Indian girl one might expect after seeing the preview. The vote’s not in yet on the show’s style. It has a lot of flashbacks and in general I’m not a big fan of that. I think it’s sometimes the result of bad writing. I’ll say this. I am intrigued enough to watch the next episode, but that’s as far as I’ll go for a recommendation, unless you happen to be male and then there’s plenty of reason to watch it.
A former intelligence officer works as a security expert in Las Vegas, but wait there is a twist. He’s caught up in a word where high stakes gamblers, I mean the uber, uber rich bet on crimes and he’s sort of the house’s player. Co starring that tax dodging criminal, Wesly Snipes, who essentially abandoned his best and most profitable role, Blade. Yes, darn it. I am holding a grudge. Well as for the show itself. The premise is utterly laughable but the action well done. If you are a car chase kind of guy who will probably like this show. For me, it’s just too dumb. Don’t think I’ll watch another episode of it. Didn’t hate the pilot just didn’t like it enough to follow it forward. Not when there are shows like Sleepy Hollow and so many others that are just more clever and witty while still being far fetched.
I so wanted this show to be funny. I am huge fan of Sir Patrick Stewart and not just because of Star Trek. I think he’s literally an acting genius. Generally speaking I have loved just about everything I’ve seen him in, that is until now. Blunt Talk is another example of a show that’s just too liberal to the point where it looses the funny. Walter Blunt is just written too far over the top. It tries to be trendy and topical but just seems to last 5 years for me. I will give it maybe another episode or two to see if I can get into it. As of now, not feeling it at all.
For the second part of this article I’ll be looking at Rosewood, Blindspot and a few others, just as soon as I have a chance to give that DVR some attention. Two Spies has another 3 weeks of bookings before we get a break from our Americana Tour 2015. Hopefully, then I can catch up on some TV.