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Dutcher_R
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October Faction (2020)
Just accept everyting, don't question it.
I don't think I have ever been this dissapointed in TV-show writing. Because that is what it boils down to. The production quality is pretty decent, but the storyline is atrociious.
It could have been great. A show between bad and good that slowly blends in a grey spectrum. However, that doesn't happen. If anything, everything becomes more black and white. Who is good, who is bad. There is no room for any 'grey' thoughts even though they do try to, it just never lands. The result is a ride with many twists (most of which you can see coming 2/3 episodes in advance) which are instantly accepted. Oh, someone you just met told you that your parents were bad. Sure, just accept it and follow that person who you just met. O no, everyone around you has been cursed? Just continue casually leasuring while you are there. It's probably fine. Don't question it.
In the end it feels like you are watching a first draft of a story. Many 'fun' key moments have been created and have flimsy been connected so all those moments can occur. Off course that comes with a small price of most characters being undefined by their principles and ideas as those need to change to accomodate where the scene needs to go. Is that bad? Nah, it's probably fine. Just accept everything and don't question it.
Supergirl (2015)
Loved it first for the wrong reasons, starting to love it for the right ones.
So, first up. I have not read the Supergirl comics. Did read some stuff on the internet. Am pretty much caught up on Arrow, Flash, Daredevil, A.o.SHIELD (I know the latter two are Marvel).
So the first episode is brilliant in the same way that I loved Eureka and Warehouse 13. It's cheesy, it's corny, it's cliché and has caricature characters. Emotions follow up waaaay to fast (and I really mean, waaaay to fast. Have an emotional family reunion and the first tear has barely dried and she wants to fight). It makes me wanna grab the story, twist in around in my own version. I really like doing that. After that, this level of corniness dwindles down and the quality goes up. Yes, it's not a high quality and there are too many moments that don't add up even when following that universes rules. The amount of times she jumps in her costume when she doesn't need it is remarkably high. Moreover there are many times she speaks of Supergirl like it is a role model and I mean in the ultimate, can't live up to ideal. Or the boss which tries to be strict, bitchy, I-don't-care-bout-you boss, who suddenly takes Kara out for drinks after an outburst. Or how fast a new villain gains powers and immediately masters them in a single hour.
However, as episodes go on, it improves. Not fast enough to get to the level where Arrow and Flash are, but well enough to have faith this show will continue to be very enjoyable without the need to rely on super corny over the top parts. Even though they are still in there {WARNING, SPOILERS COMING UP} Like its predecessors in the DC universe. More and more characters become fleshed out. Bad guys become gray or even kinda white (as we learn out that HH is in fact JJ/MM) or gray characters become black (Maxwell as the immoral technocrat). The events in episode 7 are most interesting, especially the part in the DEO basement. Also, miss Grants observance also brings an interesting change, for how long she's been too nice to Kara was starting to get a bit... bothersome. So I'm curious how that's going to flesh out.
So, are the flaws gone? No. There are plenty of flaws. Plenty of time problems. For instance a call to Supergirl from the DEO office of a break-in (ep 8) yet DEO arrives first. Or location problems: from a busy first aid center to a deserted street in too short time. Or the continuous need to discuss Supergirl to 'strangers' while in Kara form. It's a bit too... self-centered(?) for Kara tbh. So yeah, it has its flaws, and sometimes they're quirks, sometimes they are a bit annoying. But it's all coated in a sugary sweet honey delight of cute innocence and hope. Especially the latter. Hope is important and from what I've seen so far. It gives me hope for an increasingly better series.
Alphas (2011)
Nice start, but lost me half way through
This show has a really decent start keeping the paranormal activities on a somewhat explainable level. The most impressive role is probably that of Gary. Bold move to have a main character which is very autistic. But it works really well too. Acting is very decent on most parts and in the beginning there are some larger threads woven, especially with Nina's past.
However, as the shows process, it kinda loses it identity and has too little progress in the overall line. What starts as a group of gifted people who need to control their lives along with those gifts who in spare time try to help/save/find others with said powers quickly turns into a self controlled government spin-off with all consequences coming along with them. Now this doesn't have to be a bad thing, but as the cases continue it's more about the cases (and later on Red flag) than the actual life work which, in turn, causes Dr. Rosen to become quite redundant in the group (or at least, the show tries to praise him for more than he actually seems to do).
*** this next paragraph contains some direct references (spoilers), I tried to keep actual details to a minimum. Read at own risk ***
But the most important thing that probably made me lose my excitement is the 'suddenly'-factor. The story has too many 'suddenlies'. For example, at one point, the government places a holding cell in their building. At the end of the same episode, it gets blown up and never returned. Another episode suddenly caused a 'leak'. In the end we learn that a shape shifter took the place of one of our members whereas earlier episodes revealed nothing of that sort (a bit of doubt in the episode before it would've sufficed). The show is full of things like these, relating to events but also choices of our lead characters which would help the plot, but don't seem to make enough sense as a whole.
The idea was good and the fx were really nicely made (especially Gary's radio weave 'hearing' is brilliantly displayed). But overall I felt that the scripts were too little thought through beyond the episodes.