Too Much Drama

When someone asks me what my favorite TV shows are, there are some that I am definetly excited to tell them about. (30 Rock, The Office, The Daily Show, etc.) But there are some shows that don't really have the reputation for being very... good. I hesistate to even list these shows in fear that somehow my non-existent reputation will plummet.  One show in particular that I would like to talk about is Grey's Anatomy. Let me just start off with saying this show is not that bad.  Many of the actor's have been nominated and won Emmy's, Golden Globes, Screen Actor's Guild Awards, and more.  Okay, so maybe the writing seems a little too soap opera-y, but it definetly has it's ups and downs.

For anyone who loves drama, cheesy or not, should watch at least one episode of Grey's Anatomy.  Each season  has crisis, after crisis, after crisis.  There is no relent! This fictional hospital has had patients with bombs inside of them, a mass murder shooting, and several of the surgeons suddenly die or vanish (many of them shot, George gets hit with a bus, Izzie gets cancer and almost dies but then dissapears, and Burke and Hahn also just dissapear from the show).

So why do people like this show? Why I do like this show? After not watching this show all summer I began to ask myself that question.  That is until I watched the season premiere, and everything came back. It's drama.  It may be corny, but I honestly I start crying in almost every single episode.  And the thrill! I mean come on! The things these fake surgeons have to do is pretty intense, it does make for a very exciting and somewhat addicting show.

The writers definetly know how to appeal to their audience. They know they aren't writing to people who are analyzing it or validating it. No, their audience are people like me who solely watch it for the adventure it takes  them on. Whether it's the fast changing romances, the quick-paced emergencies, or just the whole story line going on a roller coaster, it's pretty exciting.

But at some point we must ask is there too much drama? Does this show really need to have some freak accident killing thousands every episode, or can it survive with just day to day hospital problems.  I think it's a little bit of both.  Look at the show House for example.  They rarely ever have huge disasters that Grey's Anatomy periodically has, and yet they are just as or even more successful.  But there are other conflicts that don't have to do with the hospital but instead are surrounded by House's narcissistic, pill-popping life.  So it's more like half and half.

Apparently for dramas to succeed these days there has to be some thrill. It may be a little unbelievable, but it's what gets the viewers.  If all dramas were about normal things that happen on a day to day basis, I'm pretty sure they would be a lot less successful and popular as they are today.

Breaking Bad?

If you know anything about modern television, you know Breaking Bad is good.  People are constantly talking about it! It's won numerous awards, and apparently has a good reputation for having really awesome season finales.  Despite all the hype, I have yet to get into the show.  Don't get me wrong, I would love to start watching it.  I mean, I am blogging about television, I should be able to talk about the current famous TV shows.  It's simply a question to myself of "do I really want to get addicted to another show?" I mean do you realize how much television I already watch?  Too much.  Honestly, for the amount of homework/volunteering/extra-curricular activities I do.... okay maybe not so much the last one but definetly the first two!  So maybe I center my life a little too much around Hulu.com, but it's okay because I have a blog about it, therefore it justifies my addiction.

So if you have never heard about Breaking Bad, which is pretty sad if you haven't and you should probably start slacking off a bit more and get involved with pop culture. Anyway, Breaking Bad, though I have only seen the pilot and small snippets of other episodes, is about a high school chemistry teacher who basically quits his job to start a meth lab.  This is after his diagnosis of cancer which apparently caused him to make this huge lifestyle change.  I can't really say much more than that, not because I don't want to spoil something from the plot, but because I literally don't know anymore about the show.

Reason number one of why I'm hesitant to watch the show:
Basically what I've already said. I have too much on my plate. Once I start a show, I have this sickening obligation to finish, and finish it fast. I have to keep watching. I have to see how it ends.  I just keep watching, and watching, and...

Reason number two:
I watched the pilot with my parents. Can I get an "awwwkward..."?  First of all there is a lot of swearing, which honestly doesn't even bother me, that's not even the bad part. No, the real culprit for the uncomfortableness was the sex.  I think I can just leave it at that because that is the most awkward thing to watch with your parents.  Just picture a Sunday night with my mom and dad. We're all snuggled up in the living room and we decide "hey, let's watch this show that is on Netflix instantly!"  As we watch suddenly the "scene" comes on and I immediately try to pretend I'm doing something else. Anything else.  I began spontaneously typing on my computer.  I try to make them think I don't notice what's going on, or that maybe I don't understand? No, they know I understand and that I'm fully aware of what is going on.  There is a long silence that seems to last forever.  When the scene was over we all sighed a breath of relief.  Metaphorically speaking. I think that would just make it a lot more awkward if we all just went "ahhh" after it ended. So let's just say this almost completely ruined the show for me.  It's kind of like it you ate a large number meatballs and then puked them back up.  Are you still going to be a fan of meatballs? Probably not.

Reason number three:
I haven't really figured out exactly why people like this show.  There are the obvious elements. The great acting. The great writing. Etc. etc.  But as I watched, nothing about it really grabbed me.  I didn't not have the sudden urge to watch the whole season after viewing the pilot. But it did make it curious. It might be set for a different kind of audience, I mean maybe I'm not mature enough to understand? What ever the reason is, because I'm so new to the show, and so many people are obsessed with it, I'm pretty sure I can already say that it's going to be good if I do start watching.

It may be a little strange, or quite frankly a little sad that I can write a blog solely on my contemplations of whether I should begin watching a show. That's high school in a nut shell. Trying decide if I can get my homework done if I join one more AP class, or if I will stress myself out too much if I start another extra-curricular activity.  The sad thing is there is a very likely possibility that I will start watching Breaking Bad.  Whether it's next summer, or maybe even during one of our breaks, there's definetly a chance that I will add it to my list of TV addictions.

TV in Iowa

Because I'm over my word count already this week, I thought I would show show you guys a clip.  The show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition came to West Union, Iowa! It's a really great cause, and it's so awesome that they were able to help a family in need right here in Iowa.

Here's a clip from KCRG who covers the story:

Premiere Week #3

I'm sorry to break the news, but sadly premiere weeks are almost over.  Most shows have already started off their exciting seasons.  This week only had a few premieres of note, Dexter and House.  And the shows that began their first seasons include American Horror Story, The League, and Homeland.  I'm actually really interested in seeing pilot of The League, but I think I will post a review of that in a week or two because it hasn't been put on Hulu yet.

Before I talk about the pilot I watched this week, I just wanted to mention how "out" of the TV world I felt this week(Can you imagine?).  I walked downstairs to where my dad was watching a show, and I looked up and saw it was my all time favorites, House.  I stopped for a moment to see what episode he was watching, hoping maybe I could ruin the ending for him or something.  To my astonishment I realized I hadn't seen that episode, and it was in fact the first episode of the season.  To my discontent I realized I had already missed half of it, and even if I had remembered, I had too much homework to watch anyway.  So I have still yet to see the exciting premiere, where House is supposedly in jail, but I'm sure I will be visiting Hulu very soon to check it out.

So I know I already talked about a pilot this week, but just so I could make another post about premieres, I watched another one. This week I watched Up All Night which actually came out with it's pilot almost a month ago. If you're wondering, yes I'm pretty behind on watching television.  But it's okay, because that's what internet is for!  Anyway, Up All Night stars the great comedians Will Arnett, Christina Applegate, and Maya Rudolph.  Arnett is probably most famous from playing Gob on Arrested Development, and if you were wondering, he's also married to Amy Poehler who I love (if you haven't guessed from my previous posts about Parks and Rec.) Maya Rudolph is best known for acting on Saturday Night Live.  She also starred in the very funny movie Bridesmaids which came out this summer.  I'm a really big fan of both of these actors, so as you can see, I was really hoping this show would do well. But as most shows coming out these days do, it disappointed me.  Rudolph, who had definite potential to be the star of the show, seems to have more of a role that feels like an after thought.  As if the writers sat down with the idea of "let's make a show about all the stereotypical events that happen when you have a baby, and let comedy go from there" and then later realized that "oh, maybe we should show the mom going to work?" That's when they decide to add Rudolph in as the crazy boss that just adds to the chaos of the family's life.

But after saying that I feel somewhat guilty. I mean this show could be great! The pilot didn't really do much for me.  But there's definetly room for growth.  It has a lot of room to change a and adjust to become something many people watch.  When watching it, it did make me laugh.  The writers are good, they have Lorne Michaels producing it, what more could they ask for?  In all, I really hope this show does well but I have a feeling it won't be received very well, at least in the first season, like Parks and Rec. did.  But look where that is now. I guess we'll just have to see.

Out with the New, in with the Old?

This week I watched a pilot of a new show called Revenge.  If you haven't heard of this show, it's based around a girl whose father was wrongfully sent to jail and now is getting revenge on the people who sent him there.  The show begins with what I thought was a clever saying; "Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves."  Basically throughout the show the main character is trying to kill off people who were associated with her father's false accusations. To me this sounds more like a movie plot, mostly because there isn't much wiggle room for a story line to go.  So, going into this show I did not expect much.  I didn't think it was going to be very good, and honestly was already planning on writing on this blog about how bad it was.  But it surprised me.  It's actually better than it sounds.  I'm not sure if it's a show that I will continue watching, but it definetly had an interisting set-up. 

One thing that really dissapointed me was how much they have away in the plot.  In the beginning I found myself aking questions and wondering when in the the season it will be explained.  This is a common tactic to get more viewers, kind of like in a book when authors end a chapter or a book in a series at a climatic section.  Honestly it was nice to see what was going on, but I think it would have helped them in the long run if they had waited to reveal some of those juicy secrets they were trying to hide in the beginning.

Going into watching this pilot, I knew there was going to be something about this girl killing other people.  So right away I thought about Dexter.  This makes me kind of sad.  Why do shows have to mooch off the success of other shows?  Revenge isn't necessarily copying Dexter, but it probably had the show's popularity in mind when creating it's own.  If you've never watched Dexter, it's about a serial killer who kills other criminals (mostly serial killers themselves.) Dexter works for the Miami Police Department in blood spatter analysis. This is a big help in getting away with his crimes.  But how is Emily in Revenge going to get by getting caught? I'm not sure because I'm still unclear as to what she actually does for living.  The show, though I may be forgetting something, made it seem like she lives off her inheretence in the Hamptons.  Also, throughout his life, Dexter was trained how not get caught by his dad who was also in the Miami police.  And yet, with all of this, Dexter almost gets caught in every season! So how is Emily going to commit her crimes and get away with it? I'm not entirely sure, but hopefully the writers will set up something to make it become a bit more believable.

I know I just made these shows sound fairly similar.  But wait! There are some differences.  Although they both seem like martyrs for a good cause, they sort of are, but in their own unique ways.  Dexter isn't killing people to get revenge.  He has what he calls his "dark passenger."  When Dexter was very young he experienced a very traumatic event (I won't spoil it if you haven't seen the show) that altered his mindset.  His urge to kill is involuntary, and he had no conscience to go along with it.  He also has a hard time with any emotions whatsoever. In fact, he often has to fake being happy for his sister Deb or co-workers. To justify his need to kill, his father created a "code" that he has to follow. This includes killing people that are 100% guilty of a horrible crime, so most of his victims either haven't been caught yet or somehow maneuvered their way out of going to jail.

Because I haven't seen much of Revenge, and I've seen many episodes of Dexter I can't fully compare the two shows.  What I have found is that Emily has specific people that she wants to kill. Dexter just kills anyone within his "code" to fulfill "dark passenger."  That is why revenge is focused around her obviously getting revenge.  Do you see now why this show might not have too many seasons? There really isn't too much to elaborate.  Dexter is constantly finding new victims whereas Emily will only have a set amount of people that caused her father harm.

I hope I'm wrong, and the show surprises me more.  It definetly has an interesting concept, and potential to do well.  If you're interested in watching, it's on ABC every Wednesday night at 9. Here's a clip of the promo:

TV Violence

Last week in AP Lang we had an in-class essay assignment that had to do with entertainment.  In this essay we had to defend, challenge, or qualify the statement that entertainment was "ruining society."  This got me thinking about my blog because I often talk about if I like or dislike something on TV but I never discuss the bigger issues of television itself.  It's actually a fairly controversial topic because there are so many things out there that are causing so many different opinions.  When I think about why this subject has gotten so much hype, I think about all the moms out there that are constantly complaining about the amount of violence on TV.  Which they definetly have a right to, there is a lot of violence, and it may or may not be affecting the youth.

I read a couple articles before beginning this blog to get an understanding of how violence is changing us.  A major argument I found was that it is "desensitizing us." This occurs because we keep seeing violence over and over again, and we being to stop reacting like we should.  This is a valid point.  I feel like in a lot of the shows I watch, when I see violence, I don't really react to it too much. But when my mom, who only watches TV occasionally, sees the same thing she responds with a gasp or a comment saying that it's awful to show on television.  But that's not all these articles are saying. Many go on to say that it's causing our youth to become more violent themselves.  Now I don't know about most people, but I find that hard to take as a legitimate reason.  I've been watching Law & Order since I was in elementary school and I'm pretty sure I've turned out okay. Obviously there must be some evidence to these accusations, and I'm sure they have some to show.  

The article Violence on TV: The Desensitizing of America points out some key research that highlights the cons to having these graphic images on TV.  This includes information such as 10% of violence in America is caused by TV.  One out of ten cases of violence are caused by television? Really? This seems so unrealistic to me. There are so much more factors that play into it, such as social, biological, and psychological factors, and yet people are focusing on the one thing that they can somewhat control. Another argument discusses how violence is glamorized or glorified. But I find that also hard to believe. I mean yes, kids are probably like "Oh cool! He can beat that guy up." But they aren't walking away saying "You know I bet I could do that. I'm going to go try it on a stranger."  

So yes, television will always be controversial in many aspects, but that's why it's called entertainment.  It will keep surprising us for years and years, and hopefully will never stop. If you're interested and reading more articles about the topic of violence in TV, here are some more articles that I found interesting/useful in learning about it.
Violence Formula: Analyzing TV, Video, and Movies 
Media Violence and Aggresion

Premiere Week #2

Another fantastic week of television premieres! Of course last week was the big week, so there wasn't quite as many new shows out.  Some good reoccurring shows that began their seasons this week include: The Amazing Race, The Good Wife, Mike & Molly, and Happy Endings.  The shows that premiered their pilots this week include: Terra Nova, Hart of Dixie, Suburgatory, and How to be a Gentleman. 

This week I watched the pilot of New Girl which actually premiered last week.  There are some shows that you see commercials for and you are just like "I know that's going to do bad." New Girl was not one of them.  I actually had high hopes for this show. One, because I actually really like Zooey Deschanel. She's quirky but also pretty good actress. And two, because the commercial made my dad laugh. Now, I know this is kind of an unconventional way to determine whether I will like a show or not, but the fact that my dad laughed at something, let alone a commercial, really surprised me as we were sitting one night watching TV.  As for the Zooey haters who say she's annoying, you're right she is.  But annoying in a cute, funny, and creative way.  I mean, if you saw the pilot, you can't say that you didn't smile at her naked pillow dancing, her awkward conversations with her roommates, or her loud and obnoxious singing. 

So what do I think of New Girl?  I think it has potential.  Honestly the pilot didn't completely make me love the show, but it definetly interested me to see more.  The show did have some awkward moments that seemed like it was almost trying too much.  But that's almost expected.  The show also had some really funny moments, like when Jess, (the "new girl" Zooey plays) gets stood up by her date so her roommates come to the rescue.  When they arrive at the restraunt the waitress questions them asking why Jess has so many dates and one of her roommates responds with "we're reversed Mormons." 

If you're interested in watching New Girl, check it out on Tuesday at 8:30 on FOX.