Television

The Killing – Part Deux

Debbie and I finished the first season and it really is a great show. Each episode is a day in the life of these characters that I’ve come to feel something for. Never before have I seen a show that delves so deeply in to the thoughts, feelings and interactions of people who have experienced such a terrible loss in their lives. I don’t think I’ll be spoiling anything by saying someone was brutally murdered and the story revolves around the Seattle police trying to solve the murder. Each character is a suspect in some way and each episode makes you think the killer is someone else. I’ve never had such a roller coaster feeling of ups and downs about “who dunnit” before.

This show is really well written, produced and the actors are amazingly convincing. I still do not like the faces the lead character makes but I can honestly remember each characters name. Sarah the lead cop, Stephen the secondary cop, Darren the council member running for mayor, his girlfriend and campaign adviser Gwen, campaign manager Jamie, Stan and Mitch the parents of the murdered daughter (Rosie), the sister Terry and the weird friend Balko. it’s amazing how I can actually remember who they are and feel for each of them. Once again, AMC is putting out some amazing television and I am really looking forward to season 2, unfortunately, I have to buy episode 1 and 2 from this second season on iTunes as I did not record them.

One thing I hope they do this season is go back and show a little more character development for the murdered daughter Rosie. I think showing her interaction with the characters in a flashback of some sort would lend to more sympathy or empathy for her character. Right now she is just a dead teenager found in a…

Well I guess I can’t give it all away. If you read this blog and have not watched any episode please do. You can stream the entire first season on Netflix. Not sure if you can get the DVD’s but I imagine you can.

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The Killing

Because I need to post according to the schedule I set forth, my new process is going to post a teaser in the am and then discuss it later in the day with an updated post. Today’s post will be about the AMC original series The Killing. I only heard about it yesterday on the Howard Stern show and it peaked my interest. The 2nd season started recently so I am streaming the first season on Netflix.

Last night I watched the pilot and later today will comment on it. If anyone out there who reads this blog has seen it or has a comment about it please feel free to post and I will most definitely respond later when I finish the post. So far I have to say the show has gotten me interested and, yet again, it seems as though AMC has some seriously good programming. The weight of what Howard Stern says really does have an effect on people. #THEKILLING

I’m not sure how I feel about the actors as to me, they are all unknowns and creating 1st impressions. The lead character is a red headed woman by the name of Sarah Linden. She’s a detective who is supposed to be leaving with her fiance to California. She makes odd faces that are contorted and odd facedisturbing. And she seems to chew gum in a manner that irritates me. As you can tell, she bothers me. Her new partner on the case, who is actually supposed to be her replacement, speaks very urban or ghetto. His name is Stephen Holder and looks familiar but cannot place him without looking him up.

The next character we meet is Darren Richmond who is a politician running for office. Then we meet the family of the girl who was killed Stan and Mitch Larsen. He owns a moving company and it appears he was to be the mover who was going to move Sarah to Cali. Additional characters we meet are Jasper who is an ex boyfriend, Sterling who is her best friend and an assortment of others people.

Early prediction for me is Darren’s campaign manager Jamie killed her but in no way is there a shred of proof. I think it’s going to be a very interesting series and I am looking forward to more character development. One thing that bothers me is how dark and rainy it seems. Not sure if that is the case for every episode but at least for the first and part of the second.

Rating to come.

 

The Walking Dead – Season 2 Episode 12

Because of conflicting TV shows Sunday night, I was only able to watch the most recent episode tonight and it was REALLY worth the wait. The wife and I have multiple shows we like that are on different nights so we alternate to keep things fair. Next week is going to be the finale so I have to watch it real time. FYI, mucho grande spoiler alert if you have not yet seen the episode.

This episode starts off with the burial of Dale and four of the more aggressive characters (except T-Dog) going out and taking their aggressions on some harmless flesh eating zombies. The episode moves along and for a while it’s just some background character story with Lori telling Shane how much she cares for him and how thankful she is for what he did for them. Also, Carl confides in him about seeing the zombie that killed Dale in the mud and how he couldn’t shoot him. And then finally, Shane confronts the kid in the barn and is conflicted on how to kill or get rid of him. After dwelling on it, smacking himself around trying to figure it out, he decides to let him go. Well, not really. Instead he concocts a plan to make it look like he escaped by smacking his face on a tree and get the group riled up to go after him. You don’t really know it yet but once it’s all over you can see how the writers were ramping up the Shane character only to kill him off. What is it about T-Dog that makes him such a background character, he’s almost a non character.

Moving right along we find Shane, Rick, Daryl and Glenn going after the kid who “escaped”. Daryl and Glenn eventually stumble on to him and he is now a zombie. However, he is a zombie without being bit. For as backwoodsy and redneckish as Daryl is, he’s smart and he notices things. Not to mention he figures things our very quickly and formulates plans effectively. Back with Rick and Shane, they are going out farther and farther away from everyone. As time passes Rick figures it out and realizes Shane is going to make his play and try to get rid of him. What I don’t know is how Carl gets out that far without anyone else knowing he’s gone and more directly, how did he track them?

Anyway, things happen, plans unfold and Shane decides he is going to Kill Rick. Blah blah blah, they talk back and forth and finally Rick is able to pull a knife and stab him. Carl meanwhile sees this all unfold from afar and pulls his gun. The screen has weird zombie flashes that don’t make much sense to me until they flash to Shane with his eyes glassed over and very subtly twitching. What they were trying to portray was the Zombification of of Shane due to dying and not just being bit. While walking and talking to Carl Rick does not see or hear Shane get up and start walking towards them. Carl being the “crackshot” that he is shoots Shane in the head thereby killing him…again.

Final scene is a hoard of zombies walking over the foggy meadow towards the farm. Ok, don’t get me wrong as I love this show…however, some things don’t always make the the most sense to me. This time for instance is the whole Carl making his way out there and shooting Shane in the head concept. 1. He is a kid and can’t have that good of aim yet. 2. He in no way could track them that well. 3. how did his mother let him out of her sight long enough for him to get there when there is supposedly a crazy kid on the loose who could get the jump on Shane and run loose.

The entire time I am watching the episode unfold I am on the edge of my seat. I’ve become so invested in the characters that I felt horrible when Dale was gutted and they had to shoot him. Not to mention I sort of felt bad for the kid they had locked up because he may have been a product of his environment. And, the whole background story between Glenn and Maggie is quite touching and give the show a bit of hope for new romance. So you can see I am a fan and the show itself has me engaged enough to blog about it. What I think happened was they need to edit it in to the right length for an episode and ended up editing too much. Or, they did not think through how Rick ends up killing Shane twice. Since it is about zombies, or walkers, and end of days type stuff you have to think they would get a bit hokey. As long as people are watching, talking, blogging, tweeting and discussing it, they must be doing something right. Especially since I cannot miss an episode.

Regardless, I really do love this show and for as much as I am trying to rationalize a world full of zombies, the writing is top notch. How are they going to replace a main character like Shane? Are they going to promote Daryl or T-Dog to be a more prominent part of the team? Will they pick up another person along the way? How will the Shane/Zombie story effect Lori and Carl and their relationship with Rick? How are they going to survive the next episode with tons of walkers coming after them, making it through the barb fence and attacking them all? And most importantly what is up with the the dead characters becoming zombies without being bit? Has the virus mutated? Is it airborne or in the water or food supply? Are their carriers who and not infected until their heart stops and then it manifests? So many questions and I have so few answers.

So I leave you with this image…RIP Dale.

Tell me what you think…I am dying to hear it.

The Walking Dead Season Premiere

My sister came over today and watched the season 2 premiere with my wife and I tonight. She loves the show, turned me on to it and is a zombie freak. As the season begins the survivors are driving away from the now destroyed CDC in Atlanta, moving on towards the next place. The cityscape wasteland is always exciting to see as they walk and drive along from place to place. The highways leading towards and/or away from the city are littered with abandoned vehicles, except for whatever road they are on…until they get to an area that looks like and auto graveyard.

As the crew is driving the RV radiator blows, yet again, and they have to stop and fix it. While all this is happening (out of thin air) maybe a hundred zombies wander towards them…Oh my! A herd of Zombies is approaching! Surprise! Everyone then has to hide under and in different vehicles and for some reason, they cannot smell the live people. Could it be from the smell of heat and asphalt? Could it be from the smell or dead rotting flesh from the bodies in the abandoned cars or could it be the smell of their own rotting dead flesh? Whatever the reason, they continue to wander by with the crew luckily hidden away.

While siphoning gas from the vehicles T-Dog somehow, while trying to hide, slices the hell out of his forearm. Blood begins pouring out all over the place and two unbelievable things happen. 1. the zombies don’t smell him and 2. he doesn’t bleed out! I was completely distracted by this fact and someone needs to help explain to me why he is not laying somewhere needing a transfusion or about 100 stitches. The way the arm sliced open and squirted blood it looked like the wound was about 12 inches long and REALLY deep. Could it be the accident was planned but not well thought out? Regardless, a few minutes go by and there he is walking towards everyone with a small bandage on his arm. I need that explained to me please so if anyone out there reading this understands it please tell me.

So anyway, the zombies are almost completely past and…wait for it…yes, you guessed it the little girl who was hiding decided to get out and she gets caught by the last two wandering by. She screams and runs away over the guard rail and in to the woods off to the side. Rick, the lead character (the cop) runs off after her and tries to save her from the walking dead. Another question pops up during this episode which is, how do these two zombies run so quickly? How can they get through the forest, avoiding trees, rocks, dips in the ground and a stream? I always thought they were mindless bodies slowly trudging on after the living.

More things happen, they follow for a while and eventually Rick kills them. Afterwards he goes back looking for the little girl and shes gone. All she had to do was stand there and wait for him to come back, but no she runs off and gets lost. It absolutely figures that they now have to go find her in the woods while there are walkers everywhere.

I do not want to give the entire episode away; I know, I’ve been doing a good job so far, but the ending was really good. You may think because of how I’ve been writing that I think the show is bad, quite the contrary, I think this show is awesome. The acting, the characters, the plot, the cinematography, directing, makeup and just about everything is great. I am not saying the acting is the best, but it is much better than many other shows I’ve seen. It seems I am going to have to get the graphic novel(s) so I can see how the storyline was meant to be. Ugh…yet again, I give the show a good rating…let’s say 4.5 out of 5 stars. You have to see it and if you do not have cable you can watch it online here.

Breaking Bad Season 4 Finale

This has to be the best show on television right now. The characters, the writing, the dialogue, the directing, the cinematography, the interaction between characters…all very well done. Camera angles are awesome from the bottom of the tanks in the lab to the panning of the camera above Walt as he is laying in the crawl space. The depth of each of the characters is extremely well established and that has to be due to the time and effort each of them put in to the show. Each character is so well developed and thought out that you become completely invested in the characters, so much so that I literally sit on the edge of my seat every episode. My wife calls it “sitting in the waiting room” Sunday nights finale was not a typical finale where there was a crazy cliff hanger that kept you on the edge of your seat (at the very end) from an action stand point. For me, it was quite the opposite. I finally sat back and thought “Holy Shit…where do they go from here?” It was almost anti climactic from an action sense but completely suspenseful and climactic from a mental standpoint.

When Walter met with Hector and played off his hatred for Gus as well as his loyalty to the Cartel, I thought it was brilliant. Hector is way too loyal to ever give anything to the DEA and Gus should know that but for whatever the reason, he cannot see he is being played by Walt. The criminal mind of Walt is just evolving farther than anything you think he could do. He is extremely intelligent but then you see how he is falling in to the Heisenberg character completely. Could the Walter White from season 1 episode 1, running around in his white underwear ever construct an elaborate plan to kill Gus let alone the audacity to poison a little child? I mean he is so completely becoming that any doubts about his resolve to save his family have to be totally eradicated. He is no longer Walter White, he IS Heisenberg.

Walt’s mind is so devious, the fact he could poison a little boy is crazy and to look Jesse in the eye and be convincing and manipulative enough to get him to go along with his plan to blow up Gus is just awesome. How intricate and detailed the plan has to be and each little step has to be perfectly executed and if not, the contingency plans have to all lead to the same result. It really is amazing. The previous episode with him sitting in the lawn chair spinning the gun over and over made you think he was going either shoot himself or shoot Gus but what you didn’t see until the finale was the gun barrel pointing at the Lily of the Valley. I had no idea that is where the poisoning plain began, or maybe the plan just evolved in to what it became.

Regardless of what you think of drugs and addiction, Breaking Bad is a masterpiece and any awards it has won or could win are well deserved. This seasons cliff hanger is not a true cliff hanger in the action sense, but in the suspense and character development sense. What comes next for Walter now that you know he can just about do anything to anyone without his conscience holding him back? He plays everyone from Skyler to Jesse to Hank to Saul in order to achieve whatever his goal may be. Self preservation, family safety, money, power? Does he become the new Gus Fring? Does he become the premiere meth producer in the southwest and now that many of the Cartel characters are gone, does he negotiate with anyone else? Who is Walt? Where does he go from here? What happens with Skyler and his dumbass kid? What happens with Hank now that he isn’t with the DEA but his passion for solving the blue meth situation is resolved?What does Jesse do next? Does he start a life with his girlfriend and the kid…Brock? What happened to Ted Benneke? Is he dead, did he just break his neck or was he knocked out? The last time he was seen he was laying on the floor with his hand twitching. And then the question of Mike laying in the make shift hospital bed…is he gone, is he coming back?

I have so many questions and no show since LOST has made me think so much and become so invested in the characters, the plot and what comes next. Easily 5 out of 5 stars for the season as well as the season finale. The only good thing about waiting for the next season is that I get to watch the Walking Dead now.

Sunday Night Television

You would think blogging on the weekends would be easier than during the week, but honestly I get busy doing other things and either forget or just keep putting it off. I have a calendar of topics to discuss each day but Sunday night is always blank in case I want to talk about random things.

Tonight I need to talk about all the great shows on TV right now. Starting at 8:30 is Sunday Night Football and whereas I do not always care about the teams playing, I typically have some players from my fantasy team playing or my opponent has players playing which makes it tough to miss. Then at 9 you have Dexter and Boardwalk Empire but you also have The Good Wife which my wife loves, and I can get in to as well as Breaking Bad. Luckily we can DVR a few shows and come up to bed and flip around to whatever interests us the most that night. And then there is the fact I need to get up in the morning for work which makes it difficult to stay up.

 

 

 

 

 

I really like all of these shows and I also would like to blog about them and tweet about that but again, it’s tough because, well because I need to watch and concentrate on what is going on.  This is honestly the worst blog entry I’ve ever made…better comes tomorrow.

Amanda Knox

This post has nothing to do with anything other than the fact I am tired of hearing about it and want to voice an opinion. If you are unfamiliar with the case, where have you been?, Meredith Kercher was cut up which resulted in massive blood loss, she was suffocated and sexually assaulted. The Italian authorities claimed Knox and a guy by the name of Rudy Guede killed her in a crazy threesome gone wrong. Guede was convicted and sentenced to 16 years but I believe the sentence has been reduced and Knox was just acquitted recently of those charges. I assume the family of Kercher will appeal but I need to know what will come of that? They will spend a ton of money, there is no guarantee of a different result and their daughter is still dead. I don’t know what I think. I am a visual person so I would need all the evidence laid out before me and explained before I can make my own opinion. It’s sad that she is dead, but they seem to have a killer in custody so what will one more person in jail do? Are they saying Knox was the mastermind behind it all and she orchestrated the killing? What is the motive? Crazy sex gone wrong? Were their drugs involved? See…it took a few minutes for me to write this down and I’ve already lost interest in the subject.

Anyone out there have an opinion? Anyone out there want to give me their thoughts on what happened and try to get me interested in the subject? Could this be a ploy to try and get more hits because the tags are of a relevant issue not relating to comics? Someone say something please!

Dexter Season 6

Dexter Blood Spatter LogoDebbie and I were so excited for this new season if Dexter, it seems like it’s been forever since the finale of season 5. We were very late to the party, only starting to watch it during season 3 with Jimmy Smits. We had to rent some of season 1 before I said screw it and went out and bought all the seasons. (If you can afford it I highly recommend it) I do most of my shopping on eBay so I never really pay retail for anything. At most I will pay $25 including shipping, most times no more than $20.

Anyway, after a few episodes we were absolutely hooked and like most shows on Cable, it was the combination of sex, nudity, violence and an awesome plot/storyline that got us hooked. I mean who wouldn’t love the premise of this show? A blood spatter expert by day, violent serial killer by night! I have to say, the first season was pretty hokie with the horrible acting of Doakes. I almost stopped the season until the character stopped being so over the top and obnoxious and actually started acting like a cop. Of course he was the only one who knew there was something messed up with Dexter but because of how he acted, nobody believed him.

I can’t go in detail season by season but I honestly believe season 4 with John Lithgow as Trinity was my favorite. He was such a great character with all his quirks and the night and day split life. And, the season finale with Trinity being killed and you think it’s over only to see Dexter coming home and finding Rita dead with Harrison sitting in the pools of blood…very reminiscent of Dexter own birth of blood. When that season ended I was completely floored, both Debbie and I could not believe what had just happened. Neither of us had any idea Julie Benz (Rita) was leaving the show so we thought it was going to be some kind of dream sequence or something.

Anyway, back to the premiere. This season seems to have a religious undertone which was not only obvious from the attempt to get Harrison in to a Catholic preschool, the Alpha and Omega killers, but also from the first 3 minutes where they broke the seasons down and showed many of the religious scenes. I can absolutely relate to how the character Dexter feels as though he does not believe in a higher power but will not rule out the smallest possibility that there is something out there. After the first season you’ve come to look forward to the high profile guest stars like Lithgow, Smits, Keith Caradine, Peter Weller and Julia Stiles. In the very first episode they give you Colin Hanks, Edward James Olmos and Daphne from Heroes. It seems to be jam packed with stars that want to get in on the Dexter Phenomenon.

DVD coverThis season really started off with a bang and I for one and looking forward to yet another awesome season of my favorite serial killer. For whatever reason, I think there is going to be a weird sexual tension between Batista’s little sister and Dexter. She seems like she’s bold and flirtatious and since she watches Harrison there is the possibility of her catching feeling for Dexter which is going to be awkward.

Then you have Masuka and his #2 lab assistant who really looks like the Daphne character from Heroes. She was looking hot in a short skirt or shorts and cowboy looking boots. I think that could be some nice eye candy for the season.

There is always Deb and her awesome quotes…for instance when they are looking at the dead body under the bridge and they finish bagging the seven small snakes, she spouts out “Can we get back to this..I mean what the fuck”. She has the best quotes and her attitude is so guy like that I laugh every time she says something like that.

Very easy rating here, Dexter Season 6 premiere…5 out of 5 stars.

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Breaking Bad – Season 4 – Salud

The most recent episode was excellent, the show just keeps getting better and better. Each week I become more and more involved in everyone’s life, for better or worse I am hooked. Salud was mostly about Jesse flying down to visit with the Cartel and show them how much purer and of higher quality his/Walt’s meth is compared to the well educated cooks they employ. Jesse is absolutely bad ass when he’s giving it to whoever the main chemist is for the Cartel.  “This lab is filthy, no wonder your boss needs be to come down here and do it right…Bitch!”

breaking badThe character are so diverse and surprising at times that one day you can root for Walt and think Jesse is an ass and the next you think the complete opposite. Regardless, I think Skyler is a heartless bitch who needs put in her place and I can’t even remember her sisters name but she is a complete waste of a character. Whining and crying and shoplifting when her husband doesn’t give her enough attention. Whatever bitch, get your shit together and get the fuck out. At least that’s what I would tell her.  I love the dynamic between Walt and Hank and the fact that at any moment you feel he could get caught or do or say something to lead suspicion.

I still think Walt jr. is a pain in the ass character as well. He does have a way about him that you don’t feel sorry for him and his condition which is good. If the whole idea of his character was to create a feeling of sympathy I would be pissed. I really like Mike’s character and I hope after this episode he doesn’t die, getting shot at the end like that was a surprise. I would have thought it would happen earlier but since they got away with almost everything as soon as he was shot I was completely up out of my seat. Gus is also one of those characters that I can root for one minute and the next hoping he gets shot. I like his duality, being as calm and well mannered as he is during most of the show in contrast to his violent side is a very cool trait. When he slit Victor’s throat and just let him lay there and die definitely leads you to believe he can be extremely calculating and vicious.

I look forward to each new episode now like I use to be with LOST or West Wing and even CSI back when it was awesome. Breaking Bad is definitely 5 out of 5 for me.

Breaking Bad

On a suggestion I added Breaking Bad to my Netflix queue and I am very glad I did. This show is quickly becoming one of my favorites currently on the air. I had no idea this show was on AMC along with Walking Dead which is tragic because everything about it is good. From the story itself, to the writing, to the characters, Breaking Bad is hands down an amazing program. I was initially skeptical when I watched the pilot episode as I could not relate or become involved with the characters. I saw the story had some potential with some of the cool dialogue and the flow, but as a whole I was unimpressed. Debbie and I continued to watch anyone and it just got better and better. Last night we watched the season 2 season finale and I was so incredibly engaged in the story and the characters and what was going to happen next that I actually was standing up and walking around with anxiousness.

The snippets before the opening title season have been very vague and enticing, but still very nebulous as many did not seem to tie in to the story and what was happening. The most recent of which was the pool scenes with the stuffed bear and it’s floating eyeball and then the body bags in the driveway. The farther in to the season I went the more I needed to know what was going on. I am so completely invested in the characters now that I feel something for them and I root for some while hope others would just go away. The cerebral palsy son is quite annoying, and not because of his disease, but more because of the acting. I am not sure if he is just a bad actor or if he just has a difficult time acting because of his condition. Regardless, I cannot relate to him or feel anything for him. Although, when he started puking in the pool from doing the 3 large shots of tequila I laughed.

The introduction of Gus made me nervous, especially when I saw how meticulous he was and how his mannerisms were. I felt he was a crazed psycho waiting to explode. When he took a tour of the station and saw Walt’s picture with the donation jar, my mind reverted back to the intro segment and I thought maybe he did in fact go psycho and blew up Walt’s home. Then, when Jesse began screwing Jane I new something was going to happen there. When he got her back on drugs and she began wigging out I thought it was she who was going to blow up Walt’s home killing a family member or members. The fact she died choking on her vomit made me feel sympathy for her, but more for Jesse because I think he actually cared for her more than the heroin. The fact Walt was able to stand there and watch her choke to death was a fact he is s changed man and is in fact extremely bad ass.

The entire season I see Walt evolving in to more than just a cancer patient wanting to provide for his family when he is gone. Walt, to me, seems to be a man who is tired of being passed over, walked on, forgotten and ignored. He is a man on a mission, but with a conscience. Season 3 is coming tomorrow and then as soon as season 4 is available it will be added to the queue. Two very big thumbs up for this entertaining, exciting show that has brought back faith in television and drama. I have not been this excited for a TV show since Dexter, Lost and West Wing.