Yea, as you can tell, I’m rambling. No worries though, the word count is getting its numbers up, and you can’t take that from me!
So, onto the topic at hand. In this day and age, people seem to prefer a good cinematic television series to a night out at the movies. While I am not one of those people; I much prefer a good 2 hours out watching an enjoyable film to sitting and devoting thirteen hours over the summer (If you are watching something weekly) to something where the writers lose track of what they are doing and let everything fall to shit as the lose more and more viewers (looking at you, Under the Dome); I can still appreciate a good show. Hell, some of my favorite pastimes over the last few years have come in binge watching satisfying shows with satisfying conclusions. This, of course, leads us into our topic at hand. Over the past few days, I have been trying out a few new series. Giving them the chance to earn their way into my rotation of shows that I allow myself to watch on a regular basis.
The first show that we are going to take a look at is the new USA drama Mr. Robot. Mr. Robot is a show about a computer genius who finds himself wrapped up in the world of underground internet espionage. The hero of our story is Elliot Alderson, a quirky introvert who works for an internet security firm that is currently handling the subtly named company Evil Corp. As the show opens, we find Elliot in a coffee shop. He sits with a man whom it is explained to us is the owner of this shop and several others in the small chain. Elliot explains that he initially chose this coffee shop for his daily internet needs because it had a substantially better data flow than anyone else that Elliot had tried. While messing around on their network, Elliot noticed some abnormalities with it and decided to hack into the system. Inside the system, Elliot stumbled across the fact that along with owning and operating a small chain of coffee shops, the owner also runs an illegal website that deals in child porn. The shop owner assumes that Elliot is blackmailing him for money but as it turns out, Elliot is simply letting him know how he did what he did before the police arrive and arrest him. That’s right, Elliot is a high tech modern vigilante.
There are a few things that happen that I don’t feel like getting into (just watch the fucking show) before Evil Corp gets their system hacked. Elliot is called in after hours to come in and take care of the problem. He does, and in rooting out the problem, he finds a message. The message is basically telling him to leave the virus in the system. After a little thought, Elliot decides to leave it in there. After leaving it, Elliot is contacted by Christian Slater. The leader of an underground hacking group with the eponymous name of Mr. Robot. Their plan is one of wealth distribution. A simple way to put it is to equate it to Robin Hood. They are basically looking to steal from the rich to give to the poor. It’s a lot more complex than that, but there you have it. Then some other stuff happens and Elliot is torn as to whether he should join up with Mr. Robot or not.
After two episodes, I have to say that I do enjoy the show. I will give it some more episodes before I make a final decision, but as of this writing, I did like it. Sure, some of the acting was over the top, the story is cheesy, and the plot is clichéd to all hell, but it wasn’t so bad that I couldn’t look passed these flaws and enjoy the show for what it is. In the end, I give it an 8/10.
Speaking of not being able to look passed flaws in order to enjoy a show, let’s talk about the next entry into our little journey, Wayward Pines. This show is through its first season, so I am able to binge watch if need be.
Ethan Burke is a secret service agent who is investigating the disappearances of two fellow agents who were leading an ongoing investigation in the eponymous (I like using this word, can you tell?) town of Wayward Pines, ID. We are introduced to Ethan as he is driving along the highway and gets hit by a semi. Ethan quickly learns that things aren’t quite on the up and up in the town, as seen through the oddness displayed by the Nurse in the hospital, expertly played by Melissa Leo. Ethan escapes the hospital and makes his way to a bar where he gets a cheeseburger and makes a phone call. He calls home to his wife who doesn’t answer so he leaves a message. The bartender (Played by another favorite of mine, Juliette Lewis) leaves the bill, with her address written on it. On the back is a note that reads “There are no crickets in Wayward Pines”. Ethan hears a cricket chirping and investigates it, only to find that the sound is coming from a small speaker hidden in the bushes. Ethan goes to the address the bartender gave him where he finds a burned out house with a rotting corpse inside. Obviously concerned by this, Ethan goes to the Sherriff who is of no help to him. While he is exploring the town, he comes across the agent that he was originally looking for (Played by possibly my favorite female actor Carla Gugino). He follows her back to her house where she explains to him that she has made a life for herself in the years she has been in Wayward Pines and that Ethan too could be happy. In a moment of clarity from Gugino, she tells Ethan to be careful because “They are always listening”. A bunch of other things happen which I’m not at liberty to discuss, because this jumbled mess of a show lost my interest rather early on.
A huge part of my distaste for the show stems from their obvious attempt to be like another show that happens to be a personal favorite of mine, Twin Peaks. The whole ‘Something is amiss in this small town’ thing that Twin Peaks had going for it is totally forced in this show. David Lynch was able to formulate a sense of uneasiness minutes into the pilot with a few well-placed lines. The show was not advertised as being a crazy whodunit with a rollercoaster plotline, it was advertised as a sort of mystery soap opera in the same vein as Dallas or Falcon Crest. Wayward Pines, however, was advertised as a weird mystery show that will have you questioning everything, and those points were ham-fistedly shoved down the viewer’s throats before the first commercial break.
Agent Ethan Burke is played by Matt Dillon. Despite what your friends around the water cooler tell you, he is NOT a good actor. He was good in ONE movie, There’s Something About Mary, and even then, the script did most of the acting for him. If Keanu Reeves is going to spend his entire career being lambasted as a one emotion surfer boy actor, then Matt Dillon needs to be thrown into the same well. Also, his analog from Twin Peaks would be Special Agent Dale Cooper, expertly played by Kyle McLaughlin. In this writers opinion, Agent Cooper is hands down the greatest character in television history, therefore it may be unfair to draw the comparison between the two, but it is a comparison that the producers are basically forcing on us as a way to try and draw in views from Twin Peaks fans.
It is highly possible that my views on this show are extremely skewed based on my obvious context bias from being a huge Twin Peaks fan, but my opinions are what they are, and because of them, I can’t recommend this show. I wasn’t able to watch beyond a single episode, so my point may be moot, but I am totally and completely open to hearing the other side of the argument. I have to give Wayward Pines a 3/10.
Finally, we have the new Mtv teen horror Drama Scream. It is clearly based on the nineties Wes Craven spoof on the horror/slasher genre of the same name. I watched the entire first episode, and all I can say is that it was awful. Remember the non-convoluted plot of the original? The story of a kid whose parents were split up by an affair, out to get revenge on the family whom he feels is responsible? Yea, well throw all that out the window. Granted, we are only one episode in, but they introduced some convoluted story about a serial killer with Rocky Dennis disease who had an infatuation with one of the main characters mother back in the day. That sentence may seem to be constructed poorly, but with what I had to work with, it’s Shakespeare. Scream sucked, no recommendation, 1/10.
In the end, I found one show that I will continue with, one show that I may have continued to watch but won’t based on my context bias, and one show that no one should watch and shouldn’t be allowed to continue being aired, let alone ever be picked up for a second season. Like a hot Brazilian woman’s ass, this set of shows can be taken in several ways. You can just watch and appreciate what you are seeing, you can open it up and dig a little deeper only to find the shit that lies underneath, or you can simply dislike it in general. You have the choice, be wise about how you use it.
-Dan
7/6/2015