I've been watching a number of shows in the last year or two that seem to get beat up here on the board. Often times it's just a passing comment but still-I'm tired of people missing the point. Some of our beloved posters seem to think that everything on television should be Shakespearean (is that a word?) in scope, budgeted like a blockbuster movie and performed by Sir Laurence Olivier clones. I'm here to defend the weak and pathetic, those shows that are designed to be fun, from our overly serious online critics. Is there a point to this? Like some of the shows I may mention-not really. 
Our first victim is made by the wonderful people who brought you such classics as Webs and Manster. That's right, I'm talking about Skiffy's own Eureka. I know it's not Star Trek but its a funny little show with quirky, highly inventive ideas that features charming actors and some unique(if far-fetched) plot ideas. For an hour each week I can escape a high-stress life and just grin. Not a bad result for a show that's been called "pathetic", "terrible" and "lame" in various posts around here.
Next up is a little gift from BBC America called Primeval. I don't care that the plots border on absurd, I don't care that the show is essentially a "monster-of-the-week" format, I don't care that it's internal logic lacks consistency-I laugh at the silly jokes, watch wide-eyed as our heroes escape the clutches of various monsters and I even try to accept special effects that swing back and forth between awesome and "WTF?". When an episode ends I find myself wanting to watch another-surely a symptom of good entertainment by most standards. Sometimes the sum of the parts makes something better than the parts themselves...
Heroes. People, its a comic book performed in front of a camera. So many bashes and hits floating around this board and I just don't know why. There isn't a comic book out there that's been around for more than a 12 issue mini-series that hasn't had it's stinker moments, but going by some of the things I've read around here, this show is supposed to be perfect every episode or it gets torpedoed. It's a comic book, people. Suspend belief and enjoy it for what it is.
Although not treated like a punching bag too often, I think a word about Leverage is in order. The writing could be better but the tongue in cheek attitude carries it pretty far. It's fun and funny, sometimes very clever and the characters amuse.
Burn Notice. Gad, I've seen some pretty harsh commentaries. It's a weekly dose of Bruce Campbell, for crying out loud. It doesn't get much better than that. The characters are interesting, the plot lines clever and it's so obvious that the actors are having fun, their enthusiasm carries over into their performances. It's a great way to pass a little time during the hot summer months.
Y'all may have noticed a complete lack of reality programming in this post. I watch tv as escapism and the shows I've mentioned are great for that. Throw all the stones you want at reality tv-I won't argue the point. In fact, I have a little pile of rocks right here that you can use...
Our first victim is made by the wonderful people who brought you such classics as Webs and Manster. That's right, I'm talking about Skiffy's own Eureka. I know it's not Star Trek but its a funny little show with quirky, highly inventive ideas that features charming actors and some unique(if far-fetched) plot ideas. For an hour each week I can escape a high-stress life and just grin. Not a bad result for a show that's been called "pathetic", "terrible" and "lame" in various posts around here.
Next up is a little gift from BBC America called Primeval. I don't care that the plots border on absurd, I don't care that the show is essentially a "monster-of-the-week" format, I don't care that it's internal logic lacks consistency-I laugh at the silly jokes, watch wide-eyed as our heroes escape the clutches of various monsters and I even try to accept special effects that swing back and forth between awesome and "WTF?". When an episode ends I find myself wanting to watch another-surely a symptom of good entertainment by most standards. Sometimes the sum of the parts makes something better than the parts themselves...
Heroes. People, its a comic book performed in front of a camera. So many bashes and hits floating around this board and I just don't know why. There isn't a comic book out there that's been around for more than a 12 issue mini-series that hasn't had it's stinker moments, but going by some of the things I've read around here, this show is supposed to be perfect every episode or it gets torpedoed. It's a comic book, people. Suspend belief and enjoy it for what it is.
Although not treated like a punching bag too often, I think a word about Leverage is in order. The writing could be better but the tongue in cheek attitude carries it pretty far. It's fun and funny, sometimes very clever and the characters amuse.
Burn Notice. Gad, I've seen some pretty harsh commentaries. It's a weekly dose of Bruce Campbell, for crying out loud. It doesn't get much better than that. The characters are interesting, the plot lines clever and it's so obvious that the actors are having fun, their enthusiasm carries over into their performances. It's a great way to pass a little time during the hot summer months.
Y'all may have noticed a complete lack of reality programming in this post. I watch tv as escapism and the shows I've mentioned are great for that. Throw all the stones you want at reality tv-I won't argue the point. In fact, I have a little pile of rocks right here that you can use...
