Category: Television-Fiction

Posts about TV shows.

Designated Survivor Premier Live-Blog Review

Here is what I expect from Keifer Sutherland’s new drama, Designated Survivor:

The big event happens early in the pilot, thrusting him to the presidency. It ends with a cliffhanger to make us wonder what happened and season one features a lot of flashbacks leading up to whatever it was.

Now let’s see if that’s what actually happens. I’m about to start watching and will live-blog my thoughts.

I’m choosing this over football, and the Patriots have some pretty solid looking Thursday night uniforms. This better be worth it.

I think we all know how this works. Explaining it is like showing the Superman origin for the 10,000th time.

Do you think the designated survivor (we’ll call him the DS) really wears jeans and a hoodie? And drinks a beer? That would be…unpresidential and actually kinda irresponsible.

Establishing that he has a kid. Solid. Hopefully she’s not as awful as whatever Jack Bauer’s daughter’s name was.

That was okay. It could have been more impactful or shocking or whatever but it was good.

A flashback! Check.

Would the television feed actually flicker out or would it just go out? What an odd thing to wonder.

Going from an explosion that wipes out government at night to eating scrambled eggs that morning feels like it killed a lot of momentum.

I would take an ambassadorship to the ICAO! #avgeek Being booted probably explains his lax attire later that night.

Do we need to talk about – wait…

“What do you want me to do, go to war with the president of the United States?” Um…okayyyy.

Anyway, do we need to talk about whether or not Sutherland’s scratchy voice is a good fit for this part? It was so perfect for Jack Bauer. Let’s give it some time. I assume he was cast to be a president, not a HUDdy duddy. #BureaucracyPuns

This is the first time I’ve thought about the fact that if the DS is elevated to president it can also mean we lost Congress. And the Supreme Court. Jesus. I wonder if networks do a dry run for what to do in this situation.

All of this has to be in place (Do we trust speechwriter guy?) on the night of the State of the Union. I take back what I said about not needing it explained. So hasty am I to judge.

Take control of the room, Mr. President. Do you think they screen cabinet appointees for whether or not they could handle this situation?

This bathroom talk is somewhat convenient.

Have you noticed that so far a lot of my thoughts are about real life and not the TV show? I can’t tell if that’s because the show is lacking or because I’ve always kind of been interested in continuity of government (having once worked in government).

Do we really let the prez hang out on the sidewalk after Congress was blown to bits? I suppose if this character was immediately presidential I would be like oh how convenient that the one guy they leave behind can immediately step into the role of president.

This military guy who wanted to go DEFCON 2 is going to be a problem isn’t he? Could he be any more stereotypical?

When are they going to tell us who this Agent Wills is calling, and why is it important enough that they aren’t revealing it yet?

I like that they’re having Agent Wills reference how real-life attacks seem to go. I think it gives the show credibility. I have to admit also that the possibility of it being the first attack never crossed my mind.

As a communications guy I’m interested to hear the speech they wrote him.

One of the ways I measure how engaging a show is is how many character names I remember. Agent Wills and Tom something that ends in orkman. Workman?

There’s almost always something I dread about a TV show or a movie. In Designated Survivor I think it’s going to be military guy. I really don’t want to put up with a show with such a cookie-cutter character. I hope they surprise me.

All in all I’m not sure yet what kind of show we have in Designated Survivor. There are so many potential elements it can string together from politics to thriller to conspiracy to character. That puts its realm of possibility anywhere between dreadful and brilliant.

Kiefer, it’s on you.

photo credit: ABC

Batman v Superman Fails and Betrays

This review contains major spoilers about Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. I know it might seem like I’m violating my spoiler policy by saying that, but this is a movie and if you read the policy carefully it doesn’t apply to movies. Director Zach Snyder pleaded with viewers seeing the pre-release to not spoil the plot, and even though the movie is out I’ll stick to his wish. It is truly a movie you have to go into spoiler-free.

To bump the spoilers down the page, here are some pretty photos. After them this review will begin.

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How will they do this in a movie? I have been asking myself that question for more than 20 years since I put down The Death and Life of Superman: A Novel by Roger Stern. It wasn’t exactly the same as the comic book version, which is canon, but it was a page turner and remains one of my favourite books. It began my teenage comic book years, which did eventually circle back to include the death of Superman and the storylines that came after it. It was superb storytelling and I still go back and read it every few years. In fact I just re-read it today.

As I sat in the theater late last night and Alexander Luthor introduced Superman to his Doomsday I instantly realized the question would be answered right here, right now. The Death of Superman had come to the movie screen.

Except it hadn’t. Not at all. Superman dies in Batman v Superman, but this is not the Death of Superman. This was Doomsday thrown into the end of a sprawling, incoherent film that appears to exist for no other reason than to justify its sequels and the movie franchise they’ll be a part of. The Death of Superman was humble and heroic. It spared Metropolis. It was the only way to stop the creature Doomsday. It was…unavoidable.

His death here wasn’t. Batman could have got close enough to plunge the pure kryptonite (which he spent half the movie stealing from Luthor) spear into Doomsday’s hide. So could have Wonder Woman, who was more than holding her own against the unbreathing monster.

Instead we got Superman, who had just been rendered useless by simple kryptonite gas during his fight with Batman, grabbing this killer spear and maintaining the strength to fly it into the monster, take a spike thru his own chest and still being strong enough to thrust it into the chest of his doom. As Doomsday died, dead Superman fell from his giant hand. Batman lowered him from a pile of rubble into Wonder Woman’s arms, who gave him to Lois to hold for a few tears and a goodbye kiss.

Come on. This is not how it was supposed to be. Superman didn’t die in the dead grip of some monster. He died in Lois’s arms. I was mezmerized by the surprise of it happening and thrilled to finally see it. But it was all wrong. I’m not asking for it to be exactly like it happened in the comic books, but the spirit of it has to hold true. It didn’t here. There are not even any call outs back to Superman 75. No cape on a stick, no reflection in Jimmy’s camera lens.

The worst part for Superman fans and for moviegoers is that we only get one shot at this story. You can’t kill Superman in the movies twice. If someone tries to go back and tell the Death of Superman on the big screen it will fall flat because it’s already been done. The surprise is gone. I will give Snyder and his team credit on this point. After being surprised, I think that was the best way to present it to viewers. The comics made it known ahead of time, but comics have to sell comics. Warner Bros. doesn’t have to worry about people going to see this movie, so it could afford to hide the reveal as long as it possibly could.

That was well done. It was the only thing.

I feel some sympathy for the critics charged with viewing and critiquing Batman v Superman ahead of its release. It would be difficult to talk about it without talking about Superman’s death. But they were right to savage this movie. It’s a mess. There’s too much here. It’s the first movie with Superman and Batman and the introduction of superheroes who will appear in future Justice League movies. And it’s Superman’s death. That’s a lot to fit into one movie and it sucked because of it.

Prior to revealing Doomsday, the only scene that held any resonance was Superman appearing before a United States Senate committee on…on Superman. This seemed to be a forced reaction to fans’ reaction to the wanton civilian destruction in Man of Steel. But the scene was gold. From Superman walking into the hearing to him standing as the only remaining life inside an orange wall of fire it was perfectly done. In that moment you could see and feel his pain knowing that he was steps from a bomb he failed to detect, and it cost hundreds of lives. It proves there is some storytelling ability here.

Unfortunately it’s only a glimpse. Superman’s death has come and gone from the big screen. The final act in a movie that failed its content in every way.

House of Cards Season 4: Quick Review

The first episode stunk, let’s move on to the next. Here are my unedited notes from watching season four of House of Cards.

Chapter 41
I have a hard time believing a president would announce and then back a Congressional candidate in his state of the union speech. That’s not has bad as announcing the vote count in Claire’s confirmation vote backwards, at least not for this former political stooge. Pretty up yours move by Frank though – the kind of stuff that made the first two seasons enjoyable.

All of Frank’s machinations needed the people he was playing to be too dumb to fight at his level. Maybe this fight with Claire will give him an opponent who isn’t a dimwit.

She never did drink the whiskey.

That is some awfully smooth peanut butter!

Grab us a little bit of Clintons, a little bit of Putin. Inspiration is all around us!

Claire is an awful person. But for murder she might be worse than Frank.

Chapter 42
I’ve never thought about this but I suppose when you go into witness protection you can’t just do the same work you always did.

Where do I recognize the Congresswoman’s daughter from? South Carolinian? I would say South Carolinan.

I’ve never slept in anything with lapels.

This isn’t Seth’s fault, Doug. Get a grip.

I don’t have much faith in voters but I do like to think they wouldn’t hold a son at fault for his dad’s sins.

Whoa that’s what she just said! I should write for Hollywood.

What responsible campaign aide would put this guy in front of their candidate???

And then she said the same thing! Sending my resume to Hollywood now…

A re-enactor? Oh come on. This is absurd.

Meechum had a threesome with them. You don’t just betray that bond.

“You don’t get second chances in elections.” Boy ain’t that the truth.

Is she gonna suggest herself as VP?

Ahahahaha. That’s awesome.

Oh-ho score for Claire!

Chapter 43
Back on board with this show.

I feel something is going to go wrong with the Russian guy.

I was just thinking what Claire’s ultimate trump card could be. I feel stupid for not seeing it. This reminds me of a Djokovic-Nadal tennis match, two competitors battling it out from the baseline.

Aww Charlie Gibson. This is an excellent presentation. The foreshadowing here, again should have been obvious.

Wait until it gets out that Dunbar met with the guy and talked to the AG about him.

This guy is a 24 president! That is to say he’s a terrible president.

It’s so dry in my house. I need to run the humidifier. This has nothing to do with the show.

Hahahaha. This guy. Claire is redeeming herself after being such a bore last year.

Chapter 44
Oh that’ll be public Doug.

I wonder what it’s like, to sit across from the president and know he’s a complete idiot.

My opinion is they shouldn’t wait a day to divulge the news about the president. They can’t risk the Soviets leaking it. Would be a disaster.

Do we know why Remy left?

I love Doug. From “What the f*ck are you doing?” to wait what you can help me in the blink of an eye. Like I’ve always said: Hypocrisy is a virtue.

Do we really go on TV and pray for a healthy liver to make its way soon?

Oh now you’re pissing of Hammerschmidt! Hesch will find you!

This speech is so far out of line.

I don’t like Seth’s chances.

Almost. Dang it.

The look on Doug’s face when she said Tusk was here. I love acting.

I love this so now it’s Claire vs the administration and Claire has all the cards.

This reminds me of when Tony Soprano was in the hospital, only not quite as confounding.

Chapter 45
Is it just me or do all the sets for this series seem slightly cheap? Not a criticism. It seems like there’s one layer missing compared to other shows. Something to look into. And those green screens. Or maybe it’s the lighting. It’s always been flat on this show.

You know better than this, Doug. You’ll be tainting the whole rest of his life. Come on, man.

As Frank sits her convulsing I notice I feel like the show can go on without him.

What is this search engine thing?

What the? Where did that come from? Or was that tied to the search thing?

Dunbar just said it doesn’t matter if the president lives or dies. That’ll come back to bite her. She also sounds just as unhinged as what’s his name. Total disaster.

Is Petrov being human here or is he acting? He’s also treating Claire as far more of an equal than he ever did Frank.

He kinda looks like Russell Crowe with this white hair.

Chapter 46
Who are these people?

They need to do a better job of indicating how much time is passing. Now Frank is up making breakfast?

This reminds of how 24 would shift its storyline halfway through the season. Russia is gone, now we’re onto terrorists. I like it a lot, it keeps stories from dragging on too long.

Oh, he’s the opponent. What happened to the senator guy?

Goodness me this is a terrible character. I’ll put in my cover letter to Hollywood that I can write Republican characters.

Yes, we noticed he stopped before the Clinton portrait.

I knew she would be back. She’s source zero.

This livecast is a terrible idea. The guy is going online to say he’s running a mini-NSA. This will scare the sh*t out of people, they’ll transfer this guy giving up his privacy to them all losing theirs.

Are they hitting all these visitors with cookies for regathering and custom audiences?

Oh man that’s gonna do him in.

Chapter 47
You see how stupid these two guys are. That’s what I meant about Claire being on Frank’s level. She’s manipulating them now.

What the hell is going on here?

Two military guys on the ticket?

I’ll let you take it from here. Reading over them now, it’s neat to see my evolution toward becoming totally engrossed in this show again. What I enjoyed most about the first two seasons of House of Cards is that while it seemed to be about politics it was really about Frank and Claire’s marriage. More accurately, about Frank manipulating Claire into thinking they were equals. We all knew someday she would see through him, and that led to the sour memory of season three: Claire’s torturous path to realizing how Frank really saw her.

Season four gave us Claire’s elevation, and it was told expertly. The first half of the season showed her going round after round with him and not giving an inch. Then – and only then – could she make a believable ascent to being Frank’s equal. That’s what they are after his recovery: Equals. For the first time in the series, and maybe the first time in their marriage, they are co-dependent.

And they are more terrible than ever.

Amazon’s Mad Dogs Goes For A Walk In Pilot

It seemed a little odd early in the pilot of Mad Dogs, a new Amazon original series, when the four main characters received handheld video cameras as gifts in their limo ride from the airport. Smartphones have made them obsolete to all but the biggest traveling dorks so you could guess at some point there had to have been a reason for not only giving one to each of them, but for featuring them. Sure enough, there was.

That’s kind of how the Mad Dogs pilot went. Four college buddies reunite in Belize at the sprawling mansion of the fifth friend, the one who chased the dream and struck it rich. You see the set up and you know exactly what’s coming:

  • They will party;
  • One will have an attack of conscience;
  • One is a sleaze ball;
  • One is a screw up;
  • One missed his chance to cash in;
  • The rich one is a prick and everyone gets mad;
  • Someone will appear wearing an animal head.

There were times during the 60 minutes when I would think Okay, Steve Zahn isn’t going to do something a Steve Zahn character would do. Then he would. It was disappointing when the premiere got to the point where I realized all it would do is go down the checklist and dutifully mark the story points as it passes them by. By the time the bizarre animal head appeared, it had no impact. Of course someone walked into this completely open Central American mansion wearing a giant animal head.

I wasn’t a fan of Amazon’s adaption of The Man In The High Castle, but at least that had ambition. Bosch, which I sped through but haven’t written about, was formulaic but at least based on a book. Needless to say, Amazon’s original content hasn’t struck with me yet.

Mad Dogs is adapted from a UK show of the same name, by the same creator. Based on its pilot, it’s going to be more Gracepoint than it is House of Cards.

The Time Criminal Minds Insulted All Of St. Paul

The genesis for this post began a year ago during an episode of Criminal Minds featuring some inconsistencies that only an #avgeek would probably spot. Like most of my blog ideas, it fell by the wayside. Then another one popped up during last fall’s premiere of Supergirl (CBS) and this post got real.

It’s a beast putting a 42-minute drama together. Such a chore that they can only shoot about 7 minutes of show per day. In one of my posts on the Warner Bros. VIP studio tour I described how laborious it can be to shoot a simple exchange of dialogue between two characters, and it helps understand why shooting goes so slow. With all that work it’s easy to see how little things like what I’m about to show slip by.

So don’t mistake this post as criticism. What follows are a couple of things I’ve noticed that are completely inconsequential but amusing. At least to me.

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Supergirl saves an airplane…

…that probably couldn’t fly anyway. The first thing to get out of the way here is that I do understand this is a scene involving a flying woman, which is impossible according to the current understandings of any number of scientific disciplines. But it’s hard to consider that a goof when she’s the main character.

What got me here is what’s highlighted in the screencap below. This single-level quad-jet (most analogous to the Airbus A340) has its horizontal stabilizers mounted to the fuselage (lower arrow). Pretty common for aircraft with wing-mounted engines.

Now look to the upper arrow. The stabilizers there are mounted on the tail fin.
That’s what we call a T-tail, for obvious reasons. T-tails are typically found on planes with engines mounted on the rear of the fuselage.“You’re losing me, airplane nerd.” Here’s the thing: Planes have a T-tail or a stabilizer mounted on the fuselage, not both. Both would be…weird…and seriously screw with the aerodynamics of an aircraft. That’s why they don’t exist.

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Criminal Minds insults all of St. Paul

In Season 8, Episode 17 of Criminal Minds the BAU took a case that brought it to the Minneapolis suburb of St. Paul, Minnesota. St. Paul has its own skyline (which I think is better than that of Minneapolis, for what it’s worth), but you’d never know it according to this piece of art hanging in the St. Paul Police Department.

St. Paul is known for having a delicate ego, so we would caution its residents to not get too bent out of shape about this. The folks at Criminal Minds have to make a new police department set every seven days so let’s cut them some slack.

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Okobohgeez, X-Files

I was just settling into the X-Files in Season 1, Episode 4 when Mulder and Scully followed a case to the northwest Iowa town of Okoboji. I’m pretty familiar with Okoboji, or “the lakes” as we call it back home. It’s a chain of towns and lakes about half an hour from where I grew up. Okoboji sits in a flat land, the nearest hill of any kind is the Ocheyedan Mound, which towers 1,650 feet above sea level. Here’s a photo.

So imagine my bemusement when the agents’ car rolls past the sign for Lake Okobogee. Or when tall mountains blanketed with coniferous trees loom behind them. The filming location was actual Buntzen Lake in British Columbia, where X-Files filmed.

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Let’s overlook the fact that the episode was about a young boy named Kevin who was having government transmissions beamed into his brain. In northwest Iowa.

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Criminal Minds drives #avgeeks crazy

I saved the inspiration behind this post for last, and I’m going to brag about it. You read this far, bear with me. The episode opens outside a 747 that’s supposed to be halfway between Pittsburgh and Phoenix, which it wouldn’t be because no airline is going to fly a 747 between those domestic markets (airlines don’t fly scheduled 747 service on any domestic routes). Because it’s mid-flight, the plane is supposed to be at its cruising altitude, but the video they show is of a plane shortly after takeoff. Its landing gear are retracting in the first few frames – a dead giveaway that the plane is not at 37,000 feet. You can also see the flaps extended, as they might to help get the 747 in the air.

The second #avgeek goof comes from the interior shots. The 747 is a twin-aisle aircraft, but the interior shots are shot on a single-aisle set. Oooh, that’s a big goof! #eyeroll

Last one, I promise. When Dr. Reid hangs the aircraft blueprint on the wall it clearly says 727 Structural Schematic. The 727 and 747 are vastly different planes. The most striking difference would be the 727’s lack of the distinctive hump the 747 is known for. Another obvious unsimilarity would be that the 747 has four wing-mounted engines while the 727 has two engines mounted on the rear fuselage and one in the tail.

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