However, there have been a few things that I like. I'll list them.
FRANK'S PLACE. This was a show that got cancelled. I'm not sure if it even lasted an entire season. It was well written and had wonderful performances and starred Tim Reid (best known these days as a semi-regular from THAT 70s SHOW). I wish it had caught on. One episode still haunts me--the show was technically a comedy (and it was indeed very funny) but the best episode dealt with a young person on the show descending into drug use and then climbing back out. That one was spectacularly effective and was pure drama.
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| Tim Reid |
DEXTER. I don't subscribe to premium TV channels. However, we once got Showtime as part of a promotional cable pitch. So for two years I got to watch DEXTER as each episode premiered. To me, it was the best "real" superhero done as cinema. Because to me, that's what the character Dexter really is. He's a superhero with secret identity and everything. Nifty. Of course I haven't seen it in a few years. I'll pick up the DVDs as they get cheap.
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| Dexter. Everyone's favorite serial killer. |
THE SOPRANOS. See above. I only saw these on DVD. I still haven't seen the sixth and final season. It's on my Christmas list. Great acting, superlative writing, only rarely falling off the tracks into soap opera land.
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| The Boss. |
BREAKING BAD. To my way of thinking, this is the best writing I've ever watched on television. It's just good on every level. I've seen most of the episodes (there are a few I haven't seen), and it's rare that I have any quibbles with the logic of the scripts. And of course the performances by every single actor on the show is just flawless. I really, really love this series!
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| Walter White, anti-hero of BREAKING BAD. |
THE LARRY SANDERS SHOW. This is one that I would catch when I was on the road. Usually the hotels where I'd stay in those days had cable and I could catch this series. The writing here was the best! And it was generally so funny that my stomach would hurt from laughing so hard. And of course peppered with enough drama to keep things interesting. It's probably the best comedy show I've ever seen.
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| Two of the funniest actors I've ever seen on TV: Garry Shandling and Rip Torn. |
I never ever missed a first run episode of the Sopranos.
ReplyDeleteBreaking Bad is my current favorite show, though the Walking Dead is catching up.
My favorite episode was when his brother-in-law unknowingly had him trapped in the van and was waiting on a warrant. They got rid of him by faking a call from a hospital claiming his wife was in a car accident. That was an ingenius escape.
That was a good episode. I've enjoyed watching both of the main characters, Jesse and Walter, evolve as the show moves along. I can't wait for the new season to begin. There's talk of a feature length motion picture, so I would assume that means that the creators will have Walter White surviving the last season. Despite what he does and has done, I don't want to see him die or go to prison. Sometimes the bad guy wins.
ReplyDeleteI don't think Walter is a bad guy.
ReplyDeleteHe's providing a chemical people desire. The government's got no right to tell people what kind of chemicals they can voluntarily put in their bodies. I think anti-drug laws are an evil form of mind control.
Most of Walter's violent acts have been justified. Not all, but everybody makes mistakes.
Well, that's one way of looking at it. And you're right--I can't recall that he didn't knock off anyone who didn't bloody well deserve it.
ReplyDeleteHe has turned into one scary fellow, though. I certainly wouldn't want to cross him, but of course I wouldn't because I don't travel in his sphere.
Bottom line is: I like the guy and I don't want to see his character killed off or imprisoned.