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Matthew M Monin
United States
Branford
Connecticut
8/8 FREE, PROTECTED
513ers Assemble!
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TV
Fringe - My favorite current show. I can't think of another network show that is as hardcore sci-fi as Fringe. How many shows can you name that feature a love-quadrangle where one man is torn between three versions of the same woman - one from our universe, one from a parallel universe, and one from our universe but in an alternate timeline. In it's fourth season, Fringe is so unabashedly sci-fi that it clearly has stopped caring about developing a casual audience in favor of relishing in it's weird world(s).
Contrast Fringe with Alcatraz. They're both J.J. Abrams shows on FOX featuring sci-fi elements and starring "hot blonde cop". That's where the comparisons end. Whereas Alcatraz has been relegated to background noise while I work, Fringe demands my full attention every week. The writing in Fringe is smart while Alcatraz's writing is forced and clunky.
The writing on Fringe is further elevated by the stellar cast. Olivia (aforementioned blonde cop) is the weakest link, but is more than adequate. Her emoting feels "off" at times, sometimes under-selling and sometimes over-selling in ways that feel inauthentic. But not to a degree that ever takes me out of the show. The rest of the cast, and especially John Noble, are a joy to watch. There are no characters on the show that I am bored of seeing.
If you don't watch Fringe, do it. Start from the beginning. The first halves of each season can feel a bit like a slog as they are clearly attempting to build an audience with disconnected "freak of the week" style self-contained episodes, but once the over-arching plots kick in you'll thank me.
Walking Dead - The second half of season two continues to impress. The character drama remains tight and the zombie attacks have been ramping up. Kudos to whoever conceptualized of the walker trying to push its head through a hole in a windshield, peeling back it's face skin in the process. That and the one that was caught in the well have been my favorites so far. Gruesome!
The latest episode ends with a shot that is both haunting and oddly beautiful. I hope that walker lives forever!
Parks and Recreation - I never got into The Office. Though obviously funny, it's also mean and ultimately sad in ways that turned me off. So when a new show came to NBC with the same mockumentary style I was immediately uninterested. Boy was I wrong. Parks and Rec is like the anti-Office. They take full advantage of the mockumentary format but the tone is cheery, silly, and often uplifting. Yet another show that has a large cast of characters that are all likeable (with Ron Swanson being the clear favorite in this household).
My only criticism of recent episodes is the new relationship between Tom and Anne. This is not an obvious match, so it needs some love from the writers to make it work, but so far they've relied on the viewers to trust that the relationship has been developing off camera. That hasn't worked, IMO. They haven't done enough to sell it, and as a consequence I don't buy it.
Gold Rush - One of the reality genre shows that has drawn me in. It is astounding how much time, manpower, and water it takes to extract a few pounds of gold out of the ground. It's compelling for reasons I don't fully understand.
Podcasts
Nerdist - http://www.nerdist.com/category/podcast/ - this is the podcast that has gotten me interested in most of the other podcasts I currently listen to. Comedians Chris Hardwick, Jonah Ray, and Matt Mira host and shoot-the-shit about what's going on in their personal lives, their careers, and pop culture. What is endearing is that through all the fun poking at each others' expense (especially between Matt and Jonah) you can tell that these three are very good friends and genuinely care about one another.
Half of their shows have a featured guest that is half-interviewed and half-joins in on the free form discussion. I've most recently listened to the Conan O'brien episode which touched upon all the topics you'd expect, but sounded more like friends discussing realities of the business rather than a sanitized-for-public-consumption interview. Great stuff.
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Matthew M Monin
United States
Branford
Connecticut
8/8 FREE, PROTECTED
513ers Assemble!
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TV
American Horror Story - I am halfway through the first season (just finished the two-part Halloween episode) and AHS continues to impress. The show does a great job at pacing its teases and reveals. Some payoff in the very next episode while others just get weirder. It's an addictive mix. They've also done a good job pacing the scares/creepiness of the show. I was worried I'd lose a taste for it watching several episodes back-to-back-to-back, but they've interwoven just enough lighter episodes (relatively speaking) that it cleanses the horror palette and allows the creepy eps to have maximum impact.
The most pleasantly surprising thing so far has been the discovery that there are "rules" governing some of the strange stuff going on. Figuring out the nature of the rules is part of the joy of watching AHS, and at the same time makes it that much scarier.
Alcatraz - I'm a J.J. Abrams fan. I largely enjoyed LOST (even if I'm ultimately disappointed with how it wrapped up), and I really enjoy where they've gone with Fringe (more on that in a later post). Alcatraz is quickly falling off my interest radar, however. Like other Abrams shows it has a compelling hook and teases that there is more to discover, and those parts of the show are largely successful. That is all that's keeping me coming back, however. The writing is mediocre at its best and hits groan-worthy at least once an episode. It's not even that they're writing it to appeal to a broad audience (read: dumb folk). In the latest episode they spent a couple minutes showing the female lead piece together some clues to solve a problem, including flashbacks from earlier in the episode where she encountered each of the parts. Standard stuff, however they'd already showed her boss figure it out in seconds earlier in the episode with the exact same clues, so rather than showing off how smart and resourceful she is she just came of as lucky and a bit thick.
The acting is also not good. Sam Neil is hamming things up given nothing better to work with. The female lead is completely generic "cop with attitude". Jorge Garcia (who played Hurley on LOST) is the least offensive of the lead characters.
If you haven't already been drawn in, avoid Alcatraz.
Walking Dead - Back with a bang (hah!). The first half of season 2 slowed down and slogged for a few episodes. Part of that was focusing on important character development which was badly needed in the show, but part also felt like a cost-saving effort by having far fewer zombie incidents.
With this latest episode there are still not many walkers, but tensions are ramped up and there is a general sense things won't be stagnating on the farm for much longer. Looking forward to seeing the season come to a head.
If you enjoy Walking Dead, set your DVR to also record the Talking Dead aftershow. It's a fun live debriefing of the episode with comedians, show staff, and other zombie fans from the celebrity world.
Survivor - I enjoy reality TV. Survivor has always been more game show than reality. As far as reality game shows go, though, it is still the top of the heap for me.
This season gets rid of Redemption Island (thank god). Splitting the tribes by gender and having them live on the same beach have both been done before separately, but I think the combination will prove to be more interesting than the previous attempts.
Podcasts
Indoor Kids - Kumail Nanjiani is a very funny comedian, and he and his wife Emily Gordon host The Indoor Kids where they chat about video game topics with a guest (usually another comedian). Comedians hosting podcasts is a natural fit because they are good at riffing and otherwise keeping things interesting. But Kumail and Emily are more fans than anything else so much of the discussion is from a fan perspective. Don't expect the banter to cater to hardcore video game enthusiasts.
We're Alive - We're Alive harkens back to serialized radio stories. It's a fairly standard zombie apocalypse story and the writing and voices also don't standout as being special. But the plotting is decent and at about 20 minutes an episode it never overstays it's welcome. They do a good job of making the characters sound distinct and it has held my interest for over a dozen episodes now. I'm only halfway through the first 12 hour season, and I believe they've just started with Season 3, so if you're into zombie stuff this could fill a lot of commute time for you.
Movies
WALL-E - My son has taken on WALL-E as his latest obsession. I've watched it 4 times in the past week as a result. I loved it in the theater and it still holds up after repeated viewings. That the dialogue free first couple acts remains captivating after repeated viewings is impressive. I would love to continue watching WALL-E's average everyday goings on.
Question for the space-geeks out there - how long can a plant survive in the vacuum of space?
Fri Feb 17, 2012 12:24 am
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Matthew M Monin
United States
Branford
Connecticut
8/8 FREE, PROTECTED
513ers Assemble!
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Podcasts
I usually listen to podcasts while putting my toddler down for a nap and when taking the dog out for walks. Today I've caught up on the most recent eps of Doug Love Movies and am also continuing to plow through Mike and Tom eat Snacks.
I find DLM consistently hilarious. Doug Benson usually has smart and entertaining guests. They have loosely movie related banter and then break into games of Build-a-Title and The Leonard Maltin Game. I'd recommend it to anyone - doubly so if you like movies.
MATES is my newest podcast obsession. Tom Cavanagh and Michael Ian Black pick a snack, eat the snack, and rate the snack. Their improving is top notch.
Both podcasts have copious NSFW language.
TV
A couple weeks ago my wife and I finished a year-long trip through all five seasons of The Wire. The best show I've ever seen. Huge cast, and there was a never a character that I didn't care for.
Now we've started watching A Game of Thrones. We've just finished episode 4 and my wife is hooked. The only issue is that coming straight from The Wire it's difficult to look at Littlefinger and not think "Mayor Carcetti". Having read the first four books already, I am impressed with how much care they've put into foreshadowing things that won't payoff for years, while at the same time making them seem like casual throwaway lines to the uninitiated.
I've also just started watching American Horror Story. I'm only two-thirds through the pilot episode, but it has grabbed me in a way that few shows do. It's got a great mix of jump scares, creepiness, and a number of general WTF moments. The characters already seem very well realized for it being a first episode. Looking forward to watching more.
Finally, tonight's one hour episode of 30 Rock - a big disappointment. I'm a fan of the show and this was not a good episode. There were only a few genuinely funny moments. The rest felt forced and fell flat as a result.
On The Web
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