Lost, Season Six
2/2/10 - 5/23/10
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Like a daily food log, but less depressingFollowing
Lost, Season Six
2/2/10 - 5/23/10
Curb Your Enthusiasm, Season Seven
1/30/10 to 2/6/10
Is there such thing as post-meta yet? I’m not sure what that would mean—maybe just a rejection of all things meta, a return to the self-oblivious storyteller. Or maybe it’s when an already meta work takes on another level of self-awareness, therein negating the original meta-ness and creating something more “real” than if the creator had created the work outright. Maybe we should just call it “The CYE Season Seven Effect.”
In creating a Seinfeld reunion within the framework of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Larry David delivers the ultimate payoff for fans of both shows, and without compromising the artistic integrity of either. It’s an astounding feat, considering the legacy of both shows involved, and the amount at stake if any small part fails.
Luckily, the execution of the show-within-a-show is impeccable, and mostly without any camera-winking and inside jokes usually associated with this type of meta-storytelling. It manages to be one of the funnier seasons of Curb in my memory: Though slow to start, it really picks up steam when Larry begins his quest to reunite with Cheryl. Putting the characters in such a wide variety of new situations really jump-started the comedy that was getting a bit stale in prior seasons.
Aside from one weak episode toward the end of its run, this season of Curb delivered in many ways, both direct and indirect. If you’ve given up on the show, I recommend picking it back up, if only for this season—especially if you were a Seinfeld fan.
The Wire, Season Four
Started: 11/17/09 | Finished: 1/7/10
Let me cut to the chase: Season Four had some of the strongest moments of The Wire thus far, and some of the weakest moments, at times within the same episode. I think this is partly my own fault: Just as watching a season of TV too fast can be detrimental to its reception, watching it too slow can have negative effects as well.
I lost all momentum about 6 episodes in, when the political storyline takes a major turn for the mundane. The main murder case was slowing down, and episodes became heavily character-driven rather than plot-driven. Not that there’s anything wrong with that—if we didn’t have that intense scrutiny of so many characters, the final episode(s) of the season wouldn’t have such an impact.
It really comes down to a coin-toss: In filmmaking, do you put all of your eggs in one basket and wait for a big payoff, or do you spread out the drama evenly? The former serves the story while the latter serves the audience’s appetite for entertainment. It’s a question that has no right answer, and I can’t begin to imagine the consolations that Season Four would have to make to create a faster-paced season.
It’s a dilemma that I think the writers handled in the best way possible. It’s a story that requires an incredible amount of character development. In many ways it’s the perfect answer to the gimmicky prequel: showing how these kids develop into either “stoop” or “corner kids” was fascinating. Entertainment-wise, it may be my least favorite season. But when it comes to integrity and relevance of story, this one knocks it out of the park.
Dexter, Season Four (no spoilers, nerds)
Started: 12/25/09 | Finished: 1/1/10
What a great way to start the new year. Sure, an incredibly stressful and anxiety-inducing way, but great nonetheless. I haven’t been this enthralled with Dexter since the second season. Which I guess isn’t that long ago, but still!
Maybe it’s because I watched the entire series in two and a half back-to-back sittings a week apart, but, the first half of the season and the second half feel distinctly different. Characters who continually revealed other sides to themselves in the first half became a big stagnant in the second half. But I suppose this is just a casualty of the tension and drama ramping up so quickly.
Whenever characters in TV shows have children together, it seems like a cop-out for a truly interesting storyline. But Dexter managed to incorporate new fatherhood quite well, adding a new element of suspense while maintaining a constant level of believability. (Though it should be noted that suspension of disbelief for this show is already at a near extreme.)
The more I think about it, the more I realize this may be my favorite season yet. A lot of firsts happened, in both plot and storytelling— it was refreshing to see Dexter conquer new territories and to see the creative team find new ways to break the formula of one vengeance-killing per episode. While I do recommend starting at Season One if you haven’t, this season was definitely a high-point of the series. Hopefully Dexter can end on a note as epic in their likely final season next year.
Californication, Season Three
Started: 12/30/09 | Finished: 12/31/09
Well that was a whirlwind of a marathon. Thank goodness the episodes are fast and easily digestible. But if you sit around and think about it too much, you might start to realize what a disturbing portrait of a family this show really is.
Though she wasn’t featured as prominently this season, it was all about Becca for me— while she’s always essentially had to parent herself, she’s managed to have at least one parental figure around as a role model. Unfortunately, for some reason, this season Hank and Karen don’t seem to care a bit about what their daughter hears or is exposed to regarding her father’s promiscuous behavior. As a result, the two characters who I once had high hopes for as a couple show themselves to be less than competent as a unit. And we don’t get to see much of how Becca is affected until the very end.
Anyway, this is probably reading way too much into the show— for what it’s worth, the biting comedy is still there, and the acting is always excellent. And I’m obligated to mention Kathleen Turner’s foul mouth and Rick Springfield’s extended guest role as some of the funniest moments this season. Though it felt a bit caricatured, I’m impressed that this series has lasted this long. I wasn’t certain how anything could continue after the first season, but they succeeded where many other shows have failed in creating an extended story.
Ultimately, there seemed to be a lot of unfinished ideas surrounding the season that I would like to have seen pushed further. Instead, they were glossed over, and the writers took the easy road out by putting Hank in fairly predictable situations that felt a bit too broad and situation-comedy for my tastes. The show still gave me at least one laugh-out-loud moment each episode though— it’s really the dramatic elements that need a once-over.
Hopefully Season Four will see a return to the lovable jerk that Hank Moody used to be, and maybe a bit more discretion regarding his conquests. Scores of sex-positive young females in Hank’s bed were easier to swallow than this season’s featured women, whose problems can only be absolved by the magical touch of one man. They really could have done better.
Bored To Death, Season One
Started: 9/20/09 | Finished: 12/13/09
Meh.
The Wire, Season Three
Started: 10/20/09 | Finished: 11/9/09
I was on a roll. I was watching more movies (from start to finish) than I ever had previously. And then you came along and busted it all up.
“Come on, just a lil taste,” you said. ”Everybody’s doing it.” Before long we were hanging together all day in the projects. Things started to heat up, so we took a breather and started chillin’ at the docks. But I needed my fix, so you took it back to streets where it all started. Just a couple of crews trying to make ends meet. Now I’m in so deep I don’t know if I can get out.
I’m glad to see you’re bringing your A-game again. I hear we’ve got some good times to look forward to together. Hopefully they will include less from that fool Brother Mouzone, who sticks out like a sore thumb. I mean, your reputation for reality precedes you. Yet here’s this smooth talking, Nation of Islam gangster that is straight out of a comic book. I just don’t buy it.
You know I need my re-up baby, but I’ve gotta pay more attention to my other people for a bit. I got needs. I’ve been neglecting the feature for quite some time, and I gotta man up and pay her the attention she deserves. So forgive me if I take a break, but you know I’ll be back for you.
Alright this is getting weird so I’ll holler at you later, k? I’m OUT.
P.S. You had me at Hamsterdam
