tunnelvisionent-blog

[tunnelvisionent-blog]

Disjointed and a New Form of Television Terrorism

Am I really doing this? I imagine at some point Chuck Lorre had to think that same thing while writing a comedy probably deemed to edgy for CBS (you know… ‘cause they say fuck), but guess who will throw a shitload of money at literally anything? That’s right, Netflix!!! For some reason multiple people decided a sitcom about a medical marijuana dispensary is somehow relevant and necessary in 2017. Maybe it’s the strange juxtaposition of hearing “fuck” followed by canned laughter or the fact that the writing that is a stronger anti-drug PSA than DARE and Reefer Madness combined, but this show is unwatchable. It’s not just the writing and the bad attempt at comedy there’s also the terrible nonsensical editing that interjects meaningless transitions and poor YouTube style videos that present themselves as nothing more than lame attempts at pandering to a younger audience.

Writing about this show is hard because there’s so much wrong I don’t really know where to start. I guess the characters are a good jumping off point. The show touts Kathy Bates as the lead, and judging by her inconsistent Boston(?) accent, it wasn’t the content that attracted her to the project. Her son is unremarkable, and his character seems to be he’s biracial, so he’s treated like he’s not really black and has trouble connecting with other black characters. It’s problematic and relies on an outdated character trope of the black guy who acts white, i.e. the Carlton archetype. Carter is a veteran and the shop’s security guard, who suffers from PTSD, which they handle with no compassion or tact, instead using it for cheap jokes and glorified cartoon psychedelic trips that make it look almost fun. The rest of the cast is made up of various stereotypes like the burnout hippy or the Asian med-student with overbearing parents and a 2-dimensional female love interest for one of the main cast members that is generally forgot about. In the supporting cast is a stuck up suburban wife whose life is changed by the magic of pot, a stoner couple who makes YouTube videos (one is SNL and Popstar’s Chris Redd and the other is the embodiment of Bobby Hill), and an uptight dojo owner who hates the weed shop (what a square). All in all, none of these characters are or interesting or even likeable. They all are the worst kind of stoners, you know the ones who always talk about legalizing it even though they live in a state with legal weed and constantly say that weed isn’t addictive, and they’re not addicted even though they smoke like a chimney every hour of every day. They all make weed look stupid. I know the show is about weed but does every conversation have to be about weed? Is there any way they could have some character development that doesn’t devolve into pathetic stoner humor? I know some will say “it’s parody, you probably don’t get it.” Parody is supposed to be funny. _Disjointed _seems like it’s trying to be semi-serious but also parody stoner humor, which is a paradox because stoner humor is already parodying itself and parodying stoners.

The format of the show is more confusing than it is comical. It tries to seem disjointed (get it?) but feels forced and transparent. Like when an adult tries to use lingo the kids are saying to seem cool and young. The sad attempts at pandering to a YouTube generation falls short when considering actual absurdist comedy like _Tim and Eric _and the fact that they still include “commercial breaks,” in which they have parody sketches that for some reason don’t include a laugh track. This vacuum in canned laughter makes for way too many uncomfortable segments. One of these commercials is a parody of Coors Light commercials that is inexplicably anti-Semitic, which again falls flat (if comedy is their main objective with them? They don’t really explain it.) due to the lack of a laugh track. The show’s creators manage to miss the broadside of the preverbal barn that is stoner comedy. It’s low hanging fruit that not only did they fail to pick it but also somehow managed to fall off the ladders and flop around like the grape stomping lady in an attempt to reach millennials.

The whole thing is just one question after another, which it then refuses to answer leaving the viewer (sorry in advanced) dazed and confused. See how easy this stoner comedy is? Anyway, watching _Disjointed _as an aspiring screenwriter puts me anywhere from confident that I can do better and I will find a home for my work, to borderline suicidal because they can write 20 FUCKING EPISODES OF THIS NONSENSE AND I CAN BARELY FINISH A SCRIPT WITHOUT SCRAPPING EVERYTHING.

This show has broken me. The more I watch the less things make sense. I can feel myself getting stupider as I have the show on in the background as I write this but for some reason I can’t look away. It’s not a train wreck, it’s somehow much worse. It’s a televised terrorist attack on the golden age of TV. With shows like _The Leftovers _and _Twin Peaks: The Return _creating a space for more auteur television, Disjointed runs into the crowd and obliterates any concept of comedy or good television. Chuck Lorre needs to be stopped. Netflix needs to be stopped. Never watch this show.

[tunnelvisionent-blog]

The Danger of Netflix’s Making A Murderer

Netflix’s take on true crime a la Serial and The Jinx, Making a Murderer shows the story of Steven Avery and how he ended up in jail. If you have watched the show you have seen the story of a man wrongfully imprisoned get released and fight for compensation only to be thrown in jail when a woman goes missing. The series sets up Avery as man who is being framed by police in order to avoid paying him millions of dollars. Since the show premiered petitions have been started to get Avery a presidential pardon (despite the fact he can’t be pardoned by the president because it was not a federal case so I linked to the one to Scott Walker) and have garnered hundreds of thousands of signatures. That’s all well and good but only if we are sure he is not guilty. 

Steven Avery’s defense is based solely around the idea that the police planted evidence. The show sets up this by focusing on the blood evidence found in Teresa Halbach’s car and the car key found in Avery’s apartment. Avery’s family sticks by him saying that he would have confessed to the crime by now had he done it. The prosecutors for have accused the show of skewing the narrative and leaving out key pieces of evidence, as reported by Pajiba. The article states that prosecutors had phone records showing that Avery had called Halbach three times the day she disappeared, blocking his number twice. He also had requested that she come out many times before (explained in the show by saying he sold a lot of cars, which makes sense because he owns a salvage yard) but had once come out in only a towel. I understand that he sells a lot of cars and I can buy wanting someone you like to come so you can see them, but the towel is where there’s a problem. (The towel thing did not make it into evidence for being “too inflammatory”) The prosecutors were also able to match the bullet with Halbach’s DNA (possibly tainted) to Avery’s gun that usually hung above Avery’s bed. This is not really a surprise considering they found plenty of shell casings around the garage where the bullet was found and the Averys were very open about their guns. This evidence against Steven Avery does not seem damning until it is contextualized with some of Avery’s other legal problems. 

Avery has openly admitted to threatening his cousin with a gun after running her off the road. He justifies this by saying that she was spreading rumors that he was masturbating and having sex in his yard. Steven was angry that she was telling lies and chased her down and threatened her with a gun. Now is it hard to believe that this man would snap and kill a woman who had repeatedly turned down his advances? The prosecutors also found Steven’s DNA on the hood of Halbach’s car that was not blood. This piece of evidence is corroborated by a statement made by Brendan Dassey saying that he helped Steven move the car. 

On the subject of Brendan Dassey we learn one of the first major problems of the reception of Making a Murderer. Brendan is the victim of the justice system here, more so than Steven Avery. If you do not believe me, Brendan was found guilty of mutilating a body, which Steven was not. Brendan was a young man with low intelligence who was confused and manipulated into both helping his uncle and confessing to things he did not do. Brendan was forced into helping his uncle (to what extent I do not know) and claimed that he and others were molested by Steven Avery. Brendan was used by his uncle and would make a much more interesting focus for the series. 

In a perverse way, that’s what we, the viewers, want. We want to see these twisted tales of true crime because we hope that they can lead to some form of justice. In The Jinx, we hear Robert Durst confess to his crimes. In Serial, Sarah Koenig gives us the case against Adnan. The producers and filmmakers of these types of shows have a moral responsibility to present, at least some of the contrary evidence, otherwise we get the modern day equivalent of the villagers with pitchforks and torches clamoring for someone’s head. The case of Steven Avery is not the shiny gold star of the justice system, but in my opinion justice was served. This is problematic because there was a lot of misconduct and I do not believe Steven Avery’s trial was done correctly or ethically. That being said I believe that the real protagonist of this story is Brendan Dassey. He is the one people should be petitioning for. Brendan is the example of how the justice system and those who are sworn to protect failed. 

I can imagine that with the popularity of Making a Murderer, we will continue to see more and more of these true crime series or documentaries. Not all of them will be as clear cut as The Jinx, in fact most will probably be very speculative and it is the duty of the filmmakers to show the truth and not what they want to be true. It is also the viewer’s duty to avoid the mob mentality and think critically about the information being given. We need to be aware of editing and that a lot can be left out in order to serve an agenda or make better television. 

*Disclaimer: I have very limited knowledge of the Avery and Dassey cases (like most of you) and my opinions were formed with what I have read and what I saw in the show. I have not read any legal arguments for or against either and the importance of this article is more so about being critical of the growing sub-genre that is true crime documentaries. 

[tunnelvisionent-blog]

Top 10 “Top TV of 2015″ Lists of 2015

Television continues to get better and better and in the year 2015 we have seen dozens and dozens of shows that could be considered the best. I know what you’re thinking, how can I watch all these great shows when I don’t have the time? The answer is you just can’t, but to help you find the very best everyone and there mother has a list of the best shows of the year. With so many lists how is someone able to read all these lists to find the best shows?Should I just go on Buzzfeed? Why can’t I just watch TV? Here are my top ten “top ten TV” lists to help expedite the process, so you can get back to watching television. 

#10: @TheAabHova

This list is short and to the point, no justifications needed. Some surprise standouts on the list and a few snubs but overall a solid piece of work.

#9: Rob Sheffield’s 20 Best TV Shows So Far

Though this is an early contender, and many notable shows are left off the list, it is easily the best midway list that showcases the spring shows that often get overlooked on the end of year wrap-ups. Sheffield shows that not only does he have an HBO account but also one for Netflix. 

#8:  Margaret Lyons’s Top 10 TV Shows of 2015

A bold choice going from 1 to 10, as well as a honorable mention category gives Lyons’ list for Vulture my number 8 spot. The honorable mention spot is key for those seeking a variety of programming when most lists end up naming the same powerhouses in the top five. 

#7:  Tim Goodman: The Best TV of 2015

The most in depth list on my list so far is Tim Goodman’s top 46. I like how much he chose to include but he looses points for stopping on 46. If it had been a round number like 45 or 50 it probably would have been higher.

#6: Matthew Gilbert’s Top 10 TV shows of 2015

Technically a Top 12 with two ties, Gilbert’s effort at a concise list highlights a few shows that get left off most lists. He gives us a different perspective on good shows that are not generally considered to be the best.

#5: The New York Times’ The Best TV Shows of 2015 

Although this list does not have a lot of standouts and inconsistent formatting between contributors, we do get a three-for-one special. James Poniewozik, Mike Hale, and Neil Genzlinger each give us their top ten of 2015 all in one handy article. 

#4:  Gerard Gilbert’s Five top TV shows and one turkey

If international Television is your thing, this is the list for you. The Independent show cases a short list of mostly British shows and a show to avoid. Although this isn’t a list showcasing the Best “Worst Television Shows of 2015″ Lists it is nice to see them add something to avoid in case it comes up in your Netflix queue. 

#3: The AV Club’s  The best TV of 2015, part 1

Now I know that this list doesn’t reach all the way to number 1 and stops at 21, but there are not a lot of changes from other lists on AV Club’s top 10 but here in the second half we see a number of shows that haven’t made other lists. The AV Club does a good job at choosing from more than HBO and Netflix.

#2: Willa Paskin’s The Top 10 TV Shows of 2015

From the introduction to the list it is clear that this list is more personal than anything else which gives it a sort of charm. I see so many lists that tell you that these are the shows you should be watching and if you don’t than you suck. 

#1: Metacritic’s Best TV Shows for 2015

You just can’t beat the numbers. Cold, hard, uncompromising numbers. 

Follow me on twitter: @Tomdavidlloyd

[tunnelvisionent-blog]

Game of Thrones S05 ep01: The Wars to Come

Game of Thrones is back! Finally Sundays have meaning after football season. Coming off the finale of season 4 most of the characters were left in circumstances that made their future uncertain. The season five premiere worked to answer some of these uncertainties and give a glimpse into where this season is going. For a few characters it fell pretty flat as to making the audience care about what happens. 

For example Brienne and Pod’s short scene raised more questions than it answered and really didn't do anything to make anyone care about their objective. Same goes for Little Finger and Sansa. The only point of their scene was to explain why Robin wasn't going to be around this season (thank god). Understandably this is important so the audience isn’t wondering “where is that little shit? Did Little Finger make him fly too?” which is why it didn’t detract from the episode as a whole. 

In other cases the episode did a great job of explaining what’s going to happen. Tyrion and Varys’s scenes gave a clear vision as to their future plans while Tyrion slurred some of the best lines in the show. Meanwhile in Meereen, Daenerys is having all sorts of problems. This is good because a show with out conflict is pretty boring (I refer you to Bran and Hodor’s story line in season 4). Daenerys has been juggling chainsaws since taking over Meereen and it appears she might be losing her timing. The problems she faces seem to grow and grow and the biggest problem, Drogon, is nowhere to be found. In the North John’s fate seems undetermined. He continues to be the high school misfit of the realm not sure which clique he likes better. His respect for Mance may come off as admiration to the leaders of the Nights Watch, who already are looking for excuses to execute him, and to Stannis who is looking to lead an army to recapture the North. 

All in all It was a fairly meh episode that doesn’t support many new and interesting speculations. There are still unanswered questions but nothing is all that new. We still don’t know anything new about Arya, Bran, Jorah, Hodor (I assume Hodoring but who knows), or Tomlin. 

High Points: Everything Tyrion said, No Bran, Lancel Lannister found Jesus, Tormund looks like he enjoyed his ski trip

Low Points: No Arya :(, Sorry Cersei but Simpsons did it, Robin

Score: 80/100

[tunnelvisionent-blog]

Marco Polo - The Wayfarer

Game of Thro- I mean Marco Polo starts its run with an episode full of sex, treachery, daddy issues, and clichés. Netflix is clearly trying to find it's own flagship period piece about war, politics, and sex like HBO and Game of Thrones. Can you blame them? The season 4 finale had 7.1 million viewers, which means a lot of subscriptions, which means a lot of money. So why wouldn't Netflix want to make a show that's almost exactly like Game of Thrones? This isn't to say that Marco Polo is a complete ripoff of Game of Thrones but there are a lot of similar elements. There is a sense that Marco Polo wants to stand out from Game of Thrones by but it can't decide how. There wasn't really a time when watching where one could say "Marco Polo did this better than Game of Thrones." There are many times when the show just seems to beg the comparison and others when it says that this isn't just another period piece about incest and politics. Overall this episode just seems rushed. It was like John Fusco had a great idea for a mid-season episode of a show that didn't yet exist so he had to write a pilot for it first.

Marco is currently the only character who has any sort of substance, but even so it only gets as deep as his father wasn't around when he was a kid. It seems that Fusco just wanted to show the viewer everyone who would be in the show but not give them any sort of qualities. Everyone on this show is pretty one dimensional. Marco has daddy issues, Marco's Father wants to trade, Marco's uncle is mad at Marco for no reason, Kublai Kahn just wants to rule the world, and the accountant from The Dark Knight also wants to rule the world. Instead of taking the time to do a whole drawn out, cliché ridden flashback to show how Marco and his dad don't get along, try developing major characters a bit more. If you want to get the information across that Marco's father was never there for him do it in the next episode instead of giving the viewer some back story on one character and leaving the others so under developed that there doesn't seem to be a reason to continue watching. Another issue is the lack of originality in an original idea. Marco Polo is a recognizable name, if not for the sheer novelty of the pool game. So why does everything that happens happen in almost every other drama? I liked that Marco was traded into slavery by his father but the reasoning wasn't really there. Then they tried to explain it with the flashback which only made it more inconceivable. It was an interesting concept but there wasn't any explanation for it. Everything was like that. Events just sort of happened with out any real explanation. 

Marco Polo is essentially a cardboard cutout of a good show. It puts on the face of a interesting and intense show like Game of Thrones but uses one dimensional characters to act out an overdone plot.

Marco Polo - Wayfarer 32/100

[tunnelvisionent-blog]

The Leftovers - Pilot

Just a little bit of background, I've watched the full season twice and am going through my third viewing and decided to review each episode.

What a start. The show gives you little information other than a date. It opens on a woman at a laundromat talking on the phone with her crying baby next to her. Immediately we are given the warning that something is wrong, but we like the woman just ignore it because part of what babies do is cry. After she and her baby are in the car does she try and comfort the crying child. She succeeds but then the child screams louder than before. The woman drops a can of soda and as she reaches for it the crying stops and we almost miss it as we're so focused on her conversation and with what she's doing. She doesn't consciously realize it until she glances back and the baby is gone. This is when the music kicks in, soft at first but slowly grows as the chaos of the situation evolves. She gets out looking for her child and is in a daze until a boy cries out for his father. She turns to look at the boy as a cart with no driver drifts into a parked car.The music crescendos as the camera looks at the woman and behind her a car plows into another car. The chaos grows as we hear more screams, car alarms, and sirens. The woman becomes more and more desperate in the search for her child before collapsing to her knees. It cuts to black and we hear overlapping 911 calls about missing persons. 

This is the first introduction to the show. This scene sets up everything that we need to know going forward. Something happened, people disappeared, and we have no clue how or why it happened. The viewers are just like the people who didn't poof. We learn that it's now three years later and that two percent of the world's population went poof. This is all the relevant information we need because the show isn't about what happened or how it happened. It't about how people deal with it as life goes on. The writers tell us multiple times that it doesn't matter how or why it happened. It happened so deal with not knowing why because everybody else is. This is reflected later in the episode when Kevin has the TV on to a commission's report on the incident that finds that they don't know why it happened. The show does a great job of showing the confusion and reaction of people and what it would be like it an event like this were to occur. The realism of the show makes it seem like if something like this were to happen this would be the fallout. There would be cults that start to pop up, special holidays, people who were effected most would become almost local celebrities out of pity. The Mayor at one point says that Nora Durst lost her entire family and "She'll say whatever the fuck she wants to."  Everything about this show is tense. 

Kevin at one point explains to the mayor that people aren't ready to move on they're ready to explode. This statement not only foreshadows the rest of the episode but also the rest of the season. There are so many moments like this where a character will say something that foreshadows the rest of the season. For example when Jill and the twins are burying the dog one of them says "Dogs aren't like us, trying to reason it all out and make sense of shit that makes no sense. They see shit like that and they just snap. All bets are off right there. ... They just go primal man, same things gonna happen to us. It's just taking longer." We understand that things are deteriorating in society after the event and people can only pretend to come to grips with what happened. They can't find any rhyme or reason to the event and that scares them because there is no logic to what happened. It wasn't the religious rapture, there is no scientific explanation, and there's nothing to suggest it was extra terrestrial.

The pilot sets up what the show will focus on, which is how the people of Mapleton deal with the tragedy of losing people to some unknown occurrence. It does a good job of setting the stage as a town starts to boil over as they deal with the loss of their loved ones and the emotional and physical scars that came with it.

Pilot - 92/100

[tunnelvisionent-blog]

The Newsroom Finale - What Kind of Day Has it Been

The last lines of this episode were the best part about this episode but that's not to say that it was bad. It was the second strongest episode of the season after the premiere but it wasn't close. The episode goes through the last three or so years and the rise of MacKenzie and Will's News Night with flashbacks to the beginnings inter cut throughout Charlie's funeral and reception. Sorkin shows how Charlie brought in Mac to stop Will from the slippery slope of sub-par ratings based news. He also shows us that even though Don seemed like an asshole in the first season, he really wasn't that bad of a guy! This is kind of a cop out from Don's arc, which is one of the strongest in the series.

Overall it wasn't a horrible way to end the series. It was uplifting in a (mostly) non-cheesy way, everything was wrapped up without too many loose ends, and the rest of the season did a good job of tanking the show that it was about time to end it. There was a whole lot of filling the gaps in the pilot but not getting much further past that.

So there are some moments that are really dumb and unnecessary. For example the whole jam session was fine until the whole gang got involved. It could have been a intimate moment between Will and Charlie's grandson leading up to Will telling him he can talk to Will anytime, but instead the moment is ruined when the whole news room joins in. Another example is the fact that Mac is pregnant which was a little cliche shoving the with death comes new life. I understand that that is one of the themes of the episodes but it could have been done differently by using a more ambiguous story line. Why not have Will tell Mac that he wants a child after Charlie dies because his death has given Will an epiphany on his life. Finally Neil is back (YAY!) and he's here to fix the internet. For what ever reason Sorkin really hates the world's biggest open forum. I'm sure Neil is going to show us how to use the internet in the right way. Could you be any less subtle with your God comparisons? Really? Neil is going to fix the site in a week? Is the seventh day reserved for rest after he builds the internet in six? These things draw from what the episode gives us as a memorial to the series.

The funeral is a good setting and the flash backs give a eulogy to the show that are mirrored by the present day stories of Charlie. With Charlie's death the show dies which gives the impression that in reality it wasn't Will's show but Charlie's. He was the one who set up everything by hiring Mac and he was the one who cemented it's legacy by making sure that someone competent would succeed him. At least that's what it seems Sorkin wants us to realize.

All in all it wasn't the worst finally ever or even this year. It gave a decent ending to a show that up until the second episode of this season was a fairly strong show. The biggest problem it faced this season was getting past the fact that it doesn't fully understand the internet and the fact that trying to justify silencing rape victims isn't a good idea. It's unfortunate that the show had to end with this season, that being said, the finale was a good way to end it.

73/100

[tunnelvisionent-blog]

Top Five Dramas of 2014

Like I said in the comedy list I haven't seen everything but of the stuff I have seen here's my favorite.

1. The Leftovers

If you've ever wanted to cry for ten hours this is the show for you.

2. True Detective

Just watch it.

3. The Knick

Soderbergh out does himself.

4. Game of Thrones

One of the better seasons so far and sets up an interesting narrative going forward.

5. House of Cards

Netflix has it figured out with dramas.

Honorable Mentions

The Walking Dead

With the first half of season 5 just wrapping up the writers have given us the best season so far.

Fargo

I'll be honest I haven't finished the season which is probably why it isn't on the actual list but from what I have seen it lives up to the movie.

[tunnelvisionent-blog]

Top Five Comedies of 2014

There are a bunch of shows out there I haven't seen this year but there are also a bunch I have seen, so of the later here are my top five of this year.

1. Broad City

Comedy Central's best new show in a while. It's essentially Girls only it's okay to like the characters and it's actually funny.

2. Silicon Valley

The HBO comedy from Beavis and Butthead creator Mike Judge about Internet Start-ups. Includes the best dick joke ever used on TV.

3. Review

Based on the Australian show with the same name. Forrest MacNeil, a life critic, reviews as many life experiences as he can including eating as many pancakes as possible.

4. South Park

Always solid Trey Parker and Matt Stone use a weird continuity throughout the season that works for most of the episodes and makes this season better than some of the recent ones.

5. Black Jesus

From Boondocks creator, Aaron McGruder, Black Jesus drops Jesus into present day Compton to grow weed and spread the good word. 

Honorable Mentions:

BoJack Horseman

The new Netflix comedy that, I'll admit wasn't very strong. However, I believe it has some potential to be better than it was. It's a unique concept with a kind of Ugly Americans, also it has a pretty loaded cast so hopefully it can grow in its sophomore season.

Married

One of FX's new comedies. I feel like this show didn't get the attention it deserved considering how strong I felt most of the episodes were

Community

Bouncing back after the horrendous fourth season and getting its leader, Dan Harmon, back the fifth season and beyond gives hope that it can stay strong in the sixth season as it moves online.