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TV Tuesdays Free Talk
Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.
Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.
There are lots to dislike about Dawson's Creek, but hear me out!
So, I know it is laughable having 18-year-olds playing 15-year-olds (20 in the case of James van der Beek). I know it is cringeworthy how these teenagers are both incredibly clueless about some things and tremendously mature about others. I know this is not how being young works, but, you know what? That is not what the show is really about.
In 2022, it's surprising to learn that Dawsons Creek made a lot of people angry with its "raunchy" representation of teenagers' sex life when even in 1998 it already seemed harmless to me.
I never really liked this show. I was "too cool" for it when it came out. I liked The X-Files.
But, when I saw Michelle Williams on 2018 Venom, I wanted to check out where I knew her from and ended up watching the first 5 episodes. And you know what? In retrospect, that's a pretty good show. It is not about how actual kids learned about love and life, but rather pure, unadulterated fantasy. And the better kind of nostalgia: the longing for something that never really existed. An idealization of youthhood that, unsurprisingly, charmed even the youth of the time. Think about it: this is 4 years after the death of Kurt Cobain. The year before, Smashing Pumpkins released Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness. I bet that there was some space, in youth culture, for a bucolic, rose-tinted idealization of growing up.
That's what the show's about, and it does achieve that goal.
Yes, there is at least one thing that didn't age well: a subplot loosely based in 1967's The Graduate, featuring a "romance" (which nowadays we would call abuse) between a teacher and her student (Joshua Jackson).
Dawson himself is insufferable, and his stupidity even more intolerable because his performer is clearly a grown adult. Katie Holmes seems charming enough to support the whole series, she's the quintessential "girl next door". Joshua Jackson is just adorable and equally charming. At 16, Michelle Williams, the youngest of the bunch, is at almost the right age for the part, but this only makes it weird that her love interest is 4 years older.
But maybe what I really wanted to talk about was the setting. This is before the time when everything started using CGI, and I'm so glad for that! Dawson's house actually is in front of a lake, and under the lines of dialogue you can often hear the water, the wind, the noise of frogs and crickets. This ambiance, the presence of nature, the beautiful shots and locations are, in my view, essential for the appeal of the show. It makes you go back to that time and place, and understand how, like the nature surrounding those kids, they too are undergoing the natural cycle of life. The scenes are often long, the dialogue is paced, with no rush. Like the water slowly creeps on a rising tide. A lot of powerful dialogue. It's kind of beautiful[1]. If you can ignore the fact that James van der Beek looks like he could be selling insurance, that is.
[1] it's not surprising that this show was created by the same guy that created Scream. Both universes take place in somewhat idilyc small towns.
Very interesting. I only watched it sporadically when it aired but could see myself browsing through it now after reading this. With the nostalgia on top of this it could even be entertaining. I watched Felicity back in the day so this might not be far off.
I like the word Anemoia for this feeling and it always trigger me no matter context.
Anemoia, what an interesting word. Woody Allen's Midnight in Paris is a beautiful story about that.
Yeah. I found it years ago and it just made sense in me. I've always had a yearning for something I didn't really understand or knew what was.
So: Arcane.
I've never played League of Legends (nor plan to do so) and don't know anything about it.
Still:
I'm rewatching it with my sister and one thing I find impressive is how everything in the show belongs somewhere. People and objects. When something isn't in the right place it's really obvious and it looks out of place. They use various aesthetics to link locations together or even plot elements. It's subtle but it's great for the show's world building.
One example is in the Runeterra world, there's something called "The Void" snip. It exists outside the universe. It connects to Runeterra through Void Rifts. Creatures from The Void are usually purple color. In the show Shimmer is purple. There's some speculation in the community that under Zaun you can find a Void Rifts. It's likely that this year we'll get a Void-based event in the game where the connection to Zaun will be revealed.
I'm looking forward to see what they do with that.
I'm really enjoying Peacemaker. DC should focus on television. There's very little I've enjoyed from the DCCU -- but the series like Doom Patrol have been great.
I stumbled across this Game of Thrones fanedit. It combines S07 and S08 to fix some of the major issues. The biggest change is the ending -- its completely different.
Spoiler
Dani kills the Night King and everybody pretty much goes back to their own kingdoms.Is it perfect? No... but I think its more satisfying. The last two seasons are still a total letdown, though.
edit: this week's Boba Fett... there aren't even words for this.
I don't watch DC movies because I miss them in theaters and the people I trust, friends and family with similarly low standards, usually say they're pretty poor. I've never heard anything bad about their shows, or animated features/shows even from DC's core comic-reading audience. I feel like rather than chase Marvel into the cinematic+TV universe space they ought to focus on what they've been doing great. I also think Peacemaker and the Gunn Suicide Squad happened by chance, and my mislead the people at DC into trying more similar things. Hopefully they can learn from what made the Gunn stuff work.
yeah, that's definitely true. He seems to get the tone that works best. Doom Patrol is still the best DC property out there, so far as I'm concerned. Its sort of on the same level as Legion. Same with The Boys -- its just the right tone for them.
You're also right about DC being their own. I've been on it for years that they should double down on going darker, targeting an adult audience. It just makes sense. They also have a shitload of amazing properties to capitalize on.
Season 4 of Ozark is becoming Breaking Bad more and more and that's not a bad thing. The feeling, cinematography, music and the way the episodes are put together just reeks BB. I'm so glad it's back.
I have one more episode to go and I am riveted for every one so far. The scene in the driveway between the two matriarchs was masterful. Laura Linney needs to be recognized for her performance over the whole show, but especially for this season. She has made Wendy Byrde such a singular engine of malice.
I was thinking it was becoming House of Cards more and more too, given all the underhanded political intrigue happening, which is not a bad thing either. And I think I know part of the reason why... have you noticed who directed the last 2 episodes of Ozark S4 Pt. 1 yet? It was none other than Madam President Underwood, Robin Wright. :P
Inside Job (Netflix)
Not enjoying this cartoon as much as I thought I would. It's fine, but there are so many other shows I could be watching that are more than fine.
Melodi Grand Prix (NRK)
It's finally Eurovision season again! The songs for our national selection aren't as good as last year, but there are some interesting ones. Really hoping Subwoolfer wins. It may be a joke entry, but it's by far the catchiest of this year's crop, and ESC has become so serious and professional in recent years that it could definitely use more fun songs!
Not a fan of the format of our national selection, though. 5 songs per episode is simply not enough content, and with two of the songs played twice, it gets repetitive. I also have mixed feelings about some songs being pre-qualified for the final.
Peacemaker (HBO Max)
Surprisingly funny, good action scenes, and the best opening credits I've seen in many years.
The Righteous Gemstones (HBO Max)
Rewatching season 1 before starting on season 2. This was one of my biggest TV surprises in 2019, so I'm really hoping they've kept up the good work with season 2.
I’ve been watching Black Adder. Mostly because I love Richard Curtis as a writer (he wrote Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill, and directed Love Actually and About Time). It’s pretty silly, but it’s nice to watch and just space out.
I went through an Anglophile phase when I was 16 and I mostly watched British TV. I watched IT Crowd, Black Books, The Office, Derek (I was obsessed with Ricky Gervais), Peep Show, as well as all the panel shows like 8 out of 10 Cats does Countdown.
I like how short British TV shows are, I always think American shows, especially pre-streaming, go on for way too long with too many episodes.
Hoping to also watch Fawlty Towers (only 12 episodes!) and Spaced.