A TV Respite
Apparently, I’ve been spending more of my time lately watching TV rather than movies. Luckily there are plenty of great shows readily available. I can’t truly evaluate whether or not we are in the Golden Age of Television, but things seem pretty good.
I was glad to see Twin Peaks show up on Netflix. I had some vague memories of it from the original run and from the pop-culture ether. It’s just about everything one would expect from an early 90′s Lynchian soap opera cum crime drama. It’s abstract. It’s weird. But never pointless. I think the series would’ve been better if Lynch had been able to let things play out more leisurely on his own schedule. Instead, we confront both Laura Palmer’s killer and the second season’s evil antagonist too early. That being said, I cannot imagine a show like this making it onto television today.
Next it was onto the first and second seasons of Friday Night Lights. A teenage soap opera, the excitement of football, and a realistic depiction of a marriage all captured with a wonderful cast. Who could ask for anything more? As with another teenage high school drama–My So-Called Life–I find myself mired in some confusion about whether or not I relate with the kids or the parents. The obvious answer is that relate to both. But I somewhat disturbingly find myself strongly relating to the teens as well. It’s a little nostalgic, a little longing, but mostly the result of good storytelling. I love this series.
Then in a single weekend I knocked out all of Party Down. This was a two-season comedy series that premiered on Starz. It had some of the people from Veronica Mars and Freaks and Geeks. There’s a very strong cast led by Adam Scott. The series reminded me of Arrested Development. A not quite as funny but still pretty good series.
Now that Star Trek is on Instant Viewing, I’ve got plenty to keep me busy.
