tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post8989375239437198142..comments2024-03-27T00:26:22.316-05:00Comments on The MacGyver Project: Searching for Soul in Television and MoviesNicholas Sweedohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00437092592253460266noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-6170542242121051232016-10-02T17:21:09.680-05:002016-10-02T17:21:09.680-05:00I've seen a couple episodes of "Burn Noti...I've seen a couple episodes of "Burn Notice" but haven't yet been able to really get into it. I like the actor - he was on "The Pretender" - but I haven't managed to find the hook in that show for me yet. I never watched "Graceland".<br /><br />I actually almost didn't watch "Suits" b/c I didn't want to throw another lawyer-drama show into my collection at the time, but I moved half-way across the country and needed something to occupy myself since I didn't have cable and hadn't really gotten into the streaming thing on Netflix, since it was still pretty new, so I found eps of Suits and was hooked from the pilot (which was actually filmed in NYC before they shifted to Toronto).Highlander_IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12390532917085374247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-35456742696057315242016-10-02T17:15:17.966-05:002016-10-02T17:15:17.966-05:00I watched two USA shows in the last 10 years that ...I watched two USA shows in the last 10 years that I really liked....."Burn Notice" and "Graceland". Did you watch or enjoy either of those?Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04953380288384883179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-73536900739520411152016-10-02T17:14:14.627-05:002016-10-02T17:14:14.627-05:00You can certainly put on shows that appeal to seni...You can certainly put on shows that appeal to seniors and find plenty of advertisers for Hoverrounds and Colonial Penn life insurance and the like, but because of their limited market appeal, you're gonna have to sell them at a much lower rate than you'd fetch for a program that has appeal with a younger demographic more likely to buy new cars, beer, and cola, among other things.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04953380288384883179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-45379207238471173792016-10-02T13:08:42.344-05:002016-10-02T13:08:42.344-05:00To keep plugging the USA Network shows, I think &q...To keep plugging the USA Network shows, I think "White Collar" fits your pattern too:<br /><br />Setting: NYC - and they filmed there, putting the city to good use almost as an extension of the characters.<br /><br />Antagonist: Neal's a convicted bond forger and all-around con man, so sometimes *he* is the antagonist, but mostly he works for the good guys. However, he's got a lot of skeletons that come calling and they're usually pretty smart too - since a lot of them are also con men.<br /><br />Problem Solving: Con man racket - though Neal is typically using his skills to help the FBI. There are times when he's gotta work out some pretty on-the-fly stuff to get himself out of a jam. I mean, not every plan can go down with base jumping off a skyscraper onto Wall St. =)<br /><br />Music: lots of old school stuff here, b/c Neal has sort of a Rat Pack vibe and his landlady is Diahann Carroll and her character was around during some old speak-easy days and there are a couple episodes where she sings (at least once w/ Matt Bomer); incidentals composed by Jon Ehrlich (who also did music for House, MD)Highlander_IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12390532917085374247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-71013336873267048042016-10-02T12:56:28.982-05:002016-10-02T12:56:28.982-05:00I did watch Enterprise and it started off pretty g...I did watch Enterprise and it started off pretty good if a little klutzy. I managed to slog through all 3? seasons, but it wasn't nearly as impressive as the others. I'm not sure what wasn't working - maybe the prequel attempt needed more fleshing out before they launched it or something. But it felt sort of like they were running out of ideas by the start of s2.<br /><br />I haven't been through all of Voyager, but I've seen all of the other 3 series. TOS is just TOS - you either like it, hate it, or appreciate it. TNG got off to a slow start, but had a really good run through the middle. DS9 was pretty good through the first several seasons, then they got all up in the Dominion War and I lost interest.Highlander_IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12390532917085374247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-37010024926980096732016-10-02T11:42:34.931-05:002016-10-02T11:42:34.931-05:00I'd still think that older people have more di...I'd still think that older people have more disposable income and also a lot of needs (like medicines) that it would be worthwhile to target them, but maybe that's why I'm not in advertising. And with Netflix and DVRs, seems like traditional commercials are seen by less people than ever before, which is why networks pay so much money for rights to live events like sports.Nicholas Sweedohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00437092592253460266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-64382444277732914452016-10-02T11:10:20.736-05:002016-10-02T11:10:20.736-05:00The 18-49 demographic is, for all intents and purp...The 18-49 demographic is, for all intents and purposes, all the networks care about. Older people may watch the most television, but they buy the fewest products (or the least diverse product selection) and in television it's all about advertising revenue. For this reason, NBC had solid hits on their hands back in 1992 with "Matlock", "In the Heat of the Night", and "The Golden Girls", three long-running shows that were past their prime but still pulling in good numbers. NBC dropped all three of them in 1992 because their respective audiences skewed decisively older. They made the gamble that even if their replacements on the schedule didn't get as high of ratings, they would still bring in more ad revenue because advertisers would be more willing to spend money during shows with younger audience demographics that are easier to reach with ads.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04953380288384883179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-24384462409414753312016-10-02T11:02:03.697-05:002016-10-02T11:02:03.697-05:00Did you watch Bakula's Star Trek run and how w...Did you watch Bakula's Star Trek run and how was that compared to the others?Nicholas Sweedohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00437092592253460266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-52093970402977064842016-10-02T11:00:17.572-05:002016-10-02T11:00:17.572-05:00Yeah I'm in the same boat, haven't seen th...Yeah I'm in the same boat, haven't seen them but your recommendation makes them sound worth sampling.Nicholas Sweedohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00437092592253460266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-15183048378207395892016-10-02T10:53:36.848-05:002016-10-02T10:53:36.848-05:00I've never seen either "Psych" or &q...I've never seen either "Psych" or "Suits" but have heard some positive things about both from people whose opinions I respect. Your plug gives me more motivation to sample both.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04953380288384883179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-71598461054813972392016-10-02T10:52:46.779-05:002016-10-02T10:52:46.779-05:00"Pretty sure few people tuned into CBS last n..."Pretty sure few people tuned into CBS last night had that much of a takeaway from that particular hour of television." That is true!<br /><br />After I was done I went back and looked at your guest post and noticed some overlap, like your #1 and #2 (villains and threat level) correspond to my "antagonist", and your production values and international settings correspond to my "setting", and you cite the music also.<br /><br />I wonder sometimes if they're trying too hard to gear these shows to people in their 20s rather than people in their 60s and 70s. I understand key demographics and all that, but there are a lot of people out there like my parents who have a lot of time to watch tv at night and are just looking for something halfway decent to watch.Nicholas Sweedohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00437092592253460266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-46395219646353178042016-10-02T10:44:14.142-05:002016-10-02T10:44:14.142-05:00Haha, yeah probably not a lot of Jake and the Fatm...Haha, yeah probably not a lot of Jake and the Fatman podcasts/forums out there. Quantum Leap on the other hand, even though it was not a ratings champ in its day, lives on with forums, podcasts, and lots of books (both about the show and fiction).<br /><br />I only saw 1 or 2 episodes of Person of Interest, it must have been early on because my parents were still watching (they stopped because it got weird as you said). The few episodes I saw didn't offer me anything -- it was a dumb overall concept with unlikable characters.<br /><br />The MacGyver set designers did an awesome job, and you're absolutely right about Black Rhino -- it really does feel like Africa. I think today it's so easy to just do CGI and other tricks that production teams get lazy or cost-conscious and don't sweat the details like they used to do. "Every Time She Smiles" is another good one -- I really feel like I'm in Eastern Europe when I watch that episode.<br /><br />Yeah Patricia Thornton has been a very weak character so far. Each word I write about the reboot is probably decreasing my chances for any more CBS cast interviews, but I gotta be honest! Nicholas Sweedohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00437092592253460266noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-63108732211388227562016-10-02T02:17:58.514-05:002016-10-02T02:17:58.514-05:00Other shows that have a long history:
"Star ...Other shows that have a long history:<br /><br />"Star Trek" - most of the incarnations<br />"Doctor Who" - which got picked up and continued, rather than rebooted<br />"Highlander" still has folks hanging around - and there are frequently rumblings of rebooting this franchise too, which terrifies me almost as much as the MacGyver one<br />"Stargate SG-1" - ended almost 10 yrs ago and still has a solid fanbase - I mean, I just got back from a 700-person fan-run convention *g* and there are dozens of other cons around the globe for it still<br /><br />Of the ones I've just listed here, I still watch most of them. I skip through a lot of Trek from time to time; I'm doing a slow re-watch of SG1; I run through Highlander episodes every few years or so. I don't watch much Doctor Who b/c I don't have access to most of it - and there's like 8000 episodes, but it's still wildly popular, talked about, cos-played, fic'd, etc. So, I figure these will be around for quite a while.<br /><br />As for Psych and Suits that I mentioned above - I've been through the whole of Psych about 3 x's (it just got pulled from Netflix) and I re-watch Suits about once/yr or so - at least s1-3. Sometimes I do 4. 5 was just last year. And the show is popular everywhere. It's the #1 less-than-legally downloaded show in India. And if they manage to turn around the lazy-ass writing they've got going on in s6, they could pull off that 'still talking about it in 30 years' thing. The characters are dynamic and strong and they have compelling stories, but the story they're telling right now isn't as smart as they think it is.Highlander_IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12390532917085374247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-22489630773575372382016-10-02T02:08:18.740-05:002016-10-02T02:08:18.740-05:00I did finally watch ep2 and *snoooooooooooooore*. ...I did finally watch ep2 and *snoooooooooooooore*. I kept having to pause it b/c I was also making dinner, though I needn't have bothered b/c every time I did, it felt like I should've moved through more than 5 boring minutes of nothing-plot. This guy doesn't do anything MacGyver-like even when he's MacGyvering. And that makes me sad.<br /><br />As for shows that hit your 4 marks - <br /><br />Psych is a good one. It's a comedy-drama series, but it hits pretty well and has a pretty big following that is STILL raving for new episodes.<br /><br />Setting - Santa Barbara, CA. It filmed in Vancouver, BC, but they used that to their advantage w/ the ocean-side locations and relatively nice (or nice-looking) weather. And for a few episodes, they skipped off into the mountains for colder climes.<br /><br />Antagonist - it's a 'crook of the week' style show w/ a bit of soap opera woven in. And since the point of the show is 'wacky antics', the crooks weren't always the brightest bulbs in the pack, but some of them were pretty slick.<br /><br />Problem Solving - Sort of the name of the game here. Shawn's a fake psychic detective who consults for the police department. If they slack on the problem solving, there isn't a show. There are sometimes the sloppy slip ups, but they're not frequent and usually forgivable b/c the show is meant to be kinda goofy.<br /><br />Music - 80's fan's wet dream. This show pulls from some of the corniest, cheesiest 80's music ever and somehow makes that shit work. (Essentially, the cast and crew are all big 80's dorks, so they wrote it in.)<br /><br /><br />Let's try Suits (at least s1-3)<br />Setting: Manhattan. They film in Toronto, but they have a lot of establishing shots they have as 'stock' that were filmed in NYC. They use downtown Toronto and place yellow cabs and food vendors on the sides of the road when necessary, crowd the sidewalks and the streets, etc to give it that 'downtown Manhattan near Wall St' feel. These folks can dress a set.<br /><br />Antagonist: They're lawyers. Sometimes they *are* the antagonists. But they've had some pretty great bad guys show up to ruin their day along the run. Daniel Hardman is still one of the most loved-hated characters on the show and he keeps coming back like a bad rash.<br /><br />Problem Solving: We have a fake lawyer and a bunch of real lawyers who, essentially, get these hard cases to push through. If these guys can't problem solve, they can't be high-powered corporate attorneys. Sometimes their problem solving is a little on the 'fantastical' side, but that's usually for drama purposes and, also, to keep the supporting cast from getting over-crowded, which works to the show's advantage. Too many characters is a bad thing (hint hint nu!MacGyver).<br /><br />Music: OMFG. In s1-3 the music is goddamned amazing! They got some really great lesser-known artists and such. I sought out nearly ALL of it. There were whole Tumblrs devoted to listing off the 'songs of Suits'. The music guy for the show would post track lists on twitter after the show b/c people would always ask about it. (He actually still does this, but the show apparently spends all their money on actor salaries now b/c the music has started to slip a bit and there's like 1 track per episode now.)Highlander_IIhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12390532917085374247noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-36659434809566152102016-10-02T00:29:35.884-05:002016-10-02T00:29:35.884-05:00Our assessments of both "Burn Notice" an...Our assessments of both "Burn Notice" and "Hawaii Five-O" aren't far apart. I've yet to be inspired to get "Burn Notice" on DVD. I watched Sunday night reruns before bed for a couple of years on the local syndicated affiliate and enjoyed the re-viewings thoroughly, but I'm not chomping at the bit for a full revisit just yet. I'd say I'm more likely than you to do so at some point in the future but as you say, the series' plot lines lack the magic touch that invites and even requires repeat viewings. There are a few "Hawaii Five-O's" per season I seek out in reruns to watch again. They really nail some episodes and they hold up great to repeat viewings. But in terms of DVD purchase I'd be less inclined to seek that out than "Burn Notice". Most weeks, it's just a fun Friday night popcorn show. "Quantum Leap" is another show I expect to rewatch a select number of episodes again without a revisit of the entire series anytime soon.<br /><br />I've rewatched all of the "24" seasons besides season 6 and the abbreviated ninth season from 2014. I feel like that show has repeated itself a bit but those early seasons in particular hold up fantastically to repeat viewings. As for "Prison Break", I've watched season 1 four times now....and every time I do I seem to watch at least three episodes a day it's so excellent.<br /><br />That's enough rambling for after midnight but I appreciate the thought that went into this post and must point out that your 10,000 words were entirely inspired by "MacGyver" reboot, episode 2 "Metal Saw". Pretty sure few people tuned into CBS last night had that much of a takeaway from that particular hour of television.Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04953380288384883179noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5788875373841955612.post-41773748268437537082016-10-02T00:29:12.661-05:002016-10-02T00:29:12.661-05:00Quite a stream-of-consciousness rant! Nicely put ...Quite a stream-of-consciousness rant! Nicely put together for all intents and purposes. I don't have an organized response but indulge my own cherry-picked stream-of-consciousness feedback if you would....<br /><br />I'm guessing CBS has a framework from which they want their shows structured, which is why so many of them are so narratively interchangeable. Perhaps Lenkov is running into that interference, at least for the opening episodes given that they were under such a time crunch after the first pilot was scrapped. We'll see how things progress. I'm not giving up on it yet but the consensus opinion seems to be that last night's episode was the storytelling equivalent of the invisible man.<br /><br />It is a "subjective question" regarding soul. One of the reboot reviews I read referred to the original as a merely "serviceable action-adventure series". As opposed to what I thought to myself? It's pretty clear based on any online search of DVD reviews that plenty of people found the show that we're still obsessing about 30 years later to be as vanilla as "Jake and the Fatman".....right before raving about a show like "Cheers" which never did much for me.<br /><br />Did you start watching "Person of Interest" from the beginning or in the middle of the run? It was entertaining early on but got bizarre beyond comprehension around halfway through its run.....yet critics adored it throughout. As you said though, I'd be surprised if there are "Person of Interest" websites and fan podcasts being done 30 years ago. It had more soul than the "MacGyver" reboot has shown so far, but not a complete soul.<br /><br />Interesting point about the inauthenticity of the Venezuela setting in last night's "MacGyver" reboot. You should take a look back to "Black Rhino" episode of the original for a contrast. Most memorable was the scene where MacGyver and Kate were driving to Nabo Sugar, and the streets were lined with extras in African garb, very much giving the viewer the authentic feel of being in sub-Saharan Africa. And while I know you don't like the episode "Second Chance", check it out again sometime for the location work. They did an incredible job....way better than a couple passing seconds of CGI flavellas in Caracas conveyed.<br /><br />Great point about Barrios the arms dealer, an invisible villain in an invisible hour of television. I'd prefer most of the non-MacGyver cast members in the reboot get the "re-boot" beyond just Riley. Patricia Thornton has given us little more to work with as a character than Barrios so far. Riley at least had some witty banter with Bozer last night, even though that whole scene had no business in a "MacGyver" episode. Yet we'll get more of it!<br /><br />Markhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04953380288384883179noreply@blogger.com