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Tag Archives: television

Today I chose to stop watching You (TIC00096j)

The PolyBlog
December 21 2020

Today’s choice requires a little context. On the face of it, I simply decided to stop watching a TV series that I’ve been working my way through. Not a big deal, right? Hardly worth a blog post.

Except the context is unique. I’ve mentioned before that I frequently approach a new year’s TV season like a fantasy football league, looking at returning veterans and scouting out new talent. I try to watch almost every new show, just to give it a try. Cable is easy for that, but streaming entities have huge catalogs, so sometimes I hear about a new show only to find out it is already streaming, and may even be in Season 2 or 3. It’s not new, it’s a veteran, I just never came across it before. Or it’s new, but it’s streaming, as I said.

I watch an EP, consider it for adding to the rotation, and if it has something to grab me, I start watching. Almost always to the bitter end. If I’ve deemed it watchable enough to go into rotation, it is REALLY rare for me to take it out of rotation. Some of that is just my connection to serialized storytelling. I want to see how the story unfolds. I might start skipping ahead in a show if it lags, watching a 44m show in 30m if it isn’t decent, but I usually want to see the major plot points. Seeing the choices the writer made to move the story forward. Some shows I watch and I know it isn’t very good. Magnum P.I. is not awesome, but I like the characters, the basic premise of the show, and I can put up with some schlock. Blue Bloods is another show that I know isn’t that good, and has some REALLY bad acting in places, yet I’m still watching. Others I will catch up on binge sets.

So simply deciding to “quit” a show is unusual for me. I’m a completist, I’ve already invested, and I just want to know how it plays out. Usually.

Then there’s the current show, You. Last year, I tagged it as a new show, something about a stalker, I assumed it was some sort of crime show. Nope. It’s almost a romantic comedy, without the comedy. And once I saw the premise, I thought, “Nope, this is stupid. It’s normalizing a stalker? Yeah, no.” But I watched all of the first episode. And it is quite dark, with the lead male portrayed as your lovable nerd who just happens to kill people who gets in his way. Parts of it is mesmerizing. It doesn’t hurt that the female lead is frequently shown in Piper Perabo-style soft light from Coyote Ugly-era. When she turns from self-obsessed to charming, she’s luminescent. And I stuck with it. There are sub-stories where he’s protecting a kid, others where he’s helping her confront some of her issues, he is almost a perfect boyfriend at times. As far as she can tell. It almost feels like a Sex in the City episode from a male perspective, except for the whole psycho reality.

Yet I feel like I’m watching a train wreck. There’s a season 2, and I have no idea if it’s the same couple, or what’s going on. I’ve made it through 8/10 episodes and as great as some of the parts are, it is STILL normalizing a psycho stalker. Half gaslighting, half Silence of the Lambs, totally creepy. And I just can’t stomach it for the other parts. It almost feels like fetish porn, some sort of stalker fantasy. Regardless of “what” it is, I find myself loving the writing, figuring out what they’re going to do with the premise, and yet hating the premise at all. I wonder if I could read it as a book and be done. I don’t know.

Today I chose to stop watching You. That’s not a normative thing, I’m sure there are people who are not emotionally f***ed up who could enjoy it just fine. I’m just not one of them anymore. There are too many other things to watch. Huh.

Posted in Goals | Tagged goals, review, television, TIC, today I choose | Leave a reply

Today I choose to try something different (TIC00058f)

The PolyBlog
September 23 2020

I mentioned that I took the night off yesterday, vegged and watched TV. I was fighting a migraine tonight, but managed to hold it together until about 9:00 p.m. Today was Andrea’s birthday, and we did lunch together, take-out for dinner plus a nice cake that Jacob chose from the store (our one last year was a bit of a first-time outcome, so she deserves a good one this year), and no gift cuz it hasn’t arrived yet. We played a game after supper, watched some more TV, and then Jacob and Andrea headed to bed. I was meditating on … Continue reading →

Posted in Goals | Tagged goals, television, TIC, today I choose | Leave a reply

Not in Canada – Cheap streaming options

The PolyBlog
September 12 2017

Anyone visiting my blog, or following me on Twitter, or even just (gasp!) knowing me in person knows pretty fast that I like serialized story telling — movies with sequels, books in series, and of course, TV shows. Just under two years ago, I decided it was time to cut the cord (Cutting the cord – Conclusion). It was a huge decision for me. I was a slave to my corporate overlords for media consumption for home telephone, cell phone, internet, mobile data, TV, etc. And it was costing me a small fortune, even with bundling. I made a huge … Continue reading →

Posted in Computers | Tagged cable, Canada, CRTC, streaming, television | Leave a reply

Articles I Like: A potentially long cold strike in Hollywood

The PolyBlog
April 12 2017

Since I watch a lot of serialized storytelling through scripted television shows, I often find myself reading business items about the industry, following ratings, looking to see which shows are picked up and which are not. And, for fun, following blogs of insiders like Lee Goldberg and Ken Levine. The world of TV is about to go a bit crazy, or at least it could, as it is time for a new contract to be negotiated between the Writing Guild of America (WGA, i.e. television writers) and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP, i.e. the producers). As … Continue reading →

Posted in Writing and Publishing | Tagged strike, television, writing | Leave a reply

Articles I Like: The true power of the scribe

The PolyBlog
May 3 2012

One of the blogs I like to read is that of Ken Levine, TV sitcom writer extraordinaire who has worked on Mash, Cheers, Frasier, etc. And like most TV writers, he has to have other sources of income, and his is broadcasting. To wit, baseball game commentary. Recently he posted a story about how he was covering the Tidewater Tides against the Columbus Clippers, and decided to play a prank on the visiting team. See the excerpts below: I noted that our dreaded rivals, the Columbus Clippers (Yankees ) were coming to town next and said, “Why don’t you call … Continue reading →

Posted in Humour | Tagged Cheers, Levine, prank, sitcom, television | Leave a reply

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