When the new season begins, I watch all my favorite series season premieres as well as all the series premieres that look promising. Already this year, I have some serious problems with the writing.
An ex-wife who is trying to regain control of her husband’s music empire goes to visit him in prison (and frankly, I forgot why she was there because of this outrageous error). The inmate ex-husband is sitting at a table, and the wife sits down opposite him and plunks her pretty gold handbag on the table in front of her. Really? They now allow visitors to carry in purses? Even if the bag is searched, there are simply way too many ways to hide something illegal or lethal in that bag.
A prosecutor drops by to visit an inmate, already a suspect situation because it’s usually only the defending attorney who confers with the accused. In this case, that prosecuting attorney is a female wearing a black suit with a very low cut neckline. She’s showing more cleavage than I’ve been able to show in my whole lifetime. I don’t know. Maybe it worked for the accused, but it sure didn’t work for me.
One of my all time favorites (the one where the writers killed off Dr. McDreamy last season) had a wonderful story for their season opener, but they ruined the whole thing by staging a giant lecture during surgery when, to be honest, one would expect the doctors to be focusing on the patient who was in very serious condition. The lecture was about bullying. The lecture destroyed the pacing of the story’s plot, and that plot was pretty darned good. I was annoyed because I don’t need to be lectured about bullying. I was there to be swept up in the drama of saving a life, to step away from my own anxieties about surgery to watch these amazing doctors work miracles. Now I wonder, what will the doctors be doing when I get my knee replaced? Having a debate about the presidential candidates, maybe? Or the price of a new Lamborghini? Let me tell you, one more lecture during surgery, folks, and I’ll be dropping one of my long-favorite TV shows.
(Note: This might be a spoiler!) I’ve also been binge watching Game of Thrones, which I have to admit, hooked me on DVD with season one and has kept me going through mid-season four. It was pretty graphic in the sex and nudity area. Whatever, I could always fast forward to the graphic violence bits or even the real meat of the story. Something happened mid-season four, however. Most of the sex and nudity disappeared, to be replaced by some of the most horrific and brutal and gory violence I’ve ever seen in a movie. I mean, seriously, bad enough to make me gag. What was happening at the time at HBO? Did the ratings drag? Is that what it took to keep the fans watching? Phew! I’m almost afraid to keep season five and six saved on my Netflix list.
I watched the first ten minutes of a new show called The Player. Gave it up. I can’t watch everything, you know? This one didn’t grab me.
If you’ve followed my blog over the years, you already know I like television and movies. They rank, as a pair, second to reading good books. This year you may hear more about the things that drive me crazy. Stay tuned.