TV Check-In
One of my goals this year was to catch up on these critically acclaimed tv shows I have yet to start watching for one reason or another. Since I did not go to the theater this weekend, this is the time to check in with these. I am currently working my way through three of these. I have finished the first seasons of "Yellowstone," and "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and I am about halfway through the first season of "Succession."
This show is a phenomenon, and after season one, I am still trying to understand why. In season one, are "hero," John Dutton (Kevin Costner), is fighting two wars, one against the head of the Naive American reservation and a developer who wants to build a housing development next to the Dutton's ranch.
Even with shows with anti-heroes, there are characters who you can root for. In most cases, the "heroes" are at least entertaining to watch. All the Duttons are monotone, charisma vacuums.
I am still determining if I am going to finish the series. I will give the show season two because I didn't outright hate it, but it has a long way to go before I jump on the bandwagon. There are moments when I see a great show that people rave about, but so much of this show is not that engaging, and the paper-thin characters do nothing to help improve the show.
"Succession" is a show I have been meaning to watch, and has gotten rave reviews. As with Yellowstone, the Roy family are not good people, but where they differ from the Duttons is that many of them are charming in their despicableness, except Kendall. (but that is the point; he is played like that on purpose.)
The internal fighting among the Roys as they fight for power within their father's company is fascinating to watch. The show is one of the best-written, acted, and directed television shows currently airing. It deserves all 13 Emmys it has won. I am through six episodes as of Thursday night and will probably finish season one this weekend.
Last year, I watched "Star Trek: The Original Series" for the first time, and now I am moving on to the next series, "Star Trek: The Next Generation." I have finished season one and am eight episodes into season two as of this writing, and I am enjoying it a lot. TNG is a show that I have had no exposure to except through other pop culture.
What has impressed me the most is how The Enterprise feels bigger in this series. I know the original series had a much smaller budget, so this is not a slight towards that series, but TNG feels like a place where people live. In one episode, there is a scene that amounts to the daycare center on the ship. There are families, and we see more people than the core crew. I also like that Captain Picard only sometimes goes to the planet of the week to investigate. It feels more true to life and gives other characters a chance to shine.
Data, the android, is one of those characters. I knew of him but did not know that he quickly became a fan favorite. Two examples come to mind. One is where he wants to solve a case like Sherlock Holmes, and one where to understand comedy better, he uses the holodeck to learn from a comedian and eventually delivers a standup routine.
Overall, I am enjoying this show. It is not batting a thousand, but there are more hits than misses. There are seven seasons of 22-24 episodes of the show, so I have quite the project ahead of me, but I have to admit it is not as daunting as I thought it would be.
