Saturday, May 28, 2011
One Tree Hill Season 7
One Tree Hill began life as a high school basketball drama that was about more than sports. Like its protagonists the series went through growing pains as its kids became young adults in the process losing whatever innocence it might have possessed. Progressing from teenage soap opera to adults with more responsibilities its characters lost their look of precociousness but retained their articulate dialogue. The fact that they are self-aware doesn’t seem to shield them from any of life’s pitfalls.
In season six the show lost its starring role with the departure of Chad Michael Murray. Hollywood remains uncharacteristically silent about the dispute that precipitated this move. It’s a tribute to its staff writers that this show managed to survive minus its lead character. By season seven the principals are pushing thirty but remain as commitment challenged and immature as ever. It is seven-year-old Jamie who steals the show and exhibits the most maturity.
With the departure of the almost saintlike Lucas, Nathan has shed much of his bad boy image. Once he goes pro he acquires an agent though one might have expected Clay to be older and more mature than the talent he manages. The love interests of the characters who remain add new life to the show. Brooke Davis’ Julian, a movie producer moves in with her. Her business is managed by Millicent who has a relationship with ‘Mouth’ who shares an apartment with ‘Skills’.
A basketball gets thrown around every now and then but the game takes a backseat to the soap opera that is these people’s lives. I suppose normal lives would not be a ratings draw but it seems hard to believe that so much could happen to a group of people. Either the show cornered the market on red-haired actors or someone used a lot of hair dye.
In season six the show lost its starring role with the departure of Chad Michael Murray. Hollywood remains uncharacteristically silent about the dispute that precipitated this move. It’s a tribute to its staff writers that this show managed to survive minus its lead character. By season seven the principals are pushing thirty but remain as commitment challenged and immature as ever. It is seven-year-old Jamie who steals the show and exhibits the most maturity.
With the departure of the almost saintlike Lucas, Nathan has shed much of his bad boy image. Once he goes pro he acquires an agent though one might have expected Clay to be older and more mature than the talent he manages. The love interests of the characters who remain add new life to the show. Brooke Davis’ Julian, a movie producer moves in with her. Her business is managed by Millicent who has a relationship with ‘Mouth’ who shares an apartment with ‘Skills’.
A basketball gets thrown around every now and then but the game takes a backseat to the soap opera that is these people’s lives. I suppose normal lives would not be a ratings draw but it seems hard to believe that so much could happen to a group of people. Either the show cornered the market on red-haired actors or someone used a lot of hair dye.
Smallville: Season 9
As I get around to watching season 9 of Smallville the series finale in Season 10 has just been announced. The shows I watched on live TV before I gave up on it are fast disappearing. One wonders for example how much longer One Tree Hill can survive.
Like OTH Smallville began as a high school teen drama and has had an uneasy transition to adulthood. People have come and gone high school buddies moving on. For a while the show toyed with the Justice League but Jensen Ackles, for example, moved on to his own show--Supernatural. The departure of Lex Luther, a staple of the Superman Canon, was rather a shock though in a world ruled by Meteor Rock and the Wall of Weird anything including resurrection is possible. The death of Jimmy Olson was another surprise. Season 9 spends considerable effort on who will be paired with whom and Clark’s on again, off again thing for Lois Lane. The duality of her fixation on his Superman alter ego to the exclusion of the reporter who sits opposite her adds novel tension.
This season Tom Welling appears shirtless for the first time and it would seem his handlers failed to persuade him to adhere to a rigorous gym schedule and diet. In contrast clothes are wasted on Justin Hartley whose ripped physique puts Superman to shame. In an attempt to enrich rather thin plot-lines in the absence of Clark’s arch nemesis Lex more survivors from Krypton appear including a brief poorly handled appearance by Jorel, Kalel’s Father. In the final episodes of the season Martha Kent returns to the farm. Interesting note, when Clark makes his whosh entrances there the door is never locked, surely the place needs more protection than that given by the family dog Shelby.
Like OTH Smallville began as a high school teen drama and has had an uneasy transition to adulthood. People have come and gone high school buddies moving on. For a while the show toyed with the Justice League but Jensen Ackles, for example, moved on to his own show--Supernatural. The departure of Lex Luther, a staple of the Superman Canon, was rather a shock though in a world ruled by Meteor Rock and the Wall of Weird anything including resurrection is possible. The death of Jimmy Olson was another surprise. Season 9 spends considerable effort on who will be paired with whom and Clark’s on again, off again thing for Lois Lane. The duality of her fixation on his Superman alter ego to the exclusion of the reporter who sits opposite her adds novel tension.
This season Tom Welling appears shirtless for the first time and it would seem his handlers failed to persuade him to adhere to a rigorous gym schedule and diet. In contrast clothes are wasted on Justin Hartley whose ripped physique puts Superman to shame. In an attempt to enrich rather thin plot-lines in the absence of Clark’s arch nemesis Lex more survivors from Krypton appear including a brief poorly handled appearance by Jorel, Kalel’s Father. In the final episodes of the season Martha Kent returns to the farm. Interesting note, when Clark makes his whosh entrances there the door is never locked, surely the place needs more protection than that given by the family dog Shelby.
Prison Break
The word of a thief and liar is worse than useless. Mercy is a dangerous thing to practice on a cellblock.
This is a series based on High Concept precepts. The first is that a brother with a brilliant promising career would have the plans of a prison tattooed over his entire body and then get himself committed to that prison for the sake of his brother. The second is that he could plan a prison break known to a large group of inmates without getting caught. The third is that a man on death row weeks from being terminated would be let out to mingle with the general population.
Without being as graphic as other prison dramas out there the series still presents the usual fodder for such series: drugs, corruption, brutality, rape, and murder. It soon becomes clear that the warders are every bit as much in prison as the inmates. It is however the quality of the acting and our identification with Wentworth Miller and his character that carries one along and allows the viewer to buy in.
This is a series based on High Concept precepts. The first is that a brother with a brilliant promising career would have the plans of a prison tattooed over his entire body and then get himself committed to that prison for the sake of his brother. The second is that he could plan a prison break known to a large group of inmates without getting caught. The third is that a man on death row weeks from being terminated would be let out to mingle with the general population.
Without being as graphic as other prison dramas out there the series still presents the usual fodder for such series: drugs, corruption, brutality, rape, and murder. It soon becomes clear that the warders are every bit as much in prison as the inmates. It is however the quality of the acting and our identification with Wentworth Miller and his character that carries one along and allows the viewer to buy in.
