THE ABSENT

THE ABSENT
THE ABSENT - out now!

CRIPPLED HEARTS

CRIPPLED HEARTS
Out Now - For sale on Amazon and other onlne book sellers

SOLIDARITY WITH THE FLESH EATING MOSAIC AND OTHER POEMS by Raj Dronamraju

SOLIDARITY WITH THE FLESH EATING MOSAIC AND OTHER POEMS by Raj Dronamraju
Out Now

THE RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT NINNY AND OTHER POEMS by Raj Dronamraju

THE RETURN OF THE MAGNIFICENT NINNY AND OTHER POEMS by Raj Dronamraju
My first book of poetry available through Amazon and other online booksellers www.rajbooks.com

Wednesday, January 22, 2014

FAVORITE TV SHOW LIST UPDATE, THE FOLLOWING, AND BLACK MIRROR


Recently created a list in IDMB of my favorite 100 TV shows. http://www.imdb.com/list/pj_-_EmlZE4/ Not be confused with the favorite 50 tv show list I made on my blog a few years ago (I won’t post a link but can easily search in blogspot).  The list has changed a bit.  Recently reviewing Kojak episodes and that really was a great show – great writing, great understanding of its characters and a fabulous hero in Theo Kojak totally synergy with the star Telly Savales (who looms large on the screen, take up a lot of acting space) so I’ve moved Kojak up the list.  On the flip side, after a fantastic first season and a good start to its second season, HOMELAND has tuned into crazy illogical mush as if they were writing it as they went along with no thought of continuity. Blow up CIA headquarters? Sure Carrie’s pregnant? Why not kill off Brody in Iran? Nifty.  Compare HOMEALND to BREAKING BAD where parts were put together years before they were filmed and the end result makes total sense.  HOMELAND has dropped a few places on my list.

Two new series I’ve enjoyed and added to the list are THE FOLLOWING and BLACK MIRROR.

One might argue that THE FOLLOWING is as guilty as HOMELAND of full on errors in logic (I’ve never seen the FBI portrayed as much as inept bunglers).  How many times has Kevin Bacon’s character wandered into trouble without back-up????  James Purefoy is miscast as the serial killer/cult leader villain.  He’s more like a bond villain, more Ernst Stavros Blofeld rather than Hannibal Lecter.  But THE FOLLOWING works because of the sheer amount of adrenalin pumping furiously in each and every scene.  Never seen a faster moving TV shows, all high points, all moments of great drama and it is not afraid to kill off characters left and right. I should also note I just watched the second season opener and its pace is much slower and seems more interested in actual detective work.


  
BLACK MIRROR is an anthology show wherein all the stories are loosely about the same subject - Social media particularly its commercialization of everything, the bombardment of advertising through the Internet, the dehumanization of people through too much information, too much interaction that is through a machine.

All six episodes that have been released so far were excellent especially the second one which showed a dystopian future where people pedal for credits on a stationary bicycle to fuel a pop culture that had taken over everything.  Powerful, imaginative, visionary stuff with high production values and intricately plotted stories full of Rod Serling Twilight Zone irony pointed in the direction of the current and growing disconnect between people and life caused by being online.  The six episodes in order of preference – 2,5,1,4,6,3      


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