Category: MDP On TV

I’ve only seen season one, so this is a partial review. My conclusion so far is that it’s brilliantly acted but constantly uncomfortable. It’s actually quite hard to like either of the main characters but it’s also hard to look away from them. (I’m always fascinated when character’s are unlikeable but compelling and I really found this to be the case in Homeland). Carrie seems to driven by severe anxiety and impulse rather than altruism, and as for Brody – well he’s one seriously messed up guy.

Damian Lewis is a powerful actor, able to shift from smile to sinister subterfuge with a twist of his lips. Credibilty was a little stretched for me with Carrie’s abusiveness to her friends and family. As she slowly unravels, this becomes less of an issue, but I felt at the beginning we didn’t see enough of her charm – the reason people would stay hooked in to her. I didn’t buy that her being “brilliant” at what she did was enough.

Morena Baccarin does an excellent job as the forgiving wife who is always on the cusp of being pushed too far, but her daughter, Dana, played by Morgan Taylor is perhaps one of the standout perfomances. Dana is utterly convincing as the rebellious, smart teenager who is plugged in to what’s going on around her.

Homeland depicts characters caught in a alarming confusion of beliefs perverted by life experience and suffering. Huge pathos was engendered towards the end though some episodes moved quite slowly. An interesting show with some strong subtext – I’ll be back for seaon 2.

*I will add that the show’s music didn’t quite work for me. But then I’ve been listening to badass tunes used for Sons of Anarchy, so my head space is not right to appreciate it.

I love cowboys. Always have, always will. I grew up on cowboy fiction and it makes me very picky about what I deem readable and watchable. Never got into Deadwood, and therefore approached Justified with some trepidation.

Honestly, it took to the finale of season one (which they really nailed) for me to develop an appreciation of the world and the characters. A man’s story set in backwoods Kentucky is kinda out of my normal entertainment fodder – even if he wears a bad-ass stetson.

Come season 2, the female characters began to acquire some greater depth with particularly riveting performances from Margo Martindale as Mags Bennett and Kaitlyn Dever as Loretta McCready.

Interestingly though, the relationship between Ralan and Boyd, lawman and criminal, is more tender, complicated and interesting than any of the male-female relationships in the show and both Timothy Olyphant and Walton Goggins are quite brilliant in their roles.

I’ve grown to love the portrayal of the changing rules between the kin of Harlan and their enemies. What do you do for family? When do you kill for them? When do you die for them? When do you give them up for a better deal? I’m guessing the Elmore Leonard’s novels (which the series is based on) are what bring that depth of social commenary to play. I’m certainly tempted to buy the books.

Really looking forward to season 3 and more of Ralan’s laconic, smart dialogue – probably some of the finest dialogue on recent TV. Ralan’s fraught relationship with his father Arlo is also a running story line which thoroughly explores how loyalty can still exist when love has long gone.

All in all … thumbs up Justified, just please keep working on your female characters. Neither Ava nor Winona get a chance to be much other than the companion.

Been circling around this series for a while because I didn’t feel much like taking a trip through a violent, crude fictional world. And though I’m about to start season 4 now, I still have a part of me (the civilised, rational part) resisting the explicit violence and vigilante justice. I think when I was a younger I would have embraced it (and I look back at my Parrish Plessis series and see many of the same dynamics in play). But age brings a meta-conscience that is hard to switch off. Yeah, I’m in a pussy phase!

Anyway, despite the disclaimer, I’m a completely hooked. The acting is so good that it will be hard to ever consider those actors in any other parts. They seem to have got the energies and the sexual tension right on (superb casting) and the writing is an effective mixture of street, humour and philosophy. I love the way so many facets of life get a voice.

The exploration of family and loyalty and why people make the decisions they do is not new ground, but showrunner, series creator and writer, Sutter, handles it with honesty and just enough moments of light to balance what could be unremitting dark.

The series is addicitive pulp fiction but runs so deep on the exploration of the nature of men, their conflicting values and their mate-ship that it truly is the best kind of entertainment; meaningful while being hyper-real and exhilerating. “We blow shit up” is a seductive mantra.

The portrayal of issue of women in the series is a really interesting one. What could easily have been offensive and dismissive, is a realisitc and compelling reflection of women’s roles in a male-centric environment. The characters of Gemma and Tara are the anchor of the show – without them it would be a meaningless story.

I’m waiting with bated breath to see what Sutter’s end game is. It’s a long time since I’ve been so emotionally invested in a set of fictional characters – more so in some ways than some of the ones I’ve written myself (that’s how deep it goes for me!). Sutter has no fear, and I’m in awe of that – but there is a balance between letting the characters dictate their end and tearing the audiences heart out and making them wish they’d never heard of SAMCRO.

I’m on your side Sutter, don’t let me down!