Terra Nova, Alcatraz, or how Fox blows up its own series

Although all networks cancel shows because they didn't work, Fox seems to be enduring a karma of its own regarding this subject.

The course (or maybe curse?) of Terra Nova, seems to be the perfect example: a great original idea, a long delay on the series premiere for reasons that nobody explained but were pretty clear once the first episode started, cancelled after 13 episodes.

Right away you can see a problem: in the show's credits you see more executive producers than stars. Fox took the show away from its original producers and tried to make it more attractive. Another big reason of the show's failure can be seen right in the first episode and along most of the other twelve: what was promoted as a science-fiction show, ended up being a family show with teenage romance and a few mysteries nobody cared about.
Ratings weren't all that bad; the show had around 7 million viewers, a number that looked good for a second season.


A different case, although similar, is Alcatraz. Season 1 ended a few weeks ago with really slow ratings for its time slot, but the show has not been cancelled yet (April 7).
Alcatraz started in a big way, with a real legend of its own, a big mystery, and JJ Abrams' name on top of it. Sadly, that was not enough.

For starters, Elizabeth Sarnoff, creator of the show, left it because of "creative differences", which looked supicious as nobody leaves their own show becasue of that. Pretty soon we realised the truth, when many scenes were re-written and re-shot by Fox's producers, trying to make the show more attractive by dropping parts of the big mystery every now and then, and thinking that the very own name of Mr. JJ Abrams would get more viewers even if he actually has nothing to do with Alcatraz, besides beign his company, Bad Robot, credites as producers.

On the other hand, Alcatraz made the big mistake of thinking that the individual stories told on each episode would be enough, while none of the main characters developed a background; including the fact that Parminder Nagra's character was quietly shelved. All of this stopped the viewers from empathizing with the characters.

All of this made Alcatraz end its first short season with just a little more than 5 million viewers.

No Ordinary Family is just that

With the avalanche of new shows this season, a few of them already cancelled and many others likely to be cancelled sometime soon, there has been a lot of fuss about some of them. And one of the shows that took some hits was ABC's No Ordinary Family.

I've been reading different opinions and reviews about this show; many of them just said it looked too rushed out the door, and some others said it lacks something, and even more.

Last week (more precisely on Tuesday, October 12, 2010) the show got a little more than 7.7 million viewers for its 3rd episode (damn, I just realised it's being broadcasted in my region just one week after its original air date in the U.S.) and for ABC, that's good. At least for a show like this one with no big expectations.
Octobre 26 update: No Ordinary Family just got a full season order, according to an official ABC press release.


Well...
No Ordinary Family is just that. A No Ordinary Family.

This show is nothing more than a light comedy/drama for families, it's just that, no more, and no less than that. Critics seem to be missing the whole point of it; and by "critics" I mean not only the guys who usually write about this stuff for a living, but also anyone else.

And "the whole point" is: as I said, it's just a light comedy/drama for families. Of course, best part of the show are the main stars, Michael Chiklis and Julie Benz; but the writers and showrunners are clearly targeting at younger viewers with the couple's son and daughter (Kay Panabaker and Jimmy Bennett).

Chiklis and Benz are doing a great job as Jim and Stephanie Powell, and they're the main interest of the show. They are, not their powers. But we cannot leave their kids aside. Panabaker (Daphne) and Bennett (JJ) do their stuff just right for what they're supposed to be doing there: to make up the "family" part of the show's name, and as I said, to grab the attention of younger viewers. Older viewers and reviewers seem to be missing this point.

So, what's all the fuss about this show? Why is everyone expecting that every new show has to be the new big thing?

Yeah, No Ordinary Family is no big deal, but it's an hour of clean entertainment. Most other new shows failed miserably at it.

Justified - 1x01, "Fire in the hole"

From the FX network comes Justified, starring Timothy Olyphant after his works on Deadwood and Damages, along with Walton Goggins' return to the screen on a starring role after playing Shane Vendrell on The Shield.

At first glance, the idea behind Justified gives you that "Oh, no, another show about a small town and a modern-day cowboy" feeling, but it vanishes as soon as you start watching this episode.

Raylan Givens (Olyphant) plays an U.S. Marshal in Miami with a little bit unorthodox methods to get his job done. Because of these methods, his bosses decide they've had enough of him and reassign him to a small town which turns up to be the place where he grew up. There, he meets again with his ex-girlfriend Ava (Joelle Carter) who's still in love with him, his former wife (Natalie Zea) and his old buddy Boyd Crowder (Walton Goggins), now the bad guy in town.

Throughout the whole episode, Olyphant plays an unique character as Givens, in the line of a cowboy, protective of his own people, who does not hesitate to pull out his gun and shoot but only if needed and as a last resort. His performance is only outshined by Goggins, who seems to have found the perfect character as Crowder.

The final scenes of this episode lay down the ground for the rest of the season.


Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, Joelle Carter, Natalie Zea, Nick Searcy, Damon Herriman, Jacob Pitts, William Ragsdale, Kevin Rankin, Erica Tazel.

Written by: Graham Yost.

Directed by: Michael Dinner

Score: 9/10

Quality doesn't mean more quality

Some north-american network under the name AMC has been getting a lot of praise lately. Not a suprise, as they gave birth to Breaking Bad and Mad Men, two of the most acclaimed shows these days.

But a few weeks ago, I found myself reading this article at tv.com and noticed that people seem to think that everything that comes from AMC has to be quality television, just because they're the guys behind those two quality shows.

Well, no.

Besides the fact that any show could be the new big thing or the biggest crap ever despite who's behind it, one quality show (or two, or three) doesn't mean more quality shows. One quality network doesn't mean quality shows. And that article shows how wrong it is to go after a name; right when the author says, "Would I bother if it were on a network other than AMC?".

Well, you should bother (big time) if you watched a show just because it came from a certain network.
The networks are entities that bring us, the viewers, their content. And the shows are their content. And shows can be great, good, average, or just plain crap whether they're on CBS or they're on Starz, so to speak.

Never follow the herd.

LOST explained?

Found this on Dan's Media Digest, who found it on Digg: a supposed Lost writer explains the final episode and the meaning of the whole story.

Apparently and according to some people, this is fake; but fake or not, it's a perfectly logical explanation of the whole thing. It makes a lot more sense than those crazy fan theories, and it also makes an interesting reading. So if you're interested, this is it:

Good stuff on here! I can finally throw in my two cents! I've had to bite my tongue for far too long. Also, hopefully I can answer some questions about Dharma and the "pointless breadcrumbs" that really, weren't so pointless... First...

The Island: It was real. Everything that happened on the island that we saw throughout the 6 seasons was real. Forget the final image of the plane crash, it was put in purposely to f*&k with people's heads and show how far the show had come. They really crashed. They really survived. They really discovered Dharma and the Others. The Island keeps the balance of good and evil in the world. It always has and always will perform that role. And the Island will always need a "Protector". Jacob wasn't the first, Hurley won't be the last.

However, Jacob had to deal with a malevolent force (MIB) that his mother, nor Hurley had to deal with. He created the devil and had to find a way to kill him -- even though the rules prevented him from actually doing so. Thus began Jacob's plan to bring candidates to the Island to do the one thing he couldn't do. Kill the MIB. He had a huge list of candidates that spanned generations. Yet every time he brought people there, the MIB corrupted them and caused them to kill one another. That was until Richard came along and helped Jacob understand that if he didn't take a more active role, then his plan would never work.

Enter Dharma. Dharma, like the countless scores of people that were brought to the island before, were brought there by Jacob as part of his plan to kill the MIB. However, the MIB was aware of this plan and interfered by "corrupting" Ben. Making Ben believe he was doing the work of Jacob when in reality he was doing the work of the MIB. This carried over into all of Ben's "off-island" activities. He was the leader. He spoke for Jacob as far as they were concerned. So the "Others" killed Dharma and later were actively trying to kill Jack, Kate, Sawyer, Hurley and all the candidates because that's what the MIB wanted. And what he couldn't do for himself. Dharma was originally brought in to be good. But was turned bad by MIB's corruption and eventually destroyed by his pawn Ben. Now, was Dharma only brought there to help Jack and the other Candidates on their overall quest to kill Smokey? Or did Jacob have another list of Canidates from the Dharma group that we were never aware of? That's a question that is purposely not answered because whatever answer the writers came up with would be worse than the one you come up with for yourself.

Still... Dharma's purpose is not "pointless" or even vague. Hell, it's pretty blatant. Still, despite his grand plan, Jacob wanted to give his "candidates" (our Lostaways) the one thing he, nor his brother, were ever afforded: free will. Hence him bringing a host of "candidates" through the decades and letting them "choose" which one would actually do the job in the end. Maybe he knew Jack would be the one to kill Flocke and that Hurley would be the protector in the end. Maybe he didn't. But that was always the key question of the show: Fate vs Free-will. Science vs Faith. Personally I think Jacob knew from the beginning what was going to happen and that everyone played a part over 6 seasons in helping Jack get to the point where he needed to be to kill Smokey and make Hurley the protector -- I know that's how a lot of the writers viewed it. But again, they won't answer that (nor should they) because that ruins the fun.

In the end, Jack got to do what he always wanted to do from the very first episode of the show: Save his fellow Lostaways. He got Kate and Sawyer off the island and he gave Hurley the purpose in life he'd always been missing. And, in Sideways world (which we'll get to next) he in fact saved everyone by helping them all move on... Now...

Sideways World: Sideways world is where it gets really cool in terms of theology and metaphysical discussion (for me at least -- because I love history/religion theories and loved all the talks in the writer's room about it). Basically what the show is proposing is that we're all linked to certain people during our lives. Call them soulmates (though it's not exactly the best word). But these people we're linked to are with us during "the most important moments of our lives" as Christian said. These are the people we move through the universe with from lifetime to lifetime.

It's loosely based in Hinduisim with large doses of western religion thrown into the mix. The conceit that the writers created, basing it off these religious philosophies, was that as a group, the Lostaways subconsciously created this "sideways" world where they exist in purgatory until they are "awakened" and find one another. Once they all find one another, they can then move on and move forward. In essence, this is the show's concept of the afterlife. According to the show, everyone creates their own "Sideways" purgatory with their "soulmates" throughout their lives and exist there until they all move on together. That's a beautiful notion. Even if you aren't religious or even spiritual, the idea that we live AND die together is deeply profound and moving. It's a really cool and spiritual concept that fits the whole tone and subtext the show has had from the beginning. These people were SUPPOSED to be together on that plane. They were supposed to live through these events -- not JUST because of Jacob. But because that's what the universe or God (depending on how religious you wish to get) wanted to happen. The show was always about science vs faith -- and it ultimately came down on the side of faith. It answered THE core question of the series. The one question that has been at the root of every island mystery, every character back-story, every plot twist. That, by itself, is quite an accomplishment. How much you want to extrapolate from that is up to you as the viewer.

Think about season 1 when we first found the Hatch. Everyone thought that's THE answer! Whatever is down there is the answer! Then, as we discovered it was just one station of many. One link in a very long chain that kept revealing more, and more of a larger mosaic. But the writer's took it even further this season by contrasting this Sideways "purgatory" with the Island itself. Remember when Michael appeared to Hurley, he said he was not allowed to leave the Island. Just like the MIB. He wasn't allowed into this sideways world and thus, was not afforded the opportunity to move on. Why? Because he had proven himself to be unworthy with his actions on the Island. He failed the test. The others, passed. They made it into Sideways world when they died -- some before Jack, some years later. In Hurley's case, maybe centuries later. They exist in this sideways world until they are "awakened" and they can only move on TOGETHER because they are linked. They are destined to be together for eternity. That was their destiny. They were NOT linked to Ana Lucia, Daniel, Rousseau, Alex, Miles, Lapidus, (and all the rest who weren't in the chuch -- basically everyone who wasn't in season 1). Yet those people exist in Sideways world. Why? Well again, here's where they leave it up to you to decide. The way I like to think about it, is that those people who were left behind in Sideways world have to find their own soulmates before they can wake up. It's possible that those links aren't people from the island but from their other life (Anna's partner, the guy she shot --- Roussou's husband, etc etc).

A lot of people have been talking about Ben and why he didn't go into the Church. And if you think of Sideways world in this way, then it gives you the answer to that very question. Ben can't move on yet because he hasn't connected with the people he needs to. It's going to be his job to awaken Roussou, Alex, Anna Lucia (maybe), Ethan, Goodspeed, his father and the rest. He has to atone for his sins more than he did by being Hurley's number two. He has to do what Hurley and Desmond did for our Lostaways with his own people. He has to help them connect. And he can only move on when all the links in his chain are ready to. Same can be said for Faraday, Charlotte, Whidmore, Hawkins etc. It's really a neat, and cool concept. At least to me.

But, from a more "behind the scenes" note: the reason Ben's not in the church, and the reason no one is in the church but for Season 1 people is because they wrote the ending to the show after writing the pilot. And never changed it. The writers always said (and many didn't believe them) that they knew their ending from the very first episode. I applaud them for that. It's pretty fantastic. Originally Ben was supposed to have a 3 episode arc and be done. But he became a big part of the show. They could have easily changed their ending and put him in the church -- but instead they problem solved it. Gave him a BRILLIANT moment with Locke outside the church ... and then that was it. I loved that. For those that wonder -- the original ending started the moment Jack walked into the church and touches the casket to Jack closing his eyes as the other plane flies away. That was always JJ's ending. And they kept it. For me the ending of this show means a lot. Not only because I worked on it, but because as a writer it inspired me in a way the medium had never done before.

I've been inspired to write by great films. Maybe too many to count. And there have been amazing TV shows that I've loved (X-Files, 24, Sopranos, countless 1/2 hour shows). But none did what LOST did for me. None showed me that you could take huge risks (writing a show about faith for network TV) and stick to your creative guns and STILL please the audience. I learned a lot from the show as a writer. I learned even more from being around the incredible writers, producers, PAs, interns and everyone else who slaved on the show for 6 years. In the end, for me, LOST was a touchstone show that dealt with faith, the afterlife, and all these big, spiritual questions that most shows don't touch. And to me, they never once waivered from their core story -- even with all the sci-fi elements they mixed in. To walk that long and daunting of a creative tightrope and survive is simply astounding.

What do you think?