Walking Dead - Season 4, Episode 12 - Still

Maybe I'm just a simpleton.  But to be totally honest with you, I prefer my Walking Dead a little less sentimental than "Still".  Every show has an identity, and when you watch it, you know what you're in for.  Battlestar Glactica, Breaking Bad, The Wire: these are smart shows.  When I watch them, I know I'm going to be entertained and made to think in varying degrees.  A typical episode of Walking Dead, however, is almost entirely entertainment (read: fluff), with just a bare minimum of that other stuff (character development, acting, meaningful dialogue) mixed in. "Still" tips the scale in the other direction somewhat.  It's pretty much entirely two characters talking, emoting, and giving us a lot of heretofore unknown insight into their background.

And it works.  "Still" is a good episode of Walking Dead and it accomplishes exactly what (I imagine) the creators wanted.  And of course it never hurts to give breakout series star Norman Reedus a little showcase either.  The only issue is with me and my expectations.  To slightly revise a famous quote: "I came here to be entertained, not to feel".  Walking Dead just isn't my go-to drama for people introspectively discussing their life outlook while staring into campfires.  I prefer things a little more pulpy.  I want to see Tyreese bash a zombie's head in with a hammer, or those annoying kids end up in a contrived and dangerous situation only to be saved at the last moment by psycho Carol.  Unfortunately, no other characters showed up here to provide that much needed levity.  And that is part of the issue with "Still": I love Darryl as much as the next guy, but we really could have used a break from him (and the far less charismatic Beth) in this episode. 

There's a lot going on in the Walking Dead universe right now.  I would have appreciated the opportunity to drop in on Glenn and his pursuit of Maggie, or see what Rick and Michonne are up to.  There was just a little too much interrupted Darryl brooding in this episode for my tastes.  There is a reason Daryl took off as a character: he is the badass he drops in for a minutes here and there, does something cool, then disappears.  He can't (as written) carry an entire episode, in my opinion.  Once again, "Still" is a fine episode, and it was interesting to learn more about Darryl and Beth.  But I hope our "reward" for sitting through this one is a more loaded, high-paced episode next week.

Walking Dead - Season 4, Episode 11 - Claimed

I said last week that I enjoyed the motley crew aspect of some of the groups forming on Walking Dead in this latter half of season 4.  The unlikely pairing of Glenn and Tara in particular intrigued me at the time.  Based on "Claimed", maybe I should have been careful what I asked for.  Granted, it isn't Glenn and Tara that are the problem.  It's the new guys.  Whenever new characters come along on Walking Dead (which is quite often, considering the show constantly needs fresh meat to become zombie fodder), it tends to be a pretty mixed bag.  Frankly, the show hasn't been adept over the years at creating characters who aren't annoying.  Or at least very frustrating.  

By now, most of our remaining main characters are pretty tolerable.  But it has been a long process of killing off some of the less likable characters that has gotten us here.  And some of the characters that are beloved now started off pretty shakily.  So that does give me hope for Abraham, Eugene, and Rosita.  But "Claimed" certainly gets us off to a rocky start.  I understand that Walking Dead the TV show is somewhat limited by the source material it draws from (the comic).  But sometimes, certain ideas work better on the printed page than they do in live action.  Michonne is a character who (to my understanding) has evolved a great deal from her comic book counterpart, and probably for the better.  These three new guys may need to undergo a similar transformation.

Abraham in particular was frustrating to deal with this week.  I adore Michael Cudlitz (Band of Brothers!), but his character here could not be more one note: the stereotypical, tough-talking soldier archetype.  And after just one episode, I'm already tired of him going on about "getting to Washington" and "saving the world".  Rosita isn't given much to do in this episode, but I can't help but take slight issue with her well put-together appearance and sexy "uniform".  Walking Dead isn't Shakespeare; I can't take too much issue with the show for trying to add a little eye candy.  But we're in the midst of a zombie apocalypse here and Rosita looks like she is cosplaying a "sexy soldier" outfit at Comic Con.  

Speaking of apocalypses, another frustrating thing about Walking Dead is when we meet characters like Eugene who deal with zombies as if they have never seen them before.  I understand that Eugene is a scientist and not a soldier, but we are pretty deep into this apocalypse thing by now.  Rick and his crew all became skilled at dealing with zombies and I think that's realistic.  Idiots who make mistakes like the ones Eugene made in this episode would likely all be dead by now.  Additionally, Eugene and his "cold, robot-like scientist" persona seems like it will start to grate on me quickly.  Not to mention...that hair.

I may have spent most of this review complaining about the ongoing Glenn and Tara story line, but I actually have little to complain about on the Rick and Michonne side of things.  The kid who plays Carl is still a noticeably poor actor, but the scenes featuring he and Michonne are genuinely charming (and it has been GREAT to see more of Michonne's personality, as I alluded to above).  Meanwhile, Rick going all Metal Gear and silently stalking around the house evading the bad guys and procuring a gun was pretty tense, and quite badass as well.  And, of course, I don't think we've seen the last of those home invaders.  I'm not sure what characters we will be dealing with next week but if it is Abraham, Rosita and Eugene again, I hope that with the introductions all wrapped up, we can get into seeing some more interesting (and nuanced) aspects of those characters.

Walking Dead - Season 4, Episode 10 - Inmates

I enjoyed this episode more than "After".   Walking Dead is a show that has been criticized at times in the past for it's pacing, and with good reason.  Things tend to move a little slow in the world of this particular zombie drama.  And because of that past reputation, I assumed that we would be getting a few more episodes like "After" to start the second half of season 4. In short, a few relatively slow-paced episodes focusing on one or two groups of survivors as we gradually learn what happened to all of our beloved characters following the fall of the prison.  Turns out, though, it wasn't very gradual at all.  "Inmates" serves pretty much as an enormous information dump, letting us know exactly where everyone is and what they have been up to since that tank rolled into town.

And I liked the approach.  As a one-off episode, at least.  There was so much catching up to do that we didn't linger very long with any characters, instead jumping away quickly to the next story segment.  I suspect that it would get a little tired if every episode was this fragmented, but it worked for "Inmates".  Of course, I never thought for a minute that Walking Dead would kill off any main characters off-screen (or even in a flashback), so a lot of the "did (insert main character here) survive?" scenes lacked a little drama, but the zombie scenes managed to keep the tension high.  I have to give credit where credit is due: in it's early seasons, Walking Dead struggled a little with finding the right balance in terms of exactly how much zombie-killing to include.  But over the last couple of seasons, they have perfected the formula.  It always seems like there is just enough zombie action going on to satisfy my (admitted) blood lust without ever getting monotonous.

One thing I was really looking forward to was how the characters would be divided up, and how some unusual pairings might work on screen.  In that regard, "Inmates" did not disappoint.  It reminded me a little of the early seasons of the show, before everybody grouped up and settled down, when nobody to got choose who they ended up needing to rely on.  Everyone was simply making do with what they had.  Of course, some of the pairings are incredibly convenient.  Carol (who I am glad to see back) had to end up with Tyreese.  And two of the more physically attractive, young characters on the show (Darryl and Beth) ended up together, so it's pretty easy to guess what direction that particular story-line will go in.  But Maggie, Sasha, and Bob (who actually showed flashes of a personality in this episode)?  Glenn and the sister of The Governor's girlfriend?  Those are potentially intriguing pairings.  "Inmates" succeeded in making me very excited to see where the story will go from here and just how our cast will be (inevitably) reunited.

Walking Dead - Season 4, Episode 9 - After

"After" was, for all intent and purposes, a Carl-centric episode of Walking Dead.  And it didn't completely suck.  That is, of course, an accomplishment in and of itself.  Two seasons or so ago, Carl was one of the most hated characters on television.  His role on the show basically consisted of running off and getting himself into trouble in some contrived way (which often lead to the endangerment or death of a more beloved character).  He also provided countless opportunities for the audience to criticize Lori (another widely disliked member of the Grimes family) for her bad parenting: typically, Lori's only "interaction" with her son was to demand that someone "Watch Carl!" before flying away somewhere herself to do something stupid.

But Carl's role changed dramatically when Walking Dead moved to the prison.  A little more grown up, he had become one of the more competent characters on the show.  The character was still consistent with previous seasons: a bit more hot-headed than his father Rick, he always favored action and often tried to prove himself by doing things on his own.  But the difference was that instead of inevitably ending up helpless and needing saving, the little guy was often able to take care of business himself in those situations.  And with that lone character adjustment, Carl has become a mostly tolerably part of the Walking Dead universe (particularly compared to perennial "What the hell are you still doing here?" faves like Andrea or Beth).

Another good reason that Carl has been so digestible in recent seasons is that the show has wisely done a fine job of keeping him on the periphery.  Carl is always involved in the story, but not usually relied on to carry a scene or an episode.  There hasn't been a "Carl is stuck alone in Woodbury" or a "Carl has a crush on a girl" episode.  The reason, if it isn't obvious, should be: Chandler Riggs simply isn't the greatest actor (of course, he gets a bit of a pass there given that he is 14 years old).  Casting kids on a TV show is always a tricky proposition.  They tend to grow up so fast that they screw up the timeline of the show, or they grow up to be not so cute anymore, or crazy in real life, or in Riggs' case, not a very good actor.  But of course, children do exist in the world, and so casting them on a TV show is unavoidable. Given that restraint, Walking Dead has done a pretty decent job of managing the "Carl situation".

"After" represents a pretty ballsy move, though.  For the most part, this is Carl's show.  Of course, Michonne is there, too.  And I appreciated her segments if nothing else because I always enjoy when the show provides us the slightest insight into her life before the zombie apocalypse.  And her dream sequence was one of the most memorable scenes on Walking Dead ever (the show should experiment with more freaky, dark stuff like that).  But I was preoccupied with Carl. And you know what? He was bad.  Riggs' acting is wooden in the best of times, and the whole thing shifted far too much into that tired "rebellious, wayward teen storyline" that we've seen far too much of.

But there was genuinely some suspense when Carl had his zombie encounters (I should clarify that the kid isn't my favorite character, but I don't want him to die.  Mostly because hasn't Rick had it bad enough already?)  And the payoff was really great in the end.  Andrew Lincoln and Chandler Riggs are a believable father-son duo, and their characters have been through absolute hell.  So their moment together when Rick finally woke up was touching.  Michonne showing up (while ridiculously convenient timing-wise, of course) was also really great.  Those three had a growing chemistry before the prison went down, and I look forward to their adventures together.  And the events of this episode do confirm that our heroes will be split up for a while.  I think that's good.  It leads to more tense situations, and some characters we may not normally see together much should have some interesting interactions.  So far, the second half of season 4 is off to a solid start.

The Pro Basketball Talk - Can the T-Wolves Turn it Around?

http://www.theprobasketballtalk.com/2014/01/can-t-wolves-turn-it-around.html

The Pro Basketball Talk - Examining the Most Improved Player Award

http://www.theprobasketballtalk.com/2014/01/examining-most-improved-player-award.html

Band of Brothers

This was my third time watching through Band of Brothers, and this viewing was just as compelling as the first.  In fact, each time I've watched it has arguably been more interesting than the time before.  The reason for that is that Band of Brothers is a show with tremendous depth.  There is simply a lot to take in here in terms of story, and I challenge anyone to catch at all the first time though.  In fact, repeated viewings are practically required in this case.  

There is an enormous cast of characters, and each one is very unique, with motivation and characterization all their own.  So enormous, in fact, that the first time through, I had difficulty even telling all of them apart.  The second time, I got a good grasp of the main players.  On this third viewing, I began to notice more of the background characters and what makes them tick.  And there are a lot of background characters, many of them played by actors who went on to be very famous.  If you want to watch a movie featuring stars as varied as Michael Fassbender, Tom Hardy, Simon Pegg, Jimmy Fallon, and James McAvoy, this might be your only chance. 

Another impressive thing about Band of Brothers is how smart it is. This series came out in 2001, which was a couple of years after The Sopranos, but well before shows like Breaking Bad and The Wire made cinematic television the norm.  Despite that, each episode is like a movie (not surprising, given the involvement of Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks).  There isn't really a weak link in the cast performance-wise, and the cinematography is on par with anything in theaters today.  The battle scenes, while actually not as frequent as you might expect, are pitch perfect.  Of course, I have never been to war, but given the fact that real veterans give (often heartbreaking) insight before each episode, I trust that they endorse those scenes, which is good enough for me. And they certainly pass the eyeball test.

I also love how subtle Band of Brothers is.  Making a movie about war involves a delicate combination of fact and drama while never becoming too preachy or jingoistic.  I feel that this miniseries absolutely nails that combination.  The series isn't interested in making any grand statement about the nature of war or it's necessity (although those themes are, of course, touched upon).  Instead, it's a depiction of the men who fought World War II and the incredible situations they experienced, while developing lifelong bonds along the way.  There is no hand holding in regards to the plot, and there are no grand monologues attempting to explain it all.  It is, simply, a moving depiction of the events as they occurred.  

There aren't too many television shows out there that excel both as art and as an educational tool, but were a history teacher, I would feel as comfortable showing Band of Brothers to my classroom as I would sitting back and enjoying it at home on DVD with a spouse or a loved one.  It's that good.  "Why We Fight", the second to last episode, in particular is one of the finest hours of television ever.  Human beings could argue endlessly about the necessity of World War II or of any war, but there is no doubt that the stories of those men who fight in them deserves preservation.  For the soldiers who fought in World War II, and for the men of Easy Company in particular, I could think of no finer tribute than a near-perfect work of art such as Band of Brothers.