So, we're surfing Hulu and we came across this show - Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency. Being bored, we decided to give it a try. I remembered hearing something about the book years ago, but couldn't remember ever reading it or anything else about it. I'm glad we did.
It's weird, wacky, wild, and very very unpredictable. The characters are bizarre. It involves kidnapping, murder, time travel, body swapping, weird nerve diseases, talking vans, a corgi, and a cute little black kitten.
Just surfed out to imdb.com to check this out, and it's the 2016 BBC America show that we watched. Check it out here.
We have enjoyed it immensely, all eight episodes of the first season that are on Hulu. I may have to go find season 2 on DVD...
Warning - it is a little disturbing at times. The holistic assassin is way over the top. Bodies drop like flies all through the series. Violence happens a lot. Not a show for small children, and maybe not for older children.
Five stars for a very enjoyable show with plenty of laughs and what in the world? moments. Warning for violence and gore and disturbing bizarre stuff.
So, I finally signed up for a free month of Hulu to check it out. Mostly because it had a show that Netflix didn't have that my husband really wanted to see. He'd heard good things about it. We gave up after episode four. It wasn't the Orville. But that show was there, too, so we decided to try it out.
I had high hopes going in. Friends had recommended it as much better than the new Star Trek. It looked like fun.
It was like watching a bunch of people eating ding dongs. Sometimes is was funny, sometimes it wasn't, but the whole show felt like a train wreck in slow motion. And not a good one.
First off, the characters were okay. New show, it takes a while for the actors to gel. That was happening. They had an interesting mix of aliens, humans, and whatever to play with.
The set was awesome. The costumes were great. The special effects were pretty good. Those things they got right.
The writing absolutely sucked. It was horrid. The plots were lame and completely predictable.
Every single episode had at least one, if not numerous, genital jokes. Ones that even a 9yo boy would be embarrassed to tell his friends because of the lameness.
Writing humor is tricky. Adding silly touches to a fairly serious story takes a light touch and timing. Orville lacks both. The humor was slapped in at inappropriate times, and completely ruined any momentum and emotional attachment to the story and characters. And it was heavy-handed, like yelling, "I told a joke! And it was funny! Laugh!"
The dialogue was utterly stupid. A transcription of a group of 13yo girls having lunch at the mall would be more entertaining and much more intelligent. They're supposed to be a military ship, similar to Next Gen ST, but the banter on the bridge would never be tolerated. The lack of respect between officers and the constant insertion of personal issues made the whole show unbelievable. There was no sense of decorum. Ever.
I could rip more holes in the writing and the stories, but I think you get the picture.
The show was a disappointment. Even when they had the chance to do something new and unexpected they took the easy way out and gave us more Hollywood PC crap. They treated the audience like idiots. They killed the characters with imbecilic dialogue and stupid jokes.
Rating - TURKEY, except for costumes and sets, they get four stars
Warning - Lots of crude inappropriate humor at awkward moments. Genital jokes in EVERY episode.
If you want to watch a GREAT sci-fi show, try Star Trek Continues. It recreates the best of the best of the original Star Trek with all new episodes. It's on YouTube -
Have you noticed how tv shows these days are going for long story arcs that take at least the whole season, if not two or three, to resolve? Back in the day, tv shows told stories that took at most two or three episodes to finish, and those were usually reserved for season finales. Most storylines took one episode. Period. The End.
It makes sense. If you had to wait an entire week to get the next chapter in the story, you'd lose a lot of the urgency and interest. Yes, you still have to wait a week if you're watching the shows live. But with various recording devices and services like Netflix and instant streaming, long storylines are not just possible. They are becoming the norm.
I am definitely not complaining. I love it. I'm finding that watching shows with short storylines aren't as satisfying to me. Even movies are not as good. These tv shows really go into depth on the characters and settings and background. As long as it doesn't bog down the story, why not? It's like settling in with a really good book series.
Person of Interest is that kind of series. The story gets more tangled and convoluted the longer I watch. I just finished Season 3 and I can't wait to dive into Season 4. I really enjoy watching the characters evolve and finding out about new complications and issues.
If you've ever seen Man of La Mancha, the stories have a lot of similarities. Finch is taking people that most would assume are beyond redemption and finding ways to bring out the good in them. They have evolved into crusaders for the common good. Even though most of society is oblivious to what is happening, Finch and his friends are fighting for that right to remain oblivious. It's a hidden war, fought in shadows, which only adds to the tension. What if this is real? What if we are just ignorant because the government wants us to be ignorant? It's a believable scenario. And that's another reason I enjoy the show. I can believe in the truth of it. Even when I know it isn't true.
Besides that, the story is riveting. Three seasons in and I still don't see where it's headed. But the ride is fantastic so far.
Person of Interest is on Netflix. If you haven't watched it, go find it and spend a few days watching.
I give it an A, great show. I will warn that is a solid PG-13. The violence is a bit much, even for me. They keep the language and the innuendos clean, though. It's very definitely an adult storyline, so not one for the kids to watch.
