Last year, I wrote a whole series of Emmy nom dream ballots/predictions, but I’m just going to condense everything into one post this year. The following consists of rants, stuff I like/don’t hate, pouting, and more about an awards show that I care too much about. Enjoy. First things first, the
TATIANA MASLANY AWARD FOR NOT GETTING NOMINATED BECAUSE THE EMMY VOTERS SUCK
This is Tatiana Maslany. She plays 100 different characters, in case you needed a refresher, Emmys.
“Thank you for, well, for Kerwin. He was a good person, and he was my friend. I miss him every day.”
Donald the Normal is a version of Daniel that’s been pushed aside by the rest of society, buried under the details of the case and whether he’s guilty or innocent. For all the labels that have been slapped on him–killer, celebrity-of-sorts, oddball, rapist–there’s one that has been constantly missing: human.
“The idea was to make your worst fears come true.”
When Wilfred gets really trippy, it’s one of television’s most entertaining and compelling shows. Sometimes, it can be too confusing for its own good, but the show’s always able to craft a very unique ambience on screen, regardless of story or laughs. “Answers” is a fun, disorienting ride through Ryan’s headspace, and it emphasizes one aspect of his character that continually holds him back: fear.
Season 1 of The Bridge was at once a serial killer drama and a look at the goings on of the border between the United States and Mexico, a plot-driven David Tate story and a character-driven Marco-Sonya dynamic, a cliche and a unique take on sociopolitical climates. It seemed like various shows wrapped up into one package overflowing with good ideas, but ultimately without enough cohesiveness to elevate it to the top tier of television shows.
Nathan For You isn’t built on lies borne out of malice, but rather awkward situations that have their foundations in some form of deception. These aren’t real situations, but they elicit very real reactions, and that’s the beauty of watching this show unfold. In “Souvenir Shop/ELAIFF”, Fielder continually builds upon one specific idea, and what we’re left with is a truly hilarious half hour of television.
Jack Bauer has been through a hell of a lot, which is already an understatement in and of itself. Live Another Day seems intent on emphasizing the history of TV’s best badass, the way every event has taken a toll on his psyche and the way certain memories can come back to haunt him. Cheng Zhi is representative of one of the worst periods in Bauer’s life, the one and a half years of torture at the hands of a merciless villain, and you can see the flood of memories pouring through Jack’s head when he hears the voice on the recording. This stays with you.
“They’re not our dogs anymore.”
Kevin Garvey, like many other people coping with the Sudden Departure and its implications, just wants some semblance of normalcy. He’d like to be a good cop and a good father, but how do you do that when you’re faced with your own slipping sanity, your idea of what you believe to be right coming into conflict with how everything seems to be? What happens when something as seemingly insignificant as a bagel is indicative of your mental state and ability to function, is magnified just like every little thing in a world that’s experienced a loss small on paper, but huge in reality?
“Always so rude, that one.”
How fitting is it that in an episode titled “We Have Manners. We’re Polite.”, the final line of the season is the one mentioned above? Suzanne, a product of Vee’s manipulation, recites that line after going down for Vee, and Vee eventually gets run over because she goes against it. Ah, the satisfaction. Simply put, she doesn’t mesh with the rest of the prisoners–and “rude” is an understatement, by the way–which is interesting considering 1) Out of all our characters, she’s the one who most belongs in prison, and 2) For a time, she seemed like the one who fit in the most.
EPISODE 1, “I Knew You When”
We’re back! It’s amusing–but also refreshing and understandable–how season 2 is pretty much swept under the rug here, fast-forwarding a bit as the show seems to wash its hands of whatever mess it got itself into. I appreciate the way this episode focuses on the natural conflicts and connections that arise between our central characters, some of which include the parallels between the Coach-Smash and Mrs. Coach-Tyra relationships; the Taylors are, as expected, being awesome people, and they seem to have taken it upon themselves to help foster a bright future for their respective “kids”. These are the struggles I want to see from people like Smash and Tyra (love her smackdown of the Asst. Principal), these real-life difficulties that interfere with their outlooks of the future.
Season 2, Arc 3: “The Stuff that Happens before Pegasus”
These episodes are far from bad (we’ll get to that soon), but they ultimately wind up as nice ideas that falter a bit due to a general lack of cohesiveness in the writing. The documentary-style approach of “Final Cut” allows us to get into the headspace of minor characters like Kat, so that’s a plus, but most of the interviews don’t necessarily yield any new information about the characters.
Polar Bears Watch TV 