I’ve come to the understanding that I am a TV junkie. Like, ‘where is my next hit coming from?’ junkie. Lately the hits keep coming, but they are weak at best. I’ve dabbled in Limitless, returned to Castle, retired NCIS: Los Angeles (Sorry LL, your show is crap. Always has been.), tried hanging with Ballers, studied The Player, learned to Fear the Walking Dead, and so on. Through all of this I learned that there is not much out there worth watching. Fortunately, the situation isn’t a total bust.
If you are into the late night shows then feel good about all three that are running right now. While much has been said about the Tonight Show and the Late Show, equally impressive has been the release of Trevor Noah’s Daily Show. I am happy to say that Noah picked up where Stewart left off, bringing a cuisson of international humor and flavor to a show that had started to become a bit closed off in some ways. I’m happy to know that the show will continue providing the sharp political commentary it has thus far, and though there is an appreciable drop off in the level of intellect provided in the interviews, it is still early and I remain hopeful.
I am also pleased with last night’s return of The Walking Dead. AMC is a hit machine. With its most notable franchise the channel has decided to go away from the dying light and invigorate the series with a big budget, big bang opening episode that promises more human (and ex-human) confrontation than we’ve seen in a while. Rick’s humanity is on the line here–what’s left of it–and we are starting to see what the long term effects of Zombie World really are.
So that’s the rundown thus far. More when I dream it up…
Some Thoughts:
- I am going to hold off on talking about The Martian until I read the book. I have some ideas about why certain scenes and plot devices were included–ideas that relate to how the box office works–but I will refrain until the text tells me more.
- Sometimes stories start as a result of scripting and outlining–planning the trajectory of a greater idea. Sometimes it can be as simple as a glimpse into another reality. For example, I just started working on a short that started with a conversation I ‘overheard’ in my head. The first line was, Bob said…. And then it goes on to this place where there is a bob and I am writing from the POV of the guy he is talking to. There was no plan in place, no story form or idea. Just Bob and Elliot talking in my head.
- No, I’m not crazy. Writers, you get me.