Just finished watching the first ep of each.....
Let's see, one is the new HBO show. Big budget, brought to us by the one network consisently putting out the highese quality shows on television. The other is a show in its sophmore season on the 6th place network that has put nothing on but drudge in its what, 8 year history? So take a wild guess which is the better show....
Yep, you guessed it, Veronica Mars.
I couldn't believe it either. In one episode, Veronica Mars showed that the writers aren't 8th graders writing the script on the back of napkins, like is done on about 85% of network television. The stage was set, the main character was given sufficient depth, and the requisite network TV lame elements are just there, not taking over the show (like another show I've been watching, which shall remain nameless.....). Mind you, it was just the first episode, so you're only getting a glimpse of Veronica as a character, but it was done quite well. I mean, she's the super-child who has all the connections, is insanely resourceful, and always gets the better of everyone, but that's expected. What was good about the pilot is that she's an actual person with real problems (not lame, forced, hot problems like a drug addict or a wayward child with some serious angst issues; she's an outcast thanks to her parents who tried to fit in in the past but it didn't work). Not everything is perfect, but it's also not like the world around her is tumbling down, two extremes I'm really getting sick of. I'm grabbing the next 4 eps and I hope they're as good as the pilot.
On the other hand, Rome was a major disappointment for the first ep. Spoilers coming up, so stop reading if you haven't seen it and wish to do so at some point.
Like Nameless, it's overly forcing some of it's dramatic points. Ok, I understand the senate squabbling and that Ceasar is trying to become king, but did I really care about the way it was done here? Not especially. Nearly 40 of the 50 minutes of the pilot was spent setting up the rivalry between Pompeii and Ceasar, old friends who are about to become mortal enemies (where have we seen that one before? I'm not denying it wasn't true, I'm just saying it's not really a strong basis for a show anymore 'cause it's been overdone A LOT). OK, I'm coo with that, but then they make a big character of the neice of Ceasar (whom they try to get over by showing her full frontal) and her kids (daughter followed the mother in the nudity), none of whom are interesting in any way. The neice is the sly, strong, political woman and the great nephew is a spoiled pussy. So, they spent 20 minutes on that family and the characters are boring. Because of all this setup, including the neice and her family, we got very little other plot movement. All we got was the start of the rivalry. Not so bad, if any of the characters were really interesting, but they're not; not yet anyways.
I haven't given up on the show or anything, I was just disappointed in the first episode. After watching Sopranos, Oz, and Six Feet and having those shows force me to watch more 'cause they were so damned interesting (haven't seen Carnivale or Deadwood yet, so I can't say anything), I expected a little better beginning.
Maybe that's the thing, the expectations. I expected Mars to suck and it was suprisingly good and because of HBO's past, I expected Rome to be very good and it was boring. That's part of it, but even my wife found Rome boring and she watches drudge like Nameless and Crapias, so it wasn't just me and my jaded views.
So Tort was right about Mars (so far). Batting .500, pretty good average
Let's see, one is the new HBO show. Big budget, brought to us by the one network consisently putting out the highese quality shows on television. The other is a show in its sophmore season on the 6th place network that has put nothing on but drudge in its what, 8 year history? So take a wild guess which is the better show....
Yep, you guessed it, Veronica Mars.
I couldn't believe it either. In one episode, Veronica Mars showed that the writers aren't 8th graders writing the script on the back of napkins, like is done on about 85% of network television. The stage was set, the main character was given sufficient depth, and the requisite network TV lame elements are just there, not taking over the show (like another show I've been watching, which shall remain nameless.....). Mind you, it was just the first episode, so you're only getting a glimpse of Veronica as a character, but it was done quite well. I mean, she's the super-child who has all the connections, is insanely resourceful, and always gets the better of everyone, but that's expected. What was good about the pilot is that she's an actual person with real problems (not lame, forced, hot problems like a drug addict or a wayward child with some serious angst issues; she's an outcast thanks to her parents who tried to fit in in the past but it didn't work). Not everything is perfect, but it's also not like the world around her is tumbling down, two extremes I'm really getting sick of. I'm grabbing the next 4 eps and I hope they're as good as the pilot.
On the other hand, Rome was a major disappointment for the first ep. Spoilers coming up, so stop reading if you haven't seen it and wish to do so at some point.
Like Nameless, it's overly forcing some of it's dramatic points. Ok, I understand the senate squabbling and that Ceasar is trying to become king, but did I really care about the way it was done here? Not especially. Nearly 40 of the 50 minutes of the pilot was spent setting up the rivalry between Pompeii and Ceasar, old friends who are about to become mortal enemies (where have we seen that one before? I'm not denying it wasn't true, I'm just saying it's not really a strong basis for a show anymore 'cause it's been overdone A LOT). OK, I'm coo with that, but then they make a big character of the neice of Ceasar (whom they try to get over by showing her full frontal) and her kids (daughter followed the mother in the nudity), none of whom are interesting in any way. The neice is the sly, strong, political woman and the great nephew is a spoiled pussy. So, they spent 20 minutes on that family and the characters are boring. Because of all this setup, including the neice and her family, we got very little other plot movement. All we got was the start of the rivalry. Not so bad, if any of the characters were really interesting, but they're not; not yet anyways.
I haven't given up on the show or anything, I was just disappointed in the first episode. After watching Sopranos, Oz, and Six Feet and having those shows force me to watch more 'cause they were so damned interesting (haven't seen Carnivale or Deadwood yet, so I can't say anything), I expected a little better beginning.
Maybe that's the thing, the expectations. I expected Mars to suck and it was suprisingly good and because of HBO's past, I expected Rome to be very good and it was boring. That's part of it, but even my wife found Rome boring and she watches drudge like Nameless and Crapias, so it wasn't just me and my jaded views.
So Tort was right about Mars (so far). Batting .500, pretty good average
I was there on that fateful day, were you?
