TV is good, and here's why.

Very general and random titles are good aren't they?

I love writing a lot of bollocks as you might have been able to tell. 

If you are liking this blog so far, then stick around because believe me there will be considerable amounts of bollocks being displayed here. 

But yes, onto the meat of this post: TV Series that I have been watching, and my opinions on TV in general and how it has changed since coming here.

Anyway, enough waffle. 

First of all, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Considered by many to be the best Western Anime, it's an excellent children's TV show but what I like about children's programming is that there are themes, character arcs and developments that are interesting and deep enough for a more mature person to enjoy. 

Don't get it twisted, I thought at first that it was just a kid's TV show and I wasn't expecting the themes to be that engaging. I knew the general premise: kid has badass superpowers, people can control the elements, awesome battles etc. But then they actually made the characters engaging and interesting enough for me to keep watching. I was certainly convinced of Avatar's worth by the end of the first series. 

I highly recommend the series to anyone who wants to get into anime or other such animated series'. It's a gateway show as it were, I'm already feeling moving onto more potent substances such as Full Metal Alchemist and other such do-hickeys. But more on that later. Let's move onto some 'proper' american dramas. 

Oh and by the way, General Iroh is a freaking legend in so many ways. If you want to know why, watch the show. 

The Walking Dead

There are so many different things with zombies in them, I mean christ it's getting silly. Films, games, books, websites, tv shows...the next thing we know they're going to have special events where people pretend to be zombies and get shot at by participating members of the public...wait a second! 

Anyway, The Walking Dead is excellent. It takes the standard story of a zombie apocalypse: "Guy wakes up in hospital to find that the world has gone to utter shite" as seen in 28 Days Later, and then goes on through the motions. What's great about it is the way that the characters interact with one another, because ultimately the most dangerous thing in a zombie apocalypse isn't the zombies themselves, but the other people you're trapped with. Whether that be a black guy trying to pacify his recently zombified wife, or a crazy badass redneck with a crossbow. The relationships between the characters are amazingly written and there are moments when you really enjoy the characters going to town on some zombies (the redneck with the crossbow is particularly efficient at this). 

Unfortunately, this is the only series in this list which isn't available on Netflix, so if you want to just try out the series thus far you'll either have to watch it on a different site or buy a box-set. 

I would highly recommend doing so. 

LOST

I am really bad at getting into TV series when they are, you know, actually on TV. Kind of weird really, but it's probably just because I am rather lazy. But to be fair, when LOST was on the screen I was...10. So you can probably forgive my lack of critical interest.

But anyway, LOST is excellent for a number of reasons. The characterisation and development is excellent, even if everyone does seem to gaze into the middle distance whenever they remember their past in a shot I like to call 'The J.J.Abrams stare'. My favorite character is either Locke or Chris, because they have their moments of badassery (that's a word now), and also their moments of weakness (Chris especially), and this defines a good character. 

The mystery is...ahhh...just so sinister. It makes everything just so amazing. Words cannot do it justice, get netflix and watch it, or get the boxset, it will probably be really cheap now. 

 

Just for a little clarification, the way that I watch TV shows is very gradual, especially with the big dramas. I am currently trying to watch these series at the same time. I am as I type this on Episode 8 of LOST, 3 of Breaking Bad, and I think 6 of The Walking Dead. But I am watching them more, and by the time that I come back to Uni for the second semester I will probably have watched at least all of the first series of these things. 

But onwards we go! 

Breaking Bad

So. A middle age chemistry teacher decides to cook crystal meth. That's the premise. That's not even remotely a spoiler, it's established in the very first episode. The entire plot is about the ineptitude of the two unlikeliest of meth cookers; a middle aged man and an college drop out. He wants to cook meth because he has cancer and doesn't have that much longer to live, but it turns out that he is exceptionally good at it. Being a chemistry professor he has the method and the chemicals, but the situations keep getting in the way. I'm at episode 3, and so far they've already killed a guy and melted the body (through the roof of a house) and locked another guy in the basement for no discernible reason. 

I am looking forward to see just how far they will go, and how much they will screw things up. 

The way that it is filmed is interesting. It feels very isolated, there are a lot of instances where it is just a few people in the shot. It's very tense and in your face. 

As I hinted at previously, there is a bit where a partially melted body goes through the ceiling of a house and it is both hilarious and really dark. 

It's an interesting one. 

Dark humor abounds in this series, I would highly recommend. 

Hope that that was an interesting read, and if anyone wants to comment and suggest a good series or two then let me know!

Cheers, 

Until next time, 

Jamie.