![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
TV: all together now
Day 01 - A show that should never have been cancelled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of one of your favorite shows
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of one of your favorite TV shows
Day 08 - A show that's had a significant effect on who you are today
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
We haven't seen enough of The Walking Dead to make a call one way or another there yet. I'd think about including The Office for the depth of its cast -- a background character is still typically a reliable go-to actor -- but the show suffers because it doesn't stray far from the main characters often enough. Lost had some truly tedious performances, and House is not an ensemble show, certainly not one that challenges its cast.
But I've got to split this one. First, in alphabetical order, Arrested Development:
Never a particularly predictable show, but filled from top-to-bottom with actors who could carry a scene, no matter what unspeakably bizarre situation they found themselves in. And they rendered their characters distinctly and memorably to the point where, even if you didn't sympathize with them, you could understand them.
Which actually applies perfectly to the second show, Battlestar Galactica:
The first difficulty with this show was that several actors were playing multiple roles: Tricia Helfer got to play somewhere around a dozen variations of the same Cylon model (from Caprica-Six to Gina to Natalie to Shelley Godfrey...), and Grace Park had two dichotomous takes on one physical form in Boomer and Athena. Everyone else just got to be tortured on a weekly basis.
But my favorite thing about the show was its willingness to recognize potential in the background characters. Tahmoh Penikett's Helo, who was supposed to die wandering the radiation-saturated surface of Caprica, got a welcome reprieve following his impressive turn the miniseries. Michael Trucco's Anders went from being a bit player to being instrumental in the show's make-it-up-as-we-go mythology (which is a detriment from a narrative angle, but from an actor's perspective, there's something to be said for scripting improv). Tyrol and Cally get elevated (though with substantially different trajectories) as well, and each can bear the dramatic weight of their scenes. Even Bodie "nepotism starts at home" Olmos didn't suck. BSG was (at its best) a character-driven show that needed great performances to resonate (especially when the plot went, as was better stated elsewhere, "off the rails"), and you'd rightfully expect that from its stars. But by the fourth season some of the most impressive moments came from the most unlikely characters -- characters that were individuals and not merely foils to a star player. It was pleasantly unexpected.
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of one of your favorite shows
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of one of your favorite TV shows
Day 08 - A show that's had a significant effect on who you are today
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
We haven't seen enough of The Walking Dead to make a call one way or another there yet. I'd think about including The Office for the depth of its cast -- a background character is still typically a reliable go-to actor -- but the show suffers because it doesn't stray far from the main characters often enough. Lost had some truly tedious performances, and House is not an ensemble show, certainly not one that challenges its cast.
But I've got to split this one. First, in alphabetical order, Arrested Development:
Never a particularly predictable show, but filled from top-to-bottom with actors who could carry a scene, no matter what unspeakably bizarre situation they found themselves in. And they rendered their characters distinctly and memorably to the point where, even if you didn't sympathize with them, you could understand them.
Which actually applies perfectly to the second show, Battlestar Galactica:
The first difficulty with this show was that several actors were playing multiple roles: Tricia Helfer got to play somewhere around a dozen variations of the same Cylon model (from Caprica-Six to Gina to Natalie to Shelley Godfrey...), and Grace Park had two dichotomous takes on one physical form in Boomer and Athena. Everyone else just got to be tortured on a weekly basis.
But my favorite thing about the show was its willingness to recognize potential in the background characters. Tahmoh Penikett's Helo, who was supposed to die wandering the radiation-saturated surface of Caprica, got a welcome reprieve following his impressive turn the miniseries. Michael Trucco's Anders went from being a bit player to being instrumental in the show's make-it-up-as-we-go mythology (which is a detriment from a narrative angle, but from an actor's perspective, there's something to be said for scripting improv). Tyrol and Cally get elevated (though with substantially different trajectories) as well, and each can bear the dramatic weight of their scenes. Even Bodie "nepotism starts at home" Olmos didn't suck. BSG was (at its best) a character-driven show that needed great performances to resonate (especially when the plot went, as was better stated elsewhere, "off the rails"), and you'd rightfully expect that from its stars. But by the fourth season some of the most impressive moments came from the most unlikely characters -- characters that were individuals and not merely foils to a star player. It was pleasantly unexpected.