nine and lost

I’ll get Lost out of the way first. Don’t bother starting now if you’ve never watched it before. If it intrigues you, get the DVDs and start from the beginning. This doesn’t really count as a spoiler, so I’m gonna say it: it doesn’t get any better/worse. They are making it up as they go, there is no “true” meaning, but if you can accept that, it’s a fun show to watch. Well, if you don’t accept it, it’s fun, too, but eventually you’ll just get sick of the sucker. Me, I find that I have favorites and lesser favorites among the large cast of characters, so when they focus on one of my faves, I think it’s a good episode, when they don’t, I don’t. My favorite character is Adebisi. He wasn’t on at all in the season premiere last night.

The Nine is another “hmm, I wonder what’s going on here, and I wonder how long it will take them to explain themselves, if at all” show. Robin is watching a bunch of these … I think this is the first one of the new versions I’ve watched. I’m good for another week, even though I really hate Kim Raver … and it’s completely stupid, she’s a fine actress and I apologize if she ever accidentally googles her way to this page, but I can’t bear to look at her face. Couldn’t take it on 24, can’t take it here. Unlike Lost, The Nine seems as if there is an actual master plan behind the plot machinations. Whether that plan will be worth watching, time will tell. A lot will depend on how invested we get with the characters … so far, I’m neutral (Ms. Raver excepted).

Look, it’s a good thing that more series require our attentive viewing … I like the trend, and don’t worry, there’s still plenty more mindless entertainment on the tube (I watch sports, fer chrisake). But the added attention should lead to greater rewards. Lost seems to require attentive viewing, because it is so complicated, but once you realize nothing is ever going to be explained and the entire show comes out of the seat of JJ Abrams’ ass, you can quit paying attention and just be entertained. The Nine looks to require attention, and it looks pretty good, but the standards are higher now. Tomorrow the new season of Battlestar Galactica starts; The Nine is unlikely to ever achieve the depth and breadth of that series. I know it’s not fair to compare apples and oranges, but the more attention we pay to the truly great shows, the less attention we have for the good shows. And The Nine is good, not great. If it lasts a season (and I keep watching), it’ll end up in one of my end-of-season roundups with a grade of B or B+, which as I tell my students, is a good grade. But there are half-a-dozen series at least in the “A” range these days. So if someone out there actually reads this crud as a consumer guide, Battlestar Galactica is worth a lot more of your attention than The Nine. Unless, like me, you have so much attention to spend that you can watch them all.

My essay about BSG (book is out this month!) deals with legitimate and illegitimate forms of authority, in the process taking on many of Galactica’s themes: religion, government, individuality, identity, all that good stuff (plus once in awhile Starbuck kicks some ass). You could see the seeds of such an essay from the mini-series that led to the series. After one episode of The Nine, I can imagine a world where the show lasts several season, has a large cult following, and gets “buzz.” What I can’t imagine is a world where an essay I’d write about the show would be interesting. On the other hand, I’d say the same thing about House, and I’m doing one on that show, so I guess I’m just a whore.

Comments

[Chris]

We watched The Nine and enjoyed it, though like you, we are not fans of Kim Raver, and she seems to be playing the same character here that she did (does?) on 24, or perhaps more accurately, acts the same as on 24, and that's bad. (If she does Google your blog and finds this post, I've got a message for her: EAT!)

It's hard to tell how the show will go after one episode or whether we'll continue to like it as much as we liked the season premiere. We like that it is character-driven; we like that the cast is diverse and multi-ethnic (it still seems important to point that out, though it shouldn't be noteworthy, but it is). We're hoping it might actually make us think. The characters have stayed with me today, and like characters in a novel I'm enjoying, that is usually a good sign. But so far it's mostly a curiosity with them. In any event, we'll "stay tuned" for a few more weeks at least.

[Steve]

You're a whore if you're getting five figures for your House essay. Otherwise, you're contributing to a body of knowledge.

[Steven Rubio]

Ah, but I *am* getting five figures ... if you add the two zeros after the period:

300.00

[Bobby P.]

Adebisi's your favorite character? Not Augustus Hill? :)