“Then, maybe your best course would be to tread lightly.” Man. That was satisfying. Breaking Bad has always been primarily about plot, with some compelling characterisation carried along in the wake of amazing storytelling. And the strength of that storytelling is on display in a taut, tense premiere that’s a welcome return to Albuquerque. Perhaps…
One of the big hooks of the Underbelly series is that it depicts, with some degree of veracity, real crime events from Australia’s history. The drawback to this selling point is that the show can often feel like it’s merely ticking off sufficiently interesting occurrences without having to bother with questions like “How does this…
Breaking Bad’s final season looms on the horizon; eight episodes before another television series gets to take the crown of “best show airing on TV.” Which show takes that title is very much up for debate, but the debate I’m more interested in looks at Breaking Bad itself: which season of the show is its…
Let’s be honest: Underbelly has never really produced a consistently good season of television. But its bright spots – that gold dust I spoke of – have made it fitfully rewarding viewing. More often than not, the show’s strongest moments come from its approach to violence, mixing in real pathos to elevate its usual bloodshed-as-entertainment.…
In any given year, one in four Americans will experience a mental disorder1. Yet, turning on their televisions, searching for relatable protagonists, what do they find? Insanity as a precursor to violence, an excuse for murderers and rapists. Depression and anxiety as signifiers of weakness rather than symptoms of a disorder. Unless, perhaps, they turn…
This is an extremely late review; it was hard to muster enthusiasm for the latest, unexceptional chapter in the Underbelly story. Like every Underbelly, it examines the criminal history of Australia, focusing on a particular time and place; Squizzy concerns its titular character, an up-and-coming pickpocket in 1920s Melbourne. Like every Underbelly, there’s that awful…
“Outbreak” has many of the same problems of earlier, middling episodes of Under the Dome. The large cast limits character development, relying on actors to flesh out characters we spend little time with. Sometimes it works (Dean Norris as Big Jim), but mostly we end up with teenagers who don’t act like teenagers or characters…
A body is found on the bridge between Mexico and the United States; an investigation begins, but the coroner finds that the body is in fact two bodies –an American and a Mexican citizen. The Bridge follows the detectives charged to investigate the crime: Sonya (Diane Kruger), an American detective with Aspergers, and Marco (Demian…
In the space of two of episodes, Under the Dome has transformed from a show with a lot of potential to an example of wasted potential. There’s time to turn things around, but this is certainly not the way to do it. Trapping your characters inside a dome should increase the stakes. There should be…
Under the Dome is a television series based on a Stephen King story. Many adaptations of King’s writing are a clear improvement (The Shining, The Shawshank Redemption, Stand by Me)… alongside a score of forgettable failures (Cujo, The Stand, etc). I think his writing lends itself well to re-interpretations, as King frequently conceives outstanding concepts…
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