The Walking Dead — Season One
I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting from this series, but the first six episodes really only delivered the bare minimum. Everything is all pretty standard so far. The post-apocalyptic landscape doesn't seem that far removed from a show like
Jericho, and the zombies don't stretch very far beyond the generic either. I was hoping for richer characterizations, but the show certainly isn't there yet. It's frustrating to me that, in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, so many petty, personal dramas dominate the story. I lost track of how many times a character made a loud noise (yelling, firing a gun, etc.) with no regard for the fact that doing so would attract zombies — but it was definitely too many times. And there's a surprising absence of any sort of
edge to the tone — whether it be humor or fright or cynicism or whatever. It's fairly bland and safe. As such, it makes for innocuous viewing — neither addictive nor off-putting — with a lot of potential for growth. I couldn't say exactly where I want the show to go from here; I just hope it finds a stronger core.
Grade: B-
Veep —
Fundraiser (#1.1)
I wasn't the
biggest fan of Armando Iannucci's
In the Loop, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised by my initial disinterest in
Veep. The comedy of irritation — where the primary source of humor is the way every character annoys the hell out of every other character — rarely works for me. And that's the main vibe I got from this initial episode, especially the first half. I was completely disinterested in the show at that point. The second half, though, provided a few moments that were sort of irresistibly funny — e.g., Tony Hale walking down the hallway in the red coat he borrowed from his coworker — and those moments give me some hope. Still, of all the shows I've started watching over the past week or so, this is the one I'm least enthusiastic about.
Grade: C+
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