I was watching television on an actual television through, gasp, paid for cable at a hotel recently. Flipping through the channels and pausing on occasional sparkly, screaming, glossy, non-content programs (don't get me started on the bore that was Oprah's behind the scenes reality show, oh god), I remembered this- 99% of TV is full of complete shit. That is why I started this blog, to share the stuff that I don't think sucks and treats it's viewers like mindless commercial consumers (despite the fact that the name of the blog is Shit We Watch, that's good shit, not bad shit). Only when I'm in front of real time TV do I realize and remember that through torrenting, we have been able to sift out the crap and distill our viewing habits to find the gems (Gems We Watch sounds lame, ok?).
This, however, creates the, somewhat existential, conundrum of watching torrents versus real time tv. Since there are hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of people pirating TV shows every day this takes away from the viewing numbers and ad revenue that channels count on to keep a show on the air. I'm pretty sure they don't keep track of number of illegal downloads of each episode. If they did, they'd see that a show like Lights Out (and Terriers) is popular. Not in real time. Not even on DVRs. It's popular with the folks who want to watch it whenever, without commercials, and not have to pay for the 99% of the bullshit you get when you subscribe to cable.
Lack of choices helps fuel pirating. I would gladly pay a small fee to download or stream certain programs without commercial breaks and whenever I wanted. Some of us even like to wait until the whole season of a show is over, cuddle up in bed, and like a crack addict on a lethal bender, watch them all in a 12-24 hour run (I know you took a week off work to watch The Sopronos and Six Feet Under all in a row, don't deny it). But I really don't have that choice through the major networks in most cases, so I head to The Pirate Bay to get my fix.
It's an unfortunate circle. I want to support quality shows and films. I want people in the world to continue to create compelling, funny, dramatic, shiny, fiction stories. I want to be an optimist and think that film and television doesn't have to always be about pure profit, but telling stories and making art. But I don't want to be forced to buy cable.
Some companies like Netflix are starting to usurp the networks and offer their own shows online exclusively (House of Cards with Kevin Spacey, sounds cool!). Rumors have surfaced that Youtube will be doing something similar. There are independent fiction shows like Pioneer One that only distribute free through torrents (You can donate to support them on Vodo. Download here!). And of course there are thousands of independent video producers making cool shit all over the web.
I hope to see more production companies and writers cutting deals with online only venues, or ignoring them all together and creatively raising funds DIY style. The audiences and avid fans have the potential to be much larger and evergreen than real time TV. Imagine being able to watch a show that had 4 great seasons a couple years ago any time on the web. Torrents make that a reality, obviously, but where is the similar mainstream alternative? iTunes and Netflix kind of does that, but very limited in content. Hulu sucks. Amazon lets you buy dvds if the channel or production company thought it would make enough money.
That's where the cancellation of Lights Out comes in. FX again cancels a great show that had the potential to grow dramatically in a 2nd season. Remember how HBO was going to cancel The Wire, but then gave it a chance to grow an audience? The Wire (hey download some of it here or buy the dvds, why dontcha) is, arguably, it's one of the most dynamic and interesting series ever aired on television. As usual, Lights Out gets canceled because the viewership was slow to pick up. On Pirate Bay and EZ.tv, however, it was quite popular- not garnering a penny for FX, but building up a large fan base interested in further character and story development. Interesting article about viewing numbers on basic vs premium cable and the fact that producers of Lights Out are shopping around for a savior.
So what is the answer to sustainable and vibrant tv making? I believe it begins with dumping the behemoth networks. I've been torrenting shows since 2004. That's 7 fucking years that tv networks have been given a chance to figure out a way to use the web. Time and time again, they fail. And we, the audience and fans are the ones to suffer. Because after all, tv is not a luxury, it's a right. Right?
Shit We Watch
Monday, April 18, 2011
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Lights Out
Lights Out is on FX, which apparently, has no affiliation with FOX. For a while there, I thought it did. Mostly because it's spelled the same, sans one letter. FX seems to have a pretty good repertoire of shows at the moment- including but not limited to Justified, Louie, the now defunct Terriers and this one. Although I see their roster also includes Sons of Anarchy (thought it was pretty bad) and Two and a Half Men (what the fuck?).
So anyway, Lights Out is great. The main character, Patrick "Lights Out" Leary, who is supposed to be the former heavyweight boxing champion, is struggling to come out of retirement because of massive debt accrued by his brother/manager. I don't want to get into the whole 'I'm writing the whole plot summary and my diagnosis of it' thing. I just want you to watch it. However, I will tell you a few things, in my humble opinion, that make this show shine.
Patrick's relationship with his, very independent and career focused wife, Theresa, and their three daughters is surprising and smart. He's this big, tough dude but for the last five years has been a stay at home dad. The show is set in suburban New Jersey, they live in a massive McMansion, there is some shady business dealings happening throughout. It mildly of reeks of The Sopronos. So you'd think Patrick would be an ego maniac, who bullies and manipulates people, including his family, reminiscent of Tony Soprono. But his character, overall, is a lot more gentle than that. It's a smart move by the writers to make him and his wife have a complex and a fluctuating power dynamic. Smart because it keeps an audience of women interested in watching too. It's not just about boxing, or at a low point, cage fighting. It's about family relationships strained by the threat of complete bankruptcy. Something most Americans can relate to right now.
Lights Out on The Pirate Bay.
So anyway, Lights Out is great. The main character, Patrick "Lights Out" Leary, who is supposed to be the former heavyweight boxing champion, is struggling to come out of retirement because of massive debt accrued by his brother/manager. I don't want to get into the whole 'I'm writing the whole plot summary and my diagnosis of it' thing. I just want you to watch it. However, I will tell you a few things, in my humble opinion, that make this show shine.
Patrick's relationship with his, very independent and career focused wife, Theresa, and their three daughters is surprising and smart. He's this big, tough dude but for the last five years has been a stay at home dad. The show is set in suburban New Jersey, they live in a massive McMansion, there is some shady business dealings happening throughout. It mildly of reeks of The Sopronos. So you'd think Patrick would be an ego maniac, who bullies and manipulates people, including his family, reminiscent of Tony Soprono. But his character, overall, is a lot more gentle than that. It's a smart move by the writers to make him and his wife have a complex and a fluctuating power dynamic. Smart because it keeps an audience of women interested in watching too. It's not just about boxing, or at a low point, cage fighting. It's about family relationships strained by the threat of complete bankruptcy. Something most Americans can relate to right now.
Lights Out on The Pirate Bay.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Dinner for Schmucks
Ok, look at the movie poster below. Honestly, would you go see that in the theatre? No, me either and I didn't. The marketing division of whatever fucking corporation that distributed this film must have been on auto pilot from spoon feeding the general public shitty romantic comedies for the last decade. Huge, stupid, fail.
Fast forward to way after this film was out of the theatres and I was googling Jemaine Clement for some random reason. Oh yeah, he's hilarious in Gentlemen Broncos, another underrated film that I had never heard and every critic on earth hated. Come to find out that both Jemaine Clement and Zack Galifinakis are in this film, not just the mediocre Steve Carell and that other dude who is also not funny but gets cast in comedies, Paul Rudd.
Clement plays a totally self obsessed photographer who takes photos of himself as a goat. Galifinakis plays a paranoid IRS case worker who is out to destroy Steve Carell's character. AND Steve Caroll's character who is supposed to be an annoying fuck-up, is actually a kind of charming, lonely dude who makes dioramas of scenes from his past out of cute taxidermied mice. What. That actually sounds like a funny and quirky plot.
Why doesn't the poster advertising this movie have any of those elements? If it did, I would have paid to see this in the actual theatre. But no, I downloaded it off The Pirate Bay instead. And I actually laughed and said "Awww" at the end.
Fast forward to way after this film was out of the theatres and I was googling Jemaine Clement for some random reason. Oh yeah, he's hilarious in Gentlemen Broncos, another underrated film that I had never heard and every critic on earth hated. Come to find out that both Jemaine Clement and Zack Galifinakis are in this film, not just the mediocre Steve Carell and that other dude who is also not funny but gets cast in comedies, Paul Rudd.
Clement plays a totally self obsessed photographer who takes photos of himself as a goat. Galifinakis plays a paranoid IRS case worker who is out to destroy Steve Carell's character. AND Steve Caroll's character who is supposed to be an annoying fuck-up, is actually a kind of charming, lonely dude who makes dioramas of scenes from his past out of cute taxidermied mice. What. That actually sounds like a funny and quirky plot.
Why doesn't the poster advertising this movie have any of those elements? If it did, I would have paid to see this in the actual theatre. But no, I downloaded it off The Pirate Bay instead. And I actually laughed and said "Awww" at the end.
Sunday, February 13, 2011
Justified
Justified is back on for a second season. Is is lazy of me to just link to another blog so you know what it's about? Too bad.
Ok, fine. Here is the deal. Tim Olyphant was the dark and brooding (super hot) sheriff on Deadwood (cancelled after 3 seasons on HBO, those stupid assholes, what a great show. more on that later). On Justified, he is again wearing a hat and a cracker jack star badge as a US Marshal in backwater Kentucky. I know, I know, what the fuck is a US Marshal? Thank you wikipedia nerds.
Based on a short novel by the great Elmore Leonard. Set in the hollers of redneck America (I literally can see their town from my current backyard). Olyphant's character, Raylan, is quick to draw his gun and has a welcomed sense of humor compared to his last role as sheriff. Blah Blah Blah.
It's a fucking great show. Go watch it.
Justified on EZTV
Ok, fine. Here is the deal. Tim Olyphant was the dark and brooding (super hot) sheriff on Deadwood (cancelled after 3 seasons on HBO, those stupid assholes, what a great show. more on that later). On Justified, he is again wearing a hat and a cracker jack star badge as a US Marshal in backwater Kentucky. I know, I know, what the fuck is a US Marshal? Thank you wikipedia nerds.
Based on a short novel by the great Elmore Leonard. Set in the hollers of redneck America (I literally can see their town from my current backyard). Olyphant's character, Raylan, is quick to draw his gun and has a welcomed sense of humor compared to his last role as sheriff. Blah Blah Blah.
It's a fucking great show. Go watch it.
Justified on EZTV
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Portlandia
When I first saw this preview clip from Portlandia, I could not stop reloading it. Carrie Brownstein from the beloved rock band Sleater-Kinney is acting? Fred Armisen knows her? The song is catchy and pretty darn funny, especially if you had friends who really did go to clown school in the recent past. It's funny to make fun of things like that. However, after the pilot episode aired, I couldn't help but feel a bit of hesitation for laughing at overly concerned hipsters, hippies and yuppies.
Basically Portlandia pokes fun at people who care about local food, feminism, biking instead of driving, crafts etc etc- which, judging from the station they're on- IFC (Independent Film Channel) is also their target viewing demographic. How will that pan out? Brownstein said something pretty telling and true on an NPR interview about why they write the show like this- "There's part of you that's cringing," she says of observing the local culture, "but at the same time, you wouldn't live anywhere else."
Having moved from 3 different hipster infested cities to where I live now (the complete opposite, I assure you), I hear where they're coming from. Lots of self aware, do gooder people can be annoying sometimes. Yet I kind of happen to be one of them myself and I live in a place were we could use a few more. I also think that those same people- hipsters and hippies who rail against driving, want to eat local food, be creative and independent are the people who are changing the world for the better. It's almost like they're making a show for the right wing of America to say "see, aren't creative, hippie, hipsters all complete douche bags?". That worries me. At the same time, I have been a big fan of Armisen and Brownstein for a while, and I think the show is really funny. There was a skit on a recent episode, about two Japanese, Harajuku-esque, anime kids who go to a coffee shop that had me giggling pretty hard.
I'm giving this show one season. Maybe two if Loren Michaels has sway at IFC and thinks it's still interesting. I think it will end after that. But we'll keep downloading it. Oh, life is ironic isn't it?
Download it: Portlandia on EZTV
The American
Go see for yourself: The American on The Pirate Bay
Friday, February 4, 2011
Downton Abbey
The opening scene of Downton Abbey is a grand, sweeping crane shot of the castle-esque estate, with the same name, followed by an overwhelming frenzied montage of the house servants preparing the house for the very privileged inhabitants' breakfast. My first reactions were very much in the vein of the following statement: "What the fuck is this Masterpiece Theatre Bullshit?"
At first glance, the show looks like a stuffy, Victorian BBC period drama. Don't let the extravagant backdrops and elegant clothing fool you. This is more accurately a (very well written) soap opera circa 1914. The tension and relationships between the staff and the Abbey family, the family with each other and the staff with each other are compelling and rich. Staff, mysterious relatives, backstabbers, lovers, heirs and heiresses- we can't stop watching.
I've mentioned before the beauty of the British tv model of extremely short seasons, Downton Abbey is no exception- it ran only 7 episodes in Season One. It originally aired on BBC and then PBS here in the States. We can't wait for Season Two.
Torrent it: Downton Abbey on The Pirate Bay
Southland
As I mentioned earlier, Southland was on NBC for one season and they, very stupidly, canceled it. Luckily, the cable network, TNT, picked it back up for two short-ish seasons. I don't know of any other show that has had that fate, but I'm glad someone at TNT recognized the potential of Southland and gave it a new life.
Great characters, hot, gritty city (Los Angeles), well written stories. Totally reminds me of growing up watching NYPD Blue with my mom, only in sunny LA. Very centered around the drama of the characters and their development, less about the crime. The daily incidents are simply written to give us more insight into the cops. What more do I need to say? Go watch it.
Torrent it: Southland on EZTV
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Storage Wars
I fucking hate reality TV. In 1992, when I was a wee child, I was fascinated with Season 1 of The Real World on MTV. Since then, reality tv just became the polluting urban sprawl of television. I'll make an exception for Project Runway, which after (how many seasons? jesus.) 8 seasons, is getting a little tired, but I'm still watching, so fuck me.
Which brings me to Storage Wars and the 4 other shows just like it. This was the first of the scavenger, rag picker, reality genre that we downloaded. Unbeknownst to us there are several shows already in this vein (links are to torrents if you want to test the waters). American Pickers- these guys are nerdy pros, but the show is 1 hour- too long imho. Also, my dad always mentions this show when I visit, he loves it. That should tell you something. Pawn Stars- A couple of these guys are smart and really know their relics, but overall kind of sad to see the level of desperation in some of these Vegas-ites pawning their stuff. Auction Hunters- These guys are annoying pricks. Hardcore Pawn- Detroit based, massive warehouse of pawn. This show is actually kind of awesome. The owner, who is bad ass, has two adult children who are, well basically a couple of bratty kids who help run the place. But the customers, oh the customers do delight.
I like Storage Wars for a couple reasons. In another life, I essentially had this job, so I know the thrill of finding other people's forgotten junk and selling it for cold cash. The characters in this show are just kind of charming and mostly know their antique/specialty/thrift store shit. Except for one dude, they don't put on too much of a pretentious front when bidding on shit (and should they? this is 75% garbage). They're just good old, salt o' the earth SoCaL (oxymoron?) folks, troving abanonded storage lockers for loot to sell. Truly the embodiment of the American dream.
Torrent it: Storage Wars on The Pirate Bay
Terriers- Canceled
Typical move by television execs to pull a really strong, well written show off the air after one short season. Yes, Terriers has already been canceled as I write this. I would argue that this was one of the best shows on tv last year. I looked forward to it being on again the moment we finished watching.
The two main characters, Hank (Donal Logue) and Britt (Michael Raymond-James), had realistic banter that sometimes had me rolling. One of my favorite quips between the two started with the younger dude, Britt, saying "Damn, my phone is ringing." (Hank) "Why don't you answer it?" "Because then I'd have to do something." Smart, funny writing. Gritty, hard boiled, but modern sleuthing in sunny San Diego.
2/3 of the female characters could have been written stronger. You'll see what I mean when you meet Britt's girlfriend, Katie (Laura Allen). She's a somewhat struggling Vet student trying to work her way through school after a career as a waitress. Laura Allen is unconvincing as the girlfriend of an ex-con, independent, PI. She's too much plastic and not enough grit. That doesn't stint the show, as she has a sort of minor role. Which, oddly, is unfortunate, since I think some more (or better) female roles could have done this show good.
I'm trying to stay optimistic that this show might have the same fate as Southland- one network canceled it (NBC, you're so dumb), another picked it up for Season 2 (thank you TNT). We can only hope.
Torrent it: Terriers on EZTV
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)