Avatar: The Last Airbender - Season One

For the past several years I've ventured into many retrospective series watch-throughs. It started years and years ago when I first saw Twin Peaks. A TV show which blew my mind in it's depth not in it's characters but in it's audacity. A TV show that was at first blush a simple mystery about the murder of a young woman, but unfurled into the realm of dreamscapes full of illusion and mystery in a way I had until then only seen on film.

Then I moved onto Six Feet Under. This, too, impressed me. This series was the polar opposite of Twin Peaks. Where Twin Peaks found it's footing in it's innovative storytelling, Six Feet Under was always more comfortable as it delved deep into the psyches of the Fisher family.

The most influential series watch of my life would come next in the form of The Sopranos. And after that I watched The Wire. Now I'm currently in the midst of a plethora of shows that are yet to wrap up - Girls, Justified, Breaking Bad, Dexter, Homeland, etc.

Oddly, this year may be the year I've found myself the most impressed by TV. I watched The Shield in it's entirety just a few short months ago. In December of last year, I began my watch of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. A show for teenagers. By the time I had finished it in February, I was calling it the best show of all time - dethroning The Sopranos from it's gilded position atop the TV show pyramid. 

And now I'm watching another show for a(n even) young(er) audience. Avatar: The Last Airbender. 

I've heard a lot about this show. Unlike Buffy, my expectations for Avatar have been a little on the high side. I've found myself rather critical of the show at times. Dramatic storylines are rushed, Aang and the gang are captured and escape so often that the hunt for the Avatar does not bring with it a sense of danger.

But the show consistently dazzles with it's action sequences. And while the village-of-the-week storylines are often played out far too quickly, the overall arc has been well paced and never rushed. There is a great deal of mystery evident in the abilities of not only Aang but in all the benders in the world. Katara, Zuko, Sokka, and of course Aang are all well-written and interesting characters.

As with Buffy, the most compelling element to the story is the hero's self-sacrifice in his/her quest to save the world. Neither Buffy nor Aang asked for their respective responsibilities, but watching them as they learn to accept their fate is what makes both these character's so enthralling.

Where Buffy excelled in part due to its metaphorical representations of real world problems, Avatar excels with it's old-time Squaresoft (or Square-Enix) RPG feel. The compelling minor characters, videogame-style plots and whacky-creature-inhabited world make for a rich viewing experience. The humor is often on-point as well.

One third of the way through Avatar, I'm giving the first season a big thumbs up. 

8/10

TV: Dexter S8E7

...And so, Dexter brings back serial killer ex-girlfriend Hannah. In case you've forgotten, she specializes in murdering others to get herself out of a jam. Usually this is a solid plan in Miami, where your police corp is made up of ineffectual guys like Quinn. So, why does Hannah come back to ask Dexter to help her kill her husband? Well apparently, she can't do it because it would look suspicious if he died. The hard part is not the killing. It's the body disposal. Dexter? Help me please? With your big strong arms to throw him into the ocean with?

Meanwhile, Zach Hamilton meets Dexter's cute neighbour. Dexter keeps telling Zach he's going to help him learn how to control his urges, but then he keeps blowing him off. Dexter's too busy dealing with older serial killer problems to deal with new serial killer problems (does Dexter attract serial killers, or does Miami?).  Anyway, Dexter's neighbour gets slaughtered because of his tardiness. Bludgeoned to death. And the guy that plays her boyfriend struggles to act like he knows how to cry on camera.

Masouka and his daughter continue to be boring. But, uh, boobies??

I'm going to guess what happens next:

-Dexter kills Zach. Because he has to.
-Deb goes after Hannah. She hires Kenny Johnson's character to go after her.
-Dexter kills Kenny Johnson's character.
-Hannah kills Deb.
-Quinn doesn't notice any of it.

Novel: NOS4A2

Starting in the past and jumping forward by years at a time, this is the story about a girl named Vic and a special ability that she has. Namely, the ability to make a bridge appear that will take her anywhere she wants. Only problem is, she isn't the only one with a special ability. There's this old man, you see, and he drives an old Rolls Royce with license plate NOS4A2. He ain't so nice. He kidnaps children and he takes them to Christmasland. They're never seen again, and their parents are usually found dead.

The story, which spans 20+ years, touches on a variety of themes but it does a particularly good job with loss of innocence and redemption. It's a wild Stephen King-esque ride. You never know where it's going, and where it ends up is completely satisfying (Hint: there is a showdown at the end).

9/10

The Shield - Series

This year, I watched the entirety of the cop show that wasn't like any other cop show. No, I'm not talking about The Wire, I'm talking about The Shield.

Today, I revisited the series finale. This was an episode that, when I last saw it, I had to pause to stop and get a drink. It was just that emotional. But while it's true that emotion is always the starting point for any good drama, it wasn't the only thing I loved about The Shield.

SPOILERS - Heavy spoilers follow.


The Characters

Vic Mackey - This character belongs in the pantheon of great TV anti-heroes. Not only that, but TV characters in general. By the end of the series, we know this man inside out. He's ruthless, selfish, and he won't bend to anyone's will. He cares about his family and his team. He cares about his job - about preventing crime and apprehending criminals. But he's not above committing any himself. And GODDAMN HIM for getting away with it (because after all, cubicle hell still sounds better than actual hell.)

Shane Vendrell - I cannot recall another TV show that accomplishes what The Shield did in it's final two seasons. Shane Vendrell was the Christopher Moltisanti of the show. The surrogate son of Vic Mackey, he looked up to him but continually demonstrated that he didn't have the brains to play the same game Vic did. But only in this show do we see a character like Shane commit heinous acts and find ourselves cheering for him two seasons later when he's on the run. His ending was tragic, brutal, unforgivable.... and, in a sick sort of way, honourable. I'm glad I don't know a Shane Vendrell, but I'm thankful to The Shield for bringing him to us.

Dutch Wagenbach & Claudette Wymms - The heart of the show. Simply put, without these two, we'd be watching bad cops vs bad guys and bad cops vs other bad cops. The banter and friendship between these two was always great.

Lem - Hey, did you hear Kenny Johnson (the actor that portrayed Lem) has been cast for the final 5 episodes of Dexter? The fact that I'm legitimately excited to watch them now should tell you how important this character was to the show.

Everyone else - Acaveda, Corrine, Dani, Julien, Ronnie, Mara, Kavinaugh, etc - You get it. The cast was strong.


The Adrenalin

Simply put, this was the most action-packed and inventive cop show I've ever seen ('dat camerawork!). Yes, sometimes the decisions made by characters were a stretch. Yes, sometimes the plots were ridiculous. But it was 100% entertaining, 100% of the time.


That Scene Where That Guy Did That Thing (OH MY GOD!!!)

The grenade at the end of the 5th season. The forced oral degradation. The series finale. Serial murderers. Serial rapists. Cat murder. Cop-on-cop murder. People murder. Placentas. Sawed off feet. Hate crimes.


Shades of Grey

Enough said. The characters were often well-meaning and well-intentioned, but they were often driven by selfish motivations and concerns. If you ended up loving any of the characters, you did it with the knowledge that they were not perfect human beings and could be downright awful. 


...And Goddamn That Finale Was Brilliant

"I guess enough painkillers can make even the worst kind of hurt go away. The thing you need to know is that Mara was innocent and Jackson was innocent; they didn't know what they were drinking and their last moments together were happy ones. They left the way I first found them, perfect and innocent. They were innocent and they are in heaven now and we'll always be a family. The guilty ones are me and Vic. Vic led but I kept following. I don't think one's worse than the other, but we made each other into something worse than our individual selves. I wish I'd never met him. I see it all now. There are no apologies I can make, no explanations I can give. I was who I was and I can't be that person any more. I can't let myself.." - Shane's note