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I pinched this from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
angriest who pinched it from a bunch of others. Figured it might be a way to get some posts out of me. Of course, I'm vanishing for a couple of days over the weekend, so that'll mess things up a bit, but we'll see how I go.
There were so many choices I could have gone for, so many good or just unusual or interesting shows I could have picked. Normally I would have gone for Alien Nation because it was a truly great TV series. But since Grant has already snaffled that one, and everything he says is spot on, I figured I'd go for -
The Middleman
I think what I liked most about The Middleman was that it was a joyous show. Not cynical, or mean spirited, but fun and full of whimsy. Its humour came from fabulous characters and weird situations, not embarrassing circumstances or people being horrible to one another (unless you count Ida, an android locked in 'domineering schoolmarm' mode, who was delightfully horrible to everyone).
The main characters of the Middleman, Wendy, and Ida were well drawn and realised, and the supporting cast got their moments pretty much every episode as well. Plus it played against the stereotypical laziness of TV writing without ever cracking a sweat, easily passing the Bechdel test, as well as Deggan's rule.
It played knowingly with the tropes of villains and heroes from comics, TV, and film, but with the deft touch of someone who loves the genre and isn't trying to show how smart they are, but how enjoyable the genre is. Some episodes were 'themed' so that subtle references to a specific show or book were scattered throughout - one episode grabs its names from Dune, another from Back to the Future - the real wit of this was that they seldom went for the obvious references.
Was it a perfect show? No, but it certainly wasn't bad and it had a lot more heart than most TV. Most of all, one came away from The Middleman feeling happier, and not many shows can do that.
Fabulous little fan-made vid
Two public service announcements.
angriest who pinched it from a bunch of others. Figured it might be a way to get some posts out of me. Of course, I'm vanishing for a couple of days over the weekend, so that'll mess things up a bit, but we'll see how I go.There were so many choices I could have gone for, so many good or just unusual or interesting shows I could have picked. Normally I would have gone for Alien Nation because it was a truly great TV series. But since Grant has already snaffled that one, and everything he says is spot on, I figured I'd go for -
The Middleman
I think what I liked most about The Middleman was that it was a joyous show. Not cynical, or mean spirited, but fun and full of whimsy. Its humour came from fabulous characters and weird situations, not embarrassing circumstances or people being horrible to one another (unless you count Ida, an android locked in 'domineering schoolmarm' mode, who was delightfully horrible to everyone).
The main characters of the Middleman, Wendy, and Ida were well drawn and realised, and the supporting cast got their moments pretty much every episode as well. Plus it played against the stereotypical laziness of TV writing without ever cracking a sweat, easily passing the Bechdel test, as well as Deggan's rule.
It played knowingly with the tropes of villains and heroes from comics, TV, and film, but with the deft touch of someone who loves the genre and isn't trying to show how smart they are, but how enjoyable the genre is. Some episodes were 'themed' so that subtle references to a specific show or book were scattered throughout - one episode grabs its names from Dune, another from Back to the Future - the real wit of this was that they seldom went for the obvious references.
Was it a perfect show? No, but it certainly wasn't bad and it had a lot more heart than most TV. Most of all, one came away from The Middleman feeling happier, and not many shows can do that.
Fabulous little fan-made vid
Two public service announcements.
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I hadn't seen the tribute or the ads before. Fun!
It was only recently that it clicked that the actor who played Tyler is also one of the main cast of Lie to Me.
And the guy that plays Manservant Neville also shows up in Warehouse 13.
You're right in that it is indeed one of those shows that I find myself uplifted by. Sheer elegance in its simplicity.
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And after watching all those awesome clips, I miss this show like it had just been canceled all over again.
=[
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Plus I am a sucker for that whole pop-culture bricollage thing when it is done well.
The comic is pretty good - the early episodes of the show are based on it quite closely.
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Of course, if there is one thing I hate more than my favourite show being cancelled, it is my favourite show being cancelled just ahead of the butt-kicking season finale that sets up a totally awesome second season.
(Why are you looking at me like that?)
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"That happened to you, didn't it?"
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Hypothetically speaking, of course.
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I hope one day they can bring it back
*Thank you for calling A.N.D. Laboratories, rescrambling your DNA, how may I direct your call?*
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http://vipercomics.com/shop/the-middleman/the-middleman-obligatory-2-pack/
It's the last episode as Javier Grillo-Marxuach envisoned it. Seriously worth it.
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100 days of love and hate? *duck*
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if you check out middleblog on LJ, you'll see a listing of all of the references to the different TV shows/movies etc
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You can hear the crew giggling in the background. :-)
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