 | 11 Feb 10 |
Last year it was Cherry Adair. We were both at the Emerald City Writers conference and she told me about this new show called FRINGE and I absolutely had to watch it. Those of you who know Cherry understand that excuses are not accepted, so she really didn’t pay attention when I explained I didn’t have time to add a new show on my watch list. And I was admittedly intrigued by the concept. It took me awhile to buy it on iTunes. Half the season was over. I thought, okay just one episode.
Now I’m waiting weekly for the new episode. Rumors of it being cancelled because of low ratings has me panicking.
Then it was Anna Stewart, my friend and president of the Sacramento Valley Rose chapter of RWA. This time it was CASTLE. (Anna also turned me onto VERONICA MARS but I started watching it after knowing it was canceled so I went in knowing there were only three seasons.) At the same time Anna recommended CASTLE, our Toni said I had to watch it. In fact, there was a buzz among the writing community because Rick Castle is a writer on perpetual ride-along with a NY City detective.
Initially, I enjoyed the premise and since I love Nathan Fillion (the idiot Hollywood move to in canceling FIREFLY is second only to the idiot move of canceling VERONICA MARS) I had to watch. But they lost me after five or six episodes for many of the reasons former cop Lee Lofland mentions on his humorous and stinging blog. But my mom said season two was really good, so I caved and bought it, and she was right–it was much better than season one. There are still many problems with the stories, but for me it’s a guilty pleasure. I mean, Nathan Fillion! And I love his relationship with his daughter.
Well, blame Toni this time. She emailed me a week or so ago about a canceled show called LIFE. Two seasons, that’s it. Not too much of an investment in time. On her recommendation, I downloaded season one.
One week later I had finished watching all eleven season one episodes and downloaded season two.
(Damn you Toni!)
Among my other current favorite shows are HEROES, SUPERNATURAL and LAW & ORDER SVU. I have the first episodes downloaded for WHITE COLLAR, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS, and THE PRISONER to see if these are shows I would like . . . but I hesitate to start watching them. I’m also intrigued by THE GOOD WIFE. I loved the defense attorney show MURDER ONE (again, canceled after two seasons–a total shame) and have been waiting for another good one, and THE GOOD WIFE has an intriguing premise (wife of corrupt and adulterous politician who goes to prison and she has to reclaim her life for her children by going back to her former career as a defense attorney at a prestigious firm.)
I was thinking about why these shows all intrigue me. CASTLE with it’s bad police procedure and FRINGE with it’s oddities. HEROES has had some ups and downs–but mostly ups.
It comes down to one thing. I could say the cool premises, but those are just hooks. A cool premise is nothing without a good story to back it up. I could say the actors–I mean Nathan Fillion and Joshua Jackson and Milo Ventimiglia and Jared Padalecki! What’s not to like? I would be close. I could say the writers–and I would be closer. The writers of the shows I’ve mentioned are truly talented–the stories are by and large compelling.
But the single common denominator in all these shows is Character.
The talent of the actors plays a role as does the skill of the writers and creativity of the story creators. But all that together combines to give me the one thing I have to have when I invest time in a television series.
Good characters.
The movie AVATAR confirmed this truth for me. AVATAR had a cool premise, absolutely incredible CGI, fantastic music, and some good actors. I did appreciate the movie for the visual and auditory theater. The world building was fantastic. But–and this is a big BUT–the characters were weak. Sure, there were a few other irritating aspects–like with THE DARK KNIGHT, I was intensely frustrated during the last 25 minutes when the writers felt the need to beat the moral of the movie over my head. I got it already. I’m not an idiot. I suspect that SUBTLE is not in any of the writer’s vocabulary. But the single greatest problem with the move was with character. Every damn one of them a stereotype. The tortured hero (literally–he had no use of his legs); the villain, a military commander who promised surgery if the hero helped feed information back about the Navi (the native people)–a villain who was so rotten to the core that he became comic. The brainless soldiers just following orders–like NO ONE questioned the guy? At the climax I would have been much more satisfied if half the soldiers (all American soldiers) turned on their obviously insane commander and refused to follow orders of annihilating an entire race of people. Seriously, if the guy was charismatic or had a soft side or gave a compelling argument as to why they needed the minerals under the Navi’s home tree, then I could understand EVERYONE following him. But it was all “we have to kill them because they’re like animals.” Pul-eeze. More stereotypes? The noble, smart, tough scientist. (Played by the very talented Sigourney Weaver.) The tough female pilot who is the ONLY ONE who seems to have a brain questions the morality of genocide. And then there’s the Navi themselves–the heroine, who’s the daughter of the head chief of the tribe. The warrior she’s supposed to marry (but of course she falls for the hero.) The shaman character (the heroine’s mother.) There was not one character that wasn’t a two-dimensional stereotype.
It was after seeing AVATAR on Saturday that I realized what I need in every show I watch–at the movies or on television. Characters. Real characters, people who I believe exist. In film this means a symbiotic relationship between the writer, the actor, and the director. All needs to come together to create someone I believe could exist. Rick Castle–he’s real to me. While I need to suspend disbelief on the premise of the show, he makes it easier for me to do just that. I mean, what if Lee Child wanted to play ride-a-long with NYPD? I can totally picture it 
HEROES is another fantastic example of over-the-top but real characters. Peter Petrelli is the “hero” of the show (in my mind)–he’s the moral core. He has flaws, namely acting without thinking, but he always acts for the right reasons (as he knows them.) He makes mistakes, but at his core he is a good person. Everyone else is on the scale of good to bad, but I can see why they do what they do. Their goals, motivations, and conflicts are REAL. I believe them. Even with all the over-the-top scenarios and the fantastical elements, at the core the show is about how ordinary people deal with extraordinary talents.
LIFE, my newest “acquisition,” seems to be low budget and other than the premise (cop goes to prison for 12 years for a crime he didn’t commit–he’s released with a huge multi-million dollar settlement–yet goes back to work. A great twist on THE FUGITIVE.) But the character of Charlie Crews is so compelling. He’s so controlled, due to his years of reading and listening to zen tapes. He is quirky–his obsession with fruit, his huge house without furniture, his odd comments–and you wonder how he could be so calm after spending 12 years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Then he does something spontaneous–but totally in character–like tossing the zen tape out of the window of his fast-moving car. He’s walking a fine line as he breaks laws and rules to find out the truth about who framed him and why. The other characters are good as well, though perhaps a little on the stereotypical side. Charlie Crews (Damian Lewis) carries the show. His partner is also good. I thought she was going to be a stereotype, but over the first season she grew into something more.
Characters become friends . . . and enemies. We become attached to them, we care about them. We love them, we hate them, we bite our nails because of them. But we CARE. We want the bad guys to get what’s coming to them, we want the good guys to win, we want justice for victims and hope for the future. And we want that because we care about the people involved. And in fiction? That means character.
Who are some of your new favorite characters?
© 2010 Allison Brennan. All rights reserved.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling and award winning author Allison Brennan has published fourteen romantic thrillers with Ballantine, plus a novella and four short stories. She lives near Sacramento, California with her husband and five children. Recently, RT Book Reviews said, “A master of suspense, Brennan does another outstanding job uniting horrifying action, procedural drama and the birth of a romance — a prime example of why she’s tops in the genre.” For fun Allison enjoys wine tasting, swimming, playing video games, and—of course–reading. Her most recent release is CARNAL SIN, the second book in the Seven Deadly Sins supernatural romantic suspense series. Her Lucy Kincaid series will launch in January, 2011 with LOVE ME TO DEATH.
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Allison! I was coming here to find your email and here you are, posting today. Very handy!
White Collar is a no-miss show for us. The only others we try to never miss are NCIS and Big Bang Theory (and when it starts up again, Royal Pains). Characters are everything. There have been a few episodes of NCIS where daughters and I are not overly thrilled with the story line–but we don’t want to miss any part of Abby. Or McGee. And Sheldon on BBT? His characterization is priceless, and spot on. I live in fear they will finally bring in a girlfriend for him and her character will screw it all up.
Just have to say, I am reading Original Sin right now–and it is making me late for everything, because it kills me to put it down. I am SO glad you moved into the paranormal world. I can read it, for whatever reason, without having nightmares, even though the suspense is not good for my blood pressure. I believe this book is a fabulous example of perfect pacing. Toni does this with Bobbie Faye as well. But Bobbie Faye doesn’t make me jump at every little sound–just laugh out loud in quiet public places.
by Gillian Layne February 11th, 2010 at 9:03 amHi Gillian! I don’t know if the email here works (Meaning, I don’t know if we check it regularly — cough cough — so email me at allison (at) allisonbrennan (dot) com.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying ORIGINAL SIN! I loved writing something a little different while keeping the same level of suspense.
Thanks for the vote for WHITE COLLAR–I’m actually planning on watching it with my husband, but he doesn’t like to come to my office to watch TV. Lots of people I know watch NCIS, but since it’s like in the twenty-third season or something I don’t feel compelled to make that investment in time
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 10:33 amThe other night my husband had the TV on, which is a very strange event in our house – neither one of us watches much TV – and so I had to sit down and see what was so compelling. It was that new show, Undercover Boss. We were rivited, as they showed the ceo of Waste Management get down in the trenches with his employees and learn what it was really like on the front lines.
I *knew* we were being manipulated by clever editing and for all I know, actor plants, etc. but I loved it anyway. And it’s for the reason you mentioned – loved that guy – his *character*. Put a less sympathetic schmoe in there and all it would have been was cloying drivel. But yeah, hook me on the character and I’m yours.
Oh, my favorite favorite character these days is that darling sidekick on Cougar Town, the young blond gal? She makes me laugh and laugh and laugh…
by sophie littlefield February 11th, 2010 at 10:05 amI haven’t heard of UNDERCOVER BOSS. Hmm . . . (Bad Sophie!)
I gave up virtually all tv for three years–from 2002 to 2005–when I was writing, but not published. Because I was working full-time and the only time I could write was at night after the kids went to bed. Everytime I finished a book, I’d buy a season of a show I missed on DVD and my husband and I would have a marathon–I saw FIREFLY, LOST seasons one and two, and DEADWOOD this way.
I know it sounds like I watch a lot of TV, but I don’t. On AppleTV there are no commercials, most shows are less than 45 minutes. I watch late at night after I get my pages done, but I’m too wired to go to sleep. Except SUPERNATURAL which I watch with my two teenagers.
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 10:31 amI LOVE Firefly!!! It’s required viewing once a year.
I actually believe that watching TV with your kids can be really nice family time. Especially when they get to an age when it’s hard to keep them around…we definitely have had some fun times watching Bear Grills…
My TV boycott is temporary, believe me. I’m still in those crazy early days when I can’t manage my schedule. At some point I look forward to having my evenings back to be a slug!
by sophie littlefield February 11th, 2010 at 11:10 amI love, love, love The Good Wife!! I never miss it. It’s just fabulous.
by S. J. Day February 11th, 2010 at 10:18 amWell there’s one vote for THE GOOD WIFE! It’s cheaper to buy the whole season than to buy it episode by episode on iTunes. (I know, I can watch for free on some sites, and maybe I’ll do that just for the first episode, but I like the quality on my TV and my husband bought me a big tv for my office so I can watch from my desk
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 10:24 amYou nailed it Allison. Characters keep me coming back.
I hesitated with Friday Night Lights too, because I’m like….a show about football? Seriously? But it is so much more than football, that I can’t even begin to explain to people who can’t get past the first four episodes. Truly, one of the best shows that’s ever been on TV. It has it all.
I gave up on Heroes. Ditto for Castle. I don’t watch any crime shows, CSI, Law and Order, Bones…I don’t watch any reality shows either. I hope to catch Fringe on DVD. I love watching episodes back to back.
Thank God for DVD’s and DVR
or I’d never see anything!
by Lori Armstrong February 11th, 2010 at 10:28 amI almost gave up on HEROES. But . . . Peter Petrelli is one of those characters I can’t get out of my head. Claire annoys me though. I did give up on CASTLE, but it’s gotten better and it’s such a brainless experience and fun
I gave up on CSI years ago. Except I started watching the season with the Dollhouse Killer and ended up loving it. Great continuing storyline. But after that, nothing.
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 10:37 amLove me some CASTLE!!! UNDERCOVER BOSS was great!
Don’t hurt me…LOL. I love FORGOTTEN. Not sure how much longer it will be on either and its a great show…darn it. It’s about a group of people who come together to id bodies in cold cases and help the families/vics find justice. GREAT show!! Not sure if you can download them.
Okay, I will walk away slowly and slip out so you don’t hurt me too bad.
by Misty Wright February 11th, 2010 at 10:46 amLike you, it’s the characters. I love Peter’s dad on Fringe, plus the premise, adore Castle, he’s just funny. I really enjoyed the little I got to see of Eastwick, wish it would come back on.
by Carol Shenold February 11th, 2010 at 10:52 amI agree, Walter is a fantastic character and well-played as well. I wish they’d do more with Peter, though. I see him playing a bigger role this season. But there were so many mysteries last season about his background while Walter was in the mental hospital. Olivia is a compelling character because she’s a strong female character without being a stereotype or man-hater. She’s smart. I like that
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 10:38 pmI don’t watch much TV-any time I get hooked on a new show, that seems to be the death knell or something. Like Dollhouse, Blood Ties, the Dresden Files, Moonlight…hey, maybe I should start watching every reality show out there, see if some of them will drop of the face of the earth and maybe we can some actual SHOWS back on…hmmm.
I do like House, though. Love Dr House Enjoyed V-Anna is way creepy and loved all the other characters.
I definitely agree, though, the characters make it or break it.
by Shiloh Walker February 11th, 2010 at 12:00 pmROFLOL Shiloh! Don’t watch FRINGE, okay? I think it’s on the cusp with the network . . . hee hee
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 6:38 pmCASTLE is life. Both the show (it’s currently my favorite) and the character. I’m so in love with Rick Castle it’s stupid. He’s SO gorgeous and annoying — oh, so thoroughly annoying — and those dimples ♥ ♥ ♥ I seriously go “Awww” and “Ahhh” all the time watching the show. I love the other characters, too. Beckett is nice and Ryan and Esposito always make me laugh.
I really like BONES, but they’re doing the same thing with it as they’re doing with HOUSE. They’re turning the characters into emotional wusses. I like cold, heartless Bones much better than “I didn’t believe in love until I met you” Bones. Like, a million times better. They’re focusing too much on personal relationships and both shows are losing the essence, which is weird cases, sarcasm and arrogant main characters.
And, really, I watch the show for that. If I want personal drama, I’ll watch Grey’s Anatomy, thank you (and I do, even though it annoys me to death).
Character wise, I also absolutely LOVE CSI:NY. They work great together, they’re all interesting character, no wusses (does it get any wussier than CSI:Miami’s Horatio Caine?). And it’s a really funny show.
NCIS, yes, I like the characters in NCIS, though I miss the old “I’ll sleep with anything female that breathes” Dinozzo. He didn’t lose his charm, though.
by Barbie February 11th, 2010 at 12:20 pmI haven’t seen BONES yet. I know, I know, bad me. I have the first season–I really should watch it one of these days! Maybe after LIFE season two . . .
I don’t watch HOUSE regularly, but I do enjoy the characters when I see it.
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 6:37 pmYep, I HOUSE and BONES, though I don’t get to watch as much as I used to. NCIS…OMG Mark. LOVE IT!!
by Misty Wright February 11th, 2010 at 12:35 pmAllison, I so need to get a DVR!!! I miss all the good shows! About the only drama I see regularly is Grey’s Anatomy.
You nailed it on character though!
by Jen Lyon February 11th, 2010 at 12:49 pmI have a DVR through my satellite provider, but I rarely use it–it’s full of kids shows (iCarly, Little Einsteins, SpongeBob, etc . . . ) though we did record all SANTA CLAUSE movies and watched them over and over again! LOL.
I have AppleTV. It costs money to buy the season, but it’s comparable to a DVD set (and usually cheaper) and you get right after they air. The quality is great.
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 1:50 pmWith the exception of Castle (totally couldn’t get into it after the first show) I watch all the same shows you do. I also watch Bones (at first because of David Boreanz…but now because it’s a good show). My guilty pleasures are Psyche and Burn Notice. My husband likes White Collar…it’s okay.
by Terri Molina February 11th, 2010 at 12:50 pmOne of my new faves is In Plain Sight , also on USA…a must see! It’s about the Witness Protection Program. I don’t know what it is I like about the character Mary, except that she’s snarky and tough and strong (personality-wise) and she and her partner are so perfectly matched. It’s been on for two seasons, the third should be starting next month, so you should play catch up with it.
I heard about that show, but never saw it. Hmmm . . . sounds kinda interesting . . .
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 6:36 pmMy favorite tv shows are NCIS, In Plain Sight, Deadliest Catch, Drop Dead Diva, The Good Wife, and Castle.
by HollyD February 11th, 2010 at 2:43 pmI don’t watch any of the cop/crime/forensics shows, with the exception of Castle. And I only watch that one because I’m reviewing the
(horrible) police procedure and forensics used on the show.
I do watch The Big Bang Theory, The Middle, and the Andy Griffith Show. Now there’s (Andy Griffith) police work at its finest!
by Lee Lofland February 11th, 2010 at 3:25 pmAnd your blogs are soooo much fun Lee! But CASTLE is my guilty pleasure, bad police procedure and all. (Did I tell you about the copy editor who questioned a forensics point in one of my books–one that I checked with a forensic pathologist first–by writing, “But this is not how they do it on tv.”)
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 3:49 pmShoot, even my editor for my book on police procedure called one afternoon and asked, “Are you sure this part about…is correct? I was watching Law and Order last night and that’s not what they said.”
by Lee Lofland February 11th, 2010 at 4:18 pm*snort*
LIFE is my revenge for FRINGE. ha. Season 2 is pretty great. (I have had several “huh?” moments where I thought, no no no, don’t go down that path, but so far, it’s working. I have also had several moments of epiphanies after the showed aired of going backward and thinking, well… how could that person have done X? But really, it’s quibbles, and I never noticed during the show itself.)
re: CASTLE… I think they’ve found their voice. I don’t think they do a great job on the forensics side, but I’m relieved that Beckett doesn’t have to constantly tell Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, the two other male detectives, what to do for every single step. A lot of what they have to do is standard, and that seems to be accepted now, and they seem to have some initiative. I mostly watch it for the characterizations and the quips–they’ve had fun, and it shows.
LEVERAGE was one that I loved when it first started. Then it hit a few false shows, where everybody but them was stupid, and that just bothered me. I wasn’t really impressed with their second season. This new season is entertaining, but it’s a DVR thing that I get to if I’ve run out of other stuff to watch while on the treadmill.
by toni mcgee causey February 11th, 2010 at 3:26 pmWait, you can’t blame me for FRINGE. That started with Cherry Adair, not me, thank you very much!
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 3:47 pmYeah, but Cherry didn’t tell me, you did, so totally you. ha.
Also, I love BONES. Love it, love it, love it. The actual anthropological stuff? I have no clue, but it sounds realistic. The FBI/cop/crime scene stuff? So badly wrong, so lazy, I want to smack them for not getting basics right. (Like picking up a piece of evidence without gloves or something else? Even picking it up before photographing it, or whatever else typical crime scene techs do.)
(Did I mention that Luke is also a certified crime scene tech? He has to go in and take all of the photos, like at the shooting in Vail.)
Anyway, Bones gets easy stuff wrong, but the relationships are priceless. I spent the Christmas holidays catching up on all of the seasons. It’s fun to watch them back-to-back.
by toni mcgee causey February 11th, 2010 at 4:15 pmI gotta stick with my old favs: Brenda Lee Johnson on The Closer and Grace on Saving Grace!
by Debra Webb February 11th, 2010 at 4:16 pmI loved THE CLOSER for awhile, but there were some things that irritated me. I stopped watching it, though it certainly wasn’t bad. I liked Fritz
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 10:37 pmOMG, I tried to watch the Closer but Kira Sedgwick’s HORRIBLE attempt at a southern accent grated on my nerves so bad I wanted to stab myself in the ears with an ice pick!
by Terri Molina February 11th, 2010 at 11:52 pmI don’t know enough about police work to know if the shows are doing it wrong but my brother, who’s a critical care RN (and did is share of ER duty) refused to watch ER for that reason.
I’m a BONES fan, too. But I’ve read all the Kathy Reich books, and they are so very, very different from the TV series so I have to keep them separate in my mind or I get annoyed. Hmm… what else? I watch DAMAGES sometimes. Speaking of villains, Ted Danson is amazing there.
by Laura Griffin February 11th, 2010 at 4:27 pmWe DVR NCIS, White Collar and Big Bang, but my favorite characters are on Burn Notice.
by Zelda Benjamin February 11th, 2010 at 4:45 pmI’m an NCIS fan because of the characters to be sure. I don’t watch a lot of tv anymore, but I thought I’d try the NCIS LA. After the first episode, I relegated it to ‘record’ mode rather than watching live because I couldn’t get into the characters. But as the season has moved along, we’ve been given glimpses into backstory and personal angst, which gives them depth. But mostly I watch it for Linda Hunt. I love her character.
(And, not that anyone here would really notice, but I’m having to cut back on computer time–we have an offer on our house and things have been and will be hectic, since we’re moving cross country but have no home waiting for us. I’ll be totally without Internet in the very near future.)
by Terry Odell February 11th, 2010 at 6:18 pmStarbucks. Free internet. I’m sending you lots of hugs and prayers on your move–I hope everything is as easy as possible!
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 6:36 pmThanks, Allison. Panera has free Internet too. Right now we have to survive sleeping on a double bed in the guestroom since we just sold our king set.
by Terry Odell February 11th, 2010 at 6:41 pmRemember the old series Wise Guy? Ken Wahl as an undercover cop infiltrating the mob. Damn, I loved those characters, the love/hate relationship between the hero and the mobster he had to bring down. And Kevin Spacey played a terrifying character in the second season.
Wow. I need to go dig out those DVDs.
by KariLynn Dell February 11th, 2010 at 6:34 pmOh, sounds good! I never saw it.
by Allison Brennan February 11th, 2010 at 6:35 pmTo give him a really solid cover they actually had him ‘convicted’ of a crime and sent to prison. Even his family thought he was guilty. So on top of the stuff going on with the mob people, there’s all the angst of knowing he’s a good guy and having his mother think he’s a thug. So many layers and emotions. *sigh*
by KariLynn Dell February 11th, 2010 at 6:40 pmGosh, I watch more television now then I ever have. I loved Firefly, but the movie Serenity was disappointing. I love Castle. Yes, it’s a joke procedurally, but that is so not why I watch it. I love the characters. I love Modern Family. OMG! Hilarious. Life, SOA, Rescue Me. The list goes on and on!
by Karin Tabke February 12th, 2010 at 3:29 am