ESTROGENIC FUN-HOUSE RIDE: Look: this blog's bias in favor of All Things Shonda is clear, but that's not going to stop me from linking to
Mark Harris' EW thoughts on Scandal:
You should be watching Scandal, the weird, addictive hypersoap that is currently flying in the face of everything we officially revere about the neo–golden age of TV drama. Scandal is, one might argue, ludicrous and indefensible trash, but if so, it’s trash with a capital T, a bedazzled R, an anarchy-symbol A, a neon S, and an H that stands for “Holy s—, I can’t believe they did that!” It is also, against all odds, the most original drama on network TV right now.
Harris' piece is (as expected) great and right on with one exception--the show does deserve Emmy attention, particularly for Kerry Washington (there are at least two openings in Lead Actress in a Drama this year with Close and Bates having been on cancelled shows and Moss' status as lead/supporting being variable on Mad Men, and she has a darn good case to go there--admittedly, so do Keri Russell and Connie Britton) and Jeff Perry (who it's remarkable to see as something other than a good/helpless guy and who's having a ton of fun).
ReplyDeleteHarris is right on. Scandal isn't highbrow, and who cares? It's ridiculously entertaining, Kerry Washington is incredible in the part, and it's fun to watch. I am perfectly happy to suspend my disbelief, and thrilled to have something on my TV that isn't ponderous. It's good TV. The rest is unimportant.
ReplyDeleteMeanwhile, the Vampire Diaries has quietly been doing this for over three seasons. Plot twists so fast it leaves you breathless, anyone can die at any time mentality (they've killed at least one person who was in the opening credits), and soapy soap soap.
ReplyDeleteBut, since it's about teenagers, is in the sci-fi/fantasy genre, and is on the CW, I understand why it's been more ignored than Scandal.
Indeed, I thought they borrowed from that concept when I first watched Scandal. "Let's just go balls to the wall, like TVD!" It makes for a nice change of pace. I do totally enjoy Scandal, but I think there are some REALLY terrible people on there. Fitz is dreadful. Mellie can have him. They deserve each other. But both shows are led by VERY strong, talented female leads, both of whom will likely never get the recognition they deserve because they're not doing High Drama. This industry, man.
ReplyDeleteI watched this show with someone else the other day and had to keep reiterating that no really, I like this show because watching it with someone else somehow highlighted the improbabilities. But the improbabilities are besides the point. This show isn't about reality, it is a bout delicious scandal of the most gossipy variety and its fantastic at that because it isn't concerned with real life probability, just the inner logic of the show, and it is great! I really do love it.
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