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So last week there were some very disturbing magical afflictions on My Little Pony and I was too upset by what I read to even watch the episode. I saw a one-minute preview earlier that week and it put me on guard immediately, but I still wasn't expecting the far worse stuff I learned after the episode aired. It really frustrated me that they did that, because it was Trixie's return and I wanted to see it. I like what they did with her character and the explanation behind why she was doing the stuff she was. I was able to watch the very last part of the episode, which I wanted to see most, and I was thankful I managed to avoid any sight of said magical afflictions.
I haven't been that upset since Once Upon a Time's Mad Hatter episode last season. It was nowhere as horrible as the Once episode's scene, of course, nor was it exactly the same problem, but it was still bad enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth for the entire Pony series for days. I approached today's episode with extreme caution. I still think this season is proving darker than either of the past ones, but finally, there was an episode I actually liked. It's the first one I've really liked all season (#6), and considering the season is only supposed to be 13 episodes this time, I'm not sure that's very encouraging overall. I like episodes in every season, but in general I think season 1 was much better than 2, and a thousand times better than 3.
Also, I watched a bit of Chuck Connors' series Branded. I liked the episodes I got it for the best, which were two three-part epics. The regular, individual episodes seemed more like part of a cookie-cutter Western, with overused and rehashed plots about various people in the towns that I've seen everywhere from Gunsmoke to The Rifleman to The Andy Griffith Show (!). (Yes, yes, I know Andy is in the South. Same principle.) Kind of a soap opera or moral play of the West. I like when shows such as Wagon Train or The Virginian or the hour-long version of Gunsmoke handle that stuff and are anthology-like, but it rarely seems to feel that great when crammed into a thirty-minute slot. I generally only like those types of episodes if someone I adore is guesting. Or if the writing is utterly exceptional.
Well, maybe I'm being too harsh. I *liked* the individual episodes; they had good moral points and were intense. But they still felt like episodes I'd seen a million times on those other thirty-minute Westerns. I like things to be different than that, yet I'm not sure how to explain exactly what I do like, since I like the elements in those episodes. Maybe it's all in the presentation, as I kind of surmised, and it just comes across better/is more well-written in an hour format.
Another thing that specifically made me roll my eyes a bit about Branded, though, was something they actually made note of in the show. Someone said it seemed like everywhere Chuck's character went, he encountered someone whose family member or friend died in the Bitter Creek battle that's central to the show's backstory. And that really did seem to be the case. Formulaic, naturally, but kind of ridiculous and far-fetched. Not anymore so than Perry Mason's formulaic tendencies, I imagine, but still, it kind of exasperated me that everywhere the poor guy went, someone seemed to think he was a coward and he had to prove he wasn't.
That irritates me along the same lines that having someone I'm nuts about end up behind bars for something he didn't do irritates me. Strange hang-up for a Perry Mason fan, I know, but it's there. In my stories, I refuse to write any protagonist characters going to jail. They can be falsely accused to varying degrees, but never put behind legal bars. I just don't tolerate that very well.
(Note that I said "legal" bars in specific, as I have written mad scientist characters throwing characters behind their own bars now and then. That seems different to me, since they could escape easier and wouldn't then be pursued by the law since they're being held illegally.)
I haven't been that upset since Once Upon a Time's Mad Hatter episode last season. It was nowhere as horrible as the Once episode's scene, of course, nor was it exactly the same problem, but it was still bad enough to leave a bad taste in my mouth for the entire Pony series for days. I approached today's episode with extreme caution. I still think this season is proving darker than either of the past ones, but finally, there was an episode I actually liked. It's the first one I've really liked all season (#6), and considering the season is only supposed to be 13 episodes this time, I'm not sure that's very encouraging overall. I like episodes in every season, but in general I think season 1 was much better than 2, and a thousand times better than 3.
Also, I watched a bit of Chuck Connors' series Branded. I liked the episodes I got it for the best, which were two three-part epics. The regular, individual episodes seemed more like part of a cookie-cutter Western, with overused and rehashed plots about various people in the towns that I've seen everywhere from Gunsmoke to The Rifleman to The Andy Griffith Show (!). (Yes, yes, I know Andy is in the South. Same principle.) Kind of a soap opera or moral play of the West. I like when shows such as Wagon Train or The Virginian or the hour-long version of Gunsmoke handle that stuff and are anthology-like, but it rarely seems to feel that great when crammed into a thirty-minute slot. I generally only like those types of episodes if someone I adore is guesting. Or if the writing is utterly exceptional.
Well, maybe I'm being too harsh. I *liked* the individual episodes; they had good moral points and were intense. But they still felt like episodes I'd seen a million times on those other thirty-minute Westerns. I like things to be different than that, yet I'm not sure how to explain exactly what I do like, since I like the elements in those episodes. Maybe it's all in the presentation, as I kind of surmised, and it just comes across better/is more well-written in an hour format.
Another thing that specifically made me roll my eyes a bit about Branded, though, was something they actually made note of in the show. Someone said it seemed like everywhere Chuck's character went, he encountered someone whose family member or friend died in the Bitter Creek battle that's central to the show's backstory. And that really did seem to be the case. Formulaic, naturally, but kind of ridiculous and far-fetched. Not anymore so than Perry Mason's formulaic tendencies, I imagine, but still, it kind of exasperated me that everywhere the poor guy went, someone seemed to think he was a coward and he had to prove he wasn't.
That irritates me along the same lines that having someone I'm nuts about end up behind bars for something he didn't do irritates me. Strange hang-up for a Perry Mason fan, I know, but it's there. In my stories, I refuse to write any protagonist characters going to jail. They can be falsely accused to varying degrees, but never put behind legal bars. I just don't tolerate that very well.
(Note that I said "legal" bars in specific, as I have written mad scientist characters throwing characters behind their own bars now and then. That seems different to me, since they could escape easier and wouldn't then be pursued by the law since they're being held illegally.)
