[Media] Caught the pilot of Lost Girl, which lead to some thoughts about Australian media.

[moonvoice]

Well, aside from a few clumsy lines (both written and delivered) in the pilot episode, I am quite intrigued by new fantasy/sci fi television drama entrant Lost Girl, made by Canadian producers Showcase. I found it endearing, interesting, and one more show in a long line of 2010 shows to feature supes. It had some great, immediate accessibility in character Kenzi, and some very cute lines.

Considering I turned off Hellcats in less than 10 minutes (hey, Gale Harold is going to be in it later, I still might download those episodes just for him), it's nice to find a new show which looks interesting (though this season's line up? There's some others I'm looking forward to as well). Also, Dark Fae? Light Fae? A main character who's a succubus? Two female leads? Bring it on, bitches. Works for me.

*

Geez, Australian media sucks when compared even to Canada's media, and that's just sad, since we get similar funding and support in both nations for our film and television production units. Also, Australia has the tech - has always had the tech, especially since the first Matrix - to really do wild things with supernatural themes. Even more so than Canada. Does it? Pfft. No.

We are like the most unimaginative country ever. You couldn't even pitch a supe-drama here, even though they are selling like hot-cakes everywhere else. It just disappoints me, after all this time. It's hard to support a lacklustre industry. And a lot of it isn't lack of funding. Some of it is just lack of imagination, Australia's culture of media insecurity seeping into film-making in particular (it works well in literature, if you can handle the similarities in tone between writers like Carey and Winton). But then, it's unsurprising. We have one of the worst rates of media censorship in the Western world ever. We still ban films like Salo (unbanned it, changed our minds, too sensitive for our sheltered viewers, sorry!).

It is a deeply, deeply oppressive environment for any media show to get made (yes, there are more oppressive environments, but not many to be found in the Western world). Those who do stick to fairly basic (but not always bad) affair, usually involving some kind of formulaic procedural (Blue Heelers, McCleod's Daughters (which did crazy insane in the ratings when it was shipped off to North Asia), White Collar Blue, All Saints, Water Rats, Wildside immediately come to mind). Maybe it's just me, but I want something way more imaginative. Or at least the choice.

Anyway, didn't expect to be writing about this at 9.00am!

Comments

[moonvoice]

The Office: US was a very, very good remake (though slowing down, and probably should've finished two seasons ago. And Queer as Folk: US was just brilliant (even if that one slowed down too). But the latter is an example of a show that finished maybe five or six years ago? And the former is an example of a show that isn't doing it 'better' than the UK, just different.

I devour a lot of TV, much more than Glen really, since I tend to watch shows that he doesn't like, and I'll watch them for detached, critical reasons (like Dollhouse, which I really didn't enjoy, basically, aside from the last five or six episodes of about 24). I also watch shows that are considered groundbreaking or seminal, as long as the protagonists aren't deeply unethical (Arrested Development), criminals (Breaking Bad, The Sopranos), or generally unsavoury, awful people (Australia's Underbelly).

Part of it is that I just like to stay 'up to date' (and I'm really not, considering how much is out there, it's just not really possible, I suppose I try and stay 'up to date' within my niches, but even that's not really possible). But I'm also a huge TV fan. This year I'm enjoying a greater download limit too, which helps.

[starstrider]

Yeah, I suppose The Office: US is doing very well for a re-make. (I honestly cannot stand The Office, though I've never tried to watch the UK version.) I didn't realize Queer as Folk was a remake, but if the original was that old than that's probably why (it's also one I haven't ever watched). I feel like the remade shows done from an earlier made original often do rather well--I guess I put those in a different "category" in my mind. Like, I keep waiting for someone to remake Lost in Space. I used to watch it as a kid and I loved the movie for what it was (maybe that was just because of Gary Oldman, though, lol), but I think that show has a lot of potential for being revamped; it would have to become a different version, I think, not just because of the morale-story type of its original era, but I think it could use a new spin in a modern audience. Heck, if Australia could get some of the awesomeness that went into Farscape as far as post modernism and cultural critique goes into Lost in Space it would be pretty fantastic. But now I'm rambling.

Yeah, I tend to watch either what interests me in terms of thought-food and creative-juice, but also in terms of what I think is noteworthy for my niche in cultural awareness (which, yeah, is pretty limited thus far). Heck I watched Dollhouse for the same reason, and got into Dexter for that reason despite my initial "meh" feelings for it outside of anti-heroism. The only thing that stops me from watching more is that I'm often irrationally picky. For instance, I cannot stand the sound effects or presence of the main actors for 24 even though I've only seen the middle 15 minutes of some random episode. Really, I often stop watching shows for rather ridiculous reasons usually evolving around disliking actors or writing for very silly things. I couldn't stand Firefly because I couldn't stand the random, half-assed (in my opinion, of course) cultural clings just for the sake of, "ooh, culture shiny." But yeah. XD I try. *wolfish grin*