[Theepistle] Saintly Glamour

Fri Oct 2 06:15:11 BST 2009

On Thu, 1 Oct 2009, Ian Dickerson wrote:

> Interesting.
>
> You need to watch more Leverage, the plots alone are reminiscent of The
> Brighter Buccaneer and that era. And there's a great sense of humor to it
> all.

Well I don't actually get Leverage on any of my Canadian channels, so I 
had to make a special effort to watch the episode I did, and I'm not 
convinced enough to make those same kinds of efforts again, although I'll 
admit that I could be very much mistaken in my evaluation.

Actually I think I was just sloppy in my previous post. I think I should 
have tied a show with a main character with the fun, light feeling.
I can see where Leverage would have fun elements, but I just didn't get 
enough of a sense of the characters to want to watch them have the fun.

  >
> You also need to watch more and later Hustles--the last series particularly
> had a nice sense of fun about combined with similarly Brighter
> Buccaneer-like plots.

Again, I was sloppy. I did watch Hustle and I enjoyed it, but I wasn't 
compelled to watch it every single week. If I cuaght it, that was fine, 
and if I missed it, it was no big deal. Yes I can see the lightness of the 
plots and the dexterity of the twists, but somehow I just couldn't get 
that absorbed into the characters.

  >
> The Burn Notice comparison is mainly driven by the hero helping people who
> are in trouble, buy boy oh boy do I have to agree with you about Jeffrey
> Donovan's talking through clenched teeth...
>Ian

Good. I thought it was just me who was getting really tired of his 
delivery style. It's nice to know I'm not alone.

I guess I'm just looking for a light, fun, show driven by a main character 
with a solid supporting cast. I think I also want an ongoing (season-long) 
plot to accompany the individually wrapped up episodes.

I know it's far from a traditional comedy, 
but Dexter has given me more laughs and giggles than almost anything on TV 
at the moment.

Actually this new fall American TV season is really disappointing. I 
haven't seen one new show that is even close to being "must-see TV." At 
least last year we got half a season of My Own Worst Enemy before it got 
cancelled. Now that had me hooked. (Yes I know I'm one of only two people 
in the entire world who watched the program.)

The lack of currently watchable programming is the main reason I went 
hunting for Burn Notice and Leverage. I took the same approach to both 
shows, but the difference is that one episode of Burn Notice offered up 
enough promise to make me want to see more. One episode of Leverage left 
me thinking it was cute and watchable, but no more than that. Actually 
I've been thinking about giving Damages a try. Does anybody care to offer 
up any reviews either pro or con on that show? Is there anything on 
British TV that stacks up well against Life on Mars?

Sorry for the off-topic divergence, but we need something to watch until 
The Saint hits the airwaves.
Carolyn

  >
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Carolyn Gruske [mailto:be265 at torfree.net]
> Sent: 01 October 2009 22:11
> To: Ian Dickerson
> Cc: theepistle at fascicle.org
> Subject: Re: [Theepistle] Saintly Glamour
>
> Having seen the first season or two of Hustle, an episode of Leverage and
> all of Burn Notice, I can't say there is anything inherently "saintly"
> about the shows. Sure they all have the stick-it-to-the-bad-guy plot usually
> involving some sort of con, but they just don't have the same feeling of fun
> and exuberance
>
> I think part of the problem with the first two shows is the ensemble nature
> of the cast. I can't say that I really got to know (or care about) any of
> the characters in Hustle. Yes, I knew who they were supposed to be and what
> their roles on the team are, but that's about it. Yes, I've only seen one
> episode of Leverage (co-incidentally I watched it last night) but I can't
> say that I'm really compelled to watch any more. The characters just didn't
> do anything to draw me back.
>
> Now I have become a fan of Burn Notice. It's less of an ensemble piece (even
> though the supporting characters are important) and as such there is more
> sympathy created for the main character. While it does have a bit of the
> glamour Micheal feels is missing on TV (sunny location, nice suits,
> expensive sunglasses and some really great cars) it is still a bit
> workman-like in that Michael Weston is just going through the motions and
> doing what needs to be done in order to get his job back/protect his
> family/help out his friends. He doesn't take on clients for fun, and I think
> the fun element is one of the strongest drivers in any of the Simon Templar
> stories. Sure there are a few where revenge is top of the agenda, but
> overall you know the Saint is on the case because he's having a good time.
>
> Bruce Campbell's character in Burn Notice adds an element of fun but that's
> Bruce's forte, and if he toned down that aspect of his performance I'd be
> sorely disappointed.
>
> If anything, I'd say Burn Notice is more MacGuyver for the modern age than
> the Saint revisited. In terms of the body count to bullets (or body count to
> explosions) ratio it comes in closer to the A-Team than I'd like, but that
> really is the worst I can say about the show (although I'd be happy if
> Jeffrey Donovan did a little less talking through his nose/through his
> clenched teeth, but that's just being really picky.) Carolyn
>
>
>
> On Thu, 1 Oct 2009, Ian Dickerson wrote:
>
>> Also in America there is Leverage--just commissioned for a third
>> season--and Burn Notice, both of which have a certain Saintliness to them.
>>
>> Ian
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: theepistle-bounces+ian.dickerson=gmail.com at fascicle.org
>> [mailto:theepistle-bounces+ian.dickerson=gmail.com at fascicle.org] On
>> Behalf Of Tim Forcer
>> Sent: 01 October 2009 15:54
>> To: theepistle at fascicle.org
>> Subject: Re: [Theepistle] Saintly Glamour
>>
>> At 23:24 30/09/2009, Michael Serafin wrote:
>>
>>>  I hope that the new Saint series will revive something that has
>>> been woefully missing from television of late: glamour and elegance.
>>
>> Hey, what about "fun"?  A bit of escapist amusement ought to be the
>> lifeblood of TV entertainment drama?
>>
>> In the UK, we have had several series of _Hustle_ - not a repackaged
>> _Saint_, but sharing at least some characteristics?
>>
>> Some info at:
>> <http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/hustle/welcome.shtml>  Theme: "you can't
>> con an honest man".
>>
>> If _Hustle_ can be a success, and maintain a following over several
>> years, there _ought_ to be plenty of scope for a _Saint_ series to be
>> commissioned, PROVIDING it stayed close to Charteris's characterisation
> and style.
>>
>> Tim
>>
>>
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>