An online friend comments:
So last night I watched Surface. Lake Bell was the only thing that prevented me from turning it off. In the first 5 minutes they'd done everything they could to turn me off. First a boatload of 13 year old kids who think they're hip and cool. Hate that. Then an uber-bratty little 4 year old... detest that.
The whole show felt really random. They blipped back and forth across the globe and showed all these different kinds of strange things happening. I mean, *very minor spoilers* for one encounter they have to send a deep sea sub 5000 feet down to the bottom of the ocean. But another happens in a bay very near a town. Huh?
I'll give it another week, but if it doesn't get a lot better I'll be dumping it.
I agree. I wanted the sea critters to eat the kids. Roger Ebert calls this kind of character a "Movie Kid," the sort that ruined the latter Jurassic Park movie. They're so instantly, jarringly phony, smug and unbelievable as to bring any story to a screeching halt.
The wrath of the Flying Spaghetti Monster be upon them.
I do hope the sea critters, on the other hand, aren't just giant, sentient manatees as the brief glimpses of them hinted.
Also, it must be said, our Heroine was right out of Central Casting and not much better than the adult version of a Movie Kid.
She's the Tough Professional Woman. Headstrong, impulsive yet a well-known and respected PhD in marine whateverology. A woman of action and smarts who's also a single mom - she don't need no man! And she's young and attractive, of course, so she looks good while giving 'attitude' to the Powers That Be.
Gee, I don't suppose that brat of hers is going to need a rescue in an upcoming episode? Perhaps from that dive-fishing good old boy who lost his brother? Place your bets.
So last night I watched Surface. Lake Bell was the only thing that prevented me from turning it off. In the first 5 minutes they'd done everything they could to turn me off. First a boatload of 13 year old kids who think they're hip and cool. Hate that. Then an uber-bratty little 4 year old... detest that.
The whole show felt really random. They blipped back and forth across the globe and showed all these different kinds of strange things happening. I mean, *very minor spoilers* for one encounter they have to send a deep sea sub 5000 feet down to the bottom of the ocean. But another happens in a bay very near a town. Huh?
I'll give it another week, but if it doesn't get a lot better I'll be dumping it.
I agree. I wanted the sea critters to eat the kids. Roger Ebert calls this kind of character a "Movie Kid," the sort that ruined the latter Jurassic Park movie. They're so instantly, jarringly phony, smug and unbelievable as to bring any story to a screeching halt.
The wrath of the Flying Spaghetti Monster be upon them.
I do hope the sea critters, on the other hand, aren't just giant, sentient manatees as the brief glimpses of them hinted.
Also, it must be said, our Heroine was right out of Central Casting and not much better than the adult version of a Movie Kid.
She's the Tough Professional Woman. Headstrong, impulsive yet a well-known and respected PhD in marine whateverology. A woman of action and smarts who's also a single mom - she don't need no man! And she's young and attractive, of course, so she looks good while giving 'attitude' to the Powers That Be.
Gee, I don't suppose that brat of hers is going to need a rescue in an upcoming episode? Perhaps from that dive-fishing good old boy who lost his brother? Place your bets.
I'm heading back tomorrow morning and I'm keeping my powder dry.
And yeah, I'm giving most TV a pass these days, especially Surface, given that I suddenly found myself owning lakefront property in the middle of town.