TV TV

I've been completely out of the movie loop lately. I haven't gone to the movies in ages nor have I been able to sit down and watch a movie at home. It's weird and I don't know why but I think it's because TV shows have gotten so much better and just out compete movies for my attention.

TV shows now all have plots and characters that develop over hours and hours of story time yet with each individual show telling its own small story. TV shows have become novels with each episode being a chapter in the book. No matter how long the movie it's always a short story in comparison.

The one thing movies have going for then is spectacle. The big screen and the loud sound. People love spectacle which is why so much movie time and money go into special effects. One of the first things out of my friends' mouths when describing a film is usually, "The effects were great". Or the opposite.

I've never cared about special effects. I don't know why but they never make or break a movie for me. Maybe I can't get into them and forget they're effects like my friends do. They are always just well crafted or poorly crafted effects to me. I prefer well crafted but they don't make me believe fantastical things better than poorly crafted ones. It's the writing and acting that make me believe. Not the ray guns.

So while I couldn't bring myself to sit down and watch any movies lately I did just sit and watch all of season three of the TV show "Dexter". It's a show I never thought I'd get into because I found the concept so dumb. It's about a serial killer who's victims are other serial killers. Sounded dumb and unbelievable to me but the writers and actors pulled it off.

Dexter works for the police as a lab tech/blood spatter expert so he has access to police expertise and can learn of killers who have escaped the reach of the law. Plus a policeman adopted him as a child, recognized the signs of a young sociopath killer and gave him a code to live by. Dexter only kills those who deserve it, covers his tracks, and tries to act normal even if he is not. All that makes the show believable to me and I never expected it to be.

Another show I just sat through was season four of "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia". This was my second time around with these thirteen episodes and they are funnier than any movie I've seen in years. The show stars four people you've never heard of and Danny DeVito. They own and run a bar in Philly but that's not what the show is about. The show is about whatever funny, absurd and tasteless hijinks the cast gets into any given week. The characters have bad judgement, limited social skills, aren't as bright as they think they are, and don't let common sense get in the way of hatching a plan.

If I were to go into the plots and shenanigans that go on in this show I would never be able to do them justice. Suffice it to say that they're funny. If you don't like absurd and tasteless humor brought to you by characters with little redeeming social value than stay away from this one. But if you like funny then this show is funny. It's the show that makes me laugh out loud to like I was a little kid.

Those are just the two of the shows I've been watching lately instead of bothering with any movies. I also managed to track down some copies of an old yet to be released on DVD TV show that was a favorite of mine. "Two Guys and a Girl". I got some grainy low res copies that were better than nothing and watched an episode or two at a time all summer long. The show held up pretty well. Better than any silly "Tranformers" movie that I will never watch. And now that football season has started who needs movies? Not me.