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Reviews
Hormones (2013)
It can be tough growing up.
I started watching this because of the Thai culture. I didn't expect much, but soon reversed that thought as I continued watching.
This show is about high school students in Bangkok and their various trials and triumphs. What sets it apart is the way the show deals with elements such as love and loss, alcohol and drug abuse, same gender relationships, physical abuse, and even death. With this show, it is not just an assembly of people playing the parts. It digs much deeper into the emotional constructs of thought processes and morality, with sometimes controversial results.
Emotional extremes are a cornerstone of this type of drama, but this shows demonstrates it in both a thoughtful, and sometimes chilling way. From frustration of not being able to love the way a person wants, to triumph over the diversity one faces to finally make it happen, it is sometimes heart wrenching, and other times satisfying. If you have ever been in a situation where you were desperate for acceptance, you may be able to relate to an emotionally charged story arch that finishes off the series.
It's worth the time.
Jericho (2006)
A good start, that could have been so much more.
I didn't catch this show in it's original run, but if I had I would have been disappointed that it was simply stopped and not at least some way concluded.
The show starts strong, with the establishment of the struggles a small town went through after a countrywide nuclear attack. The show does a good job at first with introducing character personalities then showing what happens to those people once crisis hits. I really think the show could have benefited more by watching the townspeople handle a few more local problems and obstacles before the external troubles were introduced. It would have done more to cement the personalities and conflicts that had to be overcome before the discovery of the real conspiracy. However, the first season small town stories grind to a halt in order to expand the story beyond Jericho. It was all a bit rushed.
The later stories were good, with the beginnings of introducing a conspiracy and multiple factions trying to gain control. This was decent storytelling. However it could have waited another half season to develop the main Jericho characters and stories more. I think the show would have lasted longer if they had.
Even though it is rushed, it is ultimately an engaging story, and worth a binge watch. You will probably be left with your own ideas on how it could have progressed and concluded. When a canceled show does this, it's worth a watch.
Lost (2004)
A show with symmetry, that you might not be able to see in the beginning
I never watched it during it's first run but always had an intention to. When I finally got around to it via Netflix it was just a choice because I couldn't find anything else to watch. However, after a while I found that I was anxious for the next episode, and even binge watched it a few times.
The premise of a group of strangers needing to get along and work together by themselves, especially in an island setting has always appealed to me. But the show seemed to be just about character discovery at first, and it did seem to stumble around a lot in the beginning. However, the character discovery played a major part of understanding why they acted and performed the way they did for the remainder of the series and was completely necessary. From the alliances, relationships, divided loyalties, and turn around events, they all stemmed from an extended arc of well developed characters.
When we started to discover the secrets of the island, each character naturally fell into their logical path to either embrace the knowledge, or work against it, and some to play both sides while they made up their mind.
Some may find the flashback scenes as a distraction, as there were many. At first, it helped to give back stories of key players, but then evolved into a view of a world that was created from a major series turning point, to an eventual limbo type of existence that culminated the series.
Although it was confusing at times, it was necessary for the show to take place in different time frames in order to explain the nature of the island, those who wish to control it, and the importance of the people who are forced to live there.
Occasionally I was irritated with what they did with some characters, and even wished they had handled it differently, but in the end after viewing the entire series, I concluded that this was quite a ride, and was all equitable and logical, and upon watching the final scenes, the only way it could have been done.