First off i want to say that i am in no right an official or recognized media critic. On the other hand i have watched multiple series similar to this (Black Mirror, Original Twilight Zone) and in general a big fan of the genre. However, most of these Twilight Zone episodes fall short for me. Ive watched all the episodes up to this point with the second half of season two unwatched. Most of these episodes start off with a semi interesting plot, some of them a little overused in my opinion, much like this episode. I thought the appeal of the original Twilight Zone is that they were unpredictable and mystifying, often times weaving in social commentary but not making it the focal point of the show. This remake is just underwhelming.
To get into specifics with this episode, the beginning starts off decent. We see a budding but unhappy superstar filled with people in her life that dont care about her personally but lust for her presence due to her fame. Simple concept that does share a lot of similarities with current day media and the stars that are idolized to the point of obsession. Then we get to see her casually stroll upon a park to an unknown artist trying to make spare change in an attempt to grow their singing career. Here is where my problems arise, when we see her give the coin and see her step in front of the bus it is surprising. However, immediately it pans to coin and we already know what the whole episode is going to be from the first 5 minutes. Unknown artist gets charm from ridiculously famous person, that charm gives them unnatural attention even though they arent anything to write about. Fame gets to the girls head and begins to enjoy the attention she never got. Attention goes too far and she wants out. When she handed her sister the charm to "throw" we dont see her throw it or hear a splash. Which Jasmine would have if she was standing right next to her by the way. Then we cut to about 10 minutes of buildup just to arrive at the ending that im sure about 90% of the viewers figured out would happen halfway into the episode.
Its really just annoying that the plotlines have become so dumbed down and simplified in my belief to cater to the general audience instead of real fans of the genre. This episode and many others before it can be boiled down into a 10 minute youtube video that would probably be written better by an individual who has never been a part of tv production. Its like the producers set up a dart board of common social topics they want to reuse for the millionth time, throw and land on one and TRY to put a Twilight Zone spin on it. Its a shame because out of the 10+ episodes ive watched i think ive genuinely enjoyed three at most. Now you may ask why do i still watch? Im not sure at this point, maybe its the hopes that they will actually come through with an interesting story and not ruin it in the last half of the episode. Maybe is because i thought the stamp of Jordan Peele would bring better more interesting characters and development. Its a shame that Peele's name has to be on this thing, every other work he has done has been genius, I cant convince myself that he actually enjoys the show, i think he just gets paid enough by cbs to show up 3 mins an episode, add his narration and dip
To get the rating, Only reason i gave it a 3 is the overall cinematography and actors within the series are pretty good. Sadly most episodes get ruined by poor production choices and disappointing endings to otherwise alright TV. Thankfully im not paying for CBS all access to watch this show, just a thing on the side to make fun of.
To get into specifics with this episode, the beginning starts off decent. We see a budding but unhappy superstar filled with people in her life that dont care about her personally but lust for her presence due to her fame. Simple concept that does share a lot of similarities with current day media and the stars that are idolized to the point of obsession. Then we get to see her casually stroll upon a park to an unknown artist trying to make spare change in an attempt to grow their singing career. Here is where my problems arise, when we see her give the coin and see her step in front of the bus it is surprising. However, immediately it pans to coin and we already know what the whole episode is going to be from the first 5 minutes. Unknown artist gets charm from ridiculously famous person, that charm gives them unnatural attention even though they arent anything to write about. Fame gets to the girls head and begins to enjoy the attention she never got. Attention goes too far and she wants out. When she handed her sister the charm to "throw" we dont see her throw it or hear a splash. Which Jasmine would have if she was standing right next to her by the way. Then we cut to about 10 minutes of buildup just to arrive at the ending that im sure about 90% of the viewers figured out would happen halfway into the episode.
Its really just annoying that the plotlines have become so dumbed down and simplified in my belief to cater to the general audience instead of real fans of the genre. This episode and many others before it can be boiled down into a 10 minute youtube video that would probably be written better by an individual who has never been a part of tv production. Its like the producers set up a dart board of common social topics they want to reuse for the millionth time, throw and land on one and TRY to put a Twilight Zone spin on it. Its a shame because out of the 10+ episodes ive watched i think ive genuinely enjoyed three at most. Now you may ask why do i still watch? Im not sure at this point, maybe its the hopes that they will actually come through with an interesting story and not ruin it in the last half of the episode. Maybe is because i thought the stamp of Jordan Peele would bring better more interesting characters and development. Its a shame that Peele's name has to be on this thing, every other work he has done has been genius, I cant convince myself that he actually enjoys the show, i think he just gets paid enough by cbs to show up 3 mins an episode, add his narration and dip
To get the rating, Only reason i gave it a 3 is the overall cinematography and actors within the series are pretty good. Sadly most episodes get ruined by poor production choices and disappointing endings to otherwise alright TV. Thankfully im not paying for CBS all access to watch this show, just a thing on the side to make fun of.