Reviews
The Standups (2017)
Unknown Stand-Up Comics Mostly Unknown For Good Reason
At first, this show feels like an up-and-coming comics showcase. The first episode felt pretty strong with Nate Bargatze. But in later episodes, I found myself 20-30 minutes into the show, quitting the episode and skipping to the next one.
I pretty much did that with the rest of them. Unfortunately, most of these lesser known comedians appear to be unknown for pretty good reason. It felt like they didn't really have much in the way of jokes to tell, but hoped somehow talking about themselves would be hilarious. It is almost cringey watching these mediocre personalities dying in front of a huge, live audience, with nary a chuckle.
Outsourced (2010)
A Winning Formula or Trying too hard?
This show is basically a re-formulation of "The Office", except that it's set in India, the office is a call center, and the company sells novelty products (like a butt-shaped coin bank).
Cross-cultural misunderstandings are a core element of the show's humor, and several of my friends have voiced annoyance at the stereotypes in the show. The Indian characters -- a young and attractive "Don Juan," a very quiet and unassertive girl, a gossipy loud-mouth, an easily-offended man, a fun and beautiful girl, and a heartlessly ambitious assistant manager -- seem more like personality stereotypes than cultural ones, and I've seen similar characters in other shows that don't offend the same friends. I think their offense is misplaced.
I find the show funny. Comically, jokes range from smart to stupid, including personal relationships, physical humor, bathroom humor, and embarrassing situations. This is supplemented by the extreme personalities, cultural clashes and ridiculous "novelty products." Religion, food, and economics are poked at, too, and sometimes in dubious taste. Sadly, I predict that the most interesting types of humor will go stale quickly.
The sound editing is horrible in this show, with theme music blaring at remote-lunging volumes and fading to low whispers during dialog.
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993)
Distinguished by politics, spirituality and drama, this series polarized star trek fans.
This television show was the fourth Star Trek series. It was a spin-off from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
This show distinguishes itself from the other Star Trek series in several ways. Firstly, the show takes place in orbit around Bajor. Other Star Trek series take place on starships that travel continuously. Deep Space Nine explores the repercussions of Star Trek ideologies in ways that other Star Trek series did not. Secondly, this series was more dramatic than other Star Trek series, focusing more on characters and relationships than events. Thirdly, this series deeply explored issues of spirituality, religion, and politics. Lastly, this series introduced a much darker perspective on the federation, on the Star Trek universe, and on life in Starfleet.
At the time this series was released, it was rumored that Gene Roddenberry had strong objections to the Deep Space Nine idea. Gene Roddenberry strove to depict positive role models, an optimistic future, and a spirit of exploration and scientific achievement. Roddenberry did not want a pessimistic, dark, and brooding version of his universe. As an Atheist, Roddenberry was said to have objected to the spirituality, as well. Whether the rumors are true or not, the series was not started until after Roddenberry's death, and is the first Star Trek endeavor to operate without his supervision.
Characters
The captain of Deep Space Nine is Benjamin Sisko, a reluctant messiah to the Bajoran people. He is a broken man, who nearly quit Starfleet following the death of his wife. He was, in fact, stationed on a remote star base so that his emotional problems would have no consequence to the Federation. The first officer is a brash Bajoran named Kira Nerys. She is a scrappy ex-resistance fighter who has trouble adjusting to freedom and procedure. The security officer is a "unique" shape-shifter named Odo. The science officer is the playful and beautiful Jadzia Dax, a symbiotic life form with many generations of life experience, and a mentor to the captain. Julian Bashir is the playboy doctor. Miles O'Brien is the salty Irish engineer.
On the darker side, there is Quark, who runs a casino. He is a bartender, a holo-suite manager -- effectively an electronic brothel --, and performs back-office deals involving contraband, smugglers, and mercenaries. Quark's exploited brother Rom and nephew Nog round out the dysfunctional Ferengi family. Other dubious characters include Garak, a mysterious ex-Cardassian spy, and series-long villain Gul Dukat.
Later in the series, some changes are made with the re-introduction of the Klingon Worf, and a new symbiotic host for Jadzia Dax. (a "station counselor". Ugh.)
Location
The totalitarian Cardassian Regime built the space station Deep Space Nine. This brutal race mined and exploited the planet Bajor using Bajorans as slave labor and performed various atrocities revealed throughout the series. Through a treaty with the United Federation of Planets, the Bajoran star system was liberated leaving Deep Space Nine the property of Bajor. The Federation serves as protector for the people of Bajor and provides station maintenance and management. Bajor is a war-torn planet clinging desperately to its religion. The people are poor, ignorant, and confused. Both the planet and its space station are beset by political and religious pressures from leaders clamoring for power.
Critique
This series is distinguished in part by its drama and religious/ political themes. These characteristics seem to polarize viewers. When I originally watched the series, I was disappointed. I did not watch it regularly and eventually quit watching it entirely. I have since purchased the entire series on DVD, and have been able to watch every episode in sequence. At 7 seasons and 173 episodes -- roughly 120 hours -- this was a significant investment.
For various reasons, I found it difficult to sympathize with the main characters. Through most of the series, it seemed like the primary characters were having an identity crisis -- like teenagers with bad attitudes, pretending to be different from each other. When they united to solve a problem, it seemed unnatural and their accomplishments felt fake.
The first several seasons have poor writing, but the show improved radically when the larger story-arcs and intertwined sub-plots started developing. They introduced a super-powerful cloaking starship, an epic war, and encounter some of the best villains in science fiction. These efforts added some excellent moments to the series -- easily the most memorable in any Star Trek series. The personalities were also subdued by the bigger plots, resulting in much better characters.
Like the legions of trekkers who love this show and the legions who hated it, I find myself polarized. I wish that I could recommend the series for it's excellent last seasons, and the few gems in earlier seasons. However, the majority of the show is difficult to defend.