So, anyway, The Middleman premiered Monday night. There is ample promotional material out on the web for you to get a sense of its convoluted pre-production history and what it is and what it's about, or you can read the Wikipedia page; I won't waste your time.
It was entertaining. The stars are watchable, the characters skate up to the edge of annoying but step back, the story is very arch but fun. I will watch the next few episodes, at least.
Note: If you do not think that a superintelligent simian wiseguy-wannabe is its own justification, you may not be the correct audience, because the show isn't interested in more than the possibility of waving at narrative plausibility from the beach the next county up the coastline or anything.
Posted by Greg at June 18, 2008 10:34 PM
"Who's the man?"
"Shaft's the man."
"What kind of man?"
"A complicated man."
"And who understands him?"
"No one but his woman."
"Right on."
I dream of conversations like this. This, and kung fu masked Mexican wrestlers coming up. I just wish I'd read the comic before: time to get the upcoming trade.
"Stuck in the middle with you?" We're reduced to song lyrics? Song lyrics? What kind of genetic defective moron would use song lyrics to name a discussion thread?
You know, Mike, if people didn't remember that you used to use song lyrics for essay titles and didn't know that you and I have known each other for longer than Dan Didio has known what comics are, this comment would sound exactly like an unprovoked flame.
I'm just saying, this is the sort of thing that makes people occasionally get really pissed at you.
I apologize forthrightly and without reservation. I will now, properly chatised, take my own life in the most disgusting way possible.
(But I would like a show of hands: anyone who doesn't remember my posts, doesn't know greg and I are friends, cannot come up with abetter reason to be really pissed of at me than that, think it was a flame, but Greg hd it coming anyway, etc. Spesk up.)
I found it kind of grating, in the way I found Men in Black grating, and I never like it when snark completely overtakes the sense of wonder. But I'm willing to give it a lot of chances to win me over.
Late to the game in this as I had DVR'd these first two episodes but waited until this past weekend to watch them. This show is a hoot! "Snarky" is a bit strong, actually. Snark implies rudeness. This is more "cheeky" if a nice slang term is needed. It is cute and funny in its way, too. I love the stories so far and while owing to X-Files and Comic books and MiB and so on it has charming characters and a light-as-a-feather sensibility that keeps it moving. The only "snark" I can detect is in the office robot lady and that is purposeful. She cracks me up. Good show worth following. Too bad it isn't as "family" as its network appearance would indicate. I would love to watch this with my nine year old but I would have to spend too much time having to explain birth control, the meaning of "splif" (a title of my new book, I think), and sundry other references that mark this more teen-friendly than pre-teen.
Having watched the first two episodes of this series, I now have desparate crushes on two separate women named Natalie Morales. What are the odds?
Apparently 100%. I guess the odds would be easier to figure if we knew how many woman named Natalie Morales that you didn't have a desperate crush on. :D