Reaper 9-25

[Umbran]

Further evidence that the planet needs a good, thorough nuking.

Toning down the rhetoric about four notches would be a lot more constructive. Please do so. Thank you.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Oh my god. People talking about Reaper as if it were good. Further evidence that the planet needs a good, thorough nuking.

For those fortunate enough to have never seen the show, please don't buy into any of the praise. The show has fallen into a freak-of-the-week formula that would disgust even the creative teams behind the first season of Smallville and X-Files. The first episode freak was an arsonist that came back with fire powers. The next ep's freak was an evil power plant worker that came back with lighning powers--can you already smell the stench of stagnant imagination? So far, this isn't anything that you didn't see on Smallville or X-Files, but it gets worse. Every week the slacker gets a container to put the bad guy in that ultimately doesn't work so he has to steal crap from the Walmartesque superstore where he works in order to exploit the bad guy's weakness. Fire extinguishers for the fire guy, a lightning rod for the electricity guy, defoilant for the bug lady. Totally formulaic.

Oh, and we get Ray Wise showing up as the devil to make some quips and cryptic remarks before disappearing. Pretty pointless. You also get some scenes with the superstore boss getting mad and acting like an a-hole and devising punishments for the slacker strike force--apparently, in this parallel universe, when low-level employees serving as unskilled labor constantly screw up and insult you, you can't just fire them.

It seemed very formulaic. Oh, well, it probably still is. But there are some twists and turns that are unexpected. I am not 100% convincent it will "survive", but so far, it has been a fun show that's easy to watch. Complex, gritty and mindblowing I get in other shows (though, maybe the writer's strike might put that on hold...), and I want/need in addition to this one...

 

[Grymar]

Some of the "freak of the week" criticisms are due in part to the influence of serial shows like Lost, Heroes, and 24. Those shows have tightly scripted plots and secret information that is slowly handed out to the viewers.

Reaper is more of a throwback show...you know the setup and they will get in wacky adventures around the same premise nearly every week. There is a slight meta-plot which may eek forward every few episodes, but that is not all that important.

I really enjoy Reaper and hope it continues post-strike.

 

[Grog]

Reaper's a fun little show that doesn't take itself too seriously. I enjoy it well enough for what it is.

 

[Fast Learner]

I also enjoy it as a light show, a tasty junk food snack that doesn't even try to be great television. I enjoy the characters and each week's special powers, the perfect kind of show for me to watch at breakfast, not something with any real meat to watch for its own sake.

 

[dravot]

What I like about Reaper is that the 'freak of the week' content is usually the B storyline.

I enjoy the show quite a bit. The characters are amusing and the backstory about Ben and the contract with the Devil is a good mystery.

 

[LightPhoenix]

I also enjoy it as a light show, a tasty junk food snack that doesn't even try to be great television. (snip rest)

I'm not trying to be a jerk, so I apologize if I come off that way. I've heard people say this, and while I understand the "light" part, I really don't get the rest. Maybe I have different TV habits, maybe I'm just out of touch or have no taste, I'm not sure. If I may ask, what would you consider "great" television? Could you provide some examples? I genuinely curious, because I see this line thrown about, and I have no idea what anyone's definition of great television is. In that vein, the question isn't just directed at you, but at everyone.

I ask because for the most part, I tend to think that if I enjoy it, that makes it great. I would say that Reaper isn't particularly clever, in that it doesn't require a lot of thought to watch. I would say it's accessible, because I can miss an episode and not be completely lost. It certainly doesn't have a degree of emotional resonance, in that I don't get excited or bummed afterward. While those all of those traits can certainly make a show great, I don't think that they necessarily do, nor do I think the lack of them makes a show "not-great."

Anyway, for the record, I like Reaper a lot. I usually laugh at least a couple of times each episode, and I can't wait for the inevitable inclusion of Andi into the hunters. Also, Ben rocks. As I said above, it's simple, but I think it's by far one of the best new shows this season.

Edit for clarity.

 

[Grog]

If I may ask, what would you consider "great" television? Could you provide some examples?

The Wire. Absolutely phenomenal.

 

[Fast Learner]

I'm not trying to be a jerk, so I apologize if I come off that way. I've heard people say this, and while I understand the "light" part, I really don't get the rest. Maybe I have different TV habits, maybe I'm just out of touch or have no taste, I'm not sure. If I may ask, what would you consider "great" television? Could you provide some examples? I genuinely curious, because I see this line thrown about, and I have no idea what anyone's definition of great television is. In that vein, the question isn't just directed at you, but at everyone.

It's worth pointing out, I think, that I don't mean by my comment that no one should find the show to be great; rather, I'm just saying that I don't believe the show's producers, writers, and directors are trying to make "great" TV, in a Hollywood sense. They're not trying to make a show that critics will roundly praise, not trying to make a show that will last for decades as some of the best entertainment ever, not trying to make something that will be watched and examined in media classes for years, not trying to make something that changes people's lives and how they view the world.

That doesn't make it any kind of "bad," just not something that people will consider "great" for years to come. Does that make any sense?

For example, I really loved The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. It was one of my favorite shows on at the time, and I still have very fond memories of it. But it didn't change my life, was never considered to be great art, and has been forgotten by the vast majority of the people who ever heard of it. It wasn't "great" television. Doesn't mean I didn't love it, or that I'm less of a person for loving it. It just doesn't fit the generalized definition of great tv.

Great television includes, for me, quite a number of HBO shows (e.g. Six Feet Under, Deadwood, John from Cincinnati) and some broadcast shows (e.g. The West Wing, early ER, much of Hill Street Blues, first season of Lost). These are shows that changed my perspective on either the world at large or on what television could do. They are largely critically praised. They have been or will be studied in television writing or directing classes. Many of them changed, in at least some respects, what people thought television could do. They are, from my perspective and that of a large number of others, great television (ok, not John from Cincinnati, but that's just ignorance ).

Reaper doesn't fit in that group. I still like it, though.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

I would agree that it is good light fare but not trying to be great TV. For Me I would put great on shows that can do one of the following:

1. Take an established concept and do it better than most things in its class. For Sitcoms that is shows like The Mary Tyler Moore Show or Seinfeld or for Sci-Fi for things like B5.

2. Shows that manage to last for very very long periods of time. Things like Gunsmoke (20 seasons), The Simpsons (19 Seasons), or Law & Order (18 Seasons).

3. Shows that redefine or create new categories. Things like this are what the academics study. Things like Hill Street Blues, Sopranos, or I Love Lucy.

4. Shows that may not last or be outstanding in their own right but hit some cultural cord that propels them, their stars or certain ideas permanently into general society. This is shows like Star Trek, Baywatch (Yeah I know it sucks but who in the world doesn't know it), or the 1960's Batman.

Reaper to me comes closest to #1 but falls short. It has good acting and writing, but not good enough to be great. Then again as others have pointed out it is not trying to be great, just consistently good. As for the others I don't think it has any chance at #2 and it certainly doesn't rate at all for #3. As for #4 while it is still possible that it could catch on nationally, I doubt it.

As for Great shows on TV right now I would have to go with.

The Simpsons (#1 at times in its history, #2, #3 possibly, and #4)
Law & Order (#2 and #3 possibly)
Pushing Daisies (#1 and #3)
Survivor (#3 and #4) [I don't watch it but it did redefine reality game shows and things like being voted off the island have entered the mainstream]
American Idol (#3) [I don't watch it either but it did basically create the audience vote game shows as we know them]
Scrubs (#1)

There might be some others on right now that I don't watch that could fall into #1. While I don't watch them I have heard good things about Monk and The Wire and I am sure there are others.