It's Summer

For some reason, summer means bad.  First up is "Pandora" a CW series which makes the other summer fare look like Shakespeare.  A strange mix of "Scooby Doo" meets the original "Battlestar Galactica", this silly sci-fi tale has less script quality than that of an ABC Afterschool Special, every known stereotype and reduces a good number of female characters to two-dimensional sexual objects.  Even the stage combat is, like, really bad.  Flat plots which go nowhere and actors who look like they would rather be anywhere else round out a show so camp it inspires one to MST3K it.  I barely made it through three episodes before saying "bye-bye" on my DVR. 

After that it was the movie "Blood and Chocolate" which is based on a FABULOUS book by Annette Curtis Klause.  This film ignores so much of the book that the only recognizable elements were character names and werewolves.  Lurching in with little exposition at the beginning it changes the setting from Maryland to Bucharest (because the two have so much in common???)  The result is a muddled, dark, eastern European mess.  No clear plot, whispered and purposeless dialog and lethargic acting make the whole thing a waste.  In this case, read the book.

Lastly, because most of my shows are on hiatus, I binge-watched two Canadian series being played endlessly on Ion Life.  First was "The Listener" which has a neat concept -- a guy can read minds and helps solve crimes.  Problem was execution ... literally.  Regulars on the show were killed off willy-nilly and the setting/premise changed with every season.  None of the changes seemed to have any impact on characters, who briefly raised a glass to the dead and moved on, unhindered by, you know, feelings.  Whole plot threads were discarded and in the end the series settled into a kind of formula which was as boring as the performances (with noted exception Ennis Esmer). Lead actor Craig Olejnik might be cute but the character, or his portrayal of it, was dour.  Skip it.  This was followed by "Saving Hope" which was moderately better.  Cast and writing were stronger, and the concept -- a doctor goes into a coma and starts seeing ghosts of those who die, or are also in comas, in the hospital -- was fun and unique.  I particularly enjoyed the female focus of the show as women were often in positions of authority.  On balance, I liked the series and looked forward to new episodes with a few major caveats.  First were the "Grey's Anatomy" echoes.  Characters often don't leave, but get killed off (in fairly spectacular fashion).  There were romance storylines which didn't enhance character development at all.  The love story between the leads, in particular, was remarkably obtuse, as the actors rarely shared a screen together.  I haven't seen this much distance between two lovebirds since the final season of "Castle."  There were also the (very) detailed surgery scenes.  Producers seemed to revel in making the gore as realistic, and bloody, as possible.  I took up knitting mid-series so that I could listen and not watch (yes, I'm squeamish).  Finally, after five seasons of tender-hooks, the final episode disappointed ... greatly.  One character asks "After all of this, how can we be back here again?"  It was exactly how I felt.  Like a cheat, the series leads to a conclusion which is not fulfilled.  I stuck through it for an ending and got, well, not.  In any case Ion also needs a little wrap on the knuckles for purposely running shows like this over the hour mark by about 30 seconds, which means you lose the ending if you don't record the next episode.  Just sayin.

In any case, I'm looking forward to Fall.  Not only the return of shows I enjoy (minus too many retired favorites) but the release of DVDs, like the second season of "Star Trek:  Discovery".  Good times will come again.  Or not.