You can read the Wikipedia reference, above, for a detailed synopsis of the show. Basically, the show is about a spy who was kicked out of the CIA and dumped in Miami, where he has a few friends and family. Four seasons have gone by as the main character, Michael Westin, first tried to find out who burned him and why, then struggled to get the burn notice listed. (Most of each show has Westin and his friends (and sometimes his mother) taking cases to help other people.*)
At the end of the 4th season, Westin was back with the CIA as a consultant. Where the show went sideways was when Those People Who Don't Like Mike killed off his CIA handler and tried to frame him for the killing. This included using a prepaid cellphone to coordinate the killing and hiring a guy who looks a lot like Westin to buy the phone, so he'd show up on the store surveillance tapes.
This is about where I threw my hands up and stopped watching the show. I know television shows have only a tangential connection to reality, but Jesus! If you don't like a guy that much that you can arrange to break into a clandestine CIA office and whack the agent there, why not just fucking shoot Mikey, instead? (Or, for that matter, Sam Axe** or the other supporting players?)
So I stopped watching the show. In talking to a friend last night, she told me that the show has gotten even loopier in its plot and she just removed it from her TiVo list.
Too bad. It was good for awhile, probably longer than most.*** But all good things...
By the way, I don't mean to belittle the writers. It has to take some damn good work to generate a show concept and then keep it working for several seasons. But even the best writers produce clinkers and, if you're doing a series with an overall arc, once the path of the arc takes a wrong turn into the Land of Suck, it can be devilishly hard to get back out.
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* This is how they've been able to stretch the main plot out, for some episodes are only about the case for that episode, or they spend maybe three minutes moving the main plot forward.
** Please.
*** Buffy the Vampire Slayer went two seasons too long. So did Xena. Babylon V's last year felt that it was tacked-on at the last minute. I've also stopped watching the Closer, as well. Battlestar Galactica was probably damn near unique, as it made it to the last episode before it seriously embraced the suck.
Yeah...I like the show too but...
ReplyDelete...they need to get some consultants to review the scripts, so they stop referring to a Navy SEAL as a 'soldier', and they stop having scenes where Michael Westin with a single pistol engages four bad guys with sub guns and walks away unscathed.
Yeah, well... I walked away halfway through the season where they introduced Uncle Jesse. Just took me out of the show entirely.
ReplyDeleteMost shows that last go too long, and then come up with crap ideas to stretch it out. I gave up on House last season for the same reason.
And I have no idea what the hell they were thinking with the BSG finale. None.
In defense of Babylon 5....
ReplyDeleteIts creator wasn't sure if it was going to be picked up for a 5th season, so he wrapped up most of the major plot lines in season 4 and filmed the series finale episode. However, when it did get picked for season 5, he wrote the new season and transplanted the existing series finale to the end of 5. That's why Ivanova's in the finale, even though she's not in the fifth season.
Yes, you are correct that season 5 was written at the last minute, but not because of laziness on part of the writers.
As far as BSG, I thought the show started tanking right around season 3 when they made the harder shift towards the metaphysical / religious angle.
I just finished watching the fourth season on DVD. It was starting to get old at times. I've always watched mostly for the acting and the escapism, but there are only so many ways you can set things up so an ex-spy and a couple of his temporarily sobered-up pals can put them right without it feeling far-fetched.
ReplyDelete