 |
| Scene from Into the Badlands |
Welcome to a new column called Channel Surfing, in which I sporadically look at current TV shows and talk about them. These are not ones that I care to write weekly recaps for and are instead reflections either on the episode, the series, or particular moments. This will hopefully help to share personal opinions as well as discover entertainment on the outer pantheon that I feel is well worth checking out, or in some cases, shows that are weird enough to talk about, but should never be seen.
It wasn't long ago that AMC was the network to beat. Between Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and The Walking Dead, the channel cornered the market on prestige dramas and populous entertainment. However, 2/3 of that line-up has since ended their lengthy runs. In between this time, they have attempted to find the new shows to revitalize their network, giving them room to maintain their prestigious honors. However, Halt and Catch Fire hasn't really become a runaway hit, and the only successful series right now are genre shows; including Fear the Walking Dead and the rather promising sci-fi series Humans. Even if the network started its run with great dramas, it seems indicative that genre shows will be their future, thus looking far removed from what they were initially.
Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. Unless you put stock into a channel's ability to maintain consistency in specific programming, AMC's venturing into other fields is fine. However, it's made it a lot less authentic, especially as The Walking Dead has now become their flagship series. It is why it makes sense to program Into the Badlands onto your roster. For a network that took risks with Breaking Bad (whose plot definitely sounded really dumb on paper), the chance to do a kung fu series feels fresh and exciting. Very few networks have even considered trying it. The closest is Netflix's Daredevil series, which even then is more predicated on hand to hand combat than specific and stylized moves.
It was AMC's chance to be on the cutting edge of a potentially new trend. Lead by Sunny (Daniel Wu), the journey into the Badlands is one that feels immediately new and ambiguous. Like most good pilots, it introduces the concepts slowly and mysteriously. There's dead bodies as Sunny rides to his first target. The exposition plays through Sunny's narration. It's building up to the momentous first fight that would even determine if the show, at very least, has a great choreographer. To say the least, it's bloody and exaggerated. The violence comes at a comical rate, especially as swords stabbed into torsos unleash a colorful fountain of blood.
Even if it's a little silly, the introduction is a nice way to get audiences ready for a show that feels entirely predicated on being "The next big thing." After all, there hasn't been any major kung fu shows on TV since Kung Fu. This could be a momentous occasion for an American network, especially with a racially appropriate cast and an impressive production design. Following the fight, we get the first look of the training grounds and we discover more about who Sunny is as a person. He's ruthless and seeks to honorably defend his friends. He's the perfect archetype for a show like Into the Badlands.
For a premiere episode, it doesn't entirely put its best foot forward. While the opening fight gives intrigue of potential future fights, the series immediately begins to dump exposition on the audience, forcing us to understand the deeper ideals. It's fine, especially as there's a few other fights scattered throughout. It's just that it is hard to care about those moments - which will likely be the main reason to watch - when everything around it lacks a momentum or punch necessary to make them compelling characters. Beyond Sunny, not a lot of characters are given a chance to be anything more than supporting players. It's not a bad thing, but it hurts that nobody really as immediately as memorable as the man who tattoos his body count shoddily over his body.
Again, it could just be that there's a lot of set-up necessary to make Into the Badlands make sense. Maybe the next episode will pick things up, and suddenly we will care more. However, it will have to be a rather impressive story for it to overcome the short sightings of the premiere. There's not much that is inherently wrong with it, but the story doesn't hold interest for long periods of times. In fact, the kung fu sometimes feels more like it is created to jolt audience members back awake. With good cause. It's actually pretty good, though probably a little too bloody (but not graphic bloody) for its own good.
AMC definitely has an interesting mixture of shows on its roster now that it doesn't have Mad Men or Breaking Bad to fall back on. While I would put my money on Humans being the best of the bunch, I think that the genre shows may end up just turning it into another network. If it does, it at least has a few good shots on it, especially for niche audiences. I don't know if Into the Badlands will take off quite like how they think, but it's nice to see them taking risks like this. I just hope that the story picks up and it becomes far more interesting in the process. It's not hard. Just don't put all of the emphasis on kung fu. Save some for script writing. It'll do you a world of good.
Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily. Unless you put stock into a channel's ability to maintain consistency in specific programming, AMC's venturing into other fields is fine. However, it's made it a lot less authentic, especially as The Walking Dead has now become their flagship series. It is why it makes sense to program Into the Badlands onto your roster. For a network that took risks with Breaking Bad (whose plot definitely sounded really dumb on paper), the chance to do a kung fu series feels fresh and exciting. Very few networks have even considered trying it. The closest is Netflix's Daredevil series, which even then is more predicated on hand to hand combat than specific and stylized moves.
It was AMC's chance to be on the cutting edge of a potentially new trend. Lead by Sunny (Daniel Wu), the journey into the Badlands is one that feels immediately new and ambiguous. Like most good pilots, it introduces the concepts slowly and mysteriously. There's dead bodies as Sunny rides to his first target. The exposition plays through Sunny's narration. It's building up to the momentous first fight that would even determine if the show, at very least, has a great choreographer. To say the least, it's bloody and exaggerated. The violence comes at a comical rate, especially as swords stabbed into torsos unleash a colorful fountain of blood.
Even if it's a little silly, the introduction is a nice way to get audiences ready for a show that feels entirely predicated on being "The next big thing." After all, there hasn't been any major kung fu shows on TV since Kung Fu. This could be a momentous occasion for an American network, especially with a racially appropriate cast and an impressive production design. Following the fight, we get the first look of the training grounds and we discover more about who Sunny is as a person. He's ruthless and seeks to honorably defend his friends. He's the perfect archetype for a show like Into the Badlands.
For a premiere episode, it doesn't entirely put its best foot forward. While the opening fight gives intrigue of potential future fights, the series immediately begins to dump exposition on the audience, forcing us to understand the deeper ideals. It's fine, especially as there's a few other fights scattered throughout. It's just that it is hard to care about those moments - which will likely be the main reason to watch - when everything around it lacks a momentum or punch necessary to make them compelling characters. Beyond Sunny, not a lot of characters are given a chance to be anything more than supporting players. It's not a bad thing, but it hurts that nobody really as immediately as memorable as the man who tattoos his body count shoddily over his body.
Again, it could just be that there's a lot of set-up necessary to make Into the Badlands make sense. Maybe the next episode will pick things up, and suddenly we will care more. However, it will have to be a rather impressive story for it to overcome the short sightings of the premiere. There's not much that is inherently wrong with it, but the story doesn't hold interest for long periods of times. In fact, the kung fu sometimes feels more like it is created to jolt audience members back awake. With good cause. It's actually pretty good, though probably a little too bloody (but not graphic bloody) for its own good.
AMC definitely has an interesting mixture of shows on its roster now that it doesn't have Mad Men or Breaking Bad to fall back on. While I would put my money on Humans being the best of the bunch, I think that the genre shows may end up just turning it into another network. If it does, it at least has a few good shots on it, especially for niche audiences. I don't know if Into the Badlands will take off quite like how they think, but it's nice to see them taking risks like this. I just hope that the story picks up and it becomes far more interesting in the process. It's not hard. Just don't put all of the emphasis on kung fu. Save some for script writing. It'll do you a world of good.
Comments
Post a Comment