Wednesday, January 16, 2008

DEATH RAYS

"I'll probably end up watching the entire bloody series while I try to figure whether I like this show or not. (...or until CBC cancels it, whichever comes first)."

-- Reader Greg Woods commenting to posting, NEWS FLASH MAN, regarding jPod.

I concur. There is no evident identity. About twenty minutes in to the episode last night I realized what it was jPod reminded me of... a TV scaled version of the 1963 Stanley Kramer feature film, It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World. The difference is these characters don't seem to know what they are looking for, and with less than comedic results.

Some material was very self conscious. Watching Alan Thicke auditioning for the part of Hermann Goering for a film was particularly painful to watch. And was weird for weird's sake. (Or wired for wired's sake.)

It is early in this series' run, but what jPod is missing right now is a Dick Shawn. That man could really pull off this sort of sensibility.

My hope is the CBC reworks jPod a little to let it find its legs. Through the very nature of regular series production, fine tuning is done over a course of episodes but the producers might have to look at a hip replacement before long.

The only risk in that is it could turn into another Material World fiasco. The CBC does not want to repeat that scenario.

3 comments:

Greg Woods said...

Wow I haven't been quoted on anything since college!

Barry Smight said...

"Wow I haven't been quoted on anything since college!"

When I read this comment by you I hear Woody Allen's voice for some reason.

Greg Woods said...

Nono that's "Sun is bad for you- everything your parents say is good is bad... sun, milk, red meat, college."