Tonight, I managed to sit down and watch the premiere of the CBC's new series jPod. It is only the first episode -- it ended 35 minutes ago as I write this -- so there is not much room to evaluate the series.
The first part was predictably bumpy but that goes with the territory. And like many television series, it is self conscious and trying a wee bit too hard to succeed... or leave a mark.
(There is time. The CBC must support this series, within reason, and that includes promotions.)
There were too many ingredients in tonight's episode for one series to carry successfully. Perhaps the producers are throwing all the nuts into the bowl to start and will sift through in weeks to come, leaving only the tastier variety.
I say cashews!
I will try and watch jPod on a regular basis.
2 comments:
Oh I agree, Barry. The pilot was weak, but got better towards the end, perhaps because the characterizations started to gel. (This was definitely a case of "first episode syndrome".) I haven't read the book, so I am uncertain as to how the execution of the series differs from it, but the strongest writing was with the guy and his screwed-up parents. As much as I enjoy Coupland, I essentially think that too often he writes the same characters: vague, ironic twentysomethings who are too pleased with their own singular visions of the world. For instance, many of the characters in "Polaroids of the Dead" are interchangable, and perhaps that's the point-- no one is truly as individual as he or she thinks. As such, the most typically Coupland-esque characters are the gang in the jPod itself and I grew tired of them very quickly. But there's something here, and I'm interested in exploring further.
I too have not read the Coupland book, but in a way the connection to the source material should be irrelevant after a time. This is a television show, and it must forge its own identity (suggested and inspired by the book).
As you know, the printed page does not translate effectively to the motion picture in most cases.
... And what reads well on the printed page does not necessarily transpose to the moving picture.
I will keep watching.
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