Subject: Re: PICKET FENCES - NOT ugh!
From: flournoy@Xenon.Stanford.EDU (Raymond Suke Flournoy)
Date: 1992-09-28, 21:55
Newsgroups: rec.arts.tv,alt.tv.twin-peaks

In article <1992Sep28.193020.4849@rtsg.mot.com> iott@rtsg.mot.com (Joel K. Iott) writes:
> >ceblair@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Charles Blair) writes:
>> >>Cheesy David Lynch imitation.
> >
> >You forgot IMHO.  :)
> >
> >I prefer to think of it as "Lynch Lite".
> >Less violence & darkness, familiar odd-ball characters.
> >
> >I would recommend Twin Peaks fans at least check it out and make up their own
> >minds.  Yes, it's not as good as Twin Peaks, but it's better than
> >yet-another-stupid-family-sitcom, or yet-another-gritty-cop-drama.

  I started watching this because reviews said that it had a Lynch-ian
flavor, and to an extent it does.  Unfortunately, where I thought we
were going to have a good multi-hour mystery, suspenseful and
incorporating the various storylines in surprising ways, we instead got a
conventional wrap-up in 2 hrs.  That was very disappointing.

  I watched the second episode just to see where it would go, and
while it was somewhat pleasurable, it is just too standard.  And I
really dislike mysteries that finish in an hour.

  One other grievance, even though they claim in the pilot that this
is Rome's first homicide in 10 years, the very next week we have
another death.  Is Rome going to turn into another Detroit, or worse
yet, Cabot Cove?  :^)

> >Some good points of the show:
> >
> >The smart-alec son who is always pulling pranks and getting into trouble. 

  Ugh, no!  This kid overacts so outrageously, I couldn't wait for
each of his scenes to end.  The character might be somewhat
interesting (protecting his little bro from bullies, etc.), but this
actor needs to go.  (IMHO, of course)

> >I like the character of the male deputy.  I enjoyed the story about his 
> >romance with the traveling singer.  

  Agreement here.  I like the character, and the actor pulls it off
well.  I wish that that romance had actual had some relevance, but in
the end, it was a pretty conventional (almost-)love story.

> >I like the mother character, who comes across a person trying to be a good
> >parent, while having to deal with some unruly kids.

  Where have I seen this actress before?

> >Some bad points of the show:
> >
> >Teenage daughter is truly annoying.

  Really?  I liked her.  And as Letterman says, "easy on the eyes,
too." 

> >Refugee-from-Poltergeist female phone operator is annoying.

  Yeah, but they have given her some funny lines.

> >Female deputy is not very interesting.

  Well, she got better in the second episode.  Unfortunately, they
decided to give her big hair after the pilot.  

  Anyway, there are some really appealing characters and performers on
this show, and it seems that it has (or could have) so much potential.
But unfortunately, it just isn't quite satisfying.  


--Raymond Flournoy        
======================================================================
flournoy@cs.stanford.edu                 "Throwing away happiness with 
Computer Science Dept.                    both hands, since 1966."
Stanford University, CA           


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