Leafy Green

[threemonkeys]

How much cabbage is too much? It is a question that I am confronted with from time to time. I like cabbage, but the large unit size, the short shelf life and my living alone mean that I am quite familiar with the prospect of either using a big chunk of cabbage or throwing it away. Today, it was definitely a case of just too much even for my appetite. I have well and truly reached my cabbage quota for the day, for the week, for the month.

It can be a bit like that with television too. I have many more shows hanging around on various media than I have time and the inclination to watch. I suppose I should be more discerning. Yet just as I keep buying cabbage, I keep trying out new shows. These are the latest to have come down the wires in the last week or two.

Raines - detective story starring Jeff Goldblum in the title role. The hook is that he speaks to his victims - he has conversations. It isn't a spirit thing, it is all in his mind. As the story progresses and Raines finds out more about the victim, the appearance changes. I liked the atmosphere and Goldblum works well in the role but I think I can resist - probably just as well that Alexa Davalos is only in the pilot or I would be hooked.

The Riches - modern gypsies escape to the rat race. They leave the road to set up in american suburbia. Not really actual gypsies but you get the idea - Irish Travellers I think. This seems to be made for the same audience as Six Feet Under and Weeds - gritty and yet funny with complex characters. It has a great cast too. Yet another look at the american dream, this time seen through the eyes of outsiders. This may be a keeper.

Blood Ties - Another vampire hunter detective deal. It is based on the books of Tanya Huff. I cannot believe how bad the pilot of this is. I was watching it while eating my cabbage and had to turn it off. Actually this show may be the reason I lost my appetite. The acting was wooden, the dialogue was stilted, and the direction was, well, strange. I think the director is obsessed with the type of darkly lit close-up that you get in tacky older horror movies. It so does not work on TV. I am going to try to watch a bit more because I cannot believe that it was really this bad - maybe the cabbage was distorting my taste circuits.

Comments

[markdeniz.livejournal.com]

The Riches is on my list and so will probably check it out on your recommendation too... sans cabbage...

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

It will be interesting to see how the show shapes up. Certainly, without cabbage is the way to go - I'm going on a cabbage buying moratorium to stop this situation happening again.

[cat-i-th-adage.livejournal.com]

Ah, Ms Huff's Blood series. "The good news is, you're not crazy and there really is a mummy roaming around Toronto." "And the bad...?" "There's a mummy in Toronto!!"

[threemonkeys.livejournal.com]

I presume that is from one of the books. I haven't read them. People who record their views on various boards seem split between rabidly dedicated fans and those who think her work is a sad copy of other vampire hunter books. I have no opinion.