Boring, ugly, unwatchable.
You've been warned.
shareAgreed, a total mess. Not one character is in the least bit interesting.
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MovieChat Forums > Strange Empire (2014) Discussion > Boring, ugly, unwatchable.
it's because they're not concentrating on one character.....all to me is it seems I want to support Canadian tv...but...
is the women every week have to get away from a pimp, brothel..whatever....
that so wasn't mentioned in the reviews...they said that it was a group of women trying to fight the land when their men went missing...and all that...
if they were to concentrate on that....the three main women who are supposed to be in it, instead of just them being hores...and everything....then it would be watchable..
really this is a show that belongs on AMC....seems like just their type of show...
susan
what could have been a great show about women in the Canadian frontier has been ruined......and then some
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For me it's not unwatchable, it's just not especially worth the time to watch. I find it mediocre. I like to give a new show time to find its feet, but so far I doubt I'll be satisfied, and will probably bail soon. When there are so many more interesting dramas out there - not just on ordinary TV, but streaming - a show has to be better than this to make it worth my while.
The main value I've found is discovering Cara Gee and Melissa Farman. But they can't rescue the series from its underlying problem, which I find mainly in the writing. I felt the same with Durham County, a series that affected profundity yet was superficial, lacking genuine insight and merely dark for dark's sake. Here you have images like a kid in a tree with his tongue cut out, yet the drama itself is bland.
Among other problems, there is a major one in both the conception and casting of the antagonist, Slotter (Slotter, yeah, we get it… Writers can only get away with stuff like that if they're exceptional dramatists -- thus Swearingen worked.) Slotter's conceived as an entirely predictable bad guy, inspiring zero fear and fascination. Compounding the problem, the actor portraying him has no gravity; I don't believe he could be a leader of rogues, able to maintain their loyalty. It's absurd. They'd have robbed him and kicked him to the curb, not allowed him to be boss.
Cara Gee and Melissa Farman are good. They make the most of the often uninspired events. Not all, but most. Ultimately I'm not there for the actors; I'm there for the story.
I've only got one quibble with your post. Deadwood's Al Swearengen was a real person. The character may have been fleshed out, tweaked, or even enhanced for the series, but the name wasn't concocted by the writers.
And yeah, a bad guy named Slotter is simply cartoonish.
I know what you mean. The only thing I can say in defense is the old saying that reality is stranger than fiction, meaning you have to be really clever to use some aspects of it verbatim, since otherwise people won't buy it. And most people won't know Swearingen was real.
Like me! So thanks for the intel, lol...
For a TV series from a TV network, Strange Empire seems boring. In fact, the first two episodes or so was centred on the disappearance of the men, Kat's sorrow and the aftermath of the tragedy. However, the writers managed to use the slow pace to their advantage.
By the third episode, the leading ladies no longer live in denial. Kat starts to investigate about the men's disappearance and sees that something is off on both sides of the border (Alberta and Montana). Isabelle displays her complexity by plotting in order to maintain her husband's grip over Janestown.
All in all, Strange Empire would have been a good show for a cable network. On the other side of the pond, would have been a good fit for the BBC, one of the few European TV networks that openly step into the turf of cable networks.
Hmm. To be honest it seems boring to me as a TV series, period. I think in general the intentions are better than their execution. Series on cable move, this one plods.
The Kat Loving character recycles actions - pointing her gun fiercely and desperately re-finding her adopted children. In one case, by indenturing herself as a prostie… except she never has to turn a trick and her indenture lasts all of a day before she's miraculously bailed out. Talk about sabotaging drama. By contrast, Dr. Blithely gets far more inspired stuff to do.
Speaking of the Beeb, I think the Brits would have insisted on major script improvements. And better casting for the antagonist. He's a decent actor, but for me he just doesn't have the juice of a worthy antagonist, around whom the whole crazy world can spin.
I thank you for taking the time for exchanging your point of view. During the first two episodes, Kat as well as viewers are led to believe that Captain Slotter is the antagonist. However, further episodes introduce us to two new potential antagonists? Or are they villains?
Now, on to the BBC. The Brit TV showrunners can insist on "major script improvements" not because the BBC is by nature better than CBC. The former receives over $100 CDN per British citizen whilst CBC only gets less than $50 CDN per citizen. As a result of that, BBC doesn't need advertisements during prime-time hours and record-breaking number of viewers to justify its existence.
On the other hand, when it broadcasts dramas and comedies, CBC TV needs advertisements openly (and unfortunately) struggles to court as much viewers as CTV, Global and CityTV. These three networks produce/broadcast next to no original dramatic/comedic TV series and buys U.S. TV shows from U.S. TV networks anyone can get. Moreover, CTV, Global and CityTV lobby the federal government so that the signals from , during a simulcast, to brag about the number of viewers who tuned in to see Gotham (CTV) for instance.
Add to that the recent budget cuts Prime Minister Stephen Harper imposed on the CBC and the recent loss of the broadcasting rights of professional hockey. If CBC was funded as much as the BBC, it would be independent from advertisers and its current desire to attract as much viewers as possible.
Hello, anhkhoido-816-401526. I enjoy chatting. I'm trying to think what other two villains/antagonists you might be thinking of.
Let's see... There was Slotter's best friend and lieutenant. But he was dispatched early and fairly quickly. Again, intentions are great but execution not so much. I knew I was supposed to feel Slotter's anguish at having to do the deed, but his relationship with his friend hadn't been developed enough and hadn't persisted long enough for his decision to have much impact. I saw Slotter emote, but as a viewer I hadn't been allowed to enjoy vicariously sharing in the men's bond with sufficient time and depth, so it could feel substantial and real. The dispatching should have been devastating, but it delivered more in the abstract. I didn't feel it. That just about sums up the experience of this show for me, at least so far.
There's Isabelle, who was happy to enslave Kat, but as mentioned that whole thing sputtered out not long after it started. There is also Ling, the Chinese fellow. He seems to have an agenda, but he hasn't played his hand yet, so I can't consider him an antagonist at this point. There's talk of bounty hunters after Kat, but they haven't shown up yet. There's Slotter's dad, but he's a distant and only occasional force.
My guess that the Brits would insist on major script improvements is based on the fact that they tend to have a more rigorous approach to script development than in Canada. They do make their share of shyte, of course, but in general I think the observation is true. Where money comes in, British writers have traditionally had more opportunity for apprenticing with experienced mentors to practice their craft, one big advantage of consistent and substantial public investment.
You may know that the CBC recently changed its direction in drama, away from their long-time demographic of (much) older, more conservative viewers. That seems wise to me, and I'm looking forward to seeing more challenging fare from them. I think Company X, debuting in the New Year, will likely be a hit. It's a big-budget ensemble series about spy trainees from the real-life Camp X during WWII that was situated near Ajax, Ontario. They get shipped into occupied France to support the Resistance. They're shooting in Budapest. The creatives behind it did Flashpoint.
For a TV series from a TV network, Strange Empire seems boring.
Because it *is* boring. That's why it seems that way, regardless of where it aired or which delivery system. Because it's boring.
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WORDS MEAN THINGS! Also, before you come to bitch about a plot hole, rewatch the show/movie. share
Maybe "boring and unwatchable" but 'ugly"? Not if Ali Liebert, Anne Marie DeLuise or Terry Chen in the show.
"That year I got a vibrator from Santa... it was really from Santa?"
It manages to make them as unattractive as possible. I find the POV of this series exceedingly narrow. Artificial. I don't think it tells the truth about that world, or about the world.
shareI just got through the pilot. I've got no problem with a majority female cast, but the characters & the story were vacuous.
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