Dispatches From Elsewhere – a review

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Well, it has been a while since the last post. Let’s be honest, this blog is catatonic at best. It will be useful once again because I really have to set up a review. Yep, I know that everybody and their cats are doing this stuff every day, and I know for sure that you don’t need to read another piece like this one. What you need is to see something worth your time and your money.

Think about what’s going on for a while. Great series everywhere, with all-star casts and enough FX to sink a battleship. Can you name without googling the last time the story impress you for real? Then again, can you remember the last time you see an episode without understanding what will come next? Originality is the name of the game if you want to make an impression in this market, and the team that delivered this product scored big time.

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The usual factors are all in place, of course. People like Sally Fields and Richard E. Grant are granted to give acting lessons anytime, and I have to say that Andrè Benjamin really improved as an actor. I’ve never seen before Jason Siegel and Eve Lindley, both of them delivered their roles with a loud “bang!”. Add to the mix a spoonful of good characters, and you have it. You see, people are key here. And this will be the only piece of spoiler you will find here.

You see, I can’t tell you the story. Nor can I explain how much everything you will see or hear is connected with all the other elements. I can affirm, loud and clear, that this serial is much different from its competitors. Just remember the only hint I wrote in the previous paragraph and try your luck with this little gem. Odds are that you will thank me after the end.

Still here? Go away, this blog has to return to its beauty sleep.

 

Top 5 – different ways to develop TV serials

Ok, it’s Sunday. So I’ve put a stop about politics-economics-geopolitcs and stuff, time for some joke instead. You know, there are a number of differences between how a TV serials find its way to the market in Italy and in the civilized countries. As you will see, it’s not about good actors and/or having good directors. It’s about being in Italy, in a peculiar version of this country congealed about 1980.

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Number 5.

The main characters in Italy are 99% whites. See any difference with TV productions in your country?

Number 4.

The main characters in Italy are 99.9% straight-oriented about sex. See any difference with TV productions in your country?

Number 3.

If there is to be some nudity, 99.99% is about women. See any difference with TV productions in your country?

Number 2.

Serials are about priests, policemen, medics, traditional families. Not so different, you say? Think again, italian serials are all about this four pillars. No exceptions. See any difference with TV productions in your country?

Number 1.

There are a lot of old actors. Nothing so strange, this is an old country. But almost no old female actors at all. After 60 years of age actresses disappears, replaced by younger ones. See any difference with TV productions in your country?

Extra track: italian science fiction productions for TV are extinct. It didn’t take a meteor to do the job,just plain stupidity.

Showtime!

Ormai ci siamo, le presidenziali americane del 2012 stanno entrando nel vivo. Tra pochi giorni ci sarà il primo confronto televisivo tra Obama e Romney (*) e le procedure di voto sono già partite. I sondaggi impazzano su qualsiasi supporto mediatico (**) e le mappe del territorio americano suddivise in territori blu e rossi (democratici e repubblicani) sono le immagini più diffuse.

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Calmi, state calmi

Secondo giorno di votazioni per questa tornata amministrativa, tutti sulle spine per poi potersi proclamare vincitori da questa sera. Aspettiamo a piè fermo l’inevitabile sbrodolata televisiva, le contestazioni, le urla e tutto il bla-bla-bla che riempirà per almeno una settimana i media.

Un fatto: chi non lo ha ancora fatto può ancora votare. Diritto / dovere da esercitare sempre e comunque se si vuole dare un segnale alla nostra classe dirigente. Andateci, please. Va bene anche la scheda bianca, al limite scriveteci sopra una poesia ma andateci. Non date a chi comanda la scusa per dire: facciamo quello che ci pare.

Consiglio per stasera: tenete spenta la TV, evitate i siti di informazione. I risultati definitivi ci saranno domani e lì ci sarà spazio per ragionare.