Third eppy of Elementary finally out, but I was talking about 666 Park Avenue before, so I kind of think I need to follow up on that. So, 666 Park Avenue today, more Elementary tomorrow? Though seeing as how Revenge isn't even new, I could have talked about 666 Park Avenue instead of how Revenge isn't even new, but I guess it's too late for that and since I brought it up I need to follow through with it. Also, I kind of think that I need to get a new hobby. Television? Kind of a mind-rotting time waster, innit? Well, at least it's better than my previous hobby, if you can call it that, which has been described varying from "seriously kid aren't you getting kind of old for that?" to "an abomination against nature" to "come join us COME JOIN US WE HEAR THE BLOOD CALLING TO US," so maybe there are indeed worse things than having
666 Park Avenue, which initially I
had reservations about and I'm still having kind of a hard time to pin
down even after the first three episodes, but its implacability is kind of part of the charm and anyway I
think it needs the buzz. Like I said. It would seem some people are avoiding it
because of perceived demonic/occult themes exhibited in the title (I
still can't see why people don't perceive these as being general
Christian themes, but, alriiigght...) so I'm just- for what it's worth- watching it now and saying
that it deserves more viewership. Demonic? Not unless you count the wicked and commanding presence of Terry O'Quinn, very fittingly cast as the mysterious Gavin Doran, owner of the New York Drake (the 999 Park Avenue of the title.)
It's creepy, yes, but also wicked
sharp and surreal in a way that I doubt has ever been captured on the small screen before. Far more than American Horror Story, the creepy bits interact with the domestic drama bits and seems to serve as some horror story cum late
night soap opera. Though while the romance subplots aren't strictly speaking anything new, they tie in nicely with the character development and the rest of the plot. Aside from the overarching plot of the relationships between characters and trying to figure
out the building's secrets, in each episode there's the story of an
occupant of the building who makes a Mephistophelean deal with Mr Doran
to advance their career in some way and without fail gets damned because
of it in the end. This serves as sort of a meta-mystery for the viewer,
as damnation can come in some pretty oblique ways, so it's fun to guess
how it's going to happen. Yes, Mr Doran is like the devil... or God... or something (his initials are G.D., and his wife's are O.D., so... symbolism?)
No comments:
Post a Comment