Jul 9, 2015 I know he's making a joke, I was just sharing that there's a lot I liked about all 3 of these douche bags
Jul 9, 2015 ^^i will.. youre a 'tv critic' built for todays world of effusive episode recaps online. thats not even a dig, good for u.. its what people want to read clearly, as evidenced by the dissolves abrupt end yday
Jul 9, 2015 the "unlikable male protagonist" is a commonly cited pattern that defines this past (golden) era of television. of course there are things you like about each of them.
Jul 9, 2015 Yeah i got all that and it's something a lot of current shows are still trying to grasp at tbh You assumed I was taking ur post literally, and trying to combat it. I completely understood what you were referring to with the "unlivable male protagonist" comment. I was just making a general statement, which I guess was unnecessary. It's my fault for not giving my post more context lol
Jul 9, 2015 Feel like Andy just blamed me for dissolves death even tho I haven't written about a tv show in months That f---ing hurts man rip dissolve
Jul 9, 2015 hah nah, there's definitely a clear trend in what succeeds in writing about pop culture nowadays check this out - actually, interested in what resident amadeus @WPG thinks is the answer? wondering sound is kaput too right? it might be that niche interests (i.e. serious cultural discussion) cannot be profitably sustained, but that relatively niche demographics can be (i.e. MTV forever only appealing to people between ages 12 and 22)
Jul 9, 2015 i mean, long, thoughtful, not-as-prescient-as-twitter criticism is not going to be a gold mine for anybody. the key is as simple as being backed by money, though--if dissolve had espn money, they could be grantland, you know? either way, it's sad. WS, while disheartening, had some management/editorial issues that i won't get into that took a bit of the sting out of their failure. (ie--"that wouldn't happen to us!") dissolve, on the other hand, is incredibly sad.
Jul 9, 2015 This isn't really the answer you were looking for but I think the medium thru which people consume their daily news, opinions, gossip whatever has obviously been shifting towards more visual mediums vs text. It's a completely different style of reviewing, relying more on ones competence as an orator than an insightful and poignant writer, but it's not without its own merits I think there's still room for thought provoking content, analysis, etc but it is sad that it will only continue to deviate from the standards we have in place now And, although I never considered myself a real critic of music or film/tv (would rather be creating than critiquing if possible -- not that they're mutually exclusive) all this is happening before kids like me, aspiring to enter the industry, can even get our feet wet
Jul 9, 2015 Out of these characters (and probably all of television), Don Draper wins the compelling/interesting award. Don was a mystery from start to finish. He was the main character, yet we still couldn't crack him in the 10 years of his life we were privileged to peer into. It was almost as if he was OUR Creative Director, always judging and never satisfied. Vague past. Vague future. Family didn't motivate him. Women didn't motivate him. Money didn't motivate him. Fame hardly motivated him. He had an oppressive past and one talent to rely on. He was a conflicted adult with childish desires. Walter White is actually pretty basic. His needs are basic. His desires are basic. I love Walter White. I like Breaking Bad more than Mad Men, but Walt gets cancer, freaks out, cooks m---, freaks out, gets money, gets caught, freaks out, dies. There's honestly not much more to him than that. He hates his life & loves his family. His ulterior motive was always money, until it became power. We witnessed his story from start to the absolute finish. We know everything about him. Jesse Pinkman is a more compelling character, honestly. Admittedly, and ashamedly, I've never watched all of Sopranos. I started it a few years ago but quit a few episodes in. So therefore my opinion is invalid. I'd include Hank Moody, Dexter, and even Michael Scott in this discussion as well.
Jul 9, 2015 @JFK a godly post. to each their own re: don, especially since you haven't finished the sopranos lol. for the sake of discussion though, draper is kind of a gatsby like character, an aspirational figure who spent his upbringing bitter and yearning... until he got what he wanted and discovered he's become rotten. i get what you're saying, but doesnt that take give any insight into his motivation? and, agreed... i think next poll/ranking thread i'd like to do christopher from the sopranos, jesse pinkman, and pete campbell.
Jul 9, 2015 Cranstons performance is what's compelling about Walt more than anything. His transformation is still mind blowing to me And it was all there from the start. The ego, the pride, the violent nature, along with the smarts, the wit, and the love for his family
Jul 10, 2015 Don had what he "wanted" before the show started. His happiness was fleeting and usually unobtainable Agreed about this and your other posts. Cranston's performance > Walter White. Walt is still a great character, Cranston just f---ing killed it.
Jul 13, 2015 @JFK you should give the sopranos a shot and report back if you have time. ive been praying on this alot lately, and i rly think tony's storylines inform what matt weiner did with draper (weiner worked on sopranos as im sure you know). don draper feels like a cross between tony and a less swishy tom ripley (matt damon version)
Jul 13, 2015 Tony Soprano by far. Walter White isn't all that compelling but I guess he didn't really need to be. At least not for me to watch Breaking Bad. I thought the show surrounding him was pretty d--- great. Don Draper looked compelling on paper, but he was mostly a bore in execution. Kind of like Mad Men itself.
