I value great television and truly believe we are living in an unparallelled golden age of intelligent t.v. HBO, AMC, FX, PBS, BBC and Showcase have all contributed to this renaissance in the medium. From Six Feet Under to Mad Men to Downton Abbey and Justified, modern audiences have been truly gifted with great things to discuss at our dinner tables, at the office or around the back deck or porch. Perhaps it is a reaction to the gluttonous and inane presence of reality television that has helped sparked this talent for great script writing or perhaps it was inevitable. Who knows.
As for Rectify, I don't quite feel the same burst of enthusiasm other newly born fans are feeling. The first episode, I was quite ardent about, seeing the potential for something groundbreaking and immediately sensed there was something to be honestly said about showcasing the life of a recently released man from death row. I loved the potential and eagerly watched more.
And yet I feel nothing remarkable came from it. For one, despite Daniel's remarkable story he is really an unremarkable character. Granted, we feel for his situation and yet by the third episode, we, audience (or maybe just me) have grown tired of his re-acclamation with the world. Great writing, I have learned establishes a fact and then moves on and explores other facets and aspects. In this instance, Daniel is constantly being shown to be a quirky character and his release from prison constantly being hammered at. This, I feel is a result of weak writing. I can only take so much of one man's curious antics and idiosyncratic behaviour before my patience is being worn. And the decision to make him laconic in his delivery only adds to the already-agonizing pace. Perhaps this be would forgivable in an indie film but as far as I can tell, great shows have great leads. Daniel is definitely different, complex and plausibly so but for the sake of story-telling, perhaps not the best choice to make him so passive.
As for the others, the cast is under-valued and under-developed and there are quite a few unbelievable moments (which I won't get into seeing I am limited to under a 1000 words).
Again, this is not for me and I simply fore warn others. I notice a trend in online forums wherein someone who is critical of something and approaches the criticism with intelligence is still called a 'hater'. Someone might love Daniel and his family but in the main, I don't find aspects believable or even intriguing. I'm not into vampire shows and anything with excessive explosion; moreover, I feel compassion for anyone who has gone through what Daniel has. For me I wish the story and the pacing was a bit more fleshed out and scenes given a greater complexity (another critique: I can only take so much of the musical score which shoulders a great deal of the drama. Music is there to enhance and compliment and in no way should it take the place of writing and acting). I only hope any other IMDb viewer will be content that this is my opinion and not feel I am lashing out. I am adding to the conversation and how can there be dialogue without some disagreement?
Overall, I would say Rectify is better than what comes out of the main networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) but not enough to rank it with the above-mentioned dramas.
As for Rectify, I don't quite feel the same burst of enthusiasm other newly born fans are feeling. The first episode, I was quite ardent about, seeing the potential for something groundbreaking and immediately sensed there was something to be honestly said about showcasing the life of a recently released man from death row. I loved the potential and eagerly watched more.
And yet I feel nothing remarkable came from it. For one, despite Daniel's remarkable story he is really an unremarkable character. Granted, we feel for his situation and yet by the third episode, we, audience (or maybe just me) have grown tired of his re-acclamation with the world. Great writing, I have learned establishes a fact and then moves on and explores other facets and aspects. In this instance, Daniel is constantly being shown to be a quirky character and his release from prison constantly being hammered at. This, I feel is a result of weak writing. I can only take so much of one man's curious antics and idiosyncratic behaviour before my patience is being worn. And the decision to make him laconic in his delivery only adds to the already-agonizing pace. Perhaps this be would forgivable in an indie film but as far as I can tell, great shows have great leads. Daniel is definitely different, complex and plausibly so but for the sake of story-telling, perhaps not the best choice to make him so passive.
As for the others, the cast is under-valued and under-developed and there are quite a few unbelievable moments (which I won't get into seeing I am limited to under a 1000 words).
Again, this is not for me and I simply fore warn others. I notice a trend in online forums wherein someone who is critical of something and approaches the criticism with intelligence is still called a 'hater'. Someone might love Daniel and his family but in the main, I don't find aspects believable or even intriguing. I'm not into vampire shows and anything with excessive explosion; moreover, I feel compassion for anyone who has gone through what Daniel has. For me I wish the story and the pacing was a bit more fleshed out and scenes given a greater complexity (another critique: I can only take so much of the musical score which shoulders a great deal of the drama. Music is there to enhance and compliment and in no way should it take the place of writing and acting). I only hope any other IMDb viewer will be content that this is my opinion and not feel I am lashing out. I am adding to the conversation and how can there be dialogue without some disagreement?
Overall, I would say Rectify is better than what comes out of the main networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) but not enough to rank it with the above-mentioned dramas.