Talking About : Minority Report and Blindspot

Minority Report – Mr. Nice Guy

In this  second episode,  the mystery deepens as to whether or not the Pre-cogs will be recaptured as Agatha has nightmares about Vega betraying them. Is this an actual premonition or just her fears made manifest? And what exactly is the dynamic between Vega and Blake, her actual detective partner, or boss, or something? Is he trying to hook up with her, mentor her, or what? Questions about Vega’s  last case arise, the FBI is getting involved and its getting harder to keep Dash a secret.

I’m still loving the sheer numbers of PoC in the background and foreground of the show, even inter-racial, LGBTQ couples are shown. There’s a nightclub which is both silly and intriguing because, while the music is still pretty shitty, the tech is very convenient. You just rub your bracelets on people and find out whether you’re compatible or not, which kind of defeats the purpose of going to the club, but okay. The clubbies still dress very badly but are at least wrapped very tightly in spandex, so that dynamic hasn’t changed. And I think I spotted someone with those giant, plastic shoulder epaulets? Why?

Dash is horrible at following directions and talking to women but that’s to be expected, since he lived in a bathtub for the first part of his life, and then on a farm. Although, he has no trouble talking to a purple haired chess player, at  the park.

The case is, while not trivial, is still inconsequential to the rest of the drama in the show. Even fifty years from now, there are still stalkers who  kill women who aren’t giving their boners the attention they feel they deserve. I thought we’d have made at least a little bit  progress in the fight against “toxic masculinity” by then, but I guess not.

I’m still reluctant to get on board and give the show the love it wants to have because there’s something not quite right about it. I think it may be the acting. I’m still loving the tech,though. and hating Akeela”s rave style makeup and clothes. She’s the least professional looking professional on the show and for some reason I’m having trouble getting past that, although I’m okay with most of the other social progresses made on the show. And Akeela’s makeup is just hella annoying.

Arthur,in an effort to set himself apart from his brother’s personality is basically an asshole. Agatha is a non-entity as hollow as her hologram balloon. Okay, maybe not completely hollow. She’s full of dire predictions. I like Vega but she seems to be trying too hard to channel Abby from Sleepy Hollow and I hope she grows up and  develops a personality of her own one day.

In an effort to appeal to young people ,the show has cast a lot of very young looking actors which unfortunately gives us the impression that the future is entirely run by teenagers in club gear.That would be much easier to take if the show didnt take itself so seriously and added more banter and humor. It doesn’t need to be more cheesy.

This episode is subtly improved over the pilot, and hopefully, will improve some more to the point where I actually care about the people in it. Right now it feels like I’m just going through the motions of watching it.

I ain’t in love, yet and at this rate, I don’t look to be, soon.

Blindspot – A Stray Howl

The mystery of who  Jane is  deepens as Kert comes to believe she’s someone he knew, as a child, which is why his name is on her back. Jane visits a psychologist and has more visions that cause a lot of shame and guilt. There’s explosions and car chases as required and  we get to see Jane kick some more  ass, as required.

The blond techie, who provides so many of tonight’s exposition, is that same young lady I kept wondering why I was looking at, at the end  of  first The Avengers movie, and while I like her, I’m getting tired of seeing her. I think this episode is better than the first because the writers are not stinting  on the clues, although they could also all be red herrings. The other characters, and there are far too many for me to remember, although I like Ramirez, played by Rob Brown, are slowly starting to come into focus but most of the action takes place between Kert, Jane and his boss, Marianne Jean Baptiste, who I really like.She reminds me of a former boss, I once had, only with a British accent.

The show’s cast is very slowly starting to gather some chemistry. I like the way the actors react and talk to each other. There’s even a little bit of snark from some of them, mostly Ramirez,  and doesn’t feel entirely out of place. Kert needs to stop telling Jane to wait somewhere, as this is like  the third or fourth time he’s done that, walked away,  and then she’s gotten into a fistfight.

Now I remember where I’ve seen Jaime Alexander. She was on Agents of Shield as Lady Sif and in the movie Thor. I’ve seen her kicking ass and taking names, so her action-girl bonafides are authentic. She really sells the emotions of the role and I really like her but Kert Weller, played by Sullivan Stapleton, ( from the 300 sequel and the show Strikeback, which I enjoyed,) needs to stop trying to emote. He’s not good at it and he looks much more believable  when he’s being cool and stoic and shooting something.

Photo from the episode “A Stray Howl”

I paid almost no attention to the mystery in the episode and didn’t really care. I know it involved a drone program, and some soldiers, so I paid enough attention to understand if the plot crops up in later episodes.

Incidentally, I had the captions on when I watching this and they are hilarious. It’s really weird what the typists think they need to describe to the hearing impaired. Words like “soft ominous music” and itty bitty musical notes clutter the bottom of the screen, in an effort to seem helpful. I’m not hearing impaired but I don’t think it’s helpful to such people to type “cheerful music plays”. One day I’m going to turn off the sound and make up my own music, which is probably what hearing impaired people actually do.

I’m still not in a committed relationship with this show but I can see us getting married at some point in the future.