Leviathan....the beginning of the end?

[dom]

I get the biggest kick out of these shows. The best source of comedy on TV, IMHO.

Low-life dom

[Mark Rainey]

I get the biggest kick out of these shows. The best source of comedy on TV, IMHO.

Nothing personal, Dom, but this is what bothers the hell out of me. The fact that people can derive such amusement from real-life idiocy is an alien concept to me; as far as I'm concerned, taking delight in the misfortunes of others, whether they bring it on themselves or not--and blatantly advertising it on TV--is base and degrading and makes me no more worthy of respect than the ones putting themselves in front of the camera. Stupid and foolish people are around us all the time, and I don't need to see more of them on television. Exhibitionist TV reinforces our natural baser tendencies, and I'm very uncomfortable with that; if I'm laughing at people wrecking their own lives and others' in front of millions of viewers, whatever compassion I might have for people suffering real misfortune is being undermined, subtly or perhaps not-so-subtly. I find very little funny about stupidity unless it's the Three Stooges. I know to each his own, and I guess some people have the wisdom to be able to separate themselves from the crap around them and uphold the better part of their character, but perhaps I don't. I'm better off avoiding supporting such exploitative crap lest I fall into depression at the inherent idiocy of our species.

--Mark

[Raineypark]

Bravo, Mark!!!

I also NEVER watch shows like that.  I put them in the same catagory as women-hating lyrics to Rap Music: another thing to diminish the quality of my and more importantly, my daughter's life.

It's the fact that we actually have to live in the same world with these people.  Dysfunctional families aren't amusing.  They're tragic and dangerous and sometimes deadly.  They can make an entire neighborhood miserable witnesses to their pathetic lives.  Providing them with a way to show off on the most powerful medium in the world only encourages some people to engage in ever more loathsome behaviour.

I have a hard time imagining how much more base American televison can possibly become.

[Connie]

I saw that Springer show once and it looked like it was all staged.  There were two women arguing about something, then they started fighting as if on cue.  Then these guys came on to pull them apart.  It gave a strong impression of being a set-up -- like those wrestling shows.

 

Hi Dom 
(you low-life you)

 

[Mark Rainey]

It gave a strong impression of being a set-up -- like those wrestling shows.

WHAT?!?!

 

That's another thing. I've haven't watched any of these shows enough to judge very well, but I also have to wonder how much is real and how much is phony. Doesn't change much; in my book, it still fails as legitimate entertainment.

I will say this: I did watch the Jerry Springer movie, whatever it was called, a few years ago. Springer himself can be rather amusing, and the movie was pretty funny, being something of a satire of the whole business--although at the end, the preachy justification for his type of show was an absolute non-argument; all it did was point to "respectable" journalism as an example of the same type of pandering to people's voyeuristic tendencies. The examples he used no more apply to my way of thinking as his own program.

And no, I am not a fan of pro wrestling.

--Mark

[dom]

Hi Dom 
(you low-life you)

 

Not now, Con, I'm watching Roller Derby!

[Philippe Cordier]

I've only seen a few minutes of these shows here and there while changing channels, and have paused just to see if I was seeing/hearing right.  You'd think they would have exhausted all the conceivable freak-show topics by now.

But just thought I'd mention that it has appeared to me that the people were reciting lines they had rehearsed... are they professional actors?     That I would greatly doubt.  But as Connie said, some of the shows do look staged and well-orchestrated.

[Connie]

They should have something like Julia and Angelique getting into a cat fight on Jerry Springer.  YOU know -- Julia could break a chair over her head or something.

LAFB was watching the Ricki Lake show a few weeks ago and thought they should have the dysfunctional Collins family on.   Edward, Judith, Quentin, Pansy, the good Reverend, etc.  Oh yeah - Barnabas too.  I can see it all now.  ROFL
OR, they could have the present day family.  It could be about sending David to boot camp.

[Debra]

I thought the shift from 1795 to the Dr. Lang/Adam story was very jarring (it seemed like a completely different show) but the show seemed to find its way again with the intro of the Quentin and Beth ghost story which of course lead to the entire 1897 saga.  Once that ended it was again very jarring - a whole new show where everyone seems to be hanging around the antique shop.  I think the times DS gets off track is when it strays too far from the Collins family and brings in too many outsiders.

You said it for me Julian!  In the beginning of this leviathan storyline I couldn't get into it because of the big change from 1897 to this.  Now however Im finally starting to follow it,  well,  at least Im trying to!

Deb

[Julia99]

On the Jump the Shark website, a lot of folks voted for the Leviathans as the moment DS Jumped. . if folks haven't read the posts there, they are quite funny and endearing. . i remember one guy writing about the New England lady doctor with the perfectly applied liquid eyeliner lighting her cigarette in a candle holder and that he was hooked from that moment. . .

Also, Gothick mentioned:
There were others as well who were ready to move on--I believe Jonathan Frid, Lela Swift and the Halls among them.

I remembering reading (or listening)  in a GH interview that a year after the show was off the air, Sam was getting nervous cuz Grayson wasn't working.  Her thought, "I have been working straight for nearly five years!" (which is really uncommon for a theatrical actor).

Of course I also think, gee Sam how ungrateful can ya be, she saved your ass. . .got a job for herself then got you a job. . so you didn't have to move to Ohio. . .lighten up!

[Joeytrom]

The death of Paul Stoddard episode is where things really go downhill.

Nicholas Blair as the leader is a retcon of the Leviathan origins.   The writers were in a hole they could not get out of.

[Mysterious Benefactor]

Nicholas Blair as the leader is a retcon of the Leviathan origins.   The writers were in a hole they could not get out of.

Gee, ya think?

As great as it is to see him again, and as much as I love NB and the way HAA plays him, given what's come before - not only within Leviathans, but during the summer/fall '68 storyline -  Nicholas' placement in this story is stupefyingly ridiculous. Apparently the writers had hoped the audience would be so happy to see NB as not to realize that. But guess again.

[dom]

A random thought...

I wasn't intellectually inclined watching the show as a kid, so nothing ever phased me as being ludicrous during the original run (what parts of it I did see). While watching the entire series on tape in the 90s (those were the days!) the ludicrous-ness of the post-arrival of Barn eps was kind of disheartening. What always ended up "saving the day" was the reintroduction of old adversaries. I actually jumped up from the sofa and did a victory dance around the coffe table when Sky revealed the portrait of his wife to Julia.

After five eps of Levi. I stoped watching - busy-ness, vacations, etc. But to be totally honest a big part of me just can't bare the thought of trying to catch up to the current eps. Hopefully my busy-ness will somewhat subside and enable me to run a few personal DS marathons, so I can be current. I do love some of the  Leviathan "moments".

Maybe it is due to preoccupation, but I found the few eps I did watch boring as hell, and the evil pre-vamp Levi. Barn made me want to turn the TV off. I just couldn't bare to watch Frid in that role without wanting to scream. Talk about ludicrous. You know it's time to stop when you want to strangle the actors and the writers.

Whew! Glad to get that off my chest. Now I think I am ready to schdule my first Marathon. After all, it is Friday night and there is no DS airing Monday. Hopefully I'll have a better DS attitude by Tuesday morning...

dom

[VictoriaWintersRox]

On the Jump the Shark website, a lot of folks voted for the Leviathans as the moment DS Jumped. . if folks haven't read the posts there, they are quite funny and endearing. . i remember one guy writing about the New England lady doctor with the perfectly applied liquid eyeliner lighting her cigarette in a candle holder and that he was hooked from that moment. . .

I love Jump the Shark! Some of the people on there have the funniest comments, lol.

The Leviathan storyline is..er..starting to drag on for me. I haven't watched Friday's episodes yet because of that. The entire thing with Paul Stoddard dragged on for so long, imo, and it was getting boring. But the entire Philip-did-it thing is absurd. It makes no sense to me at all. And Christopher Pennock...ugh. Thank God he improves by 1840. The Carolyn/Jeb relationship is boring me. I want Tony back. Heck, I'd take Buzz back if it'd mean getting rid of Jeb. *sigh*

It used to be where DS was the first thing I watched when I got home out of the three programs I timer tape (DS, Dynasty, Ryan's Hope), but now because of the Leviathan storyline I always watch DYN, and sometimes RH before it. *sigh* This happened during the Adam storyline too. Oh well. At least this storyline marks Roger Davis' departure from the show (thank God).

However, I really liked the last scene of Thursday's episodes where Barnabas was putting all that flammable liquid on the floor. I don't know why, but it struck me as being really funny, lol.

[Patti Feinberg]

Someone recently said...about Leviathan storyline that on Jump the shark's site...
I had never heard of this (you people do get around!)
So, since I'm sick and it's cold and raining (gee, what a novelty, every weekend since April) and there's nothing on TV...I went to this site.

Okay, I put in One Day At A Time....oh man...the 'posters' there are mean (but I was laughing/cracking up).

Okay...perhaps I'll collect myself now.

Patti

go on...look!!