Kings

[rm]

Goodness, this show is an interesting mess.


First, deeply arbitrary bitching:

- Whoever hemmed the slacks for most of the male cast (especially David) needs a talking to. Way too long and looking really stupid and pooling excessively on the dress shoes. Really. There's (at least) a good inch too much length on David's uniform trousers. What gives?

- Speaking of uniforms. This is like the coolest costuming task ever -- designing uniforms, because in doing so, you get to create a language and narrative of status. But this didn't happen and the uniforms don't denote rank or circumstance in any consistent way. I was annoyed.

- And here's another thing -- who the fuck has a soldier change out of uniform and into a tux while he is an active member of the military and is there to be honored for his military deeds. It makes no sense from any perspective. Bad bad bad. DRESS UNIFORM. HELLO?

- Franz Liszt? Really? Okay, I realize this show has had to do major contortions, modernizing the story, making it set in 2009, turning NYC (so conspicuous, ugh) into the kingdom etc to make it work. But I think mentioning historical figures not related to the source is a bad plan. The second they mentioned Liszt I felt like I needed to know if there is also a US in the world of the show, and that's just a distraction. Bad fucking move.

- That said. David. And the piano. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

Second, less arbitrary bitching:

- This show seriously has no idea what it wants to be doing. Is it a trashy OC/Gossip Girl rip-off? Is it a shameless attempt to make crazy religious America watch prime time drama? Is it seeking to be this deeply literary heightened reality? I have no idea, and it made the first script really uneven.

- That said, wow, they have some actors who can seriously do some shit, Ian McShane foremost among them. The problem is Ian McShane can do that stuff in his sleep, and the script (as well as some of the other actors) has trouble keeping up with him. But when the show is political, verbal and menacing, it's very, very good.

- Race and gender and sexual orientation. Complicated animals in this landscape, and I have to give the show credit for _trying_ but PoC are mostly servants or preachers, women are (necessarily thanks to the source, I suppose) very traditional in their roles and appearance, and of the many directions they could have taken queer content in the show, did they have to go for the sniveling, spoiled brat version? Homosexuality as the upper class's inconvenient vice? Really? I like how they've scripted Silas's attitude towards it (he gives this speech at Jack that I could have fucking written and may have in some fiction or other), but I have no patience for the show's broader view of queerness thus far.

- David and the king's daughter? Could I possibly care any less? The show is hot when it's political and a yawn when it's trying to be sexy (although Jack staring at some boy while pretending to be all into the girls crawling all over him was hot in a problematic way).


I'll keep watching. The show is broken enough to be a good venue for fanfiction. And it's got the potential to be verbally and theatrically exciting. But I may throw a shoe at it.

Comments

[thornsilver]

I too winced at them making David put on a tux. But that have to be a nod to the original source, wherein Jonathan gives David his clothes when they first meet. So is the stuff with Michelle, I am guessing.

I am kind of hoping they will do something decent with Jack. *crosses fingers and toes*

[rm.livejournal.com]

That actively offended me. And they either should have cut that out or used it elsewhere or at least addressed the oddity (and big problem) of David being OUT OF FUCKING UNIFORM.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Completely agree.
They could get him into a borrowed dressing gown or something, at some point, instead of doing something that makes NO FUCKING SENSE.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Particularly when they are a monarchy, and so the military uniform represents personal service to the king, whereas a tuxedo represents-fancy clothes?
Los Angeles does not get things military!

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

What IS the source material anyway?

(I need to hunt down the first ep, as I am deeply intrigued by the series.)

[rm.livejournal.com]

The Bible.

[redstapler.livejournal.com]

Ah ha, that's what I thought, based on a comment of yours elsewhere.

I really, really need to see this now...

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

I hope this airs in Canada.

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

If you don't mind going through an IP transformation, it is posted on Hulu.com. (I'm aware that they're "not" available in Canada, but there are easy work arounds if you care to check it out.)

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've absolutely no idea how to do this.

[newsbean.livejournal.com]

"I suggest to use a USA proxy or VPN service.
The problem with proxies is that they don't always work with all applications like VOIP or most instant messengers. Virtual private networks or VPN's are more advanced however. They work as if you had a new network adapter in your computer that is plugged into a USA network address, or whatever the VPN provider says it's plugged in. Look at http://www.usaip.eu for example. They have VPN products that give you US. IP address and it will be for all applications that you run on your computer. Prices start from $1 ... and you can find coupons on the Internet too. Last I found USAIP336Y which should give you $1 or $2 off, but I think you need to buy a weekly subscription at least.

Oh yes. Half the Middle East and China use VPN's for internet access because it also masks VOIP, Skype or Video Stream traffic that the ISP would normally block. All they see is compressed and/or encrypted mass of data."

From: http://en.kioskea.net/forum/affich-41391-change-im-ip-address-to-usa-ip-address

I copied because that poster just did a way better job summing it up than I would have. Since I'm in the US, I haven't tried any of these. I know that most people go with a proxy rather than a VPN. Good luck!

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Thank you. I will check it out.

[electricalgwen.livejournal.com]

Try http://hotspotshield.com/

HotSpot Shield is dead easy to run and basically assigns you a new IP address. It's almost always one in the US (possibly always? not sure) and so Hulu will allow it. You may find the connection slow but if so just hit disconnect, reconnect again and it'll be a different IP, usually faster (and if not, just try again...)

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

Specifically The Book of Samuel.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

The original story of King David, from the Old Testament, with a few tweaks so it works as a sort of fantasy-drama. And a few name changes - Silas instead of Saul, Jack instead of Jonathan, and so on.

[argentla.livejournal.com]

I worked on a project a couple of years ago that tried to do that with the Arthurian legend, but it didn't work out.

Unworthy thought of the day.

[stardragonca.livejournal.com]

The Bible, only not so Jewish.

[habiliments.livejournal.com]

They need to give Ian McShane more words. Have they seen Deadwood? Really? I feel like they cast him because if you squint, you can convince yourself he gives off a Michael Douglas vibe, and there's that weird corporate-kingdom thing going on that seems very Douglassy.

But it's Ian McShane. Underusing him is criminal. Still, the second hour did get moderately more interesting, though the first was agony and all of the things you've complained about here gave me pause, too.

[rm.livejournal.com]

Yeah even the "complex" (and they are by network TV standards) speeches they're giving McShane are child's play for him. They just need to run with it.

[brewsternorth.livejournal.com]

TBH, it's almost a shame this is running on NBC.

Showtime or HBO would have a ball, and so would everyone else, actors and viewers included.

[argentla.livejournal.com]

The problem is Ian McShane can do that stuff in his sleep

"...a pity that in this show, he has to."

[herself_nyc]

Now I'm very curious about seeing it, though I didn't click your cut-tag. It's on the TiVo but I guess I'll get to it sooner rather than later.

[wcg.livejournal.com]

I haven't seen any episodes and likely won't. Just wanted to point you at this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:PlateV_Evening_Dress.jpg

As you note, somebody should have done some research.

[kel-reiley.livejournal.com]

i may have to check this out some day