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Simon Baker plays ''The Mentalist,'' a quirky TV Sherlock Holmes. (CLIFF LIPSON/CBS) |
Loving 'Lost,' hating 'Heroes'
November 17, 2008
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Globe TV critic Matthew Gilbert chatted with readers on Thursday. Here are excerpts.
Q. Is there a rational explanation for why I love "Lost," but can't stand "
A. A great question. "Lost" jumps from character to character, but not so much from story to story. All of the backstories and forthstories are in service of the überplot, the mystery of the island. "Heroes" is just a bunch of pieces that overlap here and there and don't add up to much of anything other than, like, saving the world (yawn). That said, loving one show over another is never quite rational. We love what we love.
Q. I love "The Mentalist," although I still don't know why.
A. The appeal is like that of "House" - deductive reasoning. Simon Baker plays another quirky TV Sherlock Holmes who pieces together the truth from subtle, mundane clues. He's not a psychic, he's not a scientist, he's just amazingly observant.
Q. I've been a "Dexter" fan, but this season's off - Dexter's relationship with Miguel is implausible.
A. So far, Miguel (Jimmy Smits) hasn't quite worked, since Dexter would never trust him. Still, I'm loving the season, because Dexter remains an extraordinary character and concept. He puts us in the position of rooting for a killer - and that's a challenging viewing experience.
Q. Why do you think "Friday Night Lights" was never more popular?
A. Maybe TV critics like me made it sound like medicine? And a lot of viewers who'd like the show still think it's about football. NBC failed to promote it properly. But "FNL" is returning to NBC, so I need to give the network credit. The season 3 is now airing on DirecTV, and it will hit NBC midseason. I've been watching - it's good. Back to the old small-scale stories.
Q. What do you think of "Grey's Anatomy" abandoning the lesbian relationship? That was, um, sudden.
A. Yes, quite sudden. It doesn't surprise me that ABC might get all ookie about the lesbian stuff, if that's what happened. They want "Grey's" to call out to straight young women viewers. And by network logic, straight young women probably don't want to be seeing a lot of lesbian romance, even if it's McSteamy who's instructing Callie on technique.
Q. Which network had the best election coverage?
A. CNN's hologram thing was absurd. It distracted from the news, which was odd given the momentousness of the night. The best coverage was to surf, with a solid helping of Comedy Central in the mix. If you stay on one source, you're bound to miss out.
Q. What do you say to people who condescend - "Oh, I never watch TV"?
A. They won't talk to me, so it's all good. But seriously, those people tell me they don't watch TV. Then a beat passes, and then they tell me about the one show they love. And as we talk, I learn that there are two - no, three - shows they love. Go figure. TV Shame. I'm a lifetime beyond TV Shame. There's good stuff out there. Find it, watch it, hold your head up.
© Copyright 2008 Globe Newspaper Company.
