JackYan.com
Jack and Aston Martin V8 Vantage Monaco street signs
Jack Yan: the Persuader blog
  Click here to go to home pageWhat I stand forMy stuffWhat others have recently saidMeet some of the coolest folks I knowDrop me a line Visit my workplace
> My stuff > The Persuader Blog


18.1.07

Doves of War: good enough to be … American 

Doves of WarThe brilliant drama is being re-run on TV3 at present. Strangely, it was bagged at the time (11 months ago, in its first run), which I can’t understand. Here’s a (mini-) that had the highest small-screen I had seen in ages, a great time-slot, snappy direction, fab photography, and top-notch acting.
   The premise wasn’t too hard to follow, either. From an earlier Xtra article, when the series was cancelled, citing the press release:

Sergeant Lucas Crichton is thrown by tabloid newspaper revelations of an atrocity from his Bosnian war past. With blood on his hands he turns on his immediate comrades in search of the source of the leak, as the continuing revelations shake the foundations of the United Nations war crimes trials in The Hague.

   Logical, compelling, must-watch. Yet even the Xtra writer, Phil Bostwick, said, ‘Not exactly roll of the tongue material is it. [sic]’
   While I don’t agree with Mr Bostwick, and I would have had three extra hyphens, a comma and a question mark in the same sentence, his review does make me wonder how sophisticated the viewing public is. We can’t follow something that simple?
   Mr Bostwick, quoting comedian :

On that note, the script hasn’t helped the show’s cause either. TV Critic David McPhail described it as “idiosyncratic and largely unintelligible” and he has a point. The complex narrative led to character interactions that more resemble information symposiums than real conversations.
   In addition, the acting has been described as awkward and moody, and the camera work overactive. Although the unusually high number of nighttime scenes and glum lighting lends itself well to a political thriller, they also left many bewildered.


   I don’t know who sub-edits the Xtra site, but the more I quote, the more I realize how bad the standard of editing is.
   Back to my point: OK, Messrs Bostwick and McPhail are entitled to their opinion, and it does seem the New Zealand public agrees with them, given Doves’ ratings fall. But a complex ? Let’s see.
   The new series , the one that has been running, looks to be a hit.
   I do not like this series. The scenes drag on without any logic or suspense, the camerawork is a trifle plain, the Californian backgrounds too glossy. The Japanese set design with the Chinese ideographs on a clock: fake as heck (if anyone in Japan has seen one of these clocks lately, add a comment and tell me I am wrong). And call me thick, but I can’t handle 12 threads, none of them reaching a proper . I really can’t.
   The creator of the show says he has a planned out for the next five years, so he is confident of the series’ survival.
   He must know something that I don’t.
   So Heroes is tolerable, so far, to the New Zealand public. It’s not too difficult to follow, despite 12 threads. Yet when a New Zealand show has a couple of threads, it is deemed complicated. Countless Pommy have qualities on a par with Doves, and far more complex premises, yet we watch those. Their work is often edgier, but they don’t cop any flak or claims of bewildering viewers. Every time I see in some drama, it is always dark; and I don’t remember any episode of Taggart with bright, blue, cheery Glaswegian skies.
   Even one Australian at the IMDb thinks highly of the show, photography and lighting aside:

The [sic] should be very proud of this show, and it’s a great shame that, instead of ditching it they just fixed the few shortcomings. But that just proves how stupid the powers that be really are. …
   The show had a strong cast believable in their roles (not the stretch some of the characters in American shows are) and I would’ve loved to see where it would all lead.
   Had the potential for greatness. But it’s still very very good.
   I believe the show was replaced by one of those dreadful ‘swapping spouses’ from the US. Talk about the ultimate insult to replace something that matters with such mindless drivel.


   Maybe if the Doves of War actors spoke with only British and American , and we dressed downtown to look like downtown Vancouver masquerading as downtown Los Angeles, it might have fared better with us Kiwis. I hope this show made heaps for Hampson, Bailey and co. overseas, where it would have been appreciated.
Post a Comment  Links to this post

Comments:
I haven't seen Doves of War, but I have seen a couple of brilliant un-aired pilots for other Kiwi shows that have have been scrapped. I can't figure it out.  
Probably two reasons: follow the connections between the producers and the network; and follow the smell of money. Doves may have been pricey for TV3, and reality shows are cheap. (Though I am not sure if our Australian commentator is right: I think the wonderful Outrageous Fortune may have succeeded Doves of War.)
   Are you allowed to share with us the premise of the other shows? (Also, let me know on private email when you are due down in Welly or give us a call.)  
Interesting this, as it's now being shown on the Australia Network, which will bring it to audiences in Asia and the Pacific, but not Australia itself.

Similarly, Answered by Fire hasn't been shown in NZ (unless you've got a big enough dish to pick up the Australia Network) despite NZ having had far more involvement with East Timor than Bosnia. In fact, Answered by Fire could have been about an Aussie and a Kiwi instead of an Aussie and a Canuck!  
Post a Comment

Links to this post:

Create a Link

 

 

Note

Entries from 2006 to the end of 2009 were done on the Blogger service. As of January 1, 2010, this blog has shifted to a Wordpress installation, with the latest posts here.
   With Blogger ceasing to support FTP publishing on May 1, I have decided to turn these older pages in to an archive, so you will no longer be able to enter comments. However, you can comment on entries posted after January 1, 2010.


Quick links

Surf to the online edition of Lucire
  • More ramblings at the Lucire Insider blog
  • The Medinge Group
  • Jack Yan for Mayor
  • My Facebook page
  • Follow me on Twitter
  • My Vkontakte page
  • Book me for public speaking
  • Contact JY&A Consulting on business projects
  • Check out fonts from JY&A Fonts
  • Add feeds




    Add feed to Bloglines

    Individual JY&A and Medinge Group blogs

  • Lucire: Insider
  • Summer Rayne Oakes
  • The Medinge Group press room
  • Detective Marketing
  • Amanda van Kuppevelt
  • Delineate Brandhouse
  • Paolo Vanossi
  • Nigel Dunn
  • Pameladevi Govinda
  • Endless Road
  • Avidiva news
  • Johnnie Moore’s Weblog
  • Steal This Brand Too
  • The Beyond Branding Blog
  • Ton’s Interdependent Thoughts
  • Partum Intelligendo
  • Right Side up
  • Headshift
  • Goiaba Brazilian Music
  • Jack Yan on Tumblr (brief addenda)

  • +

    Previous posts

  • Love the 1980s
  • Better than staying Idol
  • Let’s celebrate it early
  • Five things
  • You heard it here first: an extra magazine title at...
  • NY1 catches on
  • Get with the 21st century
  • Publisher beware
  • Full circle
  • Pole to pole


  • Donate

    If you wish to help with my hosting costs, please feel free to donate.