Gravity

As soon as the first episode starts you cannot be helped for thinking you are watching one of those God awful day time amercian soaps. The sets are bad, the filming is bad, the actors are bad and thats not just due to the script being bad. I nearly gave up about 5 minutes in, but a gratuatous "night, night kitty" arse shot bought them a while longer. When its bad, it really has nothing going for it, but at times I found myself thinking of one of those dreary Cronenberg films like "Spiders" or the one with the rabbits. But unfortunately I do not mean this to be seen as a positive, because Cronenberg only gets away with it because of some of the excellent films he has made. IMDb lists this program as a comedy / drama. In my opinion the comedy is not funny and the drama less than dramatic. Avoid it, it cant possibly last.

I'd like to think that if I were a TV exec, I would create a subgenre of TV, and call it something like 'indie TV'. There's TV comedies, TV dramas...but no genre to underscore the offbeat vibe of indie film. Sometimes I wonder, if there was such a thing, would the quirkier or more cerebral shows gain the traction they deserve?

Anyway, if 'indie TV' was a genre, "Gravity" would certainly qualify. Alas, it also places on my list of "Shows Canceled Too Soon/Unexpectedly". This rates among "Wonderfalls", "Pushing Daisies" or "Dead Like Me", though definitely lower on the quality side. If you liked these, if you don't mind cynical characters or unconventional- sometimes-outrageous humor; this show just might be for you. The best I can say about the tone of "Gravity" is that it doesn't really have a genre, which is why I think 'indie' is a perfect match for it. Not only are the characters struggling with labels (being suicidal in the past, maybe still, maybe not anymore,) the show struggles to define itself as one thing. Such is life, which is basically why I love the indie vibe so much. "Gravity" is not straight comedy, but it's not exactly grim enough to be a drama - yet, weird as it is - something about this show works. The character of Jorge is my least-favorite (he's just too outrageous for me to like); but Ivan Sergei's character, along with the character of Lily (Krysten Ritter, in one of her first roles) makes "Gravity" just fascinating enough...and Miller? Well, who knows what's up with that guy...too many questions surround him.

I will say that if nothing else - if you do check this one out and you watch it all the way through...prepare to do a double-take toward the end of the last episode.

From the first episode onward, this series got my attention. It's original, deals with a powerful subject (suicide), has excellent characters, and the comedy is hysterical in places you'd least expect. This series held nothing back, it covered sex, obsession, death, inward thoughts, depression, jokes, conflicts and a cop (one of the directors), who you'd probably think is on meth the entire time. The finale, while having not a large audience, left a major cliff hanger to a mystery that was throughout the 10 episodes: Who the heck is that cop, anyways?

There are not that many people that watch shows like these with the assumption that "bird poop" is a sign of a bad series, but these people usually tend to stick with pathetic, uneducated, unoriginal TV shows like Honey boo-boo.

We're mid way through the first season of Gravity and not surprisingly comments are very diverse. I say it is not surprising because Gravity is a subtle, cognitive, emotional and non-formulaic show which can take some time to get a handle on, but once you do it's a deep-cool trip well worth your while, but you must stay with it like with any relationship of substance that grows at almost imperceptible intervals until its virtues appear in gratifying surprises.

Take the main theme of the show: suicide. Who hasn't contemplated checking out of this dimension from time to time, at least when at the motor vehicle department or more importantly when in a hellish place within our own interior? These are dark, scary places, but it's very cathartic and important to look under the rocks of despair and confront the rawest and most tormented areas of life where the full gamut of emotions and thoughts run wildly, often on a collision course with mortality itself.

For those still on the fence, perhaps some of your angst comes from the non-formulaic nature of the show. There's no shame in admitting that we expect railings and handles in certain places, especially when shambling along in the dim light of a new series that dodges convention at many turns. It takes a while for any show to get traction, but with a little faith there is no doubt in my mind that Gravity will take you on an interesting and fun journey. I know this because Jill Franklyn, the creator, whom I consider a sort of nouveau female incarnate of Woody Allen, is not going to let this thing ever get hum drum. No, no. She has just begun laying down her roller coaster track, not to physically flail you about, but to cavort your heart and mind subtly. And you need to watch carefully to stay on the ride, one that Starz will hopefully allow to continue on its wonderful course.

At the start of this series I thought I was going to have to shut it off. All of the main characters were boring and it was like a collection of people I didn't like. I have never been a large fan of Kristen Ritter or Ivan Sergei and I had zero interest in shipping this couple that literally starts out having sex at a drop of a hat. And Jorge's character is downright offensive. However, along comes Detective Miller. As a result of Lizzy's trying to kill herself she meets detective Miller who, as he reminds people, is watching her because suicide is still a crime. As the show goes along it keeps focusing on him. As if he is one of the main cast. At first I thought he was going to end up a member of the suicide group (and perhaps that was the plan for season 2) but it goes another way. I absolutely adored the character and watched the rest of the series to see him. The actor did a great job carving out a troubled but still lovable character that the audience can root for. I would watch the series for him but not feel too guilty about pressing the fast forward button often.