jenwithapen

If you went into this expecting that Gone was going to recreate the wheel, clearly you're going to be disappointed. This is a standard procedural, and honestly, it's good! If you've enjoyed "Without a Trace," or "Law & Order," or "Criminal Minds," etc., you're going to enjoy this! It seems like the younger the audience, anymore, the less enjoyment they get out of this kind of TV. I get that. I still enjoy things like Teen Wolf (which had some sublime writing, and wonderful acting!), and The Originals (I always preferred that to The Vampire Diaries), too, so! I see the difference, and I see the appeal to both, it's just that procedurals are an old business.

I find Noth's "father figure" as the lead for this rag-tag bunch awesome. I've loved Noth since he was Mr. Big, so! You can't go wrong there. Where a few others have felt that the lead was over the top, I dare you to watch Blindspot or Quantico, or any of the hundreds of others with over-the-top leads! I don't find Kitt (or Kick) crazily out-of-control (she's still suffering from a mild PTSD, but unlike other dramas, the trauma of it doesn't just shut her down, and it's not something that's overplayed!). As a matter of fact, I think they sort of underplay it sometimes.

Regardless, another person had a problem with the hacker dude, and... I don't find him as cloying, but I can see the issue. It's the same thing as your Garcia's in Crim Minds (talk about an over-the-top character, though! She's lovable as heck!), or your Abby Sciuto's from NCIS! It's nothing that hasn't already been done, and it's important for plot dev, especially with such a skeleton crew. Seeing Danny Pino again (Law & Order: SVU) was a great surprise! He's so muted here, and I love that!

I know this show hasn't scored higher with other folks, but if you're a fan of any of the shows I've mentioned, just give it a try! I think you'll like it. =D

Spoilers, I suppose (general as they may be).

Hundreds of people crying about how the show has "no science" in it and how terrible it is for a 61 year old man -- who is clearly more comfortable as a grandfather than a millennial -- is "trying to be hip." They're. Just. So. Disappointed. It's incredible how subtle irony is lost on so many people. See "the ironic" is the bread and butter of this series, and that's where the humor is!

The show isn't designed to be Bill Nye the Science Guy. He addresses that immediately in the first episode. It's designed as a talk show, with tongue-in-cheek comedy. For everyone up-in-arms over the show not including science, the show spends plenty of time in the lab, with Bill and gorgeous colleagues completing experiments while one or the other talks. Beyond that there's also a reporting section, along with impaneled discussions. All of this in a half an hour, and that's probably one of the biggest problems with the current format. It came out swinging at every ball, and fails to connect with every single one!

This is felt most when it comes to the panel discussions. Much like other similar chat series (think Bill Maher, etc.), there's typically two for the topic and one against. It's clear time is a huge issue, here. It's also pretty clear from the editing (I blame the editing most out of anything in the series) that these discussions were much longer, so conversation appears truncated. One minute one panelist will be talking, and then the next, it looks like Bill's cutting them off in favor of listening to the response from another.

And, sure, some want to say the show is shaming. Fine. The thing is... all these superfans who are so outraged, fans who claimed they grew up with BNSG. Well, as he says in the first episode, he's been talking about these subjects since many WERE kids, and nothing has changed! So many they SHOULD feel guilty!

So, instead of taking the talking points and using them to extrapolate the importance of the scientific issues, instead people want to pretend that Bill's a sell-out. Clearly, all he's doing is collecting his Netflix paycheck. He's not concerned about Global Warming or advancements in AI. He's just rolling around in a bed with his giant piles of cash.

Look, this isn't the best show on TV. I'd actually call the format, as it exists, mediocre at best. There's definitely room for improvement.

I think another problem exists in the fact that Bill spent years entertaining children, and trying to port his ideas over to adult topics is a bit difficult. Instead of patience, and understanding, though, the response is all about how pseudo-intellectual it is.

But name calling doesn't change the message, and it also doesn't change the intended purpose. Honestly, had he had an hour (instead of a half an hour), the entire series would work much better. What's here isn't the utter trash so many people find it to be. It's an _attempt_. And all of the _contempt_ it's bred (only here, for some reason?! What's up with that??) should make all as worried as we should be about the topics Nye's tackling.

For those of you who didn't catch the series title, it's "Bill Nye Saves the World." The point being, it's in trouble! Now! For those in denial, the universe doesn't care if you're not prepared. Keep that in mind as the sea levels are forcing you to sell your sun-drenched condos overlooking the whichever body of water you live on. Sure as shooting, the second you're under on your mortgage because your house is under(WATER) -- the second this hits your wallet -- you'll sure wish you'd cared back then!