This week on Why It’s Worth a Watch Wednesday, Tiffany and I decide to take on the same show once again! Given our very different tastes and personalities (she is the Zoe to my Wash, ya’ll) we occasionally like to offer up our views on the same show.
What are we watching together this week?
The Return of Bacon.
Errr…I mean, The Following.
[Warning: This show contains some disturbing content – it may not be for everyone]
Bacon plays Ryan Hardy, former FBI agent who gets called in to consult when a serial killer escapes prison. Why does he get called in for this particular killer? Because he is the one that captured him the first time around.
Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) is the charming literature professor turned killer who escapes prison to finish what he started. You see, Bacon caught him before he could kill his last victim, one of his female students. (If there’s one thing ladies can’t resist, it’s a literature professor with an accent.)
Hardy is initially reluctant to consult, a feeling he handles with copious amounts of vodka in his water bottle*. And it’s understandable, considering he was stabbed by Carroll in their last encounter. Oh, and he did write a book about the guy. Oh! And he had some sort of fling with Carroll’s wife.
Hardy is clearly a man with great ideas.
So, is this going to be a seasons long chase, consultant versus serial killer (think Patrick Jane versus Red John)? Not quite.
Somehow, Carroll kept in touch with the outside world via the internet. These contacts were about more than getting the latest sports scores and finding out what happened on The Bachelor. Carroll developed a following, a network of people he could manipulate to do his work, whether he was locked up or not.
Creepy prospect. What good is locking up a serial killer if he can exert his influence beyond prison walls?
I enjoy psychological thrillers. I’ve never been one for horror or gore, but the mind behind even the most horrendous deeds is interesting (and disturbing) to me. What went wrong? What drove them?
And that’s why I’m on the fence with The Following.
Sure, we have a killer, one who uses the writing of Poe to inspire hm, albeit in some fairly common view of Poe’s work (I expect all this “Nevermore” nonsense from a college freshman, not a seasoned professor). But so far, the writing isn’t giving me anything more than an outwardly charming and intelligent man doing the unspeakable.
From a procedural standpoint, some of the clues when Hardy is investigating are a bit on the nose, a bit too obvious. Is that the major network assuming the audience won’t get what’s happening unless they get slapped in the face with it?
[Speaking of getting hit over the head, there is dialogue in the second episode referring to the disconnected society thanks to the internet that made Carroll’s minions possible – I can only wonder how many “social media is killing us all!” speeches we have in store]
That doesn’t even touch on how quickly we get told that Carroll developed a following on the outside via the internet. How exactly? Is it common practice to allow serial killers internet access?
And don’t get me started on the use of Poe and how so absolutely wrong it is.
I know. It probably sounds like I hate the show.
Bacon is a solid Hardy, even if Hardy is starting out as a bit of a TV trope as the former agent with bad habits who reluctantly helps with a case that threatens to consume him once again. And Purefoy? Charming. In the “I’ll kill you in your sleep” sort of way. (That’s a thing, right?)
With such solid lead actors, I would hope the writing tightens up as the show moves forward. My request? Less glorification of the serial killer – because, make no mistake, that IS what is happening here – and more focus on the psychology behind Carroll and his followers. I know the big three networks seem to think they need to shock us to get viewers, but subtle is so much more interesting. Also, less obvious clues during the procedural elements, or prior to revealing bad guys.
I give The Following an SSTV, with a warning that even if the writing on this show picks up, the disturbing subject matter may be too much for some.
And now, for something fun! In honor of the return of Bacon, our author friend Jen Kirchner recommended we play a little “Bacon Degrees”.
Where do I fall? I am proud to say that I have a Bacon degree of two. Sort of. You see, the wonderful world of social media means coming in contact with people I probably would never meet otherwise. In my case, I’ve had a couple of interactions with (and am now followed by – squee!) the awesome Joshua Malina. Since Mr. Malina is a mere degree away from Kevin Bacon via A Few Good Men, that places me two degrees away.
Did you watch The Following? What did you think? Let me know that, and how many degrees of Bacon you are in the comments! (You can use http://oracleofbacon.org/ to help you find out!)
Head over to Tiffany’s and get her thoughts on the latest Bacon.
MacTV (MacNCheese TV): Guilty pleasure. Not perfect, but is satisfies
GMacTV (Gourmet MacNCheese TV): A combination of fine wine and comfort food
JFTV (Junk food TV):It’s not great for us, but we’ll go back for seconds
TBPTV (Twice Baked Potato TV): Part gourmet and delicious, while absolutely horrible for our cholesterol
SSTV (Still Simmering TV): It has potential, but the jury is still out
NIV (NyQuil Induced Viewing): Perfect for that late night television sleep timer
LOTV (Liver&Onions TV): Do we really have to explain? Blech
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Hahahahaha. I love our dual review system!! What I fall head-over-heels for, you leave as simmering. What a great partnership. We are definitely Yin and Yang! We should do this again!
And Malina is the man!! You beat me by one degree. But I love how we both work our way to Bacon by way of A Few Good Men. LOL
I think I am going to be more critical than usual this season. I don’t know why.
And so glad you are on the Malina train. For those who don’t know, he is talented, funny, and has been doing a lot to raise money for Mazon.org, which just makes me like him even more.
I really enjoyed the show–i agree, I wish the good professor was a bit more diabolical, but I am looking forward to understanding more how he extended such influence over others. I’ll give it a few more episodes and hope the stakes keep rising!
I’m assuming they HAVE to explore his mental state more, but as of yet, I feel like the only thing they talk about is Poe (which infuriates me…).
We shall see what happens.
Think I’ll try this program. Wish it were Mrs. Bacon instead, though. I loved her in The Closer.
Haha!
When I saw the preview with the naked woman covered in writing holding a knife, I knew I was in for a show that would go over the top. The jail break scene confirmed this and if that’s the way a show is going, I prefer they go WAY over the top.
That said, I liked the first two episodes, mostly because of the Hardy/Carrol/ex Mrs. Carrol triangle. I think there’s a lot of potential in there and hopefully in the coming episodes, that will be explored more.
I’m, personally, not that interested in how Carrol gained his followers because the idea of a villain with seemingly endless reach is so implausible, any explanation will probably make it that much sillier.
I have to say, one of the things I love about NOT having cable? I don’t see any of this preview commercials, so I go in for the most part with no expectations.
For me, the why and the how are what make it a story worth following, but I totally understand your take.
Tiffany got me. A crazed lit professor, hooked on Poe, priceless.
I like the idea of the lit professor, but so far the inclusion of Poe has been so…not right. I’ll rant about that some other time.
The show hooked me, although not liking the eyeball bit.:) And my sister is 2 degrees from Bacon, does that make me 3??
Yeah. Gross.
So who is the person that connects your sister? (And yes, I think that means you can be 3)
I’m probably going to give this one a pass. Too many other shows to interrupt my writing already. LOL
I think that might have something to do with why I am pickier this season.
Do you really get to count virtual connections in the degrees-of-Bacon? Because I’m at three degrees of Bacon face-to-face now. I know a crew member who worked on 24 with Kiefer Sutherland, and Sutherland was in Flatliners with Bacon. I’m dang proud of that for some crazy reason. LOL.
I’ve been meaning to check out The Following but I’m catching up on Downton Abbey right now and haven’t gotten around to it. My husband was not all that impressed.
In my world, yes, I get to count my virtual connections.
As you can see, I’m not so sure about the show myself. We’ll see.
She was in a movie with Don Creech, who was in X-men with KB.
and whoops didn’t mean to reply all the way at the bottom..