This show has a visceral thrill unlike any other 'prestige' show put out by U.S. cable networks. That isn't to say that I think that every other cable show is bad - I love Mad Men as much as the next guy, and I think that The Wire is pretty good, although a little over-rated (it's basically just doing things that Ed McBain's 82nd Precinct Novels have been doing for the last thirty years), but this was... you know what this was? It was trash. Glorious, wondrous trash. Just like television should be.
Obviously this show has thematic strains, and points it's trying to make about equal rights, and blah blah blah. And you could probably write a fairly interesting review analysing it intellectually - and who knows, as I watch more episodes, maybe that's what my reviews will turn in to. But right now, I say, "fuck that."
Why do I say, "Fuck that"? Because, even though you can talk about the show thematically and intellectually, that does not mean you should. Because that is not why anyone watches this. Nobody watches for the thematic content, or the intellectual ideas. Oh sure, that doesn't mean that I'm saying that nobody can enjoy those things in this show, but it isn't why you watch. The reason you watch is because it is viscerally very thrilling - it is exciting and fun to watch. It is trash, and I do not mean that as an insult.
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