Three things that have occupied my mind for last three days in descending order of importance are: Justin Trudeau, Heinrich Klassen and The Leftovers. I am going to write here about the least important entity for I am likely to forget about it most urgently.
The Leftovers is an HBO production and like the most HBO productions, it makes for a great television experience. I chose to watch it for two reasons: First, it was only three season long with 28 episodes in total and secondly, for two years running, it was the best TV show in American Landscape. There was a third reason as well and it was in the name of its creator's promise. Damon Lindelof is one of the brightest American minds and he gave us 'Lost' all those years back. I have been a huge fan of 'Lost' and till this time, gush about its fantastical and mythical elements. People still find it very hard to crack the mysteries of Lost and when a show leaves you with more questions than the answers after its 8 season run, you are bound to 'think hard' about it. When Lost ended, there was a huge number of audiences and critics out there who simply gobbled Damon up for not providing them with a satisfactory closure. For close to 8 years after its series finale aired, Damon was repeatedly asked about the ambiguous ending of Lost and he simply didn't want to offer anything other than 'ambiguous'. At one point, he just gave up and let the haters think what they really wanted to think about it. Well, with The Leftovers, he ran the same risk and till 27th episode, I was afraid it's gonna the same rout of Lost but then 28th happened and everyone felt OK. Damon Lindelof redeemed himself finally with The Leftovers.
OK. It's a two letter long abbreviation of 'all correct'. With The Leftovers, nothing was OK. Not at all. 140 million people all over the world get disappeared in a single day. Even the foetuses from their mothers' wombs. How and why? No explanation was given by Mr. Tom Perrota for this phenomenon who wrote a bestseller with this backdrop and it was picked up by HBO and Damon Lindelof for a TV series production. Damon made it clear to much of the relief of his fan following that show will not try to answer the questions: how and why? So it will show us the sufferings and trauma and all the developments that take place with the families who have lost one or many on the day of 'sudden departure'. The first season gave us a blunt introduction and in many ways, was the most dramatic but second season started on a pitch fever note and it never let the standards drop from that initiation. The depth of the show was staggering and acting on the TV canvas was 'special'. Everything is now sensational in this world. Adjectives simply cannot measure up to their standards anymore. So when I say it was special, it was special. Not extraordinary, not incredible but special. Sometimes your eyes get wet. Many a times, your heart weeps. That canvas in front of you wasn't of such measurement that could contain the emotions of these characters. And even Oscars couldn't dare to match the acting levels of these geniuses at work. Let the TV be what it 'really' is.
I am grateful to American TV for introducing me to the actors who are much more skilled and great than their Movie Counterparts. Mandy Patinkin, Bobby Canavale, Carrie Coon, Richard Jenkins, Steve Buscemi, James Gandolfini, Peter Dinklage, Terry O Quinn, Amy Brennman, Rami Malek, Justin Theroux, etc etc. Three from this list headline The Leftovers. Carrie Coon will be remembered for generations to come for her role in this TV series. Justin Theroux apparently isn't known to many Americans for his acting chops. He is much more famous in Hollywood for his writing and marrying America's favorite darling Jennifer Aniston (they got divorced couple of days back) but he simply bared and ripped his soul for this role. Especially, in the third season, his role is as good and powerful as any you might have ever seen. Amy Brennman is a veteran and accomplished actor and she is the most balanced of this trio. Her intelligence shines through every time she appears on-screen. These three are suffering like anything for the reasons of their own and together they deliver a romance for the ages.
Not many TV shows are well known for their music production. But here the composer is Max Richter, a leading name in American Musical Scene and who stormed through American consciousness couple of years back with his rendition of Cinematic Orchestra's masterpiece in end credits of Stephen Hawking's Screen Biography 'The Theory of Everything'. Last year, he delivered us the soundtrack of 'Arrival', one of the finest sci-fi films ever made. Here, he has designed music for every episode and they all are different. They all have a meaning and when you see the entire episode dedicatedly, you get it. This element was again 'special'.
I firmly believe I have endorsed this TV show enough. It might not rank among the greatest TV shows ever made but like HBO's very own Deadwood, it scorched the scenes of American TV like anything while it lasted. It was 'Special'.
The Leftovers is an HBO production and like the most HBO productions, it makes for a great television experience. I chose to watch it for two reasons: First, it was only three season long with 28 episodes in total and secondly, for two years running, it was the best TV show in American Landscape. There was a third reason as well and it was in the name of its creator's promise. Damon Lindelof is one of the brightest American minds and he gave us 'Lost' all those years back. I have been a huge fan of 'Lost' and till this time, gush about its fantastical and mythical elements. People still find it very hard to crack the mysteries of Lost and when a show leaves you with more questions than the answers after its 8 season run, you are bound to 'think hard' about it. When Lost ended, there was a huge number of audiences and critics out there who simply gobbled Damon up for not providing them with a satisfactory closure. For close to 8 years after its series finale aired, Damon was repeatedly asked about the ambiguous ending of Lost and he simply didn't want to offer anything other than 'ambiguous'. At one point, he just gave up and let the haters think what they really wanted to think about it. Well, with The Leftovers, he ran the same risk and till 27th episode, I was afraid it's gonna the same rout of Lost but then 28th happened and everyone felt OK. Damon Lindelof redeemed himself finally with The Leftovers.
OK. It's a two letter long abbreviation of 'all correct'. With The Leftovers, nothing was OK. Not at all. 140 million people all over the world get disappeared in a single day. Even the foetuses from their mothers' wombs. How and why? No explanation was given by Mr. Tom Perrota for this phenomenon who wrote a bestseller with this backdrop and it was picked up by HBO and Damon Lindelof for a TV series production. Damon made it clear to much of the relief of his fan following that show will not try to answer the questions: how and why? So it will show us the sufferings and trauma and all the developments that take place with the families who have lost one or many on the day of 'sudden departure'. The first season gave us a blunt introduction and in many ways, was the most dramatic but second season started on a pitch fever note and it never let the standards drop from that initiation. The depth of the show was staggering and acting on the TV canvas was 'special'. Everything is now sensational in this world. Adjectives simply cannot measure up to their standards anymore. So when I say it was special, it was special. Not extraordinary, not incredible but special. Sometimes your eyes get wet. Many a times, your heart weeps. That canvas in front of you wasn't of such measurement that could contain the emotions of these characters. And even Oscars couldn't dare to match the acting levels of these geniuses at work. Let the TV be what it 'really' is.
I am grateful to American TV for introducing me to the actors who are much more skilled and great than their Movie Counterparts. Mandy Patinkin, Bobby Canavale, Carrie Coon, Richard Jenkins, Steve Buscemi, James Gandolfini, Peter Dinklage, Terry O Quinn, Amy Brennman, Rami Malek, Justin Theroux, etc etc. Three from this list headline The Leftovers. Carrie Coon will be remembered for generations to come for her role in this TV series. Justin Theroux apparently isn't known to many Americans for his acting chops. He is much more famous in Hollywood for his writing and marrying America's favorite darling Jennifer Aniston (they got divorced couple of days back) but he simply bared and ripped his soul for this role. Especially, in the third season, his role is as good and powerful as any you might have ever seen. Amy Brennman is a veteran and accomplished actor and she is the most balanced of this trio. Her intelligence shines through every time she appears on-screen. These three are suffering like anything for the reasons of their own and together they deliver a romance for the ages.
Not many TV shows are well known for their music production. But here the composer is Max Richter, a leading name in American Musical Scene and who stormed through American consciousness couple of years back with his rendition of Cinematic Orchestra's masterpiece in end credits of Stephen Hawking's Screen Biography 'The Theory of Everything'. Last year, he delivered us the soundtrack of 'Arrival', one of the finest sci-fi films ever made. Here, he has designed music for every episode and they all are different. They all have a meaning and when you see the entire episode dedicatedly, you get it. This element was again 'special'.
I firmly believe I have endorsed this TV show enough. It might not rank among the greatest TV shows ever made but like HBO's very own Deadwood, it scorched the scenes of American TV like anything while it lasted. It was 'Special'.
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