Howard's little brother
#9
(03-13-2015, 03:29 AM)Missy Fan Wrote: I love how we have been waiting for Sheldon's brother and Meemaw and here comes Howard brother and this show still seems to be going on about Mrs. W. I rather know about the big three's family. I do not have a lot of interest in knowing about the secondary characters family. Next we will see Raj's third cousin on the show. If it's not these lousy Ships it's these other family members bringing the show down.

The thing is, I don't really object to this idea per se; it could've been cute if it had happened *sooner* in the show's run, but coming now, so late in the game, it just seems like such an obvious attention-grabbing gimmick, and so emotionally manipulative.

It's a very obvious move to keep and/or gain the younger audience by bringing in some teen-show actor.

Again, I don't think the idea itself is fundamentally bad, but I'm sure the execution will be dreadful. Everything on this show is about conflict and hostility, now. All of the relationships are emotionally fraught. It has really and truly become a soap opera and a melodrama.

I don't think the "Howard's long-lost Dad" storyline is necessary at all. In Seasons 1 and 2, I think we all just assumed that Howard's parents got divorced at some point and Mr.W was out of the picture and that was that.

It's interesting to read very old Livejournal entries where people are speculating about Howard's backstory and what the situation was with his Mom and Dad. I saw someone speculate that Howard's Dad had died while H. was in college and this is what caused him to move home again to take care of his Mom.

Psychologically, I think that explanation makes a lot of sense and I like it a lot better than the eventual canon version, with this weepy tale of H. being abandoned when he was eleven.

All the storylines they've given to SH have been so weepy and gloomy, which is perhaps a clumsy attempt to let him show his range as an actor.

I don't think a sitcom character needs much backstory. As I've stated many times before, I'd rather have a bit of mystery and leave some things to the imagination. Like I said before, this show is now answering questions that nobody asked. There's too much "explaining." They are explaining and explaining themselves into a dead-end where there's nothing left to tell.

Nowadays, there is nothing particularly shocking or noteworthy about coming from a single-parent home. I don't know why TPTB have seen fit to turn this into some huge, melodramatic, season-spanning deal. Plenty of people--perhaps even the majority, nowadays--did not have a traditional two-parent upbringing, and it doesn't necessarily mean they're traumatized by it.

I don't think Mrs.W's death was necessary, either. Yes, the real-life death of the actress complicates this issue, but from a strictly in-universe, storytelling standpoint, I think it's too much.

It's all these big, flashy, life-changing moments, now: weddings, deaths, familial conflicts, and eventually babies. I prefer a small-scale type of storytelling; a "day in the life" approach where we just follow these characters as they go about their usual activities.

I don't even know why I'm commenting on any of this. I do not accept anything beyond Season 2-ish as valid. This show keeps pulling ridiculous stunts so fast that I can't keep up.

I'm not saying that I never want SH to play a softer, more melancholy, more emotional scene. But in a comedy, that type of thing needs to be handled very, very carefully. And all these Big Events just smell of ratings-whoring and I feel like they're grabbing me by the neck and going "Cry, damn it, cry!" It's so calculated and phony, and at the same time it's lazy writing, because they don't have to come up with anything more subtle or complex or original.

They have really and truly turned Howard inside out and upside down. He is supposed to be cocky and confident, and brave, and resilient. Yes, in the early seasons, you might sometimes get a sense that he's overcompensating a bit, by being so brash, because of some inner self-doubts. But he is not a neurotic character in the classic sense of the word, and he's not depressive or easily discouraged or easily victimized. He's not passive. This character is just a scapegoat. This is not what he's supposed to be like AT ALL.

This is not even an older and more jaded version of that young guy from S1, it's a fundamentally different person with a fundamentally different outlook on life and a different way of behaving and reacting. Even if that person from S1 had suffered a series of disappointments and become rather discouraged or cynical, he wouldn't be this weak and passive and wimpy. On the contrary, I think he'd be more actively nasty and acerbic and a rather ugly customer. But he wouldn't roll over and play dead, and he wouldn't be weeping every ten minutes. This character is the show's punching bag; everyone else is smarter, better, richer, braver, more mature, more attractive, whatever.

I devoutly wish they would just drop a few castmembers, at this point. Casual viewers would barely notice; all they want is Parsons, no matter how degraded or diluted.

I'm not one to focus much on actors, in the first place, but I do not respect SH, at this point. I know the actors don't have the power to make major changes, and I don't begrudge anyone getting their money while the getting is good, but still.

The character that appealed to me seems so long ago and far away. I like characters that are mischievous, a bit of an anti-hero, a bit of a troublemaker, Puckish, morally gray, characters that are flamboyant and colorful and boisterous and unpredictable, tricky and sneaky in a fun way.

It's all just so sad. The sheer amount of nonsense this show is putting out is too overwhelming to comment on. I really feel a sense of loss.

ETA: what I mean is, I wish they would give SH the axe or reduce him to recurring. Sounds harsh, but I have no sympathy for anyone connected with this show, now. They've overstayed their welcome. It's like a washed-up singer who keeps on doing just one more farewell tour, or a politician who keeps on serving too many terms in office and stays there forever.

I do not understand why the show is putting so much focus on him and seemingly giving him all the big storylines, lately. Who is tuning in to see Watered-Down Howard? He doesn't have teenage fangirls, and people who enjoyed the antics of Vintage!Howard should be long gone by now. Is SH really such a draw, for this show? It would be so much easier for me if they'd just relegated him to being a background character who is never the focus of any given scene or any given storyline. That would be much less painful for me, if they'd made him a minor character instead of giving him all these godawful overly-emotional episodes. Who is the target audience for this stuff?

There's this weird atavistic (?) type of thing where people feel fondness for the actors and the characters based on the good, funny stuff they did long ago, in Seasons 1-3, but that doesn't explain why the ratings are still relatively high. Are people saying to themselves "Oh, that Howard character, he's hilarious, remember that Goth thing?" and then tuning in to watch three or four episodes' worth of funerals and new brothers and depressing BS? How does that work? It's like the actors and their characters are covered in some type of afterglow from the good stuff of the past.

My guess is that TPTB know, on some level, that SH is a good actor, so they are trying to make use of that by giving him these very emotional stories. But, they are going about it all wrong. How many episodes in a row have featured SH moping and looking gloomy, now? He has a very soulful, expressive, emotive face, and I like that, but it's like he's become the go-to guy for the sad moments, now. Who could've predicted THAT, early on?
Reply


Messages In This Thread
Howard's little brother - by Tuesday Pajamas - 03-12-2015, 05:48 AM
RE: Howard's little brother - by Louise - 03-12-2015, 05:49 AM
RE: Howard's little brother - by Tuesday Pajamas - 03-12-2015, 06:51 AM
RE: Howard's little brother - by Louise - 03-12-2015, 07:07 AM
RE: Howard's little brother - by Tuesday Pajamas - 03-12-2015, 07:14 AM
RE: Howard's little brother - by Louise - 03-12-2015, 07:21 AM
RE: Howard's little brother - by Trust No One - 03-13-2015, 03:29 AM
RE: Howard's little brother - by Louise - 03-13-2015, 09:36 AM
RE: Howard's little brother - by Nutz - 03-12-2015, 09:24 AM
RE: Howard's little brother - by Louise - 03-13-2015, 12:03 PM
RE: Howard's little brother - by Trust No One - 03-13-2015, 09:40 PM

Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 1 Guest(s)