Basically, most of the shows I make the effort to watch regularly have something in common: strong characters. If I actually care about what happens to the characters on a show then I'll care about the show, however silly or nonsensical its plots, hokey its dialogue or egregious its lapses in logic or continuity. In my house, Character is King. That, ultimately, is the greatest failing of Tremors as a series. The show has had more than enough time to get me to care about its principle players and has failed utterly because the show is populated by walking, talking clichés. Burt Gummer is a paranoid survivalist who distrusts the government, Tyler Reed is a thrill-seeking skirt chaser, Nancy Sterngood is a hippy artist, Jodi Chang is an industrious entrepreneur always on the lookout for a new way to make money, Rosalita Sanchez is a tough chick from the big city, and D.W. Twitchell is a pencil-pushing bureaucrat. There's no depth, no breadth, no dimension to these characters, they're just two-dimensional foils for the monster(s) of the week. That seems deeply ironic when you consider the fact that the show is trying to portray these people as fierce individualists who fight to hold on to their quaint little town in spite of the monsters and other threats that constantly plague them. What really makes people like this tick? You'll never find out watching this show. Of course, don't let me give you the impression that Tremors gets everything wrong. It has great special effects. In fact, I bet that's where most of the money goes. This show has its priority, and that priority is making its killer pumpkins and fiery-fart creatures look really convincing, apparently at the expense of decent writing and direction. Bravo.
Don't be too disconcerted by this week's review. Next week I'll actually watch the show and I'll get right back to grumbling about how much it sucks while neglecting to actually mention what happened in the episode. Bet you can hardly wait. I know I can't!
- This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it denies the rumor about why he missed the show. Whatever the rumor is.
