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| CHUCKY SEASON ONE |
Sat down and binge watched the first eight episodes of CHUCKY with my girlfriend over the weekend and I have to say that there is a lot about this show that I love. There's just enough about it that I'm not crazy about to where I have to give it a B+ rather than an A, but still the good outweighs the bad. Being one that likes to get the negative out of the way first so that I can concentrate on the positive, here's what I'm not crazy about.
Gore takes precedence over suspense and build up. It seems when you discuss CHUCKY with anyone there are to sets of fans. Those like me who really enjoyed CHILD'S PLAY, CHILD'S PLAY 2, CHILD'S PLAY 3 & CURSE OF CHUCKY and then those that really enjoyed BRIDE OF CHUCKY & SEED OF CHUCKY. I think CULT OF CHUCKY was going for a mix between the two schools of thought but aligned itself more with the latter than it did the prior. What I love about Child's Play & Curse is the buildup and suspense of Chucky's actions. The kills are still brutal but the thought that goes into them is the focus. In Bride and Seed it's all about shock value & trying to gross you out. I don't need extremely violent, bloody kills. I don't need a lot of blood and guts. I could stand to see less of that and more clever, funny kills. In other words I'd rather see, "How's it hanging Phil?" than I would a room splattered in blood and guts.
To be quite honest I'm not digging the Main character Jake Wheeler. I'm not sure if it's because of the way he's written or if it's due to how Zackary Arthur is playing him. I want so bad to fall in love with the character. I was really hoping that he'd attach to my interest the way Nica did when she was introduced in CURSE OF CHUCKY. It's not happening for me. It's not that I don't like him. I do. It's just that I find the supporting cast to be more interesting. I find it easier investing in them than I do in him. To be quite honest I even find Jade & Jesse from BRIDE OF CHUCKY to be more intersting. He's the main focus and he is who I feel the least invested in. Hopefully in season two there are improvements and I can warm up to him more.
I also find the character of Glen to be rather annoying. Is the character supposed to be autistic? I'm not understanding how someone as old as she is acts like a two year old. It just isn't making sense and I find it irritating. "I want Chucky!!" Character could use some more depth. Seems way too one deminsional and lazy to me.
Ok, enough with the bad! Let's talk about the positives!
It goes without saying that I love the return of Andy & Kyle played by Alex Vincent & Christine Elise. To see the characters picking up where they left off all the way back in 1990 is very rewarding. I can only hope they become more of an intricate part of the series as it progresses. Andy may be treated as a secondary character for the time being but he is Chucky's #1 enemy and nothing will ever change that.
I find the story arch between Tiffany and Nica to be rather interesting. I'm anxious to see where they go with it and how it develops in season two. At first I was thinking that Nica would be one of the heroes seeking vengeance but it's obvious that she will be used as a plot device to give the edge to Chucky and Tiffany.
I have to comment on the character of Lexy and say how well her transition was done. A credit to both good writing and good acting on the part of Alyvia Alyn Lind. She went from an unlikable sociopath into a likable empath and it was done in a natural and believable way. It would have been very easy for the character to have came across as self serving. Only cooperating in order to save her own skin & for the sake of her own interest. Instead it comes across that she's actually made a change of heart and that she is truly a changed person. Whereas I feel the character development of Glen leaves much to be desired, I appreciate the depths that the writing staff has gone to in order to showcase Lexy's transformation.
I really enjoyed Devon Sawa and the characters he played. It's amazing to see how much he's grown as an actor and how talented he has become. That's not always the case with child actors. Makes me realize how old I've gotten. Sawa isn't that much older than me. Anxious to see this third character that he will be playing in season two.
I like where they went with the Junior character but I feel it was kyboshed prematurely. The idea of Chucky manipulating and influencing someone is quite intriguing. I understand that Junior had a purpose, that he served it and now the story has moved on. I have no problem with that. I also have no problem with his redemption. I'm all for the reveal that he wasn't really evil, he was just a victim of Chucky's trickery. It's simply that I feel that storyline was done too quickly and it would have benefited from a bit more length. That's all.
I really, really like the character of Miss Fairchild. I like the way she is written & I enjoy the way Annie Briggs plays her. I was hoping to see more of her in Season One & I'm anxious to see how much or how little she's involved in Season two.
As to the other characters...
I think I like Chucky more than I do Mayor Michelle Cross. When it comes to evil people, I have to say I have more respect for an upfront monster than I do an undercover one. Sociopathic types like her just drive me up a wall. Fake, fraudulent, phony people who only care about themselves.
Devon seems pretty cool, but underdeveloped. As his mother Detective Evans was starting to grow on me that's right when she was killed.
Michael Therriault as Nathan Cross was quite the juxtaposition from his Dr. Foley character in CULT OF CHUCKY wasn't it? This surprised me, in a good way. It's fun to see the range and versatility that actors have.
Thoughts for season two???
Well with the overabundance of deaths in season one, we know we're going to have an assortment of new characters in season two. Is this going to be like COBRA KAI and we can also hope for some returning characters too? That would make my day. (I'll be making another post about this later)
Don Mancini would probably kill me for saying this but I think what the series could really use to go from a B+ to that A I know it can get is Tom Holland. Mancini is such a genius and has such great ideas but he has no one to reign him in. Creative people are their own worst editors. They have an ability to create but no ability to revise. That's where Tom Holland would come in. I think Tom Holland's help is why CHILD'S PLAY was the success that it was. I think he could help out CHUCKY too. I really do.
Those are my thoughts on the series.
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