Muzzlehatch said:
Totally fair. I like most of the stuff the show did or tried to do as well:
- Ash being investigated by the police
- Ash visiting his home town and meeting his father
- Ash being trapped in a asylum and someone digging through his psyche
- Returning to the cabin
- Traveling back in time to prevent everything from happening
I love all these premise. It's just that they did not as much as they could what's bugging me. In my opinion the only thing they did really well regarding the plot points above where the S1 cabin episodes. The rest felt quite half-assed for me, especially in character development.
I've been reading the threads regading the 2nd season and I pretty much agree with you people: dissapointing and sad, so many potential wasted. Yes, the premises and ideas were actually EXCELLENT! What a waste... How could all end being treated so poorly?
Personally I don't think the biggest problem with the show was the treatement of the ED mythos and universe, nor even the Ash character reboot. For one thing, the ED universe to me was quite well developed and worked better than in AOD (where deadites became a sort of cartoon zombies with independent personalities). In the show, they righfully came back being just drones with a hive mind, servitors of a greater evil who controlled them as puppets, as they were originally conceived. I don't mind them becoming overly sexual either: thir bizarre sexual urges were already hinted in the original movies, yet not so explicit (true). But if you watch the Evil Wind in ED, peepingtoming the girls through the windows, you can conclude the spirit is a repressed sexual energy to the point of becoming violent (as many human psychopaths in real life, in fact). John Bolton's comic adaptation even pointed that out in the texts. Besides, the deadites are always kind of sadomachists in their behaviour since the very first movie. So the fact all these weird sick sexuality became explicit in the tv show didn't felt out of place at all.
I also liked the inclusion of minor demons in the mythos. Like the hellish generals of the main Evil Dead. To me (who as you know have been working on developing a series of shortfilms explaining the nature of the Evil and its Hell) it totally fits and makes sense, and an explanation for them came quite naturally (hope I can share with you in future times, after it's edited). I don't think they abused from this new resource, since it wouldn't have done any good turning the ED universe into "Ash vs Aliens" or something like that. Ash's main enemies must be the deadites, and maybe other possessed "things" (which could have been more present, in fact, as the dolls on the pilot, but maybe more domestic tools or some crazy stuff)... Yet I think the demons addition was cool (including the children, which I loved how Ash reacted to in the 1st season finale)
The treatment of Ash character is a different issue, though... I don't know if any of you pointed this out (I'm sure someone has at some point, yet I didn't read it on the threads I read): the show characterization of Ash isn't actually based off the two first movies at all (in fact it contradicts them), but it's totally based off the "MY NAME IS BRUCE" movie, whose script also was heavily borrowed for the shows' pilote episode. To the point that (renaming Bruce for Ash and ignoring he has a right hand) it could totally serve as a prequel to the show. Same character, same attitude, same assholness, same lifestyle, same all.
So the Ash we got in the show was that "buffoon Bruce" from that movie. In fact, show's Ash is closer to him than to AOD Ash's... who yes, had already started being an asshole and a womanizer but to the "My name's Bruce" exageration.
I assume (but that's just me) Bruce Campbell developed this buffoon character after AOD fandom success, when people in conventions kept asking him to play Ash Williams again. He kinda mixed the character with himself in his more buffonic side and what ended coming was actually a caricature of Bruce himself. Which is what the character on "MNIB" was. And it's what we actually got in "AshvTED". Not evil dead's Ash, but Bruce Campbell playing buffoon.
For some reason, this is what Bruce and whoever else (Raimi?) understood the evildead fandom craved for. So they gave us that.
Now, let me tell you this buffonic Bruce/Ash hybrid is hilarious, and we all can agree on that. Truth is season 2 didn't put any hysteric laughs on me except for the morgue episode, but season 1 was a masterfully comedic series with aswesome Bruce/Ash moments. Spiced with some great horror scenes (I defend the pilot's scene where Fisher has the first encounter with a Deadite was SUPERB and would perfectly work as a horror movie. The whole pilot in fact was absolutely awesome combining the classic comedic side of ED2 with the pure modern horror of the ED Remake. I thought the whole show would work that way... and more or less did through season 1 -the season finale, which was excellent, mantained that).
But season 2...
I mean, season 1 wasn't perfect and I remember feeling sorta dissapointed with Fisher's end (I felt she was an excellent character to maintain that "pure horror" serious side on the show) but at least her character arc was really good during the season till her ending.
But without her, the goofiness invaded everything and there was no more "pure horror" moments anymore. Maybe the possessed car episode was the closer to it in some moments (maybe one of the best episodes on the whole season, imo, perfect combination of horror and comedy). The rest... as said, had many many excellent premises, but so poorly treatments... Things that go nowhere... And me wondering why they chose discard from sooo many good opportunities for character/mythology development in favour of unidimensional childish solutions.
What the hell happened? Who said a little explanation of the universe could hurt the show rythm, or atmosfere? I mean, a little (JUST A LITTLE ONLY!) worked fairly well on season 1. Like Rudy, explaining:
"I just want things to go back to the way they were, when the Dark Ones ruled over evil forces on Earth. The world is in chaos, and I want order. To consolidate the dark forces under one ruler: Me."
Cool! So this character is deeper than it looks. It has a whole twisted and complex ideology behind her actions, which also points to a complex background and universe. It adds, to the action.
Then, what happened with all that on Season 2?? The bad guys didn't have a reason to be bad anymore... 1980's Ruby looked and acted like an idiot... And Baal's motivation? Is serving his "master"? Does he have any other kind of personal motivations? Is he just a drone, a puppet... or has an individual character with individual objectives? Wtf? Why in the fucking hell the showrunners thought telling those things could hurt the action? Are they doing this show for retard fans only, who don't give a fuck about coherence and just want to watch Ash being pooped in his mouth?
If so... Why???
No, the 2nd season finale was a failure. I loved the morgue scene, don't get me wrong. Totally loved (it's one of the grossest, more brutal scenes I've seen on tv in my life. Which is awesome!). But repeating the gag with Henrietta's putrid milk was... Hm. Meh. It wasn't scary (not even intented to be) and it wasn't actually funny (we have seen that already) so it was only gross. Even aesthethically it would have been better using real goo, not that cgi.
And the shoe joke... Oh well. Damn, if they are gonna go down that road, then go all the way down! She could have actually fucked Ash shoe and have a bizarre orgasm or something on the line to humilliate Ash. It would have been as bizarre yet incredibly brave as the morgue scene was. But nah, they decided to let it be a simpley one-line joke... More gross than funny or even transgresive. Imo.
I'm not commeting on the incoherences, massive plot holes, and nonsenses. You all did way better than I could, and you are all totally right.
I just wanted to point out the 2nd season had a bunch of EXCELLENT IDEAS and OPORTUNITIES... (the character of the father, killed so soon!!! Why??? He was excellent, could have given so excellent scenes and development!!!) (Ash and Ruby relationship, let's give some sexual tension there, and please develop some mutal discovery/admiration for fuck's sake!) (and Kelly and Ruby? What's going on there? We do know Ruby digs chicks, so... Is she a maternal figure, or is something else going on??) (and what about Pablo and Kelly's thing? We saw some great, funny, tender moments in season 1 with them both, we want more!!) (The asylum, best enviroment/plot ever!! The first episode was totally masterful, then the second and final, totally dissapointing... That "evil Ash" new look/costume rocked! Why didn't they conserved it? And why dind't they give more actions and time for "evil Ash" to do stuff? Naaah, Ash was lying all along. Solved. Meh) (Back in time? Cool! Wanna know more about the Knowbies, wanna know more about what happened before ED and ED2, wanna know more about Ash' youth... Wanna know why the hell Ruby is suppossedly a knowby, was that a lie, or was Lucy Lawless a body she possessed?). Premises that were totally and deeply sadly disregarded. Don't know who to blame for this. But it's just too obvious something very chaotic happened on the creative team. Something that would have never ever happened in a project where the director is an author with noone interfering on its vision and objectives. This is why the ED movies make sense on their own and have a coherence (no matter how bizarre, but they have it): noone told Raimi what to do. Later he might contradict himself on the sequels but what I mean is: each movie is coherent on its own. In the show, on the other hand, some single episodes contain more plotholes and even contradictions than a script written by a retarded monkey.
So... Well.
I hope the waters calm down as days pass by... This season 2 was a failure but had so much potential, I don't believe the show's gonna be cancelled or actually hated by the audience. The season finale has a 8.9 in IMDB (something It's extremely unfair and biased, though It's actually good for the show's survival).
But they really need to increase the screenwritting quality. We ED fans are used to goofiness and cheesiness (yes, after all we are fans of a movie about a guy with a chainsaw on it's hand) but we are also used to high quality cinema and storytelling (which is what Raimi incarnates) and this season 2 ihas been a cheap infraproduct in terms of writting.
We deserve better.
And I'm saying more: I don't mind any new, crazy addition or idea, as long as it's well written, directed and treated. Anything (ANYTHING) can work, my friends, if only properly told. Some "stupid" ideas like making Ash becoming Kelly's father by mistake, could perfectly work and become a source for awesome jokes and comedy. No matter how "this is not ED" they might sound at the start. Anything can become "ED" if propperly treated. They should understand this and start doing things good, instead of fighting about what is "ED" and what is not, which sounds more like a bunch of amateur insecure kids discussion instead of proffesional filmakers. Imo.
