Tuesday, November 07, 2017

Binge Watching Two Seasons Of Quantico






Binge Watching Two Seasons Of Quantico
  • The Big News Is Priyanka
  • Too Much Reliance On Unexpected Plot Twists
  • The Setting Is A Concrete Message
  • Cultural And Gender Diversity Is Social Sci-Fi
  • Gunning For A Global Audience From The Get Go
  • TV: A Medium All Its Own
  • Wither Hollywood?
  • Season 1 Dramatic End: Well Handled
  • The Segway
  • Democracy's Propaganda?
  • What Next?
  • Season 2 Vs Season 1 Vs Season 3
  • The Trio: Alex, Shelby, Raina/Nimah
  • Critique
  • Quantico



I have binge-watched a few others as well: House Of Cards, 24, Amitabh Bachchan's Yudh. And Quantico is of comparable quality. It too is gripping. But this is not a movie on TV, it is just a different format. A marathon is not just a longer race. It is a different flavor, a different animal altogether. I can't imagine a movie Quantico. But I can imagine a gaming experience Quantico. The show relies heavily on unexpected plot twists and would be a perfect game plot.

 The Big News Is Priyanka

Priyanka is a first. A Bollywood-Hollywood crossover has not happened before at this level and scale. She is a cultural phenomenon or rather a cross-cultural phenomenon. There is a reason the Alex Parrish and not the Ryan Booth character has made it to Time 100 or the Forbes 100. although both play very important roles in the show.




PC's move is borderline geopolitical. It is also a gender statement. Hollywood remains white. But TV has thrown up Quantico and several other shows where people from non-traditional backgrounds are in starring roles. But India is not just another country. It is a continent all on its own. And that's what makes PC different. That she has not broken into the LA scene with an equal splash - yet - might be a hint at the fast-changing movie making trends. Maybe the right positioning for her is global and not necessarily the US proper. Quantico Season 1 was a big hit worldwide.

Too Much Reliance On Unexpected Plot Twists

It must be the need to get the viewers to keep coming back week after week. Granted you have to get the eyeballs or you are no longer in business. Granted holding attention for 20 hours is more than 10 times as challenging as holding attention for two. But the FBI is the FBI and movies are movies. The dramatic pace has to be kept up. But I thought there was a little too much reliance on unexpected plot twists.

The Setting Is The Concrete Message

I read somewhere once one thing Robert DeNiro made a point to work on was to make sure he dressed and looked just like the character he was set to play. It was not just about the thought process and the emotion of the moment. The physicality mattered big time. The physical settings of the show's episodes and the component scenes are a major accomplishment. If the idea is to make the audience more sympathetic to the institution that is the FBI, mission accomplished. If the idea is to get the FBI to attempt and become a more culturally diverse place, message delivered. If the idea is to get the audience to step inside the FBI for a second, done and done.

Cultural Diversity Is Social Sci-Fi

There is science fiction, and then there is social science fiction. An FBI agent is a white male. Everyone knows that. That is the image. That is the bias. That is the fact. That is the stereotype. That is America's original sin. In the show trainees and instructors come in all sorts of cultural and gender flavors. That is the social sci-fi part. It has not happened yet but will happen down the line. One hopes so. I mean, if you can make a hijab or two sit comfortably on heads, that is a point to be noted.

 Gunning For A Global Audience From The Get Go

Hollywood makes the majority of its money outside of America these days. PC taking the lead in Quantico has been a top Bollywood star coming to America. That gets said. But equally it has been Hollywood prying open the Indian market, the global market. There are a lot of young women around the world today who work professional jobs and spend money on entertainment, among other things. PC's face speaks to them.

TV: A Medium All Its Own

TV is not lesser than the movie theater. At least, not anymore. It is self-sufficient as a medium. Shows like Quantico celebrate that. In fact, the web is a more natural extension to TV, it's not the movie theater. I binge watched on Netflix.

 Wither Hollywood?

Hollywood has its advantages in LA just like Silicon Valley is a geographical location with its advantages. Both are doing great. But just like you could launch a tech startup most places on the planet today, you can make a good movie anywhere these days.

Season 1 Dramatic End: Well Handled

As I watched the final episode of the first season, especially the final moments, I was prepared to forgive the overuse of dramatic plot twists, because the end was very well planned, and even the dramatic plot twists perhaps drive home the larger point that the FBI as an organization struggles with itself as much as it struggles with the world it finds itself in. After all, it is people on both sides of that thin membrane that separates.

One season is almost 16 hours. This material could not have been given the right treatment in a two-hour movie. This is not a mini-me version of a blockbuster movie. The movie format is small. This format is bigger.

The Segway

9/11 caught the intelligence agencies of this country napping at the wheel. They were caught not talking to each other. A major counterterrorism effort since has been about breaking down the walls and barriers, about intelligence agencies not only within but also across countries talking to each other. The segway from one season of Quantico to the next pays homage to that. The FBI and the CIA kind of talk. Agent Parrish is a human bridge. It is symbolic.

Democracy's Propaganda?

Both seasons of Quantico do a wonderful job of the viewers becoming a little bit more informed, a little bit more sympathetic to the doings of the FBI, the CIA, and the like agencies. But this is a private sector venture hinging on the size of viewership. It is democracy working. The hard questions do get asked, scenarios do get imagined in the process. Is the FBI its own worst enemy? Is the CIA its own worst enemy? Viewer discretion is advised. Democracy or no democracy, Quantico is great drama, makes for great television.


What Next?

Baywatch was a dud (not in China, though), and not Priyanka Chopra's blockbuster Hollywood debut her fans expected it to be. But Quantico is still on, there is a season 3, and PC will likely have the last laugh on bigger things. She did 50 movies in Bollywood. Many top Hollywood actors have retired before hitting that kind of number. But nothing she did in Bollywood remotely approaches her role in Quantico, her best screen persona yet. The role is the woman taking her rightful place in the most precarious of situations. Perhaps there is a corporate version of that that would be even more riveting, more global and fitting multiple screen sizes all at once, gaming included. When you have India, America, and China already in your bag, you perhaps target Russia next.

Season 2 Vs Season 1 Vs Season 3

Data shows the viewership for Season 2 has been lower than the viewership for Season 1. I can see why. The formula of relentless plot twists does not work as well for political intrigue as it does for sheer physical action. The mind starts spinning and you lose people. Also, Season 1 had the freshness of the FBI training school. I don't know yet what Season 3 is about, but if it be about physical action in the Global South (like Jason Bourne in Tangiers) the viewership could again spike. But, I must say, it was kind of nice to see a woman president.

 The Trio: Alex, Shelby, Raina/Nimah

Alex, Shelby and Raina/Nimah make for a powerful trio. The Alex-Ryan pairing does a good job of showing the toll life as a FBI/CIA agent can take on one's private life. Often it is hard even for a fellow agent to understand you. But once it is firmly established as to who the more gifted partner is, it is smoother sailing. Some small roles like Simon and Harry truly stand out. Conflicted emotions make for great drama.

Critique

The writer(s) of the show obviously is better at spy action than at political intrigue and should go back to spy action. An international backdrop would be exotic now. Alex and team collaborating with foreign intelligence agencies on their territories (the narco wars in Latin America, the Middle East with the obvious terrorism angles, Pakistan, South China Sea, Korea, Kenya) would provide so much more room for unexpected plot twists. Street scenes in densely populated countries look great on camera. Fight scenes on such streets give so much more room for choreography. There are numerous movie parts, and there is a huge in your face human element.

Quantico

It is a great TV show that would make for a great XBox game. You would allow gamers to let decide on multiple outcomes. There is also market for merchandise. There are women out there who would like to the Alex Parrish look, obviously. Creating multiple revenue streams might give the show a Season 4, and a Season 5, and a Season 6 perhaps. It should not be a US first release. The release ought be global. There's terrorism, there's cybercrime, there's human trafficking, there are civil wars, there are riots. Alex Parrish would shine in each such scenario. And it would be exotic to show the ground reality of law enforcement across diverse countries.


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