Hello,
Welcome to the 1500th themusicaddict blog, I never thought it would go this long. But I have enjoyed it and I hope some of you have got something from it. Thanks to all those who've read this blog and a big thanks to the people who have made comments. I welcome all comments, especially if you agree with me.
I love college basketball, but I had very little interest in last night's NCAA national championship game between Louisville and Michigan. I figured that Louisville was going to win.
Now on to "Nashville". Instead of watching college basketball I went on a "Nashville" binge. I sort of had lost interest in it as new episodes piled up on the DVR. I thought that I'd possibly watch it again, so I didn't get rid of them. I was 7 episodes behind, but the other day I watched a couple of episodes. Last night I watched 4 episodes. Those episodes were "I've Been Down That Road Before", "There'll Be No Teardrops Tonight", "Dear Brother" and "When Your Tired of Breaking Other Hearts". I'll probably watch "I Saw The Light", the most recent episode tonight after work. Is that title a reference to this great Wynonna Judd song:
Here are a few random thoughts about "Nashville" through it's first 15 episodes.
1) Juliette Barnes is very impulsive and then usually contrite for the consequences of those impulsive actions. She makes a bad decision, sometimes has regret, but sometimes she doesn't. But then she does something else dumb and the pattern repeats over and over again. She's a lot like her Mom in that regard. Although she says a lot of mean things about her Mom, she's like her in so many ways. Isn't it about time for Juliette to start showing some maturity? Even when she does try to step up into the adult world, she acts very immature. She's trying to assert her independence, but that's usually through very childish temper tantrums.
2) Juliette's mother, Jolene, is a very boring character. She's going through a cycle of her own: rehab, relapse, rehab etc. I know that's typical of a person with an addiction, however in this case it isn't making compelling television. Jolene is already an extraneous character and now she's been given an addiction counselor? Why? I'm not sure why they keep on diluting the show with additional characters.
3) Rayna James and Teddy Conrad finally start the divorce process and then Teddy starts to get with Peggy. Meanwhile Rayna gets with Liam? That's not very believable. Meanwhile other than sharing a passionate kiss, Deacon and Rayna keep on being on each other's periphery. (Wow, these divorce scenes sure bring back a lot of memories. From telling the kids to moving out to custody to not really wanting to deal with the other any more.)
4) Teddy names Coleman his deputy mayor. I know that's suppose to come off as a big deal for Coleman, but is it really? Robert Wisdom, who portrays Coleman Carlisle, exudes goodness. I do like that both Teddy and Coleman are trying to break out of Lamar's slithery grasp. It's not going to be so easy for them to break out of Lamar's grasp, especially since he bought the election for Teddy. Maybe like Gunnar's brother, Lamar can suffer an untimely death.
5) Deacon remains one of the best characters. He's a man who's true to himself and due to that he can say things that others can't. He's not shy about doing that, but his advice is good for the petulant Juliette. She needs a mentor that doesn't need something from her. I love that Juliette threw a surprise party for Deacon. His friends showed up, which includes Pam Tillis, Vince Gill and hey it's that guy from The Black Keys. I loved that Deacon spent his birthdays watching "Old Yeller" all by himself. (I don't know about "Old Yeller", how about "Where The Red Fern Grows"? A movie that gets to me every time even though I know exactly what's going to happen.) I also loved the shout out to the amazing Johnny Cash when he named his boy dog Sue. That was a nice touch.
6) Also Sue, the gorgeous puppy, is how Deacon met his seemingly temporary girlfriend, the very attractive Stacy. I think Stacy, the hater of country music, is mainly on the show for the people who hate watch "Nashville".
7) This show has so many characters I haven't even got to Scarlett and Gunnar yet. Gunnar is a decent character, but I go back and forth on Scarlett. Sometimes she's a great character, but sometimes not so great. At least she has mostly shed that little girl moves to the big town shyness. That was completely unbelievable. Also what was the point of introducing Gunnar's brother for him only to die a couple of episodes later? Did Callie Khoury, et. al realize his character didn't work?
8) This show deals with betrayal a lot, that seems to be a metaphor for the music industry. Avery left his band, which if I was his band I'd say good riddance. Scarlett kicked Avery out, thank goodness. That might have been the most unbelievable relationship in the show. Now that I think about it it seems she was shedding her small town feeling while she was shedding Avery. Now Scarlett has a chance to bail on Gunnar, what is she going to do? Um, like we don't know already.
9) To improve the show, "Nashville" can get rid of the whole Teddy Conrad, Lamar and all of his minions storyline. Especially now that Rayna and Teddy are getting divorced, is there any reason to keep Teddy around? The whole political angle of this show always felt forced. At least for me I watch the show for music. Another character they can get rid of is the lame Avery Barkley. He's like the Governor on "The Walking Dead", every time he appears the show grinds to a halt. I can almost hear the screeching breaks.
While getting rid of Avery, can Dominic and Marilyn go away as well? I like watching this show for the music industry buzz, but that doesn't mean I have to see it's dark underbelly. Getting rid of them would open up more time for characters like Rayna, Juliette, Deacon, Gunnar and Scarlett. etc. At least for me that's why I watch the show. While going through my "Nashville" binge last night, I realized I was watching a soap opera. I'm not a big fan of soap operas and watch the show mainly for the music angle and the great songs. When the show becomes too much of a soap opera, I will stop watching it.
I've mentioned several characters already. However there are several that I haven't mentioned yet or only slightly touched on. How about Marshall Evans, who personifies everything bad about corporate America. What about Watty White? They are so desperate to find him screen time, he runs into Avery in a chance encounter at a guitar store. I do like White's complete disregard for Avery though. Watty sees right through him. Don't forget Liam, who seems to have worn out his usefulness. I'm surprised he's still on the show. Why is he still on the show? How about the managers for Rayna and Juliette and Juliette's personal assistant. And don't forget Teddy and Rayna's daughters. Don't forget Tandy. Did I forget anyone? Probably.
I'll continue watching this show for now, but probably would have given up on it if it hadn't been on my DVR. This show still has some great music. Although Rayna makes fun of it, I like Juliette's "Boys and Buses":
Other great songs on the show include "Changing Ground", "The Wrong Song" and "Undermine":
And I'm not going to forget one of the best songs I've ever heard, "If I Didn't Know Better":
themusicaddict
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