I think out of all of his work now Chris has shown that his strength is in character and situations but not in story. This is the case again with Jonah, although I do think it was better than the J'Amie series.
The problem is it's kind of like the same joke over and over again - and it just wears off. I thought this series started a bit slowly then started to get good with the dance competition and the time in juvenile detention but then failed to fully deliver.
The problem is the character never really got his come-uppance he doesn't grow or change enough to make him interesting or compelling enough to watch over 2 series. Jonah either needed to get the crap beaten out of him so he learnt some humility, or he needed to have something he really valued destroyed by his own actions and then come to realise it himself - and learn and grow from that.
But none of this happens - and once we get the shock and the humour and everything to do with the character and style of the show it just wears thin. I found J'Amie very similar - if she had falsely accused someone of molesting her and all of that came to ahead and she was brought to account by it imagine how good that series could have been - rather than what we got.
Chris is very talented and very insightful and observant - and brave - but I really think he needs to understand story more, and how it works and what it does to character and the audience - and why - in order to get the most out of what he is trying to do.
The problem is it's kind of like the same joke over and over again - and it just wears off. I thought this series started a bit slowly then started to get good with the dance competition and the time in juvenile detention but then failed to fully deliver.
The problem is the character never really got his come-uppance he doesn't grow or change enough to make him interesting or compelling enough to watch over 2 series. Jonah either needed to get the crap beaten out of him so he learnt some humility, or he needed to have something he really valued destroyed by his own actions and then come to realise it himself - and learn and grow from that.
But none of this happens - and once we get the shock and the humour and everything to do with the character and style of the show it just wears thin. I found J'Amie very similar - if she had falsely accused someone of molesting her and all of that came to ahead and she was brought to account by it imagine how good that series could have been - rather than what we got.
Chris is very talented and very insightful and observant - and brave - but I really think he needs to understand story more, and how it works and what it does to character and the audience - and why - in order to get the most out of what he is trying to do.