Most people seem to simply not get something that is a common and popular taste. I’ve run into people who don’t enjoy chocolate, or can’t stand the Beatles, or the scent of flowers. And yes, I have some such things on my list.
Prime example: Heather Locklear. She’s a popular actress, she is credited with saving various series, but I don’t get it. And her popularity means that she is brought in to help shows that need ratings, shows I generally like. So I see her on Spin City (which was, admittedly, always less than the sum of its parts) or making multiple guest appearances on Scrubs, and for me she sucks any comedic energy out of the scene. It’s not just me; my wife agrees. Yes, weirdos marry each other. So you folks who like Heather Locklear aren’t wrong, per se, but we are just not among your number.
As such, LAX, the new light drama set at the Los Angeles airport, goes in with a major strike against it in my book. And then there are my memories of watching Moonlighting, and the one episode where David Addison (Bruce Willis) is coming up with his latest hairbrained scheme for success: a TV series called Bus Station where people are coming and going, each their own story, their own drama. And yes, there are plenty of people passing through a bus station or an airport, and yes they are coming from or going to, but still at the heart of it, it’s a place where people wait for transportation.
LAX very much follows on Las Vegas, with similar attempts at slick’n'sexy camera work, with the various little subplots arising from seeing to people’s needs and dealing with their security, but by the end of episode one I felt like they had run through the key tales they had to tell, hadn’t told them that well and they didn’t have places to go that were that interesting. I don’t foresee watching any more episodes of this show.
