I grew up with Archie comics. Like bubble gum, apple pie, and Saturday morning cartoons, it was something I always took for granted. The carefree 50's Americana in silly comic strips was always oddly comforting. I can remember reading the comics to cheer myself up after a bad fight with a friend, or after something didn't work out for me.
Never once did I expect to be so engrossed in a CW show about Archie, because that sounds like a terrible idea. I'm picky about TV, and the only two CW shows I bother with are Supernatural and The Flash, and I already gave up on one of those, I'll let you guess which. But, Riverdale is bold TV, and it mostly glosses over the plastic artifice that plagues most High School shows.
The characters in Riverdale are familiar, yes, but they're not cartoon characters anymore. They're characters with legitimate emotions and development arcs. The show is also set against the backdrop of a murder mystery, which gives the show plenty of forward momentum, making it easy to liken it to the atmospheric works of David Lynch. People are keen to compare it to Twin Peaks, but I'm more fond of a Blue Velvet comparison myself.
Sure, the show is lurid and melodramatic, but that's okay. It works. It feels surreal, and that's perfect for a show like this. It blends small town 50's Americana with modern day trappings. Archie will always be caught between Betty and Veronica. There will always be a football team, and bands, and pesky teachers- but the difference is, in Riverdale, almost none of it is played for a punchline.
It's an engrossing mystery show that brings to mind Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys if they weren't written for kids. People do sick and bad stuff in the show, but there's always a centered focus on the human aspect- on friendship. The show is anchored by its lead actors, and they are fantastic. The characters feel like the ones I remember from the pages, but written by a grown up hand, for grown up fans. I also found myself knee-deep in references and in-jokes that only actual Archie readers would get. You couldn't wipe the smile off my face if you tried.
I do feel that this first season bit off quite a bit. Over just thirteen episodes, the few main subplots are shifted and flipped several times. But, the show makes it a point to hammer home the fact that this town has secrets, and as such- so does the show. It's fun, and full of pop culture references, but also grounded and nostalgic. How it manages all that AND an unsettling Gothic atmosphere is well beyond me. All I know is that I will absolutely be tuning in for season 2.
To say that this is nothing like the comics would be insulting. The creators put a lot of effort into capturing the evergreen elements of the comic that readers loved and found familiar. But it also angles the show to engage fans that aren't kids anymore. The show appeals to the kid in me, and the adult I am now, by providing plenty of nostalgia, but also a gripping mystery yarn the likes of which David Lynch would probably endorse himself.
Never once did I expect to be so engrossed in a CW show about Archie, because that sounds like a terrible idea. I'm picky about TV, and the only two CW shows I bother with are Supernatural and The Flash, and I already gave up on one of those, I'll let you guess which. But, Riverdale is bold TV, and it mostly glosses over the plastic artifice that plagues most High School shows.
The characters in Riverdale are familiar, yes, but they're not cartoon characters anymore. They're characters with legitimate emotions and development arcs. The show is also set against the backdrop of a murder mystery, which gives the show plenty of forward momentum, making it easy to liken it to the atmospheric works of David Lynch. People are keen to compare it to Twin Peaks, but I'm more fond of a Blue Velvet comparison myself.
Sure, the show is lurid and melodramatic, but that's okay. It works. It feels surreal, and that's perfect for a show like this. It blends small town 50's Americana with modern day trappings. Archie will always be caught between Betty and Veronica. There will always be a football team, and bands, and pesky teachers- but the difference is, in Riverdale, almost none of it is played for a punchline.
It's an engrossing mystery show that brings to mind Nancy Drew or The Hardy Boys if they weren't written for kids. People do sick and bad stuff in the show, but there's always a centered focus on the human aspect- on friendship. The show is anchored by its lead actors, and they are fantastic. The characters feel like the ones I remember from the pages, but written by a grown up hand, for grown up fans. I also found myself knee-deep in references and in-jokes that only actual Archie readers would get. You couldn't wipe the smile off my face if you tried.
I do feel that this first season bit off quite a bit. Over just thirteen episodes, the few main subplots are shifted and flipped several times. But, the show makes it a point to hammer home the fact that this town has secrets, and as such- so does the show. It's fun, and full of pop culture references, but also grounded and nostalgic. How it manages all that AND an unsettling Gothic atmosphere is well beyond me. All I know is that I will absolutely be tuning in for season 2.
To say that this is nothing like the comics would be insulting. The creators put a lot of effort into capturing the evergreen elements of the comic that readers loved and found familiar. But it also angles the show to engage fans that aren't kids anymore. The show appeals to the kid in me, and the adult I am now, by providing plenty of nostalgia, but also a gripping mystery yarn the likes of which David Lynch would probably endorse himself.
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