Update Meme
Feb. 9th, 2019 12:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. What are you reading?
Lots of X-men comics. Adventures in Bad Taste (AIBT) has some interesting bits as well. Honestly, taste is in the eye of the beholder.
Finished Uncanny X-men (2018-11) by Matthew Rosenberg and Salvador Larroca.
The problem with the X-men -- is they have a tendency to just use the same title and renumber. So we have Uncanny X-men 11 - 2015, and Uncanny X-men #11 - 1990s...so it's really hard to find the issue in Good Reads.
Anyhow here's the somewhat spoilery review:
This issue surpassed expectations in how it handled both lead characters, the controversial Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Logan (Wolverine). A far better issue than the previous ones in which they'd been paired, and for the first time in well over a decade, Wolverine was in character.
Rosenberg checks all the boxes in this issue. We see a character who has been put through the ringer, he has six months growth of beard, is walking about with a hoodie, and trying to be incognito. Coming back from the dead is well to put it delicately, not easy. Particularly when in your absence, your ex went out of her way to make everyone hate you (not that they didn't when you died), and all your friends, including the love of your life are now gone. Cyclops is hunting the X-men and not being all that successful. He tries various avenues, the Morlock Tunnels -- and he does find one down there, but not one who wants to help, Chamber. Blindfold (a character I'd forgotten), mostly finds him, because she's cursed with knowing the future, except the space between future, past and present has managed to blur somehow. The difficulty with knowing what happens next -- is it makes it really hard to continue to live in the present. Jamie Maddrox -- who also finds Cyclops, but only because his wife and Wolverine pushed him to do so. He's lost and frustrated.
Captain America and the Avengers make a brief cameo. Reminding me of why I don't like the Avengers in the comics. (I love the Avengers in the movie universe, but in the comic universe they come across as well fascist enablers. Protecting people like themselves, not people in general. And gleefully taking the credit. Scrawny Steve Rogers and Tony were white guys, who wanted to be heroes so they enhanced themselves and went out to save the day, with cameras playing. That doesn't make you a hero. Nor did they care all that much for the collateral damage. Marvel unlike DC does a really good job of critiquing it -- depicting how people who play at being a hero are often racist jerks.)
It's an interesting scene -- where Cyclops calls Steve out on his politics, and how instead of protecting mutants, who are being killed off, he's what? Protecting people at a hate rally? Rogers says much the same thing that cops do now -- "we're just making sure no one gets hurt". Which is noble.
Protecting people you can't stand is not an easy thing. But Cyclops notes that they haven't done much to protect his people -- who are all gone. Rogers regrets that -- but in this instance, he and his team are sort of protecting Cyclops and Wolverine (who apparently watches from the crowd, and Natasha prevents from getting involved.)
The comic shines a light on our troubled times. Summers is trying to be hero in a world gone mad. A world that hates him and his kind. And would show him no mercy. There's a cure for being a mutant on the market. It's in some respects a far darker world than our own...or so it seems from the mutant perspective.
The art is a mixed bag -- mainly because we have the same tale told through three perspectives, so one writer, three different teams of artist. This is what a comic or visual medium can do well. The art for Cyclops perspective is Salavador Larroca who has rarely been better..it's gritty, and the writer maintains Scott's attempts to keep everything hidden. The man sees everything in a haze of red. And tends to pull inward. Then we get to read the same story from Wolverine's perspective, and the art is much more basis, gritty almost, with lots of jagged lines, and basic cartoon renderings. (I'm not a fan but that's probably how Wolverine would view things). And finally through Blindfold's limited gaze. She has no eyes for now, just for the future. And the main act she sees is her own inevitable demise.
The art for Blindfold's arc seems to jump between Larroca and the Wolverine artists...it's more confused, but so is Blindfold, whose gift is slowly driving her insane.
I've read critique's where Blindfold is fridged or the classic example of it -- a woman dies to further a male arc. Except, I'm not sure I read it that way. And it seems to be a rather simplistic and somewhat self-righteous view? The character of Ruth has hit hard times, she's living in the tunnels with the remaining younger mutants who'd been left behind by the adult mutants in order to keep them safe, while they engaged in their final battle with Nate Grey. Turns out they failed spectacularly in that endeavor. Because they younger ones are being killed one by one by government hit teams. She manages to get out of them, gets a lotto ticket and buys a great pad -- where she hides in a far safer neighborhood -- but she's drawn to her old leader, and feels the need to talk to him. What she conveys is more confusion...and more riddles, because at this point it's how she thinks. She too has lost everything and is lost. But unlike Cyclops and Wolverine -- her curse is her ability to see ahead, see behind and see now all at the same time...and what she sees is death and pain, and no hope. She's in a way blindfolded to what is currently happening around her, the small moments that make life worthwhile. Instead she just sees her own mortality. Her death is one of her own making -- she gives up.
This is Forever is the title of the arc. And it is a fitting one -- because it's not really about what will happen, but how one's actions cause things to happen and the lasting impact/consequences of those actions. The story is about Cyclops return to the living, to the role that he's struggled with his entire life, with varying degrees of success, and how difficult that is in a world that hates you not so much for what you are, but what you represent. And how he is currently perceived has a lot to do with what he did in the past -- so his choices now, will impact his future and those around him. But being human, he's doomed to make mistakes as do we all.
Still reading a romance by Laura Kinsale, The Shadow and the Star, which would either make you roll your eyes or you'd enjoy. I fall somewhere in between. It takes place in the 1800s, he's a rich Hawaiian Ninja Businessman, who'd been sexually molested as child and trained by a Japanese Ninja turned Butler, she's a Frenchwoman's abandoned child, who was raised by an etiquette expert, down-on-her luck, working as a dress-maker and secretary. They meet one night, when she discovers him in her room -- he'd been using the attic above her room as a stash for various articles he'd stolen. He basically steals invaluable works of art, then places them in dens of inequity (places they sell kids for sex, etc), in order to make the public deal with them and do away with them. Apparently the transfer to Kindle had issues -- because there are a few odd typos here and there.
Note: it's impossible not to have them happen occasionally , unless you've had a legion of copy-editors review every page 1500 times or are working on a computer with great spell-check.
Also reading Age of X-men -- which is sort of the flip-side of Age of Apocalypse, where the X-men live in an isolated Utopia, with no humans. A nice commentary on utopian views and how they are great in theory but not in practice.
And being a long running serial -- there's some nice character touches along the way.
Finished both Age of X-men - Alpha and Marvelous X-men -- which is the lead title. There's about five or six titles, five issues each, and an Alpha and Omega -- patterned after the Age of Apocalypse. And it is a critique of a certain set of current political idealogies that are cropping up. Ayn Rand's Individualism aka Objectivism and the whole concept of letting go of negative emotions, connections, and isolating oneself in a peaceful existence of contemplation -- no tribal connections of any sort. One big unifying family, with children created via a hatchery. Oh, Brave New World...indeed. (Reminds me a little of Adolus Huxley.)
It's well done. The art has a sort of calm look to it -- peaceful pallet, simple lines, reminds me a lot of post-modern literary comics. And the X-men are the Avengers. They live in their own nice homes, solitary, and meet as a team to fight the world's ills. There's no romantic love or love, so no strife. Everyone is friendly. No family ties, just loose friends. No biological connections. Individualism reigns supreme. And we're given the philosophy -- it's a utopia of sorts. Yet, there's a quote after each segment..."At the heart of every so-called utopia is tyranny" and in Age of X-men, "revolution is in who we are, not just what we do...the desire to fight for freedom" -- from Ursula Le Quinn's The Dispossessed.
These new writers, artists and editorial staff have something to say. It's odd, but most ideological and socio-political critique is found cult art or pulp. Sci-Fi, Fantasy, comic books, soap operas, then really in the more literary or mainstream fair. It's no accident that Buffy was the first broadcast television show to depict a lesbian relationship, or that All My Children was the first to do so, and pre-dated Buffy by about five years with not one but two relationships, along with a gay storyline. Daytime Soaps often tackled serious social issues that prime time series steered away from. Why? Because they fell under the wire of the censors and the advertisers during that period were a bit more open-minded. Comics are the same way -- often going right for the juglar regarding complex socio-political issues. It wasn't surprising to me that both Captain America-Civil War and Black Panther tackled serious socio-political issues that most films steer clear of. Or that we see them tackled in horror films. Perhaps being able to use metaphor helps? It provides enough distance from the reader/viewer and the topic for it to be discussed?
I don't know. But it is to a degree why I've always been drawn more to genre, and in particular comics and soaps. Well that, and the fact that you can't find better character arcs and analysis anywhere else. Nobody explores characters better than a long-running serial. That may explain, why I don't think characters in sitcoms are well-developed and seem a tad shallow. Mainly because we don't get to look at them from every angle imaginable.
2. What are you watching?
Finished Russian Doll -- earlier in the week. See posts for reviews. It's good, but the Groundhog Day/Time Travel gimmick still annoys me and does not work from a plot perspective. (shrugs)
A Million Little Things -- it's okay, irritating in places, but compelling in its' own way. I'm interested in the mystery but find the individual emotional character subplots -- annoying and poorly written also very cliche ridden in places. Of course the chef, Regina, was molested as a child. Sigh. And Gary is pushing Eddie to have casual sex, but warning Deliah not too...and Maggie is pushing it? Really? Deliah is having Eddie's kid via an extramarital affair, pretending to everyone it is John's, and it's only been a couple of months since they broke up and only a few since John died and Eddie separated from Katherine.This is not the time to be having sex. Sex is not a means to get rid of stress and issues -- if you need to do that? Exercise, meditate, or masturbate, but don't use someone else to get off. Humans aren't drugs to help you escape. Also, I can guarantee it will not end well. Ugh.
And I gave up on it -- and wandered off to do laundry. Shows how well it was holding my attention, doesn't it? Then came back and finished.
Eh, this series doesn't quite work. I'm beginning to think John hurt or caused someone's death - and it has to do with Barbara Morgan, who is from his past, a painter, married, and doesn't wantt o be found. It reminds me oddly of Donna Tartt's Secret History, and I've no clue why. Just something about John and the set-up.
Anyhow, this episode focused on Regina's relationship with her mother -- apparently her uncle molested both her, and her mother when her mother was little. Also Deliah's relationship with the new hottie, a well-to-do restauranteur...who helps her launch Regina's restaurant. Deliah for some reason annoys me.
*Grey's Anatomy -- which was a whole lot better and once again made me cry.
Sigh. I do like how these writers handle love triangles -- which is to sort kick them to one side. That said, why they feel the need to push people to have romantic relationships... Meredith is a widow with three kids and a consuming career. Even before Derek died, she was having troubles with her marriage because she'd have to struggle the kids and the career and the hubby who had his own consuming career. How is she going to find the time to bring someone new into her life? In reality? Unlikely.
Although, am relieved they went with Meredith/Andrew De Luca, mainly because the only one pushing for Linc/Meredith was Jo. Neither Linc nor Meredith were overly invested. And the show hasn't spent enough time developing this new character for me to be invested. De Luca-- I'm a bit more invested in. (The show is clearly struggling to get the shippers over the hurdle of Meredith/Derek.) Personally, I found Riggs a more interesting choice. But oh well.
The other subplots I found more interesting --
* Catherine getting past her surgery
* Teddy and Tom's slow-build romance, I really like them together.
* Bailey and her husband's reunion.
I'm admittedly not invested in Owen/Ameila and Betty/Baby...mainly because Owen and Ameila annoy me for some reason. I like Amelia a bit more -- not sure why.
* Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Well they are doing a great job of wrapping up all the character arcs. Also in explaining mental illness and Rebecca's journey through it. While at the same time, critiquing romantic shipping and how our society pushes romance, careers, etc to equal happiness. Rebecca is now pursuing her dream of being a musical theater star.
3. Doing?
Did Laundry. Four loads. Huzzah. The laundry gods were with me.
Lots of X-men comics. Adventures in Bad Taste (AIBT) has some interesting bits as well. Honestly, taste is in the eye of the beholder.
Finished Uncanny X-men (2018-11) by Matthew Rosenberg and Salvador Larroca.
The problem with the X-men -- is they have a tendency to just use the same title and renumber. So we have Uncanny X-men 11 - 2015, and Uncanny X-men #11 - 1990s...so it's really hard to find the issue in Good Reads.
Anyhow here's the somewhat spoilery review:
This issue surpassed expectations in how it handled both lead characters, the controversial Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Logan (Wolverine). A far better issue than the previous ones in which they'd been paired, and for the first time in well over a decade, Wolverine was in character.
Rosenberg checks all the boxes in this issue. We see a character who has been put through the ringer, he has six months growth of beard, is walking about with a hoodie, and trying to be incognito. Coming back from the dead is well to put it delicately, not easy. Particularly when in your absence, your ex went out of her way to make everyone hate you (not that they didn't when you died), and all your friends, including the love of your life are now gone. Cyclops is hunting the X-men and not being all that successful. He tries various avenues, the Morlock Tunnels -- and he does find one down there, but not one who wants to help, Chamber. Blindfold (a character I'd forgotten), mostly finds him, because she's cursed with knowing the future, except the space between future, past and present has managed to blur somehow. The difficulty with knowing what happens next -- is it makes it really hard to continue to live in the present. Jamie Maddrox -- who also finds Cyclops, but only because his wife and Wolverine pushed him to do so. He's lost and frustrated.
Captain America and the Avengers make a brief cameo. Reminding me of why I don't like the Avengers in the comics. (I love the Avengers in the movie universe, but in the comic universe they come across as well fascist enablers. Protecting people like themselves, not people in general. And gleefully taking the credit. Scrawny Steve Rogers and Tony were white guys, who wanted to be heroes so they enhanced themselves and went out to save the day, with cameras playing. That doesn't make you a hero. Nor did they care all that much for the collateral damage. Marvel unlike DC does a really good job of critiquing it -- depicting how people who play at being a hero are often racist jerks.)
It's an interesting scene -- where Cyclops calls Steve out on his politics, and how instead of protecting mutants, who are being killed off, he's what? Protecting people at a hate rally? Rogers says much the same thing that cops do now -- "we're just making sure no one gets hurt". Which is noble.
Protecting people you can't stand is not an easy thing. But Cyclops notes that they haven't done much to protect his people -- who are all gone. Rogers regrets that -- but in this instance, he and his team are sort of protecting Cyclops and Wolverine (who apparently watches from the crowd, and Natasha prevents from getting involved.)
The comic shines a light on our troubled times. Summers is trying to be hero in a world gone mad. A world that hates him and his kind. And would show him no mercy. There's a cure for being a mutant on the market. It's in some respects a far darker world than our own...or so it seems from the mutant perspective.
The art is a mixed bag -- mainly because we have the same tale told through three perspectives, so one writer, three different teams of artist. This is what a comic or visual medium can do well. The art for Cyclops perspective is Salavador Larroca who has rarely been better..it's gritty, and the writer maintains Scott's attempts to keep everything hidden. The man sees everything in a haze of red. And tends to pull inward. Then we get to read the same story from Wolverine's perspective, and the art is much more basis, gritty almost, with lots of jagged lines, and basic cartoon renderings. (I'm not a fan but that's probably how Wolverine would view things). And finally through Blindfold's limited gaze. She has no eyes for now, just for the future. And the main act she sees is her own inevitable demise.
The art for Blindfold's arc seems to jump between Larroca and the Wolverine artists...it's more confused, but so is Blindfold, whose gift is slowly driving her insane.
I've read critique's where Blindfold is fridged or the classic example of it -- a woman dies to further a male arc. Except, I'm not sure I read it that way. And it seems to be a rather simplistic and somewhat self-righteous view? The character of Ruth has hit hard times, she's living in the tunnels with the remaining younger mutants who'd been left behind by the adult mutants in order to keep them safe, while they engaged in their final battle with Nate Grey. Turns out they failed spectacularly in that endeavor. Because they younger ones are being killed one by one by government hit teams. She manages to get out of them, gets a lotto ticket and buys a great pad -- where she hides in a far safer neighborhood -- but she's drawn to her old leader, and feels the need to talk to him. What she conveys is more confusion...and more riddles, because at this point it's how she thinks. She too has lost everything and is lost. But unlike Cyclops and Wolverine -- her curse is her ability to see ahead, see behind and see now all at the same time...and what she sees is death and pain, and no hope. She's in a way blindfolded to what is currently happening around her, the small moments that make life worthwhile. Instead she just sees her own mortality. Her death is one of her own making -- she gives up.
This is Forever is the title of the arc. And it is a fitting one -- because it's not really about what will happen, but how one's actions cause things to happen and the lasting impact/consequences of those actions. The story is about Cyclops return to the living, to the role that he's struggled with his entire life, with varying degrees of success, and how difficult that is in a world that hates you not so much for what you are, but what you represent. And how he is currently perceived has a lot to do with what he did in the past -- so his choices now, will impact his future and those around him. But being human, he's doomed to make mistakes as do we all.
Still reading a romance by Laura Kinsale, The Shadow and the Star, which would either make you roll your eyes or you'd enjoy. I fall somewhere in between. It takes place in the 1800s, he's a rich Hawaiian Ninja Businessman, who'd been sexually molested as child and trained by a Japanese Ninja turned Butler, she's a Frenchwoman's abandoned child, who was raised by an etiquette expert, down-on-her luck, working as a dress-maker and secretary. They meet one night, when she discovers him in her room -- he'd been using the attic above her room as a stash for various articles he'd stolen. He basically steals invaluable works of art, then places them in dens of inequity (places they sell kids for sex, etc), in order to make the public deal with them and do away with them. Apparently the transfer to Kindle had issues -- because there are a few odd typos here and there.
Note: it's impossible not to have them happen occasionally , unless you've had a legion of copy-editors review every page 1500 times or are working on a computer with great spell-check.
Also reading Age of X-men -- which is sort of the flip-side of Age of Apocalypse, where the X-men live in an isolated Utopia, with no humans. A nice commentary on utopian views and how they are great in theory but not in practice.
And being a long running serial -- there's some nice character touches along the way.
Finished both Age of X-men - Alpha and Marvelous X-men -- which is the lead title. There's about five or six titles, five issues each, and an Alpha and Omega -- patterned after the Age of Apocalypse. And it is a critique of a certain set of current political idealogies that are cropping up. Ayn Rand's Individualism aka Objectivism and the whole concept of letting go of negative emotions, connections, and isolating oneself in a peaceful existence of contemplation -- no tribal connections of any sort. One big unifying family, with children created via a hatchery. Oh, Brave New World...indeed. (Reminds me a little of Adolus Huxley.)
It's well done. The art has a sort of calm look to it -- peaceful pallet, simple lines, reminds me a lot of post-modern literary comics. And the X-men are the Avengers. They live in their own nice homes, solitary, and meet as a team to fight the world's ills. There's no romantic love or love, so no strife. Everyone is friendly. No family ties, just loose friends. No biological connections. Individualism reigns supreme. And we're given the philosophy -- it's a utopia of sorts. Yet, there's a quote after each segment..."At the heart of every so-called utopia is tyranny" and in Age of X-men, "revolution is in who we are, not just what we do...the desire to fight for freedom" -- from Ursula Le Quinn's The Dispossessed.
These new writers, artists and editorial staff have something to say. It's odd, but most ideological and socio-political critique is found cult art or pulp. Sci-Fi, Fantasy, comic books, soap operas, then really in the more literary or mainstream fair. It's no accident that Buffy was the first broadcast television show to depict a lesbian relationship, or that All My Children was the first to do so, and pre-dated Buffy by about five years with not one but two relationships, along with a gay storyline. Daytime Soaps often tackled serious social issues that prime time series steered away from. Why? Because they fell under the wire of the censors and the advertisers during that period were a bit more open-minded. Comics are the same way -- often going right for the juglar regarding complex socio-political issues. It wasn't surprising to me that both Captain America-Civil War and Black Panther tackled serious socio-political issues that most films steer clear of. Or that we see them tackled in horror films. Perhaps being able to use metaphor helps? It provides enough distance from the reader/viewer and the topic for it to be discussed?
I don't know. But it is to a degree why I've always been drawn more to genre, and in particular comics and soaps. Well that, and the fact that you can't find better character arcs and analysis anywhere else. Nobody explores characters better than a long-running serial. That may explain, why I don't think characters in sitcoms are well-developed and seem a tad shallow. Mainly because we don't get to look at them from every angle imaginable.
2. What are you watching?
Finished Russian Doll -- earlier in the week. See posts for reviews. It's good, but the Groundhog Day/Time Travel gimmick still annoys me and does not work from a plot perspective. (shrugs)
A Million Little Things -- it's okay, irritating in places, but compelling in its' own way. I'm interested in the mystery but find the individual emotional character subplots -- annoying and poorly written also very cliche ridden in places. Of course the chef, Regina, was molested as a child. Sigh. And Gary is pushing Eddie to have casual sex, but warning Deliah not too...and Maggie is pushing it? Really? Deliah is having Eddie's kid via an extramarital affair, pretending to everyone it is John's, and it's only been a couple of months since they broke up and only a few since John died and Eddie separated from Katherine.This is not the time to be having sex. Sex is not a means to get rid of stress and issues -- if you need to do that? Exercise, meditate, or masturbate, but don't use someone else to get off. Humans aren't drugs to help you escape. Also, I can guarantee it will not end well. Ugh.
And I gave up on it -- and wandered off to do laundry. Shows how well it was holding my attention, doesn't it? Then came back and finished.
Eh, this series doesn't quite work. I'm beginning to think John hurt or caused someone's death - and it has to do with Barbara Morgan, who is from his past, a painter, married, and doesn't wantt o be found. It reminds me oddly of Donna Tartt's Secret History, and I've no clue why. Just something about John and the set-up.
Anyhow, this episode focused on Regina's relationship with her mother -- apparently her uncle molested both her, and her mother when her mother was little. Also Deliah's relationship with the new hottie, a well-to-do restauranteur...who helps her launch Regina's restaurant. Deliah for some reason annoys me.
*Grey's Anatomy -- which was a whole lot better and once again made me cry.
Sigh. I do like how these writers handle love triangles -- which is to sort kick them to one side. That said, why they feel the need to push people to have romantic relationships... Meredith is a widow with three kids and a consuming career. Even before Derek died, she was having troubles with her marriage because she'd have to struggle the kids and the career and the hubby who had his own consuming career. How is she going to find the time to bring someone new into her life? In reality? Unlikely.
Although, am relieved they went with Meredith/Andrew De Luca, mainly because the only one pushing for Linc/Meredith was Jo. Neither Linc nor Meredith were overly invested. And the show hasn't spent enough time developing this new character for me to be invested. De Luca-- I'm a bit more invested in. (The show is clearly struggling to get the shippers over the hurdle of Meredith/Derek.) Personally, I found Riggs a more interesting choice. But oh well.
The other subplots I found more interesting --
* Catherine getting past her surgery
* Teddy and Tom's slow-build romance, I really like them together.
* Bailey and her husband's reunion.
I'm admittedly not invested in Owen/Ameila and Betty/Baby...mainly because Owen and Ameila annoy me for some reason. I like Amelia a bit more -- not sure why.
* Crazy Ex-Girlfriend
Well they are doing a great job of wrapping up all the character arcs. Also in explaining mental illness and Rebecca's journey through it. While at the same time, critiquing romantic shipping and how our society pushes romance, careers, etc to equal happiness. Rebecca is now pursuing her dream of being a musical theater star.
3. Doing?
Did Laundry. Four loads. Huzzah. The laundry gods were with me.
no subject
Date: 2019-02-10 02:55 am (UTC)That made me laugh. I take it you use a common laundry room?
no subject
Date: 2019-02-10 03:59 am (UTC)But still better than dragging the laundry down four flights of steps and five blocks to a laundra-mat and hoping for machines. I finally gave up, dropped it off, except it began to become a problem with delicates -- which is now 98% of my clothes. LOL!
no subject
Date: 2019-02-10 08:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-02-10 03:22 am (UTC)Joss Whedon and (now) Michael Schur were veteran sitcom writers who took a leap into the philosophical by providing their viewers with a metaphorical structure that engaged their audiences without diluting the message. (You can probably add Jordan Peele here, too.)
I think people are more than willing to listen to a political and/or philosophical argument if the author can hook it into a convincing human drama, no matter how fantastic the premise.
no subject
Date: 2019-02-10 04:18 am (UTC)The difficulty though -- is not getting too preachy. No one wants to hear a sermon (even in church). People prefer to figure things out than be told. Or to feel it.
Hence the need to link it to human drama. The down-fall of a lot of speculative fiction is if you lose the human drama or human connection, the audience feels preached to and loses interest. Too much time on world-building or small details, you lose the human connection.
It has to be relatable on some level. In sitcoms -- there's another difficulty, they often suck at character development (there's just not enough time to do it-- it's a half-hour, and their focus is on making you laugh and discuss whatever the theme is...characters, eh..so a lot of stock character tropes are utilized and plots tend to be predictable.). The characters are there for comedic purposes, as is the plot, so drama such as it is is often limited or exaggerated as are the situations. The characters in too many sitcoms are cartoons serving the comedy/situation/plot or theme -- which is a problem with science fiction anthology writing as well.
Often the writer gets too wrapped up in the world or details or what he/she is trying to say to bother worrying over the characters.
Granted not everyone cares that much about character. Some care more about plot, some world-building, some theme.
So...that also plays a role in it. I'm pretty much in the minority in my obsession with character based drama. Most people prefer the other.