Mon 17 Jul 2017
A TV Series Review: JESSICA JONES “AKA Ladies Night” (2015).
Posted by Steve under Comic Books, Cartoons, Comic Strips , Reviews , TV mysteries[11] Comments
JESSICA JONES “AKA Ladies Night.” Marvel/Netflix. 10 October 2015 (Season 1, Episode 1). Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones), Mike Colter (Luke Cage), Rachael Taylor (Trish Walker), Erin Moriarty, Eka Darville, Carrie-Anne Moss, David Tennant (Kilgrave). Created and written by Melssa Rosenberg. Based on the Marvel comic book character created by Brian Michael Bendis and Michael Gaydos. Director: SJ Clarkson.
To tell you the truth, I’ve already watched the first three episodes of this series, mostly since it took me a while to be sure I had a solid grip on the story line. The goal of a first episode of a TV series is to get viewers interested enough to be sure come back for the next one, but not necessarily to reveal all of their secrete at once, especially if there is a long connected story line, and not just a bunch of one-off episodes.
Maybe it’s me, and I haven’t adjusted to a new type of storytelling, but I think the producers of this series may have erred in not telling enough, or (perhaps) telling it too subtly. It could also be that they expected viewers to be more familiar with the characters from their background in comic books than I think they are. (It’s certainly not one of Marvel’s best known titles.)
Jessica Jones, currently a private eye working on her own, is a flawed character, there’s no doubt about that. Something has happened in her past that makes it difficult for her to sleep at night, and worse, requires her to have a bottle or a flask of whiskey within arm’s reach whenever she’s awake. The first episode is designed to get us intrigued into learning more about what’s tormenting her, but it did take me all three episodes before I decided that, yes, I finally was sure was the overall story is about and the possible ways it could be going.
I’ll get back to that. In this first episode she’s hired by a man and woman from Omaha, Nebraska, to find their daughter, who has dropped out of school and has gone missing. I don’t want to spoil anything to anyone who would like to see the show and hasn’t yet, but I will have to leave some hints, such as saying the same thing has happened to the missing girl that happened to Jessica, only in Jessica’s case, the consequences were so bad that that is the reason she is in the severe funk she is in.
Another hint. The ending of this first episode makes it emphatically clear how bad the situation is for the missing girl — in a word, horrific — and if so, how bad was the experience for Jessica?
Other characters in the story are brought in, including a sexual dalliance between Jessica and the black owner of a bar. I don’t believe his name comes up, but he will be important in episodes to come. The female lawyer who often hires Jessica to do jobs other PI’s can’t do is having a lesbian affair with one of her staff while she already has a full-time relationship with another. A talk show host named Trish seems to be (or have been) very close to Jessica, but if it was stated what the relationship is, I still didn’t catch it after three episodes.
The other thing that is shown is that Jessica has superpowers. Super strength at least; perhaps super speed and/or agility. She doesn’t hide her powers, but she doesn’t go out of her way to show them off, either. Superpowers are, of course, only to be expected with a Marvel Comics heroine.
The whole episode is filmed in what I call “comic book noir.” Brightly colored, with lots of off-kilter angles in what are some of the toughest areas of Manhattan, and they mean to show you exactly that every time they can.
There is a lot of potential here. I have not gone into several other threads of the plot, many of which come to light only in the second and third episodes.. I’m sorry for rambling on the way I have, but if my objective to help you decide whether to watch this series or not, if you haven’t already, have I succeeded?
July 17th, 2017 at 9:30 pm
It builds. The black man is Luke Cage, a Marvel superhero who now has his own series and there are also ties to HBO’s DAREDEVIL, IRON FIST, and eventually THE DEFENDERS.
Yes JJ is complex, but once you know what David Tennant’s villain is like you begin to understand her. There are numerous twists and turns to come.
These HBO, Amazon, and HULU series aren’t meant to be watched as episodic television, but in blocks, or binged. They work best watched in arcs rather than as episodic series television.
July 18th, 2017 at 12:33 am
In too many of these shows the cards are held too closely. It seems that they aren’t trying to tell a 10-ep story, but rather to set the scene for a 10 season serial.
The latter, I’m not interested.
For me from now on, the game is Jacks or better to open. I’ve seen bluffs too often.
July 18th, 2017 at 6:26 am
The sleazy lawyer is married to the other woman (a doctor, important plot point). By coincidence, we watched Jessica Jones last month, generally one episode a night and the last two back to back. More than a little overwrought, tes, but it kept us watching. We haven’t seen the other Marvel series yet.
Since the summer is pretty much a TV wasteland, we’ve been watching 3-4 Netflix and Amazon Prime series at a time – currently Borderland (Finnish cop show), Lilyhammer (Norwegian, but the star and creator us Steven Van Zandt), GLOW.
July 18th, 2017 at 12:17 pm
Jessica Jones works best watching two or three at a time. There is a rhythm series have, be it once a week or as many as you can watch at once. My problem with Jessica Jones is not the style but the fact the series is so damn depressing.
I found it easier that I knew the connection between Jessica and David Tennant. She is a failed superhero and he is the super villain that defeated her.
While I prefer the new serial style – I can’t make it through an episode of the single self contained episodes of CBS procedurals without be bored out of my mind – I have yet found a Marvel or DC superhero series I liked. Both worry more about “easter eggs” and the inner connection with other series than just telling a story.
July 18th, 2017 at 1:00 pm
Michael
We differ on the merits of single story network series — I still enjoy them, but only on DVD without commercials and miscellaneous junk on the screen — but your last sentence is awfully close to how I feel about superhero shows also. Of the four Marvel/DC TV series I’ve begun, this is the only one that’s held my attention as far as three episodes. I gave up on GOTHAM and THE FLASH after two, and it took me only twenty minutes of AGENT CARTER to decide I didn’t know what was going on and I didn’t care.
July 18th, 2017 at 1:02 pm
I’ve never seen this.
Thank you for an interesting review!
I am a big fan of “The Flash” and its spin-off “Legends of Tomorrow”.
Then, I grew up with the DC super-heroes, and enjoy seeing them on screen.
I prefer “self contained procedurals” to serials though. Have been watching a lot of the Canadian series “Murdoch Mysteries” recently.
And am looking forward to the new season of “Endeavor” from Britain.
July 18th, 2017 at 1:04 pm
My post crossed with Steve’s. Didn’t know he was going to mention “The Flash”.
July 18th, 2017 at 1:34 pm
Not a problem. But I’m going to take back something I said about THE FLASH. I think I watched four episodes, maybe five before abandoning it. I liked the character and the focus on a single super-foe per episode. What I didn’t care for were the gimmick or surprise endings hinting of secrets yet to be revealed, and bits and pieces of small plot points that never seemed to get resolved.
I just haven’t managed the leap to stories that take all season to be resolved. The multi-part NCIS story story lines annoy me, too.
July 18th, 2017 at 1:07 pm
Michael is on target that Jessica Jones is extremely depressing most of the way through, yet it kept us watching.
July 18th, 2017 at 10:23 pm
I have read comic books since before I could walk (I’d turn the pages and “read” the pictures). I have never liked the superhero in tights group except the weird like JUSTICE LEAGUE OF EUROPE. I focused on humor books and books like WEREWOLF BY NIGHT (Mike Ploog is retiring…sigh, I am old) and TOMB OF DRACULA (Ah, Gene Colan).
Today some of the TV series I watch are based on comic books – WYNONNA EARP and THE PREACHER or could be a comic book iZOMBIE. WYNONNA I watch weekly on a season pass at iTunes, the other two I watch on streaming in bunches. I wanted to enjoy JESSICA JONES and I watched the entire first season. The dark story lines I could handle but the non-stop dumping of pain and suffering on to the lead character – the character I am most involved with – got too much for me (I had the same problem with Holly Hunter’s character in SAVING GRACE). Especially the girl with her parents in the elevator scene.
July 18th, 2017 at 11:29 pm
This is exactly what I wanted to know, Michael. Thank you. It confirms my suspicions. I think you watched the entire first season so I don’t have to.