I watched the first episode of Lanterns and I wasn’t particularly impressed although I didn’t hate it either. It had a lot of loss of immersion moments and that’s what I want to talk about today. As I said, the show is far from bad but not great either.
The biggest problem was my loss of immersion. It happened way too often during the course of the episode. It was hardly a deal-breaker and I’ll continue to watch the show. What is loss of immersion, you ask? Why did it bother me?
What is Immersion?
I think most people will agree that when watching or otherwise consuming a particular good show, book, movie, play, sporting event, or any other form of entertainment that time doesn’t seem to pass. That is, you’re so immersed in the event you don’t notice time is passing. Suddenly it’s an hour later, or two hours, or lunch time and you don’t really remember all that time passing. That’s immersion. That’s you immersed in the entertainment and not looking at your phone, the clock, the person next to you, just raptly attentive.
That’s what I hope to discuss today. The various events in the premier of Lanterns that made me stop watching the show and look at my phone, complain to mom, roll my eyes, or otherwise lose immersion. And again, I want to stress, I’m nitpicking here, going into fine detail not to claim the show is terrible, it’s not, but to discuss the concept.
When I lost Immersion in Lanterns Football Field
The first couple of scenes kept me immersed but then things really fell apart at the crime scene. First problem was when John arrived at the football field and was instantly recognized by the deputy and treated harshly. Why? There was no reason for him to be recognized as anything other than a civilian and why the hostility?
Then John finds Hal in the bleachers and we are told it’s been six hours since the scene in Mexico. Now I’m doing math. okay, Nebraska high school football game. Friday night, starts around seven in the evening perhaps. Three-hour game takes us to ten. Celebration on the field and murders shortly thereafter. It should be perhaps four in the morning. The lighting doesn’t look four in the morning to me and John getting there in six hours is a stretch.
Hal tells John that John will learn why Hal has been sitting in the bleachers for six hours doing nothing when the local law enforcement leader comes to talk. We do not learn anything. I’m looking around, wait, weren’t we supposed to be given information about why Hal is sitting in the bleachers, not exposition on the crime?
John goes on the field and now I’m really losing immersion. It’s six hours after the game, after the shooting, and the players are still walking around on the field in full uniform with their helmets on. Not a chance. They’d have taken off the pads and helmets long ago. I know, not a big thing but it takes me out of immersion. Where is state law enforcement, the FBI? It’s been six hours and only a few local officers are on the scene of a mass shooting?
John’s presence triggers the bad guy to run for some reason. Why? No clue. The local law enforcement, claims she is watching this guy. okay, didn’t he just shoot four people on a crowded football field well lit by stadium lights? No one saw him shooting? Can identify him? He’s just standing there while the police keep an eye on him to see if he does anything suspicious? I’m supposed to believe this? I’m rolling my eyes.
He runs off the field and not one local officer gives chase, only John. Again, what gives? The guy runs into the school bursting through door after door. Do writers not care? Schools are locked up at night, even in rural areas. Chains across the doors. John catches the guy who is immediately put in handcuffs and dragged off. No, the cops would have him there on the ground for quite a while, search him, etc.
Just a quick side-note about the villain. Instead of a white shirt, how about give him a bright yellow shirt or shoes as a bit of fan service? It’s not that hard. It’s really not.
The Bar and More Lost Immersion
A mass shooting just took place in a rural town and the local watering hole, huge by the way, is completely filled with people drinking and having fun? I’m shaking my head in disbelief. Most people would be home with their families, the traumatized students, players, cheerleaders, teachers. No one is even talking about the shooting, about the famous Green Lantern being in town.
The Courtroom Loss of Immersion
Hal is the world-famous Green Lantern. The treatment he got was played for humor, I guess, but it just didn’t work for me. I thought the way they introduced the lawyer as the husband to the police chief was clumsy but I see what they were trying to do. Nothing too egregious here but the scene seemed in authentic and again, no one even talking about the mass shooting, just the barroom fight.
The Ranch Loss of Immersion
The ranch is filled with so much nonsense. All the security guards openly carrying assault rifles. Dozens of them. It’s just unbelievable. The Hollywood depiction of rural people is just plain insulting. I’m a city boy myself but I know plenty of rural folk, I went to college in Idaho. If it makes rural folk feel any better, the portrayal of urbanites is generally just as insulting and lazy.
John and Hal are invited for dinner and the evil rich dude is preparing the ribs. And by preparing, I mean handling raw meat and touching everything else in the kitchen. Does he season the ribs? Rub them? No. This guy gets a zero in barbecue. Also, if they are invited to dinner why is he doing the prep work right now, should have been done hours ago. Low and slow. Rub. Why isn’t he making the sauce? I know I’m being nit-picky here but I’m telling you, I lose immersion about things like this.
John advises the kid on how to throw a football and this really annoyed me. Just imagine says John and the kid is suddenly throwing darts. How about a quick lesson in body posture, arm position, throwing motion. I used to play a little football myself; John could say to give some authenticity to the scene.
The grill is a basic barrel grill and we don’t see meat cooking at all. Just a few pieces of corn that looked fairly uncooked to me. The guy is super rich and this is his grilling station? It’s embarrassing. Tongs, equipment, trays?
No dinner table scene, dialog, character development? Just them leaving and the bad guy saying there is nothing better than eating off someone else’s grill? What a terrible line. I understand it’s meant to imply that he knows John had sex with the bad guy’s wife, grandma, but it seemed so in authentic. There’s nothing better than eating from your grill. You made it. That’s what someone would say. The line just jarred me.
Speaking of grandma. The age of grandpa and grandma really gave me loss of immersion. I’m sure it can be explained but ….
Also, John just got badly beaten and he looks unscathed to me. He’s not Superman, he’s the Green Lantern.
Police Station Loss of Immersion
That interrogation room. Don’t get me started. It’s a rural police station, yes, but that’s ludicrous. It was someone’s unfinished basement.
Conclusion
I’m probably forgetting a few moments where I had loss of immersion but I hope I’ve made my point. Pay attention to details, immerse me and you’ve got a great chance at entertaining me. Lanterns fell short.
Tom Liberman