Planned Summer Intake Thread

[Lumenskir]

So after surveying the offerings for the Summer 2011 TV schedule and finding it wanting (aside from Louie, Curb Your Enthusiasm, mehbye True Blood if they've taken their time off to get back to their batshit insane/nekkid roots) and wanting to do something before 2L starts sucking up my soul again I've decided to maximize my summertime fun by mapping out what I'll be wasting my time on!

The aforementioned Louie and Curb

Clone High - Criminally unremembered, seeing as its one of the greatest animated comedies ever. And has the best theme song ever. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZFdz2vwU20) It's been like five years since I watched it straight through so the jokes'll probably be fresh again, except for the ones that I still use in conversation ("They flipped the bitch!")

Justified - Apparently this got amazing the second season. Anybody who has watched it straight through have any opinion on only watching the pilot before diving straight into the second season?

Cheers - Guys, the entire run is on Netflix and it's still awesome.

Avatar: The Last Airbender - The A.V. Club will be covering it for their TV Club Classic series, and that, plus the fact that it's on Netflix, and the fact that I haven't watched the first season in so long is like the perfect excuse to rewatch.

Maybe Cowboy Bebop - They're also covering this at the A.V. Club as well, but I've never been too impressed by the episodes I've seen. Might just slot TTGL or FLCL into this slot.

Random Criterion Movies - Imma be cultured like whoah

You Don't Know Jack - Me and my girlfriend played this nonstop ten years ago on the PC, and they made a Wii version!!

And the list will probably grow as I find more things/get more bored as my summer job.

How about all of you? Anything you're looking forward to/planning to take in over the summer?

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Wait is there a new season of clone high?
That was good because htey accurately portrayed Ghandi as the attention seeking, suckup that he was.

[phil_]

I still haven't beaten Monster Hunter Tri. I'll probably just do that.

Maybe I'll watch that Wilbur show when it starts, though knowing it's a remake of an Australian show, I'll probably just end up feeling like a tool for not watching the original.

[Lumenskir]

Wait is there a new season of clone high?
No. : ((((((((((((((((( BUT, I will totally make a Clone High remembrance thread once I'm done watching.
Maybe I'll watch that Wilbur show when it starts, though knowing it's a remake of an Australian show, I'll probably just end up feeling like a tool for not watching the original.
You mean Wilfred, the talking dog show with Frodo? I've heard some interesting things about it (apparently its humor skews to the weird/bizarre), and it's on before Louie so I'll probably catch a few episodes anyways just to test it out.

[akaSM]

Remember the Steam Indie Packs and the Holiday sale? That plus some other DS, PC and Wii games I haven't played yet.

Also, MLP, I have watched only like 4 episodes.

[Kerensky287]

Clone High is fucking awesome and it always was, the fact that they cancelled it is criminal.

"Sorry, I just ate, and I heard you shouldn't... lay thrice... after eating. *cough* Yeah."

I don't really have any TV I need to watch over the summer though. I still haven't seen Dexter and I hear the first two or three seasons are great, and I love what I've seen of 30 Rock, but I feel like I've got other things to do than just fill up on TV shows.

I have to rewatch Dr Horrible, for example.

OH HEY THAT REMINDS ME I NEED TO FINISH WATCHING ALL OF CASTLE OOOH SHIT

[Magus]

Torchwood: Miracle Day looks interesting. Not sure what else is coming out this summer that'll be interesting...

Since you threw in a game or whatever, I've been playing Carcassonne quite a bit, I got the Big Box for not a lot of money because I got a gift certificate. It's pretty fun.

[Lumenskir]

I still haven't seen Dexter and I hear the first two or three seasons are great
You need to find whoever told you that the third season of Dexter was at all watchable and erase them from your life. You are not friends with that person, because that is a horrible person who deserves to die surrounded by cats.
I feel like I've got other things to do than just fill up on TV shows...OH HEY THAT REMINDS ME I NEED TO FINISH WATCHING ALL OF CASTLE OOOH SHIT
http://images.cheezburger.com/completestore/2010/11/5/94b462eb-ec16-477e-abe5-b6edd7c29fe2.jpg
Torchwood: Miracle Day looks interesting.
Oh man, totally forgot about that. That's the one where the hook is that nobody can die for a day and Bill (Pullman/Paxton) is some shoulda-been-executed child rapist right? I don't know if it's quite as arresting a device as having all children speak in unison, but it still sounds like a pretty great setup for a five hour story.

[Magus]

I think it's that they keep not dying for days on end and the population of the planet explodes. The "Miracle Day" is just the first day this starts occurring.

I forgot movies in my last post. Captain America is coming out, right? Plus like...Harry Potter or something. I'll probably see that one, I guess.

Seems like there's some other superhero movie coming out besides Green Lantern, X-Men, and Captain America?

[Arcanum]

You need to find whoever told you that the third season of Dexter was at all watchable and erase them from your life. You are not friends with that person, because that is a horrible person who deserves to die surrounded by cats.

This. This so much. The first two seasons were amazing, the third was horrible, the fourth was pretty awesome again, and the fifth was kind of "meh."

As for what I'm watching, I recently started watching How I Met Your Mother and I literally can not stop kicking myself for not watching this show sooner.

Also Season 4 of Breaking Bad starts up in July I think and Bryan Cranston is the man.

[BloodyMage]

With House and Big Bang Theory ending, I'll be focusing on watching Game of Thrones and after that, Breaking Bad, which as rightly commented returns on July 17th.

For reruns, my girlfriend and I are rewatching the final season of The O.C. and then plan on watching Broadwalk Empire. I personally am working through Roseanne.

Amidst all that I'm hoping to watch some Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann, read The Brothers Karamazov and 20,000 leagues under the sea.

[Magus]

Oh, man, Breaking Bad is finally back on? Man, it's been like forever. I hope it reaches the genius of season 2 again.

Yeah, Boardwalk Empire was amazing, too.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

I'm looking forward to "First Class." Looks like a major return to form for the franchise so me and a couple of friends are gonna catch the midnight showing since school's gonna be out by then.

"Green Lantern" looks like utter shit to me. There are things about it that I think I would like but the way they're playing Hal Jordan just rubs me the wrong way entirely.

[Kerensky287]

Amidst all that I'm hoping to watch some Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann

I sat down one night and watched the entire series end-to-end during 1st year uni. It was absolutely worth it. Find/make a free day and just have at 'er.


And hell yes I was serious, Castle is fucking awesome. I'm only a few episodes into season 2 though, and I haven't gotten around to checking out the rest.

For some reason "I have other things to do than watch TV shows" reminded me of how awesome Castle is. Probably because I was like "the only way I'd start watching TV again is if Firefly got renewed" and then I remembered that Nathan Fillion is still on other TV shows.

[Krylo]

Castle is pretty great, but fair warning: Most recent season finale is just mean.

[Lumenskir]

I'm going to be honest, I'm more surprised the FCC allows Castle to be classified as anything other than "White Noise Suitable For Folding Laundry To."

Also, I'm ashamed at myself for forgetting to include Breaking Bad in my original post. I swear I was staring at it on the schedule while I was writing it up. On the bright side, with no Mad Men airing this year its position as number one show of the year is its to lose.

And while I am planning on intaking some theater movies, I sort of assumed there had already been some Summer Blockbuster Omnibus thread already. Really, my schedule looks like

Mandatory
-Super 8
-X-Men: First Class (based on reviews)

Non-Mandatory
-Everything else

[Krylo]

I'm pretty okay with liking things you don't, considering you classify an X-Men movie as mandatory watching and see Cheers as anything other than dated as fuck.

[Lumenskir]

http://operatorchan.org/s/arch/src/s19921_burn%20sick.jpg

[Krylo]

I'm going to be honest, I'm more surprised the FCC allows Castle to be classified as anything other than "White Noise Suitable For Folding Laundry To."

http://operatorchan.org/s/arch/src/s19921_burn%20sick.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v294/krylo/Reactions/THEROCKBROW.jpg

[Lumenskir]

Castle doesn't really scratch an itch that any other 'wackily mismatched partner' police procedural on can't reach, and I don't have the Fillion boner it takes to sit through a Case of the Week just for him.

Cheers is a seminal sitcom that I'm guessing you've never watched a full episode of, since the only dated reference in an average episode is Shelley Long's hair.

Also, although it wasn't on my original list, I decided to watch the Secret of Kells on Netflix because (1) It's 75 minutes long and (2) why not.

Guys.

That is an absolutely delightful little movie.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

Castle doesn't really scratch an itch that any other 'wackily mismatched partner' police procedural on can't reach, and I don't have the Fillion boner it takes to sit through a Case of the Week just for him

I refuse to start watching anymore new police procedurals and like until I get my dream show about a clairvoyant cop that has to get absolutely hammered in order to use his powers. So until I get "Drunk Justice," I have no faith in those kinds of shows.

[Lumenskir]

I refuse to start watching anymore new police procedurals and like until I get my dream show about a clairvoyant cop that has to get absolutely hammered in order to use his powers. So until I get "Drunk Justice," I have no faith in those kinds of shows.
"Dammit, Drunk Justice, you're a disgrace to this force! I want your gun, flask, and badge on my desk! NOW!"

Also, the absolute best procedural idea was made by one of the writers of the AV Club. It is called Farmers, and it involves a family on a farm who stumble onto a dead body in their farm field every day and have to figure out how it got there. Every day.

[Krylo]

Castle doesn't really scratch an itch that any other 'wackily mismatched partner' police procedural on can't reach, and I don't have the Fillion boner it takes to sit through a Case of the Week just for him.More or less, but it's the most polished one on television at the moment. Right up there with Psych.

The cast works well together, the writing is generally clever, and it's fun.

If I wanted something deep and interesting I wouldn't be watching TV, where the closest you get to that is Lost (hah) or things on AMC which, yeah, they're deep and interesting, but you know I don't really want to spend my down time, when I'm, for whatever reason, NOT capable of doing something more interesting than TV, watching a meth dealer's family fall apart.

It's a basic difference here in that I hate television in general. If I'm going to sit down and watch something, I want it to be something enjoyable to watch, not something uncomfortable to watch.

Which is why when I do watch TV it's things like Castle, Firefly, HIMYM, Pushing Daisies, etc. But not things like Breaking Bad.
Cheers is a seminal sitcom that I'm guessing you've never watched a full episode of, since the only dated reference in an average episode is Shelley Long's hair.I watched most of Cheers when it was new.

In the eighties.

The references aren't dated* (mostly because it wasn't a pop-culture comedy), but the set up and comedy is, and at the end of the day it's an above average sitcom that's been around for thirty years with no new episodes in twenty, and jokes and situations that have all been played out. Twenty to thirty years ago.

I guess it would be good if you're like 16 and have never heard of it before... and had never seen Frasier... and find drunks hilarious... and like Woody Harrelson. But the formula is pretty played out by now.

Claiming that watching Cheers is a good way to spend the summer is kind of like claiming that watching Seinfeld is a good way to spend the summer. Shit was above average when it was on the air, not mindfuckingly good, and there are better things for you to spend your time on. There are almost always better things to spend your time on than sitcoms.

In fact, the only sitcom that IS mindfuckingly good is HIMYM.

*Aresnio Hall did guest star as Arsenio Hall, though.

[Lumenskir]

In fact, the only sitcom that IS mindfuckingly good is HIMYM.
Really?* You'll say that after these last two below average seasons, and especially when Community, Parks and Rec, Archer, Cougar Town, and maybe some of the better Modern Family episodes were on at the same time as the current HIMYM dark ages.

I mean, if you had said this during season 2-3.5 I would be going to the mat right there with you, but even the creators thought season 5 was a low point (http://www.hitfix.com/blogs/whats-alan-watching/posts/how-i-met-your-mother-creators-promise-a-return-to-emotion-and-romance), and season 6 wasted way too much time on Zoey and pointless future-zigs to count among the greats these past two years.

*NOTE: I disagree with a shit ton of the other claims, most notably the poo-pooing of TV when it's the best art form around in modern times, but seeing as you're biased against it (although I respect if you only want it for comfort food) and there are more ready examples at hand, I'll stick with this one.

[Krylo]

Really?* You'll say that after these last two below average seasons, and especially when Community, Parks and Rec, Archer, Cougar Town, and maybe some of the better Modern Family episodes were on at the same time as the current HIMYM dark ages.Don't watch enough TV to have caught much of many of these, so.



*NOTE: I disagree with a shit ton of the other claims, most notably the poo-pooing of TV when it's the best art form around in modern times, but seeing as you're biased against it (although I respect if you only want it for comfort food) and there are more ready examples at hand, I'll stick with this one.It has the potential to be, but potential is different from reality. The only TV I've seen that really gets to exploring that has been either cancelled after one or two seasons (Pushing Daisies) or has been very very recent on AMC.

It is used almost entirely for terrible shit. Which is why I haven't watched more than what I'm wrangled into since I was in Highschool.

I'm sure there's some that's NOT that, but hey, again I don't watch that much.

Edit: And don't bust out the 90% of anything blah blah blah, because that doesn't really hold up with TV, due to it's episodic and seasonal nature, that forces any television show that wants to succeed to attempt to appeal to the largest market demographic as possible, which causes it to fall into the same issues as mainstream video games and pop music as far as 'artistry' goes. Some exists, but the majority ends up being rehashed shit that is guaranteed to turn profit and get renewed.

There's no such thing as 'indie' television programs. Other than web shorts, but that's an entirely different ball game.

[Lumenskir]

Wait, so you're argument is that because you don't watch/seek out other comedies, the best one you watch must be the defacto best?

Also, just get a Netflix account, then go through these boxed sets, then come back to me on the 'potential' of TV.

The Wire
Arrested Development
The Sopranos
Deadwood

...

You know what, fuck it, just go through the A.V. Clubs top TV of the decade compendium and tell me that TV hasn't eclipsed movies or books or any other medium for the past 10+ years. And please don't tell me that it doesn't count since they aren't currently playing since I'm assuming you wouldn't let that argument fly for other medium ("Oh, only movies in theaters can be counted towards their potential!!").

[Krylo]

Saw some of Deadwood. Writing was pretty terrible, to be honest. They went out of their way to be 'offensive' and the whole thing came off as terrible. Granted I only saw like three full episodes before deciding I didn't need to invest any more time into it, but hey.

The Sopranos was okay, but never really caught me back when it was new. I probably didn't give it a proper chance, though.

Edit: And actually my argument was that those shows may have been better, but I didn't see them, so I can't comment.

Edit 2: Actually I did see some Archer, and it was pretty immature. Funny in a ridiculous/ludicrous way, and I do really like the way the guy who plays Archer delivers lines, but it was totally FX material. Triple A for FX, but not as good as you seem to be trying to play it up as.

[Fifthfiend]

Claiming that watching Cheers is a good way to spend the summer is kind of like claiming that watching Seinfeld is a good way to spend the summer. Shit was above average when it was on the air, not mindfuckingly good

So you're the psychopath who came up with that TVTrope.

[Lumenskir]

In fact, the only sitcom that IS mindfuckingly good is HIMYM.
I added the emphasis, but still, "The only sitcom I personally think..." would have been a more accurate way to phrase it.

[Krylo]

Going through the top list.

There's some stuff I haven't seen, some genuinely good stuff, and some absolutely terrible stuff, and a lot of mediocre stuff. I guess mediocre stuff is 'great' for TV, but it doesn't really put TV as the best medium or anything.

And some of the bests on there were, like I said, only on for a season or two. Because they didn't get enough money.

Which is, again, the problem with Television as a medium. Like any other outlet that is completely controlled by corporations, it's very hard to get anything new or experimental out. Indie scenes are important because, while Indie artists often fall short in execution, they can explore things that large profit motivated corporations can't risk money on. However, once those things are explored by the indie scene, large corporations can look at them and refine them further, and often polish them to a gleam. Or maybe TV will be like music and the only art that gets into the pop scene (which is the entirety of Television) will be the self-parodying kind (like Gaga) which, while it gives it an artistically valid expression that can be recognized and enjoyed, doesn't particularly make it any better to watch (or listen to).

The web series scene has STARTED acting as one for Television, so we'll probably see much better TV in coming years, but this isn't the Renaissance for TV yet.

Edit: And Pushing Daisies isn't on that list, which completely invalidates it.

[Viridis]

I suggest giving Better Off Ted a go. Funny dialog, fun characters. Has an oddly Arrested Development feel at times.

[Kerensky287]

Hey, so, that image macro of The Rock reminded me of something.

Anybody looking for a good movie to spend an afternoon with?

Go rent Faster.

No, not Fast and the Furious. It's called Faster.

It's an action movie. The main character is a former getaway car driver played by The Rock out for revenge on the people who murdered his brother. A dude gets shot in the face in the first five minutes.

It is also the deepest, most intellectual movie I have seen in ages.

Honestly, the title gets namedropped at one point. An assassin's talking about a run-in with the main character. "No, he's not as fast as me. He's FASTER."

It's not just a title drop. Without spoiling anything, it is a goddamn motherfucking metaphor.

...I mean, we're talking about stuff to fill up the summer with, right? Faster is one of those movies that looks like a dumb action flick but really, really isn't. I implore you all to give it a chance, fill up one single afternoon with this movie, and go in with an open mind.

[Lumenskir]

Ok, if you want the indie scene to be the savior, please feel free to ignore what actually gets made. I'm sure you do the same thing for movies that don't stay as long in theaters because they don't make enough money, or bands that only put out one album because they don't make enough sales, or etc. etc.

I mean, congrats on breaking the code that the mass public doesn't always like the greatest things. It still doesn't change the fact that those one/two season wonders actually got to see the light of day.

EDIT: And godammit, watch fucking Fringe or Community before you start spewing shit about how modern television doesn't allow for experimentation. And that's just modern stuff. Because, god fuck, what is your definition of experimentation besides a show where a guy brings his dead girlfriend back to life but then can't touch her again, or a space western, or a show told entirely in flashback with a pre-ordained ending, or a sprawling televised novel about the death of the modern city, or a show about being a teenager in a small shitty town in the 80s, or fucking any show past midnight on Adult Swim? What does 'experimentation' have to be to count?

DELAYED REALIZATION EDIT: This is the exact fucking situation described in my signature!! You can't just sit around and mourn the shows that don't come back while hoping there's a golden age up ahead. We're. In. The Fucking. Golden. Age!

CALM EDIT:
I suggest giving Better Off Ted a go. Funny dialog, fun characters. Has an oddly Arrested Development feel at times.
And the entirety is on Netflix! Also, agreed on the AD comparison; It was never quite fast enough to match it, but it was damn admirable anyways.

Speaking of great two-season comedies entirely on Netflix, Party Down!

[Fifthfiend]

I mean I haven't seen a lot of HIMYM but what I have seen pretty much played like an upmarket version of an early 90s Fox sitcom, which I'm not even saying is bad, but Seinfeld did shit that nobody else had ever done, a lot of which nobody's done anything like as well since.

Like IDK how you get on Cheers for doing stuff that's been played out, but then Seinfeld was only pretty good because, what... there's a lot of shows that built an entire episode around its characters being obsessed by a game of Risk, which ended when they pissed a Ukranian man off on the subway?

EDIT: cast of hikym

http://static.tvfanatic.com/images/gallery/how-i-met-your-mother-cast_558x670.jpg

cast of Seinfeld

http://www.hattricksilkies.com/116450033_4266fb5229_o.jpg

I mean come on.

[The Sevenshot Kid]

I actually really like HIMYM. The characters feel like actual people compared to a lot of other shows. It still doesn't hold a candle to Community or Park and Rec. but it's good stuff. If any of you decide Smallville is your thing you could get a head-start on watching the whole series this summer before Season 10 hits DVD.

And Game of Thrones is alright. Not as good as the likes of Deadwood or Dexter but it's okay so far. True Blood should be starting up soon so I'm down for that as long as the vampires stop floating around and all that fairy bullshit get taken care of quick. And no, I'm not making any derogatory remarks about gay people (Lafayette is totally my favorite character on that show). There are actual fairies. Yeah.

[Krylo]

Ok, if you want the indie scene to be the savior, please feel free to ignore what actually gets made. I'm sure you do the same thing for movies that don't stay as long in theaters because they don't make enough money, or bands that only put out one album because they don't make enough sales, or etc. etc.Completely different because...

It still doesn't change the fact that those one/two season wonders actually got to see the light of day.As a result of getting cut short, they never reached their full potential. The very article you pointed me toward explains that as the main problem with Firefly.

Further, they're never resolved. Most of those shows have some kind of over arching plot (In Pushing Daisies it was Ned's past, in Firefly it was Summer), that never gets adequately resolved short of a bunch of people buying DVDs and getting a movie made (Serenity).

A movie that bombs is still finished and fully contained. A cult classic movie doesn't leave the audience feeling cheated because the movie was never resolved. The same is not true of television series that are killed before their prime.

FURTHER: You're ignoring the fact that without an indie scene to show large corporations what's possible, that lots of good shows end up on the cutting room floor and DON'T see the light of day because they were too risky. Or are slotted in times that are terrible. Or are moved around randomly because something that's a more sure fire hit would do better in that slot.


And for the record I honestly really like Fringe.

And yes, experimentation happens in a purely corporate world, but a LOT slower than it happens when you have an indie scene.

AND I'm not saying TV is all terrible. It's not really for me in general, but that's not saying it's terrible and without merit. However, you are so far out in left field when you say that it's the best medium for artistic expression today hands down that you have officially left orbit.

You may like it better, but that doesn't make it the best medium. It has a lot of problems relating to being entirely corporate controlled. It evolves and experiments, but much more carefully and more slowly than other mediums, specifically because it has no 'indie scene'. Everything that gets on has to convince corporate suits that it's going to get them ad revenue and turn a profit. You can't pitch a television series with "This is new and I think people will like it." Not unless you're a lucky son of a bitch.

With Movies, and Video Games you can say 'this idea worked really well in this indie game/movie, people liked it, if we polish it and put it in our own with our own twist to it, we can really make some money (see narbacular drop)' or you can just make them yourself, release them online, or at an indie film festival. With books you can self publish, and a publisher can actually read the entire book and decide if it has merit instead of judging off your pitch and maybe an introductory episode done without funding. With sculpture and paintings you can just DO it. Show it to critics who don't give a flying fuck if they can make money off it, just whether it has artistic merit.

I don't understand why this is such a horribly insulting idea to you. You've subscribed to it yourself in the past vis a vis music when you pointed out that most good rap and country isn't what you're going to hear on VH1 or the Radio (entirely correct, by the way. Both genres have good stuff, but you'll rarely hear it aired on music channels or the radio).

That's what Television is. It's music, if the only music that ever existed is what you could hear on the radio. That doesn't make it worthless as a medium, and it doesn't mean that it never pushes boundaries or tries anything new (jut that it's going to do this slower), but it certainly hobbles it and makes comments about how it's the best medium worth giving you a crazy eye.

Edit@Fifth: I called Cheers dated, not played out. I said its jokes were played out 20 years ago, because that was when Cheers was originally on. I was giving Lumen shit for planning to spend his summer watching Cheers and then having the gall to insult Kerensky and My tastes for enjoying Castle. Which isn't a better show than Cheers, but isn't really worse, either, and at least is, you know, not something everyone else saw 20 years ago.

[Krylo]

Actually, speaking of Fringe, my DVR crashed and lost about three episodes of it, so I was like I'll just watch it on my sister's Hulu account (on her xbox), but Hulu has it on web only, and really I just want to say Fuck Hulu.

[Fifthfiend]

AND I'm not saying TV is all terrible. It's not really for me in general, but that's not saying it's terrible and without merit. However, you are so far out in left field when you say that it's the best medium for artistic expression today hands down that you have officially left orbit.

It's not really at all an uncommon view.

IDK, you're kind of spending a lot of time decrying the nature of TV as corporate and stifling to experimentation while saying how much you hate any given example of the incredibly experimental and subversive storytelling of which there's been an explosion in TV programming over the last ten years. I mean it's like you're saying that the big movie studios won't let anything good get produced while saying that Goodfellas was "okay" and Clockwork Orange was "offensive for the sake of being offensive".

Series DVD sales and the subscriber networks like HBO stepping more into creating original programming have hugely changed the kind of shows that can and can't get made. IDK how anyone can watch the Wire and not be amazed that this kind of storytelling is getting done in any entertainment media. (God knows it's not comfort food programming - I mean like it's actually pretty much the fucking anti-life equation, I can't actually make myself watch anything past halfway through season 5 because it's just that goddamn depressing - but it's still an achievement.) Mad Men explores personal politics in a way that their own network can't even seem to figure the fuck out, yet somehow that show keeps getting made.

[Fifthfiend]

Man you know what shows you should watch Krylo, is Psych and Burn Notice, those both own.

Are those getting new episodes this summer? Because if they are that is totally what I am watching this summer. God even the Sam Axe prequel movie was great.

[Krylo]

Yeah, I don't get HBO so I am apparently missing out on the golden age of television. I got it back when the Sopranos were on, but not anymore. I also guess I didn't see enough of Deadwood to see where it stood out as totally amazing (got it on DVD), though. 'Cause all I really saw was 'oh another western, but with more cussing and tits. Welp.'

That said, Psych and Burn Notice both are pretty excellent, but I don't watch as much Psych as I should.

Part of it, is probably a time thing for me. I have hobbies and people to talk to, and even though I spend a lot of time at home, I just don't have time to sit down and watch a lot of television. Same reason I don't see many movies.

Edit: I also liked Chaos. Did anyone else see Chaos before they cancelled it mid season? 'Cause like, I thought it was pretty clever and well written comedy, but it totally bombed in ratings.

[EVILNess]

Justified - Apparently this got amazing the second season. Anybody who has watched it straight through have any opinion on only watching the pilot before diving straight into the second season?



Oh man, this show grabbed me and didn't let go for an entire week. The first episode was pretty freaking great, and quite honestly, the whole standoff in the opening sequence just had me at hello.

Then after that it turns into a sorta genre bending procedural while they world-build a bit and introduce other characters. All the while you look at Boyd and go wtf is his game.

When is the shoe gonna drop you wonder, and then everything that was building up from the first moment of the first season comes to a head and they have this fucking amazing outro and resolution to the final episode, and I was like "If this didn't get a second season, I would be happy with the way it ends."

Then the second season hits, and you meet this whole new set of characters from the main character's past, and bad stuff happens, and you end up cheering for a previously hated character. They did spend too much time on the ex-wife I think, but that may be unfair on my part as I don't really like her. The ending wasn't as satisfying as the first season, but brought everything full circle which I thought was nice.

One of the things I thought that was very interesting was that the main character kinda seemed less important in the second season. He didn't seem to have the same leverage on the plot he had in the first season, which is fine. It was a good story arc.

Man you know what shows you should watch Krylo, is Psych and Burn Notice, those both own.
I love most of the stuff USA puts out, it's like they shit gold or something. White Collar was pretty rad as well, the characters have lots of good chemistry and Mozzie is the man.

One thing I hate about the USA shows though is their tendency to end on massive fucking cliffhangers. For example in Burn Notice, EVERY FUCKING SEASON FINALE EVER. Hell during the mid-season finale for White Collar when Mozzie got shot I jumped up and screamed "NO FUCK YOU! YOU CAN'T END THAT LIKE THAT! WHERE IS THE REST OF MY GODDAMN EPISODE?"


God even the Sam Axe prequel movie was great.
Yes. Yes, it was.

Walking Dead was okay, but I felt there were way to many people I had to care about. I like the approach the comic took with not being afraid to kill EVERYONE YOU LOVE.

Supernatural is still groovy, but kinda dragging this last season. Glad to have more of it, but I kinda wish the show had ended with the last season. Props to the writers for cleaning up confabulated lingering plots by just killing everyone involved. Certainly wasn't expecting Grandad to go out like that, but I guess that solves the problem?

I keep getting told that the last 2 seasons of Chuck are as good as the first ones, but I just can't find the gumption to watch them. Maybe one day.

I finally watched Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. Of course I had to completely re-watch the entire show to understand what was going on. Oh well, I didn't suffer.

The Invisible Man, and OLD Sci-Fi show, was pretty damn good and I am sad they canceled it after only two seasons.

As for Castle...
More or less, but it's the most polished one on television at the moment. Right up there with Psych.

The cast works well together, the writing is generally clever, and it's fun.
This. My God, This.

I can forgive a show a fuck ton of shittiness if the characters have good chemistry, and Castle isn't shitty at all. It's probably the best crime drama on non-cable at the moment. Watch it, and if you don't fall in love with the show when Castle sings his own theme song then you have no fucking heart.

I also have been watching Fringe, which isn't as bad as I expected. Maybe it's worth a look for you if you haven't seen it. I would stick through the first season and maybe about 4 episodes in the second before you passed to harsh a judgement.


Maybe Cowboy Bebop - They're also covering this at the A.V. Club as well, but I've never been too impressed by the episodes I've seen. Might just slot TTGL or FLCL into this slot.

If Cowboy Bebop is dragging on you then don't watch it all in one sitting. Take all three of those (May I also suggest Black Lagoon?) and put them in a play list. Now save that playlist. Jump around. Don't watch all of one show in a sitting. Take them in easy to digest chunks.

One thing though, watch the first 3 episodes of Gurren Lagann in one sitting, then take a break. Cleanse your palette, then start it back up. The 4th episode is bad. Bad BAD. However, it introduces important characters so don't skip the whole thing.

[Roland]

All I really had planned was to watch all of the MLP:FiM episodes back to back one day, and maybe buy a few newly released games in June/August.

=/ I need more hobbies, guys.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

The best TV series ever made was Twin Peaks. Fuck all this other shit.

And Seinfeld was revolutionary. It changed how television comedy was done. Calling it merely good pretty much ignores how much of an effect it had.

[Lumenskir]

Part of it, is probably a time thing for me. I have hobbies and people to talk to, and even though I spend a lot of time at home, I just don't have time to sit down and watch a lot of television.
Heh, ok guy, that was all you had to say I guess.
Walking Dead was okay, but I felt there were way to many people I had to care about. I like the approach the comic took with not being afraid to kill EVERYONE YOU LOVE.
I'm not really sure how I actually feel about the show. Mostly, I can't tell if the post-pilot episodes actually are kinda bad, or if they're just found lacking after that great pilot episode. I haven't read the comics, but getting more kill crazy couldn't hurt.
I keep getting told that the last 2 seasons of Chuck are as good as the first ones, but I just can't find the gumption to watch them. Maybe one day.
Well the first season is clearly the worst (due mostly to the interference of the writer's strike), and the second is the best, so I guess seasons 3+4 equalled out to about a good midway (leaning more towards great than not). Since the next season will be its last, you could just store up your gumption reserves for now and then plow through it all when it is finally complete?
I also have been watching Fringe, which isn't as bad as I expected. Maybe it's worth a look for you if you haven't seen it. I would stick through the first season and maybe about 4 episodes in the second before you passed to harsh a judgement.
AV Club actually had a pretty decent "New Viewer Booster Package" of episodes from the first and second season that were necessary in order to get caught up with the third in a minimum amount of time. Since the show seems to have split off from its season one origins (have they mentioned the Pattern at all this season) it was pretty handy for me.
One thing though, watch the first 3 episodes of Gurren Lagann in one sitting, then take a break. Cleanse your palette, then start it back up. The 4th episode is bad. Bad BAD. However, it introduces important characters so don't skip the whole thing.
Oh, I've seen all of TTGL and FLCL, I meant that I was considering a rewatch as opposed to a first watch of Cowboy Bebop. My ambiguity, sorry. I might try the playlist shuffle idea though.
The Invisible Man, and OLD Sci-Fi show, was pretty damn good and I am sad they canceled it after only two seasons.
Department of Weights and Measures is still my go to for [Random Government Authority] in casual conversation.
True Blood should be starting up soon so I'm down for that as long as the vampires stop floating around and all that fairy bullshit get taken care of quick.
I don't really think content is the problem as much as pacing and the fact that Russell seems to be the only guy who realizes he's on a show called True Blood (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pxNff3q2XSc).

Actually, if that actor sat the entire cast down and bluntly pointed out that they were on a raunchy vampire show called True Blood, where Anna Paquinn is contractually obligated to get nekkid every 2.6 episodes and the promise of spontaneous banging is the subtext for every scene, then I'd be happy.

At the very least, whenever they write a Tara scene they should be forced to ask "Have we given enough screentime to Jessica yet?" because they'd realize that the answer is always no, she can never have enough screentime.

[RickZarber]

I'm think I'm going to have to eschew all the previous conversation (since I don't really have an opinion on most of it) and just respond to the OP.

Summer Movies to Which I am Looking Forward and/or Will Probably See Theatrically:

X-Men: First Class
Green Lantern (every new trailer gets my hopes up that this might actually be good)
Transformers 3 (this will probably not be good, but I'm sure I'll still see it)
Harry Potter 7.5
Winnie the Pooh
Captain America
Cowboys & Aliens

Television will have new seasons of:

Torchwood (except I don't have Starz, so I'll probably have to wait for the eventual BD release, like I'm having to do with Game of Thrones)
Adventure Time (I think, not sure of the date)
Futurama (starting 6/23)

In the meantime, I've got tons of Blu-rays and DVDs to get through. Too many movies to list, so here's just the TV shows:

Doctor Who Series 1-4 (finally pulled the trigger on these--$60 for all 4 on ebay!--since I have never really watched this show (http://www.adamwarrock.com/2010/07/01/tracklog-56-i-have-never-watched-an-episode-of-dr-who-in-my-life/), but everyone keeps bugging me to)
Dollhouse (picked up both seasons on Blu for like $35, so I thought I'd give it a look)
Battlestar Galactica (bought the complete series a few years back, only made it halfway through season one. Dunno if I'll get to it this summer either, but I want to)
Fringe (got seasons 1+2 based on a friend's recommendation. As this show is still on, I'll probably wait until I've watched the other things on this list first before jumping into this)
Justice League Season 2 (comes to Blu on 7/26!)
Batman: The Brave and the Bold Season 2.5 (comes to DVD 8/16)
The Twilight Zone (I've been buying the BD releases of this show, and even though I'm only halfway through season one right now, I'll continue to slowly make my way through them throughout the summer)

As I said, there's tons of movies I've bought and need to watch, plus more coming out this summer. The only release that really warrants a big mention is The Lord of the Rings Trilogy Extended Editions Blu-rays on June 28. There will be marathon-ing.

Books:

The Heroes, by Joe Abercrombie (but, since it uses characters from all his other novels, I'm in the process of re-reading those first. Luckily, there are only 4. Unluckily, that's about 2300 pages BEFORE I even get to the new book. At the slow rate I'm going, this will probably eat up my entire summer reading-wise)

Video Games:
I just bought a GBA SP (never owned any type of GBA, even though I have some Advance games. I had planned on just getting a DS, but the 3DS has Ocarina of Time, so I'm settling for that and a SP. More expensive, but hey, at least I can play my classic GB games--of which I have way more--with a backlit screen now!)

Pokémon FireRed (got about half-way through this last year. Gonna finish it)
Pokémon Emerald (never played anything past Gen2, so gonna get on that)
Ocarina of Time 3DS (I don't know if I'll have the funds for a 3DS when this game hits next month, but as soon as I do, this will be mine)

Oh, and Comic Books-wise, I'm currently making my way through all of the Ultimate Spider-Man TPBs (lent by a friend). I know some of you have less-than-stellar opinions of this title, and I'm not even going to defend it, save for I find it enjoyable enough. I'm speeding through these, though, and will probably be done by the end of the week, not to mention the summer.

So that was a huge list of lists. Like as not I won't get around to half of this stuff (especially the TV shows), but that's how it is--and why there's so much of this stuff stacking up. Obviously, I have poor impulse control when it comes to buying entertainment. Luckily, I've coupled that with a refusal to pay full price for anything, which is the only reason I still have rent money...

[Lumenskir]

Green Lantern (every new trailer gets my hopes up that this might actually be good)
I am having the exact opposite reaction, but mostly because the original trailers promised a straightforward origin story with some Blake Lively eye candy, and these newer trailers are suggesting the most annoying origin story* with Blake Lively's visual presence being increasingly diminished. I am however hoping to be surprised, especially since GL is my third favorite Justice Leaguer.

*Human gets access to power that non-humans have been using forever. Human gets like a week's worth of training with power. Human faces threat that non-humans have never been able to vanquish. Human vanquishes the threat after realizing the potential of his innate humaness.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Lumie you are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we are the universes badasses. We always win!
Alien invasion- humans win!
Robot apocalypse- humans win!
Zombie uprising- humans win!
Sun about to die- humans win!
Erasure of the entire universe except for one planet- humans win!
Aliens ain't got shit.

[Amake]

This summer I plan to take in a lot of sun, air and water. Probably spend a lot of time strolling in the forests and fields and bonding with friends. I expect I'll watch the new Pirates movie, and at least one Community marathon.

AmIdoinitright?

[Kerensky287]

Edit: I also liked Chaos. Did anyone else see Chaos before they cancelled it mid season? 'Cause like, I thought it was pretty clever and well written comedy, but it totally bombed in ratings.

Aww, man, Chaos went down? I saw the pilot and loved it, but never saw it on air again. It seemed like a great premise, too.

And I watch Burn Notice whenever I see it on TV, but for some reason I can't get myself hyped about it enough to start binge-watching it again. I went through the first season and half the second in the space of a few days. I've been meaning to continue on from there for about 2 or 3 years now.

[Satan's Onion]

... I expect I'll watch the new Pirates movie, and at least one Community marathon.

...

Yes, you're doing it exactly right.

[Lumenskir]

Lumie you are going to have to come to terms with the fact that we are the universes badasses. We always win!
Alien invasion- humans win!
Robot apocalypse- humans win!
Zombie uprising- humans win!
Sun about to die- humans win!
Erasure of the entire universe except for one planet- humans win!
Aliens ain't got shit.
I'm perfectly fine with humans throwing a big "Come at me Bro!" at whatever challenges them, but only if it's "Humans v. X." When there is ostensibly a much more trained and experienced force fighting X, except they turn into complete pussies in order to let the new guy win the day...I mean, I have History HD on demand, if I want to watch a WWII documentary and get that plotline I don't even have to leave my seat.

Ideally, the perfect GL origin story is him getting the ring, training by himself, having to defeat some world-conqueror by himself, and then the after credits stinger is a bunch of alien GLs coming to earth to tell him that what he just dealt with was their equivalent of a cat in a tree.
AmIdoinitright?
You are just too precious.

[Professor Smarmiarty]

Bbut like 100 years of alien training is like a year of human training, or 1 week of human training montage. We defeated the dinosaur! Fuck yeah!

[Amake]

Gee thanks dude but I'm just trying to pick up some cues on proper television discipline here.

[Lumenskir]

We defeated the dinosaur! Fuck yeah!
No, it was MEEE!! (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-pGGWTI9dE)

Wait, in the comics, can GLs make the green energy equivalents of Lucy Liu-bots? Because then this plotline would totally make sense if every GL has like a week's worth of do-gooding in them before they discover that sexy function and become worthless.

[BloodyMage]

I am having the exact opposite reaction, but mostly because the original trailers promised a straightforward origin story with some Blake Lively eye candy, and these newer trailers are suggesting the most annoying origin story* with Blake Lively's visual presence being increasingly diminished. I am however hoping to be surprised, especially since GL is my third favorite Justice Leaguer.

Blake Lively is eye candy?

[Magus]

You guys have written a ton of stuff about TV past and present so I'll just throw a few thoughts out there:

1. If you at all liked Cowboy Bebop then yes you should watch Black Lagoon immediately because it is wondrous. I would actually say that I like it more than Cowboy Bebop but I think you are cursed if you do that...

2. If you like anime at all might as well throw Baccano! out there one more time, why not?

3. People didn't watch Breaking Bad to see a meth dealer's family fall apart (in a "dramatic realism" way, anyway), they watched it to see a fish out of water attempt to deal with psychotic, screwed-up gangsters and hilariously bad attempts at getting rid of bodies, or just "out there" storylines that are entertaining as hell. Breaking Bad is actually quite surreal and unrealistic. Pulpish, I guess you would say. It actually reminds me of Pulp Fiction in a lot of ways, or a Tarantino-esque type of plot, where they are attempting to capture that pulpy noir feeling. Hell it reminds me of the old Mike Hammer show sometimes (no not the '80s one, the '50s one), but it reminds me more of Tarantino, if I had to find something to compare it to for someone who hasn't watched it. It has dramatic moments but within a quite fantastical universe, really. That's why it's so unique and momentous.

That's how I feel about it anyway.

4. I've only watched the first two seasons of The Wire but I do have to say it is actually as amazing as everybody says, I don't think it's been overhyped. I have no complaints.

5. Deadwood was pretty boring, yeah. I watched a good portion of the reruns on that Direct TV 101 network or whatever...it was interesting but not really gripping. I think the creators thought they were doing something unique by having a bunch of flea-bitten gunslingers swear for an hour when in fact there were plenty of movies that had already done that. Yes, it is the first hour-long Western premium television drama to do it. That's about it...

6. GAME OF THRONES...GAME OF THRONES!!!

7. Camelot is okay.

8. Fringe was really cool.

8. When is the next season of Spartacus coming on???

[BloodyMage]

I suggest giving Better Off Ted a go. Funny dialog, fun characters. Has an oddly Arrested Development feel at times.

I second Better Off Ted; it's really kinda wacky but it's pretty funny too.

I actually really like HIMYM. The characters feel like actual people compared to a lot of other shows. It still doesn't hold a candle to Community or Park and Rec. but it's good stuff. If any of you decide Smallville is your thing you could get a head-start on watching the whole series this summer before Season 10 hits DVD.

The cast of HIMYM doesn't feel anything like real people. Ted is horribly inappropriate in a story he's telling to his children, Barney was wacky and cool until they started trying to explain why he was wacky and cool and gave him as much father issues as the girls he bones. The will they wont they with between Robin and Ted has been once of the stupidest plots sincewe learned in the very first episode that she wasn't the mother. Lily and Marshall are actually perhaps the only tolerable ones now and even Lily has moments of just sheer stupidity. Over time the show wore me down until I eventually just dropped it, most of all because after all this time we still are not closer to knowing who the mother is, and we haven't had a solid clue in about two seasons. I can understand if you like it, I use to find it funny, but nothing in that show is close to being like real people's lives.

And Game of Thrones is alright. Not as good as the likes of Deadwood or Dexter but it's okay so far. True Blood should be starting up soon so I'm down for that as long as the vampires stop floating around and all that fairy bullshit get taken care of quick. And no, I'm not making any derogatory remarks about gay people (Lafayette is totally my favorite character on that show). There are actual fairies. Yeah.

Yes but their fairies are different. (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/OurFairiesAreDifferent) My girlfriend watches it, and enjoys it immensely. She's looking forward to the next season soon, partly because it focuses on Eric and Sookie and she likes those characters. As for the other shows mentioned, I'm really liking Game of Thrones, but I found Dexter difficult to get into. I watched the first episode, but I just found that I really didn't care enough to continue.

You know what I'm raging about having to wait until 2012 to watch? Mad Men

[Fifthfiend]

You know which show owns that I watched through just recently was Sons of Anarchy. If you have Netflix or anything look up the first two seasons, it's pretty much all gold. In fact what's really a shame is that Netflix doesn't have the third season because that one's even better than the previous ones, I've never been so happy to see a federal law enforcement agent executed by a criminal mob.

[Lumenskir]

Blake Lively is eye candy?
I guess I have a cute girls with great bodies fetish?
Deadwood was pretty boring, yeah... having a bunch of flea-bitten gunslingers swear for an hour
I believe the proper term is meandering, but yeah, Deadwood is all about a chaotic assortment of people forming a community from nothing, and that basic structure plus Milch's tendency to follow every branching path he can can make the sprawl a little unwieldy looking. Still, the guy can pull the threads tight when he wants (Boy The Earth Talks To climactic biking scene comes to mind).

Also, I know the swearing can seem overbearing, but it is mostly there because it helps to make the arch-Shakespearean cadence of the dialog flow better. The guy can write some pretty damn impressive monologues, and the best one-off insults in all of TV (The "Be brief"/"Be fucked" exchange and "Any who disagree with me sucks cock by choice" being two of my favorites).
The will they wont they with between Robin and Ted
The one they ended after the first season, with a minor (one episode B-plot) revisit in the fourth?
You know what I'm raging about having to wait until 2012 to watch? Mad Men
I'm really hoping the rumor that the delay was on purpose so that Sally's actress could age into where she needs to be for a major storyline is true.

[Kerensky287]

we still are not closer to knowing who the mother is, and we haven't had a solid clue in about two seasons.

The twist is Lily's the mother and the kids are retarded.

"So how'd you meet Mom?" "Well, she was born. That's how it happened."

[BloodyMage]

I guess I have a cute girls with great bodies fetish?

I wouldn't call her cute, and her body is alright. She's never walked on screen and I've been like 'wow'. I don't generally like blondes though, so maybe it's that.

The one they ended after the first season, with a minor (one episode B-plot) revisit in the fourth?

Maybe I'm miss-remembering because it felt like longer than that, or maybe the effects of it seemed to hang over the show like a bad smell, until of course she got with Barney, and then they got the will they, won't they. Honestly, I just lost interest in the character drama that had nothing to do with the mother.

I'm really hoping the rumor that the delay was on purpose so that Sally's actress could age into where she needs to be for a major storyline is true.

Oh, I hadn't heard that but it would actually be fantastic if that were true.

[Fifthfiend]

"Sally Jills Off" was the best plot of last season, rivalled only by "Sally cuts off all her hair", "Sally shows up at Don's office and tells his secretary and girlfriend to blow her", and "Peggy rides a motorcycle around in circles".

[Lumenskir]

Oh, I hadn't heard that but it would actually be fantastic if that were true.
Again, rumor, but even if it's not true they should at least be thinking in that direction since the actress will actually be older.

And really, it's the only logical choice after such a long hiatus. Either that or a time skip to where Don is an adman on the moon and Joan is a duplicitous space hooker.