Tv Guide : Talking about Tv series and whatnot

[Bells]

We have a thread for new animes in their debuts or seasons, so why not talk about a bit of our current TV pleasures and displeasure?

So, here is a fun little thing... i just stumbled upon this Show called "Go On" with Matthew Perry of Friends fame and Mr Sunshine infamy. And it's actually really good... at least i find it entertaining. Light hearted comedy with an uplifting message and funny, fast bits... and Matthew Perry pretty much only acts as Chandler in any role he is in, so i'm ok with that too...

The show is about a Therapy group for people who are struggling with their losses in life. Perry plays a big shot sports commentator who lost his Wife very recently and is in denial. So, eventually he falls into this group therapy and starts opening up and bonding with a quirky cast.

Good cast, good pacing... a fine 20 minutes of TV if you just want something simple and lighthearted to go along.


I finally catched up with Walking Dead, saw everthing up to the end of the 3rd Season. And although i can understand the show's success... i don't think it's everything people claimed it was.

I mean, the show itself is fairly competent... that is a given. Just, some of the plot points are really heavy handed. I know it's supposed to be based on the comic book, but only loosely, and it's straying more and more far away from it... but even so, i hate when i can make smarter decisions than the people i'm watching on the show. If i can outsmart the heroes of the story, it just makes me feel like there is nothing to get immersed in... and let me tell ya, there was some really stupid momments in that show. Specially when it comes time to split between the route the comic took and the route the series took.

considering where season 3 left, i'm not sure where they are going to go with this...


On other fronts, i'm still very faithful to Burn Notice. Although, right now... i think the show is struggling against it's own structure. I mean, it's a lower budgeted show... they simply can't compete. But the story keeps getting bigger and bigger, and it's getting hard to justify this world with the budget and structure they have. We are off to season 7 and unless they decide to go full out Jason Bourne on this, i think it's time to have a nice landing and a good conclusion to a very entertaining spy story.


Everybody keeps telling me to Watch History channel's Vikings... and i'm going to. But i'm not sure if it's all because this is such a great show or is it simply the novelty of it? History based TV has it's own constrains, and i don't know if this will read more like a documentary on Viking life or Ficition based in history... any reports to give?

Another series i'm intrigued by is Da Vinci's Demons. Which is a fairly new show from one of the Co-Writers for the Nolan Batman movies. It's a Drama about Da Vinci's youth which seems to have a "House MD" spin to it... haven't watch it yet, but it looks interesting...


So, what are you watching? Series and latest episodes... spill it out!

Also, as a "Rule" i would suggest if you wanna talk about something from an ongoing season, use the Spoiler tags. And if the season has ended but the new one hasn't premiered yet, then i guess Spoiler tags would also be recommended.

[Magus]

Vikings is actually genuinely good. It's a serialized drama, no "documentary" aspects of it. I think the success of their Hatfields & McCoys miniseries made them want to make more actual fictional drama shows. It's based on some real life history of course but it's a fully-scripted drama.

Hannibal on NBC is also good. It could have so easily been one of those "murderer of the week" procedurals but it's not. It's a character drama, definitely a character study of the Will Graham character from Red Dragon and his interactions with Hannibal Lecter and other characters. Very interesting show. I don't know how successful it's going to be though because it's actually very slow moving and cinematic. It's very well directed with some great cinematography. It's a lot like the novels as well. It's just a very well made crime drama and very interesting, I recommend it to everyone who is interested in an actually well made piece of serial killer fiction or police procedurals.

Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones, Game of Thrones. I love me some Game of Thrones. Can't really talk about that one, though. It's nothing but spoilers.

I saw the first episode of Da Vinci's Demons...it's not very good. I will probably watch a few more episodes before I make up my mind. It's no replacement for Spartacus, I'll say that much.

Regarding premium dramas set during the Renaissance, The Borgias on Showtime is much better. Good show. It has really grown on me over the second season. It's third season just started.

Comedies: I only really watch Veep and Bob's Burgers. Both very funny shows, Bob's Burgers is an animated comedy on FOX. Check it out sometime, it's great. It's about a schlubby burger joint owner and his family getting into wacky situations often revolving around the zany characters that people their seaside town. I'd say it's the new Simpsons but it hasn't pervaded the public consciousness in the way the Simpsons did. Still, very original take on the concept. I enjoy it more than Family Guy and the current Simpsons, anyway. Simpsons has really gone down the tubes since back when, though it's still...funny, I guess. Just not legendary like it used to be.

The Walking Dead is a mixed bag. The action is great. It's very exciting this season (especially compared to last year). But. As you said, the characters are very dumb. Rick especially. He's the worst leader of all time. It's not that he's conflicted, it's that he's eternally conflicted about everything he does. "Rick's not sure whether he should kill people" is the show's new "should we have kids in a post-apocalyptic world?" conversation topic that pops up in EVERY SINGLE EPISODE. I got sick of the kids debate last year and I got sick of Rick's killing people debate this year. The show's also kind of weird about some of the other characters--first it kind of acts like Glenn would be a good replacement leader, the next episode it's nothing but people saying he would make a terrible leader. Same with Daryl. It's like the show writers wanted to force some exposition into the show to explain why Rick is still leading them. Also Andrea is almost as badly written as Rick. I mean, seriously. Half the characters are complete idiots.

Oh, and that "finale" was stupid. They should have killed the Governor off. I just have zero interest in seeing him again. He's not compelling at all. They need villains who are interesting for on there. If he was more compelling in the comic (I heard he was), they completely ruined it for the show.

[Grandmaster_Skweeb]

I accidentally got hooked on Hannibal due to my parents watching it. Was eatin some dinner and next thing I know my food done got cold and untouched halfway through.

I'm far from a tv guy, hell I haven't had tv (cable, local, etc) in years so I am terribly out of the loop and have lost most interest in anything on the boob tube. But this show, man. This show.

I've only seen a couple episodes but it is fuckin fantastic. Not for the faint of heart or squeemish, though. It gets pretty goddamn graphic.

edit: dammit, magus beat me to the punch. But yeah, I do love me some killer methodical thriller mindfuckery that this show brings in. The slower delivery is very refreshing breath of air. It oozes that delicious suspense stuff.

[Bells]

Oh, also, i forgot... saw another show. Cult. The premise was really interesting, something we don't see quite so often... essentially was a CSI themed show about a TV show that is about a Cult, although the Cult seems very, VERY real.

Scientology by way of CSI but with less Battlefield earth and more... i dunno. Not sure what the show was trying to do... it just throws a bunch of catchy effect phrases and questions at you (which is supposed to do, it's a Cop Mystery show) but it felt like an empty gesture... i mean, i never felt with any other show before like i was being given questions to which the show does not have answer to yet... until Cult. And when you feel like that on the first episode... yeah...

[Magus]

Cult was just crazy. You know it won't be renewed, though. I knew after the first episode. So I really haven't watched it. You may be going "WELL THAT'S WHY IT WON'T BE RENEWED!" but if you watch the show you too will go, "Oh. Yeah, this will not be renewed." They moved it from like, a nice position in the week to Friday, too, which is another sign of its impending doom.

It is seriously the weirdest television experiment anyone has done in a long time. Just absolutely bonkers. I hope they kind of have some closure for it, like anticipated it would only get one season, because I would like to maybe watch the whole thing straight through sometime just to see exactly what zaniness they got up to with it.

As for a show giving you questions the writers don't have the answer for, well shit, LOST was the epitome of that. I think Cult has way more planning than LOST.

EDIT: You know what the most surprising show on TV was this year? Green Arrow. I mean, Arrow (can't call him Green Arrow because reasons, I guess). Because it is actually really freaking good. I know, I know. I didn't believe it either until I watched it. Holy crap. Just an actually great superhero show. It actually seems to care quite a bit about the comic book at this point, too.

If you only watch a few episodes of Arrow to test it out, watch the episodes where he teams up with Huntress in a two-parter. Absolutely great show-making. There was another Huntress episode lately that was good too. The conflict between Ollie and his vigilantism is really explored in those episodes because he has to suss out why he is different from the Huntress, who wants to murder criminals. Ollie too has killed criminals but he has rationalized it in his mind. But when the Huntress does it he has to face the facts: does he want to be a vigilante or a hero?

Oh, and John Barrowman as Merlyn "the Magician" is a really good call, too. Great villain for the show.

---------- Post added at 02:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 01:57 AM ----------

I accidentally got hooked on Hannibal due to my parents watching it. Was eatin some dinner and next thing I know my food done got cold and untouched halfway through.

I'm far from a tv guy, hell I haven't had tv (cable, local, etc) in years so I am terribly out of the loop and have lost most interest in anything on the boob tube. But this show, man. This show.

I've only seen a couple episodes but it is fuckin fantastic. Not for the faint of heart or squeemish, though. It gets pretty goddamn graphic.

edit: dammit, magus beat me to the punch. But yeah, I do love me some killer methodical thriller mindfuckery that this show brings in. The slower delivery is very refreshing breath of air. It oozes that delicious suspense stuff.

I am an avid reader of the A.V. Club and the word that keeps popping up in the reviews for Hannibal is "hypnotic". It is indeed an almost hypnotic show, especially when it delves into Graham's psyche and the symbolism in his dreams, and how he puts himself into the perspective of the killers and reenacts their crimes. It's also interesting just how much emphasis is put on how empathizing with serial killers is slowly tearing his own sanity down, and making him think perhaps he too is capable of murder. And all the while Hannibal manipulates him and tries to encourage that kind of breakdown, because he is interested in seeing what happens when Graham breaks or snaps. Mads Mikkelsen's Lecter is an amazing take on the character--he is really convincing as the sociopath hiding in plain sight. He is terrifying and haunting, but he doesn't ham it up. It's convincing that the other characters can't see him for what he is. Just a great performance.

[Nique]

In old news 'Awake' was real good and is available on Netflix now even though it got canceled.

[Magus]

Awake is a show that should have been on a channel more willing to give it a chance and also to reach an audience that would be more willing to give it a chance. NBC has had a horrible track record the past few years of maintaining any of their shows, so something so far out of the normal mainstream like Awake had no chance at all on there.

It's the kind of show that should have been on AMC or TNT or something.

[BloodyMage]

I enjoy The Following, even if most of the villains are more interesting than the heros and the entire FBI run around like headless chickens making terrible decisions and letting everyone who could be important either get away or be killed. Ten (or so) episodes in and they only recently got a 'win'.

Carrie Diaries was pretty cool for what it is. Anna Sophia Robb is a better actress than Sarah Jessica Parker ever was and it feels like the show has more depth than the original Sex and The City.

I also like Chicago Fire, even if it is basically Law and Order in a fire station. But the characters are mostly likeable.

Also have to agree with Bells on Go On and Magus on Game of Thrones.

[Bells]

I enjoy The Following, even if most of the villains are more interesting than the heros and the entire FBI run around like headless chickens making terrible decisions and letting everyone who could be important either get away or be killed. Ten (or so) episodes in and they only recently got a 'win'.

Carrie Diaries was pretty cool for what it is. Anna Sophia Robb is a better actress than Sarah Jessica Parker ever was and it feels like the show has more depth than the original Sex and The City.

I also like Chicago Fire, even if it is basically Law and Order in a fire station. But the characters are mostly likeable.

Also have to agree with Bells on Go On and Magus on Game of Thrones.

The following is the one with Kevin Bacon right?

I can't take that show serious. Once i saw the title and that it was with Kevin Bacon i read the title as the "The Baconing" by accident a couple of times and now i simply can't take the show serious anymore...

[Magus]

I took it serious until I heard James Purefoy's ridiculous accent. I just couldn't find that guy scary at all.

This was the first episode so it was all downhill from there.

[The Artist Formerly Known as Hawk]

Did anybody catch the Defiance premier last week? It was pretty good. I thought it was pretty good. I can see it being good.

Also this thread reminds me I need to catch up on Game of Thrones, though after the deviations started cropping up last season I fear I may find myself less impressed as the show goes on now.

[Lumenskir]

What you should be/should have been watching:

The Americans - Cheer on deep undercover KGB agents in the 80's, as they fight against both Reagan's CIA and marital ennui.
You'll Like If: You like spy-action mixed with great writing and acting.

Awkward. - Currently the best (as in funniest/saddest/truthful) depiction of high school anywhere to be found. Ashley Rickards's eye roll is my spirit animal.
You'll Like If: You like funny/ jargon heavy dialog and overly dramatic relationship drama that's both mocking and mindful of how overly dramatic it is.

Bob's Burgers - Potentially blasphemous statment: This might be the best H. John Benjamin show?? I mean, I think Archer the character is probably better, but it's pretty amazing.
You'll Like If: This is basically golden age Simpsons, except it's happening right now.

Enlightened - It's finished airing and cancelled, so you'll have to use LEGITIMATE MEANS to watch all 18 half-hours, but you really should.
You'll Like If: Though it is/was among the most smartly plotted shows on TV, its storytelling rhythm worked in waves rather than peaks and valleys — even at Amy's lowest points, like her meltdown this season after the man she thought was her boyfriend decides to pump the brakes, the show watches her from a place of serenity, understanding her pain but also subtly telling us that this is all happening for a reason. By resisting traditional dramatic indicators, the show works the brain before it works the heart (though when it does work the heart, look out). It deals in complexities of character and motivation that defy a quick, succinct reaction; when an episode ends you don't necessarily want to talk about it with your friends, because the show has already said everything there is to say so gracefully — be it about mother-daughter relationships, loneliness, or Amy's (and inevitably our own) often misplaced vigilantism. Even its most surprising plot twists would be both under- and over-served by an "OMG."

Game of Thrones - You already know what this is, this is just here so I can say to all of you dicks who have read the books: (1) Nobody cares that you read the books (2) Nobody cares that things are different from the books (3) Stop saying bullshit like "Oh, wait till you see [x]!!" or "Don't get too attached to [y], lols." I'm trying to enjoy this as its own thing, not the thing you wasted hours reading 1000s of pages of.
You'll Like If: You already do.

Girls - It's like Louie, but with chicks!
You'll Like If: Look, Film Crit Hulk loves it. Are you better than Film Crit Hulk?

Gravity Falls - Sort of like an animated comedy version of The X-Files, with an emphasis on some frankly amazing joke setups and detailed world building
You'll Like If: This is in your interests. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=cqAbOaOB9A8)

Happy Endings - "Save the show!" bullshit from ABC aside, this is probably the truest successor to Arrested Development/30-Rock/jokejokejoke sitcom. Get over the superficial Friends comparisons and marinate in the densest wordplay around.
You'll Like If: You think you can keep up.

House of Cards - This is kind of like the Chipotle of 'good' shows. It's better than Taco Bell, but not quite as great as the really artisinal stuff.
You'll Like If: Netflix's algorithm is recommending it to you.

Mad Men - Man, this season has been pretty good so far.

New Girl - While Happy Endings has more jokes per capita, New Girl has pretty much the best character ensemble of current sitcoms, plus more consistent/actual character development/relationships while still managing some hilarious jokes and setpieces.
You'll Like If: Pretty much as long as you aren't one of those sad people who have some sort of anhedonic/baseless hatred of Zooey Deschanel (and even then!), you'll find something here to like.

Orphan Black - So, in the first two act breaks: Main character sees her exact doppelganger commit suicide by oncoming train, adopts doppelganger's identity, discovers that doppelganger had completely different accent/mannerisms, discovers doppelganger was a cop with a boyfriend, and realizes she has to lead a double life (even after she fakes her own death using dopellganger's body). By the end of the first episode she meets a second doppelganger (who knew the first dopellganger) and then sees that one get killed, whereupon the phone of the first doppelganger rings revealing the voice of a third doppelganger. The plot just piles up deliciously from there.
You'll Like If: You like fun, relentless sci-fi.

Parks and Rec - Most consistently great comedy on tv.
You'll Like If: I can literally think of no reason not to enjoy this show.

Shameless - Sure, it's got some tonal issues at times and William H. Macy's character is hit-or-miss, but when it gets into a great groove it's pretty amazing. Emmy Rossum for everything.
You'll Like If: You can handle people consistently doing the wrong thing for the right reasons.

Top of the Lake - All on Netflix, seven episodes. Weird, Twin Peaks-y small town with a twist vibe, rampant feminism, critiques of the patriarchy, and a stark examination of the effects of rape.
You'll Like If: You watched The Killing and thought "I wish this was actually good."

The Vampire Diaries - I'm literally baffled by how long they've managed to keep this going at this pace so well.
You'll Like If: You like watching attractive people in the most thrillingly plot-shifty show ever.
Everybody keeps telling me to Watch History channel's Vikings... and i'm going to. But i'm not sure if it's all because this is such a great show or is it simply the novelty of it? History based TV has it's own constrains, and i don't know if this will read more like a documentary on Viking life or Ficition based in history... any reports to give?
It's not bad/is actually enjoyable, but feels very much like Game of Thrones methadone. If it had been able to run its entire season either before or after GoT I might have been willing to keep up, but at this point it's just easier to only watch the better show about grimy dudes with beards bearding at each other.
Another series i'm intrigued by is Da Vinci's Demons.
Aside from the fact that the show has Dirty Lord Grantham, it's literally just Hercules: The Legendary Journeys with boobs.

Oh, also, i forgot... saw another show. Cult.
The best thing about Cult is that it's explicitly based on you suspending your disbelief enough to accept that people would get excited in large numbers about a show on the CW.

Awake is a show that should have been on a channel more willing to give it a chance and also to reach an audience that would be more willing to give it a chance. NBC has had a horrible track record the past few years of maintaining any of their shows, so something so far out of the normal mainstream like Awake had no chance at all on there.

It's the kind of show that should have been on AMC or TNT.
The basic problem here is that NBC is literally the best and worst place for interesting shows like Awake: It being so far in last place means it will literally try almost anything and keep them on for longer than any other network would even think of*, but it's so far in last place that nobody watches what it puts out and it has to cancel them eventually. It's easy to say "Aww, it'd probably still be around if it was on [x]!" but the fact is that, assuming [x] is more popular than NBC (which, last place), (1) Being already popular means you don't have to take on risks (2) Being already popular means things have to prove themselves pretty much from the word go, otherwise why the fuck are we letting this sadsack mope show take up prime real estate, (3) Being already popular and established means weirder shows are more likely to be outside the chosen/comfortable demographic.**

*Why hello there Community, Parks and Rec, 30 Rock, Parenthood, etc., etc.

**For reference: CBS targets old people who can't change the channel, ABC targets families and women, Fox targets "edgy"/young. NBC is currently trying to go for "quality". HBO is creator-driven prestige, Showtime is "Uhh, what HBO said?", FX/X is laid back HBO. AMC is desperately flailing for 'HBO-y with a lighter budget', but outside the core two of Mad Men and Breaking Bad is either failing admirably (Rubicon) or just failing (The Killing, Hell on Wheels, Walking Dead). TBS is lightweight comedy, TNT is lightweight drama, and Starz is TNT but with boobs.

Now of course this is a broad generalization, and you do get little exceptions here and there like Fox sticking with Fringe for much longer than it should have. But for the most part, if a show you like is on at all and is given a mostly consistent time slot, that's probably the best of all worlds it could have hoped.

[Magus]

Game of Thrones - You already know what this is, this is just here so I can say to all of you dicks who have read the books: (1) Nobody cares that you read the books (2) Nobody cares that things are different from the books (3) Stop saying bullshit like "Oh, wait till you see [x]!!" or "Don't get too attached to [y], lols." I'm trying to enjoy this as its own thing, not the thing you wasted hours reading 1000s of pages of.
You'll Like If: You already do.


1CLCOvZOh1o

Also excellent analysis of the networks, Mr. Lumenskir, as usual. I hope NBC let's Hannibal play because I think it's their only hope at actually having a new drama stick.

Also I'm glad other people are as interested in Bob's Burgers as I am. There was a point where I wasn't sure it would get past the first season, so I hope it sticks around for a long time now that it has gotten over the hump.

[Premmy]

You know what the most surprising show on TV was this year? Green Arrow. I mean, Arrow (can't call him Green Arrow because reasons, I guess). Because it is actually really freaking good. I know, I know. I didn't believe it either until I watched it. Holy crap. Just an actually great superhero show. It actually seems to care quite a bit about the comic book at this point, too.

If you only watch a few episodes of Arrow to test it out, watch the episodes where he teams up with Huntress in a two-parter. Absolutely great show-making. There was another Huntress episode lately that was good too. The conflict between Ollie and his vigilantism is really explored in those episodes because he has to suss out why he is different from the Huntress, who wants to murder criminals. Ollie too has killed criminals but he has rationalized it in his mind. But when the Huntress does it he has to face the facts: does he want to be a vigilante or a hero?

Oh, and John Barrowman as Merlyn "the Magician" is a really good call, too. Great villain for the show.

A lot of people got mislead by the "Have to keep my secret*neck snap*" Trailer into thinking the show would actually let him get away with that stuff when in actuality it started telling him to cut it out almost instantly, which is awesome.

[BloodyMage]

The Americans - Cheer on deep undercover KGB agents in the 80's, as they fight against both Reagan's CIA and marital ennui.
You'll Like If: You like spy-action mixed with great writing and acting.

Yes, The Americans. Dear goodness, how did I forget about this gem?

[Magus]

A lot of people got mislead by the "Have to keep my secret*neck snap*" Trailer into thinking the show would actually let him get away with that stuff when in actuality it started telling him to cut it out almost instantly, which is awesome.

Yeah, pilots are always quite different from the shows that evolve out of them. I don't know if the writers had in mind tackling the issue when they first made the pilot but they've definitely made it a major theme in the show now.

[Amake]

Game of Thrones (http://youtu.be/25KABvPbq-U) theme song, now with lyrics, if anyone's interested.

Me, I just realized the only shows I follow are Cougar Town and How I Met Your Mother. Probably too late for anyone to get into either one of them if you aren't already so I don't know if I have to say anything about them. Funny how both shows at this point build almost entirely on internal references: Cougar Town has like two things happening per season, the entire show is just the characters sitting around riffing on each other. I think if you time the conversations about how Grayson's eyes are tiny it'll add up to more than three hours total. And HIMYM is pretty much counting on you being invested enough in the story to want to stick around and find out how the damn mother gets met with so you'll sit through one season after another of rampant character decay, decreasing amounts of jokes, flashbacks and callbacks and repetitions and rehashes and entire episodes devoted to one character hallucinating by themselves. Man it's depressing to think about. But fun to watch with my friends.

[Bells]

And what about this

The secrets of Marvel's "S.H.I.E.L.D." TV show are coming out. An ABC site for advertisers revealed the pilot's potential new title -- "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." -- and several key plot details.

According to EW, the title is not official. The series is set after the events of "The Avengers," Disney and Marvel's blockbuster hit featuring the characters of Iron Man, Captain America and Thor. Joss Whedon directed the pilot and co-wrote the script with his brother Jed and Jed's wife Maurissa Tancharoen. The trio previously teamed for "Dr. Horrible's Sing-Along Blog."

The show follows the human agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., including Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) who was last seen dying in "The Avengers."

"After people see the show, they’ll have some clue as to why I’m still there, still breathing," Gregg said. "But I don’t think they’ll know everything ..."

The description below was released, but reportedly it too is not official.

Joss Whedon (MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS, Buffy the Vampire Slayer) shows us not all heroes are super with MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.
Fresh from his role in the summer’s box office smash, MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS, Agent Phil Coulson (Clark Gregg) returns to the worldwide law enforcement organization S.H.I.E.L.D. He puts together a small, highly trained, team of Agents to tackle the cases that haven’t been classified yet, the new, the strange and the unknown. That team consists of straight arrow Agent Grant Ward (Brett Dalton), an expert in combat and espionage; pilot and martial artist Agent Melinda May (Ming-Na Wen); and brilliant if socially awkward scientists Agent Leo Fitz (Iain De Caestecker) and Agent Jemma Simmons (Elizabeth Henstridge). They’ll be joined by civilian new recruit and computer hacker Skye (Chloe Bennet).

Prepare for an epic adventure that showcases the hope and wonder of the human spirit. This is a world of Super Heroes, aliens and the unusual -- of action, spectacle and world spanning stories. The show will speak to the human condition through the lens of our very human, non-powered S.H.I.E.L.D agents -- that together we are greater than we are apart, and that we can make a difference in the world.

Executive Produced and co-written by Joss Whedon, Jed Whedon & Maurissa Tancharoen (Dollhouse, Dr.Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog), Jeffrey Bell (Angel, Alias) and Jeph Loeb (Smallville, Lost, Heroes) comes Marvel’s first live-action TV series, MARVEL’S AGENTS OF S.H.I.E.L.D.

[RickZarber]

Oh can we talk about how awesome the series premiere of Teen Titans Go! was? Roommate and I were laughing our heads off, there's amazing tiny detail packed in everywhere (Darkseid plushies!), the animation is slick and well-timed, and the character models are all adorable. And of course, we get all five voice actors back and they are all amazing.

And I mean, first episode... how are they gonna top this?
http://img109.imageshack.us/img109/2899/ravenponies.gif

[Magus]

Prepare for an epic adventure that showcases the hope and wonder of the human spirit. This is a world of Super Heroes, aliens and the unusual -- of action, spectacle and world spanning stories. The show will speak to the human condition through the lens of our very human, non-powered S.H.I.E.L.D agents -- that together we are greater than we are apart, and that we can make a difference in the world.

Oh, man, well that's not setting us up for the inevitable disappointment that this is operating on a network TV budget.

At least it does promise to attempt to include the supernatural stuff in it. I wasn't sure exactly what they were doing with it but so far none of the characters had any sort of superpowers or anything. Hopefully it's a bit like a TV version of Gotham Central and it's about how regular police (well, agents) have to do deal with superpowered threats.

As for Coulson, it's pretty obvious he'll be a robot version of Coulson.

[BloodyMage]

I kinda hope they use it to build up to/tie in with the movies. Otherwise we're likely to get a bunch of really lame villains that no one cares about because they can't use the major/exciting ones incase they're used in a major franchise film.

[Magus]

Are you saying the thrilling chase scene with Batroc the Leaper isn't going to be a great episode?

[Bells]

So, indeed there is a ton of positive feedback on Hannibal and i wanted to check it out, then i heard that Episode 4 was "removed" from airing due to the Boston attacks recently. And that it should be avaliable as a web episode.

Anybody who follows the show has heard of this? THe episode relates in any way?

[Seil]

Tomorrow night I will watch the first episodes of Game of Thrones and The Walking Dead (which I have never seen) and playing the song of the old fairy tale TV show what with that great Rumplestiltskin that I never watch.

---------- Post added at 11:39 PM ---------- Previous post was at 11:37 PM ----------

Once Upon A Time. That's the show. The terrible show what with the great actors.

g4V1QAiq54Q

[BloodyMage]

So, indeed there is a ton of positive feedback on Hannibal and i wanted to check it out, then i heard that Episode 4 was "removed" from airing due to the Boston attacks recently. And that it should be avaliable as a web episode.

Anybody who follows the show has heard of this? THe episode relates in any way?

I think it was just pulled in the USA. It might have still aired in Canada.

[Lumenskir]

So, indeed there is a ton of positive feedback on Hannibal and i wanted to check it out, then i heard that Episode 4 was "removed" from airing due to the Boston attacks recently. And that it should be avaliable as a web episode.

Anybody who follows the show has heard of this? THe episode relates in any way?
The episode's "Killer of the Week" case involved something going down with Molly Shannon and a bunch of kids at a school. NBC was skittish about the episode after Newtown*, and the showrunner requested that they hold back on airing it after Boston. In its place they played what should have been the fifth episode.

*When the network sent out screeners, pre-air episodes for critics to view in advance, they omitted the fourth episode, and that was months before Boston.

However, aside from the Killer of the Week, there was a running story about Hannibal getting closer to the daughter of one of the killers they had dealt with previously. Since the Hannibal-daughter relationship will apparently turn out to be very important as the season goes on, they released all of those character building scenes as "webisodes". They run about 20 minutes total and are on NBC's website.

They're also apparently going to show the episode in its entirety later internationally, but all of the LEGITIMATE MEANS sites I go to don't have the full one, so that episode might not have aired elsewhere yet.
Tomorrow night I will watch the first episodes of...The Walking Dead (which I have never seen)
I ask this as someone who has watched every episode of TWD: Why? I'm only sticking around out of inertia and a desire to see how fast they can churn through showrunners, but aside from sick zombie killz and spasmic stabs at quality there's really nothing there.

But, if you are committed to watching it, the only episodes you need to watch are: Pilot (Season 1, Episode 1); TS-19 (Season 1, Episode 6); What Lies Ahead (Season 2, Episode 1); Beside the Dying Fire (Season 2, Episode 13); Seed (Season 3, Episode 1); Clear (Season 3, Episode 12). There, I just saved you a buncha hours and ever having to shudder at the words "Farm", "Get out of here Carl", and "Governor".

[Magus]

Are you saying the zombie well was not the height of dramatic tension Lumenskir

[Seil]

I ask this as someone who has watched every episode of TWD: Why? I'm only sticking around out of inertia and a desire to see how fast they can churn through showrunners, but aside from sick zombie killz and spasmic stabs at quality there's really nothing there.

But, if you are committed to watching it, the only episodes you need to watch are: Pilot (Season 1, Episode 1); TS-19 (Season 1, Episode 6); What Lies Ahead (Season 2, Episode 1); Beside the Dying Fire (Season 2, Episode 13); Seed (Season 3, Episode 1); Clear (Season 3, Episode 12). There, I just saved you a buncha hours and ever having to shudder at the words "Farm", "Get out of here Carl", and "Governor".

Apparently, in my circle of friends, the "SHOWS TO SEE" are GoT and TWD. I don't really feel anything toward either of them, despite the fact that I'm interested in medieval intrigue and the Telltale Walking Dead game was the best thing to happen in episodic gaming for a long while.

[Bells]

The Walking dead is not a bad show. Not at all. it just a good show, but it does have some really stupid momments.

For comparison... the game was a better story.

[Lumenskir]

Apparently, in my circle of friends, the "SHOWS TO SEE" are GoT and TWD.
That's like going to Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory and being told you have to try the everlasting gobstoppers and the carob before anything else.
The Walking dead is not a bad show. Not at all. it just a good show, but it does have some really stupid momments.
No, it's a bad show with enough worthwhile elements stapled to it that it can occasionally collapse into something interesting before the quality dissipates into the standard random noise of its core...actually, maybe it's a show with good potential and continually shitty management, but either way the conversation around TWD is either "Sick zombie killz" or "Lol they stupid" 97% of the time. I'm pretty sure you could never watch an episode and fake your way through any conversation about TWD by repeating some variation of "It was awesome when that zombie just got splattered, I just wish there wasn't so much pointless talking." Maybe season a little with (pick two) "Rick is crazy/I wish that one annoying girl would just die already/Did you see that ludicrous display last night?/Can you believe they killed off that black guy and replaced him already with another black guy, AGAIN?"

Like, when it first started out I remember one of my friends just got fed up (she was the smart one) and said she didn't get why they didn't just kill themselves and get it over with, and back then I wasn't battered enough to stop myself from arguing that just because there were zombies didn't mean it was hopeless. Now though, I mean, it's pretty clear that the group we're following is beyond redemption, both in-character because they all either deserve/would be better off dead, and narratively because none of them is a character worth caring about.*

*A problem, as I understand it, the game didn't have because it actually tried to make you care about the characters and the choices they made.

I think at this point, and based off of Clear (which the new showrunner wrote) I'd be totally fine with turning the series into an anthology/World War Z-esque show where each week we go somewhere new, see the fucked up situations of different people (played by better actors) doing interesting things in this crapsack world, rather than the "stupid people faffing about with bullshit" paradigm we have now.

[Seil]

And this is a general question to the forum as a whole:

What is worth watching and why?

[Lumenskir]

What is worth watching and why?
How much time are you willing to spend watching shows?

How much concentration are you comfortable exerting while watching something?

What feelings do you want to experience?

Are there any particular themes you are interested in?

If forced to choose, do you prefer things that are well crafted or things that are interesting?

[Seil]

How much time are you willing to spend watching shows?
Well, after Monday of next week, for better or worse, the semester ends for a few months.
How much concentration are you comfortable exerting while watching something?
Depends on the night.
What feelings do you want to experience?
Any feelings, as long as they're genuine. To elaborate, I don't want to feel "Kind of sad." I want to be invested in a story enough that I feel the grief or whatevs.
Are there any particular themes you are interested in?
Like above, pretty much anything, as long as it's good.
If forced to choose, do you prefer things that are well crafted or things that are interesting?
...I can't tell the difference between your two word-phrases.

---------- Post added at 02:17 AM ---------- Previous post was at 02:14 AM ----------

So I was watching this new series, it's called Game Of Thrones. As I watched, I was updating my facebook:

Winter is coming.
Like · · Share


Seil I like the Starks already.

Seil Okay, well, some of the Starks.

Seil Tyrion is apparently rad. Apparently.

Seil Jaime is an alright sort.

Seil Blondie I could do without.

Seil Man, Cersei is weird. Understandably.

Seil So apparently "Frak" only exists on one show. Everyone else knows how to curse.

Seil Jaime, you're an asshole.

Seil Like, frak.

[Magus]

Some things are well-crafted but may not be interesting.

See: Mad Men.

[BloodyMage]

Actually, well crafted but not interesting is probably a fair, if sweeping, assessment of Mad Men. The most interesting episodes are the ones with the least amount of crafting. That isn't to say badly crafted but that the simpliest episodes are usually the most engaging. It is when Weiner tries to structure his episodes with themes and ideas rather than characters and action that the story moves more into art form and away from drama, for example the season 6 premiere.

[Shyria Dracnoir]

Tokusatsu. Tokusatsu is always worth watching, if only to try and understand the context of this.

F4WZeUhzGLE

[Bells]

the more your look for it, the less context you'll find Shyria..

0PaUvTlzPZM

[Lumenskir]

...I can't tell the difference between your two word-phrases.
I think you actually can, you're just selling yourself short!

But really, it's probably due to the fact that I was searching for a way to present the two axises in a positive light. I've heard it also described as the difference between consistency and experimentation (which, to me, implies that consistent = boring and experimentation = new/exciting)* or something along those lines.**

*I like consistency as a descriptor myself because you have shows like The Walking Dead where there exists the capability for greatness, but the actual batting average is like 6-for-32. However, most times when I use consistency in discussion I'm accused of wanting something purely boilerplate, so :/
**Ignore/accept for a moment that these are also highly subjective quantifications. What I find experimental/interesting you might find commonplace, what you find well executed I might find rote, etc.

Basically, do you like it more when the degree of difficulty is high (even if the performance isn't exactly perfect) or do you like it when the grasp of what you're watching is perfectly within the creative reach (even if the reach wasn't that much of a stretch)?

Now, to be clear, these aren't scales or levers that are in opposition to one another. You don't have to give up one to get the other.* In fact, in this Golden Age of TV, the vast majority of great shows have ample abundance of both. What it really boils down to is a way to help you decide which great thing to try out next.

*Not that some shows aren't perfect examples of them being inversely proportional. Compare, e.g., Law and Order (which has the same 7 or 8 plots and few dozen twists/complications it can endlessly rearrange like a sudoku) with American Horror Story's first season (where it was basically "Look at all this scare I seen!!!" visual/emotional bombardment with little regard for actually constructing a frame for the many ideas).

For example, I know my parent's general taste, and I know that they value consistentcy/execution. Selling them on keeping up with The Americans was relatively painless; It's got interesting core ideas (how spycraft and marriage mingle/reflect one another, 80's paranoia, nationalism) that are for the most part easily grokabble, the acting and visuals are great, and it's basically a procedural frame with some great serialized elements, so it's easy to understand but you never feel like things are dumbed down/time fillers.* Getting them to watch Homeland was a little more iffy; It's also about spies, but it wants to talk more about a post-post-9/11 environment, what we're willing to accept in terms of lost liberty v. catching terrorists, and even what makes someone feel justified in performing terrorist acts. These are are subjects that are harder to portray, and while the execution is usually consistently amazing, there are times when the show stumbles a little bit as its trying to make a larger point, but I was still able to sell them on watching it. However, I'd never try to get them into Rubicon even though I love it so much (at least the first 12 episodes). It's trying to sell you on how shitty/nerve wracking/anxious it is to live as an intelligence analyst, and it's mostly trying to do that through atmosphere and mood, rather than plot, so you really have to be invested in the idea and not care so much that the story, as it were, is pretty inconsequential; If you don't buy into the idea, then it just looks like a slow shamble of a mess (probably because it was a slow shamble of a mess, but that's besides the point when the parts where it hit made the other parts worthwhile).

*AKA, FX's house style. Justified has some of the best character interactions and development, but it's still a cop show. Terriers was amazing with characters and acting and atmosphere, but there was still usually a case there you could follow.

It of course goes both ways. If you look at the Top 3 shows that define the Golden Age (The Wire, Sopranos, and Deadwood), the one you pick as 'best'/'your favorite' says less about the inherent quality difference between the shows (they are all pretty much equally amazing) and more about what you want when you watch T.V. The Wire is a cop show with such a clear/concise theme* and such precise construction that every piece of it matters and you feel like you're watching the construction of an elaborate and magnificent unified story. Sopranos delved more inward, and the paths and methods it used could lead to some frustrating dead ends, but it was seeking to elucidate something potentially far more complex than the workings of a whole city. Deadwood was written by a true genius,** but a genius who obviously liked to start things without thinking about how they would end, so you sort of have to roll with the occasional narrative eddy while you're being soaked in the best dialog ever.

*"Greek tragedy in the modern age where institutions take the role of gods."
**To be fair, a genius in the idiosyncratic/"No one else could do this" sense. There are many who possess that more beloved type of genius where you have the ability to write without thinking that your audience is stupid.

That's why, after a certain point, it helps to know what themes you are or aren't interested in. Friday Night Lights pretty much has the market cornered on what its like to live in a small town (as well as what a great marriage looks like, family interactions, young relationships, etc.). Breaking Bad is the most thorough breakdown of what it takes for the worst in a person to leak out and then subsume his soul. Enlightened is the most emotionally raw thing about how a person's ideals can conflict and be trampled by the modern corporation, and how that conflict can spill over every relationship. As has been alluded to, your enjoyment of Mad Men can depend on how much you connect to its period setting, its themes of fluid personal identity, gender politics, etc.

And don't even get me started on comedies.