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lelandjs posted:No. And it sucks. Syfy really pushed two mediocre shows--Stargate Universe* and Caprica--on us. When people didn't watch them because they were, well, mediocre, they axed all non-canadian sci-fi shows. And no one else bothered with science fiction to start with. If he thought that sack of crap Flashforward was good then you could at least recommend the only actually sort of good show Siffy has put out in years: Defiance.
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Nov 13, 2013 13:40
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DivisionPost posted:If it's for Sophia? She's tried Hannibal. Not her bag. Then I have nothing to give. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (ugh, so many periods) has been pretty crap, with a few bright spots. The last week's episode, however, was the first one I can say that actually worked on its own as an hour of TV, rather than as just something I watch and couldn't justify other than it hit my particular type of nerdery. It had excitement and emotion and everything!
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Nov 13, 2013 13:40
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Shageletic posted:Then I have nothing to give. I don't know, it started pretty bad, but the team is starting to gel, even if each of them does fall squarely into a very well trod stereotype. The last two episodes were genuinely enjoyable.
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Nov 13, 2013 13:47
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Agents of SHIELD still isn't 100% clicking with me, and I've stayed out of the discussion thread since I don't really have anything of substance to bring to the table, but I'll admit that the last couple of episodes have been a marked improvement upon the earlier ones.
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Nov 13, 2013 13:54
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Hannibal is really hard to recommend, people automatically assume it's campy like the movies, too gory, or something like "Hannibal's and Will's crazy cannibal adventures", where every episode ends with Hannibal chomping on someone's leg, says "What!", everyone in the cast goes "Oh Hannibal!" and it does a freeze-frame. I had to ambush a couple of them and just show them the first episode without warning; they actually loved it but never watched the rest. It's frustrating because it's bloody brilliant tv. Thanks to the recommendations here, I started on Spartacus; the cg in the first episode was a bit jarring but it has boobs and a midget wearing a dildo rhino costume. So far, I'm sold.
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Nov 13, 2013 14:01
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Hannibal was very beautiful to watch but it had nothing to interest me as a weekly television show with no ending. Awake was similar, as was Last Resort and The Following. I've really lost my appetite for serious shows that aren't self-contained but stretch out into perpetuity. I can watch NCIS or Psych. Each episode is a complete beginning middle and end and you almost never have to watch another one ever again if you don't want. Pretty Little Liars has no end but it's also something you watch while you eat breakfast because it doesn't really matter if you pay super close attention and while it's smarter than it has to be it's not some guy's magnum opus on the state of the world. It's just a fun little drama play about some liars who are pretty. Breaking Bad appeals to me far more now that I know I can watch the whole thing than it did when it was still unfinished. I don't know if that's just me or all of my generation or all of America or what but for me to watch a show weekly it either has to be silly and fun or a complete unit. No more of this LOST bullshit. Bates Motel is about as far as I can stretch the line and even that, maybe my favorite new show of the year, I fell out on by the end.
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Nov 13, 2013 15:15
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Sophia posted:Hannibal was very beautiful to watch but it had nothing to interest me as a weekly television show with no ending. Awake was similar, as was Last Resort and The Following. I've really lost my appetite for serious shows that aren't self-contained but stretch out into perpetuity. I can watch NCIS or Psych. Each episode is a complete beginning middle and end and you almost never have to watch another one ever again if you don't want. Pretty Little Liars has no end but it's also something you watch while you eat breakfast because it doesn't really matter if you pay super close attention and while it's smarter than it has to be it's not some guy's magnum opus on the state of the world. It's just a fun little drama play about some liars who are pretty. Why aren't you watching PoI Sophia? Why!
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Nov 13, 2013 15:32
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IRQ posted:Why aren't you watching PoI Sophia? Why! Because its boring, I imagine. You all love that show far too much for what little new or interesting it offers.
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Nov 13, 2013 15:38
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I'm really enjoying the Blacklist. Also, SHIELD, Brooklyn Nine Nine and Trophy Wife are all getting better each week.
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Nov 13, 2013 15:46
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IRQ posted:Why aren't you watching PoI Sophia? Why! Because she can't legally catch up on it without shelling out at least $90. Apparently Sepinwall likes Ground Floor, despite it having a terrible advertising campaign: quote:[Creators Bill] Lawrence and [Greg] Malins use the staginess of the format to their advantage. Many single-cam comedies — or hybrids like "How I Met Your Mother" (where Malins also worked) — are fond of bouncing from scene to scene, location to location, as quickly as possible. With only a few regular sets, "Ground Floor" tries to stay in each as long as possible, letting scenes play out so that the jokes can build and build. Also, the studio audience laughter doesn't sound like it was electronically sweetened later; most of the jokes get some chuckles, but you don't hear roars and roars after every mediocre joke, which makes the show more inherently watchable and makes those moments when the audience does go nuts feel honest.
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Nov 13, 2013 15:46
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DivisionPost posted:Because she can't legally catch up on it without shelling out at least $90. That's funny, because I'm watching Cheers for the first time, and the studio laughter is the same way. If a joke doesn't land, there isn't this ridiculous roar of fake laughter, maybe some polite chuckles. It's a lot more tolerable than canned or sweetened laughter.
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Nov 13, 2013 15:48
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PriorMarcus posted:Because its boring, I imagine. Well for starters, the all-powerful AI that sits at the center of the show happens to be benevolent. This may have a niche in sci-fi literature, but comes across as a real change-up in mainstream sci-fi, which has been so consumed with the idea of technology stripping away humanity that even the great Battlestar Galactica couldn't help but end the series with our heroes casting out the comforts of technology (transhumanism aside) and starting fresh. Toss in an extremely well-developed group of core characters (one of the big appeals of last night's episode was watching a character who started out as a stoic by-the-book type claim her place as the biggest badass on the show), and the fact that it manages to walk a fascinating thematic tightrope between "The surveillance state is crippling us as a society" and "The surveillance state is saving lives," and, well...yeah. It plays by a standard procedural rulebook, and it's certainly not above delivering massive and sometimes unnecessary exposition dumps, but the underlying ideas and cast chemistry are anything but rote. DivisionPost fucked around with this message at 16:23 on Nov 13, 2013 |
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Nov 13, 2013 16:02
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Sophia posted:Hannibal was very beautiful to watch but it had nothing to interest me as a weekly television show with no ending. This is a sentiment that doesn't work for me. There are certain shows that work better in hourly installments (as they were originally intended) and have enough things being put out there, enough stuff for you to simmer and mull over, that watching in one go would be overwhelming. I'm thankful for watching a show like Mad Men from its pilot. Watching in one chunk wouldn't glean you nearly as much letting a particular episode or scene settle for a week. And don't forget the joy of watching a show evolve unexpectedly. I started watching BB from the pilot, and the jump up from S1 to S2, then S2 to S3 is something I still savor. Who knew that this funny poke at middle class stagnation could turn into that?! Hannabal works on an episode to episode basis, with enough meat (sorry) for you to chew on (oh god) to fill my stomach (now this is getting ridiculous. Cannibalism). What I don't have patience for are shows that are just there to take up time (i.e. light and fluffy). If I wanted a comedy, I'd watch a comedy. At least it'd engage me. If I wanted to do something that didn't require much thought, I'd use the internet more. But yeah, Lost hosed with a lot of people.
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Nov 13, 2013 16:25
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EL BROMANCE posted:At what point did the people who go mad over PoI start to feel like that? I'm 6 or 7 episodes in they witness episode and it's enjoyable enough, but nothing mind blowing. It still has that 'network' feel of ensuring people can jump in at anytime which grates and not enough arc compared to crime of the week. Scandal dealt with that by about this point so I'm hoping PoI does it too, because at the moment watching another 16 episodes or so just to finish a season feels like it might be a slog without much payoff. Sophia posted:Hannibal was very beautiful to watch but it had nothing to interest me as a weekly television show with no ending. Awake was similar, as was Last Resort and The Following. I've really lost my appetite for serious shows that aren't self-contained but stretch out into perpetuity.
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Nov 13, 2013 16:37
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Slamhound posted:Like PoI, the first season is deceptively procedural (though more artsy), but by the end all the beautiful set pieces feed into a bigger picture. From what I understand, Hannibal has an overall plan with season 4 being the events of Red Dragon. Yeah, Bryan Fuller said so, they even have plans for making a Silence of the Lambs 5th season, but that's a bit more complicated because they don't have the rights for Clarice Starling's character
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Nov 13, 2013 16:53
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Trailer for FX's Chozen, from the producers of Eastbound and Down and Archer: http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2013/11/chozen-trailer Pedigree is good, but that trailer doesn't exactly get me hype.
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Nov 13, 2013 16:56
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Shageletic posted:This is a sentiment that doesn't work for me. There are certain shows that work better in hourly installments (as they were originally intended) and have enough things being put out there, enough stuff for you to simmer and mull over, that watching in one go would be overwhelming. I honestly can't think of even one show I would rather have watched week to week than be able to inhale them more than one at a time at my own speed, so maybe we're just different that way. I guess maybe, MAYBE Twin Peaks but even that is likely not true. I like to think about TV and talk about TV a lot but the unit of an episode can still be talked about in the context of an entire season or whole work so I don't ever need to stop and have a think to be able to do it.
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Nov 13, 2013 16:57
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Sophia posted:I am watching it right now just for you then! I think I'm not going to watch Ravenswood though unless it's a lot better than it looks from all of this buildup. You have until January because then PLL is back on the air and that obviously takes precedence over everything.
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Nov 13, 2013 17:01
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zoux posted:Trailer for FX's Chozen, from the producers of Eastbound and Down and Archer: Not a single promo for ARCHER ever made me want to watch it but it's a fabulous show, so I'm gathering this is just more of FX not selling the idea very well.
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Nov 13, 2013 17:05
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soapgish posted:Not a single promo for ARCHER ever made me want to watch it but it's a fabulous show, so I'm gathering this is just more of FX not selling the idea very well. Yeah, FX is on a quality streak for sure and I'll definitely watch it. Not sold on Bobby Moynihan as a lead though.
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Nov 13, 2013 17:08
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Utopia was amazing. 6 episodes.
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Nov 13, 2013 17:08
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The direction Person of Interest took near, and especially in, the season 2 finale really soured me on the show. "Witness" (S1, E7) is the best episode.
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Nov 13, 2013 17:13
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Sophia posted:I honestly can't think of even one show I would rather have watched week to week than be able to inhale them more than one at a time at my own speed, so maybe we're just different that way. I guess maybe, MAYBE Twin Peaks but even that is likely not true. I like to think about TV and talk about TV a lot but the unit of an episode can still be talked about in the context of an entire season or whole work so I don't ever need to stop and have a think to be able to do it. Different strokes for different folks, then. Fair enough.
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Nov 13, 2013 17:23
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Atlanta Journal-Constitution cartoonist Mike Lukovich takes square aim at this thread's own irish joe!
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Nov 13, 2013 17:36
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EL BROMANCE posted:At what point did the people who go mad over PoI start to feel like that? I'm 6 or 7 episodes in they witness episode and it's enjoyable enough, but nothing mind blowing. It still has that 'network' feel of ensuring people can jump in at anytime which grates and not enough arc compared to crime of the week. Scandal dealt with that by about this point so I'm hoping PoI does it too, because at the moment watching another 16 episodes or so just to finish a season feels like it might be a slog without much payoff. Episode 4 is the one most people quote as the "turning point." I liked it from the first episode, but thought it really picked up after the episode where they introduce Elias. It gets more serialized as it goes along but never heavily so, I don't know why people still act like that should be treated like some kind of black mark.
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Nov 13, 2013 17:56
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Mu Zeta posted:I think Parenthood and The Good Wife are my favorite dramas. I'd take them over anything on HBO or Showtime right now. Parenthood is, as always, well-acted, but the plots this season are driving me up the wall. Kristina's mayoral bid and the Joel/Julia possible infidelity story are awful.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:19
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Is Parenthood a comedy or a dramedy or what?
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Nov 13, 2013 18:21
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It's drama.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:26
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I can't remember when Person of Interest turned great, because I was with it almost from the first episode. Maybe the Elias episode, but that may just be down to how much I like Enrico Colantoni. 
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Nov 13, 2013 18:28
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Mu Zeta posted:It's drama. I guess Ray Romano being in it threw me off.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:28
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Mu Zeta posted:It's drama. It's TV to bring you down when you're having too good of a day.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:29
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Spatula City posted:I can't remember when Person of Interest turned great, because I was with it almost from the first episode. Maybe the Elias episode, but that may just be down to how much I like Enrico Colantoni. Not to mention that episode ends in a totally badass way and with a totally badass version of a totally badass song.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:31
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Shageletic posted:This is a sentiment that doesn't work for me. There are certain shows that work better in hourly installments (as they were originally intended) and have enough things being put out there, enough stuff for you to simmer and mull over, that watching in one go would be overwhelming. I agree. There is absolutely zero way Breaking Bad would have reached the audience heights it did if all the episodes were dumped out at once and it didn't have the week of anticipation and discussions in between episodes. I like marathoning trash like Arrested Development, but some things need to simmer.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:32
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raditts posted:It's TV to bring you down when you're having too good of a day. The show is really good at celebrating the little victories in life.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:34
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User-Friendly posted:I agree. There is absolutely zero way Breaking Bad would have reached the audience heights it did if all the episodes were dumped out at once and it didn't have the week of anticipation and discussions in between episodes. I like marathoning trash like Arrested Development, but some things need to simmer. Well, audience-growing vs. viewing experience quality are different arguments though. I agree that in some cases it might make the show more popular or more viewed to air it week to week instead of having it all available at once. But for me I can't think of any show where the viewing experience was specifically better because I had to wait or where I would choose to wait after every episode rather than continue on. In binging I'm much more likely to take a break after a complete season and mull it over and discuss it, and personally I think that's always better and more fruitful than doing it after each episode.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:38
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Parenthood's the same team that did Friday Night Lights (for the most part) and is really well done as a family drama. And I trust the writers won't send everything into a tailspin, season 5 has been pretty groanworthy. The Fitz and Ward teamup in the latest AoS is pretty rad.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:49
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Sophia posted:Well, audience-growing vs. viewing experience quality are different arguments though. I agree that in some cases it might make the show more popular or more viewed to air it week to week instead of having it all available at once. But for me I can't think of any show where the viewing experience was specifically better because I had to wait or where I would choose to wait after every episode rather than continue on. In binging I'm much more likely to take a break after a complete season and mull it over and discuss it, and personally I think that's always better and more fruitful than doing it after each episode. Watching the 13th episode of the 5th season of Breaking Bad (To'hajiilee) and having the episode end with Hank under fire and Walt screaming in the back of a SUV, not knowing how it's going to resolve, heightens the tension more if you can't just immediately go to the next episode. Which is fairly natural. No one would argue, I'd think, that it's not a meaningful editing decision to cut from one situation to another within an episode before cutting back to the first to resolve it. The length of time that first situation is left hanging is going to clearly have an impact within the episode itself. It shouldn't be surprising, then, that this same technique can be used between episode as well, at which point the difference between "wait a week" and "hit a button to queue the next episode" is also meaningful. It's not that you spend a week thinking about it (though you might). It's that the tension of an unresolved conflict is different based upon your knowledge of when you'll be able to get the resolution. Think of the feeling of watching a show on DVD or Netflix, hitting the end of an episode, and being eager to watch the next. If you can't, your reaction to having that eagerness thwarted is part of the experience.
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Nov 13, 2013 18:55
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This is a problem of construction, though. TV series that are built knowing that they will be binge-watched (i.e. Netflix series and the like) can use different methods to hook you. In addition, while binge-watching can make some of the suspense between weeks seem lost, it has the benefit of occasionally smoothing over problematic issues with a series.
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Nov 13, 2013 19:20
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ashpanash posted:This is a problem of construction, though. TV series that are built knowing that they will be binge-watched (i.e. Netflix series and the like) can use different methods to hook you. Sure, there's advantages and disadvantages. Breaking Bad was better, I think, for having those week-long waiting periods. I don't know if I would have stuck with House of Cards if I couldn't have blasted through it in a weekend.
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Nov 13, 2013 19:27
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I admired House of Cards more than I liked it. I'm really hoping Season Two lives up to the potential. Also, Melissa Rosenberg, writer of all the Twilight films has been announced as the head writer for Netflix's Jessica Jones series.
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Nov 13, 2013 19:32
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