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1. Caught up with Timeless which isn't quite as good as I'd like it to be. It's okay. Not sure what's off about it exactly. Something. I think it has the same issues as most time travel series -- too caught up in the glamorization of historical events and hobnobbing with famous people, as if one is visiting a living museum, and less with well... the story and plot and characters.
Although it does have that, but I need a bit more to be compelled. We'll see how long I stick with it.
That said, I do like the characters and the fact that the villain is complicated and in some respects, justified. Kripke and Ryan do write complicated characters and villains, I'll give them that. The only problem is that the villain in this story is more interesting than the other characters and potentially more complex.
Did like the focus in the last episode on Katherine Hopkins, the African-American Woman who enabled the NASA's race to the moon and got little recognition until recently for her accomplishments. Also the last two episodes focused more on Rufus, who of the three lead characters is by far the most interesting and least cliche.
2. Almost caught up on Lucifer and Vampire Diaries -- my interest is waning in regards to both. Due largely to the repetitive and rather lackluster writing. I don't really like the direction that Lucifer appears to be headed. I didn't read the comics, so have no clue how close it is to its source material nor care. It just seems a bit over the top, the metaphors way too obvious and cliches, and the procedural bits are boring. (Not that I'm generally speaking a fan of procedurals...so there's that.) In regards to Vampire Diaries -- I'll admit the new bad guys are rather innovative. Not sure what to make of them. They don't strike me as clearly evil, but then the bad guys never quite are on Vamp Diaries, mainly because they tend to act as reflections of the leads. The lead characters on Vamp Diaries, much like Supernatural, are two brothers and the main relationship is the bro-romance. Vamp Diaries was deceptive, because it lead everyone to believe it was about Elena Gilbert and her friends, but no, the writers were actually more intrigued by the Salvatore brothers vying for her heart. Which intrigued me, because I find sibling relationships more fascinating than parent/child relationships or romantic ones. But it keeps going around in a circle--- I'm hoping since this is the last season they will wrap it up. But so far, not quite seeing it. Rather glad it is the last season, because my interest is waning. I think it has stretched a bit past its expiration date. Some shows can keep going and get better as they go, Vamp Diaries isn't one of them. Although, I did like the last two seasons in some respects better than the earlier ones.
3. Rumor has it that two book series that I was rather obsessed with in the 1990s and early 00s are about to be adapted into television series. One, Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles was already adapted into a series of graphic novels and movies, neither of which worked for me. Anne Rice is apparently spearheading it, which may or may not be a good thing. The other is The Chronicles of Lymond by Dorothy Dunnett which is being developed and adapted by the same production company that did Poldark -- which again may or may not be a good thing. I guess it depends on how you view Poldark? People discussing it on FB seemed to think Poldark was overly melodramatic, but so were the books and the original series. And for that matter, so is the Chronicles of Lymond. I'm sorry, Dunnett is melodramatic. So too is Game of Thrones. Now, I like melodrama, so it doesn't bother me. And I thought they did a good job with Poldark, definitely in regards to casting. Casting and writing is everything. If they do it? I really hope they cast Tom Hiddleston as Lymond, he'd be perfect. Or Alexander Starsgard, although I think Hiddleston is the better choice. Since the Brits are doing, I have hope, because the Brits are really good at historical costume dramas. Americans suck at historical costume dramas, I don't know why, but we just don't do them well.
4. Mars on National Geographic Channel (yes, there is such a thing as the National Geographic Channel, I know, blew my mind as well), is better than expected. It's a pseudo fictional/documentary style science fiction television serial. Or rather a hybrid of documentary and sci-fi styles, with lots of interviews and scientific data from experts, fictional and otherwise.
In 2033, SpaceX, a private company, in conjunction with NASA, sends a team to MARS, with the view of setting up a space station and settlement on MARS. Things do not go exactly as planned, and the series details all the problems involved, and potential disasters of sending a team to MARS. MARS not exactly being the most hospital of planets. So think the Martian meets Tom Hanks documentary Space Series by way of Apollo 13. In fact, I think Ron Howard and Tom Hanks are the producers on this series.
It's better and more compelling than I expected. First off? I'm not a fan of documentaries -- mainly because they spend more time telling than showing. Lots of pointless interviews with experts patting themselves on the backs. That special on Hamilton, via PBS, was an excruciating example. This feels closer to Ken Burns style of Documentaries. The experts here don't talk about themselves, they explain what is needed to survive on Mars, what Mars is like, and the problems involved. Plus we get to see the blueprints of the space crafts, technical drawings, and the actual rockets crashing in various tests. Intermingled within that is the fictional tale of the people going to Mars, their interpersonal relationships, which are hinted at in interviews prior to going, and then seeing them on the craft trying to figure out how to survive and work through the problems.
So, sticking with it for now.
5. ) I gave up on Durrell's of Corfu -- wasn't compelling for some reason. Also deleted all of Quantico, Queen Sugar, Dirk Gently, and Speechless. Lost interest or never had much.
Keeping Westworld -- have 7, soon to be 8, episodes to binge on that one. Although flirting with ending my HBO/SHowtime/Starz to reduce the cost of cable. So we shall see. Have only seen three episodes to date.
Keeping Poldark -- also have 8 episodes, the whole season to binge watch. Was told it ends well. So will watch it. Designated Survivor - 6 saved episodes -- but I can't watch anything politically related at the moment due to well, nasty turn in current events.
And Once Upon a Time - about 8-9 episodes, only seen two from this season. Just haven't been compelled by it this season for some reason. But will hang on to it for now.
Thisclose to giving up on Frequency and Younger, which are irritating me. I like the leads in both, so sticking with for the time being, but not sure how long that will last.
What I want to do is watch more of S1 Gilmore Girls. But, I had over 57 hours saved on DVR and it would stop taping if I didn't start watching stuff, or start deleting, one or the other. Already automatically deleted Dirk Gently. Too many shows, too little time. Plus I sort of got obsessed with current events...
Although it does have that, but I need a bit more to be compelled. We'll see how long I stick with it.
That said, I do like the characters and the fact that the villain is complicated and in some respects, justified. Kripke and Ryan do write complicated characters and villains, I'll give them that. The only problem is that the villain in this story is more interesting than the other characters and potentially more complex.
Did like the focus in the last episode on Katherine Hopkins, the African-American Woman who enabled the NASA's race to the moon and got little recognition until recently for her accomplishments. Also the last two episodes focused more on Rufus, who of the three lead characters is by far the most interesting and least cliche.
2. Almost caught up on Lucifer and Vampire Diaries -- my interest is waning in regards to both. Due largely to the repetitive and rather lackluster writing. I don't really like the direction that Lucifer appears to be headed. I didn't read the comics, so have no clue how close it is to its source material nor care. It just seems a bit over the top, the metaphors way too obvious and cliches, and the procedural bits are boring. (Not that I'm generally speaking a fan of procedurals...so there's that.) In regards to Vampire Diaries -- I'll admit the new bad guys are rather innovative. Not sure what to make of them. They don't strike me as clearly evil, but then the bad guys never quite are on Vamp Diaries, mainly because they tend to act as reflections of the leads. The lead characters on Vamp Diaries, much like Supernatural, are two brothers and the main relationship is the bro-romance. Vamp Diaries was deceptive, because it lead everyone to believe it was about Elena Gilbert and her friends, but no, the writers were actually more intrigued by the Salvatore brothers vying for her heart. Which intrigued me, because I find sibling relationships more fascinating than parent/child relationships or romantic ones. But it keeps going around in a circle--- I'm hoping since this is the last season they will wrap it up. But so far, not quite seeing it. Rather glad it is the last season, because my interest is waning. I think it has stretched a bit past its expiration date. Some shows can keep going and get better as they go, Vamp Diaries isn't one of them. Although, I did like the last two seasons in some respects better than the earlier ones.
3. Rumor has it that two book series that I was rather obsessed with in the 1990s and early 00s are about to be adapted into television series. One, Anne Rice's The Vampire Chronicles was already adapted into a series of graphic novels and movies, neither of which worked for me. Anne Rice is apparently spearheading it, which may or may not be a good thing. The other is The Chronicles of Lymond by Dorothy Dunnett which is being developed and adapted by the same production company that did Poldark -- which again may or may not be a good thing. I guess it depends on how you view Poldark? People discussing it on FB seemed to think Poldark was overly melodramatic, but so were the books and the original series. And for that matter, so is the Chronicles of Lymond. I'm sorry, Dunnett is melodramatic. So too is Game of Thrones. Now, I like melodrama, so it doesn't bother me. And I thought they did a good job with Poldark, definitely in regards to casting. Casting and writing is everything. If they do it? I really hope they cast Tom Hiddleston as Lymond, he'd be perfect. Or Alexander Starsgard, although I think Hiddleston is the better choice. Since the Brits are doing, I have hope, because the Brits are really good at historical costume dramas. Americans suck at historical costume dramas, I don't know why, but we just don't do them well.
4. Mars on National Geographic Channel (yes, there is such a thing as the National Geographic Channel, I know, blew my mind as well), is better than expected. It's a pseudo fictional/documentary style science fiction television serial. Or rather a hybrid of documentary and sci-fi styles, with lots of interviews and scientific data from experts, fictional and otherwise.
In 2033, SpaceX, a private company, in conjunction with NASA, sends a team to MARS, with the view of setting up a space station and settlement on MARS. Things do not go exactly as planned, and the series details all the problems involved, and potential disasters of sending a team to MARS. MARS not exactly being the most hospital of planets. So think the Martian meets Tom Hanks documentary Space Series by way of Apollo 13. In fact, I think Ron Howard and Tom Hanks are the producers on this series.
It's better and more compelling than I expected. First off? I'm not a fan of documentaries -- mainly because they spend more time telling than showing. Lots of pointless interviews with experts patting themselves on the backs. That special on Hamilton, via PBS, was an excruciating example. This feels closer to Ken Burns style of Documentaries. The experts here don't talk about themselves, they explain what is needed to survive on Mars, what Mars is like, and the problems involved. Plus we get to see the blueprints of the space crafts, technical drawings, and the actual rockets crashing in various tests. Intermingled within that is the fictional tale of the people going to Mars, their interpersonal relationships, which are hinted at in interviews prior to going, and then seeing them on the craft trying to figure out how to survive and work through the problems.
So, sticking with it for now.
5. ) I gave up on Durrell's of Corfu -- wasn't compelling for some reason. Also deleted all of Quantico, Queen Sugar, Dirk Gently, and Speechless. Lost interest or never had much.
Keeping Westworld -- have 7, soon to be 8, episodes to binge on that one. Although flirting with ending my HBO/SHowtime/Starz to reduce the cost of cable. So we shall see. Have only seen three episodes to date.
Keeping Poldark -- also have 8 episodes, the whole season to binge watch. Was told it ends well. So will watch it. Designated Survivor - 6 saved episodes -- but I can't watch anything politically related at the moment due to well, nasty turn in current events.
And Once Upon a Time - about 8-9 episodes, only seen two from this season. Just haven't been compelled by it this season for some reason. But will hang on to it for now.
Thisclose to giving up on Frequency and Younger, which are irritating me. I like the leads in both, so sticking with for the time being, but not sure how long that will last.
What I want to do is watch more of S1 Gilmore Girls. But, I had over 57 hours saved on DVR and it would stop taping if I didn't start watching stuff, or start deleting, one or the other. Already automatically deleted Dirk Gently. Too many shows, too little time. Plus I sort of got obsessed with current events...