![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Entry tags:
Fall TV Shows (New and Returning) and other stuff
1. Currently re-watching or half watching The Star Wars marathon on SpikeTV. Way too many commercials. Empire Strikes Back is so far the only one that was at all compelling - or compelling enough for me not to change the channel or pop in a movie during. Re-watching Empire Strikes Back - makes me realize how many television writers and film writers that are my age or close to it were heavily influenced by that movie. I can tell Whedon was - the goodbye scene in Chosen is clearly copied from Empire, as was the character of Malcom Reynolds off of Han Solo. And that banter is very close to the Han/Leia banter in Empire. Weird what influences and resonates with people. Can't say I blame him - I was influenced by Star Wars as well. First sci-fi series that I fell in love with and I fell hard. May not be the sci-fi geek I am today if it weren't for Star Wars. Who knows.
2. Finished watching the first five episodes of S1 Fringe - the Wire this ain't, or for that matter Lost. Very weak start, but watchable. There's some interesting characters in there just waiting to break out. We shall see where this goes.
3. Also watched Mao's Last Dancer an American film based on the autobiography of the same name by Li Cuxin, a Chinese national who defected to the US in the 1980s so that he could become a dancer. He toured with the Houston Ballet, and eventually moved to Australia where he now lives with his family. Amazing dance sequences, the dialogue and acting are so-so. But do watch for the dance. Assuming you like dance. Some people feel about dance, the way I feel about most spectator sports. In fact there's a great line in the movie - the American choreographer Ben Foster is examining the Chinese dancers and states most are more athelets than dancers...they don't really show any emotion, all about the atheletic prowess, while dance is about emotion - or the expression of it. That's not to say one is better than the other, I'm not saying that. Just very different. I respect dancing because I can't do it.
4. Rather adore September, but it is always stressful and busy for some reason. It's like everyone took off for the summer, but me, and now they are back with a vengeance! But I do like it - weather wise it tends to be milder, and we have the start of the new tv season, and my allergies haven't gone nuts quite yet. Also there's an excitement in the air.
5. New TV Season? Mixed feelings about it. Most likely will just stick with shows from last season, but we shall see.
*AMC is introducing a new Western by the guy who did Deadwood.
According to the official websit: Hell on Wheels is a contemporary western about post-Civil War America that focuses on a Confederate soldier who sets out to exact revenge on the Union soldiers who have killed his wife. His journey takes him west to ‘Hell on Wheels,’ a dangerous, raucous, lawless melting pot of a town that travels with and services the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, an engineering feat unprecedented for its time. The series documents the railroad’s incredible feat of engineering and construction as well as the institutionalized greed and corruption, the immigrant experience, and the plight of the newly emancipated African-Americans during reconstruction. Over time, “Hell on Wheels” chronicles this potent turning point in our nation’s history, and how uncivilized the business of civilization can be.
Trailer can be found here: http://www.slashfilm.com/hell-wheels-trailer-amc-western/
This is supposed to come later in the season, and may take a while to get established. I'm a sucker for Western's - some people were weaned on football, I was weaned on Westerns and Noir and cult tv shows.
[Not sure about AMC's other offering Walking Dead - that got a few huge cuts - first Frank Darabount was fired over a very heated public dispute regarding budget. Which brings me to the second bit - the budget was slashed by about $635,000 per episode. Horror shows sort of require big budgets to do stuff - although if they switch from the urban area to the country, this may not be that much of a problem. The new guy in charge is Glenn Mazzara - best known for his work on The Shield and writing the Fifth episode "WildFire" of Walking Dead. The creator of the comics does remain as co-executive producer. ]
* On the fence about Brad Falchuck and Ryan Murphy's take on horror - American Horror Story
on F/X. It's gotten mixed reviews - one reviewer called it the most insane pilot they'd ever seen.
Another said it also is one of the scariest shows they've seen and has a lot more in common with Nip/Tuck than Glee and Murphy seems to go even further with it.
The review at NPR states: "It tells the story of the Harmon family: Vivien (Connie Britton) and Ben (Dylan McDermott) and their teenage daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga). They've got plenty of family problems, but their newest one is that they have moved into a straight-up haunted house. And it's not pleasantly haunted by friendly ghosts that look like Casper, either. It's haunted by demon-y looking things, and it may possibly cause you to hallucinate, and it has a history of not just spooking but downright ... well, devouring the people who live in it.
The review goes on to call it a frenetic gorefest, teeming with sex and ludicrous situations. American Horror Story premieres Oct. 5th on FX."
I don't know. Ryan Murphy bugs me. His tv series start out okay, then...I start to wonder about him. He seems to have a lot of suppressed anger. Like he wants to kick his audience or something. Reminds me a little of what Stephen King once said about Stanley Kubrick's film version of his book The Shining - Kubrick appears to want to hurt the audience. I get the same feeling about Murphy. There's a little bit of Kubrick's twisted sensibility in Murphy without well the artistry that often made Kubrick somewhat digestible. (I've seen almost all of Kubrick's films. My favorites are Clock Work Orange - which I wrote a paper on, and Doctor Strangelove. Although I do have a special fondness for Stephen Spielberg's interpretation of Kubrick's AI, I know I'm in the minority on that one. 2001 frankly is too long. What? I was in college in the 1980s people. We studied stuff like that back then. Now people write papers on Buffy and The Sopranoes.)
* Once Upon a Time - also gets mixed reviews, but is supposed to be the better of the two fairy tale series. It certainly has the better cast. Although that isn't saying much. I do like the concept though - and yes, I know Bill Willingham did it first in Fables, but this version doesn't appear to contain Williamham's sexist take on the universe. ie. the lead is Emma Swan who is a female bounty hunter. While in Williamham's verse the lead is Jack of Fables or Wolf - a sexist private dick. Emphasis on "dick". Plus the villain? Is also female - the Evil Queen. In short? the guys aren't the leads. Which is nice change of pace and how it differs from Willingham.
Also how it differs from Grimm - where the protagonist is also a guy. Once Upon a Time is by the guys who did Lost, and I think Jane Espenson may be writing for it. She is and is an executive producer - check it out:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jane-espenson-liz-tigelaar-join-193496
http://scifimafia.com/2011/05/once-upon-a-time-lost-writers-to-capture-your-imagination-in-new-abc-fantasy-series/
What's interesting about it - is it is a story much like Buffy, where there is magic, but no one believes in it. Fairy tales aren't real, yet everyone is a fairy tale character - they just don't know it. Very similar to Lost in that aspect. Also I haven't seen anyone try that on TV before, comic books, yes, and not necessarily well *cough*Fables*cough*. But it all depends on how well it is put together. Also how much of a chance ABC gives it. That's the trouble with television shows now - they aren't given much of a chance to take off if they are on the broadcast networks.
And the better shows often require a little bit of time to find themselves and build an audience. (Examples of shows that started out low in the ratings and had to find themselves: Cheers, MASH,
Hill Street Blues, Buffy, Farscape, Fringe, Star Trek, St. Elsewhere.) Hope people give it a chance and don't write it off after just one or two episodes - I say that without seeing it yet, watch, I could change my mind. Haven't been that crazy with Espenson's last few efforts. And the Lost writers...well Lost was uneven, and they also were responsible for Tron:Legacy.
Grim is the other one - but I'm less interested in it. It feels too much like the X-Files except fairy tale monsters are real as opposed to aliens. I'm already watching Supernatural.
* Ringer...this could be the keeper of the season. It's a twisty noir thriller, that looks like it could be a lot of fun. Depending once again on the writing and production. Not sure about Gellar, I haven't liked her in anything since Buffy, but that is true of practically everyone on that series with the exception of Anthony Stewart Head (who I loved before Buffy aired). Gellar does have control over Ringer - which she didn't in other efforts. And she is a perfectionist. She describes Ringer as being a meld of her best performances - Cruel Intentions and Buffy (and I agree with her on that score - those are her two best performances). Also the rest of the cast is good. But are the writers?? The critics appear to like it and it has screened well.
Also it's nice to have a female noir series, with a female protagonist. That's the one thing I like about the fall season - a lot of strong female roles. Which is why I prefer tv to film, more female roles. Film tends to be a bit too male centric - at least in the genre category, which gets tiring.
* Secret Circle- feels a bit too young for me, with the Luz from Life Unexpected and John Connor from Sarah Connor Chronicles in the lead roles. Not enough adult leads. Vamp Diaries at least has the older characters. Also teen shows with twenty and thirty somethings in the lead roles is getting old.
*Prime Suspect - could be good or it appears to be the best of the new cop shows (there are several) I like Maria Bello and Aidan Quinn. But...I've seen this done one too many times already. The Closer, the original Prime Suspect, and the US remake in the 1990s.
The new twist seems to be NYC and a cop that gets beaten up a lot. Sort of tired of kickass women who get beaten up a lot...that too is getting old.
* Revenge- is basically the Counte of Monte Cristo's Daughter in the Hamptons circa the 21st Century. That could actually be a lot of fun. A nice girl being nasty to get revenge for her wronged father.
*Pam Am - may be the best of the Mad Men copies with a heavy female centric cast, but I like the BBC's The Hour better - it's stronger and twistier. It's about a bunch of stewardesses in the early days of air travel, when it was still fun and cool to fly. Reviews on PAM AM have been mixed. I like Christina Ricci, but is she enough? The previews have a sexist undertone, without Mad Men's clever commentary. (The other Mad Men copycat - The Playboy Club has gotten abysmal reviews and looks incredibly offensive.)
*Terra Nova - could be good or horrible. It reminds me a little of Lost in Space meets Earth 2 meets Dinosaurs with a touch of Outcasts. A family jumps back 8 billion years from a doomed polluted/fascist future to the distant past, in the hopes of restarting civilization. There's some interesting social commentary, and it has a bit of the same feel as the BBC series Outcasts, except instead of finding a new planet, they go back in time. Stars Jason O'Mara from Life on Mars (US version), as a cop who was arrested for having one too many children, he escapes and joins his family on their trek to the past. Women roles seem pretty strong - surgeon wife, teenage daughter, and teen son. Tough bad girl. Executive Produced by Stephen Spielberg and has been in development for four years now - which is actually a good sign, Farscape was in development for two to three years before it got picked up - gives them more time to develop characters. Same thing with Battle Star Galatica Take II. So it may be tighter. It's also the only true sci-fi show on the horizon.
*Alcatzar - isn't coming until mid-season apparently. This is also Sci-fi. Stars Jorge Reyes (Hugo from Lost), Sam Neill, and some woman I forget the name of. About hunting down criminals who have disappeared from a high-tech prison.
*Subrogatory - I'm curious about, because I identify. A teen girl gets moved to the upper middle class midwestern suburbs from her urban roots. Hijinks ensue.
No good sci-fi shows outside of Terra Nova and maybe Alcatzar that I can see on the horizon - I think they hit their saturation point (or Terra Nova scared everyone off) and the writers are trying fantasy shows for a change of pace (possibly because you don't have to do as much research or know as much to write fantasy - while with sci-fi, it sort of helps if you know a little science, bloody information age). What has also hit the saturation point finally is super-hero series - they did too many of them. Instead they are doing hybrids - such as Unforgettable - which is a cop with the insane ability to remember everything she sees (which is a real ability actually), Person of Interest ( a millionaire with a gadget that can predict crimes and find criminals before they commit the crime - feels a bit like Minority Report to me but has a really weak star in Jim Cavielle - pretty but boring. They should have hired Terry Quinn - who got grabbed by Hawaii 5-0 instead.), and Gifted (a doctor who is haunted by his dead wife...not sure what to make of this one, except it has a decent cast but the set-up sounds dull.)
Two types of series that I keep wishing would reach their saturation point and never appear to - are cop shows (seriously how many variations on the cop/crime show are on right now? Every channel has their own variation, including AMC) and reality shows, also talk shows. Bloody tired of all three. ABC not to be outdone by Bravo, CNN, OWN, MSNBC, FoxNews, Food Network, HGN, and TLC has decided to do an entire daytime lineup of nothing but talk shows. Apparently they think that there aren't enough talk shows and news shows on tv at the moment and they need to add more.) These shows appear to have the durability of cockroaches, along with the reproduction rate. They just won't die. Been in existence forever, damn it. Everything else goes in cycles, but those three types of series...are always there. Either there are people out there who actually think these shows are informative (they aren't - people, don't get your info from tv, it's less reliable than the internet and newspaper), or they just want brainless tv? Which I completely get.
6. Returning TV Series that I'm still watching, and am looking forward to the return of:
* The Good Wife (a twisty and sexy political thriller that is dressed up as a legal procedural but is anything but. By far the best scripted show on tv at the moment, or at the very least broadcast television.)
* Vamp Diaries - my guilty pleasure, pure crack. But fun. Also it makes more logical sense than True Blood and is less over the top.
* Parenthood - family drama at its smulchy best.
*Grey's Anatomy - soapy medical drama about female surgeons in Seattle. Possibly the most diverse casting on tv.
* Mad Men - won't appear again until next year. A 1960s tour de force on the Ad Industry and with excellent commentary on the social issues of the time.
* Justified - a modern day Western about a Marshall in the Kentucky Hills, staring Walter Goggins and Timothy Oliphant. Executive Produced by Elmore Leonard. One of the best written shows on tv at the moment.
* Supernatural - will most likely stick around for the sixth season, I think it's the sixth, if only to see Charisma Carpenter and James Marstes ham it up as husband and wife in the fifth episode. Also admittedly curious what they plan to do with Mischa Collins character.
*Glee...I don't know, I did not like the last season. Felt like a show written by a really really angry gay man. Which, I completely understand. But honestly, you are making over a million bucks and doing very well, whine somewhere else. And I don't find it re-watchable. We'll see.
The network apparently cracked down on the writers and told them to fix things. Less expensive guest stars and tributes, and more story and character focus. So maybe.
* House - have similar issues with it, that I have with Glee. It sort of jumped the proverbial shark last season. But they may redeem themselves by putting House in prison and writing Cuddy out. It makes no sense for House to go back to a relationship on any level with Cuddy. It makes her look like a doormat. Also House much like Dexter is becoming implausible. That's the problem with anti-hero tv series - after a while you begin to wonder why no one has caught these characters or fired them? In reality they would be.
*Gossip Girl - another past guilty pleasure that I think is on its last legs, because the characters are starting to repeat themselves and are getting boring as a result. They need to redefine themselves if they want to stay alive.
* Big Bang Theory/Community - which I jump back and forth between. Some episodes are hilarious, some un-watchably cringe-worthy. I've yet to find a sitcom that is consistently funny or entertaining like Cheers, MASH, Murphy Brown, News Radio, or Coupling.
*Walking Dead? I don't know, depends on what the new writers/producers do.
*Fringe - I may watch this instead of Grimm, depends on how I react to the DVDS or I'll just wait to rent it on DVD.
That's it for the fall crop. There are the series that start next year on HBO...of course.
2. Finished watching the first five episodes of S1 Fringe - the Wire this ain't, or for that matter Lost. Very weak start, but watchable. There's some interesting characters in there just waiting to break out. We shall see where this goes.
3. Also watched Mao's Last Dancer an American film based on the autobiography of the same name by Li Cuxin, a Chinese national who defected to the US in the 1980s so that he could become a dancer. He toured with the Houston Ballet, and eventually moved to Australia where he now lives with his family. Amazing dance sequences, the dialogue and acting are so-so. But do watch for the dance. Assuming you like dance. Some people feel about dance, the way I feel about most spectator sports. In fact there's a great line in the movie - the American choreographer Ben Foster is examining the Chinese dancers and states most are more athelets than dancers...they don't really show any emotion, all about the atheletic prowess, while dance is about emotion - or the expression of it. That's not to say one is better than the other, I'm not saying that. Just very different. I respect dancing because I can't do it.
4. Rather adore September, but it is always stressful and busy for some reason. It's like everyone took off for the summer, but me, and now they are back with a vengeance! But I do like it - weather wise it tends to be milder, and we have the start of the new tv season, and my allergies haven't gone nuts quite yet. Also there's an excitement in the air.
5. New TV Season? Mixed feelings about it. Most likely will just stick with shows from last season, but we shall see.
*AMC is introducing a new Western by the guy who did Deadwood.
According to the official websit: Hell on Wheels is a contemporary western about post-Civil War America that focuses on a Confederate soldier who sets out to exact revenge on the Union soldiers who have killed his wife. His journey takes him west to ‘Hell on Wheels,’ a dangerous, raucous, lawless melting pot of a town that travels with and services the construction of the first transcontinental railroad, an engineering feat unprecedented for its time. The series documents the railroad’s incredible feat of engineering and construction as well as the institutionalized greed and corruption, the immigrant experience, and the plight of the newly emancipated African-Americans during reconstruction. Over time, “Hell on Wheels” chronicles this potent turning point in our nation’s history, and how uncivilized the business of civilization can be.
Trailer can be found here: http://www.slashfilm.com/hell-wheels-trailer-amc-western/
This is supposed to come later in the season, and may take a while to get established. I'm a sucker for Western's - some people were weaned on football, I was weaned on Westerns and Noir and cult tv shows.
[Not sure about AMC's other offering Walking Dead - that got a few huge cuts - first Frank Darabount was fired over a very heated public dispute regarding budget. Which brings me to the second bit - the budget was slashed by about $635,000 per episode. Horror shows sort of require big budgets to do stuff - although if they switch from the urban area to the country, this may not be that much of a problem. The new guy in charge is Glenn Mazzara - best known for his work on The Shield and writing the Fifth episode "WildFire" of Walking Dead. The creator of the comics does remain as co-executive producer. ]
* On the fence about Brad Falchuck and Ryan Murphy's take on horror - American Horror Story
on F/X. It's gotten mixed reviews - one reviewer called it the most insane pilot they'd ever seen.
Another said it also is one of the scariest shows they've seen and has a lot more in common with Nip/Tuck than Glee and Murphy seems to go even further with it.
The review at NPR states: "It tells the story of the Harmon family: Vivien (Connie Britton) and Ben (Dylan McDermott) and their teenage daughter Violet (Taissa Farmiga). They've got plenty of family problems, but their newest one is that they have moved into a straight-up haunted house. And it's not pleasantly haunted by friendly ghosts that look like Casper, either. It's haunted by demon-y looking things, and it may possibly cause you to hallucinate, and it has a history of not just spooking but downright ... well, devouring the people who live in it.
The review goes on to call it a frenetic gorefest, teeming with sex and ludicrous situations. American Horror Story premieres Oct. 5th on FX."
I don't know. Ryan Murphy bugs me. His tv series start out okay, then...I start to wonder about him. He seems to have a lot of suppressed anger. Like he wants to kick his audience or something. Reminds me a little of what Stephen King once said about Stanley Kubrick's film version of his book The Shining - Kubrick appears to want to hurt the audience. I get the same feeling about Murphy. There's a little bit of Kubrick's twisted sensibility in Murphy without well the artistry that often made Kubrick somewhat digestible. (I've seen almost all of Kubrick's films. My favorites are Clock Work Orange - which I wrote a paper on, and Doctor Strangelove. Although I do have a special fondness for Stephen Spielberg's interpretation of Kubrick's AI, I know I'm in the minority on that one. 2001 frankly is too long. What? I was in college in the 1980s people. We studied stuff like that back then. Now people write papers on Buffy and The Sopranoes.)
* Once Upon a Time - also gets mixed reviews, but is supposed to be the better of the two fairy tale series. It certainly has the better cast. Although that isn't saying much. I do like the concept though - and yes, I know Bill Willingham did it first in Fables, but this version doesn't appear to contain Williamham's sexist take on the universe. ie. the lead is Emma Swan who is a female bounty hunter. While in Williamham's verse the lead is Jack of Fables or Wolf - a sexist private dick. Emphasis on "dick". Plus the villain? Is also female - the Evil Queen. In short? the guys aren't the leads. Which is nice change of pace and how it differs from Willingham.
Also how it differs from Grimm - where the protagonist is also a guy. Once Upon a Time is by the guys who did Lost, and I think Jane Espenson may be writing for it. She is and is an executive producer - check it out:
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jane-espenson-liz-tigelaar-join-193496
http://scifimafia.com/2011/05/once-upon-a-time-lost-writers-to-capture-your-imagination-in-new-abc-fantasy-series/
What's interesting about it - is it is a story much like Buffy, where there is magic, but no one believes in it. Fairy tales aren't real, yet everyone is a fairy tale character - they just don't know it. Very similar to Lost in that aspect. Also I haven't seen anyone try that on TV before, comic books, yes, and not necessarily well *cough*Fables*cough*. But it all depends on how well it is put together. Also how much of a chance ABC gives it. That's the trouble with television shows now - they aren't given much of a chance to take off if they are on the broadcast networks.
And the better shows often require a little bit of time to find themselves and build an audience. (Examples of shows that started out low in the ratings and had to find themselves: Cheers, MASH,
Hill Street Blues, Buffy, Farscape, Fringe, Star Trek, St. Elsewhere.) Hope people give it a chance and don't write it off after just one or two episodes - I say that without seeing it yet, watch, I could change my mind. Haven't been that crazy with Espenson's last few efforts. And the Lost writers...well Lost was uneven, and they also were responsible for Tron:Legacy.
Grim is the other one - but I'm less interested in it. It feels too much like the X-Files except fairy tale monsters are real as opposed to aliens. I'm already watching Supernatural.
* Ringer...this could be the keeper of the season. It's a twisty noir thriller, that looks like it could be a lot of fun. Depending once again on the writing and production. Not sure about Gellar, I haven't liked her in anything since Buffy, but that is true of practically everyone on that series with the exception of Anthony Stewart Head (who I loved before Buffy aired). Gellar does have control over Ringer - which she didn't in other efforts. And she is a perfectionist. She describes Ringer as being a meld of her best performances - Cruel Intentions and Buffy (and I agree with her on that score - those are her two best performances). Also the rest of the cast is good. But are the writers?? The critics appear to like it and it has screened well.
Also it's nice to have a female noir series, with a female protagonist. That's the one thing I like about the fall season - a lot of strong female roles. Which is why I prefer tv to film, more female roles. Film tends to be a bit too male centric - at least in the genre category, which gets tiring.
* Secret Circle- feels a bit too young for me, with the Luz from Life Unexpected and John Connor from Sarah Connor Chronicles in the lead roles. Not enough adult leads. Vamp Diaries at least has the older characters. Also teen shows with twenty and thirty somethings in the lead roles is getting old.
*Prime Suspect - could be good or it appears to be the best of the new cop shows (there are several) I like Maria Bello and Aidan Quinn. But...I've seen this done one too many times already. The Closer, the original Prime Suspect, and the US remake in the 1990s.
The new twist seems to be NYC and a cop that gets beaten up a lot. Sort of tired of kickass women who get beaten up a lot...that too is getting old.
* Revenge- is basically the Counte of Monte Cristo's Daughter in the Hamptons circa the 21st Century. That could actually be a lot of fun. A nice girl being nasty to get revenge for her wronged father.
*Pam Am - may be the best of the Mad Men copies with a heavy female centric cast, but I like the BBC's The Hour better - it's stronger and twistier. It's about a bunch of stewardesses in the early days of air travel, when it was still fun and cool to fly. Reviews on PAM AM have been mixed. I like Christina Ricci, but is she enough? The previews have a sexist undertone, without Mad Men's clever commentary. (The other Mad Men copycat - The Playboy Club has gotten abysmal reviews and looks incredibly offensive.)
*Terra Nova - could be good or horrible. It reminds me a little of Lost in Space meets Earth 2 meets Dinosaurs with a touch of Outcasts. A family jumps back 8 billion years from a doomed polluted/fascist future to the distant past, in the hopes of restarting civilization. There's some interesting social commentary, and it has a bit of the same feel as the BBC series Outcasts, except instead of finding a new planet, they go back in time. Stars Jason O'Mara from Life on Mars (US version), as a cop who was arrested for having one too many children, he escapes and joins his family on their trek to the past. Women roles seem pretty strong - surgeon wife, teenage daughter, and teen son. Tough bad girl. Executive Produced by Stephen Spielberg and has been in development for four years now - which is actually a good sign, Farscape was in development for two to three years before it got picked up - gives them more time to develop characters. Same thing with Battle Star Galatica Take II. So it may be tighter. It's also the only true sci-fi show on the horizon.
*Alcatzar - isn't coming until mid-season apparently. This is also Sci-fi. Stars Jorge Reyes (Hugo from Lost), Sam Neill, and some woman I forget the name of. About hunting down criminals who have disappeared from a high-tech prison.
*Subrogatory - I'm curious about, because I identify. A teen girl gets moved to the upper middle class midwestern suburbs from her urban roots. Hijinks ensue.
No good sci-fi shows outside of Terra Nova and maybe Alcatzar that I can see on the horizon - I think they hit their saturation point (or Terra Nova scared everyone off) and the writers are trying fantasy shows for a change of pace (possibly because you don't have to do as much research or know as much to write fantasy - while with sci-fi, it sort of helps if you know a little science, bloody information age). What has also hit the saturation point finally is super-hero series - they did too many of them. Instead they are doing hybrids - such as Unforgettable - which is a cop with the insane ability to remember everything she sees (which is a real ability actually), Person of Interest ( a millionaire with a gadget that can predict crimes and find criminals before they commit the crime - feels a bit like Minority Report to me but has a really weak star in Jim Cavielle - pretty but boring. They should have hired Terry Quinn - who got grabbed by Hawaii 5-0 instead.), and Gifted (a doctor who is haunted by his dead wife...not sure what to make of this one, except it has a decent cast but the set-up sounds dull.)
Two types of series that I keep wishing would reach their saturation point and never appear to - are cop shows (seriously how many variations on the cop/crime show are on right now? Every channel has their own variation, including AMC) and reality shows, also talk shows. Bloody tired of all three. ABC not to be outdone by Bravo, CNN, OWN, MSNBC, FoxNews, Food Network, HGN, and TLC has decided to do an entire daytime lineup of nothing but talk shows. Apparently they think that there aren't enough talk shows and news shows on tv at the moment and they need to add more.) These shows appear to have the durability of cockroaches, along with the reproduction rate. They just won't die. Been in existence forever, damn it. Everything else goes in cycles, but those three types of series...are always there. Either there are people out there who actually think these shows are informative (they aren't - people, don't get your info from tv, it's less reliable than the internet and newspaper), or they just want brainless tv? Which I completely get.
6. Returning TV Series that I'm still watching, and am looking forward to the return of:
* The Good Wife (a twisty and sexy political thriller that is dressed up as a legal procedural but is anything but. By far the best scripted show on tv at the moment, or at the very least broadcast television.)
* Vamp Diaries - my guilty pleasure, pure crack. But fun. Also it makes more logical sense than True Blood and is less over the top.
* Parenthood - family drama at its smulchy best.
*Grey's Anatomy - soapy medical drama about female surgeons in Seattle. Possibly the most diverse casting on tv.
* Mad Men - won't appear again until next year. A 1960s tour de force on the Ad Industry and with excellent commentary on the social issues of the time.
* Justified - a modern day Western about a Marshall in the Kentucky Hills, staring Walter Goggins and Timothy Oliphant. Executive Produced by Elmore Leonard. One of the best written shows on tv at the moment.
* Supernatural - will most likely stick around for the sixth season, I think it's the sixth, if only to see Charisma Carpenter and James Marstes ham it up as husband and wife in the fifth episode. Also admittedly curious what they plan to do with Mischa Collins character.
*Glee...I don't know, I did not like the last season. Felt like a show written by a really really angry gay man. Which, I completely understand. But honestly, you are making over a million bucks and doing very well, whine somewhere else. And I don't find it re-watchable. We'll see.
The network apparently cracked down on the writers and told them to fix things. Less expensive guest stars and tributes, and more story and character focus. So maybe.
* House - have similar issues with it, that I have with Glee. It sort of jumped the proverbial shark last season. But they may redeem themselves by putting House in prison and writing Cuddy out. It makes no sense for House to go back to a relationship on any level with Cuddy. It makes her look like a doormat. Also House much like Dexter is becoming implausible. That's the problem with anti-hero tv series - after a while you begin to wonder why no one has caught these characters or fired them? In reality they would be.
*Gossip Girl - another past guilty pleasure that I think is on its last legs, because the characters are starting to repeat themselves and are getting boring as a result. They need to redefine themselves if they want to stay alive.
* Big Bang Theory/Community - which I jump back and forth between. Some episodes are hilarious, some un-watchably cringe-worthy. I've yet to find a sitcom that is consistently funny or entertaining like Cheers, MASH, Murphy Brown, News Radio, or Coupling.
*Walking Dead? I don't know, depends on what the new writers/producers do.
*Fringe - I may watch this instead of Grimm, depends on how I react to the DVDS or I'll just wait to rent it on DVD.
That's it for the fall crop. There are the series that start next year on HBO...of course.
no subject
no subject
But from what I've seen to date? I think you probably need the back-story.
So...I'll just skim my way through the first season until I get to the good stuff.
The reactions I've seen to Fringe, remind me a lot of the reactions I saw to Buffy and Farscape. "The first season sort of sucked! But OMG the second is really interesting and it just gets better from there! You just have to wade through the first..."
no subject
no subject
no subject
Episode 1 - establishes the team, explains where Walter Bishop has been and what he was doing, and that the only way to get access is to him is through Peter. It also establishes Olivia's relationship with John Scott - her partner - and how she loses him, thinking he betrayed her. She's indirectly responsible for his death and his life.
Episode 2 - establishes the whole Peter/Walter connection, and Broyles/Blair Brown connection.
Episode 3-5 - we get more on John Scott, and this interesting story about how Peter almost drowned but Walter had saved him, but this is actually a lie, because the observer (bald guy) saved them both instead. (I have an odd feeling that story will change again.)
Plus the Beacons.
No, there's all sorts of little tid-bits. It's like Buffy and Farscape, I suspect...if you skip over the first episodes, you'll only kick yourself later and go back to re-watch them. Although I will give Fringe this much credit - it's early episodes (the first five) are far better acted, written and produced than Farscape and Buffy's - but this may be due to money.
no subject
no subject
no subject
From the list above...the only ones I see jumping are possibly American Horror Story, Terra Nova, and Ringer.
But I may be wrong about that. Depends on how well they do.
no subject
Terra Nova: if this is meant to be Earth in the past, the potential time paradox issues make the idea unfeasibly ridiculous to me.
no subject
As for Terra Nova, they are getting around the time paradox issue by having the show take place before the Ice Age...which means they can potentially play the same game as BSG did, our ancestors are our descendants. That's less ridiculous than believing a guy can travel across LA in one second in 24.
no subject
no subject
no subject
Personally prefer the parallel universe theory, provides more leeway and room for creativity.
Speaking of Sci-Fi shows, I hunted around on your site and could not find a review of "Sanctuary" - the Amanda Tapping series on Syfy. Have you seen it? Was curious to see what you thought of it. (After a season and a half, I was less than thrilled with it - felt like a cheap version of Torchwood.)
no subject
I just wasn't interested. So I stopped bothering to tune in at all.
Anyway I'll be really interested in whether or not you end up loving this show.
I'm excited about seeing SMG's Ringers, but I'm not sure the show will end up being much (I hope it will be).
And I'm very curious about Suburgatory because Alan Tudyk will be in it....
but for the most part I'm not very excited about the Fall season, network TV just seems to get worse and worse (to many total lack of talent contests and not really 'reality' shows). I'll probably give these shows a peak, but frankly I can't guarantee that I'll give them the full hour (my patience runs short lately).
I'm glad Body of Proof is returning, I like that.
no subject
It's not like procedurals (Body of Proof, Castle, House, The Closer, CSI,
Hawaii 5-0, Bones, etc..) where you pretty much know from the first two or three episodes whether you'll like it or not, because let's face it those shows never change. Nor for that matter due pure soaps like Vamp Diaries, True Blood, Desperate Housewives...Some shows, you can tell right off the bat.
Other shows, the better ones actually, the ones that change tv and have die-hard fans...you can't always tell if you'll love them until about the second or third year sometimes. They change. So you need to give them time.
no subject
Even a procedural can be character driven... of course I'm happier if they grow or change (behave a like a real character). I'll stop watching when they stop being engaging. Dana Delany's character in 'Body of Proof' was given a very abrasive character and she has already started making connections w/her co-works, and w/her daughter.... I've found the show to be more than a procedural (but I get that it might not interest you... we do like a lot of different things).
New shows with cast members I already care about have more chance of interesting me since I'll start out wanting to like their characters... But of course that doesn't always work (Bones, HIMYM, and other shows never became 'must see' even with Buffy alumni).
And maybe I'll be easier to please if I get desperate for entertainment, but lately I've had too many things too many things to watch!
no subject
Me either, or I'd be watching Breaking Bad, which is a very well-written tv series, with great acting. But I cannot stand the characters.
Fringe, oddly started out that way when I tried it several years ago. I really did not like Olivia when I watched it three years ago. But now, I changed my mind. I do that. My interests have a tendency to change. You probably are wondering why try it again?
Well, my flist has been posting about it - and what they've been posting is rather intriguing. A universe where Kennedy did not die.
A character from a parallel universe switching places with the one in the present universe. A father loving his son so much he literally crosses into a parallel universe to steal the son that did not die, when his son actually did. I like twisty stuff like that. Also, apparently Olivia becomes a kick-ass heroine. And then there's a guest-star spot by Leonard Nimoy as a mysterious scientist. Plus I happen to adore the following actors: Lance Reddick, Blair Brown, Leonard Nimoy, and John Noble. So try it again, I did. And I'm pleasantly surprised. (I tried it because I was bored with tv the last few weeks...)
Even a procedural can be character driven... of course I'm happier if they grow or change (behave a like a real character). I'll stop watching when they stop being engaging. Dana Delany's character in 'Body of Proof' was given a very abrasive character and she has already started making connections w/her co-works, and w/her daughter.
Basically House, The Closer, In Plain Sight, Lie to Me, Shark, Sherlock, etc. I do and have watched several of them. I call them "Holmes" clones - the set-up is you have an abrasive lead who is brilliant and can't stand the fact that he/she is surrounded by nitwits, who solves mysteries, usually the mysteries are metaphors for a personal problem in her/his life, she/he figures out the solution to the mystery while in the midst of trying to solve that pesky personal problem. And uses his/her colleagues as sounding boards. The personal problem sort of gets solved, but not completely. And the colleagues can't quite figure out how they solved it.
I like some of them.
Am starting to get bored of the format though. There's far too many of them. Also after a bit they become implausible. The only one I still love is In Plain Sight - which is ending after next season. The Closer will end this season. They are wisely going out when they are still at the top of their game.
New shows with cast members I already care about have more chance of interesting me since I'll start out wanting to like their characters... But of course that doesn't always work (Bones, HIMYM, and other shows never became 'must see' even with Buffy alumni).
This can go two ways for me. If the show has a cast member that I can't stand...and there are a few television actors out there that I truly can't watch. They are like nails on a chalkboard. (I know a few people online can't watch Fringe because they can't stand Joshua Jackson for example.)
Bones and Body of Proof - I don't watch for more or less the same reason, I can't stand the actress in the lead role. This is a problem that you can't really get around since they are sort of in every scene. It's the exact opposite of the reason I watch House - I watch House because I adore Hugh Laurie. I managed to get around my dislike for Dana Delany in China Beach, because it was an ensemble show and I could ignore her. Can't do that in Body of Proof.
And there are of course instances in which I'll follow actors I do like around...I've lost count of the horrible tv shows and movies that I've seen in order to see James Marsters, Kevin Spacey, ASH,
and sigh, Marg Helgenberger. I can't watch CSI even for Marg, sorry, no. And same with Law & Order, UK - not even for Jamie Bamber. I've given up finally.
No, I'm picky, and moody, given to changing my mind on a dime, and impossible to predict. Also a tv junkie. Hee.
no subject
See? Just telling me that Leonard Nimoy is on Fringe is enough to make me reconsider... so if I get bored w/the new Fall season I may have to check out Fringe after all!
Yeah, I think we are all picky and moody in our own ways.... I was years late watching Buffy.... Partly because the cable company in Southeast Iowa didn't carry UPN or WB, and partly because I wasn't trying to find it because the movie had seemed lame (and I couldn't imagine that the TV could actually be better than the movie). However when FX finally started rerunning the series I did finally discover BtVS (and had an orgy of catching up on past episodes at the same time I was watching new episodes...).
no subject
But yeah...it's weird what will pull us into a series or kick us out of one.
I watched Buffy because I was following ASH around. He'd been on VR5, which got cancelled, and I read that he was cast in Buffy...which looked lame and starred that dreaded Gellar (I disliked her back then), but hey, it had ASH! Who I was really into.
no subject
I'll probably try the fairytale series, and make a decision from there.
I'm ambivalent on "Ringer" so... I just don't know. I'll probably sample and see.
And I'm interested in how "Fringe" is going to deal with the way it left off last season. There are a lot of potential directions and little clue which they are taking, so I'm intrigued as to which they choose.
no subject
Fringe - I have a problem, there's no way I'll make through all three seasons before the Sept. 23rd premiere, although I could just DVR until then. On the fence about trying Grimm. Curious about it - so may skip a SPN episode to watch it, since SPN gets repeated a lot.
Agree on Ringer...am somewhat ambivalent as well. I'll try and see.
no subject
I'll probably try Grimm, just for the heck of trying.
Same probably goes for Ringer. I actually don't have that many 'returning shows' .
And I'm intrigued by what you've said regarding Hell on Wheels.
no subject
I have this weird desire to try all new shows and see which ones are good or not. But these days there are so frigging many networks and new shows, I don't have the time. So have to be a little picky.
There's a lot of sitcoms premiering, will say that much. Sitcoms and paranormal cop shows.