Random TV Thoughts

[Reed]

Eh, Hannibal's in a good position because it's been so critically accalimed and has such a built in fanbase that even if NBC drop it, I think there's a great chance amazon, netflix or even maybe a cable network will pick it up. Fuller even said he was fairly sure there would be a second season some way or other, regardless of what happened with NBC.

[Reed]

 

I think Almost Human's problem is it's just too cheesy at points. Not saying it would be doing amazing ratings if it was more serious, but the buddy cop moments are cringe worthy. Airing it out of order doesn't help. John went from despising robots and blaming them for his friend's death to chilling and telling jokes with one within about two episodes.

 

And, damn, I guess we're probably not going to get the end-of-season-3-or-4 twist that "John is an android!" which I am 95% sure was where the story was going.

I don't know about full android, since such a deal was made out of his synthetic leg.  Unless it was a synthetic attached to more synthetic, and he just doesn't know.  I too found it odd that they were so chummy so early on.  It very much should have been a Dr. Cox/JD type relationship, where the shows of admiration from John were few and far between before he finally accepted him.  I'm hoping that the DVD/Netflix release puts them in proper order.

 

 

Not sure how you explain the leg deal, but I thought the pilot was chalked full of hints that he had actually died in the attack and been brought back as a robot.

[Jrag]

Another great episode of Masters of Sex. The buzz is growing and this show is right on pace to be a full on critical darling by the time season 2 starts.  Andy Greenwald is starting to do reviews on Grantland..  http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/94645/masters-of-sex-the-phallic-victories-of-one-of-the-best-shows-on-tv

 

"Most rookie series tend to fumble with quality like an adolescent with a bra strap. But the beguiling Masters has been both thrilling and remarkably consistent: From the very first episodes, the show has had a rhythm and quiet confidence that belied its years. It's not noisy and it's not particularly rough; unlike other prestige hours it doesn't screw with our heads or play games with our hearts. Occasionally it's downright abstemious: Last night's penultimate episode was the first in weeks without a bang, and, because of that, there weren't even any memorable whimpers. And yet, even dressed, the show's many pleasures couldn't be denied. Masters is the rare young series that knows what it wants and exactly how to achieve it."

 

Couldn't agree more.

[Bustronaut]

 

 

I think Almost Human's problem is it's just too cheesy at points. Not saying it would be doing amazing ratings if it was more serious, but the buddy cop moments are cringe worthy. Airing it out of order doesn't help. John went from despising robots and blaming them for his friend's death to chilling and telling jokes with one within about two episodes.

 

And, damn, I guess we're probably not going to get the end-of-season-3-or-4 twist that "John is an android!" which I am 95% sure was where the story was going.

I don't know about full android, since such a deal was made out of his synthetic leg.  Unless it was a synthetic attached to more synthetic, and he just doesn't know.  I too found it odd that they were so chummy so early on.  It very much should have been a Dr. Cox/JD type relationship, where the shows of admiration from John were few and far between before he finally accepted him.  I'm hoping that the DVD/Netflix release puts them in proper order.

 

 

Not sure how you explain the leg deal, but I thought the pilot was chalked full of hints that he had actually died in the attack and been brought back as a robot.

 

Which helps my assertion that ALMOST HUMAN is everything that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. should be

[Tabe]

Tabe, you don't look like you know much about Texas football. Everyone else is screwing up the names for passing plays.

 

 

And all of the football stuff didn't bother me at all because it's a show about family and community, with football being the vehicle for the plot. It could have been about team badminton and it would have still be an amazing show.

 

CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN'T LOSE!

 

 

Tsk tsk, I know plenty.  But, uh... an "ISO" isn't a passing play.

 

Hey, I love the show and they get sooooooo many little details right.  The football scenes are fantastic.  They're not all gigantic flying collisions and diving catches and stuff.  They're...authentic.  But, man, having a major plot device being based on a wrong rule?  It sticks out like a majorly sore thumb.

 

I gotta say, Matt Saracen is one of my all-time favorite characters on any TV show anywhere.  His character is deep and so....real.  He's that kid who's trying his darnedest to do the right thing while he's got so much other stuff going on (work, taking care of Grandma, absent father, absent mother, dating coach's daughter, pressures of football, and so on) while also doing typical teenager stuff like the occasional drunken party and so on.  So many nuances and all written (and acted) really, really well.

 

On the other hand, I find Tami Taylor pretty annoying.  Can't quite put a finger on why all the time, there's just something there.  Still think she's really hot though

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

Another great episode of Masters of Sex. The buzz is growing and this show is right on pace to be a full on critical darling by the time season 2 starts.  Andy Greenwald is starting to do reviews on Grantland..  http://www.grantland.com/blog/hollywood-prospectus/post/_/id/94645/masters-of-sex-the-phallic-victories-of-one-of-the-best-shows-on-tv

 

"Most rookie series tend to fumble with quality like an adolescent with a bra strap. But the beguiling Masters has been both thrilling and remarkably consistent: From the very first episodes, the show has had a rhythm and quiet confidence that belied its years. It's not noisy and it's not particularly rough; unlike other prestige hours it doesn't screw with our heads or play games with our hearts. Occasionally it's downright abstemious: Last night's penultimate episode was the first in weeks without a bang, and, because of that, there weren't even any memorable whimpers. And yet, even dressed, the show's many pleasures couldn't be denied. Masters is the rare young series that knows what it wants and exactly how to achieve it."

 

Couldn't agree more.

Damn it, now that you've endorsed it the second season is gonna go off the rails.

[Jrag]

I've been waiting on Showtime to fuck this up, but it's not exactly a Homeland like tightrope.  They still could, I guess, but you might as well get in while the getting is good.

 

+ that would be 3 people who watch this and I could make a thread!

[Craig H]

 

Tabe, you don't look like you know much about Texas football. Everyone else is screwing up the names for passing plays.

 

 

And all of the football stuff didn't bother me at all because it's a show about family and community, with football being the vehicle for the plot. It could have been about team badminton and it would have still be an amazing show.

 

CLEAR EYES, FULL HEARTS, CAN'T LOSE!

 

 

Tsk tsk, I know plenty.  But, uh... an "ISO" isn't a passing play.

 

Hey, I love the show and they get sooooooo many little details right.  The football scenes are fantastic.  They're not all gigantic flying collisions and diving catches and stuff.  They're...authentic.  But, man, having a major plot device being based on a wrong rule?  It sticks out like a majorly sore thumb.

 

I gotta say, Matt Saracen is one of my all-time favorite characters on any TV show anywhere.  His character is deep and so....real.  He's that kid who's trying his darnedest to do the right thing while he's got so much other stuff going on (work, taking care of Grandma, absent father, absent mother, dating coach's daughter, pressures of football, and so on) while also doing typical teenager stuff like the occasional drunken party and so on.  So many nuances and all written (and acted) really, really well.

 

On the other hand, I find Tami Taylor pretty annoying.  Can't quite put a finger on why all the time, there's just something there.  Still think she's really hot though

 

 

You're really making me pine for the old FNL thread. I have fond memories of coming on there repeatedly with my mind blown. And keep watching. There is so much awesome stuff with Saracen. That character's life is such shit and, man, just wait. You just wait. It's going to be awesome.

 

The kid who plays Saracen should have been received an Emmy nomination.

[Greggulator]

Finished season 2 of Friday Night Lights.  The "OMG!  I'm pregnant" thing with the waitress was a bit cliche but still at least plausible.  Then I started the first episode of season 3...

 

I was really tired so only watched 15 minutes but good grief.  The number of plot holes, logic gaps, and just...stupidity in that 15 minutes is tough to take:

 

- so Saracen, Riggins, Lyla, Tyra, Landry and Julie are all now the same age?  This despite the fact that Riggins was a returning starter in season 1 when he was supposedly a sophomore?  Lyla was the head of the cheerleaders in season 1 and she was supposedly a sophomore?  Tyra was at least reasonably believable (in appearance) as a senior in season 1, now we're supposed to think she was a sophomore?  Lyla was getting asked where she'd applied to colleges in season 1 - something no "sophomore" would ever get asked.  Now Street and his BFF Riggins are actually two years apart in age?  Good grief.

 

- Taylor's wife is now the principal.  Yeah, I suppose that's believable.  I mean, she was just an academic counselor before, one that it was strongly implied hadn't worked in quite awhile before she took THAT job that miraculously appeared.

 

- Taylor's wife has a meeting with the teachers AFTER school has started and acts like it's the first time she's seen/met with the teachers.  That's stupid.  A new principal would have met with the teachers before the school year started, probably multiple times.

 

- Taylor's wife is working on th school budget AFTER school has started.  That's stupid.  The budget would have already been set.

 

And so on.  And all that's just the first 15 minutes.  There have been logic/plot holes before* but c'mon.  Changing the ages of multiple main characters is pretty bad.  I'm sure I'll get over it quickly but it's pretty jarring in that first episode.

 

* - two examples: 1) The car used to dispose of the rapists's body was Tyra's but the police used fibers in Landry's to track him down despite the body never being in there; 2) Tyra tells her Christian boyfriend that she burned her cheerleader uniform when in reality we saw her throw out in a hotel maid's cart.

 

If I can believe wrestlers will automatically rebound of of ropes made of steel than I can buy anything FNL is offering.

[Reed]

 

 

 

I think Almost Human's problem is it's just too cheesy at points. Not saying it would be doing amazing ratings if it was more serious, but the buddy cop moments are cringe worthy. Airing it out of order doesn't help. John went from despising robots and blaming them for his friend's death to chilling and telling jokes with one within about two episodes.

 

And, damn, I guess we're probably not going to get the end-of-season-3-or-4 twist that "John is an android!" which I am 95% sure was where the story was going.

I don't know about full android, since such a deal was made out of his synthetic leg.  Unless it was a synthetic attached to more synthetic, and he just doesn't know.  I too found it odd that they were so chummy so early on.  It very much should have been a Dr. Cox/JD type relationship, where the shows of admiration from John were few and far between before he finally accepted him.  I'm hoping that the DVD/Netflix release puts them in proper order.

 

 

Not sure how you explain the leg deal, but I thought the pilot was chalked full of hints that he had actually died in the attack and been brought back as a robot.

 

Which helps my assertion that ALMOST HUMAN is everything that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. should be

 

 

I haven't watched that much Agents of Shield. I haven't heard much good about it. It feels way too much like a cash-grab, even by Hollywood standards.

 

Besides that, I'm just not sure about the idea of doing a show where the main stars of the franchise aren't around and we're just stuck with a bunch of likable but otherwise bland cast of people.

[Antacular]

"I'd rather have the thieves over than the neighbors. Thieves don't impose. Neighbors want your time. Thieves want your things. I'd rather give them things than time."

Maybe my favorite Curb/Seinfeld moment ever, which puts it up there as one of my favorite quotes, ever.

[tigertooth]

It's not so much about feeling like I wasted my time, for me.  It's more getting into a serialized show if I think I'm just going to be left dangling at the end.

 

I guess.  But I got around to watching Rubicon and Jericho after they got cancelled since I heard they were good.  And I enjoyed both.  (Granted, Jericho got to tie up some stuff in a mini second season)  Young Justice ends with a teaser toward a third season that never came, but the first two seasons were still really good.  Actually, come to think of it, Carnivale is another one that even though it got cancelled before its time, I still think it's worth watching.

 

To be fair, I watched all those except YJ after they got cancelled, so I had my expectations in place.  But it's not like I regret watching YJ.  I guess I can understand the idea of being leery of a show if you don't know if it's going to even complete an entire season.  Getting cut off right in the middle would be annoying.  But getting cut off at the end of a first or second season doesn't seem so bad to me.

[Reed]

Add "Why did she call her son 'Jeremy'?" to the list of perplexing Katrina Crane questions. I mean, I imagine anything is an improvement after "Ichabod" but still.

[Eivion]

Add "Why did she call her son 'Jeremy'?" to the list of perplexing Katrina Crane questions. I mean, I imagine anything is an improvement after "Ichabod" but still.

It was the name of either Ichabod's father or grandfather.

[RIPPA]

Speaking of cable shows and cancellations

 

Showtime announced that Californication - which starts its 7th season in April - will not be getting an 8th season

[Craig H]

Does anyone other than JT still watch Californiacation?

[Fat Spanish Waiter]

Yes, and anyone who doesn't is missing out.

[Bustronaut]

I really hope ALMOST HUMAN gets picked up, I'm liking it more and more each week.

[ultimoDANK]

I really like Califorication but one more season is fine with me.

Masters of Sex is slow but good. I've only watched the first 3 but I'm in.

I'm pretty excited for True Detective on HBO. I didn't realize it's premiering on Jan 12, I thought that was later in the spring. Anyways the new longer trailer for the show made it look so good.

[CSC]

I don't know if there's ever been a more unlikeable final 3 in Amazing Race history.  When the most healthy relationship is between the divorced couple (where the ex-wife strong armed a 60-40 split agreement of the money by threatening to drop out), there are problems.  I felt so terrible for the one wife who was just getting verbally obliterated any time she wasn't 100% successful on a challenge to the point where she was a total shell by the end of the race.  Added to that the winners who proclaimed themselves the best racers ever because they had the most SECOND place finishes of anyone in history.  Hilarious.

 

It was a shame because this was one of the better final challenges in Race history.  Looking forward to the All-Stars season coming up to wipe this one out of my mind.

[Reed]

As TVLine noted, Sleepy Hollow's version of Purgatory looks shockingly like a Meatloaf video.

[Reed]

I really hope ALMOST HUMAN gets picked up, I'm liking it more and more each week.

 

It did a bit better in the ratings this week, although there wasn't as much competition. I hope if it can stabalise at a 1.8 or 1.9 it can manage to get a renewal.

[Craig H]

I think the Red Wedding has ruined dramatic television.

[JRGoldman]

I think the Red Wedding has ruined dramatic television.

Why, pray tell?

[Craig H]

It seems like the finales for so cable dramas have been needlessly over the top violent and "shocking." It's like a wrestling match full of high spots.