It is that telly meme
From everyone pretty much but I did my c-and-p from cakesy:
Name a TV show series in which you have seen every episode at least twice:
West Wing. Yes, even Isaac and Ishmael. There are probably others, but this is one I am sure of because I have fallen into a pattern of having pretty much annual viewthroughs. Oh dear god it's awesome. Except when it's really, really not. But mostly it is awesome. It's one of the few ensemble shows I can think of where the ensemble really works.
Name a (current) show you can't miss:
Being Human. It has made my opinion of Toby Whithouse shoot up. I suspect Who is not a natural fit for his take on the world, which is why his episodes tend to not quite work, but in his own thing his writing works really well. Possibly I am fail as a fan as I do not feel that ep 1 of the new series was all that bad; it had a bit of difficult-second-album syndrome about it, but it didn't make me wince or anything. Well, actually it did, but in an "ouch, these emotional beats feel eminently believable" type way.
Name an actor that would make you more inclined to watch a show:
I was about to be all "oh, yeah, I don't notice actors per se really, more characters" and then I realised that the answer to this question is totally Emilia Fox. I watched that weird Mills and Boon thing on BBC4 mainly because she was in it (oh, OK, and because I secretly have a bit of a thing about Mills and Boon, or did before they turned to the Dark Side), she's been in all the episodes of Merlin I've watched even half-properly, and she's the entire reason I started watching Silent Witness (I've drifted away from it again a bit but ...). And back in the day I would probably have given up on the Vic and Bob Randall and Hopkirk without her as Jeannie, come to think of it.
So, er, yes, Emilia Fox.
Also, Tamsin Grieg, come to think of it.
Name an actor who would make you less likely to watch a show:
Rupert Penry-Jones. I find his posh reserved person acting indistinguishable from woodenness. I am not all that sad about him having died on Spooks, whereas on the other hand I am still upset about Colin and that was basically four series ago.
Name a show you can, and do, quote from.
Spaced. I sometimes say "skip to the end" to people a bit like Tim does to Mike that one time. It is probably quite annoying, come to think of it.
Name a show you like that no one else enjoys:
I think I am too boring to have one of these.
Name a TV show which you've been known to sing the theme song:
Red Dwarf. I even know how to play a vague approximation of the melody one-fingered on the piano. This is in fact the entire measure of my ability on any instrument in any way, shape or form.
Name a show you would recommend everyone to watch:
Maybe not "everyone" everyone, but anyone who's watched any genre telly made pre-mid-90s should find something amusing in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.
Name a TV series you own:
Bonekickers. DON'T MESS WITH ME I'M AN ARCHAEOLOGIST. I mean, obviously I own other TV shows, but I am prepared to admit the shameful fact that among them is Bonekickers. It is mainly because I grew up near all the locations.
What is your favourite episode of your favourite series?
S26 of Who. What do you mean that's not a single episode?
Oh, OK, then, if I really have to pick a single episode, Survival part three. For the TARDIS being the Doctor's home and Ace being ready to carry on without him and the Doctor/Master and the Ace/Karra and ... well, anyway. And the speech at the end.
A show you mean to watch, but you just haven't gotten around to yet:
Mad Men. Though I am a bit afeared of it having really annoying gender/sexual/etc. attitudes that I won't be able to compartmentalise as a portrait of the times. And I sort of think that maybe I am only interseted because of Zoe offa West Wing.
Ever quit watching a show because it was so bad?
Heroes. And Lost. Not that I think Lost is bad, per se, but I got disillusioned with what felt like random chuck-in-a-twist writing. I reserve the right to watch it later when I have satisfied myself from spoilers that it is not going to be a rubbish let-down ending like "and it was all a dream", "it was Earth all along" or whatever. (Naming no names, nu BSG.)
Name a show you aren't interested in watching, not in the least:
Anything with Gordon Ramsay.
Name a show that's made you cry multiple times:
Doctor Who, by which I mostly mean Human Nature.
Oldest TV show you like?
Doctor Who
Newest TV show you like?
Being Human, probably.
What do you eat when you watch TV?
Food. I have just had PIZZA in front of the Daily Show.
How often do you watch TV?
It is very rare that a day goes by in which I don't watch some TV.
Do you have a favorite talk show?
No. I don't count the Daily Show as a talk show, because I always switch it off when the interview comes on, unless it is an interviewee that Jon Stewart seems likely to be able to get some sarcastic news-related mileage out of, which seems to happen less and less often these days.
What's the last TV show you watched?
The Daily Show, while I was eating my pizza, but that is a boring answer so:
OMG you guys, Virgin1 showed Yesterday's Enterprise the other day and my shiny new magic box recorded it for me and I watched it and I was all ready for it to be full of fail because other TNG I have been watching lately has given me the heebie jeebies, but it was still really good. ♥ Guinan. (Heebie jeebie example: Samaritan Snare; I never saw that one the first time round but knew it from episode guides and such as the one where the B plot is the epic backstory to that awesome Picard/Q fic* from S6, and the A plot having a bit that was like the Corbomite Maneuver from Kirk!Trek, and it turns out to be full of colonialist attitudes that are completely unexamined; we get this line from Troi about how the stupid aliens of the week are stupid and in fact so stupid that they're unwilling to allow their society to develop at some sort of "natural" pace. Because if the people with the amazingly better than yours technology turn up on the doorstep, the correct response is to WORSHIP THEM AS GODS or something, obviously. OMG the fail. Except there are all those other episodes about how fail the stupid natives are for worshipping the Starfleet people as gods when the Starfleet people fucked up their hiding from them. So basically, TNG is full of fail and it's all because the Prime Directive is in fact this massively unethical thing where it is perfectly OK to allow people to carry on living [and more to the point dying needlessly] in ignorance out of your concern for them not being able to handle the news that there are aliens.)
* I have had a huge realisation watching the Trek on Virgin1 that there is so much canon ficcishness in it. Like, even Yesterday's Enterprise is a big clunking "Tasha's death was meaningless! We will give her a meaningful one!" contrivance. And this is all before they started raiding the slush pile for scripts in S7.
What's your favourite/preferred genre of TV?
Tie between SF and comedy. BUT GUESS WHAT, Hyperdrive is not in fact televisual perfection.
What's your least favourite genre of TV?
Those loathsome property shows that inflate the housing bubble and persuade people that their houses are bad and wrong because you're not allowed to live in your house like it might be your home, it has to be an investment AND THESE SHOWS HAVE SOMEHOW STILL CONTINUED EVEN AFTER WE SAW THE FINANCIAL CRISIS CONSEQUENCES OF IT ALL. I blame Kirstie Allsopp for Northern Rock et al. Somehow.
What was the first TV show you were obsessed with?
Doctor Who. Verily, my life has come full circle.
What TV show do you wish you never watched?
Never ever at all? That seems harsh. I can't think of anything I wish I'd never watched at all.
What's the weirdest show you enjoyed?
That late night C4 Victor Lewis-Smith one I forget the name of. You know, the one with the gay Daleks. I suspect I would find it full of fail these days, though. Based on what I remember of the gay Daleks.
What TV show scared you the most?
Erm, probably the X-Files. Yeah, I know. This was back when it used to do suggestion well rather than overexplaining the "mythology". You know how you sometimes get that spooky feeling you're being watched (that I'm sure has a fascinating psychological explanation but I just don't know what it is)? X-Files had me associating that feeling with grey aliens for quite a few years in my mid-teens even though I was utterly aware of how irrational it was.
... And, ha, I've literally just now realied where my distrust of Lost comes from. It all reminds me too much of the mess that the X Files conspiracy descended into.
What is the funniest TV show you have ever watched?
Um, it is probably Charlie Brooker's various _____wipes, actually. There's something about the way his vitriolic rants build into these sort of flights of angry whimsy that can reduce me to utter fits of laughter.
Which do you think is the best TV series ever made?
Singing Detective. I sometimes think Dennis Potter is possibly the only person to ever really totally and completely get how to use telly as a medium for drama. And now he dead.
Name a TV show series in which you have seen every episode at least twice:
West Wing. Yes, even Isaac and Ishmael. There are probably others, but this is one I am sure of because I have fallen into a pattern of having pretty much annual viewthroughs. Oh dear god it's awesome. Except when it's really, really not. But mostly it is awesome. It's one of the few ensemble shows I can think of where the ensemble really works.
Name a (current) show you can't miss:
Being Human. It has made my opinion of Toby Whithouse shoot up. I suspect Who is not a natural fit for his take on the world, which is why his episodes tend to not quite work, but in his own thing his writing works really well. Possibly I am fail as a fan as I do not feel that ep 1 of the new series was all that bad; it had a bit of difficult-second-album syndrome about it, but it didn't make me wince or anything. Well, actually it did, but in an "ouch, these emotional beats feel eminently believable" type way.
Name an actor that would make you more inclined to watch a show:
I was about to be all "oh, yeah, I don't notice actors per se really, more characters" and then I realised that the answer to this question is totally Emilia Fox. I watched that weird Mills and Boon thing on BBC4 mainly because she was in it (oh, OK, and because I secretly have a bit of a thing about Mills and Boon, or did before they turned to the Dark Side), she's been in all the episodes of Merlin I've watched even half-properly, and she's the entire reason I started watching Silent Witness (I've drifted away from it again a bit but ...). And back in the day I would probably have given up on the Vic and Bob Randall and Hopkirk without her as Jeannie, come to think of it.
So, er, yes, Emilia Fox.
Also, Tamsin Grieg, come to think of it.
Name an actor who would make you less likely to watch a show:
Rupert Penry-Jones. I find his posh reserved person acting indistinguishable from woodenness. I am not all that sad about him having died on Spooks, whereas on the other hand I am still upset about Colin and that was basically four series ago.
Name a show you can, and do, quote from.
Spaced. I sometimes say "skip to the end" to people a bit like Tim does to Mike that one time. It is probably quite annoying, come to think of it.
Name a show you like that no one else enjoys:
I think I am too boring to have one of these.
Name a TV show which you've been known to sing the theme song:
Red Dwarf. I even know how to play a vague approximation of the melody one-fingered on the piano. This is in fact the entire measure of my ability on any instrument in any way, shape or form.
Name a show you would recommend everyone to watch:
Maybe not "everyone" everyone, but anyone who's watched any genre telly made pre-mid-90s should find something amusing in Garth Marenghi's Darkplace.
Name a TV series you own:
Bonekickers. DON'T MESS WITH ME I'M AN ARCHAEOLOGIST. I mean, obviously I own other TV shows, but I am prepared to admit the shameful fact that among them is Bonekickers. It is mainly because I grew up near all the locations.
What is your favourite episode of your favourite series?
S26 of Who. What do you mean that's not a single episode?
Oh, OK, then, if I really have to pick a single episode, Survival part three. For the TARDIS being the Doctor's home and Ace being ready to carry on without him and the Doctor/Master and the Ace/Karra and ... well, anyway. And the speech at the end.
A show you mean to watch, but you just haven't gotten around to yet:
Mad Men. Though I am a bit afeared of it having really annoying gender/sexual/etc. attitudes that I won't be able to compartmentalise as a portrait of the times. And I sort of think that maybe I am only interseted because of Zoe offa West Wing.
Ever quit watching a show because it was so bad?
Heroes. And Lost. Not that I think Lost is bad, per se, but I got disillusioned with what felt like random chuck-in-a-twist writing. I reserve the right to watch it later when I have satisfied myself from spoilers that it is not going to be a rubbish let-down ending like "and it was all a dream", "it was Earth all along" or whatever. (Naming no names, nu BSG.)
Name a show you aren't interested in watching, not in the least:
Anything with Gordon Ramsay.
Name a show that's made you cry multiple times:
Doctor Who, by which I mostly mean Human Nature.
Oldest TV show you like?
Doctor Who
Newest TV show you like?
Being Human, probably.
What do you eat when you watch TV?
Food. I have just had PIZZA in front of the Daily Show.
How often do you watch TV?
It is very rare that a day goes by in which I don't watch some TV.
Do you have a favorite talk show?
No. I don't count the Daily Show as a talk show, because I always switch it off when the interview comes on, unless it is an interviewee that Jon Stewart seems likely to be able to get some sarcastic news-related mileage out of, which seems to happen less and less often these days.
What's the last TV show you watched?
The Daily Show, while I was eating my pizza, but that is a boring answer so:
OMG you guys, Virgin1 showed Yesterday's Enterprise the other day and my shiny new magic box recorded it for me and I watched it and I was all ready for it to be full of fail because other TNG I have been watching lately has given me the heebie jeebies, but it was still really good. ♥ Guinan. (Heebie jeebie example: Samaritan Snare; I never saw that one the first time round but knew it from episode guides and such as the one where the B plot is the epic backstory to that awesome Picard/Q fic* from S6, and the A plot having a bit that was like the Corbomite Maneuver from Kirk!Trek, and it turns out to be full of colonialist attitudes that are completely unexamined; we get this line from Troi about how the stupid aliens of the week are stupid and in fact so stupid that they're unwilling to allow their society to develop at some sort of "natural" pace. Because if the people with the amazingly better than yours technology turn up on the doorstep, the correct response is to WORSHIP THEM AS GODS or something, obviously. OMG the fail. Except there are all those other episodes about how fail the stupid natives are for worshipping the Starfleet people as gods when the Starfleet people fucked up their hiding from them. So basically, TNG is full of fail and it's all because the Prime Directive is in fact this massively unethical thing where it is perfectly OK to allow people to carry on living [and more to the point dying needlessly] in ignorance out of your concern for them not being able to handle the news that there are aliens.)
* I have had a huge realisation watching the Trek on Virgin1 that there is so much canon ficcishness in it. Like, even Yesterday's Enterprise is a big clunking "Tasha's death was meaningless! We will give her a meaningful one!" contrivance. And this is all before they started raiding the slush pile for scripts in S7.
What's your favourite/preferred genre of TV?
Tie between SF and comedy. BUT GUESS WHAT, Hyperdrive is not in fact televisual perfection.
What's your least favourite genre of TV?
Those loathsome property shows that inflate the housing bubble and persuade people that their houses are bad and wrong because you're not allowed to live in your house like it might be your home, it has to be an investment AND THESE SHOWS HAVE SOMEHOW STILL CONTINUED EVEN AFTER WE SAW THE FINANCIAL CRISIS CONSEQUENCES OF IT ALL. I blame Kirstie Allsopp for Northern Rock et al. Somehow.
What was the first TV show you were obsessed with?
Doctor Who. Verily, my life has come full circle.
What TV show do you wish you never watched?
Never ever at all? That seems harsh. I can't think of anything I wish I'd never watched at all.
What's the weirdest show you enjoyed?
That late night C4 Victor Lewis-Smith one I forget the name of. You know, the one with the gay Daleks. I suspect I would find it full of fail these days, though. Based on what I remember of the gay Daleks.
What TV show scared you the most?
Erm, probably the X-Files. Yeah, I know. This was back when it used to do suggestion well rather than overexplaining the "mythology". You know how you sometimes get that spooky feeling you're being watched (that I'm sure has a fascinating psychological explanation but I just don't know what it is)? X-Files had me associating that feeling with grey aliens for quite a few years in my mid-teens even though I was utterly aware of how irrational it was.
... And, ha, I've literally just now realied where my distrust of Lost comes from. It all reminds me too much of the mess that the X Files conspiracy descended into.
What is the funniest TV show you have ever watched?
Um, it is probably Charlie Brooker's various _____wipes, actually. There's something about the way his vitriolic rants build into these sort of flights of angry whimsy that can reduce me to utter fits of laughter.
Which do you think is the best TV series ever made?
Singing Detective. I sometimes think Dennis Potter is possibly the only person to ever really totally and completely get how to use telly as a medium for drama. And now he dead.