Random TV talk
FRINGE. SO BEHIND WITH THE EPISODES, I SUCK. But I somehow managed to avoid being spoiled about the season finale (...so far). *hooray for small achievements*
HOUSE. Being behind with almost all my regular shows, I left House at the S6 finale, and was looking forward to catch up with S7 this summer. The only storyline I had heard about was House's wedding, because I got accidentally spoiled about it. That's when curiosity got the better of me and I started reading several more spoilers around, and keeping up with the updates concerning the contract negotiations with the cast. Honestly, every new tidbit I saw made me frown or left me confused... but it's impossible to judge until you watch something with your own eyes (not just a bunch of clips and sneak peeks), so I kept waiting for my summer rewatch/catch up, assuming as much of a neutral attitude as I could. Then a week ago I stumble upon a "House crashes into Cuddy's house with his car" comment. I took it as a joke, until someone on FF randomly asked me if it was true that House had tried to kill Cuddy. ... THE HELL?! I downloaded the S7 finale, and I'm aware that seeing 1 episode out of 23 makes me an hypocrite for judging the storylines out of the overall context, but... WHAT. THE. HELL. Just - what the hell. How can they write decent consequences for what they did in that scene, how? How can the whole writing team of one of the most popular tv series of the latest 20 years not see the difference between a crazy genius and a psychopath?! *That* was the best they could think of to have a man express his anger/break down/hit rock bottom so they could move on from a romantic storyline? And to think I'm still dealing with the rage over the atomic bomb mandness of 'The Incident' on LOST.
It doesn't matter that I liked the idea of House & Cuddy since S1 - I already know that when I'll watch all of S7, I'll likely start wishing they never went down the road of an actual relationship between them. Back in the days of angsty flirting with Cameron and snarky banter with Cuddy, I knew I was safe from this over-the-top insanity. We all knew House would have ended up alone/single by the end of the story anyway - so what was the point of going to such lenghts?
But if I'm honest, I'm still puzzled by what they did with the original VS new ducklings and the reduced importance/strenght of the medical cases, so to say the show's quality/consistency hadn't already taken its hits before would be a big fat lie.
COMMUNITY. I still love this show, and I absolutely adore the cast, but I hope S3 goes back to be less "gimmicky" and more consistent character-wise. I fell for this series in the third episode of S1, when we were introduced to Abed's backstory. No, it wasn't the most hilarious episode, there was no larger-than-life concept behind it, and yet it was perfect. I feel like since Modern Warfare aired and everyone and their mothers praised it as the best thing ever seen on the show, Dan Harmon has tried to impress people, proving how much he could stuff in only 20 minutes of sit-com - and that heavily contributed to how disjointed several things looked this year.
Anyway - I enjoyed the finale a lot. And yes, Josh Holloway in a cowboy costume, shamelessly flirting with Annie and giving Jeff a complex is a big part of the reasons why I rewatched the episode 3 times. Also: Abed and Annie as Han and Leia - I APPROVE. Only doubt: Pierce's exit from the group. I'm a big afraid of the direction they'll take with it next year.
I thank the tv gods for renewing the series before the last few episodes of the season aired and NBC could see the ratings.
Community is my happy place in tv land, I needed it to survive.
PARKS AND RECREATIONS. I'll probably be stoned if anyone reads this, but I watched the six episodes that make up the first season of the show, and I was bored to tears. Leslie is a cute main character (the concept, at least), but the only truly great thing worth noting was Ron - the delivery of the actor playing him is perfection. I plan to check out some episodes of Season 2 before giving up on it because I keep hearing how it's a vast improvement from S1, so we'll see.
LUTHER. I had no expectations when I watched the first 2 episodes of this BBC series, I simply got curious seeing it mentioned around, but I'm always a bit prejudiced toward anything smelling of procedural. Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson are amazing in their roles though, the acting truly elevates the material and now I want to watch the rest. Too bad British shows are always so short.
V. Goodbye show, you won't be missed.
I watched this only for EM (I'll watch pretty much anything if she or Josh her are in it. Call it love. Or loyalty. Or masochism.), but even if I proudly wear a Liz-aholic badge I'm in complete disagreement with her when she said the show deserved a third season looking at what they set up in the latest 6 episodes of S2. Scott Rosenbaum managed to make a disservice to almost all the characters since he became the new showrunner - he didn't add layers of complexity, he simply had everyone flip-flop between Good and Bad based on whatever OMG/WTF moment he had in mind at the time... if you were lucky. If you were unlucky, your storyline would just be ignored/cheapened/discarded (Ryan, Hobbes, Joshua - all royally screwed). I won't even start talking about the mess they did with Erica/Tyler, the way they shot to hell almost all human/alien relationships or how lame and desperate the last episode was. This show was supposed to be light, action-packed and entertaining, but in reality it came off as pretentious and stale. In the words of Television Without Pity - Elizabeth Mitchell is free! (to book something that will allow her to showcase the awesomeness she's capable of)
THE GAZILLION OF NEW SERIES PREVIEWS I'VE BEEN WATCHING.
- The only show that left a 100% positive impression on me with its trailer is Awake. The premise sounds intriguing and the clip was compelling (YouTube link if you're interested). If it's as good as it looks, I hope the percentage of procedural element in it will help its ratings.
- Being the Lost freak I am I also plan to check out all the pilots of shows featuring an ex-cast member, but: the Alcatraz promo was underwhelming (and that "Holy Crap" pronounced by Jorge gives me MAJOR "Dude" vibes); the clip for Person of Interest was better but I still expected Sayid to jump out of a corner, pissed off that he had been replaced as hitman; Work It is just... BAD. I'm amazed it got greenlit - that premise works for a single comedy skit, how one can imagine writing a whole show around it is beyond my imagination skills; I thought Ringer would be way darker in tones, I very much undestand why The CW snagged it after seeing the preview; Scandal - sorry Henry Ian, I'm Shonda Rhimes allergic; The River has the director of Paranormal Activity behind it - if you haven't watched it, PA is one of the lulziest horror movies of recent history (I recommend it if you are up to watch a film where you want to sympathize with the demon to kill all the humans) - not the most encouraging credit line.
...Why I put The River in the ex-Losties section? Come on, don't tell me you didn't recognize the Smoke Monster there, breaking havoc on the boat.
- Other things that look good are Smash and The New Girl - musical is not my thing so I'm passing on the former, but I'll check out the latter. Although there is a possibility I loved its preview as much as I did only because of the Dirty Dancing references (I wub my cheesy 80s movies, ok? XD)
- Look ok: Whitney isn't original or anything but I liked the actors' performances; Prime Suspect (I so don't like what Kirk Acevedo being cast in it could mean for Charlie on Fringe ;_; );
- Look bad: Once Upon A Time (I C U ABC trying to pimp the Disney brand along with this. But the cheesiness won't pay off); Good Christian Belles - *snores*; Heart of Dixie - *louder snoring*; Charlie's Angels - *yawn*.
THE LAST MAN STANDING. Relevant to my interests because... Liz could've been in this. I'm not completely sold on the preview, but it looks ok. I'm not a big comedy person so I'm not the greatest judge. I heart Tim Allen, so does it make me a horrible person to say that if the series is a hit, I'll sulk thinking of Liz missing out on it?
HELL ON WHEELS. Until 3 days ago I had no idea this project even existed, then I found out that it got picked up by AMC and Josh turned down playing the main character in it. I totally understand why he stayed away from other pilots like Person of Interest (also because having two Losties back on screen together so close after the end of the show? Not a smart move). BUT THIS IS CABLE TV!! A period drama set in 1865! I know he wants to give cinema a try, but... damn. The trailer looks nice, too, and I can totally imagine him wearing those clothes, pronouncing those lines and rocking the genre. *sigh*
Off topic: It looks like the failure of 3-D movies has started, and this pleases me greatly.
HOUSE. Being behind with almost all my regular shows, I left House at the S6 finale, and was looking forward to catch up with S7 this summer. The only storyline I had heard about was House's wedding, because I got accidentally spoiled about it. That's when curiosity got the better of me and I started reading several more spoilers around, and keeping up with the updates concerning the contract negotiations with the cast. Honestly, every new tidbit I saw made me frown or left me confused... but it's impossible to judge until you watch something with your own eyes (not just a bunch of clips and sneak peeks), so I kept waiting for my summer rewatch/catch up, assuming as much of a neutral attitude as I could. Then a week ago I stumble upon a "House crashes into Cuddy's house with his car" comment. I took it as a joke, until someone on FF randomly asked me if it was true that House had tried to kill Cuddy. ... THE HELL?! I downloaded the S7 finale, and I'm aware that seeing 1 episode out of 23 makes me an hypocrite for judging the storylines out of the overall context, but... WHAT. THE. HELL. Just - what the hell. How can they write decent consequences for what they did in that scene, how? How can the whole writing team of one of the most popular tv series of the latest 20 years not see the difference between a crazy genius and a psychopath?! *That* was the best they could think of to have a man express his anger/break down/hit rock bottom so they could move on from a romantic storyline? And to think I'm still dealing with the rage over the atomic bomb mandness of 'The Incident' on LOST.
It doesn't matter that I liked the idea of House & Cuddy since S1 - I already know that when I'll watch all of S7, I'll likely start wishing they never went down the road of an actual relationship between them. Back in the days of angsty flirting with Cameron and snarky banter with Cuddy, I knew I was safe from this over-the-top insanity. We all knew House would have ended up alone/single by the end of the story anyway - so what was the point of going to such lenghts?
But if I'm honest, I'm still puzzled by what they did with the original VS new ducklings and the reduced importance/strenght of the medical cases, so to say the show's quality/consistency hadn't already taken its hits before would be a big fat lie.
COMMUNITY. I still love this show, and I absolutely adore the cast, but I hope S3 goes back to be less "gimmicky" and more consistent character-wise. I fell for this series in the third episode of S1, when we were introduced to Abed's backstory. No, it wasn't the most hilarious episode, there was no larger-than-life concept behind it, and yet it was perfect. I feel like since Modern Warfare aired and everyone and their mothers praised it as the best thing ever seen on the show, Dan Harmon has tried to impress people, proving how much he could stuff in only 20 minutes of sit-com - and that heavily contributed to how disjointed several things looked this year.
Anyway - I enjoyed the finale a lot. And yes, Josh Holloway in a cowboy costume, shamelessly flirting with Annie and giving Jeff a complex is a big part of the reasons why I rewatched the episode 3 times. Also: Abed and Annie as Han and Leia - I APPROVE. Only doubt: Pierce's exit from the group. I'm a big afraid of the direction they'll take with it next year.
I thank the tv gods for renewing the series before the last few episodes of the season aired and NBC could see the ratings.
Community is my happy place in tv land, I needed it to survive.
PARKS AND RECREATIONS. I'll probably be stoned if anyone reads this, but I watched the six episodes that make up the first season of the show, and I was bored to tears. Leslie is a cute main character (the concept, at least), but the only truly great thing worth noting was Ron - the delivery of the actor playing him is perfection. I plan to check out some episodes of Season 2 before giving up on it because I keep hearing how it's a vast improvement from S1, so we'll see.
LUTHER. I had no expectations when I watched the first 2 episodes of this BBC series, I simply got curious seeing it mentioned around, but I'm always a bit prejudiced toward anything smelling of procedural. Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson are amazing in their roles though, the acting truly elevates the material and now I want to watch the rest. Too bad British shows are always so short.
V. Goodbye show, you won't be missed.
I watched this only for EM (I'll watch pretty much anything if she or Josh her are in it. Call it love. Or loyalty. Or masochism.), but even if I proudly wear a Liz-aholic badge I'm in complete disagreement with her when she said the show deserved a third season looking at what they set up in the latest 6 episodes of S2. Scott Rosenbaum managed to make a disservice to almost all the characters since he became the new showrunner - he didn't add layers of complexity, he simply had everyone flip-flop between Good and Bad based on whatever OMG/WTF moment he had in mind at the time... if you were lucky. If you were unlucky, your storyline would just be ignored/cheapened/discarded (Ryan, Hobbes, Joshua - all royally screwed). I won't even start talking about the mess they did with Erica/Tyler, the way they shot to hell almost all human/alien relationships or how lame and desperate the last episode was. This show was supposed to be light, action-packed and entertaining, but in reality it came off as pretentious and stale. In the words of Television Without Pity - Elizabeth Mitchell is free! (to book something that will allow her to showcase the awesomeness she's capable of)
THE GAZILLION OF NEW SERIES PREVIEWS I'VE BEEN WATCHING.
- The only show that left a 100% positive impression on me with its trailer is Awake. The premise sounds intriguing and the clip was compelling (YouTube link if you're interested). If it's as good as it looks, I hope the percentage of procedural element in it will help its ratings.
- Being the Lost freak I am I also plan to check out all the pilots of shows featuring an ex-cast member, but: the Alcatraz promo was underwhelming (and that "Holy Crap" pronounced by Jorge gives me MAJOR "Dude" vibes); the clip for Person of Interest was better but I still expected Sayid to jump out of a corner, pissed off that he had been replaced as hitman; Work It is just... BAD. I'm amazed it got greenlit - that premise works for a single comedy skit, how one can imagine writing a whole show around it is beyond my imagination skills; I thought Ringer would be way darker in tones, I very much undestand why The CW snagged it after seeing the preview; Scandal - sorry Henry Ian, I'm Shonda Rhimes allergic; The River has the director of Paranormal Activity behind it - if you haven't watched it, PA is one of the lulziest horror movies of recent history (I recommend it if you are up to watch a film where you want to sympathize with the demon to kill all the humans) - not the most encouraging credit line.
...Why I put The River in the ex-Losties section? Come on, don't tell me you didn't recognize the Smoke Monster there, breaking havoc on the boat.
- Other things that look good are Smash and The New Girl - musical is not my thing so I'm passing on the former, but I'll check out the latter. Although there is a possibility I loved its preview as much as I did only because of the Dirty Dancing references (I wub my cheesy 80s movies, ok? XD)
- Look ok: Whitney isn't original or anything but I liked the actors' performances; Prime Suspect (I so don't like what Kirk Acevedo being cast in it could mean for Charlie on Fringe ;_; );
- Look bad: Once Upon A Time (I C U ABC trying to pimp the Disney brand along with this. But the cheesiness won't pay off); Good Christian Belles - *snores*; Heart of Dixie - *louder snoring*; Charlie's Angels - *yawn*.
THE LAST MAN STANDING. Relevant to my interests because... Liz could've been in this. I'm not completely sold on the preview, but it looks ok. I'm not a big comedy person so I'm not the greatest judge. I heart Tim Allen, so does it make me a horrible person to say that if the series is a hit, I'll sulk thinking of Liz missing out on it?
HELL ON WHEELS. Until 3 days ago I had no idea this project even existed, then I found out that it got picked up by AMC and Josh turned down playing the main character in it. I totally understand why he stayed away from other pilots like Person of Interest (also because having two Losties back on screen together so close after the end of the show? Not a smart move). BUT THIS IS CABLE TV!! A period drama set in 1865! I know he wants to give cinema a try, but... damn. The trailer looks nice, too, and I can totally imagine him wearing those clothes, pronouncing those lines and rocking the genre. *sigh*
Off topic: It looks like the failure of 3-D movies has started, and this pleases me greatly.