Before reading this, I suggest you read the introduction to this site where I say what I'm doing.
This list is 13 shows and counting. I say counting because I remain very optimistic about the new series coming out on FX called The Americans. I will be tuning in to watch the premiere and hopefully the entire first season.
Shows I've watched
There are only two shows on this list and both lasted a single season before they were cancelled. Let me assure you they were not cancelled because they were bad shows, but because nobody watched them. Bad marketing,hard premise to sell, whatever it was, the shows received poor ratings. (Both were acclaimed critically.)
In 2002, Joss Whedon created his first show that had nothing to do with the Buffyverse tackling a futuristic Western space show. It starred Nathan Fillion as Captain Mal Reynolds (or Captain Tightpants) as captain of Serenity, the relatively modest space ship. Reynolds and his crew battle the law, his sometimes adversary and sometimes enemy Badger, and Saffron (played by Christina Hendricks of Mad Men.)
So Fox screwed this up. One of the best pilots I've ever seen was not aired until it was clear the show would not be renewed. I cannot for the life of me understand why the pilot was not aired. So right off the bat, the second episode, which does the first episode an injustice in introducing the characters and the world, gets the show on a bad start. Then they air the episodes out-of-order throughout the run making it difficult to get any serious serialized storytelling done. Firefly never stood a chance with ratings thanks to Fox.
Against all odds, the show was able to do a follow-up movie called Serenity, which is phenomenal as an epilogue to the show and I think as a stand-alone movie, though I have no idea. Anyway, this show is 18 episodes and a movie, all on Netflix and is a good way to pass the time.
Terriers is a very good, short-lived show about two private investigators who run an unlicensed P.I. firm. I'm going to blame the marketing on this show's lack of ratings. It's not that I hadn't seen ads when it was released, it's just that the ads revealed nothing about the show. You see the ad and you don't want to go see the show, you wonder what the show is about. Most people are not curious enough to see what the show is about. You have to WANT to see it.
Anyway, Donald Logue plays an ex-cop and recovering alcoholic and his partner is an ex-criminal. Between the two of them, they have no problem skirting the law and they are pretty successful at their job despite loads of personal issues.
Shows I am watching
We'll go from shittiest to best. Dexter is gaining in viewership and declining in quality. Seasons 1-2 were great TV that did little to nothing with the supporting characters and it has shown in the decline of the show. Seasons 3-4 were both good, but it was not hard to see the show was starting to lead to the not great Season 5. Basically, it's hard to create suspense around a criminal who has no consequences for anything he does. After each season, the writers wipe the slate clean and act like nothing happened.
My advice to anyone looking to get into Dexter is to watch the first four seasons (if only because John Lithgow is amazing in Season 4) and then stop. Just stop. (I'm 8 episodes into Season 7 and it's some of the best the show has done since Season 4, but they could easily mess this up.)
Next up his Homeland. Season 1 was amazing, all the acclaim for the show very deserved. Season 2 was... ridiculous. I understand you need to suspend disbelief to watch a show just as this, but preposterous plotline after preposterous plot line made the show borderline unwatchable. The writers seemingly thought the audiences were watching the show for the thrilling action and surprising twists. Despite more action in Season 2, Season 1 was more successful in creating tense moments and realistic story lines. The Season 2 finale fortunately gives me hope they will try a different approach in the upcoming season.
I've only seen the first season of The Walking Dead and so far it is pretty good. It's obvious the creator forced a season's worth of material into six episodes so the plot moves way too fast. They introduce a new set on one episode, the next the set explodes. It would have been nice if they could have taken their time more.
I'm five episodes into The West Wing and so far I like it. The cast is excellent with Martin Sheen as the POTUS. Bradley Whitford playing Josh Lyman and Richard Schiff playing Toby Ziegler are the most interesting characters so far. As usual, Sorkin has written shitty female characters, but I guess that's why all his shows are nearly all-male.
I'm pretty excited that the so far bland and lone black character (and also seemingly forced) is the main character of Pysch. Maybe he'll show more personality in later episodes!
The title really says what this show is about: a battle for the throne of the Western kingdom. It's highly entertaining and I'm greatly invested into seeing who will win this "game."
Shows I will watch
Two people whose opinions I respect strongly recommended The Newsroom so despite not great feedback from my other sources, I will give the first season a watch. I'm not optimistic about the show, but I'll at least give it a chance. Plus, I love Jeff Daniels and Sam Wasterson so I don't see a huge downside to watching the show.
Justified is a show that will take a while for me to start. I might just wait until the series ends so I can buy the entire series. This show is not on Netflix or on my premium channels at home like most HBO and Showtime shows so it appears I will have to buy this series. So while I actually am very interested in starting this show now, money and availability are huge impediments.
I'm interested in Twin Peaks not because I like David Lynch (I did not like Mullohand Drive for instance), but because of how it different it was from anything before it. It was a creative leap from what I've read at least from any other show and could have paved the way for the shows that changed TV (according to Alan Sepinwall).
Lastly, Prison Break will be watched well into the future. I know Prison Break is more or less like 24 in style (not the timeline aspect, but the thrilling action), so I will wait to watch this until I've seen 24.
Unfortunately, 24 is by far the show I am least interested in watching of the shows that changed TV so that means I will be getting to Prison Break quite a bit later.
Final Thoughts
Watch Game of Thrones. Easy choice. Watch Homeland Season 1. Whether or not to watch Season 2 highly depends on if Season 3 is good or not. So you should probably just wait. So far I'd recommend Sons of Anarchy (through 11 episodes) and West Wing (through five episodes), but neither show has really been watched that much.
Definitely watch Firefly and definitely watch Terriers. The Walking Dead was good in season 1 (will have season 1 review at some point, but I'll probably re-watch that season to refresh my memory).
There's a few shows I want to watch but the availability of the series is not great. Shameless with William H. Macy looks awesome, but I just discovered it so I have to figure out a way to watch the first two seasons without paying since I'm a cheap bastard. The same applies to House of Lies with Don Cheadle, though my interest there is significantly less. Whereas I'd probably pay to watch Shameless, House of Lies I wouldn't.
I kind of want to watch Girls, but not near enough to add it to my huge list of TV shows. (Also, a recent description of the show that it was Sex in the City for hipsters is so unbelievably not what I want to watch so probably avoid this.) I desperately want to watch Boardwalk Empire, I'm just waiting until I can catch a moment where Season 1 will be available on HBO premium. I want to watch Curb Your Enthusiasm and Eastbound and Down, but I'm incredibly late to the party.
I'm watching Go On on Hulu. It's good enough for me to not quit, but shitty enough to not write about. Actually, it's probably really bad, but I just like Matthew Perry.
The Good Wife and Fringe are shows I'm slightly interested in. May add to them to the list in the future. The Americans, Zero Hour, and Cult are shows that are premiering this winter that I will watch the pilots of and decide whether or not to go further.
I'm at an odd time for posting. My original intent was to post the eight sections of TV shows that I created, however it appears that will not be my plan. Whenever I finish a season of a show I'm watching I will post my review of that season. I already posted my review of Downton Abbey Season 1, I posted my review of Sons of Anarchy Season 1, and later I will post my review of The Walking Dead Season 1. I also plan to do a season-by-season review of Buffy, though I can't decide if that would be one post or a two-parter. I'm getting too far ahead of myself though.
(Also I'll mention if I have spoilers or not for the reviews. Planning on not having spoilers, though it could prove too hard. I may have a section for non-spoilers and then indicate when the spoilers come. Hopefully people reading will choose to avoid the spoiler section though I kind of doubt they will.)
I'm planning to watch American Horror Story very soon in conjunction with Sons of Anarchy Season 2. I have little idea what this is about, but it looks different and interesting. Connie Britton being on the show certainly makes my acceptance of this show more likely. I'm not into the horror genre, but a few episodes won't kill me.
Next post: I will review The Americans pilot with Keri Russel and Matthew Rhys
No comments:
Post a Comment