The TV Thread
 

Let's talk about what TV shows we're watching!

For the 2009-2010 season, I am currently watching Ugly Betty, Castle, and The Office. Recently dropped Dollhouse (second season was starting out lame and it got canceled anyway so whatever) and wanting to start FlashForward but haven't yet. Occasionally some Big Bang Theory, but I still need to start over from the beginning. Will watch LOST when it starts in 2010.

For not-currently-airing television, I am watching Star Trek, the original series. A little over halfway through season 2.

In the middle of the new seasons of Fringe, Glee, Dollhouse (not great, but it's about to finish so I'm not going to stop 3 episodes from the end), Glee, Community, House, Stargate Universe, V and Flash Forward. Just finished Californication, The Thick of It and Dexter. Will be starting 24 and Lost in January.

Aside from what is airing I need to finish off The Sopranos and I just started watching Mad Men.

Have any watchers of The Office been annoyed by Dwight's character recently? The writers really seem to be putting him way over the top far too often. He's been doing things that aren't in his character and that don't fit with the (original) style of the show. I cringe half the time he's on the screen. And they've sort of been doing the same thing with Pam since she decided to be more honest with everyone. It's just gotten a lot worse this season. She basically went from the sweet, quiet, subtly humorous character to a serious female Dwight. Other than those two, I think everyone's been pretty good this season.

The Twilight Zone. Watching eps here and there. The scenarios are unique and creative, but believable due to the whole 'exploring human nature' angle.

Hmm... I actually kinda feel like Dwight is going back to basics here, and it's not out of character at all. And I love the new Pam, even if I'm one of the only ones. Yeah, her character changed--that's on purpose. It's a good change and I like it.

But I do think the season is headed downhill fast. I hope this is the last season because they're really running out of steam here.

I recently (finally) watched the first two FlashForward episodes. They were okay, but nothing special really. Does anyone here watch that and if so what do you think of it?

I've been following Flash Forward from the beginning, all the way up until the latest pre-hiatus episode. The show gets more intriguing later on, but it still hardly stacks up to LOST.

The active (or soon-to-be-active) shows I'm committed to watch, are Flash Foward, House, Lie To Me, LOST, Medium, Metalocalypse, Numb3rs, and V.
Currently I'm catching up on the episodes of LOST I missed when my satellite provider had a licensing disagreement with ABC (almost all of season 5 - which I now have on Blu-Ray). I'm also finally watching the adult-oriented Spawn TV series from the 1990s for the first time. They couldn't have picked a better voice actor than Keith David.

I think they could go on for a bit longer with the Office. It feels like Jim is slowly becoming Michael and Andy/Erin are slowly becoming Jim/Pam. And with the company being bought out, they could introduce people at corporate who don't like Michael and they could make Jim the boss/Michael a salesman or something. But yeah, it does feel like it's getting a bit dated at times.

I'm watching Real World! I love the show- I don't care what anybody says, it's extremely entertaining.

Of currently airing shows I mostly stick to Mad Men and Gossip Girl. Neither of which have that cohesive of a plot and it's mostly out of habit/they look pretty that I watch them.
Just recently though I got into Brothers and Sisters. I'm only catching up on the 1st season now, but I got stuck on it because it's made by Ken Olin! Who's the second mastermind behind Alias. So it's a more dramatic less action, less-JJ Abrams-y version of Alias. But still with the fantastic scripts it had. (the first 2 seasons at least) Plus it's got Ron Rifkin, whom I <3.

Wow, that last episode of Dollhouse was INSANE. By far the best of the series, and one of the best hours of television I've seen all year. For a show which can be so underwhelmingly average, Joss is making sure it goes out with a bang. The last bunch of episodes have been very solid. It's worth finishing the run Freckles, only 2 more episodes to go.

Just watched the 2(!) new episodes of 30 rock. YAY, what a tread after christmas break, to have 2 new ep's. And then two that are so good.

"I am the actor James Franco, and I'm in love with a japanese body pillow!"


And the best quote from Liz so far "Yeees, let's do it".

I'm really happy that they come up with so many new and good ideas every week, unlike How I Met Your Mother, that becomes more boring every episode...

What? How did I miss new 30 Rock? *Check for streaming episodes*

EDIT: These two episodes just confirmed why 30 Rock is the best thing on TV. The first one had a few funny moments, definitely wasn't the best episode, but that second one was unbelievable. I can/can't wait for the show to get cancelled in a few (ten would be great) years so I can buy a glorious box set.

Hmm... maybe. I really didn't want to watch the episode about the escaped deranged killer dude though. The mannequin part at the beginning really freaked me out.

betty has been really really good lately, anyone keeping tabs besides me?

the only annoying part SPOILERS is now gone, because Matt went to Africa or something LOLZ yayy!

Is anybody watching "Being Human"? I wonder if it's worth watching...

I enjoy it but it's not for everyone. There's only 7 episodes though so it's not a huge investment if you don't like it.

yessss Ugly Betty is still soooo amazing!

Just finished watching the Korean drama You're Beautiful. It was wonderful. And no one died! ^_^

NOOOOOOOOOO THEY CANCELED UGLY BETTYYYYYYYYY

I AM SO PISSED, THIS SEASON WAS GETTING SO GOOD!! grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

Oh no!

Welcome back Psych.

I KNOWWWWWW

and whats WORSE is they chopped the episode count down from 22 to 20 while they were at it. bunch of fuck-ups.

Anyone watch Breaking Bad? Just finished the first season and I'm really enjoying it! I hear the second season is much better too!

These days the diet is more entertaining than variety, funnier than comedy.

No subtitles.

Question Time Feb 17 Hatoyama / Tanigaki

Budget Committee Feb 12 Yosano 1/6
Budget Committee Feb 12 Yosano 2/6
Budget Committee Feb 12 Yosano 3/6

Budget Committee Feb 12 Yosano 4/6

"PM Hatoyama, You are The King of Tax Evasion."
Budget Committee Feb 12 Yosano 5/6
Budget Committee Feb 12 Yosano 6/6

a news commentary about Yosano's question on The Economist blog.
http://www.economist.com/blogs/banya...=hptextfeature

Anyone here ever watch Six Feet Under? I think it is my favourite show I have ever watched. Let me know your opinions if you have seen it.

I am about halfway through season 2 of that. I really like it, although it plays on my anxieties/fears of death (I am worried there will be an episode that shows someone dying in the first 5 minutes in a way that I fear, and I will get super freaked out over it. So I start each episode feeling a little worried). Plus Nathan's brain thing is also something that scares me, so I have a hard time watching that. My progress has slowed recently because of all this. But it's really good.

I watched bits and pieces of Six Feet Under before I became aware of American dramas. I remember some good things about it.

Several years later, my friend lends me this film called Towelhead and tells me how amazing it is. I watch it, think it's quite crap, then later discover that it's by the same creator of Six Feet Under. Damn! So I'm not in a hurry to watch it any more.

I haven't seen Towelhead but Six Feet Under is one of the best dramas you'll find. Closer to his other work American Beauty than Towelhead I imagine (just assuming having not seen Towelhead). Six Feet Under also has probably the best ending to a TV show I've ever seen.

This.

Frecklegirl, I'm sorry that it plays on your anxieties, but you really should continue. I know it might be scary in that it makes you face death, and I don't really know what your fears are or what motivates them and that isn't my business, but speaking from my experience it helped me with the fact of death. It helped me come to terms with it. If it is the way you go that scares you, then I totally get that. I get pretty scared with things and I think of allll of the what-if's of them. Still, the show helped me come to terms with it.

In about three weeks my favorite show will die. Thanks, ABC!

Ugly Betty isn't perfect, (except for most of the clothes, set designs, performers and portions of the scripts), but it was the only show where I really cared about the characters. Lost is exceptionally clever, and I enjoy it, but I doubt that anyone will ever describe it as endearing.

It was a good episode last night. Since it roughly follows the soap opera formula, I saw a few things coming, like Betty being hurt by the playwright's behavior and Justin seeing the backstage kiss, but some of the later twists were unexpected enough to make it a good watch.

I wonder how things will turn out. In the original, Betty marries Daniel, but it will be hard to cram that in by April 14th. Still hope that they try, or at least figure out some way that Betty can live happily ever after.

I'm behind on Ugly Betty by 2 eps but I'll catch up soon. It's a nice, light show that I can just stick on when I get in and need to tidy up or something (Glee too). It's a pity that it's ending, and I need a replacement show!

What I'm looking forward to, though -- what I'm really really really looking forward to, is David Simon's Treme on HBO next month. [The Wire hyperbole etc etc.]

I'm one episode behind on betty but I got to say that it is a shame it is ending so early. there has been a lot of ground covered in 4 seasons, but it still doesn't feel like enough. unfortunately, abc murdered the show (pretty much intentionally) by moving it around repeatedly and then placing it extremely late at night. you could speculate about why for ages, but I suspect it has to do with the cost of production. I think Glee will go the same way one day...it is nearly impossible to support an ensemble production of such high polish (and in Glee's case: music) past a certain point, especially when the actors involve continue to explode.

I can't belive there are only a few episodes left. I truly believe Betty will end up choosing herself again, ala season 2. Perhaps if there was more time there could be a Daniel x Betty romance, but with the short time span, I think the creators are going to find creative ways to work in previous characters (such as Gio and Henry) but ultimately have Betty walk down the path alone (and possibly bump into Matt?)

Another good Betty tonight. Didn't advance the plot much, but it was a show that really needed to happen, and it was quite fun. Great locations tonight too. The show improved a lot after they moved production to NYC.

I have a close friend who works on the production staff for betty and everyone is really really sad to see it go. he says more than anything else he has been a part of, betty was really something else. its kind of a mind trip when he posts various pictures from inside mode (since its a huge set), because in my mind its in betty-land, but then all of a sudden there are pictures of him standing in the tube with the various objects on the shelves behind him (which change every episode and make it easy to pin what they were shooting when he took the picture).

I haven't watched the episode yet, I will when it is upp-ed to hulu, although with each week I grow more reluctant to watch it, knowing that it is ending. what a complete and total shame. at least the show that is taking it's place isn't a CSI clone or anything, it this twin peaks inspired murder mystery called Happy Town featuring Sam Neill and Amy Acker (Dollhouse ;-;)

From the news/rumours I've heard, I thought they would be all eager to get away from America Ferrera (sp?)

none of that is true at all. america is a lovely girl according to my friend. she is very focused on her job and she has carried the entire series, so when she is on set she is very intent on working and very focused. most of those rumors come from people who are invited to set who aren't involved on a daily basis, like friends of friends or of production staff. naturally, after 4 years you get to know your entire family and its a surprisingly small group of people, so the rumors like that start when people show up and expect a moment with her or any other actor and get "dissed" by acting like they don't exist. we have this image of a heavy dorky America (same as Betty) who is sweet and loveable, but as America matured and became a woman, as did Betty, people started to say stuff like this because she was no longer the ugly duckling. Its a feeling of betrayal and jealousy and often happens in the media with women, anytime the girl next door gets too sexy. This started in Season 2 when Lindsay Lohan made guest appearances and they said that America was a total diva and couldn't stand to have her on set and get her kicked off (yeaaaahhh, I'm sure American is the reason *Lindsay* got kicked off...) Either way, rumors are rumors and you can't buy into what you read. If America was a total and complete bitch there is no way the show would come out as good as it has. From the middle of season 3 up until now it has been almost entirely an effort of love, constantly getting moved on forever being in danger of cancellation, almost from season 2 onwards. you can tell the cast and crew are really quite fond of each other and the show, and if anything I think people are starting to get anxious to move on to new projects. People handle goodbyes/endings differently, and in her case, perhaps she might become cold or focused on her next move, but a lot of that is to cover emotional trauma in ending a four year part of your life. either way, I wouldn't be so quick to believe the rumors are true, they smell of rubbish to me and my friend, who knows most of the cast personally, has never had anything negative to say about her.

Yeah, you can't really believe the opinions of spurned fans and tabloids, so I can't really disagree with that...

She DID roll her eyes at her co-star though! =P =P

haha, that interview was kinda of hilarious (I'm assuming you mean the Gossip Girl/Traveling Pants 2 Interview). She was kinda roped into Traveling Pants 2 by contract so I doubt she really wanted to do all those press junkets, and by then her costar was on Gossip Girl and like, totally, always like, talked, like you know, this...so I don't blame her for doing the exact same thing most of us were thinking in that situation, hahaha. America definitely falls into the category of intelligent, confident, and successful women, which means that by some, she is targeted as a "bitch." Gossip Girl man, what a bunch of bs.

Just got caught up on Ugly Betty. Omg Justin's gay kiss!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was soooooooo excited to see that happen. I had been wondering if he was somehow actually going to turn out to be straight as he claims (which, I dunno, it's not good to judge on stereotypes and all but come on...) but it looks like perhaps not!? I can't wait to see what's going to happen with him and that guy!!! I love that Marc is his gay mentor...

spoilerz:

I have it on good word that Justin will be attending Hilda's wedding with Austin, so you can probably assume they are going to end it with them dating.

that said, my comp is dead so I have to rely on my family PC until I figure out what to do, either replace it or get a hefty repair. It is going on 4 years now so I don't know if I really want to dump another 900 for the logic board or 350 for the refurbished service they do when that could be spent on an upgrade in memory and HD on a new system. so, last week's betty and all future episodes...gotta wait a bit.

I saw that tiny eye roll as a quiet connection. Recognizing how tough it is to realize some "clever" writer's idea that is totally ridiculous. Empathy.

that would make one of you, haha. I saw that clip first on The Soup and if you watch the entire piece, America is lovely and chatty when they are talking about the movie, but as soon as it veers into Gossip Girl she starts analyzing her finger nails, and flipping her hair, and turning her head around, and eventually rolling her eyes at a stupid remark by her costar. She has talked in the past about how important she feels shows like Ugly Betty are, presenting empowered strong women and representing modern race and culture, and then how trivial shows like Gossip Girls are in those same regards. I think she is generally against the whole demeaning aspect of shows like that, with all the cheap gossip and cat fights. Ugly Betty gets into that, as a comedy, it is a glorified soap opera after all but, but behind that is a message and a heart of gold, where Gossip Girl is simply cheap gossip.

Ugly Betty!

spoilers:
I am a little annoyed at how they're handling the whole Justin dating a guy thing. So basically, it seems like for years Justin has refused to face his sexuality. He acts stereotypically gay, but he's denied being gay on one occasion and when he went through that rebellious phase he had a girlfriend or something, and then just now he had a crush on a girl (or so he thought? I don't know!). And then ALL OF A SUDDEN he kisses one guy, evidently it's great (because of the whole 'everything else goes gray' thing that happened), and now they are dating. But we get NO insight into how Justin made this crazy transition from "No I'm not gay [I don't want to be different]" to "Okay I'm dating a guy." What?!?! WHAT???????????? This is driving me crazy!

And for the record, in the same vein, I'm also annoyed with how quickly the miscarriage was brushed under the rug!! A miscarriage, I've heard, is a BIG DEAL for a woman to go through. Yet the next episode Hilda was FINE. What the hell?!?!

Otherwise, loving the show, it is so amazing (if a bit ridiculous as any nighttime drama/soap never fails to devolve into--looking at you, The O.C.) and I'm so sad it's going to be gone soon. Ugly Betty is what I want when I just want some fun mindless entertainment and it never fails to cheer me up. I really don't know what I'm going to do when it's gone--what else can I watch that's so happy and fun?? sigh..........

@ freckle

the biggest complaints about the earlier seasons were storylines spanning upwards of 7-8 episodes, it turns viewers away, so starting with mid season 3 and most of this season, we find each episode packed with smaller separate stories and 3 episode arcs for major story lines, which has gone over very well with the fan base and the critics. I do think the miscarriage was kind of a red herring and I don't seeing that used as a plot point for drama's sake, but its better to see Hilda spring forward fast and assume she dealt with it privately/off screen than have her depressed for 5 episodes and deal with it that way. at its heart its a family/situational comedy soap, so its not going to tackle serious issues like that s gracefully as we might hope.

with shows in general, I never understand why fans get disgruntled with time lapsed between episodes. Betty does often end on cliff hangers, but it tends to jump time gaps and have a general lapse between episodes, so I didn't perceive it as miscarriage one day, moved on the next, or even with Justin. I think they handled the whole Justin thing pretty well. That being it was slowly worked into the storyline and brought the front in a subtle manner. They could have made him completely out and gay, but as the only closeted gay on a very gay show, I guess they wanted to utilize that to showcase the whole coming out/loving yourself/accepting others etc aspect.

Thought that way too much was crammed into last Betty episode, but blame it on ABC. Nothing is being allowed to elegantly evolve.

I just want to know if Justin really did like those girls or if he was just pretending so as not to be "different." =_=

Also, I want Marc to get a bf.

my betty friend told me he thought I'd like the way the series ended, so based on that, I have some thoughts about what I think will happen in the series finale.

I got around to watching last week's episode and I have to say that I think they are managing to pace the episodes pretty well considering we are two episodes left in the series. I didn't feel the London episode crammed too much into it at all, all the major story lines were continuations of threads started in previous episodes and I think that they are really going to be able to gracefully wrap up the show.

as for how I think it will end end? spoilers to follow:

I think Betty is going to once again choose herself, ala Season 2 finale. She is going to follow a career opportunity, leave Mode, and I think Daniel is going to follow suit. She isn't going to end up with any one guy, but based on what my friend said (he knows I support a Detty ending) and the last episode synopsis/this past week's episode (Gio saying that there was only ever "one man in your life") I think Daniel is going to follow Betty's lead and leave Mode with her, not setting up Betty with Daniel, but suggesting a chance of something more. The synopsis says that Betty has news for Daniel, but she is shocked by his reaction, while Claire is not at all. Also, there have been movie hopes and rumors going around forever, so while this show is officially over, give it time to settle and with the possible continuing success of Sex in the City, especially with the second movie coming out this summer, I wouldn't be terribly surprised if ABC followed suit with an official Betty movie at some point.

on the Supernatural front, man...someone really needs to put a whoopie cushion in the writer's room or something. this season manages to get darker and darker. I know things must get worse before they get better, the dark before the dawn, and we are coming up towards the season finale, but these cliffhanger and soul crushing end sequences are just brutal. episode after episode, they continue to end on really, really low notes. I really hope there is some really uplifting or positive end to it all. this coming from an admitted masochist, too.

^Re: UB, still wish there was more depth than width in the last episode, but do acknowledge that an unnaturally harried pace at this point is inevitable. Few unique shows have lasted even this long, so perhaps I should be less critical, but would be so delighted now if it ends with a satisfying finale.

First thoughts on penultimate UB.

Way better than last week. Inevitable serial show possibly extreme final scene, but I don't feel worried. I doubt the writers want us to remember the series with anything but fondness.

Sigh... goodbye, Ugly Betty.

I can't say I'm too upset over anything, and they wrapped it all up as best they could on such short notice. I just wish there was more...

thats what a movie is for!

I've read both Ana Ortiz (Hilda) and America Ferrera have started a push towards a movie. If Sex and the City 2 makes a ton of money, I think they might consider it. I'm not sure if it would be a reboot or a continuation of the show, but either way it would be a movie!

Ugly Betty ended...and I've stopped watching Glee (I didn't go back to it after the break. And it seems my fears for that show came true anyway). Alas, I'm watching two TV shows at the moment: Community (Liked this so much that I caught up in a week) and Friday Night Lights, which I can't believe I missed the first time round. So it's all good in TV land.

Yes, Ugly Betty ended. That really sucked, but at least it got a four year run. Most shows that came even close to being as clever as Betty usually tank in two. But it does suck. At least it was shot in real NYC instead of in front of a silly LA green screen in it's last seasons.

Never was part of the Glee club, but hold hopes out for Community. 30 Rock remains my fave.

And Lost? Better be awesome. Confusing, multi-dimensional ending is probable. Just make it intriguing and multi million explo cool.

The last few episodes of Glee have been good. The first couple when it returned weren't so great. I'm loving Community. I've started Arrested Development too, which is fantastic.

Airing at the moment, Lost is obviously my favourite. Fringe has been fantastic as of late; the first half of the finale was brilliant. Flash Forward has been canceled which is just as well as I don't really care about any of the characters at all. Breaking Bad has been great. House and 24 have been solid, but both are running out of ideas. Makes sense to put Bauer to rest, but they're going out on a solid run which is good as the season started a bit slowly.

'V' is a strange one. Some aspects of it are just straight bad, and I don't really love it, but it's entertaining enough to keep me watching. That won't last though unless the quality really picks up. Stargate Universe is good. Not great, not bad. Started catching up with Chuck which I'm really enjoying. Just feel good fun, and exactly what I needed. The Pacific has been fantastic, as expected. Not quite as good as Band of Brothers though.

Looking forward to Dexter starting after the fantastic fourth season and a game changing finale and True Blood starts soon which I really enjoy. Good, camp tongue-in-cheek fun.

I've been following both FlashForward and V, and it's really a shame that V was the series ABC decided to renew.

What I both love and hate about V, is that everyone is so two-faced. I don't particularly like (m)any of the characters though. I'm semi-anxious to see which party is the closest to uncovering the other party first, but I was much more anxious for that kind followthrough with The Departed (where I found my loyalty torn between the opposing characters).

Some of the FlashForward characters are much more likable than any of the V characters. Plus FlashForward has some LOST-like (note: LOST-like - not LOST-equivalent) carrots they've dangled in front of our face(s). When LOST finally ends, FlashForward was the only other show ABC had even the slightest chance of captivating the same audience with, and that's why I think it's a big mistake for them to cancel it.

The only thing that is annoying me about FNL so far is that they resolve too many conflicts by tying a neat bow on top. Actually it's not necessarily just FNL -- it's something that has stood out to me about TV drama ever since I watched The Wire. I think I made a mistake by watching it as early as I did because I can't help but compare everything to it.

Still, FNL is amazing. The characters are just -- there are some crazy talented people in this world, that's all I have to say. How do they do it?

Aaand I discovered today that the show hasn't ended.

Oh, I know this was a while ago, but I wouldn't hold my breath for an UB movie. I mean, Sex and the City is different because it's Sex and the City. An UB movie would be crap anyway.

I'm watching Giro d'Italia 2010 final stage.

an Ugly Betty reboot movie would probably do quite well considering the large general fanbase the show and the original had coupled with the immense Latin community in the States. the idea that the show wasn't popular or lost an audience is bs, if you actually pay attention to how ABC handled it they flat out stopped marketing it after the 2nd season (much when it started to get decline in viewers) and repeatedly switched its night, many people flat out didn't even know it was still on. this is arguably related to the inflating production costs. I imagine the same will happen with Glee once it starts being so popular, the amount of money it must take just to produce an episode between licensing and staging is immense and once it starts to not be worth it to the studio, they will drop its promotion, stick it on fridays, and watch it fade away. Considering the show made America a huge success and the relative power of some of the people invested (America, Vanessa Williams, Salma Hayek), I wouldn't be surprised if they could pull their weight and get it off off the ground if they want to. That being said, I don't think it will happen for a few years.

If Strangers With Candy can get a movie, I don't see why UB couldn't.

I was intrigued by V when it was originally touted as a reprise of the serviceable, but kind of lame mid-eighties mini-series. Good aliens turn out to be evil aliens and we struggle and then eventually win. That sounded like good cheap fun. But when I found out that it was being renewed I was bummed. I'm undoubted biased as I remember the really pretty dumb original, and was perhaps naively hoping that the creators of V2.0 would re-interpret this 1950's vintage, barely drive-in movie worthy, silly sci-fi trope, juice it with some awesome 2010 special effects, and create something modestly awesome. But that was obviously silly of me. If the evil aliens actually win, I'll watch a rerun of that episode. Bit I'll skip the rest.

Ugly Betty reboot movie? That would be excellent. What I really hope is that it's awesome actors, writers, and designers will now be afforded the opportunities to do some more remarkable things.

Fringe. I have so many high hopes for this show. It is bursting with talent. So far, so good.

Jersey Shore. I just recently became aware of this, but hey, I'm a generation removed. When I was in my early twenties, lowbrow popular culture was metaphorically equivalent to a swarm of annoying gnats that I had to continually bat away from my face, unavoidably omnipresent, but a generation later, with so much intriguing information spilling in from everywhere that competes for my attention, I am sometimes behind the times. I wake up to NPR radio, click on NYT and WPost, and go.

Jersey Shore was intriguing. A melange of the unknown and familiar. As a college student, I had a memorable Mid-Atlantic boardwalk beach summer in Ocean City Maryland, but we didn't have any "guidos". I never even heard of the term until many years later. No one was ethnocentric, we we all just 21 and doing what ever we damn well pleased, within reason (usually).

I heard "guido" the first time some 17 years later. I had just moved up to Brooklyn, NYC, and was initially staying with a friend at the war zone edge of a decent neighborhood. I guess I was a bit unprepared, and was surprised that all street level businesses rolled down thick steel shutters at the end of the day. And when cars zoomed down deserted Fifth Avenue around midnight, blasting angry urban music off of the armored, reflective street level surfaces and into their 5th story loft, my friend's wife said "fucking guidos!". And I said,"what's a giudo?" She then went off on a rather indelicate diatribe about how they were arrogant, reprehensibly ignorant Southern Italian scum. Oh.

---Let me say right now that she was not American. Maybe French, maybe German, (those specifics are inconsequential), but certainly a New Yorker as that label transcends origin. Caustic but not hyperbolic. Probably a bit mean and unkind. But raw and honest.---

But anyway, I watched some of this Jersey Shore show, and it was taking place in Seaside Heights, the hometown of my best friend in my freshman year in college. Al DelMonte. Italian-American. Jersey Shore born and bred. A champion goalie. And really bright.

And proudly Jersey. What was Jersey to him?
Bruuuuuuce!
Springsteen.

A dude who was working his ass off for four hours on stage and giving his fans more than what they paid for.

Real New Jersey is so not these transient jokers, but there are an awful lot of them, unfortunately.

So, whatever, I've known Jersey shore guys and been exposed to some real guidos too, and know that this audience is probably astute enough to recognize that MTV is forced to dredge deeper each time they have a hit.

Can American TV ever get possibly better or worse? Yes.

I'm currently watchin the Doctor Who reboot. I'm now at season 2, just watched the double episode The Impossible Planet and Satans Pit.
I didn't really liked the show when it started, but know it became better with every episode. This double feature elevated the whole show to a completely new level.
The most awesome Scifi episodes I've ever seen on television.

^

I had been a stickler for Tom Baker being my favorite Doctor for the longesttt time. But once I watched David Tennant he just ousted Baker from the longtime head position. David Tennant is the best doctorrrr. There's just nothing wrong with him. And his successor pales in comparison.
And the episodes really do rival that of Star Trek: TNG. Although Doctor Who gets silly at times, it's just soooooooooooooo good. And 3rd season is the besttt -- Blink and the Human Nature/Family of Blood double parter = sooooooo good.

Doctor Who can be both fantastically brilliant, and ridiculously stupid. Either way, I find it to be one of the most fun pieces of television out there right now, and it appeals to anyone of any age which is pretty rare. Even at it's dumbest, you've got to laugh. It's part of the charm.

I loved Tennant, but Matt Smith has won me over. Moffat is just a far, FAR better writer than Russell T Davies. His Tennant episodes were the strongest of their respective series and his first season finale is off to an incredible start. The way he has weaved everything together, and unveiled the Pandorica was fantastic. RTD's finale's were often embarrassing cheese-fests for the most part. This has by far been the strongest series thus far for me.

Yeah, I noticed that already in the first season. The first episode I REALLY liked was the one with the gas mask kid, written by Moffat. I instantly noticed his name, because I'm still a huge coupling fan.
Then I started looking on the wiki episode list of Who and saw that he gets to write more and more episodes. I'm pretty excited about that.

Oh my fucking god.

I just saw the Doctor Who doube episode "Silence in the Library - Forest of the dead"
I was already excited to see Moffats name in another double episode, but THIS!
I think this is the best episode of all of television history. At least known to me. This was beyond brilliant.

Yes, it is a fantastic double episode. I think Blink is still my favourite 'Who' episode though.

Series 5 was fantastic. You have a lot to look forward too. Far better with Moffat as lead writer in almost every regard. The series 5 finale just aired and it was brilliant. I hated most of RTD's finales, they were more like bad fanfic in my opinion. Well, maybe hated is a strong word. They're still entertaining; even when it's bad, Dr Who is fun.

On one hand I'm very, VERY excited that Moffat will be the lead writer (my) next season, on the other hand....
saying goodbye to Tennant as the Doctor will be extremely hard. For me he just IS the doctor, and I don't think anyone will be able to replace him properly.
I'm also wondering about how many regenerations the doctor has left, and thus how many season...

Quoted for the truth in both respects. The finales with RTD were so laughable and ridiculous. Especially the 3rd series. Terrible. It's like they used so much awesomeness with casting Derek Jacobi that they needed just complete crap to counteract it.

But yeah! I just finished watching the past 2 episodes (My sister was visiting and thus lacked Doctor Who time) and really, fantastic way to end the series. I've warmed up to Matt Smith too -- he's not Tennant but he does have a nicer... put together creator at the helm. I don't want to wait months for it to start up again.

With this and the Tudors gone, all I have left is the Daily Show and the Colbert Report to really follow. I'm in a TV slump.

I think a lot of people felt the same, but I'll say that Matt Smith is a fantastic replacement. I won't tell you that he is better, that is for you to decide, but I feel that the Who community has taken to him very well. Especially the last few episodes, he has really grown on me and I'd say he's definitely up there with Tennant.

Bow Ties are cool.

ok, I've just seen the Doctor Who season 4 finale...

That was definitely the weirdest shit ever. I understand the comparison to the fanfic, but on the other hand this weird finale offered such a truckload of closure it was unbelievable.
But now I'm getting even more excited about the next season if it's supposed to be even better. Also I'm preparing to say goodbye to Tennant.
Sad time.

EDIT:

Also, I never thought, I'd change my avatar again.

So you have the 4 specials to watch? The Waters of Mars is great. Tennants farewell is good, actually. It carries the necessary emotional impact, if a little drawn out. His last words are a bit heartbreaking.

yep, just watched the rather generic The Next Doctor. I already found that season finale heartbraking, where every companion from the new series basically said goodbye to him.
Again he is the loneliest man in the universe...

Wow, just watched episode 7 of Season 3 of Breaking Bad. This show is by far the best thing currently airing on TV (that I watch, at the very least) it's not even close.

I'll watch that in some time as well. Currently I'm thinking of finally continuing Genesis Season 3. The first two season of that show are some of the best television has ever seen.
I just has the most perfect pacing ever achieved combined with characters that are so likeable and believable that I couldn't take most stuff seriously after it.

You fully up to date with Dr Who? How are you finding Matt Smith?

I'm halfway through season 5. I don't like him.
I also don't like that feeling of a complete reset. New Doctor, new Tardis, new Intro even a new screwdriver, no old chars at all.
The season has a completely new style, if I may say so, it almost feels like an american reboot.
The overall cheesiness of the first 4 season is totally missing. Cheesy was the word that completely definied Dr. Who for me.
Of course it also really miss David Tennant (This avatar is gonna stay :)), but it's not as if this is the only reasin I don't like Smith.

Honestly, I would have been THRILLED if the new Doctor was played by John Simm. I bet he would have rocked almost as much as Tennant, but sadly his potential was wasted playing The Master for 3 episodes.
I also liked Eccleston more than Smith. I think my main concern is that he is way too young, which is one of my comparison to an "american reboot", and of course the havy chemistry between him and his companion.
There is only one new actor/char I really like so far: Her boyfriend :)

It pretty much was a reboot. New showrunner, new equipment (HD camera's) and a lot of new crew. Moffat obviously wanted to have his own take on the show, and I don't think he can have that by bringing up RTD-era stuff. I definitely think some of the cheese is still there, but it's toned down and I appreciate that. Similarly Smith had grown on me immensely by the end of the series. There are some brilliant episodes in the second half like Amy's Choice and Vincent and the Doctor (and unfortunately the 'Hungry Earth' two parter which is the low point of the series). Hopefully Smith can grow on you some more; he did for a lot of people who weren't instantly pulled in.

^ Vincent and the Doctor was my favorite of the season I think. I could easily watch that one over and over.

And Matt Smith definitely grew on me in the end. And Moffat's writing and pulling of the season together definitely is much more fluid, exciting and much less cringe inducing than RTD. Tennant's still my favorite though.

I must check Breaking Bad out. Sounds cool.

And don't mind the new doctor. Cheesiness? This year's earnestness becomes next year's cheese. Future cheese is already being manufactured in bulk.

I'm really starting to like Matt Smith too. I don't think anyone will be as good as Tennant, but Smith is great. I have high hopes for Moffat's Who.

^ Plus next season will have at least one episode written by Neil Gaiman. Which is just awesome. I can't wait~ the Who off-seasons are dark.

Now I saw the finale, but I still don' really like Smith. Amy Pond now finally grew to me, after a whole season, but the Doctor didn't.
Besides everything else, I don't think he will ever be able to grow on me, because he is just too young.

After all, it IS a mini series, so I guess posting it here is the right place, but it totally doesn't deserve it...

I've... just... seen... Dead... Set.

WHY HAVE I NEVER HEARD ABOUT THIS BEFORE?!?!?!

This is the best Zombie movie I've ever seen, and I've seen everything I could possibly get my hands on.
The script, the characters, the atmosphere are more than perfect, and I was completely surprised, because I expect a half hearted parody mixed with overly clicheed Zombie situations.
And the settings is the most awesome thing anyone could ever think of.
I you don't know what I'm talking about:

See? Now you also expect a half hearted parody mixed with a bad zombie flick.
Don't let that distract you, it's 2.5 hours of pure awesomeness.
This beats every Zombie flick out there, and it's a SERIOUS movie. The humor is really rare, but if it's there, it's spot on.
But the best thing about it is the mood and the suspense. It seems more real than all the other zombis flicks I've seen, and the character don't just have "Plot Device A, B or C" written on their forehead.

Pure Awesomeness

BBC - Spooks!

Never even knew it was back on until last night when a friend brought it up O_o. Thank heavens you can watch stuff online!

Think it's been running about 8 years now (give or take), it's the only show I've ever managed to keep following. :)

Fringe - The best network television show this season. Brilliant production design, smart scripts, excellent acting.
CSI - This just keeps delivering. Laurence Fishburne, stunning cinematography, not stupid.
Bones - Sort of CSI for girls. Could fail in a number of ways. Doesn't.
House - Got boring when weirdo disease of the week became the plot line, but is more intriguing now that he has deliciously complicated his personal life.

Enough for now.

I agree with you about Fringe, this season is just off to a fantastic start. Switching between dimensions each episode was a pretty bold choice, but it works well. Anna Torv gets a lot of flack for her acting as Olivia, but the subtle (and not so subtle) differences between the two Olivia's are played wonderfully. And John Noble is simply one of the best guys on TV right now!

Aside from Fringe, Dexter is off to a nice, if a tad slow and directionless start. But it was inevitable given that they have to deal with the aftermath of the season 4 finale.

I've only seen the first episode of Boardwalk Empire, but I thought it was fantastic. House isn't treading drastically new ground, but it's fun enough and I'm glad the "huddy" relationship isn't as soap-opera sappy as it could have been. Chuck is as fun and lighthearted as ever.

Also watching The Event, which isn't particularly well acted nor written (in fact it is quite often dumb) but I enjoy the premise and the mysteries so I'll hang around and see how it goes.

Good Eats. Food Network has two science guys, Alton Brown and his annoying dickhead evil twin. Can't even remember his name quickly. Hooray for me.

Alton's Good Eats explains the why behind the how of cooking in a delightfully entertaining way. Really good TV. Clever enough to have me watching a show about food.

I haven't avidly watched Good Eats in about 9 years, but it's awesomeee. I love the science bits of it. It all makes sense then!



I watched Pushing Daisies. (Thanks Netflix streaming!) Now I'm sad it's cut and the last episode was freakishly rushed. :( Yaaay for season 3 comics coming out next year? It won't have the same feeling though. Easily one of my favorite shows.

I love Fringe as well, although I've only seen the frist two episodes yet, because I always watch it on wednesday. I still haven't seen the new episodes of Stargate Universe yet, but only because me and my mate use almost every minute we have together to watch the X-Files.

We're currently in season 3 which is definitely the weirdest one yet. There are episodes in between that just can't be taken serious, but instead of just making them a bit funny, these episodes have a completely weird offbeat humor that is so excellent that I wouldn't even have expected something like that in a comedy show. And all this still in the completely serious X-Files screenplay. It's just the weirdest stuff I've ever seen.

ALSO!!!!!!!!!!!!!

30 rock is very very good so far, and I'm COMPLETELY hyped up about the two live episodes this week. This is going to be utterly awesome.

This is your first time watching The X-Files? Man, you're in for a treat. Well, up until the last few seasons which I still enjoy but... meh. And yeah, there are some FANTASTIC comedy episode in the X-Files, though it regularly has some quite quirky bits. Have you watched Jose Chung's From Outer Space and War of the Coprophages yet?

30 Rock is awesome. I am usually taciturn and unimpressed while watching TV, but this show sometimes makes me burst out laughing.

Golem, if you are in a good vintage USA TV mood, I suggest the first few episodes of Twin Peaks. When that show was the foremost thought in David Lynch's mind, it was extraordinary. The TV network eventually screwed it up.

-edit-
Pushing Daisies was awesome! One of those shows that was too good to be true and then, sigh, wasn't.

These were the two episodes I was talking about :D

"One of them even disguised as a woman, but not very good. The other one had a completely blank face without any emotion. The only reaction he gave was when he saw the alien"
"haaaaAAAAAAAAAAahhh"
utterly brilliant.

And yeah, it is my first time. I was never able to dig a show that I didn't follow from the very beginning. That's why I never watched Star Trek or the X-Files. Now I got all seasons on DVD and we're pretty much addicted to it right now :)


I already watched Twin Peaks, but if YOU are in the mood for something similar, only EVEN BETTER and CRAZIER, then you should definitely try to get your hands on The Kingdom, or Riget as it's called in the Danish original. Yes, there was an american remake Stephen King worked on, but it doesn't even come close to the original. I don't think it even intended to, because the whole mood, the whole myth, and even the storyline is almost completely different.
Imagine a remake of twinpeaks, strip all supernatural stuff from it and replace it with a talking anteater, and then hire Keanu Reeves to play Agent Cooper as a grumpy old cop who lost his wife.
Riget is only 8 episodes long, but every episodes is a bit longer than an hour. It has so many good plotlines, so many character, and such good writing, that I'm totally fascinated everytime I watch it. The bad thing is that the show is not completed. The first 8 episodes are basically 2 seasons, and the third would have been the last, Lars von Trier even WROTE it, but two of the actors died before it even went into production. But it is still definitely worth the watch. This is probably the best TV Show I've ever seen.

Awesome. Seasons 1-6 are consistently great. 8 and 9 are pretty big departures but they have some good episodes. A lot of people hate on the series finale, but I enjoyed it. Go into it knowing that things aren't going to be tied up. I still hope that we get a movie that ties up the mythology, but I'm not terribly optimistic.

Also, remember that the movie should be watched after the Season 5 finale.

oh yeah, I alwas wanted to look up when to watch the movie. Is the second movie even worth the watch?

It's not great, it's like an average episode extended. It takes place after the final season though.

Thanks, Golem! I appreciate you telling me about this show.We here in the US are sometimes in the dark about the cool things happening elseware around the globe.

The first X-Files episode I ever watched was the one with the green bugs and they made cocoons in the first season. My family was hooked from then on out. I went in to school the next day and was talking to my 1st grade teacher about how awesome the show was. I think she might've been scared.

The show went to crap when Mulder left though. And the season finale, though I've only watched it once, just made me sad.


I was always scared of/grossed/weirded out by the episode "Home". but the channel FX used to have yearly Thanksgiving Day marathons of the viewer favorite episodes, and that episode was consistently number 1.

I like the one in the Bermuda triangle. And the one where they grow old and have to drink snow globe water. And the one with Peter Boyle. And the one with Roland. And the one with the chicken. Show's got horribly good episodes all around~ :wub:

We currently watch all season in the chronologic order, so it's a damn coincidence, that we watched EXACTLY THIS episode yesterday :)
Although I didn't like this on much, just like the episode after that with the afro american that had to kill other not to become white and die.
Home was not supernatural enough for me, I never liked these Texas Chainsaw Massacre ~ like stories. And the one after that was just the same stuff AGAIN. I wonder how many more "serial murderers that need to feed on their victims to survive" cases I'll see until the X-Files are over.

30 Rock remains great, but The Office is dismal this season.

Outsourced is finally starting to give its characters some depth and is hopefully going beyond the yawn and/or cringe inducing lowbrow culture clash comedy of its first episodes. I want this show to work.

I don't know how many more times I can watch The Middle. Love some of the actors, but hate the trite formula.

Modern Family sometimes disappoints, but only because it usually is really good.

Bored to Death is the season's best comedy. Great writing, great acting, only occasionally stumbles. Ted Danson sucking on the "antenna" of a pocket sized marijuana vaporizer disguised as a cell phone? Awesome.

CSI. Eye candy. And Lawrence Fishburn just doesn't suck.

House. Possibly developing some depth this season. Hopefully not just more endless misdiagnosing obscure diseases until after the last commercial break.

I like 30 Rock but I feel as though this season and last were real misses. I mean they were okay but the writing wasn't as sharp as the first few seasons.

I actually never find Modern Family disappointing at all. They've been doing really well transitioning from first to second season. If anything, second season is more or less the same as first which isn't a bad thing of course. If it ain't broke, don't fix it right?

Anyone watching Community? I honestly think that is one of the most underrated shows on television right now (and I hear that its timeslot is up against The Big Bang Theory which would REALLY hurt it's viewership). The writing is brilliant and the show just feels so fresh with every episode too. I hope it doesn't get cancelled.

Also, anyone watching Boardwalk Empire or The Walking Dead?

^ Nice avatar. Where did you get this pic? Do you have a high res for that? :)