What TV series are you currently watching?

[NumberSix]

Lol, I know you didn't do that on purpose, as you've never seen Blindspot, but no one in their right mind would put those shows in the same sentence. Blindspot is similar to Alias, so it is meant to be fun cheese, while Mad Men was designed to win awards.

In truth, I've only watched Mad Men in clips as the show irritates the crap out of me. I'm black, and the way they talk about race on that show is disgusting (and that has nothing to do with historical accuracy, which, of course, it isn't). I tend to dislike all those AMC shows. I find them to be HBO but with no teeth.

Had to look up Ryan Murphy. The only show I've seen of his was Nip/Tuck, and most definitely was not the target audience for that show, but the two leads, I recall, being very dynamic (the one lead was from Charmed and the other from Oz, lol).

Good point about Mad Men.

Also, I was just trying to think of a show that starts well, drops off and makes you want to quit watching, and then ends magnificently. All within the span of 10 episodes. That one came to mind, but I am sure there are others with less offensive writing. 

Ryan Murphy did GLEE, which was admittedly an important show that quickly turned to trash. He also does the anthology series American Horror Story, which almost every season starts out well and then end ridiculously. I gave up after 4 seasons, so I suppose it could have changed.

[Karl Henning]

Starting Season 2 of The Fugitive. Opens with a strong episode starring Ed Begley. Nice resonance since Begley was part of the cast of Twelve Angry Men.

[Iota]

I have never seen this one. But I know some shows that do reward patience. Mad Men comes to mind, which famously tends to dip in quality mid-season before hitting a home run to finish each season. 

I've just finished Series 1 of a show called Showtrial on the BBC which does exactly that, good first episode, followed by progressively less good ones, finishing with a very, very good one indeed. Well worth the wait.
Series 2 (with the brilliant Michael Socha and Adeel Akhtar) has begun more promisingly, so hoping it sustains it.

[Kalevala]

Discovered that Poirot (with David Suchet) is available on Amazon Prime.  Happy to see that they are there as my library doesn't have all of the DVDs.   

K

[NumberSix]

Discovered that Poirot (with David Suchet) is available on Amazon Prime.  Happy to see that they are there as my library doesn't have all of the DVDs.   

K

Woohoo! I love those. 

[hopefullytrusting]

Watched three more episodes, and they finally had a great episode, so I will definitely finish the first season out, but man, this not a show I could recommend to anyone other than to say read the summaries online then start watching with Episode 7, but Episode 7 is totally worth it.

Okay, this show is just silly, but not silly in a good way. Yes, the suspension of disbelief is a requirement of fiction, but even that has its limits.

Also, the male lead is terrible, and now it makes sense to me why his part was so small in Animal Kingdom. He works best in small doses, and even the female lead has become irritating. They could have gone the route of Alias, which would have made the show worth continuing, but instead, for whatever reason, they chose the path of realism. Yes, the show whose plot starts with the discovery of an amnesiac, beautiful, naked woman covered in tattoos chose realism.

I do feel for the lead woman as she incurred a lot of injuries performing the stunts.

[hopefullytrusting]

Okay, I'm officially done with Blindspot. My breaking-point was ending on two gratuitous sex scenes with dialogue so poor it makes George Lucas come off as Shakespeare. A major disappointment.

Going to start The Unit next.

[Madiel]

I wouldn't have thought that my favourite TV show right now would be horror, or horror-adjacent, but I've just watched the penultimate episode of Season 2 of Interview with the Vampire and it was magnificent.

The whole show has been such a high standard to this point. Funnily enough, the only episode I didn't entirely warm to was the pilot. But for some reason I persisted (actually, the main reason was probably Sam Reid) and everything since then has been such a high standard. Bloody, horrifying, emotional, funny. Racism, sexuality, conspiracies, unreliable narrators. I have to be in the right mood to be prepared to watch it, but gosh it's good.

[DavidW]

I wouldn't have thought that my favourite TV show right now would be horror, or horror-adjacent, but I've just watched the penultimate episode of Season 2 of Interview with the Vampire and it was magnificent.

The whole show has been such a high standard to this point. Funnily enough, the only episode I didn't entirely warm to was the pilot. But for some reason I persisted (actually, the main reason was probably Sam Reid) and everything since then has been such a high standard. Bloody, horrifying, emotional, funny. Racism, sexuality, conspiracies, unreliable narrators. I have to be in the right mood to be prepared to watch it, but gosh it's good.

I've been meaning to watch it. I started The Mayfair Witches a while back and liked what I saw. especially since, unlike Rice's vampire novels, which are short and move... The Witching Hour is hard to get into because it is baggy and long. That show wastes no time hitting the same beats.

[DavidW]

Discovered that Poirot (with David Suchet) is available on Amazon Prime.  Happy to see that they are there as my library doesn't have all of the DVDs.   

K

No, you've been hoodwinked, it is not on Prime! It is on a Prime add-on (Britbox). They probably advertised a free trial, but it is not a prime show.

[DavidW]

With the second season of WoT, their extremely unhelpful recap left me completely in the dark for about three episodes before I started putting pieces together from my memory. Initially I remembered exactly one side character (who had a very defined look), but absolutely nothing else at all.

The story skips forward well past the events of the climax of season one with no explanation. They made a character that died now magically alive, and they don't even discuss it. One of the main characters had to be recast. The writers also magically teleport characters wherever they want them to be which is bizarre and confusing.

And I always wondered if people who didn't read the books would have trouble following even major plotlines like the Seanchan invasion since the TV show makes no effort to explain who they are, what they're doing, and why they're doing it. And the climactic ending of The Great Hunt was turned into an almost anticlimactic and bewildering moment instead.

But I think the biggest problem is that the show seems to be written for me. It is filled to the brim with references to the books that are not explained at all in the show. And so I then I can enjoy it, but then wonder if it feels confusing and disjointed to non-book show watchers.

But I wanted to give the showrunners props for listening to criticism and putting effort into improving. It sounds like you liked S1, but I did not. And I do think despite still having a lot of failings, S2 was a big step forward. But I still think it will be canceled before the end. There is an eight-season plan, but it is two years per season.

[Madiel]

I've been meaning to watch it. I started The Mayfair Witches a while back and liked what I saw. especially since, unlike Rice's vampire novels, which are short and move... The Witching Hour is hard to get into because it is baggy and long. That show wastes no time hitting the same beats.

I've never read Rice's novels. The impression I have from reviews is that the TV series is not slavish about following the book, but that it's considered to capture the mood and themes better than the film adaptation did. Apparently season 3 will move onto the next novel.

[Brian]

Discovered that Poirot (with David Suchet) is available on Amazon Prime.  Happy to see that they are there as my library doesn't have all of the DVDs.   

K

An old friend and classmate of mine directed the Poirot episode "Cards on the Table." She recently retired from TV directing to a house in the English countryside, but Amazon Studios asked her to come out of retirement for one last hurrah on a sci-fi show, and she did that because the paycheck allowed her to buy a harpsichord! She spent all of covid-19 taking private harpsichord lessons on Zoom. Now that is the retirement life 

[VonStupp]

But I wanted to give the showrunners props for listening to criticism and putting effort into improving. It sounds like you liked S1, but I did not. And I do think despite still having a lot of failings, S2 was a big step forward. But I still think it will be canceled before the end. There is an eight-season plan, but it is two years per season.

Good to know as having not read the books. I tend to rely on my memory as as indicator of success from season to season, and since I didn't remember much at all, it gets put in the OK, but will easily fade from memory pile.

I seem to remember the stakes being much higher in Season 2, something I did appreciate. Will it have any bearing on me if a Season 3 comes out in 2025? Hard to say, but I will probably end up watching it regardless.
VS

[Kalevala]

No, you've been hoodwinked, it is not on Prime! It is on a Prime add-on (Britbox). They probably advertised a free trial, but it is not a prime show.

No, you've been hoodwinked, it is not on Prime! It is on a Prime add-on (Britbox). They probably advertised a free trial, but it is not a prime show.

Well, double-checking, at least the first season is free on Prime.  When I googled the second season/"series", I see a "Free with Brit Box trial".    Oh, well.  At least I can watch the first season for free--will have to look into Brit Box.  Which ones do you subscribe to?  And I do appreciate the heads up.  Thank you for that.

An old friend and classmate of mine directed the Poirot episode "Cards on the Table." She recently retired from TV directing to a house in the English countryside, but Amazon Studios asked her to come out of retirement for one last hurrah on a sci-fi show, and she did that because the paycheck allowed her to buy a harpsichord! She spent all of covid-19 taking private harpsichord lessons on Zoom. Now that is the retirement life 

Cool!

K

[Roy Bland]

[hopefullytrusting]

Okay, I'm officially done with Blindspot. My breaking-point was ending on two gratuitous sex scenes with dialogue so poor it makes George Lucas come off as Shakespeare. A major disappointment.

Going to start The Unit next.

This show is definitely more exciting than Blindspot, but heck watching paint dry was more exciting.

I doubt I will make it very far in this show, as one of the main plot points is adultery, and the male committing this is the boss of the husband, but it also stars Dennis Haysbert and Regina Taylor, both who are very likeable.

[hopefullytrusting]

Officially, done with The Unit, as it is Christian propaganda. How utterly disappointing. (Will be destroyed, as all trash should be.)

Next up: Ray Donovan

[AnotherSpin]

[DavidW]

Which ones do you subscribe to? 

I subscribe to Britbox, Prime (mostly for shipping), Disney Plus, Hulu, and Max (they have a cheap rate if you bundle all three).