2015 TV Show Thread

[RainMaker]

It seems like no one at Showtime gives a shit about the quality of their shows writing. Sure they cast their shows well and come up with some cool concepts, but after that it just feels mailed in.

Just finished binging through Ray Donovan and I have the same feeling I had with Dexter, Homeland, and Shameless. Why can't Showtime bring in some decent writers?

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by ISiddiqui

TV Tropes is usually good for this stuff

Live-Action TV / Unreliable Narrator - TV Tropes

edit: Though it appears that HIMYM is one of the few that seemingly does it on a consistent basis. Though HIMYM wore its description of a postmodern TV show like a badge, doing all sorts of crazy stuff in that guise (unreliable narration, playing with time through flashbacks and flashforwards, tons of callbacks, etc)

The only other one I can think of that tries as hard, of hand, is Arrested Development.

This would have been so much better than "jump the shark" had it caught on . . .

Originally Posted by TV Tropes

An episode of Happy Days had Fonzie, Chachi, Roger, & Potsie all giving differing versions of the same chain of events leading to Fonzie getting shot in the butt.

[albionmoonlight]

Still loving Mr. Robot. Still feel like the show has one too many plot lines going on. Still afraid that it is going to fall off the rails at any point.

But, so far so good. Been really fun and really well done.

And last night's

Spoiler

twist that was different than the twist we were expecting

was pretty cool.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

It seems like no one at Showtime gives a shit about the quality of their shows writing. Sure they cast their shows well and come up with some cool concepts, but after that it just feels mailed in.

Just finished binging through Ray Donovan and I have the same feeling I had with Dexter, Homeland, and Shameless. Why can't Showtime bring in some decent writers?

Did you watch Happiness? Thought it really started slow but got much better towards the middle/end.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Still loving Mr. Robot. Still feel like the show has one too many plot lines going on. Still afraid that it is going to fall off the rails at any point.

But, so far so good. Been really fun and really well done.

And last night's

Spoiler

twist that was different than the twist we were expecting

was pretty cool.

Agreed on all counts, not recommending this to friends until I see the finale to make sure they don't screw it all up... it'd be so easy to do. But I am enjoying the ride more and more every week.

[stevew]

Show Me A Hero on HBO is really interesting. I believe it's just 6 episodes long. From the people behind The Wire

[Johnny93g]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

It seems like no one at Showtime gives a shit about the quality of their shows writing. Sure they cast their shows well and come up with some cool concepts, but after that it just feels mailed in.

Just finished binging through Ray Donovan and I have the same feeling I had with Dexter, Homeland, and Shameless. Why can't Showtime bring in some decent writers?

I feel the exact opposite to ALMOST everything you just wrote.

Shameless is my favourite thing ever. I feel it's written just for me. I don't know any show that can combine the comdey, drama, and development that occurs every season.

The last season of Homeland was crazy exciting. The tension they built around Sol was as good as I've seen in the series IMO.

Ray Donavon is always a great watch, and i love the storylines this year. I think season 1, around James Woods character was holy shit brilliant. Season 2 took a step back, but season 3 has been excellent.

Dexter is a steaming pile of shit. The last 4 seasons ruined what was a very good show.

[heybrad]

Anybody else watch Alone on the History channel? The finale was last night. I thought it was a spectacular show. For those who don't know about it, they basically dropped 10 guys off into the wilderness and the game was who could survive the longest. They were all completely separated so totally isolated by themselves. It felt like a reality show actually being real as it wasn't about petty drama but more about how they could survive physically along with how they dealt with the toll of isolation. I really enjoyed it and it looks like History is going to do a season 2.

[stevew]

Rectify season 3 was great

[Honolulu_Blue]

Yeah, Rectify has been a consistently good show. My three year long crush on Amantha continues.

[Jas_lov]

Rectify is one of the best shows on tv. Amantha and Teddy Jr. are the best characters. Great actors.

Ray Donovan is an ok show but Katie Holmes looks awful. If they showed less of Ray's wife and kids it'd be a better show. Mick and his sons are a lot more interesting.

Show me a Hero has been really interesting. Oscar Issac is brilliant.

The Brink got better as the season went on. Gave up on Ballers.

Halt and Catch Fire Season 2 was better than 1. I'd like to see it get renewed now that they're moving to California, but I bet it gets cancelled.

Masters of Sex also better this season because they finally brought back Bridges and Janney.

[Solecismic]

I liked H&CF 1 better than 2, and they are very different seasons. I thought the first season captured a little bit of what tech felt like back then. The second season was more romance-focused and made Mutiny seem like a fraternity prank gone awry. Ratings were a little down, but not enough that I'd worry any more than I did last year.

Masters is suffering more in the ratings, even with Ray Donovan holding somewhat steady. I'd worry more about that one. Maybe it's because the characters never seem to develop - we just learn more about them. And we're getting far too much kid stuff - Mad Men knew when to pull away from that.

[stevew]

Originally Posted by Honolulu_Blue

Yeah, Rectify has been a consistently good show. My three year long crush on Amantha continues.

If you give Amantha the D, she becomes Amanda

[stevew]

That scene between Daniel's lawyer and the stroked out senator was flat out brilliant.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by stevew

That scene between Daniel's lawyer and the stroked our senator was flat out brilliant.

Wait, what scene was this?

[stevew]

I meant the senator who was stroked out...

The original prosecutor. At his house. John comes over and tells him he is going to ruin his legacy.

[ISiddiqui]

I really enjoyed this season of Halt and Catch Fire. Especially as it seemed to be a purposeful upending of Season 1 (with Cameron and Donna being put in the places that Joe and Gordon were in the first season). The two seasons really go together in a way I don't think I've seen another show attempt.

I'd really like to see where they go with it and it may be continued as S2 got tons of critical praise (whereas S1 was panned quite a bit but still got a second season).

[RainMaker]

Would the finale for this season be a proper series finale? I'm interested in the show but hate getting into something that ends on a cliffhanger.

[RainMaker]

Also agree with everyone on Rectify. I thoroughly enjoyed this season. It feels like the show just gets better.

The actor who plays Ted Jr is great. They actually found a way to make him into a sympathetic character.

[Surtt]

Originally Posted by Radii

Agreed on all counts, not recommending this to friends until I see the finale to make sure they don't screw it all up... it'd be so easy to do. But I am enjoying the ride more and more every week.

Spoiler

Am I the only one who thinks the "Mr. Robot" store is a false memory and Mr. Robot is not really his dad? His dad worked for EvilCorp until he got leukemia (at one point it was from radiation and another it was from chemical dumping... fishy.) I guess the store could be a side business, or opened after he left EvilCorp, but it seems strange. The whole Mr. Robot == Dad, seems too perfect, like something he would make up to cover for a horrible father.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Surtt

Spoiler

Am I the only one who thinks the "Mr. Robot" store is a false memory and Mr. Robot is not really his dad? His dad worked for EvilCorp until he got leukemia (at one point it was from radiation and another it was from chemical dumping... fishy.) I guess the store could be a side business, or opened after he left EvilCorp, but it seems strange. The whole Mr. Robot == Dad, seems too perfect, like something he would make up to cover for a horrible father.

I like that. After the twist and twist, people aren't really expecting another. And that one would be consistent with how unreliable our narrator has been.

[Logan]

Well, gonna need to wait a week to find out. Just saw on Twitter that USA is delaying tonight's episode a week due to a scene "similar in nature" to today's shooting in Virginia.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Surtt

Spoiler

Am I the only one who thinks the "Mr. Robot" store is a false memory and Mr. Robot is not really his dad? His dad worked for EvilCorp until he got leukemia (at one point it was from radiation and another it was from chemical dumping... fishy.) I guess the store could be a side business, or opened after he left EvilCorp, but it seems strange. The whole Mr. Robot == Dad, seems too perfect, like something he would make up to cover for a horrible father.

I hadn't thought of that. I've done very little thinking about possibilities here, I'm just enjoying the ride, though I doubt I'd have come up with that one anyway. So far they've pulled off all this stuff quite well, so wherever they go is ok by me!

Originally Posted by Logan

Well, gonna need to wait a week to find out. Just saw on Twitter that USA is delaying tonight's episode a week due to a scene "similar in nature" to today's shooting in Virginia.

Just saw that too, where the heck is the finale going? Even a week from now, it sounds like it is going to be very surreal to watch.

[albionmoonlight]

USA's Mr. Robot became an obsession thanks to this one weird visual trick - Vox

[panerd]

Originally Posted by heybrad

Anybody else watch Alone on the History channel? The finale was last night. I thought it was a spectacular show. For those who don't know about it, they basically dropped 10 guys off into the wilderness and the game was who could survive the longest. They were all completely separated so totally isolated by themselves. It felt like a reality show actually being real as it wasn't about petty drama but more about how they could survive physically along with how they dealt with the toll of isolation. I really enjoyed it and it looks like History is going to do a season 2.

Yes it was my favorite summer show (though you might not want to share that with me since I also like Skin Wars and Twinning ) I hope there is some sort of reunion because I really got into these contestants and would love to hear them discuss the island with each other.

My one worry for a season two and now it won't be "brand new" and people will rehash the good and bad techniques.

[Radii]

Mr Robot finale thoughts? I really liked it, didn't know what to expect or think during parts of it, but that's par for the course here, its really a fascinating ride.

I loved this interview with the show's creator. I'm putting the link in spoiler tags since the URL could reveal something to people behind on the show.

Spoiler

Mr. Robots creator did everything in my power to telegraph the big twist

I loved the answers about doing TV differently and about not trying to drag anything out and wanting to "rush to the end so its complelling the whole time".

[Johnny93g]

Originally Posted by Radii

Mr Robot finale thoughts? I really liked it, didn't know what to expect or think during parts of it, but that's par for the course here, its really a fascinating ride.

I loved this interview with the show's creator. I'm putting the link in spoiler tags since the URL could reveal something to people behind on the show.

Spoiler

Mr. Robots creator did everything in my power to telegraph the big twist

I loved the answers about doing TV differently and about not trying to drag anything out and wanting to "rush to the end so its complelling the whole time".

I enjoyed the whole season, and based on Esmail's comments that this season was all a setup, I'm very intrigued going forward.

Mr. Robots rant and the conversation Elliot had with Wellicks wife were the hight points for me in this episode.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Radii

Mr Robot finale thoughts? I really liked it, didn't know what to expect or think during parts of it, but that's par for the course here, its really a fascinating ride.

I loved this interview with the show's creator. I'm putting the link in spoiler tags since the URL could reveal something to people behind on the show.

Spoiler

Mr. Robots creator did everything in my power to telegraph the big twist

I loved the answers about doing TV differently and about not trying to drag anything out and wanting to "rush to the end so its complelling the whole time".

Thanks for that.

The best news in there is that he has a story planned out, and he wants to just tell the story. Not keep his hacker show going for as long as possible.

I hope he gets to keep strong creative control over it. It is one thing to get to play in your sandbox when you are a quirky summer show on USA. It is another thing when you are making the second season of a cult hit. I imagine a lot of other folks are going to want input into the show now that it's the new hotness.

[albionmoonlight]

dola

Spoiler

I thought that Gideon would have a much larger role in the finale. Elliot made a point of mentioning how Gideon was the only truly good person that he had hacked. And we had that scene with Gideon having breakfast with his husband that seemed to just reinforce his goodness.

So, I expected him to actually be a totally evil supergenius who was pulling strings the whole time.

I guess there's still a chance for that . . .

[NobodyHere]

That Muppet show is looking to be rather funny.

[stevew]

Life in Pieces might be good. They cast a bunch of funny people.

[stevew]

I thought Mr Robot was great. Combined all the elements of Trainspotting, Fight Club, V for Vendetta and the Matrix.

I don't really understand the relationship between Wellick and Eliot. My guess was that Eliot orchestrated the hack with Wellick in order to get the CTO fired, but Eliot double crossed him? But then again the murder was pretty clearly timed to distract the authority figures so that the honeypot takedown couldn't be stopped.

The Bud Dwyer moment was a bit too much to watch.

I doubt Wellick is dead. I'm just wondering whether he was a conscious or unconscious co-conspirator. Like becoming CTO at an early age would be a boon, but if he's more or less in the conspiracy it would lead to an enormous amount of wealth if he was able to short the correct positions.

I really hope this is a 40 episode show, as USA tends to drag things out.

Why was Eliot in court ordered Therapy?

Also tge guy that plays Gideon seems to have a knack for playing characters that get dunked all over between this and House of Cards.

[MrBug708]

Anyone catch the Bastard Executioner?

[Radii]

Originally Posted by stevew

I don't really understand the relationship between Wellick and Eliot.

Me neither, I assume we figure that out in season 2. I have no guesses. Until the last episode, Wellick to me was the only weak part of the show, everything he did felt separate from the rest of the show and I didn't really care about him much.

I'm just wondering whether he was a conscious or unconscious co-conspirator. Like becoming CTO at an early age would be a boon, but if he's more or less in the conspiracy it would lead to an enormous amount of wealth if he was able to short the correct positions.

I assume there is MUCH more to this b/c of his wife. His wife makes all htese comments/threats about "sticking to the plan" and "reaching their goals" and its crazy ominous and there are dire consequences if it doesn't happen. If "the plan" is just to be CTO of EvilCorp, all of that looks really fucking strange. There has to be way more to that.

I really hope this is a 40 episode show, as USA tends to drag things out.

The Sepinwall interview I linked earlier w/ the creator was really positive on this, hopefully it stays that way. The guy said something like he sees himself racing to the ending as fast as possible so that he's always telling a compelling story, no filler/unimportant shit.

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Anyone catch the Bastard Executioner?

I watched the first half (up until the village scenes), but I was short on time. I'm going to watch the rest tonight. Not sure if I should comment until I have seen the whole episode.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by MrBug708

Anyone catch the Bastard Executioner?

I thought it was pretty bad. Although somehow Sutter can make me watch a pretty bad show to it's completion. The biggest problem with it (and with Sutter in general) is that he needs to edit things down. Like you could cut half the stuff from the show so far and it wouldn't lose any impact on the viewer.

My comparison is to Spartacus if Spartacus really dragged it's scenes out, added a bunch of pointless filler, and was boring.

[Thomkal]

some of the new TV season starts tonight with Minority Report starting tonight on Fox. Yes that Minority Report.

[EagleFan]

Good start for Gotham so far.

One troublesome question though

Spoiler

Why does Jim Gordon name his daughter after a psychopath?

[EagleFan]

Spoiler

Need to see more of that last villain that just entered the show. Any idea who she would be?

[Grover]

Originally Posted by EagleFan

Spoiler

Need to see more of that last villain that just entered the show. Any idea who she would be?

Spoiler

Tabitha. She is the husband of the dude in the suit.

I'm a little miffed that they fucking killed Richard Sionis off. He's the goddamn Black Mask.

[Thomkal]

Looks like the new Muppets show is worth watching:

Family values group calls new Muppets show "perverted" - Fortune

[Thomkal]

Has anyone been watching Vixen on CW Seed? animated 5 mins shows that may lead to bigger episodes or more importantly, appearances on The Flash and Arrow.

Vixen Video - Episode 5 | Watch Free On CWSeed.com

[stevew]

Thought Empire was delightful on its return. As was the Goldbergs and Fresh Off the Boat. The muppets was also pretty great

[Honolulu_Blue]

I do like Fresh Off The Boat. "Your job is a vacation... from poverty."

[Warhammer]

Did anyone catch the Muppets, I'm curious how it turned out.

Regarding the petition, the original show had a ton of humor that worked on two levels. There were quite a few jokes I caught watching on DVD that I was floored by at how risque and adult they were. That said, they were veiled so my kids had no clue what was going on.

[stevew]

The Muppets was basically the exact same show as FX's The Comedians and nearly as adult

[Chief Rum]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

I thought it was pretty bad. Although somehow Sutter can make me watch a pretty bad show to it's completion. The biggest problem with it (and with Sutter in general) is that he needs to edit things down. Like you could cut half the stuff from the show so far and it wouldn't lose any impact on the viewer.

My comparison is to Spartacus if Spartacus really dragged it's scenes out, added a bunch of pointless filler, and was boring.

I generally agreed with this take after the pilot debuted, but I felt the second episode was quite abit more nuanced and interesting as the characters seem to be settling into their roles more. I'll be curious to see where it goes.

[Thomkal]

Sad news for Heroes alum Ali Landry:

Ali Landry's Father-in-Law and Brother-in-Law Found Dead in Mexico : People.com

[stevew]

I thought the finale to CSI original was done well. It also leaves the door open for some TV movies if they choose to go that direction.

[stevew]

Last Man on Earth and Brooklyn Nine Nine both came back pretty strong.