donutsweeper (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
donutsweeper) wrote2014-01-07 12:18 pm
donutsweeper) wrote2014-01-07 12:18 pm
Entry tags:
Show commentary, as promised
Random thoughts/reviews on various shows ahead, nothing overly spoilery:
Monday
Almost Human Okay, I give up on this show. The pilot was lacking and the subject of the second episode rather squicky, but the third had a lot of potential.... but then none of it went anywhere. Add in the promo for the upcoming episode, and I am done. I like scifi, I want it to succeed as something other than a niche, but this is not the show that will manage that. The characters have never developed (honestly, it's 9 or 10 episodes in and I would have to google to come up with the names of half the characters, that is NOT a good sign) and the plots have been mediocre at best. Oh well.
Sleepy Hollow This show should not work. It really shouldn't. The premise is fairly ridiculous- the American Revolution was also a war against the four horsemen of the apocalypse? But it WORKS. I love the fact they put so much research into some of the historical aspects- a flashback scene of a 1770's party for example, the show got someone who builds and restores glass harmonicas for a living to play during it, that's a lot of effort for two minutes of background ambiance, and looked into how a Revolutionary War soldier would fire a hand gun (the arm with gun outstretched and as away from the body as possible, while standing tall and having the free arm tucked behind the back for support)- but also totally and unapologetically flubs other things (the colonists of Roanoke, settled in the 1580's, spoke Middle English? Hahahahahaha NO.) There's only 3 more episodes to air this season, but thankfully it's been renewed. I am oddly unfannish about the show though, I've barely sought out any fic or discussions, although I follow some SH tumblrs, mostly for the picspams and gif sets.
Blacklist - I tried, not a show for me.
Teen Wolf Season 3a was a clusterfuck of messy plots that didn't quite parse and attempts at emotional manipulation that fell short. 3b looks like it might be a bit better, but who can say? I don't really trust tptb. But, even if tptb can't tell a coherent story, the fandom has a LOT of great AUs and many are actually plotty and more than just porn, so there's plenty to read.
Tuesday
Agents of SHIELD - This show started out *really* rocky, but it seemed to have hit its stride with the last few episodes before the winter break. It hasn't remotely reached its potential though, and some of the plots and choices in casting/characterization have been really lacking. I can't say I really like it, but it is watchable overall, which is something I guess. That said, how it choses to handle the 'What actually happened to Coulson after he died in the Avengers' story line (which is, in theory, tonight) will determine whether it falls into the 'could have potential' category or 'wow, they blew it' one.
Supernatural For years SPN has limped along with mediocre plots and some terrible writing but has been peppered with enough moments of utter brilliance to keep me watching. I'm not sure how long that'll continue.
Person of Interest The basic premise of the show is "Will they save tpotw (the person/plotdevice of the week)" and I'm finding it harder and harder to care if they do or not. The current two-parter (mid winter cliffhanger and one airing this week) and the three parter that preceded it should have drawn me in because it focused around the core characters and provided us more backstory and whatnot, but it didn't. It wasn't the Carter aspect of it, I thought her characterization followed a decent enough arc, it was just apatheticness on my part and I'm not sure why. I'll probably continue to watch when I remember it's on, but I doubt I'll go out of my way to track down episodes.
Wednesday
Arrow Arrow has always managed to avoid being a typical CW show, mostly due to the acting of the main three - Oliver, Diggle and Felicity. They've managed to make me care about them and that surprised me. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the majority of the other supporting characters. And then there's the whole flashback storylines and arc which is getting far too complicated and ridiculous to be believed, but... here's hoping the writers know what they're doing?
Tomorrow People This is such a typical CW show, pretty people with unrealistic and unusual problems and women who look good even when they cry. Every so often I watch, trying to see if it's worth caring about and every episode leaves me feeling 'meh'. The so-called villain is laughable (and his acting horribly over the top), the 'heroes' kind of bland.... *sighs*
Thursday
White Collar I want to love this show. The pilot remains one of the best pilots for any show I have ever seen, but it's become one note- Peter's first instinct is not to trust Neal, Neal meanwhile tries to do the right thing but is faced with obstacles so he can't and.... I'm tired of it. And bored. S3's Nazi loot SL was horrid and tanked a lot of love for the show and S4 seemed to be improving until the ridiculous disaster of the finale and they really, really did not manage to write themselves out of it. I want to love this show, and look forward to every episode, but I really, really can't.
Elementary S2 hasn't worked for me. Too many of the plots seem to be done in attempts to SHOCK and SURPRISE the audience rather than tell a good story. I'm still watching, but (like an unfortunate number of my shows) only out of obligation and while only paying partial attention.
Friday
Grimm Another show I watch halfheartedly. In this case I might have given it up, but my son likes it and I like to encourage fannishness in the next generation. I do have to say Monroe and Rosalee are ridiculously cute and I love their storyline.
Haven S4 was such a mess and it makes me so sad. The pacing was terrible- far too long for the 'will they get Audrey out of the barn' story (when we knew they had to or the show wouldn't work) and then the story that followed was just... honestly the only descriptive word I have for it is terrible. There were aspects of the season I liked, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if it wasn't renewed, I have little faith they'll be able to pull out a story I can care about for S5.
Monday
Almost Human Okay, I give up on this show. The pilot was lacking and the subject of the second episode rather squicky, but the third had a lot of potential.... but then none of it went anywhere. Add in the promo for the upcoming episode, and I am done. I like scifi, I want it to succeed as something other than a niche, but this is not the show that will manage that. The characters have never developed (honestly, it's 9 or 10 episodes in and I would have to google to come up with the names of half the characters, that is NOT a good sign) and the plots have been mediocre at best. Oh well.
Sleepy Hollow This show should not work. It really shouldn't. The premise is fairly ridiculous- the American Revolution was also a war against the four horsemen of the apocalypse? But it WORKS. I love the fact they put so much research into some of the historical aspects- a flashback scene of a 1770's party for example, the show got someone who builds and restores glass harmonicas for a living to play during it, that's a lot of effort for two minutes of background ambiance, and looked into how a Revolutionary War soldier would fire a hand gun (the arm with gun outstretched and as away from the body as possible, while standing tall and having the free arm tucked behind the back for support)- but also totally and unapologetically flubs other things (the colonists of Roanoke, settled in the 1580's, spoke Middle English? Hahahahahaha NO.) There's only 3 more episodes to air this season, but thankfully it's been renewed. I am oddly unfannish about the show though, I've barely sought out any fic or discussions, although I follow some SH tumblrs, mostly for the picspams and gif sets.
Blacklist - I tried, not a show for me.
Teen Wolf Season 3a was a clusterfuck of messy plots that didn't quite parse and attempts at emotional manipulation that fell short. 3b looks like it might be a bit better, but who can say? I don't really trust tptb. But, even if tptb can't tell a coherent story, the fandom has a LOT of great AUs and many are actually plotty and more than just porn, so there's plenty to read.
Tuesday
Agents of SHIELD - This show started out *really* rocky, but it seemed to have hit its stride with the last few episodes before the winter break. It hasn't remotely reached its potential though, and some of the plots and choices in casting/characterization have been really lacking. I can't say I really like it, but it is watchable overall, which is something I guess. That said, how it choses to handle the 'What actually happened to Coulson after he died in the Avengers' story line (which is, in theory, tonight) will determine whether it falls into the 'could have potential' category or 'wow, they blew it' one.
Supernatural For years SPN has limped along with mediocre plots and some terrible writing but has been peppered with enough moments of utter brilliance to keep me watching. I'm not sure how long that'll continue.
Person of Interest The basic premise of the show is "Will they save tpotw (the person/plotdevice of the week)" and I'm finding it harder and harder to care if they do or not. The current two-parter (mid winter cliffhanger and one airing this week) and the three parter that preceded it should have drawn me in because it focused around the core characters and provided us more backstory and whatnot, but it didn't. It wasn't the Carter aspect of it, I thought her characterization followed a decent enough arc, it was just apatheticness on my part and I'm not sure why. I'll probably continue to watch when I remember it's on, but I doubt I'll go out of my way to track down episodes.
Wednesday
Arrow Arrow has always managed to avoid being a typical CW show, mostly due to the acting of the main three - Oliver, Diggle and Felicity. They've managed to make me care about them and that surprised me. Unfortunately the same can't be said for the majority of the other supporting characters. And then there's the whole flashback storylines and arc which is getting far too complicated and ridiculous to be believed, but... here's hoping the writers know what they're doing?
Tomorrow People This is such a typical CW show, pretty people with unrealistic and unusual problems and women who look good even when they cry. Every so often I watch, trying to see if it's worth caring about and every episode leaves me feeling 'meh'. The so-called villain is laughable (and his acting horribly over the top), the 'heroes' kind of bland.... *sighs*
Thursday
White Collar I want to love this show. The pilot remains one of the best pilots for any show I have ever seen, but it's become one note- Peter's first instinct is not to trust Neal, Neal meanwhile tries to do the right thing but is faced with obstacles so he can't and.... I'm tired of it. And bored. S3's Nazi loot SL was horrid and tanked a lot of love for the show and S4 seemed to be improving until the ridiculous disaster of the finale and they really, really did not manage to write themselves out of it. I want to love this show, and look forward to every episode, but I really, really can't.
Elementary S2 hasn't worked for me. Too many of the plots seem to be done in attempts to SHOCK and SURPRISE the audience rather than tell a good story. I'm still watching, but (like an unfortunate number of my shows) only out of obligation and while only paying partial attention.
Friday
Grimm Another show I watch halfheartedly. In this case I might have given it up, but my son likes it and I like to encourage fannishness in the next generation. I do have to say Monroe and Rosalee are ridiculously cute and I love their storyline.
Haven S4 was such a mess and it makes me so sad. The pacing was terrible- far too long for the 'will they get Audrey out of the barn' story (when we knew they had to or the show wouldn't work) and then the story that followed was just... honestly the only descriptive word I have for it is terrible. There were aspects of the season I liked, but I wouldn't be heartbroken if it wasn't renewed, I have little faith they'll be able to pull out a story I can care about for S5.
no subject
Ugh, Adalind. Her story is so boring and I agree, I could not care at ALL about it.
Sleepy Hollow though! *sighs happily* It shouldn't even remotely work! But it does! And Ichabod is so ridiculously handsome *sighs some more* :)