General Television Thread

[LL!]

It doesn't help that the writing team, for the pilot at least, isn't half as strong. At one point, just to drive it home to the watchers, Gordon actually shouts "YOU'RE A CYNIC!" at Bullock. Just in case the audience didn't pick up on that from all of the cynical things he was saying and doing before then.

Currently watching it. The writing reads a lot like a comic book, and in that scene in particular, though it is a bit on the expository side, I feel like they play if off well in the context of the scene. Plus it's then followed by a scene with a song from The Dead Weather, so, there's nothing to be upset about!

[Draevyn]

I see it more in the "Boardwalk Empire style" in that, similar to how we see Al Capone etc rise to power in the background, we will see Joker, Ed Nygma, Penguin, Ivy etc in the background

I'm looking forward to it.

Also, i liked Scorpion

It may also go the route of some other comic book shows in that it kills off a character that you never thought it would. Like Jonathan Kent in Smallville.

I'm with you on Scorpion as well. It gives me a Leverage feel and I enjoyed Leverage a lot.

I also enjoyed the first episode of "Forever" which I didn't think that I would. I originally thought the premise was about vampires and I'm a vampire addict but I'm actually intrigued more that it's something different.

[livid]

If they were desperate I can't see why they couldn't play a bit fast and loose with the source material. Have one of the main villains die before they are a 'big name' then have one of their henchmen use their name as a homage and become what you expected.

But I agree the whole thing is silly, the same criticism could be levelled about any successful novel/comic book that has been turned into a movie/television show.

I haven't seen it, but isn't the idea of the main characters being in peril is that it helps shape them into the people they become? Batman is never going to die 20 minutes into a Batman movie.

They definitely can do that, which is why it's probably a little foolish to have the criticism after one episode. And none of what you said is wrong really but it's a concern bred out of pessimism. It's less about the actual act of adapting the source material and more about the dire state of network TV.

[Benjamin]

I'd fucking kill for a Boardwalk Empire spin-off with Stephen Graham's Al Capone.

3 episodes in already, only 5 left they're really taking it slow considering they have 4 episodes less than they usually do.

[Benji]

I've seen the first two - any sign of...

Narcisse in episode three? I really want that fucker to get his from Chalky.

[Benjamin]

I've seen the first two - any sign of...

Narcisse in episode three? I really want that fucker to get his from Chalky.

Yeah, he's in episode 3 for a bit.

This is for anyone who has watched all 3 episodes, so stay away Benji!

Is it annoying anyone else that they're taking everything too slowly? I mean, we're getting all the stuff from Nucky's past, and I'd have been fine with that if this wasn't the final season, but it is and I'd prefer they just infer whatever it's leading to how they usually do: with Nucky just telling the story. I guess it's going to go into where we finally understand why Nucky is wired the way he is, though.

I don't know how they're going to resolve the Narcisse / Chalky situation, since Chalky is still god-knows-where (have they even mentioned if he's in AC?), and Narcisse and Maranzzano look to be about to go to war. Then we have Mickey with this kid now, and everything's really interesting, but with time running out I'm just getting really anxious to see what happens. Not to mention we probably won't even get to see Emma and Tommy and find out what happened to them, and Richard and Jimmy will probably never get talked about at all this season, but we got a fucking reminder of that annoying ass character Billie Kent? Eurgh. I really don't understand why they had to introduce Maranzzano (I mean, I do, actually, as he and Luciano are going to butt heads and he was the guy who created the capo di tutti capi position), but still, eurgh. It's weird that it's probably going to boil down to a war between Luciano and Meyer against Nucky and maybe Capone. I'm assuming that relationship is still ongoing since Eli is there.

And I fucking miss Rothstein. And Richard. Goddamn.

[Ant]

Going back to Gotham..

Anybody else think the comedian performing for Fish Mooney could be the Joker?

[punky]

I thought the same for a split second but not with his uneasy reactions to Fish confronting Oswald.

[LL!]

Gotham topic:

They said that they were going to introduce various characters that have a possibility of becoming The Joker.

[Josh]

I've seen the first two - any sign of...

Narcisse in episode three? I really want that fucker to get his from Chalky.

Yeah, he's in episode 3 for a bit.

This is for anyone who has watched all 3 episodes, so stay away Benji!

Is it annoying anyone else that they're taking everything too slowly? I mean, we're getting all the stuff from Nucky's past, and I'd have been fine with that if this wasn't the final season, but it is and I'd prefer they just infer whatever it's leading to how they usually do: with Nucky just telling the story. I guess it's going to go into where we finally understand why Nucky is wired the way he is, though.

I don't know how they're going to resolve the Narcisse / Chalky situation, since Chalky is still god-knows-where (have they even mentioned if he's in AC?), and Narcisse and Maranzzano look to be about to go to war. Then we have Mickey with this kid now, and everything's really interesting, but with time running out I'm just getting really anxious to see what happens. Not to mention we probably won't even get to see Emma and Tommy and find out what happened to them, and Richard and Jimmy will probably never get talked about at all this season, but we got a fucking reminder of that annoying ass character Billie Kent? Eurgh. I really don't understand why they had to introduce Maranzzano (I mean, I do, actually, as he and Luciano are going to butt heads and he was the guy who created the capo di tutti capi position), but still, eurgh. It's weird that it's probably going to boil down to a war between Luciano and Meyer against Nucky and maybe Capone. I'm assuming that relationship is still ongoing since Eli is there.

And I fucking miss Rothstein. And Richard. Goddamn.

RE: Your Episode 3 talk . . .

I'm not having any problem with the pacing at all. And the Lil' Nucky stuff is probably my favorite material every episode. If Nucky just told old stories every episode it would be incredibly lazy. As for referring to past characters, Billie was only referred to as it mattered to the thug that was involved in that scene. As for where all the characters end up, I'm sure we'll get resolutions with each, but I don't see why they have to end up precisely where you're wanting/predicting.

Of course, I'm always more interested in the psychological aspects of a show than "X needs to get Y."

[Benjamin]

Oh, I enjoy it too, I guess with Boardwalk I've been more interested in the plots and relationships that appear and disappear more. It's probably why I love season 3 more than season 4, although season 4 is arguably better. And yeah, I get that the Billie reference wasn't anything much at all, I just get annoyed when she comes up. I also doubt that the characters are going where I want them to go (otherwise Richard would still be alive

), but I am curious to see where everyone is, and if or / and how the story will come together.

I do love that Margaret is back, though. Missed her as a lead character.

Also, Christopher Walken's first image as Captain Hook for Peter Pan Live!:

Still not his weirdest look at all.

Edited September 25, 2014 by Benkid

[livid]

I still need to watch it but Blackish did really well in the ratings. It retained nearly all of Modern Family's viewers, which is impressive as hell. Considering it's one of the few new shows this season that doesn't look like a Funny or Die spoof, this is good news.

https://twitter.com/TVMoJoe/status/515155434790207488

Edited September 25, 2014 by livid

[Josh]

That's encouraging. It's the only new show I have any interest in. I still need to watch it.

[Josh]

So I watched Blackish. Long story short: I'm not sure.

Short story long: I'm going to be out of my depth discussing this, just as frankly anyone who is not of black heritage. That said, it's possible that the show is taking some very big, complicated issues and compressing them down to a series of jokes that fit into a neat, half-hour package. On a related note, I'm worried that it might one day fall into the same formulaic trap that Modern Family suffers from.

On the flip side, it's rare to see any network TV show approach those issues at all. I like Larry Wilmore a lot, though I don't know how involved he'll be, as The Minority Report starts up soon.

They're heading into thorny territory and could easily fuck things up, but who else with such a large potential audience dares to head into that territory?

[Benjamin]

Pretty excited for Transparent coming out tomorrow. The reviews have been quite good, and it has Jeffrey Tambor, so what else do you need?!

[C-MIL]

So I watched Blackish. Long story short: I'm not sure.

Short story long: I'm going to be out of my depth discussing this, just as frankly anyone who is not of black heritage. That said, it's possible that the show is taking some very big, complicated issues and compressing them down to a series of jokes that fit into a neat, half-hour package. On a related note, I'm worried that it might one day fall into the same formulaic trap that Modern Family suffers from.

On the flip side, it's rare to see any network TV show approach those issues at all. I like Larry Wilmore a lot, though I don't know how involved he'll be, as The Minority Report starts up soon.

They're heading into thorny territory and could easily fuck things up, but who else with such a large potential audience dares to head into that territory?

I think the biggest problem they're going to run into is that it's not funny.

[Ace]

Damn You Bones

[Benji]

New Buzzcocks, HIGNFY and QI this week. Go BBC quiz shows!

[Josh]

QI is top. I wish there was an official way to keep up with it over here.

[TKz]

New Buzzcocks, HIGNFY and QI this week. Go BBC quiz shows!

When does Buzzcocks start?