February : What are you watching?

Mark CMG · Feb 6, 2013

I took some time Monday to run out to the early show of Hansel and Gretel. It's strictly a popcorn flick with quite a bit of gore and cursing (I hadn't realized it had a R rating, not that it's a problem for me). Plenty of plot holes that I had no trouble handwaving in favor of just enjoying the ride.

Speaking of gore, the new Spartacus season is underway and I need to make some time to get back into it. I thought the wheels had come off when they lost their star but they retooled with the prequel-season and managed to keep things going. Now I look forward to this new season quite a bit.

Archer is back on and I find the puerile, absurdist humor as engaging as ever. It's not deep (phrasing . . .) but it sends up the spy genre in some interesting ways while never taking itself seriously, and the voice talent on the show is top notch across the board.

The Daily Show, Colbert Report, PBS News Hour, Charlie Rose, and some of the shows on Geek and Sundry comprise much of the rest of my viewing habit.

*edit* Oh, and I recently watched (finally!) BSG Blood and Chrome on YouTube. A little predictable but good fun and it reminds me that I miss BSG and Caprica, both of which I enjoyed for various reasons.

Nellisir · Feb 6, 2013

Stargate Universe on Netflix. Not your typical Stargate show. I rather like it.
I'd like to see Hansel & Gretel and The Hobbit, if it's still showing around here in a few days.

Ebon Shar · Feb 6, 2013

I've been watching Continuum on SyFy. It started very strong, but subsequent episodes have gotten weaker. Still, it's entertaining and I'll continue to watch. I also dug the first episode of The Americans. I'll continue to check that out.

ggroy · Feb 7, 2013

Ebon Shar said:
I've been watching Continuum on SyFy. It started very strong, but subsequent episodes have gotten weaker. Still, it's entertaining and I'll continue to watch.

I thought some of the middle season 1 episodes were kinda hit or miss.

The finale was good.

ggroy · Feb 7, 2013

Mark CMG said:
*edit* Oh, and I recently watched (finally!) BSG Blood and Chrome on YouTube. A little predictable but good fun and it reminds me that I miss BSG and Caprica, both of which I enjoyed for various reasons.

I thought Blood & Chrome was kinda on the meh side. Ok as a sci-fi movie of the night.

I can see why it wasn't picked up as a regular tv series.

Mark CMG · Feb 7, 2013

ggroy said:
I thought Blood & Chrome was kinda on the meh side. Ok as a sci-fi movie of the night.

I can see why it wasn't picked up as a regular tv series.

Yeah, I don't disagree. Predictable script, the acting was a bit flat (though I hesitate to blame the cast when it's just as easily attributed to the predictable scripting), and the pacing was a bit jerky due to the way in which they wanted to serialize it. However, I've always felt BSG had the right underlying elements for the story it wanted to tell. It took the premise of man seeding his own destruction and put the audience at just the right vantage point (in both space and time) to be able to create a mysteriousness about the whole. Then, once all of that has been revealed, it turned the premise on its side and allowed the audience to view things differently with Caprica, and still managed to keep it unpredictable. BSG as a franchise was, overall, very well done. The less said about the Dylan tune (a near-shark-jumping moment, IMO) and how an author should be careful not to insert himself too much into his writing, if that isn't the point all along, the better. I don't doubt that the predictability of B&C was what put off the green light, given that BSG's forte was being just the opposite.

Herschel · Feb 7, 2013

I have a lot of stuff on the DVR and on DVD I'm waiting to get to. Right now thr "current" shows I'm keeping up with are "How I Met Your Mother", "Arrow", "Californication", teh Doctor Who specials and "Ripper Street" with "The Americans", "Person of Interest" and "Elementary" on the DVR with Stewart and Colbert. Next month gets even "worse" with "Doctor Who" and "Orphan Black" starting up.

ggroy · Feb 8, 2013

Mark CMG said:
Yeah, I don't disagree. Predictable script, the acting was a bit flat (though I hesitate to blame the cast when it's just as easily attributed to the predictable scripting), and the pacing was a bit jerky due to the way in which they wanted to serialize it. However, I've always felt BSG had the right underlying elements for the story it wanted to tell. It took the premise of man seeding his own destruction and put the audience at just the right vantage point (in both space and time) to be able to create a mysteriousness about the whole. Then, once all of that has been revealed, it turned the premise on its side and allowed the audience to view things differently with Caprica, and still managed to keep it unpredictable. BSG as a franchise was, overall, very well done. The less said about the Dylan tune (a near-shark-jumping moment, IMO) and how an author should be careful not to insert himself too much into his writing, if that isn't the point all along, the better. I don't doubt that the predictability of B&C was what put off the green light, given that BSG's forte was being just the opposite.

Speaking of Battlestar Galactica, awhile ago I was watching some of the original 1978-1979 series episodes.

I use to like this show a lot when I was a kid. I use to think it was just as spectacular as Star Wars. :-S

Watching many of these older episodes through the eyes of an adult, they seem kinda cheesy now. I was wondering what exactly I found exciting about these episodes in the first place.

I went through storage and dug out my old Battlestar Galactica novels, from when I was a kid. (Most of these novels were episode novelizations). It seems reading these novelizations was more entertaining, than watching the actual original episodes.

Jhaelen · Feb 8, 2013

I've been watching Once Upon A Time, Elementary, and Unforgettable all of which are 'okay' but nothing more.
I've also watched the Homeland pilot which seemed promising although I wondered why they didn't try to keep it mysterious. I think it's much less intruiging because you learn right away the guy's been turned around.