What's the deal with The Blacklist

SteveC · Sep 16, 2014

So all of my friends who aren't nerds are keenly aware that I am one, and they keep telling me "OMG! You have to watch The Blacklist!" (I'm not making that up: they actually said "OMG!")

So I wanted to ask ENWorld who is filled with people who like actual nerdish TV if it's worth watching.

I'd probably DVR it, so time isn't an issue, but ... it just doesn't look that interesting.

Now you probably don't know exactly what I like in TV, so just let me know if you like the show and if there's any kind of consensus, I'll check it out.

fba827 · Sep 16, 2014

While I enjoy the show (really I do) it boils down to being a procedural

Yes there is an overlying b story line that ties some things together. But it's still just a procedural.
That said, most of it is well acted and decent writing. And it does have the fun twists of things being resolved the non "lawful good" way at times ;-)

Crothian · Sep 16, 2014

I really like the show. Netflix just put up season one last week and I rewatched them all over the weekend.

Things to keep in mind it is villain of the week show. The villains are more along the lines of unrealistic Hollywood villains in what they do and what they get away with.

Reddington, James Spader character, is the reason to watch. If you don't enjoy his smugness stop watching. That never changes. The FBI he works with is not as elite as one would hope but Reddington is ahead of them because of what he knows. He fully admits that he is not telling them everything and it shows. If you pay attention you will see some of the reasons he does what he does and how manipulative he is. We don't have all the answers at the end of the first season but I feel we have enough. It's not like other shows that give mystery with no resolution.

It is not a perfect show and there is some stupid things in there including the way some characters act at times. But over all I think it was the best new show last year.

Mark CMG · Sep 17, 2014

I enjoyed season one and look forward to season two. It's a solid show with potential for more, given the cast and the writing so far.

Jhaelen · Sep 17, 2014

I'm definitely underwhelmed by it. It started out okay, but I got bored by it pretty quickly since it's nothing much but 'villain of the day'. And I absolutely don't see why it should be something a 'nerd' might enjoy more than other persons. Rather the opposite since there's so many things that seem utterly unrealistic. The female protagonist is completely unconvincing as a profiler and there's never any 'cleverness' involved in how they manage to track down the villains. And then there's Mr. pseudo-mysterious KnowItAll (Spader) who's sometimes amusing but mostly just obnoxious.

There's a lot of shows I enjoy a lot more, e.g. Sherlock, The Killing, The Bridge, Orphan Black. Even Elementary is better, and likely more 'nerd-compatible'.

Nellisir · Sep 18, 2014

I watched one episode and didn't find it all that. OK, but not great. Admittedly, it was just one episode. If you want to watch a clever procedural with a "know-it-all" premise, I'd recommend Lie To Me. It's on Netflix.

Crothian · Sep 18, 2014

Nellisir said:
I watched one episode and didn't find it all that. OK, but not great. Admittedly, it was just one episode. If you want to watch a clever procedural with a "know-it-all" premise, I'd recommend Lie To Me. It's on Netflix.

Lie to Me I watch but didn't really like. It's worth a watch if though because plenty of people did enjoy it.

Dog Moon · Sep 18, 2014

I liked the Blacklist. It was good for a while, but then I agree it did slow down for a little bit in the middle. I had actually stopped watching it for some time but then randomly decided to get back into it and I remember watching the last part of the season in rapid succession.

It did have some formula to it though, which I know I found a little annoying. Each villian of the week seemed fairly unique though, which kept it interesting even if sometimes the villians were boring. But what I found annoying is that it seemed like the main character couldn't do anything on her own. She always went to the one dude for answers, he would give her a clue, she would think about it, and then she would come up with the answer just in time.

But I liked the fact that the one dude basically had no problems with killing and that sometimes you were never really sure what he was going to do.

That's as much as I can remember.

And I didn't like Lie to Me. I stopped watching it after like the third episode. But... to each their own!

Crothian · Sep 19, 2014

Dog Moon said:
But what I found annoying is that it seemed like the main character couldn't do anything on her own. She always went to the one dude for answers, he would give her a clue, she would think about it, and then she would come up with the answer just in time.

Well, she is very green and also she is not there because of any special skill set. She is there because Red will only cooperate with her and the FBI is lucky she is one of theirs.

Nellisir · Sep 19, 2014

Dog Moon said:
And I didn't like Lie to Me. I stopped watching it after like the third episode. But... to each their own!

Indeed. I'd like to say that Lie To Me improves, but...honestly, I watched it like 3 years ago, and blew through the first season pretty quick. I definitely liked it, but what I really remember is just watching Tim Roth. I think he got further and further into the character as the show went on, with little tics and cues. Really cool detail work.

What's the deal with The Blacklist

SteveC

Doing the best imitation of myself

fba827

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Crothian

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Mark CMG

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Nellisir

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Crothian

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Dog Moon

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Crothian

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Nellisir

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