Reaper 9-25

[Orius]

Anyone still watcing this show? I haven't seen any weekly discussions about it.

I've seen every episode, and I like it a lot. It's the only thing on CW that I actually think is good (Smallville is a joke, and I watch it only to mock it). It has some really sophmoric humor, but the writing is pretty smart, and there's a lot of great moments in the show. Lots of great lines too.

 

[Angel Tarragon]

Anyone still watcing this show? I haven't seen any weekly discussions about it.

I've seen every episode, and I like it a lot. It's the only thing on CW that I actually think is good (Smallville is a joke, and I watch it only to mock it). It has some really sophmoric humor, but the writing is pretty smart, and there's a lot of great moments in the show. Lots of great lines too.

Damn good show. I've been keeping up with it since it started. I'm not sure why the CW has their wacky airing shedule, though. Last two weeks no new episode. This week new episode. Next week no new episode. Seriously, what gives?

 

[GlassJaw]

I've been watching. It's definitely grown on me. I've probably only seen half the episodes this season but I've liked what I've seen. I like the characters - I actually want to root for them. Each one has a pretty unique personality and aren't cookie cutter. Good writing.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

Damn good show. I've been keeping up with it since it started. I'm not sure why the CW has their wacky airing shedule, though. Last two weeks no new episode. This week new episode. Next week no new episode. Seriously, what gives?

Your going to see more of that from everything now that November (and sweeps) is over. With most shows about to run out of episodes due to the writers strike the networks are starting to spread out what they have left so they can at least pretend that the season for a show isn't over yet. Most shows only have 1-4 episodes left (with some like Heroes already over) so if they show one or two a month they can stretch thing until January and hope that the writers come back soon. If the writers don't settle soon then come January/February there will be very little on TV but news magazines and reality shows. Reaper itself has 3 episodes left to air before it runs out.

As for the show itself I am still watching and loving it. It is my second favorite new show after Pushing Daisies. I enjoy the humor and I think the writing has been very good.

 

[Felon]

Oh my god. People talking about Reaper as if it were good. Further evidence that the planet needs a good, thorough nuking.

For those fortunate enough to have never seen the show, please don't buy into any of the praise. The show has fallen into a freak-of-the-week formula that would disgust even the creative teams behind the first season of Smallville and X-Files. The first episode freak was an arsonist that came back with fire powers. The next ep's freak was an evil power plant worker that came back with lighning powers--can you already smell the stench of stagnant imagination? So far, this isn't anything that you didn't see on Smallville or X-Files, but it gets worse. Every week the slacker gets a container to put the bad guy in that ultimately doesn't work so he has to steal crap from the Walmartesque superstore where he works in order to exploit the bad guy's weakness. Fire extinguishers for the fire guy, a lightning rod for the electricity guy, defoilant for the bug lady. Totally formulaic.

Oh, and we get Ray Wise showing up as the devil to make some quips and cryptic remarks before disappearing. Pretty pointless. You also get some scenes with the superstore boss getting mad and acting like an a-hole and devising punishments for the slacker strike force--apparently, in this parallel universe, when low-level employees serving as unskilled labor constantly screw up and insult you, you can't just fire them.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

I guess it depends on what you are after. If you want drama and story arcs, yes go elsewhere. If you want a fun well written comedy that you can always step into and enjoy then it is great. The character interactions are what make the show fun. The freak of the week is just its basic premise just as a murder is in Law & Order or CSI or a medical problem is in House, and I don't really see people complaining that those shows are just about another unsolved mystery that will be resolved in one episode.

 

[danzig138]

Further evidence that the planet needs a good, thorough nuking.

Eh. To each his own. You don't like Reaper, cool. I know plenty of people who get through life quite well despite having wrong opinions about things, and I think you'll do fine.

I like the show. It's very funny. Not Dead Last funny, but funny.

 

[Felon]

If you want a fun well written comedy that you can always step into and enjoy then it is great. The character interactions are what make the show fun. The freak of the week is just its basic premise just as a murder is in Law & Order or CSI or a medical problem is in House, and I don't really see people complaining that those shows are just about another unsolved mystery that will be resolved in one episode.

Actually, I covered the inane character interactions, but I'll elaborate. I mentioned the boss already--he's a poorly-written cartoon of a manager. Again, it makes no sense that he puts up with Sock, who is not just a bad employee, but is actively abusive towards him. Then there's Sock, who is also a stupid cartoon of what people who aren't slackers consider a slacker to be (just as the nerds on Chuck are just someone's misconception of how nerds behave). It's the mark of poor writing that characters have to behave like the most extreme version of their archetype. Needless to say though, Sock doesn't do any of the raunchy or illegal stuff that slackers actually do, because Reaper has no cajones and never delivers any shocks or surprises.

Ray Wise is just wasted in his role. He's not there to actually move the story along. He just shows up, baits Same a bit, and then leaves.

But I will grant that Reaper is not quite as moronic as Chuck or even close to as worthless as the Big Bang Theory.

 

[Glyfair]

Anyone still watcing this show? I haven't seen any weekly discussions about it.

I find it entertaining, but it's not really a "discuss" sort of show. Very little plot to advance, really.

 

[Orius]

Damn good show. I've been keeping up with it since it started. I'm not sure why the CW has their wacky airing shedule, though. Last two weeks no new episode. This week new episode. Next week no new episode. Seriously, what gives?

All of TV's been doing that in recent years. I think they didn't put one on around Thanksgiving so they wouldn't lose viewers to the holiday. And of course, we're going to run into the now typical December repeat cycle. The networks go into a short rerun cycle because people shopping and socializing during the holidays probably cuts into the ratings.

The real wild card is the writer's strike. So far it hasn't affected anything beyond the late night shows yet, but if it drags on long enough, it could hurt shows like this that are just trying to get off the ground or shows that have jumped the so-called shark and are already losing viewers.