Fall 2016 TV

@ACraigL i’m set to record it, but i do not have high hopes.

@ACraigL i still haven’t watched this… have you? how is it?

@katylava Need to get through the second episode to be sure. The first only set up interest, but wasn’t much on it’s own. I’ll post back when I get through it.

@ACraigL well, i tried watching it last night, but i couldn’t make it past the first 20 minutes. i don’t if that’s because it’s a bad show, or because it just didn’t speak to me, but either way, probably not going to give it another go.

@katylava
http://io9.gizmodo.com/syfys-van-helsing-is-so-boring-its-infuriating-1786976127

Lulz. Second ep was better (more interesting backstory), but still struggling. Not much here I’m afraid. Being a glutton for punishment, I’m gonna give it one more shot.

@ELUNO oops, missed the “new” part. No new shows for me right now.

@ELUNO

@thismyusername I 'member that!

@rockblossom I’d tell you watching those ads paid my salary, but unless you’re a Nielsen home it doesn’t actually matter.

@jqubed Then you should be happy that I prefer to stream shows. I pay for streaming services and what I watch is counted in one form or another. Everything else is OTA antenna, as I don’t have cable/Dish/etc.

@rockblossom That’s great for the shows and production companies, but very rarely does any streaming money come back to the local stations (and really, why should it?). Watching over the air is great, though. It still really only counts if you’re an actual Nielsen home, but a lot of people seem to forget that a lot of TV remains free to anyone with an antenna, and at the very least it’s a good way to get emergency information, such as during bad weather. The picture might even look a little better, since the cable and satellite companies often recompress the video to a lower data rate. I’m probably going to drop cable myself for Sling, but I’ll still have an antenna for local TV.

@narfcake

@narfcake
A TV is something some people have, so that they can watch stuff, mostly in awesome HD, sometimes in a serious Home Theater, and some stuff can get buzz, and then you know whether you wanna chase a series down and watch - or not.

@narfcake it’s a big ol’ monitor

@TickledLizard We’ve seen episode 3 of Good Place, the DVR will find the first two sometime, I hope. It had a few funny parts!
It’s set for Timeless also.
I like to record so I can skip commercials…

@daveinwarsh

Haven’t watched the 3rd episode yet of The Good Place. Watching it either later or tomorrow.

@thismyusername Really anticipating Westworld. Falling Water has a compelling plot.

@thismyusername Expanse, definitely. Reserving judgement on Westworld because I don’t think it needed a remake/reboot. Yul Brynner can’t be replaced.

@duodec I suspect that JJ won’t disappoint

@thismyusername i’ll be watching Westworld, Incorporated, and Falling Water, though it looks like i missed the first episode of that one.

i don’t really understand what Westworld and Falling Water are about, so not sure about those.

@katylava Falling Water was just a “preview” it will re-air October 13, 2016.

WestWorld is a reboot of a old movie series… think of it as a theme-park full of robots that exist for the amusement of the guests.

@thismyusername Jurassic Park with android cowboys instead of necromacied dinosaurs. To paraphrase Ian Malcolm, it’s all fun and games till the exhibits start eating the guests.

@moondrake and both by Michael Crichton, I am seeing a theme here.

@f00l i didn’t see the promos, but it’s way better than i expected it to be.

@katylava I totally agree. Was not excited about it but watched because I like Kristen Bell. Very pleasantly surprised. It is a very good place to spend a half hour.

@RiotDemon come join us on PlayStation Vue

@RiotDemon Hulu is your friend!

@jbartus I signed up for the 30 day trial of Hulu and I’m finding a few “Hulu exclusive” I enjoy. Particularly enjoying a little Irish comedy called Moone Boy. It’s written and produced by Chris O’Dowd (Bridesmaids, The IT Crowd). First couple episodes were a little rough, but it starts to hit it’s stride and is really well written. If you avoid UK comedies because of stuff like Fawlty Towers or Absolutely Fabulous, this is definitely not at all like those.

@ruouttaurmind who would avoid UK comedies because of Fawlty Towers?

@jbartus Just sayin’ traditional British sitcoms don’t necessarily have a universal appeal. Moone Boy has more of a Modern Family vibe.

@jbartus @thismyusername I’m already overwhelmed with the amount of programming I have just between the two, lol.

@ruouttaurmind I had Hulu+ for a while but it seems more and more the case where you have to subscribe to a cable company to get access to the good programs (cough, cough, SyFy, cough) so why pay for something twice? We have found that we rarely watch even the basic Hulu since they took away our show list. It’s too much hassle trying to figure out what’s next to watch. We use Kodi and Plex. (and cue the morality police)

@ruouttaurmind ¿Que?

I feel very bad for anyone who doesn’t enjoy Fawlty Towers.

@Mehrocco_Mole Sadly that’s all down to the content providers more than Hulu, some of them are greedy and have their own pay services they want people to use so they don’t have to share money with someone like Hulu. Hulu’s gone subscription only, the stuff you encountered is, as I understand it, going to all shift over to Yahoo’s new video service and Hulu will become more curated and have original programming as well as normal programming. It will be interesting to see what happens.

@dashcloud i watched notorious. i wasn’t sure about the concept, but love the actors so i decided to watch it. it’s, um, a bit over the top… but i really enjoyed it.

@katylava I probably wouldn’t have watched it except I really like both of the actors in it, and they definitely made it worthwhile. It’s over the top, but not depressingly so like Nightcrawler (the one with Jake Gyllenhall as the psychotic news freelancer).

@AnnaB Phenomenal debut.

@jbartus love this show!

@AnnaB it’s such a great show!

@jbartus YOU SUCK!!! Just watched the Longmire pilot and now I have another show to binge watch! Thanks pal! ;-}

@Mehrocco_Mole

One of Us. One of Us. We accept you, one of Us.

@jbartus

@Mehrocco_Mole

@jbartus
Funny thing; we just finished binge watching STV Sunday night.

@emt305 I haven’t seen it, but you do know that tv dramas and reality are rarely on the same page right?

@emt305 @thismyusername

Disgusted me to realize how rigged the court system is.
tv dramas and reality are rarely on the same page

You guys have been watching the news about Hillary Clinton and her mishandling of classified documents, right? If you or I were to do the exact same thing we would have been dropped into a deep dark hole somewhere never to be seen or heard from again.
It has been my opinion that TV entertainment tends to reflect current events in an attempt to remain relevant. They just don’t always get it right.

@baqui63 EXACTLY what I was thinking about when I wrote that.

@ACraigL Unfortunately, the first episode was not all that great. I’ve not given up on it yet, but I decided to rewatch Serenity (Firefly pilot (or episode 11), not the movie) instead of the second episode of Van Helsing.

@baqui63 Can never go wrong with FF. I watched it too, and I’m willing to give an other episode or so. I don’t mind that they took time to establish backstory and are teasing the characters and abilities. I agree it wasn’t thrilling, but interested enough to see where they take the character next.

@ACraigL Yes; I’ll watch episode two and then decide, though it costs almost nothing to store the episodes so I already set up the RSS filter to pull down all of the episodes.

I just watched the MacGyver remake. It was fun and the children among us who never watched the original will like it. I found it totally predictable tho (I won’t spoil anything for others), and a bit lame. For example, why do the soot thing when the plaster thing would have worked from the get-go and have avoided the risk of the champagne interaction?

@OldCatLady My daughter is into them and I’m supposed to get them for her. Have you seen the older ones from 1975?

@baqui63 No, I plan to see which ones I can borrow from the library. No more books will be bought, unless I just have to.

@melwin

Been meaning to watch it, but stuff has come up.

@melwin my husband watched this one. he said something about his suit not fitting right, but that was probably because they were going to put him in a better suit later, and they did. i thought that was funny. i don’t notice how well suits fit, and i wouldn’t think he would either.

@katylava I thought his suit didn’t fit well because he traded clothes with someone else and it wouldn’t be expected to fit well? Either way, I didn’t notice how his suit fit, because explosions and stuff.

@katylava @melwin

I know that what one person may think of a show could completely be the opposite view which someone else has.

However, I take it that both of you like Designated Survivor?

I shall be watching it tonight, but based on the preview and the concept, I feel like I shall really enjoy it.

@TickledLizard I like it so far, but it’s only been one show. I’m confused about who the president is sometimes, because I watch House of Cards, Scandal, and now Designated Survivor. I’m glad I don’t have to choose one of the characters of these shows as real president, because I like them all.

I enjoyed it too, though it kind of screams ‘unrealistic.’ But, you know… Kiefer rocks.

@melwin I thought the bad guy (the general) came across really over the top bad. Unless they get rid of him in the next couple of weeks, I see no point in watching more.

@cinoclav I’m just hoping to see him evolve into a super kick-ass President. Things were looking up towards the end of the episode.

@pooflady Yeah, that general needs to go. I hope he gets canned, or deployed elsewhere. I was in the army for 10 years but I can’t stand war mongers.

@melwin I’m just hoping he doesn’t turn out to part of the domestic conspiracy because they are just pushing him way too hard as the bad guy.

@somf69 FXX will be playing every simpsons episode ever (all 600) starting Thanksgiving this year.

@melwin

Which ones would those be?

@TickledLizard Some start in January, and I don’t know exactly when all of them start, but sometime in 2017: House of Cards, Scandal, Fargo, Better Call Saul, Bloodline, Wayward Pines, Twin Peaks, Billions, Homeland, and a couple others I can’t think of right now. I would say OITNB, but I’m still mad about the ending of season 4.

I can’t believe I forgot The Path. I love that show.

@cinoclav https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nndb.com%2Fpeople%2F775%2F000025700%2Fminnie-driver.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nndb.com%2Fpeople%2F775%2F000025700%2F&docid=XeWRge4eyf7qhM&tbnid=sOeLTNXF8vwdkM%3A&w=200&h=288&client=safari&bih=1086&biw=1570&ved=0ahUKEwi-mOHy_qvPAhUJJR4KHX5kCzQQMwiJAShMMEw&iact=mrc&uact=8

@compunaut

@pooflady we have that one sitting on the DVR. i expect it to be entertaining, but not quality tv.

@pooflady it was even more thoroughly entertaining, and much better quality, than I expected.

@katylava Glad someone else liked it.

@katylava Again totally agree. The actor who plays Riggs is extremely talented.

@PlacidPenguin i have 38 season passes on my tivo… are you saying that’s too many?

@katylava

It’s probably not enough.

@Knightp i loved MacGyver when i was a kid, but did not find the new version compelling in the least. I don’t mind the cheesiness, but I think the actor just isn’t right for the part.

@katylava it’s still more realistic than “scorpion”

@thismyusername maybe, but scorpion held my attention longer before it felt like a chore to watch it.

@katylava ya know I feel their marketing is what killed scopion for me… they spent 3 months running ads about how its based on a real guy, a real genius, etc etc… had I known upfront it was a goof I probably wouldn’t have the contempt for it.

CBS. Scientifically accurate comedies, dramas not so much.

@thismyusername I’m so out of touch with modern TV, I don’t even know what Scorpion is. It sounds like an action adventure starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson who, on a visit to Egypt, is stung by an alien scorpion and gains super powers. Or maybe I’m just thinking of one of the mummy movies.

@Knightp watch out, I think you just created the new hit cbs drama based on a true story (really, true, really, trust us), CSI: Cairo staring John Cena

@thismyusername I would watch that. Like procedurals, love Cena.

Talk about a lovely scene.

@PlacidPenguin i had not heard of this one. i think i have enough new shows for now, but this looks interesting and i’ll check it out during the mid-season break.

@PlacidPenguin I want to watch it, but I don’t get that channel. I’m sure there’s a way to stream it, but I’m too lazy to look for it.

@PlacidPenguin I love it. It’s bizarre.

@katylava

I’m assuming you (hopefully) mean legally.

(I like BBC, it’s where I watch Star Trek: TNG usually.)

@emilyap

I like bizarre, bizarre is good.

@PlacidPenguin yes legally. streaming illegally is even more work, and as i stated, i’m lazy.

@emilyap

You were right about it being bizarre.

Good thing there’s no connection between the books and the show (although the books are mentioned in the pilot episode).

Normally I probably would have watched them all on the same day, but for several reasons I can’t. However, I hope to be caught up later today.

@PlacidPenguin I read one of the Dirk Gently books many (many) years ago and didn’t like it, so I’m glad the show is different. My understanding is that Douglas Adams was okay with adaptations changing the story, considering he did that himself when adapting the Hitchhikers stories from radio to books (otherwise I’d be disgruntled, as I’m picky about adaptations).

@emilyap

I only read the first one. Took a while to get into, and by the end I sort of enjoyed it. I say “sort of” because the book left me confused.

Read a few pages of the second one and then stopped.

@katylava

Re: Frequency

Suspension of disbelief

Sounds good to me. I’m watching the Pilot later today (Sunday). I may even end up removing Designated Survivor and filing the spot with Frequency.

Nothing against Designated Survivor, but I’ve only watched that Pilot. It was good, but considering that the plot is based on such an unlikely scenario, if I have to watch something which is unlikely, I’d rather watch something far-fetched.

Makes sense? If not, don’t worry. I lost myself after I started the second paragraph.

@katylava @PlacidPenguin

Did you see this article?

@PlacidPenguin i like frequency but i’m pretty sure it’s going to get canceled. i find timeless very enjoyable.

i too am looking forward to powerless.

@katylava

I didn’t finish the season yet for Frequency, but honestly, considering where I am in the plot line(s), I don’t see what they could possibly do that wouldn’t be old in a season 2.
Besides, didn’t they promise closure for it’s initial season in case it were to get cancelled?

One of the things I like about Timeless is that there is a nice combination of actual history + plot.
It’s really refreshing to have a show which isn’t dark, doesn’t have the supernatural, and isn’t a sitcom with a laugh track (or even a sitcom without a laugh track).

@katylava

So naturally, the pilot for Powerless was the second version of it.

Would want to see the unaired pilot, but I’m not always successful getting access unaired pilots.

Interview about changes.
10 biggest changes from pilot showen at SDCC.

@PlacidPenguin omg, this from the AMA is awesome…

Van was a really fun one to write for, but tricky, because you had to walk that fine line between ill-informed, and just plain stupid. Just plain stupid isn’t a good place to land for a Van joke. We basically just wrote him as Trump and had the rule of “If Trump would think it or say it, it’s not too stupid for Van.” Unfortunately Trump is very very stupid and we had to raise the bar for Van’s character shortly after making that rule.

The last 3 episodes of Powerless were aired in New Zealand (knew this for a while already), which means that there are ways to watch them here.

@katylava

@PlacidPenguin disappointing but not surprising. i think No Tomorrow had a tough premise to work with. i wish more people would give shows a chance even if the premise seems bad, because it really is all about execution. No Tomorrow was executed very well. it was the most uplifting show i’ve seen in a while.

@katylava I really liked the strangely upbeat tone of No Tomorrow at first. They brought real joy into sucking the marrow out of life before the impending end of the world, and did a good job of suggesting that even if there is a tomorrow, perhaps we should all live as if there were not (in a positive, life affirming way). But it seemed like they exhausted the concept in the first half dozen episodes and were stretching to find a premise with longer legs. Kind of like Cougartown, which ran out of cougar stories and jokes very quickly but transitioned pretty well to a standard “disfunctional but likable family and quirky friends” sitcom. Unlike Cougartown I didn’t like the characters well enough to continue on with it.

@katylava

The CW released epilogues for Frequency and No Tomorrow

Frequency epilogue:

I don’t have a Vimeo link for the epilogue for No Tomorrow, but both are available on the official The CW website/app.

@PlacidPenguin I finally got around to watching these and I was quite pleased. I had to rewatch the entire No Tomorrow finale as I didn’t remember what happened at all.

@PlacidPenguin I’m surprised, but I wasn’t paying close attention to the ratings. It was a well-made show that I would have thought had mass appeal.

@katylava I watched a couple of episodes and got aggravated at the forced story elements created when they kept including the black guy and the woman in their time travel missions. When they are going into a setting where they need to blend in and they know it’s a setting where people of color or women experienced severe restrictions and attracted a lot of attention it was just dumb to include them in the mission. There are plenty of points in history where a black man or a woman would be pivotal historically where they could have done some good storytelling featuring those characters. But if you’re trying to get a job done with subtlety and subterfuge, you send people who can seamlessly disappear into the setting, not ones that will allow you to explore themes of racism and sexism in those time periods.

@katylava

Well this is interesting. NBC has decided to renew Timeless after all.

http://tvline.com/2017/05/13/timeless-renewed-season-2-nbc/

@PlacidPenguin

@katylava

From what I could tell, a sizeable chunk of new network shows from this past year were rated as low performing shows.

Timeless, while it has questionable things in it, as @moondrake hinted at, is for the most part decent.

---

Meanwhile, my watchlist is down to 18 shows (I haven’t removed Powerless yet), and I’m still waiting to find out about a few more shows.

@sammydog01 I got about halfway through it and got too busy to finish it. Plan to eventually get back to it and start over.

@mflassy I’m a bit overwhelmed by the 2017 season. I feel like there are a ton of new shows and hardly any I need to see. Waiting for things to shake out and see what gets cancelled right away.

@katylava Still watching The Good Place?

@dashcloud FORK YEAH!

@PlacidPenguin i haven’t watched last night’s The Good Place yet because i don’t want the season to be over!

side note: i really wish i’d started a thread for 2017.

@katylava

Just do what the show does, and start from S01E01.