TV Shows Discussion

[Fiach]

I think the main reason ratings took a plunge was simply because the series was too long for a great many viewers. I don't wish to sound snobby, but I believe that a lot of people just don't have the patience for a show like LOST, nor do they wish to put in the mental effort required to try and comprehend it, especially over a number of years.
Btw, did I miss this somewhere - the significance of that particular sequence of numbers? Was that ever revealed, other than the fact that they all add up to 108 - the number of seconds between button-pushes?
Speaking of J J Abrams, another of his stories I quite enjoyed was Alias,

I totally agree fragger mate, it didnt have plot exposition every 5 minutes, didnt pander to alot of the TV mores associated with american television, basically it wasnt dumb enough to succeed.

I never knew that about the numbers, I dont remember anything other than the way the were used as a maguffin to highlight conincedences between the "real" world and the island.

Would you believe that i just watched episode one and two of Alias season one, just now LOL..... what was that I was saying about coincedences again??? I have only season one and two, I believe it went bonkers after that.

[fragger]

LOL @ "...wasn't dumb enough to succeed" ^+-+ :-X

Re: Alias, great minds and all that :-() Alias is five seasons in length, and yeah, they kind of went silly with it after the first couple of seasons. I ended up watching it all just to see how it would all pan out, but I doubt that I'd watch it all again. On the other hand, I could probably watch all of LOST again a few years down the track.

[Fiach]

Yes, I did see Alias when it was on TV, but it never appealed to me, I'm not crazy about Jennifer Garner, so I only watched a couple of bits of episodes, but its alot more action packed than I remembered it, so I enjoyed what I saw last night :)

[Fiach]

LOL, rooting in the attic for another game, I found a game for the old XBOX (not the 360) called Alias, dont remember getting it, could have got it in a bundle, or maybe it came with a couple of back up xbox's I bought on ebay for spare controllers (cant get the buggers any more :().

I never played it so dunno if its any good, heres some gameplay footage, may bring back memories, looks pretty good too.

Alias Xbox Gameplay

[Fiach]

Rescue Me.

TV series starring Denis O Leary. Set in a Firestation after 9/11, the fire crew deal with many issues, recurring memories of 9/11, Marriage, Seperation, Homophobia, Alcoholism...

The show presents everything in a tragicomedic way, even shining the light of humour in the darkest of places, But ever present, is a sensitivity in dealing with these subjects, its never purile, its not for shits n giggles, aside from these different stories is the backdrop of brotherhood and camraderie inherant in such a pressurised and dangerous job.

I just finished season one (out of 7 seasons I think), I was very impressed, some great subtle and not so subtle humour, blended with an incredibly diverse yet touching storyline, I cant wait to see the rest.

[PZ]

I'm not familiar with that series - enjoy Fiach  :-X

[Fiach]

I'm not familiar with that series - enjoy Fiach  :-X

Cheers mate :) I'm on Season 4 now, its a great show, funny, serious and it also has an underlying dark humour, it covers alot of different themes and moods, I'm surprised I never picked it up before as I like Denis Leary.

[Fiach]

Wiseguy, a TV series by Stephen J Cannell, the guy who made the likes of .... oh crikey just about everything good on TV.

Wiseguy told the story, over 4 seasons, of Vinnie Terranova and undercover FBI agent, working to bring down various crime families.

Ken Wahl was a great actor, who due to real life injuries had a very patchy acting career, his most noticible w%&k would be The Wanderers a cult movie set in the 50's, Fort Apache The Bronx (the original Newman version) and of course Wiseguy.

It ran counter to the normal "seperate storyline in each episode", it actually told story "arcs", which gave it a more movie like feel, as characters both evil and good, could be developed in a more organic way, than the usual 40 minute episodes of other TV shows.

The show ran for 4 seasons to great acclaim, it had a TV movie "reunion" of the characters in 1996 which also garnered critical acclaim.

Well worth the (cheap as chips) price :

http://www.amazon.com/Wiseguy-Collectors-Seasons-1-4/dp/B0030VANJO/ref=pd_cp_mov_0/176-6686946-6066463

[Fiach]

I am currently watching a TV series (its also a movie) called Friday Night Lights, its set in smalltown USA ( a little town in Texas called Dylan), economically challenged though it is, the whole week is focused on the friday night college football game.

I think this microcosm is a condensed version of american values, like picket fences and moms apple pie, sure it has its negative aspects like racism, homophobia, alcoholism, drug dealers etc. But underpinning it are so many positive values, like honour, loyalty, teamspirit, keeping faith in adversity.

The characters are very well drawn and well acted, the cast is predominantly under the age of 20, but gosh their acting ability is second to none, Buffy this is NOT.

The series doesnt pull any punches either, in the very first episode the star quarterback becomes paralysed permanently, due to a bad tackle, it deals with steroid abuse, in athletics, sexism etc. all in mature ways, you could even say that the series is pretty grim viewing, with some very emotionally charged storylines, But it is a great viewing experience, with the TV series aspect allowing more depth of character and plot that really could not be done in a 90 minute movie.

If you cant see the TV series, you could check out the movie version starring Billy Bob Thornton, it may whet your appetite for the TV series (different actors mostly, but the coach's wife is the same actress).

[JRD]

I remember Wiseguy... early 90's... aaaah the hairstyle!  ;D

I saw some episodes and never got into the story to be honest but that one was a kind of show I like, somewhat like The Departed but on a lighter way, of course.

Reminded me a TV show I loved: 21 jump sreet 1987 - 1991. The show that catapulted Johnny Deep to Holywood. A bunch of undercover cops working in schools investigating rogue students... well, I was in school at that time and it I connected a lot to the storyline...  ::)

[fragger]

Apparently 21 Jump Street is being remade. (sigh) That poor overworked recycle machine is tooled up yet again... ::)

[Fiach]

Yes, I really enjoyed 21 Jump St. There was another show at the same time here, Stingray, another of Stephen J Cannel's efforts, I really liked that too :)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stingray_(NBC_TV_series)

[RedRaven]

In the year since my last post here I have had way too much time to watch way too much TV!
Some of it good, most of it not so. Here is a list of most of what I have seen recently.


LOST  Started of with much promise but lost itself I reckon.


SONS OF ANARCHY   At first I resisted watching this, thinking it would be Sopranos on bikes! By the time I had got to the end of season 1 was hooked, very well written, great acting. Good to see Henry Rollins in something too.

ENTOURAGE   A very funny take on life as an A-list Hollywood star, despite its crudeness in places it is a good story of four friends in the chaos of the movie industry.

CALIFORNICATION   David Duchovny on top form as a train-wreck of a writer, in some ways similar to Entourage though different enough to be worth watching. Great supporting cast too.

SUPERNATURAL  As with Sons of Anarchy, Supernatural is another title I had no interest in at all, yet I found myself somewhat engrossed in the story early into season 2. If I was waiting week after week for the next episode for the years it has been running I would of most likely lost interest, as I was able to watch it all back to back it was not so bad.


HOMELAND  One of the best things have seen for a while, good writing and excellent acting from both Damian Lewis and Claire Danes. Just hope they can keep it up when season 2 starts at the end of September.

ALCATRAZ  So far So OK!, As a big fan of Fringe I expected something a little more from JJ Abrams and team.




There is also CASTLE and CHUCK, both of which fit nicely on the shelf labelled 'chewing gum for the brain'
Same sort of thing each week, enough humour for a giggle or two but little in the way of durability.

[Fiach]

I've never seen Castle or Californication, but I love the others, Chuck, I dont know whether I liked it or not, definately liked his sister and "girlfriend" though :)

Just saw a series called The River about an expedition up the Amazon to find a TV show guy, done as a kind of reality TV show, it was great initially, but the plot just got really bizarre towards the end, maybe a second series would be more enlightning, but I think it bombed when it was shown, so a second series may not happen.

The Good Wife is pretty good, but they kinda spread a really good story over alot of episodes, which kinda dilutes the plot somewhat.

Spartacus....just one word...boobies!  >:D :o 8-X :-[ Great TV show.

[mandru]

For the most part I steer clear of broadcast television.  I'm a tough sell and tend to pick holes in characters, plots and production qualities.  :-\\

I'm afraid the closest thing I come to watching something that could be called a "series" would be each season's release of sub titled anime out of Japan that one of the fan sites I've come across.  While the genre I enjoy is often stupid, silly and contrived that is what they are created to be with no pretense that they are trying to accomplish anything beyond just simply being entertaining.

On occasion one of the animes will hit on a profound idea and inspire deeper thought and self reflection but I don't have to put up with their trying to force feed me some bs agenda that they are attempting to normalize so that society can be restructured to suit the preferences of the producers.

The National Geographic channel half of the time makes me want to toss a brick through the screen because they insist on delving in to social issues like the life of inmates locked up in prisons.  Where the hell is the Geographic in a show about criminals that aren't going to be going anywhere.  Any of this kind of crap that doesn't match the content the channel has named itself after should be stuffed over on the Oprah Winfrey Network or at least somewhere I won't come across it.

[fragger]

 :-D :-X Agree about Nat Geo's channel. There's not much of geographical interest inside a prison ???? You don't find that kind of stuff in their magazine so why it ends up on their TV channel I don't know. Sometimes I wonder if the two media have anything to do with one another.

Also agree about broadcast TV. I've never been crazy about series format shows in general - the whole pre-packaged, mass-marketed feel of them turns me off. The only series of any sort I've watched in recent years was LOST, and I agree with Red, I think the title was actually referring to the final couple of seasons' plot.

In fact there's very little I can be bothered with on TV. Take away the so-called "reality" drivel, the innumerable CSI-style investigation shows, the done-to-screaming-point teen vampire/young superhero yawns yarns and the many, many televised sporting events and there's very little left over that I feel like investing any of my ever-shortening lifespan in.

The really scary thing about broadcast television is that it's being broadcast not just around the world but out into space in all directions. We've been doing this in a significant way for about 60 years (although television actually goes back to the 1930s, believe it or not, but mass broadcasting to the public in any practicable way began around 1951) so the first TV signals are now over 60 light-years away and expanding bubble-like in all directions. Which means that Lucille Ball and Howdy Doody are just two of humanity's ambassadors to the stars. I dunno about any of you, but I find the thought of our race being represented to the universe by a ditzy redhead and a wooden puppet in a cowboy suit sobering in the extreme. Hell, it's just plain embarrassing :-[ Maybe there's a good reason why intelligent aliens haven't made contact with us yet - they've watched our television shows and they think we're nuts...

[RedRaven]

Agree with what has been said about Broadcast TV and under normal circumstances I do not usually watch it. The shows I listed I managed to watch back-to-back on either Dvd or online through things like Netflix, was little else to do whilst laid up ill  ^-^ . I think if I had to watch them in the regular fashion of a show a week for half the year I would not of seen most of them.


Not familiar with 21 Jump street, is the film that has just been done based on the tv show ?


Forgot to add DEXTER to the list of series watched, along with Homeland is probably one of the best things seen for years.


Not seen any of the Nat Geo prison guides, prefer my wildlife to be non humanoid!
Though on a related topic has any one seen the History channels Ancient Aliens series ?

[Art Blade]

For more than a decade now I haven't watched TV with the exception of F1 when Schuey was on his first career. For the better part of a year now I also have abstained from listening to any radio station. Why? Because it is 70% BS and 30% advertising BS.

The few TV shows I know are neatly packed and come in DVD boxes. As such they are a lot better in quality, sound and commercial-free. And I don't have to wait another week for the next show.

What I like and possess are The Flintstones, Kung Fu, Highlander, Babylon 5, Rome, Battlestar Galactica (old and new).

[fragger]

Some people who live a few doors down from me were having a garage sale the other day and while checking it out I found a blast from the past in amongst all their bric-a-brac - an entire DVD series of a TV show called UFO which was made back in the late sixties. The bloke was only asking ten bucks for it and it was virtually brand new and in an attractive boxed set, and since it was one of my favourite shows as a tyke I just had to snap it up for old times' sake.

The gist of the show is that there is a top secret, super-high-tech paramilitary outfit called SHADO that is trying to contain an alien invasion while keeping the public blissfully unaware of what's really happening (set in the futuristic year of 1980 :-()). It's far-fetched and over the top but for some reason I'm finding it oddly entertaining. Maybe it's the painfully sixties look of the whole thing - it's hard to believe that at the time we watched this without batting an eye at the outrageous fashions, blatant sexism, cigarette-smoking main characters and the producers' take on what the future might look like (apparently everybody would be driving a modified Delorean in the 1980s).

So far I've watched about a third of the series. I think I was about ten years old the last time I saw it and that was before colour TV came to Oz, so it's a real hoot to check it out after all these years. Some of the stories are silly but some are quite intelligently conceived, some of the acting is poor but the overall standard is not bad at all. It was Gerry and Sylvia Andersons' first attempt at making a futuristic sci-fi series with live actors as opposed to supermarionettes, and considering the severe budgetary constraints they did an admirable job if you can overlook the Andersons' trademark Thunderbirdsian model w@&k. Some of the effects actually come off surprisingly well though, even for this CG age.

And apart from everything else, it had one of the grooviest opening themes around, man (warning - extreme sixties content):

UFO - Opening Sequence

[Jim di Griz]

UFO was great. I have the first season on DVD but didn't buy the second as they want something like £75 for it...

It's a series that I'd love to see remade. Have you seen the episdoe when something like fifteen UFO try and make a breakthrough? Also, one of the episodes found an echo some years later in a film called Enemy Mine.

And you're right - the theme tune is still excellent. In fact, most of the Anderson's shows had great tunes. I saw a Ska band at one of the SF Worldcons who did nothing other than TV theme tunes...and UFO was one of 'em  :)

[PZ]

[imdb]Enemy Mine[/imdb] is a favorite of mine is :-X

[Art Blade]

I watched Enemy Mine both at the cine and at home (got the DVD)  :) And yes, themes from series back in the 60s/70s were great. Streets of San Francisco.. OMG  :-D :-X

[Fiach]

I have UFO on DVD, I dunno how many series are on it though, but yeah I loved it, even now its a bloody good show.

There were some great shows back then, Like The Sweeney, The Proffessionals, Minder, The Avengers, thank god for dvd sets or they would be lost in the mists of time.

[Jim di Griz]

Like most of you, I don't watch TV as it airs, just get the DVDs when they are released - makes me a saner person for not having to grimace through all the inane ads  :)

I like a lot of the old series mentioned in these past four pages and some of the new ones too. Fringe though is really great. I only heard about it a few weeks ago and already I'm upto speed and awaiting the release of season 4  :-X

Warehouse 13 is another x-files(ish) series that is quite promising.

A real shame Flashforward got cancelled - it had a lot of cross-genre appeal for me.

And talking of cancelled series - Firefly from Joss Whedon was cut half way through, which was a massive shame. The fans have bugged the studio, Whedon and everyone involved but no joy. Alan Tudyk's who was mentioned in a couple of posts, plays quite a big role in this series as the pilot - though only his voice is in this clip Firefly - Mal starts a bar brawl

Nathan Fillion (Castle) and Adam Baldwin (Chuck) are also in here - it's what got them noticed.

[Art Blade]

I got Firefly (2002) on DVD as well as "the film" called Serenity (2005). Indeed, quite funny and different :)  :-X