TV Update, and it's a bloodbath

[annavere]

Haven't done one of these in a while. My guy (henceforth D) has gone completely off of TV watching, and now prefers to watch documentaries on YouTube in the evening, so I have taken to headphones so that I can resume my evening's entertainment.

Cut for various degrees of Do Not Want (or Do Not Want Right Now) featuring Doctor Who, White Collar, Moonlighting, Only Murders in the Building, Justified and Roswell.

Doctor Who. Up to 'The Angels Take Manhattan,' which made a hash of the Weeping Angel lore and retroactively damaged all of the Amy and Rory story for two and a half seasons by never paying off anything I had invested in at all. This is just not my show and even though I plan to keep watching it for my coworker's benefit, I don't think I will post any more thoughts on it here unless it stops being what it is.

White Collar. I am done with it. Hit the midseason two arc episodes and realized I do not care who killed Kate, or what the deal is with the music box, or what happens at the end of the show, or even what the case of the week ever is. Witty banter between three likable leads is cute, but it's not enough to keep me invested. There needs to be some substance. I removed it from my queue and honestly didn't notice its absence, so I suspect this was the right decision. One season was really enough.

Moonlighting. Was curious to see young Bruce Willis, but his smart-aleck character set my teeth on edge and I do not have a large enough amount of eighties nostalgia to compensate. Much prefer The Rockford Files for this particular genre. Removed from my Hulu queue.

Only Murders in the Building. Also removed. Thrown with great force, in fact. It's fine to make a lighthearted show and open with a lengthy, unfunny, awkward social encounter with a man oversharing about how his father is dying of ALS, and I'm sure everyone involved calculated what percentage of people in the world have been through that very situation and would therefore click off in under five minutes with vicious cursing, and they calculated correctly, because the show has done well, but I freely admit I am one of those people and no logic or fairness has to be in play here. I don't care if it gets good after that.

And a couple shows I am postponing.

Justified. For reasons passing all understanding, D (who normally loves this type of thing) did not like this show. I did, but I am not currently in the right frame of mind to fly solo with an increasingly dark crime-drama. Also, I really loved Boyd as a crazy preacher and again as he attempted to walk the righteous path and betray the criminals who got in the way, and him taking up the family business is really, really not what I want to see him do. He's probably gonna end the show dead or in prison for life, and I'm not in the mood for that kind of thing right now, so it's gonna wait until my headspace improves.

Roswell. My other backburnered show. Again, I would like to know how the story ends, because there were some good plot strands but every time this show almost hits its stride, it turns rubbery and falls down in an embarrassing heap. Plus, the nonstop bickering just gets so tedious to me. I have not watched it in months, although I still plan to circle back at some point.


And then some stuff which has been more my ticket.

Stargate Atlantis. Up to 'Tabula Rasa' and the show seems to be recovering from the hits it took. Amnesia is always a fun time (although I would love, love, love a fic moving this exact scenario back to season three, because several characters missed out here). Lorne and Zelenka went feral in very personality-appropriate ways. Teyla and Ronon were awesome as the only sane people to be found. I had paid little attention to the Rodney/Katie story before but I now find it low-key adorable, as he is growing more aware of how much he sucks at interpersonal skills and is trying to do better, which is the opposite trajectory of someone like House, and I approve.

Hill Street Blues. It took from midwinter to this week to get through season one with D. It was a Christmas gift and while it's a bit rough around the edges, you can see the creators inventing modern television as they go, which is quite fascinating. I like most of the characters, and am especially attached to Hill/Renko, with their volatile emotional problems and severe PTSD flaring up all over the place, and the way they awkwardly navigate interracial tensions and have insane levels of chemistry (to me, anyway - of course there is no fic). I also like how little attention is paid to the big cases. It's mostly just cops on patrol, and how thoroughly soul-destroying that job is. It's a straight shot from here to The Wire. Quality stuff.

Teen Wolf. I really had no expectations of this being good, and is the one show I clicked on from this list expecting to bail, so of course that was the surprise success. I like the characters and am invested in the plots. When I finish season one I will probably make a post of my various unserious notes on it, but suffice to say, it makes me laugh out loud several times every episode (sometimes intentionally, sometimes not), and laughter is a good thing not always easy to come by.

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

I had a lot of nostalgia for Moonlighting but it didn't really hold up. Its seasons were short so I suspect I will finish doing a rewatch at some point, but I stalled after S2.

[annavere]

When I found myself checking the progress bar to see how much of an episode was left, that's when I knew it wasn't for me.

[teratornis]

I once saw Teen Wolf described as being like some hole in the wall donut shop that you find at one in the morning, that looks shady as hell but turns out to be shockingly good. It develops some problems with Too Many Plotlines as it goes, but my god is it entertaining.

Justified is also definitely worth finishing, but you're right that it's very much the sort of show that takes a specific mindset, with how bleak and brutal it can be. I'll look forward to your eventual thoughts when you're in a better space for it :D

Also glad to hear SGA is getting past some of the more frustrating portions for you. I love the show, but it definitely has some. . . questionable pieces here and there.

[annavere]

YES, exactly that! It's called Teen Wolf... and it's by MTV... and everybody looks like a model... Being an enormous fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I should be able to withhold judgment (and, I mean, I did give Teen Wolf a chance for that very reason) but the odds feel against it. I am surprised and delighted so far!

I think part of what makes Justified so stressful is that the characters are so easy to like and get attached to, and unlike my experience of HBO/AMC shows (which tend to start dark and get worse), Justified was really rather lighthearted for most of season one. I got attached, and I've heard such good things about the show, so I want to keep going, but at the same time I'm not ready. When I am, I will certainly post about it! (I post about most shows I watch, unless the frustration ratio gets too high).

[argentum_ls]

The thing that’s important to understand about Teen Wolf is that it’s an absolute dumpster fire plot wise. I loudly contend that Jeff Davis (the showrunner) can’t plot his way off of a clearly marked trail on a sunny day. (The pacing. OMG, the pacing.)

It is, also, incredibly fun and has all the right tropes for the kind of show it is. It also manages to be thoughtful (sometimes) while not getting mired down in grimdark.

I hope you continue to enjoy it!

[annavere]

I am already noticing certain leaps in logic to this show (notably Derek's complete lack of communication skills, which are justified by exactly nothing except the need to prolong mystery and tension) so your warning made me laugh. I will keep that in mind going forward. :)

[killabeez]

Are you watching OG Roswell or Roswell, NM? (If the former, I have not seen it. If the latter, HIGHLY recommend sticking with it.)

Justified...oof. Honestly, S6 was ultimately satisfying, but there's a lot of not good between the end of S2 and S6. (And I did not really love Justified: Primeval, but Some People told me stuff about the finale that got me to finish it, and I was ultimately glad I did, but...I'm not sure I would in all good conscience push a friend to watch past S2 of the OG.)

[annavere]

OG Roswell. Whether I finish it or not, I would like to check out the remake, because this show cried out for one in the worst way.

Season one of Justified was pretty close to perfect crime drama. Sometimes that makes it easy to commit to an entire show, and sometimes it makes for a tough act to follow.

[killabeez]

I rewatched ALL of Justified 3 times during the first year of the pandemic, so I feel qualified to say...you do not need to watch all of this. LOL (If you want a super-concentrated dose of what was best about S5 and S6, just watch this actual trailer that they actually aired:

https://youtu.be/HZy7prjy_Xs?si=Acslf8yK68vxUs3c

[annavere]

That was smokin' perfection. :)

[killabeez]

Agree, and ultimately far more satisfying than the show after S2, tbh. (Also, if you would like a synopsis of what happens after S2 and into Primeval, I am happy to provide.)

[annavere]

That would be very appreciated!

[killabeez]

Oh, and I should have asked, have you seen S2 yet? That one is definitely worth watching.

[annavere]

I began season two and I think I tapped out during Winona's terrible robbery "scheme." There weren't many episodes left on the season, I think? I can go back and try to finish it this week, since you vouch for it. :)