For those of you watching TV...

[Bini]

Quin, I wouldn't say that I hated it but I was let down with it. I anticipated so much and in the end was like.. ugh, this isn't that good. I really wanted to jump on that bandwagon and like it but it just didn't happen. I have heard good things about Jericho but not sure what it's about. I'll be sure to look it up. Thanks.

[Quin]

I stream stuff, so these are all in the past 5 or so years (if I went to 10+ we\\\'d also have things like west wing, firefly, dollhouse, etc.)

SciFi / Fantasy

- DoctorWho/ Torchwood

- Falling Skies

- StarCrossed (total guilty pleasure, teen wuuuuuv)

- Fringe

Cops&Robbers

- MI-5 / Spooks (best spy show, ever)

- Sherlock

- Lie to Me

- Leverage (sometimes bad guys make the best good guys)

- Glades -comedic/light

- Castle -comedic/light

- Burn Notice -comedic/light

- Justified

- Flashpoint

- RookieBlue

- Chicago Code -cx\'d but I really liked the diverse race cast (Irish mob, Latina hotshot top cop, black in power both good & evil)

- Whitechapel

Historical Fiction (warning: All of these are PG13+)

-Vikings

- Rome

- Tudors

- Copper

Insert Genre Here

- Friday Night Lights

- Big Bang Theory

[Lakumi]

I'm not allowed to show any video's of Hokuto no Ken, so many people exploding...

(I can show this!)

Here's one you can show to your children, since their programs are so abysmal these days

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvUKvYWO8Ic (pt 1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFwX5OAQZO4 (pt 2)

[Wingnut]

+1 to The West Wing (see username), Doctor Who, Lie to Me, and Burn Notice.  I watched about half of the first season of Vikings before I lost interest.  It wasn't bad, it just failed to really draw me in.  And I didn't get more than 5 minutes into the pilot of Tudors before seeing nudity, so I figured that probably wasn't a very good start.

[Bini]

Wingnut, you've read my posts throughout the years, and I think I've made it pretty clear that nudity doesn't make me flinch. But I'm becoming more critical in the context of which the nudity is used. In my opinion, Spartacus and Game of Thrones just exploits women and their bodies, and in a highly sexualised way. That's really what makes those shows so popular. If they omitted the graphic nudity and simulated intimacy, it wouldn't have the same following. That said, I can handle shows that depict tasteful love scenes, but the aforementioned ones depict raunchy affairs, rape, and ick. Long winded post adding up to - yeh, I'm getting picky about shows with nudity and sex too. Guess I'm a genuine feminist now :)

Burn Notice is good :) I have watched all the CSIs and NCSIs and Law & Orders too :)

[Wingnut]

Wingnut, you've read my posts throughout the years, and I think I've made it pretty clear that nudity doesn't make me flinch. But I'm becoming more critical in the context of which the nudity is used. In my opinion, Spartacus and Game of Thrones just exploits women and their bodies, and in a highly sexualised way. That's really what makes those shows so popular. If they omitted the graphic nudity and simulated intimacy, it wouldn't have the same following. That said, I can handle shows that depict tasteful love scenes, but the aforementioned ones depict raunchy affairs, rape, and ick. Long winded post adding up to - yeh, I'm getting picky about shows with nudity and sex too. Guess I'm a genuine feminist now :)

Burn Notice is good :) I have watched all the CSIs and NCSIs and Law & Orders too :)

 

That's a big part of why I didn't keep watching House of Cards.  Also the violence.  It's not a violent show, because there's no action.  But there's one episode in particular, in which Character A kills Character B in B's sleep, and it's very cold-blooded, calculated, and non-chalant.  A isn't a killer or a villain specifically, and it's really uncomfortable to watch.  He's a public figure, in fact, so the discomfort is likely deliberate, to make the audience squirm.  The combination of gratuitous HBO-style sex, and casual violence was really too much for me.  I have no problem with swearing, and action/adventure is probably my favorite genre in general, so I don't have a problem with violence or "good" killing of bad guys.  Even an intense love scene with implied nudity isn't too bad for me.  But this combination was a lot, even for me.

[Bini]

I may skip House of Cards then. It's been sitting on our playlist but we haven't watched it yet.

[Maureen]

...Maureen, I only watched the first season and I got a bit bored. I felt like each episode was it's own complete different story, they didn't keep with the same characters continually, but maybe that's changed with newer episodes?

 

Bini, I'm trying to remember back to S1. I think because it was new they had to introduce characters to develop the relationships. The characters that needed to be new weekly were the Wesen (pronounce Ves-sin), which if they weren't different it would get kind of boring after awhile. While watching the first season I would notice that most of the scenes were done in the rain and found out it is actually filmed in Portland, Oregon. I really like the show, you should give it a second chance.

 

M.   

[Dravin]

Love TBBT! Wished I'd had the opportunity to go to a convention!!!

Maureen, I only watched the first season and I got a bit bored. I felt like each episode was it's own complete different story, they didn't keep with the same characters continually, but maybe that's changed with newer episodes?

 

You still have a wesen of the week* aspect but they have developed an ongoing story arc that gets put front and center every few episodes and simmers in the background quite often when it isn't front and center. They have a developed continuity  now where, when appropriate, you see references back to previous episodes. It's a much more established universe and it is by no means just, "Nick beats up a wesen." these days.

 

*It's worth noting that the wesen of the week is usually not a character, they're a challenge for the actual characters to overcome.

[Dravin]

Bini, I'm trying to remember back to S1. I think because it was new they had to introduce characters to develop the relationships. The characters that needed to be new weekly were the Wesen (pronounce Ves-sin), which if they weren't different it would get kind of boring after awhile. While watching the first season I would notice that most of the scenes were done in the rain and found out it is actually filmed in Portland, Oregon. I really like the show, you should give it a second chance.

 

M.   

 

I'm inclined to agree with you, the rush of new characters was a result of having to establish the universe in which the story is set. Also it is hard to have a continuity when you don't have history to draw upon so the episodes understandably trended towards the episodic. Now that they have an established universe and continuity they are drawing upon it to create long term and short term story arcs and the characters can relate to each other in more nuanced ways because they now have histories, both with each other and singularly. 

[Guest]

Is it sad that I've never seen even one episode of any of these shows?

Nope. Not at all. I've never seen a single one of them either. And I'm a giant Marvel fan.

I watch River Monsters because that's the only thing the kids watch these days. They're not into TV anymore. My husband watches sports. I watch movies or read books.

[pam]

Nope. Not at all. I've never seen a single one of them either. And I'm a giant Marvel fan.

I watch River Monsters because that's the only thing the kids watch these days. They're not into TV anymore. My husband watches sports. I watch movies or read books.

 

I'm just not a huge tv watcher.  I have it mainly on for background noise being home by myself most of the time.  Most times I don't even pay attention to what's on.  I read through this thread and see so many shows mentioned that I've never seen...not one single episode.   I couldn't even begin to tell you the last time I just sat down to watch a tv show without doing other things as well.

 

Which for me is probably good.  I don't need anything else to get hooked on.   :)

[The Folk Prophet]

Wingnut, you've read my posts throughout the years, and I think I've made it pretty clear that nudity doesn't make me flinch. But I'm becoming more critical in the context of which the nudity is used. In my opinion, Spartacus and Game of Thrones just exploits women and their bodies, and in a highly sexualised way. That's really what makes those shows so popular. If they omitted the graphic nudity and simulated intimacy, it wouldn't have the same following. That said, I can handle shows that depict tasteful love scenes, but the aforementioned ones depict raunchy affairs, rape, and ick. Long winded post adding up to - yeh, I'm getting picky about shows with nudity and sex too. Guess I'm a genuine feminist now :)

Burn Notice is good :) I have watched all the CSIs and NCSIs and Law & Orders too :)

 

I am very, very finicky about shows with nudity, but it comes from a different perspective entirely. I very, very much enjoy nudity...therefore I avoid it like the plague!! I cannot be casual about it an any regard. I used to treat it less like it was a big deal, but have learned that treating it that way was lying to myself.

 

As a side note: I am specifically referring to female nudity as to the above reason. However, I would also avoid anything with male nudity, because in spite of the fact that I would not enjoy it, I still think it's realistically going to drive the spirit out. Sacred things being treated casually...and all that.

[Bini]

Anyone hear about X-Files making a comeback? I really enjoyed that series when it aired way back when. I'd be curious if this is really happening or a spin-off, using the same characters...

[classylady]

I don't watch a lot of current television.  Like Pam, many of the series mentioned, I have never watched a single episode, nor have I even heard of them.  Though, hubby did start watching "The 100".  I haven't watched an episode all the way through, but it sort of caught my eye.

 

Some series that I have or do enjoy:

 

Warehouse 13 (similar to xfiles, but a little more upbeat)

All of the CSI's and of course NCIS

 

My mind is blank at the moment.  I can't think of what I really enjoy.  Lately, I seem to watch more British television than American such as the  old comedies like Red Dwarf, Are You Being Served, Keeping Up Appearances.  The PBS dramas are excellent.  Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot is an excellent series.  The acting of David Suchet is wonderful.  I like most all the BBC Detective/Inspector Series, like A Touch of Frost,  Inspector Morse, Inspector Lewis, etc.  Some other British or Irish shows that I have loved are Ballykissangel.  This is one of the best shows I've ever seen.  Also love Doc Martin.

[Wingnut]

Anyone hear about X-Files making a comeback? I really enjoyed that series when it aired way back when. I'd be curious if this is really happening or a spin-off, using the same characters...

 

After seeing this post, I did a little Googling, and what I found was twofold:

(1) David Duchovny, in an interview about his series Californication, said that a third X-Files movie is an eventual certainty, even though there's nothing happening around it right now.

(2) The creator of X-Files is returning to TV with a series called "Area 51."

[Bini]

Classylady, I have followed many of the BBC shows. My parents totally got me into them :)

 

 

Wingnut, ahhh that makes sense. I wasn't crazy about the X-Files movie, there might have been two but I only remember one. Though Area 51 might be decent, if it's the same creator/writers for X-Files.

[Guest]

I stream stuff, so these are all in the past 5 or so years (if I went to 10+ we\\\'d also have things like west wing, firefly, dollhouse, etc.)

- MI-5 / Spooks (best spy show, ever)

 

 

How could I have missed this... The Professionals CI-5 was the BEST SHOW EVER!  It ended back in 1983 and I've been looking for the DVD.  Bodie, Doyle, and Cowley were plastered on my walls when I was a little kid until Duran Duran got plastered over them.

[Guest]

Okay, we spent a good part of the weekend streaming Season 6 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.  It's a 22-minutes-per-episode animated series set between Attack of the Clones and Revenge of the Sith movies.

 

It's pretty cool if you're into that universe...