Must See TV Thread (2012-2014)

[Slateman]

If you're not watching Strike Back, you're wrong

[cmdterps44]

Strike Back is so awesome lol

[Terpfan76]

If you're not watching Strike Back, you're wrong

Skinamax series?? Watched an episode yesterday. Seemed like what the Unit could have been...

[hammondsnats]

If you're not watching Strike Back, you're wrong

we finally agree on something. 

[Optics]

Strike Back is freaking awesome. It's like an R Rated 24 with two Jack Bauers.

[hammondsnats]

STRIKE BACK TONIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Coladar]

Can someone explain something to me? FX and FXX. I don't watch anything on FX aside from American Horror Story, so promos/ads on there are nonexistent for me.

When zooming through my guide last week I noticed while setting up my Nats games that suddenly there was a huge block of comedy shows in the middle of the sports teir.

Intrigued, I looked further - it looked like a network changeover with Fox Soccer (Yeah, a network devoted to soccer in the US was a genius idea guaranteed to succeed. Or not.) Then I saw It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, League and Kamau Bell's talker showed "new" episodes.

So FX is apparently moving these shows to a second network? For good? I don't watch any of them, but my curiosity is piqued.

I can't say that I even remotely understand this. FX has comedies on Thursday nights and dramas on Wednesday at 10pm, right? That much I know from AHS. They have basically two or three hours of original programming a week on FX. So their ingenious idea is to move some shows to this FXX, then put them at exactly the same time as one of the only new hours on FX? I'm just hoping I'm misunderstanding/wrong about something here, because otherwise this is one of the stupider things I've seen in a while.

Example: The Bridge and Always Sunny/League go head to head now. FX can't even fill up two hours a night of new programming, much less five nights a week. It's like they're taking three hours of original programming a week and splitting that up over two networks... huh? In other words, it ain't like FX's schedule was so jam packed with new content they needed a second network. Then on top of that, night one of your new network goes up against one of the only hours of new content on your older network?

This seems like an idea a chimpanzee had by throwing darts at a wall of bad ideas.

[HalfSmokes]

If you ever watched futurama, you might want to watch this past season- I think it was by far their best. The show was up and down, but the definitely ended on a very high note.

[Nathan]

It's the last season ever too.

[Slateman]

Can someone explain something to me? FX and FXX. I don't watch anything on FX aside from American Horror Story, so promos/ads on there are nonexistent for me.

All I know is that the shows I watched on FX are now not available to me, so I won't be watching anything on FX.

[UMDNats]

FXX has good content (Always Sunny, The League, and reruns of Parks and Rec), but yeah the whole "lets make a second network and put all our good shows on it where no one can find it!" thing is stupid.

[Slateman]

I'm just not paying extra for it. Not when it will be streamed somewhere or come out on netflix in a few months.

[imref]

i miss The Office.

[Lintyfresh85]

Arsenio Hall has a show on Fox now.

He's not the funny guy he once was.

[Lintyfresh85]

True Detective

8 episodes spread over a 17 year timeline.

[Terpfan76]

Sleep Hollow thoughts? I think it has potential, but some of it seemed a little more bizarre than I'd like... the whole gun thing if you get my drift.

[Frau Mau]

Sleep Hollow thoughts? I think it has potential, but some of it seemed a little more bizarre than I'd like... the whole gun thing if you get my drift.

I liked it. I wondered how they were going to make it exciting along with keeping the storyline going. Seems like the witchcraft thing opens a whole lot of possibilties, etc. Not sure what you mean about the gun thing, not sure about that. I do love me some ghost stories, supernatural stuff, and that this has some loose history woven through it makes it fun.
And I also like how Icabod is a bit of a smart ass.

[Terpfan76]

As far as the gun thing goes: I meant that the headless horseman carrying a shotgun as well as an automatic rifle seemed weird especially when he has a fiery axe.

[Frau Mau]

As far as the gun thing goes: I meant that the headless horseman carrying a shotgun as well as an automatic rifle seemed weird especially when he has a fiery axe.

That's what I thought you meant, but you'd have to get close with the ax and could only go after one at a time. But yeah, I don't know, don't feel strongly.

[comish4lif]

Of the new network series - is there anything with good buzz? I haven't really seen/heard much of hte new shows.

I don't watch too much live network TV over the summer, so, I haven't been inundated with what they want me to watch. I miss the old days of TV when there was a week in September when all the big 3 (4?) networks debuted their new fall schedule. Now it trickles out over a few weeks - they make it easy to miss stuff. At least with On-Demand in the Interwebz, it's easy to get caught up.

[Tokeydog]

I really enjoyed The Blacklist.

[Coladar]

I really enjoyed The Blacklist.

I didn't... ended up turning it off ⅔ of the way in, for one major reason.

It is so, so, so painfully obvious the chick is Spader's daughter. But what's more, it's equally obvious that they're going to drag that crap out. The adoption angle parallels her beginnings - Spader gave his daughter to Mr. Career Criminal way back when.

I can't stand shows that think they're being smart and witty, only to suck at it. Hard. I was also hoping this would be more of a continuing storyline, instead of the tired and old "bad guy of the week." But clearly, the blacklist = one bad guy to take down each episode. TV has evolved past the point of being constrained to episodic television. This should be more Alias, less Chuck as far as that part goes.

But regardless, I can't get over them thinking they've hidden the seeds expertly for an unexpected reveal down the road that she is Spader's daughter. I hope Hostages is better than this turned out.

[HalfSmokes]

TV has evolved past the point of being constrained to episodic television.

not if you are hoping for a multi year run, even shows like the Sopranos had dead episodic episodes

[Coladar]

not if you are hoping for a multi year run, even shows like the Sopranos had dead episodic episodes

I agree to a point. Shows always have to accept the reality of the weekly hour long episode, to some degree, unless you're talking Netflix shows. Even, as you mention, HBO shows, True Blood, GoT, whatever, have to work with that.

But there's the occasional story constrained to an episode, and basing the entire premise of the show around the freak of the week, to borrow a term Smallville made popular. This is clearly going for the "Hey, let's introduce Mr. Blacklister in an episode and take him down in that same episode."  If they weren't going down that road, it'd have introduced one or two primary rivals that Spader's character wants to take down, and work to that end over the entire season. Instead it looks like they'll repeat the pilot again and again - here's a super bad guy who just happened to enter the country today, let's knock him off! Rinse and repeat.

I desperately hope I end up being wrong on that, but even so, it's the other thing I mentioned that really turned me off.

[HalfSmokes]

two super villains means that they are recurring characters who either need to be dealt with eventually (but removing a popular character isn't popular) or strung along (but people start rooting for it to end at some point)