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[Witherweaver]

I hope I'm not the only one watching season 2 of Fargo. Alla da episodes have been pretty darn interesting.*

*That's my attempt at typing like a character from the show.

I've been watching.  It's pretty awesome, ya know.  I missed Season 1 (except for occasional pieces) and haven't been able to find it to watch, but Season 2 is great.

[eHalcyon]

I also watched the second episode of Supergirl.  And I was so very disappointed.  The sister got captured already?  And she had to meet her aunt already?  And we have this incredibly unbelievable competition between the only two males on the show for her attraction?  And that whole saving kittens to get everyone to like her thing?  Terrible.

The only redeeming thing was her messing up so badly in the beginning.  That part I liked.  But the cliched I'm going to beat you in a kyrptonite room so you feel like you are worthless to teach you a lesson thing?  Yeesh.

Eh, I thought it was OK.  They actually said "Superman" a few times.  As far as sister getting caught and already meeting her aunt, I actually think that's a good thing.  It's doing something atypical by not pushing it back until late in the season, opening the door for new storytelling potential.  Already knowing the big bad instead of first fighting a string of minions changes the emotional stakes.  And I guess there could still be a reveal that she won't be the big bad after all.

[Jorbles]

Re: Fargo:
It's worth finding Season 1 if you can. Season 2 is actually a prequel about some of the characters in Season 1.

I remember Season 1 being on Netflix at least temporarily. Possibly it's not on US/Canadian Netflix, but google tells me it's on UK.

[ashersky]

I also watched the second episode of Supergirl.  And I was so very disappointed.  The sister got captured already?  And she had to meet her aunt already?  And we have this incredibly unbelievable competition between the only two males on the show for her attraction?  And that whole saving kittens to get everyone to like her thing?  Terrible.

The only redeeming thing was her messing up so badly in the beginning.  That part I liked.  But the cliched I'm going to beat you in a kyrptonite room so you feel like you are worthless to teach you a lesson thing?  Yeesh.

Eh, I thought it was OK.  They actually said "Superman" a few times.  As far as sister getting caught and already meeting her aunt, I actually think that's a good thing.  It's doing something atypical by not pushing it back until late in the season, opening the door for new storytelling potential.  Already knowing the big bad instead of first fighting a string of minions changes the emotional stakes.  And I guess there could still be a reveal that she won't be the big bad after all.

Maybe you are right.  I'm worried it's trying to be Buffy + Scooby Gang + that random military group with the microchips that keep vampires from biting all at once in two episodes.

[Witherweaver]

Re: Fargo:
It's worth finding Season 1 if you can. Season 2 is actually a prequel about some of the characters in Season 1.

I remember Season 1 being on Netflix at least temporarily. Possibly it's not on US/Canadian Netflix, but google tells me it's on UK.

I have Netflix, but I think Fargo is only on Hulu here.

[Eevee]

Fargo s01 was amazing. Fargo s02 is also amazing.

[Witherweaver]

Fargo s01 was amazing. Fargo s02 is also amazing.

Short, to the point, and accurate.  A great all-around post.  10/10.

[eHalcyon]

I am almost caught up on Gotham and I am totally confused about what's going on with Barbara.  Is there any way for this to somehow realign with canon?  It seems doubtful.  On the one hand, it's probably a good thing if they are doing their own thing now, since that was a problem with the first season (low stakes because all these characters will obviously survive and follow predictable character arcs in order to reach their future status in the Batman canon).  Something similar happened with the death of Jerome, though the tag at the end of all those viewers laughing maniacally was just ridiculous.  On the other hand, they still seem to be stuck recounting basic origin stories for various villains instead of actually developing their regular cast of characters.

[yuma]

Is anyone watching "Jane the Virgin?"

Reading through the TV shows that are being discussed it certainly doesn't fit into any of the molds that people seem to primarily watching. For those that haven't heard of it, it is basically a friendly satire of the Tele Novellas that are so popular. When I first heard about it, I had zero interest. But then I watched it and got hooked.

Seriously. It is really, really good. Won at least one Emmy last year. I know it has a pretty large following in the Latino community, of which I am not a part of, but I really don't know anyone else that is watching it.

But is has a charisma and sense of awareness that is ridiculously funny. The acting is really good as well and its use of tropes and TV gimmicks boarders what great shows like Community and Arrested Development have done before. Along with a story line/plot that is entertaining on its own.

My wife and I have watched the first season twice. Surprisingly I think I like it more than she does.



Also Gilmore Girls is coming back for 4 1.5 hour long episodes on Netflix? Who isn't excited for that?

[Witherweaver]

The new thing that bothers me is that Noah made a big deal about how there's no way Claire should have died and that he needed to see her in case something was lodged in that one part of her brain to disrupt her power.  When he finally gets to her covered body in the morgue, he doesn't even lift up the sheet to see her face.  Was that even her?  Is she actually dead?  And if so, how?  I thought they were kind of explaining it with Phoebe's shadow power, but then that ended and she still didn't come back.  I hold on to hope that they will address it in a future episode.  But for now, it just looks like a glaring plot hole.

They actually explained it, and it was a decent explanation!  The new thing to explain now is how exactly Nathan takes powers, and why Hiro's power manifested differently in him.

Oh, also, time travel makes a nonsensical mess of everything and there were lots of ridiculous things there, not to mention some other stupid choices by various people with pointless self-sacrifice and other odd choices.

Yeah, the Hiro staying behind to fight thing I think was poorly done.  It's not like he needed to keep them busy for an escape; they could have trivially just popped away together.  It was some very contrived drama.. 

[Witherweaver]

Last night's Leftovers was amazing.  This show draws me in more than any other show.  It's like a completely emotional experience; after watching I just feel drained.  Everyone should watch this.

[Eevee]

Dear god, what a TERRIBLE episode of Gotham.

The riddler scenes were the only saving grace.

Needs to be said twice, that was really, really bad.


edit: I've been liking the season overall though, for what it is.

[Witherweaver]

Dear god, what a TERRIBLE episode of Gotham.

The riddler scenes were the only saving grace.

Needs to be said twice, that was really, really bad.


edit: I've been liking the season overall though, for what it is.

I'm just happy people are dying.

[Kuildeous]

I'm digging Ash vs. the Evil Dead. It's pretty much what you'd expect from that franchise. I'm not sure if the show can survive on its own by revisiting the Ash tropes. But then if they allow Ash to grow, then the atmosphere changes drastically.

But there are supporting characters that can do the growing. That means Ash doesn't have to. It'll be interesting to see how it plays out.

Starz agreed to do a second season even before the first season premiered. But I have to admit that I subscribed to Starz just for this show.

[Voltaire]

Also Gilmore Girls is coming back for 4 1.5 hour long episodes on Netflix? Who isn't excited for that?

Soulless monsters, that's who.

[LastFootnote]

Also Gilmore Girls is coming back for 4 1.5 hour long episodes on Netflix? Who isn't excited for that?

Soulless monsters, that's who.

Aw man, I'm a soulless monster!

I saw some Gilmore girls back when it was first airing. The cadence of the conversations on that show just seem incredibly unnatural. Everybody just spews this lightning-fast stream of witty repartee. It's sort of the uncanny valley of conversation. That's how it struck me, anyway.

[ashersky]

Also Gilmore Girls is coming back for 4 1.5 hour long episodes on Netflix? Who isn't excited for that?

Soulless monsters, that's who.

Aw man, I'm a soulless monster!

I saw some Gilmore girls back when it was first airing. The cadence of the conversations on that show just seem incredibly unnatural. Everybody just spews this lightning-fast stream of witty repartee. It's sort of the uncanny valley of conversation. That's how it struck me, anyway.

I guess you don't like Buffy.

[Witherweaver]

This week's Heroes Reborn is a really godawful hour of television. 

[yuma]

Also Gilmore Girls is coming back for 4 1.5 hour long episodes on Netflix? Who isn't excited for that?

Soulless monsters, that's who.

Aw man, I'm a soulless monster!

I saw some Gilmore girls back when it was first airing. The cadence of the conversations on that show just seem incredibly unnatural. Everybody just spews this lightning-fast stream of witty repartee. It's sort of the uncanny valley of conversation. That's how it struck me, anyway.

If you watch interviews with Amy Sherman-Palladino, the creator of the series, you see that she actually talks like that. Especially with her partner, Dan? Who was also involved in the show.  And with nearly the same level of wit and obscure cultural references. To me the dialogue speed was unusual, but certainly wasn't forced, and became one of my favorite parts of the show. It illustrates the close relationship shared between the core group of characters and I think reflected the relationships of the creators.

Anyways, I am stoked for the netflix revival. Although Melissa mccarthy's presence will be missed.

[eHalcyon]

This week's Heroes Reborn is a really godawful hour of television.

I didn't think it was that bad, but there are certainly some issues.  Let's see...

The biggest one to me is Matt Parkman.  I'd kind of forgotten how ridiculously OP his power is, but this episode really highlighted it.  Why does he listen to anybody when he could basically do whatever he wants?  He has essentially free access to all sensitive information ever, and he can basically prevent anybody from ever stopping him.  I guess power-blockers trump him, but it should be easy enough for him to avoid those things and slip under the radar.  Side note: it's weird that he makes people reenact things when he should be able to pull stuff out of their minds just as easily.

Second big thing is that it's such a contrivance that Noah's meddling in the past produced exactly one significant change, that being Quentin's allegiance.  It's even more nonsensical when you consider that Quentin (now a spy) just continued on his partnership with Noah when he returned from the past.  If Quentin hadn't spent all that time searching for his sister, he should never have approached Noah for help.  And if he tried it as a spy, how could he have ever fooled Noah back then?  Ridiculous.

Oh, I guess there was a second significant change in that the Haitian survived.

Next thing, Caspar's abilities have never been well defined, but I think it's been implied more than once that touch was not necessary.  So why was it here?  Maybe in the other instances he did some sort of hypnotic suggestion thing to calm down his victims and get them to comply, and that just wasn't possible here with Joanne as strung out as she was (and with Nathan popping in out of the blue).  It would have helped a lot if his power had been better explained.


One more thing -- even though Noah says they have the exact same power, they still haven't explained why Hiro's powers manifested differently in Nathan.  Why is he able to teleport other things through touch without teleporting himself?

Oh, and the stinger at the end.  I genuinely look forward to the explanation.

[Witherweaver]

This week's Heroes Reborn is a really godawful hour of television.

I didn't think it was that bad, but there are certainly some issues.  Let's see...

The biggest one to me is Matt Parkman.  I'd kind of forgotten how ridiculously OP his power is, but this episode really highlighted it.  Why does he listen to anybody when he could basically do whatever he wants?  He has essentially free access to all sensitive information ever, and he can basically prevent anybody from ever stopping him.  I guess power-blockers trump him, but it should be easy enough for him to avoid those things and slip under the radar.  Side note: it's weird that he makes people reenact things when he should be able to pull stuff out of their minds just as easily.

Second big thing is that it's such a contrivance that Noah's meddling in the past produced exactly one significant change, that being Quentin's allegiance.  It's even more nonsensical when you consider that Quentin (now a spy) just continued on his partnership with Noah when he returned from the past.  If Quentin hadn't spent all that time searching for his sister, he should never have approached Noah for help.  And if he tried it as a spy, how could he have ever fooled Noah back then?  Ridiculous.

Oh, I guess there was a second significant change in that the Haitian survived.

Next thing, Caspar's abilities have never been well defined, but I think it's been implied more than once that touch was not necessary.  So why was it here?  Maybe in the other instances he did some sort of hypnotic suggestion thing to calm down his victims and get them to comply, and that just wasn't possible here with Joanne as strung out as she was (and with Nathan popping in out of the blue).  It would have helped a lot if his power had been better explained.


One more thing -- even though Noah says they have the exact same power, they still haven't explained why Hiro's powers manifested differently in Nathan.  Why is he able to teleport other things through touch without teleporting himself?

Oh, and the stinger at the end.  I genuinely look forward to the explanation.

Really, what prompted me to say this was the horribly horrendous horror of horrible horribleness that was that icecream shop standoff.  Like, so contrived, so bad, so terribly acted.  And, I mean.. the kid could have just popped somewhere to take a look (like outside), popped behind the woman, sent her to the middle of the ocean.  But that aside, it was just so cringeworthy.

The rest of the episode I didn't have a problem with, but it didn't make up for that scene.

[eHalcyon]

Really, what prompted me to say this was the horribly horrendous horror of horrible horribleness that was that icecream shop standoff.  Like, so contrived, so bad, so terribly acted.  And, I mean.. the kid could have just popped somewhere to take a look (like outside), popped behind the woman, sent her to the middle of the ocean.  But that aside, it was just so cringeworthy.

The rest of the episode I didn't have a problem with, but it didn't make up for that scene.

Hmm, I didn't have much of a problem with that.  They were all set to converge anyway, since they were looking for each other.  I agree the kid had better options, but that's always an issue with every powerful ability (see this earlier post about The Flash).  In this case, I think you could chock it up to inexperience or lack of battle aptitude or something.  I didn't mind the acting.





Anyway, today's Agents of Shield.  Wow.  I really, really liked it.

Ward's fight scene at the start was spectacular, and he was impressively evil throughout.
The revelation about Hydra's origins tied a bunch of threads together and feels major, like it should have impact on an upcoming movie.
Some fun scenes with Hunter being a cheeky hacker who types ridiculously slowly.

One piece of criticism, again centered of use of powers -- the telekinetic guy was extremely unimpressive.  Telekinesis is an amazing power, as evidenced by Sylar in Heroes when it was great.  Bobbi's batons shouldn't have done much.  In fact, he should have been able to just levitate Bobbi and Hunter and it would have basically been game over.  I mean, he ripped out a pipe pretty easily.  But even if he couldn't pick up two people for whatever reason, he should have been able to levitate the guns to get a good angle on the agents.  There should have been no way for them to find cover.  And given that this guy is apparently a trained agent, inexperience is not a good excuse for this one.

But anyway, that's pretty mild in the grand scheme.  Great episode overall.

Also, over in Flash land, Grodd.  Fun stuff.

[Kuildeous]

Yes, the return of Grodd was really exciting in Flash. I'm not a huge DC nerd, but that villain just excites me in general. Hoping he returns, though I suspect the resolution was a nod to the DC universe that I just don't get.

I've been informed that my TV box needs to be swapped out. We've been having cable issues, and the equipment we have is old. This means wiping the DVR. So we're doing some binge watching, but I suspect I can probably skip some shows or wait until the season hits Netflix. So here is what I'm watching, and what should I do about them?

Heroes Reborn – Haven't started yet.
American Horror Story: Hotel – Haven't started yet.
Supergirl – Haven't started yet.
Archer – I have the last three episodes of season 5 and all of 6 on the DVR. I'm debating on finishing up 5 and waiting for 6 to hit Netflix.
Gotham – 3 episodes behind. I'll probably catch up, but I might not feel bad if I drop it forever.
Scream Queens – 3 episodes behind. I might not miss it if I drop it, but my wife and I watched this together, and I feel like we should finish it.
Grimm – This was a guilty pleasure at first, but we haven't watched it in over a year. Still have a bunch of episodes stored up. The last thing we saw was him losing his powers and being at Monroe's wedding. End of season 3? We haven't been missing it, so maybe it could drop off.

All my other shows are caught up or very likely to be caught up.

[eHalcyon]

Jessica Jones, anyone?

[jonts26]

Jessica Jones, anyone?

I've seen the first three episodes. I'm liking it so far, though I'm not familiar at all with the source material.