I've been watching some of my old favorites lately in the patchwork television and film wasteland following the writers' strike. Since a lot of my favorites seem to be relatively unknown among the regulars (*coughBlake's7cough*) I thought I'd bring some of my favorites to the group to discuss, and enlighten the unwashed masses. First up:
Comments
20:25 Tue Apr 29th, 2008
True. I can't see such a show airing for long. I might check it out sometime in the next three years. If/when I have time. Sigh. Too many shows to watch...
20:27 Tue Apr 29th, 2008
My PVR ran out of space a long time ago...and I'm just getting further and further behind on my shows.
21:01 Tue Apr 29th, 2008
I'm just struggling to finish X-Files before the movie comes out, whenever I'm not perfecting my drum mastery in Rock Band. I lead a very tough life.
21:26 Tue Apr 29th, 2008
It does sound interesting, but I know that I probably wouldn't have watched if I had seen the previews for it. Something like this would need someone to tell me it was worth watching, during the description all I could think of was Groundhog's Day meets The Killing Joke.
21:42 Tue Apr 29th, 2008
I tried watching Dexter the other night, and it sorta freaked me out. Like, the style is so... strange. Plus, it doesn't help that it's, like, the middle of season 2 or maybe 3 and I just sorta jumped in, so I didn't know what the crap was going on.
23:16 Tue Apr 29th, 2008
So, apparently Blake's 7 is in the process of being remade and "updated" (what a foreboding term) by Sky TV.
23:52 Tue Apr 29th, 2008
Dexter IS unsettling. But that's what makes the show so groundbreaking.
00:57 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
I (used to) watch a lot of TV, but I have no idea what Blake's 7 is...
02:01 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
Yeah, I had to look up Blake's 7 on Wikipedia. I'm not really surprised I hadn't heard of it though as it ended several years before I was born. Any of you Canadians watch Wonder Falls? It supposed took place in the US, but it was clearly filmed on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls and the lead actress was Canadian (though she did a great job with the New York accent).
02:50 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
Day Break was one among many that could have been a great show had it survived. Most of the shows I like tend to only last a few episodes. Must be 'cause they are actually interesting. Who wants that from TV. Witness reality hell of the last 6 years.
03:08 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
Huh! Let's not even go there. "The Hills" remains the reality dragon I wish to torture, chop up, slay, burn with kerosene, break every charbroiled bone... and then play the video all over again on my TV. Whoever thinks that smut isn't scripted needs to get their head examined. I wish real good shows with lots of fans (like Firefly) would get a second chance. It worked for Family, so why not for those, too? Because they're hour-long shows? Come on...
03:40 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
Firefly was KILLED by its network. Mr. Whedon has a new project coming up in TV land. So Firefly ain't coming back anytime soon, which is a shame as it is one of my all time faves. When I first came on the site and there was all this talk of resurrecting Reboot I almost posted something that said instead of rehashing, why not focus on properties that were good, have a loyal fanbase, and didn't get a chance to tell their story. Firefly would be top on my list and it would make a cool animated show if done right.
04:11 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
An ongoing comic series, rather than the occasional special, would be pimp. It works so nicely for Angel and Buffy, why not?
04:16 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
I think Serenity actually has a short run coming to a close going on now.
06:05 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
Firefly, yes yes. I liked Boomtown. Veronica Mars (yes, we're getting into "3 seasons was too few" territory). Arrested Development, of course... though at least they knew it was coming and had the chance to poke fun at their imminent demise. (And in the case of all of these, I feel grateful to own everything on DVD and can rewatch whenever I like. Sometimes you just have to be happy great things are made at all...) I think part of the problem with some new shows over the last couple of years is that suddenly everyone jumped on the "heavily serialized" bandwagon (thanks to 24, Lost, etc.) and some of the shows were just not fit for TV. An ongoing series has to, theoretically, last 5 years. At least. Where could The Nine or Day Break or those shows about one particular ransom/kidnapping have gone after even one season? They'd have to be reinvented every season anew... That said, I'd love to see us have some options to follow the old-school British model: is it good for 6 hours of TV? Then it's a TV season. THEN I could see some of these concepts working. But where would The Nine be in season 2, when you're nearing the 40 episode mark, you know? Sorry, Maria, don't mean to pick on your pick! It's just a great example of a show that clearly didn't have "legs", as they say. :) (Much as I think the premise was very cool.)
06:18 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
Sadly, perhaps, I have no idea what you people are talking about. I mean, I know it's about TV shows and everything, but I just don't have time for any shows. Other than a few episodes of Heroes back when it was on the air. But even then I've probably not even seen half of them. Oh, for the 33 hour day.
06:22 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
And Asclepius? Apropos of nothing your comment about Niagra Falls reminds me of this coffee table book I once saw about Canada. You know those humungous books with all sorts of pretty color pictures and stuff, usually cost $30 - $50 or so? Anyhoo, I saw this one once with all these great pictures. Then I turned the page to the shot of Niagra Falls (and remember this book is supposed to be CANADIAN and about CANADA) and we have a huge spread of the boring American falls instead of the beautiful, famous ones. Only in Canada, eh?
06:40 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
Yen, I think the biggest part of it is that shows like Lost, 24, Heroes, House, and pretty much all the big ones these days were hits right out of the gate. People seem to forget that shows like The X-Files actually took several years for the general public to catch on to, and sent the begins of their runs as cult hits. Also, there's an Arrested Development movie possibility in the works which would have the original cast and writers. If it ends up actually being made then I'll have nothing to complain about as I've already gotten a Farscape mini-series and Z2H/Rainmaker is bringing ReBoot back. I think all that would be left would be to see some sort of continuation of Keen Eddie. Anyone remember Keen Eddie?
06:55 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
The following post brought to you by the campaign to bring back Keen Eddie. Yeah, I'd be very happy if they brought back Keen Eddie, Veronica Mars, Wonderfalls, Dark Angel, and from a while ago, Vengeance Unlimited. There have been rumours of Veronica Mars season 4 coming out in comics. Fingers crossed.
06:59 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
GW you have great taste in canceled TV shows, though I thought Dark Angel season 2 sucked big time. I'm not really surprised that one got canceled. Also, I never actually watched Veronica Mars. But I really like the name. Announcement, I've just decided right here and now that I'm naming my first child Veronica Mars (despite gender).
07:04 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
Asclepius - not Fetternity? Or Crackwalker? Or even Lord Maim? Veronica Mars? Really? I hope it suits him!
07:43 Wed Apr 30th, 2008
I've never heard anyone who watched Dark Angel regularly say that, Asclepius. Granted, I can guess which elements you didn't like...but I still loved the second season. And there were two great novels that wrapped up the season 2 cliffhanger, which showed how cool season 3 would've been. Veronica Mars had some problem spots in both seasons 2 and 3, IMO, but the Mars father and daughter characters were still so well written and acted that I would've kept watching for many years to come.
03:34 Thu May 1st, 2008
Arrested Development was brilliant. End of story. I purchased all three seasons on DVD, and loved every second of the multilayered humor. Even after watching the entire series three times, I'm still catching new and carefully hidden jokes. But does anyone have anything to say about Day Break? Watch the pilot, and see what you think. I bet you'll be hooked.
04:30 Thu May 1st, 2008
I never watched a single episode of Arrested Development. Or Veronica Mars. Or Daybreak. Or Keen Eddie. Or Dark Angel. Or much of anything, really. You have to keep in mind that I had to disappear from the surface of the planet for about 5 years between moves, school and "stuff". ...What, you think I'd get cloned here on Earth? Quality only, baby!
12:21 Thu May 1st, 2008
Veronica Mars was alright, but mostly because I could watch Kristin Bell read a phonebook and be entertained. Arrested Development. Still brilliant.
15:43 Thu May 1st, 2008
Is Day Break only available on DVD, or is there somewhere else that I can check out the pilot? My campus video rental place doesn't exactly have the widest selection, and then there's that issue of the $56 dollars in late fees....don't ask.
16:14 Thu May 1st, 2008
Dylan's TV Rant: Dexter is just good. It's different and does the whole CSI thing, but with a way better premise. Arrested Development! Curb Your Enthusiasm! These shows have such awesome dry delivery of whacked-out humour, and a great cast. If I had a job I'd buy them on DVD. Dark Angel! I loved the start, but I lost interest as it went along. I stopped watching sometime during season 2. But the "government conspiracy/supersoldier program" angle is a lot of fun. Near future is also fun! Sort of a guilty pleasure - I like Sarah Connor Chronicles for the same reasons. Six Feet Under! Just good damn writing. Really worth watching on DVD. Nice to watch a show where you actually have no idea what's going to happen next, and when stuff does happen, it's never disappointing. Battlestar Galactica! Rome! These shows put the feature film industry to shame. With less budget and less time, they deliver superior epic drama and grand storytelling.
23:19 Fri May 2nd, 2008
It's a long walk to a Best Buy, but I managed to find a torrent. I'll leave a comment about it when it finishes downloading.
03:50 Tue May 6th, 2008
Okay, I'm official declaring Day Break awesome. I've watch the first 10 of 13 episodes, and the show is really good though I'm not really sure where it can go from here. The acting is great, which is funny because I didn't realize that Taye Diggs could act. I'll admit though that I saw one or two twists before Detective Hopper did (even without some of the extra information you get) and I thought an investigator of his magnitude should have caught them earlier, but he's dealing with a lot of stuff so I'll cut him some slack. The writers did a great job with Hopper though, I love how he's gotten better about the whole same day thing since the beginning of the series. The first few episodes it took him many tries just to figure out things out, but now he's usually able to realize how he can use the time loop to his advantage and gets stuff done rather quickly. Still, I don't see how this show could have had a second season (though I'm not completely done with the first). It seems to me like this would have made a really amazing miniseries rather than a serial TV show. Anyway, Maim thanks for pointing it out.
02:38 Wed May 7th, 2008
Vindicated! I hope that someone else follows suit and watches this show as well, considering how under appreciated it was in its time.
03:12 Wed May 7th, 2008
I actually finished the show now, and I have to admit I didn't like the direction it was going in (they used one of the same plot twists twice and it seemed over done to me) but it turned out to have a very good ending. I'm still not really sure where they could have done had it been played through (only the first 6 of 13 episodes aired on TV originally) and picked up for another season. Then again, Prison Break is going on season four despite them breaking out of prison in season one. Also (I found this out after downloading them), any Americans can watch the whole series online at ABC's website.
11:31 Thu May 8th, 2008
(Which plot twist was used twice?) Its tough to say how the direction changed in the back half of the show once they knew it wasn't going to make it to the second season. Considering the quality of the show up to that point, I think it could have easily found its legs and gone on into a second season. Interesting story though, listening to the commentary on the DVD, it turns out that they took the same point of view with Hopper's groundhog day that I did with Blake Undying's regeneration. It wasn't important why his day was repeating, and they would never reveal the reason.
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genrewriter
19:46 Tue Apr 29th, 2008
I think most people just thought, 'Oh, I've already seen Groundhog Day,' and didn't give the mystery aspect a second thought. I do believe that I would really enjoy this show, but I specifically didn't watch it because I knew in my gut that it wouldn't survive.