Friday, January 9, 2015

Of course shows made from comics comprised my four favorite among a huge lineup that aired in fall 2014

I figure that my post today will mostly be a reflection post (with spoilers) in regards to my four favorite selections from fall tv. Now, when it comes to entertaining television I watch a lot but rarely do I think "Wow this is so good that you must watch it!" In other words, I have high standards and try not to recommend crap to my friends because I know they probably value their time more than I value mine. So what follows in the next paragraph is a rundown of my disappointments.

The "I'm SO DISSAPOINTED!" Pile

"Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D." overall has been very meh, and I hope they pick up the pace and start providing answers or I may just tune out. It seems obvious to me that we're only going to get satisfaction from the Marvel movies, and I think that's just too bad. "Supernatural" should get canceled, because the only thing making it even remotely interesting anymore is Crowley. Big Bang Theory has stopped being funny for the most part, and the cast is way too big now for 20 minutes. Elementary just seems like another detective show. Gotham is starting to gel, but only when they start featuring more of the Bruce Wayne storyline. Fish Mooney is a way better villain than Penguin, and it's too bad they don't go in that direction more. And Constantine is absolutely terrible. I hate this show, find it boringly derivative of other shows like Grimm and Supernatural, and think that it should just get canceled. The best thing about American Horror Story: Freak Show has been the opening credits. The storyline on the other hand, is just not all that good and the characters are barely holding my interest this year. It's too bad that this is Jessica Lang's last season, but honestly, the cast is so huge now that they don't need her. The 100 fails to get me to care about any of the characters. I just don't think any of them are very well-developed. Dr. Who was remarkably terrible for the ENTIRE season. I've decided I don't like Peter Capaldi because he's a know-it-all jerkface that's all caught up in his own greatness, and then the show decided to be absolutely cruel to Clara and destroy any happy ending she could possibly have, which just sealed the deal for me on hating Peter Capaldi's doctor. Finally, The Newsroom had its last remaining episodes aired on HBO. I loved the majority of them and really fell in love with Olivia Munn's character Sloan Sabbith. It's too bad this show has been canceled and that's why I'm putting it in the "I'm so disappointed" pile.

But there were some bright spots in fall television, and here they are:

The Flash -- (spoiler warning) This did end up being my favorite new series as I had predicted somewhere around mid-summer. I think that the casting of Grant Gustin as Barry Allen was perfect. I love how the show is creating the Rogues gallery for Flash by putting together Captain Cold, Reverse Flash (part of the greater storyline), Heat Wave, and Gorilla Grodd (we haven't seen him yet, but he's coming). I also like the secondary characters: Cisco, Catelyn Snow, and Iris. But the show's greatest strength just might be the multiple crossovers with Arrow. These are like mining gold every single time, because they have a greater universe appeal kinda like a micro-sized Avengers custom-fit for your t.v.

Arrow -- (spoiler warning) I have to admit that when I first started watching this show three years ago, I had really low expectations. I thought it was going to travel down the same path that Smallville did, forever setting up love triangles and going "freak of the week" or something like that. Boy was I ever wrong. Instead we got introduced to a whole cast of characters and the CW proceeded to kill them off one by one. It's hard to have a love triangle when the points of the triangle perish horribly. 2014 marked the third season of Arrow and it started off with a bang by killing off Sara, one of my favorite characters from season two. I was like, "Are you f*cking serious?!" But yeah...Sara died (horribly) and the rest of the season pretty much went like a chess game played by Malcolm Merlyn who skillfully used Sara's death to checkmate Ollie into a battle to the death versus Ra's al Ghul, a fight Oliver couldn't win. So in the fall finale, the CW killed off Oliver Queen. What the hell?! I NEED ANSWERS CW!!! He can't be dead!!! *bawls loudly*
Negan talking to Rick and crew (who are on their knees).
The Walking Dead -- (spoiler warning for the comic books) With the Terminus storyline resolved and Beth dead, this show is heading toward the Negan storyline that literally had me up late many nights as I read comic after comic. Negan is perhaps the worst villain I have ever seen. This guy makes the Governor and the Terminus cannibals look like nothing. Things I am looking forward to from this show are the first gay couple (who are actually great guys with many redeeming qualities) that lead Rick and his rag-tag group of survivors to a town that has electricity, a big wall around it, and houses for people to live in. They even have kids that play in the streets. So for a while, things will be great, but The Walking Dead does not allow its characters to stay happy for very long. Negan's the storm on the horizon. He has an army see, that roams the countryside to find survivors of the apocalypse and force them to pay tribute (half of everything they possess). What they get in return (these "communes" of survivors) is half-assed protection from zombie hordes. But if they don't pay the tribute or haven't gathered enough to keep Negan happy, then Negan gets angry and people die. I am very curious how they will handle Negan, because his brutality in the comic books is such that I don't think they can show it on television. That, and he drops the "F-bomb" all the time.

Sleepy Hollow -- The fall finale ended with a conclusion to a major storyline involving the return of Moloch and an impending Armageddon straight out of the Book of Revelation. This series continuously surprises me with its ability to go to historical fact and spin the supernatural from American history. With its return this week, I got a few answers and the show appears to be heading in a fresh direction with a new villain and the possible redemption of an old one. If you aren't watching Sleepy Hollow, I suggest you give it a try, because it's consistently one of the best on t.v. And you know what, the cinematography and cast are everything that Supernatural once was (thinking season five).

So that pretty much rounds out what I thought of fall television. With the new year, let's all hope that there's plenty of entertainment and fun things to watch on the horizon, because who doesn't love a good story?

11 comments:

  1. Agents of SHIELD has become a bit of a disappointment, especially the last show. I'd hate to be a late coming cast member on that show because I'd wind up dead within a few episodes.
    Arrow and Flash have both been enjoying.
    And although she isn't a superhero, I enjoyed watching Agent Carter this week. We'll see what direction they go with it now.

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  2. Arrow is on my list, too. And I've been SO frustrated this season. I watched about 2/3 of Sleepy Hallow last year, but missed the end and I haven't been able to find them ANYWHERE to catch up so I can watch this year. They are shooting themselves in the feet with this. Had it been easy, I would have caught up and been on it. I liked the show. I just got behind and then forgot when it was still available.

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  3. I've gotten to like Arrow despite it just being Batman; however, I can't stand The Flash. If they were going to go in the direction they did, they should have gone with a Wally West Flash. And I hate the opening narration in all of the DC shows.
    Constantine has pretty much blown, too. It's got completely the wrong energy about it.

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  4. I tried to get into The Flash but after three episodes it was so formulaic that I was left bored and gave up on the series.

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  5. I like Arrow and Flash. I'm looking forward to new seasons of Archer and Always Sunny In Philadelphia though I don't have reliable access to FX and FXX.

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  6. BTW I think this whole post was an excuse to show a picture from that shirtless fight on Arrow.

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  7. Arrow was a hit from day one for me. The 100, sigh, I'm doing a crossover fanfiction and it definitely is going off the first season. The Tomorrow People got robbed. Flash is my jam! I fell of The Walking Dead from last season. Been peeking back but not totally sold. Supernatural has lost some juice but I think it has another two seasons left in the tank. More if it gets it's old sea legs back.

    The Blacklist is another show that has been going swimmingly and Agent Carter has taken off well. Definitely better than Agents of Shield. Oy. Enjoy your weekend Mike.

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  8. Are you trying out Agent Carter?

    Oliver Queen can't be dead. But then again...

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  9. I'm so sorry I missed this post on Friday, but since you brought up Sleepy Hollow then you know I've gotta comment, even though you know my opinion. And my opinion is I love this show mostly because I'm in love with Crane/Tom Mison. I'm also enjoying how they're complicating the situation with the dark angel, bringing the Captain back from the dead (yes!), and the antiquities hunter/dealer Nick Hawley. I SHOULD be enjoying Katrina since she's a strong woman and a witch, but I'm getting disappointed in her.

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  10. I was pleasantly surprised by The Flash. I was a fan of the short-lived series back in the 80's and this new take is far better than that one was. I'm still following and hope they maintain the high standards they've been keeping so far. This series gives me a revived hope for the super-hero genre.

    Lee
    Tossing It Out

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