RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
I'm going to try to get my mom into the show
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2014-15 TV Cancellations: Under the Dome canned, what will CBS do with CG cows next?
- Thread starter ivysaur12
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I'm going to try to get my mom into the show
I wish I hadn't watched the Life in Pieces trailer... there is one VERY funny joke that wasn't in the trailer, but the trailer hit most of the beats. Also, the "four separate stories" bit didn't work quite well when they tried to commit more emotional pathos at the end of the story. It'd almost have kept intercutting between the four parts of the family until the end, but then that would've been almost beat for beat like the Modern Family pilot.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
That's right! I had forgotten about that. Really takes me back.
Cosmic Bus
pristine morning snow
Yay! I wonder if this will be available weekly on free Hulu or exclusively on Hulu Plus? Would not be thrilled about having to subscribe to another service just for one show.
So it is set up that they tell one short story in full, then (probably after a commercial) switch to the next short story and so on?
Haven't watched any of the trailers. It's pointless. Like i said in the past, i see no reason to care about footage from a tightly-constructed first episode that doesn't reflect the ability of all-involved to deliver the goods on an episode by episode with real time and production constraints.
If the show's notably good and if doesn't get canceled 5 episodes in, i'll give it a spin then.
If the show's notably good and if doesn't get canceled 5 episodes in, i'll give it a spin then.
It is a fast way to see which stuff doesn't deserve your attention at all because it is either terrible or doesn't fit your taste.
Rafa=FedKilla
Banned
Yep. Loved when they would play Dido after the end of Roswell or Five Fighting on Dawson's Creek. Even heroes have the right to dream.....
Yes. But the family is related, like on MF.
WarrenMax007
Member
- Scream Queens trailer
I will watch, but that trailer didn't really sell me. Looks fun, but over the top. Maybe that's what they are going for.
I will watch, but that trailer didn't really sell me. Looks fun, but over the top. Maybe that's what they are going for.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
Those were the days...
Looks really ridiculous, mildy intrigued.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
Of course that's what they're going for. Over the top is Ryan Murphy's forte.
Oh god I rewatched Smallville some months ago and can confirm the REM episode.
Sometimes the "music montage" would feel too on the nose, if you will, but I kind of miss it too. Then again, I don't really watch CW, so maybe I'm just not watching the shows that still do it.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
I had the same thought.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
It's a horror comedy.
BrightLightLava
Unconfirmed Member
That is definitely a Ryan Murphy show.
I'll try out the first few episodes, but I don't usually make it to the end of the season.
The first ever, according to Ryan Murphy.
I'll try out the first few episodes, but I don't usually make it to the end of the season.
The first ever, according to Ryan Murphy.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
oh my god, lol
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
The virus gets more contagious and the cordon widens.
The virus gets worse but the people in containment don't die because of reasons.
Everyone is cured but there's a new outbreak just across town.
Government conspiracy.
Aliens.
Zombies.
dead souls
Member
It just looks dull, no matter how much I like Claudia Black and Kai. Unless the reviews are great I can't see myself tuning in.
spindoctor
Member
Basically the Helix playbook.
The Last Ship started as a navy ship at sea because the rest of the world was struck with a virus. By the end of the first season, they were off the ship and had a cure and vaccine for the disease. Now it looks like some apocalyptic Last of Usish type show.
Hours Left
Member
Didn't care for it.
Futurematic
Member
Alright, I'm four episodes into The 100 based on this thread's praise and I literally hate--or think they're pathetic and/or stupid--almost every single character (exceptions so far: that dude who got
at the end of the first episode, his token Asian buddy, and Kane (Cain?)). Now I'm totally cool with that, but my question: am I supposed to be?
I am 100% on board if that's what they intended because that's an interesting plan, and Charlotte
, but I wanna know if that is the plan, or am I supposed to not hate Clark/Bellamy/Raven/Abby/pick practically any character etc...
speared
I am 100% on board if that's what they intended because that's an interesting plan, and Charlotte
jumping off a cliff to her death? is super-promising
AngmarsKing701
Member
It starts out rough but picks up. Given everyone is essentially morally gray, regardless of where they think they start out, it's difficult to like any of them, though Clarke is the intended protagonist.
I went back and forth on a lot of the characters throughout the two seasons. I think that's what I like so much about the show, the character progression.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
Most of the characters are fucking awful early on. They all improve though, eventually.
I keep seeing this and I'm like "where is Jessica Lange?" Oh well, they at least have Jamie Lee Curtis as her replacement for "totally not American Horror Story: AHS Season 5.5"
Literally watch the next episode. If what they do there doesn't convince you then I dunno. /shrug
also the show is primarily about a bunch of teenagers stranded in the middle of nowhere trying to survive. if they were perfect and fixed everything all the time that'd be boring, even adults can't pull that shit off.
why was I not told that Star Wars Rebels was all sorts of awesome?
I blame Ratsky for this lack of information
2nd season starts in about a month too.
RatskyWatsky
Hunky Nostradamus
why was I not told that Star Wars Rebels was all sorts of awesome?
I blame Ratsky for this lack of information
Sorry I let u down bro. I was too turned off by the AWFUL Clone Wars move + first episode that I gave Rebels nary a thought.
jamesinclair
Banned
One of the things that makes the show so interesting that that the characters are not stuck in a mold.
"Oh hes the asshole selfish villain, shes the princess, and hes the loveable jock"
Two episodes later: NOPE.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Other people would call that bad writing and characterization, poor continuity, and cringeworthy twists, but yes I guess you could also see that as a spirit of unpredictability. It's completely incoherent. Being a leader means knowing when to delegate... except when it means not delegating and doing everything yourself... It means making hard choices... except when it means not making hard choices... I means sacrificing the few for the many... except when it means never giving up on even one person... It means punishing anyone who breaks the rules... except when it means forgiving anyone who breaks the rules... It means using violence to solve problems... except when it means recognizing that the only way to break the cycle of violence is to stop using violence... It means following the chain of command... except when it means ignoring the chain of command.
I feel like this is something that plagues mystery-driven fiction a lot, especially YA stuff, and it's quite bad here. The show so badly wants to throw curveballs and simultaneously so badly wants to have moralistic speeches that it undermines any sense of being a coherent work.
The show is entertaining enough, the premise is certainly fertile, and it's occasionally good (and I appreciate the willingness to kill off characters), but it's undermined by awful characterization and a sense that every episode needs to one-up the last even if doing so makes no sense as part of the broader picture.
I feel like this is something that plagues mystery-driven fiction a lot, especially YA stuff, and it's quite bad here. The show so badly wants to throw curveballs and simultaneously so badly wants to have moralistic speeches that it undermines any sense of being a coherent work.
The show is entertaining enough, the premise is certainly fertile, and it's occasionally good (and I appreciate the willingness to kill off characters), but it's undermined by awful characterization and a sense that every episode needs to one-up the last even if doing so makes no sense as part of the broader picture.
Jason Frost
Member
Would have been funnier if it was something like:
CSI ends due to America running out of actors / guest stars.
AngmarsKing701
Member
This.
Great point. The writers are doing a fantastic job breaking those assumptions. Do not assume you know what's going to happen or who is supposed to be whom.
That's where I am on The 100, and why I found the second season finale so bizarre and frustrating as a viewer. I know it's a GAF favorite and I know a ton of people who work/have worked on it, so I try to keep my mouth shut on it, but the admiration for the series has always been a bit perplexing, save for the fact that it's one of the few hard sci-fi shows on TV.
jamesinclair
Banned
I haven't watched the second season finale yet, but in the real world people make baffling, contradictory decisions all the time. Humanity is full of hypocrites.
And especially when introducing a character, people get first impressions wrong all the time. That's why I loved how the characters we met in episode one, in a high pressure new situation changed. That's real life.
And especially when introducing a character, people get first impressions wrong all the time. That's why I loved how the characters we met in episode one, in a high pressure new situation changed. That's real life.
That's never stopped a show before. Law & Order would just reuse actors for new characters.
Eh. No. People make contradictory decisions, but usually there's a through line of internal logic for why people make said decisions. People don't act logical, but there's a reason for how people act.
"Humanity is full of hypocrites" is just an excuse for bad characterization.
Yup. Good ol' Product Placement Pete.
I am a fan of the 100 and one thing I can accuse the show is that it trying to hard to be in the grey line with a lot of issues. Some times feel force.
Jason Frost
Member
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Right, and in the real world you get a call that your mother died of a heart attack or whatever but it's pretty unsatisfying in fiction if a major character gets killed off-screen with the explanation "*shrug* life happens". In the real world, people don't say tearful goodbyes, they largely slowly drift out of contact. In the real world, the camera doesn't cut away just before the conversation ends for tension. In the real world, people don't change their mind after a rousing speech.
We have conventions for fiction for a reason--to ensure that fiction is interesting. It's true that there are postmodern deconstructions of tropes that play with this, that make light of the tropes and conventions of fiction in order to turn our expectations on their head, but frankly there's a difference between a straightforward and generally poorly written YA adaptation and a Terrence Malick film, there's a difference between Jackson Pollock and your five year old's scribbles.
The 100 isn't an exercise in detailed the complexities of human behaviour, it's just inconsistently written. Like I said, I think it's a pretty OK show anyway for a variety of reasons, largely driven by the great, compelling, premise and the world construction--incidentally, these are the things that interest people in pretty much any YA and pretty much any genre fiction--rather than the writing.
I'm not really referring to the first few episodes (although inconsistencies there are far more likely to be an artifact of the production process, cast chemistry, and early focus testing than actual in-fiction explanations)--I'm referring to the entire second season.
Stumpokapow
listen to the mad man
Yes, I agree.
A guy being against cheating when he was cheated on, but then later cheating because he's in a loveless marriage or whatever -- that's a compelling example of how humans behave inconsistently. A guy being best friends with someone he tried to murder an episode ago because "bygones" is an example of inconsistent writing. See also: Under the Dome.
Genre fiction and YA in general often use abrupt and major changes in characterization to drive the plot (so-and-so has to be the bad guy in this episode; so-and-so needs to believe such-and-such for this event need to make sense), and it's transparent and it's not good writing. In stronger writing, believable plot events do force characters to reconsider their stances and values in a way that leads to changes in characterization, and sometimes major external trauma causes an abrupt shift.
An example of what I think is a good case of a character changing in genre writing on TV is Felix Gaeta in Battlestar Galactica. I picked him because his actor is also a recurring on the 100. Gaeta is forced into a series of Sophie's Choices during a harsh military occupation where many characters behave in shades of grey. Afterwards, people judge him for the choices he made under pressure, and he is ostracized. Later, he suffers a serious injury. These things together cause him to go into a spiral of destructive behaviour that eventually leads to him backing a coup later on. He is ultimately a tragic character.
An example of what I think is a bad case of a character changing in genre writing is Lee Adama randomly quitting and rejoining the military every 5 minutes in Battlestar Galactica. Largely it is written as Adama being asked to do something he disagrees with, quitting, proving he's a good guy and reconciling with what he has been asked to do, and then rejoining. This is bad writing. It's stunt writing. What is intended to be a shocking event is unearned, it's inconsistent, and it wears out immediately.
Incidentally, to bring it back to the 100, the Musical Chairs in the writing over who is in charge, whether they want to be in charge, and how they view wielding power (is it a duty and a burden? is leadership primarily about stability and order, or primarily about command and using power to affect change?) is an example of bad writing.
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