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TV Shows you've watched recently

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Zeliard

Member
I'm three episodes into Friday Night Lights.

I must say, the show tugs at the emotions quite a bit more strongly than I was expecting. A lot of that is cliche and has some pretty transparent audience manipulation, in terms of music cues and dramatic close-ups and such, but it's remarkably effective even when you can see exactly what they're doing.

And man, the show is lit so nicely. It makes for a very attractive picture.
 
They're just "FNL'ing it", Zeliard. That's how the show goes.

I'm currently watching...
FNL S4, Thursday night NBC block, and Californication. I'm waaaaaay behind on Fringe (have 8 episodes on the DVR) and haven't started V yet. Will maybe take a crack at those and Dexter S4 over break.
 

gdt

Member
Zeliard said:
I'm three episodes into Friday Night Lights.

I must say, the show tugs at the emotions quite a bit more strongly than I was expecting. A lot of that is cliche and has some pretty transparent audience manipulation, in terms of music cues and dramatic close-ups and such, but it's remarkably effective even when you can see exactly what they're doing.

And man, the show is lit so nicely. It makes for a very attractive picture.

I'm pretty sure it's natural lighting, no sets, etc.



And yeah, the term is "FNL'ing it." Taking "cliche" situations and elevating it with the writing/acting/directing/music and kicking your ass up and down the street.
 
Yeah, S2 is even better than S1. We've had good luck with a few sophomore seasons recently with shows like Breaking Bad, Sons of Anarchy, and Chuck raising the bar during S2.
 

Akia

Member
I watched Season 1 of Damages last weekend and holy freaking crap it was awesome.

Željko Ivanek totally deserved that emmy last year, even though at the time I couldn't believe that he beat Micheal Emerson in that category.
 

Brian Fellows

Pete Carroll Owns Me
Akia said:
I watched Season 1 of Damages last weekend and holy freaking crap it was awesome.

Željko Ivanek totally deserved that emmy last year, even though at the time I couldn't believe that he beat Micheal Emerson in that category.


Indeed! There really wouldn't have been a wrong choice between the two.
 

Coop

Member
Watched the first episode of season 5 of Angel. Reminds me of the first episode Alias, Season 4.
DieH@rd said:
Im starting Breaking Bad S2.

S1 was sooooooooo good.

I still need to finish season 2. I think I have about 6 episodes left.
 
after watching some episodes of battlestar galactica at a friend's place, i went to pick up all 4 seasons in bluray.
this show is soo good. why does it have such a nerdy name =(
 

gdt

Member
Just wanted to pop in and say just how incredible Babylon 5 S3 is.

I almost forgot, but this rewatch is reminding me just fine :D .
 

demon

I don't mean to alarm you but you have dogs on your face
I've been watching Strangers With Candy on hulu lately. Damn funny show, although it's a bit much to watch more than 2 or so episodes in one sitting.
 

Salazar

Member
The first season of 'Cold Feet' is back on tv.

I'm absolutely fucking loving it, and not just because I think Helen Baxendale is one of the most criminally underrated hot women in the history of television. I know the series slid, but this is really good.
 
Just finished season 5 of The Shield a few mins ago. I am amazed how enjoyable this show is, and am really glad I listened to peoples advice and stuck with it. Forest Whitaker's character was so good, and the final 20 mins or so of the season 5 finale was jaw-droppingly intense. I swear, I have been watching like 4-5 episodes a day for the last few weeks. I just can't stop watching. Now to start 6...
 
gdt5016 said:
Just wanted to pop in and say just how incredible Babylon 5 S3 is.

I almost forgot, but this rewatch is reminding me just fine :D .

I've finally managed to start Babylon 5 without immediately turning it off halfway through episode one. Took until episode 4 for it to grow on me and it's stopped being truly awful and turned into something decent. I think I will be able to make it through S1 because I really want to see all this supposedly mindblowing shit that goes down in the rest of the series that everyone always talks about.
 

Brian Fellows

Pete Carroll Owns Me
Tried to get a friend into Rome this weekend. He really didn't seem to have a clue what was going on and I got tired of explaining shit to him so I gave it up after 2 and half episodes.
 
GrumpyAlien said:
Just finished season 5 of The Shield a few mins ago. I am amazed how enjoyable this show is, and am really glad I listened to peoples advice and stuck with it. Forest Whitaker's character was so good, and the final 20 mins or so of the season 5 finale was jaw-droppingly intense. I swear, I have been watching like 4-5 episodes a day for the last few weeks. I just can't stop watching. Now to start 6...
Always nice to read about someone loving The Shield.
 
Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern
love it; He is a very nice host without any fear of something new. It's very interesting to see all the stuff(and animals) which are actually eatable.
I just hope that it will get a DVD release someday.

Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
I like it even better than Zimmern's, mostly because of Bourdain himself. He is one hell of a guy. He just shits one everything "political correct"("Bourdain has been known for being an unrepentant drinker and smoker") which seems to be rare on U.S. TV.
Will get the DVD releases.


O.C. Choppers
terrible;
Teutul Sr and Jr, both in steroids rage, fighting each other interrupted by semi-funny Mikey who does nothing but funny stuff all day long
 

gdt

Member
WyndhamPrice said:
I've finally managed to start Babylon 5 without immediately turning it off halfway through episode one. Took until episode 4 for it to grow on me and it's stopped being truly awful and turned into something decent. I think I will be able to make it through S1 because I really want to see all this supposedly mindblowing shit that goes down in the rest of the series that everyone always talks about.

The second half of S1 is markedly better than the first. Then S2 is about a billion times better, and just a really, really great season of TV.

And then S3/4 are two of the best seasons ever. S5 gets mixed reactions. Meh in the beginning/middle, great towards the end, then one of the best final episodes of all time. ALL TIME.
 

beelzebozo

Jealous Bastard
i started rewatching LOST season 3 a couple of days ago. i had forgotten how really and truly excellent everything about this season was to me. there is a real sense of mystery and dread to everything, particularly
among the others.
in the scene three or four episodes in when
juliet is talking to jack saying what she's SUPPOSED to say, but also playing the video of her holding up the cards with what she WANTS to say,
i think it really conveys this sense of creepiness and fear that few television shows successfully pull off. in fact, i'd say she is one of the best additions to the show this season, rivaling even desmond from season 2 (bold statement).

it's also very satisfying when
ben messes up or underestimates someone; he's always so calculating and a step ahead that when he loses you pump your fist and celebrate.
then again, some part of you also wonders every time this happens if
he's not just pretending to be fooled, and that he isn't still two steps ahead.

cannot wait for the show to come back in february.
 

y2dvd

Member
Watched Lost Season 1 again with the family who haven't seen the show yet. This show does such a great job sucking you in right from the get-go. My family is already hooked.
 
WyndhamPrice said:
I've finally managed to start Babylon 5 without immediately turning it off halfway through episode one. Took until episode 4 for it to grow on me and it's stopped being truly awful and turned into something decent. I think I will be able to make it through S1 because I really want to see all this supposedly mindblowing shit that goes down in the rest of the series that everyone always talks about.
Stay with it please. I'm currently rewatching B5... I'm on season three.
 

Buttchin

Member
iamaustrian said:
Anthony Bourdain: No Reservations
I like it even better than Zimmern's, mostly because of Bourdain himself. He is one hell of a guy. He just shits one everything "political correct"("Bourdain has been known for being an unrepentant drinker and smoker") which seems to be rare on U.S. TV.
Will get the DVD releases.

there is a youtube clip posted in the "french laundry" thread about his trip with a bunch of chefs to the FL. The fact that bourdain smokes was known enough by keller that he made him a course where the prominent ingredient was tobacco that way bourdain didnt need to leave to get a smoke :lol (or so he said)
 

Krowley

Member
WyndhamPrice said:
I've finally managed to start Babylon 5 without immediately turning it off halfway through episode one. Took until episode 4 for it to grow on me and it's stopped being truly awful and turned into something decent. I think I will be able to make it through S1 because I really want to see all this supposedly mindblowing shit that goes down in the rest of the series that everyone always talks about.


Good to hear you are staying with it. If you're tolerating season 1, you're gonna like season 2, and if you like season 2, you're gonna LOVE seasons 3 and 4. The show just takes off in seasons 3 and 4 and enters a whole other league.

I also liked season 5. Even though it's a step down, season 5 is definitely still much better than season 1.
 

yacobod

Banned
Brian Fellows said:
Tried to get a friend into Rome this weekend. He really didn't seem to have a clue what was going on and I got tired of explaining shit to him so I gave it up after 2 and half episodes.

your friend is a pleb
 

gdt

Member
Parliament of Dreams has like the most embarrasly acted scene is TV history :lol.

"Maybe I wanted you, maybe I just wanted anyone...





Don't touch me if you don't mean it!"

:lol :lol :lol
 

Meliorism

Member
Tried watching Community but wasn't feeling it. Watched the first two episodes and just didn't care for any of the characters.

Started watching Mad Men. I like it, but it's definitely a slow burn show.

And I finished the first series of Peep Show. Pretty hilarious.
 

C.Dark.DN

Banned
Oni Jazar said:
Watched the first episode of "Men of a Certain Age" (Bakula, Ray Romano) and I really enjoyed it. Very funny scenes and seems like it'll be worth watching. I've added it to my season pass.
Been watching this too and I like it.

There's no official thread. Someone get on it.
 
Scythian Empire said:
Finally pulled myself to start watching Seinfeld. I'm on series 6, and it's possibly the funniest TV show I've ever seen.

Genius.

Obviously not everyone has seen this show but it still blows me away. I did a double take thinking I read the wrong show at first. :lol
 

_Isaac

Member
There was a channel here that aired Seinfeld episodes during the night. There were sooo many, so I decided to record them as my introduction to Seinfeld. It's a great show, but I am now officially sick of Seinfeld.

Been watching The Doctors. It's kinda boring.
 
Nihilism said:
And I finished the first series of Peep Show. Pretty hilarious.
YESSSS

Peep Show is incredible and no one here in the States knows about it. I recommended it to a girl I know, and when she said, "Peep Show?? I LOVE PEEP SHOW!" I wanted to marry her.
 

Drewsky

Member
Still been watching FNL, still really liking it. I'm about done with the first season and it seems like it's just getting better.

Getting the first disc of The Wire from Netflix tomorrow, I'm actually kind of excited. Hope it lives up to the "best TV ever" hype.
 

Blader

Member
Drewsky said:
Getting the first disc of The Wire from Netflix tomorrow, I'm actually kind of excited. Hope it lives up to the "best TV ever" hype.

It is definitely good, but just be aware that it's a kind of slow burn. It's not going to burst right out of the gate like, say, The Shield or Lost. It takes a bit of an investment. But by halfway through the season, once you've become familiar with all the different characters and subplots, everything starts coming together and shit hits the fan.
 
Blader5489 said:
It is definitely good, but just be aware that it's a kind of slow burn. It's not going to burst right out of the gate like, say, The Shield or Lost. It takes a bit of an investment. But by halfway through the season, once you've become familiar with all the different characters and subplots, everything starts coming together and shit hits the fan.

Episode 6 is the "A-Ha!" episode.
 

Calcaneus

Member
I don't know if it should be in this thread, but I started watching Ghost in the Shell: Stand alone Complex recently, and man that stuff is quality. So far it has all the good things about anime with very little of the bad. Loving it.
 
gdt5016 said:
Motherfucker.



...Motherfucker?



Mother. Fucker.

Fuck.


Also I'm on episode 11 of Babylon 5 S1, coming up on when the season gets better I guess? Although to be honest it's been more enjoyable than I was led to believe. Early TNG is certainly way worse than this.
 

Zeliard

Member
Man, Friday Night Lights lays the soap opera stuff on a little thickly. It's far more watchable than anything from any soap I've seen, and I like the often-naturalistic dialogue and some of the characters (the coach is spectacular), but a lot of it feels surprisingly melodramatic and manipulative so far. It's a good show but I'm not getting a "one of the very best shows on television" vibe from it so far. I'm still in Season 1, though, and I'll certainly keep watching it.
 

gdt

Member
WyndhamPrice said:
Fuck.


Also I'm on episode 11 of Babylon 5 S1, coming up on when the season gets better I guess? Although to be honest it's been more enjoyable than I was led to believe. Early TNG is certainly way worse than this.

2nd half is better than the first. There's a few episodes that are pretty good, with Babylon Squared and Chrysalis being really good.
 
Zeliard said:
Man, Friday Night Lights lays the soap opera stuff on a little thickly. It's far more watchable than anything from any soap I've seen, and I like the often-naturalistic dialogue and some of the characters (the coach is spectacular), but a lot of it feels surprisingly melodramatic and manipulative so far. It's a good show but I'm not getting a "one of the very best shows on television" vibe from it so far. I'm still in Season 1, though, and I'll certainly keep watching it.

Season 2 is weird and Season 3 is the best thing ever. I think that having a reduced episode count (only 13 for S3) lessens the soap-opera-y stuff because they can just get to what everyone wants: the football.
 

gdt

Member
Zeliard said:
Man, Friday Night Lights lays the soap opera stuff on a little thickly. It's far more watchable than anything from any soap I've seen, and I like the often-naturalistic dialogue and some of the characters (the coach is spectacular), but a lot of it feels surprisingly melodramatic and manipulative so far. It's a good show but I'm not getting a "one of the very best shows on television" vibe from it so far. I'm still in Season 1, though, and I'll certainly keep watching it.

I'm assuming your referring to the Street/Tim/Lyla thing?

What episode are you on?

Season 2 is weird and Season 3 is the best thing ever. I think that having a reduced episode count (only 13 for S3) lessens the soap-opera-y stuff because they can just get to what everyone wants: the football.

S3 had the least amount of football.
 
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