I’m Baaack! Unfortunately?

I say “unfortunately” because I much prefer not being obsessed with a television show.  During its hiatus, I’d lost my obsession with Outlander.  That always makes me happy because it makes life much more normal.  But the show returned this past week, and after just one episode, I find I’m immersing myself in the videos, chats, and podcasts I’d come to know last year.

The Frasers arrive in France.

You may realize I haven’t been excited enough about this season’s television shows to write about them.  I still watch the same shows,  The Flash, iZombie, Agents of SHIELD, Arrow, and Supernatural , but I’ve taken to deleting episodes immediately after I’ve watched them.  The one exception is Supernatural, of which I still have nine episodes on my DVR to rewatch.  (And yet I haven’t rewatched them.)

I know I’m in trouble with Outlander because yesterday I charged up my wireless headphone and earbuds in order to listen to various podcasts with freedom of movement.  But I knew I was really in trouble when my Outlander thoughts kept me from falling asleep.

I’d just seen an interview with Sam Heughan being asked if he could take away one prop from season 2, which would it be.  He replied, “The bump.”  (If you don’t know what he’s taking about, watch the Starz offical season 2 trailer.) That got me thinking about which props I’d want to have; and I started going through each episodes, one by one, trying to decide which prop I’d take.  I’ve made a list, but you’ll have to wait until next time.

Also next time?  What I liked and didn’t like about Outlander‘s season 2 premiere.  And then, maybe, those Supernatural episodes waiting to be rewatched.

Tuesday TV: Nerds Rule!

Dear Comcast,

You suck.  Yet again your HD channels for the CW were so disjointed and distorted, they were unwatchable.  So when I tuned into my DVR recording of The Flash around 8:40 pm, I had to go to the SD version, which I had not recorded and was therefore able to watch only the last 2o minutes of it.  I take that back; it was only the last 15 minutes because I has to sit through five fucking-minutes of commercials.

I was a refund.
Me

The Flash

Since I caught only 1/4 of the episode, you get only 1/4 of the photo.

Fortunately, since I do not like Ray Palmer of Starling City, nor do I care for Felicity Smoak when she’s with him, I didn’t miss anything of importance to me.

And I did get to see Cisco Ramon take a bullet bee for Ray.  Nerd Hero Alert #1! 

So Cisco “kind of” remembers Harrison Wells killing him.  It looks like the whole “Harrison Wells is the Reverse-Flash” intrigue will take us to the end of the season.  I’m totally fine with that.  (Unless it means Tom Cavanagh will be out next season.)

A Really Disappointing Tuesday

The Flash:  Rogue Time (116)

I’m so disgusted with “Rogue Time,” this week I’m going to rank the principles in reverse order, from worst to best.

1. The Writers!  What a horrible, horrible way to disengage all the greatness of last week.
2. Everyone else.  Not even the few who were on form get special mention.

A year or so ago, I began binge watching Continuum.  The season 2 finale was a doozy, with the heroine in dire circumstances, several deaths, and extreme realignment of alliances.  I pondered for months how everything would be resolved.  And what did they do?  They set everything back one week!  I was so disgusted, I stopped watching.

A Short Agents of SHIELD Comment before We Discuss The Flash

The second best part of “One of Us”

Did anyone else notice how easily Fitz and Simmons slipped back into their companionable banter when discussing May and her ex?  Simmons may still be annoyed with Fitz—it’s not likely a permanent repair to their relationship—but it gave us a much needed wink to the loveliness that is FitzSimmons.

And while crazy Cal (Kyle MacLachlan) was completely and delightfully crazy, the show was otherwise a big ol’ yawn.  I’m done with Skye.  Again.

Aftershocks: an After-Action Report

Adrian Pasdar and his (fake) mustache make an appearance via iPad.

“Aftershocks,”  as in Marvel’s Agents of SHIELD‘s return to television after its time out for the highly enjoyable Agent Carter.  Not to be confused with Law & Order‘s “Aftershock,” the episode in which Claire Kincaid (Jill Hennessy) died.  Or was in a coma, depending on who you asked (the latter mostly fans of Jack McCoy (Sam Waterston)/Claire Kincaid fan fiction).  And Lenny Briscoe (Jerry Orbach) in which fell off the wagon and marriage-faithful Rey Curtis (Benjamin Bratt) hooked up with a college student (pre-fame Jennifer Garner).  But I’m digressing to an earlier obsession.

So, I recorded Agents of SHIELD‘s 2015 premiere when it aired last week, but just got around to watching it.  Sorry I waited so long!  It was excellent;  in turns emotional, worrying, and humorous.  Of note:

Fandom-meter Readings

The winter hiatus is upon us.  With several posts sitting in my Draft box, perhaps it’s time to try a new tactic. The authors at Previously.TV use several different formats for their reviews, one of the being “Rankled,” in which characters (and maybe events?) are ranked according to their actions in various episodes.

Now is the perfect time to reflect on the shows I’ve been watching.  What are these shows and how do they fare on my current “fandometer”?  More importantly, which shows are interesting enough to cover?  (The photos below should give you a hint.A)

The Flash

Arrow

Supernatural

(How funny that these three shows are on the CW, because I am far from the demographic they’re aiming for.)

1.  The Flash is living up to its pre-season hype.  It’s been rather light-hearted (for a series that deals with crime, death, and evil).  Will that continue now that we’ve had two (re-)defining episodes?  More thoughts will be forth-coming.

2.  Arrow.  Yep, The Flash/Arrow crossover did exactly what it was supposed to do—pique my interest in a show I hadn’t watched recently.  I don’t know if Arrow will remain in the #2 spot, but since I’ve been watching seasons 1 and 2 nearly non-stop, this is where it stands as of today.  Again, more thoughts will be posted during the hiatus.

3.  Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.  (That’s the last time you’ll see me type out the “official” title for a while.)  This show has been so good this season, it’s currently out-ranking Supernatural on the fandometer.  But a great first part of the season does not guarantee a great second part, especially given a watershed episode such as “What They Become.”

4.  Supernatural.  It’s hard to maintain momentum when a show’s been running as long as Supernatural.  The second half of season 8 proved the show still has some juice in it, and the Dean’s Mark of Cain could prove to be as engrossing as the Trials of season 8 if the show doesn’t veer too far into its “brother lying to brother” mode.

5.  Gotham.  Unlike The Flash, it hasn’t quite lived up to its pre-season hype.  The show has become so bogged down with the “Making of the Penguin” story, I’m not sure I’ll continue watching.

6.  Constantine.  It might have been ranked higher than Gotham, but I’ve yet to watch the latest episode, so how high can my interest be?  Actually, “A Feast of Friends,” in which John Constantine convinced an old friend to host an unbeatable demon nearly turned me off the show.  But the subsequent “Danse Voudou,” along with the introduction of recurring character Joe Corrigan, changed my mind.

7.  Grimm is another show I watch, but am seldom moved to discuss.  Nor do I see that changing in the near future.

8. Sleepy Hollow.  I’ve officially given up on the show.  “The Akeda” was yet another “end of the world is nigh” episode, and was a solid zero on the fandometer.  Not only did I stop watching after the first three minutes, I immediately deleted it from the DVR.

Procrastinator’s Roundup, Part 4: Terrific Tuesday

So many shows, only one night.  My poor DVR can’t keep up.  Which means I sometimes must resort to OnDemand. It’s nice that it’s available, but the broadcast networks won’t let you fast-forward through the commercials.  It’s like watching television c. 1980!

Supernatural

It was covered in Round-up #2.  but is included here for continuity.  It’s not the first show of the evening, nor is it currently first in my watching priority. Heck, I haven’t even watched “Paper Moon” (1004) yet.  Depending  on how the season pans out, it may deserve its own post.

The Flash

The S.T.A.R. Labs Stars: not a softball team

Do you ever watch a show and suddenly realize you’ve got a silly grin on your face?  Turns out I’m not the only one.  I’m not in the CW’s target demographic, yet I’m totally enjoying this show.  It’s engaging on many levels.

There’s something about Grant Gustin that immediately pulls you in.  I don’t know if it’s his “boy next door” persona, or the “dorky nerd” vibe, but he is Barry Allen, chronically late forensics scientist by day, fastest man alive by night.

Doctor Gotham Hollow SHIELD

A Roundup of Doctor Who, Gotham, Sleepy Hollow, and Agents of SHIELD

(Guess I better get this posted before another week goes by.)

Doctor Who: The Caretaker (106)

Peter Capaldi’s Doctor makes me smile.  Until he gets all pissy and judgemental.  His new found dislike of soldiers doesn’t make sense.  But I enjoyed the episode.  Clara admitted she loved Danny (although what’s been shown of their relationship really hasn’t borne that out).  Danny learned about the TARDIS.  I’m not sure where the show will go from here.  Surprise me, Steven Moffat.  In a good way!

An Eleven look-alike!  When I first saw him in the teacher’s meeting, I thought it was just a tongue-in-cheek nod to the past.  But he turned out to have a slightly larger role to play.  It was cute, even if a little egocentric for the Doctor.

There as a new creature to cause havoc with the world, but I kind of felt sorry for it.  It had to play third string to the Doctor wreaking havoc with Clara’s classes, and the whole Doctor/Danny debacle.  Surely something so destructive should be seen again.  Yes?

Gotham: Selina Kyle (102)

Would you believe anything out of this guy’s mouth?

Agents of SHIELD Season 2 Hypotheses

Prior to watching to second season premiere of Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (which you will see referred to properly only this once) I read a spoiler that said Skye is an alien.  Yes, it was a joke, but it would have made her so much more interesting.

The gang’s all here, and then some.

“Shadows” was neither over- nor underwhelming.  It wasn’t a bad outing, but it didn’t motivate me to write anything about it.  Until I watched it a second time.

The first time around, my biggest question was “Who can you trust?”  So many possibilities!  First there’s Mack, Tripp’s mechanic buddy.  (He’s new, isn’t he?)  Then there’s Koenig (although, like John Cho, it’s hard to imagine Patton Oswalt to playing evil).  And lastly, there’s the ever-grumbling guy from Lucy Lawless’s team.  (Sorry, didn’t catch his name).

Watching the episode a second time cleared up a few things.  The grumbler’s name is Hunter.  The mysterious “he” who rewards Carl Creel with minerals he can absorb, is Reed Diamond (the ageless Whitehall).  And the goal of Coulson’s primary team (May, Skye and Tripp) was the “Quinjet,” the cloaking fighter plane.  (Although why did May escape via motorcycle?)  Yeah, yeah.  You may have made all those connections initially, but I did not.

More importantly (for blog purposes), the rewatch gave me pause to contemplate and amend my previous assessment of who to trust.  I herein give my theories for season 2:

Catching Up with Monday

I’m sure this is an easy question for any Whovian.  What’s the connection between Gotham and Doctor Who?

Gotham:  Pilot (101)

It’s a grand turnout for the funeral of Thomas and Martha Wayne.

Yes, it’s dark and dreary, with a film noir/graphic novel feel, but it fits.  I’m on board, at least for now.

Not having an in-depth knowledge of the Batman legend, I may be at a disadvantage, but I don’t see it that way.  Yes, I know about the major villains, but not their backgrounds; and I know next to nothing about James Gordon.  So I can watch the story unfold as its told, without the quibbles that happen when shows depart from well-known (and well-loved) stories.