What Are You Watching

morning angel wrote: I'm so glad they haven't been stretching the story past its expiration date.

That's actually what I was thinking as I was watching, that stuff seemed to be progressing so fast that they'd risk entering Dexter-territory of "everyone and their sister should know by now!"

But you feel a bit culpable almost (I do at least) because you were with him for a while, sort of. I can't say enough about that show, seriously.

For a while, he was bad, but his enemies were at least as bad or worse (Gus threatening to kill his family for instance), so they did a good job not making him the worst until all of a sudden. And his comeuppance might involve bad things happening to Skylar or the kids, which is not preferable, either.

I am completely terrified for his kids.

House Hunters Renovation. Two words: Por. Nography. It's like, 900 times more awesome than regular House Hunters. First, it's less fake because well, they probably still fake the house-buying part but then the reno part is real. And so far I've seen three and they've all been total house porn. The most recent one was these two guys in Los Angeles and they bought this one-story house and just completely gutted it and added a second story and it was all beautiful and glorious and I want it but unfortunately I don't have a spare $1.7 million. Plus, I don't know if it's because they have to spend so much time with these people or what, but so far all the people have been WAY more pleasant and less crazy than on regular HH. Maybe they don't coach them as much. Also they are not "acting" as they are on HH, I guess. It affects my enjoyment SO much.

The guys in LA who did the great renovation and some of the other couples were first on regular House Hunters (the footage of them touring three places was taken from that in the case of returning couples) so I think editing has a lot to do with it. Keith Powell, Twofer from 30 Rock and his girlfriend were also on an episode.

So I've been mainlining Disappeared on Netflix for the last few days while I get some work done, and it's driving me insane. Half of the episodes have no resolution, which irritates the hell out of me. At least with America's Most Wanted you pretty much knew you were going to be searching for a particular fugitive at the end of the show unless there was an update on the case.

And there was one episode that left me gobsmacked. This poor guy had to beg police for days to file a missing persons report on his wife. Every time he went to file a report, they gave him a new honey-do list. Call the hospitals. The morgues. The jails. Her family. His family. He was going crazy with anger at these people. Even the media wouldn't help because he hadn't been assigned a case number. Finally he ended up submitting to a lie detector test after they made her case official. While they were hooking up the wires her car was found flipped over 10 feet away from the road and she was hanging, alive, upside down in her seat belt. She had severe injuries, was starving, and pretty much dying of thirst. She'd been there for 8 days. What. the. actual. fuck. (She ended up living.)

I need to stop watching/listening to crime shows. It angers up the blood.

While looking for something new on Nexflix last night, I started Switched at Birth. I watched it all night and plan on doing the same again tonight. I'm gonna get through all 30 episodes by the end of the week at this rate. It's so good.

Watching Lost on Netflix, since I only occasionally caught episodes during the first run, and even then only in the first few seasons. Well into season 3 by now, and I'm realizing that I would have taken a long walk into the ocean about a week after being stranded with that group of idiotic narcissists. For every somewhat sympathetic side character (Hurley, e.g.), they seem to have two or three people willing to put everyone else at risk out of either stupidity, ego, or both (Sawyer, Locke, Charlie, Kate), and the de facto leader is so wrapped up in his daddy issues that half expect to find out that his original traveling companion was a resurrected Sigmund Freud.

Also, while the writing is good enough to be addictive, there's something about the show that I find exhausting, meaning that we're unable to watch more than two or three episodes in a day, and even then have to take a break for two days or so for every three days that we watch it.

If it helps any, the first half of the third season is the worst. Like seriously, I was addicted to that show and I had to hold on for dear life to keep watching. Then mid-season is when TPTB made the deal with ABC for an end date. If you haven't already gotten past mid-season, you'll see that the episodes make a very obvious change in dealing with the overall storylines and not stupid one-off episodes (*cough*Bai Ling*cough*).

The end of S3 is when shit gets REAL, so hang in there, Eris Rising! And brace yourself for Bai Ling. I almost forgot about her guest role til Never Enough mentioned it. So pointless.

My two most loathsome episodes are from first half of season 3. Bai Ling and the Claire/messanger bird episode where she flashes back to being a goth tattoo parlor chick. uggghhhh God that part of the series was bad. But it gets SO GOOD after

(spoiler for Eris Rising)

Spoiler:

EEEE!!! SO GOOD!

I've never watched an ep of the show since the series finale. I should re-watch the entire thing cuz I forgot 80% of it at this point.

We just started watching Homeland. We saw episode five last night. Right now I'm in the Brody's-a-terrorist camp, my husband isn't sure.

I'm watching The Carrie Diaries and it is crazy adorable in all the ways that lame GG in the 80's pilot wasn't, mostly down to AnnaSophia Robb. She's really pretty great and sucked me into the entirely barfy Soul Surfer because she was that endearing. No like reliving the music and clothes is pretty fun, even though they only get it right about half the time.

I also watched The Following and though it sucked major MAJOR ass. Painfully cliched and stupid, but in this ueber self-serious way, like I watch Deception and love it, because it embraces it's own ridiculousness, knows it's a bit of trash. Who thought anyone needed a tawdry garish version of The Mentalist?

Has anyone else seen the Hulu series The Booth at the End? I just discovered it tonight and it's great! There's a man (played by the excellent Xander Berkeley) who sits at the last booth in a diner. People come to him because they want things and he gives them a task to perform in exchange. The whole thing is set at the diner and focuses on the discussions between the man and the people as they try to accomplish their tasks. It's really clever!

I love Booth at the End! I thought the second season was a little repetitive of the first but still good.

Hulu actually carries a lot of great shows, between their own and the ones they air from other countries.

If Hulu didn't stream so slowly on my comp, I would love to give that show a chance. It sounds so clever and somehow whimsical!

I was so looking forward to The Following because of the cast and Kevin Williamson's involvement and I was kinda let down. Kevin Bacon continues to be one of the most underrated actors ever--and is it me or is he getting better looking with age?--but I was really underwhelmed otherwise. All the "death is an art", Poe cliches had me rolling my eyes, and this whole notion of this one guy convincing people not just to murder in his name, but to create elaborate new identities and lives for YEARS awaiting his command is just too much to be believed. Everything just seemed so...hammy and over-the-top (NEVERMORE in blood on the walls? Really??), and James Purefoy who I love seemed to be hamming it up to no end too. Even the scares were typical loud noise/jump types complete with musical cues that left me cold. I'll continue to tune in because, again, Kevin Bacon, but they really need to tone down the "we're edgy and dark for serious"-ness.

I was also was looking forward to Do No Harm for Steven Pasquale but didn't really have high expectations. It's available On Demand before next week's premiere so I downloaded it and I really enjoyed it! The premise is an interesting take on the Jekyll/Hyde story though not groundbreaking, but there are some neat twists and Pasquale is so good at being alternately charming and sincere and scary and dangerous that I can't wait to see the next episode. Plus I was pleasantly surprised by Alana de la Garza and Phylicia Rashad as part of the cast.

truecrystal wrote:I was so looking forward to The Following because of the cast and Kevin Williamson's involvement and I was kinda let down. Kevin Bacon continues to be one of the most underrated actors ever--and is it me or is he getting better looking with age?--but I was really underwhelmed otherwise. All the "death is an art", Poe cliches had me rolling my eyes, and this whole notion of this one guy convincing people not just to murder in his name, but to create elaborate new identities and lives for YEARS awaiting his command is just too much to be believed.

That seems to be a trend in pop culture - the wizard-class super villain. The last two Dark Knight films, Skyfall -- even the television series Bones has taken it up (I won't even watch the "arc" episodes with Pelant in them - talk about super-villain shenanigans). It takes me out of the story and, quite frankly, pisses me off.

Pasquale is so good at being alternately charming and sincere and scary and dangerous that I can't wait to see the next episode.

Oh I'm glad to hear it's good, the marketing was really good and Pasquale was always my favorite part of Rescue Me, and was I glad to see him rocking a very different kind of character(s?) Apparently he is also big in musical theater? Hee. Love him.

I really hope to enjoy that show because I always enjoyed Steven Pasquale on Rescue Me, and it seems like he'll be playing a completely different character here. Or should I say two characters, I suppose?

I haven't seen Do No Harm (and I do like Steven Pasquale), but didn't NBC have virtually the same show a few years ago with Christian Slater? Except he was playing an evil twin/good twin not split personality.

I also love Kevin Bacon, but that description of The Following is no bueno.

Nope, that was a case of split personality too. My Own Worst Enemy which I also watched and wasn't horrible terrible if I recall, just all over the place. He played a suburban dad who turned into a spy because of a secret government-controlled chip in his head, but then the chip malfunctioned and the switch started happening randomly and he'd find himself in wacky identity misadventures. I watched from beginning to end but the thing I remember most is how good Slater looked.

Why yes, 75% of my tv selections are chosen solely on the attractiveness of the cast. Alright, 90%. Which is why I started watching both Beauty and the Beast and Chicago Fire and now I'm totally addicted to both.

Heh, truecrystal, I watched at least one episode of My Own Worst Enemy (precisely because of how good Slater looked), and I remembered it as an evil twin.

Clearly the attractive Slater needs a good show.

I love Bunheads. I don't care one tiny bit that it's not rooted in anything resembling reality. LOVE IT.

(This is the exact opposite of the general reaction on TWoP, for the record.)

Cynara wrote:I love Bunheads. I don't care one tiny bit that it's not rooted in anything resembling reality. LOVE IT.

ME TOO! It is a ridiculous show, but I don't care. It's cute and fun.

Fellow Bunhead here!!! I enjoy it so much. But nothing beats Switched at Birth. I think it is genuinely fantastic.