A Post About Fall TV
I get enough (a) dudes and (b) plot/things happening from following hockey, so what I really want out of TV right now is (a) women and (b) emotions/melodrama. I also enjoy quiet, restful crime shows, like The Killing and Broadchurch, but none of them are current at the moment, so they got left out of this post. This is just stuff I'm watching right now. I've only picked up one new show for sure and two more maybes this season, so if you have suggestions for something else new I should try out, or if you want to talk about any of these, I would be into that! (Note: I haven't watched this week's ep of Revenge yet. I won't be upset if you spoil me, but I won't know what you're talking about until tomorrow evening.)
Shows I'm Watching
Nashville - I almost gave up on Nashville after two episodes. I started watching it because it had singing and Connie Britton, and then her character wasn't very interesting. I was bored, though, and watching a lot of TV, so I ended up watching a few more episodes, and eventually I was hooked, but not because of Connie Britton. Rayna's storyline is the most boring one on the show. The interesting ones are those of the other two women: Scarlett and Juliette.
I loved the way they dealt with Scarlett's love triangle: she was dating Avery and writing songs/performing with Gunner and she told them both straight out that she was dating Avery and only friends with Gunner. Only after she and Avery broke up - for reasons that had to do with his behavior unrelated to his jealousy about Gunner - did she start dating Gunner. You don't see that kind of grown-up behavior on TV much, especially not in what is basically a soap opera.
And then there's Juliette, who is my absolute favorite character. The show has made me feel a lot of sympathy for her while also making it clear how, despite her success in some areas (and the way she dealt with Maddy this week was fantastic), she continues to make bad decisions, not because she's a bad person, but because of how she's been messed up by being raised by an addict mother. The character doesn't seem that subtle at first glance, but I think a large part of the credit for her development goes to Hayden Panettiere.
Grey's Anatomy - I watched Grey's Anatomy for a couple of seasons and then gave up on it. A while back, I had an urge to watch the first ep of it, and then I ended up watching something like seven and a half seasons in about six weeks, so I was completely caught up, and I've been watching it ever since. It is definitely one of those shows where you can see the writers run out of ideas every so often, but when it's about Meredith and her people, it's really good (in a soap opera way). I've loved Callie and Arizona's relationship. I'm sad it's falling apart, but what I like about it is that it's falling apart because of repercussions from things that happened to them that have nothing to do with them being a lesbian couple. The thing I think is possibly a problem with the show is that even though it's supposed to be about Meredith, the character with the long-term character development is Alex. You can really see him grow up over time.
Scandal - I don't know that I actually like Scandal all that much, but it's an involving enough melodrama and I do like reading the Racialicious posts about it, so I keep watching. The problem I have with this show is the central premise that Olivia is in love with Fitz. Fitz is an asshole, and I don't understand why one woman would be in love with him, much less two. I was very excited when we were going to get a flashback episode to how they met, hoping it would show us some reason for her to love him, and then it turned out to be one of those instant connection things, which works in print, but not on a screen. I do love watching Mellie - that scene where she tells Olivia, "I did my job. You didn't do yours," where we first find out she knows all about Fitz and Olivia is brilliant - and I did love Huck teaching Quinn to do what he does last season, although I'm not enjoying Quinn on her own this season. Huck is probably my favorite character not for his own sake but because I loved the actor on Mercy and there's some feelings spillover.
Reign - Reign was on my to try out list anyway, and then allegram suggested I might like it, so I watched the first episode. It is ridiculous, in a really good way. They really aren't trying to make it historically accurate, and it's obviously just a soap opera. But it's about Mary, Queen of Scots at the French court (somehow there's never any language confusion; see above, re: lack of accuracy), which means that not only do you get over the top, if inaccurate, outfits, but also that Nostradamus is a character. Nostradamus! Amazing. (I had to Wikipedia him to check and see if that was historically accurate - it is - or if it was just bonus ridiculousness they threw in there.) I do wish they hadn't cut the masturbation scene, although it is still obvious what she's doing. My favorite part of how ridiculous it is is that despite Colin having been left alone with the Queen of France (who is also, let's note, a de' Medici, although I got that from Wikipedia and not the show) and then later saying he was forced into entering Mary's bedroom at night, no one has managed to figure out that it was the Queen who forced him into it.
Shows I'm Sort Of/Maybe Watching
Revenge - I don't know that I really like Revenge, but I keep watching it. I usually get caught up on TV over the weekend, and then this airs on Sunday, so it's there to be ridiculous melodrama for me to watch on Monday or Tuesday. I did have to laugh at the way they just reset everything this season. Clearly they wrote themselves into a corner they didn't know how to get out of with last season's finale. What I really want out of this show is for Jack's "finish by the end of the summer or I'll tell everyone you're Amanda" ultimatum to mean that the show really will end at the end of the summer/this season, but I expect they'll keep dragging it out for as long as ABC will let them.
Haven - I used to really like Haven, but now I don't really care. It's one of those shows where it's gone on too long and they need to wrap up the story. I do appreciate the addition of Jennifer this season to ask the hard questions, like, "How does no one know about the Troubles?" That's what we all wonder, Jennifer. Too bad the answer wasn't a satisfactory one.
Hostages - The premise of Hostages is really interesting - a surgeon, who was chosen to operate on the president, and her family are taken hostage and told they'll be let go when she gives the president a drug that will kill him - and it has Toni Colette, who is great. (Also of fannish interest: Sandrine Holt!) The show is okay. I think it would be better as a movie or miniseries where they didn't have to keep stretching out the situation. I will probably watch another episode or two to see if I get into it more before I decide to ditch it altogether.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - I liked the first two episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I thought the third one wasn't as good, and Andy Samberg's delivery being very, very Jimmy Fallon-like started to bother me. I don't know if that was more about the show or about me - I watched it on a different day than the first two - so I will definitely give it another episode or two, especially since I like having a half-hour show to fit into those times when I want to watch something but only for half an hour. For those of you who don't watch comedies because of an embarrassment squick, the first two eps (but maybe not the third) would be doable for you. There are places that seem like they're going in an embarrassing direction, but the characters aren't embarrassed, so it didn't feel embarrassing to me. It also has some good jokes, and some good, extremely subtle and easy to miss jokes (look for the binders behind Andre Braugher's desk). The biggest downside is probably that it thinks Andy Samberg should be the main character when Andre Braugher and Stephanie Beatriz are much more interesting.
Shows I'm Watching
Nashville - I almost gave up on Nashville after two episodes. I started watching it because it had singing and Connie Britton, and then her character wasn't very interesting. I was bored, though, and watching a lot of TV, so I ended up watching a few more episodes, and eventually I was hooked, but not because of Connie Britton. Rayna's storyline is the most boring one on the show. The interesting ones are those of the other two women: Scarlett and Juliette.
I loved the way they dealt with Scarlett's love triangle: she was dating Avery and writing songs/performing with Gunner and she told them both straight out that she was dating Avery and only friends with Gunner. Only after she and Avery broke up - for reasons that had to do with his behavior unrelated to his jealousy about Gunner - did she start dating Gunner. You don't see that kind of grown-up behavior on TV much, especially not in what is basically a soap opera.
And then there's Juliette, who is my absolute favorite character. The show has made me feel a lot of sympathy for her while also making it clear how, despite her success in some areas (and the way she dealt with Maddy this week was fantastic), she continues to make bad decisions, not because she's a bad person, but because of how she's been messed up by being raised by an addict mother. The character doesn't seem that subtle at first glance, but I think a large part of the credit for her development goes to Hayden Panettiere.
Grey's Anatomy - I watched Grey's Anatomy for a couple of seasons and then gave up on it. A while back, I had an urge to watch the first ep of it, and then I ended up watching something like seven and a half seasons in about six weeks, so I was completely caught up, and I've been watching it ever since. It is definitely one of those shows where you can see the writers run out of ideas every so often, but when it's about Meredith and her people, it's really good (in a soap opera way). I've loved Callie and Arizona's relationship. I'm sad it's falling apart, but what I like about it is that it's falling apart because of repercussions from things that happened to them that have nothing to do with them being a lesbian couple. The thing I think is possibly a problem with the show is that even though it's supposed to be about Meredith, the character with the long-term character development is Alex. You can really see him grow up over time.
Scandal - I don't know that I actually like Scandal all that much, but it's an involving enough melodrama and I do like reading the Racialicious posts about it, so I keep watching. The problem I have with this show is the central premise that Olivia is in love with Fitz. Fitz is an asshole, and I don't understand why one woman would be in love with him, much less two. I was very excited when we were going to get a flashback episode to how they met, hoping it would show us some reason for her to love him, and then it turned out to be one of those instant connection things, which works in print, but not on a screen. I do love watching Mellie - that scene where she tells Olivia, "I did my job. You didn't do yours," where we first find out she knows all about Fitz and Olivia is brilliant - and I did love Huck teaching Quinn to do what he does last season, although I'm not enjoying Quinn on her own this season. Huck is probably my favorite character not for his own sake but because I loved the actor on Mercy and there's some feelings spillover.
Reign - Reign was on my to try out list anyway, and then allegram suggested I might like it, so I watched the first episode. It is ridiculous, in a really good way. They really aren't trying to make it historically accurate, and it's obviously just a soap opera. But it's about Mary, Queen of Scots at the French court (somehow there's never any language confusion; see above, re: lack of accuracy), which means that not only do you get over the top, if inaccurate, outfits, but also that Nostradamus is a character. Nostradamus! Amazing. (I had to Wikipedia him to check and see if that was historically accurate - it is - or if it was just bonus ridiculousness they threw in there.) I do wish they hadn't cut the masturbation scene, although it is still obvious what she's doing. My favorite part of how ridiculous it is is that despite Colin having been left alone with the Queen of France (who is also, let's note, a de' Medici, although I got that from Wikipedia and not the show) and then later saying he was forced into entering Mary's bedroom at night, no one has managed to figure out that it was the Queen who forced him into it.
Shows I'm Sort Of/Maybe Watching
Revenge - I don't know that I really like Revenge, but I keep watching it. I usually get caught up on TV over the weekend, and then this airs on Sunday, so it's there to be ridiculous melodrama for me to watch on Monday or Tuesday. I did have to laugh at the way they just reset everything this season. Clearly they wrote themselves into a corner they didn't know how to get out of with last season's finale. What I really want out of this show is for Jack's "finish by the end of the summer or I'll tell everyone you're Amanda" ultimatum to mean that the show really will end at the end of the summer/this season, but I expect they'll keep dragging it out for as long as ABC will let them.
Haven - I used to really like Haven, but now I don't really care. It's one of those shows where it's gone on too long and they need to wrap up the story. I do appreciate the addition of Jennifer this season to ask the hard questions, like, "How does no one know about the Troubles?" That's what we all wonder, Jennifer. Too bad the answer wasn't a satisfactory one.
Hostages - The premise of Hostages is really interesting - a surgeon, who was chosen to operate on the president, and her family are taken hostage and told they'll be let go when she gives the president a drug that will kill him - and it has Toni Colette, who is great. (Also of fannish interest: Sandrine Holt!) The show is okay. I think it would be better as a movie or miniseries where they didn't have to keep stretching out the situation. I will probably watch another episode or two to see if I get into it more before I decide to ditch it altogether.
Brooklyn Nine-Nine - I liked the first two episodes of Brooklyn Nine-Nine. I thought the third one wasn't as good, and Andy Samberg's delivery being very, very Jimmy Fallon-like started to bother me. I don't know if that was more about the show or about me - I watched it on a different day than the first two - so I will definitely give it another episode or two, especially since I like having a half-hour show to fit into those times when I want to watch something but only for half an hour. For those of you who don't watch comedies because of an embarrassment squick, the first two eps (but maybe not the third) would be doable for you. There are places that seem like they're going in an embarrassing direction, but the characters aren't embarrassed, so it didn't feel embarrassing to me. It also has some good jokes, and some good, extremely subtle and easy to miss jokes (look for the binders behind Andre Braugher's desk). The biggest downside is probably that it thinks Andy Samberg should be the main character when Andre Braugher and Stephanie Beatriz are much more interesting.