"this is upsetting because he is the friendliest of fruits."
30 Day TV Meme: Day #2 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Fringe
This could've been a comedy, because that's my favourite thing about TV, and if it had been a comedy I would've said Parks and Recreation.
But Fringe - oh, this show! It's intelligent and mindblowing but sweet and genuinely heartbreaking; completely understated, and I adore it. I think the three leads on this show are such great characters, and acted by fantastic dramatic actors, but it never pushes it into your face. Even the minor characters on the main cast are so great.
Early into the show I wrote it off as a show whose focus was creepy, sometimes gruesome murders, with a couple of characters with "tortured pasts" - but what this show is, at its heart, is more of a character study, I feel? (And I know I'm not going to do this show justice with this description, but.) The three lead characters (maybe everyone in this show) are tied together in a huge, deep-into-their-lives kind of way. And that's why I love when the show goes into its overall arc instead of its weekly science malfunctions - it really does explore these fascinating relationships and characters so subtly; never on-the-nose. Sometimes there's this underlying epic feel to these stories, but it's so calmly handled. I love that they rarely go for big reveals, big moments, and instead favour character moments, and quiet build-ups. It's just incredibly well-crafted.
There was an episode this season that had them in a noir "musical", and it came after a big reveal in the previous week, so you would think it would be gimmicky or it would try to throw you off the development, but what it does instead is push the story forward in a way that the normal structure wouldn't even be able to, and I admire it so much for that. It just put everything into a different kind of focus, and things start making sense. It's genius.
And I also do love the weekly science malfunctions, just so you know; What Lies Below from the first half of this season was filled with gorgeous character-things, and I could geek out about it as much as you want. Things we could also talk about: Peter/Olivia, my epic OTP, because their love is multiversal; John Noble being a crazy person but also heartbreaking; Olivia Dunham generally being a badass agent but also an awesome female character; PETERRRRR; how alternate universe Olivia should be called Fauxlivia.
(If you want to read a prettier, more eloquent/detailed post about why more people should be watching Fringe, try this.)
Runner-Ups: I just want to give Parks and Recreation another shout-out here, because it’s my favourite show right now and I don’t know how that happened but it’s ridiculous that so many people wrote it off so quickly.
Also Better Off Ted, which is the most intelligent comedy I've seen on TV in years (and they don't even resort to crude jokes as much as most TV does these days), and while I'm upset that it's been cancelled, I'm even more upset that there are people who really, really don't even know what they're missing.
-
By the way, Sherlock is fantastic, and it's only three episodes of 90 minutes, and the second episode is mostly skippable, while the first two are brilliant, so all in all that's only three hours of your time to be spent in an engaging, thrilling way with awesome actors/characters (Sherlock and Watson are pretty much an old married couple, too) and excellent story-telling. (I'm sorry for using so many adjectives here, BUT REALLY.) Basically: why the hell are you not watching this?!
-- rachu
Day 01 - A show that should have never been canceled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death
Fringe
This could've been a comedy, because that's my favourite thing about TV, and if it had been a comedy I would've said Parks and Recreation.
But Fringe - oh, this show! It's intelligent and mindblowing but sweet and genuinely heartbreaking; completely understated, and I adore it. I think the three leads on this show are such great characters, and acted by fantastic dramatic actors, but it never pushes it into your face. Even the minor characters on the main cast are so great.
Early into the show I wrote it off as a show whose focus was creepy, sometimes gruesome murders, with a couple of characters with "tortured pasts" - but what this show is, at its heart, is more of a character study, I feel? (And I know I'm not going to do this show justice with this description, but.) The three lead characters (maybe everyone in this show) are tied together in a huge, deep-into-their-lives kind of way. And that's why I love when the show goes into its overall arc instead of its weekly science malfunctions - it really does explore these fascinating relationships and characters so subtly; never on-the-nose. Sometimes there's this underlying epic feel to these stories, but it's so calmly handled. I love that they rarely go for big reveals, big moments, and instead favour character moments, and quiet build-ups. It's just incredibly well-crafted.
There was an episode this season that had them in a noir "musical", and it came after a big reveal in the previous week, so you would think it would be gimmicky or it would try to throw you off the development, but what it does instead is push the story forward in a way that the normal structure wouldn't even be able to, and I admire it so much for that. It just put everything into a different kind of focus, and things start making sense. It's genius.
And I also do love the weekly science malfunctions, just so you know; What Lies Below from the first half of this season was filled with gorgeous character-things, and I could geek out about it as much as you want. Things we could also talk about: Peter/Olivia, my epic OTP, because their love is multiversal; John Noble being a crazy person but also heartbreaking; Olivia Dunham generally being a badass agent but also an awesome female character; PETERRRRR; how alternate universe Olivia should be called Fauxlivia.
(If you want to read a prettier, more eloquent/detailed post about why more people should be watching Fringe, try this.)
Runner-Ups: I just want to give Parks and Recreation another shout-out here, because it’s my favourite show right now and I don’t know how that happened but it’s ridiculous that so many people wrote it off so quickly.
Also Better Off Ted, which is the most intelligent comedy I've seen on TV in years (and they don't even resort to crude jokes as much as most TV does these days), and while I'm upset that it's been cancelled, I'm even more upset that there are people who really, really don't even know what they're missing.
-
By the way, Sherlock is fantastic, and it's only three episodes of 90 minutes, and the second episode is mostly skippable, while the first two are brilliant, so all in all that's only three hours of your time to be spent in an engaging, thrilling way with awesome actors/characters (Sherlock and Watson are pretty much an old married couple, too) and excellent story-telling. (I'm sorry for using so many adjectives here, BUT REALLY.) Basically: why the hell are you not watching this?!
-- rachu
Day 01 - A show that should have never been canceled
Day 02 - A show that you wish more people were watching
Day 03 - Your favorite new show (aired this TV season)
Day 04 - Your favorite show ever
Day 05 - A show you hate
Day 06 - Favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite TV show
Day 08 - A show everyone should watch
Day 09 - Best scene ever
Day 10 - A show you thought you wouldn't like but ended up loving
Day 11 - A show that disappointed you
Day 12 - An episode you've watched more than 5 times
Day 13 - Favorite childhood show
Day 14 - Favorite male character
Day 15 - Favorite female character
Day 16 - Your guilty pleasure show
Day 17 - Favorite mini series
Day 18 - Favorite title sequence
Day 19 - Best TV show cast
Day 20 - Favorite kiss
Day 21 - Favorite ship
Day 22 - Favorite series finale
Day 23 - Most annoying character
Day 24 - Best quote
Day 25 - A show you plan on watching (old or new)
Day 26 - OMG WTF? Season finale
Day 27 - Best pilot episode
Day 28 - First TV show obsession
Day 29 - Current TV show obsession
Day 30 - Saddest character death