The TV Discussion Thread

[MadMan]

When it comes to cartoons these days I only watch Adult Swim, Courage the Cowardly Dog, and Spongebob. I have actually stopped viewing Simpsons reruns, and any new episodes of FOX's Sunday night lineup I miss anyways due to work-and I don't own a VCR. I think they're online but I really have no desire to watch them. I'd say at this point the only shows I look forward to and have the chance to watch in prime time are Pushing Daises and Reaper.

[Henry Gale]

So... the Writers strike looks like it's officially on, which among many things means no late night, or any other type of daily shows. But also it may means stuff like LOST, Battlestar Galactica and 24 that already have episodes in the bag have a good chance of not starting when they were expected to. But if they do start at the expected dates, depending on how long the strike runs, I think that only the ones with shorter seasons like LOST and BSG may be able to actually have normal runs.

LOST has already filmed their first 7 or 8 of the 16-episode season, they have probably written only a few more after that, so filming on those should continue. But I don't know how much input, if any, Lindelof & Cuse are allowed to give, especially with Carlton being one of the main people who decided if the WGA went on strike or not. They also originally said they had hoped to be filming the finale by March, when in previous years they were sometimes shooting them up to the last minute as late as mid-May. So we'll see.

[jenniferofthejungle]

I've got Cracker series one waiting for me at the library. I caught a few episodes on PBS and I loved what I saw, but that was a long time ago. I hope my memory isn't making me think it's better than it actually is.

[Saya]

The discussion about the Boondocks made me curious about this show. So I decided to watch a couple episodes last night. I can't believe I've never watched this. It's fantastic and hilarious! I'm definitely going to check out the rest.

[Kurosawa Fan]

I've only seen the Martin Luther King episode, which everyone said was brilliant, and I found it humorous, but nothing special. Is that one of the best episodes? If so, it's just not my thing.

[Sycophant]

I've only seen the Martin Luther King episode, which everyone said was brilliant, and I found it humorous, but nothing special. Is that one of the best episodes? If so, it's just not my thing.

It is one of the best episodes, but also fairly uncharacteristic of the series. If you were going to check out any more episodes, I'd recommend "A Huey Freeman Christmas," "The Story of Gangstalicious," "The Block Is Hot," or "The Trial of Robert Kelly." Those five are my favorite of the first season.

The show has its flaws and it may very well not be for you, but I'd recommend trying out another episode, if you have the time.

[MadMan]

My favorite episode is A Date With the Health Inspector, followed by Let's Nab Oprah.

[MadMan]

The discussion about the Boondocks made me curious about this show. So I decided to watch a couple episodes last night. I can't believe I've never watched this. It's fantastic and hilarious! I'm definitely going to check out the rest.

Great to hear

KF The Return of the King is indeed the best episode of the series so far. I think its great TV, and I'm sure number8 agrees.

[Irish]

David Fincher's HBO show halts production:

Production on the 1980s music video comedy was stopped abruptly early Thursday, with the cast sent home and told producers hoped to know more about the future of the show Monday, The Hollywood Reporter has learned. A source close to the project indicated that the show was likely not dead, but may undergo some script touch-ups and use the time to catch up on scripts.

HBO declined comment.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/liv...y-stops-802055

[number8]

I tweeted "fuck menus" a while back and Rob Delaney fav'd it. That was a pretty good day.

[Irish]

I hope you guys recorded "NCIS" because it was an exceptionally good episode this week.

[SpaceOddity]

I've got Cracker series one waiting for me at the library. I caught a few episodes on PBS and I loved what I saw, but that was a long time ago. I hope my memory isn't making me think it's better than it actually is.

Is that the British Cracker, or the shite American transposition?
*defensive*

[jenniferofthejungle]

Is that the British Cracker, or the shite American transposition?
*defensive*

The American one does not exist, Rebecca. Everyone knows that.

[Amnesiac]

In regards to Mad Men... one of the many things you can say about this show is that it always knows how to end on a resonating, deeply affecting note.



The crushing toll of perpetual deceit, unchecked infidelity and its concomitant alienation and self-loathing... contained within one expression and one shot.

Some more thoughts on the show, now that some more match-cut folk have finally gotten around to seeing it:

[

Show Spoiler

I'm sure we would all agree that a very large part of the show is the enigma that is Don Draper. What exactly is he running from? I mean, his past, obviously. However, that past is still hazy. What in particular is the source of his alienation/ennui/dislocation? He's given himself a tabula-rasa once before, and supplanted a previous life that was full of yet untold wounds and anguish, yet this new life doesn't seem to be up to par either. It's insufficient, somehow.

Yet, the ambiguity in the show is so marvelous and keeps you guessing. I'm definitely not decrying it. Is it the lies that he has to keep up so obstinately that are distancing himself from people he once genuinely cared about like Betty? The fact that he's only ever giving her half of him, and that he can't find that solace where he can truly be himself... not even in his own "home". He has to keep up this act, this calculated charade, all day and that facade carries on into the domestic space. This part of Don is probably relatively obvious, and I'm dying to find out more.

It could be all this and, of course, more.

After all, he did mention trying to claw in at his life and actually feel attached to it.

]

I also found this quote from creator Matt Weiner interesting:

That image of him sitting there, being Dick Whitman is, who is that person, what's underneath that? He's not just a cipher, he's not just the guy from the horror movie "The Stepfather" who looks in the mirror and wonders "Who am I?" The first car that I bought, I leased it, that I did not own, that did not smell like coffee from driving around as a PA, that I hadn't spilled 80 cups of coffee for all of my bosses cause I was a production assistant and a runner, I got in that car and went, "Who am I now?" If you're lucky and you have roots, you can embrace that. And for a lot of us, it's like "I'm never going back there." Talk to any movie star; they're fighting to be themselves, but at the same time they wanted an extraordinary life. It's like going away to college, and nobody knows you were the one who threw up in the bus in seventh grade. You're not called "Vomity" anymore. That’s not me, but I do remember getting to college and meeting this woman who was so bohemian, and had such a screw you attitude about the world and didn't shave her legs and swore all the time, and she was so crude, and she had a friend visit from high school, and she was the valedictorian, do-gooder, ran every club. The overachieving high school student, and here she was as a chain smoking bohemian in college. It's the transformation of people.

Sometimes, it's a sick feeling to look at who you are, and sometimes it's just something that disappears. That's part of what Peggy is talking about to Pete. She's not talking about the baby. I hope it's not taken literally that way. She's talking about moving on in your life. "I wanted other things," but when she starts talking about that part of her that's gone, there's no one who understands that more than Don.

[...]

You think about that kid digging holes, and now he's got a job, got a model, they have this agreement that's mercenary on paper but obviously comes from what she said: 'We're making both of our lives better.' I don't think he is happier, he's got a chance to say -- when he says he screwed everything up, he can't get into his own life, what man doesn't feel like that? He wants to be in it. Is it the secrecy that's keeping him from getting in it, is it the damage he suffered as a child? This is what there is more for the show.

Source.

I'd be interested in hearing anybody's interpretations on what exactly makes Donald Draper tick. Or better yet, what his torment is all about.

[EyesWideOpen]

Today's amazon.com deal of the day is The Wire Complete Series for $81.99.

[Amnesiac]

Yeah, I'm pretty eager to work my through the second season. It's good to have some new, quality television to watch. I just finished watching the season two premiere today. Pretty intense stuff. I felt like this episode made Hank a little bit more sympathetic. He's really obnoxious most of the time but this is mostly tempered by the fact that he doesn't wear the pants in the house and evidently cares about his wife despite her more annoying/unpleasant qualities. I'm curious to see how the tension between him and Marie will pan out as, quite frankly, Marie is a lot more grating and annoying than Hank is and I'm kind of starting to feel sorry for him.

[Amnesiac]

Moved on to the second episode. Unbearably tense.

[

Show Spoiler

Can't say I'm going to miss Tuco. Man, I hated that prick.

]

[Adam]

Solid night for televised comedy. I missed Parks and Rec but Sunny, The Office and 30 Rock were all good-to-great

30 Rock still needs to break up Jenna & Tracy and trim Kenneth's role, though

[Kurosawa Fan]

Solid night for televised comedy. I missed Parks and Rec but Sunny, The Office and 30 Rock were all good-to-great

30 Rock still needs to break up Jenna & Tracy and trim Kenneth's role, though

I still love Jenna and Tracy, but I'm with you all the way on Kenneth. Sick to death of him, and his various cameos as other people when the show strays from the confines of the building.

[Lazlo]

Did anyone watch the Michael Mann/HBO documentary series Witness that aired last fall? It's about photojournalists in volatile areas. I'm catching up on the DVR and watched the second episode about Libya and was blown away. The episode about Juarez was great too. Really worth checking out if you have a chance.

[ledfloyd]

Finished season 2 of Slings and Arrows last night. Much funnier, and perhaps even better, than the first. Unless season three is complete garbage (and with them doing my favorite Shakespeare play in King Lear, I can't imagine it will be), this is going to be right up there with my absolute favorite comedies. Like Arrested Development, Freaks and Geeks level.

[number8]

[Winston*]

The Comedy Bang Bang musical episode was so good. This show is pretty much the best thing on tv.

[Lazlo]

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2013...n_4156941.html

Eddie Marsan cast as Mr. Norrell and some dude named Bertie Carvel as Jonathan Strange in the BBC mini-series adaptation of Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell. Starts shooting next week. Sure!

[ledfloyd]

Yeah, that Silverman pilot is great.