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Author Topic: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched  (Read 226297 times)

pixote

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Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« on: August 05, 2012, 01:51:10 AM »
Revisited the South Park's "Imaginationland" trilogy from 2007. Still pretty good, but no episode from it is going to contend for my Top 20 tv episodes of all time. I'd forgotten that the basis of the whole thing was fearmongering about terrorism. Added a nice-ish edge, I guess, but the whole thing wasn't as epic and cinematic as I remembered. Still a lot of fun to spot the various imaginary references. Very good but not great.

The Office (US): 2.1 “The Dundies” (2005)
”I feel God in this Chili's tonight.”

I’m not a season 1 hater. With the exception of the very first episode, in general I think it’s pretty strong, but 2.1 is a huge leap forward in establishing its own tone and rhythm. There are many other episodes from season 2 and 3 that I like as much, but for me there is just something so re-watchable about “The Dundies”. I think this one establishes Michael’s thing for Ryan, so it's got that going for it. The one strike against "The Dundies" is that the true Kelly persona was not yet there. Pam’s acceptance speech is oddly affecting. 

I also revisited the first three episodes of the second season of The Office (US). "The Dundies" has some nice moments (Pam's acceptance speech being the highlight) but also a lot of jokes that miss. A few of the problems from season one definitely remain. "Sexual Harassment" (2.2) is a slight step backwards. It's not until the end of "Office Olympics" (2.3) that the show begins to make a bid for greatness. Case in point:


"What the hell is that?"  "Those are the doves."

Curious to keep watching and try to pinpoint what my favorite episode is.

pixote
« Last Edit: August 05, 2012, 02:10:20 AM by pixote »
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mañana

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #1 on: August 15, 2012, 02:38:26 PM »
Men of a Certain Age: 1.1 - 1.7
Now through seven episodes, I can safely say that this show rarely rises above decent. The producers are smart enough to not frame the trials and tribulations of the middle-class man as too self-pitying, moreover I can certainly relate to the central theme that life is one humiliation after another. When it obviously reaches too far for existential meaning (“you’re always late because you don’t want the spare time to think about where your life is going, man”), it definitely falls flat but the cast chemistry smoothes some of that over. Surprisingly it’s not Andre Braugher that I keep coming back for, oddly Ray Romano feels like the stand out to me. Weird, eh?

Terriers: 1.1
I totally get the Rockford Files comparisons, but Donal Logue is most definitely no James Garner. The pilot was fine but the mystery of the week was pretty perfunctory. Based on all the acclaim I assume it gets better.   

Lonestar: 1.1
I’m not saying there’s a literal fantasy element to this or anything, but with all the daddy issues and confidence games the tone of this felt like one long season 1 or 2 Lost flashback. I kept expecting to cut back to the island. More importantly, Tyra Collette remains exquisite.

The Shield:  1.1
Took me by surprise how much this looks and feels like NYPD Blue or something.  Its post-Sopranos, so the anti-hero lead is a murderer rather than just a drunk, but the structure of the episode just felt very old-fashioned in a way. The surprise ending and Chiklis and Pounder’s performances are more than enough to bring me back, though I’m not really in any hurry for some reason.

Friends: Season 3 - Season 7
The wardrobe designer must have absolutely hated Courtney Cox. Rachel is dressed as sophisticated and for Phoebe they go quirky, but for some reason Monica is in dowdy prints and sexless pants. I guess maybe the wardrobe people were picking up on the competitive, “one of the guys” aspects of her character and translated that into late 70s lesbian. Very confusing. The other main takeaway here is that in numerous episodes Joey eats sandwiches, and it’s funnier than you expect it to be. My sister should get better DVDs.   

Taxi: not sure
Gritty, 70s New Hollywood bleeds into television; essential to the show is an inescapable sense of failure. Cheers did a similar, though less bleak tribute to the underdog in its early days, something I think was eventually lost. Anyway, the Taxi epis I saw weren’t particularly funny. I need to find out which are considered the classics and try those. Marilu Henner in 1979 was a force of sexiness to reckon with.
« Last Edit: August 15, 2012, 03:01:47 PM by mañana »
There's no deceit in the cauliflower.

smirnoff

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #2 on: August 15, 2012, 06:13:04 PM »
Curious to keep watching and try to pinpoint what my favorite episode is.

That would be tough :)


Friends: Season 3 - Season 7
The wardrobe designer must have absolutely hated Courtney Cox. Rachel is dressed as sophisticated and for Phoebe they go quirky, but for some reason Monica is in dowdy prints and sexless pants. I guess maybe the wardrobe people were picking up on the competitive, “one of the guys” aspects of her character and translated that into late 70s lesbian. Very confusing. The other main takeaway here is that in numerous episodes Joey eats sandwiches, and it’s funnier than you expect it to be. My sister should get better DVDs.   

:)) I can picture those pants now!

mañana

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #3 on: August 15, 2012, 07:20:09 PM »
:)) I can picture those pants now!
Heh, I don't remember which ones, but certain seasons she was certainly not made to look her best.
There's no deceit in the cauliflower.

roujin

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #4 on: August 15, 2012, 09:07:58 PM »
these big bang theory episodes aren't gonna watch themselves...

mañana

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #5 on: August 16, 2012, 08:15:51 AM »
 :-*
There's no deceit in the cauliflower.

Junior

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #6 on: August 16, 2012, 01:32:27 PM »
Sports Night is awesome.
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pixote

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #7 on: August 21, 2012, 04:21:39 PM »
I love when mañana talks tv.

Men of a Certain Age: 1.1 - 1.7
Now through seven episodes, I can safely say that this show rarely rises above decent. The producers are smart enough to not frame the trials and tribulations of the middle-class man as too self-pitying, moreover I can certainly relate to the central theme that life is one humiliation after another. When it obviously reaches too far for existential meaning (“you’re always late because you don’t want the spare time to think about where your life is going, man”), it definitely falls flat but the cast chemistry smoothes some of that over. Surprisingly it’s not Andre Braugher that I keep coming back for, oddly Ray Romano feels like the stand out to me. Weird, eh?

When I first saw the previews for this show, I assumed I would probably end up watching it some day as part of my in-flight entertainment. Still waiting.

Terriers: 1.1
I totally get the Rockford Files comparisons, but Donal Logue is most definitely no James Garner. The pilot was fine but the mystery of the week was pretty perfunctory. Based on all the acclaim I assume it gets better.   

I haven't heard of this show, but I'm intrigued by these alleged Rockford Files comparisons and the alleged acclaim and the idea of Donal Logue as a private eye (unless it's from the creators of Psych or some show like that).

Lonestar: 1.1
I’m not saying there’s a literal fantasy element to this or anything, but with all the daddy issues and confidence games the tone of this felt like one long season 1 or 2 Lost flashback. I kept expecting to cut back to the island. More importantly, Tyra Collette remains exquisite.

That's a pretty damning review!

The Shield:  1.1
Took me by surprise how much this looks and feels like NYPD Blue or something.  Its post-Sopranos, so the anti-hero lead is a murderer rather than just a drunk, but the structure of the episode just felt very old-fashioned in a way. The surprise ending and Chiklis and Pounder’s performances are more than enough to bring me back, though I’m not really in any hurry for some reason.

I've only ever seen one episode of The Shield. The writing swerved sharply from pleasantly smart to inexplicably stupid almost from line-to-line.

Friends: Season 3 - Season 7
The wardrobe designer must have absolutely hated Courtney Cox. Rachel is dressed as sophisticated and for Phoebe they go quirky, but for some reason Monica is in dowdy prints and sexless pants. I guess maybe the wardrobe people were picking up on the competitive, “one of the guys” aspects of her character and translated that into late 70s lesbian. Very confusing. The other main takeaway here is that in numerous episodes Joey eats sandwiches, and it’s funnier than you expect it to be. My sister should get better DVDs.   

LOLawesome.

Taxi: not sure
Gritty, 70s New Hollywood bleeds into television; essential to the show is an inescapable sense of failure. Cheers did a similar, though less bleak tribute to the underdog in its early days, something I think was eventually lost. Anyway, the Taxi epis I saw weren’t particularly funny. I need to find out which are considered the classics and try those. Marilu Henner in 1979 was a force of sexiness to reckon with.

If Taxi comes to Instant Netflix, I'll probably dive into it. Then again, that's true of a lot of shows, I suppose.

pixote
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roujin

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #8 on: October 08, 2012, 10:13:25 AM »
these happy endings episodes aren't gonna watch themselves.

pixote

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Re: Review the Last TV Episode/Season/Series You Watched
« Reply #9 on: October 08, 2012, 11:33:54 AM »
Definitely enjoyed the first two episodes of Last Resort. Much much better than Revolutions (or whatever it's called), which I've found to be unwatchable; and better than I remember the first two episodes of Jericho to be. It feels like a show that will crumple under the weight of its own epic vision in short order, but I'm enjoying the ride for now. I'd have more faith in it if the producers committed ahead of time to telling the whole story in a single season or maybe two. Open-ended end dates seem to be killing these kinds of shows nowadays, as writers struggle to draw out stories that demand instead to be told more succinctly.

pixote
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