Television I've Been Watching
May. 17th, 2016 04:37 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
brigdhFor the last few months, I've actually had a crowded schedule of TV watching! This is remarkable for me, since I almost never watch shows as they air, much less watch multiple ones with conflicting schedules. They've now dropped off one by one, as their seasons ended, and so now I am late to the party with recommendations (well, mostly).
Sleepy Hollow
See, the tragic thing is that I was mostly enjoying Season 3. There were multiple new characters of color introduced, many of whom I liked a lot! Daniel Reynolds: yes, Abbie totally SHOULD have a sexy sexy boss with whom she has past sexual tension! Sophie Foster: yes, more kick-ass fighter women, I am into this! I ship Jenny/Joe, and the way they handled Jenny's commitment issues was mostly well-done and I was excited to see where they would go with it! Ichabod's tragic grieving while separated from Abbie for a few episodes was fantastic angst – as long as I presumed it would have an eventual happy ending. The new villains were boring, but eh, they were perfectly adequate at setting up Monster of the Week type plots, and I don't need my villains to do anything more than that.
And then there was that season finale which, in addition to all the other REALLY OBVIOUS ISSUES, didn't even make sense on a story-telling level. It was exact repeat of what had happened in the season break! Except now Ichabod was just cool with Abbie dying?
Anyway, I'm sure you've all seen the millions of meta posts on this topic so I don't feel like hashing it out all over again, but it is absolutely one of the most inexplicable and dumb (and, you know, racist) choices I've seen a TV show make.
iZombie
But on a happier note, I continue to adore this show. It needs more of a fandom! It's not at all full of graphic violence or grimdark like you might expect from a show about zombies; it's an adorable procedural with a very cute premise (Liv, the main zombie, solves murders by eating the brains of the victims – this also causes her to take on some of their personality traits) and wonderful characters. My particular favorite is Ravi, Liv's boss/friend, who is a funny, nerdy doctor who handles Liv's personality-of-the-week with admirable nonchalance.
Anyway, this season was great, I'm so glad Clive finally knows about zombies, and I'm very excited at how they've set up a Blackwater-esque military contractor to be next season's Big Bad.
Hap & Leonard
A six episode miniseries based on a book series that I've read a few of. Hap is an ex-hippie, straight white liberal; Hap is a black, gay Republican; together theyfight crime get into trouble, call one another "brother", and are generally adorable.
I haven't read the particular book this miniseries was based on, but it did have a different feel than the ones I've read: less humor and irony, more taking the guys seriously as action stars. Possibly that's just the difference from the first book in a series to the later ones, though.
I feel like I should issue a warning for the fifth episode, which has a torture and gunbattle sequence that is absolutely some of the most brutal stuff I've ever seen. And I watch a lot of horror movies, including during the 00's awful tortureporn phase! I've seen some brutal stuff. I was still shocked by this.
They haven't confirmed a second season yet, but I do hope it gets one. It might not have been everything I hoped for, but I'd definitely watch more.
Underground
Okay, now we're to my favorite, absolutely the best thing I've seen this year! Underground is set in Georgia in 1857, and is about the Underground Railroad, but it is very much not eat-your-vegetables TV. It's shot like a heist movie. There are action sequences, huge twists in practically every episode, modern music used in the score, and no clear lines between "good" characters and "bad" characters. There are fandom-favorite actors involved, particularly Aldis Hodge (Hardison from Leverage) and Marc Blucas (Riley from BtVS). Over on tumblr, I am co-running "dailyunderground", so follow for gifsets and such.
Also yes, I am shipping Noah/Rosalee/Cato, someone write me a fanfic.
Game of Thrones
Eh, apparently I am still watching this show. I'm kind of grumpy because I haven't liked the first five episodes, but they seem to have been popular in fandom, so I have no one to share my snark with. It... could be worse, I guess? I just want to read the books, to be honest.
And now I have to decide what to start watching next. I've been meaning to watch Black Sails for ages (Pirates! :D ) but it doesn't seem to be easily accessible anywhere – it's not on either Hulu or Netflix, and I don't have Starz. I've also heard good things about Wynonna Earp, which just started this season and thus should be easy to catch up with: a big plus! And I guess I should watch the second season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, since I enjoyed the first so much. Also everyone keeps telling me to watch Jessica Jones? So, uh, I guess I should do that too. Anyway! Tell me which one I should watch first, if you have opinions.
Sleepy Hollow
See, the tragic thing is that I was mostly enjoying Season 3. There were multiple new characters of color introduced, many of whom I liked a lot! Daniel Reynolds: yes, Abbie totally SHOULD have a sexy sexy boss with whom she has past sexual tension! Sophie Foster: yes, more kick-ass fighter women, I am into this! I ship Jenny/Joe, and the way they handled Jenny's commitment issues was mostly well-done and I was excited to see where they would go with it! Ichabod's tragic grieving while separated from Abbie for a few episodes was fantastic angst – as long as I presumed it would have an eventual happy ending. The new villains were boring, but eh, they were perfectly adequate at setting up Monster of the Week type plots, and I don't need my villains to do anything more than that.
And then there was that season finale which, in addition to all the other REALLY OBVIOUS ISSUES, didn't even make sense on a story-telling level. It was exact repeat of what had happened in the season break! Except now Ichabod was just cool with Abbie dying?
Anyway, I'm sure you've all seen the millions of meta posts on this topic so I don't feel like hashing it out all over again, but it is absolutely one of the most inexplicable and dumb (and, you know, racist) choices I've seen a TV show make.
iZombie
But on a happier note, I continue to adore this show. It needs more of a fandom! It's not at all full of graphic violence or grimdark like you might expect from a show about zombies; it's an adorable procedural with a very cute premise (Liv, the main zombie, solves murders by eating the brains of the victims – this also causes her to take on some of their personality traits) and wonderful characters. My particular favorite is Ravi, Liv's boss/friend, who is a funny, nerdy doctor who handles Liv's personality-of-the-week with admirable nonchalance.
Anyway, this season was great, I'm so glad Clive finally knows about zombies, and I'm very excited at how they've set up a Blackwater-esque military contractor to be next season's Big Bad.
Hap & Leonard
A six episode miniseries based on a book series that I've read a few of. Hap is an ex-hippie, straight white liberal; Hap is a black, gay Republican; together they
I haven't read the particular book this miniseries was based on, but it did have a different feel than the ones I've read: less humor and irony, more taking the guys seriously as action stars. Possibly that's just the difference from the first book in a series to the later ones, though.
I feel like I should issue a warning for the fifth episode, which has a torture and gunbattle sequence that is absolutely some of the most brutal stuff I've ever seen. And I watch a lot of horror movies, including during the 00's awful tortureporn phase! I've seen some brutal stuff. I was still shocked by this.
They haven't confirmed a second season yet, but I do hope it gets one. It might not have been everything I hoped for, but I'd definitely watch more.
Underground
Okay, now we're to my favorite, absolutely the best thing I've seen this year! Underground is set in Georgia in 1857, and is about the Underground Railroad, but it is very much not eat-your-vegetables TV. It's shot like a heist movie. There are action sequences, huge twists in practically every episode, modern music used in the score, and no clear lines between "good" characters and "bad" characters. There are fandom-favorite actors involved, particularly Aldis Hodge (Hardison from Leverage) and Marc Blucas (Riley from BtVS). Over on tumblr, I am co-running "dailyunderground", so follow for gifsets and such.
Also yes, I am shipping Noah/Rosalee/Cato, someone write me a fanfic.
Game of Thrones
Eh, apparently I am still watching this show. I'm kind of grumpy because I haven't liked the first five episodes, but they seem to have been popular in fandom, so I have no one to share my snark with. It... could be worse, I guess? I just want to read the books, to be honest.
And now I have to decide what to start watching next. I've been meaning to watch Black Sails for ages (Pirates! :D ) but it doesn't seem to be easily accessible anywhere – it's not on either Hulu or Netflix, and I don't have Starz. I've also heard good things about Wynonna Earp, which just started this season and thus should be easy to catch up with: a big plus! And I guess I should watch the second season of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, since I enjoyed the first so much. Also everyone keeps telling me to watch Jessica Jones? So, uh, I guess I should do that too. Anyway! Tell me which one I should watch first, if you have opinions.
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no subject
Date: 2016-05-17 09:47 pm (UTC)(I knew you'd get around to Noah/Rosalee/Cato eventually :P)
no subject
Date: 2016-05-20 08:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-18 12:42 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-18 01:23 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-18 04:19 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-20 08:08 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-18 06:26 am (UTC)I haven't watched any new GoT. I used to love it, but over the years its many issues have begun to outweigh the positives. Maybe I'll catch up at some point, I dunno.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-20 08:09 pm (UTC)That's pretty much my feelings of GoT. I'm just sort of caught in the inertia of continuing to watch at the moment.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-19 03:38 am (UTC)Warning:there is some rape in it, but it's not shot pruriently and is depicted as terrible.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-20 08:11 pm (UTC)Thank you for the warning! I'm not too bothered by rape in my media, though.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-21 09:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-05-24 06:00 pm (UTC)a belated reply
Date: 2016-05-24 02:30 am (UTC)I gave up on GoT awhile ago (glad I did given what I know of Sansa's arc) but the bits I'm seeing about Brienne intrigue me.
I keep debating if I want to give iZombie a try. Hap & Leonard and Underground are ones that haven't been on my radar but sound interesting. I'll give them a try once they're available at the library.
As for show recs:
The Flash. It's an upbeat FUN superhero show that pulls of some really solid plot twists and brings the angst in a way that doesn't feel broody or overdone like so much other superhero stuff these days. It'll have serious end-of-the-world moments AND evil telepathic gorillas. Love that they took several white characters from the comics and cast black actors instead (who've all been EXCELLENT). I have multiple coworkers of varying ages who watch it religiously, which I don't think has ever happened to me before.
How to Get Away with Murder. This one does some really clever shit with storytelling because it jumps around in time from the present before a murder happened to the future after it did, slowly filling in details with each flash forward. Extremely engaging and well-acted with gray morality all over, like a gorgeous train wreck.
Person of Interest. I didn't expect to get into it but kept hearing good things. I finally checked it out once I heard a fan-favorite slash ship becomes canon (it does! and it's excellent). S1 starts out weak but s2-3 has some really amazing shit if you're willing to keep going.
no subject
Date: 2016-05-24 06:07 pm (UTC)I hope the actress goes on to do way cooler stuff.
Same. I know she was in a rom-com a few years ago, called "My Last Day Without You", where she plays a singer. I've been meaning to watch it, and this is a good time to check it out!
Thank you for the recs! I'd heard a little bit about 'How To Get Away With Murder' and 'Person of interest', but 'Flash' is totally new to me. I'm adding them to my list!
no subject
Date: 2016-05-29 05:56 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2016-06-07 02:35 am (UTC)