Octopus Overlords

We've been watching House of Cards while waiting for something better. I like it when Kevin Spacy is having fun, which is most of the time he's on screen, but I find myself less and less interested in the actual plot. (I can't stand Zoe, but I gather this becomes less of a problem later.)

My new gym schedule has me there at 6:30 a.m., when reruns of The Dukes of Hazzard are on. Somehow I cannot look away.

Holman wrote:We've been watching House of Cards while waiting for something better. I like it when Kevin Spacy is having fun, which is most of the time he's on screen, but I find myself less and less interested in the actual plot. (I can't stand Zoe, but I gather this becomes less of a problem later.)

My new gym schedule has me there at 6:30 a.m., when reruns of The Dukes of Hazzard are on. Somehow I cannot look away.

The actress who plays Zoe has an interesting background. One of her great-grandfathers founded the NY Giants, while another founded the Pittsburgh Steelers. And yes, she does become less of an issue later on, so to speak. I'm honestly surprised that HoC has a third season coming. I thought season two had a wonderful ending. It felt like the last page of a good novel or the last scene of a good film.

We started watching How I Met Your Mother. I know there's a thread on it around somewhere, but I haven't bothered to look at it. Honestly I've gotten a bit bored with it already (by the end of season 1). I enjoy NPH in general, but his character isn't especially dynamic. Pretty much just seems like a revival of Friends to me. It isn't terrible, of course. I just feel like I've seen this stuff already. My wife likes it though, so we keep watching.

Oh, and I started watching My Name is Earl. It doesn't seem like the sort of show I would like, but I really find the writing hysterical. I feel like I've run into all of those people in my town.

OMG! I forgot about that show. Very funny. Not sure how many season it went but believe we watched at least 2 seasons of it. Seems like that all it had.

As I said in this thread, I'm watching Garfunkel & Oates, although I certainly don't recommend it. The comedy is mostly cringeworthy and their songs work better on the web.

Finished up season 8 of Scrubs. I am seriously considering leaving it there and not bothering with the half-season they attempted to pass the torch.

Oh, and Kraken, the ukulele player from G&O figures in Season's 8's character growth.

That's the right choice Isg. The ending of season 8 is one of the best series finales ever IMO and is the true end for that show.

The half-season isn't horrible (it actually gets fairly decent by the end) but it's not Scrubs.

Iron Chef - Battle Octopus is on now.

Watche Extract, the Mike Judge file with Jason Bateman and other well known actors. At best it was mildly amusing.

Working my way through Season 1 of Psycho Pass, a rather dark and violent anime about a dystopian future where a central computer determines that, if you're a "latent criminal", you should be removed from polite society as a preventative measure.

paulbaxter wrote:Oh, and I started watching My Name is Earl. It doesn't seem like the sort of show I would like, but I really find the writing hysterical. I feel like I've run into all of those people in my town.

After this watch Raising Hope.

We went to see The Maze Runner last night. It was a pretty good film, all things considered. Obviously, it's going to invite Hunger Games comparisons, but I think it did a good job in carving out its niche.

Also, it has Thomas Brodie-Sangster in a major role. Game of Thrones watchers will know him from playing Jojen Reed as part of Bran's story line.

I've caught up on Homeland over the last month or two. The first two seasons were great. Third wasn't great but also wasn't not nearly has bad as people had made it out to be. So far I don't feel very invested in this current season, but hopefully that'll change.

Anybody else watch the Mindy Project? I started because we didn't have any other sitcoms on the recording schedule and Mindy Kaling is local. Thought the first two seasons were OK, nothing special but some clever writing now and then. This season, though, they decided to go raunchy (or "edgy" I suppose). After the first few episodes I'm nearly ready to zap it from the schedule.

I like it, but it has really upped the raunch factor. When they focus an entire episode around anal sex, they may being trying to push the envelope a bit too much. I'm still on board for now, though.

Yeah that one was especially tasteless and offensive. If there are more like that, or even if the focus stays on sex week after week, I'll be dropping out. I consider it "on probation."

Currently watching...

The Walking Dead
Game of Thrones (season 4)
Sons of Anarchy
American Horror Story - Freakshow

SoA has gone downhill in recent seasons and the final season has not improved things, but I've come this far and I need to see if certain people die. The killing this season has reached Commando-level casualty rates so the law of averages is on my side.

The first season of Cinemax's The Knick ended this past weekend. Me and the wife thought it was a excellent season from start to finish. While Clive Owen, as one might expect, was definitely the linchpin of the show, the supporting cast did a really good job as well. Looks like it got renewed for a 2nd season, which we were glad to hear.

John Wick was much better than anticipated. There were times I was giggling.

Watched Tombstone for the first time last night. There was about half of a good movie there...

Isgrimnur wrote:John Wick was much better than anticipated. There were times I was giggling.

Did I mention that it has the Mayhem dude and Theon Greyjoy in it?

Mike Tyson Mysteries

Not earth shattering, but I see potential.

If the point of the show is to have Mike Tyson try and pronounce ridiculous words like "Chupacabra" or "Cormac McCarthy", every week will be a winner.

We watched Master and Commander: Long Movie Title last night. It was decent, nothing we were absolutely in love with.

Just binged watched the 1st season of The Wire. Wow, great show so far. Yes, I'm late to the party.

Rewatching The Good Wife with my girlfriend who hasn't seen it before. What a great show, even the second time through. The writing is so amazing - probably the best, most consistent writing on network TV.

Unfortunately, despite my warnings, she googled the show and had the Big Season 5 Event spoiled.

Just moved on to Season 2 of Chuck. Second time watching, first time for my kids. I had really forgotten what a fun show this was.

hentzau wrote:Just moved on to Season 2 of Chuck. Second time watching, first time for my kids. I had really forgotten what a fun show this was.

Even though it would have been short for a new series, I was kind of hoping that Chuck would have ended at season 2. It was the perfect ending for me.

Finished off Burn Notice this evening. It was a fun ride.

Last night, Hell's Kitchen and The Voice were on, but both shows were largely background noise. I don't think either my wife or I know or care who's still alive in Hell's Kitchen, and while we probably paid a little more attention to The Voice, there are still too many singers to bother remembering who they are. In a few weeks it'll be more manageable.

The 2003 version of A Wrinkle in Time isn't very good, despite being rather studded with recognizable faces.

The wif and I are current on The Blacklist, and thus able to watch last night's post-SB with an immediacy.

In the absence of a Blacklist or Supernatural backlog, I have directed us into viewing Sleepy Hollow, which appears to gain traction. It has whatever elements from Salem that appealed to her that somehow were wasted on me, and meshing those with a Supernatural vibe. We're about five episodes in, but I think we're in it for the long haul.

Sleepy Hollow has slipped somewhat since they wrapped up their story arc. The past several weeks have been mediocre monster-of-the-week episodes. I expect that they'll find a new groove eventually. The cast is mostly good (although we both despise Katrina; is she written that way? or is the actress unlikeable?) and the writing is decent. My only complaint is that it's so plot-heavy that the dialog is 95% exposition, whereas what I enjoy most is the repartee between Ichabod and the Leftenant.

Kraken wrote:(although we both despise Katrina; is she written that way? or is the actress unlikeable?)

Ask the Dexter folks. She had a nine-episode run Season 7 as Nadia. They might be able to give you a perspective on the actress.

Last week featured the actress who played HG in Warehouse 13. I racked my brain for 20 minutes before her identity snapped into place.

I can't explain why Katrina irritates me as much as she does. I think she's written that way -- full of herself and mostly useless for someone who's supposed to be a "powerful witch" (as they called her last week). I don't know any Dexter folks to ask unless they're reading this thread.

I just finished up Black Mirror (basically British Twilight Zone but futuristic/technology driven). Great series though I enjoyed certain episodes much more than others.

I also finished up The Fall which I absolutely love. Gillian Anderson is amazing in it.

My wife and I are also deep in the middle of the latest season of Downton Abbey, which is probably the best bad show on television.

I just watched a new Mel Brooks stand-up show. I think it would be hard for anyone who didn't grow up watching his movies to find it funny, but I've always been a big fan.

Kraken wrote:Sleepy Hollow has slipped somewhat since they wrapped up their story arc. The past several weeks have been mediocre monster-of-the-week episodes. I expect that they'll find a new groove eventually. The cast is mostly good (although we both despise Katrina; is she written that way? or is the actress unlikeable?) and the writing is decent. My only complaint is that it's so plot-heavy that the dialog is 95% exposition, whereas what I enjoy most is the repartee between Ichabod and the Leftenant.

This sums up our thoughts on SH to a tee - right down to both of us hating Katrina (and rooting for them to kill her off).

I've got the last three episodes sitting in my hulu queue and no desire to watch them. It has been a pretty steep decline in quality. I knew things were going downhill when they introduced "Indiana Oliver" to the show...the annoying dealer in supernatural antiquities.

Isgrimnur wrote:As Above So Below in a theater showing.

Sense. This movie makes little. You'd be better off watching Goonies again.

Watched this movie two nights ago. It was terrible. I laughed multiple times which I don't believe was the director's intent.

Terrible.

Just finished rewatching X-Men: First Class after originally seeing it in the theatres. I really liked it back then, but now, it just received a big fat 'meh' from me. It takes forever to get moving and the setpieces aren't even all that exciting. And I felt the plot was meandering all over the place. And something about it being set in the past made it more distracting than if it had been set in present day, something that I originally didn't mind. I was originally watching this so that I could follow it up with Days of Future Past, but now I'm not sure.