- After my initial hesitation, Dollhouse won me over. It started with them having The Middleman (Matt Keeslar) [OH MIDDLEMAN, WHY DID YOU HAVE TO DIE?] on the show (Episode 2) and in a role that’s quite the opposite of his Middleman role. And then, at some point in Episode 3 they really had me, which is mostly due to Dichen Lachman and the way the overarching plot is going.
- I finally caught up with Doctor Who (I tried not to watch Season 4 too quickly because then I’d have to be longer without any of it). And people, people… I’ve cried my eyes out! [SPOILER] How could they get rid of Donna Noble (Catherine Tate)? She was the coolest of the companions EVER! And then not even let her remember any of it? That hurts, that really, really hurts! [/SPOILER]
But after the bumpy start I had with David Tennant (because I’m just a Christopher Eccleston fan), I’ve grown to really, really love him and will sorely miss him and now the next doctor is going to have a bumpy start. And the circle continues. - I watched the first episode of Castle. It has potential, but it starts off rather clichéd. If they can give it a bit more of a twist, it can be really good. Because Nathan Fillion is one of the few people who can do saucy (and I love him for it).
Although it’s another one of those shows where they have the rational woman teamed up with the quirky man. - I also watched the first episode of The Mentalist. I don’t think that this one will keep me watching. I’m not much for police shows and you really have to give me characters I love to keep me watching (see The Closer). I don’t think that this will be the case here. But I might give it another try.
And again, it’s a show with the rational woman and the quirky man teamed up… - I started watching Lost… I’m at the beginning of Season 1 (Episode 9) and have been for a while and I seem to be missing something – I don’t see the greatness that is supposed to be this show. Does it get better? Does it have a slow start? Or should I save myself time and stop watching?
- In not so newsy news: I finished Black Books and oh, why does it have to be so short? How I Met Your Mother continues to be awesome. 30 Rock continues to be awesome. Are their any other shows along those lines? SitComs, which are actually funny?
Okay, that’s it. You know now that I spend WAY too much time watching TV shows. Anything you can recommend or would like to warn us about? Comment away!
kalafudra's Stuff 
Lost gets better, then just gets WAY too complex to bother. So you could watch for the fun parts, and if u can sustain the enthusiasm/think it’s worth it, go ahead. A bit like Heroes that way, actually, but weirder. And do you watch The Big Bang Theory? Geeky, but way awesome.
I’ve started watching The Fringe…and 5 episodes in, I’m still not sure what to make of it. Maybe after 10 episodes? (*dives back in*)
Other than that…you know what I’m watching (ie pretty much everything) – no recs from me.
true blood ist toll, und curb your enthusiasm… und that 70s show mag ich *peinlichpeinlich.
@ramblingperfectionist:
So, I guess that I’ll keep watching Lost, at least for a bit. :)
The Big Bang Theory – had never heard of it. Will give it a try.
@deadra:
Keep me updated about Fringe, will you?
@die andere:
True Blood ist echt super.
Curb Your Enthusiasm: werd ich mir mal anschauen, aber Seinfeld war nie so meins – ist es ähnlich vom Humor?
Alright…here’s my take on Fringe after 7 episodes:
It’s good.
I like the characters, and I’m very enthusiastic about a concept that leaves it to the viewers to decide just how deeply they want to engage with the show (do I just watch it unfold or do I look for the hidden clues in each episode, try to decypher the code, …).
The science itself is, obviously, closer to Dr Horrible than to actual science, and sometimes that bugs me…but most of the time that’s alright.
The one thing that *really* bugs me is that they sometimes seem to go out of their way to squick the viewer, just because they can. There is no narrative reason whatsoever to have a doctor say: “We have to open him up!”, then *show* him make the incision, and *show* him pushing the patient’s ribs apart with that metal contraption thingy that I can’t remember the name of (complete with sound effects to make Jerry Bruckheimer weep with joy). There is no reason to show this. Not if you’re not having them realize that Something Is Horribly Wrong until after the next cut, when there’s a clear view into the big hole in the guy’s chest.
But that’s just me. I don’t go for gratuitous gross-ness.
Okay, I’ll give Fringe a try, when I have the time. As I don’t mind grossness, even if I don’t actually need it, I guess I wouldn’t have a problem with the cutting…
And hidden clues? That is awesome! At the moment, I’m very much in clues-mood. I was actually thinking of reading some crime novel (yeah, me!), where you can guess along. Anything to recommend there?
I admit I prefer to watch crime stuff rather than read it, so you should probably ask your Mum instead. You should find out what you’re looking for in a crime novel. Do you want a specific detective to follow or a stand-alone story? Do you want gritty realism? Do you prefer a specific period? Do you want “simple” murder cases or convoluted conspiracies? Do you want moral ambivalence?
The possibilities are endless (and I love it).
But, (assuming that you haven’t read it already) if you want to *really* guess along, I’d point you to the classic: “And Then There Were None” – Agatha Christie
Lost has been a thrill ride since Season 1. It’s one of the best experiences for me on TV.
I’ve tried to stick to Fringe, but it’s getting quite tedious. Castle was refreshing. Sarah Connor Chronicles was awesome, but is now trying to win over more audience by dumbing down. Legend of the Seeker is sweet sweet escapism (and not to mention – one of the best looking shows on TV; you can never go wrong with fantasy and New Zealand). Battlestar Galactica was becoming underwhelming till Adama gets drunk and decides to let go of the ageing ship.
p.s. I bought all 3 seasons of Avatar: The Las Airbender on DVD and am blown away by it.
@deadra:
I’ve read a couple of Agatha Christies. And Then There Were None being one of them.
In this case, my mum’s not the right perso to ask. The way she reads novels, she wouldn’t know if there was a clue anyway. Unless it was written in big fat letters: DON’T SKIP A WORD HERE, CLUE COMING UP!
Stand Alone would be fine, just to get the clue itch out of my system. Period: Don’t care. And I’m usually more for the realistic settings. But primarily it’s about doing some guess work. :)
@The Mute Oracle:
Can I just ask you: did you like Lost from the very beginning or did it take some time to get into it?
Sarah Connor Chronicles is waiting for me to start watching them… But dumbing down is not good.
Legend of the Seeker: Watched the first four or five episodes and then got seriously annoyed with the whole thing. And bored. It’s always the same!
Battlestar Galactica… yeah, I should probably watch that. Maybe I will. :)
Avatar: It doesn’t really sound interesting to me – is it good enough to get into, even if the description sounds kinda… old?
Of course you’ve read “And Then There Were None”…what were the odds.
Alright then…Laurie R King’s Kate Martinelli (Book 1: “A Grave Talent”) complex stories that make sense, set in San Francisco, with a detective who happens to be a lesbian. Why that woman isn’t known over here baffles me.
Another lesser known pleasure of mine: Boris Akunin (I found his Erast Fandorin a little bland as a character, but he makes up for it with strong narrative, and Sister Pelagia is waiting on my “To Read”-List).
My Mum suggests “all those Swedish guys” (Mankell, Nesser, Nesbo, Holt, …).
I say, if you’re going to “go mainstream”, you can’t go wrong with American Ladies writing British detectives: Elizabeth George (heavy on the character’s personal lives), Deborah Crombie, …
@Kalafudra: Yep. I loved it from the start. Took 3 days off from college in my 2nd year to watch the entire season 1 episodes on DVD back to back (Lost Season 1 came to India a bit late. But pirated DVDs got in way earlier).
Sarah Connor Chronicles was really really good towards the end of season 1 and the beginning of season 2.
Out ot curiosity – do you watch Chuck? It’s been one of my guilty pleasures since Season 1 episode 1
@deadra:
As I’ve read about three books by Agatha Christie, the odds weren’t that bad…
Thanks for the suggestions! I’ll look into the books and see what strikes my fancy. :)
Probably Boris Akunin… or Laurie R. King. Or I’ll raid my mom’s library, who has about everything ever written by those American ladies. And most of the Swedish guys.
@TMO:
I watched the first five or so episodes of Chuck, but then got really bored with it. Not my thing.
About Lost… I don’t know. I guess I’ll watch a couple more episodes and then see.
SCC is waiting for me already. But as I never watched an entire Terminator movie before, I thought that I should watch that first.
I share your sadness re: Doctor Who – both companionwise and Tennantwise. (Trying not to spoil your spoiler as I have no clue how to put this in spoiler tags!)
I was convinced Donna would be a blimmin’ dreadful companion. And while I was a fan of David in Casanova, I was unconvinced of him as the Doctor… they both proved me conclusively wrong, and season 4 now stands as my favourite series overall, even though I loved some of the specific episodes in other series.
Will sorely miss them both.
The first time I saw Donna I thought that she would make a great companion! I was actualy disappointed that Martha came first. :)
But I guess we can agree that they were great in the end and that we’ll be missing them…
I was so convinced she’d be bad… she totally won me over… I missed her at Christmas! I re-watched the Special she was in and enjoyed it far more on repeated viewing… but series 4 she really came into her own. I had no idea Catherine Tate was so incredibly versitile and capable, if I’m honest!
Catherine Tate is great in general. A very capable and funny woman… There’s too few of them anyway and now they cut her short on Doctor Who that’s really sad…
To be honest, prior to DW I hadn’t seen any of her work as a straight actress… I’ve caught up since and have been extremely impressed. I must confess I had no idea how talented she was.
I’m torn about her leaving, and the way she left, because on one hand I would not have wanted to miss a really moving end-of-season, but on the other, I would have liked to see her return, and especially with David leaving it would have been great to have more continuity with the new Doctor; I really enjoyed Rose having to get used to a new Doctor… I think Catherine/Donna’s take on that would have been brilliant.
Oh, my thoughts exactly!
I would have loved to see that – Donna’s reaction to the new Doctor that is. And I just resent it that she never has the possibility to come back, not even as a guest star, like Martha or Rose.
But just as you said the I would not have wanted to miss a really moving end-of-season either.
Difficult choices all around…