The Omnibox: all things television

[Ask Mr. Religion]

Who knew you'd be watching that stuff? :rotfl:

Heh! I like to watch shows with an occultic bent. My son goes bonkers every time I find a Jesus metaphor, lesson, example, etc., real or imagined, in them all. He absolutely refused to watch the latest Superman flick with me because of the rampant "my one and only son" themes in it. He groaned throughout the viewing of the Thor movies each time I chimed in about this or that Biblical analogy.

AMR

 

[Town Heretic]

Heh! I like to watch shows with an occultic bent.

I'm curious about your reaction to Constantine then. I thought it was uneven, but the lead has something and the eye candy/potential romantic angle is interesting enough. And what's the deal with his oldest best friend's ability to get away with murder, after an inverted fashion?

What else...

Gotham has been surprisingly fresh.

The Mysteries of Laura...like why anyone thought this was a good idea.

Forever...not sure. I liked the lead better as Hornblower. And didn't we see this one before a few years ago on NBC?

Looking forward to Elementary returning on CBS.

Still enjoying Spader's turn on the ever murky Blacklist.

The new Doctor Who may just end up being my favorite incarnation in some time.

Brooklyn Nine-Nine is the best comedic ensemble piece going.

 

[Lighthouse]

I'm curious about your reaction to Constantine then. I thought it was uneven, but the lead has something and the eye candy/potential romantic angle is interesting enough. And what's the deal with his oldest best friend's ability to get away with murder, after an inverted fashion?

I'll be watching that on DVR shortly.

What else...

Gotham has been surprisingly fresh.

I'm enjoying it. DC is covering a lot of TV this year. Gotham, Constantine and The Flash all debuted this year, and Arrow is in it's third season. There is also talk of a Supergirl series, as well as live action Teen Titans. Now if they could get their heads back in the game with their animated series things might be really fun.

The Mysteries of Laura...like why anyone thought this was a good idea.

Didn't even try it.

Forever...not sure. I liked the lead better as Hornblower. And didn't we see this one before a few years ago on NBC?

I watched two episodes and while I liked it it wasn't enough to keep me.

Looking forward to Elementary returning on CBS.

As am I.

[/quote]The new Doctor Who may just end up being my favorite incarnation in some time.[/quote]
Capaldi is quite enjoyable in the role.

 

[Grosnick Marowbe]

I absolutely love watching "Gunsmoke" reruns! I do like a few
of the new shows but, I really enjoy the "bygone" era of Tele-
vision! When I was a kid (in the 50s) I loved; Superman, Space
Patrol, Science Fiction Theater, and ALL of the old scary movies
from the 30s and 40s! You know; Frankenstein, The Wolf man,
Dracula, etc, etc.! I'd watch those films every time they were on
T.V. I was also addicted to "Famous Monster Magazine!" Oh, to
be a kid again!

 

[Tambora]

I absolutely love watching "Gunsmoke" reruns! I do like a few
of the new shows but, I really enjoy the "bygone" era of Tele-
vision! When I was a kid (in the 50s) I loved; Superman, Space
Patrol, Science Fiction Theater, and ALL of the old scary movies
from the 30s and 40s! You know; Frankenstein, The Wolf man,
Dracula, etc, etc.! I'd watch those films every time they were on
T.V. I was also addicted to "Famous Monster Magazine!" Oh, to
be a kid again!

You forgot Godzilla.
(Size does matter.)
hehe!

 

[Uberpod1]

My Top Twelve:

Breaking Bad
The Walking Dead
Sherlock
Bates Motel
Hannibal
Damages
The Killing
Boston Legal
Homeland
Dexter
Queer as Folk
American Horror Story

 

[Town Heretic]

Twelve? :think: In no real order...

Sherlock
Brooklyn Nine-Nine
Justified
The Blacklist
Gotham
Doctor Who
The Mindy Project
Person of Interest
Madam Secretary
Elementary
The Strain
Hell on Wheels

 

[Uberpod1]

Sherlock is really good !!

 

[Town Heretic]

Sherlock is really good !!

Funny thing is that I wasn't grabbed by it at first, watched a bit of the pilot and shrugged it off. Then BBC American picked it up to run from the beginning again this year and I had a completely different response.

You just never know. On your list...I don't go in for the darker bits, like Horror. And I'm a little concerned with the turn Hannibal took late. It was right on the edge for me and may be tipping over. Some shows have a caveat. Dexter up until the bathtub death of the Mrs. was interesting...partly because I'd written a short story in high school that I always meant to turn into a novel about a serial killer who hunts serial killers. The working title was Kingsnake. The inspiration drawn from that very reptile. Ah, well.

 

[Town Heretic]

So the next rounds of original programming are beginning...

Looking forward to the final season of Justified. Hope they don't kill off anyone I like. Sorry to see the series end but I'd rather they did that then limp along for ten years or more until the only reason most people are watching is habit.

Person of Interest has continued to carefully explore the original concept in a way that's more interesting than not, though the seemingly obligatory gay side bar romantic angle is as unnecessary as it is convoluted. Not sure how long the sub rosa battle of super machines can go on before it's more irksome than interesting.

Secretary of State...didn't know if I'd like it, thought I probably wouldn't, but I was wrong. It's managed to avoid a peculiar "what if the President was involved in a murder" opening gambit to emerge as a sort of West Wing lite. Which isn't all together bad and is more interestingly written than most of its competition. Real promise here.

Brooklyn Nine Nine is officially the smartest comedy running. It's not high brow, but it's clever and the casting is perfect and it feels fresh, the way Big Bang did about two or three seasons ago.

Gotham has returned and somehow managing to be interesting enough that I've stopped wondering how you make a Batman centered universe work before Batman.

The Black List will be back shortly and that's good news. Spader plays the role with just the right balance of pathos, humor and cold blooded vigor.

New Girl has enough of a heart to keep pumping blood, but it's fading. The Mindy Project, on the other hand, just keeps gathering steam. Really good little show with a great core and loads of comedic chemistry between the two leads.

Elementary may not be up to Sherlock, but it's close enough and well enough acted to enjoy the effort.

And that's about it for now...

 

[Town Heretic]

Watched a bit of the Golden Globes, mostly to hear Fey and Poehler take their shots. A fairly funny intro. I recorded it and haven't gone back for much of the awards, not being familiar with many of the films nominated and not really caring about tv awards. I'll likely fast forward for the humor later.

 

[Quincy]

Watched a bit of the Golden Globes, mostly to hear Fey and Poehler take their shots. A fairly funny intro. I recorded it and haven't gone back for much of the awards, not being familiar with many of the films nominated and not really caring about tv awards. I'll likely fast forward for the humor later.

I'd like to just say, that was a classic moment in TV. I know... the whole innocent until proven guilty principle but come on........ I would be shocked if Cosby is innocent and that was some good impressions there. Poehler's being superior. Maybe a little early to do that considering........ nah.

I was watching to see fellow Kentuckian Clooney be honored.... but yea. I also liked seeing greatest actor in his generation Kevin Spacey get an award.... come on..... you know it's true!! :noid:

 

[Town Heretic]

So in the past we had an American Idol thread. More than a few who took part in that have wandered off or are infrequent posters but I have to admit that the prelims have fielded some fairly interesting talent and I enjoy the repartee between Harry and Keith a little more than the Blake/Adam back and forth on the Voice.

Also, has the Voice managed to produce anyone who is being produced by anyone? :think:

 

[Tambora]

I am on antenna.
They have been rerunning episodes of an old TV series called Evening Shade.
It stars:
Burt Reynolds
Marilou Henner
Ozzie Davis
Michael Jeter
Charles Durning


It was one of my favorite shows back in the day.

 

[Town Heretic]

I am on antenna.
They have been rerunning episodes of an old TV series called Evening Shade.
It stars:
Burt Reynolds
Marilou Henner
Ozzie Davis
Michael Jeter
Charles Durning


It was one of my favorite shows back in the day.

MY parents loved that one. Strange story. It struggled the first year to find an audience, then by the end of that year was doing fine and went from 32 in ranking to 15th in year two, then fell a little in year three, but still found itself in the top twenty at 19, But year four continued the tumble to 27th and that, as they say, was that.

Reminds me of Greatest Hero in terms of dramatic falls, though Hero is the ultimate comet like tale of a show doomed by erratic scheduling and a novelty that wore off in a hurry. It began with an inaugural ranking of 13th, then in season two it fell dramatically to 35th and by its third and last season had bounced to 65th. I don't know if any show in the top twenty ever descended into irrelevance that fast.

I remember somewhere in season two thinking, "Seriously, how long can it take him to learn how to fly?" :nono:

 

[Town Heretic]

So this got me thinking about popularity arcs in television. During the 80s it seemed that with rare exception a show had a viable life of around five or six years, with the last couple of years descending markedly.

Then I wondered how well the long running and much beloved series did in their day and started thinking of some of the more heralded of the lot.

Cheers: spawned the immensely popular Frazier series and the careers of a few tv and limited film favorites. It began it's first year (82) with a forgettable 74th out of 77 show ranking, climbing to 32nd in its second year and cusp of ratings gold 12th by season three. After that an amazing run. For the next 8 years it ranked in and never fell out of the top ten rated programs.

Here are the rankings in order from season three to eleven: 5, 3, 3, 4, 3, 1, 4, 8.

Remarkable to see that sort of popularity and even more impressive to think its most popular season came nine years in.

To give you a sense of just how remarkable that really is, the much heralded and classic Mary Tyler Moore Show ran for seven seasons, from 70-77. Here are its Neilsen ranking in chronological order: 22, 10, 7, 9, 11, 19, 39.

 

[Town Heretic]

The Beverly Hillbillies: series ran from 62 to 71, but as with so many, it's strongest stretch was around a five year window.

Nine season ranking in order: 1, 1, 12, 7, 7, 12, 10, 18, before dropping out of the top 30 in its final year.

All in the Family: also ran for nine seasons. For some reason the first season's rankings aren't available, but the next eight run impressively enough with season two through six in 1st place. In fact, it was only out of the top ten once, it's next to last season when it placed 12th before bouncing back to finish with a 9th place showing in its final year. That's a rarity, going out on top (not counting Archie's Place, of course).

The Cosby Show: another ratings marvel. In nine seasons it placed 1st five times and was only out of the top five once, in the final season when it dropped to 18th.

 

[Town Heretic]

My hit list of late:

The Mentalist closed out nicely with a Job like restoration for the central character.

Castle had a great two parter that left last year's dangling serial killer frustration settled definitively.

The Big Bang Theory found an appropriately sentimental gesture for the passing of the unseen, but oft heard mother figure of the show. Sudden, understated and tastefully done.

The New Girl continues to lose relevance while The Mindy Project may have the best comedic ensemble and writing since 40 Rock...okay, outside of Nine Nine, which is also a very well crafted show.

Justified is nearly done and much of the humor that set the violence at angle has left with the passing of the founder of the feast, yet the acting and plot arc can't help but hold interest as we feel the whole of it gaining speed toward the inevitable end game for Boyd Crowder and Raylan Givens.

MTF...

 

[Arthur Brain]

The first episode of 'The Walking Dead V' after the season break was very deftly done IMO and had a lot of depth to it and undercurrent. Surprising in more ways than one...

 

[patrick jane]

My hit list of late:

The Mentalist closed out nicely with a Job like restoration for the central character.

Castle had a great two parter that left last year's dangling serial killer frustration settled definitively.

The Big Bang Theory found an appropriately sentimental gesture for the passing of the unseen, but oft heard mother figure of the show. Sudden, understated and tastefully done.

The New Girl continues to lose relevance while The Mindy Project may have the best comedic ensemble and writing since 40 Rock...okay, outside of Nine Nine, which is also a very well crafted show.

Justified is nearly done and much of the humor that set the violence at angle has left with the passing of the founder of the feast, yet the acting and plot arc can't help but hold interest as we feel the whole of it gaining speed toward the inevitable end game for Boyd Crowder and Raylan Givens.

MTF...

i like Justified quite a bit, and The Blacklist. obviously, The Mentalist