What TV Shows Are You Watching?

[Chazro]

The fight for Sunday night was especially entertaining last night! I bumped HBO's True Blood and The Leftovers for Shotime's Ray Donovan and Masters Of Sex. Prior to the shows they premiered 'The Butler' (HBO) and 'Gravity' (SHO). Not to mention 'The Strain' premiered on FX. Too much for this couch-potato in one night!;) Tellyawhat, Shotime did a little promo listing all it's Emmy nominations, If they haven't passed HBO they gotta be close!

[stonemonkts]

I enjoyed The Shield, but it is certainly no Wire.

The deluge of television shows is amazing. A mixed bag for me of shows I must see, shows I watch but wouldn't be bothered if I didn't, and then the ones I watch that I know are bad and I suppose are "guilty pleasures" (more like embarrassing pleasures).

If I listed them all it would be more embarrassing than some of the titles (Dominion, anyone? yikes).

MUST-see shows that are still airing are the usual suspects:

Mad Men
Game of Thrones
House of Cards (yes I agree the original was far better, but this is good on its own merits)
Endeavor (I'm a Morse fanatic so even this homage of a tribute show gets me)
Hannibal
The Bridge
Louie
The Walking Dead
Veep
The Americans

Fargo was great. True Detective was very good. Tyrant is ok so far. The biggest surprise for me lately was the pilot of Extant, with Halle Berry. It was really good!

Looking forward to whenever they air a second season of The Fall.

[moldyfigg]

Kevin Spacey's House of Cards -- I find it lacking humor and empathy and I also think it's boring.

But.... I devoted so much time watching the first season that I felt compelled to watch the second.

I figured maybe I'd find out happens by watching the original "House of Cards" with Ian Richardson.

Turns out it blows the new one away. And it's only 12 episodes, not what's probably going to be six jillion.

To us, the Brit version was superior.

[Cem]

Indeed, lots of choice now.
Nothing of Wire's caliber, yet…
Things that have stood out for me:
The Killing
Rectify
Homeland
there's more...

[stonemonkts]

I forgot Rectify. Excellent show, which was conceived and is run by this guy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fwo9KwnOse4

[Cem]

Good actor, good producer. I love both of those shows.

[HenryMc]

Three recommendations

Broadchurch .....UK Murder Mystery from 2013

Last Tango in Halifax ....UK Comedy/Drama with Derek Jacobi ....very very good

The Bridge .....The Swedish/Dane Original 2012

[Chazro]

Broadchurch was excellent. Did you know that an American version of the show is due out shortly. It's got a different name, with Anna Gunn (Breaking Bad), Nick Nolte, and interestingly enough, the dude that played the detective in the original wil be reprising the same role in the new one.

[Chazro]

Last nights episode of Ray Donovan was the best of its 2 yr run! As good as the best of The Sopranos, this coming from a die hard Sopranos fan! As good as it was, that's how bad the series finale of True Blood was. I'm talkin' epic Dexter-ian bad!;) I always wonder how such obviously shitty storytelling gets past the suits in Hollywood. Forgetting that it's a giant middle finger to the fans, I assume these guys get paid serious bucks! Oh well. BTW, to any fan of The Walking Dead (me!), The Strain makes TWD look like Sesame Street!;)

[tippy]

Been catching up on the latest dvd releases such as Boardwalk IV and The Walking Dead IV, also The Killing 3. The Killing has some plausibility issues and at times I rolled my eyes, but I have to admit it was quite the riveting moment when the detective discovers who the killer is, not even that the villain was completely removed from my suspicions, but it was just a well played dramatic moment. Haven't even heard of Rectify, and The Strain has been off my radar, but perhaps I will check them both out.

[LennyH]

I've been mining the 2014 "best of" lists for some new shows to watch.

Transparent (Amazon Streaming) - This is a blast so far. It's not perfect but some great stuff in there, and you've gotta check out Jeffrey Tambor's performance.

The Leftovers (HBO) - I got through the first season (I never considered calling it quits) and found some of it engaging, and even compelling, but this show really does have some problems. The high level premise is interesting enough, but some of the choices they made as far as plot lines and character tendencies just don't make sense. Some of it also feels like they're going for sort of a Lost vibe, with pretty limited success.

[Ron Thorne]

Last night, we ushered in the New Year enjoying the New York Philharmonic New Year's Eve: Gershwin Celebration under the guest direction of Bramwell Tovey, and with singers Dianne Reeves and Norm Lewis as soloists. Dianne had her trio with her; Peter Martin - piano, Reuben Rogers - bass, and Terri Lyne Carrington - drums.

It was a fabulous way to begin the new year!

[Gentle Giant]

I bought the 2nd season of SNL. Loving it. Great guests, amazing musical acts, strong writing. What passes for SNL these days is just plain sad.

[moldyfigg]

We have enjoyed Brooklyn 99, sophomoric, sexist humor that requires no grey cells. We just find it fun.

Of the dramas on networks we have enjoyed Good Wife and Major Crimes, recorded of course.

Usually we find something on one the four PBS stations we receive. Most of which don't insult our intelligence.

[jwaggs]

The one I am enjoying the most these days is The Bridge. I have the hots for the blonde Swede who plays a detective with a good dose of Aspberger's.

[Chazro]

The one I am enjoying the most these days is The Bridge. I have the hots for the blonde Swede who plays a detective with a good dose of Aspberger's.

Excellent show! Bummed that it's been cancelled.

[jwaggs]

How many seasons digit last? I am only on Season One.

[stonemonkts]

The one I am enjoying the most these days is The Bridge. I have the hots for the blonde Swede who plays a detective with a good dose of Aspberger's.

Excellent show! Bummed that it's been cancelled.

That was the American version. I believe Jeff is watching the original Swedish show. Which coincidentally season two is only available (as of now) on Hulu Plus. So earlier I signed up for a free month trial, just to see S2. Far superior to American version, which was pretty good on its own.

[stonemonkts]

Looking forward to whenever they air a second season of The Fall.

Netflix put up season two today. Looking forward to watching it soon.

Been enjoying a show on Comedy Central called Broad City. This snippet from a review describes it better than I can:

Abbi Jacobson and Ilana Glazer play best friends on TV, on a sitcom called “Broad City.” They are its creators, head writers, and stars. Their characters, named Abbi and Ilana, are twenty-something stoners in New York—broke, horny, heedless, daffy, mostly benign, occasionally brilliant—who work crappy jobs, bump around town, get into mischief, and, with genial vulgarity and dirtbag charm, accidentally complicate their lives. Their manager initially pitched the show to the networks as “ ‘Laverne and Shirley’ meets ‘Louie,’ ” and it’s likely that somewhere along the line someone described it as a women’s “Workaholics,” or a chicks’ Cheech and Chong. Like anything, it owes debts to much that has come before, but it also offers something that, oddly, seems to be new, and that, to its legions of fans, is deemed long overdue: an unpretentious portrait of a friendship between women in which they don’t undermine each other or fret over how they look or define themselves by whom they’re sleeping with. The love affair at the heart of the show is between Abbi and Ilana. It’s more or less platonic—so far.

[jwaggs]

Yep, definitely watching the Swedish/Danish version. Lots of subtitles.

[john williams]

BBC's Peaky Blinders.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-IeJYj_oSxA

[BFrank]

I don't always watch TV shows, but when I do............I prefer Portlandia.

[bluenoter]

I don't always watch TV shows, but when I do............I prefer Portlandia.

I hardly ever watch TV shows (so I hardly have a basis for comparison), but when I do............I prefer Portlandia too.

[BFrank]

the first 2 episodes have been excellent, btw. different concept following the same characters for the entire show.

[jwaggs]

Anybody watch this:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Borgen_(TV_series)