The End Of The Traditional TV Season
I haven’t been reading much lately but I have been keeping up on TV. Man, I watch a lot of shows. Here are my thoughts on some season and series finales and some new shows.
Finales
Fringe OMG, the end was killer! Peter never really existed, what!?!? Broyle’s has one blue eye? I can’t wait for next season which is set to be the series’ last. This has been a fun show.
Chuck Loved the final two episodes of the season! Next season will be the last for this show and, while it’s been uneven at times, I’ve grown extremely fond of the characters. And, if you didn’t give a little Squee! at the final line “Guys, I know Kung Fu” there’s something fundamentally wrong with you as a person.
Bones I felt robbed. We see Brennan and Booth in bed as she’s sobbing over Vincent’s death (which had me sobbing, too, btw) then a few hints that something happened to suddenly, “I’m having a baby and it’s yours.” Waaaaay too fast. I know they’re trying to write in Emily Deschanels’ pregnancy but, seriously, could we have had a bit more transition?
Big Bang Theory Great ending to the season! Not only does it look like we’re getting rid of Priya, the Raj/Penny hookup was hilarious. This show consistently delivers quotable lines at a ridiculous pace. My Facebook feed can go wild from just one episode.
Parks and Recreation My favorite show on TV right now. It can be sweet and sarcastic and is consistently funny. I love the range of characters and the persona that they’ve created for the town of Pawnee. Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman deserve Emmys for their work on this show. I was glad to see Leslie and Ben get together and having the final focus on the death of Li’l Sebastian was priceless.
Raising Hope This show has just gotten better and better in every episode. The flashback finale episode had so many great moments: Bert in the spitting contest with the Alpaca, Jimmy in his Kabuki makeup, Sabrina as a braces wearing nerd, oh, the list could go on for a while. Everyone is great in this show and it was nice to see Cloris Leachman get to do more than the usual crazy Maw Maw stuff.
Lie To Me The season finale was a while ago and left some story threads open. However, it got axed so we’ll never know if Gillian and Cal ever get together.
Human Target This finale was also a bit ago. I thought it was a good ending to the season with Chance admitting he cares about Ilsa but it wasn’t a definite that they would get together. I liked everyone on this show (I’ll watch anything Mark Valley is in because he’s a hunk) and I’m sad to see it go. I thought it was escapist good fun.
New
The Killing I resisted watching this at first because, well, I just watch too much TV. However, after seeing so many people whose opinions I respect (Wil Wheaton, for one), I decided to give it a chance. I got caught up after a few binge viewings and I’m still on the fence. The main character, Homicide detective Sarah Linden, is a total mess and I can’t decide if I like her or not. The parents of the dead girl, brilliantly played by Brent Sexton and Michelle Forbes, have sucked me in to their misery. Bill Campbell’s politician is also intriguing. What’s making me stay on the fence is the House like pattern - every episode there’s a new suspect that they’re sure is the killer but then they find proof that he/she isn’t. And, I’m not even sure about this whole FBI/terrorist thing they’ve got going on.
Game of Thrones I’ve never read the books but this is right up my alley. Warriors, blood lust, dragons and other mystical creatures and lots of sex and violence. LOTS of sex and violence. I’m waiting for someone to do it in the missionary position because we’ve seen a lot of other acts. Having Sean Bean in it also guaranteed I’d watch. It’s been good but there are a ton of characters to keep track of and lots of exposition to get the plot going. I’m also somewhat distracted by the bad bleach jobs on some of the actors (Peter Dinklage’s is especially jarring and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau makes him look like Prince Charming in Shrek) but I’ve been sucked in to the story.
New and Finales
Several new shows this season that I started watching didn’t get picked up for next year. Bummer.
The Chicago Code I’m really bummed. This show was really good. It had nice character development, an ongoing plot that allowed for side stories and a solid cast. The finale left me feeling satisfied with the story but also left a lot open to see through. Shawn Ryan also created Terriers which I loved. I guess I have to wait for his next show and hope the viewing public will share that love.
Breaking In I really wanted to like this show a lot. Bret Harrison and Christian Slater deserve a hit. However, it wasn’t that good despite a guest appearance by Jimmie Johnson, Five Time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. It did get better at the end (the final episode was funny and sweet) so maybe it would have developed into something great if it had been given another season. (There’s a slight chance it might but it doesn’t look good.)
Mr Sunshine Eh. I was slightly amused by this show but I don’t even think they showed all of the episodes. I don’t miss it and apparently I’m not alone as the ratings were terrible.
Finales
Fringe OMG, the end was killer! Peter never really existed, what!?!? Broyle’s has one blue eye? I can’t wait for next season which is set to be the series’ last. This has been a fun show.
Chuck Loved the final two episodes of the season! Next season will be the last for this show and, while it’s been uneven at times, I’ve grown extremely fond of the characters. And, if you didn’t give a little Squee! at the final line “Guys, I know Kung Fu” there’s something fundamentally wrong with you as a person.
Bones I felt robbed. We see Brennan and Booth in bed as she’s sobbing over Vincent’s death (which had me sobbing, too, btw) then a few hints that something happened to suddenly, “I’m having a baby and it’s yours.” Waaaaay too fast. I know they’re trying to write in Emily Deschanels’ pregnancy but, seriously, could we have had a bit more transition?
Big Bang Theory Great ending to the season! Not only does it look like we’re getting rid of Priya, the Raj/Penny hookup was hilarious. This show consistently delivers quotable lines at a ridiculous pace. My Facebook feed can go wild from just one episode.
Parks and Recreation My favorite show on TV right now. It can be sweet and sarcastic and is consistently funny. I love the range of characters and the persona that they’ve created for the town of Pawnee. Amy Poehler and Nick Offerman deserve Emmys for their work on this show. I was glad to see Leslie and Ben get together and having the final focus on the death of Li’l Sebastian was priceless.
Raising Hope This show has just gotten better and better in every episode. The flashback finale episode had so many great moments: Bert in the spitting contest with the Alpaca, Jimmy in his Kabuki makeup, Sabrina as a braces wearing nerd, oh, the list could go on for a while. Everyone is great in this show and it was nice to see Cloris Leachman get to do more than the usual crazy Maw Maw stuff.
Lie To Me The season finale was a while ago and left some story threads open. However, it got axed so we’ll never know if Gillian and Cal ever get together.
Human Target This finale was also a bit ago. I thought it was a good ending to the season with Chance admitting he cares about Ilsa but it wasn’t a definite that they would get together. I liked everyone on this show (I’ll watch anything Mark Valley is in because he’s a hunk) and I’m sad to see it go. I thought it was escapist good fun.
New
The Killing I resisted watching this at first because, well, I just watch too much TV. However, after seeing so many people whose opinions I respect (Wil Wheaton, for one), I decided to give it a chance. I got caught up after a few binge viewings and I’m still on the fence. The main character, Homicide detective Sarah Linden, is a total mess and I can’t decide if I like her or not. The parents of the dead girl, brilliantly played by Brent Sexton and Michelle Forbes, have sucked me in to their misery. Bill Campbell’s politician is also intriguing. What’s making me stay on the fence is the House like pattern - every episode there’s a new suspect that they’re sure is the killer but then they find proof that he/she isn’t. And, I’m not even sure about this whole FBI/terrorist thing they’ve got going on.
Game of Thrones I’ve never read the books but this is right up my alley. Warriors, blood lust, dragons and other mystical creatures and lots of sex and violence. LOTS of sex and violence. I’m waiting for someone to do it in the missionary position because we’ve seen a lot of other acts. Having Sean Bean in it also guaranteed I’d watch. It’s been good but there are a ton of characters to keep track of and lots of exposition to get the plot going. I’m also somewhat distracted by the bad bleach jobs on some of the actors (Peter Dinklage’s is especially jarring and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau makes him look like Prince Charming in Shrek) but I’ve been sucked in to the story.
New and Finales
Several new shows this season that I started watching didn’t get picked up for next year. Bummer.
The Chicago Code I’m really bummed. This show was really good. It had nice character development, an ongoing plot that allowed for side stories and a solid cast. The finale left me feeling satisfied with the story but also left a lot open to see through. Shawn Ryan also created Terriers which I loved. I guess I have to wait for his next show and hope the viewing public will share that love.
Breaking In I really wanted to like this show a lot. Bret Harrison and Christian Slater deserve a hit. However, it wasn’t that good despite a guest appearance by Jimmie Johnson, Five Time NASCAR Sprint Cup Champion. It did get better at the end (the final episode was funny and sweet) so maybe it would have developed into something great if it had been given another season. (There’s a slight chance it might but it doesn’t look good.)
Mr Sunshine Eh. I was slightly amused by this show but I don’t even think they showed all of the episodes. I don’t miss it and apparently I’m not alone as the ratings were terrible.
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