What TV SHOWS are you watching?

I am nearly finished with the first season of The Knick, and looking forward to checking out the second season from the library soon.

As I get older, my enthusiasm for fantasy and science-fiction tv shows has diminished. It is nearly always better story-telling to show things instead of tell things to the viewer. But that level of subtlety is often unavailabe to sci-fi and fantasy tv shows, where they must cater to the less intelligent viewers and explain unusual things with shouty exposition.

Directed by Steven Sodenbergh, The Knick doesn't do much shouty esposition. Instead, important information is often conveyed with well-choreographed visuals, sometimes in contradiction to the spoken dialogue in the scene. It is a medical drama set in NYC, circa 1900. Clive Owen shines with consistently strong performances, and anchors a very good ensemble cast of unfamiliar (to me) actors. Aside from the medical drama, the show grapples with social issues, especially racism. The main characters are complex and interesting, though not particularly likeable. For a Cinemax show, there is surprisingly little nudity. And there are a couple of Irish Catholic characters who manage a rare feat that I have only seen done by Harlan Ellison before: pissing off both pro-life and pro-choice folks at the same time.

My daughter wouldn't stop telling me and her mom to watch Black Mirror, specifically 'Playtest'. So my wife and I watched it last night. It was okay, not great. Really good setup, a little bit of a letdown in the payoff. So afterwards, I told the wife, "If you want really messed-up stuff on Black Mirror, watch this," and we watched "White Bear". Feel-good TV it aint.

I watched the pilot episode of Six, the History Channel's drama about Seal Team Six. I liked it a lot, and want to watch more. While it's supposedly based on true events, some of the stuff that happens certainly smacks of "classified"....

Also, it's got Walton Goggins, which is reason enough for you to watch it.

I have found SIX pretty meh, with an overdose of "home front" scenes where each SEAL member is shown dealing with your predictable domestic issues.

Goggins needs to get back into a serialized drama on a real network ASAP. I gave up on Vice Principals, as the other lead seemed to get more camera time for some reason. His only other upcoming IMDB credits are a part in a Tomb Raider film ( blech ) and a movie called " Three Christs" whose plot reads "Three Christs follows Dr. Alan Stone who is treating three paranoid schizophrenic patients at the Ypsilanti State Hospital in Michigan, each of whom believed they were Jesus Christ. What transpires is both comic and deeply moving."

Richard Gere plays the doctor; Peter Dinklage is also listed. Perhaps Tyrion and Boyd Crowder are two of the patients.

Still, fuck that. Bring back Boyd Crowder.

If you like Six but want more action and less emo bullshit, check out STRIKE BACK, originally aired on CINEMAX. Very good production values and great action choreography. The two leads have great chemistry, and the show is not afraid to kill characters off.

Goggins is great, but I wish I could scrub my brain of his appearances in Sons of Anarchy.

Three eps in on Amazon's Sneaky Pete. Good stuff. Wily con artist leaving prison pretends to be his cell mate, who his family hasn't seen in 20 years, mainly to avoid a mark who is after him. The usual close calls and suspicions and clever escapes of this genre, but great quality, and I can see things developing that should connect in fun ways later, with hopefully some surprises.

theintercept.com/2017/01/10/the-crimes-of-seal-team-6/

Did they include parts where Seal Team 6 skins and disfigures dead bodies? Recklessly kills children?

Sorry. I couldn't resist. I find all this military media shit that deifies "elite" teams that are often involved in some very disgusting, illegal activity in real life pretty difficult to deal with.

While not quite on that level, in the pilot one operator executes an unarmed terrorist and is thrown off the team.

Strike Back was awesome action television. The Strike Back prequel series stars Rick from Walking Dead without his constantly soaked hair.

The prequel was much more low key, starring Richard Armitage.