What TV SHOWS are you watching?

I agree, but I heard mention of a couple differences and had to see for myself if the vocal detractors of the movie were making a mountain out of a molehill or not.

It was much ado about nothing, and the movie ending was much better. So the detractors who favor the literature can go chase air off of a cliff.

I've been watching older episodes of Parts unknown, the Bourdain cnn show. It's really good. I think it's better than his earlier shows because it doesn't have an explicit mandate to be about food, even though most eps have a lot of food in them.

A friend urged me to try Criminal Minds, so I recently watched most of season 1. I do like profiler-style police procedural suspense, and there were some good episodes. But the show is too focused on one-and-done storytelling, so the tempo of the show becomes predictable.

1. Cold open with a crime in progress, with the perp's face out of the frame.
2. Brief title sequence with music.
3. Behavioral unit takes the case, explaining the crime and doing a very basic profile.
4. Unit goes to the scene, gets a few clues pointing in various directions.
5. Most of the clues are inconclusive or red herrings.
6. One clue leads to another clue that leads to cracking the case.
7. Suspect captured, usually just in time to prevent the next crime.
Sometimes there are a couple of minutes of B-story involving something personal about one or two of the agents, but it generally feels like filler to pad out a short script.

I might enjoy this show more if it eventually does more multi-part episodes and story arcs. With only 42 minutes to tell a story, they are kind of stuck with the formula.

Do you think the show's formulaic predictability is enhanced by binge watching? I feel like the way we watch shows now has completely changed how we react to them.

Gregarius wrote: Do you think the show's formulaic predictability is enhanced by binge watching? I feel like the way we watch shows now has completely changed how we react to them.

That's a great question. I think that the formulaic scripting of Criminal Minds would be a problem either way, but I noticed it quicker due to binge watching. But in a general sense, binge watching probably improves the viewing experience with a modern show with a more open storyline. There is probably no advantage to binge-watching conventional done-in-one episodes, and the familiarity might become grating.

Gregarius wrote: Do you think the show's formulaic predictability is enhanced by binge watching? I feel like the way we watch shows now has completely changed how we react to them.

I think directors will learn that they have a different canvas to play with and we are going to see more open ended series that take advantage of the format....a lot more slow turns and incremental character developments/reveals.

It can make some bad writing and directing really stand out when you are chain guzzling episodes. Like, Jessica Jones. If you watch more than two episodes in a row, you will realize that they could have cut one entire episode of the series if they cut out all the dimly lit scenes of Jessica finding empty liquor bottles, before finding a full one and hitting it alone.

Netflix has a new show, GLOW, inspired by the 80's show of the same name. It is an entertaining fictionalized account of how the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling was created. I grew up watching the show, so it hold a little nostalgia for me, even though the characters are not the same.

4 out of 5 leotards. 3.75 without prior GLOW exposure.

the_jake_1973 wrote: Netflix has a new show, GLOW, inspired by the 80's show of the same name. It is an entertaining fictionalized account of how the Gorgeous Ladies Of Wrestling was created. I grew up watching the show, so it hold a little nostalgia for me, even though the characters are not the same.

4 out of 5 leotards. 3.75 without prior GLOW exposure.

I loved the pilot but kind of hated the second episode. So I'll watch #3 as a tie-breaker. I have a big crush on Allison Brie, so that helps.

Watched "Shooter" (USA show) on Netflix. Better than the film by far. Hoping they renew and we see more BobLee Swagger stories. The "Shooter" story was one of the less interesting ones IMO

As far as book adaptations go, the movie wasn't terrible. However, they totally shortchanged the book's payoff final court room scene, which I had really been looking forward to seeing. And the farmhouse showdown wasn't nearly as good as the books hilltop assault. They also underplayed Swaggers southern roots.

The TV series is decent , although I question how many seasons they can stretch the SHOOTER book. Sure he had other adventures in the sequels to the book.

Overall, worth taping and watching.

Who's Allison Brie again?

Black Barney wrote: Who's Allison Brie again?

The hot brunette from Community.

Also Pete Campbell's wife on Mad Men.

I'll have to give GLOW a shot when I clear some other stuff out of my queue.

I started watching GLOW last night. So far it's entertaining, but kinda hit or miss. I like it more often than I don't. The main characters are very good (Brie, Maron, and a couple others), but the rest of the cast seem... bad. I may not the best judge of acting ability, but I can at least spot terrible acting, and these girls got it. Fortunately, there's usually at least one nude scene an episode, so it's got that going for it.

Do you guys remember Bernie Mac? He used to have a TV show they called The Bernie Mac show.

It was funny....it's still funny...it's on Netflix.

Man this show is really good. Makes me laugh out loud every episode and I don't mean that in a LOL kind of way. I mean actual vocalized guffaws.