Last television show you watched

Started watching Dr. Who, with Christopher Eccleston. One episode a day, so far I'm three episodes in. I think it's pretty decent and can see the potential for the concept. I'm not totally into it right now, but I'm giving it a shot. It's nice to see that it's 13 episode a season (or "series" as you limeys call it). I'll be avoiding the official thread, just to avoid spoilers.

My best advice is to stick with it. Eccleston is enjoyable, but I find the quality of the stories and production from Series 1 rather weak. The two parter with Aliens in London isn't that good, but it does pick up towards the end with Dalek, Father's Day (probably my favorite of that series), and the Parting of the Ways.

I hate to say it... but Series 2 (David Tennant's first series) is actually pretty bad. I find it to be the weakest of the revived series by far. The only real highlight or memorable episode from that series is the Girl in the Fireplace, you wouldn't be missing anything if you skipped the rest. With that said, if you do choose to continue watching the show and make it to Series 2, you might want to skip Love & Monsters and Fear Her which are pretty abysmal.

However, if you can forge ahead you'll get to the very enjoyable Series 3 and 4 which are much more consistent and enjoyable. Matt Smith's tenure is noticeable for a huge jump in production quality and has some fairly well done episodes, although a lot of people are the internet aren't too fond of Moffat. I find his work quite enjoyable.

Had the weekend off, so I ended up plowing through the entire first season of 30 Rock. Weekends off from work are extremely rare, so getting one was quite a treat. I guess there were plenty of things I could have done this weekend to take advantage of it, but I just felt like lounging around.

Moore wrote:

My best advice is to stick with it. Eccleston is enjoyable, but I find the quality of the stories and production from Series 1 rather weak. The two parter with Aliens in London isn't that good, but it does pick up towards the end with Dalek, Father's Day (probably my favorite of that series), and the Parting of the Ways.

I hate to say it... but Series 2 (David Tennant's first series) is actually pretty bad. I find it to be the weakest of the revived series by far. The only real highlight or memorable episode from that series is the Girl in the Fireplace, you wouldn't be missing anything if you skipped the rest. With that said, if you do choose to continue watching the show and make it to Series 2, you might want to skip Love & Monsters and Fear Her which are pretty abysmal.

However, if you can forge ahead you'll get to the very enjoyable Series 3 and 4 which are much more consistent and enjoyable. Matt Smith's tenure is noticeable for a huge jump in production quality and has some fairly well done episodes, although a lot of people are the internet aren't too fond of Moffat. I find his work quite enjoyable.

Oh, I really like 'Tooth And Claw' and 'School Reunion' as well as 'The Girl And The Fireplace' from Tennant's first series ... Tooth And Claw is a rollicking slice of horror adventure, and School Reunion has

Spoiler:

Those two episodes weren't bad, I enjoyed them, but I find them average in the comparison with the rest of the modern series. And I didn't find them particular memorable. The latter half of that series was pretty dire.

New Earth was horrifically bad. The only Doctor Who stories I just needed to turn off without finished.

Moore wrote:

I hate to say it... but Series 2 (David Tennant's first series) is actually pretty bad. I find it to be the weakest of the revived series by far. The only real highlight or memorable episode from that series is the Girl in the Fireplace, you wouldn't be missing anything if you skipped the rest. With that said, if you do choose to continue watching the show and make it to Series 2, you might want to skip Love & Monsters and Fear Her which are pretty abysmal.

However, if you can forge ahead you'll get to the very enjoyable Series 3 and 4 which are much more consistent and enjoyable. Matt Smith's tenure is noticeable for a huge jump in production quality and has some fairly well done episodes, although a lot of people are the internet aren't too fond of Moffat. I find his work quite enjoyable.

I would also make a shout-out for 'School Reunion' (but possibly for nostalgia's sake I concede) the remainder of series 2 is pretty poor and the finale, acutely given the gushing RTD offered, is staggeringly inept. Sadly it is series 2 that has greatest resonance with the series going forward, elements RTD indulged that really undermine and distort the premise imo. I am hoping Moffat will finally break those links with the next regeneration.

The Killing 3 episode 1 & 2, Sara Lund is back and they find a sailor dismembered and a kid gets kidnapped, it has some serious political consequences as well.

The Danish series of course.

lachesis wrote:

Moore wrote:

I hate to say it... but Series 2 (David Tennant's first series) is actually pretty bad. I find it to be the weakest of the revived series by far. The only real highlight or memorable episode from that series is the Girl in the Fireplace, you wouldn't be missing anything if you skipped the rest. With that said, if you do choose to continue watching the show and make it to Series 2, you might want to skip Love & Monsters and Fear Her which are pretty abysmal.

However, if you can forge ahead you'll get to the very enjoyable Series 3 and 4 which are much more consistent and enjoyable. Matt Smith's tenure is noticeable for a huge jump in production quality and has some fairly well done episodes, although a lot of people are the internet aren't too fond of Moffat. I find his work quite enjoyable.

I would also make a shout-out for 'School Reunion' (but possibly for nostalgia's sake I concede) the remainder of series 2 is pretty poor and the finale, acutely given the gushing RTD offered, is staggeringly inept. Sadly it is series 2 that has greatest resonance with the series going forward, elements RTD indulged that really undermine and distort the premise imo. I am hoping Moffat will finally break those links with the next regeneration.

School Reunion and Tooth and Claw were enjoyable for me. Fireplace is the only true standout from that series. The two part finale was okay. Nothing brilliant though.

I do hope Moffat makes those changes too. There's quite a few things I hope he fixes. Moffat has slowly been bring things back as they should.... a lot of nods to the classic series. The Doctor's face in the title sequence, the new TARDIS design (thank god he got rid of that hideous coral design that 9 and 10 had).

I'm hoping with an older Doctor such as Capaldi, we get away from the romantic stuff between Doctor and companion. We had a slight reprieve when Donna popped up for a series, but we shall see if it will stick.

Another thing is the show has been more focused on the companion since 2005 than the Doctor. Not that I mind the companion getting a bigger role. It is nice seeing their life and the effect traveling with him has on them, but it gets a bit overdone and times, and then throw in the romantic stuff and it gets old.

Moore wrote:

School Reunion and Tooth and Claw were enjoyable for me. Fireplace is the only true standout from that series. The two part finale was okay.  Nothing brilliant though.

I do hope Moffat makes those changes too. There's quite a few things I hope he fixes. Moffat has slowly been bring things back as they should.... a lot of nods to the classic series. The Doctor's face in the title sequence, the new TARDIS design (thank god he got rid of that hideous coral design that 9 and 10 had).

I'm hoping with an older Doctor such as Capaldi, we get away from the romantic stuff between Doctor and companion. We had a slight reprieve when Donna popped up for a series, but we shall see if it will stick.

Another thing is the show has been more focused on the companion since 2005 than the Doctor. Not that I mind the companion getting a bigger role. It is nice seeing their life and the effect traveling with him has on them, but it gets a bit overdone and times, and then throw in the romantic stuff and it gets old.

I had forgotten 'Fireplace' I agree it was pretty good. The finale is more irkesome to me as I recall the promise of 'Daleks Vs Cybermen' being sold as some great event by RTD in a confidential 'it absolutely delivers' I think the phrase went.....nope and all that Rose stuff was so overwrought and desperately self serving a complete anachronism to the original series imo.

In terms of the companion focus I actually think that is a good mechanism, they are much more vulnerable and accessible than the Doctor ever should be and in many ways the early companions (certainly Ian and Barbara) became the audiences eyes. We end up following the doctor in his adventures rather than the current and obsessive need for us to be the Doctor and constantly find him de constructed and rationalised to human levels.

True, I don't mind the companion lives be explored. I kind of like how they did it with 7 and Ace. They seemed like partners in crime. You learned about her life, but it was still centered on her and the Doctor. I would like something like that. You get a glimpse into their life and all that, makes the Doctor mysterious, but avoids all the "I think I'm falling in love with the Doctor" storylines.

The Series 2 finale was pretty weak, but I don't mind it as much after seeing the horrifically bad Series 3 finale The Last of the Time Lords. Good lord, was that BAD. The Doctor sidelined for the entire story as a tiny aged dwarf in a cage and he is resurrected because everyone in the world says his name at the same time like he is the messiah. Oh boy....

Moore wrote:

The Series 2 finale was pretty weak, but I don't mind it as much after seeing the horrifically bad Series 3 finale The Last of the Time Lords. Good lord, was that BAD. The Doctor sidelined for the entire story as a tiny aged dwarf in a cage and he is resurrected because everyone in the world says his name at the same time like he is the messiah. Oh boy....

I forgot about that, yes it was really cringe-worthy, the finale to season 4 was also pretty appalling. I do find that RTD was acutely inept when the stakes were raised, the bigger the build up he offered the more catastrophic his choice of resolution - I think Moffat is much better in terms of big stake plot lines but desspite that I still feel scale actually plays against Dr Who's strengths, the best stories are still the base under siege types.

Watching season three of LOUIE on Netflix.

More than any show I've ever seen, LOUIE makes me excited about television as an artistic medium.

Hello: A Portrait of Leslie Phillips

decent look at the man though the sight of him 'tweeting'...who'd have thunk. The Navy Lark fan that I am was thrilled to see Heather 'Wren' Chasen interviewed. Yet most touching, most emotional was Phillips talking about Angela Scoular.
Top chap

Started to watch the 1960s BATMAN series. I hadn't seen this show since I was 10, with the film being the only thing I've seen of Adam West since then. I'm really enjoying this, maybe more than the film. Whenever the rights are truly settled, I hope that they remaster this show. After the treatment STAR TREK has been getting lately, I can see this show really stand out nicely.

Would be great, once it's all settled, to have an Adam West commentary. The one for the '66 film is the benchmark.

Watched Prisoners of War (Hatufim), the Israeli series on which Homeland is based. Never seen Homeland so I don't know how it compares, but I would highly recommend it regardless. The pace is a bit slow at times (which is not necessarily a disservice) and there are some pretty solid performances.

ALMOST HUMAN

Lots of upside here, obviously influenced by Blade Runner and the like. There's a cliche a minute in the pilot but it's a pilot so I give it the benefit of the doubt.

Hoping this will fill the void left by Fringe should it get the legs it needs.

the umpteenth Three Musketeers adapatation, Beeb's The Musketeers

Sacre merde

Caught an episode of THE SAINT that guest starred Robert Brown (oddly looking no different than he did twenty years later in OCTOPUSSY) and Dr. Metz from DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER.

I'm currently watching shameless. Shame it's finished now,but they were beating a dead horse and it became too violent thanks to the Maguires getting too much screentime

think I stopped on Shameless after series 3. Lost some of its lustre round about then.

Up to series 5 was when it started to go downhill for me. When Paddy used his twin brother to confuse the police. Thought that was a bit much

I watched the only surviving material from Police Surgeon, the show that would later become 'The Avengers'.

The first 20 minutes of the first episode is all that survives and only two other episodes of exists. The pilot is surprisingly dark in tone and it's a real shame it ends so abruptly so we miss the arrival of the shady John Steed

Steed is absent altogether from 'Girl on a Trapeze' but Hendry shines and the production actually works rather well, my favourite of the bunch.

The Frighteners is a little shaky in terms of overall plot but delivers some great moments and characters - Macnee walking a brilliant line as Steed superficially urbane and mannered but actually quite a nasty piece of work.

It is interesting to see Ian Hendry so young and in the lead...being used to him more as a 'special guest' and often chewing scenery this is a glimpse of a young and hungry star with Hollywood styled attributes coming to his prime, The Avengers is one of my all time favourite shows but I'd be fascinated to see an alternate timeline where he didn't exit the program, or at least more of this early season of the show.

Shameless always looked like a pretty depressing celebration of fecklessness to me, never bothered with it. I guess you could argue Channel 4 have now replaced it with its documentary equivalent, Benefits Street.

The latest take on The Musketeers on Beeb 1 last night had plenty of sword 'n' flintlock action, pretty ladies in corsets, Capaldi plotting and scheming as Richlieu and a sense that it won't be taking itself overly seriously. Pretty good 'balm' to face the working week with.

Been watching the first incarnation of DRAGON BALL. I've seen maybe the first 50 episodes in the past, but I never actually finished it. I've now reached episodes I've never seen and so far I'm really enjoying it. I remember being more fond for this show than the second incarnation DRAGON BALL Z because this one feels more like an globe trotting adventure, whereas the second was more focused on action with the world at stake.