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[ivysaur12]

Been back in Canada for the holidays. I saw a promo on CityTV for a new sitcom I've never heard of called "Seed". (Flaky go-nowhere bartender guy turns out to be the sperm donor bio-dad for three different families, if I understand the premise correctly.) Turns out it's a Canadian-made sitcom.

I'm cautiously hoping it'll be good, but I've never really liked made-in-Canada comedy shows. Air Farce is miss-and-hit, Corner Gas never grabbed me and neither did Little Mosque, and InSecurity was like a bad half-hour version of NTSF.


[edited because I accidentally posted too soon] I'll check out:
* Transporter the Series as I'm not currently watching any action shows
* Continuum because I'm a sucker for time travel
* maybe Second Generation Wayans for an ep or two just for (1) residual love for In Living Color and (2) because Damon Wayans Jr. turned out awesome
* Kroll Show
* Newsreaders for CH/NTSF love even if I don't like the Newsreaders eps of CH that much
* The Following
* The Taste
* The Americans
* mmmmmaybe Do No Harm
* House of Cards
* kinda feel that Asian-American obligation to at least check out Monday Mornings
* The Ben Show
* How To Live With Your Parents (For The Rest Of Your Life)
* (morbidly curious about how the Defiance MMO/show integration will work out)
* hey, isn't Rectify the same premise as NBC's Life?
* Inside Amy Schumer
* Save Me - but only cause ivy keeps saying it's great
* Hannibal - because Bryan Fuller deserves a lifetime pass
* Friend Me (just kinda curious to see how this shakes out, esp with the Groupon tie-in ... I don't have faith in Groupon's business model.)
* The Goodwin Games - sounds like an overwrought premise, but Becki Newton's charming enough to warrant a trial viewing.
* Masters of Sex

Avoid Goodwin and Friend Me (they dropped the Groupon thing anyways)

 

[Brian Fellows]

Was not impressed with the Kroll Show preview. He would not have made a good Kid in the Hall cuz he looks positively disgusting when dressed as a chick. It really grossed me out.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

So, this mideseason I'm watching:

American Horror Story: Asylum
Justified
Modern Family
Nashville
Last Resort
Girls
Enlightened
Archer
Spartacus: War of the Damned
Smash
Community
Touch
The Walking Dead
Revolution
Game of Thrones
Legend of Korra
Mad Men
Magic City
Skins
The Borgias
Veep

New show's I'll definitely watch:

Transporter: The Series (come summer)
Mr. Selfridge
Spies of Warsaw
Banshee
Newsreaders
Ripper Street
The Following
The Americans
House of Cards
Zero Hour (for the lulz)
Parade's End
Vikings
Top of the Lake
Orphan Black
Da Vinci's Demons
Family Tree
Hannibal
Hemlock Grove
Save Me

New shows I'll consider watching:

Africa
Pioneers of Television
Legit
The Scapegoat
Bate's Motel
Derek

 

[BertramCooper]

What's the buzz like for The Americans?

 

[ivysaur12]

What's the buzz like for The Americans?

Positive.

 

[BertramCooper]

Positive.

Cool, I'll check it out. There was a piece about it on Weekend Edition yesterday and it sounded intriguing.

I need a quality espionage/intelligence thriller to replace Homeland.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Every episode of Hemlock Grove will go up on Netflix on April 19. Trailer

Premiering/returning today:

Spies of Warsaw on BBC Four (Feb 6 for USA)

Stars in Danger: The High Dive on Fox at 8/7c

The Middle on ABC at 8/7c

The Neighbors on ABC at 8:30/7:30c

Modern Family on ABC at 9/8c

Suburgatory on ABC at 9:30/8:30c

Nashville on ABC at 10/9

Washington Heights on MTV at 10/9c

Reviews:

SFGate - 'Washington Heights' review

It's possible that "Washington Heights" will devolve into "Jersey Shore-North," and become unwatchable. But it's hard to imagine young people like JP, Frankie and Ludwin going off the rails to that extent. As long as they don't, "Washington Heights" may be an exception to the apparent rule for this kind of show by keeping it legitimately real.

Boston Globe - ‘Washington Heights’ keeps it a little too real

Alas, after the first two episodes, I can’t say I like or dislike the “Washington Heights” cast members because they still feel like strangers to me, friends of friends of friends who like to post on Facebook.

Newsday - 'Washington Heights' review

"Heights" almost feels like atonement for the biggest hit in MTV history. The kids don't swear (much), esteem their elders, work at their dreams and have no obvious or debilitating vices -- until they drink (then, pull hair). "Heights" mostly respects its namesake community and those who live there

 

[beat]

Andy Greenwald really hates 1600 Penn.

kip Gilchrist, as played by Josh Gad, is a squawling man-baby who returns to the White House in shame after burning down a frat house in his seventh year of college. He enjoys spritzing salad with whipped cream and tossing flaming lamps on Latin American trade delegations. [...]

For those in the audience, watching Gad-as-Skip is like hanging out with an Adderall-addled improv performer at four in the morning; it's like watching an early Jack Black movie with the volume turned up and the subtlety digitally scrubbed out.

 

[Bladenic]

Andy Greenwald really hates 1600 Penn.

The pilot was atrocious. Poor Dharma.

 

[BertramCooper]

The pilot was atrocious. Poor Dharma.

Dharma's a batshit Scientologist. Don't feel sorry for her.

 

[Bladenic]

Dharma's a batshit Scientologist. Don't feel sorry for her.

Oh, I didn't know. Then I'm glad.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Dharma's a batshit Scientologist. Don't feel sorry for her.

I don't, she still looks banging.

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

I just saw the trailer for Hemlock Grove. Looks fun. Famke Janssen still looks so goddamn sexy. Teen Wolf surprised the hell out of me with just how good it was, I hope this is a surprise like that. Though it's from Eli Roth :/ I'm not a fan of his.

 

[Nappuccino]

Can I feel bad for Pullman?

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

Can I feel bad for Pullman?

Everyone feels bad for Pullman.

 

[Nappuccino]

Everyone feels bad for Pullman.

Well, at least I won't be alone lol.

 

[TripOpt55]

I missed this thread until now (I need to stop living by my subbed threads). Here's what I'm watching:

Continuing from the Fall:

Parenthood
The Big Bang Theory
Once Upon a Time
Revenge
Happy Endings
Ben and Kate
Modern Family
Suburgatory
Nashville
30 Rock
Fringe
Arrow
The Vampire Diaries
How I Met Your Mother
Community
The Walking Dead
Revolution

Coming back:

House of Lies
Survivor
Southland
Game of Thrones
Legend of Korra

New Shows (some of these will probably just try out):

The Following (YEAH!!! Can't wait for this)
The Americans (Looks good and I love Felicity!)
Save Me
The Goodwin Games
Banshee
Kroll Show
Hemlock Grove

Will try and probably give up on quickly:

Zero Hour
Cult

Will keep an eye on this to see what else is good and try that too.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Though it's from Eli Roth :/ I'm not a fan of his.

It's based on a book though, so maybe that won't be so problematic for you?

 

[NotTheGuyYouKill]

It's based on a book though, so maybe that won't be so problematic for you?

Yeah, I'll definitely give it a chance. I just don't get why everyone likes his movies. I just found them gross. And boring.

This show looks decent enough. Apparently the original novel is just the first of a series. I'll definitely watch it. Might be a nice companion to Teen Wolf or something.

 

[aparisi2274]

Monday, 21

The Following - Fox - 9/8c

This is the only new mid-season show I'll be watching...

 

[Toa TAK]

The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Premiering/returning tonight:

Fringe on Fox at 9/8c

Banshee on Cinemax at 10/9c

Reviews:

Sepinwall - Banshee

The overheated look of Amish country in summer helps make "Banshee" stand out a little. But overall, this represents a creative step back for Cinemax. Once upon a time, it would have been exactly as good as it needed to be, but the bar's been raised.

AV Club - Banshee

But by and large, this is a show that desperately needs energy in order to succeed over the long haul. We don’t need to like any of these people, but we need to know what makes them tick in order to understand what they hope to achieve. At present, these characters exist because the plot needs them to, not because they have any goals of their own that are driving the proceedings. This could be a case of Banshee needing time to get out of first gear, or an indication that it won’t be a charm this third time in the action genre for Cinemax.

Poniewozik - Banshee

It’s hard to find too many great moments amid all the cliched pay-cable gore, to find real surprises amid the loose teeth and detached digits. If you’re going to make a drama about an underworld criminal laying down the law in Amish country, there shouldn’t be such a feeling that we’ve all passed through this town before.

Tim Goodman - Banshee

The writers have assembled a number of interesting characters and dole out the back- stories slowly and with an assured hand. You get the sense after five episodes of Banshee that the series is going to get deeper and better. That’s a nice promise, evidence that Cinemax is fully in the scripted game.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Premiering/returning today:

The Cleveland Show on Fox at 7:30/6:30c

Shameless on Showtime at 9/8c

Girls on HBO at 9/8c

Enlightened on HBO at 9:30/8:30c

Anthony Jeselnik: Caligula on Comedy Central at 10/9c

House of Lies on Showtime at 10/9c

Californication on Showtime at 10:30/9:30c

 

[HalfBakedProphet]

Excited for Californication. I missed all of season 2 of Shameless, season 1 was OK but never hooked me.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Excited for Californication. I missed all of season 2 of Shameless, season 1 was OK but never hooked me.

If you have HBO, you should watch Enlightened. It's one of the best shows on TV today.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Not very much. This is all the TV I need.

 

[beat]

The Kroll Show billboard is fantastic.

 

[ivysaur12]

The Kroll Show billboard is fantastic.

I love driving by this billboard. Beat, did you take that? That's right on Sunset and La Cienega.

 

[Brian Fellows]

The Kroll Show billboard is fantastic.

Whats so fantastic about it?

 

[ivysaur12]

Whats so fantastic about it?

What What Happens Live = Bravo
Characters Welcome = USA
Very Funny = TBS

 

[beat]

I love driving by this billboard. Beat, did you take that? That's right on Sunset and La Cienega.

Nah, I got it off Kulap Vilaysack's twitter.

 

[Brian Fellows]

What What Happens Live = Bravo
Characters Welcome = USA
Very Funny = TBS

Ahhhh I see.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Premiering/returning today:

Bones on Fox at 8/7c

The Carrie Diaries on The CW at 8/7c

Continuum on Syfy at 8/7c

90210 on The CW at 9/8c

Being Human on Syfy at 9/8c

Lost Girl on Syfy at 10/9c

Reviews:

Sepinwall - The Carrie Diaries

When the second "Sex and the City" movie came out, I realized that the films had so poisoned those characters and that world for me that I couldn't stand to watch reruns of the show anymore, even though I had enjoyed it more often than not during its original run. "The Carrie Diaries" is the first time in almost three years, then, that I've had a warm thought for Carrie Bradshaw — not because it gave me flashbacks to that time that Sarah Jessica Parker quoted "The Way We Were," but because the new series succeeds on its own nostalgic terms.

Tim Goodman - The Carrie Diaries

Now, Carrie Diaries isn’t perfect. Sharing a pedigree with Sex and the City makes for a tough comparison. But it’s certainly a perfect CW show. Everybody looks young and pretty, etc. But at least in The Carrie Diaries, they’re not vampires or comic book characters. They are real people with plausible emotions. And in the hands of Josh Schwartz (Gossip Girl, The O.C.), Amy Harris (Gossip Girl), Bushnell and two other executive producers from the CW’s Hart of Dixie, the storytelling has a chance to be handled maturely.

It’s just important to remember that – voiceovers and wild dresses aside – the prequel is still a couple of boroughs removed from the original.

SFGate - The Carrie Diaries

Writer Amy B. Harris has crafted a clever, credible script, carefully adding a few veiled life lessons within the witty dialogue: One of the girls will learn that hooking up with a boy you think you love may not always end in happily ever after.

Cinema Blen - Continuum

Time travel stories are tricky, but Continuum seems to be diving head first into the challenge and getting off to a great start in the process. While the show loses a little steam from the start, there's still a lot of potential for a really great series here. Given the shortage of those among the sci-fi dramas these days (the ones that stick around, anyway), I'm hopeful that Continuum will be a new must-watch series for Syfy.

The Trades - Continuum

Continuum is a little bit "Timecop" with a lot of nice plot twists, an engaging story, and a sexy but very relatable heroine. X Files fans will delight at the cameo appearances by William B. Davis -- but the real jaw dropper comes at the end of the pilot episode, when we learn the inexact nature, but exact identity, of the character Davis is playing! This is going to be Syfy's 2013 television crack: one hit, and you'll be hooked for the series!

IGN - Continuum

While time travel isn't anywhere close to being a fresh premise, there are enough twists and flips to the convention here to make this show stand out.

 

[985boi]

Free premiere episode of Do Not Harm and Smash season 2

 

[ivysaur12]

Free premiere episode of Do Not Harm and Smash season 2

No thank you, NBC. No thank you.

 

[beat]

What's up with Do No Harm, anyways? The promos during the Golden Globes last night looked really boring.

 

[985boi]

No thank you, NBC. No thank you.

LOL

 

[ivysaur12]

What's up with Do No Harm, anyways? The promos during the Golden Globes last night looked really boring.

Is it a medial show? Is it a thriller? Does it have a miscast lead? Is Phylicia Rashad having long talks with her agent?

These are all questions.

 

[985boi]

Okay here's another lulz for Ivy:


A free premiere episode of the Kroll Show!

 

[blamite]

Community
New Girl
30 Rock
Parks & Rec
The Walking Dead
Game of Thrones

These are the only ones I know for Sure I'm watching, but hopefully I'll find something new I like, too (I doubt it though). These 6 are probably enough for me, honestly.

 

[ivysaur12]

Shit. I kind of liked The Carrie Diaries after watching it again... Ugh.

 

[[KoRp]Jazzman]

Transporter is a good naff show. The first twenty minutes you'll think it's the worst program ever then it gets naff and fun.

Spoiler

+boobies

I had to google what Naff meant, and I am still unsure so forgive me lol.

I caught a double run of this last week and my god, not even my Canadian Pride could stomach the awfulness of this show. I thought the movies were ok in a mindless action sort of way so I gave this a chance on the same premise. The acting is pure hot garbage (again I like seeing Canadians getting a shot even if its as extras) but its like high school level talent here. Action scenes are horribly choreographed, and the first episode I watched had "Frank" popping the car up onto 2 wheels to scare someone like 2 minutes in.

And dont get me wrong, I am a huge fan of added nudity to shows when done right, but I swear to god the sex scenes are shot and added in afterwards merely as a "Lets get boobies into this to get people to watch" sort of way. I would lay money that at least 50% of all GAF members could write/direct/produce a better television show themselves.

The only thing that is good about this show is that you get to stare at a pristine Audi for most of it, and it is a beautiful car.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Premiering/returning today:

Pioneers of Television on PBS at 8/7c

Hart of Dixie on The CW at 8/7c

Face Off on Syfy at 9/8c

Second Generation Wyans on BET at 10/9c

 

[Brian Fellows]

Community
New Girl
30 Rock
Parks & Rec
The Walking Dead
Game of Thrones

These are the only ones I know for Sure I'm watching, but hopefully I'll find something new I like, too (I doubt it though). These 6 are probably enough for me, honestly.

I like your taste in things. You should give Archer a try if you haven't already.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Premiering/returning today:

American Idol on Fox at 8/7c

Arrow on The CW at 8/7c

Supernatural on The CW at 9/8c

Ghost Hunters on Syfy at 9/8c

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation on CBS at 10/9c

Workaholics on Comedy Central at 10/9c

Kroll Show on Comedy Central at 10:30/9:30c

Reviews:

Variety - Kroll Show

Whatever Kroll's individual merits, this vehicle simply blends into the scenery. And like a lot of what Comedy Central programs at 10:30, it's likely to leave more discerning viewers asking, "How much longer till 'The Daily Show?' "

 

[Cornballer]

Solid reviews coming in for 'Legit' so far:

By design, "Legit" isn't as consistently funny as some other FX comedies like "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," but it nicely occupies that border between comedy and drama that have become home to both "Wilfred" and "Louie." It's a charming series that feels like it has a lot of potential for growth, and not just because its main character has nowhere to go but up.

The Bottom Line: Australian comic Jim Jeffries plays a version of himself trying to mop up his careening life by going "legitimate" to please his mother. Crass comedy ensues, and the arc of a very good show begins to be revealed with each passing episode.

Will have to catch up writing about LEGIT (FX, tonight) later, but recommend it--in that I found the pilot half painful and half fantastic

The show, run by Peter O’Fallon, starts off a bit rough around the edges. But it grows quickly in its first couple of episodes, and Legit‘s portrayal of both life with disability and the friendships among maturing men has the potential to be something special. To start with, it’s very funny.

Making a TV series about moral betterment—no matter how much the guy at the center is an amusingly entertaining jackass—is always tough to do. It’s easy to indulge viewers’ fantasies of being the guy who starts out in a good place, then indulges all his darker impulses, particularly in a comedy, where those darker impulses can lead to funny places. (FX has had great success following this template, after all.) It’s a far tougher thing to ask the audience to eat its vegetables along with the main character, to think about all of the things they have that are good and celebrate those things while trying to spread good to others out there in the world. It’s uncertain just how long Legit can run as a series about a guy who realizes just what his life has been missing, but in its first three, the show is shaggy, surprisingly moral fun.

It premieres tonight on FX along with new seasons of Archer and Totally Biased With W. Kamau Bell.

 

[ivysaur12]

Legit should be... legit.

 

[RatskyWatsky]

Premiering/returning today:

American Idol on Fox at 8/7c

The Vampire Diaries on The CW at 8/7c

Parks and Recreation on NBC at 8:30c/7:30c

Anger Management on FX at 9/8c and 9:30/8:30c

Archer on FX at 10/9c

King of the Nerds on TBS at 10/9c

Suits on USA at 10/9c

Legit on FX at 10:30/9:30c

Totally Biased with W. Kamau Bell on FX at 11/10c

Newsreaders on Adult Swim at 12/11c

Reviews:

THR - King of the Nerds

The series, though appearing to be nerd-sploitation, actually has chosen some very genuine contestants who prove that there still can be outcasts within a group of outcasts. But as soft-spoken competitor Hendrick -- an MIT graduate student who researches Martian polar ice caps -- says to the nervous household, “In an infinite universe, we’ve each already won the game.”

Huff Po Canada - King of the Nerds

It's fun watching the nerds balance their desire to geek-out together with their need to out-nerd each other. Virgil the hacker proves to be an early target of his fellow nerds' harsh judgment. In confessionals, a couple of the contestants scoff at the New York Times article declaring Virgil to be an "Internet Man of Mystery," arguing that if he was the master hacker he claims to be nobody would know who he was. Meow!

As the competition heats up and the nerds sharpen their claws even more, we look forward to more deliciously nerdy jabs. May the biggest nerd win!

I forgot Archer was premiering today, as well as Newsreaders, which will hopefully be as good as Children's Hospital and NTSF:SD:SUV::. And those Legit reviews sound pretty damn good. I think I'll watch that too.

 

[Steelyuhas]

Parks at 9:30? Didn't they move it to 8:30 with 1600 Penn at 9:30?

My TV Guide still says the local affiliate is airing a basketball game through the 8 o'clock hour, no 30 Rock, no Parks.

Spoiler

I'm going to kill someone.

 

[Cornballer]

Parks at 9:30? Didn't they move it to 8:30 with 1600 Penn at 9:30?

My TV Guide still says the local affiliate is airing a basketball game through the 8 o'clock hour, no 30 Rock, no Parks.

The West Coast DirecTV grid shows 30 Rock at 8:00 and Parks at 8:30.