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Last Week in TV - Summer Edition - Episode Awards and Review

25 Sept 2014

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Welcome back to Last Week in TV - Summer Edition. As fall TV officially begins tonight for me (Hello, Sleepy Hollow), I have one overarching question - Where did the summer go? Remember back when summer was a wasteland of reruns and TV movies, when the idea of original programming seemed foreign. Or maybe you are of the generation when summer TV largely meant reality shows, USA Network, and yes, copious reruns. I have never had a summer so chock full of original scripted programming before and I am still not caught up. Even more, a lot of this summer's offerings were actually good. Goodbye summer as a TV wasteland and hello trying to frantically trying to catch up on the summer fare I missed so I can chat it up with other fans.

Let's just say I am still behind, so some shows won't be included in this edition especially if they are still airing new episodes. I am currently behind on The Strain (8 episodes), Outlander (2 episodes), Legends (4), Honourable Woman (4), Lottery (6), Chasing Life (5), Crossbones (4), Finding Carter (10), Girl Meets World (8), Halt and Catch Fire (7), Jennifer Falls (4), Motive (5) and Major Crimes (8). I have yet to start Manhattan, The Divide, Defiance, or Under the Dome either. Whew! As I get caught up on them, I will mention it in future posts. My priorities will be The Strain, Outlander, Honourable Woman, and Motive in that order. Also because this is a special summer edition I will not be reviewing a nominated show. However the nomination form is below if you would like to nominate something.






Overall Awards:



Best Show - The Last Ship

I love a hero and in today's TV, they are hard to come by. Antiheroes and gray area drown out the classic hero story these days, making it hard to root for anything. In comes The Last Ship like a great action film of the 80's. They have a mission and they will complete it with honor and valor. Still in the new landscape of actual good TV choices in the summer, good characters alone can't win the title of Best Summer Show. What edged The Last Ship into first place for me was how often I found myself leaning forward towards the screen because I was so intensely watching how something was going to end. Not once was I watching the time or playing Free Cell like I did with most shows at one time or another. I was completely sold on the need to stay alive to find the cure and therefore their mission became my mission. That's the hallmark of good summer TV for me.

Grade: A-
Status: Renewed for season 2
My Status: Must-See TV

Audience - Anyone who loved hero movies of the 80's. If you thrilled at Top Gun and got chills during the Independence Day speech (yeah, I know that's not the 80's but still), then this show is for you.

Best Reason to Watch - almost everyone gets to be a hero at some point in a TV landscape where it's hard to root for anyone anymore
Best Addition - Tex
All-Encompassing Quote - Slattery: "You're a leader. Lead."
Best Title - Two Sailors Walk into Bar…
Biggest Aww Moment - "We respectfully request to re-enlist."
Worst Plot Device - surprise pregnancy



Best World Building / Second Best Show - Dominion

Dominion was another surprise highlight of the summer season for me because ever since Supernatural, I have had zero interest in warring angels of any kind. Still they have created a complex world in which to set the backdrop of the story and for the most part, they seem to be sticking to the canon of their foundation. As the world opens up beyond Vega, even more history, alliances, and backstory flesh out the characters experiences. The only show that comes even close to creating such a rich setting is Outlander. I would like to see Dominion add more action because there is definitely more political maneuvering than actual fighting given that they are supposed to be in a war. Still the characters are intriguing and I tend to have strong feelings about all of them, for better or worse. Let's just say that Giles from Buffy is NOT a good guy.


Grade: B+
Status: Unknown
My Status: Must-See TV

Audience - People who like to immerse themselves into dystopian worlds or general fans of sci fi

Best Reason to Watch - the rich world building
Best Addition - Arika
Biggest Surprise - I love Anthony Stewart Head from his Giles days and I have seen him in other shows where he was straight up evil, but I never hated his character so much that I wanted him off my screen before.
Best Twist - Noma is an angel
Worst Twist - surprise pregnancy



Best Returning Show - 24: Live Another Day

This is another show that surprised me because I dropped 24 a long time ago. I had a hard time distinguishing Jack and cohorts from the terrorists in previous years, which caused me to say goodbye after a couple seasons. Therefore I was sure that this would be a one and done for me. Imagine my surprise when the premiere had me not only hooked but also rooting for Jack. I found the story gripping and the characters intense. In fact, if they hadn't blown it by dumping in multiple side plots at the very end like an out-of-control comic book movie, then it would have been in the running for best show of the summer. After they killed off Margot Al-Harazi they should have stopped but nope, we needed some Chinese assassins and blown-up trawlers and about 60 other things to muddy the waters. Overall though it was quite the ride and for the first time, I enjoyed spending time with Jack. Chloe, as always, was a huge plus.

Grade: B
Status: Unknown
My Status: If Kiefer Sutherland decides he wants one more go-around, I am in.

Audience - former fans of 24 and anyone who likes a lot of action

Best Reason to Watch - the action
Best Addition - Kate and Adrian
Best Surprise - that this became appointment TV for me
Worst Surprise - the ending that didn't end



Best Reason to Re-Read the Classics - Penny Dreadful

I'm a librarian so the premise of bringing together so many classic characters was fantastic. In the first season alone, Frankenstein, Dorian Grey, Mina/Harker/Dracula, Van Helsing, and a man who looks suspiciously like a tall munchkin all appear along with others. Watching them interact was a high point. Sadly though, while Penny Dreadful started out well, it's overabundance of nudity and the sheer boredom I felt partway through several episodes soon made me want to drop it. I kept hoping it would get better but there are too many drawn-out scenes for me. The cinematography was great and Sir Malcolm Murray calling Vanessa his daughter was the series high point. However, the extended episode length, gratuitous nude scenes, and pacing issues mean I won't be joining for a second season. Such a shame because it could have been an action-packed supernatural thriller.

Grade: D
Status: Renewed for season 2
My Status: Dropped

Audience - people who like cerebral horror and don't mind copious amounts of gratuitous nudity. Try it if you enjoyed True Blood.

Best Reason to Watch - the characters
Best Reason to Avoid - the pacing
Best Addition - Vanessa back story
Best Moment - Sir Malcolm Calls Vanessa his daughter and shoots Mina
Best Twist - Frankenstein's monster kills Frankenstein's monster / Ethan is a werewolf
Most Sympathetic - Frankenstein's murdering monster



Best Surprise - Gang Related

I am still surprised by this show. There are no characters I root for and quite frankly the whole lot should be thrown in jail from the "good" guys to the villains. That's usually a big, red flag for me, but for some reason the plot of this story kept me coming back for more. I kept trying to figure out how Ryan was going to get out of the latest jam without blowing his gang affiliation. In the end it became about who I wanted to die the most, but it still had me wanting to see how it ended. The pacing helped too in that there was always something at the end that made you want to see just a little bit more. Well, me at least. Ratings were low so it was cancelled.


Grade: B-
Status: Cancelled

Audience - People who like complicated serial dramas with a side dish of cop corruption

Best Reason to Watch - the twist - Ryan was groomed by Acosta, a drug cartel leader, to get into the special gang task force to protect the gang
Best Addition - all the characters' shady back stories
Best Character - um, I'm not sure best can be used with any of these guys, but Ryan had the best storyline as the main character
Biggest Surprise - I hated Carlos with a passion and wanted him to die. Still when he was in the wheelchair trying to adjust I felt sympathetic towards him. Of course he ended that quickly by beating his trainer almost to death and then I just wanted him to die again.
Best Twist - The DA is also on Acosta's payroll



Best Action Sequences - Taxi Brooklyn

Generally sword fights and explosions win this category for me, but nothing pumped up the adrenaline more this summer than the car chases on Taxi Brooklyn. They were that good. In fact, I want Leo to join some of my other favorite shows and give them more punch too. The highest praise I can give him is that he is the Fiona Glenanne of the chase. Taxi Brooklyn was a fun show when it wasn't taking itself too seriously . After all, this is a show about a cop who cannot drive herself places and therefore partners with a cab driver. It's as ludicrous as the Castle detective-writer partnership Taxi Brooklyn was obviously copying, right down to the murdered family member of the female cop. Castle at least pokes fun at its premise, while Taxi Brooklyn only seems to do that on the standalone episodes, which may be why they were my favorite. Drop the complicated family crime sagas and make this a fun, crime of the week procedural with plenty of quips and snark. My guess it would be better received that way if it gets a chance to return. Right now that's iffy.

Grade: B-
Status: Unknown
My Status: If it is renewed, I will be watching but I hope it adds more fun in season 2.

Audience - People who like odd couple crime procedurals like Castle

Best Reason to Watch - Romba, who is quick with a joke and is in general the least douchey character
Best Addition - Kat's mom, Frankie
Best Twist - Annabella, Cat's best friend in childhood, is running the family mob business and may have had Cat's father killed
Most in Need of Intensive Therapy - Cat, whose social skills are so atrocious I'm surprised people don't smack her on a regular basis. Argh, she's obnoxious.



Character in Most Need of an Overhaul - tie - TC from The Night Shift / Brenna from Chasing Life / the entire cast of Finding Carter

Now in all fairness I haven't finished Chasing Life or Finding Carter, so if these characters have improved I apologize. Mostly I found Brenna to take top honors in the most annoying teen category (but only because I refuse to watch anymore of that idiot son on Tyrant). She hasn't met a person she liked, an adult she respected, or an issue that she couldn't suddenly make all about her. I spent almost every second of her screen time wishing someone would Gibbs slap her. I am sure she has many good traits and they really need to tap into those because in the episodes I saw, she was just taking up space. Most annoying family goes to the Wilsons, who made lying and terrible communication skills an art form. I realize that their situation was tenuous but no one even tried to see the other side and come up with a compromise. Since I am not one for emoangsting and I sure don't want to watch people yelling all the time, I vote for a whole cast re-do. TC from The Night Shift makes my eyes roll as well. No one with PTSD that bad should ever be making life and death decisions for others. He falls into the category of character where the writers expect me to ignore every stupid and self-centered choice he's made and instantly forgive him because he has puppy dog eyes. It doesn't work that way. His butt should have been fired a long, long time ago and no amount of pushing him as the one and only doctor in the known universe who can save people will excuse him from being a huge douche.



Biggest Disappointment - Teen Wolf

Teen Wolf came into this summer riding on high. Season 3 had the best ratings and the best reviews. Most fans thought the series was at its best and were looking forward to what the summer would bring. What it brought was a huge freaking breakwall that stopped all momentum and a plotline that still makes little sense. Who is the Benefactor? CrazyPants DoucheOrderly, Meredith, Lydia's Granny, Crispy Peter, a freaking machine from the 70's? Who knows? It didn't mean squat except to introduce a kazillion blonde teens that were largely undistinguishable and who sucked time away from people I actually cared about like a wendigo at dinner. Why did we have them again? Oh yeah, to introduce Liam - the worst new character of the entire summer. It's pretty bad when I want AngryBlonde/Mopey/Dopey to die more than Kate. All in all, this was BY FAR the worst season of Teen Wolf and a huge disappointment coming off the amazing 3B. Here's hoping that season 5 returns Teen Wolf to its former glory.

Grade: D+
Status - Renewed for 20 episodes
My Status - Must See TV. One bad season does not a bad show make. I am keeping the faith.

Audience - Despite what it sounds like, the audience is not teens. Sure there is teen drama, more this time than ever, but for the most part this show is for anyone who likes a fast moving plot with lots of action and a set of very likeable characters who strive to be heroes.

Best Reason to Watch - the characters
Best Addition - Malia, who while being introduced in season 3 gets a much, much bigger part in season 4
Worst Addition - Liam
Biggest Twist - Scott makes a beta
Best Twist - Derek takes wolf form
Worst Twist - the majority of the first 2/3 of the season had no overall impact at all



Best Comedy - Young & Hungry

Last season's comedy was some of the best in a long time. Sadly most of it was cancelled so I was anxious to find something light this summer to dull the pain. Enter a ditzy, poor chef with a heart of gold and all her new wacky friends. Young & Hungry is not going to win any awards. It's the froth on your mocha with just about as much substance. It doesn't change the world, but it is self-aware enough to know that and makes its own fun on the way. For the most part the show is carried by Yolanda, the sassy maid, and Sofia, the sassy best friend. Whenever these two are on they steal the show and that's a very good thing because the two leads are trapped in your typical love triangle that is better off fast forwarded. Mostly though it celebrates the power of friendship and creating your own family. That's a theme I can always get behind.

Grade: B-
Status - Unknown
My Status - If it comes back, I'm there.


Audience - people who want a laugh without it always being raunchy

Best Reason to Watch - fun-spirited sass
Best Addition - Cooper (but not for the love triangle)
Worst Plot Device - one love triangle ending just so another can start
Best Story Development - the end of Josh and Caroline
Character Most in Need of Overhaul - Caroline, who's too selfish to make it clear why Josh is with her for so long



Most in Need of a Plot - The Leftovers

I dropped The Leftovers a few episodes in so maybe things have changed, but I have never watched a show that felt like it was missing a plot before. It felt more like scattered character vignettes, tied together by an event we never saw take place. The whole show revolved around how people changed and then went on with their lives after a catastrophic event occurred, in this case a percentage of the people on earth suddenly disappearing. The characters did interact but it never felt like it was a cohesive plot or that it was moving forward at all. One entire episode is about a priest trying to save his church. As a plot-driven viewer, this show was not for me.

Grade: D
Status: Renewed for season 2
My Status: Dropped

Audience - people who like character studies

Best Reason to Watch - in-depth psychological study of how people react to a catastrophe
Most Fascinating - Amy Brenneman
Biggest Mystery - why the cult doesn't talk and chain smokes



Other Summer Shows:


Graceland -

Graceland was my favorite new show last summer, mostly for the big twists and interesting character interaction. This season was not as good but it was still entertaining. The main problem was Mike was a complete douche the entire time. He was my least favorite main character last season, but this season ramped it way, way too much. I spent most of the time hoping he would fail while the rest of the team would succeed.

Grade: B-
Status - unknown
My Status - I will watch if USA will renew but given how they keep cancelling the only shows I like on the network, I won't hold my breath.

Audience - people who like serial crime dramas with plenty of twists

Best Reason to Watch - Jakes and Johnny get more storyline this time
Best Addition - Lucia Solano, the crazy sister of an even crazier thug who Johnny of course beds / Kelly Badillo, whose interaction with Briggs helped the character
Most Useless - Zelanski, who appeared at the beginning as a new housemate and then disappeared after 3 episodes. I still don't know why he was even in it.
Least Suspenseful Cliffhanger - Mike will live on if they continue the series
Worst Plot Device - Juan's cassette tape / surprise pregnancy
Best Resolution of a Bad Plot Device - everyone important now knows what Paul did so we can move on
Most Surprising - Charlie and Briggs got back together



Crossbones -

Crossbones is another example of everyone in a show being evil in turn and having no one to root for. Sadly, this one did not intrigue me enough to forebear it. I alternately wanted everyone dead and I cared not one jot who was screwing whom from one week to another. While it was definitely better than Black Sails and the acting was well done, Crossbones is not for me so I will probably never finish it. Apparently it was not for NBC or their audience either, as it was cancelled.

Grade: D+
Status - Cancelled

Audience - Malkovich fans

Best Reason to Watch - the acting / the secondary characters
Most Intriguing - the women have as significant a place in their society as the men
Best Twist - Tom Lowe saved Blackbeard after he poisoned him
Best Character - it changed with each episode but the Balfours were almost always on my list



Extant -

CBS bet big that a Halle Berry-driven vehicle would be a summer blockbuster. They were wrong. It's a shame though because overall it was a decent story if dragged out a bit too long. I liked how everything tied together so that there weren't the usual huge, gaping plot holes that most genre shows suffer from. The futuristic world with its casual advanced technology was great fun as well. Mostly though this is a coup of casting beyond Halle Berry with Camryn Manheim knocking it out of the park. It also brought up interesting dilemmas of how far technology should advance with the whole immersing an android into the human populace to learn side plot.

Grade: B-
Status: Unknown, likely cancelled
My Status: I thought it wrapped up pretty well so I don't need a TV movie/ pity season for closure

Best Reason to Watch - well-crafted science fiction story that actually felt like they knew where it was going the whole time / top notch casting
Special Kudos - the VFX team for actually good CGI in the futuristic technology scenes
Best Surprise - the android kid who seemed evil in the beginning was actually the hero
Best Casting - Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays a shady futuristic scientist in Helix, also plays a shady futuristic scientist here
Most Predictable - the aliens are evil



Mystery Girls -

I'll admit it. When Beverly Hills 90210 first aired, I too was fascinated by Luke Perry and the whole Peach Pit Gang. Therefore much like Girl Meets World, the only reason I checked it out was nostalgia. There's nothing new here and the characters are so stereotypical it is almost painful. The gay guy is super gay. The self-absorbed celebrity is super into herself. The go-getter never wants to stop and have fun and tends to scold the others throughout the episode. It also ends in a hokey catchphrase most of the time. I realize that Tori Spelling and Jennie Garth don't exactly have people knocking on their doors these days, but they both deserve better. No amount of nostalgia gets me through this.

Grade: D+
Status - Cancelled

Audience - those who really, really loved Beverly Hills 90210

Best Reason to Watch - Beverly Hills, 90210 reunion
Best Character - Charlie for me because she was the most like me



New Shows:


Red Band Society - 1.01 - Pilot

For a story about kids living in the hospital, Red Band Society is fairly upbeat. They joke around and have fun and Nurse Jackson brings the necessary snark. It can go the way of a Hallmark movie/90's teen show, but it is rarely too heavy handed. What is laid on too think is the narration, which adds little to the show except for another character and there's already enough of them. It also has glimpses of teen love triangles which is a big no-no for me, but for now I find it charming so it's got 2 more episodes at least from me.

Grade: B
Ranking: 4-
Prediction - pulled early

Audience - people who like a little snark in their heartfelt dramas

Best Scene - Nurse Jackson takes away Emma's phone
Biggest Awww Moment - Leo gives the other kids his admittance bracelets
Best Reason to Watch - the teens, who are unique and yet definitely part of a team
Best Character - Nurse Jackson
Worst Plot Device - coma boy narrating
Best Quotes - Nurse Jackson: "You know what happens to patients who cry wolf? We sell their organs for cash on the black market and split the money." / Doctor: "She needs to be wearing a heart monitor." Nurse Jackson: "Assuming she has one." Emma: "Hello, I can hear you." Nurse Jackson: "I know, baby." / Leo: "It's hard to sleep over the sound of your thoughts."
Most Unrealistic - I have never in my life seen hospital rooms as cool as these.



Mysteries of Laura - 1.01 - Pilot

For once, the biggest draw in this show is the main character. Laura is funny and matter-of-fact. She's also well played by Debra Messing. Sadly, she is saddled with 2 incredibly obnoxious kids and an even worse douchebag husband who drag the entire show down. If I am going to get into another police procedural, it needs to draw me in right away. This one did not, and SPOILER, it didn't help that one of my favorite actors was pretty much booted in the pilot. This one is recommended for those who like a mix of comedy and drama in their procedurals like early Castle and who don't mind a secondary cast of incompetent yahoos. If you're overdone on procedurals, there's nothing here for you.

Grade: C-
Ranking: 2
Prediction - The demo was largely inflated by Debra Messing's return to TV so expect a huge drop off by the third episode; cancelled at season's end

Audience - fans of police procedurals with strong lead females

Best Reason to Watch - Debra Messing
Best Scene - Laura uncovers the killer
Biggest Awww Moment - Laura's kids say she's the best mom in the world
Worst Plot Device - ex as boss
Best Character - Laura
Most in Need of an Overhaul - Jake



Z Nation - 1.01-1.02

I am not predisposed to like zombie shows. Zombies are the gore of the horror genre and that's not my thing at all. Add one of my least favorite actors, kill off the only other guy I know, sprinkle in cheap looking CGI and the SyFy channel can leave me out. For those of you who like your campy SyFy extra gory, this is a less boring, less well-written version of The Walking Dead. Just don't eat during it.


Grade: D-
Ranking: 1---
Prediction - From the network that gave us Sharknado 2, this fits right in.

Audience - People who think The Walking Dead is too slow and doesn't have enough blood spurting

Best Reason to Watch - the laughable special effects make this a zombie comedy
Best Scene - zombie baby attack
Best Quote - Cassandra: "So are we just going to pick up every sketchy loser at every place we stop?" Doc: "Well we brought you along, didn't we?" / Murphy: "So what should I be doing while you all are getting incinerated to death?" / Garnett: "This works easier in the movies."
Biggest Huh? - Why are they reading an executive order from a dead president before killing someone in an extinction level event?
Best Reason not to Eat - about every 38 seconds. Take your pick.



About the Author - Dahne
One part teacher librarian - one part avid TV fan, Dahne is a contributing writer for SpoilerTV, where she recaps, reviews, and creates polls for Sleepy Hollow, Arrow, White Collar, Grimm, Teen Wolf, and others. She's addicted to Twitter, live tweets a multitude of shows each week, and co-hosts the Warehouse 13 "Endless Wonder", Sleepy Hollow "Headless," and Teen Wolf "Welcome to Beacon Hills" podcasts for Southgate Media Group. Currently she writes a Last Week in TV column for her blog and SpoilerTV. ~ "I speak TV."
Recent Reviews by Dahne (All Reviews)





42 comments:

  1. Summer TV was really good to me this season. Well except for the lack of sleep I got trying to keep up with it. How was summer TV for you?

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  2. The Last Ship sucked. The Leftovers was amazing and the best new summer show.

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  3. Loved Penny Dreadful and I think that for me it'll successfully fill the void left by True Blood hahahah but Ethan's a werewolf, not a vampire... hehe

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  4. Different strokes. The Leftovers bored me to tears and I was actively wondering when it would end in each episode.

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  5. Facepalm. I will fix it now. Thanks.

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  6. Wasn't able to catch The Last Ship or Dominion online anywhere so hopefully, Netflix or Amazon will get the streaming rights to those so I can at least binge watch them!


    I saw the first episode of Penny Dreadful (was available as a sneak peek on Hulu+) and I really liked it. Unfortunately, I don't have Showtime so again, hoping for Netflix or Amazon streaming (as those DVD's will be crazy expensive when they come out - a la GoT's $60 each season).


    I still haven't seen the finale of Teen Wolf. Now that I think about it, I think I need to watch the last two episodes. MTV's streaming player sucks big time so I am waiting for the episodes to post on Hulu (3 weeks after original air date). I too am very optimistic about S5. I think I read an interview with JD somewhere that the writers where scrambling with S4 because there wasn't as long of a break between the seasons so they were trying to write/rewrite during filming. With the extended time off, I hope we can get the cohesive store lines we saw in 3a and 3b.


    I dropped Crossbones after three episodes. Got bored. I never checked out Extant despite my admiration of Halle Berry...the whole she's been alone in space so how is she pregnant thing was a big turn off for me. Who knows, maybe it will be a binge watch for next summer since you mentioned that it tied up the season nicely.


    Red Band Society is in my queue to watch...work got in the way last week. Will be getting caught up this weekend though.


    Mysteries of Laura....obnoxious, ill behaved children are an instant turn off for me. Add in a disrespectful, jackass of a father/ex and I'm out. I love Debra Messing but I can't, I just can't do it...not with so many other shows this season! Maybe if they tone down the "obnoxious" and "jackass" parts, I will tune in as a binge watch over the summer but for now, not on my watch list.


    Z-Nation - haven't seen it, not really on my must watch list - perhaps a binge watch when I'm hoe sick kind of thing but I literally LOL'ed and yelled GARTH! at your "least favorite actor" bit and "WAAAAAALLLLT" at your "only other actor I knew" comment.


    This week is going to be crazy busy! I have 9 shows premiering!

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  7. I agree with most of your opinions on the shows I watch, just maybe not on The Leftovers. Most of the issues you have with it are pretty much solved by the end of the season, it's a really slow ride, I agree, and it is definitely not for everyone but there is no question in the quality of the show. It's more of a matter of taste because there are no plot holes whatsoever by the end of the season. It's just way more about the people than the plot itself, but the plot doesn't cease to be there no matter how underlying, I agree people who like it are probably the ones interested in human psicology in a way.

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  8. Also maybe it is a bit spoilery for people who haven't watched it all.

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  9. Glad you're enjoying Dominion. It was my favorite show I watched this summer. I do hope it has more action next year.

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  10. Totaly agree on The Leftovers, just brilliant.

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  11. Am I the only one that actually likes Liam? The big brother relationship between him and Scott was one of my favorites this season.

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  12. Once an episode airs, it's fair game in my opinion.

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  13. You are definitely not alone. Many people liked Liam. I jsut happen to not be one of them. It felt like they were forcing him on me and the more they pushed the less I liked him, and they pushed really hard. I also do not think the season was a total failure but it was by far the worst season for me. Entire episodes felt halted and the overarching storyline had more holes than substance. It felt like the writing and Jeff Davis in particular were phoning it in, which is not at all what I expect from Teen Wolf. For me the non-failures of this season were Derek and Malia, both of which grew as characters. I wish I could add Lydia to that list since it was supposed to be the year of Lydia, but they continued to isolate her from the main group and I'm not sure that we know much more about banshees now than we did when season 4 began. I have great faith in season 5 of Teen Wolf, but I kind of wish that season 4 had never existed.

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  14. I agree on needing more action. They have set up the world and its politics well but now it needs to jump start the war. More action, less talking. I'd like to see Arika take a more center stage as well and maybe accelerate the pace because some episodes stalled in the middle. I will say that 1 big strength of Dominion is the abundance of complicated and interesting female roles so I'd like to see Claire and Noma increase in their storyline as well. Plus David Whele needs to die. He just does.

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  15. I'm surprised you agree with all but one. Since I am a plot-driven TV viewer, I often have contrary opinions to the majority of the SpoilerTV community. I am glad to hear that the Leftovers plot kicks in and ties things together by the end of the season. It was the strangest show of the season for me for sure, since one episode seemed to have little to do with the previous one. It's good to know that they had a plan all along and were just meandering to get there. The Leftovers is not for me due to its glacial pacing, but I know it gets high praise around here.

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  16. Yeah I just felt compelled to comment cause it is one of my new favourite shows and I do want people to know it's deal so they don't go in expecting something completely different but I feel the need to let people know that it's all planned out by the writters in a pretty amazing if very, very slow way.
    I agree with you on most of the shows you reviewed and I watch, I don't watch the exact same as you so we have only a few in common and even fewer I'm willing to take the time to write or debate about. I gotta be passionate about a specific show to do so, I'm sure you can tell how much I love the leftovers...

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  17. I completely agree about Finding Carter a major character overhaul (with the exception of Carter's biological mom.( The actress playing Carter improved, but in general, most of the actors had very little charisma. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who found TC extremely annoying. on the NIght Shift.

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  18. I can totally agree with you in that I wish we had gotten more answers about Lydia's Banchee powers. I am also looking forward to season 5. I also wish that they would have involved Kate more. I kept waiting for her to fulfill some real purpose for coming back, it just never really happened.I also believe that we are all entitled to our own opinion, but just do me a favor and don't hate on little Liam to much in the future. Pretty please (puppy dog eyes).

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  19. Especially on SpoilerTV. Don't want spoilers coming here isn't a good idea.

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  20. Dominion is on Amazon to buy (online version) and Syfy.com in U.S.

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  21. Nice that you enjoyed 24. Can understand your frustration at the final 4 episodes, but for us old-timers, it was a great run of episodes.

    I enjoyed RBS. It had the right mix of comedy/depressing scenes/heartwarming scenes. Not usually my style of show but I'm gonna be watching (until Fox cancels it, that is).

    MoL needs to just die. I turned off when the kids were urinating on each other. I genuinely want NBC to cancel it during the episode tonight. Just for a commercial to be on and it to get cancelled. How this show ever got made, I'll never know. Not even Enrico Colantoni, nor David Valcin (who plays the awesome Scarface on Person of Interest) could make this show have any quality.

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  22. I agree with you about The Last Ship and Dominion, loved those two shows. Penny Dreadful is really the only one I disagree on (out of the shows I watch), it's one of my top shows now, I just loved it so much!

    At first I was kind of confused by The Leftovers but stuck with it and began to really enjoy it so I'm sticking with that one.

    I dropped Extant after just 2 episodes because it went too slow for me and didn't intrigue me at all.

    I'm disappointed Red Band Society's premiere didn't rate well, I really enjoyed it.

    For Teen Wolf my Best addition would have been Liam or Parrish and my Worst Additon would be Brett. And finally I'm sad to say that I'll be dropping Teen Wolf, for many many many reasons, too many to list. It's really disappointing because Teen Wolf was pretty much the only reason I was on Twitter and Tumblr, I'll probabaly keep posting about other shows I watch since I watch so many now and see how that goes.

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  23. I did sample most of these shows but I put them on the backburner in order to binge other shows like HIMYM and Sons of Anarchy so I can't really comment on them. The only summer shows I did stick with were Teen Wolf, Wilfred, Penny Dreadful and The Night Shift.



    I agree that Teen Wolf had it's worst season by far. The absence of Allison was actually a lot more noticeable then I thought it'd be. I think it was better then how you graded it, but not by much. I'd give it a C.


    Wilfred is over. I'm sad but I did like the ending. I just wish the final season had been a bit more fun and a little less somber. I give it a B


    The Night Shift was the only new show I stuck with (probably because it was short and I didn't need to watch it the day after like I did with a lot of other shows). I agree TC needs some character changes, but I think the ensemble made it quite enjoyable and I look forward to the second season. B-


    Penny Dreadful was my favorite show of the summer. Maybe it's just because I completely love artistic gore(many people would say gore can't be artistic. I disagree). It got a little weak in the middle but I think overall it was an excellent show and I cannot wait for the 2nd season. A-.


    As for new shows, the only one I'm watching right now is Red Band Society. I really enjoyed it, I've been really hyped for this show for awhile and it met my expectations. B+


    I assume you're going to go back to doing this each week Dahne? If so I look forward to it and I plan on posting my thoughts too because I love to discuss TV like this. I'll probably be posing my thoughts on Gotham, Sleepy Hollow, Scorpion, Blacklist, Red Band Society, Black-ish (IF it keeps me interested for the first ep), and Doctor Who for this week (and Downton Abbey if I can finish bingeing it by the next column).


    Looking forward to the next column whenever it may come!

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  24. Agreed. I remember being on Get Glue (or whatever it's called now) one time and some people were complaining about getting spoiled on SpoilerTV. My general thought was "Duh. What do you expect?"

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  25. When you finally do get to see The Last Ship and Dominion, let me know what you think. Same with Red Band Society, which I liked a lot more than I thought I would. I loved the first episode of Penny Dreadful too, but it progressed to more and more nudity and you know what a prude I am. It got in the way of the story for me. You were smarter than me when it came to Crossbones. It did not improve with age or episodes, but if you like sci fi, you may want to try Extant out. It does drag in the middle but I appreciate a show that knows how and when to end.


    Teen Wolf was a disaster so I am sorry I talked you into trying it this season. To clarify, not sorry that you like the show or that you tried it. Just sorry that you didn't get to experience it weekly when it was better. I agree that a long break is needed. Since filming doesn't start until January I have all confidence that the show and Jeff Davis will get their mojo back for season 5.


    Mysteries of Laura was jsut a mess. I kind of hope DoucheCopDad kidnaps the kids and disappears. He thoroughly deserves them; I do not. I don't understand how anyone thought they were a good idea.


    Ha! I lvoe how well you know me. I was groaning Garth though and yep, that was my reaction to Walt. Sad he went so soon because he was the only thing that got me through the whole episode. This week is crazy for me too. Including pilots, premieres, and weekly shows, I should have 21 shows to review. Suffice to say several will get the boot because no way I can review more than 15 a week.

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  26. I totally understand that. There are shows I get passionate about too.

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  27. Kate is a complete puzzle to me because in the end there was no reason to resurrect her. Argent could have come back for any number of reasons. Peter could have had another ally. Her presence did not justify meandering through yet another genre show resurrection. I do hope that Lydia gets some tutoring in being a banshee next year. Maybe her dead grandma left her videos or something.

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  28. TC almost made me drop The Night Shift even though I really enjoyed the rest of the cast. Glad to hear that Carter improved. When I stopped, her adopted mom annoyed me less than her biological mom, but only because she wasn't fighting every single time she was on screen.

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  29. Ugh, that urination scene was the end of me too. I work with enough bratty kids that I do not plan to spend a second with them in my downtime. Then shuffling off Enrico Colantoni was the last straw. I have a feeling that tonight's ratings are going to tank since I haven't heard anyone who actually liked it.


    24 was a pleasant shock to me, so much so that if I had time this summer, I might have checked out the original series to see if I liked it better. I hope they do another series. It could even be abotu Kate if Kiefer wants out.

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  30. Sorry to hear that you are done with Teen Wolf but since you didn't like season 3 that makes sense. We watch Teen Wolf for totally opposite reasons so I am kind of surprised that you didn't like this season. It was more of a throwback to season 1. I do encourage you to stay active in social media though because chances are you will find another show that completely captures you that you want to talk about with others.


    I am hoping that Red Band Society's ratings rise from word of mouth. It needs to or it will be another show I enjoyed that got cut way too soon.

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  31. Thanks. I plan on posting this column weekly on Mondays again although it may be Tuesdays when things get busy in real life. Sadly premiere week and the busiest time of my paying job coincide this year. I will probably tweak it as well because it was taking far too many hours for me to review all shows I watched. I'll probably rotate them unless it's a show I podcast or do best scene polls on. I am keeping nominated shows though since that exposed me to a lot of great shows I missed.


    Thanks for adding to the discussion every week with your show grades and thoughts. I love how you expand the conversation and include shows I don't watch as well. Sleepy Hollow I podcast so I will be discussing it weekly as well. I plan on wathcing at least the first 3 episodes of Gotham and Red Band Society. I haven't seen Scorpion or Black-ish yet, and I will likely marathon The Blacklist over the hiatus since I tend to like the show better than way. I was disappointed in the premiere because it felt more like episode 3 or 4 than the premiere to me.


    As for Teen Wolf, I think I liked allison more this season than I did all of last season even though she wasn't on it. I love how the characters kept mentioning her and it was clear how much she meant to them. That got lost in 3B so I was glad to see they did not downplay her sacrifice. For me it was more the writing and new characters that made me dislike the new season than the absence of anyone.


    The only reason I stuck with The Night Shift is because I liked all the other characters. Even the douche admin grew on me. Still I will probably not watch season 2 unless I hear that TC is less obnoxious if only because I still have summer shows to catch up on and I don't see that alleviating any time soon.


    I do think that gore can be well-done. It's a lot like nudity and cursing for me. A little can go a long way and the second it becomes gratuitious, they lose me. I didn't have a problem with most of the gore of Penny Dreadful, it was the constant sex and how everything seemed to revolve around sex, including the back stories, which turned me off. I can see how people would really love it though, because if it had even half the nudity in it I would probably watch season 2. The plotline is intriguing.


    So far Red Band Society is the best pilot I have seen but in all fairness, I haven't seen most of them yet due to having to work late every night. I am interested in seeing how it compares after I watch some of the bigger pilots.

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  32. LOL - I'm too cheap to pay for it but I couldn't unlock it on SyFy's website after the premiere episode - I will try again this weekend though. Thanks for the info :-)

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  33. I was really looking forward to Dominion and after seeing all the positive comments on STV about The Last Ship I was really bummed when I couldn't find them online anywhere (at least not for free, as I noted below, I'm too cheap to buy them online and the DVD - old lady here is still attached to her DVD's) but since Blue Star mentioned SyFy has them posted now, I may just binge it this weekend....along with the 9 premieres from this week - I know what ya mean about the paying job getting in the way!


    LOL - your prudeness cracks me up. I get bored with gratuitous nudity - one of the reasons I dropped True Blood. Nudity is all well and good as long as there is a good plot to justify it. I've heard that Outlander has done a wonderful job with the nudity/sex scenes - just wish I could find that one online too!


    No worries on Teen Wolf - every show has their hiccups...what has annoyed me the most is MTV's crap streaming player! Carver has made me a bit gun shy but hasn't driven all my trust in show runners away so I trust JD and the team to rally and come out swinging next summer :-) Crap TV player or not, I am so there for the 5a premiere - who knows, I may go hog wild and BUY A TV so I can live tweet!


    I feel bad for Debra Messing...I loved her on Will and Grace and would watch her in just about anything...sadly, obnoxious kids is where I draw the line (I read in another comment that they urinate on each other??? WTF writers?).


    I'm surprised they killed the Walt guy...I think he was the biggest name on the show...Garth being the second. I admit, I may have to find a YouTube clip of the baby zombie attack though...seems very Mystery Science Theatre 3000 ish (oops, may be dating myself again there).


    Alright, better sign off...having problems with Disquis comments again and I don't want to lose all this!

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  34. i found it super boring too , i stopped watching..

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  35. I dropped the leftovers after 4 episodes.It was boring me to death!

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  36. Makes sense. I'm definitely not going to be going as into detail as I did last year because I don't have the time between work and college. Probably just going to post my grades, write a short thing for whatever shows you don't review, and then mention what I disagree/agree with on the shows we both watch.



    I look forward to your opinions on the Sleepy Hollow premiere. Mondays are definitely my favorite show wise between Gotham, SH, and Blacklist.


    I can totally see your point about Allison, they definitely misused her before she was killed. I think my biggest problem was they tried to just put Allison's qualities on Malia and Kira. They made Malia the badass, but atleast they made her a little original by making her tactless and clueless at points and they made Kira literally just Scott's girlfriend. She did nothing and it upset me.



    I hold summer shows to a different criteria compared to fall show. If The Night Shift was a fall show I wouldn't be watching it. I only watch it because I have the time in the summer. I loved the admin from the beginning(mostly because he was in Six Feet Under, one of the best shows ever), but I feel they just stopped with the douche idea around the 3rd/4thh episode. He was just strict.


    Oh well I can understand that. I personally have no problem with nudity or sex. It really just does not bother me. I do agree they overdid it a bit. For Dorian Gray it made sense, but otherwise it was all rather random and unnecessary.


    My favorite pilot so far has been Selfie. That show shouldn't be good but it just is. Red Band is really good though, I'm excited to see what they're going to do with all the characters, especially the girls.

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  37. I loved season 3, especially 3A but a large part of what made the show great for me was interacting with the fans, and most of them seemed to totally lose their minds (pardon the pun lol) during 3B and it took a lot away for me.


    Season 3 was the best story wise for me and if season 4 was more like S3 was I probably would stick with it but between the poor story in S4 and the ship-crazy and Dylan hungry fandom it's just hard to enjoy it anymore.


    If I hear good things about it I might try it but for now I'm out. But when you write your review for 5x01 (if you plan on doing one) Ill be sure to check it out to see what you and everyone else thought!


    If it's renewed for a 6th season I might check it out too since (hopefully) a lot will have changed by then but it kind of feels like S5 will be the last unless it suddenly spikes in ratings like 3B did.

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  38. I thought that's why they were doing and the second that woman said to Laura that they were doing it, I turned it off.

    Yeah, I defiantly recommend going back to 24 when you get a chance. After the cougar it gets better in season 2. The first 12 of season 3 is a bit of a mess, but the back 12 is as good, if not better than LAD. And it has Paul Blackthorne in it. 4 and 5 are stunningly superb, 6, 7 and 8 are ok.

    I really enjoyed the pilot of The Leftovers, but watching the second episode right now I'm getting really confused and losing interest already.

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  39. Paulk Blackthorne? Now that's a real plus. If I by some miracle stay caught up by hiatus, I will try to check out a season again.


    Generally I try to give a show 3 episodes to win me over but Mysteries of Laura is at the very bottom of my pile. If I don't get to it this week, I'll consider it dropped. Too much good TV to waste the time.

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  40. Fandom can make it hard to enjoy a show, especially if the majority of fans are into something you are not. I manage to avoid most of the TW shipping stuff on Twitter because the group I mainly talk TV with isn't about that in any show. I will definitely be reviewing the season 5 premiere and plan to recap/podcast all of season 5, but that could change if it becomes the Liam and Mason show. I am not interested in that at all. While ratings were down a bit from the last time TW aired in summer, it is still very much in MTV renewal category so I would say it is less ratings and more whether the actors want to continue when it comes to season 6.

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  41. I am a big fan of the DVD as well, especially around the holidays when they become so cheap to buy. Outlander has been good. A bit slow in places but overall it works as a historical drama. I only occasionally have a problem with the sex in it because for the most part it feels like a natural part of the story instead of being thrown in just for ratings.


    I hope you do buy a TV for the June season 5 premiere. I would love to live tweet with you. I agree that Jeff Davis is more than capable of turning things around and making season 5 great.


    Killing off Walt was a mistake on Z Nation because very few of the characters are recognizable and even less interesting. The baby zombie attack was definitely something to see though. And yes, very MST3K. It made me laugh.

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  42. I think the live tweeting is what is really going to force me to cave and buy a TV. I'm thinking a nice 36" flat screen would make a wonderful graduation present to myself - just in time for the Teen Wolf 5a premiere of course ;-)

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