Matricians: What are you watching?

[Mikero]

Everything is a lot less interesting this season. I didn't start watching regularly until he ditched his original team and they became side-characters, but now they're back on the fringe and boring me all over again.

[Vinchenz Rock]

Agreed. So far, the best episode was the first one (it's actually one of my favourites now) but it's went down from there.

Granted, not down hill. It just went down to the quality of the first three seasons.

[Edgecrusher]

Which is extra tragic, given that they've been touching on what could have been some really good topics.

[ASR]

http://www.avclub.com/articles/the-best-tv-series-of-the-00s,35256/1/

A surprisingly accurate (as in, I mostly agree with it) list of the best shows of the past decade.

I've seen 23/30 of 'em, ha.

[Johncarllos]

Huh, neat.

[Vinchenz Rock]

Oh God, Kristen Bell, Veronica Mars, must download now...

(That, and I actually like Murder Mysteries)

[ASR]

Veronica Mars is pretty good. I've watched about 5 or 6 episodes but not enough to be able to judge if it deserves to be on that list. It's very teen-y. I have the first two seasons because I got them very cheap as a double-pack a while ago and I've been meaning to watch them.

[Edgecrusher]

The plots are transparent.

[Abominator]

It started off OK, but I gave up on it when someone got raped every week.

[Johncarllos]

It started off OK, but I gave up on it when someone got raped every week.

Sounds like my kind of show!

[TheOnly]

Ditto!!

I really only watch TV when am at work, the only channel that's on there is VH1.

[Mikero]

I like murder mystery stuff enough I guess but anytime I catch Veronica Mars on it doesn't live up to the hype despite my crush on Kristen Bell and her bum.

[Edgecrusher]

It had great intentions, and the premise is solid enough, but the execution was weak.

Kristen Bell carries the show, but her strength alone is insufficient.

The show got even more corporate-ized in the third season, when episodes became bite-sized plots with little cohesion between them.

Kristen Bell is #####ing hot though.

[ASR]

Dear everyone who didn't watch the first episode of AMC's remake of The Prisoner tonight,

You really really REALLY missed out.

Love, Alec

Posted on: 16 November 2009, 00:10:28

Ventures Bros. and Metalocalypse were also both very good.

However, not even The Prisoner (as absolutely amazing as it was) can hold a candle to tonight's Curb Your Enthusiasm. Easily the greatest episode of the entire series. They... they did it. If you've been watching this season, or know anything about it, then you've probably been secretly wishing for something very specific to happen... and they delivered. Even with that, the rest of the episode was still CYE at it's best, on it's A-Game, absolutely perfect. Fantastic ending, too.

I hope Dexter and Californication are all outstanding tonight, too - and they probably will be since both are in their endgame - and this could be one of the greatest Sundays in television of all time.

[Mikero]

My reaction to the latest Curb Your Enthusiasm:

"Hooooooooooo f### that had everything."

[ASR]

Their A-game was on its A-game!

[Mikero]

It really was.


Anyway, finally a recent episode of House worth talking about! But all I'm really gonna say it was good again.

Oh yeah, and I'm definitely gonna start watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia soon.
But for whatever reason, I recently started watching the original Digimon episodes all over again, and I'm cool with that.

[ASR]

Hahaha, I did a Digimon run of the first two seasons about three years ago. I love it.

The Prisoner remake had two more episodes tonight, and I guess the last two are airing tomorrow. Tonight's episodes aren't done yet and I'm still watching, but my opinion isn't likely to change anytime soon: AMC is absolutely decimating the television playing field with quality programming.

[Vinchenz Rock]

Just watched last episode of House. Great stuff, this season finally has potential to top the last one.

Posted on: 18 November 2009, 17:43:55

Now I've just seen Waters of Mars (A Doctor Who special that just aired). It... I don't know. I liked it, though.

[ASR]

I heard it was really dark. Can't wait to watch it.

Edward Norton guest-starred on Modern Family (so did Elizabeth Banks) and it was easily one of my favorite guest-appearances of all time.

[Vinchenz Rock]

Yeah, it was pretty dark. That's why I "I don't know"'d. I also forgot how 'wacky' it was, since I haven't seen a single Doctor Who thing since last summer.

Next one is the Christmas Special... and David Tennant's last episode to play as the Doctor. D:

I have a feeling they're going to bring him back sometime as his half-human form that was left with Rose, though.

[ASR]

I highly doubt they'll revisit Rose.

[Mikero]

They could just revisit the half human doctor alone though.

[ASR]

Which would be weird without Rose.

This Thursday night was not so hot. Always Sunny was good, but that's it. Everything else fell very flat.

I had a Californication marathon with a friend tonight. I've been pushing it on her for months, and she never #####ing listens even though I knew it's EXACTLY the sort of thing she'd love. And of course we watch one episode and she gets angry at me for not making her watch it earlier.

One good thing about watching and sampling all the quality shows of every type and flavor is that you always know exactly which shows which specific friends will like. I can tell a person's taste in television, movies, and music very easily... if only they'd listen to me more.

Posted on: 20 November 2009, 03:37:13

I just made a Top 5 list called The Top 5 Hats on TV. Mike, one of the winners is from Seinfeld. See if you can guess before you click. (It's easy.)

[Mikero]

Have friends like that.
It's almost a dealbreaker!

Also I think it's that big ass hat George gets Elaine to buy on the Peterman account or Bob Sacamanto's rat hat double. If not you're crazy because they talk about it nuff times in the episode and I'd have to see this hat.

Edit: I was wrong, but that was a good choice too. And it lasted more episodes.

[ASR]

Just watched the Doctor Who special. Wasn't as dark as I was expecting, but definitely still up there. Good, though.

Posted on: 21 November 2009, 03:59:50

DEXTER.

OH MY GOD.

THAT WAS...

...nothing I say will make you understand.

Nothing.

I'm just gonna' sit in a corner living in a private dreamworld thinking about tonight.

This is the stuff of legends.

[Majikn]

My brother has all the seasons of Supernatural that have been released so far, and I've been watching episode after episode. I feel like it's perfect for a guy who needs to rest and recuperate because I don't have to worry too much about falling asleep and missing a lot as the episodes play through. And since he's a huge fan it gave me an idea of something to get him for Christmas.

My mother bought Dexter, maybe I'll watch some of that next.

[ASR]

The Curb finale was ace, by the way. Really great stuff all around and it was so weird and great "watching" Seinfeld again.

Californication was great, too.

Venture Bros. was hilarious, tonight. Had Patton Oswalt and John Hodgeman as guest stars, so that was to be expected. Really funny stuff.

Metalocalypse was fun.

...BUT DEXTER...

[Mikero]

Do you think Curb Your Enthusiasm is over now? As in, the series? I know the season's done but that all seemed very much like a series finale too. Anyway yeah it was good.

House was quite good this week, so I guess I'm finally back in. Heroes was good, as was The Big Bang Theory (that really never goes up or down anyway) and How I Met Your Mother was great. The cartoon on Fox on Sunday were pretty good too.

[Johncarllos]

Heroes surprised me this week. It's getting better.

[ASR]

I think Curb Your Enthusiasm is in the same kind of limbo as Flight of the Conchords: it's not officially over, but it also is kind of officially over. HBO will give them both an open door to continue at any time, but don't expect them to jump right on it.

[Mikero]

I find it incredibly annoying that Curb Your Enthusiasm will take a couple years off all the time.

I know it gives them time to make it really good but #####.

[ASR]

Just wrote this: The Top 5 DVD Box Sets.

Posted on:  5 December 2009, 16:52:32

So I'm watching the TV edit of Hot Fuzz on Comedy Central right now...


...it's very frustrating. While they don't seem to have removed very many scenes in whole (but they did remove the scene with the dropkick to the grandma's face! Why?!), it seems that they opted to just trim down seconds off of every shot. There's entire lines missing and huge chunks of jokes gone because they just want to get to the next bit quicker. It's like it's on some kind of fast-forward that just skips every line that isn't 100% crucial to viewing, and it's hard to watch it like that. It's like a trimmed down movie with the bare bones of what you actually need to see. Believe me, I'm thrilled Comedy Central's airing it... but this is kind of unacceptable.

[Speed Racer]

Steelers vs. Raiders

I haven't seen this many yellow flags thrown for quite some time. Somebody needs to alert the refs that these guys are getting paid to tackle each other, not play two-hand-touch football.

[ASR]

DEXTER
SEASON
FOUR
FINALE

OH
MY
GOD

[Edgecrusher]

That seems to be the consensus.

I wish I wasn't so buried in schoolwork. I'm dying to watch it.

[ASR]

I took a break from writing a 10-page paper to watch it, ha. Only because I had three seperate people text/call/Facebook me how great it was.

[ChaosVortex]

I've heard someone say "Hit me up on Facebook", but I've never had someone "Facebook me."

[Edgecrusher]

Until now.

[ASR]

I embrace technology and the use of websites as verbs. I was saying "Google it" when I was still in elementary school and everyone else was using Yahoo! and Dogpile and Mama.

[Johncarllos]

And Ask Jeeves.

[ASR]

I hated Ask Jeeves because I was the only one who knew enough about technology to understand that you didn't have to literally ask it questions.

You have no idea how long my mom was convinced you had to type questions into search engines after discovering Ask Jeeves. To this day she still does it sometimes.

[Edgecrusher]

So, Dexter.
[spoiler]
Yes, it was very good, but you can't tell me you didn't see that coming from a mile away.[/spoiler]

[ASR]

[spoiler]I had suggested the possibility Trinity killing Rita to some friends earlier in the season, but I never for a second thought they'd actually follow through with it. In retrospect, they were pretty heavy with the "at this rate, you're going to lose your family" stuff, but I honestly did not catch on to it until after the fact. Everyone else I've talked to was not expecting that ending at all, either.[/spoiler]

[Edgecrusher]

[spoiler]One of my friends figured it would end up being Cody, but because they hadn't really developed his personality, the viewer was likely projecting onto him, which means it would be like killing a kid the viewer knew (as odd as that sounds).
I have to say though, I figured they were gonna cover the first two steps and Rita was gonna be one of the jumpers, since they went so far out of their way to establish that the jumper always had to be a mother.

Here's hoping they use the Grandparents they introduced (or acknowledged the existence of) as a way to dump Cody and Astor. The baby will stay, given that the whole "baptism of blood" concept is obviously in play, but the last thing I want to watch is a season of Dexter babysitting.

I also assume Deb will step in to help out, for pretty obvious reasons, but here's hoping that doesn't last too long either.

I'm getting Season 2 vibes from where the show is going. Especially since Trinity vanished with Rita as his last kill, WHILE the feds are hunting for him.

Also, I appreciate that they warmed Quinn into Doakes' role. He was always an obvious replacement character, but the fact that they eased him into antagonism made it seem A BIT less obvious.

Also, I hate what they've done to Harry. Every scene where he acts as Dexter's internalized doubt induces an eye-roll. Easily the only part of the show I consistently dislike. I can deal with their pissing on his memory, but the needlessly heavy-handed exposition is just annoying.[/spoiler]

[ASR]

[spoiler]I hate the Harry device, too.

As for the way Rita was killed, I think that at the end of the season it was as if Dexter had thrown Trinity off his routine, as evidenced when he killed the other Kyle Butler. I think he only killed Rita in the bathtub so Dexter (or rather, viewers) would know it was him (even though it's damn obvious anyway.)

Not a huge fan of the Quinn filling Doakes shoes thing, but I am welcome to another faceoff like Season 2.

I think next season is going to have a lot of Deb finding out exactly who Dexter is, possibly even through Harrison.

Also, some friends put forth the idea of a time jump... it seems unlikely, but it would be useful in dealing with the idea of Dexter raising Harrison with the code, assuming Harrison has been affected in the same way Dexter was.[/spoiler]

[Edgecrusher]

[spoiler]The time jump had occurred to me as well. While it's not the most likely scenario, it IS the one I'm the most interested in.[/spoiler]

[ASR]

Just watched David Tennant's final triumph as Doctor Who, and let me say it was well worth the wait.

[Abominator]

I wish I could be bothered with Doctor Who but I gave up when the Human/Dalek hybrid showed up.

[ASR]

Ah, I can't fault the show for that sort of thing. I love the cheesiness just as much as I love the character of The Doctor. You can't have one without the other.

I only ever followed regularly when SciFi (now SyFy) channel was airing the first season of the revival, and since then I just marathon through each season when it's done.

Anyway, yeah, the eleventh doctor guy looks... like... I don't know, he just doesn't feel right. I felt the same way about David Tennant at first and now I like him more than Christopher Eccleston (who I last saw as the villain in the GI Joe movie), so we'll see what happens.

For anyone else who watched it: what the hell was up with the whole Barack Obama thing? It was like some under-the-table jerk about how he's great and all, and while I may or may not disagree I just felt that it wasn't really relevant or appropriate for an episode of Doctor Who, let alone an endgame finale sort of thing like this.