what are we watching - August

[molly1216]

i dunno if this is the place for this...
our hold over what are we watching thread is in Cinema Verdict and then there is DVD forum.
but I have been watching Television on DVD.. so is this where i put it?
or is there one in some other place i haven't seen yet? let me know and i will move it.
i really don't like the new multiforum aspect i think in a word it bites.
'cest la vie.

So far this month I have been stuck in a Canadian Loop.
I cruised through all the Corner Gas seasons that are on DVD S1-4
then I pulled out Slings and Arrows S1-3
and now i am working my way through Da Vinci's Inquest of which not enough seasons are on DVD
and rewatching Due South S1-4

I loved Corner Gas, the only way I can describe it to people is that it's like Seinfeld, in that it's a show about nothing, but good. you have your ensemble cast in a SK town of 500 and each episode is a little bit of nothing that is very very funny. As the series gets more comfortable it integrates quite a number of imaginary sequences and Canadian Cameos. My only problem is that there aren't any more seasons.

Slings and Arrows can't be explained properly, it is dramady set at a repertory theatre festival not unlike the The Stratford Festival, portraying all the behind the scenes malarkey with equal weight for management and artist story lines. As in Due South Paul Gross is once again talking to invisible ghosts...(btw he has been cast as the Daryl Van Horne character in this seasons Eastwick) I found it insanely enjoyable show to watch and probably the most literary show this side of West Wing.

Da Vinci's Inquest I hadn't seen before, they run it late night sometimes but I like to watch things in sequence. It lay somewhere between CSI and L&O:CI, and i actually like it better than any of the CSI canon. The series central character is the Coroner who has great latitude and powers when deciding if something is or isn't a crime. This is an aspect of the law that has never been touched by US series TV so it's all new ground. And it's really really good.. I just finished Season 3 and boy howdy there are some creepy shows in there. I shouldn't have been watching the one about the landlady poisoning her tenants at 3am.

Due South is starting to get a little dated, it has a very leftover 80s attitude to crime drama, it is technically a dramady with excursions into satire and self parody. But watching it again after all this time, it is interesting to watch Paul Haggis pay with the episode art form as a number of producer auteurs did in the 90s. A few dream sequences, a musical interlude, some kick ass car chases and a lot of absurdist story lines. but they did maintain a sense of self awareness that makes it easy to forgive. There's a couple of sequences early in season 3, when Fraser is now arguing with his deceased father on a regular basis, where they bring in Detective Vecchio's father for Ray to bicker with. Which i found profound for a silly little series. Instead of Fraser's relationship with his dead father being unusual, it just intimates that EVERYONE may have unresolved issues with a dead parent that they need to work on. brilliant idea.

Netflix sent me Torchwood: Children of the Earth to watch. I am on the fence about this...whereas it is really good science fiction, far and aware above normal, Stargate shoot em up fare....i do think that it was a bit cruel and treated it's fans callously. Just because you can tear your fans hearts out, doesn't mean you should. I did use a few naughty words when talking about Russell T. Davies.

[Stubblecat]

Molly's getting some Canuckevision on!

Be careful or you'll start watching Little Mosque On The Prairie and instantly double its viewership.

I still highly recommend hunting down Being Erica. Not on DVD yet, but you can probably get it on Hulu.

[J.M. Vargas]

Two words: BIG BROTHER. Managed to avoid watching this reality show for all ten years it's been on. But this year, between the "After Dark" three-hour nightly show on Showtime 2 and the network versions (which are hilariously edited to create non-existent conflict), I'm hooked on this indefensible trash.

Last night I watched a USA Network marathon of Season 2 and 3 episodes of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit." So weird to see these early episodes when the detectives (which have become 'super-noir' cops over the show's ten-years-and-going run) actually showed emotions and came across as troubled human beings. It's criminal that Richard Belzer continues to be on the show but his screen time gets shorter and shorter. In the early years Munch had whole episodes/scenes dedicated to his character and what he thought/felt about some heinous crimes; those are gone from the currently-on-auto-pilot "SVU" NBC machine.

[Stubblecat]

Since we're talking TV, I'm always good for a season of Hell's Kitchen. This season is already loads of fun.

And I have to admit to More To Love, as my best friend has an ex-girlfriend on that show. She was one of the 5 booted on the first episode, and if you saw it I'll tell you that she was the one who was the most obvious to go home first.

[molly1216]

Since we're talking TV, I'm always good for a season of Hell's Kitchen. This season is already loads of fun.

don't you find humiliation entertainment grating?
i watched his season one..albeit in a dvd marathon and a the end i was ready to kill someone ..and eat them

[Stubblecat]

I far prefer his UK series Kitchen Nightmares, which is far more compassionate with its tough love. I watch HK with the jaded knowledge that it's a partially staged 'reality' show. The humiliation angle is all part of the premise. I do admire Gordon Ramsay's real-life quality expectations for restaurant-prepared food, so I understand why he's so unrelentingly mean to the chefs.

[Dunnyman]

Once again, digging a show, only to find it dead and buried by a moron network. Pushing Daisies is simply genius. Every single element works, from the somewhat doltish Ned (good heart, but a bit slow on the uptake), the bizarre premise (despite the many goofs that have been shown so far), the retro-neato setting for the show, the narration and the uniformly excellent cast (especially the aunts!). I had watched the first ep ages ago and liked it, but for whatever reason never followed up on it until now. Should have jumped in sooner.

[HGervais]

I'm catching up on True Blood. It's wierd. The show features some of the dumbest characters on TV but I can't stop watching. I don't know what that says about me.

[molly1216]

I'm catching up on True Blood. It's wierd. The show features some of the dumbest characters on TV but I can't stop watching. I don't know what that says about me.

i am not sure i gave it a fair shake the 1st time, so i am rewatching season one. but i am having the same reaction to it. I am yelling at the screen and throwing things at it. it is so derivative, the characters don't behave in a smart way. say what you will about buffy, hardly any of the characters behaved stupidly.

[Steve T Power]

Yeah - I caught a few episodes of True Blood - decided it sucked and wasn't worth the waste of time.

[molly1216]

Has anyone else caught Fontana's the Philanthropist? i am watching online (like i watch nearly all my TV now...summer series that don't suck: the Closer, In Plain Sight, Leverage, Burn Notice, Royal Pains) I didn't pick up The Philanthropist until 3 or 4 episodes in, I figured big budget SUMMER series? it was probably being dumped and wouldn't last long, but i was surprised that I liked it. My 1st assumption was that it would be like the old Millionaire show, where guy comes in hands people money and all is warm and fuzzy, but the scripts are actually very smart. The lead is almost always out of his depth and more often then not screws things up before he straightens them out. And not everything turns out the way you think, though they do try to have happy endings, i would not be surprised if a number of the episodes don't end so happily. They are experimenting with the formula in one regard, nearly every episode is told in flashback; somehow someone usually Teddy, is telling the story to someone else. Each episode takes place somewhere completely different on the globe, so the location shooting is probably the lions share of the budget. I will give them that, they are for real with this series. And I hope it gets picked up, i'd like to see what they do with Season 2. Season 2 is almost always better than season one.

[the5thghostbuster]

Been working on finishing rewatching TORCHWOOD SERIES 2 as well as SMALLVILLE season one. A very, very strange combo to be watching at the same time...

[molly1216]

pulled Ramsay's Kitchen Nightmares off the queue...what a completely different experience.
I'm only on the 1st disc, but different show entirely
He comes in as a fixer to restaurants that need help and so far the guys who's ears he's boxing surely deserve it.
i think the Hell's kitchen set up is cruel and crazy making.

[Stubblecat]

Are you watching the U.K. or U.S. version of Kitchen Nightmares? The U.S. series is hit or miss, and there's also a little too much money that gets dumped into the restaurants by the producers, as well as a bit of fake 'reality TV' stuff thrown in there (like huge fights that seem oddly staged and the occasional D-list celebrity showing up).
The U.K. version makes the restaurants get by mostly on what they have, and has a nice homespun dignity to it at times. And they're also not afraid to show that sometimes restaurants are just doomed to fail, no matter what.

[Dunnyman]

OK, after devouring both seasons of Pushing Daisies, a friend rec'd that I try Wonderfalls, also created by Bryan Fuller. Once again, I'd seen a bit of it, but delving in from the start, it's excellent. Despite my total disinterest in Heroes, I'll watch anything Fuller creates. Hopefully, some network will give him a chance for a show with a guaranteed season or two to find it's audience.

[HGervais]

Bryan Fuller was also story editor on Star Trek: DS9 for a period of time and he wrote several episodes.

[molly1216]

Are you watching the U.K. or U.S. version of Kitchen Nightmares? The U.S. series is hit or miss, and there's also a little too much money that gets dumped into the restaurants by the producers, as well as a bit of fake 'reality TV' stuff thrown in there (like huge fights that seem oddly staged and the occasional D-list celebrity showing up).
The U.K. version makes the restaurants get by mostly on what they have, and has a nice homespun dignity to it at times. And they're also not afraid to show that sometimes restaurants are just doomed to fail, no matter what.

the UK version which i think pairs nicely to the "How Clean Is Your House?" show...it seems the british LOVE to be spanked..they are willing to let celebrities come into their universe and reprimand them. I suspect the american show has a more of an american mentality... look how money can fix your life..you weren't just a failure...you just didn't have enough money behind you...yeah i can see that.

[molly1216]

there's isn't enough 'new' on tv or even on dvd to keep my attention..i am rewatching comfort viewing..
toggling back and forth between Boston Legal and the last 2 seasons of Due South.
The dialogue in Boston Legal still sparkles on the tongue like pop rocks. I have come to think of Denny Crane as one of the best TV creations EVER, absolutely priceless, i would think that it should outshine Cpt Kirk in the long run.
The last 2 seasons of Due South were the fully Canadian produced ones, where one foot is always firmly planted in mid-air, especially watchable is recurring guest Leslie Neilsen's Mountie character (a play on his Naked Gun goofball)who is hysterical. when I get tired of these, I put on Futurama or Tripping the Rift, and That usually puts me to sleep.

It will be nice when something watchable comes out...i think I will be looking at marathons of the Complete Wire or the Complete BG.

[HGervais]

Dollhouse season 1. If you are netflixing it, skip disc one and go right to disc two and start with the episode "Man on the Street." Everything you need to know is there and it is where the show starts developing its mythology and where it gets good & interesting.

[molly1216]

i have found my limit on Canuckevision.... the Red Green Show... i'm afraid i just don't have enough mind altering substances handy to allow me to watch this show.

[Steve T Power]

i have found my limit on Canuckevision.... the Red Green Show... i'm afraid i just don't have enough mind altering substances handy to allow me to watch this show.

Keep yer stick on the ice.

[HGervais]

Finished up the first season of Dollhouse...man that got good quick. Once the show finds its feet it starts throwing curve after curve and while it seemed like it thought it was not coming back with the unaired episode " Epitaph One" it sure sets the second season in a really interesting, and dark direction. So just to repeat, if renting skip disc one and go straight to "Man on the Street."