Your Ten Favorite Shows Currently on Television

After reading the first two Edmund Morris Teddy Roosevelt biographies, I can't imagine packing his life on its own into a single miniseries. He's a pretty fascinating dude.

I'd honestly rate Agents of SHIELD about as highly as at least half of the Marvel U movies thus far. Some of the acting is a little more low-rent (which is probably to be expected) but I don't get people's beef otherwise.

in my defense, this is what i'm planning on watching; it's pretty unlikely i'll get to all this nonsense until mid-2015 if then

on last watch, SHIELD just didn't seem interested in complete stories or anything other than standalone wackadoodle "he's got flying powers!" origin stories
don't get me started on origin stories

SHIELD was ultimately pretty good about drawing elements from all/most of the first season episodes into a single cohesive narrative while still keeping almost every episode self-contained. Given all of the plates they had in the air and the beats they were trying to hit in a timely fashion, I think it was really a pretty impressive first season.

well see that kinda thinking makes me believe i might be open to it in season two

off topic but i wonder who the last us president to hands on, actively one-on-one kill a person was. it's hard to imagine a modern president straight up killing someone with a gun they fired and then bragging about it. because apparently teddy did!

yup, total psycho. he's this impossible person

a surprisingly funny show is the ifc garfunkel & oates thing. ff'd thru songs if needed, i do sometimes

"the chair" isnt great but im enjoying it, only somewhat in the reality-show cringe-watch style. the 2 "directors" they picked are def a good contrast

"the knick (probably the best show currently airing on a television channel)"

I am surprised this doesn't get more fanfare because it has been a brilliant first season so far, best thing on tv by miles right now. I would have cried if this didn't get renewed.

i sorta hate watch Garfunkel and Oates; i'd like it to be better but i'm a sucker for the fred savage touch

the knick is getting lotsa salon type praise but mainstream overlooks it... it's such an auteuristic piece it doesn't really surprise me.

Oh yeah I meant on here, it will probably have it's own thread by season 2.

See you on DVD next year, The Knick!

wow, do we not have a knick thread? I guess we're just talking on the soderbergh thread? Start one!

found myself surprised to really like Garfunkle and Oates too

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/09/29/outlander-wedding_n_5896284.html

Part of what made it work was that neither character -- and by extension, the audience -- had their reactions or vulnerabilities mocked or belittled. Why shouldn't Jamie be nervous? What groom doesn't wonder if his presents -- and his performance -- will be acceptable? Why wouldn't a man be turned on by a woman's willingness to teach him new things? Why shouldn't Claire want to look at him -- and why wouldn't Jamie appreciate being seen? Why wouldn't he appreciate her body right back? Why wouldn't the camera want to see all of that? Isn't it weirder for the camera not to look?

Every choice "Outlander" has made regarding its depiction of sex has made those moments sexier. I can't think of a reason that a large percentage of men wouldn't agree. In any event, Moore certainly isn't making the show just for straight ladies."Look, I read the book, I loved the book," he said in an interview with Buzzfeed. "When my wife and producing partner gave me the book, they weren't like, 'Oh, here’s a romance novel. See what you can do with it.' They said, 'Here’s a really good book.' I don't see any reason why men won't watch this show." It is an adventure tale, and that might be one reason for the people who don't watch it to dismiss it. More reasons some critics and viewers might shove it aside: It's on Starz; it's based on a book that women like; oh no, someone said the word "romance" (that last one may be the dopiest reason of all). People also used to dismiss the word "fantasy" in the fancier realms of cultural critique, but viewers and critics were able to see the serious intent of "Game of Thrones," which has, deservedly, been taken seriously as a work of art.

It may not have the HBO imprimatur, but what "Outlander" is doing, especially with regard to sexuality, also deserves to be taken seriously. The very first sex act in the pilot depicted a clothed woman receiving oral pleasure, and that felt very much like a statement of purpose. The wedding episode proved that "Outlander" has no intention of backing away from that subversive agenda. In "The Wedding," it reinforced the idea that desire is worth exploring, wherever it originates, and that the female gaze has something to offer all viewers who are willing to look.

Mulaney has okay acting, good casting, occasionally genuinely funny jokes (i laughed at the humidifier punchline) and i cannot imagine watching another episode for the life of me. laugh track/ "filmed before a live studio audience" HAHAHAHAHAH joke HAHAHHAHAHA joke HAHAHHAHAHAH setup setup joke HAHAHHAHAHAHA pacing is fucking horrible. i can't do a multiple camera sitcom setup at all any more.

dug martin short martin-shorting it up

lowest-rate new comedy premiere in a long time apparently

*rated

i enjoyed it but i fear it is doomed for the ax

So, we can start listing Twin Peaks itt right?

Currently on, roughly in order of interest: The Eric Andre Show, Adventure Time, Looking (this is pretty great!), Black Sails (still gotta watch the first ep but pretty jazzed about it), Justified (first two episodes of the new season are a definite improvement), Broad City, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, Jeopardy, Antiques Roadshow, Nature, Mike Tyson Mysteries, Frontline, Moyers, Real Sports, 30 for 30, Regular Show

coming back within the next week or two and excited about it: The Americans, How to Get Away with Murder, Last Week Tonight

coming back in the next week and i guess i'm watching?: The Blacklist

on hiatus and eagerly awaiting eventual re-up: Transparent, The Knick, Married, Drunk History, You're the Worst, Homeland, The Affair, Hannibal, Getting On (super quick mini season was as good as anything on tv ever), Louie, Nathan for You, Silicon Valley, True Detective, Game of Thrones, Veep, Fargo, Hard Knocks, The Meltdown with Jonah and Kumail, Inside Amy Schumer, Orphan Black, The Returned, Review, Inside Comedy, Happy Valley, The Venture Brothers (good special!)

on hiatus and kinda sorta looking forward to eventual re-up: blackish, The Strain, Survivor's Remorse, Masters of Sex, Key and Peele, Simon and Garfunkel, Family Tree, Children's Hospital, Your Pretty Little Face Is Going to Hell, Almost Royal, Mad Men, Rick and Morty

it's early but I think I don't want to watch these anymore: Man Seeking Woman, Togetherness

am getting into the habit of watching the first ten minutes, turning it off and then wondering why i watched the first ten minutes: The Simpsons, Girls, Modern Family, Archer

checking in on to see if it gets better: The Nightly Show, Workaholics

Still to be watched: Agent Carter, SHIELD, Gotham, 12 Monkeys, Babylon, Backstrom, The Librarians, The Missing, Olive Kitteridge, Penny Dreadful, Outlander, Intruders, Rectify, Worricker, Crossbones, An Honorable Woman, The Fall

Tride and Denied: Halt and Catch Fire, Tyrant, Flash, Arrow, Over the Garden Wall (sorry Mordy), Gracepoint/Broadchurch, Constantine, Mulaney, Marry Me, The McCarthys, Red Band Society, The Leftovers, Doctor Who, Marco Polo, Orange is the New Black, House of Cards, Hemlock Grove, Ray Donovan, Bob's Burgers, The Daily Show, Sleepy Hollow, Maron, The Goldbergs, Brooklyn Nine Nine, Benched, Utopia, The Comeback, Turn

I guess I gotta buy this sooner or later: High Maintenance

on the to-tivo list: izombie, Wolf Hall, Last Man on Earth, Odyssey

oh and add tim and eric's bedtime stories to "kinda looking forward to re up"

Hey forks, just checkin', but did you know there was very recently a second super quick mini season of Getting On?

the one that was as good as anything on tv ever?

I don't have much to add to my usual list except that I agree that the final season of Justified is thankfully returning to form and that the final season of Parks and Rec is unfortunately not really doing a whole lot for me (it feels like they've finally relented and just turned it into a live-action Simpsons). Oh, and Enlightened (which is nowhere near being currently on) is fantastic.

newest archer was really good, forks. u should probably watch the entire ep.

also most recent parks + rec was a very sweet natured bottle ep

You mean the Leslie & Ron ep from last week (haven't watched last night's episodes yet)? Because, yeah, that was the first one that felt right and that I unequivocally liked this season.

yes that's the one i meant

my current list:
adventure time, steven universe, kroll show, it's always sunny, broad city, workaholics, parks + rec, bob's burgers, eric andre, comedy bang bang, newsreaders, archer, NXT, lucha underground, new girl, mindy project, brooklyn nine nine

super excited for new hannibals.

forks what is simon + garfunkel? i'm assuming u meant garfunkel + oats? but in case u didn't i would really like to watch a serial show about simon + garfunkel.

btw ur so wrong about over the garden wall, fyi.

OTGW's on my DVR, still gotta get to that

cartoon network: still the most consistent show provider of all

between cartoon network/adult swim + comedy central i probably don't really need any other channels

I've probably watched 50 episodes of Impractical Jokers in the last 3 months (and nothing else really, outside of Packer games)

lol i do watch occasional episodes of impractical jokers

the Bingo punishment literally made me fall off the couch

Marry Me
Gotham
Marvell: Agents of Shield
Mulaney
New Girl
The Flash
Parks and Rec
Jane the Virgin
Hart of Dixie
Bobs Burgers

so you're the Mulaney fan!

I only watch, like, five shows currently airing. The only new one (and one I'll happily talk up) is Agent Carter.

Stuff I'm kinda looking forward to watching (most of them probably five years or so from now, if I'm being realistic): Better Call Saul (obvs), Daredevil, 12 Monkeys, Last Man On Earth, The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, iZombie, and, uhh...The Odd Couple? (which feels wrong but I like pretty much everyone in the cast so we'll see)

Agent Carter
Bob's Burgers
Archer
The Flash
Star Wars: Rebels
New Girl
Walking Dead
Marvel's Agents of SHIELD

. . . and that's about it. Just started watching season 1 of Orphan Black on Amazon streaming. Watched the 12 Monkeys pilot and first episode and was kinda meh.

Broad City
Bob's Burgers
NBA Gametime
Check Please Bay Area
Jeopardy

i'm into better call saul and netflix' marvel stuff... maybe the comedians? josh gad is okay.

How's Star Wars: Rebels going? Tempted as its part of the "New Canon" and it's co-produced by Greg Weisman of Gargoyles fame (well, it was).

Bob's Burgers is still strong, actually, yet strangely unheralded in general, maybe due to proximity to the McFarlane shows...

Rebels is pretty uneven so far - just not sure the characters they've got are the right ones to carry this section of the franchise forward. OTOH they've already gotten James Earl Jones, Frank Oz and Billy Dee Williams to reprise their roles. It's a good looking show, though, I'll give you that.

Now that I'm not ON IPHONE I can be a little more specific - it's not that I mind the characters much, it's just that 9 episodes in they aren't real well-defined except for the kid and the ex-Jedi, and that rather than showing us much of "the beginnings of the Rebellion," what little plot development there has been has been more about "will ex-Jedi be able to overcome his own doubt and successfully train the kid as a Jedi while keeping him from his own instincts for anger and revenge?" Which is not as interesting to me, which has been covered before in SW Episode III, and which has only played out in very low-stakes ways so far. Some of the action animation has been good, and the voice work is pretty good overall, but for the only SW property on the air right now it isn't doing much on the whole. Honestly, the best thing in the show is the relationship between the alien and the kid. They bring out the worst in each other in often funny ways. And I do like how much of the design work -- the planet Lothar, the alien, the droid -- is based directly on early McQuarrie stuff.

First ep of "Black Sails" delivered.

was def planning to 100% ignore this thing -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Slap_(U.S._TV_series)

but i trust cholodenko as an exec producer & directing at least 1 epi so

shit i meant this for that rollling tv thread o well

Wow, backstrom. Couldnt get to the opening credits