Your Ten Favorite Shows Currently on Television

has anyone watched "the kettering incident"? my friend just recommended it to me

Yes! Been watching it recently, only up to ep 4 or 5. It is verrrrry slow paced, but that doesnt disctract from the story. It almost has a picnic at hanging rock sort of feel, but modernised. Very slow and moody and creepy.

I haven't seen anything non-awful by Swanberg. Actors seem to love him though!

Thought Fleabag was wonderful. Some annoying BBC "edgy" signifiers (like the hideous rawk credits theme) but was really well-written for the most part. I don't think it quite pulled off the descent into "seriousness" in the last two episodes - some of the extended monologues were pretty dire and the last episode twist was, well, basically not a twist at all because it so obvious. (It's also a pet peeve of mine when writers confuse depression with suicidal depression, because there's dramatic mileage in the latter.)

But! I'd definitely watch more. The brief scene between Bill Patterson and Fleabag on the street in the last episode was lovely.

But - it wasn't supposed to be actually "suicidal" - right?

Right, the outcome is never in doubt, but it's using suicide as a dramatic prop, with a character whoclearly isn't suicidal. It's a fringe theatre cliche and lazy thinking about mental health. Just a trope I've noticed that irrationally annoys me.

(Sorry - I was talking about what Fleabag seems to be doing at the end, not the story with Boo.)

Untold Stories of the E.R. not sure if this is still being made or just being repeated on a channel I have.
But tend to find it interesting. Also Sex Sent Me to Hospital. But maybe that's just trash TV needing to be watched

xpost Lol I have to admit I'd forgotten about the very end. The whole show is fringe theatre cliche - the sexhibition, the silent retreat, the wicked stepmother. Yet it somehow manages to be great despite that (imo).

oh man happy christmas and that drinking one are two of the worst movies I have had the misfortune to watch in recent years, and i generally love the cast in both

x-post Yeah, I was a fringe theatre reviewer for several years, that's probably the source of my irritation! Agree this was a great though - super sharp writing in spite of the cliche.

I'm watching Halt and Catch Fire! I really like it.

I also watched Fleabag and thought it was great, preferred Crashing but either way Phoebe WAller-Bridge is just killing it this year.

The Exorcist pilot was for the most part terrible. I realize they're very different mediums for very different times, but it wants to foreground everything the original film did more subtly -- Damien Karras was very quietly having a crisis of faith in an age of diminishing religiousity, Father Tomas straight out tells a parishioner (!) that he's never heard the voice of God. Yeesh. And the dialogue . . . "Rome will not forgive this!" "It's not their forgiveness I'm seeking!" Plus I wonder if the other twist will be that Geena Davis is ALSO suffering from early-onset dementia or some other debilitating brain injury, since she both walked straight into a pitch-black basement instead of waiting for Tomas to come back upstairs; and stood at the bottom of her own attic ladder unable to hear a single thing from a few feet above her head.

I know pilots are gonna pilot, but this better get a lot better, fast. (Side note: At first I thought, "Good for TV for giving Geena Davis a younger husband," but it turns and she and Alan Ruck are only a few months apart in age.)

I watched The Good Place and it's got a lot of potential. Very funny performances by everyone, and if it can get away from being just a riff on "Defending Your Life" it might find an audience.

catching up with season 2 of Gotham -- I feel like this season is better than the first

my wife and i tried that show and couldnt get passed one episode

there is a bit of Muppet Babies + camp involved, but if that's not your thing

guess its not

Been loving Quarry so far, theyre only a few eps in tho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p11eE48e-k4

lol wrong link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgISvffeT-8

with that guy from The Invitation

there is a bit of Muppet Babies + camp involved, but if that's not your thing

― sarahell, Monday, September 26, 2016 1:15 PM (six minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

lol this is the best summary of the show

Been loving Atlanta and Better Things. Just started that FX OJ Simpson mini series (late to game on that one). New American Horror Story is OK. The Exorcist looks terrible, but I'll watch it anyway. Excited for a new season of Difficult People.

catching up with season 2 of Gotham -- I feel like this season is better than the first

Season 2 was a massive improvement on the first one

Season 3 has just started, 1st episode came out I think Tuesday last week so is presumably broadcast on Monday night.

Yeah, second episode airs in the US tonight. First episode was...ok.

it's a horrible show that's almost saved by going over the top in every plot

s2 was great, i liked it better than s1

it's ott and camp and silly and I am HERE for it

as much as i'd like to like better things it feels more like a loose sketch of an idea? married (which fx cancelled last year) was so much better.
i'm willing to be patient but three episodes in it has the worst tendencies of louie without much payoff

I like it a lot - actually, the sketchy, low-key vibe is part of the appeal for me, and Adlon is never not interesting to watch. Some bits are clearly Not Working At All but that was the case with 1st season of Louie too. I did notice it's very short (Lenny Kravitz ep was 18 mins), but maybe that's a benefit.

damn was that director character lenny kravitz? I honestly did not recognize him but I guess I see it now

I like how low-key and easygoing it is.

i love adlon and the kids are great; thought lenny was good too.
the pace, the triteness of the setups and the lack of any kind of stakes is kind of deadening to me tho'.

Have we talked about The Affair on ilx other than the couple of posts in this thread? Started watching now. Intrigued but annoyed at the same time.

got progressively sillier over the course of s1, didn't bother with s2

Is there any good writing on TV out there?

I love The Affair. It's super silly, but the acting's fun, sometimes the scripts are pretty sharp, and I dig hanging out in the character's stupid, glamorous lives, especially as it usually airs during the shitty, depressing late November period of British winter.

Season 2 was much better, mixed perspectives with some new characters, 'tho the cliffhanger ending was just as facile as the first. Stoked for season 3!

spottie, nyt does a "watching" newsletter that's good for heads up to set your recorder but they (and no one else i can find!) writes particularly intelligently about television. people seem to like emily nussbaum a lot and i find her kinda meh?

I'm at episode 6 of season 1 of the Affair right now, and it's starting to feel like Dawson's Creek for adults. There's a seaside, and hey, they even kept Pacey! It's not great but and has many flaws yet I want to keep on watching.

Season 1 of the Affair was great fun i thought! Two episodes into season two I let it go.

Oh I'm liking it a lot so far! Despite having had much higher expectations after the first two episodes or so, I'm perfectly comfy to sit out the ride.

i'm enjoying narcos well enough but damn i've never seen a show with such a transparently shoehorned-in audience surrogate lead character or one you could so easily remove from the narrative without losing a single thing that's interesting about the show. everything else is pretty great though, moura is on-point though not nearly what i imagine escobar was really like, pascal is great, etc etc.

Is there any good writing on TV out there?

If you mean writing about TV, no.

i mean emily nussbaum only won a pulitzer

what can i tell you

Thrusted Pelvis, some great moments throughout Affair S2, would def recommend. It gets better after the first two eps.

Thanks ill check out Nussbaum. Yeah meant 'about'

I was exaggerating for effect. Of course there are exceptions (Nussbaum, Mo Ryan usually) but the vast majority is trash, even moreso than with film because there's so much stifling consensus

is TV bad now

Literally watched the second episode of This Is Us just to see if they'd make the mistake of putting Mandy Moore in terrible old-age makeup. They did.

leafed thru the RS 100 list (US-UK-Canada, variety included) and absence of SCTV is disgusting.

sorry shoulda put that in alltime thread

Yeah I dunno about that list.