shrewd.buddha

We are just now discovering and catching up on Looking -- and are 'looking' for a way to describe this show... It's a half hour show, but not really a comedy and not really a high stakes drama (for which I'm thankful). The characters do seem to be reaching milestones - turning 40 , moving out from a long-term roommate, moving in with a boyfriend, etc. ..But most of the transitions seem to happen without much dramatic reaction. Actually, we appreciate the episodes more because of the "inside the episode" features that follow -- and I'm not sure how much I will enjoy the new season when that feature is not available. (These extras also explains the overall "beard" theme of the series when you see the creators ..) So, to me, Looking seems to be like Sex and the City without Narration (and I've only seen a handful of episodes of that). But without the narration (or the producers' added insight) the episodes themselves come off as pretty light depictions of 'typical' gay lifestyles, so I can understand the lack of buzz for the show . But for our household, we are enjoying these characters' low-key life journey ... and all the scenes filmed in SF are nice, too.

Very much agreed. It was fun. And the technicolor look really popped in HD. I could watch a regular weekly series of this, just for the visuals... ..This must have cost much more than a regular episode, right?

One problem Beth has to contend with is that stalker-boy knows all her secrets. Since she is playing ice queen to her co-workers, this gives him a lot of blackmail leverage. You'd think Beth would realize that full disclosure -- to the people she supposedly trusts in life-or-death situations -- would be the most logical option.

As usual this episode was a hot crazy mess with lots of filthy, bloody faces. Carry on show, carry on ..

Another solid episode (for this type show). This really made me like Janice more -- enough, in fact, to actually remember the character's name. After having sex with her brand new co-worker, I really had not expected that Janice would have more layers (this being a CBS procedural and all), but maybe -- maybe -- these characters are going to be mostly good at their jobs but also with some messy personal issues. (I still get irritated that mostly everyone on TV is a workaholic and super, super great at their designated profession.) I don't see Beth's stalker-boy problem going away any time soon. It just feels that things are going to new level. That's okay with me, as long as there's movement to the plot and they don't rehash the same scenario over and over. The stalker case of the week was, as usual, over the top. One thing that made it appealing to me was how they revealed the 'victim' as being mostly a lying fame seeker, despite all her claims to the contrary. The glances Beth and DM were giving each other during their interviews were fun to watch.

It seems that TPTB are intent on keeping their core cast around -- unless they announce some major shake-up. But having Ward pop up every episode is going to make the show feel like Road Runner and Coyote -- the villain being a constant thorn in their side that they can never really get rid of ... and eventually start to think of as a frenemy. A lot of other shows have had this problem - Heroes, Nikita, Tomorrow People, and Alias come to mind.. When shows fall in love with certain villain characters (or actors) and can't bring themselves to get rid of them, I think it sort of puts the series into a type of category. But for a comic book, the villain that never goes away is pretty much a requirement -- but they don't show up in every issue.

That was a lot of stuff happening -- so kudos for that, at least . So now Skye has progressed from hack-tavist, to field agent, to highly skilled combat field agent -slash- sniper ... and now super-powered Inhuman. .. how can TPTB claim that this show is not centered around Skye? Does anyone know if this was the original plan or was the Inhuman/Kree plot something cooked up after the series started and TPTB started brainstorming how to mesh Skye with the Inhuman plot-line? RIP Tripp. It was sort of sad, but he really wasn't adding anything special to the cast of characters (diversity for the sake of diversity?) -- and there are a lot of characters now. Maybe there will be more trimming when the show comes back .... months and months from now. Will the ratings ever get above the meh level? It's going to be hard with a three month break (and no reruns -- for people who don't record).

I actually liked the movie and was glad to have seen in in the theater and not wait until it came out on DVD. But I liked it for the sci-fi elements and the trippy (tho nonsensical ) logic/time/gravity ideas . Nolan seems to be making movies a certain way now : he has his standby actors and his big theories that start to unravel if you start to pull at them.. Here are my issues with the movie : How did Matthew McConaughey's character keep his hair and facial hair the same length at all times? (As did everyone else). So, future humans sent the wormhole and saved their past selves from extinction? If that's possible, why not really help them by fixing Earth? Why be so vague about the crisis on Earth? Why didn't people start living underground with air filters? The sound was really bad -- lots of "what did she/he just say?". McConaughey was kind of mumbly -- enunciate, man! So, did the A plan work, or did the B plan work -- or did both work? We know humans survive. It bugs me when sci-fi movies are obsessed with the survival of the human species... So cats, dogs, insects, etc are not worthy of saving? That's sort of arrogant. Would old Murph send MM's character back to help colonize the new world if Anne Hathaway's character was not Anne Hathaway (you know, female)? I did like the reunion deathbed scene with Murphy and her dad -- it was touching.

That was a good one. Kinda makes me wish the show was getting a full season.... wish they had started with this level of story from the beginning. ...Tho the lead actor still isn't pulling off a jaded, world-weary vibe. He still comes off as trying to do a stand-up act (to me, anyway).

I'm liking the progress on the Beth-Stalker story line -- I was dreading that it would drag out all season .. But I suppose parts of it still could. We were yelling to the television because this week's stalker/victim got into a hand-to-hand fight with Beth-Nikita!! No way Nikita was going to lose -- but it was weird how they were done just as the other police officers showed up (that's TV trope for you ..). There was also some eye-rolling when the petite Stalker-of-the-week (and victim!) was manhandling the two 200+ pound men. A black belt in karate gives you skills, but not super strength... To me, the show seems be be hitting its stride. It's the sort of guilty pleasure I can live with (can't handle ABC's over the top soap opera style shows). But I do wish that CBS procedurals would add just a bit more realism when it comes to how slow and messy the legal system can be. I'm sure it's more satisfying to have the episode end with a clear resolution and a bow on top (Beth delivers justice to the stalker/victim before she even gets charged with a crime!). ...But I think it might be more attention-getting to show how horrifyingly ineffectual the legal system and law enforcement can actually be at times.

I'm sure Mack is alive -- in one form or another. There was a lot to like in this episode : cool tech, multiple Koenigs, Coulson's nerdy side coming out ... they really seem to be trying to make this show happen. But it also appears they are determined to make Skye happen : the dream sequence, the kung foo fighting, special tech skillz ... I don't really mind the Skye character, but she really does feel forced on you by the show. After Coulson, Skye seems to be lead character, based on how much of the story revolves around her. Not sure how the ratings will be, though. It's hard to get people to return to watching a show live once they've moved on.

Part of me admired Bishop for going all gangsta on Kalinda's ass when she vaguely threatened custody of his son. That's the kind of person he is. Both the Police and Bishop seem to want to corner Cary for their own purposes -- which is pretty suck-y for Cary. ...but this is what happens when you lust over a known drug kingpin's money and look the other way when it comes to how he got all that money. Diane and Will were the worst when it came to taking on the worst clients with the deepest pockets. I only wish they were paying the price instead of Cary..

Not a bad episode -- it had layers ... if you wanted to look for them ( and they were sort of glossed over). The stalking victim was responsible for creating his own monster : he actually recruited a child soldier and then abandoned him, so everyone involved was sort of screwed up. It didn't make sense that the former skinhead was just now getting around to getting his tattoos removed -- but I guess we needed to see him get 'outed' with his shirt off (which was interesting). Even if the removal is painful and a slow process - it would be easier to have the offensive ones tattooed over with something else -- because his son is seeing those .. Poor Beth (MQ) .. If only she knew some people to talk to that were familiar with stalking.. And being a suspicious stalking victim - why did she not sense something was off with the cardboard box on her doorstep that had no postage information? C'mon Beth - buy a clue.

Kyle McLachlan brought his A-game to AoS. His acting is making the others look as if they could do better. (Although his dialogue in past episodes was clunky -- so I'm blaming the writers for that -- and a lot of other things.. ) I was glad that Ward does not seem to be on the path to redemption. But I still believe the third brother is going to show up at some point. I do wonder if there is some point of having Ward kill the more prominent characters off-screen (V. Hand, his brother, Agent Koenig).

I could tell this was a good episode because we managed not to nod off before the end. ... and I realized at what point the nodding off starts to occur : The hook at the beginning of the episodes is usually solid, but things start to bog down as soon as they start to dwell on Holmes and his wacky home life and his menagerie of misfit friends. Okay, we get it - Holmes is odd and so are his acquaintances, but TPTB just go on and on about how very, very not-normal they are with too much detail. I could be okay with Watson showing up at Holmes' place with some evidence and find him washing a lama - but then carry on the discussion of the case without acknowledging the absurdity.. The drag - for me - is Holmes droning on and on about how the absurd situation came to be and why it is completely logical and acceptable. And someone should keep a photo diary of Watson's wardrobe. Last night's gauze shirt was better than her wine sack tops, but still ... odd. Holmes also dresses and cuts his hair like the stereotype of someone in a mental ward. It might be fun if he came to the logical conclusion that he would get better reception if he allowed someone else to dictate his styling (begrudging, of course).

Of course Beth (MQ) is doing exactly the opposite of what she would advise any other stalker victim to do - - not telling anyone what is happening, not trusting her instincts, not thinking through who she may have crossed paths with recently. Sure, it's TV trope, but it's frustrating to watch. As far as the crazy mother/son plot : on CBS, it is not enough to have stalkers and mentally unstable people. There needs to be stabbing, running and shooting. Because.. just because... (but points for not taking the mother out with a head shot -- NCIS would have ..)

Oh, to live in the world of Arrow : A) Slap water for a week and become a ninja. B) Spend summer camp with your evil bio-Dad and become a ninja. C) Spend 30 seconds looking at a candle and get powers of total recall. D) Take boxing lessons for a couple of weeks and become a vigilante (much longer route!). I did like how Ted told Laurel to eat some protein right after her workout, because .... "in a few weeks you are going to have to pretend that a 5-foot-8, 110 pound woman can actually beat up a 6-and-a-half foot, 250 pound man with MMA training." (I may have misquoted)

I am not a big fan of the Bishop character or how he is being used the in the current story line, but even I found Kalinda's answer to what case her girlfriend is working on to be way too vague -- especially considering how super efficient Kalinda is at getting information. And, again, Kalinda not knowing what the plastic card could be used for? She is usually the person explaining the latest tech and computer virus threat to the rest of the characters. Alicia's brother just shows up at her office and expects a busy lawyer - who is also running for SA - to be available for a couple of hours, within an hour? Wow.

Not bad, not bad... I will be impressed if they actually have wrapped up the latest "Coulson's not himself" mystery and moved on. I liked the episode, but it sure feels as if they are committed to giving each character about two minutes of screen time each episode while slowing pushing the story forward -- and now that's around nine regular cast members -- tho Skye and Coulson are still getting the most time. Maybe the story would feel more compelling if the story itself were the driving force, and not making sure everybody gets their face time each week. Just sayin' ... But -- I have to add -- thank you TPTB for not giving us another round of "teary-eyed Simmons and Ftiz" this week. It was a relief to see Jemma be all business about the autopsy.

Another enjoyable episode, but I felt the Plastique character was killed by the writers, not the general. It feels like lazy writing when a character is killed off because they can't think of anything else to do with them. I guess I should brace myself for a weekly dose of Barry+Iris drama. Maybe some people are enjoying that, but it seems really forced. To me, Barry's puppy love yearning for Iris makes him seem as if he is in virgin territory... You know, because he has to know she is getting her fluid levels checked on a regular basis by the hot blonde guy. Maybe if Iris knew Barry was pining for her she could dampen the flame by telling him how great the sex is.. ...If only Barry could meet someone else -- maybe join an all-male acapella chorus, maybe called the Warblers -- and sort himself out.. And they could tone down Iris' make-up. With Barry's baby-face, she looks practically like a cougar in comparison..

This episode was the best so far -- so it's a shame that the show may have already turned off viewers with the first two.. TVByTheNumbers doesn't think the show has much of a chance of survival, ratings-wise. Something still feels a bit off. The lead actor seems miscast. His character is supposed to be flippant, but it seems as if the actor isn't buying what he's selling. I never get a feeling of real danger when Constantine is in trouble. (A common problem when TV shows put their lead character in danger.) The addition of Papa Midnight was welcome. Constantine needs more of a supporting cast and a feeling that his world is our world, too.

Some artists use a paintbrush - the writers of CBS procedurals use a wrecking ball .. This show is always screaming - "wait for the twist !" - and there always seems to be one. We were hoping for the ex-wife and ex-husband to both be a little psycho. The idea that a spurned ex can't be satisfied with divorce, but feels the urge to utterly destroy the other could be a satisfyingly complicated story. Could be. Still, we continue to enjoy the show for what it is. It makes for good recorded material during Thursday night's soap-fest. We are slowly becoming post-live viewers -- especially during the political ad bombardment of the past few months in our area..

They are doing a good job of making everyone look super filthy -- so A+ on that... The story is still a mess, though -- but on the plus side of that, I have no idea where this mess is going next ... maybe in season 3 they will be living in underwater caves and fighting mutated mermaid people --- because there will always be fighting. Always.

Maybe Ward has a split personality (or whatever they are calling it these days). That would explain why Coulson and the others never saw signs in the beginning. It would also help explain the flashbacks -- which are problematic -- because I don't remember the flashbacks as being a story told by Ward to Skye or anyone else. The flashbacks appeared to be unbiased footage of Ward's memories, or actual events. When Ward and his brother talk -- it could be all lies. But the flashbacks about the well or the dog did not appear to be personal accounts of the past.

I am a bit disgusted with Alicia's flirty/coy behavior with Finn, the guy who is undeniably trying to railroad her partner, Cary. Is "Let's be professional about this" equivalent to "Let's be hypocritical backstabbers"? The same goes with Dianne and Kalinda - all three women of this show seem to flip-flop to wherever the money and power is blowing. What happened between Lockhart+Gardner versus Florrick+Agos should have resulted in a years long blood feud, not some cross, double-cross, triple-cross merger.