Small Talk: The Spice Shop

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, Lii said:

Johnny Galecki stuck it out on Roseanne until the bitter, bitter end, then went on to star in Big Bang Theory. Also, Alyssa Milano has stuck it out though the ugly demise of a few of her shows and seems Teflon enough for it. Probably it helps if you're a good actor? Also it seems to be easier for sitcom actors to reboot themselves, thinking generally. 

Yeah, but there were 9 years between the end of Roseanne and the beginning of TBBT.  What I was asking about was cases where the actor went directly (or within a year or two) from the sinking ship to a successful show.  The closest I can think of was Krysten Ritter who went from Don't Trust the B- in apartment 3b (a truly terrible show, in my opinion) to Jessica Jones in 2 years or so.

In any case, it will be interesting to see where the cast of Grimm lands (or doesn't) in a year or two.

[Lii]

Ah, fair enough. Dunno. Honestly, who all on this cast is good enough that we really honestly expect to see them any time soon, though? Not many. 

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, Lii said:

Ah, fair enough. Dunno. Honestly, who all on this cast is good enough that we really honestly expect to see them any time soon, though? Not many. 

I wrote a reply to this and then realized it should go in the Grimm Cast in Other Roles thread, so I'm moving it over there.

On a completely unrelated note, I have to recommend those of you who have access to Netflix "The Almighty Johnsons" (it's the NZ show I referenced earlier).  It's only 3 seasons, so about 30 or so episodes, but it hits a lot of the same (good!) notes as the early seasons of Grimm.   And, it is the one thing I've found so far to fill the Grimm-shaped hole in my heart....  (It is, however, well not quite "network" tv--lots of sex, nudity, and f-bombs...just a heads up in case that's not your thing).

I'm about halfway through season 2, but my husband and I have been watching an episode or 2 every night.   I just hopes there isn't a rapemance coming up in it...that would break my heart....

[Lii]

That's about as far as I got in that show and I don't remember why I stopped watching it so please update when you finish, yeah? 

[OtterMommy]

3 minutes ago, Lii said:

That's about as far as I got in that show and I don't remember why I stopped watching it so please update when you finish, yeah? 

Will do!  At the point we;re going, we should be done next week!

I guess it was aired in the US on SyFy, but they would have had to do some MAJOR editing and I'm sure it would have looked like a hack job.  It's best to watch the uncut version!

[Lii]

Yeah, I found it online somewhere after a few episodes because it was just mush. Sify does a decent job with Canadian shows but slaughtered this one. 

[OtterMommy]

I will say that, as the series goes along, it is interesting to juxtapose it with Grimm.  There are a number of elements in both shows:

1 - People with special powers
2 - Taking myths and putting them into "the real world"
3 - A menacing, yet sexy woman, who sleeps around
4 - Shapeshifting into different people/genders
5 - Magic restorative sex (related to #4)
6 - The people with special powers losing their powers and, in some cases, wanting to rid themselves of the powers
7 - An obsession spell...
8 - A parent believed to be dead, but turns out not to be
9 - A foreign search for a mythical object

...and, with the episode OtterDaddy and I just watched this evening...

10 - A MAGIC STICK! (although here it is more of a branch)

And the thing is, The Almighty Johnsons does every single one of these things infinitely better than Grimm ever did.  Part of it is that I think it was never meant to be any longer than it currently is (I've noticed that television shows from other countries tend to be more finite--in the US, shows keep going as long as they keep making money, even if the story has long since passed), but it is a far better written show and, at least as far as I've gotten into it, it never has that "gone off the rails" feeling that Grimm now has.

And, so far, there are no magic babies.  I'm really hoping that holds until the end....

[OtterMommy]

So, the hubs and I finished watching The Almighty Johnsons tonight.  It really is a great show, but it is very interesting to watch it after watching Grimm.  There is a lot in common between the two shows--a suspiciously large lot of commonality.  Some of it is tropes (parent once presumed dead back on the scene, etc) but some of it is too specific to be coincidence.

Now, TAJ aired 2011-2013 and, yes, I checked--whenever something VERY similar between the shows appears, it would have aired on TAJ months or years before airing on Grimm.  I'm pretty confident that the creative team, how should I say this?, did some farming here...  If so, I wish they had done a better job of "being inspired" by this show because, in every case, The Almighty Johnsons does a better job of whatever it is than Grimm did.  

I do highly recommend watching it--I mean, if you like or liked Grimm enough to still be on this board, you'll LOVE The Almighty Johnsons.  You just have to keep reminding yourself that TAJ came first.

(Oh yeah...you can stream it on Netflix)

[Lii]

So it's safe for me to go back and finish it, then I assume? I'll put it back on my watch list. I need to watch more non-subtitled shows, it's driving my husband up the wall.

[OtterMommy]

5 hours ago, Lii said:

So it's safe for me to go back and finish it, then I assume? I'll put it back on my watch list. I need to watch more non-subtitled shows, it's driving my husband up the wall.

Definitely.  The 3rd season has a different feel and my husband was worried that it was going to go "All Grimm" (if only Grimm would go "Almighty Johnsons"!!), but it ends very well.  I'm always a little wary of the way shows end and I think, more often than not, the endings aren't satisfying, but this one nailed it.  Part of it, I think, is because it was only ever going to be 3 seasons long and the entire series was conceptualized from the beginning.  I wish more US shows would do that--here, networks just want to run shows as long as there are viewers, even if the natural life of the show has long since expired.

[Lii]

16 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

Definitely.  The 3rd season has a different feel and my husband was worried that it was going to go "All Grimm" (if only Grimm would go "Almighty Johnsons"!!), but it ends very well.  I'm always a little wary of the way shows end and I think, more often than not, the endings aren't satisfying, but this one nailed it.  Part of it, I think, is because it was only ever going to be 3 seasons long and the entire series was conceptualized from the beginning.  I wish more US shows would do that--here, networks just want to run shows as long as there are viewers, even if the natural life of the show has long since expired.

Yeah, I watch a lot of anime and endings are a big issue with me too. Like when adaptations of stuff that isn't remotely close to being finished get made for no reason other than to advertise the source material, and we get hit with a half-assed "and then other stuff also happened probably, buy the manga!" ending, it makes me flip tables hard. I mean, you can do a "this is still continuing so our adventures are totes not over" ending well, but it's so often not done well that these days I tend more often than not to just wait until the whole show is over and checking out whether the ending gets shit on hard or not before deciding to watch it. Like why is it too hard to end something in a good place, not too early or too late, but in a place that makes sense as an ending? And yes, I'm looking at you, Grimm. And OUAT. And Supernatural, FFS. And I could seriously make a list of at least 50 table-flip-worthy half-assed anime endings just off the top of my head that didn't need to be bad other than laziness. And then there's shows that never freakin end even though they ended ages ago, glaring irritably at you, Shippuden. Then again, even shows that decide how many seasons they want from the outset, like Lost, are still perfectly capable of running themselves into the ground, like Lost. So, there's that. Dunno. There's no perfect formula. Mainly, though, it helps to, you know, not be lazy as hell and rely on Twitter and fanfic to write your storylines for you.

[OtterMommy]

10 hours ago, Lii said:

Yeah, I watch a lot of anime and endings are a big issue with me too. Like when adaptations of stuff that isn't remotely close to being finished get made for no reason other than to advertise the source material, and we get hit with a half-assed "and then other stuff also happened probably, buy the manga!" ending, it makes me flip tables hard. I mean, you can do a "this is still continuing so our adventures are totes not over" ending well, but it's so often not done well that these days I tend more often than not to just wait until the whole show is over and checking out whether the ending gets shit on hard or not before deciding to watch it. Like why is it too hard to end something in a good place, not too early or too late, but in a place that makes sense as an ending? And yes, I'm looking at you, Grimm. And OUAT. And Supernatural, FFS. And I could seriously make a list of at least 50 table-flip-worthy half-assed anime endings just off the top of my head that didn't need to be bad other than laziness. And then there's shows that never freakin end even though they ended ages ago, glaring irritably at you, Shippuden. Then again, even shows that decide how many seasons they want from the outset, like Lost, are still perfectly capable of running themselves into the ground, like Lost. So, there's that. Dunno. There's no perfect formula. Mainly, though, it helps to, you know, not be lazy as hell and rely on Twitter and fanfic to write your storylines for you.

I don't watch anime, but you are definitely not the first person I've heard with that complaint!

But, as far as endings, I keep trying to think of shows that I felt ended well, and I've come up with:
The Almighty Johnsons

...and that's it.  Now, if I want to make a list of shows that I think ended badly, the list would be much, much longer.  What I think worked with TAJ is that I suspect that the creators knew exactly how the show was going to end, maybe even before they decided how it was going to start.  I mean, everything works up to how things end, and the pace keeps up through 3 seasons--and I say this after thinking in the 2nd to last episode that I didn't know how they could possibly wrap things up...and then they did.

Also, unlike other shows (cough, cough...Grimm..cough, cough) everything that happens does so for a reason.  It's a very tight show, meaning that there are no dropped story lines or unresolved plot holes.  Everything works directly towards that last episode.  Honestly, why can't US shows do this?  Why does everything have to be this open-ended crap that goes as long as the money comes in?  

Here's another example of this: the reboot of Dallas.  So, I grew up watching Dallas (I know, that alone says a lot about me) and I was intrigued by the idea of a reboot.  It was surprisingly fun show and a great tribute to the original series.  And then Larry Hagman died.  The show handled that absolutely excellently.  And, if they had just done that and then deleted one scene from the end of the second season (the one that introduced the plot they would use in the 3rd season), it would have been a a fantastic series ender..actually, a double series ender, if you think about it.  But no.....they had to keep going, leaving as its legacy a truly crappy season that wasn't worth anyone's time.

I guess if creators started thinking in more finite terms, television could be much more interesting.

[ShadowFacts]

I am not sure at what point the creators knew they would be ending the series, but Breaking Bad had a really satisfying ending, in my opinion.  Very well done.  The final season was super tight in its storytelling, tying up arcs and having the characters remain in character, or evolve in ways that made sense.  Then again, it's not that hard to figure out how cutthroat drug dealing criminals usually end up, but still, nothing came out of left field yet it wasn't really predictable, either.  I don't think the quality ever wavered much in all the seasons, and that can hardly ever be said. 

[spaulding]

41 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

But, as far as endings, I keep trying to think of shows that I felt ended well, and I've come up with:
The Almighty Johnsons

You recommended the show, so I watched two episodes.  It's pretty good, and the brothers are likeable.  I'm surprised that nobody has irritated me. 

It popped up on my Netflix Recommends Because You Watched.  Its description was misleading or lacking because I thought that it was something out of ABC Family/Freeform. 

23 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

I am not sure at what point the creators knew they would be ending the series, but Breaking Bad had a really satisfying ending, in my opinion.

I never watched Breaking Bad, but I knew enough about it to understand the finale.  I thought that it was good because the characters got closure. 

Grimm's problem is that the writers make it up with every episode.  It would never be at the level of Breaking Bad, but they didn't bother to figure out what to do with the Magic Stick, which was a big deal in S1.  Or the Coins.  Nothing on this show is planned or conceptualized.  From Nick's powers or how this show will end.   

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, spaulding said:

You recommended the show, so I watched two episodes.  It's pretty good, and the brothers are likeable.  I'm surprised that nobody has irritated me. 

It popped up on my Netflix Recommends Because You Watched.  Its description was misleading or lacking because I thought that it was something out of ABC Family/Freeform. 

Ha!  You are totally right...it does kind of look like a ABC Family/Freeform/Harry Potter Marathon channel--but it only takes a few minutes into the first episode to realize that it really, really isn't anything like that!

Quote

I am not sure at what point the creators knew they would be ending the series, but Breaking Bad had a really satisfying ending, in my opinion.  Very well done.  The final season was super tight in its storytelling, tying up arcs and having the characters remain in character, or evolve in ways that made sense.  Then again, it's not that hard to figure out how cutthroat drug dealing criminals usually end up, but still, nothing came out of left field yet it wasn't really predictable, either.  I don't think the quality ever wavered much in all the seasons, and that can hardly ever be said. 

I never watched Breaking Bad, but that is a pretty universal opinion.  I was thinking about this and did a search for a couple of lists on the best TV series finales and Breaking Bad was one of 2 or 3 shows that showed up as one of the best on every list.  Most shows, however, bounced between the best and the worst lists.  Friends, for example, was on half the best lists and on half the worst lists.  Personally, not only did I think the Friends series finale was terrible, but it is also another example of show that stuck around too long.  It could have had a fabulous series ending if they had ended at the end of season 8, with Chandler and Monica's wedding (and dropped the whole Ross and Rachel baby plot).  That was the point where the show fundamentally changed and the 9th and 10th seasons just didn't work well.

This is why, even though it is currently my favorite TV show airing, I'm hoping The Big Bang Theory ends after next season.  It's just evolving too far away from the original core of the show and I'd like it to go out while it can still recall the original spirit of the show.

Anyway, after looking at all these lists, I did come up with a few shows that I watched where they may not have stuck the landing, but they also didn't do a face plant:
Sex and the City (even though it didn't really end anything and just opened the door to the movie...)
Newhart (I actually don't remember much at all of the last episode, other than the last scene)
30 Rock (it was far from my favorite episode of the series, but it did stay true to itself)

I also heard that Parenthood ended well--but I also heard that it was a total sobfest and I had no interest in that as I cry at the drop of a hat (I'm really dreading going to my son's preschool graduation tonight...I'm pretty sure I'll be a blubbering mess....)

[Lii]

Big Bang Theory is totally no longer the show I signed up for. I stopped watching about halfway through last season when I realized episodes were piling up on my DVR and I didn't care enough to watch them. My husband still watches, although he lets them pile up too. It is what it is.

Another show that totally forgot what it was supposed to be was Charmed. Especially the godawful final season, but even before that. It started being all about Phoebe and her various love interests and burning need for babies and essentially all the shit that no one ever wants to see on a TV show. Too bad, really. Charmed is still one of my favorite shows of all time.

The final season of Angel was also shit, IMO. I know some people actually liked the switch, but seriously, it became a totally different show and it wasn't the show I signed up for. I wonder if SFF shows are extra difficult to stick the landing with?

[TVSpectator]

1 hour ago, OtterMommy said:

Ha!  You are totally right...it does kind of look like a ABC Family/Freeform/Harry Potter Marathon channel--but it only takes a few minutes into the first episode to realize that it really, really isn't anything like that!

I never watched Breaking Bad, but that is a pretty universal opinion.  I was thinking about this and did a search for a couple of lists on the best TV series finales and Breaking Bad was one of 2 or 3 shows that showed up as one of the best on every list.  Most shows, however, bounced between the best and the worst lists.  Friends, for example, was on half the best lists and on half the worst lists.  Personally, not only did I think the Friends series finale was terrible, but it is also another example of show that stuck around too long.  It could have had a fabulous series ending if they had ended at the end of season 8, with Chandler and Monica's wedding (and dropped the whole Ross and Rachel baby plot).  That was the point where the show fundamentally changed and the 9th and 10th seasons just didn't work well.

This is why, even though it is currently my favorite TV show airing, I'm hoping The Big Bang Theory ends after next season.  It's just evolving too far away from the original core of the show and I'd like it to go out while it can still recall the original spirit of the show.

Anyway, after looking at all these lists, I did come up with a few shows that I watched where they may not have stuck the landing, but they also didn't do a face plant:
Sex and the City (even though it didn't really end anything and just opened the door to the movie...)
Newhart (I actually don't remember much at all of the last episode, other than the last scene)
30 Rock (it was far from my favorite episode of the series, but it did stay true to itself)

I also heard that Parenthood ended well--but I also heard that it was a total sobfest and I had no interest in that as I cry at the drop of a hat (I'm really dreading going to my son's preschool graduation tonight...I'm pretty sure I'll be a blubbering mess....)

3

You should check out Breaking Bad. I ended up being watching it over on Netflix and it's an amazing show that is consent throughout it's run (IMO, you will always at least find yourself not totally hating the writing decisions on that show because at least the characters are consent and if they do go through a change it is set up and you actually see the changes they are making/trying to make on the show). Plus, IMO, the ending seems like a perfect ending for the show because you realized that it will be coming (in the manner how the show ends) but it's such a brilliant ending. Plus, the acting is top notch quality. 

[OtterMommy]

Just now, TVSpectator said:

You should check out Breaking Bad. I ended up being watching it over on Netflix and it's an amazing show that is consent throughout it's run (IMO, you will always at least find yourself not totally hating the writing decisions on that show because at least the characters are consent and if they do go through a change it is set up and you actually see the changes they are making/trying to make on the show). Plus, IMO, the ending seems like a perfect ending for the show because you realized that it will be coming (in the manner how the show ends) but it's such a brilliant ending. Plus, the acting is top notch quality. 

My husband and I might check it out this summer.  We have a couple shows to finish off on our DVR and then we need to watch the latest season of Agents of Shield (I just can't watch that show live...I need to be able to watch the episodes in closer succession), and then we might do Breaking Bad.  I've heard nothing but good things about it and Bryan Cranston is such a great actor....

[TVSpectator]

17 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

My husband and I might check it out this summer.  We have a couple shows to finish off on our DVR and then we need to watch the latest season of Agents of Shield (I just can't watch that show live...I need to be able to watch the episodes in closer succession), and then we might do Breaking Bad.  I've heard nothing but good things about it and Bryan Cranston is such a great actor....

 

Have you seen the first half of AoS or do you just wait till it's over and then watch it all together?

[ShadowFacts]

1 hour ago, OtterMommy said:

I also heard that Parenthood ended well--but I also heard that it was a total sobfest and I had no interest in that as I cry at the drop of a hat (I'm really dreading going to my son's preschool graduation tonight...I'm pretty sure I'll be a blubbering mess....)

I hear you -- I had to wear sunglasses to my son's first day of kindergarten.  He handled it way better than I did, fortunately.  Parenthood's ending wasn't too bad, a few tears had to be shed, but they used the jumping forward a few years method, which I have mixed feelings about.  The overall quality had declined in the last seasons, too.

I do recommend Breaking Bad, though it is very violent and I watched it in real time and had to cover my ears/eyes sometimes; it's not my usual thing.  I got hooked in fast to see what the hell Walter White would do next.  In addition to the really good acting and cinematography, it is hard to find fault with the writing, it is consistently good with both plot and character development, as TVSpectator mentioned. 

[OtterMommy]

18 minutes ago, TVSpectator said:

Have you seen the first half of AoS or do you just wait till it's over and then watch it all together?

I've seen the 1st half of this season and maybe 1 or 2 episodes in the second half.  For me, the winter hiatus just really kills my enjoyment of that show, which is why I decided to just take it off the DVR and then stream it once it hits Netflix.  It just seems like they build all this momentum, and then it stops, then the show comes back but, by that time, the momentum is gone.  Luckily, it is one of those shows that is put up on Netflix shortly after the season ends so I don't have to wait that long.

7 minutes ago, ShadowFacts said:

I hear you -- I had to wear sunglasses to my son's first day of kindergarten.  He handled it way better than I did, fortunately.  Parenthood's ending wasn't too bad, a few tears had to be shed, but they used the jumping forward a few years method, which I have mixed feelings about.  The overall quality had declined in the last seasons, too.

Yeah, I quit watching Parenthood live when it switched nights to Thursday and conflicted with both TBBT and Grey's.  The DVR I had at the time could only record 2 shows and, well, Parenthood had slipped and just didn't make the cut.  I had intentions to go back and watch it on Netflix, but then I'm just not up for that rollercoaster (and I *really* hate time jumps to finish things off!)

Edited May 25, 2016 by OtterMommy

[TVSpectator]

13 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

I've seen the 1st half of this season and maybe 1 or 2 episodes in the second half.  For me, the winter hiatus just really kills my enjoyment of that show, which is why I decided to just take it off the DVR and then stream it once it hits Netflix.  It just seems like they build all this momentum, and then it stops, then the show comes back but, by that time, the momentum is gone.  Luckily, it is one of those shows that is put up on Netflix shortly after the season ends so I don't have to wait that long.

 

Yeah, the winter break does kill the momentum and I have no idea why they have to wait like 3 months for them to return from their winter break while most shows only take about 2-3 weeks to return. 

[Lii]

Speaking of momentum killers, Person of Interest is piled up on my DVR. I'm really upset about this. Seriously, why is one of the best shows on TV piled up on my DVR? Fuck you, CBS.

[OtterMommy]

24 minutes ago, TVSpectator said:

Yeah, the winter break does kill the momentum and I have no idea why they have to wait like 3 months for them to return from their winter break while most shows only take about 2-3 weeks to return. 

Well, they had Agent Carter in there, so at least there was something related to watch.  Now, that show is gone, I wonder if they are going to do the 3 month hiatus next year?

[TVSpectator]

2 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

Well, they had Agent Carter in there, so at least there was something related to watch.  Now, that show is gone, I wonder if they are going to do the 3 month hiatus next year?

 

 

Hopefully not. The break kind of annoyed me and I was thinking that maybe if they had AoS for a lead in for Agent Carter, then it might have done better, in the ratings, than what it actually did (and IMO, Agent Carter was a better comic book spy show than AoS). Another thing that annoys me, are the long time jumps that AoS loves to do with their storytelling. Yes, it can work, but they seem to love to resort to that kind of thing way too often and I think that it hurts the story that it is trying to tell. 

Edited May 25, 2016 by TVSpectator

[OtterMommy]

47 minutes ago, TVSpectator said:

Hopefully not. The break kind of annoyed me and I was thinking that maybe if they had AoS for a lead in for Agent Carter, then it might have done better, in the ratings, than what it actually did (and IMO, Agent Carter was a better comic book spy show than AoS). Another thing that annoys me, are the long time jumps that AoS loves to do with their storytelling. Yes, it can work, but they seem to love to resort to that kind of thing way too often and I think that it hurts the story that it is trying to tell. 

Yeah, the cancellation of Agent Carter was a great loss.  I'm going to watch Conviction because of Haley Atwell, but the trailer doesn't seem very promising for me.  Ugh...they aren't going to put the AoS Spin off with Bobbi and Lance in the place of Agent Carter, are they?

1 hour ago, Lii said:

Speaking of momentum killers, Person of Interest is piled up on my DVR. I'm really upset about this. Seriously, why is one of the best shows on TV piled up on my DVR? Fuck you, CBS.

Isn't this the last season of Person of Interest?  At least you can do a binge watch? Maybe?

[TVSpectator]

5 minutes ago, OtterMommy said:

Yeah, the cancellation of Agent Carter was a great loss.  I'm going to watch Conviction because of Haley Atwell, but the trailer doesn't seem very promising for me.  Ugh...they aren't going to put the AoS Spin off with Bobbi and Lance in the place of Agent Carter, are they?

 

 

I think that ABC decided to pass on Marvel's Most Wanted (which totally sucks for the actors) but I wasn't too excited about that spin-off. IMO, it sounded like a rip-off between the A-Team and Burn Noticed (and if I wanted to see something like that I would just watch an old episode of either show) and the episode where they left and gave the reason why they left, was just, IMO, a bunch of BS. Personally, I thought that they were gong to be on the run during the MMW but in

Spoiler

Parting Shots (or whatever that episode was called) basically made it look like that the Russians allowed them to go but they would just keep tabs on them. In the end, they basically got burned by the president himself and they had to leave SHIELD for killing that general (who was an Inhuman working for the bad guys who was literally trying to kill the PM of Russia and he also killed his aide. So....).

 

Although, they still have Damage Control and (I think) Cloak and Dagger still on the table/ in the works. 

[OtterMommy]

Just now, TVSpectator said:

I think that ABC decided to pass on Marvel's Most Wanted (which totally sucks for the actors) but I wasn't too excited about that spin-off. IMO, it sounded like a rip-off between the A-Team and Burn Noticed (and if I wanted to see something like that I would just watch an old episode of either show) and the episode where they left and gave the reason why they left, was just, IMO, a bunch of BS. Personally, I thought that they were gong to be on the run during the MMW but in

  Reveal hidden contents

Parting Shots (or whatever that episode was called) basically made it look like that the Russians allowed them to go but they would just keep tabs on them. In the end, they basically got burned by the president himself and they had to leave SHIELD for killing that general (who was an Inhuman working for the bad guys who was literally trying to kill the PM of Russia and he also killed his aide. So....).

 

Although, they still have Damage Control and (I think) Cloak and Dagger still on the table/ in the works. 

I didn't know they had passed on that series, but I'm glad that they did.  I did see trending on Facebook that Marvel is releasing a new Captain America series based on what apparently happens in Civil War.  I say apparently because I STILL haven't had a chance to see it, but thanks Facebook for spoiling it.  I knew something happened because I kept coming across these articles that started with the line "If you haven't seen Civil War stop reading now..." which I appreciated.  Facebook, however, was being a dick about it....

Anyway, I didn't read the trending article because I would still like there to be some surprise when I finally see the movie, so I'm not sure if the series is a TV series or not....

[Lii]

7 hours ago, OtterMommy said:

Isn't this the last season of Person of Interest?  At least you can do a binge watch? Maybe?

Yeah, it is the last season, so I'm just going to wait until the end and watch it all at once. It's a half order anyways, and they've just been tossing the episodes out whenever. Seriously, if it wasn't on my DVR I would have no idea when or where to find the thing, it's been recording on different nights and times every week, sometimes twice a week. So annoying. If they were just going to toss it out like this, I fail to see why they waited until April to begin with. 

[merylinkid]

I play Dragon City over on Facebook (don't judge).   One of the dragons is a Zombie Dragon.   I named it Nick just for this show.   He doesn't do much right now.   Kinda like Burkhardt.

[Krazykate58]

Hi new here. Stared watching Grimm when it first started, but work stopped that. So now I am binge watching like crazy to catch up. I love the show. 

I am a fan fiction fan who all so loves cross overs. If they were going to do a Grimm cross over these are some of the ones I would like to see.

Flash and or Arrow. Wesen and Meta Humans meet Grimms and Super heroes. I can just see Hank and Wu saying " I just got use to Wesen now you spring this on me."

[OtterMommy]

Congrats to Sasha!  Love the suit!

[Darklazr]

Congrats to Sasha!  Lawd.  That suit!

[TVSpectator]

Congrats to Sasha, he is now one of us!

[OtterMommy]

Quoting @Prevailing Wind

Quote

Agreeance. I'm down to Jeopardy!, House of Cards and three of the Amazon Prime original series - Bosch, Goliath & Mozart in the Jungle - and two of those are in hiatus. Currently, I'm re-re-watching my boxed set of Enterprise.  Love me some Scott Bakula.

So, Goliath....obviously you like it, since it has made the cut...but what are your thoughts?  I've been looking at it, thinking it might be something my husband would like, but I don't know anyone else who has watched it (and he refuses to watch anything unless I can say I know someone who has watched it and liked it.  Apparently, he doesn't quite trust me in our TV viewing....).  We just finished Westworld last night and I want to get back into The Crown, but I think I might need to find something with a bit more testosterone to alternate with that.

[Prevailing Wind]

I liked it; would have liked it better had I known the dog doesn't die. I was on the edge the whole time, waiting for somebody to kill the dog.

I'm way too forgiving of BBT, too. I like him; I don't think he's as weird as he & the media like to portray. Besides, he was a friend of Warren Zevon's, so I HAVE to cut him some slack.  Still, I thought it was a good, if predictable (except for the dog not dying), tale.

[OtterMommy]

6 minutes ago, Prevailing Wind said:

I liked it; would have liked it better had I known the dog doesn't die. I was on the edge the whole time, waiting for somebody to kill the dog.

I'm way too forgiving of BBT, too. I like him; I don't think he's as weird as he & the media like to portray. Besides, he was a friend of Warren Zevon's, so I HAVE to cut him some slack.  Still, I thought it was a good, if predictable (except for the dog not dying), tale.

I do really love BBT's work--his performance in Fargo was one the best things I've ever seen on TV.

[OtterMommy]

So, if you are looking something that might evoke early season Grimm feels, OtterDaddy and I have started watching Travelers (it's a Netflix Original/Canadian series) and we've really enjoyed it so far.  It's SciFi, not Urban Fantasy, but it has the same aspect of people have special knowledge that is was at the heart of Grimm.  The writing is great and the performances are quite strong--the cast is led by Eric McCormack (Will of "Will and Grace").  I only found out about this series through word of mouth, which is a bit surprising as it is a Netflix series, but it is well worth the watch.

[icewolf]

Sleepy Hollow fans are doing a mass exodus and leaving that show, many are actively rooting for it to be canceled, which is pretty crazy considering how popular that show was in season one.

I find Sleepy Hollow and Grimm share some similarities, both had great season ones and in season two they decided to focus on terrible characters which ends up hurting both shows.

[Darklazr]

11 hours ago, icewolf said:

Sleepy Hollow fans are doing a mass exodus and leaving that show, many are actively rooting for it to be canceled, which is pretty crazy considering how popular that show was in season one.

I find Sleepy Hollow and Grimm share some similarities, both had great season ones and in season two they decided to focus on terrible characters which ends up hurting both shows.

It's so hard to get a show on to TV and have fans invested, so why go the extra mile to trash it and have folks run to other avenues?  I don't get it.  It was amusing watching Crane get used to simple things like indoor plumbing, cars, phones etc... and that has all been wasted in the long run.

[withanaich]

I have to believe it's hubris. People think that because they have the job of creating/working on a show, their shit doesn't stink. I don't think writers need to be the fans' puppets, because that's just another way to end up with garbage TV. But when you have a good thing, you don't trash it just because you think you're some kind of TV god who simply must know better than fans who have valid concerns. I can't even stubbornly hate-watch Sleepy Hollow, the way I am with Grimm. They utterly destroyed that show, and are running a completely different show under the same name. It really seems malicious. It's a slap in the face to people who loved that show, and they can kiss my ass if they think I'm going along with it. 

[OtterMommy]

1 hour ago, withanaich said:

I have to believe it's hubris. People think that because they have the job of creating/working on a show, their shit doesn't stink. I don't think writers need to be the fans' puppets, because that's just another way to end up with garbage TV. But when you have a good thing, you don't trash it just because you think you're some kind of TV god who simply must know better than fans who have valid concerns. I can't even stubbornly hate-watch Sleepy Hollow, the way I am with Grimm. They utterly destroyed that show, and are running a completely different show under the same name. It really seems malicious. It's a slap in the face to people who loved that show, and they can kiss my ass if they think I'm going along with it. 

I really wish/hope/whatever K/G/C check out this forum, because this is exactly the sort of thing that they (and, honestly, any other showrunner) needs to hear.

[icewolf]

I've been marathoning Elementary these last few days and I'm loving it.

It focuses purely on the case of the weeks, Elementary is a great procedural
Zero romance between Sherlock and Joan Watson, Sherlock has meaningless one night stands with various women
Captain Gregson has no hidden agenda for the writers to screw up, like our dear Captain Renard

I'm halfway through season one but the reveal of Irene Adler is threatening to DESTROY all that, I'm not liking Sherlock's man pain about romance, he just did something really really stupid by almost torturing and murdering a man all because of his love for Irene. I'm terrified of this show nosediving like Grimm did once Grimm starting focusing on relationships and babies, but I'll keep watching.

Edited January 29, 2017 by icewolf

[neuromom]

15 hours ago, icewolf said:

I've been marathoning Elementary these last few days and I'm loving it.

It focuses purely on the case of the weeks, Elementary is a great procedural
Zero romance between Sherlock and Joan Watson, Sherlock has meaningless one night stands with various women
Captain Gregson has no hidden agenda for the writers to screw up, like our dear Captain Renard

I'm halfway through season one but the reveal of Irene Adler is threatening to DESTROY all that, I'm not liking Sherlock's man pain about romance, he just did something really really stupid by almost torturing and murdered a man all because of his love for Irene. I'm terrified of this show nosediving like Grimm did once Grimm starting focusing on relationships and babies, but I'll keep watching.

Hmmm..interesting. I don't watch much tv , but Elementary was one I saw previews for the other night and I thought about binging and watching that to take the place of Grimm when Grimm ends.

I binged This is Us and found it enjoyable for a time, but then it went on hiatus, and when it returned this month, I had lost interest. Even though one of my friends has a cousin who acts in that show, 

[icewolf]

All right, I might have overreacted on Elementary.

I'm almost done with season one and Irene has been shoved to the back burner, and the show is once again focusing on the most important relationship, Sherlock and Joan. Elementary is very much a procedural, and the main arc that has been in the background so far has been the professional relationship and growing friendship between Sherlock and Joan. I find it really refreshing that the male and female leads are just friends with no romance involved, that's rare in fiction.

[ShadowFacts]

51 minutes ago, icewolf said:

All right, I might have overreacted on Elementary.

I'm almost done with season one and Irene has been shoved to the back burner, and the show is once again focusing on the most important relationship, Sherlock and Joan. Elementary is very much a procedural, and the main arc that has been in the background so far has been the professional relationship and growing friendship between Sherlock and Joan. I find it really refreshing that the male and female leads are just friends with no romance involved, that's rare in fiction.

I have watched Elementary sporadically and I agree, it is refreshing and rare that there is a friendship and no romance.  I also like Joan's career progression. 

[neuromom]

Ok, I may have to give Elementary a try! Maybe my 15 year old would even be interested. He LOVES procedurals. He enjoyed the first few seasons of Grimm, but has had no interest in Seasons 5 or 6. He even gave up on Law and Order SVU because of the repetitiveness. Maybe he will enjoy something more fresh.

[hincandenza]

On 5/23/2016 at 10:50 PM, OtterMommy said:

So, the hubs and I finished watching The Almighty Johnsons tonight.  It really is a great show, but it is very interesting to watch it after watching Grimm.  There is a lot in common between the two shows--a suspiciously large lot of commonality.  Some of it is tropes (parent once presumed dead back on the scene, etc) but some of it is too specific to be coincidence.

Now, TAJ aired 2011-2013 and, yes, I checked--whenever something VERY similar between the shows appears, it would have aired on TAJ months or years before airing on Grimm.  I'm pretty confident that the creative team, how should I say this?, did some farming here...  If so, I wish they had done a better job of "being inspired" by this show because, in every case, The Almighty Johnsons does a better job of whatever it is than Grimm did.  

I do highly recommend watching it--I mean, if you like or liked Grimm enough to still be on this board, you'll LOVE The Almighty Johnsons.  You just have to keep reminding yourself that TAJ came first.

(Oh yeah...you can stream it on Netflix)

Belatedly commenting to say I too enjoyed the AJ and see comparisons to early Grimm.  I stumbled across AJ on Netflix last fall, and was instantly taken in; the ending isn't perfect, but it wraps up, and it was fun, and everyone was so damned pretty; I had/have such a crush on the woman who played Dawn, because my god her face and look is just so gorgeous!  :)  I enjoy shows that kind of take the piss out of themselves, and that sort of tongue-in-cheek Australian/New Zealand humor (sorry to all AU/NZ people who hate my ignorant American ass for lumping your two countries together!).  When Grimm is at its best, it's usually with a sort of "just for fun" spirit, like the wisecracking of Wu or Monroe, or little things like the Charles "Red" Herring character in a recent episode.  When it's at its worst, it's when it gets laden down by overly serious plotlines (that never really resolve, *koff*) and mytharcs.

 

All this talk of related shows- and just how much media choices we have these days, I can't even remember most of what I've seen in the past year binging on Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, and there were some fantastic shows in the mix- reminds me of an app idea I had that I should sit down and write (if I weren't so lazy).  You'd be able to track things you watched (movies, TV), and rate them across multiple arbitrary axes- not just the typical 5-stars, but say 1-5 stars on "funny", "realistic", "great acting", "dialogue", "can't stop watching", "action", etc, based on whatever was important to you as a viewer for a given show.  You could then see the collective ratings, and push to recommend shows to all your friends automatically- and they to you- creating a sort of virtual "things I've seen" tracker and "things to watch" queue across all the streaming service options.  You'd set the filter as to which services you subscribed to, and the app would let you know when things recommended to you were now available, or soon to expire, etc.  You could even have fans nominate "best episode to start with", such as some season 3 episode of a show that doesn't give away too much of the plot, but is good enough to let people know "Hey, this is a show I'd watch" since the pilot episode of a lot of shows is often a very bad sales pitch for sticking around.