What are you watching/Random TV thoughts

I'm almost done with Star-crossed. That is definitely a thing I insisted on spelling with a small c, in spite of that not being the correct way to do it. I'm not honestly sure why, I seem to have been watching a lot of near-current cancelled shows lately (Almost Human too, and the erstwhile Revolution and currently shelved Believe... the last is the weakest of these programs, and yet it just feels like it was only half-done, if the shoe ever fully dropped it could have been something special. The kid actress in that should get more work now it's gone.)

I've honestly enjoyed Star-crossed, though one does have to be in the right mindset for it. It's the first CW series I feel I get the appeal of, so naturally it had extremely low ratings and was cancelled.

Oh and French animated series Wakfu announced it will release three post-season two specials at some point, but seems unlikely to have a full third season.

HOLY SHIT, 24 WAS AWESOME LAST NIGHT! It is amazing that a 9th season revival is this good. I wouldn't say it was as good as any of the first 5 seasons, but it is certainly better than seasons 6 through 8. I know it is unlikely to come back again, but I hope they can bring it back. Just such a fun show and having to cut down to 12 episodes does help with the plot and pacing issues.

The current tv project I'm on right now is trying to watch X-Files. I've tried to watch it in the past but was struggling to get through the first season, eventually I just lost track right before I got to Fire, an episode I was NOT looking forward to. Then a few weeks ago a podcast about the X-files came out(X-Files Files from Kumail Nanjiani, CHECK IT OUT). I decided to check it out, and I was in a pretty bad place(depression wise) at the time and the podcast was about the only thing that cheered me up or just got me interested in general, still kinda is the only thing I'm really interested in.

I gave X-Files another shot and powered through the first season and it turns out the backhalf of the show really starts to click. The plots start to get this more unique feel to them. They aren't just retreads of old urban legends. They start breaking out of the box, sure there are still some stinkers, but they clearly get more of a grip on what works. Duchovny and Anderson are also fantastic, couldn't have found better leads.

I am now in the 2nd season and the show is just firing on all cylinders right now. While there was still some weaknesses in the the backhalf of season 1, they pretty much have gotten past that. I'm 6 episodes into season 2 and all of them have been good, 4 of them have been downright amazing(Little Green Men, The Host, Duane Barry/Ascension two parter). The thing that really stands out to me is that a lot of shows have been inspired or tried to be another X-Files, yet X-Files still feels unique. For a show that came out in the early 90s it certainly doesn't feel dated(aside from the clothes). And also because it was from the early 90s it doesn't feel like a show from this era either.

The main reason why I think I gravitate towards this show so much is that the two leads are not really anti-heroes. They are not what many of current shows protagonists are now. Mulder and Scully are just good guys trying to fight against a corrupt government. Sure some of the methods may be unusual or against the grain, but it isn't because "that's our loveable rogues", it is because the guys they are facing off against are the ones who made the rules. They also seem to really care, not just about getting the job done, but actually caring about the people they come across and have to help. Other shows now, it just comes off like people are helping out because they feel it is an obligation they must fulfill or a duty.

I really can't say enough about this show. I know it will eventually turn to crap and the myth arc is going to plummet and not clear anything up, but I've always been more about the journey than the destination, and I am loving the journey right now!

I will also be checking out Twilight Zone sometime soon, FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER!(if you don't count watching a little bit of the movie)

I think the stretch of episodes that hooked me was Gender Bender through Miracle Man(lazarus being the worst of the bunch). The only episode I would say that was great was E.B.E, but they did have this distinct feel to them. There is room for improvement, the beginning of season 2 shows that. But I do feel like that is where X-Files started finding its identity as a week to week show, not just the myth arc episodes. Shapes was pretty boring though, but Darkness Falls was good and Tooms great. Then Born Again and Roland were competent but nothing special, and once it hit Erlenmeyer Flask it has been on a big roll since then. I know X-files still hasn't gotten around to their best, but I am just loving it right now.

So I was reading on X-Files and apparently the studio execs tried to get Dana recast.... twice. The first time was before it first aired. It was just the usual studio dickery, they wanted someone who was blonder and bustier, basically someone who looked good in a short skirt. This is especially stupid in retrospect when you realize that the character of Dana did become a sex symbol among the fans, without the show ever really sexualizing her(at least among the episodes I've seen so far).

The second time that they wanted her to be recast was the 2nd season when she became pregnant. Apparently Gillian Anderson is so unattractive to these assholes that even after a seasons worth of work of brilliance alongside Duchovny that they wanted her gone, and using her pregnancy as the catalyst to try and get the character recast. Fucking idiot assholes. Thankfully Carter did fight for her to stay and even used her pregnancy to the benefit of the show and having the great abduction story arc that I am in the midst of watching.

Studio execs never fail to be some of the biggest assholes around.

Ah to be fair she strips to her underwear in the pilot.

But, true, she never goes in for a Seven-of-Nine-ish-catsuit.

And I'm also largely unfamiliar with Twilight Zone if you wanted someone to pair that with.

Watched the first episode of twilight zone. Liked it a lot. The story dealt with loneliness and the need for human interaction, resonated pretty well. Wasn't that creepy or scary, but still an interesting enough story of a man finding himself to be the last person on earth. And sorry DRC, this is going to be a show I'm going to watch off and on. Maybe binge a few episodes one week and not even watch it in another. Focused more on x files than anything.

Watched the flash pilot, it was good. Had some problems, felt it was overstuffed and they rushed over somethings, but that is okay and not a deal breaker at all. Felt they handled the powers perfectly for a TV show. The cast so far is good. Want to see how the two younger scientists get fleshed out.

All and all a good not great start. Feels more secure than when Arrow started. There was also some hints at bigger and better things that got me really excited like

yeah, that has only been it. I did like how they added in the two dots to take out the sexual tension of it and be more about how she could be infected. My guess is they had to cave to execs about a "sexy scene" and they flipped it around.

That is what I meant. That studio execs wanted a sexy scene. Just that Chris carter made the sexy scene one about scully possibly being infected, so the sexiness wouldn't really be there.

I finally watched One Night Only: An All-Star Comedy Tribute to Don Rickles last night... And since I was out of things to think about when I showered, I wrote my own bits that I would have used had I been invited. They're supposed to be Ricklesque and delivered with my personal stand-up sensibility, somewhere in between Jeselnik and Giraldo. If you're bored and you watched the special, take a look... I started out with plenty of ideas, but kinda run out of steam near the end, when it basically turns to random notes...

I watched the pilot of Tyrant



Finally, hooray for Justin Kirk getting work.

Why the fuck isn't Invader Zim on Netflix? And why hasn't Netflix added more Adventure Time?

I never saw them, and now I'm sorry I missed them! 

These are fantastic and I love you for sharing them! They read like they were all written by Ryan North, which is pretty much perfect. 

I'm totally just going to have him writing them as my head-canon. They sound just like his captions in the comics.