What is the last Television series you watched?

[Jay 37,350]

Since Weeds got so boring an uninteresting, the new show I picked to have on while working out on the elliptical is

Human Giant Season 1

Meh. it's not bad at all, but it's not the brilliant show I had heard it described as. This is a sketch comedy show that aired on MTV 6 years ago starring Aziz Ansari, Rob Huebel, and Paul Scheer. There are some recurring sketches, but it's mostly made up of individual sketches, some really short and the longest one being maybe 5-6 minutes. I actually found the recurring sketches to be the least interesting (Shutterbugs and Illusionators) every time, I dunno why those got so many sketches and other premises didn't. The guest cast list for this season was off the hook: Matt Walsh, Rob Riggle, Bill Hader, Brian Posehn, Andy Samberg, H Jon Benjamin, Fred Armisen, Patton Oswalt, Nick Kroll, Mary Lynn Rajskub, Kristen Schaal.... wow!

I think the people who had praised it so much when it was airing were younger and more the generation that MTV aims for. It's not bad or unfunny, just not brilliant. All 3 leads have gone on to do bigger and better things (Aziz is great on Parks and Rec, Scheer is great on The League, etc)

[JoeinAR 1,949]

The next time on previews are literally the definition of spoilers

no they are previews,

[Wojo 2,453]

A preview of The Walking Dead this past season acted as a spoiler. Two characters were captured and ordered to fight to the death at the mid season break, but the preview of the rest of the season showed one bounding through the woods. Fail.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

For me they are. That's why I stopped watching them. At some point in the last ten years the trailers started showing all of the best bits of the movie. I remember the trailer for Jurassic Park and it showed nothing apart from a dinosaur's thigh!

If you watch the 3 or 4 that are released, yeah you'll get a good sense of everything that happens in the film. I watch one.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Can you imagine some of the people on here back in the 60's.

Next time on Lost In Space.

ahhhhhh spoilers, spoilers, goddamn spoilers.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Those were different times Joe.People and the TV they watched lacked sophistication.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Those were different times Joe.People and the TV they watched lacked sophistication.

Ah riiiiiggggghhhhhttttt. Sophistication is a 21st century element.

[Wojo 2,453]

That was the Cold War. People weren't sure they'd live to see next week.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Just ask Alex.

TV was silly and juvenile up until a few years ago

[JoeinAR 1,949]

That was the Cold War. People weren't sure they'd live to see next week.

that's why Batman ran twice within the week.

[Wojo 2,453]

Outstanding.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

They needed to finish the season before the Commies nukes us!

[BloodBoal 7,538]

They needed to finish the season before the Commies nukes us!

Nuke the fridge, you mean.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Don't be silly!

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Outstanding.

Same Bat time, same Bat channel.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

best episode of the Dome yet.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Stttt....Spoilers.

[publicist 4,643]

Since it's so damn hot here all germans are out till 11 pm anyway, then - sour-stomached with all the beer inside the intestinal system - what better thing than to close the day with another round of CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM, which we do in two-episodes-a-night-session and i don't know why i stopped watching after season 2 a few years ago. The good thing is, now i can catch up with s3-7.

[Quintus 5,399]

My favourite American tv comedy.

[Ren 75]

Nah

It's a rainy day here. Going to pack and clean and do some school work and get some more watching done on vampire diaries.

[Jay 37,350]

Curb Your Enthusiasm is great, and it really gets much better after the first two seasons, which are fairly rocky. Then things get kicked up even another notch once Leon is introduced in season 6. That guy's great!

[publicist 4,643]

Yeah, for american tv i found the rough dealings with disabled persons and cancer rather...unusual i must say. Not everything works (egocentric behaviour can only go so far...showing an obviously successful L. A. businessman unperturbed by casual ejaculation on his best friend's beadspread seems like a desperate grab for cheap laughs) but when it gets really outlandish, it's wicked fun.

David is at his best when he takes those irritating real life situations like having to endure those endless killings of your lifetime by selfish humans arguing with the supermarket cashier about three pennies for minutes straight - you know that buddhistic patience is in order but you still want to have a Larry David in the queue who takes up the dirty job of taking them to task.

[Quintus 5,399]

Jason, I love the first two seasons! The last one was the weakest so far.

[Mr. Breathmask 555]

The Muppet Show, featuring the stars of Star Wars.

Well, that was awkward. Chewbacca was naked!

[Jay 37,350]

Jason, I love the first two seasons! The last one was the weakest so far.

Well, I love them all! I just remember thinking they really found their groove starting in season 3, but that was so long ago now who knows if I'd feel the same way if I were to watch the show all the way through again now. The show is definitely not the same without Cheryl in it, I'll give ya that.

[Quintus 5,399]

She MUST come back. She is the hinge for all comedy in the show.

[Jay 37,350]

But she doesn't respect wood!

[A24 4,331]

But....

But.... Is it an Alexcremers show?

That's all that really matters?

Game Of Thrones? Not really, but I like it, just the way I liked Battlestar Galactica. It's not Mad Men (numero uno show) or Breaking Bad (numero dos show) but it's nice entertainment for the moments in between.

Alex

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Yeah it has the same effect on me that BSG had. Though that show let me down in the end....

I hope GoT won't.

[A24 4,331]

It won't, it's HBO!

[Jay 37,350]

I have faith in Benioff and Weiss!

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

And Martin? I mean they have to follow his books?

[Jay 37,350]

Oh, I have no faith that Martin will have Book 7 published before they need to write Season 7. It's basically impossible at this point.

[A24 4,331]

Is the TV series a slave of the books?

[Quintus 5,399]

Pretty much, apparently. The writers of the show say they literally lose sleep about it.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

As far as I'm concerned it's a good thing. BSG lost it's direction several times because the makers changed their minds. Didn't LOST derail massively after a while because they never had a clear idea in the beginning of the show where they were headed?

I lose interest in a show if I feel the makers also don't know what's next...

[Jay 37,350]

Is the TV series a slave of the books?

Season 1 is more or less a direct adaptation of Book 1

Season 2 is a slightly looser adaptation of Book 2, but still pretty much direct

Season 3 covers the first 2/3 of Book 3, with some major and minor changes along the way, and bringing in an element not revealed until book 5 (Theon storyline)

Season 4 will cover the last 1/3 of Book 3, and probably the beginnings of Books 4 and 5

(Books 4 and 5 both start at the same point in time and run parallel - Book 4 covers the main Westeros stories, Book 5 covers the Wall and Essos stories)

So Season 5 will no doubt cover much of Books 4 and 5

Season 6 who knows, it will likely depend on whether or not Martin has finished Book 6 or not by then (with them needing to write the Season 6 scripts in the beginning of 2015, Martin needs to get it published in the next 12-18 months or so....)

There's just no time for Book 7 to get written and published before the show has long since surpassed him. They'll have to write their own ending, or ask Martin how he wants to show the end and maybe he'll let them use the same ending he'll eventually publish in Book 7, maybe he won't.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

whats really sad is that a season is 10 episodes. So the 30 episodes comprises what used to be less than one season of regular television.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Well Martin writes one ep per season for the show, and is credited as an executive producer, so I'm sure that will all work out fine.

whats really sad is that a season is 10 episodes. So the 30 episodes comprises what used to be less than one season of regular television.

Yes, but what you get is better production values, less filler (though GoT is certainly not free of that) more rehearsal time and shooting for for actors.

If you think 10 eps is nothing, then you would hate Sherlock, with it's 3 eps per 1,5 years.

[Koray Savas 2,251]

As far as I'm concerned it's a good thing. BSG lost it's direction several times because the makers changed their minds. Didn't LOST derail massively after a while because they never had a clear idea in the beginning of the show where they were headed?

I lose interest in a show if I feel the makers also don't know what's next...

Despite what some people will say, LOST never derailed though it did tread water for a good period of time. I think it's unfair to expect a show to have the same writers throughout its entire series that know beforehand exactly what they're going to do. TV is not exempt from the Hollywood business model. Shows need to have people watching them, and the writers also need to appease the big higher ups, especially on a channel like ABC where artistic freedom is probably not as easy to attain as with paid channels.

LOST was sort of at the forefront of the shortened season. Like Joey said, shows used to have at least 24 episodes every season. Stations didn't really care about a contained story but more about dragging something successful on as long as they could to reap the benefits.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Oh I fully understand. But If a show starts dropping plot points in favour of supposedly more rating friendly ones, or dropping/replacing characters just in attempt to stay fresh, i tend to lose interest.

[Jay 37,350]

Well Martin writes one ep per season for the show, and is credited as an executive producer, so I'm sure that will all work out fine.

I am certain it will all work out fine as well.

From what I undestand GRRM hasn't told Benioff and Weiss too many post-Book 5 details though (possibly he hasn't figured them all out yet!). I think I read that he told them some major plot points and who he envisions ending up on the Iron Throne, though (more of an in case he gets hit by a bus thing, I think).

[Koray Savas 2,251]

Oh I fully understand. But If a show starts dropping plot points in favour of supposedly more rating friendly ones, or dropping/replacing characters just in attempt to stay fresh, i tend to lose interest.

LOST did do that to a certain degree, but I think it was done awesomely in latter seasons. Audiences grew to expect great character development and arcs because that's pretty much all the show is for the first two seasons - straight up character development with very little moving forward in terms of story. So when new characters are introduced further on, no one would think they'd be dead the next episode, or something like that.

The Nikki and Paulo situation is the only one that was created just to mix things up, I think.

I don't know how much you've seen, if any.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

BSG only ran for 4 year but had a couple of major shifts in either tone or plot that put me of. It's why I'll probably never come back to it.

[Jay 37,350]

Of course, if the show had the exact same tone and plot for 4 seasons, you probably wouldn't have liked that much either.

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Well it's the way they changed it I suppose. I mean after the sudden "One Year Later" at the end of season two it just started to fall apart from me. And every time after that the show seemed to be going in a new direction, there was an about turn and some level plot events that were unfolding were unceremoniously dumped.

GoT has done that a few times already (Red Wedding, for example) but it feels different somehow. Just...better done.

[Jay 37,350]

I don't see how the Red Wedding is a drastic shift in tone or plot. Everything that happened makes perfect sense and is in line with what the bad guys behind that event would have plotted out in advance (we just didn't see their plotting, so the event would be more shocking)

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

Well, it does completely end the plot line that was started of the Starks trying to take Castely Rock. The season seemed to be building to that and they completely cut that off. In a brilliant and horrifying way.

GoT is an example of sudden plot twists done right. Characters adapting to changed circumstances (like Arya), rather then the writers having a brilliant new idea and forcing it in

[Jay 37,350]

Well, it does completely end the plot line that was started of the Starks trying to take Castely Rock. The season seemed to be building to that and they completely cut that off. In a brilliant and horrifying way.

Ah, I get what you're saying now.

GoT is an example of sudden plot twists done right. Characters adapting to changed circumstances (like Arya), rather then the writers having a brilliant new idea and forcing it in

Right, exactly. With BSG Ron D Moore just came up with a bunch of stories and used his BSG characters to tell them whether or not it made the most sense, I suppose. (BSG still worked brilliantly for me personally regardless).

With GOT everything that happens is earned, and the groundwork is laid for it (though the groundwork may be subtle or mis-directed).

[#SnowyVernalSpringsEternal 10,265]

The shorter story arcs for the later seasons of BSG still work fine. The mutiny for example. Just as a whole it doesn't make sense.

You have the line "They Have A Plan" in your title scene for dozens of episodes, then a few years later you make a TV movie which reveals that...there never really was a plan. I mean piss off!