The Idiot Box: TV Season 2011/2012

[foproy]

I work when it is airing because I do the graveyard shift ... it's no longer streaming new episodes on Hulu either it seems

last i checked though usa was streaming it.

[Desertpuma]

Well, I stand corrected. Hulu is airing Burn Notice but seriously delayed.

[Crafty_Pat]

As I mention over in the Walking Dead Escape thread, I haven't had a lot of time to post stuff this week, which is a shame given how much there was to report from Comic-Con 2012. As I'm still very busy, I'll keep it brief, posting just the stuff I think might be interesting beyond the regular news, or that I haven't seen here and really needs to be passed along...

Walking Dead: The panel was fun but it was the footage of Season 3 everyone was after. Fortunately, AMC was kind enough to put it online the day of the event, so if you missed it head on over to the WD site and check it out. Awesome, right? We knew it would be. Of all the stuff in there, I'm most surprised that...

(click to show/hide)

...Andrea and Michonne initially wind up in Woodbury. I figured the showrunners would take the easy way out and have them show up at the prison at some dramatically appropriate moment, but nope - it looks like the conflict between the Ricktatorship and the Governor's regime is going to get uglier than anyone expected. Can't wait to see the screws start turnin'.

As announced at the con, Walking Dead returns October 14, and there was also a poster.

Fringe: I didn't make it in for the panel, which was first on Sunday (apparently the term "light day" no longer applies at Comic-Con, and you have to get lined up for pretty much everything at least 3-4 hours out). Fortunately the panel's available online, along with the Season 5 trailer (which looks mighty interesting). I still think they should have placed that episode at the end of last season rather than wedged in nonsensically as it was. Imagine if that was our final memory of last season! Alas...

1313 Mockingbird Lane: I couldn't make the panel for this but Bryan Fuller was interviewed at the show and mentioned quite a few awesome little details, confirming some of the crew and talking a bit about what to expect from the visuals. There's also a wonderful hint dropped about what may come next for Pushing Daisies, one of my favorite shows from the last decade.

Pilots: Five where shown and I can recommend two. In order of my preference, they were...

• Arrow: I went in hoping for this to be my second-favorite pilot but it turned out to be the strongest of the batch. It's fierce, compelling, and grim-yet-approachable, and features a plot twist a la Revenge that sets up a great and enduring week-to-week. The new Arrow doesn't have Hartley's charisma but he's no slouch and unlike a lot of folks who'd look the part he can actually emote, which is nice. Oh, and the plot's timely and the pilot features no other super heroes (I mistakenly took from the pilot that there would be no other super heroes period, but reports since the show have proven me wrong. I really hope the ones they do include rely exclusively on grit, guile, and gadgets, as I think actual superhuman abilities would detract from the show's focus and undermine its promise.)
• Revolution: I desperately want this show to be awesome but the pilot isn't quite there. It's fine: the characters are decent, the actors manage, the dialog moves things alone, and the visuals mostly work (even if the scale seems a little confined for a concept this big). It's nice to see Giancarlo Esposito land in something I'll watch after his exit from Breaking Bad, and you won't see any complaints from me about a show where guns and tech can't constantly save the day. Unfortunately, the pilot doesn't really show off anything unique or special to set the show apart, and I have no idea where the heck it's headed (for a quest show, you'd expect them to lay out a direction right from the get-go, but not so much). For the time being I'm giving this a B and asking for improvement after summer break.
• The Following: Some of you know I binged on procedurals several years ago in an attempt to deconstruct the format. That's had the unfortunate side-effect of leaving me unable to view them as entertainment, which I think is why I was left so cold by The Following. It's an interesting idea with an eye toward network longevity (new villains every week tied to a single core cast), but it feels to me a lot like many other episodic detective/cop shows from the last 20 years: the violence and gore falls somewhere between Law & Order and Millennium, and while the characters are fleshed out more than the former, they're nowhere near as well-rounded as the latter. YMMV, of course.
• 666 Park Avenue: Great cast and an interesting concept, but it's really hard for me to see this going anywhere. The format looks like it'll get stale about halfway through the first season unless there's some big detour in the offing, and I'm not sure communion with the devil is such a great fit for America's Broadcasting Company anyway.
• Cult: This... is shit. There really isn't a softer or less accurate way to put it. There's precisely one thing going for the show and that's Jessica Lucas, who is undeniably sexy in everything she's ever done. Here she's sidelined as the parot-Watson to a bumbling idiot investigating one of the dumbest plots I've ever had the misfortune to witness, and that's not even touching on the unbelievable hubris and astounding gall of the meta-plot. Let me put it this way: the show creator wrote himself into the story, as the creator of a show that's captured America's attention and which a mysterious cult has decided should be the basis for its nefarious deeds. Of course said show creator's brilliance is widely accepted and of course he's constantly praised for his masterpiece, which as we see repeatedly in the pilot, is also shit. If you value your brain, stay away from this turd. It's this kind of tripe that gives we genre lovers a bad name.

[Crafty_Pat]

It's far from a done deal yet, but there's an outside chance that we may be looking at a possible...

Return of Blake's 7

[Mister Andersen]

Guy from Casino Royale sounds promising. Other creatives, maybe not so much.

[ThunderMonkey]

Guy from Casino Royale sounds promising. Other creatives, maybe not so much.

Yeah, but Campbell also directed the mess "Green Lantern".

[Forcegypsy]

Alphas is back for season 2.

[Desertpuma]

Alphas is back for season 2.

Yep, got my notice that the first episode of Season 2 is now on Hulu just yesterday. Looks really good.

[Sletchman]

I watched it and Warehouse 13's premiere yesterday afternoon and was pretty happy with both.  Both had to follow on from pretty significant episodes, and did a good job of it.  I'm looking forward to seeing where both respective sci-fi's take this season.

[Crafty_Pat]

I watched it and Warehouse 13's premiere yesterday afternoon and was pretty happy with both.  Both had to follow on from pretty significant episodes, and did a good job of it.  I'm looking forward to seeing where both respective sci-fi's take this season.

Whereas I was rather disappointed with both.

Huge swaths of the W13 premiere were just ludicrous, either in terms of plotting, dialog, or the leaps of logic the characters had to make to move things along. Often the episode suffered from all three problems at once. Plus - and I freely admit this is rather petty - someone really needs to tell Joanne Kelly that hairstyle doesn't work for her. Like, STAT!

I found the Alphas premiere better written but it was also pretty dull, which is a shame given the blow-out finale last year.

Now, Covert Affairs is on fire this season. Anyone into quality espionage storytelling or fine character drama needs to be watching the show this year.

[Seuss]

Now, Covert Affairs is on fire this season. Anyone into quality espionage storytelling or fine character drama needs to be watching the show this year.

Where's a "Like" button when you need it 

Seuss

[Crafty_Pat]

Homeland: Look Again trailer

[Desertpuma]

I like what they indicated Alphas could turn into and Covert Affairs has been solid especially with the abrupt departure of a cast member.

[Crafty_Pat]

I like what they indicated Alphas could turn into and Covert Affairs has been solid especially with the abrupt departure of a cast member.

Um, don't assume too much regarding that particular event. By which I mean, you should go watch this season's title sequence again.

[Sletchman]

Fair points, Pat.  Like Desertpuma, I liked Alphas more because of the hints of what it is becoming (I can't be the only one getting a Magneto vibe from Parish) then because it was spectacular episode in and of itself.  It was pretty slow and dull compared to many of last season's episodes, but I think as a foundation of this season's core themes it shows promise.

Warehouse 13 I'm just glad to have back, but I don't particularly disagree with your points - I just excused the crazy leaps of logic as "benefits of experience gained working in a batshit insane place".  That doesn't excuse the plotting problems though.  Largely, I enjoyed it because I enjoy the cast (collectively).