Hello

 It has been a while since I signed on.  I will try to be more diligent about posting.  I have been watching all kinds of TV in the past few months.  Most recently I finished WARRIOR.  It is original a Cinemax show, and then a MAX Original, but I was watching it on Netflix.  This show is based on the writings of Bruce Lee.   This is the original idea that he pitched, which was in my opinion stolen, and then turned in to KUNG FU starring David Carradine.  

This show not only has amazing martial arts fights, but I think does a good job of showing San Francisco in the 1800's.

I have also been binge watching all of the recent versions of HARD KNOCKS.  Currently they are profiling the Chicago Bears for the new season.  Previous versions have been with the Miami Dolphins, which covered the last half of the 2023 season, and the New York Giants, which covered their off season.  I is cool to see behind the scenes of a sport that I love.

In the coming weeks, I will try to go back and talk about shows that I have watched in the past couple of years. 

I have been streaming for over ten years now, and it is liberating not having to be in front of the television at a certain time to watch a certain thing.

Been a long time

It has been a while since I have posted something about television.  Currently I am watching the second season of HUMANS.  I am really enjoying it.  It gives a subtle message about the rights of robots and whether they are considered conscious or not. 

It has been a good year for television.  Amazon has put out some good stuff.  I enjoyed the first season of GOLIATH.  Always good to watch two acting titans like Billy Bob Thorton and William Hurt go at.  Great stories and supporting cast as well.  BOSCH, Season 3, was a slow burn good just like the first two seasons.  You can definitely tell that they are based on multiple books, and they seem to intertwine them well to create one cohesive story.

I am about half way through both JESSICA JONES and PREACHER.  Both are based on comic books but are completely different.  JESSICA JONES is tied in with the other Marvel shows, so I have LUKE CAGE and IRON FIST to look forward to after that.  Hoping to have those also done prior to THE DEFENDERS coming out, which will tie them in with DAREDEVIL as well.  Also looking forward to THE PUNISHER, but not sure on the release date.

If I had to chose one, I would consider DESIGNATED SURVIVOR the best show of this season. Kiefer Sutherland is excellent as POTUS.  I would follow this with MacGyver.  Great reboot of the original series.  Wondering if they are somehow going to try to tie it into the original in any way.

24 LEGACY was good, but not as good as the original.

All of the NCIS shows have been good, and continue to have good acting and stories.  SCORPION has also been strong in its 3rd season, and I am still enjoying ELEMENTARY.  During the summer, I am planning to catch up on CRIMINAL MINDS, and its spin off CRIMINAL MINDS BEYOND BORDERS.

(SPOILER ALERT) - Watch Red and Mr Kaplan going head-to-head on THE BLACKLIST is good TV.  Also curious whether they are going to have full new seasons of BLACKLIST: REDEMPTION.  I liked this show a lot.  one of Terry O'Quinn's best roles.

I am not sure about the second season of BLINDSPOT.  They seem a little stunted in the second season, but am hopeful all will come together by the season finale.  If not, I am not sure whether they will get a third season.

I am behind on SVU and Chicago PD, and have to start CHICAGO JUSTICE.

Coming up, the ones I am looking forward to are the seventh season of GAME OF THRONES, AMERICAN GODS, season five of RAY DONOVAN.  Will write more later, and hopefully more frequently.

Summer Shows

I am currently watch the second episode of PROOF as I am typing this.  Interesting concept of the show.  A medical doctor is investigating what comes after death for a megabillionaire.  Acting is good in this show and the first two stories have been good.

TYRANT also has started again, but I have not had a chance to watch the episodes yet.

I am also still behind on MAJOR CRIMES.  MURDER IN THE FIRST has been good with its first two episodes, but there were a couple of scenes that were difficult to watch.

I am planning to catch up on HANNIBAL today, and it continues to be very weird, but still good.  I am on the second episode of AQUARIUS and am liking it so far.

On NATGEO, there is a new series call AMERICAN GENIUS that is currently occupying my DVR with episodes like Gates vs Job, or Hearst vs Pulitzer.  Upcoming binge watching I am guessing.

Also taping MAKING OF THE MOB: New York.

SYFY is giving us the third season of DEFIANCE (I am still on the second season), KILLJOYS (the first episode was good), and DARK MATTER (three taped in the DVR)

GRACELAND also had a good premiere, and I was thankful that NETFLIX had posted the second season just before, so I could catch up shortly prior.

More later.

More season finales...(Spoilers....)

I have been trying to catch up on TV during this holiday weekend.  As I am typing this, I am watching 12 MONKEYS which I taped earlier in the year.  Looks like a few from NIKITA have got new jobs on this one.  Earlier in the weekend, I watched the remaining episodes of RIZZOLI AND ISLES.  It was a good season, and I felt that the characters are evolving well.  Season 5 ended well, and on a good note.  I liked the fact that there was not a big cliffhanger, and they seemed to finally say goodbye to Detective Frost.  Looking forward to Season 6 in about 3 weeks.

THE FLASH - I really enjoy this show.  I have been somewhat of a mediocre fan of FLASH comics, but I thought that this series was well done, and introduced even more of the characters as the ARROW has.  Grant Gustin is excellent as Barry Allen, and I like the fact that they have bought back three actors from THE FLASH series from the 1990's.

ARROW - Great season 3.  Ra's Al Ghul was devilishly good, and thought that the backstory of Oliver as part of Argus was good as well.  All of the supporting cast grew this season, most definitely Laurel.  She stepped into her sister's shoes well, and looking forward to DC'S LEGENDS OF TOMORROW on how they are going to bring back Sara Lance.  I am guessing the Lazarus pits.  Interested in seeing where they are going to go with this, as Oliver is gone, Thea is now Arsenal, and Ray Palmer will be part of LEGENDS.

NCIS - Will Gibbs be OK?  Last couple of episodes arc were good.

NCIS LA - I hope that Callen will eventually find his father.  The season finale tied up a few loose ends.  Wondering if they will go back why the LAPD is investigating Deeks.

NCIS New Orleans - Good first season.  I like the characters in this show, and am glad they have brought out a few of the backstories for the characters.  They have completed these to an extent.

THE BLACKLIST - They are on the run again.  Great season.  I thought it would be tough to beat the first season, but they blew past it like it was standing still.  I hope they introduce her mother in season 3, but truly have no clue how they might.  Definitely will be a reversal of roles when the next season starts.

CSI CYBER - Also a good first season.  Took a while to get going in my opinion, but thought it ended well.  Good amount of action, and I liked all of the computer forensic stuff.

CSI - I am disappointed that they cancelled this show, but I can understand after 15 years.  Still thought it had good story lines.  Happy that they will sum up everything with a two hour movie in the fall.

MADAM SECRETARY - Also good.  Tea Leoni and Tim Daly are both excellent in this show.  The family stuff helps the show, but those story lines are now as good as the political ones in my opinion. I am hoping they can maintain the good story lines during season 2, otherwise, it might be in trouble.

DIG - This was a good 10 episode event on USA.  They theoretically can make a season 2, but I am hoping they stick with only this story line.  Good action, good story, and I would highly recommend to watch.  A little slow at the beginning, but picked up in the lost couple of episodes.

HAWAII FIVE-O - good season, but not great.  Still good stories, but it is beginning to lose some steam.  Currently cliffhanger with Chen was a little dull.  Most surprising thing all season was Danny's reaction and avenging of his brother's death.

CASTLE - Excellent season.   Castle was out, then he was back in.  Liked the SNL spoof episode, and the telenovela episode.  The season finale was good, going way back to Castle's childhood.  Also curious to see what Beckett decides to do with her future in season 8.

MARVEL, AGENTS OF SHIELD - I like the Inhuman story line of this season, and thought it tied in well with the Avengers movie and what was happening.  Skye discovering her powers was exciting, and liked how Ward was trying to redeem his self, but was still evil about it.  Wondering how they will tie it in to the other ANT-MAN and FANTASTIC FOUR if possible and definitely how it will affect CAPTAIN AMERICA: CIVIL WAR.

I am looking forward to catching up on more shows this summer, and will try to write about them as I do.

Steaming shows

I am starting to watch quite a few shows now on streaming sites.  I liked the third season of HOUSE OF CARDS, but not as much as the other two seasons.  It was more of a slow burn, but still a strong story, and definitely set it up for a good fourth season.

BLOODLINES was another Netflix show that I found.  It is about a family in the everglades of Florida.  They seem to be the picture perfect family.  The parents have owned a bed and breakfast for 45 years. The oldest son is the bad seed who has had trouble with the law, and the second son is a police officer for the county.  The daughter is a lawyer, and the youngest son own a charter business.  With each episode, they chip away at the perfect family facade, and you are left with a much different picture at the end of the season.  It has been picked up for season 2.

BOSCH - I purchased Amazon Prime especially to watch this show.  Titus Welliver is great as the title character, and has a good supporting cast.  Los Angeles is also very much a character in this show as well.  Jason Gedrick is good as the villain, and I swear this guy does not age.

DAREDEVIL - I am about five episodes in on this series.  They briefly mention the events of the first AVENGERS movie, and make jokes about some of the other superheroes.  Charlie Cox is good as Matt Murdock.  Good supporting cast, but all are overshadowed by Vincent D'Onofrio as Wilson Fisk.  His voice was in the first couple of episode, and he has exploded into the following episodes.  Very eager to see where this goes next.

I have also watched the pilot for MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE on Amazon Prime, and was happy that it got picked up for a full season.  I am planning to watch SENS8 when it starts on NETFLIX, and will eventually start ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK.  I have also heard the the UNBREAKABLE KIMMY SCHMIDT is good, but have not started it yet.  AMAZON PRIME also has ALPHA HOUSE which I have watched the first episode of the BETAS which I have watched two episodes of.  Both were decent, and hoping will get better with more episodes.

More to follow this summer...

Finales 2015

It is that time of year again where the regular season of shows are ending again. (Spoilers may be included in the following)

BIG BANG THEORY - Very good season finale.  Will Leonard and Penny make it to Vegas?  Will Sheldon take his head out of his ass and reconnect with Amy, especially after his conversation with Gollum?  Will Bernadette and Howard let Stewart stay, and will Raj still be afraid of his girlfriend?  These are just the many questions that I will have to wait until September to see.

GOTHAM - Great evolution of both Bruce Wayne, and the many villains that he will encounter as an adult.  Although Penguin took the front stage, I liked the evolution of Edward Nygma become the Riddler much more.  Also liked the hints of the Joker, and thought Ben McKenzie was good as Jim Gordon.  Donal Logue as Harvey Bullock was brilliant casting.

PERSON OF INTEREST - I will be seriously pissed if this show does not continue.  Will hopefully find out later this week.  Great finale of bringing the end to some story lines, and I want to see where they go forward next season.

HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER - Great twists in the first season, and good twist in the season finale.  Each episode left me wanting to see what would happen in the next one.  Fifteen episode was a good amount.

SCORPION - Also a good freshman drama.  Good chemistry among the team, especially with a cast of mostly actors that have not been seen in other things.  It was BING BANG THEORY with more action.  Some of the things they did was a little far fetched but they were acceptable.

More to follow later as I finish those seasons....

Sundays

It is that time of year when all of the networks are doing there fall and winter finales.  I will try to do a wrap up of all of the shows I watch on different days.

Enjoying the fourth season of HOMELAND.  Next Sunday is the finale, and I am looking forward to it.  There have been many good twists and turns, and the end of each show make you want it to be the following week five minutes later.  I hope that they do a fifth season, and I hope that they bring the cast back stateside.  Pakistan has been an interesting backdrop, but the idea of the station cheif doing field work and disregarding her subordinate agents has been a little of a stretch.

BOARDWALK EMPIRE had a good ending.  Although most of the major characters died, they tied up the story lines pretty well.

NEWSROOM - This also had a good series finale.  I was sorry to see one of the major characters go, but I enjoy the connective story that went through the entire season.

THE AFFAIR - I am just two episodes in on this show so far.  The different points of view of the same story has een interesting and I am looking forward to see where this goes.  Weird seeing the crazy lady from LUTHER playing a emotionally damaged waitress and wife.  Dominic West is playing the same character he always seems to.

REVENGE - Was wondering what they were going to do when they brought David Clarke back, and so far it has been good.  She be fun to see what he and Emily can do together.  Not sure the direction following the fall finale (Daniel's demise) but it should be fun.

CSI - Storyline and characters are still good.  They have a new background baddie this season, and the episodes so far involving that have been good.  Definitely eager to find out how this shakes out.

I have not started the second season of RESURRECTION and I have only watched the premiere episode of ONCE UPON A TIME.  Planning to catch up on these two over the holiday break.

Some new shows

I have enjoyed a few good new shows this TV season.

 HOW TO GET AWAY WITH MURDER is an excellent crime show.  It is the third of the Shoda Rhimes shows, and it is as good as the other two.

FOREVER is about a guy who is a medical examiner of New York, but he is also immortal.  It so far has had goot front stories, and has had a good connective backstory as well.

STATE OF AFFAIRS is solid, but I am still undecided.  Katherine Heigl is alright as a CIA agent, but the stroy is a little slow so far.  I am still giving it a chance.

CONSTANTINE - I am just two episodes in but I am enjoying it so far.  I hope that NBC gives it a chance.  I think it can bring in some of the more mystical characters of the DC Universe.

GOTHAM - This is  so far my favorite new show.  Characters are great, and they chose the actors well.  The new character, Fish Mooney, played by Jada Pinkett Smith, is devilishly brilliant.  I am looking forward to the Arkham storyline that will begin when it returns.

MADAM SECRETARY - As someone who has a background in political science, I am enjoyinng this show.  Like FOREVER, it has both good front and back stories.  Enjoying Tea Leoni as the Secretary, and it is good to see Tim Daly on TV again.  He is good at playing her husband.  The kids story line is a little week, and the only one that is even interesting to watch is the anarchist son.

THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA - I was uncertain about Debra Messing doing drama, but she is good in this.  They surrounded her with a good cast, and put in just enough comedy with her character to keep me watching episodes.

Catching up

Over the weekend, I caught up on RESURRECTION.  The first season was on Hulu still and was only 8 episodes, so it was not difficult.  It is about a boy that reported returns from the dead after 32 and is brought back to his parents from China by an ICE agent, played by Omar Epps.  The first season was good, and had a good storyline, and a good cliffhanger.  The second season starts on Sunday, September 28th.

Also finished AN HONORABLE WOMAN.  I think that this series will get some Emmy nominations.  One of Maggie Gyllenhall's best performances of her career.  Great miniseries story.  I will not give away any spoilers for this show.  As soon as it becomes available on ON DEMAND or online, I suggest you binge watch all eight episodes...

Another show that I am beginning to catch up on is MANHATTAN.  It is about the Manhattan project.  Good story so far, but the acting is just ok.  They are doing well to bring in historical figures, but it is taking a while to get anywhere in the show.  I am guessing a lot will happen in the last couple of episode of the series.  I have not heard about a second season yet for this show.

RAY DONOVAN's second season is even better than the first season.  I am half way through the ninth episode, and I am anticipating a very good season finally that will happen next Sunday.

I am also enjoy the fifth and last season of BOARDWALK EMPIRE.  They have jumped forward to 1931.  Al Capone is firmly in control of Chicago, and Meyer Lansky and Lucky Luciano are quietly beginning their takeover of New York.  Nucky is attempting to go legit, and has begun a friendship so far with Joseph Kennedy.  Can't wait to see what else happens this season.

Movies from this past weekend

First movie of the weekend was WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES.  It reminded me of one of the 70's thrillers, but was set in the mid and late 90's.  Liam Neeson is good, as was the actor who played TJ.  The villians are adequate, and very creepy.

THIS IS WHERE I LEAVE YOU is a good family movie.  The patriarch of the family dies, and the mother (Jane Fonda) forces her kids (Jason Bateman, Tina Fey, Corey Stoll, and Adam Driver) to sit shiva, saying that it was there father's dying wish.  Hilarity ensues with them and the people connected to them.

Also sat and watched POINT BREAK just because it was on cable.