30 Days of Television - Day 07

Day 07 - Least favorite episode of your favorite t.v. show

I'll tell you, this one is hard, because I pretty much love ALL of Arrow... but I am going to be *that fan* who chooses one that the fandom raved about when it aired. I have a confession my fellow Arrow fans - I did not like the Season 3 Finale.

Oh, sure, there was a lot of action (the fight scenes were AMAZING) and there was some pretty entertaining dialogue (anytime John Barrowman gets to show off his sass, it's a good day for me)... and the cameo by The Flash was a major highlight (I never expected to fall in love with Grant Gustin's Barry Allen, but he's super adorable.)... but I hated how it felt like a season finale.

I hated that Olicity felt final.

I hated that Diggle and Oliver parted ways.

I hated that they're suggesting The Arrow/Oliver Queen is officially retired.

I hated it.

It was just a very disappointing - for me - episode. Too much going on, too many rush to finish storyline. Too much finality.

I don't doubt Oliver and Felicity will be back, I don't doubt that it will be fun next year... but I really really really REALLY hate change. And I really really really hate the idea that Oliver and Diggle are at odds. The hurt that isn't going to go away any time soon hurt ME. LOL

I said it when the finales aired, but The Flash's finale blew Arrow's so far out of the water. I expected more from Arrow. It's not the casts' fault. It's not the director's fault. It was the writing.

I know, I'm probably in the minority. I'm still a die hard fan... I just hope I get to stay that way. (I only lasted 3 seasons into Once Upon A Time, after all.)


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30 Days of Television - Day 04

Your favorite show ever

This is difficult because I have periods where my favorite shows are the last thing I want to watch, and I'm having a hard time pinning down which one is my favorite of all time. No doubt no matter what I choose for this prompt I'll press "publish" and immediately regret my choice. Ha!

M*A*S*H, though, has been a constant favorite. I own all 11 seasons on DVD, and yet as I type this I'm watching it through Netflix (which is annoying because it's the broadcast versions so some scenes are missing!). It's my favorite kind of "sitcom" - it's funny but has some real world situations that they take seriously. Even though it has strongly liberal leanings in many of its characters and episodes - and for the first five seasons makes the conservative character the villain - their stance is one that is shared across the board.

Alan Alda as Hawkeye Pearce was perfection. I love Alda in anything he does, but Hawkeye was the perfect character for him (later when he was in West Wing and then The Blacklist I realized he could be a mean SOB!), I'm also a big fan of David Ogden Stiers who played Charles E Winchester - the Bostonian Republican (they exist?!). BJ Honeycutt is my favorite of Hawkeye's besties (Trapper's good, but I prefer BJ)... and who doesn't love Radar?

The wit and situations are timeless - while the issues are set during the Korean War and the show was shot at the end of the Vietnam war they still hold true to the issues of today (some things never change). The show is timeless, endearing, and one I love to watch over and over.

Honorable mentions go to:

The Big Bang Theory

F.R.I.E.N.D.S

Law & Order

30 Days of Television - Day 01

Show that shouldn't have been cancelled

Oh there are so many shows that I've been sad to see go - Shark, Smash, Once Upon A Time in Wonderland... to name a few. But I think I have to go with the show that I just rewatched for the countless time... and that's the 13 episode long FX series Terriers. The show aired in 2010 and starred Donal Logue (Gotham) and Michael Raymond-James (Once Upon A Time). It wasn't your typical crime drama - in was kind the anti-hero version of a crime drama - and the two played a couple of down on their luck Private Investigators. The show had nothing to do with yappy little dogs, but was a metaphor for the two main characters' outlook on life.

The dry humor is what gets me, every time. Doesn't matter how many times I see it, I still crack up at the antics and sarcasm. It's the perfect show for me. It got great reviews from critics and viewers alike, but it was poorly marketed by the network and the title was... misleading? A title that has to be explained isn't a good one, IMO, but then again I'm not in the business. However I remember when the show was being promoted as a "must watch" and thinking I knew nothing about it and therefore wasn't interested.

My favorite character is, of course, Britt Pollack played by Raymond-James. He's an "ex-con" who saw the error of his ways and partners up with an ex-cop to work the PI beat. He lives with his girlfriend Katie - whom he met after robbing her house and seeing her picture and thinking she was cute, so she looked her up at the bar she worked at - and we meet the couple dealing with the idea of possibly moving on to become parents. Katie wants a baby, Britt not so much. So he's in a foul mood in the opening scene of the series. Still he's pretty good natured throughout the show and definitely has the best lines. His story is relate-able and compelling, and you can't help but cheer for him.

His buddy (both on the show and in real life), Hank Dolworth played by Donal Logue, is an ex cop who had to leave the force due to his drinking problem. He was drinking on the job, and screwed up a major rape case that got him forced out. Just before that, he met Britt who was caught trying to jack a car. At some point the two partner up and we get to witness them foul up and save the day for 13 awesome episodes.





The only reason I watched it 4 years after it was cancelled and on Netflix was because I fell in love with MRJ in Once Upon A Time and needed something else of his to watch. I wish I'd seen it as it aired, though I have a feeling I'd have been very angry that it didn't get picked up for a full season. Though maybe if more folks had watched it, it'd have made it.

So I'll just keep hoping that FX brings it back for a special event, as there have been rumors for a while now... Donal has found success on Fox's Gotham, and MRJ is currently working on a new show hoping to be picked up for the NBC fall line up "Game of Silence" sounds like a GREAT show. Really have high hopes for him and the show.

30 Days of Me - Day Three

Day Three: Favorite TV Show
This would probably be M*A*S*H. Yes, it's anti-war, anti-republican, anti-Christianity... or at least modern American "Christianity"... but it's hysterical and it speaks more truth than we all care to admit. The casting was spot on, and even when, mid series, some of the core cast left (Good-bye Ferret Face) we got some fantastic replacements.