What was the last TV show you watched?

[Zombie_61]

Based solely on this ⇧, tried the first episode last night. I can see why you moved on at first, but also based on this ⇧, I'm going to go through several episodes before making a decision. It is fun to see Sam Elliot and Debra Winger again - hope they build out their characters and don't just turn them into sitcom cliches which is what so many sitcom writers do with older actors today.

Sam Elliott is rock solid as usual, but I really wonder what attracted Debra Winger to this project--she's good, but the role could have been performed just as easily by any number of actresses. Their characters' relationship is problematic, but so far the writers have managed to avoid the cliché minefield by blending just enough drama with the humor to keep the storylines at a more realistic level.

 

[Edward]

A bit off topic... I had really enjoyed this year's new NBC series Timeless, a clever update on the old Time Tunnel idea that steadily improved as the season went along. It was canceled last week along with all the other new time-travel series (and many others, it's a bloodbath). Apparently there was a major fan outcry, and NBC has "uncanceled" the show, giving it a 10-episode order to air next spring. So of course, everyone's saying that it's actually due to show's time team secretly going back and changing things at NBC! Either way, I'm happy it's coming back.

Myself, I've long suspected that when a network isn't sure which of a bunch of series they wish to continue with, they'll announce the cancellation of all of them ansd see which one provokes an outcry, then keep that one on. It seems to happen just a little too often for it to be fully straight.

 

[Stearmen]

America's Secret Space Heroes: Saturn V. It is easy to overlook all the people it took to get to the moon. Looks like it will be a good series.

 

[Touchofevil]

Finally got back to watching "Luke Cage" on Netflix. Some of the best music I have heard on a tv show in a while. I really enjoy Mahershala Ali as Cottonmouth. Entertaining acting (especially Frank Whaley, Theo Rossi, and Ron Cephas Jones) throughout. More entertaining than Daredevil.

 

[Doctor Strange]

I would agree that Luke Cage was better than the second season of Daredevil, but not the first. I think Jessica Jones is the best Netflix Marvel series so far.

I haven't watched Iron Fist yet, but plan to soon, before The Defenders drops...

 

[Doctor Strange]

Myself, I've long suspected that when a network isn't sure which of a bunch of series they wish to continue with, they'll announce the cancellation of all of them ansd see which one provokes an outcry, then keep that one on. It seems to happen just a little too often for it to be fully straight.

The entire TV landscape is so hugely changed now. Network shows are getting just a fraction of the viewers they used to, and the line between what's worth keeping and what's canceled is less sure than it used to be. Many of today's cancelation decisions are based on what organization produces and owns a show - if it's the network themselves, they'll often keep a struggling show going, knowing that they'll make back the cost many times over long after its initial broadcast in "ancillary markets". If the show is just leased and won't be providing additional revenue to them later, a network (or cable channel) is quicker to cancel an underperforming series. It's a crazy biz, very much in flux as viewing patterns change and the old broadcast network model crumbles...

 

[Edward]

The entire TV landscape is so hugely changed now. Network shows are getting just a fraction of the viewers they used to, and the line between what's worth keeping and what's canceled is less sure than it used to be. Many of today's cancelation decisions are based on what organization produces and owns a show - if it's the network themselves, they'll often keep a struggling show going, knowing that they'll make back the cost many times over long after its initial broadcast in "ancillary markets". If the show is just leased and won't be providing additional revenue to them later, a network (or cable channel) is quicker to cancel an underperforming series. It's a crazy biz, very much in flux as viewing patterns change and the old broadcast network model crumbles...

Fascinating to see shows 'saved' and givne new life by the likes of Netflix too. Definitely changed times. Just over a decade ago, FilmFour in the UK went from subscription to free-to-air and showing commerical breaks as they realised they could make more money that way. I imagine that by the time the next decade is out, they'll either be shifting to an online, on-demand platform, or gone.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Just hit an article that lays out in detail pretty much exactly what I said an hour ago!

https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/16/15633120/why-tv-shows-get-canceled-ratings-arent-everything

 

[Fading Fast]

Just hit an article that lays out in detail pretty much exactly what I said an hour ago!

https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/16/15633120/why-tv-shows-get-canceled-ratings-arent-everything

Thank you for posting. That helps explain some of the craziness. I was surprised, though, to read that it's even more beneficial today to create more episodes of a show as that seems to be the opposite of what is happening with all these short (ten, for example) episode season we get.

I guess, from the article, the Networks simply won't buy more episodes (as I'm sure the studio wishes they would) - it was just funny to see that statement when the reality feels so different.

 

[Formeruser012523]

Just hit an article that lays out in detail pretty much exactly what I said an hour ago!

https://www.vox.com/culture/2017/5/16/15633120/why-tv-shows-get-canceled-ratings-arent-everything

Fascinating article. Makes me wonder about NCIS and the money that comes pouring into CBS from it's worldwide popularity.

Licensing indeed.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

I find it interesting how some networks used to re-air episodes a few times a night and then several times in the first week before relegating it to On Demand, but now they show it once or twice on a premiere night and straight to On Demand after that. It's frustrating if you have only so many record/watch slots and enjoyed the option of recording it at 3AM on their third or fourth airing. It's smart on their end because it limits the number of times the commercials and be skipped in fast-forward.

Watch What Happens Live did something smart, but annoying, the other night. During commercial break, the commercials split the screen with a view of what happens on the show during commercial break. Commercial left half. Inside the show on the right half. Nothing of importance, like make-up retouching, guests checking their phones etc, but I bet people weren't skipping the commercials.

 

[DNO]

Genius & Victorian Slum House, 1880. Maybe some one from Canada can answer this, were the Irish discriminated against the same as down here? Irish need not apply, and the like.

They certainly were, at least here in Toronto. They were Catholics in a very, very 'Orange' protestant city.

 

[Frunobulax]

Last night's season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. They finished things out on a high note, bringing the elements of the Ghost Rider, Agents of HYDRA, and the last few episodes together into a very satisfying and exciting conclusion. I'm so happy they have gotten picked up for a fifth season, and look forward to next season...in space!

 

[Stearmen]

American Epic The Big Bang. A fantastic series! In the 1920s, record sales took a nose dive as urban dwellers turned to radio. The record companies in turn sent teams with portable recording devices run on clockwork mechanisms, out into the American country side, looking for new talent that would sell to that market. They called it, "catching lightning in a bottle!" This episode featured, The Carter Family and The Memphis Jug Band, two of the most influential groups in history, spanning to this day. To tie into The Fedora Lounge, The Memphis Jug Band clothing would fit in here.

 

[Edward]

I'm watching a bunch of stuff I downloaded from the BBC and Netflix while in Beijing. The Netflix series take on Twelve Monkeys was pretty good, based on the first episode. Chewin' The Fat is a really fun sketch show, though I'm not sure how well the Celtic humour in it would travel.

 

[Doctor Strange]

Last night's season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. They finished things out on a high note, bringing the elements of the Ghost Rider, Agents of HYDRA, and the last few episodes together into a very satisfying and exciting conclusion. I'm so happy they have gotten picked up for a fifth season, and look forward to next season...in space!

This was the show's strongest season, much less uneven than the earlier ones. But temper your excitement for next season: a move to Friday night and reduced budget are part of the renewal. The new series The Inhumans will run in the timeslot first, with AoS returning in November. Oddly, there seems to be no plan to connect the two shows, even though Inhumans have been a major plot aspect of AoS for years now. (One wonders how the classic Inhuman royal family - Black Bolt, Medusa, etc. - featured on the new show relates to the Inhuman stuff we've seen so far.)

 

[Doctor Strange]

American Epic The Big Bang. A fantastic series! In the 1920s, record sales took a nose dive as urban dwellers turned to radio. The record companies in turn sent teams with portable recording devices run on clockwork mechanisms, out into the American country side, looking for new talent that would sell to that market. They called it, "catching lightning in a bottle!" This episode featured, The Carter Family and The Memphis Jug Band, two of the most influential groups in history, spanning to this day. To tie into The Fedora Lounge, The Memphis Jug Band clothing would fit in here.

I caught this too. I'm already up on the Carter Family, but I didn't really know about the Memphis Jug Band. Really interesting stuff... and as a reformed Deadhead, it was cool to hear the Jug Band's original recordings of "On the Road Again" and "Stealin'": the Dead played nearly identical arrangements of both songs.

 

[Frunobulax]

This was the show's strongest season, much less uneven than the earlier ones. But temper your excitement for next season: a move to Friday night and reduced budget are part of the renewal. The new series The Inhumans will run in the timeslot first, with AoS returning in November. Oddly, there seems to be no plan to connect the two shows, even though Inhumans have been a major plot aspect of AoS for years now. (One wonders how the classic Inhuman royal family - Black Bolt, Medusa, etc. - featured on the new show relates to the Inhuman stuff we've seen so far.)

Well, I'll roll back my expectations. I thought I'd also read this year that they were likely to wrap up AoS after Season 5, as well. Which is probably good because I think five years is a good run for a show to keep it from getting stale. Seems they are looking to be Agents of SWORD next year (maybe).

I'm interested to see what Inhumans will be like. I haven't read up on that one.

 

[Ernest P Shackleton]

Fargo. Lots of details, which I find fun. I don't feel it is in 5th gear yet, and I like that possibility for even more potential. I'm not sure there is such need for getting as weird as they have with certain elements, other than the makers stroking themselves, but it does make for good watching. As expected, there are some great characters.

 

[Worf]

Last night's season finale of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. They finished things out on a high note, bringing the elements of the Ghost Rider, Agents of HYDRA, and the last few episodes together into a very satisfying and exciting conclusion. I'm so happy they have gotten picked up for a fifth season, and look forward to next season...in space!

Me too! Knowing that they're not totally averse to killing off folks, I was glad to see the lovebirds make it out of Hydraia... The scene on the beach with Radcliff was a nice touch as well.

Worf