TV

Mysteries of Laura (2014-?)

THE MYSTERIES OF LAURA -- "The Mystery of the Biker Bar" Episode 103 -- Pictured: (l-r) Charlie Reina as Nicholas Diamond, Debra Messing as Laura Diamond, Vincent Reina as Harrison Diamond -- (Photo by: Will Hart/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)

Mysteries of Laura (2014-?)

Network:

NBC

Starring:

Debra Messing

Laz Alonso

Josh Lucas

Janina Gavankar

Max Jenkins

Plot:

A single mom NYPD homicide detective cracks case after case while raising wild twin boys and locking horns with her less than helpful police detective ex-husband.

Review:

This is weird, but I’ve been looking forward to watching this show. Ever since I found out it was from the same production company as Arrow and Flash, etc… I wanted to try it out. Months ago one of those Netflix lists that says what’s coming and going said that it was going to be added, but it never showed up. It wasn’t until this month that during one of my random searches it appeared. I devoured the first season and wanted to watch the second, but could only find the last five episodes online. No idea what’s going on with this show and it’s lack DVD/Bluray or streaming ability, but I really enjoyed it.

Laura, Debra Messing, is a working mom and I feel like she captures everything wonderfully. She’s very capable and smart and has a lot of common sense. Those qualities work great in a detective so she’s awesome at her job. She’s also disorganized and raising twin boys, so her life is a mess.

The show is almost wish fulfillment in that all those women out there that like to watch detective shows and think “I could do that” get to see it done every week. Laura’s life is far from perfect though so it’s not a total “I want that life” sort of thing.

Good side characters, like the case per week formula, love the insights into her home life, and really like the boyfriend.

4/5

Doctor Who Series Nine Episodes One – Four – BBC Saturday 9 EST

Doctor Who Series Nine Episodes One – Four – BBC Saturday 9 EST

Network:

BBC

Starring:

Peter Capaldi

Jenna Coleman

Thoughts:

I’ve watched Doctor Who since 2008 when I discovered it on Netflix and proceeded to watch the first four series over and over again. I loved David Tennant and introduced so many friends and family to the show because of that love. When Matt Smith showed up I was wary but ended up adoring him and the Ponds.

Around series seven things started to change and the show didn’t make me as excited. Even the Ponds weren’t doing it for me anymore. I still cried when they left, but it was almost because I was expected to. I continued to watch the show but I stopped watching it live, I stopped watching it on Saturdays, I pretty much had to force myself to do it.

The fiftieth anniversary special felt like a return to what I loved and I was excited again, but then it was back to more of the same. The Doctor changed and I hoped that we would get things back to what I loved, but nope.

It would be easy to blame Clara, Jenna Coleman, but I really don’t think it’s her fault. I also don’t think I’ve somehow changed fundamentally in the TV I like. I’ve decided to put the blame on Moffat, which is crazy because he’s given me some amazing episodes, but I can’t think of any other culprits.

I’d love to point to what changed but I loved Doctor Who so much that my brain basically melted any time I tried to come up with why. Now that I don’t like it I can’t really point to a reason.

It still has the cheesy Sci-Fi, the Doctor still saves the day, but something has changed. The risks don’t seem as high and Clara doesn’t seem as human as the other companions, but I’m not sure why. Missy, Michelle Gomez, is fine and I enjoyed Pink, Samuel Anderson, but they aren’t enough to make my old love return.

I watch every week with a hope that things will get back to what I loved, but each week it gets more difficult. I intended these weekly posts to be about my favorite episodes of the week, but I couldn’t ignore what’s going on with Doctor Who and I wanted to know if I was the only one that feltthe same. I know that the people I introduced to Doctor Who feel the same, but maybe they do because I do?

What does everyone else think?

 

Arrow Season Four Episode One – Green Arrow – CW Wednesday @ 8 EST

arrow-season-4

Arrow Season Four Episode One – Green Arrow – CW Wednesday @ 8 EST

Life has been a bit hectic in my house so I apologize for missing a post, it probably won’t be the last because I’m very behind on a lot of things. Life, man.

Anyway, Arrow was probably not the best episode of television I’ve watched this week, but it was certainly the one I had the most comments on. I’ll start off with what I disliked and then try and end on a positive.

Did not like Diggle’s new costume, the helmet looked very cumbersome and like it would be more of a hindrance then a help in a fight situation. Also didn’t like any of the Felicity/Oliver scenes, which makes me sad. I’ve loved Felicity since the beginning, but I really don’t think she should have gotten together with Oliver, they just don’t work as a couple. It’s too domestic, maybe when he’s older, way older, but not now. I can only see one satisfying way out for the character, though, and I don’t like it.

Pros. I liked Thea. She’s clearly enjoying her new violent lifestyle and I think it might be interesting to see how far she’ll go before realizing she has a problem. It is a CW show so they had to throw in the big brother talk and her brushing him off like a silly teenager, but since the Felicity/Oliver bits were worse it was easy to overlook.

I also noticed that Oliver and Diggle seem to be a lot more buff then they were, especially Diggle. It’s obvious what they were doing this summer.

I also liked the addition of mysticism in the Arrow/Flash universe. It’s in DC comics so I’m glad to see it enter the TV shows.

The surprise at the end I totally didn’t see and then the very ending could end up being so many people that I’m only sixty percent sure I know who it is.

Ultimately I’m looking forward to the new season but this episode didn’t blow me away.

Heroes Reborn Mini-Series (2015)

Heroes: Reborn - Season 1

Heroes Reborn Mini-Series (2015)

Network:

NBC

Starring:

Jack Coleman

Gatlin Green

Ryan Guzman

Robbie Kay

Zachary Levi

Plot:

A year ago, a terrorist attack in Odessa, Texas left the city decimated. Blamed for the tragic event, those with extraordinary abilities are in hiding or on the run from those with nefarious motives.

Review:

I think I would have preferred an outright reboot to a mini-series that picks up two seasons after I dropped the original show. Since I did stop watching around the beginning of the third season I’m not sure if things would have been clearer if I was up to date. I honestly planned on watching the first four seasons before this aired, but never got around to it.

With all the other superhero shows that I’m already watching Heroes Reborn was going to have to be pretty awesome for me to pick it up. Sadly it was more of the whole save the girl, save the world business. Maybe I didn’t like it because I wasn’t up to date, but I don’t think so.

The two hour season premiere asked a ton of questions, I think they were expecting me to already be invested in the world and want the answers, sadly I do not. There was also the horrible “video game” story line that was going on that turned me off as well. That part was set in Tokyo, why the hell didn’t they make it look like anime?

Whatever, if there’d been some new characters I was interested in I might have stuck around, but nobody really grabbed me. For a moment I thought maybe I’d watch it for Zachary Levi but I hated the character of his wife, she was just so guns blazing stupid. I will say I read a theory online that those two aren’t really married and based on the premiere I think that’s probably true.

I’m actually sad that I’m dropping this show, but I see no reason to stick around. This Fall season has been really rough, even my returning shows aren’t blowing me away. Maybe I’ve finally met my TV limit.

2/5

 

Daredevil (2015-?)

Daredevil

Daredevil (2015-?)

Network:

Netflix

Starring:

Charlie Cox

Deborah Ann Woll

Elden Henson

Plot:

A blind lawyer with his other senses superhumanly enhanced fights crime as a costumed superhero.

Review:

Best pilot since Marvel’s Agent Carter. So far I’ve consumed four episodes and I love this show so much. A lot of the fight scenes have been better shot than most action movies being released lately. The story is compelling and I like how they’ve worked in mentions to the Avengers. Not the characters but the destruction they did to the city. The characters are real, but not so real that you can’t see them donning black and kicking butt.

I purposefully didn’t read much about this show going in because I wanted to see it without any expectations, and these first four episodes have been incredible. I’m so looking forward to the rest of this season and all the Marvel+Netflix series to come.

5/5

Side note: Kind of sad to read that AKA Jessica Jones might not be released this year, it’s times like this when I’m reminded that we’re in a whole new world of TV and have no idea what “networks” are going to do