If you want something really, really bad...

Since we`re nearing the Season Finales of most of my shows, I thought I`d do one more little update on how they fared this year IMO. As a little aside, though, can I ask: what is up with this habit to pump up the Seasons to 23-24 episodes lately? Because lets get real, writers had trouble filling the usual 22 eps and at least 1/3 of it was mostly filler and/or shit. I get they want to reduce reruns but before upping quantity, you should up quality.

Anyway, here goes:

Pretty much all my crime shows, Castle, Bones, NCIS, NCIS LA and Criminal Minds can be summed up with: I still watch those, I still like some characters/concepts and some episodes truly entertain me, others, not so much. Now, NCIS LA has to be the less tired of all of them because it is the youngest whereas NCIS (going into Season 11!!!) is more of a chore.

Elementary is a new one I started this year and it entertains me for an hour each week, to be forgotten till it`s next on. I don`t have a problem seeing Sherlock as Sherlock Holmes, though. It has always been a character I could accept in wildly different incarnations so this one? No prob either. Am impressed that so far they are staying true to the "no romance" mandate.

Hannibal I just picked up but I already know, it wouldn`t work for me longer than probably this one Season. I like it but it is mini-series material for me.

My sitcoms are still
- The Big Bang Theory - still watch it but the best episode this Season for me (the one where the girls discuss Thor`s hammer) also made me sad because the show had this kind of nerd humor all the time and now it simply doesn`t. I still laugh during episodes but it`s more generic humor now.
- Community - I enjoyed the beginning of the Season but the last few eps? Just not my thing. Didn`t really feel like Community and wasn`t funny so it`s probably just as well that it`s coming to an end.

Now for the more genre fare.

New shows I picked up this Season are:
Arrow - I really do like how the show has developed, the overarching story, the characters, it feels much more cohesive than in the beginning. Also, I think Stephen Amell is better than just his abs in my opinion. NowOllie is a somber, brooding character but islandOllie is a hoot and a half and pre-islandOllie is a fratboy douchebag and I think he manages to make them distinct characters from each other.

Beauty and the Beast - yup, I`m apparently one of two people still watching it because the romance works for me. I absolutely get why people would walk away from the show in disgust and boredom because the romance is the only thing it has got going for it. So if that doesn`t grab you, it will be a bust.

Defiance, I just started but so far, I`m invested.

Returning shows were:
The Vampire Diaires - an odd Season, I can see why it got some hate but individiual episodes still entertain me and I`m curious for the Finale

Person of Interest - I put this down as genre because of reasons but nevertheless, it kicks major ass. I haven`t loved every ep this year but the main story arc and character work? Fantastic.

Grimm - Apart from one storyline this year (three guesses on what is), I loved the second Season. I love Nick`s camaraderie with all of his Wesen friends and allies.

Game of Thrones may be halfway through Season 3 already but it`s hard to judge till a year/book is finished so I will just say: good stuff.

Fringe ended - sniffle and Samnat got dropped.

In conclusion: I still watch way too many shows.

Not bad, TV-Friday (well, technically, that would be TV-Thursday but who cares). We had:

- Beauty and the Beast finally got back to the only thing that ever worked for it, I know my bar for this show is quite low but I`d probably watch it at this point just to be gobsmacked how likeable a TV character played by Kristin Kreuk can be. I never blamed the actress much for the bad Lanaville writing but this show has bad writing, too, and Cat is actually genuinely a likeable person

- a most EXCELLENT episode of Person of Interest, that seriously rocked and eps like this can go bad, if not done right. Here, I was disappointed that it wasn`t a backdoor Pilot.

- a powerful episode of Vampire Diaires, and what was probably the best bit of acting done by Nina Dobrev in the entire show so far (and by that I don`t mean to say she is usually bad because I have always found her to be good). Also: game, consider yourself thouroughly changed.

Oh, Person of Interest is starting to air on German Pay-TV as of today. I`m half-tempted to check out the dubbing. :)

drat, I had the wrong page in my TV guide, it was already on yesterday. Nevertheless, I found a German teaser...

...few things in life may have scared me more than Reese`s dubbed voice:

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Aiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee

Used my first "free" day to finally catch up on the last few eps of Fringe. I started watching in real time Season 4, then had to stop quickly because it made me hurt for the characters and I can only really take that when I know it gets better (and soon). So I waited out the Season and have been marathoning properly. Now, I can even take the beginning without breaking a sweat. :D

I dreaded ep 19 "Letters in transit" somewhat, given what I had read about it but my fears were unfounded. I was thouroughly entertained and loved the characters.
( Is that still a spoiler? Better safe than sorry. )

Also, and that was not only brought on by Fringe but several things I watched recently: suspense-building in either a breaking/entering/storming the fortress or a getaway scenario. You know, the good guys either try to get the bad guys or trying to make a run for it. And you know what? I think it's actually not that hard to generate suspense during scenes like that. Working on the assumption that your audience cares about the well-being of the good guys, all you need to do is make it a bit hard for them, have the bad guys nearly catch them, have someone trip and fall for godssakes.

I'm not talking about every show doing it as thrill-rid-y and masterfully as the Person of Interest Finale but watching Fringe today, I kinda had a weird retroactive "okay, that's fucking it" moment re: the SPN Finale. And it's all mareen's fault because she totally put the thought in my head and it grew and grew there. :-P Now, I still am deliriously happy over some stuff in the SPN Finale, mainly the very end, but while it didn't bother me while watching I'm no longer sanguine about: ( again spoiler, I guess )

My crackpot theory for Person of Interest Season 2? The first episode will start with ( Finale spoilers, I guess )

Some thought on Person of Interest ( 1.21 )

Now, if they could just have Reese at one point utter the line "come with me if you want to live", it would be the cherry on top. *g*

I finally got to see the "Plan B" bag. Ahahahahaha. Though in a way, quintessential Reese.

And boy, at the end of episode 14 ( spoiler )