Thursday Open Thread: Shows You’ve Stopped Watching

The DVR is a wonderful thing. You can watch whatever you want, and then you can call back on your DVR to watch what you missed. I grew up with such a device (of course, I called it a VCR and made fun of anyone who didn’t understand how to program such advanced technology).

But there are always those shows that you consistently record, but you might just not watch all too often. They’re the old favorites that have gone south, and now, you just can’t seem to find that chunk of time to catch up. In the end, you just stop recording.

This is such a case for one of our commenters, DC, (and hey, she even wrote for us, too!), so she wants to know…

What shows have you stopped watching? Particularly, what shows have you stopped DVR-ing?

For me, the one show that comes to mind is The Secret Circle. The Vampire Diaries is up there, but it hasn’t quite fallen completely off yet. I’m much more invested in catching up on Damon’s internal struggle of loving Elena than I am about Cassie and her *yawn* dark power. You can probably tell this by my lack of reviews. I try, but I just can’t do it.

It’s actually rather disappointing. The Secret Circle was one of those shows I was most amped about when I heard that they’d be making a series based on the books. But the acting’s so bad and the storylines are so lame that I just can’t do it. I have officially dropped it off my DVR list.

Don’t get me wrong. If I remember and am available, sure, I might watch, but I’m not investing any more planning or technology to the pursuit.

But what about you? What shows dropped off your watching list?

Strangely enough, if you look long enough at this picture, it sure looks like Faye only has one arm, and the rest of the casts’ heads are glued awkwardly on their bodies.

Switched at Birth: How to Save a Bike

SWITCHED AT BIRTH: 1.14 “Les Soeurs D’Estrees”

This episode had something in it that I’d been waiting for for a long time: Daphne to smile. My goodness, has it been so long? I feel like every episode has seen her growling and looking unhappy that I almost forgot what it was like to have the happy-go-lucky Daphne back, even if it was just in rare moments, like studying with Emmett or making cupcakes.

The entire episode really surrounded Emmett, though he was in very little. His fine for his crime was $5000 — an amount that his mother didn’t have. To that end, he was going to have to sell his motorcycle, the only thing he has left from his father, to make due. Daphne didn’t want this to happen, so she made it her job to try to save the bike, by selling cupcakes, getting money out of the Kennishes, and finally, approaching friends out of desperation. In the end, the plan didn’t work, but it wasn’t the bike that was really the takeaway here. It was the fact that Daphne, Miss Perfection, is not quite as clean as we think she is. True, from the viewer’s standpoint, we see all the mean things she says to Bay and the time she got drunk and started to fool around with Wilke in the back of his car. But to the Kennishes, she’s just perfection.

So much so, that when they found out what she did, they still blamed Bay. I felt so bad for Bay here, seeing as she really didn’t do anything wrong. She was really just trying to be helpful, even to Emmett’s mother, who would have nothing to do with it. Really, she’s starting to piss me off significantly.

Speaking of, was anyone else surprised that Emmett and his mother didn’t have money? I certainly don’t think they’re rich, but I felt like they lived in a pretty comfortable middle-class surrounding. They were never really left wanting, and we’ve never seen them as vocal about what they lack as we have with Regina, for example. Regina provides and does well, but you know that there’s a bar she just hasn’t reached yet and wants to. I never saw that with Emmett’s mother, so seeing this episode surrounding their lack of money — and her speech to Bay about how payment plans are things that people who have money understand — just felt odd. I think this could have been easily positioned in a way that you tell Emmett that since he did the crime, he’s got to come up with the cash, which means selling his bike, as opposed to being forced to do so because of lack of funds. That would make his decision at the end of the episode much more pointed.

And man, that was a good way to end that episode.

Meanwhile, we had the usual going on with the Kennishes and Regina. Regina’s still in this weird sexual tension with Angelo, and you really wonder what he’s up to. Somehow, even after his discussion with John, I just don’t trust him. I was surprised to see him so up in arms about Regina knowing for so long who his real child is. That seemed out of character, but it sure cements the idea the he left because of Daphne.

Finally, the lawsuit (also known as, the lawsuit that will never die — or for that matter, come to trial). They’ve hired a new lawyer (a familiar face for you Desperate Housewives and Mad Men fans), and it sure looks like he has what it takes to make a difference. Perhaps he has what it takes to move this plot along, too.

Until next week…

Southland: “Underwater”

SOUTHLAND: 4.02 “Underwater”

Since the move to TNT, and the slimming down of the cast, Southland has shifted to focusing more often on the day to day experiences of its four main cast members, and less on overarching or deeply personal stories. Underwater was a very good, “daily event” focused episode in which we saw a good bit of weird stuff through the eyes of Cooper and Tang, most notably:

• Naked guy casually jogging down the street.
• A woman hit by a car and killed; her head winds up caught in the car’s wheel well.
• Meth head running down the street while on fire. He apparently burst into flames while watching porn in an X-rated video store.
• Giant roidhead guy shrugging off a taser shot and facing down three cops at once.
• Crazy old lady with two guns and a bulletproof vest shooting at her neighbors and the cops for no good reason.

All these weird, dangerous situations pop up suddenly, but in a way that’s not contrived at all. It really drives home to the viewer that cops out on the beat face all sort of weird, bizarre, dangerous situations that suddenly interrupt their lunch or their daily banter with their partners, or any other routine moment in a normal looking day.

Sammy and Ben spend most of the episode teaming up with two other beat cops, one of which is an even greener rookie than Ben. She makes a mistake and lets a suspect escape, and while Ben, Sammy, and the rest eventually find him, he nearly takes off Ben’s head with a baseball bat in the process. I liked the explosive anger Ben shows towards the woman who was sheltering the suspect; Ben’s always viewed himself and his fellow police officers as helping hands in the community, but the woman he argues with looks at them more like an invading force than anything else. The conflict sets up a nice scene in which Ben, Sammy, and the two other cops share their reasons for becoming police officers. Ben, of course, was driven by idealism, but his idealism is fading fast, as we certainly see when he loses control and punches out the fifteen year old girl who spits on him in the parking lot. Unfortunately, the girl’s friends caught everything on video, so I have a feeling that we might see Officer Sherman show up on YouTube in the next few episodes. It will be interesting to see how Ben reacts to to some of this negative attention.

I wonder if Ben’s experience on the streets will turn his idealism to cynicism. We see from Lydia’s plotline that even though she’s been through a lot, she is not a total cynic and still believes that the system usually works. Disposing of the evidence in her murder case, as her new partner subtly hints at, would be wrong; it’s not her job to decide a suspect’s fate, no matter how much she might understand his reasons.

Being Human: And Things Turn Terribly Wrong…

BEING HUMAN: 2.02 “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?”

Huzzah! Suren’s identity was revealed. And in a rather grotesque fashion. I was actually trying to eat a sub during last night’s episode of Being Human, and the gross-looking creature that she was before feeding (basically, after starvation) was awful. Fortunately, she prettied up pretty damn fast. And who was she?

Our very own Dichen Lachman of Dollhouse fame. Ok, I’m completely psyched because I know how awesome she is. If you’re not attuned to Dollhouse, well, I guess that reveal might not have been so huge, but trust me, you’re in for a treat. Yay!

Yays aside, she sure does bring a darkness to the show. In order to get Boston under control, she orders Aiden to turn a policewoman. It’s funny, with all those that were bitten and turned last season, it never occurred to me that Aiden was never the one doing it (ok, well, he did bite a few). It seemed surprising to me when he said that he couldn’t do it, that he didn’t have the control. Clearly, Suren has lost respect for the Aiden she knew, and now that this policewoman has seen the same, I wonder whether the rest of Boston will follow suit. After all, you don’t want Boston vamps to disrespect their #2.

By the way, weren’t the quick flashes to Suren’s gory past incredible? I can’t wait to find out what really happened.

Meanwhile, Sally seems to have found both friends and foes in the ghost world — and a new way to party. She learned to take over people, which in the end tends to act much like a drug or being drunk (hangover included). While that does seem like a fun, new medium (pardon the pun) for Sally, it’s clearly dangerous. In her interactions, she discovered the risk of losing control — and that perhaps eternity isn’t what all ghosts face. Her spirit friend was torn apart by a fellow specter, and we still don’t know what happen to him. He’s just…gone. That’s definitely a new risk for Sally.

But to be honest, while all this was interesting, I was most interested in Nora and Josh. Josh’s realization of Nora’s new condition (can you call it a condition?) was just so painful. Really, Sam Huntington was amazing in this episode. He was so desperate to make it right, and Nora was so beyond hope. In fact, part of me wondered whether Nora was even going to make it through the episode, considering her state of mind. She just seemed so broken and despondent. The expressions on Josh’s face and his need to fix it was just so great to watch.

What was so interesting, though, was hearing him trying to convince Nora that she wasn’t a monster, at least not all the time. She’s Nora, and he’s Josh. As they always have been. It’s only one night that changes. It’s what this series started with, a bunch of people in mythical situations that are just trying to be human. It was a nice change to see them try to convince others of that.

But what’s best is where this is now headed. Serol clearly has no good intentions in Boston, and Nora has a lot of adjustment ahead. But now she has a new friend. While I’ve always liked the darkness of Being Human, I’m really looking forward to the new Sally/Nora relationship. That should be something fun to balance out the hardships.

Catching Up on ‘One Tree Hill’

ONE TREE HILL: 9.02 “In the Room Where You Sleep”

Ok, you OTH fans, you can get angry at me. It’s been way too long since Wednesday’s episode, and this review is way behind. But there’s one main reason for it: I don’t know what to say!

It’s not that the episode was bad. Trust me. When an episode is bad, I have plenty to say. This episode was just standard. It wasn’t slow, it wasn’t fast, it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t great. It was just a standard episode that moved plots along, without anything huge to make it notable.

I’m still not saying that’s bad. It’s just hard to write about.

Honestly, every show has to have episodes like this. You can’t make huge life-altering episodes every time, and after the setup in the last episode, you needed some filler to get the story moving. It’s like a book; sometimes you have those boring chapters that talk about the anatomy of a while, just so you know how to kill Moby Dick.

But let’s go with some individual points. First, Mouth and Millie. I’m assuming this is supposed to be comedic relief, but it’s something I could have easily done without. Mouth and Millie could have disappeared into oblivion, for all I care. So seeing him large, fat, and unaware is just a little ridiculous (unless he ends up having a heart attack and ends up under that sheet). It’s just kinda…eh.

Then there was the triangle between Brooke, her mom, and her dad, all discussing Baker Man. I don’t understand why Brooke doesn’t see that her dad is a sleeze. Perhaps it’s because we’ve never seen him before that we’re able to distinguish that (she clearly has a special place in her heart for her dad), but after all her mom’s warnings and his late, irresponsible appearances, you’d think that Brooke would be smart enough to see that this is a bad idea. I guess we’ll find out.

As for Clay, his sleepwalking hasn’t improved, and now Nathan has to step up and take his trip to Europe for him. This means that Dan is left at home with Haley and kids (while she does hope for the best, I can see nothing but bad things happening). Meanwhile, Clay was supposed to get medication for his condition, but in the last scene, we see him wandering away. Could it be that he fell asleep while waiting and sleepwalked away from the prescription counter? Or is there more here, where he really doesn’t want to be healed?

Finally, there’s Chase and Alex. Personally, if I were Alex, I’d be rather annoyed to discover that my boyfriend moved all my belongings in with him without even asking (after all, that’s a big step). Clearly, this backfired, given her regretful face and sudden choice to go on tour, per Chris Keller’s suggestion. I wonder what’s going to happen there.

Either way, all this setup hopefully brings some more action in the next episode. While I don’t mind the occasional episode that focuses on the show’s anatomy, I really need to know who’s going to be killed in the end.

Thursday Open Thread: What Shows Do You Recommend?

I take TV recommendations pretty seriously. After all, if I hadn’t listened to my parents, I would have missed out on both Joan of Arcadia and Gilmore Girls. If I hadn’t listened to friends, I would have missed out on Lost (though perhaps after that finale, I shouldn’t have).

And most recently, I sped through Farscape on recommendation from my brother. (Don’t tell me what happens yet — I’m just about to start The Peacekeeper Wars.) What are you supposed to take from this, other than the fact that I surround myself with people of good tastes? Well, recommendation is key to finding new shows. This makes me ask…

What TV shows do you recommend?

It’s a pretty broad question. It can be something that’s been off the air for years, something that’s been on the air a while and is still succeeding, or maybe something brand-new this year. What shows would you recommend to others?

As I sit here watching Revenge, obviously that comes to mind. And man, Happy Endings is consistently funny and worth watching. What else? Well, certainly my go-to favorites: Buffy, Angel. There are the forgotten sitcoms, News Radio and Sports Night. I’m only scratching the surface and stating the obvious here. These are all shows you already know I’d recommend.

What are some others? Those old favorites — or new addictions — that you think other people would enjoy? Farscape was certainly out of my comfort zone, but I was hooked. And I’d recommend it.

Consider thinking outside the box. What would you recommend others to watch? Let me know in the comments.

*image from screenrant.com

Switched at Birth: Law and Order

SWITCHED AT BIRTH: 1.15 “Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear”

Well, after last week’s cliffhanger, I was really disappointed with the start of this episode. Not the episode itself, no. It was the “previously on…” that got my goat this time.

I had no idea why Emmett was arrested. That was part of the question of last week. But then, at the end of the “previously on…” we had a clip of him showing Bay the billboard he put her artwork on. Did I remember this scene? Of course not. But did I want the “previously on…” to spoil the big reveal of the episode? Not so much.

They could have easily incorporated this scene better into the “previously on…” or they could have inserted this reminder better into the episode. Way to go. You spoiled your own surprise.

But once that was over, the episode was pretty good. I’m still tired of “angry Daphne face.” Remember when this series started and she was actually happy, cute, and fun? She made Bay look like the Princess of Darkness. Now, Bay’s pretty much happy and well-adjusted, while we just get the same one-note expression from Daphne. It just gets old.

But she does have some reasons to be upset. Angelo’s still there, and he actually admitted that he left when she went deaf. While I commend Daphne’s choice to finally face him, I think she was still hoping the truth wasn’t so…true. Meanwhile, she has some basketball woes. I’m a bit surprised to find out that she was only added to the team to get a grant (somehow, I doubt Buckner would ever really be hurting for money), but even when basketball was the main event on One Tree Hill, I wasn’t all that invested. I hope they get that plot moving and fast.

Meanwhile, we found out that the Kennishes’ lawyer is actually involved with one of the members of the board at the hospital. I would agree that it’s a big deal to the case, but I do wonder whether they made the right choice in firing her. As she left, she really emphasized that they need to make the hospital pay. Do you think they’ll find someone who can?

Now, Bay and Emmett. Emmett’s mother is really annoying me. I get where she’s coming from — she’s really not being unfair. It’s just that I’m such a fan of Bay and Emmett, that I don’t want anyone standing in their way.

What was interesting about this episode, though, is Emmett’s feelings about being arrested. He really was helpless as he was carted off in the police car (they didn’t cuff him in the front, as his mother asked). And hearing him describe it was even worse. I understand that sometimes he hates hearing people; I’m surprised, though, that it came out as anger against Bay.

I would think that any anger against Bay was because he got arrested for doing something for her. That wasn’t the case. He just needed time to get over his anger over being deaf in a hearing world. But the end was super-cute. Bay is the one to talk to about being angry at the world, and just seeing them make up in the end was quite nice.

Finally, Angelo. What was he up to for those two years? All I know is that it sure sounds like a bad idea to go into business with him. And that looks like where Regina’s headed.

Until next week…

Southland: Wednesday

SOUTHLAND: 4.01 “Wednesday”

Southland is finally back. This has been one of my favorite shows of the last few years, and I’m so glad that it still has a home on TNT. The end of last season shook up the dynamics of the cast a little bit. Sammy, now a street cop, is out on the beat with Ben, who’s no longer a boot but still very much a rookie. Lydia is now partnered up with junior detective and war veteran Ruben Robinson, and Cooper, now out of rehab, is riding with Officer Jessica Tang.

Just a quick note on all three of the partnerships: So far, I like each one a lot. There’s some interesting chemistry between Cooper and Tang, especially because both of them have something to prove to the other (Cooper wants everyone to know he still has what it takes to be a cop, while Tang wants it to be clear that despite her previous run-in with a dangerous criminal, she can handle what the job throws at her). Sammy and Ben get along like brothers. We didn’t see a lot of Lydia and Ruben working together in this episode, but I already like him more than her abrasive older partner from last year. Lydia’s first partnership with Russ was one of equals; she took more of a junior role in her partnership with Ochoa from last season. This year, she’s the older, wiser detective, so I’m looking forward to seeing her teach the newbie.

Ben is still very much a rookie, and follows regulations to the letter which causes some friction with an older, less strict officer. Sammy tries to mediate between the two as best as he can, but the intra-cop squabble is interrupted when some crazy guy rushes into the police station and starts shooting. We’re not given much of an explanation as to why this happens (which actually makes thematic sense with the rest of the episode; think about the perp getting hit by the truck, Lydia’s CI turning up dead inside the cooler, or the crazy man who tries to hang himself in front of Cooper and Tang. There is senseless, almost insane violence all around) but it’s a tense, heart-pounding scene.

I’m very glad Southland is back, and I can’t wait to see how the dynamics between the new partners evolve this season. Based on one episode, Lucy Liu was a great addition to the cast. I think it’s going to be a good year.

Being Human: And It Begins…Again

BEING HUMAN: 2.01 “Turn This Mother Out”

Being Human was one of those series I came into hesitantly — oh, I’ll just try it out — and was pleasantly surprised. Actually, that sounds a little too nice. I was lustful for every gory episode that came too fast. Too dark?

Ok, let’s just say, I was hooked.

So having it return last night was fantastic. While a lot of time passed for us viewers, only a month went by for our favorite team of monsters, and so much and so little changed at the same time.

First up, Sally. Honestly, out of all the stories from last season’s finale, Sally’s was the one I least remembered. I forgot all about her missing her door. But in that month that went by, Sally didn’t really find all that much to console her. She’s still trying to find a reason for her existence, this time, at her high school reunion.

Honestly, it was nice to have this episode to balance out some of the darker storylines. While it certainly wasn’t pleasant, talking to a 16-year-old kid who killed himself in high school and dealing with a girl who still couldn’t get over her “mean girl” popularity status, it did add a little humor to the episode. Comparing stories of deaths was morbidly funny, and honestly, I just really liked the kid. He was good (though it is interesting to note that if you kill yourself, you don’t get a door…food for thought).

The real question is what happened with Sally and her dream. Was it really only a dream? Or did she really let something in through that door? It sure looked ominous; I’m sure we can’t waste it.

As for Aiden, we have him currently leading Boston, while waiting for Mother to arrive and make the decision for him. Until this episode, we didn’t really know who “she” was going to be, and while I wasn’t all that impressed with the stiff, powerfully poised woman, it wasn’t until she sliced the heads off of two vampires with her fingers that you really realized how dangerous she was.

The disappointing part is that we didn’t get to see who Aiden really will be helping out (ooh, I know, I know — but I won’t spoil and I’m REALLY excited), but we do know a few things: 1) something happened with her that was horrifyingly bad, so much so that even vampires talk about it, and 2) she’s been in the ground for quite a while. It looks like Aiden will be in a very difficult spot for a while, but as a viewer, it looks like we’re in for some good stuff.

Finally, Nora and Josh. Last time we saw them, Nora had just figured out that Josh was a werewolf, got scratched herself, and possibly miscarried the baby. (By the way, even the actors noted that, while implied, it was left somewhat open to interpretation last season.) Well, the implication remains true, based on what we saw in this premiere: Nora lost the baby. While not said in exact terms, they did reference “that day” and talk about what the doctors said. Because of this, they haven’t had sex since, which explains why Josh also had no clue about her scratched arm.

Really, Nora’s dilemma and preoccupation was great in this episode. I liked seeing her internal struggle, trying to get more and more information from Josh. In the end, she found out — in a painful, grotesque way — that she, too, has the werewolf curse. I loved seeing her transform (why she stayed in the car for so long, I don’t know), calling out to Josh, only to have him run back to her. Aww, young love. Young, wolfy love.

All that said, who knows what’s left for the season?! I can’t wait to find out more. Come on, Monday, hurry up!

Michael Cudlitz and Lucy Liu Talk ‘Southland’

Southland, perhaps the best (and only) non-procedural cop show on TV, comes back tonight at 10 PM on TNT. It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of this show. I’ve already seen the first episode, and it’s really great. I’ll have more thoughts on it tomorrow morning, but in short, the writing is as sharp as it’s ever been, and Lucy Liu looks to be a great addition to the cast.

A few weeks ago, I got to sit in on a conference call with Michael Cudlitz and Lucy Liu, who got to talk a bit about their character’s new partnership and what’s in store for both of them this season. Some selections from the call are below the jump. Be sure to watch tonight at 10; you won’t be disappointed.

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