What're you watching? - July 2014

[Tenshot13]

I feel like maybe I'm missing out on shows that I've heard a lot about...

- Breaking Bad
- True Blood
- Walking Dead
- Game of Thrones
- Orange is the New Black
- House of Cards

I haven't watched one single episode of any of these shows, but I hear people talking about them all the time.  Similarly, I heard the same type of buzz about Dexter and I thought that show was dumb.

Is it too late to get into these shows?  If not, what shows do the masses recommend (in what priority) as reasonable to catch up?  Note: I do not have Showtime, etc.

Being that there is nothing else on this summer, I could use the time to catch up on one or more of these, instead of watching re-runs of American Ninja Warrior.

I can vouch for all but house of cards.

[Dave Gray]

I did not care for True Blood.  The premise is interesting, but it's got Lost syndrome, where it gets increasingly more crazy and convoluted until it's uninteresting.  My wife was the biggest True Blood fan, read the books, watched the show live every week.  She lasted a while, but doesn't even watch anymore.  I made it one season.   Halfway through the second, I lost interest.

[Brian Fein]

^^ Cool, crossing that one off the list...

[VidKid]

Agree with Dave, True Blood just got ridiculous, but as i've mentioned before, I always need to see how stuff ends when i'm already this invested in a show. So i will watch this last season and bid it farewell.

Dave - will be watching GoT at the same time as someone else. should i be speaking with a fellow newbie as i watch or a vet?

[Dave Gray]

^ With True Blood, I totally get why you'd stick to it if you'd invested this much.  I felt similarly about the end of Dexter, which was a turd in its final season.

With GoT, understand that it's hard to get started.  There are so many characters that are introduced and they aren't all important right away, so it's hard to get lost.  Do your best, but power through.  After about 4 episodes, you'll get the stride.

I found it good to watch with another person: either a newb or a veteran, so that you can bounce stuff off of each other.  All of the guys have long hair and are dirty, so it's hard to keep track of who came from what clan and all that, at least at first.  But after that start, it's one of the best shows on TV.

[mboss]

Anybody see the first two episodes of The Strain on FX, and Extant on ABC?  Both have some promise....really like The Strain so far.

[masterfins]

Anybody see the first two episodes of The Strain on FX, and Extant on ABC?  Both have some promise....really like The Strain so far.

I saw the first episode of The Strain, and liked it.  There are 4 or 5 shows on Monday nights with new episodes I'd like to watch, luckily all are cable shows (except the Dome) so they replay them over the weekend, or the following week.  No, I don't have a DVR, didn't want to pay the satellite company more money for something I'd rarely use.  I'd hook up the VCR, yes I still have a couple working models, but I never used the record function on them even when they were the current technology.

[Dave Gray]

I started Star Trek: Voyager.  I can't get a read on it, yet.  Some people hate it like poison, others defend it as good TV.  A few episodes in and it doesn't seem all that different than the TNG cast before they found their characters.

[Sunstroke]

I've started watching old episodes of Smallville lately. It's part of my "By the time I die, I will have seen every sci-fi show ever made" media bucket list.

Yes, this means that I will eventually have to watch the two bottom-feeders of the Star Trek universe...

[mecadonzilla]

I just started watching Dr. Who on Netflix starting with Christopher Eccleston's run at the role.  I'm enjoying it for the most part.  I don't know how else to spend the sparse amount of time in which I'm able to watch TV these days.  (I have to fill that hole with something now that there's no GoT and The Walking Dead has yet to return.)   I used to watch this show with Tom Baker as the Doc way back in the day when all you had to do was hint at sci-fi to get me to watch.  I remember, as a child, thinking how cheesy the show was with its poor special effects and cardboard aliens.  It's gotten better.

A lot of folks keep on telling me to watch Orange is the New Black, but since it's not occurring in space, I'm putting it on the back burner.

[Sunstroke]

A lot of folks keep on telling me to watch Orange is the New Black, but since it's not occurring in space, I'm putting it on the back burner.

You need to watch the sci-fi version then... "Red Matter is the new Black Hole"