This month starts another transition for the TV season. Fargo finished it’s mini series and it was really good. I think it beat out any “Fargo, the TV series? Really?” that the show was facing at the start. Satisfying and well done from start to finish. Making it a mini series makes it stronger as it’s a self contained story. If they ever come back for more, it’ll be with different characters in a different story. It shares elements from the movie, but it easily stands on its own.
Californication is almost done (for better or worse) and at this time I’m invested in seeing how they finally end the show.
True Blood just started its last season and Bon Temps, LA is up to its ankles in vampire troubles. Picking up right where season 6 ended, it looks like a vampire/human war is still inevitable. The question now is who is going to live to the end (with sexy results).
On the lighter side, Wilfred started it’s 5th and final season. I think the timing is just right to bring Ryan and Wilfred’s story to a close. We can finally get some answers and close the show out on a high note.
Avatar: The Legend of Korra made a surprise return to TV this week! After what can only be called complete silence since last year, Nickelodeon suddenly dropped a season 3 trailer and announed the premiere date about 2 weeks ago. So now we are back to one of the most popular animated worlds on TV and Korra has her hands full. Just two weeks after season 2, the spirit world has started to move in among the mortal world. It’s not an easy move as the spirits are pretty much setting shop right on top of everyone. Gigantic vines are taking over Republic City and Korra can’t figure out how to stop it. With political pressure coming at her, she struggles to keep things calm when people suddenly gain the ability to air bend. This hasn’t happened in generations and Tenzin is over the moon about it. He has the chance to help rebuild the Air Nation and jumps at the chance. Meanwhile, a prisoner named Zahir gets air bending abilities and breaks out of jail. He quickly travels around to his companions and breaks them out one at a time (with marvelous Avatar style action). Zahir (presumably the leader of the pack) was the only one of them who couldn’t bend and with him even more powerful, these guys are an even greater threat. It’s unknown what they did, but it was serious enough for them to be separated by great distances into custom built cells for their transgressions. Zahir breaks out 2 people (water and earth benders) and the episode ends with them off to free the last and the return of series favorite Zuko! It’s a really promising start. New characters, new locations and some serious villains. Action and adventure are on the horizon. *Turns out I missed episode 3, which I will check out ASAP.*
Falling Skies returned too. This one snuck up on me and I was looking to fill my sci-fi category. I liked last season a lot, the show keeps getting better as it goes. The premiere more or less reset things as the Espheni invaders made a swift move on our traveling heroes and put them in some sort of prison camp. Months go by until the story essentially starts back up. It’s an odd jump and a lot has changed so there is a lot of new things to get accustomed to. Tom Mason is in seclusion with Captain Weaver. Tom has managed to find a way to sneak out at night to figure a way out. His son Hal is in the same camp, but free to roam about the enclosed area. Ben is with his half sister who has grown int a young woman and is seemingly in charge of a hippie commune. Lots of questions there. Tom’s wife, Anne is out and about and taken the roll of the crazy merc. The younger kids have been put into what could be called a brain washing camp, which is where Matt is). The MO of the aliens has changed, adults are more or less kept around instead of killed and the kids are no longer being harnessed, but brain washed to the other side. Convincing them that the alien invasion is the best thing for humanity. It almost feels like the series has been reset as the start of this season was a major step back for humanity. The grip has never been tighter and it remains to be seen if Tom can manage to rally the troops again.
On the Netflix front, I finished Orange is the New Black and liked it quite a bit. There’s a lot of history for quite a few of the other inmates which are all well done in addition to Piper’s continued drama. The long plot of the season is rather obvious and really needlessly drawn out. I think the writers came up with an ending for it they liked and had to keep it going into the finale as there was so much build up. I didn’t like the final part of it as it felt way too convienant. She should have “gotten away” with it for a time. I think that would have been much more satisfying and logical when all is said is done. I look forward to season 3!
Season 3 of Sherlock on the other hand was tough to watch. A big format change made the best part of the show all but disappear. Sherlock was like watching a mystery movie every episode. These 3 episodes were more plotting and disjointed than anything else. New character(s) felt way too thin and I didn’t care about the character turn at the end. It still had some elements of what make the show great, but it was really disappointing.