The F Word

A lot to love this week. Carl hitting on that girl all episode was hilarious. Frank rallying around Debbies cause brought out the best/worst things about him. It’s been awhile since we’ve seen him as happy as helping Debbie sign up for welfare. Him catching the clerk on missing paperwork (and knowing the exact form) was brilliant stuff (and shows how smart Frank is when he actually applies himself).

Some great writing was done for Fiona this week. She’s got so many complicated things going on, I love seeing how they handle each part. The crushing weight of three of her siblings spiraling around her finally came out to V in a much-needed talking to (I like seeing Fiona talking to her friend about stuff). The scenes with Debbie continue to be great. Debbie can throw down a convincing argument, but she continues to go head first through barriers. Despite getting some sense knocked into her, she’s still a stubborn Gallagher. I loved Fiona giving Debbie that ultimatum. “Having Frank’s support on this should worry you.” They had a real heart to heart and sorta mended the bridge but they both stuck to their guns. I’m thinking Fiona is going to get the news that she won’t be able to terminate next week. She was super dense going to see Gus though! He says he wrote a song about her and she sticks around for it? She asked for both guns blazing on that one.

Ian and Lip fight! That “earned my own space” line from Lip crossed a serious line that was hard to watch. Ian has always been able to count on his brother, so this was some shocking stuff (even if Lip did have to tell him off when it came down to it). I don’t think Ian has ever felt more alone.

#AbortionRules

Rough episode! Starts on somewhat shakey ground and then the Shameless slide slams everyone down right to the credits.

With Debbie’s “I’m not pregnant” lie blown, Fiona is all about getting her kid sister to the clinic. A episode long battle gets underway to the point of the sisters rolling around on the sidewalk in front of the Gallagher home. Debbie takes some lumps when she finds out things aren’t going to be nearly as easy (or simple) as she thinks it will be. Finding out Derek took off on his own rocks her the most (losing the flour child might have broken her though).

Fiona in trouble again and it’s her own version of Debbies ordeal. Common sense would be to do a cut and run (literally and figurativly) but it won’t be that simple for her. Some more head butting with Ian, I have no idea where he’s going to end up. He’s so lost I don’t know how he’s going to cope.

It’s impossible for Frank to be down forever! He finds his next angle and then has to run from it as fast as possible! I like Hotair Balloon Frank a lot. When he’s off on his own and interacts with the kids here and there. They always dismiss him because they’re so tired of his nonsense and he heads back out to get into more trouble.

Carl is totally going to get arrested and never be let out of jail.

Do Kevin and V keep their mouth shut or admit to what happened? Better believe Yanis is going to go after the lesbians.

The best part of January is here. My absolute favorite TV show is back on! Let’s go to Chicago to see how our Gallaghers are doing since we left them.

“I Only Miss Her When I’m Breathing”

Frank is like a lost puppy! He’s completely devastated from his lover’s death and no one wants to hear it. His obsessive mourning is rather enduring and the montage of him go from religion to religion is great. The Morman bit was hilarious. He’s actually following his strict allowed alcohol intake (6oz every 24 hours)! William H. Macy rules.

Carl is out already! Why not Chuckie? This is going to be a wild year for him. Introducing Nick as his friend is brilliant. There’s a sense of responsibility to it and it taps into his hidden patch of empathy that we rarely see (usually reserved only for Worst of Times Frank). Ethan’s acting game has gone way up recently and it looks like they’re giving him a lot this year. Looking forward to where they take him.

Looks like Fiona is in a good space to start with. We’ll see how long that lasts (looking at you Debbie).

Debbie is going to be the death of me. She’s made all of these massive, way-beyond-her-years decisions based on the logic of a child. She’s got all these plans and is so the pregnancy is going to fix all the holes in her life she doesn’t see the horror wash over Derek’s face at just the thought of being a parent. The Gallagher’s are never afraid to lie, but Debbie trapping Derek takes the cake. It blows up in her face before the end of the premiere, so this is going to get intense. Debbie is going to get a harsh reality check every single episode.

Lip a teacher? Maybe. Lip getting his head spun around by a woman? You betcha.

Ian on the balance beam of keeping it together. Hard to watch (I’m concerned for him the most), but his prison visit to see Mickey is arguably the best scene in the premiere. Equal parts crazy/funny (Svetlana getting Mickey “work”/his tattoo) and horribly sad (“Are you going to wait for me? You can lie to me. Eight years is a long time.”) Cameron and Noel are amazing actors, this scene being a testament to their abilities.

Kevin and Veronica’s kids are a little bit bigger and it looks like Kevin might be on Keeping The Neighborhood Peace duty for awhile. The gentrification plot line from last season ain’t going anywhere. It should be a fun battle to watch unfold.

Great start! I’m expecting another fantastic season.

It’s January, so that means new seasons and shows coming back from hiatus! This is just a taste as the next few weeks are ripe with new content.

It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia-  Season 11, can you believe it? There were some dark times (in the not funny way) a few years ago, but Season 10 was thankfully great. I was worried. This year starts with “Chardee MacDennis 2: Electric Boogaloo” and it has everything about the series that makes it so funny. With the gang pitching their own game “Chardee MacDennis” to a Mattel executive, the debauchery of their comradery is in full effect. Frank tries to get a cut of the action right away, Dennis and Dee stay thick as thieves and Mac and Charlie just try to hold on. The whole episode stays in the pub making it a bottle episode. That’s usually the best recipe for this show.

The Expanse- I’m late to this one (SyFy put the first 4 episodes up on their site), but I’m glad I got into it now. A SyFy channel original, The Expanse takes place a few hundred years in the future. Mankind has figured out space travel and has colonized Mars. In between the two planets are “The Belters”, those that live on space stations working to gather resources to send back to Earth. The Belters are the worker bees that allow Earth to thrive in comfort. Things are rather contentious between Earth and Mars and a plot involving a high ranking official’s daughter is the hidden keystone of a growing rebellion movement. Great to have a solid sci-fi show to watch. It’s interesting, I like the cast a lot and SyFy gave these guys the budget they needed to bring this future to life (it’s based on a book), so it often looks really great. Space battles, all sorts of ships and colonies and future tech fully realized. The season is half way over but SyFy recently gave the green light for more so I’m all in. Impressive stuff.

SuperMansion- Available on Crackle.com, from the creators of Robot Chicken. SuperMansion is their take on a super hero team (Avengers, Justice League) with their own original characters. Funny stuff (it’s for “adults”) and the animation is really good. Looks like a crazy amount of work to make. They know how to stick and move around reoccuring jokes to keep things from getting old. Love Bryran Cranston as Titanium Rex, leader of The League of Freedom.

Man Seeking Woman- I absolutely love how creative this show is and am so happy it’s back for another season. I’m a fan of Jay Baruchel, he plays the straight man really well. This show gets so wild and weird he’s perfect as always-looking-for-love Josh. Eric Andre as Mike (Josh’s best friend) is cast perfectly too. This show is all about the trials and tribulations of dating and relationships and lampoons all the best horrific things about them. Blind dates, exes (and exes moving on and being happy), weddings in your late 20’s-early 30’s. This season premiere (“Wings”) is about Josh getting a new girlfriend and leaving Mike behind in the afterglow. The early negotiations of finding time to hang out crumble into a break-up and then the makeup process when Josh’s new relationship go south. Many a chicken wing is consumed. Great show, the amazing special effects push this one over the edge for me.

It’s been a long time since Army of Darkness and I’m really happy we got more Evil Dead. It’s a cult favorite series, Bruce Cambell still rules as much as he did 30 years ago, and his fans want to see him return as his iconic character, Ash. I think every fan should check this out as it dishes out everything. Not familiar with the franchise? Catch up with the movies and then watch this if you dig it.

Bruce Campbell finally gets to spin around in the spotlight in a show made for him. Ash has been running from responsibility and the Deadites for 30 years. He stupidly resurrects the Evil Dead and reluctantly has to take up his boomstick and chainsaw gun in defense of all things living.

Two new characters, Pablo and Kelly, join Ash in fighting off hell’s horrors. I like them both a lot, Pablo especially. He plays great with Ash and comes through with the screams and laughter as the situation calls for. Kelly is a strong female character and gets to throw her stake deep into the ground of the franchise in the season finale by getting put through the ringer like few have.

Now for the downside, Ruby and Amanda. The lovely Lucy Lawless doesn’t get nearly enough screen time as Ruby. She appears in an episode for a few minutes and then disappears for many episodes. Amanda gets a fantastic introduction but then flounders for most of the season because the writers weren’t too sure what to do with her. The worst part is that they completely bungle her transition to Ash’s side. Amanda chases him for half the season in the “stop the madman” cop role and whenever they meet, Ash awkwardly hits on her (as he does with every woman) to win her over and make her an ally. In the 8th episode, she’s suddenly a love interest. It comes out of nowhere that she’s completely infatuated with him, set to ride or die (kissing and killing Deadites back to back). I think they even changed her hair between episode 7 and 8 to mark the change. Her personality switch was so drastic that I thought I missed an episode. Both Ruby and Amanda needed a lot more time to be fleshed out characters. It’s a shame because both Lucy Lawless and Jill Jones are great actresses. As a whole, the production felt a little rushed. I think most episodes were about 25 minutes where an extra 2-3 each episode could have helped a lot.

Ash vs Evil Dead comes delivers the series trademarks of comedy and splatter gore in equal measure. Many great ideas brought to life was some impressive visual effects, many of which are practical. My personal favorite is the bookstore demon. Really cool design and top notch effects to bring it to life on screen. There are some truly outrageous scenes like Amanda’s first encounter with the Evil Dead with her partner, the war in the diner and the absolute gore-fest of the fantastic season finale. There’s a great set up for season 2 and I hope they take their time planning out the season. Sure, the ancillary characters of the whose only existence is to get demolished don’t need much, but let’s give the secondary cast something to work with. I look forward to more.

Season 2 of Fargo proved to be another winner. I thought there was a major misstep in the penultimate episode, but looking back at the previous episodes, the event fits. I first thought it came out of nowhere and was used as a deus ex machina device which was especially shocking and jarring on such a well-written show. It was used at the start of the season and I had forgotten about it, so now I’m more accepting of it (I do think they could have left it out). Aside from that, a fantastic of mob story that was much different than last year. Phenomenal characters on both sides of the law and in between. Impeccable casting with a hell of a job turned in by Kristen Dunst.  I thought this season was going to be completely self-contained but there are character tie-ins to the first. Nice touch for the fans and it doesn’t take anything away from someone who only watched this season. A big break until season 3, but I’ll be there for sure. I expect this to go up for some awards.

Homeland has lost a lot of its original luster but I liked this season more than Season 4. Never the most realistic show, the plot with the Russians and jihadis was very grounded and well done. This season had it all. Information theft, a ton of spying, a nasty terrorist plot and our favorite characters put to the cast again. I especially liked the end, probably the most satisfying of the series as it had equal parts hope, pain, redemption, resignation and revenge. I expect next season to be another refreshing one as the slate has been wiped clean again.

Netflix’s black sheep original show, Hemlock Grove, never got much praise. It was, at least, interesting and had its moments (as vampires and werewolves can be) but I watched the final season more out of morbid curiosity than anything. Really sporadic season that felt stretched to hit 10 episodes. Major plot lines would fall to the wayside for long periods of time diluting any kind of momentum and threat it was supposed to carry (the entire Dr. Spivak plot). For some reason Pryce’s background was given a lot of time to flesh out and Olvia’s story, as good as a character as she was, goes on forever and really doesn’t end the way it was fortold (just a bite? That’s a cop out). Things do get resolved in the end at least which I always like to see. Not a whole lot of good happens in the town of Hemlock Grove I’m afraid. A stinger at the end teases a possible future, but that ain’t going to happen.

With just six episodes, the first season of Into the Badlands is more of an appetizer than a meal. I liked what I saw, I’m a big fan of this genre and I’m left wanting more. I’m sure that was the show runners intent, so I’m calling this a success.

The season ends wide open for a season 2. The basic framework for the clippers (Sunny), the barons, M.K, and the Abbots and what’s outside of the Badlands is given but I think about just about every question we have hasn’t been answered. They didn’t try to cram too much into these episodes and left behind breadcrumbs in every episode to keep the trail fresh and interesting.

I like just about every character and the more boring aspects of the story arc (the Ryder, Quinn, Lydia and Jade entanglement) ultimately worked out well. That angle is rather played out and obvious, but major stuff went down in the finale to break it up and move it on. I’m interested in seeing where it goes from here.

Speaking further of the characters, I love the barons and the surrounding players. Everything from their clothing to their names is unique and stylish (except for Tilde’s hair). The Widow, Jacobee, Quinn, Penrith, Zypher and The River King, all really memorable.

The fight choregarphy is really outstanding. Action technicality, execution and direction that no other show airing right now can touch. The final fight might be the best of the season and there have been more than few standout moments.

Really dug the ending, I hope we get a season 2. I want to know what happens to Sunny and M.K. and get a lot more mythology down. Season 1 was just the tip.

The Walking Dead is half way through the season and is now off for two months or so. I’m kind of indifferent about the mid season finale. Overall it’s been a rather strange season as most of it has been pulling taffy. They stretched out Glenn’s fate for a month. Daryl has barely been used. Morgan has been bringing in an irritating angle of drama that I think everyone wants to go. The kid playing Sam is really good because he plays a basketcase really well. The problem is everyone wants the basketcase to go. I call him Dogfood because that’s what anyone next to him is going to be turned into he’s such a liability. The cast could use some trimming.

I’ve been liking Gotham this season so far a lot. I’m not a big fan of Michael Chiklis as Captain Nathaniel Barnes because the character is just a walking cliche. I’m digging just about everything else. Satisfying half season arc that seems to have come to a conclusion that was well played out. Bruce Wayne is being used just enough I think and he learned some serious lessons in the last few episodes that will shape his adult self. Selina Kyle is great, the growth of Riddler is cool, Penguin is always great. I’m still surprised they air the show at 8pm, it can get really violent.

I look forward to Into The Badlands every week because there’s nothing else like it on TV. Good companion show to TWD and it’s going to remain on during said show’s break so I still have something great on Sundays to check out. Really like the way the show looks, the fighting remains on point and I hope they can keep up the quality.

Ash vs The Evil Dead is so much fun to watch. I’ll take all the Ash I can get and a horror comedy show is such a good idea.  A lot of cool ideas, it doesn’t take itself too seriously and we even get some quality lore building (now that we know who Lucy Lawless is playing). The bookstore demon design is totally metal, that thing looks crazy. I hope they keep that kind of stuff coming. 4 more episodes after tonight!

Zoo– Never knew that this aired on CBS over the summer and I’m not even sure why I decided to watch it. It’s based on a James Patterson, Zoo is about the animal kingdom raising up and taking the world back. A small, international team (the father of one of them saw this coming, but everyone thought he was a nutter of course) travels the globe to try and stop it. It’s a very pulpy idea, you can totally see someone reading this story in paperback while on vacation sitting on a beach chair. There’s some terrible dialog in the first few episodes, but it did manage to win me over in the end. Season 2 is coming next year and I’m going to keep an eye out for that.

Master of None– The Big Thing on Netflix since it came out about 2 weeks ago. Aziz Ansari’s own show (also co-written and co-produced by Alan Yang from Parks and Recreation) is all the buzz. If you’ve seen him on Parks and Rec, the tone of the show is similar and Aziz plays Dev pretty closely to how he did Tom Haverford. Dev is a working 30-year-old actor in NYC so the show is all about that transformative age. Careers (should be) are taking off, everyone you know is getting married and/or having kids. The pressure of the ticking biological clock becomes apparent to yourself and all of your friends. It’s the age when Stuff Should Be Going Down and if it’s not, You Are Behind, So You Should Be Worried.

Aziz’s life makes up most of the plot lines (you’ll recognize some of his material from his stand up if you’ve seen them). What the dating scene is like, how tech has changed us, social pressures, overt and casual sexism and racism, being the first generation American to immigrant parents and the obsession with food.

A creative show and one that’s perfect for the times, my only knock against it is the terrible acting. A lot of amateurs just waiting for their lines to come up so they can say them on cue. It’s pretty painful at the start, but everyone gets more comfortable with each episode. The plots for each episode are great and the occasional real actor steps in to really lay it down (H. Jon Benjamin, Claire Danes, Lynn Cohen, Noah Emmerich). Aziz owes a lot of the success to Noel Wells as Rachel. Without her acting ability and on-screen charm, he would have had nothing to work with for more than half of the season. A mediocre actor in her place would have crashed and burned that entire season arc. Wells crushed it though and helped make a series that will be talked about and watched for years. Great set up for season 2, looking forward to it!

Fargo: Everyone should be watching this. There’s too much good to even explain.

Grimm: Season started in late October and it’s shaping up well. There’s a big cult(?) movement brewing that’s about to raise up and our Grimm is just finding out about it. Last season had a great finale and the fallout from that is still being sorted. It looks like they’re going to reintroduce a character whose been worked on soon so the threats coming at Nick and Co. are going to come from all angles. I hope they get Trouble back into the fold soon, I miss her.

Into the Badlands: AMC brings up some wire-fu! I liked the premiere, it had a good balance of lore and character building and a breed of action that really isn’t on US television. Impressive fight scenes, it looks really good (great costumes) and I dig the world they’ve shown us so far. Could turn rather comic booky, which could go either way. I’d like them learn more on the kung fu foot. The last action scene in the rain was really impressive.

This show is an absolute scream. Ash has been doing his best to live his life for the past 30 years demon free. One night, Ash makes the poor and inebriated decision to read from The Book of The Dead, starting another evil invasion on the living world. With the (somewhat willing) help of his co-workers Pablo and Kelly, Ash is back in action with his chainsaw hand and boomstick to right what he as wronged.

Two episodes in, AvED hits all the marks of the movie series. Bruce Campbell brings our favorite reluctant hero, Ash back to us in fine form (if a bit aged) along with the gory mayhem that the Deadites bring. Wild direction and action, it’s absurd, funny, violent and heartfelt all at once. Things are still taking shape with  agent Amanda Fisher and Ruby being more or less in the background, they haven’t met Ash yet (Amanda is getting close to catching up with him), so I’m curious to see how they fit into this. I need more Lucy Lawless in my life, so I hope Ruby gets a lot of screen time next week.

10 episodes this season with another one already greenlit, us fans are set up to dine on a considerable amount of Evil Dead now!

The Sopranos Season 3

If I remember right, this is the fan favorite season of the series. A ton of great stuff goes down. Livia dies of a stroke sending things off on a different course (she originally had a big role in this season, but it obviously had to change). The feds start getting aggressive with their case by bugging Tony’s house. Christoper gets made. but he’s still driven up walls by Paulie. Richie is a complete nightmare and Jackie Jr. doesn’t listen to Tony’s warnings. That ties into Meadow’s continued presence of being an obnoxious brat (and AJ is just a dummy, I wish they made him a more interesting character). Carmela has her ups and downs, interesting seeing her go to therapy with Tony and sneaking off on her own. Despite everything she knows and chooses to ignore, it’s more or less her fear of God that keeps her next to her husband. Tony lands himself another lunatic mistress and fights her threats back with his own. This is the season with the infamous “Pine Barrons” episode where Christopher and Paulie run around the woods with a Russian. As I’ve mentioned before, these two are the greatest and this whole ordeal is genius and so well acted. Michael Imperioli has so many great lines and reactions he needs a life-size trophy of Christopher wearing the outfit in this scene to immortalize his achievement. David Chase still gets a lot of crap for making the Russian just disappear and for good reason. It’s a loose thread that could have and should have been avoided (simply having them find their car after Tony and Bobby find them would have solved it. And it’s such a ripe angle to go into for season 4 if he did make it out).

Spartacus

Watched the entire series in about a month, just as good as I remember it. With 39 episodes of tight plotting, I never got bored. One of the most intense (and dramatic) shows around, it’s some ride. They successfully made it through a major actor change from Andy Whitfield to Liam McIntyre and bring something new and interesting to each season. More sex, violence and betrayal than you can shake a stick at, Spartacus is like few other shows.  The final season, War of the Damned, is much bigger in scope than the previous 3 seasons combined. “War” is putting it mildly, no one gets out unscathed. WotD does get carried away with itself sometimes. Off putting direction choices with “Matrix” like spins and awkward cutting mar the usual outstanding fight choreography and stunt work. Overuse of slow motion where regular speed would have worked just fine. The amount of battle cries also borders on the absurd, I’m thinking Manu Bennett got paid extra for it. One big change I noticed is Vengence and especially War of the Damned use a lot less CG blood. It’s mostly old school throat appliances with fire extinguisher like geysers of corn syrup and food coloring. It was a lot of fun coming back to this series, I’ll do it again in a few years.

The Bastard Executioner

I’m tapping out. I started watching the latest episode and turned it off about 20 minutes in. It’s just not keeping me interested, so I’m going to move on.