The Fancy Bastard Forum

Didn't we have a topic like this at one point? maybe I'm thinking of the "What should I be reading" topic. Anyway....

No comment on Warehouse 13, though I have heard people like it. And the few eps of Eureka that I've seen I've liked.

I've been watching Defying Gravity on ABC Sunday nights at 10, and I really like it. It's only 5 or 6 eps in, and you can catch up for free on abc.com. Ron Livingston (from Office Space) is in it, it's about a group of astronauts on a 6-yr tour of the planets in the solar system. It has some creepy supernatural elements too. So far, pretty good.

I've also been watching Being Human on BBC America. It's a drama about a vampire, a werewolf, and a ghost that are roommates. It's ok, a little overly dramatic for me at times. I may not continue watching it once other shows start up again.

Any other suggestions?

I constantly think Defying Gravity is about the Wizard of Oz.

I just legally purchased with money and watched the pilot episode of Glee, and HOLY CRAP was it good! I posted on Twitter that it isn't my usual tastes, but I think I have to amend that. I tend to dislike musicals that feature spontaneous song-and-dance numbers, and favor ones with more dialogue and song placement that "makes sense". Glee definitely falls into the second category, as the singing and dancing was part of a performance, not just out of the blue. Something I didn't notice until about halfway through the episode was that the background audio was acapella also. And not noticing that is a good thing - means it isn't intrusive.

There was a bit of comedy thrown in, and the song choice was pleasantly all over the map. My only issue with it so far is that we once again see the football/cheerleader squads as "bad guys". A bit tired and stereotypical, but I guess it's the easiest target if you're looking for high school drama. Hopefully they move away from that as the series goes on.

Overall, I would rate it a solid "Fuck Yeah!"

EDIT - Oh, and they somehow managed to make "Don't Stop Believin" sound fresh - no small accomplishment!

Ummm, yeah...episode 2 was horrible, IMHO. The things that I loved about the first episode (like the song placement that made sense) were taken away, and in their place were lip-synching that made Disney World animatronics look convincing, and singing at the top of your lungs in a hallway three feet away from people who somehow don't hear you. Cheerleaders are painfully transparently evil pretending to be good, and

Spoilers (highlight to read)

the guy in charge of the glee club who was just mocked by one of them doesn't see through it later that day when the same girl says she wants to join the club to support her boyfriend.

During the first ep, I was amazed by the quality of the actors' voices, but because of the horrible voiceovers, now I have no idea if it's even them singing. There was a bit more comedy put in, although one or two of the jokes fell flat

Spoilers (highlight to read)

(disco is fine, but 99 Red Balloons is bad music? ; the Big Gulp gag lost all of its punch from the first time)

. I also wasn't crazy about the message of "Hey kids, all music that mentions Jesus should be mocked, and if you decide not to have sex all the time then you're being unnatural." But then again, I generally have a strong dislike for any socio-political messages in my TV shows. And yes, that includes the ones I agree with. I watch TV to escape from all that.
So yeah, didn't mean to go off on a mini-rant there, but I just didn't find anything that came close to the incredibly high quality of the first episode. It wasn't even "it was good, just not AS good as the first one" - it actually made me sad. I'm hoping Ep3 gets back to the things that made the first one so great.

I'm forcing myself to watch it on Hulu, as I tweeted about it as well. First time I saw it in May, it was so cliche that I had to change the channel. It's not terrible, but I'm bracing for the quality to go down, as many people are telling me something was really wrong with Episode 2.

edit: Just finished Ep 2. Wasn't as bad as I expected. I think that type of musical is called "diegetic". It's also why I really liked the film "Once", which is about a street performer. The songs don't come out of nowhere.

I wanna throw my hat in the ring for "Castle". I wrote it off, as many other people did. But then I actually watched it (was in SF, nothing to do, long story short, watched the ABC mini marathon of the end run of Season 1) and it wasn't bad. It was actually funny and Fillion made the cliche work. Point is, I get that FBs and TV geeks everywhere probably have a lot on their plate this season, but I'm going to suggest that if you have a free slot open on Monday nights at 10 EST to watch Castle. Or just catch it online someplace. It's not imperative, just a suggestion.

Posted By: John DarcI wanna throw my hat in the ring for "Castle". I wrote it off, as many other people did. But then I actually watched it (was in SF, nothing to do, long story short, watched the ABC mini marathon of the end run of Season 1) and it wasn't bad. It was actually funny and Fillion made the cliche work. Point is, I get that FBs and TV geeks everywhere probably have a lot on their plate this season, but I'm going to suggest that if you have a free slot open on Monday nights at 10 EST to watch Castle. Or just catch it online someplace. It's not imperative, just a suggestion.

I second this. It started out slow, but the later episodes picked up. Season Premier is tonight!

Stana Katic makes me feel funny in my pants. I get that it's totally the point of the show to have us ship the "smarmy writer/hot cop" duo, but I've only ever seen her in a bit role on Heroes, and I really like her here.

Point is, ABC is playing me like a fiddle and I like it.