Thread: The TV Topic

In the middle of the final season of Frontier.

Oh man, been watching a lot lately.

I finished The Wire - wow, what a series that is. The emptiness you feel when losing certain characters, and even moreso the feeling when you see life continue on in the show afterward, as the memory of those characters just kind of fades...it's a tough thing to describe and that show just gives you a feeling. If I had to choose, I still think Breaking Bad is the #1, but I can see why some people would argue the wire. The shows are worlds apart and The wire succeeds in so many different ways.

I binged the last season of House of Cards the night that it dropped as I do every year. This is the "oh man, they are doing a final season, and without Kevin Spacey" season, and I was as eager as anyone to see if it would work. Well...it didn't, sad to say. It's not for lack of trying or Robin Wright, or anything like that. Robin Wright was phenomenal, and commanded the screen with incredible fortitude, I'm just sad for her that her big stage as the lead in a show of this caliber was as poorly handled as this season. For the first few episodes I was on board with where it was going, but the plot holes, the deus ex machina, and the way some of the things lead into eachother was just not great. It's very clear that they had different ideas planned for this season, and had to write Kevin Spacey out of a lot of scenes he was clearly intended to be in...they definitely tried, but with a show like this, and a lead like Spacey, it's nearly an impossible task to begin with. As sad as I am to see the show end, and in the way that it did, I'm ready to close this chapter in my cinematic viewing career.

After finishing off both of those series, I binged Narcos: Mexico (season 4 of the series, but I guess this is technically like a branching side series). An excellent addition, top notch production value, score, cinematography, directing, acting, dialogue - across the board it was a fitting addition to the show. Michael Peña does a satisfactory job as the lead detective, but where this season really shines is with the cartel members and their families. This set of characters aren't quite as amazing to watch as the Medellin cartel, or the Cali cartel from previous seasons, but they are still engaging and live up to the quality that fans of this show are used to.

After finishing that, I started Sharp Objects with Amy Adams. For a show where very little happens in the way of plot, this show hooks you from the start. It's so effective at what it does, it finds a way to get under your skin and tug at all kinds of emotions in a way that most shows just can't do. I'm only a few episodes in, I think I have 5 more, but wow - this is like emotional misery dialed up to 11. The small town in Missouri that this show is set in is such a perfect setting and is captured so brilliantly, you really feel like you're there.

If you like comic books... and DC in particular... Titans is the only DC show that has gotten it right. I mean there are a few changes... and it's more "adult" than any other iteration so far. BUT OMG IT IS GOOD.

Just highly displeased that it was only 11 episodes. It's a MUST WATCH. And stick around for the season 2 stinger after the credits of the finale. I almost missed that.