Perry Mason just wrapped up it’s first season on HBO. The show chose to start at Mason’s life as a private eye that then morphed into him becoming a lawyer under less than legit circumstances.
The show has some off episodes that kind of fill in his journey but the cinematography in those still carry it through. It’s a great update on the old La noire lawyer and I’ll watch more during the planned second season.
One Cool Thing, What’s Cool With You?
Just finished Luther: Season 4
Just finished the first two episodes of Marvels agent carter and there are 5 reasons it wins on first touch.
1: setting. The 1940’s setting plays well on the small screen and feels way more alive that most television settings.
2: It’s a strong Female lead in the Marvel universe who isnt wearing spandex. That alone gets it points.
3: Jarvis. Howard Starks butler adds a much needed sidekick and his wife I have a feeling we will never see is a very important setpiece for the writers.
4: It feels Big. Where Marvels Agents of Shield lacked focus for most of the first season, we already have a clear and dangerous problem to deal with and it just works on every level.
5: Haley Atwell. She is Peggy Carter. Anyone else wishing this would permanetly replace Agents of Shield?
Homeland was at its finest during the very first season when the tension built to unbelievable heights wondering what Brody would or wouldn’t do. Unfortanetly the writers couldn’t maintain that pacing for future seasons and we spiralled into the Carrie Brody romance, and unneccesarry storylines with Brody’s family.
With Brody out of the picture this season the show returned to peak form, with Carrie & gang back in action and most of the season taking place in an hostile Pakistan. The tensions were back, and for once it felt like a spy show and more current then ever.
If you stopped watching during the later seasons, but loved the politics of the first year, tune back in. The game is always on during this season of Homeland and it doesn’t pull punches.
And the most masterful effect of the writing this season? They make you hate Carrie for the first half of the season, but by the end of the year you just feel a little bit like you want to give her a hug and tell her don’t worry, you’ll have next season to work out those demons.
Looking at the above grid, it’s always fun to pick what shows might be worth watching in the fall on the networks. The process is flawed in todays age of better shows on cable so of course many of these shows will become on demand or non live watches as HBO, FX, SYFY, and other networks will actually end up grabbing my live viewing hours. But for the purpose of fun and this write up, lets assume you live in a world of twenty years ago, and you only have access to the major networks. What to watch?
Here’s my picks for this mostly safe television season,
Sundays:
By moving the hilarious live action Brooklyn 99 into their animation block, Fox actually might get me to watch The Simpsons again making the 8-9 hour very funny for a very packed 9pm slot on the pay networks. Nothing else the networks are doing on Sunday really competes with cables heavy lineup so thats my only pick for Sunday.
Mondays:
How can I say no to Gotham. Anything in the Batman universe wins, so 8pm will be for that. Sleepy Hollow was so bad its good last year so they get the 9m slot for me. Fox wins Monday i guess.
At 10, The Blacklist will win my live eyeballs as it was one of the better shows this year, but Castle will still get on demand watches, even as it shows its age. Might be the last season for that show in my log of video.
Tuesdays:COMIC BOOK NIGHT.
The CW has The Flash at 8. ABC has the really terrible Agents of Shield at 9pm. As bad as it is, I can’t stop watching. The Flash looks to be more scientific than the really great ARROW (also on the CW) but I’m hoping it can be entertaining as well as nerdy.
WED:
ARROW. Best show about a guy with a bow and arrow ever.
Poor The Goldbergs gets moved to on demand watching with the day change. It will make a good dinner show. Nothing else on this day for me.
Thursdays.
9pm. Gracepoint on Fox. David Tennant in a role he made famous in Britain. Sign me up. Absent is Parks & Recreation which has no timeslot as of yet. Strange.
Fridays: Amazing Race moves to Fridays, followed by Shark Tank. Constatine on Fox is very intriguing.
Saturdays are for college football.
Winners this year. Comic book shows and Fox. Losers: CBS. Who do they make shows for besides really old and dumb people?
True Detective is one of those rare shows (but almost always the ones that get rewatched) that is self contained and has everything you need in a story in just 8 episodes. It’s the kind of stuff that HBO excels at. Like Deadwood and Rome before it, you have a quick glance into another world, and you want more, but leave satisfied with the conclusion.
Brilliant performances by M. McConaughey and W. Harrelson keep the show moving at all times and McConaughey in particular is mesmerizing as Rust Cohle. Let’s just say he’s a ‘different’ kind of detective.
If you’ve got a weekend to spare, this is the kind of show you could easily get lost in. It’s frightening at times but only if you look to far into the darkness.
Great job HBO! Now it’s time to return to Game of Thrones!
