TV - Television Series Reviews / Discussion

[FootballDad]

Hey all, we have many threads which discuss movies, commercials and the like, but a forum for TV series that we recommend, loathe, or just like to watch is absent.

Many of our younger posters and potential posters are fans of a variety of fare on networks and streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu, etc., and it would be nice to have a forum that CF posters can talk about what they watch. You can't tell me that every poster sticks just to sports and political commentary! I know that some don't watch the "TalmudVision" at all, but I'll bet the vast majority have their favorites that they indulge in.

Of course, being aware of the messaging being stuffed down our throats makes many shows unpalatable, but that awareness also brings with it a certain level of immunity which lets us enjoy a good story, and it can be an opportunity to point out these things to others who would otherwise not notice. Sure, we can always do a beatdown on a series for its racial, gender or sexual flaws, but sometimes even the worst of these has a good premise and a compelling story to watch, and I'm sure that many site readers do.

Personally, I prefer to watch shows on Netflix, or a BlueRay/DVD because I can't stand the commercials. We can discuss the halcyon years of good 'ol Americana, but in aiming for the younger demographic, modern shows might be more fun to talk about.

Just to get things started, one of my absolute favorite shows that I've watched over the last few years has been Breaking Bad. Extremely well-written and even better acted, the story of a man struggling to financially care for his family is diagnosed with lung cancer. As a high school chemistry teacher he knows he will not be leaving much so he falls into the world of drug production, methamphetamine, to build a "nest egg". If you have not watched it, you should. It helps that there is no racial pandering, feminist empowerment or homosexual promotion, like many modern shows.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Pretty good thread. I'm one of those watching less and less TV, because of the what you have described and what we all know about modern shows. I'm one of the older men here and I prefer to watch 50's, 60's, and some 70's shows. However, as you've said if there is some decent new movies or weekly shows I'm up for it. I've been told about Netflix, but just haven't got it yet. I've heard there's some good documentary type shows on Netflix? I will try and check out Breaking Bad. Thanks.

 

[Heretic]

I'm with Carolina Speed, although the early 80's was solid too. The only show I watched after 1983 was Magnum P.I. until it ended its run in May, 1988.

It's really a shame that there is all of this wonderful streaming technology and improvement in special effects (albeit at the expense of real acting, quality actors, character-building, great writing and solid plots), yet all that's literally "served up" is cultural, social, and political propaganda and agendas.

I've heard great things about "Breaking Bad" so I'll plan on streaming that series sometime soon. There are a few cable channels that are showing some of the older shows, but most of them aren't that great (there's many others that are much better). It's really telling when one of these channels replays an old Johnny Carson "Tonight Show" episode from the 70's and you compare his demeanor, the demeanor of his guests, the subjects, the habits (like drinking and smoking a cigarette while conversing) and compare that to today's Jimmy Fallon, Jimmy Kimmel, Seth Meyers, Stephen Colbert shows and can see just how far masculine characteristics have fallen as well as the immaturity of the so-called "men" of today. I won't even comment on the differences in the women from then to now...

I'd love to hear of other contemporary T.V. show recommendations as well if anyone has any that I could stream.

 

[FootballDad]

I'll be doing some reviews of different shows as my schedule permits. I have sons who watch many of the new shows, and even though they have been properly prepared, I still like to see what they watch. Much of the content is as Heretic describes, but there are some that still are worth a look, even with their flaws.

 

[celticdb15]

I've got a few I'll throw out there:

-Burn Notice. Series on USA network, just ended a few years ago. Lead character Michael Westen(Jeffrey Donovan) is a rogue spy left for dead in Miami. Full of action,South Florida scenery, and even some comic relief this show reminds me of a modern day MacGyver only way less corny.

-Justified, on FX network. Another show that just ended a few years ago. Gunslingin U.S Marshall Raylen Givens(Timothy Olyphant) returns to his home town in Harlan County KY initially as punishment for being a trigger happy lawman. Soon he realizes there is plenty of work to be done in the blue grass state's backwoods. Boyd Crowder(Walter Groggins) plays a more than capable and dynamic adversary.

 

[Freethinker]

Breaking Bad is my favorite show. I'd also recommend Fargo and Game of Thrones.

For older stuff (I'm only 31), I like the X Files. Gave me a healthy distrust for government at a young age and I'll always appreciate that.

 

[Heretic]

Breaking Bad is my favorite show. I'd also recommend Fargo and Game of Thrones.

For older stuff (I'm only 31), I like the X Files. Gave me a healthy distrust for government at a young age and I'll always appreciate that.

Me too. That was the only other one I watched, seasons 1-5, and sporadically, the rest of the seasons. The newer X-Files episodes from earlier this year were good too, but had some PC stuff interwoven in some of the episodes that it didn't push back then. It also showcased an even more dystopic time in society than it did back then.

 

[Don Wassall]

The only shows I've watched regularly in the past 30+ years are The Man Show (before Jimmy Kimmel went full-rogue mangina), The Sopranos, and Sons of Anarchy. I've also gotten interested in Jeopardy over the past half-year, a show that's been around so long that I remember watching it as a kid when it was new and the first round of Jeopardy started off with either $5 or $10 in prize money for the easiest answers and Double Jeopardy with either $10 or $20.

Shows like Breaking Bad I've heard nothing but good things about so should find a way to start getting interested in it as it's still shown on cable.

What do you think of Mad Men? It has its share of followers. Was watching Jeopardy tonight, which is still in its annual six weeks of repeats of various tournaments and special celebrity guests. Tonight's re-run was "power players" and was filmed in D.C. (((Matt Weiner))), the creative force behind Mad Men was one of the three contestants. The other two were (((David Gregory))) and some black female professor who spoke in a black Valley Girl manner.

I only ended up watching until just after the first commercial break and it was all I could take to last that long. As always, Alex Trebek introduced the categories; the first one was "Sorry, Bob," the second one was "Women in Charge," which immediately brought some applause and squeals of delight from the audience. The black female was first to pick an answer and of course chose Women in Charge, which induced even louder applause.

When they came back from the first commercial break, per usual each contestant chatted very briefly with Trebek and then spoke of the charity they had chosen to give their winnings to. Trebek asked Weiner why he was so focused on the late 1950s and early '60s and his answer was that growing up he had known a lot of people who lived through that era and had heard their stories and thought many of them weren't accurate; in other words he chose himself to "set the record straight" about an era he never experienced. Weiner's charity was something with the word women in it, can't remember the exact name, but it was dedicated to women who were victims of domestic abuse (because we know women never abuse men physically or mentally), which indicated his liberal, feminist agenda and drew the requisite applause.

Gregory mentioned how he had written a book on spirituality after working closely with some rabbi. The black female professor was asked by Trebek if Black Lives Matter was centered on the problems faced by black males, and she proudly mentioned how the founders of BLM were three black homosexual females and that BLM is infused with females, homosexuals, trannies and the rest, and then went on to name her charity, which was also one dedicated solely to women.

Turned the Talmudvision appliance off at that point. Weiner had struck me in appearance and certainly ideologically, as a cultural communist. Or am I wrong and is Mad Men of a different bent?

 

[Heretic]

Was watching Jeopardy tonight, which is still in its annual six weeks of repeats of various tournaments and special celebrity guests. Tonight's re-run was "power players" and was filmed in D.C. (((Matt Weiner))), the creative force behind Mad Men was one of the three contestants. The other two were (((David Gregory))) and some black female professor who spoke in a black Valley Girl manner.

I only ended up watching until just after the first commercial break and it was all I could take to last that long. As always, Alex Trebek introduced the categories; the first one was "Sorry, Bob," the second one was "Women in Charge," which immediately brought some applause and squeals of delight from the audience. The black female was first to pick an answer and of course chose Women in Charge, which induced even louder applause.

When they came back from the first commercial break, per usual each contestant chatted very briefly with Trebek and then spoke of the charity they had chosen to give their winnings to. Trebek asked Weiner why he was so focused on the late 1950s and early '60s and his answer was that growing up he had known a lot of people who lived through that era and had heard their stories and thought many of them weren't accurate; in other words he chose himself to "set the record straight" about an era he never experienced. Weiner's charity was something with the word women in it, can't remember the exact name, but it was dedicated to women who were victims of domestic abuse (because we know women never abuse men physically or mentally), which indicated his liberal, feminist agenda and drew the requisite applause.

Gregory mentioned how he had written a book on spirituality after working closely with some rabbi. The black female professor was asked by Trebek if Black Lives Matter was centered on the problems faced by black males, and she proudly mentioned how the founders of BLM were three black homosexual females and that BLM is infused with females, homosexuals, trannies and the rest, and then went on to name her charity, which was also one dedicated solely to women.

Turned the Talmudvision appliance off at that point. Weiner had struck me in appearance and certainly ideologically, as a cultural communist. Or am I wrong and is Mad Men of a different bent?

Good god...

As far as Mad Men goes, from what I've heard and read (haven't watched it yet, but probably will), it's very well done in every respect. Superlative, in fact. However, I think the name of the show, "Mad Men", kind of gives you an idea of what (((Weiner))) thinks about the unapologetic behavior of (White) men during that era. It's really a take on "Ad Men" because it's about an advertising agency run by an unapologetic White alpha male in the very early 60's (I believe). The arc of the show (I believe) goes from the apex of White male dominion in America (early 1960's) to 1970 White female "liberation" in a new Amerika and how the White alpha male character tries to grapple with this transformation along with his gradual dispossession. I think it's handled in a very subtle manner.

I remember about 5 or 6 years ago, one of the female writers of the show went off on contemporary Amerikan women and why many American men no longer want to marry them.

Also, I know of a couple of "feminist" women that were mad (no pun intended), in a good way, about the main White alpha male character because of his masculine mannerisms, dress style, and charm. Too bad they helped create a modern world where these qualities are now almost considered reprobate in Western society and that they can't even comprehend their own complicity in doing that.

 

[Average American]

Breaking Bad is my favorite show..

Breaking Bad was cool. At one point, instant Netflix was carrying the entire series. Netflix also uploaded first 10 episodes of Bad's spin-off, Better Call Saul. Saul is a decent series, lookin forward to future episodes getting uploaded..

House of Cards is an original Netflix series that has an addictive quality like Bad. I binge-watched a lot of seasons 1 & 2, but eventually lost interest. One other Netflix original I like is Bojack Horseman. Animated series about an aging tv star.. Bojack is a horse, and the series is a visually interesting mix of humans & anthropomorphic animals. The cast reminds me of a Heironymous Bosch painting.
About 10-12 years ago, I was acquainted with an 80s child star, and his experience with self-destructive partying & predatory hangers-on seems consistent w/the post-fame life depicted in Bojack. Bojack's self-indulgent soul-searching gets monotonous, but there's been enough laughs for me to keep watching.

 

[FootballDad]

Leave it to HuffPo to show us which shows NOT to watch. As I was quickly glancing through Fakebook, my feed was assaulted by an inserted-by-Fakebook HuffPo notice about which new shows to watch this season. The top four that they show look to be the absolute worst cult-marx filth on network programming. The first is about some Atlanta black "musicians" who support each other in the rap industry. Good Gawd. Then some show about a woman in her forties who has to raise three kids by herself, I don't even want to know the circumstances or how heroic they make her out to be. Then next is a show about "The first woman major league pitcher". Please. I recall this show being mentioned in another media thread here on CF. This show doubtless will be the most ridiculous show maybe in the history of TV. Then some show about repressed housewives and how evil we all are for judging them if they are fat. I mercifully omitted the links to the YouTube videos and previews for these.

SHOWS TO WATCH
“Atlanta”
Donald Glover is the writer/creator/star of FX’s “Atlanta,” a show that follows two cousins as they attempt to make in the music business. Glover stars as Earnest “Earn” Marks, an Ivy-league drop out turned credit card sales man, who convinces his cousin Alfred “Paper Boi” Miles (Brian Tyree Henry) to let him manage his burgeoning rap career. The series premiered on Sept. 6, but the pilot episode is available to watch on YouTube.

“Atlanta” airs Tuesdays at 10 p.m. EST on FX.

“Better Things”
Also from FX this season is “Better Things,” starring Pamela Adlon as Sam Fox, a 40-something actress and single mother to three daughters. “Better Things” is thenetwork’s first comedy with a female lead and offers a darkly humorous look at motherhood, aging and Hollywood ********. The pilot episode is a bit of a slog to get through, but viewers will be rewarded if they stick with it.

“Better Things” premiered on Sept. 8. You can watch the first episode online and catch the rest Thursdays at 10 p.m. on FX.

“Pitch”
Kylie Bunbury stars as Ginny Baker, a rookie pitcher who becomes the first woman to play in Major League Baseball when she signs with the San Diego Padres. The Fox show, also staring Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Ali Larter, is garnering a lot of buzz among critics and has the potential to be one of the standout shows of the season.

“Pitch” premieres Sept. 22 at 9 p.m. EST on FOX.

“American Housewife”
The ABC sitcom stars Katy Mixon as Katie Otto, a sarcastic mother of three who sticks out among the Stepford-esque mommies in the wealthy town of Westport, Connecticut. The pilot episode sets the tone for the series, humorously dealing with body image and class as viewers join Katie on her quest to make sure that she not become “the second-fattest housewife in Westport” after her neighbor who held the title moves out of town.

“American Housewife” premieres Oct. 11 at 8:30 p.m. EST on ABC.

 

[Booth]

The SHIELD ,was one of my favorites along with DEXTER.

 

[Average American]

“Pitch” ..Kylie Bunbury stars as Ginny Baker, a rookie pitcher who becomes the first woman to play in Major League Baseball

In fairness, Pitch hasn't debuted yet,.. but watching it promoted on Fox, it looks like another yawn-inducing, cultural-Marxist, Public Service Announcement.

I did watch a new Fox show after the Cowboys game Sunday night (Son of Zorn). Zorn is an animated character, part He-Man, part Al Bundy. He's visiting a world of politically correct, flesh and blood human beings. Zorn's barbarian values clashing with theirs was kinda' funny. I also like Cheryl Hines, playing Zorn's ex-wife. It had some laughs, probably check out another episode.

 

[sprintstar]

Dexter!!! I also enjoyed Star Trek Enterprise as I really like Scott Bakula as an actor, he is highly underated. Also the tension between Tripp and Tpol the Vulcan woman was interesting.....the ending sucked as it was cancelled for a fifth season so no real time to tie down the ending. Currently I am waiting for season 3 of Bloodline, quite gripping with lots of non PC behaviours.

 

[Average American]

Because of work schedule, I never caught CSI:NY in it's original, primetime run. But over the last year or two I watched most of the entire series on Netflix. Pretty good show.
Great series premier and good series finale'. Thought Gary Sinise was a good lead, & the Danny character reminds me of guys I grew up with. Nothing really unique for a police drama, but entertaining.

 

[Riggins44]

Law and Order is a very Cult Marxist Show. Created by Dick Wolf, it usually shows crimes in NYC as conducted by Whites. One of the frequent objects of ridicule and attack is Christianity and especially the Catholic Church.

On a recent episode, which I think was a repeat, 5 young White people kill a Chinese food deliveryman for kicks. We all know that this happens frequently, but it is essentially only blacks that commit such a cruel and pointless crime. But in the inversion of reality that is the zio-media, it is White people here who are the perps. And the judge in this fabricated case just happens to be a black woman. Complete inversion of reality.

 

[Average American]

Law and Order is a Cult Marxist Show.. Complete inversion of reality.

Yeah, I'm not a fan of the Law and Order(s). I've watched some of each series, and agree, that they do a lot of generalized, heavy handed cult-Marxist messaging. The casting of Ice-T as a cop, seemed a cultural-Marxist middle-finger done to the profession they're portraying. I assume Law&Order viewed it as an ironic coup @ the time.
I get that to be on TV, a show has to pay some tribute to cultural Marxist causes.. but I always felt like NYPD Blue was a cop show that avoided a lot of the big time political peddling.. or am I remembering wrong (?) I know they were trying to stretch the moral standards of broadcast TV at the time, but..
Seems like they were more into giving a realistic view of a cop's professional & personal ups & downs (for better or worse). But it never seemed preachy to me.. It would be nice if Netflix picked up the series, to re-watch.

The other thing that kills me about Law & Order's success, is they've successfully run simultaneous versions for years. Doesn't anyone get bored with that sh*t..

 

[Leonardfan]

Ah yes Law&Order - where all the criminals in NYC are white people.

 

[Riggins44]

Another thing they do on this show is when they do have a black perp, he is being unfairly accused, i.e. he didn't really do it. It goes with the leftist meme that most blacks who are accused of crimes are really innocent. Or, even if he did do it, he had a good reason. Very rarely do they have a black perp who is a true POS, whereas almost every episode has a white perp who fits that description.

 

[Extra Point]

I like very old shows, some of which are sometimes shown on free TV. Some are also available on DVD.

Some I recommend are Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, Mr Ed, I Dream of Jeannie, The Loretta Young Show, The Saint, The Man From Uncle and Father Knows Best.

These old shows are better than newer ones.

 

[Riggins44]

I like very old shows, some of which are sometimes shown on free TV. Some are also available on DVD.

Some I recommend are Highway Patrol, Sea Hunt, Mr Ed, I Dream of Jeannie, The Loretta Young Show, The Saint, The Man From Uncle and Father Knows Best.

These old shows are better than newer ones.

Another good old show is The Andy Griffith Show. Old time morality. That was a very different era when that kind of morality was standard on network TV.

 

[Ambrose]

All you men are no good at watching TV. You are not what we need. You won't just relax, sip a beer, and let the subliminal messages do their programming....

 

[Average American]

I like very old shows,..Father Knows Best..

I like a lot of vintage TV. I Love Lucy was cool, always had a couple laughs. I'm also a fan of black&white Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits..

For some reason I don't like Father Knows Best tho, it was dull to me.. In it's defense, I do miss the paradigm of suburban (traditional) family sitcoms. They've basically gone extinct.
I liked some of the shows that were nostalgic for the 50s and 60s, like Happy Days.. and about 12 years ago Dick Clark produced American Dreams, which depicted early-mid 60s Philadelphia. Good, short-lived drama, that I thought was underrated.

 

[DixieDestroyer]

AA, my favorite TV shows are ones from yesteryear like Hee Haw, Leave it to Beaver & the Beverly Hillbillies. I still don't miss the TalmudVision & it's endless stream of (inbound) 'sewage'.

 

[Carolina Speed]

Yes, Andy Griffith, Bonanza, Hee Haw, Little House on the Prairie, and The Waltons, etc. DD, ironically, I was watching some Hee Haw re-runs the other day.