Agree with the others that cite many derivatives from other failed SF series. But it's not for lack of effort, but that's it's problem, it wreaks of effort but has no hook. There's WAY too much talking and the costuming looks B-class, from the losers of SyFy's "Face Off". The teens are stereotypical sex hungries with the requisite "Twilight" look.
"Defiance" is trying to appeal to too many demographics and not succeeding at pleasing any one of them, much like "Revolution". For me and my guy demo, not enough sci-fi action, not enough new tech, too much politics (ala Star Wars I,II,III), too much boring dialogue, blah blah blah. Prediction: either cancelled after its rookie short season or limps into an anemic second and final season. This show has the odor of cancelled on it. SyFy, renew the Stargate franchise, that's your only way out of the mess you're in.
This show is just like Saul's line to Carrie: it's at the same time great and foolish. I'll return for season 3 but I've got a jaundiced eye on it. There are several tropes that irk me with this show, the main one being how revealing discussions are interrupted by cell phone calls! Jeez, does no one just send calls to voice mail ?! Does no one know how to mute the ringer after the first ring ?! Plus, I'm sick of the unending angst of bitchy Dana and Brody's family for that matter. There's just alot of these character annoyances that make watching more of a labor than a good time. Seems to be a pattern most shows that get multi-season nods follow. It'd be more interesting to have one or more major characters killed off and replaced by other interesting characters. In other words, either Carrie or Brody should not have gotten up after that blast, especially with that type of impact. Whatever, we'll see if season 3 is fresh food or stale leftovers.
(continued) There's just alot of these character annoyances that make watching more of a labor than a good time. Seems to be a pattern most shows that get multi-season nods follow. Like the columnist alludes to, it'd be more interesting to have one or more major characters killed off and replaced by other interesting characters. In other words, either Carrie or Brody should not have gotten up after that blast, especially with that type of impact. Finally, Saul's smile at Carrie at the end should've been shortened with a more sober "glad to see you're ok but where the hell have you been ?!" Whatever, we'll see if season 3 is fresh food or stale leftovers.
This show is just like Saul's line to Carrie: it's at the same time great and foolish. I'll return for season 3 but I've got a jaundiced eye on it. There are several tropes that irk me with this show, the main one being how revealing discussions are interrupted by cell phone calls! Jeez, does no one just send calls to voice mail ?! Does no one know how to mute the ringer after the first ring ?! The second trope is how they simply cut from a "how do they escape this?" to "hey, we're free and clear now!" Seriously, how do Brody and Carrie simply leave a burning building, unseen by thousands of other CIA staff in adjacent buildings, and leave why dozens of police/security vehicles would be converging on the scene ?! Of course, none of that was shown, instead, they were just conveniently out of there. Plus, I'm sick of the unending angst of bitchy Dana. Why not just let her snap and go off the deep end?! There's just alot of these character annoyances that make watching more of a labor than a good time. Seems to be a pattern most shows that get multi-season nods follow. Like the columnist alludes to, it'd be more interesting to have one or more major characters killed off and replaced by other interesting characters. In other words, either Carrie or Brody should not have gotten up after that blast, especially with that type of impact. Finally, Saul's smile at Carrie at the end should've been shortened with a more sober "glad to see you're ok but where the hell have you been ?!" Whatever, we'll see if season 3 is fresh food or stale leftovers.
The opening sequence with Andy's consecutive calamities on the boat wrote a check the rest of the show failed to cash in on. Though it's interesting to see that success isn't coming easy for Jim's sports venture, looks like he's about to be fired.
I am so tired of the gratuitous iPhone placements, it's just so juvenile and annoying. Besides, after 15-yrs of no charging the batteries would've corroded and everyone's displays would be totally scratched and/or cracked. Just one more of thousands of implausibilities with this optimistically saccharin attempt at a family-friendly dystopia.
I don't know guys, seems like a really safe attempt at PG-rated horror. I was rooting for Terry O'Quinn as a "LOST" alum but his watered down and oblique references to H.e.l.l and what's really going on were just disappointing. This show should clearly be written for adults but it comes off as written for tweens so it's not long for this world.
Just want to note that I pretty much agree with everyone here, I wanted this show to work, I'm watching despite my better sense, but it's just begging to be cancelled, it's treading the same path as Terra Nova, and I tossed that show after two eps. My advice, and this is what I'm doing now, is to only watch the final two eps of this first season (if it's not cancelled first). That way you skip all the slow-reveals and get the major reveals and hooks for the not-so-likely second season.
Well, as the only guy commenter so far, this is a throwaway. Mindy's self-indulgence is unprecented: The Mindy Project, created by Mindy Kaling, starring Mindy Kaling, written by MK, executive producer MK, I'm baffled she conceded the director role to someone else! She's not attractive, has no charisma, and I cannot imagine what this girl did for someone to green-light this study in celebrity narcissism. Seriously, her own self-admiration is only outdone by the grating and gratuitous celebrity name-dropping she buries us with. This show isn't sponsored by the Fords and Tides, it's sponsored by Hollywood agents! This show is everything that's wrong with Hollywood and it can't be axed soon enough. Sorry gals.
Late to the party because I DVR'ed it, but I'll take the contrarian view. The happy ride-off-into-the-sunset cliche ending was logically inconsistent with the episode's setup so David Shore (creator; writer & director for this ep) intentionally mislead us and that pisses me off. 75% of the episode had us agonize through ghosts-from-the-past scenes attempting to convince House of the merit of living, but then in the end we're led to believe he staged his death, including the falsification of records ?! Sorry, those two plotlines don't sync up and that's a flaw no one is holding Shore accountable for - except me. But whatever, the series has ended, and at least it wasn't the travesty that "LOST"'s was.
"Noosphere Rising" was just ok, didn't really move the ball forward, one of those throw-away eps. No one has described how the ep's title applies either. Natalie's storyline totally turned me off because of the mismatch of her look to her southern drawl, that was too odd for me to take and you could easily guess the outcome too. In fact, that's the main trouble with this series, it's too hopeful and willing to have things turn for the underdog, and that makes it easily predictable. Unfort, it looks like "Touch" is trying to resurrect "Touched by an Angel", ugh.
This episode had me sobbing at the end, so it definitely had the emotional manipulation thing down. Like other episodes, this was tied several different subplots together in coincidental fashion. The main thing that bugs me week after week with the show is that the theme-sponsored-by-Jake is a bit too obvious throughout the episode instead of mysteriously subtle, but that's a small quibble I suppose. The other thing that bugs me is the "take a leap of faith" sermon we seem to get every so often. I feel like there should be a "Do not attempt this" warning displayed like you see on some car ads because "take a leap of faith" ONLY works within a fictional, scripted drama -- it's not meant to carryover over into your personal reality! So please writers, lay off the new-age sermons, and just keep it interesting.
Fully agree with all the negatives, so I'll just add that after forcing myself to finish the premiere ep I deleted it and unscheduled all future episodes - cancel please.
"Missing" is so ridiculously over the top with Ashley Judd as some soccer-mom cum killer agent. She's a weird (and failed) mashup of Martha Stewart and La Femme Nikita. So many plot and enduring-wardrobe holes that I'm sure the van that took her son drove back and forth through them. It was an easy delete decision and should be an easy early-cancel decision too.
The first season was great because there was so much inter-character conflict and tension, but now it's just become an updated "Friends" which I'm sure is what Courtney has wanted or wished for all along. It's dull, boring, predictable, and kicked to the curb, by me, there.
They're using the same formula as LOST. String you along with tepid episodes that hint at a larger theme then wait till the final two shows of the season to dig deep into the mystery theme in a transparent attempt to hook you into next season. And of course, you will, because you'll swear they're on a roll now and it'll be a myth theme episode every time, but it won't, this is what JJ does and it's insipid.
"The Simpsons won't be on forever ... in fact they are getting down to their last few seasons. I don't know if I'm ready yet. Will television ever be the same? How much will we miss this animated family?"
Have you forgotten the magic of syndication? 8yrs of Seinfeld is now 14yrs in syndication past its end! With 500 eps of The Simpsons, you'll be able to enjoy them for 25+ yrs past series end! How weird is that? The Simpsons will likely still be rerunning as we cross into the year 2050.
Good episode, but you left out one of the funniest scenes and under-breath quotes: the morning after their dinner out, Claire - disheveled with smeared makeup - laments "What was I thinking? I just get drunk and bring a baby into the world?" and Phil responds "That would be four for four". Then he stumbles "Besides, what are the chances your eggs even work?" quickly recovering with "What are the chances we can pretend I didn't even say that?" Good times.
Yeh, the Grantasms were too much, so much so that I thought it was going to be revealed as a dream/nightmare sequence of Max's. And Penny's date suggesting swapping was expected and forced. The freshness of the show has given way to a staid predictability. Not sure we'll see a season three for it.
This is why I'm DVRing the eps for later viewing. And if you guys really pan the last eps of the short rookie season then I won't even bother watching, but if the season doesn't end well on March 26th then it prolly won't even be renewed.
Agreed, last week's was an awful filler episode that I mostly FF'ed through, but next week's looks like a fresh break from its tired formula, so I hope to actually watch that one!
Agreed, awful filler episode that I've learned to time-shift by now. As a consequence I FF'ed through much of it, I am soooo tired of the predictable three wrong diagnoses, patient almost dies, then the surprise insight in the last five minutes. But next week's looks like a fresh break from the tired formula, so I hope to actually watch that one!
There are many, but at the top of mind was Saturday night's "Love Boat" then "Fantasy Island" shows. "Baretta" was great too. "SNL" when Chevy Chase, Dan Ackroyd, and Jane Curtain did Weekend Update. Other consistent favorites were Macmillan & Wife, Rockford Files, Knight Rider, and 21 Jump Street. Good times...
This is good news, really tiring of "House", and really liked the pilot ep of "Touch". I'm DVRing "Alcatraz" 'cause I don't want to invest time in it if it's cancelled after its rookie season.
Nikita
Comments by Eludium Q36
Defiance Review: New Beginnings
"Defiance" is trying to appeal to too many demographics and not succeeding at pleasing any one of them, much like "Revolution". For me and my guy demo, not enough sci-fi action, not enough new tech, too much politics (ala Star Wars I,II,III), too much boring dialogue, blah blah blah. Prediction: either cancelled after its rookie short season or limps into an anemic second and final season. This show has the odor of cancelled on it. SyFy, renew the Stargate franchise, that's your only way out of the mess you're in.
Homeland Season 3: Who's in Charge?
Homeland Review: Throwing Your Life Away
Homeland Review: Throwing Your Life Away
The Office Review: A Whale Sale
Revolution Review: The Adventures of Stu Redmond and Franny
666 Park Avenue Review: Deals with the Devil
Revolution Review: Patching Up the Plot
The Mindy Project Review: Rom-com-plete Me
House Finale Review: Enjoy Yourself
Touch Review: Believe In Love
Touch Review: Define Your Fate
TV Ratings Report: Not So Scandalous
Scandal Premiere Review: Gladiators. In Suits.
Grade the series premiere of Missing.
Cougar Town Review: Was it Tom Gazooks?
Alcatraz Review: Do Prisoners Dream of Electric Train Tracks?
The Simpsons Review: Please Don't Leave...Yet
Have you forgotten the magic of syndication? 8yrs of Seinfeld is now 14yrs in syndication past its end! With 500 eps of The Simpsons, you'll be able to enjoy them for 25+ yrs past series end! How weird is that? The Simpsons will likely still be rerunning as we cross into the year 2050.
Modern Family Review: The Swirl
Happy Endings Review: Meeting the Friends
Alcatraz Review: To Catch a Thief
House Episode Teaser: "Nobody's Fault"
House Review: Nothing Ever Changes
TV Fanatic Staff Round Table: Childhood Favorites
Fox Programming Notes: More Alcatraz, Less House