Television

[EsBe]

I also liked Midnight. It appeals to the Twilight Zone fan in me.

[PonderThis]

... the Twilight Zone fan in me.

Noooooooo!

[EvilJekyll]

Christopher Eccleston is excellent

This. He's by no means Tennant or Smith, nor should he be. He's his own doctor with his own character, playing the first doctor in about 15 years up to that point and setting the stage for the rest to follow. I'm not saying he's better or worse than the rest, but by the end of the first series you really have a connection with him.

If anyone should complain about any leading character on the show it should be Catherine Tate as Donna Noble. I just felt like most of her role was very forced.

[MysticalDescent]

When I was young, it was the Tom Baker episodes that really got me into the series. I have no idea if they're as good now as they seemed to be quite a while before the new series started, but I think I'd recommend them. If you accidentally find yourself watching any of the Colin Baker episodes then immediately abort. As for Christopher Ecclestone...I don't know, really. It's all fairly poor quality, but then it is just a gentle reintroduction for the series that doesn't do anything too radical. They wanted to slam a bit of everything in, but some of the episodes are really quite poor. I found that with David Tennant, the 'big' episodes at the beginnings and ends of series were always quite impressive, but the more 'bread and butter' episodes were just hackneyed and tedious. I think that's why I favour Matt Smith out of the three modern doctors.

Oh, and regarding the new Thick of It. I have read that there are plans to produce a new series of Yes, Prime Minister. They're leaping straight into the Prime Minister bit and I don't like the two actors (if they retain their roles from the stage show) as much as Nigel Hawthorne and Paul Eddington, but it might be worth keeping an eye on.

[badplantmommy]

My current favorite shows are NCIS and Doc Martin.

[MysticalDescent]

So maybe-sister loves Dr. Who, and in addition to wanting some conversation topics, I'd been meaning to pick it up again as I'd only seen the first episode and wasn't impressed. After discussion with you guys back when I first expressed this, you had said that the first (ninth) doctor was not very good anyway. So, should I start with season 2 instead and just come back to season 1 later, or will I have missed key parts?

Regarding the poor CGI in the first new series, it could be worse. Here is an image showing the development of the cybermen over time:

[quetzalcoatlus]

I've been watching and blogging about Eerie, Indiana, a show I remember fondly from my childhood (or preteenhood I guess). It actually dates pretty well for an early 90's kids' horror/sci-fi show, since it sort of has this streak of surreal, Adventures Of Pete And Pete-ish humor running through it.

[jvcc]

I have just now finished watching the last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was way more into it than I thought I would be. Not entirely happy with the ending, but what can you do? The answer to that is sleep. I need sleep. Too much Netflix.

[EsBe]

I have just now finished watching the last episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I was way more into it than I thought I would be. Not entirely happy with the ending, but what can you do? The answer to that is sleep. I need sleep. Too much Netflix.

I think everyone has the same Buffy experience eventually. I can't say I was particularly moved by the ending either, but at least it was a concrete conclusion. (And a preemptive strike against sequels and spinoffs.)

I remember watching the director commentaries and Joss mentioned that if you didn't cry at the end of the last episode you were either lying or had no soul, so... guess I'm down a soul. Come to think of it, I've heard the same thing mentioned about that episode of Futurama with Fry's dog, but I didn't give a crap about that one either. Oh well. Now, Sleeping in Light, on the other hand...

[MysticalDescent]

Some stuff following on from a previous post on here, now that I've actually watched Dexter and Arrested Development.

Dexter: Yes. Just don't do what I did and watch series 5 first, then series 6 (thanks to me finding that a TV channel here was showing every single episode, but that I missed the first four series of them by time I noticed) and then try to watch series 1 onwards. This makes series 1 seem incredibly slow and you find yourself shouting 'he's the murderer!' every few seconds on account of events in series 6.

Arrested Development: Meh. I like it and I like a lot of what they try to do, but it's not the funniest programme in the world. It has its moments, though. It certainly deserved better than cancellation after three series. In fact, using the 'Friends got ten seasons' scale, it's worth a much longer run.

[EsBe]

Lately I have only been watching television shows that have already run their course, either on Netflix or HBO Go. I haven't actually sat down in front of a TV in probably two years now (and I don't mean that in a snotty "I listen to NPR in my Prius on the way to the local farmer's market" way---although I do listen to NPR and buy at a farmer's market in the summer, but that's neither here nor there).

Anyway, I signed up for a month of Netflix streaming in order to watch a movie that I had a Rifftrax for. It's roughly the price of a DVD rental, so I was okay with it, but then I had another month of access to it afterward. So I went ahead and watched the entirety of Star Trek The Next Generation, because the only time I had actually watched any episodes was back in Ye Olden Times on over-the-air TV, when you had to worry about static, and catching episodes, and waiting for reruns, and being able to even find the TV guide in the Sunday paper, etc... the Dark Ages, basically.

So then that was done and I accidentally let the subscription repeat for another month, so I went ahead and watched the entirety of Star Trek Deep Space Nine, which I had never really gotten into during its TV run. I'm sure I'm trodding on, um, well trodden territory here, but I kind of get what the producers meant when they said they wanted a darker tone for that series. It actually had story arcs that you could hang intrigue from, and reminded me more of my one true love Babylon 5. And it was also really goddamn good in a way that I haven't been able to say about many other shows.

Then I finally remembered to cancel the subscription before the month was up, and switched over to HBO Go to watch Bored to Death. This, I think, is a show that I should have watched in the company of another human being, as it is a silliness best enjoyed with company. On the other hand, I'm glad I was able to get through it in private, as my "embarassed by proxy" alarm was going off about once an episode, and it's not particuarly becoming to avert one's eyes while watching a non-horror flick.

And in other old TV news, my uncle just discovered Myster Science Theater 3000. I received an email reporting that it was funny. I await many follow-ups to that.

[jvcc]

Anyone here fans of Parks and Recreation? I've been told by so many that it's good, but takes a while to get into. I'm on the second season now and it hasn't made me laugh once. So does it take an unbelievably long time to appreciate or will I just never find it funny?

EDIT: Okay, I think the show's okay. It's not the funniest show ever, but I'm starting to like most of the characters more. I can finally satisfy my loved ones who have been pestering me to watch it.

[MysticalDescent]

People who like British comedians like David Mitchell and Charlie Brooker: I recommend 10 O'Clock live. It's a bit different because it's satire, but it's very good.