Topic: Rate the last TV show you've seen

[GoldenPhoenix]

Anybody remember the extremely short-lived, but very good Spider-Man series on MTV? One of the only good things that channel has ever produced. Very attractive CG models and great plots. It's a shame the first season ended on a GIGANTIC cliffhanger and was never renewed.

I remember it, didn't watch it because I thought it looked lame, same with that goofy looking "The Batman" series.

[ShyGuy]

MTV had quite a line up of cartoons at one time. Now they seem to focus on trashy reality shows. Do even the teenie boppers care about MTV anymore?

[broodwars]

Anybody remember the extremely short-lived, but very good Spider-Man series on MTV? One of the only good things that channel has ever produced. Very attractive CG models and great plots. It's a shame the first season ended on a GIGANTIC cliffhanger and was never renewed.

Sure have, though I found it only "ok".  The series was done by Mainframe Entertainment, the folks who created my All Time favorite Transformers series: Beast Wars.  Unfortunately, they never really learned how to animate living beings.  The action sequences looked really good, but the sequences with the human characters were really robotic-looking.  The voice acting was also pretty terrible, especially the stunt casting they pulled for The Black Cat "not-Black Cat".  The series did probably have my favorite version of Electro, though, and although the writing was pretty mediocre for most of the show, it ended on a good note.  I would have liked to see where that show would have gone, but like all Spider-Man series after the 90s series it got canceled right before it really got a chance to shine.

[TJ Spyke]

I thought MTV's version of Spider-Man sucked. I gave it a chance, but after about 3 episodes I still hated it. I guess I wasn't alone because it only lasted about one season. The only two Spider-Man shows i've enjoyed were the one Disney made for Fox, and I sorta liked The Spectacular Spider-Man (although much less). I hated MTV's Spider-Man and Spider-Man Unlimited. I haven't seen enough of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends to judge it.

Speaking of shows ending on cliff hangers,  I loved John Doe and hated that it ended on a huge cliffhanger. A few months later the creator of the show told TV Guide what they had planned to do in season 2 to resolve it.

[broodwars]

Fringe (Season 2 201 & 202) - 5/10 - Yeah, they're still ripping off X-Files left and right (and, in the premier, the premier of the second season of Quantum Leap as well), dropping for the exciting possibilities that the Season 1 Finale left us at with the parallel universe and meeting Bell...at least until it's narratively convenient.  Honestly, that's probably the thing about this show that bugs me the most: it has the potential to handle the parallel universe theory in a manner that's never been done well before in Science Fiction television, but they're still pussyfooting around the X-Files' rejected scripts and stretching things out as much as humanly possible.  There are also three potential plot holes that just bug me:
 
1.  It's been a few months since I saw the season 1 finale, but I could have sworn it ended with Dunam walking into an office building, getting into an elevator, and getting zapped into the parallel universe so she could meet Bell.  When was she in a traffic accident before that?
 
2.  Why is no one bothered by the fact that she just appears in thin air around everyone crashing through the windshield of an empty vehicle?  I'll excuse Walter not being that bothered by it because he's well aware of the parallel universe and was expecting it, but c'mon neither Peter nor the new FBI agent OR Duman's supposed partner is bothered by this?
 
3.  What the hell happened in that first episode with Dunam in the hospital?  One moment she's in critical condition in a coma everyone said she'd never wake up from, including a scene where Peter and the Director are raising a toast to her in a bar.  The next moment, she's perfectly fine having only suffered minor damage.  WTF?
 
Oh, and Dunam's "partner" (and I put "partner" in the biggest air quotes imaginable because he's barely been on the show) has now been replaced by a shape shifter from the parallel dimension.  Well, nice knowing you, buddy!  Oh wait, we didn't know you at all!  I really wish Hollywood would get over that nasty habit of trying to give a character an extremely noticeable "moment" in the episode where they're about to kill them off.  Gee, why didn't they just have him give a speech about What He Was Going to Do When the War Case Was Over (TM) while they were at it, maybe a reference to a Girlfriend Back Home He was Going to Marry (TM) or something while they were at it?
 
Oh, and why cover the parallel universe when we can have a standalone case involving Gollum's stunt double?

[Stogi]

Boondocks Season 3

So far not as funny or original as the first two, but I never laughed so hard during Granddad's "nightmare". Fucking hysterical.

[broodwars]

Anybody remember the extremely short-lived, but very good Spider-Man series on MTV? One of the only good things that channel has ever produced. Very attractive CG models and great plots. It's a shame the first season ended on a GIGANTIC cliffhanger and was never renewed.

I remember it, didn't watch it because I thought it looked lame, same with that goofy looking "The Batman" series.

The Batman was a fine series.  It just took a few seasons to develop and realize it didn't have to be the exact opposite of Batman: The Animated Series (though there are episodes of Seasons 1 and 2 I really enjoyed), but when it came into its own around Season 3 (of 5) it was an excellent (if a little simple) series with interesting character designs and great animation.

[BlackNMild2k1]

Boondocks Season 3

So far not as funny or original as the first two, but I never laughed so hard during Granddad's "nightmare". Fucking hysterical.

oh ****. that started already?

[TJ Spyke]

A few weeks ago (they just aired episode 6 yesterday). I like "Stinkmeaner 3: The Hateocracy", which has Stinkmeaner's old "gang" friends trying to kill Granddad, Huey, and Riley to get revenge for Granddad killing him.

BTW, watching the show on DVD is disturbing. The last thing I ever wanted to see was Granddad's penis (a season 1 episode had him working out in the nude, and they show it all uncensored on the DVD).

[ShyGuy]

Dexter season 3 disc 1. Jumping into another season of Dexter, I don't like the new Detective Quinn... 3 stars so far

[UncleBob]

Spider-Man The New Animated Series: GS122/10

Well, the hottest chick ever voiced Mary Jane and NPH voiced Peter Parker - it's worth watching just for that.

Ideally, the series is a follow-up to the first movie - and it's pretty good.  The animation... well... leaves a lot to be desired.  There are some points where it really shines, but, all-in-all, I prefer the style of the FOX series.

The show only had one season and just *ends* with no resolution on several plot points.  That's a real downer.  On the other hand, it's only 13 episodes and you can watch it all for free via Hulu, so, if you like Spider-Man, go for it.

[NWR_insanolord]

If you're not watching The Good Guys, you really should be. Someone I know described it as "Monty Python meets Dragnet" and that seems about right. Bradley Whitford completely nails his part, which is good because he's the heart of the show.

[TJ Spyke]

I am watching The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 thanks to Netflix, I hadn't seen the show since Pax TV aired it like 12 years ago. It's not as bad as Zach said it was on the Newscast a few months ago, but it's not as good as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.  It always annoyed me that Dic Entertainment changed the names of the Koopalings.

Also, it makes me sad that the Princess was a fan of Milli Vanilli (as was Kootie/Wendy Koopa). The plot of one episode had the Mario Bros., Toad, and the Princess attending a concert from them in the real world, then Kootie kidnapped them to make them perform just for her. Princess Toadstill even called them the greatest band in the world.

[UncleBob]

I am watching The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 thanks to Netflix, I hadn't seen the show since Pax TV aired it like 12 years ago. It's not as bad as Zach said it was on the Newscast a few months ago, but it's not as good as The Super Mario Bros. Super Show.  It always annoyed me that Dic Entertainment changed the names of the Koopalings.

Also, it makes me sad that the Princess was a fan of Milli Vanilli (as was Kootie/Wendy Koopa). The plot of one episode had the Mario Bros., Toad, and the Princess attending a concert from them in the real world, then Kootie kidnapped them to make them perform just for her. Princess Toadstill even called them the greatest band in the world.

To be fair, what was your music preference in the 80's?

[TJ Spyke]

I was born in 1986, so pretty much the only music I heard in the 80s were the music to cartoons I watched (I still love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme).

One downside to Shout Factory DVD releases is that they don't pay music licensing fees, so they replace licensed songs. This was especially awkward in the Milli Vanilli episode as the scene has them "singing" to their song "Blame It On the Rain", but the DVD release has generic rock music playing (but still shows their mouths moving).

[BlackNMild2k1]

Everyone was a fan of Milli Vanilli back in the day, that's what made the news of a lipsync "boy" band so controversial back then and why it's still remembered to this day.

"Blame it on the rain"

[ThePerm]

i was born in 1984, and i head 80s music all the time, and lots and lots of 70s music

[UncleBob]

I was born in 1986, so pretty much the only music I heard in the 80s were the music to cartoons I watched (I still love the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme).

Forget the TV show theme.  Ice's Ninja Rap is where it's at, baby.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GFLGRidfFo4

[Halbred]

NINJA, NINJA RAP NINJA NINJA RAP

[Caliban]

Was not impressed with Stargate Universe's season finale. Cliffhanger, after cliffhanger, after cliffhanger, because that's what took to finish off the first season: 3 episodes. *facepalm*

[oohhboy]

The cliff hanger nature of SGU I can deal with since it really helps to set itself apart. Instead a bunch of loosely associated stories which Atlantis/BSG became, it just one all continuos story. Their fight for survival doesn't stop because they solved this weeks problem. It actually feels really old school. I laughed a little with the next episode preview where everyone looks to be praying in a Universe where it's pretty much proven there is no God. Just entities of unimaginable power/technology. I know I am viewing that clip out of context, but I can't help it.

Mind that I have only seen the first 4 episodes. I hope they keep it tight the whole way through. I enjoyed Star trek Voyager for what it was, but we only need one Voyager and one show with massive amount of lost potential.

As for Doctor Who, I have just finished watching Amy's Choice. So far the episodes have had some fantastic writing except for the fact I am starting to dislike how each episode resolves themselves. I can't put my finger on it, but things feel rather unsatisfied. The new doctor is still weak since I felt he got out done by the guy who played Dream Lord.

[King of Twitch]

Star Trek The Next Generation season 1 -- 6.9/10

I like that they jump ahead 80 years or so and imagine how the technology will advance, while keeping the back history. I like that the red alert sound is reused, the away mission planets have that TOS horizon-glow, and the instrumental interludes are classy. Recycling whole episodes, not so much.

Unexpectedly, I found most episodes clunky and left me dry. The pilot feels long, there's a Q episode where he talks about having them play a "game" against some army but eventually it revolves around Riker getting Q powers, and the Ferengi ship's bridge is just a white screen like they forgot to build the set! Then there's weird 80s stuff like the running episode or the other one where these superpowered aliens kidnap all the children on board.. because they want to preserve their culture and can't produce any offspring of their own. I don't know if that's a specifically weird 80s thing? Were impotent couples kidnapping children back then or something? I don't feel like rooting for the alien kidnappers, and I'm not rooting for Wesley to be rescued; since I don't get what the message is supposed to be, it just comes off as creepy.

The holodeck is awesome and some other special effects are ahead of their time, but the first season is only memorable in that it, one, plants the seeds for future episodes to mine: Q's power, doomed aliens attempt to preserve their culture, holodeck goes haywire, debating whether a life form is sentient, etc; and two, for establishing a few interesting characters.

Also the unintentionally funny, (or intentionally?) funny moments make it worthwhile, but the running episode, "Justice", is pure lol. The Enterprise looks at this new planet to see if it'd be any good for spring break tourists, and it turns out that everyone is healthy and runs everywhere they go, and everyone is friendly. Worf approves with a "Nice planet!" that is so deadpan I can't believe it didn't win an Emmy.



Of course once they learn that capital punishment is the punishment for all crimes on this planet, they immediately need to find Wesley to warn about it, because even though he's supposed to be a child-genius, he's actually a terrible human being. That's not what they say, but it's so obviously implied, and then proven by the next scene where he falls while trying to catch a ball, that the Picard facepalm is truly understood.

A scene begins with the camera zooming out on this stuff.. WTF




Oh, and there's this other episode, "Symbiosis", wherein a whole planet of people need a steady supply of this 'medicine'....


S.1 is disappointing but lolworthy

[NWR_insanolord]

I've always thought TNG was overrated. It hits some amazing highs, but also has a lot of pretty mediocre episodes. It's not a bad show, but it's probably my least favorite Trek series.

[broodwars]

TNG is probably my second-favorite Star Trek series, behind Enterprise (yes, I know that's a bizarre pick for favorite Trek series.  I just found the characters in that series more "human" than in previous Treks, and the last 2 years of its 4 years were fantastic.  Plus, Bakula.).  TNG was incredible from about Seasons 3-5, but was pretty mediocre to terrible in the first 2 and last 2 years.
 
And before someone mentions Deep Space Nine, yes that series was great as well...in its final 2-3 years when they decided to stop screwing around with the Dominion War and actually tell that story.

[NWR_insanolord]

I love Enterprise, it's my second favorite series. Seasons 3 and 4, especially 4, were fantastic, and I'd say seasons 1 and 2 were better than TNG on average. I loved DS9 the whole way, it's my favorite Trek series, but I agree that it took them a bit too long to get to the meat of the Dominion War.