I'm still surprised that A.D. aired on NBC.  That channel bought the rights to Veggie Tales a decade ago and censored all the references to God from the show; essentially the show's essence.  They must have changed their policy recently.

I think it was in 2004 or 2005.  Phil Vischer, the co-creator of the Veggie Tales, said he wouldn't have ever made the deal if he know that would happen.  More recently, NBC enacted a policy to never express a religious message (such as "God loves you").  That was more recent, about 1 to 2 years ago.  They must have changed their policy again, in order for them to air this.  I know that Mark Burnett wouldn't want his vision watered down.  I watched the first miniseries on History and it was pretty good.

By the way, Larry (in HOO episode 2) and his friend, Bob (the guy in the background of ep 2 when Johnny plays guitar) are named after Larry the Cucumber and Bob the Tomato from Veggie Tales.  (Notice Larry wears green and Bob wears red)

Better Call Saul just had one of the most impressive leadoff seasons of any series in the last couple of years.

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I didn't think those guys had talent in television, until I watched How I Met Your Mother. I should check that one one out, since those guys are comedy geniuses.

Honey, Where are My Pants?
Even though they show reruns all the time, it keeps me laughing. I keep waiting to see what happens next in Episode 2

It's just "Where Are My Pants?"

Just to keep this on topic, I binge watched Season 1 of Agents of S.H.E.I.L.D over break. Good enough that I want to watch Season 2 when that's available on streaming.

Last edited by Littlebrick (May 26, 2015 (12:58pm))

The Vampire Diaries
What? No, I totally didn't watch four seasons in one month

This has been one of my guilty pleasures for a long time. I watched some of season one back when it started in (2009 I think?) but my mum got a bit freaked over one of the subplots in the early episodes and tried to steer me away from it. I read the books (all of them, no joke, only the first seven are worth reading) and enjoyed them even though they're nothing special, but now that I've gone back and revisited the TV series, I'm hooked.

I was expecting it not to be as good as I remembered, but honestly, it's better. While there are some arc motifs that get repetitive (there's an episode in season three that's almost an exact dupe of one in season two, save the villain is different), overall the show has some pretty stellar character development.

Damon is by far the core of the show. He starts off as the antagonist but doesn't stay that way for long. His transformation into a semi-decent person is the most interesting character arc in the first two seasons (not to say that Jeremy, Caroline and Tyler's arcs aren't also extremely significant and enrapturing), and Ian Somerhalder's performance is flawless. I quickly became so invested in just about every character in this show (except Klaus, who was really miscast). It's also refreshing to watch something that's primarily a teen drama that isn't vacuous and poorly handled. It felt like it was getting to its audience without being patronising or feeling like a parent's attempt at seeming cool to their teenage children, and the times when TVD gets deep, there's actually some weight to what it's trying to say. You genuinely feel for the characters when they're in emotional pain, and it's saddening when characters die.

Its tone and stylistic choices are also very neatly constructed. There's quite a bit of magic but its rules and limitations are organically detailed to the audience over the course of the show without any clunky exposition, and visually it's extremely subtle and all the better for it. There's a shapeshifter late in season four, and the actual transitions between his 'faces' are all done through reflections and framing devices. Neato burrito.

When I was younger, it made such an impact on me that it got me interested in young adult fiction as a serious medium of storytelling, and still has a lot of resonance for me now. It's also weird how comfortingly familiar it feels, despite the fact I watched so little of it when it was first on; I don't remember half of these characters, I never saw these storylines the first time around, and yet I'm strangely nostalgic for all of it.

And if you're about to say "yeah but Twilight", there's literally no reason to bias an entire genre because of one bad example. It's like saying you don't like all sci-fi films because you didn't like Dreamscape or Dracula 3000.

I'm taking a very long break before watching the fifth and sixth season or the spin-off show The Originals, purely because I enjoy this show so much. It's had me so hooked, and I've binge-watched it in a way that no show have ever convinced me is a good idea before.

Easily an 8 out of 10.

"Nothing goes down 'less I'm involved. No nuggets. No onion rings. No nothin'. A cheeseburger gets sold in the park, I want in! You got fat while we starved on the streets...now it's my turn!" -Harley Morenstein

Batman: The Animated Series
Recently rewatched some of this great show.  I was surprised at some of the shots in the show, they are really interesting and creative for what is supposed to be a kids show.

Avatar: The Last Airbender
Another great show.  I am so nostalgic for it it's not even funny.

I remember freaks & geeks.  Never got into it, but liked it when I did watch.