Whatcha Bleedin' Watchin'?

[Dr. Insomniac]

It's been ages since I've read a comic site that I liked. I know people were mourning ComicsAlliance's death a month ago, but to me, they didn't produce anything worthwhile in years. Maybe comics journalism just isn't something that entices people, but it sucks when Bleeding Cool doesn't look that bad by comparison.

[Avaitor]

I have a couple of questions about the Roseanne revival:

1- So apparently Barr has an explanation for Dan being alive, and we'll find out soon. I'm more curious as to how she got John Goodman back to begin with.
2- Is this going to affect Johnny Galecki's time on Big Bang Theory? If so, good.
3- Are they going to use both Beckys?
4- Will they actually do anything with DJ this time?
5- But seriously, why even bother? What show will be off limits from a return?

[Dr. Insomniac]

I'm still waiting for the Fresh King of Bel-Air.

[Avaitor]

RIP Adam West

I bought the first 2 seasons a while ago (yes, both sets of season 2), but haven't got around to watching them. I should do that soon.

[Dr. Insomniac]

[Foggle]

RIP Adam West

I bought the first 2 seasons a while ago (yes, both sets of season 2), but haven't got around to watching them. I should do that soon.

I have the Blu-ray collection and it's majestic. The HD remaster is beautiful.

RIP to the greatest Batman of all time, and my childhood hero.

[Avaitor]

Calling this season of OITNB a clusterfuck would be putting it nicely. So I decided to check out GLOW, which has some of the same team, and it's definitely superior to this recent season, but I don't think that it has the weight of Orange at its best yet. But it does a good job of calling out the dumb stereotypes that the original show had, and building its characters. I'm definitely going to stick around for season 2.

And right now, I'm watching Horace and Pete. I wasn't expecting public access quality, but it makes a lot of sense. And I'm really liking it so far. The acting and writing are on point.

[gunswordfist]

I'm still waiting for the Fresh King of Bel-Air.

Smartest thing you've ever said.

[Avaitor]

Not happy about The Americans not being nominated for Best Drama at the Emmys. This wasn't the show's best season, but it's still among the most exciting series out there, and hasn't had as steep of a decline as GOT did when it started to win.

[Dr. Insomniac]

So about that Confederate show HBO has planning. On one hand, I think criticizing a show before it's even filmed is stupid, and given that D&D have espoused progressive values in Game of Thrones, I highly doubt any series they would make in the future would mutate into a vehicle for white supremacy propaganda. On the other, it is D&D, and I've really lost faith in their writing over the past two and a half seasons. Even novels that either of them individually wrote like City of Thieves never wowed me or anything, so I doubt they could pull off a show like this without fucking up storywise.

[Avaitor]

So NBC wants more revivals.

I'm kind of surprised that The Office and 30 Rock are at the top of their list, since it feels like they just ended. And especially 30 Rock, since it was never a big hit in the ratings. The Office meanwhile feels like it would be pointless to bring back after Steve Carell left, but from what I can tell, even though most people wouldn't disagree that the show should have called it a day with Michael's departure, it still has fans coming back to it. The last couple of seasons don't seem to have the same kind of backlash HIMYM has.

ER sounds like a not bad idea if you focus on the right characters (if you can at least get Noah Wiley back, you've got a show IMO), but I'm surprised that they don't seem to be pushing harder for Cheers, Seinfeld, or Friends. Those are the more evergreen series, and if anything, the recent James Burrows special shows that there's always interest in Friends and Cheers (and Will & Grace to a lesser extent). At the same time, from what I've heard, none of these show's creators are interested, and I don't blame them.

But seriously, does every series need to be brought back? I understand the appeal of nostalgia, but a lot of these shows had conclusive endings that don't ask for much more. And most of these revivals fail to miss the mark, usually due to not letting the characters age properly (Gilmore Girls), the creators misunderstanding what made the original work in the first place (X-Files), or the original just not holding up to begin with (Full House). I can't really complain about there not being more creative, solid original programming out there, since this is a great era for television, but most of these series need to call it a day.

And side note, the new Will & Grace sounds awful. They're retconning the finale so the characters can act like their old selves again, a good decade after wrapping up. The original is already pretty dated to begin with, and I'm expecting it to be the worst of that.

[LumRanmaYasha]

Revivals can work, but I feel like networks are just wasting their time banking on nostalgia rather than bringing back shows that there's merit in continuing. Like you said, many of these shows had conclusive endings or had already felt like they ran their course towards the end of their original runs. The only one of those shows that I'd be interested in if revived is The Office, and that's only if they just re-use the mockumentary concept of the show and make it about a new group of characters with very few of the original cast returning (especially not Jim and Pam, they did everything they could possibly do with those characters). Otherwise, I think they just let these series be and focus on cultivating new series rather than regurgitating older ones.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The fact that everything is a reboot these days is not encouraging as to gauging the current level of creativity in Hollywood. Is there no one who can write a new show in the same frame or with the same heart as those old shows? Do they need to repackage the same characters and stories?

I can't imagine anyone is asking for them. Most reboots don't do very well.

[Avaitor]

I was pretty pleased with the Orphan Black finale, which surprised me since I haven't been too happy with the show in a while. As good of an idea as it sounded, I think the series showed its ass with the trans clone episode, as nothing about it really added up, and the show's issues with its writing only started to become more apparent from there. Although I do think that season 3 was the show's low point and the last 2 seasons have been improvements, I've accepted a while ago that I'm here for the performances as opposed to the story.

But it was somewhat refreshing to see the Neolution stuff resolved in the first third of the finale. Especially since the rest of it spent time with the sisterhood, and giving the core clones satisfying endings. It's a happy ending that doesn't go into Parks and Rec-style wish fulfillment.

[Avaitor]

Oh yeah, and I also got around to watching The Defenders after I finished season 4 of BoJack. It was pretty decent, but I still don't see why this needed to happen. The four heroes work well together, but I feel that things would have worked just as well if each of their series were their own things with sporadic crossovers, especially if it means that The Hand never came into fruition and fucked up the back half of Daredevil S2. Speaking of which, similarly to Iron Fist, I'm still not a fan of Netflix's take on Elektra, and felt that her material was a weak point. But I generally enjoyed the other three hero's stuff, and it was fun to see them all interact with each other. I just wasn't in love.

Right now I'm watching the premiere of The Deuce, David Simon's new show. It's pretty good, way better than The Wire's pilot (still need to see Treme, though). I was just talking to a friend of mine who is very passionate about the history of the porn industry about how its rise in the 70's would make a good show, then we heard about this. I like the concept and how Simon and George Pelecanos develop their characters, so I'm definitely keeping up with it.