February 29, 2016 Television
The Walking Dead has returned from its mid-season. It seemed that people either loved it or hated it. Though they some inconsistencies, like them starting out walking during the day and seemingly not getting very far by nightfall, it was good overall. It was sad to see Jessie, Ron and Sam get eaten, but it was fun to see Daryl use the RPG to take out Negan’s men and set fire to the pond! The next episode skipped a few weeks to a few months and finally we see Rick and Michonne hooking up. Not sure what to think of the new character Jesus though.
The X-Files reboot aired on Monday nights. I was happy to see Mulder and Scully back in action. The first couple of episodes were good. I really enjoyed the episode “Mulder and Scully Meet The Were-Monster.” I loved the fact that the lizard creature gotten bitten by a human and started turning into one. That twist was brilliant! Then they introduced Miller and Einstein. The terrorist plot in that episode was weak, but the finale had potential. The idea that alien DNA would be our savoir rather than our downfall was interesting, but Scully made a Mulder-like intuitive leap. They tried to cram too much of a story line into a single episode. It could have been worked into the story arc cohesively for all six episodes. Regardless, I will still watch the conclusion whenever it airs.
Tuesdays, Ana watches The Flash, but I am following the USA show Colony. It is produced by Carlton Cuse, of Lost fame. It stars Josh Holloway, also of Lost fame. Josh plays Will Bowman and Sarah Wayne Callies as Kate Bowman. They live in an alien occupied Los Angles in the not too-distant future. The tension comes from Will working for the Aliens he’s never seen and his wife working for the Resistance. Though a Science Fiction show in nature, it is an excellent drama first and foremost. When I picked up Arthur C Clarke’s book Childhood’s End, I realized that that was probably one of the inspirations for the show along with real life occupations like the Nazi’s in France during WWII.
Another good show is The Shannara Chronicles on MTV. It is based on the series of books by Terry Brooks (1977 to present). The TV series picks up with The Elfstones of Shannara from 1982 and goes from there. Clearly, Brooks was influenced by The Lord of the Rings, but he slowly builds his own world. It is set in a dystopian future and not a mythological past. It also deals with demons more directly than Tolkien’s books. And though it isn’t stated directly, Shannara alludes to the fact that the Elves are Angelic or Divine in nature, which was also a subtext in Tolkien’s work. Though not particularly original, it is entertaining to watch.
Shadowhunters is another show I try to catch. It is based on The Mortal Instruments Series. They made a movie on the first book—City of Bones—but it didn’t do well enough to continue in feature film form, ABC Family or FreeForm picked it up as a TV series. The quality isn’t as good production wise, but it does allow for more in depth exploration of Cassandra Clare’s world. I like the new orange-haired Clary, but the other characters aren’t as well drawn. In any case, it shares the same theme of Angels and Demons as The Shannara Chronicles.
Wednesday we watch Arrow and iZombie. Thursday Ana catches DC Legends of Tomorrow and I watch The Blacklist. I usually watch 2 Broke Girls, Mom and Elementary on DVR later. Friday we watch Grimm. The show has lost some of its charm, but I do like the relationship between Adalind and Nick. Saturday we watch the last season of Mythbusters.
carilynn27 