Small Screen Review (1/4/15-1/17/15)

I watch quite a bit of telly. More than I should, really. So since I watch as much television as I read books, I thought I should "review" what I watch each week, both television and movies (I only watch movies on DVD at home - long story). Nothing fancy, just a few sentences about what I thought of what I watched. (I'll try to avoid spoilers, but no promises.) Comment below with your thoughts on the shows!

NEW SHOWS

Galavant: Absolutely ridiculous but it's only 4 episodes so why not. At least Episode 2 was better than Episode 1, for the most part.

The Great British Baking Show: We adored the American version last year, so when I noticed the original British version on PBS we were excited to watch it! The hosts are really funny, and we're learning quite a bit about British sweets and basic recipes.

Master Chef Junior: Last season saw a winner we were all happy with, and while the new season's contestants aren't as impressive as last season's, we have a few favorites.

The Taste: We gave this all of the 2-hour season start before we gave up. The competition between the group heads got even worse, and the way the show is set up just doesn't feel quite fair.

CONTINUING SHOWS

Agent Carter: I really wasn't expecting much from this, so I've been somewhat pleasantly surprised. The best character is the butler, though.

Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: 1/2 season ended, new to come in a month or two. After the explosive 1/2-season end, I'm excited to see what happens with Skye!

Bones: No new episodes yet. *sigh*

Castle: Richard Castle, Private Investigator!! This opens a whole new angle that should prove a lot of fun if the first episode was any indication.

Elementary: Although I do like Kitty, having Sherlock and Watson separate hasn't been quite as good. Apparently the network felt the same way because they've been spending more time together and sending Kitty on errands, which I'm okay with.

Forever: While this show has grown on me, I'm eagerly awaiting the time when he tells the cop about his condition. Probably won't come until the end of the season or next season, though. *sigh*

Gotham: While Arkham was interesting, and I loved seeing Morena Baccarin, less Penguin (or in this case, a kicked Penguin) always equals less fun for me.

The Mentalist: Quite enjoying the final season! We keep expecting the worst at the end of each episode and are happy when it doesn't come - I'm hoping the entire season will just be one happy ending, and so far so good.

Once Upon a Time: 1/2 season ended the Frozen arc, which didn't turn out to be too bad, I guess. The "preview" for the next 1/2 season arc looks absolutely ridiculous, though - I thought they scraped the bottom of the barrel with Frozen, but I've been proven wrong. I will only be watching for the Rumple/Belle story, which I'm now excited to follow again!

The Paradise: Ended last year. We were sad for it to go, and while the end was abrupt, it was acceptable.

Person of Interest: Part 2 of 3 = BEST. EPISODE. EVER. When The Machine "simplified the simulation" we had to watch the scene several times to catch all the "dialogue" - and could Not. Stop. Laughing. Part 3 of 3 = Meh. While John and Root were off having all the fun we were stuck tailing Control. Rather boring.

</Scorpion>: The son is the best part of the show for me, so I'm glad he's been playing a slightly bigger role as of late - and I was happy to have an episode that revolved around him! These have gotten pretty intense, which has been pretty cool.

Selfie: Cancelled. I was a little disappointed, but not much.

DVD

Haven: Finished everything on DVD, and of course it ended on a serious cliffhanger. (Well, I guess all the seasons did.) Nathan really got on our nerves after a while, and I'm still rooting for Audrey to end up with Duke, who is one of my favorite characters of all time.

Continuum: Season 1 = After Haven we went right into a new show (my new library rocks), and we're quite enjoying it! I love Kiera + Alec - the banter and team effort make the show for me (and it's a completely non-romantic relationship!). Kiera without him just wouldn't be very good, and I'm not impressed with her cop partner. Season 2 = Just started, only 1 episode in, and apparently the writers changed because it was awful. Kiera was like an info-dumping robot, the episode story was badly done, and the changes to the main story were horrible. I really hope it gets better.

Riders of Berk: I am on a serious How to Train Your Dragon kick right now after watching HTTYD1 and then the new HTTYD2, and then re-watching both again several times. When I remembered there was a TV show as well I immediately checked out all the DVDs from the library. While the animation isn't quite as good, I'm enjoying the stories from the copious books I found out have been published (at least I'm assuming that's where they come from).

How to Train Your Dragon 1 & 2: Had to re-watch 1 before seeing 2, and enjoyed both for several re-watches afterwards. The friendship between Hiccup and Toothless is just perfection. And then of course I cannot get enough of Toothless in general. TOOTHLESS. *hugs screen*

The 100 Foot Journey: Wasn't quite as good as we'd been hoping, but it was a sweet movie that we did enjoy.

The Maze Runner: This turned out to be much better than I was anticipating! I honestly didn't know much about the story going in, so not knowing exactly what to expect made it better, I think. I hope they make the rest of the books into movies as well!

Maleficent: Although I wish it had been anyone other than Jolie, it was a pretty good (if surprisingly short) fairy-tale story with no true bad or good guys, which gave it a bit of a Miyazaki flair.

The Wind Rises: Speaking of Miyazaki, I saw his "final" movie - and sadly didn't like it. If it had been by anyone else I would've stopped within the first few minutes of the odd and slightly confusing hallucination/dream sequence, but I persevered and was rewarded by the earthquake scene. My biggest (and really only) takeaway was learning a bit of Japanese history, although I can't be too sure it's all true without consulting a history book. Overall it was odd and sad and I will definitely be referring people to his earlier works to marvel at his greatness.

So that's it for this week! What did you watch?