Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Primetime TV Update - September 2015

Here's a quick description of all of the shows I've watched and completed in September 2015. Of course, as always, there is a possibility of spoilers for any primetime show I mention.

The month of September had me finishing up the majority of my Summer series and a lot of reality shows. I didn't get to watch anything in my DVD collection.

On ABC, I completed "The Whispers", the creepy series about an alien invasion mainly taking place in the DC Metro area. At the beginning of the show, we don't know who or  what is talking to the children that the adults cannot see. By the end, we find out how over the years they were able to influence many on earth.

On AMC, I completed two shows: season two of "Halt and Catch Fire" and season one of "Humans". Both were short-run programs, and "Humans" is already renewed though since it is a co-production even if it hadn't been in the US more episode were planned due to good ratings in the UK. Halt was mainly about life at Mutiny, Cameron's creative idea for an internet company back in the mid-80s. This was the era of only a select few using the web (which wasn't called the web yet) and everyone communicating via phone lines. The family drama tied into the action too. Humans was about a world somewhat like our own except lifelike robots were part of regular life. A group of the robots were sentient and wanted to be together as a family. The show was interesting and not really scary.

On Sundance, I watched season three of "Rectify". This year the program was back with six more episodes about the life of Daniel Holden and his friends, enemies and family. Not much time took place in the story, but as usual it was deeply moving. Rectify is one of the few shows that starting at the beginning is needed. 

On TNT, I binged "Public Morals" as the entire first series was available for free during Labor Day weekend. The show is a period piece set in the 1960s, which is filmed in New York City. The show as written and directed by its lead performer Ed Burns. The clothes were fun, and there were a lot of actors who appeared in small roles that surprised me.

On USA, I watched season two of the comedy "Playing House", as I watched season one in August. The show came full circle though Mark and Emma's relationship was still in flux. I like that while romantic relationships happen on the show it is mainly about Maggie and Emma being pals.

The competitive reality shows I watched and completed were: "America's Best Dance Crew: Road to the VMAs" on MTV, "America's Next Weatherman" on TBS, "Big Brother" season 17 on CBS, and "So You Think You Can Dance: Stage versus Street" on FOX. ABDC was fun and included some alumni from SYTYCDance, which made it even better. What was funny is that one of the judges on that show was a Big Brother 16 alumni. With BB, I was glad about the winner, which seldom happens. That show was like nearly other season with "special" guests and the appearance of Zingbot. America's Next Weatherman was a parody of the reality show genre. The prize was real, $100,000, an agent and a chance to be on CNN's morning show "A New Day", but the competition itself was comedic. Every episode showed the "Funny or Die" logo, so at least you were warned going into it. The format is familiar to most competitive reality show. Early on there was an individual challenge for a prize and/or immunity. The winning team would be safe, while the losing group would pick two people up for elimination. The judges would decide who would go, after watching them present a mock weather report, where things would go "wrong" intentionally. The winner of that got to stay, towards the end of the season there was no more teams and immunity just like "Survivor".

So that's what I've watched and finished during September 2015. I finished the majority of my backlogged shows, so I'm thrilled to start with the new 2015-2016 season. Happy Viewing!

No comments:

Post a Comment