Saturday, April 30, 2016

Primetime TV Update - April 2016

Here's a quick description of all of the shows I've watched and completed in April 2016. Of course, as always, there is a possibility of spoilers for any prime time show I mention.

This month I did a combination of catch up, finishing seasons and binging due to Watchathon.

On AMC, I finished up the second season of "Better Call Saul". I watched this week to week, and I'm the first to admit I missed a lot of the intricacies of the show. Jimmy's dysfunctional relationships still haven't explained why he changed his name. Perhaps that will come next year.

On the CW, I finished up "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend" season one, and "iZombie" season two. Both shows had their finales prior to sweeps. The CW renewed everything, so they'll be back next year, though it is uncertain what the episode orders will be. On CEG, all of Rebecca's bad behavior was revealed, will she ever be happy? That said if she was the show would be over, right? I also appreciated how her boss Darryl is bi and proud, while Paula is as bad of an influence as possible. On iZombie, now everyone in the main cast knows Liv and Major's secret. I'm so glad about that as Clive being clueless was going to get old. The end of the Max Rager story is a bit of a reset, so we'll see how it goes from here.

On Fox, I finished the last season of "American Idol", which was its 15. It is also the only reality show I completed in this time frame. While I understand why it ended, for now, I'll miss it come January. I watched first episode one in its first year, so I saw it through its highs and lows.

On Lifetime, I watched "Doctor Foster", which was a BBC show originally. It was five episodes in the UK, and three two-hour broadcasts on this side of the pond. Doctor Foster discovered her husband was cheating. We see how she gets through what he did, and the steps she takes to get revenge. Their son Tom though has the worst of it as his father impregnated a 22 year old who was a sister of a friend, and he's a fan of Aston Villa who in the real world has been relegated to a lower division. The program was renewed, but I have no idea if the second series will air here.

On PBS, I watched the two part "Jackie Robinson" documentary from Ken Burns. It ran over two nights the same week as Jackie Robinson day. While I knew he was the first African-American baseball player integrating the sport, I knew nothing else about him as he passed before I was born.

On Syfy, I watched "The Magicians", which is based upon a book series. It is about college-aged people learning how to do their magic. It became incredibly dark as it focused on revenge and rape. It was renewed for a second season.

On WGNAmerica, I watched "The Outsiders". I binged the first three, and then viewed it week to week. The basic premise was mountain people don't want to move and business interests wants their land. Moonshine making, interracial love, matricide and other violence appear on this program. It is scheduled to return for season two early 2017.

In the binging category, I actually finished "Downton Abbey" in under eight weeks. That's a bit daft, but I enjoyed it. I can understand why it was so popular around the world. When it comes to stories, I feel some characters could have had more or less written for them, and as it continued I felt like I didn't know the new people as well. Maybe it was due to how over time, not everyone lived in the house. The program had a positive end which was appreciated.

During Watchahon week, I enjoyed three series: two on HBO and one on Starz. On HBO, I caught up with season two of "The Leftovers" and season one of "Vinyl", while I enjoyed "Black Sails" season three on Starz. The Leftovers kept the majority of its cast, but changed location from outside NYC to Texas. I must admit I missed seeing familiar places. The guilty remnant was still making people feel guilty, but they weren't always silent. At the end, Matt's wife even got to speak. We also found out that there were some hoax departures. Vinyl was about the early 70s, the music business and touched upon life at the Chelsea Hotel. There was drugs, sex and dirtiness in NYC. I'm not 100% sure what I thought about it, but it did make me pay attention. Black Sails continued on and some characters didn't survive. The battle continues between the pirates and those who oppose them.

So that's what I've watched and finished during April 2016. Happy Viewing!

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