Previously On

[colls]

Hello tv_talk!

This is your weekly opportunity to chat about non-current TV. Anything goes! Please stop by and tell us what you're watching, what you've been thinking of checking out, etc. Closed canons or something currently airing that you're just behind on -- it's all good. :)

Some possible topics:
- What was the first TV show you remember loving?
- What is the last TV show you watched every episode of?
- What show(s) have you watched this week?
- Is there an old show (or character) you love that you think would be unpopular if aired today?



Watch-Along: Show of the Month: WONDERFALLS (see the show-of-the-month thread below)

Comments

Watch-Along: Show of the Month: WONDERFALLS

[colls]

Wonderfalls is a one season, 13 episode show that aired in 2004 on FOX. Find a full synopsis and some episode recaps here at tv.com

- Have you watched this series before? If so, when?
- What was your favorite episode?
- Who was your favorite character?
- What was the funniest scene?
- What do you wish the show would've had an opportunity to do?
- Anything else?

Re: Watch-Along: Show of the Month: WONDERFALLS

[alorarose]

WHAT? 2004?? I AM FEELING REALLY OLD RIGHT NOW!!!

The best part of the show, for me, was when Aaron surrounded himself with inanimate objects and started talking to them to get them to talk back. Lee Pace, oh how I love you.

Re: Watch-Along: Show of the Month: WONDERFALLS

[glitteryv]

I remember people being super excited about this show so I decided to check it out. I'm not sure why, but it got so hyped that I was totally underwhelmed by the pilot. Then, the show got moved to a different night.

Can't say I'm too surprised by its cancellation because, aside from The X-Files and Millenium, FOX has had this pesky habit of axing shows way too quickly (instead of giving them enough time to build up a following). >:(

Anyhoo, there were other TV shows I was really into at the time so I waited until the series was available on DVD. After watching all the eps, I can say that I was somewhat charmed by the show, but not to the point of being a fan.

I've read about the things that TPTB had in mind for the second season and wish that FOX hadn't cancelled it so quickly.

Oh, and coincidentally, my favourite episode (after watching the series)was the pilot. LOL!

Re: Watch-Along: Show of the Month: WONDERFALLS

[alorarose]

Oh god, Millennium!!!! I miss that shooooow.

Re: Watch-Along: Show of the Month: WONDERFALLS

[lostdragonfound]

I watched Wonderfalls when it first aired and was so mad when it was cancelled after airing only 4 episodes. I bought the DVD as soon as it came out!

It's been a while since I've watched the show though. I really need to do a full re-watch.
I remember loving a lot of the characters and loving the quirky weirdness of the show.
I wish it had been given more of a chance, but then I wish that about many shows!

Re: Watch-Along: Show of the Month: WONDERFALLS

[timetobegin]

YES I HAVE WATCHEDDDDDDDDD

i love the final. it is amazing as finals go, and it wraps most things up so much!! I also like the cow episode....i can't remember what its called? no its not cows its crime dog!

I like that part where Lee Pace is like IS THE COW TALKING NOW. BUT I can't find a gif so

[silverr]

- What was the first TV show you remember loving?
Aquaman. I used to sneak out of bed early, turn the TV on with the volume almost all the way down, and press the side of my face against the screen (because my glasses -- I'm extremely nearsighted -- were taken away at night so that I couldn't read in bed.) ~ That and any time JFK was on - I used to kiss the TV sceeen.

- What is the last TV show you watched every episode of?
I pushed through the rest of Lost Girl last night.

- What show(s) have you watched this week?
Other than Lost Girl I've watched Last Week Tonight.

- Is there an old show (or character) you love that you think would be unpopular if aired today?
Nothing that I can think of.

[alorarose]

Lost girl, Still in denial about the end there.

Edit: DEAR SELF, LJ SPOIL CUT WON'T WORK HERE. *FACEPALM*

[silverr]

Yeah, I hear you, but ngl ... I really had to force myself through Seasons 3 and 4. (I had loved Season 1, and enjoyed S2 more on the second viewing once I understood better what was going on. But 3 and 4 pretty much killed my interest in watching S5.)

[colls]

I watched the first couple seasons of Lost Girl and remember enjoying it. Does it have 4 or 5 seasons now?

[silverr]

Season 4 finished in May, I guess. They've been renewed for a 5th season.

[alorarose]

- What was the first TV show you remember loving?
Mr. Wizard. Used to wake up at 6am on Saturdays to watch Kids' Court and Mr. Wizard.

- What is the last TV show you watched every episode of?
Jodie and I finally caught up on The Vampire Diaries last night. HOLY CRAP.

- What show(s) have you watched this week?
The last Ship, Teen Wolf, The Vampire Diaries, Girl Meets World, some Haven, The Fosters, Graceland, Law & Order: SVU, and Finding Carter.

[colls]

I've never heard of Mr Wizard. Is it a regional thing?

[alorarose]

..... WHAT???? No, not regional. click. In the 80's Nickelodeon aired like a new series of it. I guess you can kinda say Mr. Wizard was the original Bill Nye. Each episode taught us something different about science.

[glitteryv]

- What was the first TV show you remember loving?

It was either Mazinger Z (old school anime) or the Muppet Show. I must have been about 5 years old?


- What is the last TV show you watched every episode of?

The Blacklist (and I'm ll caught up) and Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (3rd rewatch and it's still soooo good!)


- What show(s) have you watched this week?

True Blood, The Strain, Project Runway S13, The Divide, and Power. I'd originally intended to catch up with TVD and The Originals during the summer hiatus. Who knows if I'll get to do that. O_o!


- Is there an old show (or character) you love that you think would be unpopular if aired today?

The X-Files for sure. I truly don't know how was it that FOX network didn't cancel it when it started airing. It was weird and dark, had a Monster of the Week story arc AND the beginning of an alien mythology plot. I mean, for that time, it was unlike anything I'd ever watched on TV. I truly believe that it wouldn't have made it past its first season if it was to be produced nowadays. (See also: Xena).

[veritas_poet]

The X-Files for sure. I truly don't know how was it that FOX network didn't cancel it when it started airing. It was weird and dark, had a Monster of the Week story arc AND the beginning of an alien mythology plot. I mean, for that time, it was unlike anything I'd ever watched on TV. I truly believe that it wouldn't have made it past its first season if it was to be produced nowadays. (See also: Xena).

Agreed!

My first online fandom! And I love it to this day. You are so right. Shows don't get a chance today.

[glitteryv]

I really wonder about a lot of the shows I watched in the 1990s. As in, how many of them would've gotten cancelled nowadays. A lot of it (The X-Files, La Femme Nikita (the version with Peta Wilson), Xena, Buffy, Forever Knight) was genre-specific but still kept around for at least three seasons.

Had The X-Files began airing today, it'd have been darker in mood (and possibly gorier). To me, it would've almost been something akin to a bizarro version of the original show. Oh, and it'd have aired on F/X instead of the main FOX channel.

Shows don't get a chance today.

IMHO, that's true...up to a point. If the show's airing on premium cable like HBO, Starz, and Showtime, at the very least the first season will air. Even if very few people tune in. The problem is if it's a show with an overarching plot designed to run across several seasons. Sudden cancellation (one or two seasons instead of, say, five) will truncate a lot. Examples: Carnivale and ROME.

Things are deffo trickier if the show airs on network TV or basic cable. Then, it has to take off by the second episode. Because the networks will pull the plug mid-season if they think it's necessary. Bad word of mouth/plummeting ratings during the show's first season almost always guarantees its cancellation. The very few exceptions are usually shows that are tied up to other media.

(Sorry for the TL;DR. Apparently, I have feelings about the process behind shows getting cancelled. /o\)

[colls]

THE MUPPET SHOW!!!!!! <3333

I agree with you on the X-Files. While I don't know if it would've been canceled right away, I don't think we'd get nearly as many seasons as we did.

[veritas_poet]

- What was the first TV show you remember loving?

Maybe M*A*S*H? I was introduced to it by my 5th/6th grade teacher. I love it to this day!


- What is the last TV show you watched every episode of?

I think PSYCH. (Not in real time, though. I caught up once the finale was coming. I hate feeling left out!)


- What show(s) have you watched this week?

Been doing a FRASIER full series watch for the first time. I'd seen eps here and there, but not the whole thing.


- Is there an old show (or character) you love that you think would be unpopular if aired today?

I've lately been watching and loving a show from the 60s (?) called THE RIFLEMAN. There's no way a show with such strong moral lessons, positive mentions of the Christian God and no females kicking butt would be popular today!

[alorarose]

Oh M*A*S*H*, you will always be one of my first loves.

[colls]

I think we've talked about our love of M*A*S*H before :) I remember my whole family tearing up over the finale.

I overheard someone this weekend comparing Dr. Janet Fraser's death in Stargate SG-1 to Henry Blake's death on M*A*S*H because both were so riveting and heartbreaking. I kind of liked the comparison.

[lostdragonfound]

- What was the first TV show you remember loving?

21 Jump Street is the fist show I remember loving in a seriously obsessive way. I was about 16 when it started and I watched it on my little TV in my bedroom back then and tried not to miss an episode! I was so obsessed with Johnny Depp back then!

- What is the last TV show you watched every episode of?

Parenthood…finally caught up with that.

- What show(s) have you watched this week?

Defiance (first 4 episodes of the first season), and the most recent episodes of: True Blood, The Leftovers, murder in the first, and Manhattan, plus I re-watched the first two episodes of Agents of SHIELD!

[colls]

21 Jump Street was such a fun show to obsess about. I was in high school at the time and was bummed b.c none of my classmates were as cool as Tom. I actually had a bit of a crush on Harry myself.

[wendelah1]

- What was the first TV show you remember loving?
Probably Maverick, James Garner's western, which ran from 1957-1962 according to Wikipedia. Jesus. That was a looooong time ago. Let's assume I was watching the earlier episodes in reruns. I can't remember the content of any particular show. Maverick was a gambler, smart, funny and very good looking, at least to my nine year old's eyes. Huh. It looks like someone has uploaded a bunch of episodes from season one to YouTube. Yep, Garner still looks good to me. However, I have no idea how well this series would hold up.
- What is the last TV show you watched every episode of?
Off-the-air: Fringe. I have the last few episodes of Warehouse 13 still on my DVR. Still on: Orphan Black, which got renewed for a third season.
- What show(s) have you watched this week?
Nothing that's new. I'm doing fringe_rewatch. I'm also rewatching season one of New Doctor Who with my spouse.
- Is there an old show (or character) you love that you think would be unpopular if aired today?
I think most shows from the sixties, and probably the seventies and eighties, too, wouldn't work without extensive revisions. Most wouldn't make it past the pilot stage. Frankly, that's just as well.

[colls]

James Garner! That's a blast from the past - :D

I still have some catching up to do with Orphan Black myself. I've heard rumors about the last few episodes of WH13 - are you saving them intentionally or have you just not gotten around to them yet? Or are they just still sitting on your DVR but you've watched them already?