Category: TV

Well I finally saw the last episode of Downton Abbey Season 4, and I have to say I was disappointed.  This season started off with a lot of promise, but in the end pretty much nothing happened.  Well to be fair one shocking thing happened, but that ended up amounting to nothing in the grand scheme of things.  Which is a shame.

<SPOILERS>If you are going to have a season that deals with rape, you should at least dive further in to the ramifications and psychological impact of the vile act.  Instead of just using it as a catalyst as to whether or not someone is going to kill someone else.  They made it feel like a cheap ratings booster, and that is a real shame.</SPOILERS>

Everyone pretty much ended up where they started. Sure some people grew a little bit, but over all it was just a waste of a season.  All the will they or won’t they survive question seemed be brushed aside, and instead they went with “Who will Mary merry?”.  Interesting, but not really major story arc material.

I hope they figure it out for next season because another one like this will kill it for me.  I expect more from the Grantham’s and their household.

The Walking Dead is finally back on the air after last year’s crazy mid-season finale.  It looks like they are going to take some time to develop the characters a bit.  This week we got to see Carl deal with growing up in the zombie apocalypse, and a little of what Michonne’s life was like before the end of the world.

I am hoping that they do not do too many of these character building episodes because it would really slow the show down, but I did enjoy having the zombies be the bad guys again, and just having the cast struggle to survive.

TV is better with The Walking Dead on the air.  I can’t wait to see what happens to everyone in the second half of this season, and what beloved character(s) we will have to say goodbye too.

PBS struck gold when Downton Abbey came out, and they have repeated that success with Sherlock.  You would think that BBC America would keep all the good British shows to itself, but since I don’t have expanded cable I am glad that they didn’t.  Sherlock is a modern retelling of the classic Sir Arthur Conan Doyle character, and it is back for its third season.

This season picks up two years after the second, and Sherlock has to come back to London to stop a terrorist threat.  Though since quite a few people think he is dead, coming back will not be as easy as he thought.

This show is all about its two leads, and Benedict Cumberbatch and Martin Freeman play Holmes and Watson perfectly.  They make this show a ton of fun to watch.  Freeman plays Watson as almost a drug addict, who doesn’t want to endanger his life with Holmes, but in the end he needs to feel the thrill of the chase.  Cumberbatch plays the incredibly smart, yet completely self absorbed genius with just enough charm, so that he comes off loveably socially awkward and not just a total jerk.

The first two seasons were great, and it looks like the third season is going to be just as good.  If you have not watched Sherlock yet, you really should, and since a “season” is only three episodes long it doesn’t take long to catch up.

To the readers of my blog, it should come as no surprise that I love cartoon shows!  There is just something so fun about animation.  That being the case, I thought I would list my top five cartoons, but it has been much harder then I thought because I like so many of them.  This probably would have been an easier top fifteen, but I am pretty sure that these are my top five cartoon shows in reverse order.

5: Dexter’s Laboratory

Genndy Tartakovsky turned Cartoon Network in to a power house.  Before he came along all Cartoon Network had was the Flintstones, but with awesome shows like Dexter’s Lab, Cartoon Network is now a power house.  Dexter is a little supper genius that gets in fights with his sister, and he is always endangering or saving the world.  That may not sound funny, but it totally is, and it is all thanks to Genndy Tartakovsky.

4: Darkwing Duck

There was time in the late 80’s and early 90’s that Disney owned Saturday morning cartoons, and for my money the Duck Tails spinoff Darkwing Duck was the best.  He was equipped with cool gadgets and bad catchphrases, and he seemed to have more luck than talent, but he always kept St. Canard safe.

3: Adventure Time

This show manages to be random, exciting, funny, and sweet all at the same time.  Pendleton Ward has created probably the best cartoon of this generation.  I know some people say that it is too crazy for them, but if you give the show a chance, it is one of the best cartoons ever made.

2: Futurama

This show went from being a bad Simpson’s knockoff to a class by itself.  Fry’s adventure to the future kept me happy and smiling throughout its entire run, and it has more quotable lines than just about any show on the planet.  It finally ended its run last year, and it will be missed.

1: Venture Bros

This show is a spoof on the old 60’s and 70’s adventure cartoons, but much like Futurama it has become so much more.  This show is as close to perfect as possible.  There are only five seasons so far, but those seasons are some of the best television ever made, and if Walter White had never existed it would be my favorite show of all time.

That is my list!  I would love to hear yours!