2012-2013 TV Wrap-Up

Not too long after the 2012-2013 TV season started, I posted my thoughts on a few of the shows that my family was watching. Now at the end of the season, I thought I would revisit those thoughts with the benefit of the whole picture.

Those that didn't make it:
There were a few shows that we watched and the dropped over the course of the year. Those included Suburgatory, Revolution and regrettably Suits. Suburgatory was dropped after one episode due to the lack of funny story lines and the seemingly too-hard trying to be quirky. Revolution made it much farther, but after the long hiatus and weak story lines, I have dropped to reading synopses online and haven't bothered to see how it ended. I would have preferred not to know how the power went out and have the story lines about rebuilding civilization and dealing with the difficulties of living without power. Lastly is Suits, which came back for the second part of Season two just after the holidays and really lost the two against difficult cases vibe that had worked for the show throughout Season one. Just haven't been able to get through the last four or five episodes yet.

Those that won't be picked up for next year (by us):
When I say picked up, I mean buying a season pass on iTunes so that I can see the episodes the day after they air. This list includes shows like Hart of Dixie (wife and daughter were watching this one) and The Big Bang Theory (BBT). We have enjoyed BBT for years and own every season so far on DVD or digitally. This season saw many stale jokes and situations, short episode times and a major lack of character growth. Some of the characters are made too "bitchy", some never learn from their mistakes and others aren't allowed to have enough screen time eventhough they are most of what made this last season even partially watchable. The Penny character has become lame with her dealing with everything with either snide comments or drinking heavily. Sheldon on the other hand continues to be the most consistently funny character but the lack of growth until the very last few episodes was disappointing as well. Maybe we'll pick up the 2013 - 2014 season on DVD in Fall 2014.

Show that was okay, but has been cancelled:
Go On. They really should make that group session video on YouTube lamenting the show being cancelled that I tweeted about after the cancellation. I will miss John Cho's character the most of any on the show.

Shows we will be glad to see back next year:
This list is pretty small, but the main one here is Elementary. The show was good and the chemistry between the lead actors is as well. We (my wife and I watch this one) also liked that they didn't fall into the "must have a cliffhanger" finale trap and gave some resolution while there definitely being more stories to tell. Lost Girl also is in this category eventhough the ending did have a cliffhanger that really wasn't necessary. See the review for the season here.

Shows I am having to wait for, but will be watching when they hit DVD:
This list covers shows that either we caught the pilot episode but weren't able to get the others or we didn't want to get the season pass. Vikings from the History Channel, Game of Thrones season 3 (naturally), Orphan Black from the BBC and Supernatural. We have been hearing good things about all of these and were surprised by the resurgence of Supernatural since we gave up after the Leviathan story line had been so annoying. Be interesting to see if it as good as the "buzz" is saying. I am also looking forward to giving Defiance a try too.

Best show of the year: Elementary

Runner up: Lost Girl

Update: Honorable Mentions: Grimm and Continuum

That's it. The year over and a couple months to wait for shows to come back. Maybe I can get caught up on older shows I didn't get to when they aired like Fringe, Eureka, Warehouse 13, etc.

Be back soon with new reviews.

Lost Girl Season 3 Review

Well season 3 of Lost Girl has come and gone and we have to wait until 2014 for more episodes. Season 3 continues the story of the Succubus Bo (played by Anna Silk) and her friends in the aftermath of the big battle that ended Season 2.

This season, the focus is on character development for everyone and the lasting effects of what they did (or had done to them) in the last season. We are also introduced to new characters in the form of a Dark Fae who joins the police force, Tamsin (played by Rachel Skarsten), and a part-time recurring character of interest to Trick. While this season is about character development we do still see a lot of violence, petty fighting between the Fae and the occaisional case for Kenzi (Ksenia Solo) and Bo. We also get to see if there is a new Ash (that job is like the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position at Hogwarts - someone new every year).

Bo and Tamsin

What I like about Lost Girl is that it keeps peeling back the onion on the Fae world without feeling like the show runners are just making things up as they go along. As a viewer you feel that you are learning things just like Bo and that is nice. One of the best things about the show has been its ability to wrap up the season in a nice bow while leaving you with nice hooks into what might happen in the next season. Season 3 deviates from this as it does end on a little bit of a cliffhanger (though there is enough foreshadowing along the way for you to guess where things are likely going at the start of Season 4).

Probably my biggest beef with the Season isn't with the show at all. You see those of us in the United States had to wait an extra week for Syfy to air the finale rather than airing the episode the day after it premiered in Canada (all the other episodes were next day air in the US). This was annoying to say the least. I would rather wait until the season has aired and mainline this show rather than have to wait to get the next episode. If history is any indication, you should be able to get Season 3 on demand through Netflix later this year or do what we did and purchase the episodes so you can see them now without commercial (and as I am demonstrating here you can take a screenshot to liven up a post).

Give credit to Showcase in Canada. They are airing some of the best Science Fiction shows out right now in Lost Girl and Continuum. I hope they keep throwing more and more shows down south to us. Lost Girl season 3 gets 4 Mick Happies. Hope you turn in to learn about the Fae.

Dyson doesn't look like he wants to wait for Season 4 either

 

Lost Girl Season 2 Review

Lost Girl is an urban fantasy television show created by Michelle Lovretta and airing on Canada's Showcase (and Syfy in the US). It is the story of a Succubus, a Fae that lives off sexual energy, named Bo who grew up not knowing that she was Fae. Bo, played by Anna Silk, learns in Season 1 that there are Light and Dark Fae and that she must choose a side. Instead Bo chooses neither and along with her human best friend, Kenzi played by Ksenia Solo, she becomes a sort of private investigator helping those Fae (and humans) who can't get the help they need from the leaders of the Light and Dark Fae.

Season 2, which is available on demand from Netflix along with Season 1, finds Bo and friends dealing with the effects of the end of the last Season. I won't spoil plot details, but relationships change, new ones form and under it all there are big problems coming for Bo and her friends. Through it all, the show is interesting and doesn't get stale with just a Fae problem of the week rut.

The characters in Lost Girl are smart and witty. The show has two strong female leads in Bo and Kenzi especially with Kenzi being a human who has to rely on her street smarts to keep up in the world of the Fae. They are joined by the Fae cops, Dyson and Hale, who are a wolf-shifter and siren respectively. Add in a human doctor, a bartender who is not all he seems to be and a bunch of light and dark Fae politics and you have the ingredients for an interesting show.

I like that the writers of Lost Girl don't make you wait all season to get to the meat of problems. Issues are encountered and dealt with fairly swiftly in the show with a couple of overarching plot lines moving throughout the season. There are also nice hooks to setup what will be an eventful Season 3. The show also does well with character development from Season 1 through Season 2. Throw in a few steamy sex scenes, some kick-butt action and Kenzi's snappy dialogue and there is something for everyone (including a Fae Tony Stark inventor to spice things up). The writers also don't mind poking fun at the actors themselves such as when they have Bo mention that Dyson, played by Kris Holden-Ried, has hair like Chris Martin from Coldplay (which my wife has said has been distracting her since Season 1 but she was finally able to get past it).

If you like shows like Supernatural (first 3-4 seasons) and Grimm Season 1 then you should check out Lost Girl. We just picked up our Season 3 pass on iTunes. This show is what True Blood should have been. Lost Girl gets 4 Mick Happies. On to Season 3.