tv ramblings: sometimes you just gotta keep watching

[orangerful]

We are all caught up on The Americans now. DAAAAAAMN what a finale! I can't believe that is where they left us hanging!!

The Americans is one of those TV shows I always gave up on very early on. I did not enjoy Season 1 and the start of Season 2. I did not like Elizabeth at all and was having a hard time enjoying the show. But Tim liked it and we ran out of other shows so we ended up watching it and about halfway through Season 2 the show finally clicked for me and now I really love it. Season 3-4 have been a wild ride. They recently announced that the show will have 2 more seasons and then wrap it all up. I'm glad that they know when the show will end and they have plenty of time to plan a finale that will be satisfying and not rushed.

Speaking of shows I always gave up on, I also finished The Real O'Neals last week. The end of the season was fantastic. I think my problem with the first few episodes was it was all focused on the gay son and his family's acceptance of him, but mostly the jokes came from how mother disapproving and that got old for me. As the season went on, the writers figured out how to balance all the characters, with stories running parallel to Kenny's story and experiences. The last episode, with the prom, was adorable and I loved it. I really hope Season 2 stays on track (kinda bummed that apparently the kid who plays Kenny - Noah Galvin - is a little bit full of himself, apparently running his mouth and bashing the 'Modern Family' actors enough that he almost got 'Real O'Neals' cancelled! Hopefully he learned his lesson to be careful who he says what to).

I also watched Show Me a Hero, which I put on hold because Oscar Isaac won the Emmy for his role. It was an HBO Miniseries about the city of Yonkers and the struggle in the 1980-90s to get low-income housing built. It was written by the same guy who wrote 'The Wire' and was quite the mix of politics and glimpses into what it is like to live in low-income neighborhoods and the power of racism to keep people "in their place". Anyway, it was very powerful and well done, but hella depressing because you could have told me it happened yesterday and I would believe you. I don't feel like things have changed all that much. There is a reason that the area where my library is doesn't have any apartments...

Comments

[ragnarok-08.livejournal.com]

Yup, The Americans really did have quite the finale!

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

That 7 month jump in the middle of the season was kind of random, sorta like the writers said "well...crap if they are happy and getting along without any flukes, there is no show...just skip the happy times!" LOL

[erychan86.livejournal.com]

I started the Real O'Neals too but I stopped after a couple of episodes. I really liked the little girl xD but I really want to watch The Americans a friend of mine loves it... it's good to know they're going to end it in 2 seasons. When you know a show is going to have a finale it gets more appealing... They usually tend to ruin show with a finale (I'm still broken over How I Met Your Mother) but maybe it's better to have an end than a crazy cliffhanger... :)

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

The daughter is hilarious! She has some really cute moments in later episodes. If you go back to it, let me know. It does get better. It just had a bumpy start!

The reason we initially started watching 'The Americans' is because it had some of the same creators as 'Justified', which we both really liked (I didn't think I would but the writing was so good!) so we had high hopes for Americans. And the finale for Justified was fantastic and they had plenty of time to plan, so I'm hoping that the same will work out for Americans - though that one won't be as easy to wrap up in a nice bow...because essentially I'm rooting for Russian spies LOL

[snogged.livejournal.com]

I've never watched the Americans, but I'm glad you enjoyed the finale.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

I'm having such a hard time with TV shows right now. There's something wrong with my attention span, and I can hardly get through a single ep. Four day weekend, and I wanted to watch the new season of Marco Polo (a show I love). I got through three eps. In four days. I don't know what's wrong with my brain...

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

I have days like that, usually more with books where I just cannot focus. :-\ Usually it means my brain is too busy thinking about other things.

[thistle-chaser.livejournal.com]

That's probably the case, too many other things on my mind.

[a-phoenixdragon.livejournal.com]

*HUGS*

[1-rhiannon-1.livejournal.com]

I thought about picking up The Americans but never did. I see adverts for it all the time though.

[orangerful.livejournal.com]

It's worth it! You just gotta get through that first season, which I thought was really dark. I mean, it is a dark show, but season 1 just felt very dark LOL.

[night-owl-9.livejournal.com]

Ugh, I have so much catching up to do re: The Americans. I'm glad that you ended up liking The Real O'Neals :)

[elizalavelle.livejournal.com]

I haven't watched any of The Americans yet but it's on my list of things that I really need to watch.... that list keeps growing.