What TV shows are you guys watching?

[Ghost]

I have heard that the books are not very good. And if they went that route, I am not inclined to bother picking them up anytime soon.

[Indy]

Yeah the potential was completely there. The writers just ruined it. I always wanted it to end with Deb catching him, and then having to kill him. The last scene would have been Dexter shot and killed, Deb standing over him crying, with her father there telling her it will be OK.

[Ghost]

That would have been good. There are a lot of things I think they could have done (your idea is at the top of the list, by the way). But the fact is, Dexter was a bad man and should have died. Yeah, he tried to be good, but so did Walter White, and the writers didn't shy away on that one. Another crappy finale was Sons of Anarchy, for the same reason. I will not give spoilers away in case anyone hasn't seen it...but, solid show until the end, then, cop out. And not exactly in the way I just implied.

[Indy]

I never watched SoA. It was always another show I know I should have, like Deadwood, but I just didn't.

And that Dexter thing is what I thought they were going towards during season 3. But you are right in that after Season 1, nothing else compared. It was such a shame (and even more of a shame that I watched every episode hoping against my better judgement, that it would return to glory).

[Ghost]

I never watched SoA. It was always another show I know I should have, like Deadwood, but I just didn't.

And that Dexter thing is what I thought they were going towards during season 3. But you are right in that after Season 1, nothing else compared. It was such a shame (and even more of a shame that I watched every episode hoping against my better judgement, that it would return to glory).

SOA is worth watching. The finale was wildly disappointing, but aside from part of one season where the show veers off track, it's pretty much solid from top to bottom. The very end is bad, but it at least sort of makes sense.

I think I quit Dexter about four episodes into the last season. Part of me wants to go back and finish just to have finished, but from everything I hear I know that's a pointless exercise. I already know what happens, and it does NOT make sense.

[Shabazz]

Oh, and the COMPLETELY two dimensional backup characters were not helping, either. When Rita, who was a distraction and annoying, is your most real character, you need to consider all the bad decisions you've made in life.

This was a massive problem with Dexter - the awful secondary characters on whom they spent a ton of air time and story lines. Quinn, Masuka, Angel, LaGuerta, etc. Some of them (not Quinn) OK in small doses, but by no means 'A' players and, like you said, 2D. I couldn't care less about the LaGuerta-Angel romance. Nobody did. But it was a major story line.

Breaking Bad, on the other hand, had fantastic secondary characters. Saul, Mike, Gus, Hank. All characters that I could watch for half of an hour long episode without them detracting from the quality of the show.

I would rather watch Bogdan Wolynetz and his eyebrows run a car wash for an hour than 30 seconds of Masuka reconciling with his long lost daughter.

[Ghost]

Haha, the eyebrows. I am looking forward to Better Call Saul, but The Eyebrows is the spinoff that should have happened.

[Dan H]

Are you guys watching Gotham? I binge watched and caught up, and damn if this show hasn't hit its stride. I actually like the actor playing Falcone in Gotham better than the one who did in Batman Begins.

[Indy]

I've seen a little of it and just can't take it.

[Mori Chu]

I love Batman but I just refuse to watch Gotham. I don't like the premise. Doing "Batman before Batman" takes away by far the most interesting part of the whole universe ... BATMAN. I don't need to see a young Commissioner Gordon. I don't care where the Penguin came from. I don't need to see 5-year-old Bruce "Anakin" Wayne. Meh.

[Ghost]

Are you guys watching Gotham? I binge watched and caught up, and damn if this show hasn't hit its stride. I actually like the actor playing Falcone in Gotham better than the one who did in Batman Begins.

I love it. There are a lot of legit complaints against the show (Mori's being one), but as I see it, it's NOT about Batman. Yeah, it's set in his universe but I like that he's a 2nd-tier character (well, technically he doesn't exist as Batman at all). The show is very well written, the stories are usually not silly, and it adds an entirely new dimension to the Batman tale. I think it's great.

[Ghost]

I don't like the premise. Doing "Batman before Batman" takes away by far the most interesting part of the whole universe ... BATMAN.

I completely disagree. Batman facing Super Villain of the Month is not interesting, but most of the comics are just that. They are good comics, but that is most of every superhero story. I think Gotham does an excellent job of staying true to the spirit of the story while actually fleshing out those people. And they ARE much more interesting than Super Villain of the Month.

Also, I think the show is well done enough that if you ripped everyone's name out and just did the show as a cop drama, it would still be quite enjoyable. And I don't even like cop dramas.

[Dan H]

I love Batman but I just refuse to watch Gotham. I don't like the premise. Doing "Batman before Batman" takes away by far the most interesting part of the whole universe ... BATMAN. I don't need to see a young Commissioner Gordon. I don't care where the Penguin came from. I don't need to see 5-year-old Bruce "Anakin" Wayne. Meh.

Too bad, because young Commissioner Gordon is a badass.

They are almost writing it up in such a way that you can see Bruce looking at how Gordon conducts himself and modeling Batman's persona on Gordon's personality, albeit in a costume.

[Mori Chu]

It just seems silly and desperate to me. These people didn't know each other when they were all little kids.

[Ghost]

I don't have a problem with a storyline evolving. No, in the comic, they probably would not have known each other. This is a new version of the story, and here, they do. No big deal. Maybe it won't count as canon in 10 years, but the way it's being told is a solid, coherent story.

And Gordon is most definitely a badass.

[Ghost]

What do you guys think of The Flash? I was really surprised when Arrow started out so crappy and actually turned into a good, dark show. I have very mixed feelings about The Flash, though...first, I find the superhero himself annoying. I don't know why, I just don't like the concept. But the show itself is pretty well done. But, I vastly prefer the darker superhero stories, like Arrow or the Batman movies (we'll keep Gotham separate from this for now). Still, I keep finding myself watching...

[Dan H]

I like both Arrow and Flash. I'm still pissed that they're using different canon for the Justice League films. The actress that plays Waller would have been great for Suicide Squad and I think TV Flash is a better choice than the actor they're going with for Justice League.

[carey]

What do you guys think of The Flash? I was really surprised when Arrow started out so crappy and actually turned into a good, dark show. I have very mixed feelings about The Flash, though...first, I find the superhero himself annoying. I don't know why, I just don't like the concept. But the show itself is pretty well done. But, I vastly prefer the darker superhero stories, like Arrow or the Batman movies (we'll keep Gotham separate from this for now). Still, I keep finding myself watching...

That makes sense then. I mean Arrow is basically Batman Begins. Hell Ra's is even a Batman villain & that Ra's vs. Arrow fight on the top of a snowy mountain was ripped straight from the comics of the first time Batman fought him. Both shirtless in the snow.

[Shabazz]

RE Better Call Saul:

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospect ... -pays-off/

[Superbone]

RE Better Call Saul:

http://grantland.com/hollywood-prospect ... -pays-off/

Awesome to hear!