KeaneyBlue - The URI Basketball Forum

So, what's everyone watching on the ole tube?

- Arrested Development season four was released today on Netflix, so after taking care of a few more things writing-wise, I'm heading home to check that out.

- I've heard really good things about The Americans, and I'm going to be trying to watch the first season of it over the next week or so, thanks to my suddenly free employment schedule.

- Are there any decent summer shows coming out? Falling Skies is OK, and I've seen the first two seasons so I'll probably stick with season three in June. Psych is finishing up for the season soon - it's rebounded after a horrible first half - so the only other shows in my queue are Suits (actually good and several foxes on it) and The Great American Food Truck Race (completely crappy reality show that appeals to me because of how bad it can be).

I watch NCIS, NCIS reruns on USA, NCIS LA,
Rizzoli and Isles, The Mentalist, and Bluebloods.
Guess there's a pattern there.
Psych is funny. Oh, and the show about the two nutty lawyers on TNT, Franklin and Bash.
I hate the "comedies" of today. All sexually based trying to get laughs.
Funny how Lucy, Red Skelton and Carol Burnett managed all those years.
Used to love CSI Miami, until Horatio Cane became bigger than life.
People in crime labs don't go around shooting people or arresting them.
I have HBO, and love Game of Thrones and Boardwalk Empire. Of course their boxing programs.
Any Katie Morgan specials on HBO.
Mostly watch sports, where the real drama is.

Has anyone noticed that Ed Cooley played Bunk on the Wire before he got to Fairfield?

SG, ever since you changed your avatar I've been wanting to discuss AD with you. No spoilers but I've watched the first two episodes of season 4 so far and eh... some cool references to stuff from the first three seasons but not a lot of LOL moments yet. I'll give it a chance though.

And TP, between Cooley and Charlotte head coach Alan Major (aka Clay Davis), they can start re-casting The Wire with D1 coaches.

Top 5 TV shows - Drama

1. The Sopranos
2. The Wire
3. Breaking Bad
4. Mad Men
5. Friday Night Lights


Top 5 TV shows - Comedy

1. Curb Your Enthusiasm
2. Seinfeld
3. Arrested Development
4. Community
5. South Park

It's too bad the Office stuck around for so long and diminished its brand. It's first 4 seasons or so were so good it would have been on that list. Could almost say the same for South Park, too, but they were so good for so long that they hung on in the top-5.

Let's see your list.

I really don't watch that much TV - can't even come up with more than three dramas that I've seen...

DRAMA
1. The Wire
2. L O S T
3. The Sopranos

COMEDY
1. Seinfeld
2. The Simpsons
3. Arrested Development
4. Family Guy
5. Parks and Recreation

Dude watch breaking bad. You can get the whole thing on Netflix. It's awesome.

Half the stuff you guys are mentioning, like the Sopranos, aren't even in production.
Why not mention The Honeymooners, while you're at it?
I thought it was current TV in the discussion.

I'm just giving my favorite TV shows of all time. Did not see anything limiting the discussion current TV shows, but we can certainly talk about that, too. SG said "let's talk about TV," and I am curious what shows people like - I don't care whether they are current or not.

Actually, SG asked, "What's everyone watching on the tube?" and went on about new summer shows.
My impression is, he was talking about what's actually on over the air TV, and not golden oldies.
Doesn't matter, really.
Did anyone catch The Memorial Day Concert hosted by Gary Sinese and Joe Mantegna? As always,
very emotional and moving.
Also watched the HBO thing on Liberace. Boring in spots. Can't put Michael Douglas as Liberace.

Guys, guys, guys... You don't have to fight over me.

not counting sports ....

The Good Wife
The Mentalist
Grimm
Big Bang Theory
Parks and Recreation (Ron is my hero!)

rodfromcranston wrote: I hate the "comedies" of today. All sexually based trying to get laughs.

rodfromcranston wrote:Any Katie Morgan specials on HBO.

This made me laugh.

There's no hypocricy there.
When you put Katie Morgan on, it's straight forward
sex.
When you put some cloying piece of shit "comedy" on, and it's all double entendre,
and knowing looks, it's pathetic.

I didn't call you a hypocrite, I thought it was a funny juxtaposition though.

Out of curiosity, which sitcoms do you think are too sexual that are currently in production? I don't watch many network sitcoms, but the one I do watch (Park & Rec, Community, etc) aren't like that.

Two and A Half Men, Hot In Cleveland, some others my daughter watches, that
I can't recall the names. Oh, that thing with the two girls, one with the red wax lips,
Cougartown, too.

Ahhh yes, multi-cam Shitcoms. Not to get all internet, but I'm usually not bothered with shows in front of a live studio audience anymore.

I can't think of any shows we watch that are multi-cam anymore.

Breaking Bad is the best show on television right now, bar none. All seasons are on Netflix, and the last season starts in August, I think. I also love Parks & Rec - every character is hilarious.

Your opinion. I think NCIS is the best, and their ratings slaughter Breaking Bad's,
so others must think so.
Number one watched drama on TV for years. Great ensemble cast. Great story lines.

Rod, if you like NCIS or the crime drama-type of shows (Law and Order, NYPD Blue, Homicide: Life on the Street, etc), I would highly recommend The Wire if you haven't seen it. For my money, it's the best TV show ever made in any genre. I saw a tweet once that said "There are two types of people: those that think The Wire is the best show ever, and those that have never seen The Wire." Unfortunately it's not on Netflix On Demand.

I watched it when it first was on the air. Don't share your enthusiasm.
That's what makes the world go round. Some people worshiped 24 in the same way.

I heard Fox may be bringing 24 back

rodfromcranston wrote:I watched it when it first was on the air. Don't share your enthusiasm.
That's what makes the world go round. Some people worshiped 24 in the same way.

Good point - I could never get into 24. I say that to certain people and they assume there's something wrong with me.

24 is crime drama for people that would prefer not to think too hard. The Wire is on another planet compared to 24. It is true that there are some people who don't like 24 and I suppose there may be some people who don't like The Wire, but the reasons why a person wouldn't like one of those shows are completely different. People who are "into" TV consider the Wire to be the best written, conceived, directed, acted and produced TV show ever made, virtually unanimously. (I actually liked Sopranos a touch more because it played a bit more on metaphor and I thought Chase did a great job developing characters and his story was also great in some of the same ways the Wire's was). But whether you think it is the best show ever or not, I can't imagine someone straight up not liking it. That seems crazy to me, like preferring rain to sunshine or oatmeal to filet.

Yeah, whatever. Who are theses almost unanimous people?
Vox populi! NCIS outrates all these shows combined, and is as well written
as anything around. Ten years in production and as strong as ever.
Tell you anything?

I think The Wire is a bit overrated by those who've seen it. Don't get me wrong I like the show a lot, maybe in my top 5 dramas of all-time, but its not the best show of all time. Critics love to praise its realism and all that stuff but there a definitely better shows out today. It might be the best crime drama, shows like NCIS and CSI and all those other investigative are mostly pretty lame and repetitive. I think season 2 of The Wire basically eliminated it from the conversation of best shows of all time. That was a bad season, and when you only have four other short seasons to fall back on its kind of a small body of work. Its definitely not the best acted show on TV, I think that goes to Game of Thrones. Whenever you bring Michael Scott's girlfriend from the Office to play a major role, the acting is going to suffer. She's a terrible actress. Random aside, I had no idea the actor who played McNulty is British in real life, and has a pretty thick accent too, until after I finished the series. Anyways those are just my opinions..here's my top 5 dramas.

1. Breaking Bad
2. Game of Thrones
3. The X-Files
4. Dexter
5. Lost/Sherlock BBC

Anyone who saiys NCIS is lame and repetitive, hasn't watched it for very long.
Every season is a continuous story chasing some evil people who have committed some
awful crimes. The stories are well written, and well acted.
The cast is top notch. Gotta be some reason it's been number one for so long.
I think Rome on HBO was one of the best things ever on TV, but it got cancelled due to the
enormous costs. Boardwalk Empire is excellent, too.

I don't think you can really compare a show like NCIS or Law & Order to a show like The Wire, because The Wire is a serial and the other crime shows mentioned are formula-driven whodunits that are all self-contained in each hour of programming. So by nature, shows like the wire are asking much more of its viewers, but are also giving viewers a much deeper and layered story in return. The degree of difficulty in writing a series with multiple interlocking story arcs playing out simultaneously over the course of a single episode, a set of episodes, whole seasons and the entire series makes those types of shows more interesting to watch, IMO.

I agree that Season 2 was a little weaker than the other ones, but the overall series was so well conceived I can forgive that. The worst part of the whole show to me was the theme song during the opening credits. Even though they did a different version of it each season, I didn't really like any of them and the credits would go on for two minutes. Otherwise, though, the show was flawless.

The series I record- Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, The Mindy Project, Revenge, Parks and Rec, and Dexter. I plan to catch up on Scandal and Game of Thrones this summer. And I'm a vegetarian, I'll take oatmeal over a filet anytime.

ace wrote:The series I record- Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, The Mindy Project, Revenge, Parks and Rec, and Dexter. I plan to catch up on Scandal and Game of Thrones this summer. And I'm a vegetarian, I'll take oatmeal over a filet anytime.

Of those, my fiancé has gotten me to watch Revenge semi-regularly. She also is into Parenthood, which is a pretty watchable show. Coach Hayden Fox plays the grandpa (and also plays Rod in my imagination). Parks & Rec could have been in my top-5 comedies, too. It and Community are equally enjoyable to me.

You're right I haven't watched it for that long. Because I didn't like it. There have been hundreds of crime dramas throughout the years and none have really hooked me. Crime dramas tend to have similar writing styles and casting choices. The reason some shows rise above others is because they come up with different themes and are truly well written and acted. Which, in my opinion, NCIS is not. They conform to the norm. Seriously how many interesting crimes can people commit? It does get repetitive. The X-Files could've been considered a run of the mill crime drama. But they introduced supernatural elements and had a continuous story arc throughout its entire run. It was innovative. It was inspired by shows like the Twilight Zone not crime dramas. Even shows like 24 rise above the normal crime dramas. While it wasn't a great show it was really different to see a 24 episode season taking place in real time. You can't praise a show just because it has the best ratings. TV is the same as music nowadays. What you hear on the radio or see on the major networks tend not to be very good. You yourself dislike the mainstream music of today because its bad...but it is the most listened to music of today. I'm not just applying this to NCIS. A show like the Walking Dead is insanely popular now. I tried watching the first five episodes and thought it was terrible. I haven't watched it since. There's more to shows than how many people watch them.

Unless that guy looks like Sadaam Hussein during Desert Storm, you'd better change your imagination, TP.
When a show's been on a decade, and it's top rated, that mean LOTS of people like it,
for various reasons.
There's a reason Pauley Perret and Mark Harmon have among the highest Q ratings on TV.
If you don't think it's well acted or well written, then we will end this discussion right here.

This article speaks to the smug notion that if it's on major ntwork TV,
it can't possibly be any good:

NCIS," one of CBS-TV’s favorite and highest-ranked television shows is, once again, conspicuously missing from the 64th Prime Time Emmy awards nominations list, released today by the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, published in full in the Los Angeles Times. Officially, the viewer-favorite crime drama, which has completed nine sterling seasons, is now in the “Susan Lucci stretch” of the prime-time Emmy drought.

Once again the Internet buzz is going off the charts because—to fans of the show—it is incredulous that not one actor, producer, writer, director, or even key grip has received as much as a nomination in five years. In the 2004-2005 season, actor Charles Durning received the nomination for “Oustanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series” for the episode “Call of Silence.” Two years later, again amazingly, only stunt coordinator Diamond Farnsworth was nominated for Outstanding Stunt Coordination for the episode “Requiem.” This year, the only Emmy nomination with "NCIS" in the group was for the show's spinoff, "NCIS: Los Angeles," Troy James Brown for Stunt Coordination.


Mark Harmon's acting is worth of Emmy nod for NCIS, but show gets slighted, again.
Photo credit: Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images, used with permission
This fall’s season of "NCIS" will debut—for its 10th season—on Tuesday, September 25, at 8 pm (CST), followed by its spinoff, "NCIS: Los Angeles," at 9 pm (CST). That’s two days after the broadcast of this year’s Emmys award show, to be hosted by television host Jimmy Kimmel. "NCIS" is popular with advertisers, fans, the CBS brass, but not the television academy, so it’s hard to know exactly what it takes to get a simple single nomination.

If acting is defined as a person portraying a character convincingly who is as far afield from his or her own personality, then there should be a few nominations among this ensemble. NCIS fans know the character of Leroy Jethro Gibbs as a once-widowed, thrice-divorced Marine Gunnery Sergeant and sniper.

Perhaps voting members and academy award nominators don’t recall, but Mark Harmon is a fun-loving, talented former UCLA quarterback (and graduate), who has been married to actress Pam Dawber since 1987. He starred in two summer-fun movies in his early career. He portrayed Dr. Robert Caldwell on "St. Elsewhere" for three years, and received an Emmy nomination for playing a Secret Service agent on four episodes of “The West Wing” 10 years ago. It’s called “acting” to portray these characters so convincingly and that is what the Emmys are all about, or at least they used to be, back in the day.

Yet, actor Mark Harmon is so convincing as Leroy Jethro Gibbs; his acting anchors the show, and the on-screen team, with each week’s episode full of trials and tribulations of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Actress Pauley Perrette, as forensic scientist Dr. Abby Sciuto, is so vivid and dynamic in her portrayal that future viewers could struggle to see her as any character other than Abby. And yet, Perrette is an actress, worthy of an Emmy nod, for her talent, and the writers who create every nuance of her quirky brilliance, down to Bert the farting hippo, deserve an abundance of accolades.

The same can be said for the brilliant impressions and characterizations of the actors, including David McCallum (everyone has long forgotten McCallum’s heartthrob charisma in “The Man from U.N.C.L.E.”; never mind that, McCallum “is” Ducky), as Dr. Donald Mallard. Michael Weatherly, similarly, “is” Tony DiNozzo, Coté di Pablo is a Chilean-born actress portraying a former Israeli Mossad agent. Sean Murray is more than convincing as field agent Timothy McGee, so these actors are clearly tops of their craft, so sayeth the fans.

For example, fan-based support for the show reveals there’s even an individual Wikipedia page for five of the characters Gibbs, Sciuto, DiNozzo, David, and McGee, as though they were actual people. If that is not a tribute to the acting abilities of this talented ensemble, nothing else comes close.

When producer/writer Donald Bellisario envisioned this series, it came as a spinoff of the series, JAG, which also launched Harmon in his role as Gibbs. Two episodes, “Ice Queen” and “Meltdown” were the genesis of the actual "NCIS" series, which debuted in 2003.

It’s puzzling that "NCIS," one show that has shown positive and dynamic growth and viewership with time, has not even caught the eyes or ears of those in a position to nominate, vote, and award the program.

The Futon Critic notes that in February, 2011, "NCIS" was “Tuesday’s #1 program in viewers, topping the 20-million-viewer mark for its fourth consecutive first-run broadcast. NCIS was first in households, adults 25-54, and a strong second in adults 18-49.”

The popularity of "NCIS" has never been as great in the first nine years of the show as it is now. A look at the ratings over the past years shows a consistent upward spiral across all television programs on the regular broadcast channels:

It's an article written by someone who likes the show questioning why it hasn't been nominated for an Emmy. Doesn't exactly prove much other than the fact that it hasn't ever won an Emmy. Award shows aren't exactly the be all end all anyways. I mean DiCaprio has never won an Oscar. But at least he gets nominated. It's kind of telling that NCIS doesn't even get nominated. There were many network television shows being nominated for Emmy's just a few years ago. Now there aren't. Maybe thats not a network bias but a changing of the guard.

Let me go talk to my shoe, instead.
Dismiss the article as a fan writing. Don't bother reading what his points
of contention were. They can't possibly be valid, because the writer likes the show!
This is pointless.

I'm sure you'd rather talk to your shoe that way it couldn't question anything you say. I'm just trying get my points across, don't get all uptight about everything. I read the article and responded to the points. I didn't say they can't possibly be valid. But the piece is obviously an editorial and the writer is obviously a fan of the show. The funny thing about the article is that it proves the other side of the argument just as much as it tries to prove its own. By saying its such a travesty that it hasn't been nominated, it validates the shows that are nominated. And when the nominated shows include other major network shows your point doesn't make sense. It's being overlooked not because its a network show, but because its not seen to be as good as other network shows.

Or because the jackasses who nominate these awards are
snobs who think "If so many people like it, it must be shit."
Or they don't like the right wing slant of the show, which evil doers aren't painted in shades of gray.
Funny, USA runs entire days with NCIS reruns. Lots of people
must like watching such a shit show, right?

Well I'm pretty sure the underlying political slant of the show has absolutely nothing to do with the nomination process. In fact, if the political slant does exist it probably helps the show in the voting process because at least its attempting to make a point. Here's last years nominees: Homeland, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones, and Mad Men. I'd say those are all popular shows that many people like. So I'm not too sure that they're being snobs. And yes lots of people must like watching a shit show. There are marathons of Two and Half Men and many other bad shows that people watch all the time.

Let's see if Clint Eastwood ever gets nominated again, let alone wins an Oscar.
Look at the Hollywood left, lining up to kiss Obama's ass in the last election.
If it's right, it's wrong in the minds of show biz related people.
I'm shocked Tom Selleck got a show, let alone one where the family in the show's name is, Reagan.

Ok so this is all just one big political conspiracy. I understand now. Clint Eastwood is very similar to John Wayne. They're both not very good actors but have made an entire career playing one type of character with a cult following. If he doesn't get nominated again it sure won't be because of his political views.

Hey smart guy, Eastwood has won Oscars as a Director, too.
Let's see:
Year Award Film Result
1992 Best Director Unforgiven Won
Best Picture Unforgiven Won
Best Actor Unforgiven Nominated
1994 Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award Won
2003 Best Director Mystic River Nominated
Best Picture Mystic River Nominated
2004 Best Director Million Dollar Baby Won
Best Picture Million Dollar Baby Won
Best Actor Million Dollar Baby Nominated
2006 Best Director Letters from Iwo Jima Nominated
Best Picture Letters from Iwo Jima Nominated

Pretty good for a man you're do dismissive of, eh? Oscars for best Director and Best Picture.
Yeah, he sucks. That he got nothing for Gran Torino is a joke!

Haha I'm not dismissive of him. All I said was he's not a very good actor. Thank you for showing me his Oscars for best director and best picture though because I was totally referring to his non-acting roles. And bad actors do win awards. Look no further than Nic Cage and Kevin Costner.

You're right.
Those guys are the worst! Costner in that monotone, and Gage with
his over acting. Ugh!
No, Eastwood is better respected as a director than as an actor.
He also writes music for some of his movies.
Strange, but interesting man.

Great! Well I'm happy to end this discussion here. It was a pleasure Rod.

oh, good, politics has entered the discussion.

TruePoint wrote:

ace wrote:The series I record- Modern Family, The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, New Girl, The Mindy Project, Revenge, Parks and Rec, and Dexter. I plan to catch up on Scandal and Game of Thrones this summer. And I'm a vegetarian, I'll take oatmeal over a filet anytime.

Of those, my fiancé has gotten me to watch Revenge semi-regularly. She also is into Parenthood, which is a pretty watchable show. Coach Hayden Fox plays the grandpa (and also plays Rod in my imagination). Parks & Rec could have been in my top-5 comedies, too. It and Community are equally enjoyable to me.

Revenge is great for what it is- it's fun and filled with ridiculous characters. The clothes and sets are gorgeous, too, if you're into that. I've heard good things about Parenthood and am told that I would love Community, if I could set aside the time to catch up on it.

I think the crude, sexual sitcom Rod was thinking of is 2 Broke Girls, which I do watch. It's nothing special, and I'm shocked with what they're able to get away with even in that 9:30 time slot, but I chuckle a couple times each episode.

When it first debuted, one of the producers and writers was Dave Feeney, who is actually a Rhode Island guy and Hendricken product. He left it to do Ben and Kate, a show with a similar sense of humor but not as sexually crass, since it wasn't XP'ed by Whitney Cummings. Unfortunately, Ben and Kate got cancelled after a year - I liked it quite a bit, but it never found an audience. Now Feeney's going to be an XP for New Girl starting with the third season, I believe.

I also met a kid from Portsmouth who was writing for Ben and Kate, and also had some stints on It's Always Sunny - nice guy. Charlie Day graduated from Portsmouth Abbey, I believe, and his dad is a music professor at Salve, so he's in the area from time to time.

Statbeastjr, ditto!
Nothing like a good discussion.
Ace, politics are never far from my being.
TP, Craig T. Nelson is way too waspish to play me.
Besides, he kicked Hooch, after he got shot.

rodfromcranston wrote: Ace, politics are never far from my being.

Mine, either. And on that subject, I'm quite certain we would agree on almost nothing.