 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Wotcher.
I've been watching a lot of TV recently, which is unusual as i don't have TV channels, so i'm round at friends or relatives when i see stuff. (Usually watch a TV show it's usually long finished or several seasons in and i've heard lots of reviews and then i'll buy a box set and binge watch.)
But recently i've been watching some telly and it got me thinking about the importance of the first episode. There's a lot of TV of great quality out there jostling for attention and i guess watching it week-by-week it's easy to just lose interest or forget about shows.
Some series i warmed to instantly, like Justified, but others, like Game of Thrones (saw the first season then didn't check back till season 4 had finished) and Boardwalk Empire (took me about 6 episodes, but i loved it thereafter) i thought were interesting but not compelling initially. It's hard to be compelling in one or 2 episodes i know, but i guess they are supposed to hook you and draw you in.
Anyways, here's a few first episodes recent and oldies that i recall that i went in without expectations on or saw almost right away when they came out:
Doctor Who - Christopher Eccleston reboot from years back. oh, boy. i remember thinking it was terrible on every level. i was shocked. and the effects were really cheap and the music was out of place (too good). As a result i never saw another episode again (never felt the need, though i hear good things and like Moffat as a writer)
Gotham - Not sure i made it through the entire episode. There seemed to be lots of "villains" shoe-horned in introductions and then someone said "hot shot" angrily at another and i think i bailed. Though i believe it is a very entertaining show, i think something made me cringe about how bad i felt the first ep was and I never revisited (maybe a cheap future box set purchase in 5 years?)
Community - I love the TV series but the first episode i recall thinking but humurous but just okay with lots of potential. Looking back it doesn't represent how nuts the show went with its comedy and the direction it took, so it's quite deceptive. Love Community, especially up to season 3.
Outcast - A recent one. Based on something by that Kirkman chap who does The Walking Dead. Started off very dark and didn't get much lighter - about demonic possession. Interesting character history set-up but not much fun, dark is the path here. I probably won't continue but appreciate the quality. Seems decent for fans of demons/exorcist horror stuff. It could be really good, so i'll keep an eye on it.
Preacher - i really enjoyed it. I read the comics 20 years ago and remember liking them but i have dim recollections of specific moments so no real attachment. But it rollicked along in a fun way and intro'd the principle characters well. The best character is an Irish vampire, who's good comic relief (played by the excellent Joe Gilgun, who was born round our way) and the action is surprisingly well directed by Seth Rogen and someone else. I'll stick with this one. The main guy, Dominic Cooper, will be familiar to Marvel film fans as Tony Stark's dad. He's decent but sometime his Texan accent just doesn't show up and there's whole sentences that sound like he's just English.
How do you lot feel about the importance of first episodes? Especially stuff you're going in cold on? Especially those of ya with TV channels who can just catch new stuff as it comes out.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Jun 28, 2016 - 10:37 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Tall Guy
(Member)
|
Well, B-Bob, I'm still enjoying Gotham! There's often an arc for me - watch the first episode, get interested enough to see the next couple, and that's normally it. It often doesn't take long for the shows to get stale, but by then I feel that I want to continue watching to see how it develops - often with a shameful and horrific fascination for how bad something can be before it's yanked. The worst recent example for me was The Dome. The first episode was brilliant, but the further they moved from the King concept, the worse it got.
Having gone through the repetitive process with Arrow ("you have failed this city") and Flash ("Cisco, blah blah tachyons blah blah"), it made me cynical enough to stop watching the first Supergirl after about 20 minutes. I could see myself watching it just because it was there, and was suddenly desperate to avoid that.
House of Card US, on the other hand, was brilliant from the first minute of the first episode. OK, David Fincher, but I'm into the fourth series now and it's still at that level. (Is that the TV show with the greatest ever number of Executive Producers?)
In summary, me old pal me old balm cake, I'm in utter agreement.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Aye I thought House of Cards started and continued excellently but I've stopped at season 2. I have to get back into it.
I had to watch Ash vs. Evil Dead about 6 times before I liked it more than disliked it. I stopped after episode 5. It wasn't doing much for me, I'll get around to it one day probably.
Also I saw Houdini and Doyle which I thought would be decent but was just tiresome and middle of the road. The guy playing Houdini is charmless and Mangan is okay as Doyle. But the writing isn't very involving and the music drew to much attention for the wrong reasons.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Jun 30, 2016 - 8:43 AM
|
|
|
|
By: |
Joe E.
(Member)
|
Orange is the New Black is mostly terrific, though I've heard the latest season (which I haven't watched yet) is a major letdown. It does take sticking with it well past the first episode to fully appreciate it, though, since most of the characters have extensive backstories that are just teased out over the course of the series, so it takes a while to fully understand who most of them are and so on.
First episodes of shows in general obviously are indeed important, and yet very few of them really show how well the series will develop; so many of them seem to have the cast and crew finding their footing, so to speak, which they nearly always do much better at least a little later in the show. Thinking of just the shows I watch, very few of them have pilots, first episodes, intro movies or whatever that are as good as the shows later get - pretty much all the various Star Trek series (even though I have high regard for both "The Cage" and "Where No Man Has Gone Before"), Babylon 5, Mystery Science Theater 3000, Cheers, you name it. While many of them have first episodes that are quite good and give some idea of the potential a series has, few of them seem to really "wow" right off the bat; I can think of very, very few shows where judging them based on their first episodes would be anything other than at least a slight disservice.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
True Joe, and i think American shows are more difficult to gauge as British TV is usually 6 episodes or fewer with maybe only the big prime time shows or soaps getting longer runs.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Since i moved to Canada 9 years ago i've missed many British TV shows that i believe are very good. I'll check those out.
I also watched episode 1 of Ray Donovan last night. It was slick and well done, lots of great actors and an interesting set-up, but i'm not immediately hooked. will continue, as i hear good things and i like Liev Schrieber. Maybe its just the character he plays, but i'm never into shows or films about "fixers".
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
Posted: |
Jun 30, 2016 - 4:10 PM
|
|
|
|
By: |
RoryR
(Member)
|
I also watched episode 1 of Ray Donovan last night. It was slick and well done, lots of great actors and an interesting set-up, but i'm not immediately hooked. will continue, as i hear good things and i like Liev Schrieber. Maybe its just the character he plays, but i'm never into shows or films about "fixers".
Is that episode one, season one? Watched it so long ago, can't remember much except that I liked the first season a lot, better than the next two, but they weren't that bad. Me, I like fixers just fine.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Yah I'm on the third episode. It sets itself up for future plot lines really well and Jon Voight is very good at being creepy but I'm still not totally falling for it but can appreciate the quality.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
