So a while back, I posted a list of 5 TV shows I was waiting to return from across the Atlantic. Well they're back and I've had a chance to examine all of them, as well as some others from both American TV and also some from over here as well. So, here we go, and (obviously) SPOILERS in some cases.
5. How I Met Your Mother 7/10
I'm being a bit generous in giving HIMYM a 7 because in truth, I'm mainly watching the show for sentiment rather than laughs. Whilst this isn't in itself necessarily a bad thing, the fact that both Big Bang and New Girl are light-years funnier is more than slightly depressing. That's not to say it's not funny at points, but it's consistently not as funny as the others, or in truth, than itself even 3 years ago. I really enjoyed the back end of Series 8 and it's not that I'm not enjoying it now (Barney's Game of Thrones joke the personal highlight for me so far) but it's not delivering enough laughs. What it is doing, is looking to end a very strong 8 year run properly and I still care a great deal for the characters and I like what they're doing with them. But, so far, I've been thoroughly underwhelmed.
4. Elementary 7/10
Just as I was torn between a 6 and a 7 for How I Met Your Mother, I was torn between 7 and 8 here. Elementary isn't spectacular, it's not reinventing the wheel, but what it does do, it does well. It's a fun, good old fashioned crime drama with Sherlock Holmes being a nice twist. Both of the main characters are excellent and I'm a huge Johnny Lee Miller fan (I loved him in Dexter) but it is all a little too pedestrian at this stage in the game. The problem is, they introduced Moriarty and then they locked her up. Whilst it was a great self-contained story and the repercussions of it are still manifest in the show, Sherlock is now lacking a decent adversary and the show is suffering for that. None of the three episodes thus far have posed any real threat, although they've all been interesting in their own way. I think when you take two of your main players in the game (Irene Adler and Moriarty) and utilise them so effectively so early, you leave little room for improvement and it seems like Elementary is unable to sustain that momentum, although it is setting up some intriguing plot points along the way (I can't wait to see more of Mycroft or Lestrade and Moriarty clearly isn't gone from Sherlock's life). A lacklustre, but promising start.
3. The Big Bang Theory 8/10
Another one where I'm torn, this time between 8 and 9. I expected Big Bang to be right at the top of this list but so far it's not quite hit its heights. It's still extremely funny and there have been stand out moments in every episode so far (Raj and Howard touching each other up, Sheldon asking Leonard if there's anything that Amy loves that has a lot of glaring faults she hasn't noticed and of course, my new favourite Sheldon line of all time: My brain. Is Smarter. THAN EVERYBODY'S) but it's not quite there. It's not consistently hitting all the right notes and there's no sustained period of laughs, even though they are there. It's also looking to mix and match it's character dynamic as much as possible, which is fun to watch, and the scenes between Howard and Amy in ep 3 were a joy, but I've never been a massive fan of Bernadette and Raj seems to be being relegated to side roles once again. Nevertheless, The Big Bang Theory is as strong as ever, even if it can't quite reach or exceed the unbelievable standards I've set for it. Unlike most comedies and many shows, and certainly unlike How I Met Your Mother, we're now into series 7 and there has been no dramatic or even slight decline in quality.
2. New Girl 9/10
One programme that has both reached and so far exceeded the expectations I had for it was New Girl. After a muddled first season, last year's run found some real consistency and this upward trajectory culminated in a hilarious ending to series 2, which has been picked up on again this term. I laughed more in the opening twenty seconds of episode 2 than I did in the entirety of the two-part series opener for HIMYM and New Girl is right now, the funniest show on television in my view. The reason for this is that the three main male leads bounce off each other incredibly and they're all equally hilarious in their own ways. Winston is completely and utterly insane and watching him struggle to overcome every day situations such as making a jigsaw puzzle or booking a table in a restaurant is side-splitting, whilst Schmidt's descent in bitter jealousy is as painful as it is funny. Nick continues to get the best lines and Jake Johnson is probably the most naturally funny member of the group (although they're all excellent) and the net result is that at times Zooey Deschanel feels like she gets lost in their wake. That said, she does a fantastic job as the loveable Jess and the entire cast is supplemented brilliantly by an excellent guest cast that each week improve the show. New Girl is still in its infancy, but if it can sustain it's current run of form, it'll soon become must-watch TV and it should be up there in the ratings. It's understandable that it lost a lot of viewers between series 1 and 2 as the first series wasn't great but hopefully the third season will grab the majority of those viewers back as it really is a great show.
1. Arrow 10/10
Arrow has the advantage (or dis-advantage?) of being the show on this list I've seen the least of, as whilst the others all have 3/4 episodes out already, Arrow only had its season 2 opener on Wednesday. However, it was ultimately flawless and I'm going to wax lyrical about it. Unlike the other shows so far, prepare yourself for MASSIVE spoilers, both for the end of series 1 and the start of series 2, so if you've not watched it, go and do so, because it's bloody brilliant. Right then. City of Heroes was the third best piece of television unveiled this year for me, behind only The Name of the Doctor and the Red Wedding. The problem with a lot of shows, and this includes Doctor Who, is that when something seismic happens, the characters tend to sweep it under the carpet out of necessity. Character deaths tend to linger for a few eps then they're replaced and business as usual because that's how the show functions. The Doctor spends his final days as 10 thinking he can never have a companion again because of what happens to them and then scared of what he's become and then BANG! when he regenerates it's like a reset button on his problems.
City of Heroes however, sees the entirety of the show fundamentally rocked to its core by the events of the series 1 finale. Oliver has gone back to the island, isolating himself away from the people he cares about, partially to protect them and partially to punish himself for his role in Tommy's death and the destruction of the Glades. The thing was, all the relationships in the episode felt perfectly pitched. It's understandable that after losing his best friend, Ollie would vanish for 5 months "In Europe" away from everything. Laurel, Thea and Moira are a lot more appreciative of this than they have been in the past and Thea's anger at her mother, coupled with her eventual forgiveness, both feel completely natural reactions, the mixture of love, confusion and understandable anger. Likewise, it feels right that Oliver and Laurel aren't in a position to continue their romantic entanglement because of their guilt, but they're still close and cannot deny the way they feel. Det. Lance, relegated after his screw up at the end of season 1, has a new stance on the vigilante that feels right, as does Laurel's hatred towards Ollie when he puts on the hood.
But it's the central trio of Oliver, Diggle and Felicity that are at the heart of the show. Emily Bett Rickards was only supposed to be in one scene in Series 1, but the fact is, she has such a phenomenal natural chemistry with Stephen Amell (who is genuinely smiling in that scene, he's not in character) that her role was expanded and it's no surprise that the more involved in the show she's been, the better it has been. Felicity is the best character by a mile. But away from the characters, this series feels perfectly balanced. By having a smaller, but no less crucial island segment (Ollie's development on the island is awesome) we are given more room to breathe and the mixture of emotion, humour and action feels superb, and the action scenes remain some of the best on TV. Oliver's development is critical and it flows from the end of the last season. He doesn't want to put the hood back on, as he realises he really was everything Tommy and others said he was: a murderous vigilante. He grew as series 1 did but ultimately, his best friend died believing he was a murderer and he refuses to be that killer. He has to honour Tommy's memory and do that, he has to acknowledge that he doesn't have to kill to be that vigilante, there is another way. Losing the name The Hood is part of that, the name represents who he was. Scraping the list, Oliver is no longer a soldier on a mission, but he's on the way to being a bona fide hero.
I jumped for joy, laughed, cried and punched the air throughout this series opener and the fact that I've written a whole essay on it while I haven't on others tells you everything you need to know. This has been my favourite piece of TV for a long time and if series 2 continues in this vein, then Arrow is going to become one of the best shows on TV.
The best of the rest:
Waterloo Road: My guilty pleasure, it's continuing to tug at the heart strings but this season feels a lot more lethargic than the last, although I loved the last episode, I feel like losing Grantly means you lose a lot of the show's heart and it's last original cast member. He will be missed.
Atlantis: The first two episodes of what is effectively a like-for-like replacement for Merlin (which I loved so if Atlantis can reach Merlin status, then it's going to do well) felt very below par but it's important to remember that shows can take time to find their feet. Arrow and Merlin are two perfect examples of this, Arrow in the space of a season has gone from being okay to the best superhero show on TV. So there's room for improvement but keep the faith. Episode 3 was a big step up and this show could have legs.
Agents of Shield: This is being pitched as basically the Avengers on the small screen. I must admit, I'm smitten with this show. It's not complicated, it's not boring, it's just a fun little action/adventure flick on the small screen, it feels like a superhero movie downsized. I love all the cast (who doesn't love Coulson?) and whilst it won't win any awards for originality or be truly gripping, it is a lot of fun and can't be faulted for that.
And while we're at it, there are a few big hitters returning in 2014, namely Game of Thrones (if you haven't the books then this season is going to fuck with your head), Suburgatory (although I'm probably the only person on the planet who watches it) and Hannibal. But until then, I'm more than happy with what I've got and it's only 6 weeks or so til the Doctor Who 50th, which is literally the single piece of television that I have been most excited for in my entire life. Also, if you haven't already, watch Dexter. I ploughed through all 8 seasons and it's bloody brilliant for the first 6/7 of them, but it suffers from HIMYM syndrome. And yes, I'm making that a thing.
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