Tag: tv shows

Watching Chicago Justice Didn’t Go Very Well…

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Thanks to real world shenanigans, I had to pause watching One Chicago a while ago. It wasn’t planned, but something had to give.

It’s been about four months or so. I’m finally back at it! And last night, I reached the major crossover in the 2016-2017 season. So let’s talk about it!

(For anyone who remembers, I will be doing a full season wrap up post once I finish the season. But I wanted to focus specifically on this one topic, to save me from complaining for paragraphs in that wrap up.)

The Lead Up

Towards the end of the previous season of Chicago PD (3×21), there was a backdoor pilot for Chicago Justice. I wasn’t very impressed, but that was fine, I’m allowed to have a different opinion.

During the beginning of Season Four, Detective Antonio Dawson, one of the major members of the Intelligence Unit, is offered a role as an investigator for the State Attorney’s office. In episode eight, he accepts that role and leaves the unit. This sets him up to help start on Chicago Justice, which started airing later in the season.

The Crossover Event

One Chicago is pretty known for characters making appearances on the different shows in the franchise. Most of the time, it’s limited to a brief appearance, a scene or two at most. However, usually once or twice a season there’s a crossover “event”, which has a singular storyline stretch across two or three shows.

In the 2016-17 season, there were two. The first was a two episode arc which isn’t relevant to this discussion. The second, however, features all four shows across three episodes and serves as the season opener to the latest Chicago series.

This crossover event deals with a tragedy that effects one of the major character, and has ramifications across all of the shows during the event. It was largely successful!

The first part of the crossover is handled by Chicago Fire and deals with Firehouse 51 being called to a fire at a former factory turned illegal housing for artists and the like. While they are able to gets exits open and save a majority of the residents (and partiers, as there was a party also going on), the death toll rises throughout the episode. And to the horror of all the characters, Detective Alvin Olinsky’s daughter Lexi was inside and she’s grievously injured.

Moving into the second part, Chicago PD takes over, looking for the person that set the fire and have killed so many young people. While the majority of the unit is interviewing and searching, Olinsky says at Chicago Med and is there when Lexi succumbs to her injuries. Using some actual police work, the Intelligence Unit is able to identify a potential subject and arrest him.

From here we finish with the first episode of Chicago Justice. And here is when things take a turn.

About Justice…

So, I don’t exactly know how the convict the killer. Or exactly what happens in the trial. Or really anything after about the… fifteen minute or so mark of Chicago Justice.

Why? Because I just turned it off.

Here’s the thing. While I enjoy a good drama, courtroom dramas are hard to sell me on, because I get board with them. I was pretty sure that Justice was going to be along the lines of Law and Order. I was hopeful that something would catch me (like Antonio’s acting with other characters) and I’d get hooked, the same way I did with Fire and PD.

That didn’t happen. The first fifteen minutes was basically conversation. People making statements, people retracting statements, people just… talking. There was no action, no real moment of surprise or twists or turns. Just the same thing for fifteen minutes.

Right at that fifteen minute mark, I just gave up.

Here’s the problem with this. “Fake” was the third episode, the finale, of the major four series, three episode crossover, as well as the first episode of a new show and was meant to sell the show! The complete tone shift from action and tension and tragedy to… mundane just did not work. It slowed everything down and did not fit in with what the first two episodes had set up.

And here’s the thing…

I was warned about this.

When I was first getting into One Chicago, I went to the One Chicago subreddit to get an idea of what type of insanity I was about to undertake. One of the first posts I saw was someone asking if Justice was necessary to watch. That was a resounding “NO.”

Heck, anywhere and everywhere I’ve looked, the cons have far outweighed the pros. So many people flat out said it’s not worth it. To just read episode summaries if I absolutely had to. To just ignore it entirely (except for the first episode, since it is the finale of the crossover).

I spent 15 dollars on the DVDs. Worst purchase of the year thus far.

Wrap-up

Basically, If you’re planning on watching One Chicago, just ignore the existence of Justice if you can. It there but it’s not worth it. None of the plotlines have any real weight on the series going forth (according to my quick research).

During the rest of my watch, I will be skipping it (no great loss, just effecting this one season). I’ll briefly mention it in my season breakdown when I get to that (hopefully some time next week? Maybe even this weekend? Depends on how the rest of tonight goes.

Until next time!

My Top (and Bottom) Media for 2021 – Blogmas 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Welcome to the world of hyper focus.

This year I went from one fandom to another, with a third being started and paused. No really, I can flat out confirm that I really haven’t done much in way of media this year. But let’s break it down, because why not, right?

In terms of TV, my favorite is obviously 9-1-1. I discovered the show by way of Tumblr, when I was looking to get out of the TOG fandom community. While not the perfect show in any sense, I really have enjoyed it. What I really like is the feeling of family I’ve found thanks to discord. I love pretty much all of the characters in the show, and most of the storylines as well. Season Five may be a fever dream, but it’s still pretty good.

Following closely behind is of course the spinoff, 9-1-1 Lone Star. This one is a major surprise to me because I never figured I would enjoy it nearly as much as the OG. It features two of my favorite couples, #Tarlos (TK and Carlos) and the Ryders (Judd and his wife Grace). Honestly, the only reason this show isn’t tied with the OG show is because it have a problem with being the Owen Strand show. (And the fact that Owen keeps on forgetting that he has a son. It’s an issue I want to play with in the next few days.)

Also included on this list is One Chicago, which I’m grouping together because of the fact it is so intertwined. Chicago Fire and Chicago P.D. are both really good shows that are more grounded in reality, especially when compared to 9-1-1 and Lone Star. But I do have some problems with certain characters and storylines, and honestly some of the choices the writers have made. I’ll be getting back to these two shows very soon.

I have also fallen for all the new Marvel content. WandaVision, Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, and Hawkeye have all impressed me in various ways. All four shows had strong messages that really stood out. They’re not perfect (I’m looking at you Loki), but they are a lot of fun. I also include Black Widow and Shang-Chi on this list, as both were pretty great.

Before we get to the things I think weren’t worth my time, I want to highlight the two films that I think were okay. Not great, but not terrible. Step Up: Revolution was a fun little ride, but there was little substance to it. MindGamers was a literal mind fuck, but it had Oliver Stark, so it automatically is better than bad.

And now on to the negative.

One of the biggest disappointments I watched this year was Into the Badlands. I really really wanted to like it, but it was boring and unimaginative. I have a full review on why I wasn’t a fan, and why I DNFed the entire series midway through the first season. But it just… wasn’t worth it at all.

And then there’s Chicago Med. Now, I won’t say I hated it. I will just say it bored me. I don’t want to go into too much detail because I’m trying to finish off the first season, but I will just say that it’s a medical drama that just isn’t for me.

The new Animaniacs also debuted late last year, though I didn’t get to it until the beginning of this year. It did not live up to the original show in any way. I never thought I’d want to turn off the show I had loved all throughout my childhood.

And finally, the show that I DNFed, but that I’m returning to at some point. I watched part of the new S.W.A.T. series starring Shemar Moore and thought I’d really like it, but I just got stuck with it. It’s on my list of a show to catch up with once I finally finish One Chicago.

As you can see, it’s been a pretty light year. I stuck with the show that really got me hooked again (especially after leaving The Old Guard fandom behind). Hopefully next year things can get more back on track and I’ll be able to watch more.

Until next time!

I Watched Into the Badlands – Blogmas 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Actually that should say, I tried to watch Into the Badlands.

I made it through two and a half episodes.

According to my discord friends, that’s about how far they all made it too.

So, what is Into the Badlands and why did we all watch it? Let’s talk about it.

Into the Badlands is a show on AMC. Basically it’s a martial arts series taking place in a post-apocalyptic world. The world has survived a massive war that left civilization in ruins. Some things have survived (electricity and cars, but only to a point), but most things have been shunned, such as firearms and the like. It’s presumed to take place in the middle of America, but not confirmed.

The show revolves around a feudal system, where seven barons hold total control over the territories. For the most part, at least the first few episodes follow two barons and their compounds. I assume more are shown, but I didn’t get that far, nor will I be trying to (I’ll explain soon).

The main baron followed is Quinn, who holds control over opium poppies, which is harvested for opium. He has a contentious relationship with his son Ryder, who feels that his father has become weak (which he has, because Quinn has a brain tumor). Their soldiers are called clippers, and one of the strongest to follow Quinn is Sunny, who has killed over 400 people on Quinn’s orders.

On the other side is The Widow, who assumed the baroness position upon the death of her husband. She leads a clan of assassin women and controls the oil. Her teenage daughter (adopted?) Tilda, is one of the strongest fighters in the world.

There are other characters as well that appear, but I’m not going to go into them. Within just the first two episodes, there were so many names being thrown around it was hard to keep up with everyone.

What was the problem?

Basically, pretty much everything.

The biggest issue with starting a show, especially with a sci-fi or fantasy show, is that you have to sell the entire world in one episode. If you can’t hook your audience in one show, you’re done. This show… well, it didn’t catch me, but it sure tried. The problem is there was too much world building for 45 minutes. A chunk of history, a massive introduction of characters, a slew of terminology… it felt stuffed. And plot was happening and moving along.

One issue for me is that in two episodes, most characters have changed their loyalties or motivations. Two. Episodes. Almost. Every. Character. It’s a problem. Over the course of the six episode season, I could understand evolving motivations. But most of the characters completely changed sides or loyalties by the end of the first episode, then turned around and did it again. For example, Sunny is introduced as being entirely loyal to Quinn. Within an episode, he’s shown wanting to leave the Badlands (to parts unknown), privately turns his back on the baron, and then publicly questions him. He then backtracks in such a way that Ryder almost gets killed, and then does another about face. In two episodes.

Then you have Ryder, who is played by Oliver Stark and is literally the only reason I picked up this show in the first place. Ryder is not a likable character. He is immediately presented as a character without a path. He has an unlikable attitude, and he’s also stubborn. He goes to a “doll” house (literally a brothel) and gets tricked into an ambush that nearly kills him. It knocks him down a peg, but he still has that same elitist attitude. The big thing is that he isn’t nearly as strong as his father (pre sickness), but he wants to be. It doesn’t really… work, not with the established world rules. 

Another issue I have is that the writing is pretty basic. There’s nothing new or revolutionary. If you take every word that isn’t part of a normal vernacular and use the more “modern” word, it would be stale and boring. I’m not asking for Shakespeare, but I am asking for… variety.

Actually, the biggest issue is the random fantasy element involving the character MK. Apparently, he can go berserker and blast people psychically when he gets angry and bleeds? It doesn’t fit the rules of the universe. Everyone is after this kid. 

The only redeeming quality I saw was the martial arts. Characters use their bodies, swords, knives, other bladed objects, and basically any melee weapon to fight. The choreography is done very well, though several things I saw just didn’t really work. I was able to suspend my disbelief. 

But unfortunately, one good thing does not make a good series. I wanted to watch the show because I love watching my favorite characters and actors get whumped (yes, Oliver, you do hurt so good). Unfortunately, it was so dreadfully boring and poorly done, I just can’t.

I tried. I really did. But I kept just checking the clock or skimming the wiki summary. I didn’t care about what I was watching. And that’s really sad, because it could have been so good. I’m probably going to skip through the show to see the end of Ryder’s storyline (which I won’t reveal here because spoilers) but that’s about it.

And I was just so excited for it too.

Oh well, who knows what might come next.

Until next time!

I Finally Watched Loki

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

To the shock of most people who know me, I held off on finishing Loki. Yes, I know, I’m incredibely late.

My inital thoughts on the series were mixed to say the least. I watched the series with my mom, and after two episodes (on debut night), we both decided to set the series aside for awhile. We weren’t exactly impressed. I’m not really sure what it was about it, but we just couldn’t get into it.

And then last night, while waiting for sushi to arrive, Mom turns to me and says, “Let’s finish Loki tonight.” Completely out of the blue. And so we did.

Having now seen the whole show, I’m mildly impressed. In my opinion, it doesn’t stand up to WandaVision or Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but it’s a solid showing. I realize now why I wasn’t a fan: the pacing. There were many scenes that I would have condenced or cut all together. It felt like a lot of scenes were stretched out to meet the runtime goal, and it slowed down everything considerably.

The other issue was that many characters just wanted to info dump, especially in the last episode. Jonathan Majors (who portrays He Who Remains) has a massive speech that takes up the majority of that episode, only somewhat broken up with quick shots of what’s going on at the TVA. While I’m all for background information on characters, this took the cake. Pretty much the entirity of what the multiverse is, how it is formed (thanks Sylvie), and who our new big bads are get revealed in the speech. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a good scene. It just goes on and on and on…

Early on, it was clear that this show wasn’t going to go the route of FatWS, meaning that there was less action. It also wasn’t going down WV‘s path, as the writing didn’t really let Loki get emotional. It was absolutely a show that spoke a lot, but most of the scenes consisted of conversations, then an establishing show, then another conversation. Most action scenes were limited.

I’d also like to have a conversation with the stunt and fight coorgraphers, as it was clear when characters were faking hits. It was sloppy. I know with the filming restrictions that were on set made things difficult, as well as the several month delay in the middle of the shoot, but it was noticable.

That’s not to say that I didn’t like the show. I did! I felt that it was well cast, as most of characters (excluding Loki and a brief cameo of Lady Sif) were new to the MCU. I had been nervous when I heard Owen Wilson was cast, but he brought out his drama chops for this film (can he do more drama films? He’s got good timing!). Sylvie is a character created from the comics, inspired by a combined Enchantress and Lady Loki. She is expertly portrayed by Sophia Di Martino, while one of her most emotional scenes is played by young Cailey Fleming when the character was a child. The introduction and portrayal of Ravonna Renslayer was supurbly done by Gugu Mbatha-Raw, towing the line between morally ambiguous to complex villain in such a perfect way. Oh, and we can’t for get voice actress veteran Tara Strong bringing the animated Miss Minutes to life (the character that ended up with a jump scare in the beginning of episode six, and scared the hell out of me).

I’ve become more critical of Marvel’s films and televisions shows as of late, because they have such a hold over the market. But I also know that a lot of what I dislike about the series was well liked by fans across the globe, and that’s okay. I’m allowed to not like things.

Next up for us is Black Widow in a few days. I’m curious to see how that one goes.

Until next time!

(BTW: Don’t ask my opinions on Eternals. I have issues with this film, and I haven’t even seen it yet.)

What’s on My TV “To Watch” List – Blogtober 2021

~ Liz Harrison ~ 1 Comment

One of my goals this year was to finally sit down and watch some of the TV shows that I’ve been skipping over. With news that the IATSE workers are planning to strike on October 18th (which I wholeheartedly support and you should too), I’m getting prepared for the potential long gap between completed episodes of my shows, and new ones.

I’ve had a few shows on my “To Watch” list, and I guess this potential break will give me the opportunity to watch (or rewatch, in the case of some).

Of course, I guess I absolutely have to include One Chicago right at the start of this list. I’m still dragging my way through Season Four of Fire and Season Three of P.D. It’s nothing to do with the shows, really, as to why it’s taking me so long. I can clearly point to the fact that I’m doing a lot of writing right now, because of both Blogtober and Whumptober. I’m trying to stay ahead as much as possible. (I’ll discuss it more in the season wrap up video, but… I’m not a fan of Med. Like at all.)

Another show that I absolutely have to watch is S.W.A.T. Many of the people on the 118 Discord have been talking up this show. I watched the first… three episodes, but stopped because of One Chicago. It was interesting enough to hold my interest, so I’m planning on going back to finish at least the first season, if not more.

I’ve also planned on finally finishing Shadowhunters. I watched the first two seasons around the time the aired, but I stepped away from the fandom. It’s been on my list to return to, and this would be the best time to do so. Of course, I’m mostly watching for Malec, but no one said I didn’t have standards.

Because the second season is finally coming out on October 22nd, I’m absolutely planning on watching Locke and Key. It’s a supernatural show based off a comic book on Netflix, and it caught my eye last year enough that I watched the entire first season in one night. I do need to rewatch season one, but I’m okay with that. It has a decently written plot, and the characters are interesting enough to give it a watch.

I’m somewhat embarrassed to admit this, but I never finished Loki. I love the actors and I think the premise is amazing… but something just didn’t catch me. Mom and I watched the first two episodes as they released, and just stopped. I think we may just sit down and blast through the rest of them, but I wasn’t feeling it. I do want to watch them, because I can’t watch Black Widow or Shang-Chi until I have. (It’s a thing. Have to watch in order. Can’t help it.)

Thinking about Netflix, I’m one of those people who never actually watched Stranger Things. I’m not a fan of horror normally. I did watch the first few episodes a couple of years ago, and liked it well enough, but then we moved and I never got back to it. I’m adding it to the list as a maybe.

There’s one other show that I’m considering, but I doubt I’ll finish it past a certain death. Into the Badlands was Oliver Stark’s first television performance for American audiences as a series regular, and apparently he is really good for the season and a half that he was on the show (he dies in 2×04? I think? Thanks, Youtube.). I’ll probably give it a bit of a watch one night.

… Looking back at this list, I’m insane. Good thing winter is coming… Of course, I’m basically writing off December. But that’s a discussion for another day.

Until next time!

When You Can’t Beat Them, Join Them

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

When I got into 9-1-1 back in March, I also dove right into the fanfiction, because of course I did. Even during those first few weeks after finished binge watching the entire series, I noticed something.

There were a decent amount of crossovers. From like three series.

So, the biggest amount of crossovers came from the show Hawaii 5-0, which made a lot of sense. The main character of the show, LCDR Steve McGarrett was in the US Navy SEALs, a branch of the military that 9-1-1‘s Buck said he tried out for, but he washed out. Most of the crossovers show Buck having stayed through training and becoming a SEAL, whether he is still by the time of the show or not. Those are always fun (SEAL!Buck is so much fun to read). I was an early fan of the show, mostly because of Alex O’Loughlin from his Moonlight days before the writer’s strike, though I fell off of it while I was in college, and never really got back into it. (And I really wasn’t happy when Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park left the show because they tried to negotiate pay equal to O’Loughlin and Scott Caan, and CBS came back with 10-15% lower. It wasn’t a good look for CBS.)

Another show crossed into 9-1-1 frequently is S.W.A.T, which premiered about four months before 9-1-1. They both take place in LA, and plots usually involve one team protecting or saving the other. I’ve watched a few episodes of S.W.A.T., mostly because of these crossovers. While I still love me some Shemar Moore (he always impressed me on Criminal Minds with his range), I’m going to come back to it later on. It just hasn’t really hooked me yet. Which is not entirely surprising. I’ve seen a lot of shows based out of LA right now.

On that note comes the last major show I’ve seen crossed with 9-1-1. Not to the same amount (maybe half?), but enough for me to take notice. Add in a few well timed suggested tweets, because Twitter algorithm, and I’m giving this show (or should I say franchise) a shot.

That franchise is One Chicago.

So, right from the get go, when I started to do a cursory glance at the series to even see if I should give it the time of day, I was impressed. The One Chicago franchise is made up of four shows that all take place (and are shot) within Chicago, hence the name. Three shows are still on the air; the last spin-off was canceled after one season due to lower ratings compared to the rest of the series, as well as sustainability (it has apparently been rolled back into the other three shows).

During that first glance, I will admit that I got worried. As of today, all four shows have produced 491 episodes. Yes, you read that right. Four-Nine-One. Nearly 500. And I’m going to try to catch up by the end of September? I’m insane.

So let me break this down.

The first show that premiered was Chicago Fire in October 2012. Obviously, it follows the firefighters, rescue personnel, and paramedics of Firehouse 51 in Chicago. I’ve watched the first two episodes as of writing this post, and already it feels more… grounded in reality than 9-1-1, which is not a bad thing! It’s just that 9-1-1 has some more bits of situational comedy and romance, while this show feels a bit grittier and more serious. It’s a good change of pace. The cast seems to gel well (again, two episodes), though I’m having trouble keeping up with who is who. It’s just a large cast. It takes time.

Following Fire, Chicago P.D. premiered in January 2014. It was featured in a backdoor pilot during Fire‘s first season. This one I haven’t touched yet, but I’m always down for a cop show.

Third to premier, again after a backdoor pilot during the third season of the original show in 2015, is Chicago Med, which is the requisite medical show. I’m less excited about this one, only because I’ve never been a fan of medical dramas. However, there are a few members of the cast that look pretty interesting, so I’m going to give it a show when the time comes.

And finally, there was Chicago Justice, which is of course about the legal system. It only lasted for thirteen episodes during the spring of 2017. I’m somewhat surprised that this one didn’t make it, as courtroom dramas are still popular right now, but at the same time, I’m not exactly surprised. Three shows that crossover multiple times is crazy enough. Add in a fourth and that’s a recipe for disaster.

And I’m not joking, they all crossover over multiple times. This isn’t like the CSI franchise, where the shows got a backdoor pilot and I think two total crossovers over the entire time all three shows were on television. Not counting the episodes that were backdoor pilots, there are fourteen crossovers between the four shows, as well as Law & Order SVU, due to Dick Wolf being one of the creators of the franchise, so of course it did.

This is the type of show that requires dedication, so I’m trying to watch at least two episodes a day, usually while eating or before going to bed. Of course, I’m going to have to speed up my watching. I just did the math, and I’m probably going to have to watch at least 6 episodes a day to be caught up by the suspected premier.

And if you’re curious how I came up with that, the shows are currently airing back to back on Wednesdays during the regular season. It will most likely premier on September 22nd or September 29th, if it is following the pattern set by previous seasons. That would mean from today, I would have 78 or 85 days to catch up, depending on the premier date. And since that won’t be announced until probably late August or early September, I’m going to aim for the earlier date.

(Yes, I’m an English/Creative Writing major who can do basic math. Surprising. Isn’t it.)

Am I insane to try this, especially since I’m still job hunting. But I’m still going to try, because it seems like a good series. The writing in the first two episodes, while not great, was good enough to keep me around for a bit at least. The acting is still not perfect, but these actors are (as of episode 2) just getting to really start to jive together. And honestly, my biggest issue is with the camera, but that’s something I’m just going to have to get used to, as the use of handicams seems to becoming more and more mainstream.

But all in all, if you can’t beat the fans away from a show, why not join them? It got me into 9-1-1, and that worked out. Let’s see if One Chicago gets me hooked.

(And honestly, as a quick final note? It would honestly be kinda cool to have something to watch on TV again. As much as I like binge watching things, I miss being able to keep a schedule as to when shows are airing. It was something I enjoyed when I was younger, and I kinda miss it. So there’s a plus one in that category.)

Until next time!

Finding a New Fandom

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

Don’t worry, I’m still completely in love with The Old Guard. That’s not changing any time soon.

I briefly talking about this new-to-me fandom in Friday’s post. I’m not at obsession level with it, which I’ll explain why below. But it’s caught me, and I know exactly who to blame.

The show is called 9-1-1. It takes place here, in Los Angeles, following both Station 118 of the Los Angeles Fire Department, as well as a Sargent with the Los Angeles Police Department, and a 9-1-1 dispatcher. It also airs on Fox, though I’m watching it on Hulu.

As of last night, I’ve completed the first two seasons. And I’ve enjoyed it, for the most part. I think the cast is a great bunch that plays of each other very well. Some of the emergencies have been… lame, but most were entertaining. There is some uneven writing, mostly in the B-plots, but all in all, it’s not terrible.

I started watching simply because I was sick of the Monday night 9-1-1/9-1-1 Lonestar chat that would take place for like six hours on the discord I’m mostly on. I’d known about the show since it first launched, but I never gave it a second thought. I figured I was done with crime proctorial shows, thanks to the Criminal Minds/CSI NY burnout I’ve been dealing with for several years. But something about the chat caught me.

So, against my better judgement, I started watching. And after the first episode, I wasn’t completely sold. I could see the actors were trying, but they weren’t gelling. Not yet. But slowly they started to. And the storylines got less soap opera-like and more one the actual primetime tv level.

While I enjoyed season one, there was one character that stood out to me, and not in a good way. That character was Abby, who was the 9-1-1 operator, who made contact with rookie firefighter Buck on a call. Soon, their connection grows (unevenly), and almost too quickly, they are dating. Then, she takes a soul searching world traveling trip and leaves Buck in the dust. Okay, there’s more to it, but that’s the gist of it. Honestly, Abby, who was older than the then 27-ish year old Buck, was almost manipulative in how she got Buck. Maybe others won’t see it, but I sure did. And honestly, I thought I wouldn’t like Buck, after his behavior during the first episode (though he did quickly mature, because his actor deserves good storylines).

Actually, now that I think about it, most of the relationships are written unevenly. I’ve just completed season two, so I’m not sure if things change from her. Hen, a veteran firefighter and first female on the 118, lives with her wife, but their relationship, while loving, feels shallow right now. Not the fault of the actors, it’s the writing that I draw issue with. Buck’s next relationships also feel the same way. (Please, please, please tell me he dumps Ali in season three. She’s a damn idiot.). Buck’s sister comes to town, (which is whole other can of worms I’ll unpack in a second), and deals with the death (literally) of one relationship, and the blooming of another. Which was poorly timed. Hell, even newcomer Eddie, who starts in season two, has a relationship that dies in the same season. The only relationship that makes it through is between Sargent Athena Grant and 118’s Captain Bobby Nash.

Let me talk about Buck for a second. Because the season two finale did him dirty. Buck has spent all of season two becoming a better character. He makes mistakes and fixes them. He deals with his absent sister showing up out of the blue, helps her, deals with the aftermath of his brother-in-law’s death (who didn’t die painfully enough), and then watches finally get with someone who treats her right. It’s clear that everything he learned in season one, he took to heart. And then a firetruck flips because of a bomb, it lands on his leg, he barely gets any screen time, we only see a minor character with him at the hospital (not his team or SISTER), and poof, he’s home and healing. Yes, it’s a major injury, but I just described what amounts to ten minutes. Of the season finale. Where this accident was featured in the promotional material.

They did him dirty.

Honestly, they did the same with Eddie. The man is a Army Veteran, coming from Texas, with his young son, Christopher. His wife ran out on them when she finally broke after having to care for Christopher, who is cerebral palsy, while Eddie was in Afghanistan. Suddenly she’s back in the picture, but she just wants to see him, not get back together or really be a family again. Then poof, she gets hit by a car and dies like a day after asking Eddie for a formal divorce. Because the man with enough issues needs to see that. At least his friendship with Buck mostly well written. Buck easily becomes close with Christopher, and there are at least two comments about “his son” that he doesn’t deny. If the writers are teasing the fans with this bromance, I think they might riot.

The second season has a few episodes solely dedicated to the pasts of some of the characters. While I think it’s a good idea to fill in the backstories of characters, I wasn’t really impressed with how they did this. Flashbacks are fine, but the entire episode was dedicated to these characters, which many main characters not making an appearance if they weren’t around at that time. Hen’s story is empowering, and I really enjoyed the fact that she stood up to her former captain. Chimney’s was fine as well, though it didn’t explain the origin behind his name (real name Howard), and it was placed between two connected episodes with a cliffhanger. It just didn’t do it for me. Bobby’s episode (which is the second time we’ve had major flashbacks to his life before the 118) was also in the middle of two connected episodes, but it was at least more relevant to the currant storyline.

I’m complaining a lot, but I don’t mean to be. It’s all the issues I have with the writing. But there has been some good.

I have really enjoyed some of the cases they’ve been called out to. The banter fits, and the emergencies are varied but interesting. It’s not all crazy incident here and bomb threat there. There are also just general car accidents and fires and people making mistakes and asking for help. The variety is honestly very refreshing. And most (not all) really feel like they are down to earth instead of being spit-balled at a wall.

I’ve been warned that as a Buck fan, I’m going to have issues with the first half of season three. And I’m okay with that. If I could survive season six of Criminal Minds (the year the Powers That Be forced out AJ Cook in two episodes, dropped Paget Brewster to 16 with most of the B-plots revolving around writing her character out, and then hiring Rachel Nicols (no offense to her) to be the token blond girl for most of the season, with a horrifically written character), I can survive this. There’s this magic button on all the streaming players. It’s call the “move forward 15/30 seconds” button. And I will make use of it.

On the flipside…

The show gained a spinoff last year, and I’m not really sure if I want to watch it. I’m talking about 9-1-1 Lonestar. There’s just something about it that feels off-putting. I don’t know what. I know I have to watch it, because there is a crossover episode that just aired, so I have to bite the bullet at some point. But I’m really not looking forward to it. I guess it just hasn’t clicked with me yet.

Honestly, 9-1-1 isn’t a bad show. It’s good old fashioned TV. Not award worthy, but good enough to tune into every week (or, if you’re me, binge-watch two seasons in four days. Now to blast through the rest by next Monday, because I’d love to be able to watch it live with everyone).

I’m gonna get back to Febuwhump (which is suffering because of this show, I swear) and maybe treat myself to another two episodes once I finish. Maybe.

Until next time!

How TV Habits Have Changed For Me

~ Liz Harrison ~ Leave a comment

The Discord server I’m most active on, The Immortal Disasters, is primarily focused on The Old Guard. And that’s all well and good.

But there are a few channels on the Discord that focus on off-topic things, including “other-fandoms”, where we all discuss what’s happening in other movies and TV shows. It’s where news broke on the server about Ryan Haywood and that nightmare. It’s where we all yell and scream about WandaVision, because we’re all nerds. (Quick aside, watching everyone freak about not being able to access Disney Plus last night was hilarious. I’m not watching it until tonight, so I got my entertainment value all set. Haha.)

But the weirdest thing to come from “other-fandoms” has to be the now weekly dedicated chat about the Fox shows 9-1-1 and 9-1-1: Lonestar.

I decided to start watching it, but I have four seasons combined before I catch up with the currently airing episodes. And it got me thinking about my own TV habits, and how they’ve changed since childhood. So let’s talk about it.

My TV History

Growing up, my family regulated what was on TV. And I was totally fine with that! I had Sailor Moon and Pokémon and Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog (and all incarnations that followed). We’d watch Barney and other kids shows that were deemed “good and safe” for the youth of the early 1990’s. Because of the times, I ended up watching things out of order, of course. There was no real way to record things except with a VCR, and that trick was limited to certain movies that my dad wanted to keep (including this weird film called Sebastian Star Bear: First Mission. Look it up, it’s WEIRD).

I didn’t watch the live action shows geared towards my age group much. It just wasn’t something that interested me. I knew about them, but honestly, my mom and dad were teaching me more than those shows, of which I can barely remember. We’d probably watch a Disney film over most of the children’s programming, honestly. I never even watched He-Man or Power Rangers either.

Even when I started school, I wasn’t watching the same stuff. I’d rather turn on Digimon than SpongeBob, or Gundam instead of whatever comedy show Cartoon Network was currently airing. And don’t get me started with the live action Disney shows. They did nothing for me. I wanted shows with a storyline that lasted multiple episodes, rather than shows with two 11 minute plots. Even with growing up going to Disney World twice a year, I just didn’t care for a lot of what they had to offer.

After my Dad died when I was twelve, my TV habits matured a bit. I was allowed to stay up later than eight o’clock, which was when the “adult” shows would come on air. So I started watching CSI with my mom, and was introduced to more mature content. But at the same time, I still was watching anime, still crying over the season two finale of Teen Titans, and surprisingly falling in love with Super Robot Monkey Team Hyperforce Go! over on Disney’s new teen-centric channel, Jetix. Around this time I was also introduced to the French series Code Lyoko, which really rounded out my love for series.

By the end of high school, I had a few “staple series” that weren’t animated. I watched every episode of CSI:NY and Criminal Minds religiously. I kept up with Without a Trace, and had a passing knowledge of CSI (too dark and greenlit for me) and CSI: Miami (why is Miami orange-tinged?). This was 2009, which was around the same time that recording episodes to watch later was now apart of the culture of television viewing.

And then, during my first semester of college, Mom took a two week trip to visit a friend. I still was living at home for monetary reasons. While she was gone, and I didn’t have class, I discovered a random episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which I’d missed growing up due to when it aired (1997-2003). It was from the first season. And I fell in love. The day after I saw that episode, I took a special trip to the mall after class, and bought the first two seasons on DVD.

And thus I discovered binge-watching.

What is binge-watching?

Binge-watching is watching a series in rapid succession. In this case, I watched the first two seasons of Buffy in a week, as I still had classes, homework, and sleep. But if I nothing, I was watching each episode back to back. Right before Mom returned, I picked up season three, but I ended up slowing down watching, due to watching to catch up with her and her own personal shows.

From Buffy, I discovered a whole new world. Honest. I never really knew what Netflix was, or why streaming shows was so popular. But I didn’t want to spend fifty dollars on a season of TV that I could watch online. And from there, I finally realized how modern people watched anime and caught up on the shows that aired when we were young, or hadn’t even been thought of yet.

How Had Binge-Watching TV Changed Viewership

In the past ten years, binge-watching has become the more popular way to view shows. It’s completely possible to watch an entire season of a show in a day or two, provided that you don’t have other pressing matters to deal with. It’s changed how patient the average person is for the next episode. While episodic shows are still relevant and of course air on TV, there is now parts of a fanbase that will wait to watch the next season until it drops on a service like Netflix, Hulu, or Amazon Prime Video.

Whole shows are now sometimes dropped a season at a time onto those platforms. As an easy example, The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina is an episodic show with usually ten episodes per season. And yet, it would always drop with all ten episodes at once. This is the same for shows across all platforms, though there are some notable exceptions (WandaVision on Disney Plus, and The Boys over on Prime Video come to mind).

Where Do I Fall?

So, my viewing habits of TV have of course adapted with the times. I’ve been known to watch an entire series in a single night (Locke and Key on Netflix being a recent example). But I’ve also tried to string out shows instead of watching them quickly.

I don’t watch much “traditional” television anymore. My TV in my room is dedicated to streaming movies, playing Blu-rays, and of course, gaming. The TV in the living room is primarily Mom’s, as her bedroom in this apartment is weirdly set up and we’ve yet to find a place to put her TV (and at this point we’re just waiting until we can move to set it up then). And honestly, most of what is on TV right now doesn’t really interest me. But that’s just my personal tastes. I know many people who love what’s currently airing.

What Am I Currently Watching?

The main thing I’m watching weekly is, of course, WandaVision. I also plan on watching each Marvel-Disney Plus show as it airs (so Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Loki, Ms. Marvel, and Hawkeye) because I’m a Marvel junkie. Judge me as you wish.

I’m attempting to binge-watch 9-1-1 right now. I finished the second episode of season two last night, and my goal is to watch at least three or four episodes a day. It’s not my favorite show on air, but it’s ok. I’m honestly skipping through some scenes, but don’t tell the discord that. I just find some of the writing to be juvenile.

I’m also watching Black Sails, which is a prequal to Treasure Island. It aired on Starz a few years ago to great success. I’m just taking my time because I want to read the novel first, and I’ve completely overextended myself this month.

I have others in the queues of all the streaming platforms I have access to, all of which I hope to start whittling down in the coming months. This was a goal that I started last year, when the pandemic went into high gear and my family made the decision to basically keep inside for the duration, minus my few and far between trips to the store when absolutely needed. There are certain franchises I’d like to give a shot, but I’ll save those names for when I actually watch them.

Until that time, I’m off to go finish today’s story for Febuwhump.

Until next time!