Brief Thoughts on Week 5 of the Fall Television Season

Shut up, just take me to the rankings

Jane the Virgin (CW) & Marry Me (NBC): 2 shows that I borderline effusively praised last week, not as good the second time around.

Cristela (ABC) Episode 3: While it still works within the confines of a multi-cam, laugh-track-plagued comedy, with plenty of signs of the weaknesses of that format (stilted writing here and there), star & creator Cristela Alonzo is likable in spades and this is easily a step above the normal multi-cam, laugh-track show. It’s pretty damn likable and not terrible as a background noise show.

Black-ish (ABC) Episode 5: Easily its strongest episode yet, dare I say, an episode that actually crossed the threshold into being able to be called decent? Tracee Ellis Ross (the wife) is the best thing about this show and they might’ve caught on to that as she spends almost as much time on-screen as (the far less good and far more annoying) Anthony Anderson. Also in the mix are the 4 kids in 1 plot that filled up the whole episode and involved all of them. I was all ready to dump this show, but I may have to keep it around just a little longer…but still as background noise.

Kingdom (Audience Network/DirecTV) Episode 3: The junkie prostitute. It’s a borderline clichéd character but within the first 3 minutes I was captivated and intrigued by just that type of character. A growth from the prior episode, Kingdom is proving itself to be a from-left-field, surprisingly solid treat from an obscure channel (similar to The Knick). If you liked the movies The Fighter (that boxing movie with Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg, and Melisso Leo), Warrior (another solid family-drama/fighting movie released after The Fighter that flew under the radar), or even The Wrestler (Mickey Rourke), this show is for you.
Jonathon Tucker, whom I have enjoyed in The Black Donnellys and guest role in Hannibal, is also terrific here. I’m most intrigued in his character and his mother’s (the junkie prostitute) plotlines out of everyone’s.
Is it perfect? No. Is it great? Too soon to tell, I lean towards not yet. It simmers rather than boils and at times that strays into boring territory. Still, quite good. And more importantly, a show I look forward to watching every Wednesday. Also good is Matt Lauria (Friday Night Lights).

The Flash (CW) Episode 3: Meh. I officially don’t care about this show anymore. It’s not bad, it’s just not very engaging or riveting with its baddie-of-the-week format. I’ll keep watching this as background noise but probably for no longer than half a season (hey I gave Arrow half a season and fuck it was awful. The dialogue made my sphincter bleed).
Quick thoughts about this episode:
-Grant Gustin continuing to prove why he was cast in the lead
-That glum look on his face when Iris calls him “the cutest nerd she knows”
-When he’s “talking to someone” on his phone, it’s clearly the home screen of the Samsung Galaxy. Silly gooses

-I want to see them incorporating eating into Barry’s every scene. Y’know, ’cause his metabolism’s super fast and all. Just him always with a bar of chocolate or plate of spaghetti in his hand, would work well humorously.
-Flashbacks were interesting
-“The gas didn’t just come in by itself.”
“UNLESS IT HAD A MIND OF ITS OWN” What a dumbshit thing to say aloud. Yo, not everybody knows you’re the Flash and that there’s ‘metahuman’ creatures running around. Keep that on the DL so you don’t get thrown into an insane asylum, idiot.
All in all, a run-of-the-mill superhero show that I am not invested in.

Constantine (NBC) Episode 1: The last new show of the fall television season to watch. It received decidedly mixed reviews so I didn’t have high expectations going in, and you know what? I actually kind of enjoyed it. I certainly wouldn’t label it bad. It was briskly paced, had some legitimately scary moments in the first half of the episode, and it was quite a bit of fun actually. The closest thing I’d compare it to is Sleepy Hollow, but, its early days yet, so we’ll see how this show goes.

A to Z (NBC) Episode 4: I’m starting to fall for this romantic comedy. First 2 eps, eh, but it’s landed 2 episodes in a row that managed to be sweet without sappy, and humorous without wringing the life out of every joke or punchline. It’s also managed to give the 2 lead and 2 supporting characters some depth while using 2 background characters to good effect (and the blond bitch boss is still a hoot). This show has been struggling in the ratings (though not that far off from its lead-in Bad Judge), so I’m not holding my breath that this show will be able to traverse to the end of the alphabet (each episode is named after a letter).

Returning Shows
Sleepy Hollow (Fox): This may have been the first episode that wasn’t connected to/meant to push forward the main plot, and you know what, it was actually a lot of fun, and made good use of Katrina. I wasn’t really sure what they were gonna do with her other being a prisoner of the Headless Horseman and use some magic shit whenever they needed her to, but this episode added more dimension and history to her independent of her relationship with Crane. Also, I strongly suspect that the Headless Horseman may end up, at some point in time, fighting alongside Crane & Co., most likely at the end of this season at the earliest. His feelings for Katrina might make him turn against Henry.

Downton Abbey (ITV): Warning for all the U.S. Downton Abbey fans, they should just rename season 5 season 4b as this season has just been exhaustingly rehashing the same old tired plotlines from season 4, adding very little (or nothing). This show needs new blood, new characters. It feels staid and boring down, it’s mediocre to the point of being bad. The first couple of Downton Abbey seasons felt like the British period drama that was accessible to those who didn’t like British period dramas. This season feels like it’s every cliché and stereotype people have about British period dramas. Goddamn, Lady Edith is mopey and shit, which is usually amusing but (SPOILER ALERT) watching her visit and creep on the same damn farm house to stalk her daughter while the lady of the farm house hates on her is TIRING. AS. SHIT.(END SPOILER ALERT).