Tag Archives: The Blacklist

10 top TV shows I’m watching right now

And you should be too!! It’s been awhile since I’ve done this list and so many shows have come & gone..too many of my favs ending their series runs like Sons of Anarchy, Breaking Bad, Mad Men & Justified all in the same year for crimeny sakes. Luckily a few good news ones have popped up and I will be updating this every few weeks from now on. Now onto some great TV….
red road
THE RED ROAD (Sundance Channel)
Martin Henderson & Jason Momoa are really outstanding in this show. They play the best hardcore ‘frenemies’ I’ve seen in quite some time in a show that’s refreshingly different from the same ol’ cops & robbers genre.

the blacklist

THEBLACKLIST (NBC)

James Spader.. enough said. He is fantastic here. Add in a now all grown up-looking amazing -from 90210 –Ryan Eggold doing some decent work and Diego Klattenhoff stepping up in a good supporting and you have yourself a pretty damn good show. Megan Boone as the female lead, for some reason can be the only thorn in my side in some episodes though most everything revolves around her. I also love the complete diversity of what this cast does.

goldbergs

THE GOLDBERGS (ABC)
I’m sorry but their “Ferris Bueller” episode a few weeks ago was so so so very spot on and had me laughing harder than I have in some time. Every episode brings me back to what at the time, I thought was the worst period in my life.. turns out it was the best and Wendi McClendon-Covey kills it every single week as the mom. The whole family is just so spot on.. If you’re not watching this show, you clearly didn’t grow up in the best decade EVER!! 🙂
broolyn 99

BROOKLYN NINE NINE (FOX)
SURPRISE! Another comedy for me which is unusual because I’m very picky on my comedies as shockingly enough, I actually prefer them to be funny. And this one is. The whole cast is so deadpan spot on and work so well together I can’t stop laughing each and every episode.

Syfy_12-Monkeys_E

12 MONKEYS (SyFy)
I’m telling you..Syfy channel has been rocking it and really stepped up their game in the last few years. This show being one of the reasons and one of the best ones on TV right now period. Each episode has upped itself a notch and Aaron Stanford, Kirk Acevedo & Amanda Shull truly take this show to the next level. So granted it took me 3 episodes to realize it was based on the Bruce Willis/Brad Pitt movie, but give me a break, that was 1995!!!

broadchurch

BROADCHURCH (BBC AMERICA)
You know I love my British dramas. The first season of this show was mind-bogglingly good. Then they tried the American-ized version Gracepoint with a great cast, including David Tennant whom they said ‘couldn’t be understood by audiences in the U.K. version’ reallly.. I had no problem and still have no problem understanding him, but the U.S. version was quite awful. So now we are on Season 2 and it’s carried on from season 1 so well which I think was the big question everyone had. Could it be as good? The answer is yes.

the good wife

THE GOOD WIFE (CBS)
After a spectacular Season 5 where this show had some of the best writing I’d seen in a while for network TV.. Season 6 came back with a new firm, Florrick, Lockhart & Agos and has been a bit of a roller coaster at times swinging back n forth between good at times, but a bit confusing. But as of this past Sunday, WHOA! Don’t miss this show people.. it’s what Scandal etc. wish they could be.

Vikings

VIKINGS (HISTORY)
So it’s probably not exact history, but then what really is. We don’t know how the Vikings sounded or exactly what language they spoke, but we do know a lot of their history based upon their gods and what happened between them & the Christians. And we know they discovered America way before Columbus did and were amazing navigators & shipbuilders for their time. We also know that they were true warriors and yes, raided other countries to death. Travis Fimmel has found his calling in this role. He is perfect as King Ragnar and Clive Standen as his brother Rollo is just plain badass.. oh did I mention they are hot..well yeah, they are but the show is also reeeally good and Kathryn Winnick as the bad-ass Lagertha tops this cast off showing true girl power. This is not only a well done good show, it’s entertaining as end all.

mad men

MAD MEN (AMC)
Where would we be without Don Draper??!! Much less entertained in my opinion. This show has stunned us, made us look back in our pasts to see where our futures are.. reminded us of a way things were done not all that long ago, and done it so stylishly we’ve all just fell in love with it. The fact that this show is one of the shows I love that is ending, makes it all the harder to look forward to these last episodes. Don, Peggy, Ken, Pete, Betty, Joan, Harry, Roger and all the rest whom we grown so fond of..let’s smoke one last cigarette together while mixing a drink at work..at noon!

justified

JUSTIFIED (FX)
Oh Raylan..oh Boyd.. oh Ava.. how I will miss you so. I wouldn’t know where to begin or end with how much I love this show and how good this final season is. We are at the very end, and 3 things I will miss most.. the witty amazing dialogue, the fantastic acting by Timothy Olyphant, Walton Goggins, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel and Nick Searcy along with the rest of the absolutely fantastic co-stars & guest stars that have made this show, and the opening song.. Something I never fast forward through. Oh and producers/directors/writers/FX network ~ can you please give Rachel (Erica Tazel) & Tim (Jacob Pitts) there own spin-off show..pretty please.

TOP 10 T.V. SHOWS I AM WATCHING RIGHT NOW!!! – and you should be too!!

So many shows are winding down with season finales and many new ones approaching which I am looking forward to a few of them. There is always 1 or 2 new shows worth watching and 3 or 4 worth letting go of.  I usually give a show 2 eps. to suck me in..unless of course it’s something like “Bad Teacher” which got all of 10-15min of my time or “The Black Box” which I actually gave a whole episode ot time watching though I don’t know why and it took me 3 days to get through it.

So here we go..

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10. “Continuum” (Syfy Channel)                                                                   This is a really fun show in already it’s 3rd season that makes time-travel seem actually realistic about a Detective from the year 2077 who with a a shake of a terrorist blast, finds herself back in present day Vancouver. With the good acting of the main leads, Rachel Nichols “Kiera Cameron”, Victor Webster “Carlos Fonnegra”, Erik Knutsen “Alec Sadler”, and a strong supporting cast, you are still probably wondering why would I watch a Syfy show..Well in case you haven’t clued in, they have definitely become the new, fun network of original programming that is actually a lot better than 1/2 the shows spoon-fed to you by network TV.

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9. “The Goldbergs” (ABC)                                                                            Okay..I know it’s not the funniest show, but it so brings back childhood/teen year memories and that makes it fun for me.  I think it’s a lot funnier than some of the crap put out there. They are so over the top, yet we all knew that Mom aka Beverly Goldberg played wonderfully “Wendi McLendon-Covey” with her wonderful 80’s hairdo, Dad, Murray Goldberg “Jeff Garlin” who always does something to embarrass his kids..And who didn’t have an annoying brother, Barry Goldberg “Troy Gentile” or nerdy one Adam Goldberg “Sean Giabrone” to bug the ‘cool’ sister, Erica Goldberg “Hayley Orrantia” to get us through our day. So yeah..I like it and it got renewed for a 2nd season..sooooo… 😀  #bringbackthe80’s

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8.”Awkward” (MTV)                                                                                     Since MTV hasn’t actually showed a music video in years, and became host to a rash of REALLY bad reality TV.. this show has been a fresh exception since it began a few years back.  Even though it might be a bit juvenile, good casting & writing along with some catchy catch phrases “Your Welcome” make this show continually fresh.

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7. “Nurse Jackie” (Showtime)                                                                   With award kudos going to Edie Falco “Nurse Jackie Peyton” & Merrit Weaver’s “Zoey Barkow” win (and best acceptance speech EVER) 😀  This show with it’s ever-revolving fantastic supporting cast, has been a winner since it’s inception in 2009.  The story lines and plot are ever changing from dark to darker in the life of Nurse Jackie and her evolving drug addiction which is always prevalant to the show, even when she is sober. Characters come and go on this show, some you love, some..not so much…but it’s always a fun ride.

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6. “The Blacklist” (NBC)                                                                              Yes, technically this show had it’s season finale last night and should not be included on ’10 shows I am watching now’ but damn, James Spader just deserves a nod for his truly amazing character “Raymond ‘Red’ Reddington” as he is just a wonder to watch as he has been in most of his TV shows.  I’m not super fond of the lead, Megan Boone as “Elizabeth Keen” as I think she overacts her role a bit much, but with the hottness of Diego Klattenhoff as “Donald Ressler” and again, Spader balancing her out..plus throw in some Ryan Eggold “Tom Keen” and you can easily overlook it.  For a network show that just got renewal, yeah..I’m all in.

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5. “Mr. Selfridge” (PBS)                                                                           You know I love my British TV.. and this show on PBS is really outstanding. It stars Jeremy Piven as “Harry Selfridge” in the real life story of the flamboyant founder of yep..you guessed it, Selfridges, which still stands in London today.  As an American businessman ‘invading’ England, and a complete visionary of trends to come with the idea that shopping should be fun & not a chore,  Harry Selfridge really became a man of huge wealth, whom was known for always treating his employee’s fairly and became well respected. He also died stone cold broke because of his lavish lifestyle and gambling.  Ah well.. Season 2 in still in the early parts of his life and I am enjoying it immensely.

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4. “Hannibal” (NBC)                                                                                   For a network TV, this show is simply put, MIND-BOGGLING.  It scares the shit out of me almost every week and that rarely ever happens to me. I can’t help but to keep watching it..The first 2 eps.of this season literally scarred me for a very long time to come and made me realize NOTHING else might be that scary.  It’s not so much that it’s gory..as it has some gore..trust me, but that the main characters in some scenes are just plain scary as shit.  The main characters played by the wonderful, immaculate looking Mads Mikkelson “Dr, Hannibal Lector” and oh so cute, Hugh Dancy as “Will Graham” suck you into their vortex of WHOA! and hold you there week after week.  Lawrence Fishburne as FBI man “Jack Crawford” just makes it a wonderful three-some of an excellent body of work.  You know all about the movie..but you MUST watch this take on the ‘Hannibal’ series to really see something special..I think it airs so late on a Friday night so they can get away with all the shit they do on this wonderful show! After all it’s a Mads,Mads, Mads, Mads world – and we just inhabit it alongside him..:D

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3.  “The Good Wife” (CBS)                                                                        This show has always been one of my favs..but HOT DAMN Season 5 has been by far the BEST season of this show ever!! Again, a network TV show that takes it beyond the limits of good to great..with the writing and the absolutely superb acting from all characters..even the kids!! 😀  I mean Julianna Marguiles has always been spectacular as “Alicia Florrick” with Josh Charles aka “Will Gardner” & Christine Baranski “Diane Lockhart” making ‘Lockhart/Gardner’ one of the hottest law firms ever on T.V. Rounding out the top 5 of cast with Matt Czuchry “Cary Agos” and the fantastic Archie Panjabi as “Kalinda Sharma” along with too many great co-stars to name..just WOW!..  And with the shocker of the ages that they gave us mid-season..i’m not even sure how they kept that so quiet..but again just HOT DAMN!! And now with Florrick/Agos & Lockhart/??? we are just not sure what to expect next…AND the addition of Matthew Goode as a series regular.. it’s like nothing can stop this season from being head & shoulders above the others..

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2. “24 – Live Another Day”                                                                           JACK IS BACK!!! And I could just leave it at that and not have to say anymore as anyone who has watched this show can attest to. But yet, I do want to say more.. Kiefer Sutherland as “Jack Bauer” resurrected his career single-handedly with this show back in 2001 and along with Mary Lynn Rajskub as the insurmountable “Chloe O’Brian” has brought this show back better than ever.  Oh how I missed the counting clock and Jack Bauer narrating the time.. It’s like I got transported back to really good T.V. again via London this time..and with Benjamin Bratt “Steve Navarro” NO LESS!!! WHEEEEE!!! there has only been 2 eps..well 3..if you count the 1st was 2 hrs..and 2 hrs, of the ’24’ clock was a-ticking!!  Can’t wait to see what happens in the rest of the season but rest assured..Jack Bauer always has something up his sleeve!

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1. “Orphan Black” (BBC)                                                                             As I always say..if you’re not watching Orphan Black..then seriously WHAT ON EARTH ARE YOU DOING???!!!  Never have I seen a show like this one.  I remember the pilot episode so well..the first 3 min were just overwhelming and you didn’t know what to think except that you were in it to win it!! Tatiana Maslany is sooooo sooooo sooooo good as all her characters on this show..”Sarah Manning/Cosima Niehaus/Allison Hendrix/Rachel Duncan” just to name a few.. And the supporting cast..just great additions but there is no doubt..this show is Tatiana’s hands down. This show is seriously like no other and I remember trying to tell people about it and to watch, getting a response of ‘what..what is that show, I’ve never heard of it’ blah blah blah..well next time..trust me because this 2nd season started off with a bang and will definitely keep you glued to your seat. And oh yeah.. GET WATCHING IT ALL!!!

 

PS.. a mention here should go out to ‘Game of Thrones’ as I will be watching it, just only wanted to pay for one month of HBO so I will be doing a 5 eps. bomb-watching of it all and then watching each week..tee hee.. hey..ya gotta do what you gotta do!! 😀

TV reviews.. what’s good so far & some hopeful mid-season replacements

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Well ‘The Following’ came back tonight with a ROAR!!  I love this show.. and how it got on actual network TV I will never know. It’s that good and usually network TV doesn’t go out on a limb like this. One thing I love is how the writers are not afraid to be down & gritty getting rid of main characters over & over and keeping the show fresh, alive and us, the audience, on the edge of our seats..again, that usually only goes for shows on cable like ‘Justified’ & ‘Sons of Anarchy’.  I can’t wait to see how this season unfolds and if it’s anything like this first eps. of the 2nd season, it’s going to be a bumpy ride!  

“Sleepy Hollow” will be wrapping up tomorrow, Monday, Jan 20th with a 2hr finale.  This show has been one of the freshest new shows to come on the air in awhile.  Let’s face it, it could have gone really bad, but thanks to the chemistry between the lead characters, Tom Mison (Ichabod Crane) & Nicole Baharie (Lt. Abbie Mills) it works wonderfully. The only person completely out of place is Orlando Jones (Capt.Frank Irving) but thankfully the storylines, if you open your imagination up some, are fun & quirky enough to surpass that bit of bad casting. It’s been renewed so I will be looking forward to their 2nd season.

And yes, Josh Holloway IS BACK!! whooooooooooooooo hooooooooooo  you forget how much you missed his sassy-ness and sarcasm as Sawyer (“LOST”).  His show, “Intelligence” is still up on my ‘not sure’ column as they really packed a lot into the pilot eps., which I understand sometimes you have to do so the audience will understand the who, what, why, when etc..I just think it would have fared better if they broke it up a little into 2 eps. as most people,such as myself, do give a show at least 2 eps.  unless it’s REEEALLY bad in which you just can’t! ha!  Because I’m on the fence, I’m giving it a bit longer to either grab me or not.

Speaking of being grabbed…Hello “The Blacklist” – James Spader is so completely awesome in this show. Damn him! Another show that I’m a bit surprised is on network TV.. maybe they’ve finally realized they have to do something in order to compete with cable.  But this show is just superb and I’m happy it’s back.. Makes me anticipate “Hannibal” all the more…

The last show is on of all things Syfy network and it’s “Helix”  I am usually not a big Sci-Fi genre person..I do like some of it though if it’s well done and as of late Syfy network has stepped up with a few good original programming shows.. I like the premise and so far the story has kept me wanting to watch and I’m 2 eps in.  I recommend it for something different and if you have room on your DVR. 

Well that’s it for now..

#peggyatthemovies…andTV