Almost 3 years ago to the day, I write a few posts discussing some of Television that was into, on was titled Good TV Returns. I preface this post and the old one by saying, I don’t watch much TV. Back then, school and life were a distraction, now life and film/gaming/this blog are a distraction. I have a hard time sitting down to watch television on a regular basis. My viewing comes through DVDs, and online at places like Hulu. But perhaps the biggest reason I don’t watch TV, is I feel that the best shows never get a chance and are canceled well before they are ready to be done.
The old post mentioned Burn Notice, Dexter, Life and a previous post talked about Journeyman. Half of those shows are still around. 50% is a pretty good rate in TV these days I hear, but what would it be if I had been watching a lot more shows? Journeyman and Rome, both featuring Kevin McKidd were gone before they could get far. Deadwood was also cut short fairly abruptly and there never has been a replacement for it. Burn Notice continues, but I’m a season behind on that one. Which brings us to Dexter.
Dexter Season 5
As of this writing, we are two episodes through the fifth season of Dexter. There’s no way to really discuss this with out spoilers so…… go away if you haven’t finished previous seasons. Season 5 opens will Dexter and his children still trying to deal with Rita’s murder at the hands of Trinity. The first two episodes have been highly emotional, with Dexter almost cracking in the second episode, oh so close to shedding a tear when Astor and Cody leave with their grandparents to head away to Orlando. This leaves Dexter to deal with things on his own, but the trail of a new serial killer may keep him occupied.
Boardwalk Empire
Boardwalk Empire is HBO period drama set in Atlantic City, New Jersey and opens up just a Prohibition begins. This one has a lot of weight behind it. Martin Scorsese directed the inaugural episode, which immediately earned the series a second season. It should be noted it’s the highest rated premiere since the aforementioned Deadwood. The writers have worked on the Sopranos and the cast is anchored by Steve Buscemi as “Nucky” Thompson, pseudo-gangster and corrupt politician in the making. This is all based on real people and we’ve already seen appearances by a young Al Capone, and the infamous Arnold Rothstein. While I felt the second episode fell of the pace of the first, the third has ramped things up again. Overall, really interesting series thus far.
The Walking Dead on AMC
Perhaps the potentially best TV of the year has yet to debut. The Walking Dead is a television brought to you by Frank Darabont, based on the graphic novel series by Robert Kirkman and Tony Moore. Similar in base ideology to WWZ, The Walking Dead is about people. It’s a character study that just happens to be taking place during a zombie apocalypse. The are some really difficult storylines as far as content to deal with on a basic cable level. Many of my fears have been laid to rest viewing the various trailers and making of videos like the one featured below. With special effects by industry legend Greg Nicotero, musical score from Bear McCreary and of course Darabont, I have really high hopes for this show, which debuts, appropriately enough, on Halloween night.
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James Schumacher
A freelance writer and digital artist, operator of this website. My name is James Schumacher, and I hold a degree in Game Art & Design (BoFA) from the Art Institute in Portland. My passions are gaming, music, books, film and my friends. Select Photography to see some of my latests photos, with more found at 500px and Viewbug. Currently you can find much of my game reviews mostly at Only Single Player http://www.onlysp.com. I am available for freelance writing work, as well as for image and graphic editing.
