It’s no secret that my love for television extends beyond many of my other loves. These include video games, movies, drawing, books, and comic books. Doing these recaps are my favorite because it allows you to share with everyone about your favorite shows and gives others a chance to chime in their opinions on what I’m missing out on! Trust me, these kind of things actually happen because it’s because of my readers that I got into Modern Family!
Anywho, Winter/Spring television is very much started and some shows only have a week or two left before their finales, but I figured now would be a good time to recap on what’s happened and why you should pick up on the shows I’m watching! 11 Shows this season, can you keep up?
The Hopefully Skeptically Good – Community (NBC)
Everyone was skeptical when this show returned. And after the Hunger Deans episode, I almost jumped on board with them. However, given time to grow, I came accustomed to this ‘new’ Community. This being said, it is not the same Community as before. Dan Harmon was the heart and soul of the original Community and since his departure, the show has gotten hallow. The same stylistic gimmicks are there, but the wit is dense and uninspired. The show is still watchable though. Carrying the torch is primarily Donald Glover’s Troy and Gillian Jacob’s Britta with even Joel McHale bringing in the feels every once in a while. Will we get six seasons and a movie? Maybe and probably not, but regardless that might be okay if this is what the show continues to be like.
The Unfortunately Soon to Be Cancelled – Happy Endings (ABC)
ABC’s “Save Happy Endings” campaign pretty much nails the boards in the beautiful comedic coffin. Instead of having faith in it picking up on its own, ABC essentially gave its small cult following an ultimatum: “Watch this or we’ll gut it like a fish”. It’s such a shame because this show really is as ace as ever. But being moved into a Friday slot and ABC burning episodes, it’s pretty much done for. I’m gonna miss Eliza Coupe most, but maybe Damon Wayans Jr. can guest as Coach in New Girl, the romantic comedy tv show I’ll move to once this goes into the grave.
The Never Disappointing – Justified (FX)
Probably the least watched of all the shows on this list, the little known Justified is hitting all the high notes as usual. Every week, I find myself upset with the shortest 42 minutes of my life. I recommend you read about what the series entails here if you aren’t familiar with it. Instead of a main baddy this time around, this season revolves around a mystery, in which can make Raylan Givens’s career. Always at his opposite Boyd Crowder is trying to make his own career. Throw in the Detroit Mafia, some new love interests, and the unforgettable Wynn Duffy and you’ve got yourself another amazing season for Justified.
The Perfect High Brow/Low Brow Balance Act – Archer (FX)
When you watch TV, it’s easy to just forget about the writing and enjoy the acting and story. But with FX’s Archer, the writing is the true gem here. When you watch Archer, you can almost read how clever the script is due its quick dialogue and transitions. Even if you can’t keep up with some of the high brow humor hidden in the writing, the writers also throw in plenty of fantastic comedic timing that involve sex innuendo and physical comedy that will have you guffawing none the less. And with 3 other seasons to provide callback jokes, Archer truly is the animated reincarnation of Arrested Development. Sterling Archer and his colleagues at ISIS are very likely the most radical and hysterical group of people around.
The Bad/Good Show that Turned into a Great Show and Then Went Back to Being a Good Show – The Walking Dead (AMC)
In the fall, the Walking Dead was arguably the best thing that aired during the entire season. Literally jaw dropping moments and cliffhangers episode after episode, The Walking Dead seemed like it was on top of the world. Then when it came back on Spring, it struggled to maintain the fast pace and it became eerily close to the dreaded farm arc in season 2. Sprinkled in the 8 episode run were a couple of noteworthy episode, those specifically written by new season 4 showrunner Scott Gimple who wrote the two best episodes of the season, when Rick found Morgan, and Merle’s Redemption. I’m very excited with the new direction season 4 can take, especially being a reader myself. And then there was the season finale that aired last night…words cannot describe the disappoint I feel. With the major climax leading to a main character’s death, especially a character I never really cared for? It was quite the bummer.
The Every Episode is a Jaw Dropper – Shameless (Showtime)
Okay, so I kinda gave up on this show towards the end of season 2. It was very difficult to watch alone and if you weren’t in the right mindset, this show can be very very upsetting. But at the beginning of the third season, I’ve found how to approach and love this show. This show balances heart, raunch, sex, and genuine shock to such a perfect balance, that it has become one of the greatest emotional roller coaster rides you’ll ever see. It’s a shame this show doesn’t get more buzz, but I suppose the “I can’t get pregnant, so let’s get my very fertile mother to have sex with you to conceive a genetically similar baby” storyline isn’t for most people. Yes, you heard that.
The Perfect – Parks and Recreation (NBC)
Parks and Recreation is perfect. Brilliantly written, emotionally sound, and hysterically funny, Parks and Recreation is simply perfect. With the emotional and comedically high moment being the Knope/Wyatt wedding, this season hasn’t lost any momentum in how brilliant it is. Maybe not as story driven as the equally perfect seasons 3 and 4, Amy Poehler takes Parks and Recreation home every week it’s on. She deserves all the rewards.
The Young Comedic Veteran – New Girl (Fox)
Initially this show was about 3 dudes trying to tame Zooey Deschanel’s quirkiness. It has since then grown into one of the strongest comedies around. While Schmidt was the comedic high in season 1, Nick Miller has quickly become a fan favorite, acing every scene he is in. The show is developing its own line of strong call backs, one of its strongest being fat Schmidt and mustached Nick Miller college roommates that very much slay me every time. I don’t know what’s holding you back from this show if you’re still not on board, but it has very much joined the ranks of Parks and Recreation and Modern Family as solid comedies.
The Show I Hated to Watch, But Still Watched – Girls (HBO)
My roommates and I have caught up on Girls before season 2 ended. Picture a room of 4 guys sitting on a coach watching 25 minutes of girls making stupid decisions and being intolerable. But there we were, every week, trying to catch up on Hannah, Jessa, Marne, and Shoshanna doing the silly things they do. Even likable characters like Andy and Ray have their low points and this show ultimately makes me rage and rage, but I keep coming back. I don’t understand it. An entire post could be dedicated to the amount of confliction I have over this show, so I should stop here before I pop a blood vessel.
The Super Strong Starter – The Americans (FX)
The only new show I picked up this entire season is FX’s The Americans. Seemingly eerily close to Homeland in terms of broad subject matter [kids don’t know about secret life, ambiguous heroes, etc.], I gave The Americans a shot and it does not disappoint It’s so good, that I’ll be posted a fully blown article soon regarding why everyone should give the Americans a shot.
The Finally Arrived – Game of Thrones (HBO)
Yesterday the premiere aired and it was fantastic. A Storm of Swords is a fan favorite and I have trust in David Benioff and D.B. Weiss to do a good job in conveying the story. I ultimately know I have to put aside the intricate details of the book and the adaptation of the show, so I can truly enjoy both. More to come on how well the show is progressing as time goes on.
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