Has Your Favorite Show Aged Well?

The Guardian has an interesting piece on rewatching old series in the age of Netflix. The author was not impressed with some of her favorite old shows from the 1990s. Here is her take on Friends:

It is startling how clunky Friends looks now, a creaky old sitcom with a too-loud laughter track and copious overacting. One of the good things about the show was always the slapstick – Jennifer Aniston was great at pratfalls – but on the rewatch, it seems so overegged as practically to constitute mime. Phoebe is spookier and less funny than I remembered. The most shocking thing about the first episodes is Chandler smoking inside – not just in his apartment, but in Central Park.

However, not everything was showing its age.  The author was more impressed The West Wing.

The article made me think of other earlier shows we can watch again. But should we?  How about Magnum PI, BJ and the Bear, and The Dukes of Hazzard? 

As with the saying you can never step in the same river twice, you are unlikely to ever be in the same mindset again as you watch an old favorite. Context is everything. You are better off watching a old show you never watched originally. Though with hundreds of new shows appearing every year, many of great quality, the likely of such discovery has diminished.

GOT: Will Anyone Survive?

The season six paraphernalia for HBO's Game of Thrones includes various photos with the mounted heads of your favorite characters. Foresight or history? Dreams or warnings? Who know, but I am done hoping for a happy ending. Like all wars, you do not cheer at the end but rather collapse from exhaustion. The next battle begins April 24th.

Frank Underwood: A Taste of Trump?

The Smithsonian has a sense of history or a sense of humor with the unveiling of a Frank Underwood portrait at the museum's Portrait Gallery.  Kevin Spacey took it all in stride, stating:

I’m pleased that the Smithsonian continues to prove itself as a worthwhile institution. I’m one step closer to convincing the rest of the country that I am the president.

At least this is only a temporary display not to be confused with the real deal - some may confuse fact with fiction, including certain presidential candidates.  

Will we also see an orange-haired president on display one of these days? If so, I hope that too is a temporary display about how we dodged a bullet that could have wrecked the institution (White House, not museum) forever. 

Season four of Netflix's House of Cards will premiere on March 4th.  

Update: House of Cards has already been approved for a fifth season, so be prepared for at least one jerk staying in DC longer than necessary.

More Togetherness

The long-awaited Season two of HBO's Togetherness premieres tonight. While the Duplass brothers have been busy with other shows, such as Animals and Transparent, this is my favorite Duplass creation. It has heart and hope among all the craziness.

You can also see the fifth season of Girls tonight, but I plan to skip it. While the couple on Togetherness have issues, at least they are likeable. I cannot say the same for the characters on Girls.

Update:  In a recent interview the Duplass brothers discussed season two and how the project is longer than earlier efforts. Mark stated:

...there are negatives and positives to it. Like, you know, just like a marriage, where you're like, "Well, this... you know, is the sex still as exciting as it was two years ago?" — we've been sleeping with these characters for two years, but we know them so intimately and we love them and we've put so much time and energy into them and that's one of the big things we love, which is, like, no more exposition needed, you know? We get to get into the nitty-gritty and the minutiae of the way they relate now, and that's really valuable. We just have to make sure we don't repeat ourselves and we plot this thing so it doesn't dead end too much, and so that's the challenge really. It's like, how do you keep those balls in the air and make it exciting still?

The brothers are also planning for a third season. What a great idea!

Love on Netflix

Tonight you can start streaming the new Netflix series Love.  The story is simple enough:

Rebellious Mickey and good-natured Gus navigate the thrills and agonies of modern relationships in this bold new comedy co-created by Judd Apatow.

GQ has its own take, pointing out:

Love...lives in fine specifics. Over its ten snack-sized episodes, it monkey bars from small moment to small moment, living in the in-between instants that swell bigger tides.

The series is already slated for a second season, so it will be with us for awhile and waiting for you whenever you are ready. I will probably wait, but I'm glad to know it is there just in case.

Update: Okay, I watched the pilot episode. This is one depressing show.  I know, I know...it gets better. I believe it and will go back in, but not binge.  More later.

Join or Die

I am not sure why Join or Die with Craig Ferguson is on the History Channel, but I will watch the premiere tonight anyway.  

Here is the spin in the show:

Join or Die with Craig Ferguson features the comedian debating provocative and timely topics in his unorthodox and iconoclastic manner. Each episode features a panel of guests which will include celebrities, comedians and experts, as well as the American public through social media. Topics will include: biggest presidential campaign flop, greatest founding father and which invention was history’s greatest game-changer. 

Okay, now I get it. Some topics will cover history. Nice approach, yet I bet the average 5th grader will know more history than the "celebrity" guests. 

If it goes the route of Jay Leno and his "person on the street" interviews it may be too depressing to watch. However, I am willing to give Craig a chance. He can make even the depressing fun. And as a recently minted citizen of this country I bet he knows his American history better than most.  

Update: The show is not ready for prime time. I don't think it comes on at prime time, but that's not the point. The pilot was Craig and three guests reviving dead stories about untrustworthy public servants. I get enough of that on the nightly news. You can do much better, Craig.

The Vikings Are Coming!

Season four of the Vikings premieres tonight on the History Channel.  Are you ready?  The popular series will have an extra 10 episodes this season to fill even more of your nights with adventure and battles.  As one of the actors states in this clip, the show is about relationships, culture, mythology, and more.  Oh yeah, and a bear attack.  

Season three is still available online at the series' homepage, so catch up if you need to, but do not miss this show.  

Here is a quick summary of season three from the History Channel if you do not have time to view the earlier 10 episodes:

Season 3 culminated with the extraordinary battle in Paris, where Ragnar (Travis Fimmel) seized victory from the jaws of defeat–but still returns to Kattegat dangerously ill. Thoughts of his death galvanize the forces who seek to succeed him as king, including his wife Queen Aslaug (Alyssa Sutherland) and his oldest son, Bjorn (Alexander Ludwig). Meanwhile, Lagertha (Katheryn Winnick) continues power struggles with her calculating, former second in command, Kalf (Ben Robson); Rollo (Clive Standen) betrays his Vikings heritage by remaining in Frankia and Floki (Gustaf Skarsgård) is seized for his brutal actions to the Christian priest Athelstan.

Now you are ready.