The Obsessive Viewer

This is the time of year when I get bogged down with all the series I follow. Some shows fall by the wayside while others get picked up if word of mouth or marketing is strong enough.  Obviously I can’t devote a post every week (like with Bates Motel or Under the Dome) to every show I watch. So here’s a weekly series I’m going to try my best to work on as the fall TV season unfolds.

New Episodes

This section covers the episodes I watched of shows that aired a new episode this week.

Breaking Bad – 514 – Ozymandias

Airdate: Sunday, September 15^th, 2013

Watch Date: Monday, September 16^th, 2013

This episode was a defining moment in the series’ history. To avoid spoilers, I won’t go into much detail here but suffice it to say, this was an important episode of Breaking Bad and of television in general, I would say. The episode as a whole played out as a series finale, so much so that if this was the series finale; I would have actually been pretty satisfied. But there are two episodes left and I think we’re heading toward one of the best conclusions in television history.

If you want to hear some spoiler-ific analysis of this episode, check out the second Breaking Bad bonus episode of The Obsessive Viewer Podcast.

Boardwalk Empire – 402 – Resignation

Airdate: Sunday, September 15, 2013

Watch Date: Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Life is just better when Boardwalk Empire is airing new episodes.

I’m really excited for Jeffrey Wright’s character. It’s a nice change in villain from Gyp Rosetti, who was volatile and a loose cannon last season. Dr. Valentin Narcisse is calm, confident and calculating. I’m excited to see where it goes. And I love that he’s trying to put a wedge between Nucky and Chalky. I’m excited for the race issues to come into play as well.

I was floored when they introduced J. Edgar Hoover. I’m very excited about him. I hope he’s prominent throughout the season/rest of series. There’s a ton of potential there.

Richard Harrow is my favorite character and I love seeing him struggle with his humanity. I’m curious if/how his storyline will intersect with everything else going on. Right now, it seems a little too disconnected and maybe a little expendable. I hate to say that, because I really do love the character. The show is just so densely populated with characters and stories, that there’s not a lot of time to go around.

I also really like seeing Van Alden in the middle of the whole Capone/O’Banion thing. It’s fun seeing him out of his element and doing this whole timid act. The best thing about his character is the fact that he’s a caged animal. I hope this timid thing doesn’t last very long and that animal side of him overtakes the character.

Under the Dome – 113 – Curtains

Airdate: Monday, September 16, 2013

Watch Date: Thursday, September 19, 2013

The season finale of CBS’ Stephen King adaptation had good elements and bad elements. Overall I think the series has potential moving forward but there’s a chance their inconsistency this season may have buried them in a hole too deep to get out of. We’ll see what happens next summer.

Want a more in depth review of Curtains? You can read my thoughts here and check out the rest of my episode reviews of season 1.

Rewatches, Catch Ups and Independent Viewings

I’m nearly always rewatching a series, catching up on a show I’m behind on or going through a show I’ve never watched before from the beginning. This section is devoted to those viewings.

How I Met Your Mother – 612 (False Positive) – 801 (Farhampton)

Airdate: 2010-2012

I went on a HIMYM rewatch bender this week. My movie watching suffered, sure, but I had only a week to go before the final season premieres and there’s no way I’m going to be behind on this show’s final season. In fact, I’m watching it right now as I type this.

Season 6 was the first time the series appeared to lose its luster. It was still funny, but the chemistry between Ted and Zoey left something to be desired. But some of the series’ best episodes and arcs are in season 6 (Bad News, anyone?) and I think that makes up for any lack of chemistry in the central story arc.

Season 7 was an improvement considering Ted’s relationship wasn’t the focal point of the season. Though, like Ted and Zoey, Barney and Quinn didn’t do much for me. But at least it was introduced late in the season.

Trilogy Time is one of the season’s strongest episodes. Whenever the show teases the future of Ted’s love life it always pays dividends. When rewatching the season finale, though, I couldn’t help but wonder why they bothered naming it The Magician’s Code Part 1 and 2. Part 2 is the only part of the episode having to do with The Magician’s Code. Why not honor the birth of Marshall and Lily’s son by naming the episode in honor of that plot?

You’ll read more about my thoughts on Farhampton when I post my “favorite episodes” list tomorrow.

The Newsroom – 202 (The Genoa Tip) – 207 (Red Team III)

Airdate: 7/21-8/25, 2013

I could have probably finished the season before posting this. But episode 7 was a great stopping point for me to collect my thoughts on the season up to that point.

The running plot for the season was the News Night team gathering information about a highly controversial and shocking news story. The implications of running the story were staggering, so it took six episodes to chase it down and get it ready.

By the 3rd or 4th episode I was getting a bit tired of the Genoa plot. I thought a little too much time was being spent gathering the information and that the ominous tone of the “future deposition” scenes with Marcia Gay Harden wasn’t matching the tone of the story in a satisfying way for me.

Then episode 6, “One Step Too Many”, happened and I did a complete 180. The big picture of Genoa really came into focus and the lawyer scenes finally clicked. What followed was episode 7 (“Red Team III”), the series’ best episode since “5/1” last season.

I’m going to finish up the season soon. I’ll write about the last two episodes next week.

Miscellaneous

Here’s where I throw in anything TV-related that happened this week that doesn’t fit in the sections above and/or isn’t big enough to call for its own blog post throughout the week.

Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Second Season (blu-ray)

Purchase Date: Saturday, September 21^st, 2013

I wasn’t planning on buying anything new this week. But my paycheck had a little extra in it thanks to some holiday pay, so I figured I’d continue collecting my Boardwalk Empire blu-rays.

Last week I bought Boardwalk and Game of Thrones. I plan on rewatching Game of Thrones soon and waiting until season 4 of Boardwalk concludes before starting it over. But something just drew me back to Boardwalk Empire and it wasn’t the $10 savings in front of me. I think with season 4 airing now, the series is just at the forefront of my mind. I’ll pick up season 2 of Game of Thrones soon enough.

Having said that, I took a peak at some of the special features in Boardwalk Empires season 2 blu-ray collection and WOW, I love it. The show is one of the best on TV and HBO honors that by putting together quality home video collections. What’s great about this set is that it honors the show’s depiction of history.

I spent this morning nerding out on a fantastic feature on disc 5 called “Living in 1921.” It’s a comprehensive interactive guide to life in 1921. It includes videos, stills, and information on a ton of topics including the start of the KKK, the Polio epidemic, history of the Tommy Gun, fashion trends of the era, the arts and notable people of the era. It’s really spectacular. I can’t wait to rewatch the show and take a more in depth look at the features.

Also, because I didn’t feel like taking a new pic of my Boardwalk blu-ray and I don’t feel like grabbing a new pic from the intenet, I also bought Grand Theft Auto V.

That does it for this week’s installment of my Week in TV feature! What did you think of the shows I watched this week? Is there anything on I should be watching? Let me know in the comments below and follow me online using the links below.