Here’s this week’s installment of “The Obsessive Viewer’s Week in TV!” This week was a little light, compared to last week at least. A lot of that is due to the kick off of Shocktober and various other things. Still, I managed to watch the series finale of Breaking Bad, Family Guy’s season premiere and start a rewatch of Game of Thrones. Read on to see what kind of week I’ve had. Continue reading
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Tagged Andy Samberg, blu-ray, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Bryan Cranston, Chris Hardwick, Conan, Dunn Purnsley, family guy, Felina, Finale, Game of Thrones, Heisenberg, how I Met Your Mother, J. Edgar Hoover, London, Meyer Lansky, new girl, Nucky Thompson, Parks and Recreation, Ron Swanson, Series Finale, talking bad, Television Columns, The Week in TV, Vince Gilligan, Walter Hartwell White, Walter White
In honor of the return of the best show on television next week, today’s Streaming Saturday is Breaking Bad! Next Sunday, the first episode of the final 8 episodes of the series will premiere. Just in time, Netflix has added season 5 of the show to their streaming arsenal. So if you want to rewatch last year’s episodes to prepare for next week, or if you want to call off work and cram all 54 episodes into the next 8 days, they are all available on Netflix. Continue reading
Before you start reading, I must warn you that this is a SPOILER HEAVY list, obviously. Read at your own discretion.
I wrote this in response to the end of season 3 of Game of Thrones. When I first started watching the series, I wanted to read each season’s corresponding book before I watched the adaptation. Given the length of the novels, my impatience and fear of being spoiled I stopped about 1/3 of the way through the second book and got caught up on the series.
Thankfully, I avoided all spoilers for the end of season three. What I got in return was one of the biggest “HOLY SHIT” moments in recent television memory. It’s the moment everyone has been talking about and now that I’ve finally seen it, I’ve been inspired to make a list of the most tragic moments in television. Enjoy.
Disclaimer: Clearly this list is only limited to the shows I’ve seen. Think I missed something? Let me know in the comments, on Twitter @ObsessiveViewer or on Facebook. Continue reading
Posted in Editorials, Matt Hurt's Columns
Tagged 24, A Song of Ice and Fire, Aaron Paul, Angela Darmody, Band of Brothers, Ben Linus, Boardwalk Empire, Bodie, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Cable Television, Charlie Hunnam, Game of Thrones, George R.R. Martin, HBO, Jack, Jack Bauer, Jacob, Jax Teller, Jimmy Darmody, John Locke, Krysten Ritter, Locke, Lost, Man in Black, Manny Horvitz, Matthew Fox, Michael Emerson, miniseries, Morgan, My Lunch, Network Television, Opie, Poot, Ryan Hurst, Scrubs, Shane Vendrell, Sons of Anarchy, Stringer Bell, Television Columns, The Red Wedding, The Shield, The Walking Dead, The Wire, Tragedy, Vic Mackey, Wallace
Pilots are interesting beasts in the television world. They’re used to convince a studio to shell out more money for more episodes. In order to do that, a pilot needs to succeed on several more fronts of storytelling than any other single episode. A pilot needs to introduce the major characters of a series in an engaging, often standalone, story that will leave the audience clamoring for more.
Furthermore, a good pilot needs to rely on a strong cast to build a rapport in a short period of time. Writers working on pilots also have to gauge possible long-term onscreen relationships completely blind of actors’ chemistry. Because of these factors, I live by one steadfast television-viewing rule:
Never judge a show by its pilot.
But some series have such strong pilot episodes that you can and should judge them on the pilots. And so, here I have compiled a list of some of my favorite pilot episodes. They aren’t necessarily my favorite shows ever, and they aren’t exactly the best episodes of said shows. These episodes are just the most engaging series-starters that I’ve seen. They also introduce the characters and story arcs in a highly satisfying way.
You can click the episode titles in the list to buy them digitally on Amazon.
So enjoy and be sure to let me know what you think of my choices in the comment section. Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter @ObsessiveViewer and like the blog on Facebook.
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Posted in Editorials, Matt Hurt's Columns
Tagged Aaron Paul, Aaron Sorkin, Arrested Development, Boardwalk Empire, Breaking Bad, Bryan Cranston, Carlton Cuse, Community, Damon Lindelof, Dan Harmon, David Simon, Episodes, Frank Darabont, Homicide, J.J. Abrams, Jeff Daniels, jj abrams, Joel McHale, Lists, Lost, Martin Scorsese, Martin Sheen, Mitch Hurwitz, Pilots, Steve Buscemi, Television Columns, Terence Winter, The Newsroom, The Walking Dead, The West Wing, The Wire, Vince Gilligan
Letterboxd – ObsessiveViewer
