Wow, what an ending! The flashbacks showed me that I should have cheered louder when Jimmy killed the Commodore. Did you see it coming? What did you think of it?
I agree -- this entire final season was quite good and the last episode seemed especially intent on wrapping things up (i.e., no sitting around in a diner listening to Journey on the jukebox).
I think the thing I liked most in the last episode ("Eldorado") was when Nucky was lured into the velvet tent by the lady on the Boardwalk promising a glimpse of the future. When he got inside, it was a demonstration of a very early, rudimentary version of television. That worked on about five different levels for me and, I'm not ashamed to say, gave me the goosebumps.
As for the last scene, I guess we all saw that coming from about a million miles away. It had certainly been predicted by fans. What I did like was that very last scene, with the coin grab underwater. Perfect, I thought.
How do you think this show will be remembered? I see it as good but not great; nowhere close to being in the same league as Breaking Bad or Sopranos. Mostly because Nucky Thompson isn't as compelling as Walter White or Tony Soprano. I know you're a fan of this final season but to me, the flashbacks confirmed that I'm not really interested in Nucky, so doubling-down by filling in his childhood wasn't a great use of time. Capone, Chalky, even Mrs. Thompson provided the best parts of this season, in my opinion. The finale was good and wrapped everything up neatly but I have no interest in rewatching this show, unlike the Wire, Sopranos, and six feet under.
I think you've landed on "Boardwalk Empire's" biggest hurdle -- everyone would forever be comparing it to "The Sopranos," which is probably not fair, but oh well.
I disagree about the flashbacks. I usually am not thrilled to see writers leaning on flashbacks, but in this case, I think it really opened the story up and gave it meaning beyond crime and violence. Sometimes I just admire the tidying-up. I have enough TV shows in my life that are trying to thwart my understanding of what's happening or trick me with hallucinations, obfuscations or otherwise lure me into online discussions about What Really Happened or What Did That Really Mean?
I still have this feeling that a few years from now, people are going to be talking about how they just discovered "Boardwalk Empire" and are watching it all the way through.
Except I understand the real Nucky died in Florida in a Senior Home. But I guess I should be glad they didn't do a David Chanse and just give us a blank screen, right?
Wasn't sure what to expect from NBC's Constantine, especially after the train wreck of a movie a few years back, but I was pleasantly surprised. What's the early line on it?
The show got fairly indifferent reviews overall from critics (Metacritic score is 53 based on 25 reviews). As far as viewers, the "fan excuse bingo" that night was a World Series game on Fox, but "Constantine" had about 4 million who watch it live. The bad news there is that "Grimm" had 5 million, so a million of those viewers didn't stick around for "Constantine," which was meant to lure them. We'll see. This Friday is Halloween, which might help?
It's gotten better and better and better each week! I was genuinely laughing out loud at last night's Halloween episode!
What is it with Apocalypes that everyone starts reverting to evil jerks? Doesn't matter if its Nuclear War or Zombie Contagion, somebody's going to start hanging people by the rafters.......makes me really worried what's next for ebola.
Based on the number of people who, in the pre-Apocalypse, would be willing slit throats rather than let their child near a peanut-butter sandwich, I don't think we're going to do very at all in any end-of-everything scenario. But I'm a pessimist with a big mouth and I will most certainly be playing the role of a dessicated corpse.
I have not been watching this show for very long, but I have been watching for Jill's wedding and all the surrounding activities. There is a lot of criticism about them on IMDb for basically turning their kids into mindless robots. I do not watch any of the Kardashian shows, but I think I would much rather have my daughters turn out like the J's rather than the K's. Still, they do have a point. I also think the Pioneer Woman's kids, although not as regimented as the Duggars, don't seem to have the freedom of choice that most kids have nowadays.
If the choice is turning out like a Duggar or turning out like a Kardashian, then I choose not to choose.
My thoughts on the Duggars are few and far between because I think the show treats its viewers like they're learning disabled. (The viewers, not the Duggars. Although ...)
There's something really interesting there to be filmed and discussed, on the themes of families and religious expression and politics, but for some reason the producers have decided that this is a show that will assiduously avoid depth or difficult questions. It's a very incurious way about being curious. As a result, for one obvious example, viewers know very little about the oldest son's job in Washington (with a family-values outfit that some would essentially label a hate group). And obviously, viewers are very curious about the premium on virginity and purity for these young brides and grooms. No one ever talks about the possibility that one or more of these 19 children might not follow suit, might not want to live this way. The Duggar children are cooperating in a process that only shows them as lighthearted and full of joy. As such, I guess we just sit and wait and hope that there's a contrarian in the bunch who gets the itch to write a tell-all at some point down the road.
I'd be surprised if anyone seriously watches the Duggar show out of a place of envy.
How did you react to the news last week of Mama going out with the Registered Sex Offender and TLC cutting the cord?
1.) If Honey Boo Boo's safety is tantamount, then wouldn't she in fact be more safe if the TV cameras stuck around?
2.) Is it all possible that TLC was just looking for a good reason to move on? I don't imagine that the further adventures of a tweenage Honey Boo Boo was anyone's idea of a hit show.
How many more seasons of this is Lifetime going to squeeze out? Between the poor designs and the constant product placement, enough is enough. They even lost Tom & Lorenzo.
I failed to watch this season, but heard many complaints and sighs of of the disenthused. There might be a contractual answer to your question -- any "Runway" fans out there know about the status? Is there a long-term deal in place?
Saw it for the first time this week. Clunky and not sure of itself yet, but it was amusing enough that I'll give it another chance. This was one of the ones you had high hopes for, no? Part of the reason I decided to give it a chance.
I had given it a B as the season started. I think one's enjoyment of it depends entirely on whether that David Caspe-style of dialogue (a la "Happy Endings") is music to your ears or not. It is to mine. "Happy Endings" was one of those shows that I got all wrong in the beginning and wound up purely loving.
I like this show, will it stick around?
I like it too. The ratings aren't terrific, but they're not deadly yet either. It could go either way at this point.
I really like a couple of the actors (Eliza Coupe from Happy Endings and Jay Harrington from Better Off Ted), but wasn't crazy about the pilot. Does it get better?
Speaking of "Happy Endings" ... I didn't see anything besides the pilot and decided to pass on a review. But I'm with you, mostly because I like the people starring in it and making it enough to hope (a little bit) for something better.
And there's no real glory in being the second show cancelled.
I think it was "Manhattan Love Story"? But industry watchers (and the Cancellation Bear) insist that technically it was "Mulaney," even though it's still airing, because the episode order was cut.
Interesting -- I never watched an episode of Happy Endings. Maybe I should check it out.
FYI, I call you Hanky in my head, like we're cousins lol
I watched the first three episodes. I want to like it more (I think Maura Tierney is great) but I feel like it's moving too slowly. Maybe it's because each episode is shots from the perspective of both main characters - so they have half the time to develop the plot. It's interesting to see the differences in their stories, but I don't know if it's worth sticking with it.
It's certainly going around and around and around. I have a couple of new episodes to watch; I'm sometimes embarrassed to watch it at work, because people walking by my office can see what's on my computer screen. Lots of flesh.
Definitely a must watch! Was one of the funniest shows on at that time. Along with Go On, and The New Normal. So sad when they were all cancelled. I just knew TBS was going to pick up Happy Endings just like they did CougarTown.
I agree that it's definitely showing its age, but I thought the season that just concluded was actually pretty good...the judging actually made some sense and the quality of the work was better than it had been. I think the problem is that they've overworked (using a design term that I picked up!) the brand...do we really need PR All Stars and PR Threads (the newest spinoff with kid designers and their mothers)?
It about the only Reality Show I watch. I hear the ratings have gone down. Any chance they could move it to Tesdays at 10pm or Wednesdays at 9pm?
The ratings are down, but they had to be, since "Amazing Race" was following "60 Minutes" (and football games). Dunno if they'll move it or just work with what they have. As a fan of the show, I have to say this season has seemed very run of the mill. The entire world is starting to look ho-hum; the contestants are mostly forgettable.
It was dry to me. And kind of unbelievable. But I'm going to give it more chances.
If people walk by and see this on your computer screen, just say "It's a living" and shrug.
It seems that usually 3 or 4 shows would be cancelled by now, but so far its only that Manhattan Love Story. Is it because they're using "Live+7" raitings, or because they really have no shows to back them up?
All theories are being floated at this point.
Maybe they're just tired of cancelling things they've already spent money on. Maybe the midseason stuff is even worse. Maybe their in-house ratings research is so markedly different from Nielsen that they've decided to wait and see.
where do you rank these chats? (1 low and 10 high) Do we chatters need to up our game?
At the moment, you need to totally up your game or we aren't going to make it through the hour. I'm down to questions-that-aren't-questions about "Scandal" and some kind of spambot is submitting what looks like a random three-dot Herb Caen-style column about TV and media.
Some people say that Fox is killing Baseball, and the ratings have given evidence to this. What do you think?
Have you watched the second season? Is it worth putting on my viewing list?
My screener sprouted legs and walked over to The Reliable Source and I haven't had time yet to log into my Amazon Prime account and take a look. I hear it's improved?
I keep seeing announcements that networks are doing a reboot of old shows like Bewitched, Lost in Space, Richie Rich, etc, etc. Has Hollywood totally given up on Greenlighting original ideas?
Yes, to such a degree that it's hard to come up with anything without a book or a comic book or a beloved box set of reruns to support it.
I am intrigued by Fox's announcement that it had picked up "Riverdale," a serious-looking Archie project, for next fall.
Are the rumors true? Is this returning?
Where ya been? Yes, this was announced a few weeks ago, to much huzzahs among people who forgot how boring the original became. Showtime has ordered it; David Lynch is in. Look for it in 2016.
Given the weather on Saturday might mean we're stuck inside with small children, any suggestions on non-Charlie-Brown Halloween shows we can watch?
First of all, Halloween is Friday night, so maybe I already solved your problem?
Was disappointed in his outing as host. Maybe he is getting too old to be a wild and crazy guy anymore? (though the car ad parody was amusing)
So who do you think is in the woods with Darryl??
For airing the Benn Bradlee funeral service yesterday. It was appreciated by those of us in the hinterlands who admired him and his service to the nation.
I don't know if this show has ever come up in this chat--are you a fan? Timothy Olyphant isn't a very good actor but his foil, Walter Groggins is awesome and really the best reason to tune in on a regular basis.
"Justified" comes up all the time in this chat, but I don't ever have very much to say about it, except to usually answer the question of when is it coming back. (A: January.)
And if we're stuck inside, we might as well be watching something Halloween-y, just for a change from Curious George.
Chatters, you may have to take this one. I don't know what small children should be watching on a Saturday night after Halloween.
If people are submitting Scandal questions, why don't you answer Scandal questions? Have you not been keeping up with the show?
They're not submitting questions, they're submitting random fandom notes in all caps, "DON'T KILL JAKE" and the like.
The best part of this last season was the casting of the younger Nucky, Commodore, etc. Deputy Nucky is spot on.
It's a funny, quirky show, with great casting and entertaining plot lines. Kinda of a telenovela for gringos. I'm just not sure how they're going to keep it going without losing the premise of the show. Have you been watching?
So since Tony Kornheiser just had his go as an extra for THE AMERICANS, will you be next? On a related note, when is THE AMERICANS returning? i'm anxious to see if it can maintain its high level for another season.
Only one I like is The Nightmare before Christmas, which is okay for kids, but maybe not really little ones.
Just an FYI: Logo tends to run repeats of Happy Endings nearly every evening and on weekends too. I never watched it in its first run; loving the show now in repeats.
Totally appreciate that IMDb link! This is why we love you Hank. And yes he is definitely a good Steve Buscemi.
Are you keeping up with Gotham? They don't really seem to be progressing the overall storyline much, IMHO. There are bits and pieces here and there, but they seem to be more of a one-hour, self-contained drama mode. Thoughts?
"Gotham's" pretty much lost me, but I still like the look of it and the idea of it. I'll come back around to it on a slow day when I'm cleaning out the DVR.
I don't currently have Showtime but have seen the first 3 seasons of Homeland--how is the new season/show reboot? Any chance it can capture the magic of that first season?
Well, I'm a little turned off by some of Carrie's techniques this season, but I also worry that that is a sexist reaction, though I'd be just as turned off if a male agent was doing what she's doing right now. Everyone who IS watching season 4 knows exactly what I'm talking about.
It's interesting so far, definitely a shift in tone and setting, and I'm still undecided if it's measurably better or worse. It seems to be dragging a bit for me.
I've been a fan of the show since the beginning. One thing isn't clear is if the dentists have to use their special card when they come in last, does the team before them then get eliminated?
That seems like an awfully unfair way for a Save card to work. I presumed it would basically just turn it into a non-elimination round, but without the extra task.
Phineas and Ferb has done several Halloween episodes. As a 20-something with nephews who has watched a LOT of this show, I can say that it is a delightful way to spend an afternoon, for kids and grownups (how many shows pack in Memento and Remains of the Day references in the same episode?)
Do you think you apply higher judging standards to them because living in the community? (Should I even ask what you think about the coming Katherine Heigl show?)
I'm actually not that picky about verisimilitude in Washington-set shows, since we all know that they're never filmed here.
And how sad that you sit there wondering what I think about the Katherine Heigl show, since I already reviewed in the Fall preview. (The rest of you knew I'd find a way to link to it again, didn't you?)
I've read the book, so I knew what to expect, but I think it's a great interpretation! For PBS Brit-com fans, it was a bit of shock to recognize Lizzie's father as the benighted Hugh from Vicar of Dibley (has it really been that long??!!), but casting Jenna Coleman ("Dr. Who") as Lydia was a stroke of genius. She captures the vain, stupid, pretty, idiotic nature of that character!
I fell in love with this show, but only on DVR and I'm not sure what channel it's on or when it is coming back. Help a girl out?
It's on Starz and has it already finished up its first season? There'll be more -- Starz renewed it back in August. You'll have to wait until next summer, though, for season 2. Or maybe touch a standing stone and teleport into the future for it. (Careful, though. Everyone might have Ebola. Washy-handsies.)
I'm one of those people who doesn't sleep well and appreciates, for instance, that I can watch "Frasier" in the middle of the night on the Hallmark channel. Well, 10 months a year... Both those damn Hallmark channels, that occasionally have old re-runs I enjoy, do NOTHING but Christmas movies between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31. I guarantee I won't be turning to those channels. Hell, I'll block them from my TV. Is this really what people want to see?
The scented-candle people, yes.
You sound like you need some streaming TV, where I'll bet you could find some commercial-free "Frasier" for those lonely, sleepless nights.
I really like Homeland, but am getting a bit bored with the idea that a female agent, even of Carrie's ranking, has to always turn to her sexuality to get the job done. It's how she was with Brody, and now with Aayan. Are we supposed to believe this is how things work at the CIA?
has been running a whole series of mini-movies for their TV shows with a Halloween theme. Some of those might be on then.
Unfortunately, I neglected to record the pilot, so I figured I would wait until it comes around in reruns to watch. After a few episodes, do you believe it is worth a look? And speaking of Episodes, is it coming back, and if so, do you know when?
"Madam Secretary" had a great pilot (watch it On Demand, maybe, if it's still there?) but has wobbled since as it tries to find a groove, which I still very much hope it does.
Showtime's "Episodes" will be back Sunday, Jan. 11. (As will new seasons of the network's "Shameless" and "House of Lies.")
I liked the first two episodes of Red Band Society (on demand) but then they brought in Jordi's slutty mother to interact with the George Clooney-wannabe doctor. That kinda turned me off. Should I keep watching?
They split the first "season" into 2 parts. The first half has shown and it returns in April to finish the rest of the first book.
I fell in love with this show too! Maybe "this show" is not actually what I fell in love with. Actually I kind of think the show is boring. But hello Jamie.
Hello, Jamie and so long, chatters.
I'll be back next Thursday, Nov. 6.
Meanwhile, I've written a very positive review (which should go up online today or tomorrow here) of "Olive Kitteridge" on HBO, which airs Sunday night and concludes Monday night. Frances McDormand is amazing in it. Do watch.
without resorting to humming with your hands over your ears
