Welcome to the last section of round 1! After today we will be halway through the contest. Thanks so much to everyone for making it so much fun so far. Congratulations to Kate Beckett, Norma Bates, Barney Stinson, and Harold Finch for making it to the next round. Most of the polls were marked by few votes so many characters will head to round 2 with fewer votes than some characters who were defeated got, especially Norma who at 249 votes got fewer than 13 of the characters already out. Of course they were not in a poll on a weekend and to paraphrase Frost, and that makes all the difference. With the exception of 1 charcter which I do not know, today is hard because I like all the characters. It's going to be the most painful section of all round 1. I hope your last round 1 choices go well. Until then, happy voting!
Previous contest results
Polls end - Monday around 5 pm CST
Prediction contest results - Rob F, It Depends on What Fails, Janna, and Famous 4 It all predicted yesterday's polls correctly. Congrats to all and of course to Janna who is still winning with just 1 miss. Impressive!
TV Talk Topic - Since yesteray's topic was new characters, today we visit recurring characters. What recurring characters of long running shows have kept your attention the longest? What keeps a long running character great/interesting? What is the most contrived plot a show has ever put a recurring character into? Are there any characters that should have left a long time ago even though the show should have stayed? Any characters you wish had lived on in another show once their original show got canceled? Have any of your favorite recurring characters made the jump to another show? How did it work if yes?
My Picks:
ReplyDelete1. Emily - haven't seen Continuum
2. Dana Scully - Scully was my TV hero for a long time, so she still gets my vote. I do think Chandler was one of the best on Friends, but I don't revere that show as much as most people.
3. Veronica Mars - the coolest teen ever to be on screen. While I didn't always agree with her choices, she was smart and dedicated. I wish more teen characters these days were like her. I like Chuck but he's not my favorite character on the show and I've only seen a season or two.
4. Derek Morgan - This one was tough because Regina was the best thing about OUaT before I dropped it a few episodes in. However, I have just recently found Criminal Minds and he's just awesome. Besides he's going to need the votes much more than Regina.
Chandler (aka the best Friends character) and Derek Morgan.
ReplyDeleteEmily x Kiera. Voted for Emily, but love Kiera the same way.
ReplyDeleteThe only one I really want to win today: Scully. Scully was one of the greatest things about The X-Files. Even when the show starting going downhill she was still such a magnetic character. Even her character name has become a colloquialism for calling someone a skeptic.
ReplyDeleteVote Scully. Scientist, skeptic, hero.
Dana and Regina today. Never particularly liked Derek (with the exception of two brilliant episodes about his past).
ReplyDeleteVeronica Mars one of the best female PI on tv/movie and Derek Morgan.....
ReplyDeleteHow am I supposed to choose between Chuck and Veronica? C'mon. That's just not fair. I demand that they both go through. Please?
ReplyDeleteCongratulations Janna for being a rock star! One miss. My brackets are a mess!
ReplyDeleteOnly Chandler and Veronica for me today. It was so hard. Scully? One of my favorites but my nostalgia for Friends and the 90's gives it to Chandler.
As much as I love Lana Parilla, I don't watch OuAT anymore or Criminal Minds. I don't feel drawn to either character.
I have many thoughts on the TT today. Let me get them together.
I voted for Regina Mills today because Once Upon A Time is the only show I watch from the list.
ReplyDeleteTrue. He will nee them. CM is a great show that I watched from the beginning until last season. The entire team is amazing but my favorite is the relationship between Reid and Morgan. They are so amazing in scenes. Big or small. What season are you watching?
ReplyDeleteDana Scully and Regina Mills for me today.
ReplyDeleteI voted for Chandler Bing and Veronica Mars.
ReplyDeleteGuys, having Scully face Chandler is totally not fair, IMO. They are both contenders for finalists and one will end up gone in the first round.
ReplyDeleteI love this character cup, think Dahne organized it masterfully, but this is the one mistake I found so far. Probably no one is to blame for it, but still thought it was worth mentioning.
Friends - Chandler ( Mondler forever!!! )
ReplyDeleteOUAT - Regina (just finished OUAT last week, Regina's my fav so far:D )
I voted for Veronica Mars and Emily Thorne. And now that I see their names next to each other I can't help thinking what would happen if they met. I think they would be great pals. Emily is like a slightly older, more vicious version of Veronica.
ReplyDeleteAs to recurring characters, it's really difficult to pick one in particular. The characters are usually the reason I become addicted to a show. The first show I started watching religiously was The Highlander. I don't know if it's very well known in the US, I think it was a Canadian show. It was based on the series of movies Highlander with Christophe Lambert. Basically it was the story of Duncan McLeod who was immortal and had to fight against other immortals who wanted to behead him. He was a great character because the writers made him with a good balance of qualities and flaws. Plus, since he was immortal, we got to see him at all kinds of different eras like at the time of the Gold Rush or during WW2 or the French Revolution. And he met famous characters like Lord Byron, Hitler, the Knights of the Apocalypse...
God, I'm getting nostalgic, does anyone else know that show?
Scully and Mulder became the model for so many pairs of detectives, the sceptic one and the fanciful one. It's the same model in Bones and Booth, Joan and Sherlock, Eames and Goren etc.
ReplyDeleteI think 'disappointment' is the word you're looking for, not 'mistake'. It's disappointing to you that a Scully/Chandler poll is in the first round. 'Mistake' suggests there was cheating involved.
ReplyDelete1. Kiera Cameron
ReplyDelete2. Dana Scully
3. N/A- Never got around to Chuck, and only watched a couple eps of Veronica Mars. So it's not right, for me to vote here.
4. Regina Mills
Emily Thorne, Chandler Bing, Veronica Mars and Regina Mills
ReplyDeleteTalkTopic-
ReplyDeleteCharacters who stayed too long-
Castiel, Ruby 2.0, Piz, Tess on Roswell, Sara on Arrow, Daryl Crow on Justified, Juice on SOA,
Characters who should never have been-
Dawn on Buffy, Piz on VM, just about all new characters on TW except for Malia. (when you have a large, well loved ensemble, you utilize them. You don't put them on the back burner)
I have more. I just don't think you'd appreciate me writing an entire book!
As for story, I need a reason. Don't just bring on a character with no development and no reason to take screen time from my favorites.
I wish Dawn had never been, that we had more of The Master and more Drucilla.
I wish they had utilized the fans love of Misha Collins and Castiel to create a spinoff with him.
I liked the addition of Dawn on BtVS. I thought it was a smart and creative way to create a new character and ultimately it lead to the final evolution of Buffy as a character and the evolution of the story as a whole. Furthermore it made the pain in Buffy's life much more personal. Without the introduction of personal family (Dawn) the episode The Body and the fallout for the characters wouldn't have had such a deep impact. Sure Dawn devolves into a whiney brat in season 6 but her entire emotional support structure had pretty much disappeared (Buffy coming to terms with being alive, Xander being more focused on Anya, Willow's addiction storyline, the break up with Tara). Also she finds a true purpose in season 7 as the female version of Xander, existing in a world where everyone in her life has some super power.
ReplyDeleteAs for The Master and Druscilla. Well they served their purpose. The Master was the least elaborate of the Big Bads, every other Big Bad had some sort of plan or related towards the theme of the season. Druscilla was interesting but too chaotic to be a Big Bad on her own. She needed to be with Angel's artistic plans and Spike's brutality to be a relevant villain. She does get some more screen time on Angel season 2.
Yep, Bradley, you're absolutely right. That's why I said I'm sure no one is to blame for it.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely no cheating nor manipulation going on. You are correct. Everything was placed by nominations, ranking polls, and the NCAA seeded tournament brackets. i'm still sorry that this issue came up in your contest. it was fair.
ReplyDeleteI posted a few quick thoughts but I have so much more to say. Especially when recurring characters change the theme and tone of a favorite show.
ReplyDeleteDuncan McLeod was on th short list of characters I wrote down today. So glad someone else loves him too. I adored all the time periods we got to experience through his eyes. I particularly loved his relationship with Richie. I think by being his mentor we got to see another facet of Duncan. I also really liked Joe. I agree that what amde him fascinating was that while he was the hero, he had his fair share of issues. Thanks so much for bringing up Highlander. It was a great show.
ReplyDeleteThis is mainly a procedural show so it really surprised me when her death hit me so hard. It was heartbreaking. Have you seen the 2 episodes guest starring James Van Der Beek? I think part 2 may be my favorite episode of CM.
ReplyDeleteYes, I loved it! Agree with all you mentioned too.
ReplyDeleteDamn Janna - now that my brackets are screwed six ways to Sunday I'm rooting for you!
ReplyDeleteToday's picks were relatively easy for me: Kiera, Scully, Veronica and Derek. Scully vs. Chandler was probably the most difficult for me. I love both characters so I went with the ever reliable "Eeney, Meeny, Miney, Moe" method of decision making.
Today's topics: hmmmm, recurring characters are tricky, got to walk that fine line of fleshing them out well enough for the audience to connect and want them back again and avoiding them taking over the story line from the main characters. Supernatural has both a good and a bad example of this - the angel story line has taken over a good chunk of the screen time on SPN since the introduction of Cas. Don't get me wrong, I loved Cas in the beginning but the angel story line is tired and taking entirely too much time away from the boys. Conversely, Crowley has been done right - his role has always been to be a pain in the ass for the boys (whether it's obvious or more of a stealth attack) yet I would absolutely love a spin off of Crowely's origin story because I have connected to his character despite his recurring status. His S10 promotion to series regular has to do with Dean's story line. This is how I prefer a recurring character to be promoted to regular - tied in to a current main character's story line otherwise it feels like an intrusion (this is how the angel story line now feels to me).
Another show that has done both a good and bad job with the recurring character is Grimm. I hate Adalind. Of all the times I have thrown socks at my computer, about 95% of them were because of her - making her a regular after S1 was the reason I dropped the show for awhile. Conversely, Rosalee was a fantastic addition and her upgrade to regular was most welcome news.
Plot that I hate most: long lost love come back to cause mathematical problems with current love interest. Ugh, instant reason to fast forward even if I love the show.
I hate Adalind too, she is so annoying! I could never figure out why Nick didn't just kill her. And now she's permanently attached to Renard with this baby storyline and I love Renard! I saw pictures on Sasha Roiz's twitter from the shooting of the next season and it looks like she's still there, I'm beginning to despair.
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree with you for Rosalee, she is so sweet and so badass at the same time. I love her and Monroe, and at least she's not just his girlfriend, she's essential to Nick's investigations.
Dahne, don't get me wrong, please. I don't think you or anyone else cheated. All I meant to say is you maybe should think about this for the next character cup. I also don't know if there is a viable solution, it was truly just an observation.
ReplyDeleteOh ya, I considered Derek a Grade A Douche when I first started Criminal Minds (been there since the beginning) and those two episodes completely changed my mind. The ones in the S5 finale/S6 opener (I think the was the episodes with Tim Curry as the bad guy??) were amazing as well. His character growth and my absolute dislike of Regina in S1 (which is as far as I am in OUAT) was why he got my vote. I've heard that Regina gets some redemption in later seasons...any truth to that?
ReplyDeleteI agree on Adalind and Juliette. I know a lot of fans love Juliette because she supports Nick (somewhat, though not lately) but I really don't like her. The whole story arc where she was trying to recover her memories after Adalind's spell was painful to watch.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of a spinoff for Castiel seems much better than the one they had last season with the city of monsters. And yet Castiel's relationship with Dean is so intense, it's one of my favorites on the show. So I'm torn.
ReplyDeleteYa, not knowing that back story on that one minimizes the effect of her death. The ones with Tim Curry are my all time favorites - he's so good at being bad!
ReplyDeleteEmily (Continuum couldn't hold my interest), Dana Scully (not a Friends fan), Veronica Mars (this one hurt. a lot.),Derek Morgan ( I like both characters a lot...so I went for the underdog)
ReplyDeleteAwesome, I had no idea anyone else knew this show. Even in France where it played obsessively for years, it was not well known.
ReplyDeleteDuncan's relationship with Richie was my favorite before Methos was introduced, I loved the idea of an immortal so old he didn't know when he was born.
Terrific, I'm glad other people know this show.
ReplyDeleteWhat was your favorite thing about it?
OMG Those eps proved to me James Van Der Beek is a real adult actor. It was a transformative part (by which I mean I couldn't see the actor, just the character.) Did you see Apartment 23? I had another one of those moments with his work. His comedic talent was the only reason (for me) was the sole reason to watch that show. He is now on my "Check out anything this actor is in" list.
ReplyDeleteYes, so technically the original model should be Sherlock/Watson from Conan Doyle and everything other similar pairing comes from them.
ReplyDeleteBut I think Scully/Mulder also had an influence because it was a male/female pairing which Sherlock/Watson wasn't.
Exactly - on both counts!
ReplyDeleteI have actually yelled the words "Would someone please kill her" at my computer when ever Adalind is up to her shenanigans. She's still listed as a series regular for S4 but I am really hoping that Truble kills her before the midseason break!
Rosalee is so awesome and her introduction was great - she was originally just the relative of one of the murder victims Nick was investigating and she turned into so much more but not in a way that diminishes Monroe or Nick's story lines.
His immortality and how it's not always a gift. His relationships and how he seemed sad to me sometimes. It just made me love him.
ReplyDeleteI watched a few episodes of B23, I'm not a huge fan of sitcoms anymore but there and on CM, I saw that he is a terribly underrated actor. He was so good. I think people think of him and all they see is that crying meme of him. He is do much more.
ReplyDeleteJust out of curiosity, which season did you drop the show in? I'd be astonished if you left this season.
ReplyDeleteJust Regina today.
ReplyDeleteI don't really agree that Scully/Mulder was an evolution on the partnerships genre. Typically in a crime show with partners you find the partners are either opposites who make each other better or follow the Sherlock/Watson model. The X-Files is, in my opinion, an example of the former. Scully's scientific skeptism brought a legitimacy to Mulder's theories (Which interestingly enough did incorporate the Holmes method) and Mulder's passion brought out a sense of wonder in Scully.
ReplyDeleteI simply believe that The X-Files had a great example of a partnership because the characters balanced each other perfectly.
TV Topic:
ReplyDeleteAdalind has over stayed her welcome on Grimm. Always hated her but mostly cause she was a villain who was defeated then came back and causing trouble again. Sigh.
Bobby on Supernatural is probably the best long time recurring character I've seen. I love Cas, but dislike the way he's been written since season 5 most of the time. Still, with how much I've disliked about the show recently, he's still a character I like to see on my screen.
The Originals getting their own show was the best for the characters. Klaus is more tolerable than on Vampire Diaries. I like him when he's not letting his temper get the better of him.
Chandler(that was a hard one I love Dana Scully but Chandler is one of my top favourite characters of all time), Chuck and Regina.
ReplyDeleteHa, I feel the same about Whele. I know he's there to make me feel that way. It's sure working.
ReplyDeleteRegina, Chuck and Chandler Bing!
ReplyDeleteChuck and Chandler
ReplyDeleteCompletely agree for Klaus, he's a great character but he needed a lot more breathing room than what he had on Vampire Diaries. He's good on The Originals, the last episode where he did everything to protect Hope was fantastic, Joseph Morgan broke my heart.
ReplyDeleteDana Scully and Regina Mills. Both are strong female characters, with great storylines. I really hope they pass this round. I also love Derek Morgan, it was hard to decide.
ReplyDeleteI have not had the privilege yet. I look forward to it.
ReplyDeleteSeason 1. I only made it through about 4 episodes.
ReplyDeleteI always thought Van Der Beek was unfairly typecast so I was glad that he got a chance in that comedy role. I never checked it out because of the title to be honest. It annoyed me I did see him a couple of times in Friends with Better Lives though. That one had Maria from Roswell in it too so it was like a late 90's reunion on my screen.
ReplyDeleteShe's another actress I wish would get more work.
ReplyDeleteI saw the episode right after she died and the main guy (sorry don't remember his name) was trying to decide whether to retire or not. I didn't realize people could even retire that young. I haven't seen any with Tim Curry either. I've probably only seen 10-15 episodes and all have been random.
ReplyDeleteWhat was so effect for me about Curry's appearance was the makeup artist's success at making him look like a monster.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. She was my favorite character on Roswell and tehn she kind of disappeared to pursue a music career. I was so excited that she was back that I watched her show, even though it is not my kind of show.
ReplyDeleteI would have guessed you hadn't seen any. It can get so ugly that I thought it wasn't your cup of tea.
ReplyDelete1. Emily Thorne.
ReplyDelete2. Cccccchhhhhaaannnddddlllleeerrrr!!! Chandler. I miss Friends.
Yep that last episode was really good.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you are saying but I do think that making Scully the skeptic and the logical one in a male-female partnership was a big leap. In most cases, females were still being portrayed as the emotional ones before her. I see Bones as an example of a character benefitting from the X-Files doing as well as it did. Of course that is built off of a book series but I think they were more willing to take a chance on a clinical and largely unsympathetic female character because of The X-Files. Not that Scully was unsympathetic at all. She did show that a strong female lead in a procedural could pull in a decent demo.
ReplyDeleteActually being a male-female partnership was pretty big for me. Not all shows a tthe time but most stuck with the male-male partnership and the occasional female-female like Cagney and Lacey. To have them as equal partners for the majority of the show really worked for me.
I can't watch some of the episodes. That's for sure. It's like SVU in some ways because I cannot marathon that show either. I also tend to be doing something else while I watch it and occasionally leave the room. Thus far I think I've been pretty lucky because only 2 were too much for me. I really liked the one where the traumatized girl was making human dolls. I thought that was creepy but very interesting. I also liked the one where the bank robber made the former undercover cop help him get his money. The most recent one was in a gated community where they brought in a child of a former serial killer to help them catch the guy. That was incredibly interesting. I never really thought of what their upbringing would be like. Oh and I have seen the one with Lydia from Teen Wolf.
ReplyDeleteOnly Veronica Mars today! I haven't watched the movie yet but looking forward to finishing season 3 and then watching the movie :D
ReplyDeleteNo idea on Regina. I stopped watching OUaT at about the 8th episode because I loathed Emma so much. I also hated Henry.
ReplyDeleteI like how Morgan looks after Garcia in Criminal Minds and how she always has his back. I'm not sure if that's a season one thing or not but they certainly have a great support system going there that I can get behind.
I won't change the way shows get bracketed because this is the only fair and impartial way of doing it besides random draw, which always causes people to accuse the pollmaker of stacking the contest. While you think both Scully and Chandler deserve to be finalists there are many people who don't like or know either and think that some other two like Harold Finch and The Doctor should be finalists and not meet in the first round. If I were to handpick which characters go against each other, then I would unfairly color the contest and people would have a right to be unhappy with it. Plus I would inevitably have a different opinion from yours and place 2 characters you like against each other first. For instance, Chandler would be toward the middle at best for me. Since everyone's opinion is different, it is only fair to allow the SpoilerTV community to choose how people are ranked through their nominations and preliminary polls. If people want their characters to have a higher ranking then they need to talk those characters up during the nomination process. Scully was 22 in the rankings and Chandler 43, so they were not going to get an easy draw in the first round.
ReplyDeleteMethos was a great character as well. They did a great job of showing how different characters reacted to the idea of immortality and how they grew throughout time.
ReplyDeleteTess on Roswell, most definitely. I try to block her out and the fool Isabel married in a truly stupid plot twist. I still have no idea where they think they were going with that. I agree with the characters that ought not have been list. Personally though I always wanted Misha to get his own comedy show. I think he would have been excellent as a sitcom star. His fans would get more screen time each week with him and I would have gotten my show back. Win-win.
ReplyDeleteOk, when you bring in the argument about gender roles I understand the point. But I'd need to research it more.
ReplyDeleteAh, I see. The ones with Tim Curry are creepy. Have you seen the movie "IT"? Tim Curry plays the clown in the movie and his character in CM gave me the creeps the same way Pennywise did. The first episode, S5 finale I think, made me sleep with the lights on for a couple days - not necessarily because it was any more scary than the rest but my correlation between the two characters freaked me out!
ReplyDeleteI don't think that The Body would have been any less harrowing without Dawn to be honest. That was brutal even without the Dawn scenes. It's possibly the hardest episode I have ever gone through on an emotional level. In truth as much as I hate Dawn's existence, she was the least of the problems in season 6 which had more terrible decisions than can be innumerated. One of the worst seasons of any show I've ever watched more than a season of. It was practically season 8 of Supernatural bad.
ReplyDeleteI agree that the Master made for a rather mustache-twirler villain and everything that came out of his mouth makes me laugh and eye roll. Howevr if they had not made the mistake of chipping Spike in season 4, then I would love to have seen Spike and Drusilla return to wreak havoc on everyone. They are my favorite villain duo.
Right? I just left a comment on another thread (I thought it was actually this one but I don't see it now???) about his character reminding me of Pennywise in the movie "IT" - Tim Curry played that character as well and the makeup in his CM role - particularly the teeth - made me instantly think of Pennywise. Ugh, gives me the heebie jeebies!
ReplyDeleteMy biggest problem with Juliette is 3 years running and she still does not have a purpose in the show. Every time they give her a plot to try to make her important (coma, love spell, amnesia) it only halts the momentum of the story and make me resent so much time on her. They have terrible pacing when it comes ot her as well. To be honest in 90% of the episodes, if you took out the part with Juliette the story would still be the same. That makes her wallpaper and a plot device instead of a character.
ReplyDeleteNope, not just a S1 thing - Derek is incredibly protective of Garcia, another of his traits that has won me over since the beginning. All the characters' respect and support for each other is what has kept me with this show every week in every season - despite the occasional creeps the UNSUB of the week gives me!
ReplyDeleteShe does get redemption. Also, starting from the end of
ReplyDeleteseason one, you get to see why she became this evil and ruthless person, which
makes her much easier to relate to, I guess. I cheated a little because I have
seen some beautiful video tributes to the character before I got into the
series and knew from the start what Regina’s deal was.
That's good to know - if I know that there is a good reason for the way she is besides just being jealous of Snow then I may give the series another try. I own the 1st season on DVD so I could watch it while I'm on the treadmill I can't remember if I actually watched the S1 finale of gave up sooner...
ReplyDeleteThanks for the info!
I agree. Janna has some powerful prediction mojo. I kind of want her to create a fantasy sports team lineup or purchase a lottery ticket for me. I'll provide the cash. :-)
ReplyDelete"This is how I prefer a recurring character to be promoted to regular - tied in to a current main character's story line otherwise it feels like an intrusion"
100% agree. Otherwise it's trying to shoehorn a popular character into the show, which rarely works. Rosalee is probably the best new character insertion in a recent show for me. I think it helped that she was taking over the spice shop so she had a reason to be on screen. It also gave Nick an ally with specialized skills way before she became a love interest or powerful family connections for him to use. She also came on with a complicated backstory that was slowly fleshed out, giving people time to get used to her and interested instead of pushing all out in front like showrunners tend to do. It was a smart choice. Adalind, now that was the opposite. Annoying from the beginning and no less irksome now. I did feel sorry for her for about 3 minutes for her baby and I liked her fleeing wfor her life with Meisner episodes. That's pretty much it.
Love geometry is bad enough without purposely using it for contrived drama. If any character's sole purpose on a show is to be the love interest or triangle side, it is very difficult for me to like them. The only one I can think of off hand was Lisa from Supernatural but that was simply because we got to know here through the crux of a case first and she didn't become a real love interest until later. It also helps that I really liked that case of the week.
You're welcome :-) I hope you'll enjoy watching.
ReplyDeleteMaybe we can start a Kickstarter campaign to send Adalind back to Vienna and then not follow her. Ugh! I want Renard to actually get out of his office and have a storyline this season but not one with Adalind.
ReplyDelete"not in a way that diminishes Monroe or Nick's story lines."
ReplyDeleteYou nailed it exactly. Rosalee was an added benefit instead of an unnecessary distraction.
This was by far the hardest section of the bracker for me. I have a soft spot for shows that have been off the air for awhile I guess.
ReplyDeleteMy intense dislike of Root was enough for me to drop PoI midseason. I expected to get caught up over the summer but no way I was going to put up with her week in and week out. Adalind is a good example of the modified Winchester quote. "What should be dead, kill it."
ReplyDeleteI planned to do a whole series rewatch before the movie but never got to it so it's still on my to-do list.
ReplyDeleteLet me rephrase what I mean about the episode The Body. The existence of Dawn doesn't change the emotional impact of the episode but it changes the emotional fallout in the rest of the episodes of the season due to The Body. One of the ultimate results of that was Buffy finds her entire emotional stability is tied to protecting Dawn.
ReplyDeleteOk, season 6 of Buffy wasn't great, but I also wouldn't put in on the worst of the worst list. That's reserved for the final season of Dexter territory. I'd also argue season 4 was worse. There was an unpopular theme of self-destruction that didn't play well with the fanbase as well as THE emotional scene of the season. The season was slow, and the Trio wasn't a great Big Bad but the evolution of Mears' from geek to misogynist sociopath was brilliant. Willow's addiction storyline and with consequences was a great message to anyone struggling with an addiction of their own or knew someone. But furthermore the show brought in a dark reality to the character's situations, they were now in completely uncharted waters and didn't know how to handle it.
Spike had already proven himself as an ineffective villain. He was a blue collar brawler compared to Angel who had plans. Sure he wanted to kill Buffy, but who didn't. Spike never wanted real power, he just wanted to be the alpha dog of his own private fiefdom.
While I originally thought Scully would narrowly beat Chandler, I don't think so now. The X-Files got surprisingly few votes for a character contest, so I feel like it is finally losing its overall popularity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the clarification. The Body's fallout was increased by Dawn because now Buffy had to take on the mom role as well as working stiff and college student and eveything else. For me that was pushing it too much but I can see where you are coming from.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Warren's transformation was a hig point of season 6, one of the few. Buffy's PTSD did zilch for me at all. I understand why SMG was upset by this turn and was having a problem with Joss' vision. I think most people did. I think it was a huge mistake. Buffy and Spike was another. The Trio, despite Warren's transformation, were the stupidest villains on Buffy and that includes when they spent an entire episode preparing for a villain the size of a Care Bear's leg. Then to add insult to injury Willow goes dark and is saved by a broken yellow crayon. Really? Ugh! I still have issues with how badly everything went to hell in handbasket in season 6. Joss and Chris Carter traumatized me back-to-back about serialized genre TV, making me very nervous about getting too attached to anything with a big mytharc.
i don't think Spike wanted to kill Buffy for anything but bragging rights and that worked for me. I didn't need him to be the Big Bad. I would have liked if he continued to be a reluctant ally against the Big Bad. Dru could spout nonsense off in the background and keep Spike from acting like an emoangsty whipped puppy.
I was so proud of myself when I figured out what unsub meant. I seriously tweeted it out as my TV accomplishment of the week.
ReplyDeleteIT the TV miniseries is actually a sore spot for me. IT was my favorite book for years so I was excited about the miniseries. What a crashing disappointment. All of the meat of the book, all the social commentary, deleted for creepy clown face. I might get over it in another 2.5 decades.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great reason to chose Chuck. I never really thought about that. Chuck is also on my to-watch list. I think I'm on the 2nd or 3rd season.
ReplyDeleteI absolutely adore the Chuck series, but it is not one of those series you can take seriously. They very quickly start to make fun of themselves and jump the shark whenever possible - but somehow it just works. :)
ReplyDeleteI just looked up her episode and I cannot place her. Will have to pay attention when it is broadcast again.
ReplyDeleteI'll put some money in that lottery pool!
ReplyDeleteRosalee is an excellent example of how it should be done... she is an interesting character in her own right and her connection to Monroe and Nick is an added bonus, not her sole purpose on the show. I disliked Adalind less when she was on the run with Meisner but I chalk that up to my adoration of Meisner. There are few characters that drive me as crazy as she does!
Agree on Lisa - when we saw her in the MOTW episode, you could tell that Dean thought more of her than just a roll in the sack and if his life was different, he would've gone for it with her. This made it easier for me to accept her as a love interest when Dean tried to fulfill his promise to Sam.
I would contribute to that Kickstarter campaign!!! Perhaps we could earn enough to bribe one of the writes to just kill her character off. Permanently. I love Renard - I really hope we can get back to the keys story line and use it to give Renard something more meaningful to do.
ReplyDeleteSide note...they need to tell Wu!!!!
Now Meisner is a character I could use more time with. And it's not because he's often shirtless. Anything or anyone that speeds up the Royals mythology so I have a clue about what they are searching for and why and why I should care is good with me. I feel like they dropped the key storyline and now that it appears we are getting it again, i want actual movement on it. Now the supernatural baby can stay in Eastern Mongolia for as long possible, but all other overarching mysteries need a massive jumpstart.
ReplyDeleteLOL - literally. None of my friends watch the show regularly so I have had to tell every one of them what an UNSUB is :-)
ReplyDeleteShe screamed a lot and she was kidnapped so it was like having Lydia a la season 2 return for me. Basically she was a kidnapped teen whose kidnapper died and she was trying to get the kidnapper's wife to let her go. Or at least that's the gist I got. I turned it on about halfway through the episode.
ReplyDeleteLOL - again, literally. I thought this was a regular movie, didn't realize it was a TV miniseries. IT, to this day, is the only SK book I have not been able to finish because it scared the crap out of me.
ReplyDeleteI never saw Willow getting into magic as an escape for her high school status. I thought that was pretty much taken care of when she became one of Buffy's inner circle. I took it as curiosity, like taking a drug the first time just to see how it feels. Afterwards I thought it was more a combination of having fun with Amy and realizing that this new talent could actually be useful in the fight against the supernatural. After that it becomes addiction and the reasons no longer are the issue because it's all about the fix.
ReplyDeleteThat was one of my favorite things about it to be honest. It helps tremendously when shows with ridiculous plots can laugh at themselves. It's one of my favorite things about Sleepy Hollow as well. I still maintain that if Salem had not taken such an oppressively solemn tone while being completely ludicrous, I would have liked it enough to stick with it.
ReplyDeleteOh, shirtless Meisner is about 70% of it for me :-) The speeding up of the Royals story line is a bonus though. We spent way too much time away from Nick and Portland last season. They could have been doing something useful with Juliette or Renard (beyond anything that has to do with Adalind).
ReplyDeleteI'm good with disagreeing as well. Taking it from the bottom, I agree that stupidity is hard for me to get over. It's the reason that I couldn't even hate watch The Following anymore. Competency is a whole lot more entertaining than ineptitude. The only reason i stuck with Helix is because I adored the Daniel saga and Hatake fascinated me. I was fine to fast forward through everything Alan and Sarah. At the beginning, Julia was part of that list as well. Now that Daniel's gone, I may drop Helix next year.
ReplyDeleteYes, the Arc is The 100 and yes, many of the characters are red shirts. In fact they just killed off most of the Arc. As for The 100 itself, it is one of the few shows that i am really looking forward to returning this fall. It is a whole lot better than its premise or its marketing. I would definitely try it out, but give it a fair shot if you do. The pilot won't blow you away but it develops into a good show fairly quickly. The 5th episode is one of the most poignant and emotionally resonating episode I have seen in a long time. I was actually sniffling and a bit misty-eyed and I never get emotional in TV. Oh and it's a good kind of emotional, nothing eye rolling or teen related at all. It's also when the Ark storyline really takes off and becomes equal to what is happening on the ground. I really like that because many people think that the show is all about teens but the Ark adults get a pretty good share of the story as well.
I have zero tolerance for emoangsting/bratting and while there is some of that, it is limited in a lot of cases by the sheer act of trying to survive a hostile climate. I will warn that there is an annoying tendency to throw in the typical CW romance junk that does occasionally stop the entire plot until they move on. Still it is fast forwardable and the good outweighs it by a lot for now. Surprisingly for me, the main highlight is the complex characters more than the plot. The whole leadership development arc for multiple characters lends it a heft that many so-called teen shows don't have. They are also not afraid to force the teens to make hard choices where the consequences suck either way they choose.
Since I'm afraid Chrome is going to eat my post, I'll continue in another response.
I find Juliette the least useful member of the Grimm Gang. We actually have a running joke about her on Twitter over her ability to Googel with the best of them. I honestly think it would be more interesting if they were searching for Adalind but couldn't find her. I fear that they will resolve Nick's human problem in the first 3 episodes a la Zombie Nick and we'll be stuck with Adalind for no reason again.
ReplyDeleteAs for Ward, the only logical thing is for his character to go to jail. They are going to have to find a reason to put him on that plane again, but that is pushing it a lot. After how Coulson reacted to May when he thought she was selling him out, I cannot believe he'd suddenly say yes to Ward's continued presence. I think it would be awesome if he broke out and assumed Garret's position, not because he truly believed it but because it is the only structure/familiarity he has left. He could be a great grey area villain having to answer to a diabolical mystery boss with that personal relationship to the "heroes" that makes a villain automatically better. I'd actually prefer if they got rid of Skye and the constant adulation from everyone to remind us how super special she is but i've resigned myself to be stuck with her for the whole duration.
I don't know if Andy is coming back again or not. I have avoided many spoilers. However the guy just couldn't die for trying before so it wouldn't surprise me if he did come back.
The clown didn't bother me but ugh, the spiders. I have to turn my brain off when it gets to that point.
ReplyDeleteNo plot ticked me off as much last season as them NOT telling Wu. I'm still angry about it and I hope he punches both Nick and Hank out when he finds out. Nick especially deserves it. If he knew Monroe, I hope he'd punch him as well.
ReplyDeleteI'm actually debating switching out a serious TV Talk topic for "If you could create a Kickstarter account for a fictional character, which character would you choose and what would you raise money for?" I can't decideif it would be a lot of creative fun or if it's jsut because it's late and I'm tired that it seems like fun.
Because she is on a small show that a majority of TV viewers have never seen much less watched. The good thing about this contest is if you explain why it is has been so good, you might get people to check out Continuum and she'll have a better chance next year.
ReplyDeleteEmily, Veronica and Regina. I predict Veronica vs. Chuck will be quite the epic battle.
ReplyDeleteOkay, yes. I know which ep you're talking about. She helped deliver a baby? But I cannot for the life of me see her face in that episode. Not I gotta see if it's on Amazon Prime Video otherwise I won't be able to sleep. :-)
ReplyDeleteRegina, Scully and Veronica Mars ( mostly for Kristen Bell honestly). Regina is my favourite of the three. I love Scully, but I think I was too young when I saw the show to fully appreciate her. Mulder's humour always got me. The body switch episode ( I think 'Dreamland?) and the whole Groundhog day episode 'Monday' are my favourites. Mostly because of all of Mulder's antics.
ReplyDeleteI never liked Friends. I'm more partial to Seinfeld and HIMYM. At least I was till HIMYM stabbed us in the back. (I am still so angry!!!!!!!!!!!)
Recurring characters... Well the first one who comes to mind is Sara since i have Arrow stuck in my head lol! Moving on to other shows though! I always liked Gail Peck's brother Steve on Rookie Blue. I like that they made him a regular, and his storyline with Tracy. I've abandoned Rookie Blue though, so I don't really know what's going on this season. When I did watch though, I always wished that they would give him more screen-time with Gail. My weakness for brother/sister relationships hehe
My favourite thing about recurring characters is how they feel like a huge part of the show, even if they're not there all the time! I can't think of anyone specifically at the moment though.
The most (in)famous one I can think of is Janice!!! I'm not into Friends, but man that voice haha.
OUAT is pretty good with them. I initially hated Hook. He creeped me out, and my friend was fan-girling over him which kind of put me off...her fangirl sessions are very intense. Loved him in season 3 though, and now he's my third favourite character. Peter Pan was amazing too. Best villain ever. Robbie Kay is absolutely amazing. Not sure if he counts though since he had an arc. Tink is someone I want to see more of! I like her way more than the blue fairy. Thank God we've never had to put up with a Blue Fairy centric episode. It took a lot of will power to sit through Leroy's 1x14 'Dreamy' episode...I don't think I can survive anything else like that.
Yep, I miss Friends too. I was always in a good mood after watching a new episode.
ReplyDeleteYep that's the one. She wanted to be released befoe the woman died and trapped her chained up without water or food.
ReplyDelete1. I actually like them both, but I think Continuum has less fans here so I vote Kiera.
ReplyDelete2. Chandler! Always.
3. No idea! Love them both. Thinking.... Veronica. But Chuck... Seriously, no idea. Gonna have to flip a coin or something.
4. None
Emily, Chandler and Regina for me.
ReplyDeleteYes it does indeed.
ReplyDeleteI am not surprise about it because the new shows on the main channels (ABC, NBC, CBS and FOX) look like the oldest show. I am not saying that these are remakes but you can find some similarites between the stories and characters. And maybe this explain the increase of shows' cancelation. I hope I am being understood.
Once Upon A Time and The X-Files are the only shoes of these I've seen.
ReplyDeleteYou're like me with Person of Interest then. I've heard it becomes super-interesting and serialized, but getting through the first season procedural episodes sounds like too much of a slog.
ReplyDeleteVoted, Scully she was my all time favorite on X-files, Chuck Bartoski, he was my favorite nerd, he's going to get crushed in this round but, I had to vote for him, & Derrick from Criminal Minds, Awesome character & Emily from Revenge, this round is exciting, I think I'll have maybe two out of this round that will move on!
ReplyDeleteDana Scully, Veronica Mars. :)
ReplyDeleteContinuum is awesome! One of my top 5 favorite current shows.
ReplyDelete1) Kiera Cameron, Continuum - I nominated her and I don't watch Revenge so this was an easy one. (Shame she's getting hammered!)
ReplyDelete2) N/A - I don't watch either show
3) N/A - I don't watch either show
4) Regina Mills, Once Upon A Time - I love Regina and I don't watch Criminal Minds so this was another easy one.
Today's TV Topic: For me Once Upon A Time has the best recurring characters, Red/Ruby would probably be my favourite. A recurring character on the show I wish had left is Hook, while I really like his character the shipping is doing my head in, plus I don't find it believable at all that Emma would be with a character like that.
The most recent character I can think of that jumped over to another show is Will Scarlet/The Knave from Once Upon A Time in Wonderland over to Once Upon A Time and i'm really looking forward to it. He was a main character but still...he was my favourite on OUATIW and i'm looking forward to seeing how he is on OUAT.
There a several recurring characters from Stargate SG-1 that moved over to Stargate Atlantis, Rodney MacKay, Richard Woolsey & Elizabeth Weir. Some main characters from SG-1 recurred on the spin-offs too, I really loved seeing them again.
It is hard to find something original on TV today. I understand where you are coming from.
ReplyDeleteI pretty much decided not to watch HIMYM because fans were so angry about the ending. That and it has a lot of episodes. I think recurring characters can make a series. If there's a character that you're missing and you're excited every time they are on, it creates an extra energy for the show. I don't watch Rookie Blue or OUaT, but I agree with you about Janice.
ReplyDeleteThere are more characters I actually like in this section than anywhere else, so I am guaranteed at least one moving on.
ReplyDeleteWill was my favorite character on Wonderland too. I am glad he's getting time on the mothership, but really I want them to do another spin-off the star Ana and him. I was thinking the Stargate franchise as well when talking about characters moving to other shows. I guess it's natural sicne they are basically spin-offs.
ReplyDeleteYour shows are good, even is this is bad, there is still something that is good. I live in France and (all) the shows are very very bad. So I am glad when I see an US production, even if this is not perferct,and I say to myself : "Consider yourself happy, this is not French" !
ReplyDeleteYes, I was happy to see we voted for a couple of the same characters, you're right this round had, great choices, I'm a realist though, poor Derrick and Chuck, and even Scully, they're getting crushed now, tuff round, but at least they're in it(insert sad face)
ReplyDeleteI had hopes that at least Scully would make it but there's always next year.
ReplyDeleteyeah. it's the characters who get me through those parts. Loved Reese on POI. But there wasn't a character who did that for me on Continuum.
ReplyDeleteI'll say it again, there would be no point in me manipulating it. Whole point is fun. How would that be fun?
ReplyDeleteExactly!
ReplyDeletePoltergeist's opening scene with the clown has forever scared me. Clowns will always be the thing that haunts me!
ReplyDeleteYep, Wu needs to be in on the secret. Not telling him was a sock throwing event in my house. Nick, Hank and Monroe (guilt by association) deserve at the very least, a Gibbs smack.
ReplyDeleteAnd I think that would be a great topic! It would be interesting to see how many different supporting characters people would give a shot at their own show/movie!
I kept throwing socks in every subsequent episode until Trubel showed up and eased the pain.
ReplyDeleteMy kiddo has clown fear too. I can see Poltergeist jumpstarting a phobia. That movie scared me when it first came out.
ReplyDeleteGood move with HIMYM!
ReplyDeleteBad previous TV experiences have made me more cautious about what I get obsessed over. A bad ending is not worth 208 episodes of watching.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. Luckily I didn't suffer too badly, because I didn't let myself get very emotionally invested in the show. It was still a letdown though.
ReplyDeleteI'm guilty of watching all but the last two episodes of season 3 because i didn't want it to end and even after the movie is out I still haven't gone back to watch those 2 episodes!
ReplyDeleteI understand the desire to give yourself extra time with a show. I'd never have the patience for that though.
ReplyDeleteMy dad was quite unhappy with my mother over that one. Generally, I was allowed to watch whatever I wanted but my mother really didn't think that one thru very well!
ReplyDeleteI totally get it. My dad let me watch Taratulas the Deadly Cago when I was 8, which spawned my arachnophobia.
ReplyDeleteI watched season 3 while studying for my exams (of course) so when they finished I stopped :P
ReplyDelete