Welcome back to the 2015 Character Cup and the beginning of round 2. Unlike the previous polls, the final polls of round 1 were pretty quiet with no huge shocks. Proceeding to round 2 are Oliver Queen, Helena, Damon Salvatore, Buffy Summers, Peggy Carter, Sharon Raydor, Tyrion Lannister, and Gregory House. As we start the second round, the rules will go into a link instead of on this page. If you have not read them, I encourage you to do so. Also stats for round 1 should be up within 30 minutes so check them out. If you are into numbers, you may find them very interesting. It will also include the final ranking for characters that did not get into round 1, based on the number of votes received. Without any further ado, let round 2 commence. Good luck and happy voting.
Prediction Cup Update - Our leader board changes again as the first round ends. Tied for the lead are DarkUFO and Perrin. Woo hoo! Nice predicting, guys! Willow and Dahne are next with Idahoow following. As always the first 2 rounds are the most fluctuating so who knows what this round will bring. Good luck to everyone.
Prediction Standings
CC Facts and Stats - updated
Ranking Process
Scribd Bracket
Rules
Round 1A
Round 1B
Round 1C
Round 1D
Today's TV Talk Topic:
First off I forgot to credit Suzana for helping to create the friendship topic from earlier. I appreciate your suggestion and thank you for it. Today's topic was inspired by Toni's suggestion. Thanks also to you. You both rock!
Second Seasons - We talk a lot about pilot seasons but what about those sophomore ones. Which shows did you love in the first season, but then fell apart in the second? Which shows actually improved in their second season? What does it take to make a successful sophomore season? Which freshmen series last year do you predict will have a great sophomore season? Which ones are you worried might struggle and why?
Polls close around 2:30 pm CST on Friday
ReplyDeleteRules are now in the links above. The Facts and Stats link will be updated shortly.
TV Talk Topic - First off I forgot to credit Suzana for helping to create the friendship topic from earlier. I appreciate your suggestion and thank you for it. Today's topic was inspired by Toni's suggestion. Thanks also to you. You both rock!
Second Seasons - We talk a lot about pilot seasons but what about those sophomore ones. Which shows did you love in the first season, but then fell apart in the second? Which shows actually improved in their second season? What does it take to make a successful sophomore season? Which freshmen series last year do you predict will have a great sophomore season? Which ones are you worried might struggle and why?
Clarke Griffin and Ben Linus for me.
ReplyDeleteTV Talk, Part 1:
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty, most of my returning shows had off to meh to downright bad years this year so I'm hoping the excellent freshmen series this year do not fail me in the fall. The two shows that fell apart the hardest in their sophomore seasons recently were Sleepy Hollow and Graceland. Sleepy Hollow was just a complete mess. It suffered from having zero idea of where it was going, fan pandering, sloppy writing, and the inability to hold a plot together. It may be the most spectacular sophomore flop I have even seen and as a result, I have dropped it. Graceland was also disappointing last summer but this one was more specific. It turned all the characters into world-class douches, including the lead character. It went from a cool if dysfunctional pseudo-family to people I was actively rooting for the bad guys to kill off and put me out of my misery. I haven't given up on Graceland yet, but I'm waiting to marathon it all at once.
TV Talk, Part 2:
ReplyDeleteLuckily many of my favorite shows have had fantastic sophomore seasons. In the current 10 seasons of Supernatural, seasons 2 and 3 (pre-writers' strike) are still my absolute favorite. Season 2 added a mytharc to the mostly procedural show and created some memorable episodes. It started with a bang and a death in premiere and then shocked me to no end in the finale with another death, still one of my favorite episodes of the series. In it we got characters like Andy, Henriksen, Ellen, Gordon, Lenore, Ava, crossroad demons, Ronald Reznik, the trickster, and a larger role for Bobby. Plus it contains What is and What Should Never Be, my favorite episode of all. Supernatural did what all sophomore shows should do. It capitalized on the first season's strengths and added change slowly instead of creating a whole new show. Buffy did the same thing. Again it was largely procedural in the first season, but unlike Supernatural it stayed that way for the second too. What it did change was a far more personal and therefore devastating Big Bad. Season 2 was a slow burn that added characters like Spike, Drusilla, Ethan Rayne, and Kendra. It played with the mythology by adding a new Slayer and Angel losing his soul. Plus it tightened up its standalone episodes until some of them were even better than the mytharc ones. Still the real secret of season 2's success lies in the Angelus plotline, culminating in another of my favorite episodes of all time - Becoming, Part 2. Like Supernatural, Buffy's second season capitalized on its first season's strengths and then slowly built up the mythology into an awesome new Big Bad.
Other shows with a better season 2:
Teen Wolf, which dampened the romance a bit, increased the twists even more, and added a personal villain along with keeping up its ever frenetic pacing, a highlight of season 1. The kanima was a great beast to add to the folklore.
White Collar, which upped the ante for Neal and brought Peter and Neal even closer. For me the reason this season was better lies in breaking Neal completely down until he goes after Fowler with a gun. It was a fascinating character study that didn't just leave him there. After midseason it was all about building him and by extension his relationship with Peter back up. Plus the hunt for the treasure was one of the most exciting overall storylines in White Collar.
The 100 was by far the best returning show of the year for me. It's first season rocked but in the sophomore season, it got even better. I didn't even think it could. What really worked in this season for me was the shifting alliance with the grounders and the additional of Mount Weather as a foe. By separating many characters, it allowed for a lot of character growth, especially for Clarke. I am constantly amazed by the twists and turns and tough choices in this show.
The Goldbergs also had its sophomore season and it also got so much better. First off it continued the trend of toning down some of the most obnoxious traits of its characters but it also realized that the gold of the show was more in the heart than even in the laughs. Don't get me wrong. The show still makes me laugh a lot but it also makes me awww at least once an episode. I particularly liked the focus on Murray's relationships with his kids this season and his times with Erica were some of the best scenes on TV this year.
I voted for Buffy and for my favorite perky psycho
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhF5ewX3IV8
Root vs Olivia Dunham is probably the hardest choice I'll have to make in the entire competition because I adore both, but my vote goes to Root.
ReplyDeleteAfterwards for me it goes: Matt, Athos, Beckett, Clarke, Ben, PASS, Scully
Matt Murdock,Ben Linus,Sam Winchester,Clarke Griffin & Kate Beckett for me.
ReplyDeleteSo with Annalise Keating out of the race, there are only Clarke Griffin, Leslie Knope and Oliver Queen left I really really care about.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so happy to see Leslie taking the lead. Come on Leslie! Stay there!
Root all the way!
ReplyDeleteMy Votes
ReplyDeleteOlivia: It is going to be a tough race for Agent Dunham but I really hope she pulls through.
Matt: No competition.
The Doctor: Sorry Athos you are broody but the Doctor is who I want to whisk me away on adventures.
Clarke: I could never get into The Walking Dead, I much rather survive a post apocalyptic land with Clarke.
Ben: Because if I didn't vote for him I would fear for my safety ;)
Leslie: Queen of my Heart.
Putting my TV topic response in another post.
Loved the first season but completely fell apart in 2nd season-Heroes & Sleepy Hollow.
ReplyDeleteLoved the first season but the 2nd season even more-LOST,TVD.
Such a hard, hard decision. Went with Root over Olivia after thinking for a long time. They are both perfect. <3 Also voting for Clarke, Ben, Dana today. :)
ReplyDeleteTV Talk
ReplyDeleteWhich shows did you love in the first season, but then fell apart in the second?
Heroes, though really S2 wasn't as bad as what was to follow but still it was the start of the decline. Sleepy Hollow is a more recent example.
Which shows actually improved in their second season?
Many series I love have gotten better in the sophomore season, Breaking Bad, Buffy, Justified, AOS, The 100, Person of Interest, Defiance, The Office (US), Happy Endings, Parks and Rec (made a huge jump)
What does it take to make a successful sophomore season?
The ability to recongise the good and bad things from the first season. First seasons can be a little rough but good showrunners take the strengths and focus on them rather than add in a bunch of other stuff which may not work. It should be about exploring the characters and their world, adding to the mythology, finding out what makes these people tick, their motivations, their relationships with one and other.
Which freshmen series last year do you predict will have a great sophomore season?
I think iZombie will be very well, it picked up the quality pretty early on in its 13 ep first season and by the end was incredibly confident in itself. Same with 12 Monkeys.
Which ones are you worried might struggle and why?
I wonder about Jane The Virgin because it has that soap element to it that can sometimes cause shows to go to over the top and lose track.
Ooooh!! This is getting harder.
ReplyDelete1. N/A - Don't watch any of these
ReplyDelete2. Matt - He was absolutely amazing. I really don't understand what is Derek doing here. Cookie is much better and well there are at least 20 better characters in Grey's Anatomy
3. N/A - Don't watch any of these
4. N/A - Don't watch any of these
5. Clarke - This was really hard one. Both are absolutely amazing characters.
6. Sam
7. Stiles
8. N/A - Don't watch any of these
I,too,don't understand how Derek got to this round in the first place.
ReplyDeleteTV Topic:
ReplyDeleteI think Chicago PD had a fantastic second season. I thought the first season was a little slow, but the characters were developed more, and it was much more exciting than the first.
I think character development plays a huge part in having a good sophomore season. I also think writers need to be honest about what worked and what didn't during the first season. What characters didn't mesh with the fans and with other cast members? What storylines need to be continued? I think sometimes writers have a game plan, but sometimes it doesn't work. If they try to force it instead of adjusting it, then it can really hurt the show and make fans tune out.
I'm looking forward to the second seasons of Flash, iZombie, Scorpion, and How to Get Away with Murder.
Even if Matt wins this round,he will go up against Root in the next.Sobbing hard :(
ReplyDeleteA response to anyone who question Amy Acker's acting choices as Root: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bweqh2EEbL3mWWVORy1kNkN6eWs/view
ReplyDeleteHaters to the left.
LESLIE KNOPE!!
ReplyDeleteSo happy that Amy and Parks and Rec got nominated!!
Talking about Parks and Rec, that show really improved after it's first season! I though the first season was ok, but after that it got better and better! The show turned into its own thing, instead of being a 'spinoff' of The Office.
I hope and I think that blackish, Fresh Off The Boat and Last Man On Earth will have a great second season. ALso very high hopes for Better Call Saul!
Sorry, Scully, I really like you, but... Jane!
ReplyDeleteHere's a scene that shows how far Root has come as a character. She's badass, yes, but she's also emotionally vulnerable, lonely and afraid. Nonetheless, she's willing to sacrifice her own life for the greater good. Root is my baby. And Amy Acker portrays her superbly. There's no one better for the role. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nke5faTb8r4
ReplyDeleteThe round 1 stats are updated and can be found here if you are interested: http://dahne1.blogspot.com/2015/07/2015-character-cup-stats-and-facts.html
ReplyDeleteI respect people not liking other characters, i don't like all of the characters here either. However your constant intent in bringing negativity about a character you don't actually know, baffles me. You don't even know her name (people had to tell you Samantha Groves and Root are the same person) that actually tells me how much you know about her...
ReplyDeleteTV Talk, Part 3:
ReplyDeleteFor me the biggest mistake a hit show can do in the second season is mess with why the show was successful in the first place. Too many genre shows want to go too epic too fast and then they get stuck. Other shows want to add so many new characters that they drown out the originals. Still others drastically change the tone of the show. They are all a recipe for disaster. For me, a sophomore season should capitalize on a show's strengths and then gradually add in changes through a new plotline or one new character. It's not usually until the third or fourth season that a show needs new life so in the second season show runners should expand the positive and work out some of the kinks. Changing a show too much just alienates people.
As for shows going into their sophomore season in the upcoming TV schedule, I am falling into a once bitten, twice shy mood. Sleepy Hollow really scarred me because I came in with such high hopes for it. Now I'm trying to temper my expectations. The move to California worries me a little in Agent Carter because it's unlikely that all these people would be going too so I hope they have a good reason behind it. Otherwise I trust these writers so far. The Flash ended with a great twist…which could so easily go sideways it's scary. I come with tempered hopes that the timeline won't go all wonky and we end up in a completely different place right from the beginning. I'm not a fan of the plot do-over. This and Scorpion have me the most worried for their sophomore seasons. Scorpion was fantastic at the beginning of the season but then it got bogged down with romances when it should have been concentrating on family. I have a feeling this will be the worst sophomore season for me because the show is going in a direction I don't care about and already think will ruin the show. I feel certain that Empire will have a sophomore slump because it practically cannot go up any higher. Still it remains on whether it completely crashes or if it just comes down to normal blockbuster ratings. I think this will be the most interesting sophomore season to watch from a purely analytical standpoint. My biggest concern for How to Get Away with Murder is that now they have 2 murders to juggle and that might send the whole thing toppling. Shows with second seasons that I am not worried about at all include Galavant, CSI: Cyber (which I think will improve), iZombie, and Fresh Off the Boat.
Heroes S1 was just amazing, then it completely fell apart for me too. I limped trough most of S2, but I don't think I got to the end of it :(
ReplyDelete1. This is another one that sucks major time. I could see myself voting for both but I am going with Root here. Although I kind of think Root is getting a bit overrated around here lately, I still really like her and adore what the show has done with her. She was so amazing this year and so many standouts. And Amy Acker was the MVP of the season. I love Olivia too but maybe because Root is more present in my mind right now, she gets my vote. Side note: It would be a different thing if my favorite Olivia, Altivia, was up there.
ReplyDelete2. Derek Shephard by default since I have yet to watch Daredevil
3. I've only seen two episodes of The Musketeers TV Show and I barely remember enough f the characters to know which was which but I loved the musketeers universe as a kid so Athos gets my vote here since I've never seen Doctor Who
4. Kate Beckett. Best part about Castle, even if I no longer watch the show. I've only seen the pilot of Sherlock - while good, I wasn't blown away like I expected to be enough to continue watching.
5. Urgh... Hate this one too. I like Daryl and The Walking Dead is my favorite show currently on the air. But I have to go with Clarke here. She had a phenomenal development season on The 100 this year and is just a well rounded, complex, badass character. Daryl is awesome too though (even if there are other TWD characters I prefer, like Rick freaking Grimes)
6. Ben Linus. He wasn't my favorite part of Lost like for many others but he had a great character arc and many highlight scenes. Besides, it's Lost. I've seen the first three seasons of Supernatural and I like the brothers but it has to be Lost here
7. NA
8. Dana Scully. I've only seen both shows on casual viewing (although I did try to start The Mentalist at some point and watched like the first 7 episodes or so) and I like both characters enough but Dana stands out more from the little I've seen
Oh my god yes. I was flabbergasted at Emilia Clarke getting a nod. She's an okay actress, but Emmy-worthy? In *this* season? Absolutely not. I wish Amy Acker had gotten the nod. It's a damn shame that she's so underrated, and that POI doesn't get the buzz it deserves.
ReplyDeleteIt was a tough decision between Root and Olivia but Root won in the end. Also Clarke, Ben and Patrick Jane
ReplyDelete1. N/A - Tried both POI & Fringe but didn't like them.
ReplyDelete2. Matt Murdock - Love the show and the character, never really cared for Derek so it was an easy one.
3. N/A - Tried The Musketeers and didn't like it, I've been stuck on season 4 of Doctor Who for a while now but the Doctor isn't a great character imo.
4. Sherlock - Love this character and the show is great. Never watched Castle.
5. Clarke Griffin - Duh! Love The 100 and everyone on it. Used to watch TWD, thought Daryl was an ok character but I wouldn't vote for him.
6. N/A - Dropped both Lost and SPN but there aren't any characters on either show I'd vote for.
7. Leslie - By default to vote against Stiles.
8. N/A - Never watched The Mentalist or X-Files
TV Talk Topic
Which shows did you love in the first season, but then fell apart in the second?
Agents of SHIELD - Loved the first season but hated the second mainly for (what I thought to be) the character derailments, bad writing, and destruction of every relationship that was built in the previous season.
Arrow - I already thought season one was ok at best but the second season just dragged on for me and I didn't like the increased focus on romance.
Continuum - Loved the first season, thought the second season was a snooze fest, but then the 3rd season was my favourite.
Defiance - Same thing as Continuum, loved season one, found season 2 boring but I'm loving season 3 so far.
Heroes - While I don't think it was as sharp a drop in quality as people say, maybe because I didn't like season one as much most, but there was still a large drop and it just continued as it went along.
OUAT - Fantastic first season, bad second season but it thankfully more than redeemed itself in season 3 and 4.
Sleepy Hollow - Loved the first season but didn't liked anything in the second season.
Which shows actually improved in their second season?
I can't really think of any that improved but there are several I think held on to the already high quality they had on their first season. The 100, Penny Dreadful, Battlestar Galactica and Stargate Universe would be the main examples for me.
What does it take to make a successful sophomore season?
Consistency I guess pretty much covers most of it. Far too many shows go off the plot and don't know what to be or what they're doing in their second seasons. The writing goes all over the place and it just falls apart.
Recycling things from the previous season in the hopes it will be just as successful instead of building the world and characters they've created is another thing. Not giving any character development is something I'm willing to let go for the second season but I'm not willing to let it go in later seasons, *cough*Stiles*cough*.
And my biggest pet peeve is shows relying on shocks, nudity and/or violence to keep them going. Not really specific to sophomore seasons but still applies to them.
Which freshmen series last year do you predict will have a great sophomore season?
Scoprion and HTWGAWM. Loved their first seasons and they have great talent behind them, I don't see how they screw it up! I have high hopes for the second season fo 12 Monkeys as well.
TV Talk
ReplyDeleteAgents of shield in my opinion was a show which I religiously watched in the 1st season however in the 2nd season skipped most of the episodes.
I think The Fosters improved a lot from season 1 to season 2 because I felt it had stronger plots and was just overall more enjoyable!!
I think for sophomore shows to succeed they must keep a similar model to the original season however change things up. There's a reason that someone started watching the show and the writers/producers need to continue with this element in the 2nd season.
I'm very hopeful that The Flash, Madam Secretary, Jane the Virgin, Empire
If you're stuck on S4 of Doctor Who and not liking it, I'd recommend just skipping ahead to s5, especially if you like Sherlock. That's when there is a big change in the show, the showrunner from Sherlock takes over Who and there's also a complete casting change too. I found the tail end of 10's run a slog to get through, but the change of style and cast from S5 onwards revitalised the show for me, and I fell in love with it again.
ReplyDeleteI feel like if it was a specific Doctor I might've been swayed one way or the other, but I'll go with Athos on this one because while I love 9 and 12, I'm not as fond as 10 and 11, and I assume they're all lumped in there.
ReplyDeleteAlso Tom Burke.
This was so easy for me to choose, it was my shows vs the one I dont watch
ReplyDelete1. Root by default, dont watch Fringe
2. Matt, disliked Derek on Greys
3 The Doctor by default, dont watch The Musketeers
4. Kate by default, dont watch UK Sherlock
5. Daryl by default, dont watch The 100(yet)
6. Ben by default, dont watch SPN
7.Stiles by default, didnt watch Parks
8.Dana by default, disliked Patrick on The Mentalist.
Which shows did you love in the first season, but then fell apart in the
ReplyDeletesecond?
- Reign just had one of the biggest sophmore slumps I've ever witnessed - although it was contained to the second half, I actually thought the first half was superior to Season 1 with all the political themes and such.
- Once Upon a Time was also mind blowing terrible in my opinion in the second half of Season 2. I think it was actually a bigger slump than Reign now that I think about it. They were assassinating characters left and right.Thank god it recovered in Seasons 3 and 4
- Sleepy Hollow is an obvious one to mention but yeah, has to be mentioned. The way they made Katrina evil out of the blue was just awful
- Heroes....... Some people actually dislike the later seasons more but to me Season 2 was the worst one, it was terrible, and I get headaches of even remembering all the cringeworthy Hiro scenes we had to witness of him stuck in the past
Which shows actually improved in their second season?
- Revolution went from a show I casually watched to one of my favorite shows around in its second season, so amazing. Still gutted about that cancellation
- Agents of Shield is the most obvious mention but it really bears saying. The first 2/3 of season 1 was just meh but after that the show kicked into high gear and never stopped. Comparing the first season with the second is just comparing things on completely different leagues
- There is a group of shows that start up very much procedural-like but then kick things into high gear around Season 2 and become significantly better, at least for me. Shows that fall into this group are Person of Interest, Nikita, Fringe or Grimm, for instance
- There are other shows in which the difference isn't as sizable as before but in which I still prefer the second season as I generally feel the show got a better grasp of itself and is more confident on what they are doing. This is especially frequent with comedies (Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Community) but also with some dramas (Suits, Private Practice, Scandal, Arrow, Hannibal)
Which freshmen
series last year do you predict will have a great sophomore season?
Which ones are you worried might struggle and why?
Let's do this one by one:
Shows that have given me zero reason whatsoever to fear any decline in quality whatsoever The Flash, Agent Carter, Scorpion, The Last Man on Earth
Shows which I am hoping will get even better from getting more confidence/ learning what worked and what didn't work : Gotham, Fresh Off the Boat, Black-ish, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, The Odd Couple, Galavant
Shows which I think the plot will naturally translate into a better show The Affair
Shows which I think the plot may create natural difficulties in keeping up the quality of S1 but for which I am still very much hopeful : How to Get Away with Murder, The Leftovers
Shows which I think can have slumps : Empire
I've worked for Andy for about 10 years now, back when he had just the DarkUFO site and STV forums. Being Admin sounds like fun, but believe me when I say it generally isn't at all, lol.
ReplyDeleteOh thanks for letting me know, it's just been moved back up on my watchlist then!
ReplyDeleteCool, I hope you enjoy!
ReplyDeleteI agree for every sophomore slumps except for Reign since I didnt watch, so I wont bother to post the same shows as you do.
ReplyDeleteThis scene always hits me right in the feels.
ReplyDelete"War requires sacrifice. There's no chance in hell all of us make it out alive. You have to be prepared for that." - Root
In the end, she wasn't prepared at all.
http://33.media.tumblr.com/1192126a855dacdb13258d4fb1088f5b/tumblr_nhugrtfNk41qev436o1_500.gif
Root by default. She's one of my favourite characters ever.
ReplyDeleteWow, this is so great.
ReplyDeleteRoot and Ben for me
ReplyDeleteAh, Dahne, it's really too bad you dropped POI just as Root was starting to be given a more three-dimensional approach and before she became the all-around great character that she is now. Perhaps one day, when your to-watch list is empty, you'll give it another try.
ReplyDeleteTopic:
ReplyDeleteWhich shows did you love in the first season, but then fell apart in the second?
Heroes, Sleepy Hollow.
Which shows actually improved in their second season?
Supernatural, Fringe, White Collar, The 100.
What does it take to make a successful sophomore season?
Not messing with things that made first season successful. Giving characters development (especially originals ones), introducing new slowly and not letting them take time/development away from old ones. Not recycling things, but instead of building/exploring word and characters created. Not using shock value to keep viewers watching. Take time to develop a storyline, but not drag too.
Which freshmen series last year do you predict will have a great sophomore season?
Agent Carter, Galavant, iZombie.
Which ones are you worried might struggle and why?
How To Get Away With Murder.
One word-HEROES.
ReplyDeleteGood point, although in fairness, it's hard to prepare for losing someone you care about.
ReplyDeleteOne of my (numerous) favorite Root scenes:
ReplyDeleteObvious SPOILERS if you haven't watched the show. Yet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmzYXxE8Sto
I can see her becoming better later and I usually adore Amy Acker but this character annoyed me to no end. I'm not sure I will ever pick up Person of Interest again but I am glad that she became a character that so many people now adore.
ReplyDelete- Root
ReplyDelete- Matt
- Athos <3 (I am tickled that he's actually winning so far! I thought for sure he
would lose against such a long-time character as the Doctor). I adored Ten, but I fell out of love with the show with Eleven.
- Sherlock
- Nobody
- Sam
- Nobody
- Scully
Voted for Eliza, Olivia, and Matt.
ReplyDelete"Hope is painful" It's so true. I love that quote.
ReplyDeleteThis is crazy, all the polls are ridiculously close!
ReplyDeleteOlivia
ReplyDeleteDerek
Beckett
Clarke
Stiles
Jane
Nice to find someone else who prefers season one of AOS over season 2, most people are the opposite.
ReplyDeleteIt's a nail bitter this one!
ReplyDelete1) Root. I love Olivia Dunham and all her iterations. But Amy Acker has always been a favorite actress of mine and Root is such an awesome character.
ReplyDelete2) Matt Murdock. Blind ass kicker... need I say more?
3) Kate Beckett. Very close but on a gut call I have to go with Kate. Sherlock may be the better detective but Kate Beckett is more driven.
4) Ben Linus. If anyone has ever thought Michael Emerson's acting abilities were just a right place right time thing with Lost and Person of Interested you should see him during a guest spot several years back in The Practice where he plays the potential serial killer William Hinks. After a handful of episodes you have no idea if he's a serial killer or a wannabe but either way he'll make your skin crawl. He's damn good.
5) Dana Scully. Again it comes down to Scully was a unique character interpretation for her time and Gillian Anderson played the role so well. After Duchovney left the show she was the only reason fans stayed.
I'm hoping for a good second season of Better Call Saul too, I found the start of the series a little slow but it soon picked up the pace and I was hooked. Can't wait for its return.
ReplyDeleteI managed to watch it all but Hunter and Bobbi were all I liked too which is why I was looking forward to the spin-off with them, then it didn't happen :/
ReplyDeleteMy have the mighty fallen! So glad I got my bragging in when I did cuz I don't think I'm getting anywhere near the leader board again!
ReplyDeleteEasiest day of voting yet - and ti's the first day I can vote in all the match ups. Since I've already
voted for most of these characters in the first round so I'll spare everyone the long winded reiteration why I love them :-)
Olivia
Matt
The Doctor
Sherlock
Clarke
Ben
Stiles
Scully
Today's TV Talk Topic
I think Sleepy Hollow had the worst S2 I've seen in the last 10 years of TV - and it still makes me mad so I'm just gonna leave that right there. I read the rules.
Shows that I think will do fine in their sophomore years are:
Agent Carter, Jane the Virgin, NCIS:NO, Scorpion, iZombie,
Shows I'm concerned could struggle:
Galavant - this renewal was a big surprise and I fear that if there's even a wobble in S2, we won't get a S3, no matter how much money the music brings in.
Gotham - S1 was hit/miss for me. The writers need to tighten the story up a bit and focus on the development of the characters they have instead of introducing more
Shows that Improved in their sophomore year:
The 100 - S1 was crazy but S2 was just insane and I have no doubt that S3 is going to be epic
AoS - the improvement started at the end of S1 and I haven't seen all of S2 but what I have seen very much carried and built upon the momentum at the end of S1
I was going to drop it after the season 2 finale but the finale was so good I couldn't let it go. I really hope they can redeem themselves in season 3 but I have feeling they won't.
ReplyDeleteNow this is exciting! Everyone is around 40-60.50-50%.!! :)
ReplyDeleteSo to confirm, you left POI only coz of Root? :(
ReplyDeleteHow dare you make me choose between Clarke and Daryl? Alas...Clarke is my preference. (WHOO THE 100!) - Be sure to catch Season 3 early 2016!
ReplyDeleteYes, I did.
ReplyDeleteCome on Clarke, let's win it all!
ReplyDeleteWow! I go to write the recap and come back to find the tightest races in the contest's history. I'm used to seeing 1 or 2 polls close but not 6 of 8. This is going to be one very interesting race. I can't wait to see the outcome because we may have some more bracket breakers today!
ReplyDeleteYou've been doing this tournament for 3 years right (This being the fourth). Have you considered after this one doing a mini bracket of the 4 winners so far?
ReplyDeleteyep! this race is very fun )
ReplyDeletebad idea Castiel and Jack don't stand a chance
ReplyDeleteI agree I did like the finale. If it can keep the quality I will stick with it. I agree they probably won't be able to, sadly.
ReplyDeleteI had to work over today so I've done everything by phone. I thought my page just wasn't refreshing because these numbers were tight! It makes it fun. I just need Daryl, Stiles and Sam but it isn't looking good.
ReplyDeleteJudging by the last days the only locks are Root and Jamie,the rest are a coin flip
ReplyDeleteI guess its Root vs Murdock Next round... You got this lady.
ReplyDeleteOkay, well I'm still on the first season of Heroes. I'll keep that in mind.
ReplyDeleteWhite Collar!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI do think that Annalise will fare better next year, especially if H2G is as engrossing as its first season.
ReplyDeleteOne of these days I am going to watch Heroes jsut to see what everyone is talking about.
ReplyDeleteI was trying to stab myself just to stay awake during Season 2.JK of course but be prepared.
ReplyDeleteI agree that Buffy got much better in the second season even though I still love the first. Buffy season 2 may be my favorite TV season of all. The 100 was one that I thought might maintain the intensity of season 1 and then it blew it out of the water. I couldn't believe how good that show got. I've heard a lot about Parks and Rec getting better in the second seson so I'm going to try an episode from it.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree about what makes sophomore seasons good. I think sometimes show runners and writers want to change up too much instead of capitalizing on the show's strengths and expanding on them.
Apparently. I can't believe how close these polls are. It's very exciting.
ReplyDeleteUnless some serious fan support shows up, I'm going to be down to Reid and Peggy. On both lists.
ReplyDeleteI'm looking forward to all four shows too but I am a little worried that the mythology will topple The Flash and H2G, simply because they made everything so big at the end. I love those shows so I hope they can build their audience. I'd love to see both shows go further in this contest than this year. Scorpion I'm a little afraid that the romance elements are going to overshadow the family elements, so that's my biggest issue with it. I think iZombie will be just fine, mostly because it can still play in the procedural elements while building on the storylines in season 1.
ReplyDeleteI think Black-ish will do well in its second season because they got a formula down that works for them. I hope the ABC comedies will keep getting noticed.
ReplyDeleteI think H2G made a mistake by adding in a second murder. My biggest fear for it is that they have bitten off more than they can chew so that the storyline gets either too convoluted or things start getting dropped. They had a pretty tight plot last season and I don't want to lose that in the race to keep making everything more complicated. I also agree that the characters need to be better fleshed out. Right now many of them still feel like stereotypes. Annalise is my biggest draw too. I hope Viola Davis earns an Emmy.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree that The 100 got better this season too. I can't wait to see what twists come in season 3.
I love your enthusiasm for your favorites. Clarke is a totally kick butt woman. I'm not sure about it being mandatory in schools but it would be awesome to discuss in some TV class in college. There's a lot more meat to the story than people give it credit for because it is on the CW. I didn't realize people still showed black and white movies in schools these days. I happen to be a fan of a lot of b&w stuff but none of which I would be showing my classes. Ha about shipping. I prefer the luxury cruisers myself. And yes, I agree that everyone should have a friendship like Stiles and Scott. Preferably with less dead bodies though.
ReplyDeleteLucky you. I think it's only going to get harder for me...unless all my favorites get voted out this round. Then I'm kicking back with the popcorn and watching the fun.
ReplyDeleteI do share your concerns about The Flash and Scorpion. I'm not anti-romance in my shows, but I think Scorpion needs to be very careful of overdoing the Paige/Walter romance. I'm okay with it as long as it's a slow build up, and it's only a small part of the show. As for H2GAWM, Shonda usually has a way of making her shows fantastic during their second seasons. Hopefully her streak will continue.
ReplyDeleteI actually dropped OUaT early on but I do remember people tending to like or not like it based on the plotline of that half season. While I'm not sure how it has been executed, I think that is actually an interesting idea of splitting a long season into 2 shorter segments.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry to hear that about The Fall. It's on my to-watch list. Same with Orphan Black. I still haven't watched Da Vinci's Demons yet but I put it on the list too after it made it into last year's Character Cup. I've never heard of Forbrydelsen. What is that about?
ReplyDeleteRoot, Daredevil, The Doctor, Sherlock, Daryl, Sammy and Patrick Jane
ReplyDeleteAh the patented coin flip method. I employed that a lot last year. I think the biggest problem with Sleepy Hollow is that they ran through about 4 seasons of plot in 13 episodes so they didn't have anything else to give. I agree that they clearly had no plan of where they were going. This is a show that truly should have been a limited episodes, one season and done show.
ReplyDeleteRatings are always an interesting discussion because TV has changed so much since the Cheers and ST:NG days. First off networks are competing with so many more shows. I think that if there weren't so many shows debuting every year, networks would be more willing to let iffy shows stay a little while longer. Now most shows decline as they get older so if you aren't there in the beginning, chances are things won't improve later.
Ha! The way these polls are so close, you might be in the top 10 tomorrow. I've never seen such close polls for this long and this many at the same time. It's definitely more exciting than I expected the contest to be.
ReplyDeleteI am worried about The Flash's second season too. I adored the show this season but ending in such a dramatic manner means they can go in some pretty farout ways. I'd like it to stick more to what worked in season 1 and to be honest, a lot of season 1 worked. The pacing, the teamwork, the overall mood of the show made it stick out. I don't want time loops or parallel worlds or time travel or anything out there to come between my TeamFlash time.
I think Poldark will do well in the second season because it's appeal is in the characters and unless I'm wrong they have the book source material to make sure they don't run out of plot.
Altlivia would have been my preference too. This is all making me want to marathon Fringe but there's just no time. The Musketeers is a fun, action-oriented show so if you're looking for one of those, put it on the list too. Rick Grimes was close to representing The Walking Dead. You'll have to get a campaign going for him in he nomination stage next year. Completely agree about Clarke.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great reason to get motivated. The Emmys are too limited in their focus of what they consider good in my opinion. I usually either don't watch what is nominated or I drop it soon after I try it. Very seldom does their opinion and mine align. Plus they have the same stuff nominated over and over again. It gets old.
ReplyDeleteYou and me both. But it is exciting to see how close everything is. Never expected this. It's like Barry being defeated in the first round all over again. I'm totally shocked and thrilled to see what is going to happen next because I just don't know anymore.
ReplyDeleteMatt Murdock/Daredevil, Kate Beckett and Patrick Jane
ReplyDeleteI'm one of the few people who liked SHIELD better in the first season too. It feels like its trying too hard to me. On Arrow, I really liked the first part of the second season and the less douchey Oliver. Then it derailed so hard by the time it got to State vs. Queen that my logical brain was begging me to quit. The woman who the public blames for hundreds of deaths is now running for Mayor and just walking around the same place where she was complicit in so many deaths? Yeah, I don't think so. It was way too much for me. I dropped Helix fairly soon in its second season. All the things I loved about season 1 were not in season 2 and all the most annoying parts were. If it doesn't improve then I might take it off the watchlist. Ditto on Sleepy Hollow.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree about shows that need to use nudity, shocks, and violence to keep interest up. if you've fallen out of ideas so much that you have to go there, it is time to either hire new writers or pack the whole thing up and go home. For me, the emphasis on romance is going to screw up Scorpion. I have zero interest in a will they-won't they situation and I feel like some of the focus on the team as a family was already being replaced by hooking everyone up. With H2G, I'm more worried about plot overload. It was hard enough to juggle one murder. I'm not sure how they can logically juggle two.
I surprised to hear I wasn't alone in liking season 1 of SHIELD better. That's not a common opinion around here. I think it is because I wasn't coming into it from a comics or movies standpoint. In fact, I'm not sure I've seen any of the movies except Iron Man so I wasn't disappointed in the beginning like those fans were. I was fine that they weren't supernatural and I liked how they were developing the character interaction. Plus, May. That woman was plain awesome.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that shows can't just come in and change everything in the second season and expect it to do well. I'm all for adding in gradual changes but the core of the first season needs to stay the same. I am particularly interested to see what they do with Empire because just like Sleepy Hollow in season 1, they have eaten through a whole lot of plot in a very short amount of time. I can't seeing it stay as ginormous as it is now but I don't think it will completely collapse like some people are predicting. I think it stays a huge hit but not quite as out in the strastosphere as it was this year.
Hunter and Bobbi were fantastic. They and May are who I am going to miss most.
ReplyDeleteI was really hoping for a spin-off and that May would one day join them. My real issues with SHIELD are character ones so to have a spin-off with the characters I actually liked in it was a real win-win for me. So sad they didn't go through with it.
ReplyDeleteI actually would do better with a specifc Doctor too although I am the opposite of you. I think the Doctor being more than one actor really helps it in some cases but it jsut as easily hurts it in others. It depends on which character he's up against.
ReplyDeleteNo character is for everybody. I dropped The Mentalist because my dislike of Jane outweighed what I liked about the show.
ReplyDeleteI envy you, although the topsy turvy way this contest is going I could be joining this sentiment by the next round. This is a whole lot more exciting than I expected.
ReplyDeleteYikes, the Katrina mess is still too painful to revisit. I may have to go back and try to finish Revolution if it improved that much. My biggest problem was that I wanted all the Mathesons to die and let the secondary characters take over. Do they improve? I think it's funny how many procedural shows go more serialized in their second season. It seems to be a trend.
ReplyDeleteMy fears are more opposite. I'm only tangentially worried about Agent Carter because of the move to California but The Flash and Scorpion I am worried about. I haven't read spoilers or anything so now I'm jsut hoping that the best elements of each show stay the same. I have zero qualms about Galavant because what I liked best about it is unlikely to change. I think FotB started righting itself the second it put Eddie on the backburner and focused on the parents. I expect that to continue so I'm not worried about it. I do agree with H2G and Empire though. Mostly from a plot standpoint for both and the amazing high expectations and pressure surrounding Empire. I fully expect to like Empire better than most people because I'm not as high on it as they are.
White Collar was a show I really liked in the first season but it became a show I adored in the second season. I think it's because the characters gelled so much better and because the treasure hunt was twisty and fun. I agree about SPN, Fringe, and The 100 too. Ilove the idea of second seasons building on their own worlds and characters without just going in a totally new direction. Sometimes shock value comes back to haunt a show.
ReplyDeleteI've only seen a few episodes here and there of the Listener and I wasn't sure why it had so much appeal. Maybe I have been seeing the second season episodes. I still need to see Chuck's second season, although I liked the first one just fine. Totally agree about White Collar.
ReplyDeleteThat's where I'm at with the third poll too. When the Doctor goes up against characters I'm iffy on, I tend to vote for the Doctor. When it goes up agaisnt characters I like or love, my admiration for the 10th doctor doesn't get me past the ones I didn't enjoy as much. I came to the Legend of the Seeker party late, but I thought it got better in the second season too. It felt like it knew where it was going more to me.
ReplyDeleteI'm still shocked. Generally contests here follow a pretty set pattern because the same people who nominated in all the contests are the same people who show up to vote. This one has not followed typical patterns and because of that I am enjoying the race when generally I am kind of bored with the contest but loving the conversation. This has been the best of both worlds. Can't wait to see what wacky thing happens next.
ReplyDeleteMe too. I have no idea what's going to happen but I have a feeling the next set of polls will be delayed a little because I'm not going to be able to call things in advance like I usually do when looking to set up the new one.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that Emerson guested on The Practice. I might have to check that out. I agree on Scully.
ReplyDeleteDon;t give up yet. I have a feeling that lots of brackets are going to be broken again today. It's amazing how up and down the voting has been. I tend to be less worried about proedural shows in their second seasons so the NCIS and CSI franchises rarely worry me on that front. I do agree that Galavant is starting off very much on the chopping block so I hope its ideal fit as schedule spackle will tip things in its favor. I think that's an advantage for Agent Carter as well. Or maybe they just wanted to tick off teh Cancellarion Bear. Who knows? I am eagerly awaiting the 100 too.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing and oh so much fun. I hope they are all nail biters like this.
ReplyDeleteNot my choice, believe me. If it were up to me, I would have switched around a lot of these competitions. It's those darn nomination and poll numbers that did this to us.
ReplyDeleteMostly it would be interesting to so little people since it wouldn't cover very many fandoms. Maybe in 16 to 32 years it would be really interesting.
ReplyDeleteHa! I kept checking back at the polls in between writing the recap and it felt like they weren't moving but the number of votes kept coming up. I can't wait to see what happens when I wake up tomorrow morning. I kind of hope they stay close the whole time.
ReplyDeleteI could conceivably be down to only one by the end of round 2 and then I will be voting against instead of voting for. Still it will be fun if the polls remain tight in those rounds too. Plus there's always the discussions.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that about Shonda. I don't watch many of her shows and I don't think I've seen a second season of them. H2G is really the first although I did watch season 1 of Scandal in marathon.
ReplyDeleteThe good thing is that I no longer feel I have to watch all of a series so when it starts to bore me, I'll kick it to the bottom of the pile.
ReplyDeleteClarke vs. Daryl wa so hard!
ReplyDeleteOoooh! Things are getting interesting now!
ReplyDelete1. Root - Definitely the hardest pick out of all these. Person of Interest and Fringe are 2 of my favorite shows of all time, and Olivia and Root are 2 of the strongest characters that I know. Sorry, Olive, but I had to go with Root this time.
2. Matt - Not even a debate. Easy.
3. The Doctor - Don't watch the other show, so another easy for me.
4. Beckett - Another really tough call here. Benedict does play Sherlock extremely well, and his iteration is probably my favorite of the more modern ones (between him, Robert Downey Jr, and Johnny Lee Miller). Still, I enjoy watching Beckett more than Sherlock as a character, even though I like Sherlock as a show better than Castle.
5. Daryl - Clarke is a solid character, but in no way compares to the awesomeness that is Daryl.
6. Ben - Lost > Supernatural, and Ben as a character > Sam, even though I enjoy both (up until the end of Season 5 for Supernatural though).
7. Leslie - Don't watch Teen Wolf so easy.
8. Jane - Even though I don't watch the Mentalist, I just can't stand Gillian Anderson so I vote against her.
A lot of really really close polls this time. The only one I had to stop and think about was Root vs Olivia. Root won my vote. She's one of the few interesting nut jobs on TV. Matt Murdock by default. The Doctor (default) and Sherlock another character I find one of the most interesting on TV. Ben Linus, Stiles one of my absolute favorite characters ever, and Scully.
ReplyDeleteRoot, Clarke and Sam for me today.
ReplyDeleteTV Talk Topic: The 100! Hands down currently the best show on TV, mostly because of their overwhelming second season. Don't get me wrong, the first season was great, too, and I didn't think they could top that, but they did, easily.
Derek
ReplyDeleteDaryl
Sam
Stiles
For me today
Buffy season 1 was good but the whole season was just case of the week. Season 2 defiantly improves and I think season 3 improves even more
ReplyDeleteYeah I have a great fondness for Buffy S1 but S2 took it up another level especially with Spike, Dru and Angelus.
ReplyDeleteParks and Rec first season a little rough, I definitely recommend starting with S2 and then later on going back to S1.
The reason I semi defend S2 is that it introduced Monica and Adam 2 of my favourite Heroes characters but then the show promptly discarded them in S3 which annoyed me so much. But yeah S2 wasn't great though it was cut short because of the Writers Strike and I think it could have ended up OK. S3 was laughable.
ReplyDeleteLots of tight races in round.
ReplyDeleteWhich shows did you love in the first season, but then fell apart in the
ReplyDeletesecond?
The first show that comes to my mind is Prison Break. The first season is one of the best seasons of television I've seen. The second season can't keep up with the first. It's better as the third though.
Which shows actually improved in their second season?
Parks and Recreation!
What
does it take to make a successful sophomore season?
I don't know. Maybe take a look at what was good and what was bad in the first season. So I think Feedback (Reviews, Social Media whatever) is very important.
Which freshmen
series last year do you predict will have a great sophomore season?
To be honest I didn't watch many new tv shows. But I guess The Flash will have a great sophomore season (watched some episodes).
Which ones are you worried might struggle and why?
Empire and HTGAWM. Yeah my two favorite new shows of the last season. Just because the better the first, the harder it gets to keep the quality. But I have faith!
I am going to forget a bunch I just know it.
ReplyDeleteFirst to mind Prison Break. The show ends when you break out of prison. Seemed like a no-brainer to me. Sleepy Hollow. I think you nailed the biggest problems on that show. I was so bored I never made it back to finish the season. Heroes, that story just fell apart. I was frustrated and began not to care. It took Dark Angel a bit to get a firm grip on their second season but they did.
One of the keys, imho, to a successful second season is avoid a finite story premise. Prison Break, tried to carry on after the season long plan to escape was successful. There was really no good way they were going to get back to the intensity of season 1.
What makes a successful sophomore season? The same thing that made a successful first season. A tight cohesive story with a well crafted plot and characters that are going on an interesting journey. I think it's important to recognize those elements that made the show successful. Prison Break, for example, was successful in it first season because it was telling a story about protagonists who were working toward a single specific goal and were being foiled by smart equally intense characters. Season two everyone was spread out, had separate agendas; they dissipated the intensely that made the first season a hit. Likewise Heroes first season had all of these characters on a path to the same climatic event. I felt that all of these stories were connected from the first moment. But in season two they lost sight of the core that made that story work. At least the first part of season two they had the characters separated, as they did in the first season, but the story didn't feel tight and cohesive.
I thought Arrow had a very successful second season. Supernatural's second season. Dark Angel.
I'm still a little concerned about how they're going to do overall.
Let me introduce you to Leslie Knope. The most cheerful, ambitious, hard-working and optimistic character you've ever seen. She thinks positive and yeah, sometimes "people caring loudly at her", but that doesn't stop her. Also people do not always share her enthusiasm, but who is president of the united states in 2048. LESLIEEE KNOOOPE!
ReplyDeleteSo if you haven't seen Parks and Recreation yet, than try it out. You will love her, and get ready to vote for her.
I realized that of the shows that fell apart for me in their second or later seasons none were episodic shows. They're all of the arc story variety.
ReplyDeleteHere here!!
ReplyDeleteClarke FTW!
ReplyDeleteDoes Agent Carter have comic mythos to borrow from? Just wondering.
ReplyDeleteI putting the odds on Empire's second season being a struggle.
The only show I can think of which I liked the most in its first season is Grimm. Well, Agent Carter, Outlander and Daredevil just delivered really awesome first ones, but that might simply their overall quality. Most shows (Vikings, Psych, Merlin, Agents of Shield) peak in their second season, not their first. There are a few which manage to keep the quality up far enough that they are enjoyable till the very end (White Collar, Leverage...though I think Leverage peaked in the third season), but for most of them it goes downhill from there. Arrow is the most recent example.
ReplyDeleteWell, my votes go to Matt, Sherlock (honestly, Kate is a really boring character compared to him) and Skully because I couldn't stand Jane at one point. With the other polls...I am pretty dispassionate, and if I only know one show, I only vote if I really want a character to win either way.
I think most fans agree that the second season of White Collar was the best, despite them introducing Sara into the mix (worst decision the writers ever made). But since she was barely around and the first four episodes are among the top ten best White Collar episodes (Need to know is still my absolute favourite, and that is saying something), the show never was as good as then. (though, to be precise, the second half of the first season and the first half of the second was the best period for the show...so many great episodes).
ReplyDeleteYou don't watch Sherlock? That always amazes me. I rarely encounter anyone who hasn't seen at least one Sherlock episode.
ReplyDeleteFrom someone who doesn't read comics either: That is not the reason why I think the second season is better. The second season is better because that's the point they actually made me care about the character, plus, the first season was all set-up, while the second one in mostly pay-off. And Pay-off is always more satisfying.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, that's okay for me, and I have dropped PoI. He is a good character, but I never saw him winning, because he is not an outstanding one either. At least not yet.
ReplyDeleteIt's one crime per season show with female police officer lead Sarah Lund (Sofie Grรฅbรธl, recently seen in Fortitude). The Killing is a remake of Forbrydelsen and first seasons are more or less the same story from what I heard. Forbrydelsen lasted 3 seasons.
ReplyDeleteRoot. She's such an amazing character. POI really went on a whole new level and became more interesting for me when she appeared on she show. Even though I didn't immediately liked her character but was rather intrigued by her, as the show progressed I fell more and more in love and now she's an absolute favorite. Great example of character development too.
ReplyDeleteI really look forward to the second season!! I binged the first 8 episodes to catch the last 2 live, it's a great show!!
ReplyDeleteI love the ABC's comedies! Wednesdays are the best and I like FOTB too.
ReplyDeleteI think blackish is refreshing and they are not afraid to talk about sensitive topics. The kids are fantastic actors and I love Depn Cole. Happy for Anthony Anderson with his Emmy nod!
While I generally agree that S1 is the best of Prison Break, I thought Season 2 was also pretty excellent and it has the extra advantage of introducing my favorite character and actor in the series. I think Seasons 4B was by far the weakest run of the show (though 4A was awesome).
ReplyDeleteYes, that improves a lot. Where did you left off? Not sure what to tell you sans spoilers. But Charlie in particular, who was extremely annoying in Season 1, becomes the badass heroine she was meant to be all along. And even Tracy's acting has a 180ยบ, it's crazy how much she improved from one season to the other. Monroe, my favorite character on the show, also gets way more focus on Season 2, so that would qualify as a "secondary character taking over".
ReplyDeleteRegarding Agent Carter, I hear you about the move for LA but imo, the show didn't have one misstep so far so it's pretty hard for me not to trust them. And remember that other than Jarvis and Angie, they are all part of a police team so there could be a case or whatever that brings them there organically and that justifies it for more than one character. I am not worried there.
I understand people's worries about The Flash, but it is another one that's been consistently so good that it's hard for me to worry. In addition, I thought Arrow really found itself in Season 2 and became the show that I love today so much, as well as Shield, so I think it is relatively common for these type of shows to get even better in their sophmore seasons after some experimentation. Agree entirely on FOTB, they need to put Jessica front and center all the time - I am very happy that Honey has been made a regular as well! As for Empire, I personally didn't like the finale as I fell it blew through seasons of potential plot points like it was nothing and that things lacked the proper build up and exposition of motivations. It felt like a "jump the shark moment" and I have a feeling that will continue on Season 2; I like crazy but not crazy for the sake of crazy or else becomes unwatchable. We'll see what comes out of it.
Matt Murdock and Ben Linus for me today. Ben would've won even if I didn't know anything about his character simply because he was up against a character from Supernatural. But he's also a great complex character and Michael Emerson is one of the best actors on television. I'm glad he's still in the competition in some form after the untimely elimination of his PoI character.
ReplyDeleteThis one was more difficult as there were characters I really like, but had to vote against (Olivia Dunham, Sam Winchester, Daryl Dixon). My votes went to Root, Matt Murdock, The Doctor, Sherlock Holmes, Clarke Griffin, Ben Linus, and Dana Scully.
ReplyDeleteSAM WINCHESTER !!!!
ReplyDeleteI never went back to Helix after it was cancelled but I would have if it was renewed. I've noticed the shows that rely more on violence, shocks and nudity tend to do very well, it bothers me so much! On Scorpion while I would have preferred less I didn't mind the amount of romance that was in the first season. I'm just hoping they don't focus on it more, I'll be so disappointed if they do.
ReplyDeleteI felt the exact same way, although I liked May a lot less in the second season.
ReplyDeleteOlivia - one of the best female characters ever
ReplyDeleteMatt Murdock - great new character, can´t wait to see more of him.
Daryl - can´t believe he has 50 % of the votes right now. Yeppie! He is such a cool character with so many layers. Clarke was the reason I stopped watching the 100, I just did not care for her at all. Seems like there are so many Clarke fans in here, so I was sure she would win. Let´s hope Daryl makes it.
Ben Linus - Because he is my favourite character on my favourite show.
TV Topic-
ReplyDelete-Sleepy Hollow is the worst case of sophomore slump to me. It was so great in S1 and completely fell apart in S2. I blame it on writing. I think the writers got to caught up in the accolades from S1 and started fan pandering. They didn't stay the course. They went so far off base, I honestly felt like a whole new set of writers had taken over. I actually checked imdb to make sure some were the same.
Prison Break is another offender but their decline happened later in S2. I still love it with all of my heart but their problem was accolades too. It was never meant to be a 3-5 season show. It was a limited/mini-series that had so many rave reviews, they stretched it too far. Sometimes you have to leave when you're still on top.
-The 100 Improved on near perfection in S2 and it boggles my mind. It's not a perfect show but what they get right, they really get it right. When they get it wrong, they really split the audience directly down the middle. There seems to be no gray areas no matter what JR says.
-To be successful, you have to keep the momentum going, keep to a formula that works for your show and not have too many hands in the soup pot. There are too many writers on staff of most shows IMO. There are 13-23 episodes of any given show. Some shows have 10-12 writers plus the showrunner and 4-5 producers. Of those, they are not going to all agree on the story and/or characters. There will be continuity issues. No matter how great they are, they will always think they can tell XYZ's story better than the previous writer.
-I didn't stick with a lot of new shows this year so I can't predict anything on them, other than what I hear.
I think The Flash will only improve. There are so many stories there with beloved characters, it's going to be a fun S2.
I'm worried about Scorpion I have the feeling they may get a little ahead of themselves too. Plus, they have a very specific adrenaline based formula I'm not sure they can keep up.
These polls today are playing with me. I can't take it.
I had no idea the Character Cup existed, glad to have it randomly come across my tumblr dash and came here to vote for Sammy Winchester (the reblog notes went from 50 to 200 in just two hours).
ReplyDelete-Sleepy Hollow failed me in it's second season. Not sure why they thought sidelining Abbie to make room for Katrina was a great idea. For me Katrina was like a Castiel 2.0, fan servicing that distracted and degraded what made the show worked in the first place.
- Heroes second season wasn't terrible, not as good as season one, but Issac's death was the final straw and I didn't watch anymore.
http://amazinghouse.vn/thiet-ke-noi-that-chung-cu-hyundai-hillstate-chi-hoa/
ReplyDeleteYeah, if it was a character I didn't already love, my vote would have instantly gone to the Doctor because of my love of Ten, but since it's not Doctor-specific, I hesitated. And ultimately because it's Athos, my fav Musketeer, it was a no-brainer.
ReplyDeleteWelcome to SpoilerTV! It's my first Character Cup, too.
ReplyDeleteI personally hope NCIS: New Orleans improves from season 1. There were a lot of boring cases and not one episode stood out for me.
ReplyDeleteshould I go with my dad or stay with mom
ReplyDeleteHi! And thanks! Woo hoo another Character Cup newbie!
ReplyDelete@dahne- I know this one has been keeping you busy! If earlier rounds saw a record number of voters, I can't wait to see what this one did.
ReplyDeleteThank you for coming in to vote and for Sam :)
ReplyDeleteWow! What an amazing round! I can't believe so many polls stayed as close as they did. The polls are now closed. Awesome job out there to everyone who voted and spread the word. You guys rock!
ReplyDeleteThe next set of polls are going to be slightly delayed so look for them to go up in about 1 - 1.5 hours. Let's hope it is as exciting as this one. If your favorites made it in, remember that they will be back for round 3 the day after tomorrow.
It has been crazy in such a great way. Polls will be delayed because all the stuff I normally do beforehand I couldn't do until the polls were closed on this one. I love how close everything was.
ReplyDeleteI got 3 out of 4 so I'm happy, happy. The third happy is missing because we couldn't save Stiles.
ReplyDeleteGREAT SAM!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSeason 1 of The Listener is phenomenal. And there have been episodes from seasons 4 and 5 that come to mine that were pretty great too. But the first season was incredible. Season 2 was nowhere near as good.
ReplyDeleteI recently binge watched all of Chuck. Huge fan of seasons 1-3, 4 is okay, didn't really like 5. But 2 was really great, and 3 was my favourite. So I'd recommend trying to finish most of the show (skip the last three episodes, please. So disappointing.)
Yes, White Collar too. Season 2 was awesome, and 3 was even better (just like Chuck, haha).
Tbh OB had a great 2nd season , the finale was just underwhelming though
ReplyDeleteI admit to being a casual watcher. The cases I saw did have that "been there, done that" feel but I liked the characters. It took a while for the actors to really gel but I think S2 will be better character wise. Hopefully they can get a bit more creative on the COTW front.
ReplyDeleteLOL - I think I can give up now! Man, that last round hurt!
ReplyDeleteI saw a tweet yesterday from Luke Youngblood (Sid) that had a picture of the S2 Song Lyrics book in it - that thing was almost 2 inches thick! I think Schedule Spackle along with the music sales is what got it the renewal this year - fingers crossed that will be enough. And ticking off the Cancellation Bear is a bonus :-)
I am totally out of the running myself. I've got several contests where neither of the two I picked are even still in the contest. I cannot wait to ear the new songs. I had the soundtrack on repeat last week because it made me laugh awaymy frustrations.
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