Monday, October 24, 2016

New Recruits

It's been a while but here's a look at some of the returning shows that I've been watching over the last few weeks.


Arrow: After an extremely disappointing fourth season and a fanbase who have taken cringe to new lows, this show has returning for a fifth year and the first three episodes have been okay so far. Tobias Church and Prometheus are intriguing enough villains but have yet to reach Damien Darhk levels of potency yet while the flashbacks are a bit of an improvement on last season. However with Thea and Diggle out of the field, we've had to get used to some new recruits with Mr Terrific, Artemis, Wild Dog and Ragman somewhat stepping in to help defend Star City with a hero who is also trying to be the Mayor. It's not been bad so far to be honest.


Once Upon A Time: And we're into the sixth season of this show. Who would've thought when the series started off back in 2011, we'd still be here. The first four episodes have been an interesting bag. On one hand, I am disappointed that they wrapped up the Jekyll & Hyde storyline so quickly and the Count of Monte Cristo episode was a damp squib but at the same time, we're seeing Belle stand up to Rumple a lot more, the Evil Queen arc is being handled better than expected and the prophecy storyline with Emma isn't too bad. Plus we're getting the Aladdin/Jasmine/Jafar storylines and Cinderella had another great backstory episode, so overall I'm content with this season so far.


Scream Queens: Let's be honest, considering the dire ratings this show got last year, it's amazing it's back for a second season and considering the dire ones it's still getting, it's unlikely to be back for a third run. The first two episodes of this season has replaced the Kappa sorority for a creepy hospital and the Red Devil for the Green Meanie while Hester does her best Hannibal Lecter impression for a limited amount of characters to see. The Chanels, Denise, Zayday and Dean Munsch haven't greatly changed as characters and there are times when the show still thinks it's funnier than it actually is. There are also times though when it's pretty creative but even I don't think that will be enough to prevent FOX from striking the killer blow and taking this show out.


Supergirl: The most feel good superhero is back and while it's now on the network it should've been from the start, it feels like everything and nothing has changed all at once. Tonally, it's still the same as the first season but within the first two episodes, we've had Kara battling Metallo with her famous cousin (Tyler Hoechlin truly giving a superb performance), the departure of Cat Grant (she'll be missed) and the arrivals of the mystery man in the pod, Cadmus's brutal doctor lady, Lena Luthor and Snapper Carr as well as Winn and Kara themselves switching jobs and Alex working through some past anguish as well. An absolutely super star to the second season.


The Flash: We've waited all summer for the arrival of Flashpoint and it came and went in the space of one episode. Technically this is true, but truthfully while that arc did play out for one episode, it's obvious the consequences are going to be very ongoing with even the other shows being affected by Barry's actions. The first three episodes have had their moments and I've enjoyed the slow reveal of Caitlin's icy new powers along with Jessie being a speedster, Harrison's return and the arrivals of both Julian and Alchemy as well. That being said, is it me or does Cisco really need to get back to his usual self?


Victoria: The second half of this series has fortunately been as strong as the first. It's great that in her first proper post Doctor Who gig, that Jenna Coleman really managed to bag yet another iconic role. I wasn't sure of the idea of Victoria being an ongoing series but having seen the last few episodes, I'm really glad that ITV have found a new jewel in their Sunday night crown and that we've got another series and a Christmas special for 2017. Long live the queen.


- MTV have renewed Scream for a third season.
- The Walking Dead just revealed who Negan killed and holy shit, while I'm not a religious viewer, that death was fucking brutal. The show has also been renewed for an eighth season.
- Sean Maguire will be appearing again in Once Upon A Time for multiple episodes.
- Chris Pratt will guest star in the fourth season of Mom.
- CMT have released a promo for Nashville's fifth season, due to air in January.
- American Horror Story has officially been renewed for a seventh season.
- Alyssa Milano has joined the cast of Wet Hot American Summer for it's second season.
- BBC3 have acquired the rights to gay themed Australian swimming drama, Barracuda.

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