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Lord Dekks posted:I couldn't find a recommendation thread so hopefully this is the best place to ask this. Me and the wife are almost completely up to date on our current show binge (Supernatural and re-watching Seinfeld) and are at a loss what to watch next. You should try Alphas. There was a pretty thorough recommendation in here a few days ago. Also, have you seen The Shield?
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Dec 30, 2012 17:54
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The Middleman is a fun, light, comedic monster-of-the-week show. You'll be sad it only lasted one season. Also, Dollhouse is awesome -- it starts out as a "case of the week," Charlie's Angels-esque sort of thing, but after five episodes, quickly evolves into a deeper drama/sci-fi/action epic, with an excellent cast and plenty of much-needed comic relief. You guys already like sci-fi, so you will probably love it.
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Dec 30, 2012 18:08
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Lord Dekks posted:I couldn't find a recommendation thread so hopefully this is the best place to ask this. Me and the wife are almost completely up to date on our current show binge (Supernatural and re-watching Seinfeld) and are at a loss what to watch next. Yes, Alphas! Read my post on the previous page.  Plus, if you liked Warehouse 13, Lindsay Wagner shows up in Alphas as Dr. Calder in one episode, implying the two shows are in the same universe.Carnivale is not a procedural/monster of the week show (but it is awesome).
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Dec 30, 2012 18:14
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Twee as gently caress posted:Veronica Mars is the first show that comes to mind when I read your list. It mixes longer arcs with case of the week stuff, has some pretty dramatic moments but is first and foremost funny and really enjoyable. Yes to Veronica Mars. Also, The Vampire Diaries. It's a very silly show, but the crazy things that happen each episode makes it worth it. It's a bit too focused on teenage relationship stuff early on, but gets way better. At least watch until the Halloween episode, that's when the show really starts hitting it's stride.
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Dec 30, 2012 18:38
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The first season of Veronica Mars was the closest thing to perfect TV I'd seen until I started watching The Wire. It's a bit more episodic (but still with a full story arc) and not nearly as deep or dark, but it's really enjoyable. I should probably watch it again. It's pretty amazing that anyone was able to do something like that on regular broadcast TV. The second and third seasons aren't as close to perfection but they're still pretty drat good.
Vienna Circlejerk fucked around with this message at 18:53 on Dec 30, 2012 |
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Dec 30, 2012 18:51
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We've been watching Alphas and enjoying it, seen House and enjoyed the first few seasons. Torn on Carnivale as it was cancelled and never really resolved wasn't it? same with Deadwood, heard great things about it but if it ends on a cliffhanger not sure I want to bother. Will check out Veronica Mars and Revenger though.
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Dec 30, 2012 21:38
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Carnivale has a pretty good ending. There's a conflict established in the first couple episodes and it's resolved for the most part at the end of season 2. You should be warned that season 1 is a really slow burn. Then season 2 goes on overdrive.
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Dec 30, 2012 21:42
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Is Magic City worth watching? I had forgotten it existed until I saw the first season DVDs for sale yesterday.
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Dec 30, 2012 21:52
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Lord Dekks posted:We've been watching Alphas and enjoying it, seen House and enjoyed the first few seasons. Torn on Carnivale as it was cancelled and never really resolved wasn't it? same with Deadwood, heard great things about it but if it ends on a cliffhanger not sure I want to bother. Deadwood isn't nearly as bad as Carnivale. There is still a lot more story that could have been told, even if they followed historical events, and David Milch had planned to wrap things up with two or three movies. But at least the third and final season gave us an appropriate ending that leaves you satisfied (if wanting more).
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Dec 30, 2012 22:03
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Big Bad Voodoo Lou posted:Deadwood isn't nearly as bad as Carnivale. There is still a lot more story that could have been told, even if they followed historical events, and David Milch had planned to wrap things up with two or three movies. But at least the third and final season gave us an appropriate ending that leaves you satisfied (if wanting more). I don't agree with that. The Deadwood ending is complete blueballs and it sets up a bunch of awesome stuff that will now never happen. You should still watch Deadwood, though, since it's one of the most incredible shows ever made.
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Dec 30, 2012 22:12
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Mu Zeta posted:Carnivale has a pretty good ending. There's a conflict established in the first couple episodes and it's resolved for the most part at the end of season 2. You should be warned that season 1 is a really slow burn. Then season 2 goes on overdrive. For a show that got cancelled it has a surprising amount of closure. If the series had ended 6 minutes earlier there would be a lot more upset people. I'd say 80%+ of what gets set up in Season one has a pay off. CaptainHollywood fucked around with this message at 01:19 on Dec 31, 2012 |
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Dec 31, 2012 00:21
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Unlike most other mystery shows that end up blue balling because of winging it, Carnival also has an established show bible and series mythology that lays everything out on the table, even the stuff we never saw. There were about 6 seasons of planned material for the show and a lot of what would have been got made public after the shows demise as well.
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Dec 31, 2012 00:49
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Binged my way through the first season of Boardwalk Empire thanks to the recommendation from the TVIV Annual Poll. I'm honestly hard pressed to find any faults with it. The show was god damned masterful from pilot to finale. I honestly didn't care about 1920's America until Boardwalk, the show captured the setting beautifully and really hooked me into its world from the start. The city, the shops, the music, the brothels, the bars, the cars, the offices all just leaped out at me from the screen. And the clothes...god drat the clothes. Never has a show made me give a poo poo about what the characters are wearing but this show nailed it. Boardwalk captured it all so well to an outsider of American culture like me. Of course the setting will only get you so far and it's the characters that really sold me on Boardwalk. It would be unfair of me to single out a few special mentions from a universally brilliant cast but I am unfair so I'll do it anyway. Michael Shannon as Nelson Van Alden knocked it out of the park for me and was my favourite character to watch. The man stole every scene he was in and sold his performance as a man of great struggle in his professional and personal life. Michael Pitt as Jimmy was also excellent and really came to life over the season, growing more complex and entertaining to watch as the show marched on. Finally, Kelly Macdonald of my home city of Glasgow playing Margaret Schroeder was enthralling as she questioned her actions and her very morals. I would've mentioned Buscemi and Williams, but everyone knows they're excellent already. In summary, I can't wait to crack on with season 2 since I hear it's even better than the first. Cheers TVIV for convincing me to watch this show! 
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Dec 31, 2012 01:01
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Lord Dekks posted:Can anyone recommend any fun to watch procedurals/monster of the week shows? We feel like we've done all the usual ones like X-Files, Fringe, Supernatural, Grimm and Warehouse 13 and have watched most of the more fun crime ones that we've heard of. What about Angel? It will probably feel a bit dated by now and I think about the first half of the first season is a bit bumpy, but it gets pretty good later on. It has tons of funny stuff and drama alike, monsters of the week and some nice arcs as well as some fleshed out characters. Plus, you'll see a lot of familiar faces from current shows.
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Dec 31, 2012 01:39
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Red_Museum posted:Is Magic City worth watching? I had forgotten it existed until I saw the first season DVDs for sale yesterday. Personally, I think Magic City dragged on until its mid-season, then it definitely picked up steam and became something that I actually went out of my way to watch. Jeffrey Dean Morgan does a great job but Danny Huston turns a contemptible monster of a character into a character that you want to see more of. Olga Kurylenko also does a commendable job and surprised me with her acting chops. The actual star of the show, in my opinion, is the Miramar Playa Hotel which oozes early 1960s style in a very Mad Men-esque way. The set dressing and the Modernist architecture really sell the feel of the show. If you're looking for an enjoyable but not overly deep ride, I say that there are far worse shows you could watch other than it.
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Dec 31, 2012 04:15
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Lord Dekks posted:
As somebody who stopped watching Breaking Bad after getting the whole way through Season 1 and found it a bit tiresome I would encourage you to start at Season 2 (even if you didn't get all the way through) and just keep going. I think once I got to the second half of Season 2, I went all the way to getting caught up in about two weeks. Getting away from the cancer plot in later seasons helped the show quite a bit in my opinion.
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Dec 31, 2012 05:51
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StainlessBanner posted:As somebody who stopped watching Breaking Bad after getting the whole way through Season 1 and found it a bit tiresome I would encourage you to start at Season 2 (even if you didn't get all the way through) and just keep going. I don't think the series officially "starts" until Better Call Saul.
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Dec 31, 2012 06:55
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I missed Alias when it was on air (I think I tried to watch one season 2 episode, was completely lost, and decided that I had to watch it from the beginning) so I've been going through that. What started out interesting and tense has gone completely off the rails. I had heard that things got bad but I wasn't prepared for how thinly they stretch their premise. There's no good reason for any of these characters to do anything that they do and the plots and characterization are contradictory from episode to episode. I can only guess that everyone who was competent on the writing staff jumped over to Lost at this point (and they'd jump ship from Lost after a couple of seasons in the same way...).
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Dec 31, 2012 08:35
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Vanderdeath posted:Personally, I think Magic City dragged on until its mid-season, then it definitely picked up steam and became something that I actually went out of my way to watch. Jeffrey Dean Morgan does a great job but Danny Huston turns a contemptible monster of a character into a character that you want to see more of. Olga Kurylenko also does a commendable job and surprised me with her acting chops. The actual star of the show, in my opinion, is the Miramar Playa Hotel which oozes early 1960s style in a very Mad Men-esque way. The set dressing and the Modernist architecture really sell the feel of the show. If you're looking for an enjoyable but not overly deep ride, I say that there are far worse shows you could watch other than it. Cheers, will give it a watch. Only 8 episodes so not a huge investment.
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Dec 31, 2012 12:03
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CaptainHollywood posted:I don't think the series officially "starts" until Better Call Saul.
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Dec 31, 2012 12:09
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If anyone has been waiting for an excuse to binge through The West Wing, it is now free on Netflix in HD. Merry Christmas to me. Anyway, I'm currently going through Star Trek: The Next Generation, It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia, and I'm finishing up Scrubs.
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Dec 31, 2012 14:58
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I've been enjoying Continuum a lot recently. They somehow manage to implement a lot of fun sci-fi stuff and intelligent plot and action into the standard American TV mold.
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Dec 31, 2012 16:29
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Random Stranger posted:What started out interesting and tense has gone completely off the rails. I had heard that things got bad but I wasn't prepared for how thinly they stretch their premise. I can only guess that everyone who was competent on the writing staff jumped over to Lost at this point (and they'd jump ship from Lost after a couple of seasons in the same way...). The rumors at the time were that the network made the producers dumb the show down after the first season. I don't know if there's any validity to that or if fans are just wanking themselves off, so take it with a grain of salt.
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Dec 31, 2012 17:23
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I just managed a binge-a-thon with the wonderfully acted 1974 BBC Fall of Eagles series with my Mum at Xmas (which was a pleasant surprise, as she usually dislikes this stuff, but really got into it). Highly commendable stuff, with a load of great old British actors and actresses playing all kinds of famous names in history up to WWI, i.e. Maartov, Kaiser Bill, Tsar Nicky, etc. Notable for having Patrick Stewart play a wonderfully brutal Lenin.
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Dec 31, 2012 21:29
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Walking Dead Season 3, the first eight episodes. drat, that's ramped up everything! Also, a third of the way through Charlie Jade after recommendations from this thread.
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Dec 31, 2012 22:27
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Bored in an airport right now, I think I will start a whole Justified season 1 rewatch, I have about 18 hours left between connecting flights and the actual flying
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Jan 1, 2013 02:15
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Falling Skies. I'm not sure how I feel about the show, or myself, after binging through S1 and S2 on Amazon.  Mid-season breaks play tricks on the mind. Season 3 will start in the summer. If the show were to present the audience with some of the story being told from the side of the aliens, it might be more interesting. And more back story on the invaders would be nice. I wouldn't suggest it to anyone unless they like cheesy sci-fi with a lot of  about family. Or if you are that loving bored, as I have been during break the last couple weeks.e: v v Mu Zeta posted:I only saw the first few episodes and gave up on it. Are the aliens speaking now? After a fashion. They are using humans with the harness attachment as vocal surrogates. And without going into detail, the aliens are having trouble within their own ranks. This is what kept me watching, and about the only thing that will have me watching Season 3. The plot thickens, at least a little. Kempo Yellow Belt fucked around with this message at 16:49 on Jan 3, 2013 |
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Jan 3, 2013 15:58
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I only saw the first few episodes and gave up on it. Are the aliens speaking now?
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Jan 3, 2013 16:23
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The wife and I just binged on the first two seasons of Community, sadly season 3 doesn't seem to be out in the UK on dvd yet. As soon as it is, we shall work our way through that too. Really enjoyable show, even if Chevy Chase is apparently a bit of a dick to the cast/creator.
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Jan 3, 2013 17:14
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I've been rewatching The Shield and I'm on the series finale now. The last few episodes have been mighty uncomfortable, knowing everything that's coming. Especially the Vendrell family suicide.
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Jan 4, 2013 00:09
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Lord Dekks posted:Can anyone recommend any fun to watch procedurals/monster of the week shows? We feel like we've done all the usual ones like X-Files, Fringe, Supernatural, Grimm and Warehouse 13 and have watched most of the more fun crime ones that we've heard of. We mostly like the ones that are a little goofy/silly over the more serious ones, so more along the lines of Sherlock, Burn Notice, White Collar and Castle than CSI and the like. The Dead Zone Anthony Michael Hall is a great lead and it's all on Netflix/Amazon Prime. Just don't expect a conclusion.
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Jan 4, 2013 01:24
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Lord Dekks posted:We seem to be the only people in the world who couldn't get into Breaking Bad despite watching most of the first season, It's a different show after he shaves his head. Seriously, it gets soooo much better.
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Jan 6, 2013 05:20
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I finally finished The Wire and I agree with the general consensus that it is fantastic. Season 5 was definitely the weakest season but it was still really good. A lot of people say they don't like Season 2 but I would say it's tied with Season 4 as my favorite, and by favorite I mean that it is slightly shinier gold than the rest of the really shiny gold. I also finished Season 2 of Treme and I'm so eager to watch season 3 that I'm halfway considering getting cable TV + HBO so I can watch it with their on-demand thingy or whatever they have. In some ways, I actually like it better than The Wire, though I'd say that it's a really different animal (even though it's a David Simon show). The Wire is powerful but mostly pretty ugly (as it should be, considering the subject matter and the social criticism) whereas Treme has moments of true beauty (along with some real ugliness, too). I've heard someone say that Treme is supposed to be a love letter to New Orleans, and you can definitely see that it's a labor of love.
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Jan 6, 2013 20:43
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I just somehow managed to slog my way through all of How I Met Your Mother which was rarely funny and has some of the most frustrating characters, I read that Jason Segel wanted to leave and i dont know why he hasnt left earlier as he has a lot of talent and his character is just annoying. NPH is just great although his routine was getting pretty tiresome towards the end. Anyway so i am pretty sure i checked out Psych on the recommendations of goons, and I also never realised it was supposed to be a comedy, and my first impressions were that this seems like it was made in the 90's and everything is so unrealistic.. And that god awful theme song, i have to skip through just so i dont have to hear it. However after getting about 10 episodes in it has started to grow on me somewhat, i think generally just because the 2 main characters are outstanding, the rest of the cast i couldnt give a poo poo about though. At this point I am not sure whether the likeable main duo are going to get me to stick with this, what is the opinion of later seasons.. Better/Worse/Same?
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Jan 7, 2013 01:49
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Camping.. Intense! posted:Anyway so i am pretty sure i checked out Psych on the recommendations of goons, and I also never realised it was supposed to be a comedy, and my first impressions were that this seems like it was made in the 90's and everything is so unrealistic.. And that god awful theme song, i have to skip through just so i dont have to hear it. However after getting about 10 episodes in it has started to grow on me somewhat, i think generally just because the 2 main characters are outstanding, the rest of the cast i couldnt give a poo poo about though. At this point I am not sure whether the likeable main duo are going to get me to stick with this, what is the opinion of later seasons.. Better/Worse/Same? It's more or less still the same- but better. The show definitely gets a better handle on all it's characters, there's a bit of a quality jump in Season 2. You really can't watch it expecting too much in the way serialized story-telling. The two leads are what the make show what it is. Like any show there are a few "ok" episodes but for a show that's about to be in eight season it's actually still going strong. Also, no show but Community can do homage/satire episodes like Psych. So if you've liked what you've seen so far, continue with it. But a minor note:::::: Even up to the eight season Shawn is still pretending to be a psychic, however starting in Season 2 the show focuses less on Shawn's goofy tactics and more on Shawn and Gus going on random tangents/dialogue/references.
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Jan 7, 2013 02:20
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Camping.. Intense! posted:Anyway so i am pretty sure i checked out Psych on the recommendations of goons, and I also never realised it was supposed to be a comedy, and my first impressions were that this seems like it was made in the 90's and everything is so unrealistic.. And that god awful theme song, i have to skip through just so i dont have to hear it. However after getting about 10 episodes in it has started to grow on me somewhat, i think generally just because the 2 main characters are outstanding, the rest of the cast i couldnt give a poo poo about though. At this point I am not sure whether the likeable main duo are going to get me to stick with this, what is the opinion of later seasons.. Better/Worse/Same? I don't have a good perspective on the changes in quality because of the piecemeal way I watch the show, but the basic formula doesn't change. If you weren't sure that it's a comedy from the beginning, I don't think it's going to do much for you. It's a show about clever gags and 80s/90s references, and occasionally they have a themed episode (like Twin Peaks or Friday the 13th) or a Special Guest Star. My recommendation if you're just slightly interested in the show is skip to whichever episodes sound interesting. There isn't much plot or character development to miss. Chomposaur fucked around with this message at 02:24 on Jan 7, 2013 |
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Jan 7, 2013 02:21
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I'm about to start watching Heroes for the first time. Anything I should know?
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Jan 7, 2013 03:55
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Mostly through Inbetweeners now and it's pretty funny, but you realize after only a bit that Will is the biggest tool of the bunch, and it's annoying that he never changes even a little. e: what I mean is I can see the rest of them, especially Simon, growing up to be decent people, but Will is only going to become even more of a dick as he gets older. He'll develop a classic "nice guy" complex and go into banking probably. Conduit for Sale! fucked around with this message at 04:02 on Jan 7, 2013 |
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Jan 7, 2013 03:59
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shagster104 posted:I'm about to start watching Heroes for the first time. Anything I should know? You're in for a hell of a ride, but not in a good way.
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Jan 7, 2013 04:11
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I would almost tell someone watching Heroes to just stop at the end of season 1 and pretend that is the whole show, but there are no clean breaking points. You will watch the finale and want to jump into season 2 and before you know it you will be sad and confused and you will have no idea where it all went wrong.
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Jan 7, 2013 04:13
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