Voenix Rising

In no particular order:

Zoo (CBS) This show started out with an interesting premise: that the animals are done with our shit and they’re doing something about it. Unfortunately, the show just isn’t panning out. I won’t go so far as to say it’s completely jumped the shark, but, well… it’s a good thing James Wolk is pretty.

The Strain (FX) Pleasantly surprised by this one. What would you do during a Zombie Vampire Apocalypse? The Strain is relatively slow burn and some reviewers have called it “plodding” but I think it’s moving along at a good enough pace to keep the interest up. The cinematography is beautiful (as expected with anything Guillermo Del Toro has a hand in), but as seems to be the norm in this sort of show these days, some of the characters do incredibly stupid things. Additionally, the the writers have left gaping holes unpatched (How exactly did the main character get back from Washington DC into to a quarantined New York City after being shot with such relative ease?). But there’s a lot of good backstory exposition outlining how the creatures came came to be…and Corey Stoll is pretty.

Under the Dome (CBS) Initially, this was an interesting and entertaining way to spend an hour every week, but it this season the writers not only jumped the shark, they’ve gone to airline cruising altitude. It’s pretty bad when I learned this morning there are only two more episodes until the series conclusion (not just the season’s) and I thought, “Praise the Baby Jeebus!” So why am I sticking through until the bitter end? Mike Vogel is pretty.

The Whispers (ABC) A decent cast headlined by Lily Rabe and Barry Sloane with an interesting storyline has kept us engaged. “Unseen forces use unwitting human children to achieve their nefarious ends.” As of last week we still don’t know what their nefarious ends are (I haven’t seen the season finale yet), but Barry Sloane is pretty.

Fear the Walking Dead (AMC) I’m giving this one the benefit of the doubt, despite its glacially slow first episodes. What did the world look like as it was transforming into the horrifying apocalypse depicted in The Walking Dead? I realize that as viewers we have the advantage of knowing—unlike the show’s characters—what’s going down and simply want it all to hurry up and happen, but I’m hoping the payoff will be that through the extended character building we actually come to care about them the way we do in The Walking Dead. So far I’m not impressed by the drug-addict teen (who physically reminds me way too much of Johnny Depp) or his angst-ridden sister, but like I said, I’m willing to see where this goes. And let’s be honest: until The Walking Dead returns, what else is there to watch Sunday night?

The Walking Dead (AMC) Needs no commentary. If you don’t know what this is, you’ve been living under a rock the last five years.

Talking Dead (AMC) Immediately follows The Walking Dead to recap that night’s episode. And it’s anchored by Chris Hardwick—whom I have impure thoughts about.

At Midnight with Chris Hardwick (Comedy Central) Chris Hardwick. Duh. (Even if Ron Funches—who I don’t find funny at all and is annoying as hell—always wins when he’s on.)

Rizzoli & Isles (TNT) Yeah, I know this one is a little out of place in this sci-fi heavy lineup, but I do like Sasha Alexander. I loved her as Kate on NCIS, and I think this character gave her the opportunity to bring her own personal brand of “Ducky” (from NCIS) to the role. And Jordan Bridges is pretty. MOAR SHIRTLESS JORDAN BRIDGES PLEASE!

Masters of Sex (SHO) The first couple seasons were hot and steamy, and did a great job of bringing the story of William H. Masters and Virginia E. Johnson and their groundbreaking (and very scandalous for its time), Human Sexual Response to the small screen. The series was rooted in the repressive 1950s and rang true on so many levels, but as the story has progressed beyond the publishing of the book and into the 1960s, it seems to be grasping for direction—openly flashing a disclaimer before every episode that the characters of the children are entirely fictitious. I’m still watching, but it seems to be turning more and more into a soap opera, and I’m rapidly losing interest in (or caring about any of) the characters. In real life, we know Masters and his wife eventually divorced and he married Johnson, but while the onscreen story seems to be heading in that direction, it’s taking way too many detours.

Ripper Street (BBC) I love these period BBC dramas, although for the life of me I have no idea what’s actually happened to this program. According to the website it’s still on, but we missed the first couple episodes this season and it seems to have completely disappeared from our lineup, which is a shame. Because Matthew MacFadyen and his awesome sideburns is pretty. But unfortunately, not pretty enough that I want to spend $2.00 per episode to catch up.

Deutschland 83 (Sundance) This is an eight-episode German television series starring Jonas Nay as a 24-year-old native of East Germany who in 1983 is sent to the West as an undercover spy for the Stasi. I’ve made it through about two episodes thus far. I like it enough to keep going, but it’s definitely not one of those shows I call “background noise” (and not only because I have to pay attention to the subtitles since my memory of German only allows me to pick out a word here and there). You need to pay attention to follow what’s going on; definitely not something that can done if you’re sitting with your laptop in the evening reading tweets and downloading pr0n.

Mr. Robot (USA) This show is OFF. THE. RAILS. (And I love it.)

Humans (AMC) While the season just ended, I have to include it here because it was one of my favorite shows of the summer. It presented our near-future in the most realistic, believable way I’ve ever seen portrayed. The scenarios under which the human characters interacted with the “synths” resonated and were simply believable.

Extant (CBS) This is one of those shows that started out with a very interesting premise and after a great first season, totally jumped the shark and went into low earth orbit in season two. I think the problem is that they were trying too hard to tie together disparate storylines and ended up turning it into one incomprehensible WTF mess. (See also: Murder in the First.)