Recommend a TV Show

[Lilaena De'Ville]

(one recommendation per post please)

The 100 (the CW)

Post-WW3 the remnants of humanity live in a cobbled together space station orbiting the irradiated Earth. Running out of air and growing desperate, the leaders make the choice to send their juvenile delinquents (100 of them) to Earth to find out if returning to the ground is a viable option. (On the Ark all crimes are capital offenses, resulting in being 'floated' [airlocked] unless you're under 18, in which case you're locked up and given another trial and most likely floated when you're 18)

Starts off seeming like 'typical CW' fare, with pretty people who can do whatever they want with no consequences EXCEPT there are devastating consequences to each decision made. It's one of my favorite shows.

Just ended their second season and have been renewed for a third, you can watch The 100 on Netflix. Here, have a kick-ass gif with no context!

[Rutabaga]

Z Nation (SyFy Channel)

Three years after the zombie virus has gutted the country, a team of everyday heroes must transport the only known survivor of the plague from New York to California, where the last functioning viral lab waits for his blood.

The Walking Dead it ain't. And that's perfectly okay. A product of Asylum, the folks responsible for the legendary Sharknado and Sharknado 2: The Next One (with Sharknado 3 on the horizon), it's of course silly, sloppy, and goofy. I was totally sold on the show in the episode that takes place in Philadelphia, when the Liberty Bell takes out a shitload of zombies (or puppies and kittens as they're called on the show). But along with all the Asylum-influenced shenanigans, the show surprisingly has a certain amount of heart as well. The characters range from forgettable and super annoying to totally awesome sauce, with the breakout character being this dude, Murphy (the last known survivor of the plague):



Don't expect anything that's going to win any awards. Just strap in and have a rollicking good time. Any show that includes the line "If I die because you farted, I'm taking you with me" totally gets my vote.

Season 1 finished a while back, and season 2 will air this summer or fall, I believe.

[Halajiin Rabeak]

Danger 5 (Netflix)

A 1960's version of WWII, featuring an international super-team whose objective is, as always, kill Hitler. But this is far from serious. It's like James Bond meets Thunderbirds meets Land of the Lost meets Ultraman meets Mel Brooks. Cheap, cheesy, insane, and absolutely over the top, in the best of ways. Season 2 has an 80's theme, instead of a 60's theme.

From the same people who brought us Italian Spider-Man.

[Rutabaga]

Bates Motel (A&E)

"Bates Motel" is a contemporary prequel to the genre-defining film "Psycho," and gives a portrayal of how Norman Bates' (Freddie Highmore) psyche unravels through his teenage years. Fans discover the dark, twisted backstory of Norman Bates and how deeply intricate his relationship with his mother, Norma (Vera Farmiga), truly is.

Psycho is one of my favorite Hitchcock movies, but I was skeptical of how successful this prequel would be. The setting has been modernized and relocated to Oregon, but it still retains the familiar motel with the legendary creepy home up the hill behind it. There are plenty of new characters as well, including Norman's charming friend Emma, his half-brother Dylan, and plenty of people up to no good (especially since pot is a big cash crop in the area). Freddie Highmore (looking so grown up now) does a fine job as Norman, especially now that we are starting to see his psyche fracture into the separate Norman and Mother halves. Vera Famiga is the true highlight of the show, consistently giving an absolutely ferocious performance as Norma, aka Mother. Certain moments in the show are incredibly creepy and extremely uncomfortable, but they are also necessary since it's Norman's unnaturally close relationship with Mother that is the catalyst for his eventual breakdown. Overall, it's a story with an ending we already know (presuming they dovetail into Norma's fate as shown in Psycho), but it doesn't matter. The journey to that ending is compelling and fascinating.



Season 3 just started a couple of weeks ago, and seasons 1 and 2 should be available on demand or streaming.