June, July and August 2015 - American Cable/Satellite and Online Streaming content

[PokerFace]

The Last Ship - Season 2 (Sun. June 21, TNT and Space): Back with two episodes to help tie up Season 1.

GRADE: C (6.1/10)

I finished the last 4 episodes of Season 1 (after a long break from the first 6 episodes), followed by the first two episodes of Season 2.

I liked Season 1, but it appears that Season 2 is already getting old. I assume that skip-jumping will be necessary to quickly dismiss the rest of this series (13 episodes).

EDIT: The first two episodes of Season 2 will also be rerun on CTV TWO and The CW related channels this Friday June 26th at 8 pm.

[PokerFace]

Halt and Catch Fire - Season 2 (May 31, AMC): After a lousy Season 1 finale (although I really liked the rest of Season 1), Season 2 seems to be hitting its proper stride after 4 episodes. Time flies by as I watch each episode, even though things can get a bit slow and depressing at times.

GRADE (for first 4 episodes): B+ (7.5/10)

[PokerFace]

Suits - Season 5 (Wed. June 24, USA Network, Bravo Canada): I haven't even finished Seasons 3 or 4 yet, but I was curious to see if Season 5 was still of the same high quality that was present in the first two seasons. Surprisingly, it was. Hard to believe that it hadn't fallen off the rails by now, but as I was watching the Season 5 opening episode, I felt as if I was back in the first season, reacquainting myself with a group of old friends. Job well done.

GRADE: A (8/10)

[PokerFace]

Rogue - Season 3 (June 24 - DirecTV's Audience Network): I watched a few, full episodes from Season 1 (others were skip-jumped through), and skip-jumped through most of Season 2. The first season was so-so, and the second season was too dull to care about.

Season 3's opening episode also required lots of skip-jumping through loads of dull spots. I spotted some nudity, and Thandie Newton only appeared very briefly at the very end of the episode. It's too early to tell how bad this season will be, and I can't grade it.

Shooting for Season 3 apparently moved to Toronto (previously was filmed in Vancouver). This is a Canadian/UK production, also co-commissioned by the American's DirecTV Audience Network.

EDIT: The end of episode 4 and all of episode 5 suddenly improved. I didn't really need to skip-jump through much, since the plot, atmosphere and acting somehow all held up. GRADE: C+ (6.5/10)

EDIT 2: I've finished watching 8 episodes and now I'd say that the series has greatly improved from where it all began. GRADE: B+ (7.5/10)

EDIT 3: I finished watching the last two episodes of the season (9 and 10) and they were both well done (only a few dry spots that could have been edited out to keep the pace moving a bit faster). They set up what's to come for Season 4 (which might be the final season of 10 episodes, unless it's renewed beyond that, at a later date). GRADE (for final two episodes): A (8/10)

Richard Schiff (of The West Wing fame) is excellent in his role as Marty Abrams ... a powerful Chicago lawyer that represents CEOs, judges, the Chicago Bulls, and mobsters, while having them all in his back pocket. [Note: Abrams description taken from wikipedia].

Can't wait for Season 4. :applouse:

[PokerFace]

Car show time ... Grades for each episode of each series tend to range from 6 to 7.5 (out of 10), or a C to B+ range.

Comedians In Cars With Coffee - Season 6 (began June 3rd - Crackle, YouTube and comediansincarsgettingcoffee.com): Short, but sweet. I still enjoy them.

Counting Cars (Season 5 continues)(June 23rd, History USA): Back from a break, the gang returned with two new episodes, featuring staged situations and bad acting. Same old stuff, but I still like it. Note: Wasn't on the list of Cable shows from link in post #1.

Car Matchmaker with Spike Feresten - Season 2 (Wed. June 24, Esquire Network): Good enough to keep me coming back for more. The cars are the stars, but Spike also manages to keep things moving along at a pleasant pace. Note: Wasn't on the list of Cable shows from link in post #1.

http://tv.esquire.com/now/car-matchm...n/470661187930
[S02E01 via Esquire Network website -- VPN or DNS trickery probably necessary]

EDIT: Only clips of the series can now be viewed from the Esquire Network website (unless you are a subscriber) and only the first 6 episodes are available for free streaming (pirate sites, YouTube, etc.).

[PokerFace]

Not Exactly News (MTV 2 - America, June 17th, 11:30 pm): It wasn't on the list of new shows (since its debut date wasn't yet set), but I've seen the first three episodes and did laugh a lot. It's sort of like a combination of Tosh and SNL's Weekend Update.

GRADE (for first three episodes): C+ (6.5/10)

Not Exactly News Episode 1:

[PokerFace]

Impastor (10:30 p.m. July 15, TV Land): Michael Rosenbaum (“Smallville”) stars as a slacker with a gambling debt ... [I left the rest of the description out, just in case you want to go into this fresh, like I did.]

GRADE: C+ (6.6/10 )

Much better pilot episode (currently on TV Land's website - VPN, DNS required) than I was expecting, and even the clips from future episodes look promising.

It sometimes hovers around a 7/10, but then dips a bit due to some unevenness -- moments that just miss the mark (but not by much).

It was also nice to see Sara Rue (from Less than Perfect --> 2002-2006) and David Rasche (from Sledge Hammer! --> 1986-1988) once again in featured roles (I've seen them in a few other things on occasion, but tended to skip the more recent shows they were in).

There's certainly room for improvement, but I'm quite sure that I'll stick with this series for the remaining 9 episodes of Season 1.

[PokerFace]

The Jim Gaffigan Show (10 p.m. July 15, TV Land): Comedian Jim Gaffigan stars as a version of himself, a comedian/actor trying to balance work and family life with his wife (Ashley Williams).

GRADE (first two episodes): C+ (6.7/10)

Cute with enough funny moments to keep me interested. The word charming also comes to mind, but apparently that charm starts to wear off by the fifth episode (at least according to one critic).

The first two episodes are available on the TV Land website (VPN, or DNS necessary for all but the Americans).

EDIT: Actually, the 2nd episode on the TV Land website was a later episode. The actually 2nd episode (Red Velvet Cake) aired last night and was also quite good (also 6.7/10).

[PokerFace]

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll (10 p.m. July 16, FX): Denis Leary (“Rescue Me”) stars as the lead singer of a ’90s band who gets a second chance writing music for a rising female singer. Also stars Elizabeth Gillies (Victorious) and John Corbett (My Big Fat Greek Wedding ... etc.).

GRADE: C (6.3/10)

Uneven, but still has a few solid moments of interest (once the boring, opening recap of Leary's former band, mercifully ends). Gillies can sing, Leary and Corbett work well together, but even at less than 30 minutes running time, there was a lot of dead air. Unfortunately, according to one reviewer, the plots for the next 4 episodes are very thin.

[PokerFace]

Stewarts & Hamiltons (10 p.m. July 26, E!): Reality series follows blended families of Alana Stewart and her ex-husband, George Hamilton.

GRADE: C (6/10)

I watched the first episode (43:53) on the E! website. Here we go with another attempt at a Kardashians-style reality series. One episode was all I needed to satisfy my curiosity.

Rod Stewart made a brief appearance at the beginning (as all the various players entered the kitchen to chat), but then completely vanished from the rest of the episode. Based on the clips from future episodes, it looks like Rod is not going to reappear. Smart move, Rod ... especially since the rest of the episodes look like utter trash.

[PokerFace]

Scream (10 p.m. June 30, MTV U.S.): Inspired by the “Scream” movies, this TV drama follows two a group of teens, including two friends struggling to reconnect.

GRADE (Pilot): C+ (6.8/10) ... showed a lot of promise.

GRADE (episodes 2 and 3): C+ (6.5/10) ... still good, just much too much bland melodrama throughout.

GRADE (episode 4): C- (5.9/10) ... boring characters and situations -- where'd the bloodshed go?

GRADE (episode 5): D (5.2/10) ... Boo, in a bad way. Please, sharpen the knives, and cut out the filler.

From a promising beginning, to a disappointing downward spiral, Scream the TV series is decent enough to keep me tuned in, but when it switches from a suspenseful, adrenaline-filled ride to a meandering hodgepodge of melodrama and teen angst, that's when my itchy, trigger finger starts the FF skip-jumping party. Please, give me more screams and fewer pretty, little liars.

The sooner all the annoying characters (so many to choose from) are killed off, the happier I'll be. I'm rooting for the killer(s), and hoping that the screen is filled with more blood than sap.

[Donovan's Monkey]

On Saturday (Aug. 1st) I went past the bus shelter that had the backwards Killjoys ad back in June, thinking it would likely have been replaced by a completely different ad by now, buy it was still a Killjoys ad, just replaced by one the right way around now.