Hell&#39;s Half Acre

I loved Teen Wolf. It's fun to watch and I really enjoyed it. Though there is a plot line that I despise. Actually, basically all the storylines with Lydia. She, whom I love dearly gets shafted really hard. In the first season finale she's attacked by the Alpha and there's a really creepy scene where he's hovering over her ready to attack while another main character bargains for her life. Then in the second season she starts seeing the guy who attacked her, hallucinating weird things, etc. and eventually we find out that he stuck something in her brain and and she goes to his house and finds his body, where he resurrects himself with her help and she cowers. And nobody calls this guy out on the very uncomfortable facts of the situation. It's not rape because there's nothing overtly sexual, but I really don't like the themes of an older man manipulating and controlling a young girl after violently attacking her and using her body for something she had no say in. /rant I love the show and I love the characters but that whole storyline gave me the heebie jeebies.

White Collar is good but this past season(actually the last two) haven't been quite up to par for me. The threesome dynamic is wonderful though and I love it. Obviously it's not an actual threesome but they are a wonderful OT3, and the one thing I love is that I can actually sort of imagine a scenario where a threesome would result.

I'm deeply in love with Kings, and it might be your cup of tea, but it was short and aborted. I think it's worth it though. Mostly because I would absolutely love to talk about it with you lol.

True Blood was pretty good, but there are some rapey scenes I think. The violence isn't as bad as other shows of the like; when it happens it's like rare short bursts of mediumly gorey stuff. That's my own assessment though so.

I can recommend lots of scifi or fantasy shows if you're interested in any of those, but quite a few are ones that just had one or two seasons.

ETA: I was recommended Warehouse 13 because I loved Stargate and Eureka(which is a really good show; the last season was one of the best on TV imho and the last episode was basically perfect), but I watched the pilot and it just didn't grab me.

Edited Date: 2013-05-01 01:49 am (UTC)

From:

katsheswims.livejournal.com

I would have to recommend Teen Wolf because it's the only show on the list I've seen. It's true that the fanfic can be a lot different than the show. But the show does have a certain something about it. I'd give the first 2-3 episodes a chance and see if it's for you. It does get better as it goes on, so I'd try to watch more than just the first episode. I wouldn't call it a favorite of mine, but I plan to try to watch the new episodes when season 3 comes out this summer.

From:

Hmmm, yeah that does sound like a creepy rapey storyline... and not the only one, since the backstory for Derek in all the fanfic I read is consist (so I'm assuming it's canon) and it also involves statutory rape... which, yeah, the whole adult/teenager thing is the EXACT thing that I deal with at work most of the time, so it kind of turns my stomach. I'd be alright with it if they addressed how horrible it is though, but I can usually count on shows NOT address the actual repercussions at all, sadly.

I've never heard of Kings. Did it end on any closing note, or was it cancelled on a cliffhanger?

I heard True Blood was a cheese fest... which, you know, MIGHT not be a bad thing, I suppose, but maybe you want to argue?

Maybe I should have put Eureka on the list. I've got friends who really like it too, and I did hear that the last season was really great... hmm...

From:

Well, it doesn't have to be a favourite to be fun to watch. I mean, Merlin was kind of a cheesy stupid show, but I enjoyed the heck out of it because the acting and the premise were good.

Maybe I'll give it a shot. :)

From:

katsheswims.livejournal.com

Yes, Derek does have a statutory rape backstory, it does get addressed in that we the audience find out and are meant to see it was a horrible thing that happened. But no other characters learn that it happened--and Derek never really deals with it. I'm still hoping he might one day talk to someone about it. I think it's possible that it will be in some way because there is the whole partially blaming-himself-for-the-fire-guilt that Derek seems to have that has never been talked about either and that's related.

From:

Oh yeah, I completely forgot about that because it's not really brought up in canon more than once, but yeah, he was seduced and then manipulated by an older female hunter who then burned his house down and killed his family. That's pretty bad too. And there really isn't any acknowledgement in canon for either of them; there's the acknowledgement that it was bad but not the condemnation. In fact, at the end of S2, the alpha who attacked Lydia ended up helping the good guys out and not a word was said of how he tormented her. I love it, but the fact that one of the main storylines in S2 is Lydia's and how it's never acknowledged how bad it was just makes me sad.

Kings is an amazing show. It ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, but it's not like traditional "Oh this character is dead this one is about to die, etc." It's more of one chapter closing and the doors opening for another to start. So it's not all bad. It's great if you like drama and political drama, allegorical stuff, interesting morality/religion stuff and the like. I watched it for the first time a few weeks ago and now it's my third-favorite show of all time.

Yeah, it is pretty cheesy. It's entertaining if you can suspend your disbelief. I enjoyed the first couple of seasons immensely but it's gone downhill(IMHO). Mostly I watched because I shipped the main characters and enjoyed how they did their sex scenes and stuff, and when they started to shift the focus away from the romantic aspects and more towards the plot I started to dislike it because the plot's never been good enough to stand on its own in my opinion.

It's really, really good. It takes a little while to get going, but it's a nice show to watch and unwind with. Until it gut-punches you with feels that you didn't think you had in you because it was just a fun scifi show. But it's good. More continuity than you would expect from a show like that.

Another show I love right now is Once Upon a Time, which, again, suspend disbelief and just sit back and enjoy it. I love it because the main character, Emma Swan, reminds me of myself a lot(her and Dean would get along wonderfully/horribly) and so I love to root for her to find her family and to realize what it's like to be loved.

From:

True, I guess it's hard to judge whether a show deals with a storyline or not when it's only had two seasons.

How long are the seasons, btw? Are we talking 22 eps or <15?

From:

I love it, but the fact that one of the main storylines in S2 is Lydia's and how it's never acknowledged how bad it was just makes me sad.

Hmm, so, great show, but potentially problematic. Noted. Sometimes it just helps if I'm warned about the problems before hand... people worry about spoilers, but seriously, if I'm going to be viewing even a metaphorical rape, I want to be warned beforehand. :P

Kings is an amazing show. It ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, but it's not like traditional "Oh this character is dead this one is about to die, etc." It's more of one chapter closing and the doors opening for another to start.

Hmm, well that doesn't sound too bad. Maybe I'll see if I can track it down somewhere.

It's really, really good. It takes a little while to get going, but it's a nice show to watch and unwind with. Until it gut-punches you with feels that you didn't think you had in you because it was just a fun scifi show. But it's good. More continuity than you would expect from a show like that.

Ha, sounds like me and Merlin. It was my stupid fun show, and I was totally not prepared for how absolutely pissed off I would get at the finale, even though I knew from the get-go that the writing was sub-par. :P I know that's being gut-punched with a different sort of feels, but it was still an unexpected gut-punch.

Yeah, it is pretty cheesy. It's entertaining if you can suspend your disbelief. I enjoyed the first couple of seasons immensely but it's gone downhill(IMHO).

What Season does it start to go downhill in? 3?

Another show I love right now is Once Upon a Time, which, again, suspend disbelief and just sit back and enjoy it. I love it because the main character, Emma Swan, reminds me of myself a lot(her and Dean would get along wonderfully/horribly) and so I love to root for her to find her family and to realize what it's like to be loved.

My friend K likes this show a lot. I'm thinking that I'm going to give it a little more time to "age" before I check it out for seriously. I HAVE seen a couple of episodes, and it seems like a pretty fun show, I must admit.

From:

I'm the same way. I want to know if there's something that might make me just nope the fuck out of there. But not too many of my friends are sensitive to the same things I am.

Yeah it's similar to Merlin for me as well. It's had a few down points where it wasn't so great with the writing, but it had an amazing wrap-up that I think made it worth it. So many shows have strong seasons but weak finales and I think that's part of what makes Eureka so awesome to me.

Yeah three is what really turned me off of it, then I actually liked some of S4, and then S5 was horrible for me. But some people thought S3/4 were terrible and S5 was good. So I guess it's all dependent on what you like.

Might be a good idea. The first season and the second have two different feels because the agenda of the first season was completed quite nicely and so they had a where do we go from here situation that I think they dealt with nicely.

From:

I'm the opposite with Merlin in terms of what I liked, because I didn't like the way they wrapped it up - but I seem to be in the minority there. :P

Which just goes to show how much opinions may vary. And also explains some of the ridiculous fights within the fandom of a show about which episodes were crap and which ones were good. Like, in Supernatural, I think the two weakest seasons are season 7 and season 3, but I know people who love those seasons.

I want to know if there's something that might make me just nope the fuck out of there. But not too many of my friends are sensitive to the same things I am.

Haha, I like that expression "nope the fuck out of there" - that sums up the experience so well.

From:

I've yet to see the finale, but from what I've heard, I know I won't like it so it's not like there's a burning desire. I watched Merlin more for the characters and how they worked with the plot so I wasn't fond of how the characters sort of got shafted in S3/4/5 to make way for the plot THAT ENDED UP NOT MEANING A DAMN THING IN THE END. Still upset over that.

Yeah, I'm not really fond of either of those seasons myself. People say that 6 and 7 were the worst but I actually enjoyed the arcs in S6. In fact, the only thing I truly hated was the way they fucked over Dean and Lisa's relationship.

I'm trying to remember what show it was, but it was one that came highly recommended and people said it was amazing, but then I started watching and there were so many icky things that I just said nope and stopped watching.

From:

katsheswims.livejournal.com

The seasons (1 & 2) are 12 episodes long. Though I heard season 3 will be longer (22 episodes?).

From:

I watched Merlin more for the characters and how they worked with the plot so I wasn't fond of how the characters sort of got shafted in S3/4/5 to make way for the plot THAT ENDED UP NOT MEANING A DAMN THING IN THE END. Still upset over that.

Same here.

People say that 6 and 7 were the worst but I actually enjoyed the arcs in S6. In fact, the only thing I truly hated was the way they fucked over Dean and Lisa's relationship.

Likewise.

I'm trying to remember what show it was, but it was one that came highly recommended and people said it was amazing, but then I started watching and there were so many icky things that I just said nope and stopped watching.

If you think of it, let me know - sounds like I might want to avoid it too. ;)

From:

Basically we continue to be brain twins...XD

From:

phyllis2779.livejournal.com

I like Royal Pains -- little to no violence, family dynamics (2 brothers a la SPN), romance, comedy and some drama. Sometimes a little angst or mystery mixed in.

From:

Teen Wolf's a lot of fun. The first few eps are pretty cheese-tacular I thought, but then it gets better. I marathoned it while sick and it was addicting... just kept hitting 'next episode' because I didn't want to stand up and I also got more and more drawn in and wanted to know what would happen. It's fairly light entertainment for the most part, but it also has moments of being really genuinely good. And this is a good time to watch, since season 3 will be starting up pretty soon (June I believe).

White Collar is amaaazing and I love it to death. It's so much fun. I was won over about 5 minutes into the pilot - the entire set-up of the first scene is just so ridiculous and yet says so much about a. Neal Caffrey's character, and b. what this show is going to be like. Lots of fun capers and character banter and definitely OT3 goodness. *points to icon* That is an actual promo shot from the first season. I mean what is that even, seriously. So shippy. Also, Neal gratuitously gets shirtless and paints/sculpts/whatever quite a bit. Why he needs to be shirtless to paint something I do not know, but I do not complain. ;) Also I just love that it's a show that is at least partly about art and art theft, where the main character is an artist. I mean, and a con man, but still! Art! :) We're 4 seasons in now (season 5 will be starting sometime in fall I think) and it doesn't appear to be going anywhere. And the seasons are just 12-13 eps so it wouldn't take too super long to catch up.

From:

Cool! Your reviews definitely make me want to watch both shows more! :)

From:

What's it about? I mean, is it just about a family or is there more to the premise than that? I've never heard of it.

From:

You totally should watch both. :) Start with Teen Wolf to be ready for s3 (it won't take that long, and it gets addicting mid-s1), then you can watch White Collar in time for September! If you manage to aim it so you finish season 4 right before s5 starts then you won't have to suffer through the evil cliffhanger we're all waiting on... WC loves its cliffhangers, and you are super lucky that you can just blast through all of them! I've watched it from the start. They have mid-season breaks of several months and I swear those cliffhangers are sometimes worse than the season finale ones. Bah. Anyway though, it's a nice mix between plot-based and stand-alone episodes. It's one of the few shows where I actually really enjoy the stand-alone ones, sometimes more than the plot ones. Because they're just so much fun!

From:

Cool, maybe I will watch both. I think you're overestimating the speed in which I watch shows though. ;)

From:

Lol well they're short at least? Or TW is anyway. Episode a day and it'll be done in time for s3!

(I'm watching like 3-4 separate things on Netflix for the first time and I keep jumping between them... plus my regular weekly programming, and my random rewatch of Farscape. So much to watch, so little time! also lazy. and easily distracted by rewatching shows that I have already seen multiple times.)

From:

I can't start watching until after May 9th, but yeah, I suppose with that one I could probably still finish before S3 starts.

I'm possibly the only person who has not made the move to Netflix. I still do everything the illegal way. :P

From:

ramblin_rosie

The only other current drama show I'm remotely interested in is NCIS. I fell out of the habit of watching last season and never got back into it, but it's a good show with a long run, if you like crime drama--Season 10 is airing now. (Some pretty amazing SPN crossover fic out there, too.) From British TV in a lighter vein, there's Top Gear--you don't even have to like cars; it's just a hoot--and Horrible Histories, which is ostensibly a children's show but, in all honesty, leans much more toward Pythonesque humor without the really risque stuff.
My list of dearly departed shows is a mile long, but if you want something silly that will keep you entertained for a day, check out Spy, which is available on Hulu; it's a sendup of both sitcom tropes and spy thriller tropes. Canceled after two seasons, but I inhaled the whole run in one day. I thought it was going to be more like Chuck from my friend's description of the pilot, but it's actually got more of a Scarecrow and Mrs. King vibe, and then the B story usually involves the main character's bratty son but with very deliberate spoofs/homages of classic Hollywood. My favorite character, though, is played by one of the actors from Horrible Histories, Mathew Baynton, and he is a *scream*--largely because he's so completely unpredictable. (Mat's just about as skinny as DJ Qualls but has puppy eyes to rival Jared's.) He's also going to be in another thriller/comedy, The Wrong Mans, which I think is supposed to air on Hulu this summer.
And Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis are wonderful. Lots of team-as-family goodness, and lots of familiar faces--Vancouver Rep, of course, but other actors you'd recognize from SPN and elsewhere. SG-1 ran for ten seasons, SGA for five. I couldn't get into Stargate Universe because it's so different and because the team dynamic is totally lacking, but if you like BSG, you might like it.

From:

I do some stuff the illegal way, but Netflix is handy! Faster than having to search for a torrent stuff, generally. And ultimately I'm happy to do something legally when it's easy and not too expensive. I got a blockless.com account so I have access to American Netflix - way more programming. Both Teen Wolf and White Collar are on there, and I don't think they're on Canadian Netflix. I didn't used to bother with Netflix because the selection was crap and I had no way of hooking up my old computer to my old TV. But now I can do that really easily and the selection is much better, so it's great. Makes marathoning much easier.

(completely unrelated, I am totally procrastinating from my yearly attempt to write fic... so thanks for the distractions. ;) I have somehow committed 900 words of Game of Thrones fic. And it's gen-bordering-on-het. Wth is going on with me lol. Where's the gay porn?? also writing is hard. this is why I only attempt it once to twice a year)

From: