Most of the time I experience TV shows while I'm painting. In light of that, I'm adding an additional review criteria: how painting friendly this show is. This metric doesn't have any reflection on the quality of the show; merely how compatible it is with painting/hobbying while you have it on.
The round up starts after the break!
Hannibal
I already gushed over this show before, though at that point I was only partway through the second season. Having completed the second season (awhile ago now), I still loved every minute of it, give or take. The second season handles the change of pace fairly well, though it loses out on some of the "crime of the week" appeal of the first season. The trade off is that the meta narrative of the second season is probably stronger overall, and its leading into what looks like an excellent third season.
General rating: 5/5. Fantastic performances carry this show, though the plotting and special effects are also very compelling. I'm fully on board for more Hannibal whenever it comes around.
Painting rating: 4/5. There are a few "pop" moments that you want to see, but the pace of the show is slow enough that you can pretty easily catch those as they come. Overall, pretty easy to keep up with while hobbying.
Attack on Titan
I finally got around to watching the entirety of the first season of this, and goddamn was it worth it. Easily one of the best animes I've watched in a long time, possibly ever. I watched it on Netflix, so it was the Japanese dub with subtitles. My one concern is that the English dub has a lot to live up to. Even a mediocre set of performances will hurt some of the best moments of this season.
General rating: 6/5. One of the coolest things I've ever watched. I still get excited when I think back on some of the things that happen on this show. Also one of the few shows where the first title theme is amazing, and the second one is just as good, if not better!
Painting rating: 0/5. As mentioned, the version I watched and would recommend is the subbed version, which kind of prohibits doing anything that really takes your attention off the screen. Even if that wasn't the case, the action on this show makes it hard to recommend anything other than dedicated attention.
The Fall
This was a show that I expected to enjoy, but I ended up tapping out after the first season. I really liked some parts of it: the pacing and writing are refreshing, and Gillian Anderson is great as always. But there are parts of it that I really don't like and can't get past (I hate pretty much everything about the villain, and not in the way the show was going for). Maybe something in season two or three will turn it around, but I'm not holding out hope (nor will I be there if/when that happens).
General rating: 2/5. The production, writing, and performances are solid, but the actual plot and characterization weren't very compelling. That is a bit of a problem in a lean show like this, which is relying on it's plot and characters to carry it.
Painting rating: 5/5. The upside of the slow pacing and gradual plot progression of this show is that it makes it really easy to do just about anything else on the side and still keep up with what is going on.
Helix
I almost quit watching this show around a third of the way through the first season, and I'm glad I didn't. This show illustrates a phenomenon that a few shows I enjoy follow: when in doubt, inject plenty of crazy. Helix starts off with a pretty straightforward premise that slowly escalates over the course of the season, until the ending is magnitudes higher on the "holy shit" scale than it was at the beginning. I'm not sure how well they'll keep that up with season two, but they at least have my attention.
General rating: 4/5. This rating varies wildly based on your ability to roll with (semi-logical) infusions of crazy. I loved it and ended up liking the show a lot more as it went along because of it, but my wife liked the show less as it moved away from the initial premise of "zombie-eque quarantine". Your mileage may vary, but at least this show isn't predictable.
Painting rating: 5/5. While there are a few moments that really warrant looking up, almost everything that happens on this show can be followed via dialogue. Some elements of the show actually look...not so great (blame the SyFy budget) especially in the early part of the season, so you don't miss out of much by not looking at the screen.
JoJo's Bizarre Adventure
This was another show that sat in my queue for awhile before I finally got around to it. And, much like Attack on Titan, I am extremely happy that I managed to find the time to sit down and watch as much of this as I have. I've watched through the first two arcs of the story - Phantom Blood and Battle Tendency - and I'm around a third of the way into Stardust Crusaders. JoJo surprised me by breaking almost all of the conventions I'm used to with shonen style shows. JoJo doesn't waste time, it's surprisingly brutal, and many of the resolutions to the conflicts are clever (so far at least). And this show just oozes style. It's worth watching just for the character designs alone. Thankfully, it's also a pretty amazing show.
General rating: 5/5. I never understood the buzz behind JoJo, based on my limited exposure to it. Now that I've experienced the story though, I get it. JoJo is an amazing mix of style, remarkable character designs, refreshingly straightforward storytelling, and awesome action sequences. Bringing it all together is a wonderful layer of ridiculousness that is played totally straight. JoJo almost certainly isn't for everyone, but if it ends up being your type of thing, you'll probably love it.
Painting rating: -1/5. JoJo is similar to Attack on Titan in that you can't really afford to take your eyes off the screen for too long, between the action sequences and the subtitles (though a decent dub would suffice for this show). I'm docking another point for hobby-time watchability due to the fact that there is zero down time for taking your eyes off the screen. Any moment you aren't watching is a moment that something awesome is probably happening, or someone fabulous just showed up.
American Horror Story
What I've been most surprised by with American Horror Story is how consistently entertaining it has been across the three seasons we've watched. Not that every episode or plot line has been perfect - the second and third seasons both stumble in various places - but each season has managed to present it's own interesting, independent story that fits into the overall theme of the show. This is also a show that isn't afraid to ladle on the crazy to stay unpredictable. Combine that with great performances (for the most part) and writing that ranges from "good" to "great", and its a show I've really enjoyed so far. We'll see how it holds up through season four.
General rating: 5/5. Depends a lot on how comfortable you are with the more violent aspects of the show. If you're okay with that (or a fan of horror movies in general), the underlying stories are actually pretty well grounded and fun to follow. Especially with the horror elements adding a lot of interesting flair to how the stories unfold.
Painting rating: 3/5. This show has some amazing scenes and plenty of remarkable visual moments that you don't want to miss, so there are plenty of times you'll want to put down whatever you're working on and just drink in the crazy. However, there are also plenty of "down" moments that you can use to put time into whatever else you're working on, and get everything you need out of the performances.
The Slap
This one is still ongoing, but so far, so good. The premise and the title are both pretty unremarkable; what sells this show is how it digs into the characters. Almost everyone in this show is a goddamn mess and the entertaining part is watching how the pressure of the instigating plot event (three guesses as to what it is) forces those parts into the light. Its a semi-refreshing examination of the reality of how screwed up a social group can be while still being "functional".
General rating: 3/5. I'm on the positive side of this show, in large part due to the performances and the material. However, The Slap can also be kind of hard to watch because so many of the characters are dickbags. And not obvious, network TV kind of dickbags: the nefarious, selfish, thoughtless, frustrating kinds of dickbags that you have to deal with in everyday life. It is pretty impressive and refreshing to see a show that elicits that reaction, but it also makes it a little difficult to return to for "entertainment". Thankfully the show has just enough "good" characters to balance out the scumbags.
Painting rating: 5/5. This is another show that is all about the performances and delivery, so only looking up occasionally works out just fine. It is still worth your attention periodically, thanks to the excellent performances from the entire cast.
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Overall, we've had a really good run of TV shows recently. The quality of TV has improved by leaps and bounds over the years, and we are reaping the benefits. I'm sure we'll keep on chewing through shows as we continue to hobby and watch TV some evenings, so keep an eye out for more quick impressions of shows in the future.
Thanks for reading!
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