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talesofafangirlwithadvr · 3 years

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Jan/Feb 2021 Picks

HELLO! It’s been a while, but I’M BACK!! Life has gotten a lot busier as I started Grad School this January. So, I feel it may be tough being on time with future Monthly Wraps like I’ve done in the past with working on my MFA, and my job. I’m going to probably do more seasonal wrap ups when I get the time. I also think I’ll be posting more individual posts as I watch an episode. Because even with a busier schedule, there is always time for TV and there’s so much I want to talk about!

You know the drill. Spoilers are coming.....

You’ve been warned :)

WANDAVISION

I want to start off by mentioning that I have not watched this week’s episode yet. So the last one I saw was EPISODE 6 with Halloween in the late 90s/early 2000s.

THIS SHOW! OMG.

I didn’t know what I was signing up for when I watched the first episode and I have been blown away. It is such a cool concept and I love the fact that everyone who watches it is confused. There have been so many interesting theories out there and I am so curious what is going to wind up being true. I love all the nods to old sitcoms and TV shows as well as all the MCU Easter Eggs. (I mean they got X-men’s Quicksilver-like WOW.) It feels really Black Mirror at times with the breaking of the fourth wall. I will never be able to shake the feeling I got in Episode 3, when Vision reversed. (And then I saw a bunch of videos with him looking at the camera as Wanda looks at the TV. Eww I don’t like it, but it’s such a good move on their point.) I love the outside plot as well and the characters who were previously side characters in other MARVEL movies. The love for Jimmy Woo is astounding and I’m here for it. I’m glad it’s Friday, so I can watch the next episode. I’m just upset that we’re so close to the show ending. The next Disney Plus Marvel shows better be just as good. Wandavision set the bar high.

NANCY DREW

If you’ve visited this page recently, you know I have a very strong love for this show. It is the only one I am still watching religiously on the CW and I am tuning in the night it airs. (That is HUGE for me.) IT IS JUST SO GOOD AND I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START....

2x05 just aired, which would have been the season 1 finale before COVID and I have it saved on my DVR to watch again. There’s just so much I want to relive and catch that I missed the first watch through. It would have been SUCH A GOOD FINALE, but I’m happy that we can continue with new episodes starting next week. And with the way it ended...there’s so much I need to know!! I’m just curious how fast they’re going to develop certain plots. I love the Drew Crew and how they are a family. Each character is so well developed and their chemistry is great. I love learning more about each of them and watching them develop. My favorite character is definitely Ace. I love all his witty lines and how he is opening up more to the group as well as to us, the audience, as we get more of a look into his personal life. I enjoy all of his scenes with his dad and specifically liked when they were celebrating Shabbat. (I am also here for the Nancy and Ace content. I gush more about this on my other blog: lydia-whogowith-stiles. Check it out if you want to hear more.)

THE WATCH

When I watched the Christmas special (or was it New Years? and why does that feel so long ago) of Doctor Who, BBC America kept advertising a new show called the Watch. Due to the extensive amount of commercials, I decided to tape the first two episodes (which premiered back to back) to see what it was all about. I was unaware that this series is based on the book series created by Terry Pratchett. When I came to see if people were talking about it on Tumblr, I saw that a lot of people didn’t like it because of how drastically different it was. As I was unfamiliar with the original, I can’t compare. The TV show was eight episodes and I just watched the last one that aired this past Sunday. I definitely liked the first half of the season more (I noticed my mind start to drift as I watched later ones), but thought the finale was good. I really enjoyed how they incorporated the theme song. I didn’t realize the connection earlier and now can’t stop humming it. (I don’t know if there will be another season or not.) I enjoyed the characters and how it was like nothing I’ve seen on TV before. It got me thinking a lot about blending genres. I would still recommend checking it out.

ZOEY’S EXTRORDINARY PLAYLIST

I was VERY excited for this show to come back. I loved the first season so much. It’s just such a heartfelt show and it helped me survive the early parts of quarantine. So far, this season I am noticing how detailed the musical performances are. Mandy Moore is doing an AMAZING job. The choreography is *chefs kiss* I also feel like the song choices have been great and not always the ones I think that would be picked. We are getting to learn more about each character and watch Zoey and her family as they continue life after losing Mitch. I am here for Mo and Max’s restaurant. I think the concept would be so cool in real life. Who knows maybe we’ll see one now. (Max’s rendition of ‘Numb’ was amazing. I’ve never heard the song like that and I think it might be one of my favorites of the season so far.) I hope Max and Zoey get back together by the end of the season. It did feel fast, so I do understand why they had to break up, but it still makes me sad that we watched them get together and then it was taken away from us. The last episode before the break was so powerful and I think the show did an amazing job applying real world issues into their plot. It did not feel forced at all and brought so much awareness. Upset we have to wait so long for a new episode.

SECRETS OF SULPHUR SPRINGS

Are you looking for a good mystery, but don’t think Disney Channel can provide it? Think again. I have to say, when I started watching I was not expecting this show to be a part of my monthly picks. It pleasantly surprised me. The show involves the mystery of a young girl, Savannah, who went mysteriously missing at camp back in the 90s. Apparently, her ghost still haunts the hotel that was on the camp grounds to this day. Then Griffin and his family buy the hotel with intent of fixing it up and reopening it after all these years. The people in the town think they’re crazy because of its past. But there’s something more going on with Griffin’s dad as well as some of the other adults in the town. They know something about Savannah’s disappearance, but aren’t saying anything about it. While this is a kid’s show (and only half hour episodes) it has been interesting to see where the story will go. I’m sure I am imagining much more intense things for her disappearance than what actually happened. It’s also not super cheesy or have bad acting, which is refreshing. (I really feel Disney Channel has gone down.) Either way, I don’t know how many episodes are left to air, but I think we’re pretty close to the end. If you’re looking for a quick, entertaining mystery I would highly recommend.

MISS SCARLET AND THE DUKE

And here come my period pieces (ironically both from Masterpiece/PBS this time). I know last year I felt like I watched a lot of historical watches at the beginning of the year. We’ll see if that continues to happen this year too. It does serve as a nice escape. Plus, these are some really good stories.

Miss Scarlet and the Duke is a part of Masterpiece Mystery on PBS, although it aired on a different network in the UK. It is (another) mystery series (shocking I know with that title!) It follows Eliza Scarlet who has a nose for mystery, but as a woman living in the Victorian era does not have any rights except for being a wife and mother (two things she would rather not be). When her father dies (apparently from a heart attack...emphasis on apparently), she takes over his Private Investigator business. Much to the dismay of long time family friend William “The Duke” who is a Detective Inspector for Scotland Yard. Eliza is often in his office as she gets arrested for being places she shouldn’t or trying to get information out of him. This element of Eliza having to work in a very male dominated Victorian society is one that I feel I haven’t really seen on a TV show. I really like her dynamic with William. There’s always that feeling of “will they won’t they,” but I don’t feel the show just focuses on that. The mystery is the heart of it all. This last week’s episode was REALLY GOOD. As we got to find out more regarding her father’s death. I hear a lot of people want a season 2 and I am right there with them. This show deserves it.

ALL CREATURES GREAT AND SMALL

Another PBS Masterpiece watch. I love this show, so much more than I was anticipating. It is so heartfelt and makes me so happy and in a good mood after watching it. It follows James Herriot who has recently graduated from veterinary school, but is struggling finding a job. Then he gets a call from Siegfried Farnon’s veterinary practice in Yorkshire. Siegfried is known for having a harsh demeanor and temper, so the assistants he hires don’t often last long. Spoiler alert, that should be pretty obvious, James does. The cast of characters are so lovely and I like all their relationships with one another. The show takes places in the 1930s and I realized I don’t often watch things in this era, so that has been fun to explore. The sets and locations are BEAUTIFUL. In the episodes, we often get these amazing shots that sweep over the exterior and I want to travel to Yorkshire like tomorrow. (See more escapism, it’s great.) The main plot follows everyone interact in the town and watching James become a more confident and experienced veterinarian (which I decided I could never do after watching). I heard that it has been renewed for a second season so that is so fantastic.

FATE: THE WINX SAGA

The first things I heard about this show was how disappointed everyone was in how they decided to adapt the Winx Club show from their childhood. On this I can agree, but I decided to watch the show anyway. I pretended that it was something new entirely and I have to say I enjoyed it. Of course, there were parts that bothered me and then I had to remember it was a teen show, so angst would be annoying. I think overall it was too short (and should have at least 8 or 10 episodes), but I’m happy that they were able to conclude the main plot well. (Although we did get that cliffhanger, but it is exciting that it was released the show just got renewed for a second season the other day.) I really liked Silva-mainly because it was great seeing Thomas from Downton Abbey in something else. I also enjoyed seeing Jacob Duchman in more things. It was a surprise to see him in Medici and I am just happy he is adding more to his IMDB.

Quick and addicting watch. Add it to your queue. Just forget it’s supposed to be based on something else.

BLOWN AWAY SEASON 2

Continuing with the Netflix picks, one of my FAVORITE picks from 2020 got a season 2 and it is already on Netflix! That’s right Blown Away season 2 is now available. I seriously loved the first season of this show SO MUCH! Glass blowing is such a magical process and I am mesmerized every time I watch it. It felt weird starting this show with all new contestants, but then Alex came back as a guest judge and I was so happy. It is just as addicting and I cannot wait to see who wins this season. I am just trying not to rush the episodes.

VIOLETTA SEASON 3 UPDATE

I know you were all dying to know...

After taking a hiatus from watching during the holidays, I have gotten back into watching the Disney Channel telenovela on Disney Plus. I am now on episode 68. Things are really starting to happen and I am finding myself getting sucked in again, which makes me happy. Episode 60 (pictured above) had A LOT happen and really was a turning point for the second half of the show. Can’t wait to keep watching. Some really awesome songs from these last set of episodes.

AND NOW FOR MY NOT LOVING IT PICK:

LEGACIES

This third season has really disappointed me so far. As I’ve previously discussed on this page, it feels like they are just reusing previous plots from the last two seasons when there is so much more they can do. There was so much promise for this show and I loved the Vampire Diaries and Originals so much, that it’s sad to see Legacies miss the mark. I wish they gave Hope more storylines that didn’t revolve around Landon. She is such a strong character and is SO POWERFUL. This is something we rarely see and it shouldn’t only be shown to save a guy (multiple times). Their couple plot is continually doing the same thing. I want to see a lot more development with this show over this season to keep me watching. I am actually happy that there isn’t a new episode until March 11th. (That’s saying something...)

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incarnateirony · 5 years

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I’ve talked about changes in the show over time, such as complexity of storytelling (x) but I think another point missed in our show’s growth path, and why some people struggle in different eras, comes down to episodic versus serial format.

I know there’s people that would argue SPN has always been serialized, but realistically... like, no.

Let’s reflect to season 1. Season 1, beyond a launched premise and finale, the plot was: Oh look a ghost, where’s dad. At any point in the season while this aired in the early 2000s where it could be hard to catch up, you could pretty much catch the beat of what’s going on. Oh look a ghost, where’s dad. And then, plot twist-- they FIND DAD!

Season 2? The demon has plans for me. Start and end with the demon, all things are self standing episodes about the demon adventures. Season 3? Dean’s dying and there’s no way to stop it.

All of these points are beaten into people’s skulls with a sledgehammer almost every single episode with a reminder that, in binge watch form, almost gets annoying like, YES, DUDES, WE GET IT, THE DEMON HAS PLANS FOR SAM OKAY? But that was written for the time. A time when DVRs were shiny premium features.

Yet again from the linked post I reach to season 4+, which is when storytelling started getting a bit more intricate. We still had the recurring It’s The Apocalypse lines, but the plotline proactively shifted beyond the premiere and finale, episodes started having to chain together. The characters didn’t remain relatively in stasis through the season. Season 5 continued this.

Arguably, even season 6 did. And 6 actually held its viewership fairly well for being shoved into the death slot. It had its problems or whatever, but ultimately, we didn’t go back to this early form episodical until season... 7.

Oh shit, I missed what’s going on. Oh what is it? Still Dick Jokes and Leviathans. The plot twists were how to kill it and actually killing it. That’s about it really. What’d I miss? Dick Jokes. I’m good. The mytharc was essentially a monster of the week and, beyond other elements I’ve commented on about why it failed -- it lacked at least the overcurrent of “Where’s the Colt” that bounced around the first few seasons. If anything, the concept of “The Colt” was maybe the serialized element, but such a fundamentally simple concept that anyone tuning in could pick up on it.

But season 7 experienced a crash. Loss of serial storytelling. Loss of compelling monsters. Loss of Castiel. The attempt to revert it back to the old seasons was so much more than “removing Castiel.” It was setting back to simple days, where people didn’t have to follow closely.

But season 8 came, show ownership transitioned. Carver’s chance to save SPN came hand in hand with it uploading to Netflix where people were binge watching through. That annoying HEY--LOL WHERESDADTHEDEMONHASPLANSFORMEDEANSDYINGDICKJOKES loop just screams out at you when you’re watching something like that. Appealing to the serialization crowd was key. And Carver did so, swimmingly.

The difference between Carver and Dabb’s SPN is that Carver remained fairly linear and forward-moving in his storytelling; callbacks happened, as I’ve said, but they tended to be fairly, well, self-standing and straightforward. Dabb works in subtle spiral storytelling where most folks don’t even detect the callbacks until they put a literal audio track haunting it, making a spinning vortex of past story elements and lessons coming to a head. Neither of these is necessarily better than the other, though I would argue that Dabb’s is more fitting for an ending era.

*I also hold that S12 was a mess but don’t particularly blame Dabb since he kinda got bussed and thrown new kids but that’s a whole other story

But when it comes down to this VIOLENT disconnect of people that not only seem to prefer seasons 1, 2, 3, 7 -- but even adamantly deny any sort of deeper connections between the episodes, and storytelling, or get confused -- beyond the obvious reason of “tinhats that hate Misha Collins”, there’s a different section: people who just prefer episodic storytelling, which is like, almost extinct in the day and age of everything being written to binge watch on Netflix.

Back then, SPN *didn’t* take thinking about it much. You tuned it in, watched an episode with a vague premise in the theme of the season, and then tried to tune in at the end of the season to see how that premise worked out. By Carver and more loudly, Dabb’s SPN, if you aren’t not only watching episodes in sequence but trying to figure out how they bind together, where the subtle interplay is, where the unreliable narrator is, or the lying characters are, or the lowkey elements of authentic narrative subtext are -- you can’t just treat it like clicking in and watching an episode or two and bouncing around anymore. It isn’t built for that. It’s built for a Netflix run.

Loyalists from binge watching may tune in live, but it’s even now in a digital era where it leads on the app and general digital, and the world is leaning that way, so if you wanna watch a few episodes in a burst there to catch up, you can, and it’s ez-bre-z. This isn’t high end DVR anymore, this is anyone with an internet connection, which is... uh... *checks* Just about the entire US. And most of the world.

Episodes do have contained lessons and morals -- a habit the authors said they picked up in season 2 -- but now they’re also spread around differently. It’s not just for the inevitable Dean’s Dying lessons, it’s for any number of nuanced elements the characters are dealing with, or may even deal with next season, or in remembrance of last season, because the seasons themselves -- 13-14 especially -- are heavily bonded.

And there are some people that miss the simplicity of a show with minimal serial storytelling and the freedom to bebop around however they want without having to think about it much, and I mean, I guess that’s fair, and the old seasons are there when you want them. But there’s a whole list of reasons the show will never go back to that: proven importance of Misha Collins, the inherent digital audience of SPN and the connected nature of serialization to it, whatever it is-- even if SPN wasn’t ending in season 15, even if it went to season 25, that wasn’t going to go in reverse.

But it also has heavy overlap with people who refuse to understand the inherent differences in this storytelling and try to invalidate those that do. The “it’s not that deep” crowd, the “it would just be cooler if” crowd, they were literally here for an SPN they didn’t really have to think about or pay attention to beyond glossing what was put on a pedestal to them again and again, and I mean, that’s fair, that’s how the show started. But it hasn’t been that for a long-assed time, and they’re still trying to treat the show like it was then, and it’s just not working out.

They refuse to understand or see more because they don’t want more, they forcefully, choosingly watch the show with a great deal of reductionism when they do watch, and try to apply the same logic.

The same way that I wouldn’t apply the same meta analysis to Dabb as I would to Carver, I wouldn’t to Gamble, or to Kripke, or even chapters of their time between, because these things changed, the story delivery shifted. The show grew up. It fell down for a bit, but it got back up.

It’s fine to not want complicated story or to have to think about your TV, but if I had a ring of infinite wishes, I’d wish that the people with this mindset would realize the nature of their mindset and instead of bugging fans that prefer the modern nature of the show or hassling the crew they would go on to something that makes them happy in the same vein.

Ironically, you’re gonna have a hard time finding that on the CW, which is geared digital. Check other networks. Like, if this is you, if this describes you, look on other networks that are less about digital marketing. You may find something you actually enjoy that way.

Honestly those not incest/tinhat invested that hate Misha may honestly have just strapped their frustration at this change that he was the first known advent of to it alongside the bulk of other hate, this wouldn’t surprise me at all. Misha added tremendously to the complexity of the serialized storytelling and it would be easy to seed a grudge.

And that’s the thought of the day.

#supernatural #spn #thoughts #narrative #episodical #serial #structure

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caatws · 5 years

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how to understand tv ratings (so you’ll be prepared for cancellation/renewal announcements)

as most of you know, i had an internship last semester where one of my duties for the company was tracking and analyzing tv ratings. while i’m no expert on this yet, i worked with way more knowledgeable ppl than me on this and learned a couple things about ratings that i definitely didn’t know before, so i thought i’d share some of it now that b99 is back on and we def don’t want a repeat of last year’s debacle.

(also, i’ll be tracking and analyzing b99′s ratings over on @b99bythenumbers this season, so if you’re at all interested in any of this stuff pls check it out! that blog is still under construction and stuff but as this season gets the ball rolling, that blog will come to life heheh)

ok, so i’m gonna break this up into sections to keep it as organized/straightforward as possible, so we gonna cover:

what are nielsen ratings & how do they work? (aka what do numbers like 1.2/5 mean)

b99′s ratings & viewership

nbc’s ratings & viewership

ratings as the be-all end-all for shows? (other ways to support b99) (esp if you can’t access american cable)

what are nielsen ratings & how do they work?

so nielsen media research is a company that’s been measuring data for entertainment for just over 70 years now. tho they got a start in radio, they’re arguably most known in the modern day for their measurement of american television programming, as the data they gather from these measurements (the infamous “nielsen ratings”) strongly influence broadcast networks (abc, nbc, cbs, fox, & the cw) and channels in their decisions to renew or cancel certain programs.

the way nielsen measures this data is through selecting various households with tv’s across the u.s. to monitor what they watch, who’s watching, how often they watch, etc. so it’s not something everyone in the u.s. gets to do, like they might just randomly hit you up and ask if they can use your data. if you say yes, they have to install a bunch of stuff to monitor all tv’s in your household. (if you find this at all kinda interesting, i’d recommend reading this interview with a nielsen family bc it’s kinda wild)

so, now onto the numbers. i’ll use b99′s initial ratings for 6x01 last night as an example

the rating is the 1.2/5 number. the first number, 1.2, means that 1.2% of the 119.6 million households nielsen estimates to have television watched b99 (1.2% of households, not individual people). the second number, 5, is referred to as the “share”, and means that 5% of households watching tv at that time watched b99.

these numbers are “live + same day”, meaning they only include households that actually watched b99 live as it was on tv last night and people who watched it from their DVR the day it was aired live. (for example, i got home after the ep started last night but had set it to record, so i watched my recording as the ep was ending so if i was in a nielsen family, me watching b99 on my DVR the same night it aired would still count for their measurement of an L+SD rating.)

additionally, tho nielsen records a lot of data about different demographics and people of what age are watching what shows, the standard demographic used for these ratings is people aged 18-49, all genders.

the 3.56 is the total viewership in millions (aka the actual individual viewers).

my source for ratings: tv by the numbers (specifically above, their initial thursday 1/10 ratings)

b99′s ratings & viewership

back on fox, b99 had a pretty solid run for the first two or three seasons, until the ratings started taking a pretty steep nosedive in recent years that (unfortunately) kinda predicted and ultimately led to their cancellation. it’s important to look back on their past ratings as a show, because stability & improvement are major factors at play when networks are deciding to renew or cancel shows.

season 1 (2013-2014) ratings

b99 had a rly solid series premiere, tho it pretty quickly couldn’t retain its rating, as the difference between 1x01 and 1x02′s ratings is pretty major. it got its big 6.89 rating (!!!) in february 2014 bc it aired after the super bowl. this season ended with way less viewers than it started out with, which isn’t Great.

season 2 (2014-2015) ratings

overall, pretty similar numbers to s1, especially in the total season average. it had a few ratings above 2.0 which is Good, but those numbers didn’t hold steady. again, the season ended with way less viewers than it began.

season 3 (2015-2016) ratings

b99 dipped under 1.0 for a large portion of this season. that’s Big Yikes. cancellation becomes Very Real Possibility.

season 4 (2016-2017) ratings

this season’s average was less than 1.0.....cancellation is Very, Very Real Possibility.

season 5 (2017-2018) ratings

nothing above 1.0 for an entire season....this show is Doomed, and i honestly can’t blame fox for canceling it from a numbers and business standpoint, considering this was just a continuation of the trend established in s4 with the consistently lower ratings. it’s....kind of totally rational that fox did what they did, especially when you see how b99 compared (in ratings) to other fox shows in the 2017-2018 season:

as you can see fox just kinda took like the bottom half of its shows by rating and cancelled all of them...anything averaging under a 1.0 on fox just isn’t safe!!!

comparing to other shows (esp other sitcoms) on its network is another big factor in renewing/cancelling. tho there aren’t any other sitcoms suuuper similar to b99 on fox, enough comedies did better that b99 got the axe. which means we should probably look at

nbc’s ratings & viewership

and here’s their 2017-2018 season (in which they had the most viewers out of all the broadcast networks for the first time since like 2001 actually!!):

already, b99 is off to a good start, its 1.2 initial rating pretty high for nbc, but what’ll rly matter is if they can hold this rating for the rest of season 6. like i said, stability and improvement are everything in tv world! if b99 can continue like this for the rest of this season, i think we’ll be in pretty good shape.

and, honestly, nbc rly is a good network fit for b99, with its history of popular and acclaimed sitcoms (seinfeld, friends, will & grace, etc.) and its long-running and popular crime procedurals (aka any law & order series ever), and b99 is basically a combination of the two.

ratings as the be-all end-all for shows? (other ways to support b99)

while ratings are of the utmost importance to networks and channels, it’s not the sole deciding factor.

another thing networks and channels look at, as we live in the digital age, is BUZZ. this basically is industry-speak for how much people are talking about and movies! the most visible example of this is getting a show trending on social media when it airs.

a good example of a show like this is the good place. tgp hasn’t gotten stellar ratings this season, but has already been renewed...because a lot of people talk about it on social media! it’s usually trending on twitter when a new episode airs, and its objectively high quality writing has won over a lot of industry folks’ hearts, so it gets a lot of buzz in hollywood as well (hint hint similar to how the “guardians of the nine-nine” contributed to the fight to save b99 last year).

so, here are some tips on how to maximize b99′s ratings & overall potential for renewal:

WATCH. IT. LIVE. or DVR it and watch it ASAP, as final ratings come out within 24 hours after new episodes air. obvi this only applies to amercans with access to cable/tv but clearly these are the people not showing up for b99 since the ratings were so low while the fandom was so big and loud

forgot to record it but still live in the u.s.? watch it on your cable provider’s “on demand” services (if they offer it), hulu, or nbc.com as soon as the new episode comes out the next day!!! while these numbers won’t be reflected in the actual ratings, it’ll still tell the network you care.

are you a young adult who attends college away from home aka your family’s cable? look into your family’s cable provider’s online services! my family’s cable allows me to access our DVR away from home and even watch some things on demand, which has been a lifesaver while i’ve been away at college the past couple years. if you can access your DVR remotely through your cable provider’s website, use it to record b99 and watch it ASAP!

TWEET ABOUT IT. tumblr is cool and valid and all, but let’s be real - everyone’s looking at twitter, because most industry professionals don’t know how the fuck to use tumblr. twitter is straightforward and straight to the point; they want to see it trending there. so pls tweet using #brooklyn99 when the episode is on live!!! you have 3 major chances to do this: 9 pm est (u.s. east coast), 9 pm mountain time (2 hours after east coast), and 9 pm pst (3 hours after east coast) every thursday night.

talk about it in real life! get friends to watch it! again, may not contribute to the actual ratings, but it’s still nice to get more and more people into the show to watch it in other ways and talk about it with other people they know.

i know a lot of these methods are mostly applicable to people in the u.s. and/or americans with cable, but it’s rly important that those of us who fall into those categories do our parts!! fellow americans, let’s yeet this wheat!!!! all b99 fans from all over the world, i believe in all of us!!!!!!

#b99 #tv ratings #nielsen ratings #madison.txt

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adultswim2021 · 3 years

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A second post, before the reviewing starst

I mean “starts”. I guess I oughtta tell you about me, a little. Also, I should say some stuff about the origin of Adult Swim, as far as I can explain it without resorting to looking stuff up.

My name is Jixby Phillips and I’m from the internet. Before Adult Swim I was a fan of Space Ghost Coast to Coast even though I didn’t have The Cartoon Network.

When I did eventually get Cartoon Network, Space Ghost was in reruns. I watched and taped as much as I could before, I assumed, the show was gonna go away forever and ever and never be seen again.

Before these reruns I resorted to staying over at my cousin’s house who lived one town over and had a different cable system, which DID include Cartoon Network. I think at one point I had him tape it, but he would never set the recorder to tape a couple minutes early like I asked, which resulted in terrible, imperfect recordings that chopped off valuable seconds from the start of the episode, causing it to become instantly worthless. I also had the VHS tape for The Mask, which included a Space Ghost segment at the end. Boy, I milked that thing for all it was worth.

Adult Swim was an outgrowth of Space Ghost Coast to Coast. It officially started in 2001, when I was at my most obsessed with television and comedy. Space Ghost wasn’t cancelled per se, so I was constantly reading the internet trying to find out if and when a new season would come out. This lead to me discovering Adult Swim. As I would find out, Space Ghost WAS coming back with new episodes, in fact there were TWO new episodes I missed that secretly aired unannounced in early 2001!

Also, word has it that at the end of 2000 they aired FOUR pilots that were basically spin-offs of Space Ghost Coast to Coast; The Brak Show (direct spin-off), Aqua Teen Hunger Force (which had it’s roots as an unfinished episode of Space Ghost), Harvey Birdman: Attorney At Law (really it’s own thing, but it did take the name “Harvey Birdman” from Space Ghost and ran with it), and Sealab 2021 (A cosmetic spin-off, if that’s a thing). All by people who worked on, or came close to working on Space Ghost! I assumed!

I found an Adult Swim fan site, which started before the block’s official debut in September 2001 (aka the 9/11 month). They had a message board. I started hanging out on there, and to this day I’m still pretty close to the guy who ran it. There were regular “review” threads where people would review everything on the block, even the repeats. An earlier attempt at this blog was originally a thread started on that message board, where I went back to review everything in order. I thought maybe I could get it done before Adult Swim’s 10th anniversary. Hahaha! This blog is an attempt to watch all of Adult Swim in chronological order. Okay, not ALL of it. In a perfect world I would have a complete chronological archive of all the bumps, promos, and various shorts that have aired over the years. When the block started I would tape the whole thing. Then, foolishly, I would delicately transfer the recordings to their own designated VHS tape, splitting the shows up into labeled volumes and CAREFULLY editing out the commercials. At some point I realized I liked aesthetic of the Adult Swim block enough to save some of it for posterity. Their commercial bumpers at the time consisted of old farts swimming in a public pool while an obnoxious guy on a bullhorn yelled at them and announced the next shows. So I started a NEW tape, just to collect Adult Swim bumpers and promos and specials and other miscellaneous stuff. Goddamn, do I ever wish I kept the full recording of the first block. Actually, now that I think of it, in the VERY beginning I originally transferred the shows to the ends of my MST3K tapes, wanting to utilize the 30ish minutes of blank space at the end. I had been doing this with random Space Ghost episodes and repeats of SCTV that used to air after Conan O’Brien. I kept track of it all with a big database on my computer. I would’ve KILLED for a DVR in those days.

For the purposes of this blog we’re actually gonna slightly start before Adult Swim, with the stealth premieres in late 2000. We’re gonna cover ONLY Adult Swim originals, as aired on Adult Swim. So Home Movies episodes 1-5 are out. pre-2001 Space Ghost is out. Penguins Behind Bars? Oh, I don’t know. Also, I’m not gonna sweat alternate versions of episodes too much. In one iteration of this project I tried to cover all the Aquaman Dance Parties, Captain Lingers, and other shorts. I would cover both versions of the Aqua Teen & Brak pilots, even though they were mostly the same. I covered DVD releases, extras, etc. etc. etc. But for this I’ll probably mention stuff like that in passing. Really I just wanna focus on the episodes themselves. All these shows I’m writing about in the beginning have twenty years of hindsight heaped onto them. Attitudes towards shows, characters, certain jokes, and the people creating them have changed slightly over time. Largely, I feel like I’m not THAT different from who I was in 2001. I’m fatter and uglier, obviously. My abilities to write these stupid write-ups haven’t gotten much better. I’m still an immature hack who will, on occasion, get cranky and write something spiteful while under the influence of a sleeping aid. I’m like Roseanne, but without an ABC to fire her. And that’s a dick we’re ALL going to have to suck. (ROSEANNECACKLE.WAV) Uh, all kids out of the pool, I guess

#Roseanne #adultswim2021

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miss-musings · 7 years

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Why I want to stop watching the Blacklist (a.k.a., A Rant by Me)

This used to be my favorite show. Hands down. I would legitimately schedule things around it; I would leave events early to make sure I could watch it live; I would post about it on Tumblr and read other people’s posts the rest of the evening; I would search through multiple review site’s posts the next day.

I loved the dynamic between Red and Liz. I loved the mysteries and the little morsels of answers that we would get. I loved how, in the S1 finale, it felt like no one was safe: Meera got killed; Harold got attacked and nearly killed; Tom was shot and left for dead.

But, over the past few seasons, this show has become the bane of my TV-watching experience.

(EDIT: this post, which quietly keeps gaining notes, was written post-S4, pre-S5. So, there’s still plenty of relevant things in the post, but just keep the timing in mind.)

I would watch it, sure. But that was because I didn’t want the folks on Tumblr spoiling it for me. It was because I thought we were finally getting answers – which is what they teased us with every other week – only to feel so disappointed.

This last year, I made reaction videos for a friend of mine for every single episode. You know what one of the most commonly said things in those videos is? “Well, at least next week’s preview looks good.” Only to be disappointed in that episode, and to say the same thing about next week’s preview, and the cycle repeated itself until we actually got a half-way decent episode (which was usually some kind of finale or premiere, because that’s the only time actual shit can happen – during Sweeps Week).

Over and over again, both online and in person, I compared this to those scenes in cartoons where someone puts a carrot on a fishing pole in front of a donkey, and the donkey runs so hard to reach the carrot, only to never get there.

That’s how this show has felt the past season or two.

It’s only a shadow of what it once was, and I’m tired of it. I wish I could stop watching it.

So many other people I follow on Tumblr have said they’ve either stopped or thought about stopping. By comparison, Game of Thrones, Breaking Bad and the Walking Dead seemingly increase their viewership every season; the Blacklist has been NBC’s lowest-rated show in the demo for the last year, IIRC. The ratings for the Redemption spin-off were so low, the showrunners tried to pass it off as a one-off miniseries, when it was ALWAYS intended to be its own full-length show.

I understand that the show does well in DVR viewership numbers, and it was the most expensive TV show that Netflix had purchased when Season 1 was released.

But, this show continues to disappoint me. There’s hardly anything I like about it anymore. Hell, even James Spader, who’s a master at his craft, seems to be bored with it. His monologues are becoming more and more cliche, and even his amazing performances can’t save this dumpster-fire.

Its protagonist, Liz, is all over the fucking place in terms of characterization. First, she was naive and learned her “husband” had used and abused her. Then, she went to the dark side, chained him up on a boat and said she’d never forgive him for what he’d done. Then, she apparently forgave him, slept with him, had his kid, tried to remarry the guy, and then faked her death to get away with him and is now living her happy dream life with her little girl and her ‘perfect’ husband.

What happened to the dark, morally questionable, grungy Liz? What happened to the Liz who was jaded and afraid after being on the run for several weeks, or months?

She just settled down with a guy who she used to hate and she’s living the dream.

What in the literal fuck?

And, for all the time that has been invested in Liz, she has made little to no progress in her characterization these past few seasons. In fact, she’s done more of a 360. She’s right back where she started, more or less.

Why should the audience give a shit about her journey if she’s not making any progress? Why should we care that, halfway through this show, she has everything she’s ever wanted?

The side characters, like Aram, Samar, Ressler, Cooper and others are there just to serve the plot. Any time there’s a semblance of some character development or plot progression, the showrunners regress everyone back to Stage One so we can do it all over again. Aram and Samar look like they’re making progress in their possible romantic relationship? Fuck that, we’ve got to make sure Aram runs back to his abusive girlfriend and string this thing along another season! Remember when Ressler got shot, had prescription drug problems, and was in Narcotics Anonymous? Yeah, me neither.

Mr. Kaplan, who was best when she was on-screen to sass and help Reddington once every few episodes, gets pushed into the spotlight for some made-up bullshit reason that had never been discussed or hinted at previous to the “Mr. Kaplan used to work for Katarina Rostova” storyline. And while Susan Bloomaert is a fantastic and underrated actress and did her absolute best to make those scenes between her and Liz feel emotional, I didn’t really care about their dynamic at all because it felt so forced, underdeveloped, and out-of-nowhere.

Whereas the relationship that I care the MOST about – that between Red and Liz – that has been the most built-up and developed over the course of the show keeps getting thrown under the bus as Liz does the whole “love Red, hate Red, forgive Red” song-and-dance routine. She claims she agrees with Red when he tells her not to go back to Tom in Season 2… only to go back to Tom later in Season 2. She’s totally down with asking Red to help her whenever she’s a criminal on the run… but the minute her wedding gets shot up, she yells at him and says it’s his fault.

And now, as far as the Lizzington fans go, which I count myself as one of them, the show has written itself into a corner. Because all the amazing chemistry and romantic tropes throughout the show feel incredibly creepy now that Liz believes Red is her dad, regardless of whether he actually is or not. I don’t care how they try to pull themselves out of the ginormous hole they’ve dug for themselves on that one – why the hell would a woman ever end up with a guy that she once thought was her dad, even if it turned out he actually wasn’t?

And the only real way out of it is the Impostor Theory – a well-written and well-researched theory, but one that makes people have to do fucking mental gymnastics for it to work. You have to assume a lot of people like Naomi and Reddington’s former roommate from the Naval Academy who’s now an admiral, are in on it. Whereas dudes like Finch or the Director aren’t…

Don’t get me wrong; I think it’s a wonderful theory and it explains a lot. But, if it ends up being true, it means one of two things:

1) The writers didn’t plan this from the beginning and lucked their way into it

2) The writers DID plan this from the beginning, which means they have the ability to be really good writers, but then they fell into all this other bullshit – like Liz’s weird arc and other things – which really means that they’re not that good of writers; they just had the one good idea.

And if the Impostor Theory DOESN’T end up being true, in some form or fashion, that means that Red really IS Liz’s dad, and this whole fucking show – Red’s entire characterization, his relationship and dynamic with her – has been a lie. Canon can be throw out the window to rot in the sewer and fuck itself in the interim, because the writers don’t even care any more.

Which, I realize is unfair, because I know there are hundreds of people who work really hard to make this show happen, and while it’s not, like, the worst show of all time, the fact that it had such potential and has fallen so far, almost makes it seem worse than a show that was so bad from the beginning I never invested time in it.

And what makes it even WORSE is that the showrunners continue to act like this is the most groundbreaking show on television, and put it on a pedestal On High, along with the likes of Game of Thrones, The Americans, and The Sopranos… you know, actually good shows.

That would be the equivalent of the Taken director demanding that his movie should’ve gotten an Oscar. It’s like, you know it was a fine movie, and I had a good time watching it, but like, bring yourself back down to earth. Taken is okay, but it is NOT Oscar-worthy material, so get off your high horse, dude.

I guess, if nothing else, it shows that the showrunners, writers and actors are so talented that they got me to invest in the show to the point where I can’t not watch it, even though it’s fallen so far and I feel like it’s nowhere near as good as it used to be. They hooked me and got me to care about these characters and their dynamics so much that, even though it frustrates me week in and week out, I will still keep watching it.

It’s just that, now, I might be doing it with a bottle of vodka, taking shots every time:

Red has a monologue that proves James Spader is too damn good for this show;

Liz is bitchy to Red for little to no reason, while continuing to be lovey-dovey with Tom;

Ressler survives a fight or car accident or some other action sequence with no injuries whatsoever;

Harry Lennix is completely underused as Harold Cooper in an episode, because he only tells his employees to do the obvious… and literally nothing else;

Samar and/or Aram take a step back from getting together, despite hints that they’ve liked each other since Season 2.

So, bottoms up, Blacklist fans!

#blacklist #nbc the blacklist #the blacklist #raymond reddington #lizzington #keenler #elizabeth keen #harold cooper #aram mojtabai #donald ressler #samar navabi #dembe zuma #mr kaplan #katarina rostova

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geekade · 7 years

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Before Their Time, Gargoyles

One thousand years ago, superstition and the sword ruled. It was a time of darkness. It was a world of fear. It was the age of gargoyles. Stone by day, warriors by night. We were betrayed by the humans we had sworn to protect, frozen in stone by a magic spell for a thousand years. Now, here in Manhattan, the spell is broken, and we live again! We are defenders of the night. We are GARGOYLES!

So begins Gargoyles, some of the best animation on television in 1994. I loved this show so much that when it finally came out on DVD in 2013 I was afraid to revisit it. After all, I remembered loving She-Ra: Princess of Power, jumped at the chance to rewatch it on Hulu, and regretted it almost immediately. Childhood is treacherous that way.

I’m happy to report that Gargoyles still merits a spot alongside Batman: The Animated Series and X-Men as a well-executed and rewatchable 90’s classic. In addition to complex characters and plot arcs, the series boasts terrific animation (including some killer fight sequences) and fabulous voice talent (an assortment of Star Trek alumni make appearances of varying duration). Gargoyles also represented my first encounter with a starring woman of color, more than one fully developed female character, and sympathetic villains. Of course, Disney cancelled it after only two seasons; ABC ran a third season called The Goliath Chronicles, but…let’s just say there’s a reason it’s not out on DVD.

The series premiered in 1994 as part of the Disney’s syndicated after-school cartoon block. It shared several writers and directors with Batman, including Michael Reaves, Brynne Chandler Reaves, and Frank Paur, and they brought a similarly brooding sensibility to Gargoyles. Like most of the short-lived shows I love, Gargoyles opened strong and just got better and better until its untimely demise. The pilot clocks in at five episodes, cutting between the gargoyles’ history in 994 AD and their reawakening in 1994. Considering it aired before DVR was even a glimmer in some startup’s eye, and that it couldn’t count on the character recognition of comics-based shows like Batman or X-Men, a five-episode pilot was pretty damn ambitious. As if that wasn’t daring (or dark) enough, Gargoyles opens with a genocide; before the show even gets going, its titular characters face a breach of trust that exterminates nearly their entire clan. The remaining gargoyles – Goliath (Keith David), Hudson (Ed Asner), Brooklyn (Jeff Bennett), Broadway (Bill Fagerbakke), and Lexington (Thom Adcox-Hernandez), along with watchdog Bronx (Frank Welker) awaken in a world ten centuries and an ocean removed from the one they knew.

Although the surviving clan from Goliath all the way down to Bronx get rich characterizations, histories, and performances, I was always captivated by three of the supporting characters, two of them villains. My favorite character was Elisa Maza (Salli Richardson-Whitfield), the NYPD detective who discovers the gargoyles while investigating a disturbance at Xanatos’ skyscraper. She guides the clan through the new world and protects them from discovery. Perceptive, resourceful, and trained in hand-to-hand combat, Elisa was the first major animated character I ever saw who looked remotely like me and the first heroine who did the rescuing.

The first person she saves our heroes from is David Xanatos. Jonathan Frakes voices him with an oily suavity that channels Bruce Wayne and Tony Stark but is more grounded, amoral, and dangerous than either of them. Xanatos understands that has earned a kind of medieval debt-loyalty for relocating and reawakening the gargoyles, and he wastes no time exploiting this for his own ends. When he can no longer use Goliath’s clan, he develops technology to replicate their abilities, forcing them to face off against a series of robots, cyborgs, and clones. His brand of villainy – elegant, elaborate, and nearly unbeatable – lends its name to the Xanatos Gambit.

Like I said, Tony Stark minus the alcoholism and moral compass. Riker wishes he was this cool. Xanatos reunites the clan with another member they’d believed lost in the sack of their castle: Goliath’s lieutenant and mate, Demona (Marina Sirtis). Demona possesses a Machiavellian single-mindedness; she resorts to magic, treachery, and brute force in the pursuit of her goal to exterminate humanity. Much like Magneto, she’s convinced that humans will never coexist peacefully with gargoyles, and once you’ve witnessed the distrust and cruelty that precede the destruction of her brethren, this logic almost makes sense. She’s gotten this far on a series of Faustian bargains and a heady cocktail of rage, survivor’s guilt, cognitive dissonance, and loneliness, but her conviction masks a longing for everything that might have been – for her, for Goliath, and for their lost clan. An object lesson in the dangers of revenge, Demona is no less tragic for being irredeemable.

Goliath, Elisa, and the clan battle Demona, Xanatos, and a series of other adversaries (not all of them dispatched by Xanatos) in sequences that showcase thoughtful character design. I love good fight choreography, and the hand-to-hand in Gargoyles never ceases to amaze me. The airborne combat sequences are particularly mesmerizing, combining dogfighting and midair grappling, but the earthbound stuff is no slouch either. Most kids probably wouldn’t have noticed if the gargoyles fought like large humans, but the animators make good use of their talons, tails, and wings, especially all the ways these things change the gargoyles’ relationship to gravity.

While the first season (13 episodes) follows the clan’s efforts to adjust to modern Manhattan, the second season (52 episodes) takes Goliath, Elisa, and Bronx on a “World Tour” which starts with a visit to the enchanted isle of Avalon. Referencing anything that happens after Avalon would be spoiling some neat surprises, but I can tell you that the series travels through a collection of places, times, and mythologies that would make Neil Gaiman blush. As you might have guessed from the introduction of Avalon, these episodes reference Arthurian legend and Shakespeare (mainly Macbeth and A Midsummer Night’s Dream) liberally, and I have to tip my hat to anybody who can make Oberon and Titania’s marriage make sense. Gargoyles united many of the elements that made Batman and X-Men so compelling, especially the darkness of the former and the xenophobia of the latter. But the show grew to more than the sum of its parts, its heroes and villains alike the products of complex and often surprising histories. If you loved it then, know that you can revisit it now without fear of disappointment. And if you’ve just learned about it here, know that Gargoyles is rendered beautifully, visually and auditorily. I defy you not to be seduced.

HOW TO WATCH: Seasons 1 and 2 are available on DVD. Season 2 is divided into two parts. All 3 DVDs are available on Amazon.

MUST WATCH: “Reawakening,” the final episode of the first season, features Michael Dorn as a resurrected gargoyle inhabited by three different souls. “Bushido,” the Japan episode of the World Tour, is a touching reintroduction of the trust between humans and gargoyles.

FAVORITE LINES: “Lot to go through for a piece of lawn sculpture.” “What are you doing here?” “Making sure you weren’t being ambushed.” “Man, you guys are paranoid even for New York.” “Someone had to make sure those comic book rejects didn’t find you.” “And they say the Middle Ages were barbaric.” “Flabby as I am now, I probably wouldn’t last a second in a Central American war.”

PAIR WITH: Jalapeños

LISTEN FOR: Everyone, but especially for anyone who ever starred in a Star Trek show. You already know about Jonathan Frakes and Marina Sirtis, but Michael Dorn, Brent Spiner, Kate Mulgrew, Nichelle Nichols, Avery Brooks, LeVar Burton, and Colm Meaney all make appearances. Notable non-Star Trek voices include Clancy Brown, John Rhys-Davies, Sheena Easton, Tim Curry, Diedrich Bader, Tony Shalhoub, Charles Shaughnessy, and Roddy McDowall. Seriously, everybody was on this show.

ODDS & ENDS: The magic spells sprinkled throughout the show are actually quasi-functional Latin. They are collected and translated here.

Gargoyles’ characters and plots mostly hold up today, but much of the first season’s storyline is only possible without cameraphones. Every time the gargoyles wind up in a populated area I find myself waiting for the cut to the YouTube footage.

Every gargoyle has a battle cry, equal parts growl, roar, and avian scream, which is as awesome and terrifying as it sounds.

It would have been more in character for Elisa to wear her hair short or tied back, but flowing Disney princess locks seem a small price to pay for being able to take somebody out even when you’re on crutches.

In closeup shots Xanatos appears to be rocking some serious guyliner; somehow this seems appropriate for a character voiced by Jonathan Frakes.

AFTERWARDS: The Goliath Chronicles are not available on DVD, and I strongly advise you to accept this as a sign from the TV gods, because ABC took over the show with an entirely different writing and animation staff, and it shows. Disney did approve two comic book runs, one by Slave Labor Graphics (SLG) and the other by Marvel. Both are out of print and I can’t vouch for either, but I do know that Greg Weisman, one of the show’s creators, worked on the SLG run, and that lots of fans consider it the canonical third season.

#TV #articles

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andylocksmithtipsntricks · 5 years

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Reolink Argus 2 Solar-Powered Camera Review

Reolink Argus 2

3/5

Free cloud storage

Easy installation

Laggy video

Buy on Amazon

Read Review

Bottom Line

The battery powered Reolink Argus 2 is the DIY security camera for people who want added home surveillance but break into a sweat at the thought of running wires. The Reolink app is easy to set up and gives you access to live video feed from your smartphone. Using the add-on solar panel provides 24/7 power to the camera battery.

As the wife of a home security technician with 20 years of experience under his belt, I’ve seen my fair share of home security cameras. When he and I had the chance to test-drive the Reolink camera and solar panel, we were eager to see how it stacked up against our Ring doorbell, DVR-based Hikvision home security cameras, and ADT Pulse cameras.

Reolink Pricing

Price Technical Requirements Warranty

Reolink Argus 2 Reolink Solar Panel $99.99 $24.99 Wi-Fi connection, smartphone None 2 years, limited 2 years, limited Buy on Amazon Buy on Amazon

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Prices effective 7/25/2019. Offers and availability subject to change.

How the Reolink Argus 2 Stacks Up

The Reolink Argus 2 runs on a rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Unlike most outdoor security cameras, you won’t have to worry about running wires for power, so you can mount it pretty much anywhere. Plugging it into a regular outlet using the included power cord will charge the battery pack, or you can plug it into the Reolink solar panel for continuous power to the battery.

The Reolink is an IP camera, meaning you’ll have access to a live video feed from anywhere using the Reolink app on your smartphone. The camera has a motion sensor built in, and it conserves battery life by recording to a micro SD card only when it detects motion—it doesn’t run continuously. The app lets you set up alerts so you get a push notification whenever it senses motion.

Price and Contract

The Reolink Argus 2 and solar panel together cost around $130. Access to the live video feed through the app is free, no contracts required. For the camera’s recording function to work, you’ll have to purchase a micro SD card, since one isn’t included with the camera. Basic cloud storage for video recordings is free, but if you want extra cloud storage, Reolink has a few different plans to choose from:

Price Cameras Supported Storage Duration Storage Space

Basic Standard Premier Business Free $3.49/mo. $34.99/yr. $6.99/mo. $69/yr. $10.49/mo. $104/yr. 1 5 10 30 7 days 30 days 30 days 60 days 1GB 10GB 50GB 100GB

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Pros

Free basic cloud storage option

No contracts

2-year limited warranty

Cons

Micro SD card not included

Tech and Equipment

The camera is about the size of a large pear, and it comes with all the mounting hardware you need, including a weather-resistant silicone sleeve (that makes the camera look a lot like Eve from Wall-E). In the process of opening the perforated back of the sleeve to connect the power cord, I ended up accidentally tearing the sleeve. The power cord itself is designed to protect the connection, so the tear probably isn’t a big deal, but it doesn’t look very nice having a rip in the back.

After I was done mangling the camera sleeve, we used a power screwdriver to mount the camera and solar panel right next to each other and then connected the two using the included extra-long power cable. I was a little worried about how well the solar panel would work (I’ve used some less-than-effective ones in the past) but even on cloudy and rainy days the rechargeable battery hardly lost any charge.

Reolink’s website claims that the camera’s rechargeable battery can last up to six months in standby mode. We decided to test that by unplugging the rechargeable battery from the solar panel, and it went from 100% to 80% in about 30 hours, so the company’s claim of six months is a stretch. You can increase the battery life by lowering the sensitivity, adjusting the settings, and not checking the video feed frequently, but our Ring doorbell’s rechargeable battery lasts for months even without doing those things, so we were a little disappointed in the battery life.

The Argus 2’s 1080p HD resolution offers a clear picture and a nice wide 130-degree viewing angle, making it comparable to the other more expensive wired security cameras we have around our home. The camera’s CMOS sensor allows for clearer night vision and was also on par with our higher-end security cameras, as long as we kept the day/night setting on “black and white” or “auto.”

As far as pet immunity goes, I could always tell when one of my kids let the dog out because I’d get a camera alert every time she ran across the frame. Squirrels would also trip the motion sensor, so it’s safe to say that the Reolink Argus 2 does not have pet immunity.

Pros

Good picture quality

Starlight night vision

Good solar power

Cons

Poor battery life

Weak camera sleeve

No pet immunity

Features and Usability

The Reolink Argus 2 camera and the add-on solar panel are easy enough to install that anyone can do it—even me. (I said I’d seen my fair share of security cameras, not installed any of them.)

Both the printed and in-app instructions were easy to follow and included troubleshooting tips for when the camera didn’t play nice. The only installation problems we encountered were connecting the camera to our Wi-Fi network and getting the camera to recognize the QR code on my phone. Fortunately, we were able to sort out both issues with a little trial and error and it only took about an hour to set up the camera from start to finish.

With a maximum video speed of only 15 fps (frames per second) we noticed that the Reolink Argus 2 video feed is much choppier than our other security cameras. There’s also about a 2.5-second delay before the camera triggers a motion alert. This might not seem like much, but since the camera starts recording only when triggered by motion detection, we found that even someone walking across the farthest point of the field of vision doesn’t show up in a recording until they’re almost out of frame.

We tested the motion detection range of the Argus 2 by walking across our backyard at various distances from the camera. The motion sensor started to detect motion at about 15 feet away, and when you combine that relatively short distance with the delay on recording, it’s a major flaw for a surveillance camera. We easily covered the 15 feet in just over 2.5 seconds and the Reolink recording only captured the last few feet.

The camera’s two-way audio lets you listen and talk through the wireless security camera. Like the motion detection delay, the audio also has about a 2.5-second delay between when you speak and when your voice comes from the camera’s speaker. This makes it difficult to carry on a conversation with someone on the other side of the camera. Through the app you can also set the speaker on the camera to sound an alarm when it detects motion. It’s a good deterrent, and it doesn’t have the same delay as the other features, but the alarm isn’t very loud. You also have the option to change the alarm to your own voice recording instead—useful if you want to give the appearance that you’re watching the feed.

We liked that we could change the picture quality settings for different benefits, like increasing the resolution for more clarity, or lowering it for better battery life and better performance with slower connection speeds. Using the app you can also take videos and photos from the live feed and save them to your phone, even without a micro SD card, and you can give other family members access to the live video feed using the QR code.

Pros

Easy installation

Customizable alarms

Picture quality options

Motion sensor options

Photo and video saving and sharing

Two-way audio

Cons

Choppy video

Motion detection delay

Limited range

Alerts and Notifications

The Reolink app gives you several customizable options for the motion sensor’s push notifications. Turn them on and off or schedule them only for specific times (like at night when no one should be prowling around, not even the dog).

I found that when I was away from my home’s Wi-Fi network, connection to the camera’s live feed was often hit-and-miss. When I’d get an alert on my phone and check the captured video recording, often all I saw was my backyard with nothing happening. While I’d much rather have a surveillance camera be too sensitive than not sensitive enough, the false alarms got annoying and I was left wondering if something had happened and the camera had just been too slow to capture it.

Pros

Customizable push notifications

Notification/alarm schedule

Cons

False alarms

Poor connectivity

The Bottom Line

While we appreciated how easy it was to set up and use the Reolink Argus 2 and solar panel as part of a home surveillance system, the delays and limited motion range were a major drawback to its overall performance as a security camera. It’s a good choice if you don’t want to invest a lot of time and money in installation, but you won’t get the high performance you might get from other leading wireless security cameras.

Pros

Easy DIY installation

Good picture quality

Intuitive app

Two-way talk feature

No contracts or monthly fees

Cons

Limited motion range

Recording delay

Poor connectivity

Choppy video

How We Evaluated the Reolink Argus 2 Security Camera

We got a Reolink Argus 2 camera and solar panel to try out for a couple of weeks at our home. Since the camera and solar panel were only temporary houseguests, we mounted them to our deck railing to keep an eye on our backyard. We downloaded the Reolink app and tested out the camera’s different settings, including alerts, night vision, battery life, and two-way audio. You can find out more about how we review products by taking a look at our methodology.

More Security Cameras for Your Home

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eraifttt2 · 5 years

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Reolink Argus 2 Solar-Powered Camera Review

Reolink Argus 2

3/5

Free cloud storage

Easy installation

Laggy video

Buy on Amazon

Read Review

Bottom Line

Reolink Pricing

Price Technical Requirements Warranty

Reolink Argus 2 Reolink Solar Panel $99.99 $24.99 Wi-Fi connection, smartphone None 2 years, limited 2 years, limited Buy on Amazon Buy on Amazon

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Prices effective 7/25/2019. Offers and availability subject to change.

How the Reolink Argus 2 Stacks Up

Price and Contract

Price Cameras Supported Storage Duration Storage Space

Basic Standard Premier Business Free $3.49/mo. $34.99/yr. $6.99/mo. $69/yr. $10.49/mo. $104/yr. 1 5 10 30 7 days 30 days 30 days 60 days 1GB 10GB 50GB 100GB

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Pros

Free basic cloud storage option

No contracts

2-year limited warranty

Cons

Micro SD card not included

Tech and Equipment

Pros

Good picture quality

Starlight night vision

Good solar power

Cons

Poor battery life

Weak camera sleeve

No pet immunity

Features and Usability

The Reolink Argus 2 camera and the add-on solar panel are easy enough to install that anyone can do it—even me. (I said I’d seen my fair share of security cameras, not installed any of them.)

Pros

Easy installation

Customizable alarms

Picture quality options

Motion sensor options

Photo and video saving and sharing

Two-way audio

Cons

Choppy video

Motion detection delay

Limited range

Alerts and Notifications

Pros

Customizable push notifications

Notification/alarm schedule

Cons

False alarms

Poor connectivity

The Bottom Line

Pros

Easy DIY installation

Good picture quality

Intuitive app

Two-way talk feature

No contracts or monthly fees

Cons

Limited motion range

Recording delay

Poor connectivity

Choppy video

How We Evaluated the Reolink Argus 2 Security Camera

More Security Cameras for Your Home

Best Home Security Cameras

Best Wireless Security Cameras

Best Outdoor Security Cameras

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gossipnetwork-blog · 7 years

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Rapid-Fire Reviews: We Cast Our Vote for ABC's The Mayor and Marvel At How Truly Bad Inhumans Is

New Post has been published on http://gossip.network/rapid-fire-reviews-we-cast-our-vote-for-abcs-the-mayor-and-marvel-at-how-truly-bad-inhumans-is/

Rapid-Fire Reviews: We Cast Our Vote for ABC's The Mayor and Marvel At How Truly Bad Inhumans Is

Rev your DVRs, the 2017 fall TV season is here!

Ahhh, don’t you just love the start of a new season, with so many fresh new shows making their debuts, hoping to earn a season pass from viewers in an ever-crowded landscape. And with so many new series on so many new platforms, it can be overwhelming trying to decide which ones to devote your previous time to, which is where we come in.

Our TV Team is offering up their quick and dirty thoughts on all of the new broadcast dramas and comedies debuting in September and October with our rapid-fire reviews. First up? ABC’s new offerings…

The Mayor Premiere Date: Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 9:30 p.m. Time-Slot Competition: Bull (CBS), This Is Us (NBC), Brooklyn Nine-Nine (Fox), DC’s Legends of Tomorrow (The CW) Stars: Brandon Michael Hall, Lea Michele, Bernard David, Marcel Spears and Yvette Nicole Brown

Tierney Bricker: The Mayor earns my vote for the best new comedy of the season. Brandon Michael Hall has charisma for days, and it’s so fun to see Lea Michele play outside of Ryan Murphy‘s sandbox for a change. (But please get her on American Horror Story ASAP, please and thank you!).

Chris Harnick: This is cute and funny and fits right in with ABC’s comedy brand. Definitely poised to be one of the shows to watch this year.

Lauren Piester: If I could hug a TV show, I would hug The Mayor. And I’d hug it so hard that it would be like “This is weird.” It’s nice and timely but optimistic as opposed to depressing, and the cast is delightful. Yvette Nicole Brown might have found her best role yet.

Billy Nilles: Without a doubt, this is the best new comedy of the season. Brandon Michael Hall is poised to be the year’s breakout star as Courtney Rose, the upstart rapper whose mayoral campaign publicity stunt proves more successful than he bargained for. The idea is fresh, the comedy is sweet and charming, and Yvette Nicole Brown, as Courtney’s mom Dina, has never been better. The Mayor absolutely has my vote.

The Good Doctor Premiere Date: Monday, Sept. 25 at 10 p.m. Time-Slot Competition: Scorpion (CBS), The Brave (NBC) Stars: Freddie Highmore, Antonia Thomas, Nicholas Gonzalez, Chuku Modu, Beau Garrett, Hill Harper, Richard Schiff and Tamlyn Tomita

Tierney Bricker: This is not really my jam, but I don’t fault anyone for wanting to put it on their toast, if you know what I mean? You probably don’t. Also, Highmore continues to be one of the most underrated actors on TV.

Chris Harnick: Freddie Highmore is going from killing people to saving people with ABC’s ambitious new drama. FYI: He also said that quote during every interview/appearance at TCA. Some of the other casting for this feels out of place, but if you were a fan of House and Highmore, set your DVR, but be warned: There are still kinks to be worked out for sure.

Lauren Piester: Everything about this show in theory sounds annoying, because the “doctor who’s bad with people but good with medicine” has been done to death (and by the same creator, too). But The Good Doctor is actually sweet and thoughtful and comforting and the pilot might have made me cry just a little bit. Add in the hot doctors sleeping with each other and that’s everything I need from a medical drama.

Billy Nilles: It certainly feels like creator David Shore has done this show before, but Freddie Highmore‘s Dr. Shaun Murphy is certainly much more sympathetic than Dr. House ever was. There’s a lot of heart here, especially coming from Richard Schiff as Shaun’s mentor and protector Dr. Aaron Glassman, but there isn’t much originality.

Marvel’s Inhumans Premiere Date: Friday, Sept. 29 at 9 p.m. Time-Slot Competition: Hawaii Five-0 (CBS), Taken (NBC), The Exorcist (Fox), Jane the Virgin (The CW) Stars: Anson Mount, Serinda Swan, Ken Leung, Eme Ikwuakor, Isabelle Cornish, Ellen Woglom and Iwan Rheon

Tierney Bricker: You know how in movies they will have characters go see a fake movie or play a trailer for a fake movie a la Tropic Thunder? This show feels like that for superhero shows, with Jessica Jones watching for 10 seconds before changing the channel. Good idea, not the best execution, unfortunately.

Chris Harnick: If you are curious about Inhumans, check out Paul Jenkins and Jae Lee‘s excellent Marvel comic series from 1998. That’s my polite way of saying stay as far away from this as possible.

Lauren Piester: I like the giant teleporting dog, I guess. But I also hate the giant teleporting dog?

Billy Nilles: A hero who can’t speak because his voice is powerful enough to destroy planets. A giant teleporting dog. A secret city on the moon in danger of being exposed to Earth. If you want balls-to-the-wall insanity, Inhumans has it in spades. If you want thoughtful writing and production value worthy of the Marvel name, well, you might want to look elsewhere.

ABC

Ten Days in the Valley Premiere Date: Sunday, Oct. 1 at 10 p.m. Time-Slot Competition: Madam Secretary (CBS) Stars: Kyra Sedgwick, Erika Christensen, Abigail Pniowsky, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Francois Battiste, Felix Solis, Josh Randal, Kick Gurry, Malcolm-Jamal Warner and Ella Thomas

Tierney Bricker: I feel like ABC’s been looking for a successor to Revenge (but season one Revenge, not the rest of the seasons of Revenge) and I feel like this soapy and ridiculous-yet-totally-watchable thriller starring Kweeeeen Kyra might just be their best shot.

Chris Harnick: Is this this year’s The Family? Seems like it. There’s a solid leading actress (Kyra Sedgwick) saddled with a mystery in a very meh show. Maybe Sedgwick should’ve chatted with Joan Allen.

Lauren Piester: I’m confused…yet intrigued. There is a LOT going on in this show, but if you like mysteries and the entertainment industry, there is fun to be had.

Billy Nilles: This is a very busy premiere, introducing about seven subplots in one hour, and it can feel like a lot at times. But Kyra Sedgwick’s turn as harried TV producer Jane Sadler successfully sheds the image seven seasons of The Closer cultivated and the whodunnit surrounding the disappearance of her young daughter is enough to keep me coming back for me. Here’s hoping the creators keep their word and actually end this limited series after the titular ten days.

Kevin (Probably) Saves the World Premiere Date: Tuesday, Oct. 3 at 10 p.m. Time-Slot Competition: NCIS: New Orleans (CBS), Law & Order True Crime: The Menendez Murders (NBC) Stars: Jason Ritter, Kimberly Hebert Gregory, JoAnna Garcia Swisher, J.August Richards, India de Beaufort, Chloe Easti and Dustin Ybarra

Tierney Bricker: Kevin might save the world, but Jason Ritter’s charm-for-days can’t save this show for me. Womp-womp. Cute yet forgettable, like a straight-to-On Demand movie.

Chris Harnick: ABC is smart to want to be in the Jason Ritter business, he’s one of the most charming actors on TV and certainly the best part of this weird pilot. It’s OK, not great, and not something I will be watching. If you like Jason Ritter, you’ll be into this, for a bit at least.

Lauren Piester: There’s nothing truly objectionable going on here and it could be a sweet show, but something in the pilot felt off, like no one’s sure what the tone is supposed to be. But this is at least better than that other ill-fated guardian angel show with Jane Lynch.

Billy Nilles: This spiritual series, which tasks title character Kevin with having to find 35 worthy souls to help save the world (at least I think that’s what the quest is), will live or die based on Jason Ritter‘s winning charm. He bounces off his supporting cast with ease, generating instant chemistry, but the “guardian angel making him look crazy” schtick could get old fast. Hopefully the show can find a way to avoid that because there could be something really special here if done right.

Which of ABC’s new fall shows are you looking forward to? Tweet @EOnlineTV with your pick!

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