TV Shows: My Reviews Spring 2017

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Amazon, Netflix, Salem, Salem TV Series, streaming TV, television, Television series, The Americans, The Man in the High Castle, TV Series, TV Shows, Vikings

As many of you know, I am more of a TV show watcher than a movie watcher. I just love how plot lines and characters develop over the course of ten or twelve episodes. And there’s much more to explore during those episodes than during a two or three hour movie.

Since January, I have watched four shows that I am going to review right here. Warning: SPOILERS!!!

THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE:

Season Two of this Amazon program was much like its predecessor. It was slow yet suspenseful, and you had to pay close attention in order to follow what was going on.

In the end, I felt the twist and turns were great, and really eyebrow raising, especially during the last episode. I really want to know what John Smith’s son is really going to do. Is he really going to sacrifice himself and practically commit suicide so he wouldn’t bring shame to his family? And just how did Trudy survive everything and where was she hiding?

Again, the show moves slowly, but it makes sense given all that occurs. It really makes you wonder what the world would be like if the Allies lost WWII. And as you might guess, it is not a pretty world!

VIKINGS:

Wow, just wow. Season Five of Vikings did not disappoint in a lot of ways, though there were a few parts that did. I can’t believe Ragnar Lothbrok is dead, and it makes me wonder why the show won’t end with that. Instead, it is going on for another season. That, I guess, would be the last one because the show seems so empty without Lothbrok.

But it looks like the story of his sons will be the focus, as well as Lagertha. But even then, as I think about it, there has to be a way to end Vikings with a bang. I do have faith that the writers of this show, who usually do an excellent job, will find a way. But as of now, I am feeling doubtful because Lothbrok is gone, as well as the King of Wessex. Rollo is still alive, but he seems to be retired from doing raids. What kinds of stories will be told, besides what Lothbrok’s sons will do with Lagertha? After all, she did kill Queen Aslaug, the mother of Ragnar’s four younger sons.

We shall see…

SALEM:

The third season of this WGN series was a lot better than the second. The acting was better, the story line was better. Last season was all over the place, and I was starting to think the actor who plays John Alden was miscasted. Here, he is less of a modern guy, and more of a soldier who has seen a lot. That’s a relief. Janet Montgomery who plays the main character of Mary Sibley is excellent in her role.

The best part of season three is the guest appearance by Marilyn Manson. Now, I am and never was a fan of his, but I feel his presence on this show adds a lot of flavor to it. The best part is when one of Satan’s agents comes to his door, and Marilyn Manson’s character humbly let him enter. I laughed out loud during that scene, because I’m sure if the day ever comes that Satan’s agents roam the earth, Marilyn Manson will certainly be delighted to let him into his home.

Anyway, this season was good. However, I felt during the final episode there were some closures going on that probably should not be. As in, why is Tituba sent away? Is she off the show for good? What will become of John and Mary if she’s bound to Salem for life? All this seems to indicate the show may not come back, yet it is popular enough to return for a fourth season.

I certainly hope it will return for another season because I find Salem to be very entertaining.

THE AMERICANS:

This fifth season of The Americans was a bit of a disappointment. I felt it moved too slowly and some of the things that could have led to something much bigger, did not. While I don’t feel the show has jumped the shark, I do feel the writers might be running out of ideas.

One thing I so believed during this season was that Philip and Elizabeth’s son, Henry, was secretly recruited by the KGB behind their backs. Claudia had told them the Center does that, and that was what led them into telling Paige about who they really were and what they really do. So I was certain that Henry was secretly a spy. After all, why else was he rarely on the show? Then the writers made him super smart and wanting to go to boarding school, and that theory fell apart, much to my chagrin.

There were some pluses to this season. The part where Elton John’s “Goodbye Yellow Brick Road” played while Elizabeth took a close look at all of her belongings, and Paige left the church for good, was certainly sentimental. The scene where Philip and Elizabeth got married for real was sweet and touching.

The sad part was seeing Martha in the Soviet Union. She is clearly so miserable and lonely, and it is sad because she was totally duped by the man she loved. Granted, she did commit treason by putting that recorder in the pen, and could have gone to prison if she stayed in the U.S. But, she was manipulated and used as a pawn, unbeknownst to her. It makes you realize how life can go wrong for all of us just because we crossed paths with the wrong people!

So, next year is the final season of The Americans. I am so interested to see how this would go down. I predict Philip and Elizabeth will defect!

OK, that does it for the first half of year. I will return by the end of the summer with reviews for Master of None, Game of Thrones, Orphan Black, House of Cards and perhaps more!

TV Shows! There’s Too Many of Them!

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Breaking Bad, Downton Abbey, Golden Age of TV, Master of None, Netflix, Netflix and Chill, Salem TV Series, streaming TV, television, The Man in the High Castle, TV, TV Shows

Hee-hee! I just had to say that!

But really, there are a lot of great TV shows out there and I’ve watched a few programs I hadn’t seen before in recent months. So, with my favorite shows not yet airing their latest seasons (Game of Thrones, House of Cards, The Americans, etc.), I’ve decided to dedicate this post to the other shows I’ve watched:

BREAKING BAD:
I finally jumped on the bandwagon and decided to see what was so awesome about this show. Early on, I could clearly see why. Excellent acting, great storyline, a lot of suspense and tension, plus amazing characters whether they were likable or not. Like many who watched this show before me, I became addicted to this show, though there were times when it got too much and I had to take a break from it. I have to admit Walter White’s arrogance started to get to me around the time he began working for Gus. It made sense why he became a meth cook, but his ruthlessness came to the surface early on, and sometimes I had to wait a few weeks to watch the show again. I knew he died at the end of the series, and I wanted to see how.

But boy, during the last season, I wanted to kill White myself. This guy became pure evil by then, and I found it intolerable. I’m still haunted by those episodes, two months after watching them. I guess a lot of people are, based on what others say when I bring up the show to them.

Overall, though, it was a great show. It really asked the question about what people would do in certain situations, and it captured the human reaction to difficult moments. Sure, there were some truly evil people on this show, but there were also truly human people here. Meaning, there was no right and wrong to what most of the characters did; they were just stuck in difficult situations and trying their best.

SALEM:
I only saw the first season of this (I believe) Canadian show on Netflix, but I am hooked! It’s a fictional take on the Salem witch trials – only this time, witchcraft is real here! And by witchcraft, I mean, satanic worship. This may offend some people who call themselves witches in the neo-pagan sense. I don’t know if the show got the two confused, but all I can say, it is an interesting take on the historical elements on this fascinating moment in American history.

The one thing that I didn’t like was the opening credits. Marilyn Manson sings the show’s theme song, and I feel his heavy rock sound does not mix well with this historical drama. I mean, the show is about the 1600s, and here’s this loud, rock music setting up the show. It just doesn’t fit to me.

But anyway, the show has good acting and a juicy storyline with a lot of twists and turns. The costumes are awesome too. There’s a few scenes that I couldn’t watch because they involved either too much blood or a large tarantula. But I am eager to see more episodes to a show I already consider one of my favorites.

MASTER OF NONE:
Another show I’m glad to say is one I will be looking forward to see in the future, mainly because this is a comedy. After finishing Breaking Bad on Netflix, I needed something lighthearted and funny, so I chose this. Thankfully, I did because I had a good laugh for its whole 10 episodes! I like how Aziz Ansari captures the confusion of trying to be an adult when you’re in your early 30s – living in New York, no less. It was also good to tackle the issue of racism towards Indians in Hollywood and elsewhere in America. This is definitely a show I’ll be looking forward to see more episodes from.

THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE:
I barely watched this show. OK, I saw three or four episodes. But I couldn’t continue. Not that its bad, because it isn’t. It asked its question of what would the world be like if the Nazis and the Japanese won WWII, which I am sure many people wonder. Well, the answer is, a lot of people are being ruthlessly killed. I mean, the Holocaust is still ongoing. It just got too depressing for me to continue watching. It is a good show with good acting and a fascinating plot. But the way life in America under the Nazis and the Japanese was too overwhelmingly sad for me. Maybe another time I’ll watch it, when I am ready to brace the depressing world, but not now.

Right now, I am watching Downton Abbey again. I stopped watching during Season 3 because I didn’t think I could handle all the character deaths. But after all the other shows I’ve been watching, I think I could handle it now 😉

 

I’m Excited About Oyster and Scribd

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books, eBooks, indie authors, Indie books, Netflix, Oyster, Oyster.com, Scribd, self-publishers, self-publishing, Smashwords

Some of you may be aware that there’s a Netflix for eBooks in town. Or, on the Internet, actually 🙂

Last fall, Smashwords notified its authors that it was teaming up with Oyster and Scribd as a way to distribute its ebooks to readers. These two websites operate kind of like Netflix. Meaning, a subscriber pays a certain amount each month to have “borrowed” books sent to their eReader. There is also a “recommended for you” part on these sites, which Netflix has too. This will allow word of mouth to come into play for many authors, which is the best way to sell anything for anyone.

And yes, there is a financial pay-off, but that all depends how much of a book a reader actually reads. There is a compensation (not a lot, but its still money) when a book is actually read from cover-to-cover. There are other payments, albeit smaller, when half or two-thirds of the book is read. So all in all, Oyster and Scribd offer indie authors both a chance to find new readers and get some compensation for their investment.

But I have heard about some writers being uneasy with this. Some of them aren’t too optimistic because both Oyster and Scribd are new ventures, and there is a concern that they might fail. Others claimed to have used one of these sites before they teamed up with Smashwords, and they had to go to great lengths to get their royalties. And there are some who say Oyster and Scribd are going to cheapen the book industry because it is so cheap to get books, particularly eBooks.

Regarding the first concern, many business ventures start off slowly before taking off. Look at Twitter. Many laughed at that idea, and now the CEO is laughing his way to the bank. I am optimistic that Oyster and Scribd will succeed, because it was inevitable that an eBook loaning site will start with the advent of eBooks.

Now as for the shady side of those two sites, well, I don’t think Smashwords’ Mark Coker would want to do business with something that will hurt the authors who come to his site. Since authors like me are half the reason why Smashwords is a success (the other half is from the readers who buy their books there), why would he want to anger us? We’re like his bread and butter.

As for cheapening the book business, yes I admit it sounds a bit scary. The publishing industry keeps changing, thanks to the Internet and the ever-evolving digital technology. But the music industry was turned upside down by file sharing and iTunes, and it is still standing. Netflix’s only casualty were video store chains, like Blockbuster. But movies are still being made and still generating money. As technology changes, so must we.

But I don’t think these two sites, or any other route for authors to sell or spread the word about their books, will destroy the book business. Things are little shook up now, but I’m sure everything will work out in the end.

I’m excited for these ventures, and I don’t see why they would fail. Here in the U.S., Netflix and Redbox are a success, so why can’t those two book loaning sites be successful with readers? Plus, the idea of more people coming across my book sounds great to me! And if they only read half of it, well, anything towards what I invested in is fine by me.

By the way, if you are an author on Smashwords, the way to have your books included on Oyster and Scribd is to have them in the premium catalog.