Summer is just about over and so are all our favorite summer shows. Thankfully, Autumn is just around the corner and many of our favorite Fall shows will be back to tide us over until those summer shows triumphantly (or don’t – I’m looking at you Hannibal) return. There are far too many returning shows this Fall to talk about them all here – certainly shows like Castle or the perfectly hate-watchable The Blacklist could have been on this list, both shows that I sometimes watch – but as with the watching of the shows themselves, with so many options you really do have to make some choices. And while I’m very excited to see these shows returning and can’t wait to get back into those various worlds – and I will be harping on this for the foreseeable future – nothing is going to come close to filling the void left by Hannibal.
As an aside, I also just noticed that all these shows are either sci-fi or comic book based, so I guess that says something about my television preferences.
Marvel’s Agents of SHEILD
When we last left Phil Coulson and his agents they had just wrapped up the strings of a storyline that was started the very first episode of season one. While obviously there are new storylines that have their origins in that arc, the series is now free to pursue something new and exciting – a new chapter in the SHIELD story. It looks as though they are investigating the existence of Inhumans in the Marvel Universe, with the expert help of Agent Skye (otherwise known as Daisy Buchanan), now an Inhuman herself. New alliances were formed at the end of season two and others ended, so season three looks both to test Skye’s newfound abilities and the strength of the new team bonds.
https://youtu.be/0-K8gjhG4K8
Doctor Who
Since Peter Capaldi took over the role of the Doctor last season I have been looking forward to Doctor Who in a way that I hadn’t in a long time. My dedication to the show knows no bounds, but I honestly often found the Matt Smith years to be trying at times. Capaldi is one of the more interesting actors to have played the Doctor in a long time, and I look forward to seeing more of everything he does with the character. When we last left the Doctor he had re-teamed with Clara after the death of her boyfriend Danny Pink. The previews for the latest season tease the inevitable return of the Daleks, some fun with the Zygons, the ever implausible return of the Master (now the Mistress), and a mysterious character played by Game of Thrones actor Maisie Williams.
Gotham
I am intrigued by this show purely for the concept of it and am hopelessly drawn in to the fate of its characters. I’m not sure I even like the show, but the plot lines do run the gamut from realistic to highly implausible in the same way I imagine the comic book version would. Despite the dark and gritty semi-realism to the show, there is something weirdly campy and comic-booky about the whole show that is also compelling. I mean, no one like the Penguin would exist in real life, and especially not with that hair! The most interesting thing about season two for fans of Batman is the exploration of a young Joker character, only briefly touched upon in season one. We shall see if in season two the writers can get the overblown mess of season one under control for a tighter plotted and smoother running narrative.
The Flash
I have a love/hate relationship with the CW. I don’t care about much of its programming, feeling vaguely that its slightly lowbrow and soapy. On the other hand, the CW has a much higher population of LGBT characters than any other channel, which makes them more progressive than most. I didn’t know if I was going to like The Flash, partly because of its existence on the CW, but that actually ended up being an unexpected benefit to the show. Unlike Gotham, which often takes itself too seriously and tries to focus on too many characters at once, The Flash is extremely fun to watch – often just plain funny – and focuses on a close-knit cast of characters that immediately earn your love and support. Its almost more fun to see these characters interact in their various relationships than it is to watch the super-hero stuff. The end of season one saw the banishing of the main villain at the cost of a beloved character and the revelation of the multi-verse.
https://youtu.be/uVOR9D8FRbQ
The Walking Dead
The Walking Dead starts its sixth season late in the Fall and is perhaps the only high-profile, critically acclaimed series left on AMC after the departures of both Breaking Bad and Mad Men. I catch up with The Walking Dead off and on, always intrigued by the intense realism of the show for such a geeky, far-fetched premise, as well as by the show’s ability for breaking convention and pushing boundaries. There is not a single dull character on this show, which is almost a shame considering how many people are killed off every season. It seems that as soon as you become attached to the mere idea of a character or a relationship that it all gets killed off. Which, of course, is part of why the show is so compelling. Anything that anyone does in the show could be what gets them killed off, so you are always in this state of anxiety with the characters, even if they’re doing something completely mundane.
Supernatural
This is another CW show that is more of a guilty pleasure for me than anything else. Supernatural, of course, is part of what is called the Big Three in online fandom – the other two being Doctor Who and Sherlock. I had heard a lot about it in my internet wanderings and enjoyed what I saw of the fandom, so I picked it up on Netflix and binge watched what was available. I think I made it to season eight when I gave it up with the intention of picking it back up another time. I actually have no idea what’s going on in the series right now, but I do know that the showrunner had a plan through season ten and that the series is currently premiering its eleventh season. I also know that Felicia Day has featured prominently in recent storylines, by which I am greatly intrigued. I might have to catch up on the last couple seasons sooner rather than later.
