Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed, and Something Game of Thrones
Sometimes the gods of Tivo smile upon us an grant us a wonderful evening of TV viewing. I was able to cram in episodes of 3 shows I really enjoyed and consider quality shows.
Something Old – 24
The first show was an episode of a program that has been off the air for some time – 24. Jack Bauer was back and ‘damn it’, it was good to see him in action again. His faux capture and escape/rescue of Chloe really bring back something that has been missing from TV as far as I’m concerned, and I loved every minute of it. Particularly when I realized it was Catelyn Stark (Michelle Fairley) who was the villain, and CIA agent Sarah Walker (Chuck)/serial killer Hannah McKay (Dexter) – Yvonne Strahovski who was chasing Jack for the ‘good guys’. So much fun – too bad it is only a short series
Something New – Penny Dreadful
The second show I watched was a new one called Penny Dreadful. The basic idea seems to be similar to the movie League of Extraordinary Gentlemen where the characters from Gothic stories are roaming around Victorian Era England. Dark and supernatural are definitely something I can get into, though I am not too sure about the cowboy. Chasing vampires with the aid of Dr. Frankenstein could be fun, and from the trailer, it looks like there will be plenty of mythical monsters showing up.
Something Borrowed – Constantine
On a metaphysical side note, I just saw the trailer for Constantine. It will be a show on NBC this Fall, and I hope they do a good job with it. It is based on the Hellblazer comic books and if it is similar to the movie, I will be pleased to add a season pass to that show. Once again, supernatural and religious overtones will be heavy, and I would like to like this show.
Something – Game of Thrones
Finally, the Gem of the night – Game of Thrones – The Laws of Gods and Men. I think this was one of my favorite episodes this season and it finished with one of the best acted scenes of the show. Tryion’s speech at the end of the episode was incredible and really showed how Peter Dinklage is such a good actor.
But more than that scene, this episode had a dragon – bigger than we’ve seen before – and Mycroft (Mark Gatiss from Sherlock BBC) showed up as the head of the Iron Bank of Braavos. Things are definitely getting interesting, I just fear we might be headed to another loss of a favorite character.
I suppose, if I were ranking the three episodes in order, I would have to say it would go:
- Game of Thrones
- 24
- Penny Dreadful
Only because Penny Dreadful was an establishing episode while 24 had years of prior back story to build upon. I think Penny Dreadful will be worth the investment, and all three shows were definitely entertaining.
We’ll see how future episodes play out.