I've been watching challenge content all day today, and decided on my next DVD series. I just finished the first episode of North America. I had a hard time trying to decide what to watch next, so fell back on an old favorite.

Guess I have something to show for the skills I honed on that B.A. in history after all.

Makes me curious; how do y'all feel about the difference between watching on disc vs., say, streaming or live broadcast? Do you bother with disc bonus content, or stick exclusively to episodes?

Today, I finished Homicide: Life on the Street The Complete Season 5. This was the season where studio meddling became most apparent, beginning with the revised title sequence (which any true fan of the show hates, as noted by James Yoshimura in the commentary for "The Documentary"). Michelle Forbes joined the cast as the new chief medical examiner in its fifth episode. That was divisive at the time; I fell on the side of liking her but wishing they'd done more with her than they did. In the aforementioned commentary, it was noted that the producers wished they'd just made her a detective instead of the M.E. I wish they'd gone that route, too.

This is the most soap-y season of the series, with the tedious ongoing corruption investigation into Kellerman spanning way too many episodes, as well as the recurring arc of Luther Mahoney, the series's definitive arch villain. The inevitable convergence of Kellerman and Mahoney in "Deception" is startling and controversial, debated to this day by viewers.

SPOILER ALERT FOR ANYONE READING EMAIL NOTIFICATIONS


It's perhaps the most important episode in the series, not just for the subsequent story payoffs, but because of the questions it raises - questions that we've had to ask all too often in real life, particularly over the last two years. One thing I noted going through the season in marathon viewing as I did this time was how explicitly in the previous episode, "Double Blind", the characters of Pembleton, Bayliss, and Danvers discuss the specific moment at which a shooting goes from self-defense to intent to kill. That plays more poignantly in retrospect than it did upon that episode's first airing.

As for Bayliss, his character arc has always troubled me. In some respects, the revelation in "Betrayal" that he'd been abused as a child and not believed always felt somewhat unnatural, like an attempt to take the show into "dramatic territory" to compete with other "gritty" shows. Still, there's clearly a trail of episodes leading to it and I think Kyle Secor did a fantastic job performing a believable range of emotions. I try to think about it strictly as a storytelling decision, but I have no real objectivity in the matter, which I discussed in a very difficult blog post that I published this past June.

Sometimes it's comforting just to look at a TV show or a movie and know that someone out there understands and is acknowledging your experience. From the conversations I've had or overheard about the series, that's the reason why it resonated with a lot of us, one way or another. Guess it's hard to ask much more of a TV show than that.

The most acclaimed episode of this season is also perhaps the most acclaimed of the entire series: "Prison Riot", guest starring the always-moving Charles S. Dutton. It's an engrossing episode from start to finish, and I really don't have anything to add that TV Guide hasn't already gushed about it over the last 20 years. "The Heart of Saturday Night" is a personal favorite of mine; it's an anthology episode structured around a support group meeting of people whose loved ones were cases investigated by our detectives.

Jealous of your Homicide run. It's near the top of my (mental) to watch pile, but who knows what decade I'll get to it.
Yes.

I used to watch everything on the disc no matter what, even the production notes and such, but now it just depends on my mood, how much I love the main content, and other factors.

I all-but-despise live TV, because America (and, sadly, everywhere else following suit) has ruined it with adverts every ten minutes completely ruining the pacing. Even with shows 'designed' around commercial breaks - i.e. swift mini-cliffhangers - it's just awful.

I like streaming for the convenience - no fiddling with discs, no finding discs, and I can carry an iPad anywhere in the house and watch whereever and whenever I choose (AT&T allowing).

I buy discs in part for the bonus content, but tend to focus on the show first before bonus bits. With the knock on effect that I often forget the backtrack and watch bonus bits from early discs, and only that which is on the last disc of a season... which is a known failing (and one that many studios cater to), so I try and remember to watch additional bits as I go along. Sometines, I remember...

Depends on my mood. Sometimes I watch the bonus content, sometimes I don't.

Today I started with a fishing show on Destination America.

I can't disagree with your overall assessment (although a few decades have passed since I've seen an episode). I was a Kate Jackson fan (although after seeing part of a Scarecrow and Mrs. King episode back when it was still on the air, I can't imagine how her character on Charlie's Angels could have been the "smart one").

In defense of Farrah Fawcett, when I last watched an episode (or part of one), her character seemed to be doing most of the work and as an actress, she seemed to be trying, if not always succeeding. Jaclyn Smith was always distant and trying to be enigmatic (although clearly the most beautiful), and Kate Jackson was hot but seemingly attainable (given the company that she was in).

The most ironic aspect of the series now seems to be its dismissal is "jiggle" programming. By today's standards, the apparently natural breasts of all three actresses make this terminology seem ridiculous.

I just finished the pilot of Homeland. I enjoyed it and can see myself watching more of the show.

I just had to share this. I just discovered that one of my friends cartoons as a kid was added to Amazon Prime, Thundercats, and all 4 seasons too. I just finished the first episode, and of all days this happened on a day I decided to watch cartoons.

Going through Sons of Anarchy for the first time. Was having a little trouble making it through season 1 not too long ago, but Season 2 I went through in less than 24 hours. Show's gotten good.

I prefer disc as it's farily easy to pick up where you left off, easy to skip forward/backward if looking for something specific, and has the best overall quality.

I'll stream something I want to see/sample if it's "free" (Amazon prime) but if I like what I see I purchase the physical copy. Streaming is still somewhat flaky at times and far more difficult to pick up where you left off/fell asleep or find a specific section for rewatching. I generally only stream something if I can commit to the entire running time.

I dispensed with "live broadcast" several years ago unless I'm using it for background noise. I'll *occasionally* sample a program on "live tv" but the constant intrusions (commercials, bugs, etc.) have gotten to the point I don't bother with anything in which I'm truly interested in watching. If I could convince my wife to watch her stuff online or just forget about it I'd drop cable in a heartbeat. I keep it for her.

I rarely bother with "bonus content" as I have too much stuff to watch without spending time with such material. It has to be a "top 10" type program/movie or if I'm feeling particularly lazy and don't want to get up to change the disc just yet.

I was always somewhat surprised at the differences in those two roles. She *was* rather "dense" on Scarecrow most of the time, eh?
I'd agree with that. I think she was put up "front and center" more frequently because of her willingness to wear the more "see-through" costumes. Had I been of "that certain age" (12-16 year old) when the show aired I'm pretty sure I'd have owned one of those iconic posters in spite of thinking Smith and Jackson are both "hotter" than Faucett.
But that's primarily how it was being sold back then. Of course in those days all a woman needed was a attractive face, a good body, and a willingness to put it on display wearing "revealing" clothing. I find it sad that "natural" has gone out of vogue.

If I'm dealing with my favorite shows (Star Trek, Homicide, X-Files, etc) I prefer owning them on disc and I watch all the special features the first time I go through - I paid for the discs so I watch everything. On subsequent viewings, the format doesn't matter and I only revisit special features if they are particularly interesting (usually a commentary track).

For new shows, the format doesn't matter. Streaming is really convenient and except for sports, I don't watch anything live anymore.

Me too, but..

I only stream "free" things, too, but it's often handier because (for me) it's MILES easier to pick up where I left off, because Amazon and Hulu and (usually) Vudu and TCM all remember for me! Falling asleep is a problem, but no more so than on a disc...

Ditto, plus child.

I was worried about Gotham after what seemed to me to be a very middling first episode, but by #4 it's growingnon me somewhat. The title on the closing credits keeps looking like a question, though: GOT HAM?

I think some of my wariness is timing - I'm suffering from having watched two very engrossing and top notch first seasons: Amazon's Bosch and Cinemax's Banshee. Nothing startlingly novel (although the Banshee setup is quite good, if immediately highly improbable), but VERY well executed in both cases. So with Gotham, part of me is still mildly unhappy it's pre-Batman, part of me wishes "Fish" would just go away, and I don't like Bullock being full-corrupt rather than cavalier... but Donal Logue is fantastic casting, so I'm more happy than not. And hopeful, too.

After finishing the eleventh season, I've been working my way through the twelfth (and last) season Murder, She Wrote. While I'm still digging the show, they have run out of ideas. There have been three episodes set in Ireland, and most episodes now have a secondary mystery to act as a red herring and pad out the time. Seventeen more episodes to go!

While working on a project this evening, I watched the first two episodes of SeaQuest DSV, a show that feels like the most 90s show ever. There's a crazy military villain, a teenaged genius, a cute dolphin (that talks via computer), a computer virus, an A.I., and murky CGI. While the show may get better, I don't think I'm going to continue watching.

I read recently that Farrah Fawcett only wore a bikini in one episode, so (aside from Farrah's mostly unbuttoned shirts) I guess it was usually Jaclyn Smith wearing the "skimpy" clothes (though, the only "skimpy" thing I remember her wearing in the first season was the white bikini). Wait until you get to the second and third seasons if you want to see skimpy (hint: Cheryl Ladd + various bikinis).
I've only seen one or two episodes of Scarecrow and Mrs. King (a long time ago), but seeing her on Charlie's Angels really makes me want to watch it (and re-watch Dark Shadows).
I recently watched the first two episodes with Farrah Fawcett guest-starring (from the third season), and it seemed like they gave her more to do in them, acting-wise. It seems like she was the only one of the three to ever get any sort of "official recognition" as an actress (Emmy nominations for The Burning Bed and Small Sacrifices). EDIT: Guess I was wrong. IMDb tells me Kate Jackson had 2 Emmy nominations for Charlie's Angels and 1 for James at 15

I was of "that certain age" when the show aired, and I never owned a copy of that iconic Farrah poster. I did have a Charlie's Angels poster with Farrah (and maybe one with Cheryl Ladd), a couple of Jaclyn Smith posters, and a Cheryl Ladd poster.

Started the 2nd season of Batman this morning. Perhaps it's known by others, but I was curious as to the show's layout. This 2nd season has 60(!) episodes, the traditional 2-parters that I've always known. Wikipedia seems to indicate the show was originally planned to have hour-long episodes, but were spread out to back-to-back nights because those were the available time slots.

Looking ahead to season 3, the show changed significantly. Each half-hour episode was self contained. Also Batgirl began to appear. I've caught various Batman episodes, both while growing up and in more recent years when they've aired on TV, but I've never seen a Batgirl episode, nor do I recall a self-contained episode so those are guaranteed to be all new to me.

Agree with the above, except I don't have an ipad. I tend to avoid early-disc content until I'm done with the season, just in case it has spoilers.

I need to break out my set! I do remember watching Batgirl (Yvonne Craig ), and when I watched in the afternoons, the two-parters were on M-T and W-Th, with the standalones on Fridays so we wouldn't have to wait over the weekend. Your notes make me wonder when I actually started watching....

Incidentally, Batman's 50th anniversary will be tomorrow; "Hi Diddle Riddle" aired 12 January 1966.

I'm finishing up S2 of Star Trek tonight. I had hoped to be a little further along before the Oscar Challenge began but stomach bugs had other ideas. In hindsight, it boggles my mind that this franchise has lasted this long as many of the episodes are not particularly good.

When Lori and I went through it a couple years ago, I was a bit surprised by the bell curve of star ratings I assigned; fewer 4 or 5 star episodes than I anticipated. But I have to say, the really good ones really were good.

Incidentally, the word has always been that Star Trek had consistently poor ratings. However, what has been overlooked is that at the time, they also kept ratings for black & white and for color shows. Trek scored consistently high on the color ratings chart. Unfortunately, color was still too niche at the time.

Ummm, when "Star Trek" premiered, the networks were no longer producing shows in b&w. The Fall of 1966 was the very first season in which every network show was in color, even continuing shows that had previously been in b&w.

My phrasing was clumsy; it wasn't that there were separate charts for b&w shows and color shows. It was that there were separate charts for b&w TV owners and color TV owners. This was something I learned in Robert F. Solow and Robert Justman's terrific book, Inside Star Trek: The Real Story.

Oh yes the good episodes are excellent and hold up even fifty years later but the rest are kinda boring and some are just down right awful. I watched "Spock's Brain" last night and oh goodness.