#scfy

Fandom Challenge 

I have had several requests by some friends to start posting reviews on TV shows that I watch.  Since the DVR is the best invention of the 21st century, I find myself watching more TV than anyone should be allowed.  When I see an interesting trailer or hear by word of mouth about a good show I record it.  I currently only have one terabyte of storage but I’m sure that will need to be increased very soon.  Well here it goes.  I hope you find it helpful.

  Summer 2014 has produced a few sleeper shows.  Lets start with my favorite.

  Show: Tyrant

Network: FX

Airs: Tuesdays, 10:00pm

IMDB rating: 8.2

Carlyle rating: 9

  This has become my favorite show of the summer.  Barry Al-Fayeed is a pediatrician living in California with his American family.  Barry is also the second son of a Middle Eastern dictator of a fictitious county called Abbudin.  Barry has cut off relations with his Abbudin family but decides to return home for the first time in 20 years for his nephew’s wedding.  Upon his return, his father dies and his volatile older brother Jamal becomes the new president.  Barry decides to remain in Abbudin with his family and serve as an advisor to his brother.  Barry uses his Americanized ideas on freedom to help convince his brother Jamal to make changes as the people of his country grow tired of Al-Fayeed family’s iron fist of oppression.  With this struggle between cultures, on average somebody dies every episode, which satisfies my need for violence.  FX is known for pushing the envelope and stretching boundaries ever since the highly provocative show The Shield aired in 2002.   Don’t expect any punches to be pulled.

    Show: The Strain

Network: FX

Airs: Sundays, 10:00pm

IMDB rating: 8.3

Carlyle rating: 7

  This show still has me on the fence.  It combines several recently popular sci-fi/horror themes into one show.   I’ll try my best to explain.  Imagine taking a large stockpot and adding Walking Dead, The Thing (original version), and World War Z.  Then sprinkle in some bloodthirsty vampires.  Bam (in my Emeril voice)!  Now you have The Strain.  This is what I have gathered so far 3 episodes in.  A passenger plane carrying a mysterious box/coffin arrives in NY and goes totally dark (this means the plane is sitting on the runway and totally dark inside with no one inside moving or communicating with the outside).  A CDC rapid response team lead Dr. Ephraim Goodweather is called in and all the passengers and crew are pronounced dead with the exception of 4 individuals who appear to be slightly ill.  To avoid a national panic, the federal government decides to release the survivors after a short CDC quarantine.  Dr. Goodweather disagrees and uses his team to further investigate the strange occurrence.  This leads them to soon discover that the survivors including the others recently pronounced dead are now vampire zombies caused by a parasite resembling a nematode (parasitic roundworm).  In addition, the source of the parasite is an ancient evil whose origins are unknown to all with the exception of an elderly holocaust survivor who has faced this threat before.  I decided to give this show a try mainly because one of the CDC team members is Rudy and I find myself still rooting for him after graduating from Notre Dame.  Give me a few more weeks and I’ll get back to you with my final assessment.

    Show: Dominion

Network: SyFy

Airs: Thursdays, 9:00pm

IMDB rating: 7.3

Carlyle rating: 8

    I will pretty much watch any show that deals with angels and demons.  I’ve always had a deep interest in the battle between heaven and hell.  This show is a spin off of the movie Legion.  Here is the quick and dirty.  God has abandoned heaven and a group of lower angels under the leadership of archangel Gabriel wage war on humanity resulting in a mass culling of the human race.  They are basically pissed that God chose humans over the angels and God has left due to his disappointment with his creation.  Archangel Michael has decided to side with the humans and provide protection for a group of humans living in the ruins of Las Vegas.  Michael has also been keeping a secret.  He has been watching over one human that is thought to be the chosen one.  The prophecy says a chosen one will rise and bring order back to earth.  The only question is if the chosen one is up to the task.  The special effects are pretty good and the concept of blood thirty angels with no regard for human life against shows for good entertainment.  I’m about 8 episodes in and the episodes have gotten progressively better.  Since it’s the summer and I have some free time, I will finish the season out and report again if my opinion changes.

    Show: The Last Ship

Network: TNT

Airs: Sundays, 9:00pm

IMDB rating: 7.2

Carlyle rating: 7

Because I love epidemic/viral/outbreak type of story lines (especially ones that do not make zombies) and this show looks like all of them plus possible genetic experimentation and human testing. Seriously, they wrapped everything I love in medical horror all in one show.

Throw in some primates and this could possibly be perfect.