The Blacklist - Worth seeking out during the Holiday Break?

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Maybe I need to give Blacklist a try. I have it queued up on my TiVo but have not had time to watch and episode/skipped past it. I am guessing with the lighter week this week and then I am guessing at least 2-3 weeks without many new shows I will be doing some binge viewings of those shows (Sean Saves The World, Sleepy Hollow are a few off the top of my head).

 

Of the new network dramas, it's probably my 2nd favorite behind Sleepy Hollow (which I love b/c it's so batguano crazy), just ahead of Almost Human.

 

The problem with The Blacklist's believability is that almost all of the FBI agents other than Megan Boone do dumb things because the script says so.

Like in The Following, all of the other FBI agents are borderline incompetent.

 

So where does "Under The Dome" fall on that scale?

 

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If you mean legally, yes.

 

It's hard to try and convince someone to watch a particular show when you don't really know what they like. I'm not a huge fan of cop shows either, but there are some decent ones that are worth watching. I'd suggest watching the first couple of episodes and then decide if you want to stick around for the rest.

 

You don't like The Wire or The Mentalist?

CRUCIFY HIM!!!




Can't tell if you'll like it or not, how about you watch it and make up your own mind.

Anyone who doesn't like the Wire either has no patience to let the story unfold or just doesn't enjoy well written realistic police work/dramas.

 

I don't watch any of the "true" procedurals like NCIS or CSI (although I watched CSI back in the day), and I quite enjoy The Blacklist.

 

Yes, so is the Blacklist, IMO.
But I have an issue with highly trained professionals being infinitely dumber than me, the lowly viewer.

If it wasn't for Spader and Boone (to a certain extant), I wouldn't recommend this show and probably wouldn't be watching.

 

The Blacklist is easily my wife and I's favorite new show of the season. James Spader is fantastic! Highly recommended.

 

The Blacklist is, IMO, nothing like the NCIS/CSI/etc. shows. It's very slightly closer to, but still pretty different from, the Mentalist/Castle/Elementary/etc. shows.

It's closer to The Following (although Blacklist is better, IMO; I didn't think much of The Following, much as it pains me because I really like Kevin Bacon).

It's not even remotely in the same class as The Wire.

I'll reiterate though, if your choice is between BlackList and West Wing, West Wing is a far better show. Although if you think you might want to catch up with the Blacklist when it comes back next month that's a good reason to try it now.

 

I like the Blacklist. Spader is great in it. I caught Stargate on YV last night and it was funny to see the same expressions/looks as Reddington only with hair.

 

After seeing this list, I have no idea what you consider to be good TV. 24 was a good action show, but stretched the limits of reality way beyond the envelope. Jack Bauer would get shot at least once in each 24-hour span and run around like nothing ever happened.

The X-Files was a good show, so I'll give you that one.

I'm still deciding whether or not to watch season 2 of The Following. It all depends on my viewing schedule.

Dexter was good for the first couple of seasons and then went off the rails. (SPOILER ALERT!) The finale was probably the worst I've ever seen for a TV series.

I also dropped The Mentalist from my series recordings as it was just getting too repetitive. It was OK for the first few seasons, but ended up just being more of the same.

NCIS has probably been one of the more consistently well done shows on TV over the past couple of decades. The stories are believable and the characters are likeable and the writing is consistently good. I've watched it from day one and still do. The LA spinoff is just stupid.

I dropped CSI and all of the spinoffs from my lineup a couple of years ago. The original series was good up to a point, but stretched reality beyond the limits and has simply been on TV far too long. The spinoffs were just ridiculous. Lab rats don't chase bad guys with guns.

The Wire is where you lost me. It will go down as one of the best all-time dramas ever created for TV. The first two seasons are a bit slow, but it gets better as the series progresses. The last two seasons are some of the best TV I've seen.

At this point I am no longer trying to convince you to watch The Blacklist or anything else because I have no idea if you actually like quality TV or just mindless entertainment. Like I said before, watch it and judge for yourself.

 

I like the show a lot. Spader is great, and it has good music.

 

There's usually a reason why shows are "critically acclaimed." You mentioned three shows that are some of my all time favorites. Friday Night Lights was just a great show with good writing, although the acting could be a bit wooden at times. The Wire and Breaking Bad both started off slow but gradually built into shows that I think you'd actually enjoy. The last two seasons of both shows are some of the best TV ever made. I stuck with The Wire because it was based in Baltimore, near where I grew up, so it had a personal feel for me. It took me a while to get into it, but I'm glad I stuck with it. Same goes for Breaking Bad. None of these shows fall into the normal Hollywood category. Breaking Bad is about as quirky as you could possible get for a TV series and was anything but normal.

I'm also a huge fan of offbeat shows that are original. I strongly dislike the majority of mainstream dramas and sitcoms for the basic reason that none of them are breaking new ground. It's tough to develop a show with a fresh plot or storyline that hasn't been done before. Aside from "reality" shows, just about every drama on TV is based on either cops, doctors, firemen, lawyers, or any combination of one or more of them.

All we can do is point you to shows that we feel are worth the watch. If you decide you don't like them, then that's a shame. Everybody clearly has different tastes so watch whatever floats your boat.