Near the beginning of the summer, I wrote about some “new” shows I was watching and trying to like, and about other shows coming back for their summer runs. (For review, see that blog here.)The shows I was streaming were Sense 8 and Between. I finished watching the available episodes of Between and enjoyed them. It wasn’t a great show, but it was passable. The show has been renewed and Netflix will release new episodes in 2016. In lieu of anything better in the genre, I will watch it.
As to Sense 8, I watched a couple more episodes, but nothing changed for me. I still find it confusing and unsatisfying. I believe that it is not only hard to keep so many different stories straight, it is difficult to develop any one story in the time allotted. It would have been better if they had brought more of the protagonists together earlier, so it doesn’t seem like so many different story lines. The 4400, for example, had a lot of characters, but the producers did a better job of connecting them all.
Now, to the summer shows. The first is Falling Skies. Its last season is progressing well. The 2nd Mass has had its victories and set-backs, but keeps plodding along. Though I’ll miss the show, I’m looking forward to the finale and see how everything is resolved.
But my top pick is The Last Ship. There is action and excitement every episode, so much that you can expect to be exhausted by the time the credits roll. The show is also not stretching my disbelief as they did in last season’s finale. At first, I had a little trouble understanding the primary antagonist, who was actually trying to prevent the distribution of the cure, but that has become clearer as the season progressed. Sometimes the twists and turns have me saying, “What, again?”, but, on the other hand, they make for excellent suspense and tension. I’m also happy that there is some general resolution of plot in each episode before the final cliffhanger. If you haven’t seen The Last Ship, you’re really missing something good. I’ll be sorry when its season finale airs and I have to wait nine months to see new episodes.
Happy watching!