sampled tv shows

[CaptainWacky]

Yeah, I did wonder why Michael didn't question the prophets more, even after finding the old photo. You'd just think it was faked, wouldn't you?

Derek is one of the worst things I've ever watched and made me swear off Gervais.

 

[CaptainWacky]

Scrubs (2026) - I liked the original Scrubs when it first started. I definitely watched a ton of episodes, I think most of like the first four seasons or so. At some point I started to miss episodes and not really care. I think the quality did decline as it went on (it lasted nine seasons, though the last season was practically a spin-off from what I've read) and I think I ended up finding JD too annoying to want to watch, maybe? I could be confusing that with Zach Braff being a bit annoying in real life. I remember catching some later episodes and it felt pretty different and I wasn't that inclinded to get back into it. ANYWAY, the first two episdoes of the CONTINUATION series (it's not a reboot! It's the same continuity and most of the same characters!) are out on Disney+ and...it's good! I enjoyed them! It felt like the show I remember enjoying and not the later version of it that I gave up on. JD, Turk and Elliott are back as main characters, with Carla as a guest chracter (which is a bit awkward as she still works at the hospital and is married to Turk, but I guess the actress wasn't available for the full season) and Cox back...for at least one episode. I think some people didn't like that (SPOILER) Cox steps down as Chief and gives the returning JD the position, but I'm sure it was announced he was just a guest character so it whould have been a bit expected. And it doesn't hide from the characters being older and at different places in their lives. I didn't even know JD and Elliott got married in the original show: they're divorced now and that probably annoyed some people too, but both of them are a lot of work as people so it makes sense they might have split up after all this time. The new characters were all pretty likable and not annoying, which is nice, and there seemed to be a nice balance between the returning characters and the younger ones. There's a typical tragic "I could have saved that patient!" moment in the first episode, which is the kind of thing I remember from the original. So yeah I'd recommend it unless you always hated the old show from the start or whatever.

 

[Mentalist]

Finished watching. It’s fun. Very endearing in parts, a bit muddled in others, but a good watch overall. Pearce Quigley does a fine job carrying the series.

There are a few scenes that go too twee for me: you'll probably know when you see it but one involves an attempted mugging

Yeah, that’s the bit (or at least the most egregious bit) where it steps over the line from being kind of cute into “wtf is this?”. The whole Santa scene was really jarring.

But that’s a minor gripe in an otherwise very good show. Perfect? No. It has a few other issues, but none of them are dealbreakers. I was left genuinely perplexed by the last scene with the Prophets though. He asks whether she’s alive, whether she’s coming home, whether she loves him. All fair questions, sure, but given they found her car abandoned I was basically shouting at the screen: what if she’s being held captive by a psycho?

I was so confused by that line of questioning that I actually started to wonder if I’d zoned out and missed a bit where anything untoward was ruled out, but I don’t think I did?

The pacing is a bit strange as well. They bury the Prophets at the start of episode 4 and then the show barely mentions them again until the last episode. They pop up a couple of times, but they end up feeling like a side quest in a show that’s literally named after them. If you’re going to hook your story to a supernatural element like this, it feels odd to dip into that world and then forget about it for long stretches.

Weird plot choices aside, the show really lives and dies on its performances, and that’s where it shines. The friendship between Michael and Kacey is clearly the heart of the show and thankfully that part works. The other characters are fun too. It does feel like a show that needed another couple of episodes with how much it was trying to juggle.

as things feel rushed by the end and a few of the minor characters fall by the wayside.

What you said there!

So yeah GOOD STUFF. I'll definitely watch series 2. How many years will it take!

 

[Mentalist]

Scrubs (2026) - I liked the original Scrubs when it first started. I definitely watched a ton of episodes, I think most of like the first four seasons or so. At some point I started to miss episodes and not really care. I think the quality did decline as it went on (it lasted nine seasons, though the last season was practically a spin-off from what I've read) and I think I ended up finding JD too annoying to want to watch, maybe? I could be confusing that with Zach Braff being a bit annoying in real life. I remember catching some later episodes and it felt pretty different and I wasn't that inclinded to get back into it. ANYWAY, the first two episdoes of the CONTINUATION series (it's not a reboot! It's the same continuity and most of the same characters!) are out on Disney+ and...it's good! I enjoyed them! It felt like the show I remember enjoying and not the later version of it that I gave up on. JD, Turk and Elliott are back as main characters, with Carla as a guest chracter (which is a bit awkward as she still works at the hospital and is married to Turk, but I guess the actress wasn't available for the full season) and Cox back...for at least one episode. I think some people didn't like that (SPOILER) Cox steps down as Chief and gives the returning JD the position, but I'm sure it was announced he was just a guest character so it whould have been a bit expected. And it doesn't hide from the characters being older and at different places in their lives. I didn't even know JD and Elliott got married in the original show: they're divorced now and that probably annoyed some people too, but both of them are a lot of work as people so it makes sense they might have split up after all this time. The new characters were all pretty likable and not annoying, which is nice, and there seemed to be a nice balance between the returning characters and the younger ones. There's a typical tragic "I could have saved that patient!" moment in the first episode, which is the kind of thing I remember from the original. So yeah I'd recommend it unless you always hated the old show from the start or whatever.

I watched Scrubs religiously when it aired (even the completely unnecessary 9th season) and I have found next to zero motivation to watch the reboot. I guess I should give it a try if you are saying it's good. I pretty much just decided in my head it wasn't lol.

 

[CaptainWacky]

^I wasn't planning on watching it at all and, as someone who went off the original show as it went on, was pretty sure it would be bad. But I saw the surprisingly strong reviews and thought "WHY NOT, FUCKNOSE" and was pleasantly surprised.

Yeah, that’s the bit (or at least the most egregious bit) where it steps over the line from being kind of cute into “wtf is this?”. The whole Santa scene was really jarring.

It's weird that the show never makes it clear if it's supposed to be set around Christmas or not. I mean it SHOULD BE: we know Clea went missing the day before Christmas and it's just about to be the seventh anniversary of her disappearance. But there's no Christmas decorations in the background, no typical signs that it's winter (snow) and no one ever mentions it. If the scene with the nutter thinking he was Santa was set on Christmas Eve or something it would make a bit more sense.

But that’s a minor gripe in an otherwise very good show. Perfect? No. It has a few other issues, but none of them are dealbreakers. I was left genuinely perplexed by the last scene with the Prophets though. He asks whether she’s alive, whether she’s coming home, whether she loves him. All fair questions, sure, but given they found her car abandoned I was basically shouting at the screen: what if she’s being held captive by a psycho?

When he used "does she still love me?" as the final question I did get annoyed thinking "ASK WHERE SHE IS", but the response to his question did nearly make me cry so I get it. I thought they were setting up Michael getting angry at Kacey for wasting some of the questions on asking about Neighbours and for the lottery numbers, but I think I prefer that not happening as it wouldn't have been a very cozy ending.

 

[Dr Dave]

It was fairly entertaining.

I haven't seen any of the various Yellowstone shows other than this one, but I was able to find it entertaining none the less.