MovieChat Forums > The Middleman (2008) Discussion > Where to next?

Where to next?

posted 10 years ago by madp
19 replies | jump to latest

Where to next?

Well, it's time to say good-bye to The Middleman and embrace a new show. Maybe our next choice will be as controversial and thought-provoking as this one.

Anyway, in the extremely unlikely chance that someone new has started seeing these posts just now, we're a jolly group of people who likes to watch old TV shows and commenting on them. We've just finished The Middleman, but you can join in now, and you can participate by helping us choosing the next one.

That being said, all those who wish to continue on to a new show list 2 shows you would like to do next. The guidelines are pretty simple.

I. It should be a one-season show. Special cases outside this rule can be discussed in case an exception should be made.

II. Availability is a tricky little thing. I assume our American friends would prefer it it to be available on Netflix, though that's not entirely necessary, since others may get it from different sources. The important thing is that we try to find a show that is available to everyone.

III. Just as promised when we elected The Middleman, the other shows that were voted but lost would be remembered in case you want to give them another shot this time. The other shows that were best voted were, in this order,

2) The Prisoner (2009)
3) Total Recall 2070 (1999)
4) Caprica (2009)
5) Run (2013)
6) The Prisoner (1967)
7) FlashForward (2009)
8) Tom Stone (2002)

IV. Suggestions to enter the voting process are limited to two, and my suggestion is pick two shows you feel excited about so your chances of us choosing a show you like will be improved.

Suggestions are open and will close on Sunday, February 16th at 10 P.M. (That's Monday, 1 A.M. UTC/GMT - Sorry, Californians and Hawaiians if you're so behind in time.). Voting will take place from Monday 17th to Thursday 20th. The winner will be announced Friday 21st and then one week later, on Friday, February 28th, 2014, we will start.

We ask once something is finally chosen do your best to go with it even if it isn't entirely your cup of tea (or none at all!), or your dark piece of sky, or feel it's no better than a cheap monkey statue made of second-rate metal, try to find a "middle" ground between your feelings and those who think otherwise, although that can be pretty hard sometimes... After all, it's only one season and we have always been able to come to a consensus.

That's it. We have always managed to find something good about every show we have chosen and as hard as it is to believe, some of us have been doing this since January 07.

[–] madp 10 years ago

Here are my suggestions:

(Well, I'm fickle and flaky (and bipolar, but you already knew that) so I just changed one of my suggestions. I hope nobody has a problem with that. I guess we can deal with the pod people next round.)

1) Invasion (2005) (22 episodes) - Just two words should convince you: POD PEOPLE! (of the sorts) - Need I say more? No, I'm serious. This show has nothing to do with Dark Skies, by the way. The aforementioned people have complex personalities and it's a character-driven show.

Here are the ones that count now:

1) Total Recall 2070 (1999) (22 episodes) - A rather low-budget extravaganza/homage to Philip Dick (Blade Runner + total Recall) full of Canadian actors.

2) The Dresden Files (2007) (12 episodes) - Is it a show about the secret WWII documents concerning the bombing of Dresden, Germany? No, not at all. I think the show's pitch explains it well:

HARRY DRESDEN -- WIZARD Lost Items Found. Paranormal Investigations. Consulting. Advice. Reasonable Rates. No Love Potions, Endless Purses, Parties, or Other Entertainment.

It's a show that mixes drama and lightheartedness, so this should make everyone happy.

[–] wlcebtg 10 years ago

Run (2013)
Four gritty no-holds-barred human stories of the streets, all linked together in some respect.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2297604/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

The Day of the Triffids (1981)

When a comet blinds nearly everyone in the world, a genetically-engineered species of plant takes over.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081850/?ref_=nv_sr_3

Only six episodes.

Time to say goodbye to Dub Dub.

[–] brimfin 10 years ago

. Here are my two nominations:

FLASHFORWARD (2009)– I’ll try again with the show about a global event that has individual repercussions. (22 episodes)

MANN AND MACHINE (1992) – Inspired by the recent ALMOST HUMAN, I remembered this show from the early 90’s. It starred the awesome Yancy Butler as an android trying to learn how to be a police officer. One caveat is that it might not be possible to find. I’ve only found the pilot and one episode on YOUTUBE so far. This is one DVD I’d be willing to buy, as I’ve always liked Yancy Butler. (9 episodes)

Got a kick out of this: Earlier this week, I watched a movie called WRISTCUTTERS: A LOVE STORY, about a suicide who finds himself on a thirdworld-country-style Earth all populated by people who committed suicide. Among the cast were Mary Pat Gleason (IDA from MIDDLEMAN) and John Hawkes (one of the damned souls from BRIMSTONE.) So the movie had a connection with the two most recent shows we’ve watched. A fun coincidence.

[–] bob-402-252005 10 years ago

Without any special buildup:

Alien Nation (1989) Space alien refugees have crash landed in the Mojave desert and assimilated into the population Los Angeles. Centers on a human police detective and his alien partner. Also includes a little interstellar sexual tension between the detective and his neighbor, an alien nurse.

Automan (1983) A tech geek for the Police department has created a computer-generated superhero which inexplicably takes on physical form within the show.

___________

I'd've gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for you meddling kids.

[–] charmedwon666 10 years ago

Hmmmm not sure what to do. I always had The Middle Man to write down....lol

1. Terra Nova: an ordinary family from 2149 when the planet is dying who are transported back 85 million years to prehistoric Earth where they join Terra Nova, a colony of humans with a second chance to build a civilization.

2. Terriers: "Terriors," FX's offbeat update on Raymond Chandler's existential private-eye noir, which aired in 2010, was set in a seedy Southern California beach town in the throes of gentrification. It was the brainchild of producer Shawn Ryan, whose critically-acclaimed cop show "The Shield" had been a major hit on the cable network.

http://codenamestone.blogspot.com/

[–] madp 10 years ago

by charmedwon666 » 57 seconds ago (Fri Feb 14 2014 17:21:31)
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Hmmmm not sure what to do. I always had The Middle Man to write down....lol

Well, at least you got that out of your system, right?

[–] charmedwon666 10 years ago

Well, at least you got that out of your system, right?

Yep and I enjoyed it.

http://codenamestone.blogspot.com/

[–] dtmuller 10 years ago

I see everyone has picked different shows. I had been eyeing Terra Nova, but in the interest of not breaking the pattern, I'll go with my perennial choice of The Prisoner (1967), along with my leap of faith Caprica . (My other perennial nominee was Awake, but I watched that while we were on The Middleman, so now it's too soon. I'll be back in a couple of years on that one.)

Madp, why not just specify the deadlines in UTC and let everyone figure out their local time?

[–] madp 10 years ago

by dtmuller » 1 hour ago (Sat Feb 15 2014 07:55:42)
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I had been eyeing Terra Nova,

I had to say a few things because we seem to have similar tastes. You may want to check tv.com reviews of Terra Nova. The premise seems great, but apparently there are many annoying teenage characters.

but in the interest of not breaking the pattern, I'll go with my perennial choice of The Prisoner (1967), along with my leap of faith Caprica.

Hmmmm. Interesting choices. Perhaps you'll get my political support.

(My other perennial nominee was Awake, but I watched that while we were on The Middleman, so now it's too soon. I'll be back in a couple of years on that one.)

Serious mistake! I have several shows in cryo suspension in my backup hard drive. One day they may be awoken to be watched by the group. If I watch them on my own, the fun is gone. Of course I realize some of them I might never watch. The Prisoner 1967 has been imprisoned there for almost a year.

Madp, why not just specify the deadlines in UTC and let everyone figure out their local time?

My time zone is GMT - 3 hours. I can change that in the original post.

[–] charmedwon666 10 years ago

I had to say a few things because we seem to have similar tastes. You may want to check tv.com reviews of Terra Nova. The premise seems great, but apparently there are many annoying teenage characters. Madp

what is it with you and teenage characters anyway? I thought Terra Nova was fine at least the few episodes I saw. If I listened to every critic or pundit I would never watch or do anything. I am the only critic I need to listen to when it comes to what I like.

http://codenamestone.blogspot.com/

[–] dtmuller 10 years ago

If I listened to every critic or pundit I would never watch or do anything. I am the only critic I need to listen to when it comes to what I like.

Hear, hear!

My favorite example of why you should generally ignore the critics is two columns printed several months apart in the Detroit Free Press. In 1971, their film critic began a review of Clint Eastwood's latest film by saying, "Play Misty for Me may not be one of the ten worst films of 1971, but then again, it just may be." And then she really started ripping into it. But it turned out to be much more popular than expected, and in early 1972, guess which film turned up on her list of the Ten Best Films of 1971? No pandering to the masses there. Nope. Not at all.

...apparently there are many annoying teenage characters.

I believe "annoying teenage character" is redundant. Bumper sticker I once saw: "Grandchildren are God's reward to you for not strangling your teenager."

[–] madp 10 years ago

..apparently there are many annoying teenage characters.

I believe "annoying teenage character" is redundant. Bumper sticker I once saw: "Grandchildren are God's reward to you for not strangling your teenager."

That's essentially true, though I'm not a grandfather, so I wouldn't know. But for some coincidence, my nephews are the only bearable "tweenagers" I know, even nice people I'd say. Go figure.

Anyway, as far as fictional characters are concerned, teenagers often annoy me the way they are written. Sometimes the writers do a better job, but if a teenager has a tantrum, demands more attention and starts blaming his father while they are in a life or death situation, like in the movie "War of the Worlds," I first wanna kill the teen and then myself for watching that.

Anyway, that was just an incidental observation. I didn't expect to start just another controversy, at least so early on.

[–] dtmuller 10 years ago

Actually, I know what you mean. It's not just teenage characters that are annoying, but writers do seem to love using teens in the "annoying" role. What really gets me in those cases is not so much the annoying kid, but rather the parent who doesn't pop him. I always think the "Isn't my little darling wonderful" parents are far more annoying than their kids. Especially when it happens in real life.

[–] charmedwon666 10 years ago

Anyway, that was just an incidental observation. I didn't expect to start just another controversy, at least so early on.

Nope no controversy. I too understand what you mean but don't steer clear from shows just because of kids being in them. The show Revolution has a teenage girl, Charlie I think her name is and she is super annoying. Also the little boy on Once Upon A time and now the boy on the Walking Dead all three are terribly annoying to me right now but I plug on. I was just wondering and now you have answered...good enough.

http://codenamestone.blogspot.com/

[–] madp 10 years ago

what is it with you and teenage characters anyway? I thought Terra Nova was fine at least the few episodes I saw. If I listened to every critic or pundit I would never watch or do anything. I am the only critic I need to listen to when it comes to what I like.

Teenage characters are not exactly my favorite ones. Normally I avoid them, though some are much more annoying than others. And sometimes TV writers get to develop them in an interesting way for people other than teenagers.

As for the opinions of critics, unfortunately there are too many shows to watch, too many books to read, too many plays to go to... (and besides our life doesn't just consist of watching, reading and going...) You get the gist. So we have to use some criteria to pre-select the entertainment products we are going to consume. That's far from perfect, and we might be mislead by a critic, but we have to start somewhere. It would be great if we could try everything first hand and decided by ourselves, of course, reading that 500-page book just to figure out if it was worth reading in the first place... Unfortunately that's not possible.

But please, let's only fight because of this show if it gets picked, otherwise, what's the point?

[–] madp 10 years ago

by dtmuller » 21 hours ago (Sat Feb 15 2014 07:55:42)
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Madp, why not just specify the deadlines in UTC and let everyone figure out their local time?

Done. I adjusted the clocks in the original posting. I was a little confused in the beginning, because out DST has just finished, but now it's all OK.

[–] charmedwon666 10 years ago

The winner will be announced Friday 21st and then one week later, on.Friday, November 28th, we will start

Now that's a long hiatus......

http://codenamestone.blogspot.com/

[–] madp 10 years ago

by charmedwon666 » 29 minutes ago (Sun Feb 16 2014 11:54:16)
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The winner will be announced Friday 21st and then one week later, on Friday, November 28th, we will start

Now that's a long hiatus......

Sorry. I forgot something. Now it should be correct:
We'll start on Friday, November 28, 2016. Problem solved?
Just kidding. It's the problem of copying and pasting things. I'll correct the original post. It's Friday, February 28th, 2014.

[–] madp 10 years ago

Guys, I just changed one of my recommendations. Check my original post for details, please.