FTW vs. WTF: The TV Week in Review (October 12–18)
Perhaps you've noticed that there are currently a lot of film and television remakes, adaptations, and sequels in development for TV. Well, we here at TV.com are proud to announce that we've hijacked the bandwagon and signed a development deal with Fox to re-imagine the September 29, 2013 edition of FTW vs. WTF as an eight-episode event series! Don't worry, fans of the original, we'll stay faithful to the source material, even that part where we said Revolution was back for Season 2 and doing well. We're already in talks with Mario Lopez to play final-season Dexter Morgan AND two of the Sister Wives, and as soon as Sarah Shahi returns Tim's phone call, he'll pitch her on playing the intro sequence to American Horror Story: Coven. In the meantime, you guys should check out this week's FTW vs. WTF so we can get to work on the script. "FADE IN: 'SPOILER ALERT' in bright red letters approaches the camera..."
SPOILER ALERT: If you haven't finished watching this week's new episodes (of How to Get Away With Murder, Boardwalk Empire, Homeland, etc.), we suggest that you hold off on reading this story until you do.
FTW:
The Walking Dead shuts up and starts shooting (and baseball-batting)
Looking to make us forget a sleepy Season 4, the Season 5 premiere, "No Sanctuary," went bonkers with the action and violence for an hour that was brutal and awwwwwesome. Yes, many zombies lost their lives as the result of explosions and headshots, but the episode's standout scene was one of its earliest: As the Terminus cannibals bopped their prisoners in the back of the head with a baseball bat and then finished them off by slitting their throats, the show's brutality reached a whole new level. Man is man's worst enemy, again! Also, Carol rules!
FTW:
Manhattan makes us question everything against a beautiful sunset
WGN America's atomic bomb drama is one of the best shows on television right now, and it's a true sensory treat. Jonsi and Alex's score tickles our earholes, the beautiful New Mexico landscape delights our eyes, and strong characters and impeccable writing rev up our emotions. All those elements came together early in the excellent penultimate episode, "The Gun Model," as Akley exposed Frank's possible misdealings to a naive Isaacs while the sun rose in the background. "Frank Winter is using you," Akley told the wunderkind, shattering the young physicist's world. And for a few mind-blowing minutes, we actually believed him.
FTW:
Two more favorites bite it on Boardwalk Empire
With only a few episodes remaining in its run, Boardwalk Empire started crossing big names off its list this week, as both Van Alden and Chalky were gunned down by proxies representing their biggest foils (Capone and Narcisse, respectively). No season of Boardwalk Empire is complete unless great, beloved characters die, and as the show closes in on its series finale, the stakes have never been higher. We'll miss the amazingly weird energy of Michael Shannon and the steely depth of Michael K. Williams in Boardwalk's final two hours, but at least Chalky wasn't killed by a kid in a corner store.
FTW:
The Affair is totally swoonworthy... it might be love at first sight
The new Showtime drama is innovative in its framework, and it clearly understands the important role that silence plays in storytelling. We've only gone out on one date so far, but we're already head over heels for its his-and-hers perspectives on an extramarital affair... and its stunning visuals of the Hamptons... and its excellent cast that, which includes Dominic West, Ruth Wilson, Maura Tierney, and Joshua Jackson, not to mention Jackson's bare butt. Is it too early to move in together?
FTW:
Jane the Virgin is delightful, and its lead is gonna be a star
The debut of The CW's newest dramedy proved that you can't always judge a show by its logline. Yes, it's based on a telenovela and it has a ridiculous premise involving accidental artificial insemination, and yes, it's full of soapy twists and turns, but it's all balanced out by the show's big heart and easygoing sense of humor. It knows what it is and what it wants to be, and it doesn't take itself too seriously. Plus, it's a refreshing change of pace for the C-Dubs, which lately has started to feel like genre central. There's nothing wrong with superheroes, supernatural beings, or sci-fi, but it's nice to know that the network can still produce the feel-good charm that used to populate The WB. (The second that Jane gives birth to a vampire, we're out.)
FTW:
Demon Dean mocks everything Supernatural stands for and we love him for it
Sam's puppy-like qualities, the immortal Impala, the Winchester brothers' "erotic" codependency—after 10 seasons of building it all up to ridiculous levels of divinity, a demonic Dean Winchester only needed about 10 seconds to rip everything apart and bring a few tears to Sammich's eyes in "Reichenbach." Even better, the karaoke was also kept to a minimum... though we're still waiting for an ode to The Shining.
FTW:
Friends is coming to Netflix on January 1, 2015
Who's excited? We are.
FTW:
On American Horror Story: Freak Show, Angela Bassett has three boobs
FTW:
Viola Davis bares all in the last few moments of How to Get Away with Murder
"Let's Get to Scooping" was the ABC drama's weakest episode so far—what will these law students do for information if Connor can't find a man to sleep with?—but it was worth all the nonsense for the last few minutes. No, we don't mean the much-hyped "Why is your penis on a dead girl's phone?" line... though Davis totally SOLD it. We mean the actress's steady, unflinching stare as Annalise (and, by extension, Davis) removed all the things that (white) society makes her wear to be considered not only beautiful but respectable and powerful: makeup, eyelashes, wig. It was an instance of Annalise removing her armor and revealing herself as vulnerable, but it was also an instance of Davis appearing on TV with minimal (if any) makeup and saying, "This is what many black women look like. Deal." In short, it was a huge moment for television.
FTW:
People on Scandal can't stop talking about Eiffel Tower-ing
Maybe this should be labeled NSFW rather than FTW, as this week's episode of featured the glorious return of the first daughter and her participation in a notable group sex act (here's your definition, pervert), forcing the President of the United States to discuss Eiffel Tower-ing in the Oval Office. Shonda Rhimes, pushing boundaries on Thursday nights!
FTWTF:
Homeland REALLY wants us to believe in Carrie and Quinn as the new OTP
For whatever reason, Homeland's writers just can't NOT build their stories around tumultuous relationships that are doomed to fail. For three years, the Showtime series was The Carrie and Brody Show, and even though Season 4 has yet to fully establish itself, "Shalwar Kameez" dove head-first into laying the groundwork for a Carrie-Quinn romance. Rupert Friend is doing fantastic work and there's something weirdly appealing about the chemistry he has with Claire Danes' Carrie, but this is a rush job of major proportions.
FTWTF:
HBO and CBS announce their own web subscription services, the world goes mad
The news that HBO will introduce an HBO Go-like service, without a cable subscription, in 2015 has been a long time coming, and that internet-shattering announcement was quickly followed by CBS's launch of a monthly streaming service of its own (full disclosure: TV.com is owned by CBS Interactive, a division of CBS). These moves signal that TV networks and media conglomerates are ready to appeal to those mythical cord-cutters and perhaps start the process of unbundling, but don't let the provocative headlines lead you astray: the revolution may be near, but it's not quite here.
FTWTF:
Marry Me is a promising comedy that's already running away from its stated premise
Comedy pilots are such a crapshoot. Marry Me spent much of its first episode (mostly amusingly) building to the non-traditional proposal between its two lead characters, but "engagement hijinks" obviously isn't a sustainable storyline. So who's ready for another hangout comedy starring some of your favorite funny people? We are.
FTWTF:
Brooklyn Nine-Nine Presents the Jimmy Jab Games
What is with Fox's sitcoms and their fake games that look really amazing and fun? New Girl brought us to True American, and now Brooklyn Nine-Nine has introduced us to the Jimmy Jab Games, which are held whenever both Terry and the Captain are out of the office. From running through the building in full bomb gear to braving the bowels of the back of the refrigerator to impersonating witnesses for kicks, the Jimmy Jabs were a total hoot—plus we got some quality Peralta/Santiago meta. So why the tinge of WTF? Brooklyn Nine-Nine, we'd like to offer into evidence The Office Season 2, Episode 3, "Office Olympics." We KNEW that storyline felt familiar...
WTF:
The trailer for Playstation's Powers disappoints
Who would've thought that the first look at a new show being produced by an upstart network on a video game platform, one based on a project that's seemingly been in development for ages, would be pretty mediocre? Oh right, everyone.
WTF:
NBC still gonna be NBC, cancels Krysten Ritter's new comedy before we even see an episode
Uh, Houston? NBC has been enjoying a pretty solid fall, but the vestiges of its less admirable/more amusing decision-making habits remain intact. This week, the network axed the decent-sounding Mission Control, a.k.a. "Anchorman in space," without ever giving it a chance to launch.
What's on YOUR list of TV loves and hates this week? Grey's Anatomy's Ellis flashbacks? Richard Blais joining the Top Chef judges' table? The Season 2 premiere of About a Boy? Peter Gallagher's SVU debut? The news that NPH is hosting the Oscars? The Season 1 finale of The Knick? Share your own FTWs and WTFs in the comments!
