Then something changed: the series was getting cancelled. It seems to me that once they knew about the cancellation, the writers decided to jam everything they worked out about the series into the last remaining episodes. Stories that were planned to take place over multiple seasons were worked into a few episodes. And it was awesome!

Each these episodes felt like a season finale, where big things happen to characters, and secrets or twists are revealed. Not only that, but they 4 of them were aired 2 per week, giving us so much info and excitement in an even shorter time. It felt a little bit like 24 at its peak, where every episode had a good twist.

There are drawbacks to this kind of writing, we barely have time to think about some revelations, and their consequences are not properly explored. But in the end it worked. I was totally into it and enjoy every second of it. Some of the details of the plot might be unclear to me, because they didn’t have a lot of time to explain and clarify things. But it didn’t matter.

All characters had an arc and by the end of the series they were literally changed. Echo was the least interesting because of her constant personality wipes, but once she truly became her own person, separate from Caroline, I started to care more about her. Her relationship with Ballard also helped in that aspect.

Sierra and Victor were always interesting, but they also grew. And I especially loved Victor/Topher, that was some superb acting. Topher is another character that totally changed in season 2. His scenes with Bennett were really fun to watch. Boyd was part of the greatest twist of the series. Adelle almost fooled me into hating her, but I knew there was more to it than it appeared.

Overall it’s very uneven series, but the last 6-7 jam-packed episodes are totally worth it.

Rating: 4 Stars

There are a lot of laughs to be had, and each character is well defined. The tone in general is very light and fun, but in the end I still got attached to the characters.

There’s an arc to Steven and Lizzie’s relationship, which is probably the main plot of the season. We start with Steven and Lizzie sleeping together on their first day in college. Then by the end Lizzie’s boyfriend Eric finds out and Steven and Lizzie end up together.

Apart from that, there aren’t well defined arcs for the other characters. Ron, Lloyd, Marshal and Rachel are pretty much the same through the season. The character of Hal has more going on in his life, going through a divorce. However he still deals with it with jokes and laughs, so it doesn’t drag down the fun tone of the series.

Because of the diminished focus on characters, I was as into this series as F&G, but I still enjoyed it a lot, thanks to the great humor and down to earth characters. The ending also wasn’t as satisfying, leaving some relationships open ended. This 17 episodes season does feel like a cancelled show, unlike F&G.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

That simple fact allowed this show to elevate itself in quality. Immediately there is a nostalgia that defies explanations. I didn’t attend high school in US, I was in Italy, and I didn’t attend high school in the 80’s, rather in the 90’s. However, I still had that nostalgic feeling watching this show.

Even though I didn’t have jocks in my high school, I had freaks and geeks and rock lovers, math lovers etc… So I feel this show has a universal appeal.

Even though this is mainly a comedy, there is plenty of drama about these students lives at home. The central character is Lindsay who is going through an identity crisis. She used to be a “geek”, being a math-lete, but she starts to hang out with the “freaks”. Her arc through the season is the most interesting. She’s trying to find herself and there is one episode in particular that clears things up for her. It’s the one where she goes back to the math club and her former life, but at the end realizes that she’s just not that person anymore. A great episode.

The other main character is probably Sam, Lindsay’s brother. He’s part of the “geek” group, who are picked on by bullies and ignored by everybody else. They are probably at the bottom of the social pyramid, but as the season goes on, we learn that they are actually happier than other people. At the end it’s clear that they are the cool people in reality, even though nobody wants to admit it. Proof of this is that Daniel actually enjoys hanging out with them and playing D&D, also Vicky in a moment of truth confesses that she envies the geeks, because they look happy. But the biggest proof is that Sam has been pining for hot cheerleader Cindy all season, but after he gets her he realizes she is boring and dumps her. That tells all about the geek’s “real status”.

Watching this series years after it aired was fun for a specific reason: I saw so many actors that would later become famous. Most notably are the freaks: James Franco, Seth Rogen and Jason Segel. All are now movie/tv stars, largely thanks to Judd Apatow, producer of this series. But there are also so many cameos by actors I recognize from later shows: “Wallace” from Veronica Mars, “Bree Buckley” from Gilmore Girls, Ben Foster, Shia LaBeof and many many others.

I really enjoyed this series, and even though it was cancelled after 18 episodes, it really felt like these characters had a complete arc. I don’t know if a second season would have been much better. This definitely deserves the cult following.

Rating: 4 Stars

The first part of the latest season has been lame for me. It started great, with an awesome opener picking up from the shocking finale from last season. Unfortunately the following episodes didn’t impress me.

My main problem is that Brock disappears after the first episode and he has always been my favorite character. His place is taken by Hatred, who is fine but not as good as Brock.

I like that they reinvented Phantom Limb, but he hasn’t improved that much.

In general I just haven’t been into this season. Luckily Brock comes back in the last episode, so the second part should be more entertaining. I wish I could have subtitles though, because there were a lot of dialogs and jokes I just missed.

I know it’s only half a season, but I just didn’t enjoy it much.

Season Rating: 2 Stars

It’s obviously still very “Kon-ish”, but with a few differences. This being a series of 13 episodes, he had time to explore many different themes. However he still had one story in mind, so he tried to wove those themes into one plot. I think in general he succeeds, but there are some problems.

The first half of the series was great. First he introduces the concept of Shonen Bat, then each episode starts as a standalone story, each story very gritty and powerful on its own. But towards the end of each episode he ties the character to the main plot. This way, we slowly realize how the big picture fits.

The second half of the series feels a little less coherent. The stories are a little less interesting (like the one where 4 housewives tell tales about Shonen Bat), and only tie peripherally to the main plot. The episode about the creation of the Maromi anime was cute at first, but once it got to the 6th explanation of each person’s title, it got boring. Another episode about the 3 suicides was interesting, but again not as relevant.

The resolution of the main mystery seemed to arrive just a bit later than I expected, though I can’t really complain, since there are only 13 episodes.

There are many scenes that take place in a fantasy world as a nod to many video games. By the end the fantasy world and the real world blend together, which is exactly what we saw in Paprika, a later movie by Kon.

Another great work by Satoshi Kon, though by nature less tight than his features films.

Rating: 4 Stars

Nothing much to add, except that I loved that they didn’t show Bubbles getting clean, instead he starts the season already clean. That’s the easy part as we’ve seen previously. The hard part is staying clean, which is what we see in this season.

It’s funny that Kima first became the new McNulty, thus losing her partner. Then she became the new Bunk, working their cases straight, unlike McNulty. Sydnor is now the new McNulty, going to the judge and complain about his bosses.

I also liked Avon’s cameo this season, though I can’t believe he’d help Marlo at all, even with the money he made off him.

I’m glad I re-watch this series, it was well worth it.

Rating: 4 Stars

I hate Herc even more, but I also blame Carver for trusting Herc. This time I paid more attention to the kids stories from the beginning, so I was able to get some subtle hints about Michael and Chris’s past.

Michael was clearly the one to watch out for since the beginning. The only thing keeping him down was his past with Bug’s father. I got the hint about his abuse when he started running away from Cutty, which I missed the first time. Once Bug’s father is gone, he seems to blossom into the badass he was supposed to be. It’s funny watching Chris and Snoop groom him like a pet.

Then when Chris totally loses it when beating Bug’s father out, it was clear that he was abused as well, so he seems himself in Michael even more. That was a powerful scene, we never saw him lose his cool when killing people before.

One thing I forgot to mention the first time is Bodie. Such a sad scene seeing him gone, he was one of the few remaining characters from the first season.

All actors playing the kids were great. They each had to play such subtle emotions underneath the surface of corner kids. I’m amazed at well they performed. Even though most of them don’t end up well, at least Namond finds a better place then before. That last scene was full of hope and optimism in a series so cynical and depressing. The last shot also reminded me of the final shot of season 5.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

One thing I did notice was how much I dislike McNulty this time around. He really gets obsessed with something and doesn’t care about anybody else. It might be the right thing to do, but he doesn’t care about the casualties he leaves behind. He doesn’t care if he interferes with his friends and colleagues. I understand that he’s willing to sacrifice his life for the case, but he can’t expect everybody else to do the same.

Also, he just doesn’t have anything else in life, that’s why he so obsessed. But I’m happy that he makes the right decision at the end.

The first time I watched this I was definitely rooting for Stringer, but this time I was more focused on how dumb and hypocritical he is at the end. When he can’t make it as a businessman, he just goes back to killing people.

Bubbles continues his descent into darkness, but knowing the end of his journey I’m not so depressed anymore.

I was surprised how much my wife hated Carcetti, he just has that devious look to him.

Still enjoying rewatching this show, very glad that my wife is also enjoying it.

Season Rating: 5 Stars

Also there’s not gonna be many blindsides at this point, so tribal council is not that exciting. The main attraction at this point are probably the challenges, so there needs to be good competition. Unfortunately there was none of that this season. Foa Foa kept losing to Galu, and they didn’t seem to be able to do anything about it.

Another interesting aspect were the tough conditions of the place, torrential rain for days really put them down. Poor Russell from Galu was the worst. It was scary seeing him pass out and being totally out of it. Probably the scariest medical emergency of the series.

The only one who didn’t seem miserable was Russell from Foa Foa. I must say, I hated him at the beginning. He was cocky, always trying to stir up fights, he was just annoying. When he found that first hidden immunity I was a little surprised, but he could’ve been lucky. After the merge though, he kept finding them one after the other! That was not luck, that was perseverance and intelligence. He knew where to look, and he didn’t get tired of looking. Even when many of them got a visual clue, Russell was the only one that registered it in his mind. Dave saw the clue, but he couldn’t put 2 and 2 together when he was looking at the right spot. Russell knew it as soon as he saw the rocks. For that I have to say, Russell grew on me.

He managed to vote out the whole Galu, thanks to his strategic moves. Allying with Shambo, playing the hidden immunity, beating Brett in the last challenge. Those were all done by him. There’s one thing Natalie did, was to vote out Erik, that got the ball rolling. But other than that, it was all Russell.

I could talk about all the other players, but I don’t see the point. This was Russell’s season, he dominated it strategically and won that last challenge. When my wife and I were watching that challenge we could barely breath. We didn’t want Brett to win it, but we thought that he would. Russell was never good at challenges, so we didn’t think he’d make it. Instead, Russell proved us wrong and beat Brett, by shear will. He’s just mentally strong.

Obviously I was shocked by the jury vote. Thinking about it, I can see that Russell pissed off some people, so in a way it makes sense that they wouldn’t want him to win. On the other, Russell definitely deserves it better than anyone else. So, I’m not upset by the vote, I can see why they voted Natalie.

If Russell had been more humble, a little more gentle, I think he would have won. In the reunion he said he played a good social game as well, I don’t agree. He pissed a lot of people off, he was too cocky and arrogant. That’s not a good social game. There is a reason why he didn’t win, it’s not just luck of the draw. That’s exactly what Survivor is, voting people off without pissing them off.

Since next season is going to be an All-Star, I hope he’s going back. I doubt he’d make it that far though, but at least he’ll get another shot. I’m excited about the next season, can’t believe it’s been already 10 years. We actually only started watching with season 8, but that’s still more than 5 years ago. I do think the formula just works, even though it’s repeated every single season, twice a year, I still enjoy it in very different ways. Simply because there are different personalities every time. It’s the human factor. In the end, it just comes down to who you want to win, who you think deserves to win etc…

Season Rating: 3.5 Stars

First of all, it was just cool to see so many big players of the following seasons: Clay Davis, Bunny, Cheese, Prop Joe etc… They only have little more than cameos, but they’ll be important players in the future. This shows that the writers already had ideas about future storylines.

The Greek and his organization was just so much bigger in scale than the Barksdale one. It’s ironic because they weren’t as careful with their cell phones, simply because they were so under the radar, nobody knows of their existence. Barksdale was also under the radar, but his people working on the street were not, so they had to be more careful. The Greek was just out of their league, he’s something for the FBI, which was briefly involved for the union only. They don’t know what they missed.

What I wasn’t interested in are the docks. I didn’t care about the union, I didn’t care much about Frank’s mission. He was very passionate about it, I just wasn’t. It’s just a foreign world to me. I understand that Frank’s goal is to get more ships in and give more work for his people, but this was a classic case of the end doesn’t justify the means.

Also I really hate Ziggy, and not in a good way. He simply had no redeeming qualities to make me sympathize with him in the least. Nick didn’t help matters either, him being much smarter than Ziggy in the street, just not as smart with a digital camera…

I did like that the Sobotkas are not the tough criminals we saw in season 1. They are normal people that got tangled up in illegal stuff by their own choice. All of them showed that when things got bad, they couldn’t handle it.

The police is always interesting, though there wasn’t much new about it. Beadie was “normal”, which I guess was a good counterpoint to the other “crazy” police, but in the end I just didn’t care for her.

I was surprised at how evil Daniels’ wife is, already. Basically she only cares about his career (money and power), instead of what he likes. That’s very sad.

The Stringer/Avon stuff just felt like filler. Basically the writers are preparing things for season 3: Stringer and Avon are not as tight, we see more of the east-siders, Mouzone vs Omar, etc… All in preparation for my favorite season. Let’s see if it holds to a second viewing.

Season Rating: 4 Stars