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Why Watch That

Television just won’t stop. In this episode, the Critic and the Referee are back again to help you decide which TV shows to watch and which to avoid from a vast variety of options. Enjoy!

TV Shows

Scandal is an American political-thriller television series starring Kerry Washington as a White House Communications Director who leaves to start her own crisis management firm. Olivia has decided to dedicate her life to protecting the public images of the nation’s elite but is finding that no matter how hard she tries, she cannot leave parts of her past behind. (**Maybe Watch – Critic)

Intelligence is a drama that revolves around Gabriel Vaughn (Josh Holloway), a high-tech intelligence operative enhanced with a super-computer microchip in his brain. With this implant, Gabriel is the first human ever to be connected directly to the globalized information grid. He can access key intel files in the fight to protect the United States from its enemies. Gabriel takes advantage of his chip to search for his wife who disappeared years ago after being sent by the C.I.A. to infiltrate and prevent the Lashkar-e-Taiba from carrying out a terrorist attack in Mumbai, India.

The Following is an American television drama series that focuses on former FBI agent Ryan Hardy (Kevin Bacon) and his attempts to re-capture serial killer Joe Carroll (James Purefoy) following the latter’s escape from prison. Hardy soon discovers that Carroll, starting during Carroll’s time in prison, has surrounded himself with a group of like-minded individuals and turned them into a cult of fanatical killers.

Resurrection is an American fantasy drama television series about dead people who return to life. The series is based on The Returned, a book by Jason Mott. The series follows the residents of Arcadia, Missouri, whose lives are upended when their loved ones return from the dead, unaged since their deaths.

Nashville is an American musical drama television series starring Connie Britton as Rayna Jaymes, the established “Queen of Country” music, whose albums are not selling well and whose tour is playing to half-empty venues. Her record label suggests that she open for Juliette Barnes (Hayden Panettiere), the young and sexy best-selling singer of bubble-gum country songs. As a result, conflict ensues.

The Blacklist is an American crime drama starring James Spader as Raymond “Red” Reddington, a former government agent who is now one of the FBI’s most wanted and has eluded the bureau for decades. He suddenly surrenders to the FBI with an offer to help catch a terrorist under the condition that he speaks only to Elizabeth “Liz” Keen (Megan Boone), a young FBI profiler who’s just barely out of Quantico.

The Vampire Diaries is a supernatural drama television series that follows the life of Elena Gilbert (Nina Dobrev), a teenage girl who falls deeply in love with a 163-year-old vampire named Stefan Salvatore (Paul Wesley). Their relationship becomes increasingly complicated as Stefan’s vicious and malevolent older brother Damon Salvatore (Ian Somerhalder) returns with a plan to wreak havoc on the town, seeking revenge against his younger brother for turning him into a vampire against his will. (***Maybe Watch)

Grey’s Anatomy is an American medical drama series centered around the personal and professional lives of five surgical interns and their supervisors at the fictional Seattle Grace Hospital (this name changes throughout the series’ run).

The Good Wife is an American legal and political drama series that focuses on Alicia Florrick (Julianna Margulies), whose husband Peter Florrick (Chris Noth), a former Cook County state’s attorney, has been jailed following a very public sex and corruption scandal. After having spent the previous 13 years as a stay-at-home mother, Alicia returns to her old job as a litigator to provide for her two children.

The Americans is an American television period drama series set during the Cold War period in the 1980s. It stars Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, two Soviet KGB officers posing as an American married couple living in the Northern Virginia suburbs of Washington, D.C. with their unsuspecting children. They use numerous disguises to gather intelligence on the activities of the American government.

Hannibal is an American psychological thriller-horror television series that focuses on the budding relationship between FBI special investigator Will Graham and Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a forensic psychiatrist destined to become Graham’s most cunning enemy.

Da Vinci’s Demons is an American historical fantasy drama series that presents a fictional account of Leonardo da Vinci’s early life. The show follows Leonardo as he is implicated in the political schemes of the Medici and Pazzi families and their contrasting relationships with the Catholic Church.

Mad Men is a television drama series set in the 1960s about a fictional ad agency originally located on Madison Avenue in Manhattan. This series focuses on one of the agency’s most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper (Jon Hamm). (***Definitely Watch)

24 is a serial drama, which stars Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer, that focuses on the efforts of the fictional Counter Terrorist Unit to protect America from terrorist plots. Each season depicts a 24-hour period in the life of Bauer. Each episode typically focuses on Bauer, officials in the U.S. government, and the conspirators behind the events of the day, often simultaneously. The episodes take place over the course of one hour, depicting events as they happen, in real time.

Rosemary’s Baby is NBC’s modern 4-hour mini-series adaptation of the classic novel by Ira Levin that focuses on young Rosemary Woodhouse’s (Zoe Saldana) suspicions that her neighbors may belong to a Satanic cult that is hell-bent on getting one thing: the baby she is carrying. (***Don’t Watch)

Fargo is an American dark comedy-crime drama television series that follows a drifter named Lorne Malvo (Billy Bob Thornton) as he passes through Bemidji, Minnesota and influences put-upon insurance salesman Lester Nygaard (Martin Freeman) with his malice and violence. Meanwhile, rookie Deputy Molly Solverson (Allison Tolman) and Duluth Animal Control Officer Gus Grimly (Colin Hanks) team-up to solve a series of murders that they believe may be linked to Malvo and Nygaard. (**Maybe Watch)

The Black Box is an American drama television series that follows Catherine Black (Kelly Reilly), a famous neurologist who secretly has bipolar disorder. Only a few people know about her disorder, including her psychiatrist, Dr. Helen Hartramph (Vanessa Redgrave), who has been Catherine’s doctor since Catherine’s first manic episode. Dr. Hartramph has been a maternal figure for Catherine in the place of Catherine’s mother, who also suffered from bipolar disorder and subsequently committed suicide.