Fall TV

At this point, the TV season has returned in full. These are the shows I'm watching and what I think about them so far this season.


Returning Shows

Agents of SHIELD

It's... good. I can't say I'm terribly excited to see it every week, but it's enjoyable enough that I keep going back to it. It's unfortunate that the first season was so bland that most discussion about the show now consists of "well, it's better than the first season" and "I think the show is good now."


Arrow

It's three episodes into season 3 as of tonight and it's really good. Arrow has been doing a great job of walking a comfortable line between silly fun and legitimately good drama, having an over-the-top comic book fight scene one minute (motorcycle archery duel!) and then killing off a main character the next. Whether it's to just have fun or to see where the story's going next, I'm always looking forward to Arrow.


The 100

The 100 started off last season almost as "Lost with teenagers," but it quickly ended up being "Lost and Battlestar Galactica, with all the drama of both." Honestly, it's almost shocking how good the show is. It's not very uplifting, per se, but it's certainly gripping.


The Legend of Korra

This is the last season for Korra, and although it's sad to see it go, these last episodes are among the best.


New Shows

Gotham

I didn't expect to like Gotham as much as I do. That said, I still have a lot of problems with the show, largely because of the premise.
Gotham is really two stories: one focused on Jim Gordon working his way through the corrupt GCPD system, and the other being a neverending series of winks and nods toward the proper Batman storyline. "Oh look, here's Poison Ivy/The Riddler/Catwoman/The Penguin when they were younger." "Oh look, here's ten-year-old Bruce Wayne being weird."
I like the Jim Gordon stuff, but the simple fact is that you really can't "set up" the Gotham super-villains before they're actually supposed to be super-villains. It's almost getting into Smallville territory, where every character had shown up and been important before the main hero ever put on the suit.
So... it's good, I just have reservations about it.


The Flash

This. Show. Is. AWESOME.
Seriously, this is so much fun it's ridiculous. Unlike Gotham, Smallville, and most other modern live-action comic book shows out there, The Flash doesn't hold back on what it's doing. This is a straight-up SUPERHERO show, with no comic book character off-limits. Arrow has been doing a similar thing with the street-level characters like Green Arrow, Deathstroke, and Huntress, but The Flash has... well, the Flash. With plenty more heroes and villains on their way.
What's better is that The Flash is a fun show that's genuinely uplifting. None of that grim/gritty nonsense. But it's not devoid of drama, either. There's a genuine heartfelt element to The Flash that's all-too-rare in superheroes these days.
This is my favorite show on TV right now; I love it.