THE BORE

General => The Superdeep Borehole => Topic started by: fistfulofmetal on November 04, 2013, 11:14:09 PM

Title: When did this show Covert Affairs turn into 24?
Post by: fistfulofmetal on November 04, 2013, 11:14:09 PM
this shit has been on USA for like 5 years and I feel like I've basically watched the entire show through ads before and during RAW and I just noticed that it's basically 24 at this point. THEY EVEN HAVE EVIL CHARLES LOGAN. Is this show even any good?
Title: Re: When did this show Covert Affairs turn into 24?
Post by: benjipwns on November 05, 2013, 04:09:28 PM
Season Three.

It's practically two completely separate shows almost except for the characters.

The first two seasons are about Annie getting used to the CIA and being a junior officer who just won't follow orders and there's all this dumb stuff with her ex-boyfriend and some other people and crappy political drama it would instantly forget about and some USA quirkiness with a big focus on how can she be in the CIA AND HAVE A NORMAL/LOVE LIFE? WILL HER SISTER FIND OUT SHE'S IN THE CIA? SHE HAS A CRUSH?!? But mostly all the episodes and cases are pretty standalone and of the week with the bookends being connected like most USA shows.

With the third season they changed it, killed off a main character and made the show completely serialized, put Annie into more longterm deep covers (instead of the early seasons "oh i'm from the smithsonian and i'm here in EXOTIC LOCATION to SOMETHING ART and oh look at all these dead people goodbye") and made the political stuff more serious and less nonsensical and added more gotta come to terms with time to kill this person I've been buddies with and also help bad people until the time is right and so on.

IMO, it's gone from USA's worst show airing (except for the since cancelled Fairly Legal) to USA's best show. But I watch all the USA shows pretty much so take that taste into account. (Except Graceland which I haven't started.) Since the change it's been one of my favorite shows overall. (It's not like, Justified good, but makes me want to watch each episode as the serial goes on.) And it totally wrecked the last days of Burn Notice by showing how a spy show should have been done from the start.

I'd say somebody could probably get away with watching the Pilot and maybe four or five of the highest rated episodes on IMDB/TV.com* from the first two seasons, then skipping straight to season three. There's really not too much that actually HAPPENS in the first two seasons, but it does kinda help to get to know the characters as they were before they made things good. And there are a couple good "case of the weeks" in there.

*Speaking of which, you can see the difference in seasons visualized in the scores: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1495708/eprate  :lol (especially when you remember that nearly everything on imdb basically scores between 7-9)
Title: Re: When did this show Covert Affairs turn into 24?
Post by: bork on November 05, 2013, 09:51:19 PM
I'm so behind on this show.  Still have two episodes of season 3 left to watch and all of the current season.  Pretty far behind on White Collar and Royal Pains, too. 

What always got to me about the earlier episodes of this show was how Annie would go undercover in dangerous situations without a fucking gun.   :lol ::)

I never really watched 24 (I know, I'm weird) but when a certain character popped up in Covert Affairs,
spoiler (click to show/hide)
my wife immediately pointed her out as a bad guy from that show and predicted she would be evil,  and sure enough, she ended up as a villain.   :lol
[close]
Title: Re: When did this show Covert Affairs turn into 24?
Post by: fistfulofmetal on November 05, 2013, 09:54:10 PM
first 3 seasons are on amazon instant

imma watch this shit on my december vaca
Title: Re: When did this show Covert Affairs turn into 24?
Post by: bork on November 05, 2013, 09:56:03 PM
Also, I can't help but stand up during the intro and mock everything she does.   :P
Title: Re: When did this show Covert Affairs turn into 24?
Post by: thisismyusername on November 05, 2013, 10:20:24 PM
Quote from: fistfulofmetal on November 04, 2013, 11:14:09 PM
Is this show even any good?

No, not really. Never really resolved the "Ben" storyline which is why I stopped watching, but recent episodes have been kinda interesting to me to where I kinda want to slogg through the past three seasons I've missed to catch up. :/

Quote from: bork laser on November 05, 2013, 09:51:19 PM
I'm so behind on this show.  Still have two episodes of season 3 left to watch and all of the current season.  Pretty far behind on White Collar and Royal Pains, too. 

What always got to me about the earlier episodes of this show was how Annie would go undercover in dangerous situations without a fucking gun.   :lol ::)

I never really watched 24 (I know, I'm weird) but when a certain character popped up in Covert Affairs,
spoiler (click to show/hide)
my wife immediately pointed her out as a bad guy from that show and predicted she would be evil,  and sure enough, she ended up as a villain.   :lol
[close]

Subverted that during the Lana storyline which actually was interesting, but the show wasn't improving in the quality that I was expecting from it based on previews ("the spy nextdoor... that stays in Washington outside of Mission of the weeks!") before the pilot for it aired.

Though they did finally make Annie/Auggie an item only to subvert that this past season apparently, so I guess my opinion of the show wouldn't change too strongly. (Yes, yes :supergay and all that)

Quote from: benjipwns on November 05, 2013, 04:09:28 PM
Season Three.

It's practically two completely separate shows almost except for the characters.

The first two seasons are about Annie getting used to the CIA and being a junior officer who just won't follow orders and there's all this dumb stuff with her ex-boyfriend and some other people and crappy political drama it would instantly forget about and some USA quirkiness with a big focus on how can she be in the CIA AND HAVE A NORMAL/LOVE LIFE? WILL HER SISTER FIND OUT SHE'S IN THE CIA? SHE HAS A CRUSH?!? But mostly all the episodes and cases are pretty standalone and of the week with the bookends being connected like most USA shows.

That storyline right there is why I stopped watching. They bring Ben back and then... nothing, they just put him back in the cold and it's like "you've been having her mourn/lust for him for the past season or two and then you're just going to put him back out there with nothing? Yeah, I'm done with this show."

If they honestly resolved that in the past few seasons, maybe I'd return to watching it live, but meh...

Graceland is okay, but it's not as good as Jeff Eastin's previous show/White Collar for me. Some of the characters can be pretty damn stupid in what they do and this past season's storyline of a drugdealer was ultra stupid for what it was attempting to do, but eh: USA show so I turn my mind off and try to enjoy it.
Title: Re: When did this show Covert Affairs turn into 24?
Post by: benjipwns on November 06, 2013, 12:32:00 AM
Since it's a USA show they do seem afraid to get too far ahead of the viewer. So this season, which actually has gone pretty far in that regard especially with the premiere, you still have moments where somebody stops to explain the recent plot. Like in a recent episode someone lectured Annie about how her plan wasn't a plan, only without the concise dialogue of Saint Row IV's "that's not a plan that's a goal."

So that kind of thing can be a bit dumb and annoying, but they really want to make sure people get that while Annie has become beaten down by the spy game and more ruthless in response, she's still naive and inexperienced and relies on her training too much, so every few episodes someone will explain it to her or someone else. Or someone will ask her about what loyalty means, just to make sure you're keeping up that they want to play up that THE SPY WORLD IS LOTS OF GREY aspect.

Some of that gives me concern about how they resolve this season, since they've crossed a number of lines and scorched some earth that you shouldn't just be able to deus ex machina back from but it seems they almost have to in order to continue as a USA show.
Quote from: bork laser on November 05, 2013, 09:56:03 PM
Also, I can't help but stand up during the intro and mock everything she does.   :P
Piper Pirabo is probably the worst actor on the show. This season they sorta are writing around the fact that she only portrays like three emotions. And they've finally put her in sensible spy-craft clothes.

The most hilarious/insane thing about the intro is that they created an episode out of it to "explain" it.

I do kinda miss the song though since they've ditched an intro for just a title card to show things are now serious dudes.

Quote from: thisismyusername on November 05, 2013, 10:20:24 PM
but the show wasn't improving in the quality that I was expecting from it based on previews ("the spy nextdoor... that stays in Washington outside of Mission of the weeks!") before the pilot for it aired.

...

If they honestly resolved that in the past few seasons, maybe I'd return to watching it live, but meh...
That premise and that storyline bombed so hard they've discarded both. There's even been some snark directed at it with things like "Did you think your cover would always be working for the Smithsonian and you'd be home for dinner? That doesn't work everywhere in the real world." (paraphrased)
Title: Re: When did this show Covert Affairs turn into 24?
Post by: thisismyusername on November 06, 2013, 12:44:19 AM
Right, but I really really wanted to know what they were going to do with Ben and bringing him back and then they just went "oh, wait, no, he's gone back into the cold for the director of the CIA because... well... just because, that's why! ANGST ANNIE! ANGST!" and that made me roll my eyes so hard that I stopped watching.

I will give them credit for the Lana storyline though, that was kinda compelling to watch.