Game of Thrones…No sooner did I write an article saying “GoT” might save this lackluster TV year than they came back with a very weak season premiere. “Never fear” some might say “they always start slow and get really good by mid-season” but previous seasons have had the books as a blueprint. Who knows if this season will be radically different? Plus, it’s not just that last night was “slow” (as any series with a dozen different plot-lines and settings is bound to be) so much as that it was cheap and unsatisfying. Nowhere was this better exemplified than the killings of Dorne’s King and Prince by a fallen Prince’s former lover and daughters who have always seemed a bit cheesy and under-developed. The whole thing actually felt rushed (a rarity of “Thrones”) and like an unnecessary plot twist between multiple characters we don’t feel a real connection to and have barely gotten to know. Grade: C
Silicon Valley…The stakes on “GoT” are massive, but “Silicon Valley” feels more urgent since we’ve become much more invested in whether Richard is in control of Pied Piper or not. It was brutal watching him get dethroned from his company—that he has created and saved multiple times—and a real testament to this show’s human stakes: the fate of the world is at stake on “GoT” and the fate of America on “Veep” but “Valley” makes the fate of one tech startup feel like so much more. Grade: A-
Veep…The most realistic political series on TV is actually a comedy. “Veep” returned with a great episode that had me rewinding a dozen times to catch all of the rapid-fire dialogue. By now, Julia Louis Dreyfuss’ Selina Meyer has cemented her reputation as one of the best characters on Television: profane, hilarious, caustic, brilliant, and extremely likable despite never really doing anything likable. That “Veep” has been able to get you to love spending time with people who aren’t loveable is a rare triumph. Grade: A-
Love all 3 shows, love all 3 reviews.