First, I’ll start with the shows that ended fairly recently…
Entourage
I’ve never REALLY liked Entourage – it’s kinda like Heroes for me: I don’t really get the hype, and never have.
People talk about how it used to be so awesome and it’s really gone downhill in recent seasons, but I don’t really see it. It’s pretty much been always the same quality to me: not great, not terrible, usually entertaining.
That said, I did think this year’s finale was pretty good, though I wish that they had kept Vince and E apart at least until the beginning of next season. So, it keeps me entertained (generally more than Heroes does) but I don’t miss it when it’s gone.
Mad Men
I love Mad Men. I liked it last year (though it began a bit slow) but it’s usually my favorite show on TV when it’s airing new episodes.
The cast from top to bottom is fantastic. Jon Hamm is amazing. January Jones, who I knew previously from a really terrible horror movie that she was really, really terrible in, has shocked me from the very beginning at how good she is, and she had a really great second season. Vincent Kartheiser who was duller than early-days-of-Buffy David Boreanaz when he (Kartheiser) was on Angel, also amazes me week-to-week. When he and Elisabeth Moss had that conversation in the finale, I was mesmerized. She also does not get enough credit for her fantastic-ness. Christina Hendricks is so far from our Mrs. Reynolds and portrays Joan’s happiness, sadness, power and vulnerability perfectly each week. John Slattery who was detestable (and not very good) on Desperate Housewives, makes what should be another awful character into someone I enjoy watching every week.
The sets, the actors, the writers, the directors, the costumes, all the details – it all makes for a perfect show week in and week out.
I know Matthew Weiner doesn’t have a contract with AMC for season three yet, and while I will still watch if he’s not around, I know it won’t be the same show if that happens. (So they better work it out!)
True Blood
Here’s a show I like a lot more than I thought I would and a show that got better week to week during its first season. I think the turning point was the episode with Sookie’s grandma’s funeral. It really turned a corner there.
Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer have fantastic chemistry and make me interested in a love story that I probably wouldn’t normally care about. And the rest of the cast, while not spectacular, are generally very good and certainly entertaining. (I will miss the actor who played Rene next season; I found him especially authentic.)
It’s a case of a show that knows what it is: it’s a fun, campy, horror-romance that doesn’t try to be the next Sopranos, and I appreciate that.
Although my favorite show on TV was recently cancelled and I’ll be losing Eli Stone soon too, I do have a lot of shows to look forward to in the new year…
24
The TV movie was pretty good. It really can’t be much worse than most of season six, so I’m cautiously optimistic about Jack Bauer’s return. (Though I am a bit worried about Eeeeevil Tony…)
Battlestar Galactica
I really can’t wait for BSG to return. As much as I don’t want it to end, I really do want it to end. (It’s like how I felt about the Harry Potter books.) I’ll always be able to rewatch on DVD, so I just need to know who the last Cylon is and how it all finally ends.
I’ll miss it and all its characters when it’s gone, but these webisodes that I just started watching are just whetting my appetite for new episodes and some final answers.
Big Love
I liked the first season of Big Love, but it’s the second season that really made me a fan and why I am eagerly anticipating its return in January. It’s also been off the air for quite awhile because of the strike, so that makes me miss it all the more. Plus Amanda Seyfried and Ginnifer Goodwin are awesome – I miss them most of all.
Burn Notice
Another fun show that doesn’t try too hard, but is always entertaining. Jeffery Donovan is a charismatic and charming lead and any show that features Bruce Campbell is worth my time.
It is a bit repetitive at times and it sometimes seems like they are spinning their wheels, but I am entertained by the show, so I shouldn’t really complain. Plus, they get pretty good guest stars. I’m looking forward to seeing Tricia Helfer again, and not just on Battlestar.
Damages
I’ve heard some really good advance reviews of the second season on Damages, so here’s another show I’m really looking forward too.
I feel very far removed from the first season, so I don’t have too much to say, other than I hope that this season’s story is a bit tighter than the first year’s – I felt like they lost me a bit in the middle. The beginning and end were great though and when Glenn Close is driving a show you can’t really look away, anyway.
Doctor Who
Funny, fun, silly, compelling, serious, scary, amusing, sad, powerful, interesting, engaging – just a few words to describe any single great episode of Dr. Who. (Like ‘Blink’ or ‘The Empty Child’/’The Doctor Dances’ or the fourth season finale.)
I was sad to hear that David Tennant will be leaving, but I was also sad when Christopher Eccleston left and now I can’t imagine anyone but Tennant as the Doctor. Only four more episodes (or TV movies, I think) of Tennant left, so I plan to enjoy them as I prepare for a new Doctor.
Lost
I know I’ll write more about Lost when it comes back. It’s a good thing it doesn’t air during the same season as Mad Men, cuz I would have a hard time choosing my favorite. (Probably Lost)
I still have over a month and everything I see in regard to season five just excites me more. My next project with this blog is to archive all my old emails that I have saved about Lost and I plan to blog after every ep this coming season. I. Can’t. Wait.
Medium
A decently-made, well-acted drama that is often saved by Jake Weber’s Joe Dubois. It’s an enjoyable, realistic depiction of a typical family, with some supernatural storytelling thrown in to give it its weekly stories.
Rescue Me
The first season on Rescue Me was so good.
So. Good.
I miss the fun of season one. Maybe season four will be fun – I just want it to be entertaining. I was often bored by season three and I fear additional boredom waits for me in season four. I hope not though.
Scrubs
I still like Scrubs and I am looking forward to its return. I don’t think that it has been bad in past years; it just hasn’t been great like it used to be. I hope they go out on top and Zach Braff pretends like he never made Garden State (which I loved, but I think J.D. has suffered because of it.)
Torchwood
Pretty much a grown-up version of Doctor Who. I thought the first season, in general, was better than the second and I like Captain Jack so much more when he’s on Doctor Who, but the second season finale was an emotionally draining, adrenaline pumping hour, so at least it ended well. I’ll kinda miss Owen, but I will really miss Tosh. I hate when they kill my favorite character.
I think that brings me to the end of all the shows I watch that are currently on air. I know it doesn't seem like a lot, but I am always on the lookout for more...
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Friday, Saturday and Stuff Waiting on my DVR
SNL
Not much too report on weekend TV viewing. I watch Saturday Night Live, which is usually good for a chuckle or two. It’s worth it mostly for the impersonations and Weekend Update (without the character interludes). I will miss Amy Poehler, and with the election over, I’m fearful that much of the funny is in the past. But we’ll see…
I gave up on SNL for awhile and Tina Fey brought me back, so I’ll stick around until it becomes too painful to even watch in the background. They surprised me with Jon Hamm (now I really can’t wait to see him on 30 Rock) so maybe they’ll surprise me again in the future.
South Park
I actually don’t even know when South Park airs because I have my DVR set to just record it whenever (in case they air older episodes that I missed), so I threw it in here to beef up this blog entry.
Actually, I don’t even have that much to write about it anyway. It’s usually a hit or miss show for me. Sometimes they are so perfectly topical with their satire and sometimes it starts with a joke that’s not funny, that becomes less funny as the episode goes along.
My Own Worst Enemy
I haven’t gotten around to watching any of this yet and I’m not sure that I ever will. It’s been cancelled and I haven’t really heard anything good about it, so I don’t know if it will be worth my time…and my DVR is approaching 90% capacity.
Life on Mars
Now this is a show I’m actually curious about, but just haven’t found the time to watch. I’ve seen some of the original British version and I didn’t love it (that’s why I haven’t finished watching it yet) but I’ve heard ok to very good things about this newer version. And I have seen Michael Imperioli’s moustache and it is quite something to behold. I’ll probably end up starting it over the next few weeks.
Not much too report on weekend TV viewing. I watch Saturday Night Live, which is usually good for a chuckle or two. It’s worth it mostly for the impersonations and Weekend Update (without the character interludes). I will miss Amy Poehler, and with the election over, I’m fearful that much of the funny is in the past. But we’ll see…
I gave up on SNL for awhile and Tina Fey brought me back, so I’ll stick around until it becomes too painful to even watch in the background. They surprised me with Jon Hamm (now I really can’t wait to see him on 30 Rock) so maybe they’ll surprise me again in the future.
South Park
I actually don’t even know when South Park airs because I have my DVR set to just record it whenever (in case they air older episodes that I missed), so I threw it in here to beef up this blog entry.
Actually, I don’t even have that much to write about it anyway. It’s usually a hit or miss show for me. Sometimes they are so perfectly topical with their satire and sometimes it starts with a joke that’s not funny, that becomes less funny as the episode goes along.
My Own Worst Enemy
I haven’t gotten around to watching any of this yet and I’m not sure that I ever will. It’s been cancelled and I haven’t really heard anything good about it, so I don’t know if it will be worth my time…and my DVR is approaching 90% capacity.
Life on Mars
Now this is a show I’m actually curious about, but just haven’t found the time to watch. I’ve seen some of the original British version and I didn’t love it (that’s why I haven’t finished watching it yet) but I’ve heard ok to very good things about this newer version. And I have seen Michael Imperioli’s moustache and it is quite something to behold. I’ll probably end up starting it over the next few weeks.
Monday, December 8, 2008
Thursday’s Must See TV Lineup
30 Rock
Definitely my favorite sitcom of the past few years, 30 Rock always manages to mix the zany with the witty perfectly.
I enjoyed the first season, especially after they found their footing after the first few episodes. However, the improvements in the second season, notably the development of Tracy and (especially) Jenna made it one of my can’t miss shows of the week. Alec Baldwin was the reason to watch the first season, and he still is a great reason to watch the show, but the ensemble as a whole has really come together since the first season and even on an off week, there’s something I’ll look back and laugh at.
Tina Fey was robbed of her Entertainer of the Year trophy by Entertainment Weekly. I like Robert Downey Jr. and I really liked both Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, but between her great SNL episode after the writers’ strike, everything with Sarah Palin, and what she has done with 30 Rock, no one entertained me more in 2008.
Incidentally, I also just watched Mean Girls a few weeks ago, so she gets credit for that in 2008 too. I was really, really surprised at how funny that movie was. I thought it would be good – I had heard all good things about it – but I was not expecting it to be that good. It was like a great 30 Rock episode without the bizarre asides and fantasy sequences (like Werewolf Bar Mitzvah, Mystic Pizza: The Musical, etc.). And Lindsay Lohan, well I guess there was a time when she could act. Maybe it was just the material.
I have been very much enjoying the third season on 30 Rock, and although I’ve read that some have found the stunt casting distracting, I really feel like it’s worked in every case. My least favorite ep of the season was the premiere, but that had less to do with Megan Mulally, and more to do with my expectations, I think. I thought the Oprah ep was hysterical (“Hellooooooo Liz Lemoooooooooon!”) and the Steve Martin ep too (“I miscounted the men!”)
This week’s ep might have been the best of the season though (with no huge guest stars…) when Liz goes to her high school reunion with a depressed Jack. Liz’s confession on the plane, Tina Fey’s perfect (multiple) line reading of “I want to go to there,” “Lemon out!” and Jack’s reaction to his “son” were particular stand-outs. I thought that the B story with Tracy and Jenna worked really well too.
It’s one show that I very rarely complain about, so that makes it all the more welcome in my TV week.
ER
I watch ER because I’ve watched since the beginning. It is very far from a great TV series right now, but sometimes they’ll sneak in a decent ep.
I haven’t watched at all this year, but I hope they manage to head out with some amount of dignity, but I’m really not holding my breath.
My Name is Earl
I’ve never been the biggest Earl fan. I like the show, but I don’t ever really need to watch. I love Jaime Pressly and I like Eddie Steeples too, but it’s always been a ‘meh’ show to me.
That said, I do think it is improved this year, since Earl is not stuck in jail or in a coma or married to Samantha Miceli (not that she was bad, but the story really didn’t work for me). It’s never been a show that makes me laugh the way that 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother or The Office has, but it does entertain.
The Office
I like The Office. Beginning with the last couple of episodes of the first season, I was hooked on The Office. I liked all the quirky characters and often laughed endlessly at the things Kelly said.
Lately though, I just hasn’t been great. I loved everything with Amy Ryan earlier this year, but she’s gone now and I miss her.
I hate Jim and Pam. They are dull and boring. Why did they send her to art school if she was just going to end up compromising at the end to come back to her dead end job? As much as having her out of the office wasn’t working, their way of bringing her back was just terrible. I like the Jim and Pam of the past and I saw a bit of that in this week’s ep, which was nice, but still…
I think my big problem is that they will never be Tim and Dawn. I know you can’t really compare them because the BBC Office had a much shorter run, but in that (perfect) finale, when Dawn came back and they kissed, you really felt like you earned that. There was a time that I wanted Jim and Pam together, but they’ve become like Ross and Rachel before them, an annoyance that I do my best to ignore.
Jim and Pam seemingly have a functional relationship now. (Well, except for him buying her a house – I mean, really, that’s romantic? That’s just stupid and he’s lucky she’s such a pushover.) Anyway, functional relationships rarely work, especially when they’re a couple that weren’t together, but you wanted them to get together. That’s why Tim and Dawn were so perfect – you didn’t have to see them together – you just see the kiss and the beginning of their relationship, where everything is perfect.
Another thing I hate is when Michael is too stupid. It’s fine when he’s awkward and saying inappropriate things, but when he’s driving into a lake because his GPS says so or he doesn’t understand what a surplus is, it not only questions his place in Dunder Miflin, it questions how he can tie his own shoes.
The large supporting cast is always fantastic though. Everything Creed says makes me laugh. Kelly and Angela and Andy and Phyllis and Daryl and Meredith – they all make the episodes worth watching. If only Jim and Pam (the couple, not the individuals) and stupid Michael could be excised from the show, it might be the show that I once really loved.
Supernatural
Supernatural was a good show in its first couple of seasons, but somewhere during season three and continuing into season four, it has become a great show, a show I never thought it could be.
It’s a rare show that only has two actors as its main cast, but Supernatural makes it work because the two guys they have are particularly capable to carry a show on their shoulders. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles have a great camaraderie on the show and do really come off as brothers onscreen.
The show can be funny, unsettling, upsetting and moving all in the same hour and it’s because of an excellent showrunner who seems to know what he wants to do with his show and also because of the two leads. Ackles, especially, is a much more talented actor than I gave him credit for in the first season. It’s unfortunate that awards shows like the Emmys ignore Supernatural, because he is worthy of competing with the best actors on TV. (But then again those award shows to tend to ignore stuff that’s in the horror/sci-fi genre, and it’s also on the CW, so that doubly damning.)
It’s a horror procedural that has an overarching mythology and story that drives it: it gets to have mystery of the week episodes, but also season and series-long arcs that captivate TV watchers like me.
It’s not quite up to Buffy or Angel-level adoration from me yet, but it is certainly a worthy successor.
Ugly Betty
When it’s good, Ugly Betty is funny, over-the-top and campy. When it’s bad, it’s boring, predictable and annoying. Unfortunately, good episodes and bad episodes lately seem to be split 50/50.
I know she’s the hero of the show, but I wish Betty didn’t have to be so perfect. The recent episode when she turned down an acceptance to an exclusive school because someone said that she might have been accepted because she is a minority drove me crazy. Whether or not it’s true, she got in, so wouldn’t it be best to try to prove the doubters wrong and show that you belong rather than martyring yourself?
Of course, the best characters on the show are the over-the-top ones like Wilhelmina, Marc, Amanda and Justin, while the ones I hardly ever want to see are Betty, Ignacio and Daniel because they are generally so dull.
It’s not as ridiculous as it used to be and that makes it less entertaining for me, which is a shame because I did actually enjoy it during its first year.
Definitely my favorite sitcom of the past few years, 30 Rock always manages to mix the zany with the witty perfectly.
I enjoyed the first season, especially after they found their footing after the first few episodes. However, the improvements in the second season, notably the development of Tracy and (especially) Jenna made it one of my can’t miss shows of the week. Alec Baldwin was the reason to watch the first season, and he still is a great reason to watch the show, but the ensemble as a whole has really come together since the first season and even on an off week, there’s something I’ll look back and laugh at.
Tina Fey was robbed of her Entertainer of the Year trophy by Entertainment Weekly. I like Robert Downey Jr. and I really liked both Iron Man and Tropic Thunder, but between her great SNL episode after the writers’ strike, everything with Sarah Palin, and what she has done with 30 Rock, no one entertained me more in 2008.
Incidentally, I also just watched Mean Girls a few weeks ago, so she gets credit for that in 2008 too. I was really, really surprised at how funny that movie was. I thought it would be good – I had heard all good things about it – but I was not expecting it to be that good. It was like a great 30 Rock episode without the bizarre asides and fantasy sequences (like Werewolf Bar Mitzvah, Mystic Pizza: The Musical, etc.). And Lindsay Lohan, well I guess there was a time when she could act. Maybe it was just the material.
I have been very much enjoying the third season on 30 Rock, and although I’ve read that some have found the stunt casting distracting, I really feel like it’s worked in every case. My least favorite ep of the season was the premiere, but that had less to do with Megan Mulally, and more to do with my expectations, I think. I thought the Oprah ep was hysterical (“Hellooooooo Liz Lemoooooooooon!”) and the Steve Martin ep too (“I miscounted the men!”)
This week’s ep might have been the best of the season though (with no huge guest stars…) when Liz goes to her high school reunion with a depressed Jack. Liz’s confession on the plane, Tina Fey’s perfect (multiple) line reading of “I want to go to there,” “Lemon out!” and Jack’s reaction to his “son” were particular stand-outs. I thought that the B story with Tracy and Jenna worked really well too.
It’s one show that I very rarely complain about, so that makes it all the more welcome in my TV week.
ER
I watch ER because I’ve watched since the beginning. It is very far from a great TV series right now, but sometimes they’ll sneak in a decent ep.
I haven’t watched at all this year, but I hope they manage to head out with some amount of dignity, but I’m really not holding my breath.
My Name is Earl
I’ve never been the biggest Earl fan. I like the show, but I don’t ever really need to watch. I love Jaime Pressly and I like Eddie Steeples too, but it’s always been a ‘meh’ show to me.
That said, I do think it is improved this year, since Earl is not stuck in jail or in a coma or married to Samantha Miceli (not that she was bad, but the story really didn’t work for me). It’s never been a show that makes me laugh the way that 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother or The Office has, but it does entertain.
The Office
I like The Office. Beginning with the last couple of episodes of the first season, I was hooked on The Office. I liked all the quirky characters and often laughed endlessly at the things Kelly said.
Lately though, I just hasn’t been great. I loved everything with Amy Ryan earlier this year, but she’s gone now and I miss her.
I hate Jim and Pam. They are dull and boring. Why did they send her to art school if she was just going to end up compromising at the end to come back to her dead end job? As much as having her out of the office wasn’t working, their way of bringing her back was just terrible. I like the Jim and Pam of the past and I saw a bit of that in this week’s ep, which was nice, but still…
I think my big problem is that they will never be Tim and Dawn. I know you can’t really compare them because the BBC Office had a much shorter run, but in that (perfect) finale, when Dawn came back and they kissed, you really felt like you earned that. There was a time that I wanted Jim and Pam together, but they’ve become like Ross and Rachel before them, an annoyance that I do my best to ignore.
Jim and Pam seemingly have a functional relationship now. (Well, except for him buying her a house – I mean, really, that’s romantic? That’s just stupid and he’s lucky she’s such a pushover.) Anyway, functional relationships rarely work, especially when they’re a couple that weren’t together, but you wanted them to get together. That’s why Tim and Dawn were so perfect – you didn’t have to see them together – you just see the kiss and the beginning of their relationship, where everything is perfect.
Another thing I hate is when Michael is too stupid. It’s fine when he’s awkward and saying inappropriate things, but when he’s driving into a lake because his GPS says so or he doesn’t understand what a surplus is, it not only questions his place in Dunder Miflin, it questions how he can tie his own shoes.
The large supporting cast is always fantastic though. Everything Creed says makes me laugh. Kelly and Angela and Andy and Phyllis and Daryl and Meredith – they all make the episodes worth watching. If only Jim and Pam (the couple, not the individuals) and stupid Michael could be excised from the show, it might be the show that I once really loved.
Supernatural
Supernatural was a good show in its first couple of seasons, but somewhere during season three and continuing into season four, it has become a great show, a show I never thought it could be.
It’s a rare show that only has two actors as its main cast, but Supernatural makes it work because the two guys they have are particularly capable to carry a show on their shoulders. Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles have a great camaraderie on the show and do really come off as brothers onscreen.
The show can be funny, unsettling, upsetting and moving all in the same hour and it’s because of an excellent showrunner who seems to know what he wants to do with his show and also because of the two leads. Ackles, especially, is a much more talented actor than I gave him credit for in the first season. It’s unfortunate that awards shows like the Emmys ignore Supernatural, because he is worthy of competing with the best actors on TV. (But then again those award shows to tend to ignore stuff that’s in the horror/sci-fi genre, and it’s also on the CW, so that doubly damning.)
It’s a horror procedural that has an overarching mythology and story that drives it: it gets to have mystery of the week episodes, but also season and series-long arcs that captivate TV watchers like me.
It’s not quite up to Buffy or Angel-level adoration from me yet, but it is certainly a worthy successor.
Ugly Betty
When it’s good, Ugly Betty is funny, over-the-top and campy. When it’s bad, it’s boring, predictable and annoying. Unfortunately, good episodes and bad episodes lately seem to be split 50/50.
I know she’s the hero of the show, but I wish Betty didn’t have to be so perfect. The recent episode when she turned down an acceptance to an exclusive school because someone said that she might have been accepted because she is a minority drove me crazy. Whether or not it’s true, she got in, so wouldn’t it be best to try to prove the doubters wrong and show that you belong rather than martyring yourself?
Of course, the best characters on the show are the over-the-top ones like Wilhelmina, Marc, Amanda and Justin, while the ones I hardly ever want to see are Betty, Ignacio and Daniel because they are generally so dull.
It’s not as ridiculous as it used to be and that makes it less entertaining for me, which is a shame because I did actually enjoy it during its first year.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Pushing Daisies and the rest of my Wednesday shows
Dirty Sexy Money
Not even bringing ratings into the discussion, Dirty Sexy Money was hurt a lot by the writers’ strike. This year it seems like a faded copy of what it was last year. It’s not fun and campy and witty anymore, but boring and predictable and annoying.
I don’t dislike it, but it’s just not as fun as it was last year. Everything with Nick and his wife is painful. Jeremy has gone from usually amusing to always irritating. I still like Brian, but I wish he was still a priest and was more antagonistic toward Nick. However, I don’t really mind his storyline with his wife and “Gustav.” They got rid of the best character on the show (Carmelita), and the main reason she was the best character is because she made Patrick interesting.
Well, I suppose it’s all a moo point now anyway (a cow’s opinion), because the show has been canned. At least we’ll (supposedly) finally find out who truly did murder Dutch. I hope it’s not Tripp; that seems too obvious. I do hope that it’s Simon, because while I do like Blair Underwood, Simon is too much with the smiles and the shiny chest and the irrational anger.
Interesting side note that I discovered a few weeks ago while watching: although I think that Peter Krause is a decent actor, I always hate the characters he plays. Casey on Sports Night, Nate on Six Feet Under and now Nick. I might start off liking him, but he quickly deteriorates into someone who I enjoy only when he’s failing.
Friday Night Lights
I’m not up-to-date on FNL – I’ve been trying to watch online because I don’t have DirectTV, but I really do not like watching TV shows on my computer. However, I have seen the first seven (I think) episodes and from what I’ve seen, it’s back to the FNL of season one.
That’s not to say season two was bad, but it wasn’t the near perfection that season one was. Everything with Coach and Tami is still fantastic. (It always has been.) Saracen is back to being Saracen. Less Landry on the football field and more of him being dorky, awkward Landry. I actually like Lyla, and I’ve never liked Lyla. The new kid on the Panthers is sympathetic and relatable – even though he’s competing against Saracen and I should really hate him, I don’t. Buddy Garrity is still Buddy Garrity and is always worth a few laughs per episode. Billy Riggins is actually becoming a character instead of a set piece. Smash’s exit was handled wonderfully, and Gaius Charles deserves to find a great job somewhere that will really showcase his abilities. I haven’t seen Jason Street’s last episode yet, but Scott Porter continues his believability and general excellence.
Of course, all the acting is above par. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton behave like they’re really married. Zach Gilford and Aimee Teegarden have the second best chemistry on the show (behind Chandler and Britton). Even when I don’t quite understand her character’s motives, Adrienne Palicki makes Tyra believable.
And it’s not just the main characters, Grandma Saracen, Herc, Buddy, Billy, Tyra’s mom and sister. I think I’m going to miss Smash’s mom more than I’m gonna miss him. Every single scene Liz Mikel was in was awesome, whether she was laughing, crying, yelling or lecturing.
It’s the show that brought tears to my eyes every week in its first year and I can’t wait until it’s rebroadcast on NBC so I can watch it (and tear up) all over again.
Pushing Daisies
I wrote a whole lot about Daisies yesterday, so in an effort not to repeat myself, I’m just going to say that the cast of this show has risen to Whedonesque proportions in my eyes, and I will follow them anywhere. So Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Kristin Chenoweth, Chi McBride, Ellen Greene and Swoozie Kurtz…I’m on you like I’m on Alyson Hannigan and Nathan Fillion.
Also, I think I will damn America one last time:
Damn you, you ungrateful TV watchers! I hope all your favorite shows are cancelled (as long as I don’t watch them too).
I still have ‘Eternal Flame’ stuck in my head. Blërg.
Sons of Anarchy
I am way behind on this show. It’s another one of those “pretty good” shows. Decently made and acted and entertaining enough, but not something I have to see every week or would miss if it was gone.
I really like both Charlie Hunnam and Katey Sagal; they’re the best reasons to watch. Having just (fairly) recently watched all of Undeclared on DVD, it’s pretty amusing to me that Lloyd and Jax are played by the same actor. (I know it’s been like 10 years since Undeclared, but still…) And Katey Sagal is always good, whether here, on The Shield, Eli Stone or Lost. She is Peggy Bundy no more.
When I was discussing the show with my brother a few weeks ago, he mentioned that every episode has that one moment. And he’s right – whether it’s burning off a tattoo or finding a creative space to hide guns, the show always gets you with that moment, and it’s almost worth watching just for that.
Not even bringing ratings into the discussion, Dirty Sexy Money was hurt a lot by the writers’ strike. This year it seems like a faded copy of what it was last year. It’s not fun and campy and witty anymore, but boring and predictable and annoying.
I don’t dislike it, but it’s just not as fun as it was last year. Everything with Nick and his wife is painful. Jeremy has gone from usually amusing to always irritating. I still like Brian, but I wish he was still a priest and was more antagonistic toward Nick. However, I don’t really mind his storyline with his wife and “Gustav.” They got rid of the best character on the show (Carmelita), and the main reason she was the best character is because she made Patrick interesting.
Well, I suppose it’s all a moo point now anyway (a cow’s opinion), because the show has been canned. At least we’ll (supposedly) finally find out who truly did murder Dutch. I hope it’s not Tripp; that seems too obvious. I do hope that it’s Simon, because while I do like Blair Underwood, Simon is too much with the smiles and the shiny chest and the irrational anger.
Interesting side note that I discovered a few weeks ago while watching: although I think that Peter Krause is a decent actor, I always hate the characters he plays. Casey on Sports Night, Nate on Six Feet Under and now Nick. I might start off liking him, but he quickly deteriorates into someone who I enjoy only when he’s failing.
Friday Night Lights
I’m not up-to-date on FNL – I’ve been trying to watch online because I don’t have DirectTV, but I really do not like watching TV shows on my computer. However, I have seen the first seven (I think) episodes and from what I’ve seen, it’s back to the FNL of season one.
That’s not to say season two was bad, but it wasn’t the near perfection that season one was. Everything with Coach and Tami is still fantastic. (It always has been.) Saracen is back to being Saracen. Less Landry on the football field and more of him being dorky, awkward Landry. I actually like Lyla, and I’ve never liked Lyla. The new kid on the Panthers is sympathetic and relatable – even though he’s competing against Saracen and I should really hate him, I don’t. Buddy Garrity is still Buddy Garrity and is always worth a few laughs per episode. Billy Riggins is actually becoming a character instead of a set piece. Smash’s exit was handled wonderfully, and Gaius Charles deserves to find a great job somewhere that will really showcase his abilities. I haven’t seen Jason Street’s last episode yet, but Scott Porter continues his believability and general excellence.
Of course, all the acting is above par. Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton behave like they’re really married. Zach Gilford and Aimee Teegarden have the second best chemistry on the show (behind Chandler and Britton). Even when I don’t quite understand her character’s motives, Adrienne Palicki makes Tyra believable.
And it’s not just the main characters, Grandma Saracen, Herc, Buddy, Billy, Tyra’s mom and sister. I think I’m going to miss Smash’s mom more than I’m gonna miss him. Every single scene Liz Mikel was in was awesome, whether she was laughing, crying, yelling or lecturing.
It’s the show that brought tears to my eyes every week in its first year and I can’t wait until it’s rebroadcast on NBC so I can watch it (and tear up) all over again.
Pushing Daisies
I wrote a whole lot about Daisies yesterday, so in an effort not to repeat myself, I’m just going to say that the cast of this show has risen to Whedonesque proportions in my eyes, and I will follow them anywhere. So Lee Pace, Anna Friel, Kristin Chenoweth, Chi McBride, Ellen Greene and Swoozie Kurtz…I’m on you like I’m on Alyson Hannigan and Nathan Fillion.
Also, I think I will damn America one last time:
Damn you, you ungrateful TV watchers! I hope all your favorite shows are cancelled (as long as I don’t watch them too).
I still have ‘Eternal Flame’ stuck in my head. Blërg.
Sons of Anarchy
I am way behind on this show. It’s another one of those “pretty good” shows. Decently made and acted and entertaining enough, but not something I have to see every week or would miss if it was gone.
I really like both Charlie Hunnam and Katey Sagal; they’re the best reasons to watch. Having just (fairly) recently watched all of Undeclared on DVD, it’s pretty amusing to me that Lloyd and Jax are played by the same actor. (I know it’s been like 10 years since Undeclared, but still…) And Katey Sagal is always good, whether here, on The Shield, Eli Stone or Lost. She is Peggy Bundy no more.
When I was discussing the show with my brother a few weeks ago, he mentioned that every episode has that one moment. And he’s right – whether it’s burning off a tattoo or finding a creative space to hide guns, the show always gets you with that moment, and it’s almost worth watching just for that.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Tuesday Night Highlights
90210
It’s really not very good. I wouldn’t miss it if it went the way of Pushing Daisies (blërg). The lead girl is all teeth, shininess and irritation. The “hot popular girl” is not hot and looks as old as Andrea Zuckerman did when the original premiered. Her “jock” on-again, off-again is doofy and dull. The “cool teacher” makes me wonder if such humans like him exist in the real world. The new James Eckhouse/Carol Potter combo pale in comparison. (They actually kinda make Mr. & Mrs. Walsh look cool.) The token minority looks a bit ethnic, but I only know that he’s Persian because he repeated it about 200 times in one episode.
Here are the nice things I can say: I laugh when they reference the original. Jennie Garth looks great. Shannen Doherty can still play Brenda effectively. Silver, the “weird” girl is played by a capable actress and is a likable character. Dixon, the Brandon character, is played by Tristan Wilds who was absolutely fantastic on The Wire and hopefully this show will get his career moving. (He’s good, but his character is worse than Brandon.) And Jessica Walter plays Lucille Bluth.
Here are my suggestions to fix:
1. Focus more on Silver and Dixon.
2. Have Jennie Garth get caught in a fire and freakout while flashing back to the original series causing her to head back to drugs. Maybe she can show up to work one day high?
3. Fire Rob Estes and hire Mrs. Teasley as the principal.
4. Get Liza Minelli to cameo and have her get into a catfight with Jessica Walter (a la Sidney and Jane on Melrose Place.)
Eli Stone
Here’s another show that I have to damn America for. I don’t love Eli as much as I love Pushing Daisies, but I do have plenty of love for it.
Another original show whose match you will not find on TV, Eli Stone is quirky, funny, heart-warming, touching, and well-made and it further depresses me that it won’t be around much longer.
Jonny Lee Miller is perfect as Eli. Victor Garber, who was great on Alias even when Alias wasn’t, is fantastic. He’s my favorite part of the show. Julie Gonzalo has grown on me since last year and I really do like Maggie now. Natasha Henstridge, Sam Jaeger and Matt Letscher, all of whom I have actively disliked in other stuff before, are all wonderful. Loretta Devine makes me laugh every week. I have to say that my favorite parts of the show are the musical interludes, especially when Jordan and/or Patti are singing.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it when it premiered last season, but I gave it a shot (as I do most shows) and was pleasantly surprised at how much I truly did like it. It’s just depressing that more people didn’t find this great show, which has been really finding itself this year. Looking into the real meaning behind Eli’s place in his world: why he’s getting these visions, what they mean, the good and bad he can do with them.
It’s hard to write about this show more without going into the immature rating place in my head. (Though what is this blog for if not free therapy?) But I’m sure I’ll be writing more about Eli in the future as he slowly disappears off of the television horizon to be soon enjoyed and lamented on DVD.
Fringe
This show is thus far my big disappointment of the new TV season. Outside of maybe 2 episodes, it has been painfully generic and dull and more than once, I’ve found myself falling asleep on it.
Its biggest problem: it wastes Lance Reddick. He has nothing to do but listen to Olivia as glance at her disapprovingly. Now and then he’ll have a line or two of exposition, but then he disappears into the ethers (or maybe The Pattern…) Why bother hiring him and Kirk Acevedo (who I have also seen do excellent work on other shows) when they essentially could make their two characters into one? Having seen Reddick be awesome on The Wire and on Lost, I just don’t quite understand what he’s doing on this show.
Another problem: After J.J. Abrams essentially started the careers of Keri Russell, Jennifer Garner and Evangeline Lilly, I was expecting so much more from Anna Torv. Instead I get the same line reading almost every time, the inability to make any facial expressions outside of disbelief, confusion and incredulity, and an incredibly dull character (not her fault, I know) that I would not miss if she suddenly disappeared into The Pattern.
What do I like? I like Joshua Jackson. I like John Noble. I like them together – that’s one thing the show has done very right. I like the 3-D location designators. I like the high production values – everything looks great.
It definitely has potential, and the one really good episode (the one where the parasite attached itself to the traitorous dude’s heart) was what I think the show should be. Unfortunately, it usually isn’t.
The Mentalist
One of the generic procedurals that I watch, The Mentalist isn’t great, but it’s entertaining and I can appreciate that.
I did like it better for the first few weeks, but that’s probably because I have gotten so used to the structure of an episode. You can usually guess the culprit before the first act is over (in the case of last week’s, I guessed about 60 seconds into the ep), but Simon Baker is the real reason to watch, and every episode he definitely keeps me amused.
The other thing I like about The Mentalist: I don’t hate Robin Tunney like I did when she was on Prison Break. She’s still a bit dull, but she works really well with Baker and actually has chemistry with him, which has to be more him than her.
The rest of the crew is ok. The Asian guy. The young girl learning on the job. The guy who’s been on a billion different shows and finally has found a hit (Owain Yeoman). Not great, not bad – the kind of backgrounders you’d expect to find on a show like this.
But Simon Baker is good, so until I tire of his antics, I’ll keep tuning in.
It’s really not very good. I wouldn’t miss it if it went the way of Pushing Daisies (blërg). The lead girl is all teeth, shininess and irritation. The “hot popular girl” is not hot and looks as old as Andrea Zuckerman did when the original premiered. Her “jock” on-again, off-again is doofy and dull. The “cool teacher” makes me wonder if such humans like him exist in the real world. The new James Eckhouse/Carol Potter combo pale in comparison. (They actually kinda make Mr. & Mrs. Walsh look cool.) The token minority looks a bit ethnic, but I only know that he’s Persian because he repeated it about 200 times in one episode.
Here are the nice things I can say: I laugh when they reference the original. Jennie Garth looks great. Shannen Doherty can still play Brenda effectively. Silver, the “weird” girl is played by a capable actress and is a likable character. Dixon, the Brandon character, is played by Tristan Wilds who was absolutely fantastic on The Wire and hopefully this show will get his career moving. (He’s good, but his character is worse than Brandon.) And Jessica Walter plays Lucille Bluth.
Here are my suggestions to fix:
1. Focus more on Silver and Dixon.
2. Have Jennie Garth get caught in a fire and freakout while flashing back to the original series causing her to head back to drugs. Maybe she can show up to work one day high?
3. Fire Rob Estes and hire Mrs. Teasley as the principal.
4. Get Liza Minelli to cameo and have her get into a catfight with Jessica Walter (a la Sidney and Jane on Melrose Place.)
Eli Stone
Here’s another show that I have to damn America for. I don’t love Eli as much as I love Pushing Daisies, but I do have plenty of love for it.
Another original show whose match you will not find on TV, Eli Stone is quirky, funny, heart-warming, touching, and well-made and it further depresses me that it won’t be around much longer.
Jonny Lee Miller is perfect as Eli. Victor Garber, who was great on Alias even when Alias wasn’t, is fantastic. He’s my favorite part of the show. Julie Gonzalo has grown on me since last year and I really do like Maggie now. Natasha Henstridge, Sam Jaeger and Matt Letscher, all of whom I have actively disliked in other stuff before, are all wonderful. Loretta Devine makes me laugh every week. I have to say that my favorite parts of the show are the musical interludes, especially when Jordan and/or Patti are singing.
Honestly, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like it when it premiered last season, but I gave it a shot (as I do most shows) and was pleasantly surprised at how much I truly did like it. It’s just depressing that more people didn’t find this great show, which has been really finding itself this year. Looking into the real meaning behind Eli’s place in his world: why he’s getting these visions, what they mean, the good and bad he can do with them.
It’s hard to write about this show more without going into the immature rating place in my head. (Though what is this blog for if not free therapy?) But I’m sure I’ll be writing more about Eli in the future as he slowly disappears off of the television horizon to be soon enjoyed and lamented on DVD.
Fringe
This show is thus far my big disappointment of the new TV season. Outside of maybe 2 episodes, it has been painfully generic and dull and more than once, I’ve found myself falling asleep on it.
Its biggest problem: it wastes Lance Reddick. He has nothing to do but listen to Olivia as glance at her disapprovingly. Now and then he’ll have a line or two of exposition, but then he disappears into the ethers (or maybe The Pattern…) Why bother hiring him and Kirk Acevedo (who I have also seen do excellent work on other shows) when they essentially could make their two characters into one? Having seen Reddick be awesome on The Wire and on Lost, I just don’t quite understand what he’s doing on this show.
Another problem: After J.J. Abrams essentially started the careers of Keri Russell, Jennifer Garner and Evangeline Lilly, I was expecting so much more from Anna Torv. Instead I get the same line reading almost every time, the inability to make any facial expressions outside of disbelief, confusion and incredulity, and an incredibly dull character (not her fault, I know) that I would not miss if she suddenly disappeared into The Pattern.
What do I like? I like Joshua Jackson. I like John Noble. I like them together – that’s one thing the show has done very right. I like the 3-D location designators. I like the high production values – everything looks great.
It definitely has potential, and the one really good episode (the one where the parasite attached itself to the traitorous dude’s heart) was what I think the show should be. Unfortunately, it usually isn’t.
The Mentalist
One of the generic procedurals that I watch, The Mentalist isn’t great, but it’s entertaining and I can appreciate that.
I did like it better for the first few weeks, but that’s probably because I have gotten so used to the structure of an episode. You can usually guess the culprit before the first act is over (in the case of last week’s, I guessed about 60 seconds into the ep), but Simon Baker is the real reason to watch, and every episode he definitely keeps me amused.
The other thing I like about The Mentalist: I don’t hate Robin Tunney like I did when she was on Prison Break. She’s still a bit dull, but she works really well with Baker and actually has chemistry with him, which has to be more him than her.
The rest of the crew is ok. The Asian guy. The young girl learning on the job. The guy who’s been on a billion different shows and finally has found a hit (Owain Yeoman). Not great, not bad – the kind of backgrounders you’d expect to find on a show like this.
But Simon Baker is good, so until I tire of his antics, I’ll keep tuning in.
My perfect comfort food
I’ll start with the good and then I’m gonna rant.
Last night’s near perfect episode of Pushing Daisies was titled ‘Comfort Food,’ and honestly there is no better way to describe this show for me: it is the absolute best way to lighten my spirits if I’m in a bad mood and even when it almost makes me cry, it still makes me smile. To borrow a phrase from ‘Comfort Food,’ after the series finale of this show, I am going to need an emotional snow day or two.
I have loved this show from the very first episode and I can’t tell you how much I will miss it when it is gone. I know I’ll eventually have all the episodes to rewatch on DVD (and I will), but knowing that we are just over a month away (if the episodes are aired over the next five weeks) from seeing the Piemaker, Lonely Tourist Charlotte Charles, Olive Snook, Emerson Cod, Digby, Pigby and the Darling Mermaid Darlings makes me very, very sad.
Having seen all eight episodes thus far of this fantastic second season, I can already name three of the eight that could vie for the title of my favorite hour of this television season: The one where they all go to the convent to get Olive to return home (Father Dowling and Sister Christian; “we’re motoring”); The one from two weeks ago with Fred Willard and the magic show (especially that scene with Ned and Chuck outside Lily and Vivian’s house); and this week’s installment.
Everything worked for me this week, from Chuck and Emerson trying to cover up her accidental murder to Olive pining after Ned through song (I’ve already watched that scene at least 5 times, much like I did after the season 1 episode when she sang “Hopelessly Devoted to You”). I had heard about Maryann Marie Beetle showing up to reprise her role from Wonderfalls and she was as great as I remembered – everything with her and Olive was fantastic. And seeing Jimmy Barrett pop up as the Waffle Nazi (he speaks English vit a German accent!) was amusing as well. Other highlights: “finger-licking donut holes;” Lily with a gun, and especially her dream; “See, that’s the kind of body language you never hear with pay help.” (Emerson to Chuck); “Are we weird now because I did it with your dad?” (Ned to Chuck); Ned and Olive’s outfits, and every contestant’s wonderfully ornate hats; Ned and Chuck’s creative spooning device; Ned showing up at Lily and Vivian’s without pie and Vivian’s “It comes in a box you know.”
I feel like I could do this with every week of Pushing Daisies and I would still leave things off the list. Even the episodes that are not my favorite, like last week’s, has things like Olive doing a Zsa Zsa Gabor impression with Pigby on a leash. (That’s not to say that I disliked last week, I just think I was mostly preoccupied with the show’s cancellation.)
…which brings me to my childlike rant:
I just don’t understand and it’s not fair. How can people watch absolute drivel like Dancing with the Stars and Deal or No Deal and Criminal Minds and Two and a Half Men and Grey’s Anatomy and fucking Knight Rider for fuck’s sake????? Honestly, America, how can only 5 million people per week watch Pushing Daisies? Why do we need another crime procedural or crappy reality show or idiotic, sophomoric sitcom in the top 20?
I have heard from people that say they’ve tried the show and it wasn’t for them and I appreciate that, but also do not understand. Is Ned bringing people back from the dead any more macabre than the seeing dead bodies on CSI? Is it any different than dying patients expressing their last wishes on Grey’s Anatomy or ER? Early on, I heard complaints about the narration, which to be honest, I don’t even notice, since I didn’t even list the wonderful Jim Dale as one of the things I will miss most about this show (and I will). Is he any different than reading a book with an omniscient narrator? And honestly, what is Daisies if not a colorful pop-up fairy tale book? Is there any love story on TV right now more compelling than Ned and Chuck’s? (NO.) Or an unrequited love story more compelling than Olive and Ned’s? (NO.) The mysteries of the week may sometimes be a little obvious, but watching the characters puzzle them out makes them always worthwhile.
So because America is close-minded and stupid, me and my 5 million Daisies loyalists are screwed out of our weekly comfort food. I know I’m oversimplifying and being immature because I’m losing one of the most innovative shows I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch, but I really don’t care because I’m upset and it isn’t fair.
There are too few unique shows on TV and Pushing Daisies is one of them. And it’s not just unique now; I don’t know of any other show at any other time that was quite like it.
I wish I could blame ABC more, but when all is said and done, I’ll have a full 22 episodes to watch over and over. I blame you, America, and your lack of imagination and willingness to accept something new. A pox on all your houses! (Except those 5 million few.)
Last night’s near perfect episode of Pushing Daisies was titled ‘Comfort Food,’ and honestly there is no better way to describe this show for me: it is the absolute best way to lighten my spirits if I’m in a bad mood and even when it almost makes me cry, it still makes me smile. To borrow a phrase from ‘Comfort Food,’ after the series finale of this show, I am going to need an emotional snow day or two.
I have loved this show from the very first episode and I can’t tell you how much I will miss it when it is gone. I know I’ll eventually have all the episodes to rewatch on DVD (and I will), but knowing that we are just over a month away (if the episodes are aired over the next five weeks) from seeing the Piemaker, Lonely Tourist Charlotte Charles, Olive Snook, Emerson Cod, Digby, Pigby and the Darling Mermaid Darlings makes me very, very sad.
Having seen all eight episodes thus far of this fantastic second season, I can already name three of the eight that could vie for the title of my favorite hour of this television season: The one where they all go to the convent to get Olive to return home (Father Dowling and Sister Christian; “we’re motoring”); The one from two weeks ago with Fred Willard and the magic show (especially that scene with Ned and Chuck outside Lily and Vivian’s house); and this week’s installment.
Everything worked for me this week, from Chuck and Emerson trying to cover up her accidental murder to Olive pining after Ned through song (I’ve already watched that scene at least 5 times, much like I did after the season 1 episode when she sang “Hopelessly Devoted to You”). I had heard about Maryann Marie Beetle showing up to reprise her role from Wonderfalls and she was as great as I remembered – everything with her and Olive was fantastic. And seeing Jimmy Barrett pop up as the Waffle Nazi (he speaks English vit a German accent!) was amusing as well. Other highlights: “finger-licking donut holes;” Lily with a gun, and especially her dream; “See, that’s the kind of body language you never hear with pay help.” (Emerson to Chuck); “Are we weird now because I did it with your dad?” (Ned to Chuck); Ned and Olive’s outfits, and every contestant’s wonderfully ornate hats; Ned and Chuck’s creative spooning device; Ned showing up at Lily and Vivian’s without pie and Vivian’s “It comes in a box you know.”
I feel like I could do this with every week of Pushing Daisies and I would still leave things off the list. Even the episodes that are not my favorite, like last week’s, has things like Olive doing a Zsa Zsa Gabor impression with Pigby on a leash. (That’s not to say that I disliked last week, I just think I was mostly preoccupied with the show’s cancellation.)
…which brings me to my childlike rant:
I just don’t understand and it’s not fair. How can people watch absolute drivel like Dancing with the Stars and Deal or No Deal and Criminal Minds and Two and a Half Men and Grey’s Anatomy and fucking Knight Rider for fuck’s sake????? Honestly, America, how can only 5 million people per week watch Pushing Daisies? Why do we need another crime procedural or crappy reality show or idiotic, sophomoric sitcom in the top 20?
I have heard from people that say they’ve tried the show and it wasn’t for them and I appreciate that, but also do not understand. Is Ned bringing people back from the dead any more macabre than the seeing dead bodies on CSI? Is it any different than dying patients expressing their last wishes on Grey’s Anatomy or ER? Early on, I heard complaints about the narration, which to be honest, I don’t even notice, since I didn’t even list the wonderful Jim Dale as one of the things I will miss most about this show (and I will). Is he any different than reading a book with an omniscient narrator? And honestly, what is Daisies if not a colorful pop-up fairy tale book? Is there any love story on TV right now more compelling than Ned and Chuck’s? (NO.) Or an unrequited love story more compelling than Olive and Ned’s? (NO.) The mysteries of the week may sometimes be a little obvious, but watching the characters puzzle them out makes them always worthwhile.
So because America is close-minded and stupid, me and my 5 million Daisies loyalists are screwed out of our weekly comfort food. I know I’m oversimplifying and being immature because I’m losing one of the most innovative shows I’ve ever had the pleasure to watch, but I really don’t care because I’m upset and it isn’t fair.
There are too few unique shows on TV and Pushing Daisies is one of them. And it’s not just unique now; I don’t know of any other show at any other time that was quite like it.
I wish I could blame ABC more, but when all is said and done, I’ll have a full 22 episodes to watch over and over. I blame you, America, and your lack of imagination and willingness to accept something new. A pox on all your houses! (Except those 5 million few.)
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Monday, Monday
Monday is another busy day for my DVR.
I’ll start with The Daily Show & The Colbert Report, which I watch every weekday when they are new.
Not really too much to say about these two. The rarely disappoint in giving me at least one big laugh per episode, especially during the past election.
I know a lot of people joke that they watch The Daily Show for their news, but I say without a trace of irony that I watch The Daily Show for my news. Sure, I’ll read Newsday everyday (Newsday everyday!) but in addition to being an unapologetic Mets (sigh) fan, Jon Stewart is also my Chuck Scarborough/Sue Simmons.
As for Stephen Colbert, I think I slightly prefer the Report to The Daily Show most days just because Colbert plays the crazy so well. My favorite shows of his are ones where he interviews people that have not seen his show before or were not properly briefed as to what to expect. I also enjoy the ones that are all too familiar with Colbert’s shtick and play along really well, just not as much.
Chuck
I liked Chuck a lot last year: it was funny, well-acted, charming, featured Adam Baldwin, had a character named Captain Awesome. It was a good hour spent where you could turn off your brain and enjoy.
This year though, Chuck has really been a show that I look forward too and can’t miss. Zachary Levi is a likable lead, a goofy nerd that I find it easy to identify with. He plays the character exactly right, and if I ever had anything to complain about, it wouldn’t be with him.
Something I can always appreciate in a show is one that knows what it is and plays to that. Going into Chuck, you obviously have to suspend disbelief and the people behind Chuck know that, which I appreciate. One instance I can specifically think of is during the Thanksgiving episode last week, Chuck learns that his ex is a spy for the bad guys. Like much of the viewing public was thinking, Chuck expresses his incredulity and says something to the effect of “Who in my life isn’t a spy? My sister? Morgan? When I meet new people should I ask them if they’re a spy?” And then he has some line about ordering an extra value meal and asking the cashier if they have a membership to an evil organization. You’re laughing and agreeing with Chuck that you don’t really think about the ridiculousness of it all because you’re being entertained. There are many shows that could learn from Chuck, one of which just happens to follow Chuck at 9pm on NBC.
Something else that has been a vast improvement this season has been how the show has used Morgan and Ellie. Ellie never really bothered me last season, and without her there would be no Captain Awesome, so for that I was happy with her. But this year, she has been a much larger part of the show and I appreciate her relationship with Chuck that much more. I did not like Morgan at all last year, especially in the first few episodes. He grew on me, but was mostly an irritation. I’m glad that the show found a way to make his story, and the story of Buymoria an entertaining part of the show, rather than just an irritating distraction. Even before Buster Bluth arrived and made the Buy More crew that much more entertaining, I was glad to see Morgan, Lester, Big Mike and Jeff every week. But I miss Anna Wu – I hope she comes back soon.
The height of Chuck’s greatness this year came in the episode with Nicole Ritchie (who, actually, was pretty good). Seeing bits of Sarah’s (real) past, Casey as a DJ, Ben Savage thinking that Charles Carmichael was his savior and not Casey – all of this just made up an awesome, entertaining episode (and homage to Grosse Pointe Blank – a truly underrated movie).
Heroes
Oh Heroes, the very opposite of Chuck: too self-important, too crowded, too full of bad actors. I know it’s easy to jump on the “Heroes Sucks!” train, but if I’m not the conductor of that train, I’m at the very least a ticket-taker.
During the first season of Heroes, I thought it was ok – I didn’t really get the hype and thus I became incensed week-by-week as fans of the show kept proclaiming it “The Greatest Show EVER!!!” or (even worse) “the new Lost.” To me, save for an episode or two, it has never been a good show, so its “descent” into terribleness this season hasn’t really affected me: I really don’t think it’s changed that much. It’s not new and shiny anymore, but the characters have always made stupid decisions, the show only employs maybe 5 good actors, the plot holes are obvious and irritatingly prevalent – it’s just not a good show.
Honestly, I really could go on forever about how much I don’t like Heroes (starting with a certain character of pretentious voiceovers), but there’s not much of a point in me wasting my time; I’m preaching to the choir now, anyway.
…alright one last thing: I do hope that after Heroes eventually dies that that hack Tim Kring never gets a job again.
How I Met Your Mother
Now here is an example of a show that has gotten better with age. I liked it in its first season, and found it entertaining enough (thanks NPH!), but I think it has really come into its own the past two seasons. I think it’s mostly due to the cast seeming very comfortable together and effortlessly behaving like real friends.
Neil Patrick Harris has always been the best part of this show, and he still is. Barney is just awe…wait for it...some. (That reads cheesier that it did in my head.) Alyson Hanigan has always been a favorite of mine and after needing a few episodes at the beginning of the show to find her delivery and timing, she has become my second favorite cast member. Jason Segel can fluctuate between too much and not enough, but that’s more his character than him. Josh Radnor is probably my least favorite of the bunch, but he’s no Ross. It’s not necessarily Radnor’s fault; I just don’t always like Ted. Cobie Smulders, who I really, really did not like in the first season has risen the most in my estimation and I laugh at her more than I ever thought I would.
It’s nice when shows actually get better with age, and that’s how I feel about How I Met Your Mother. It’s not always laugh-out-loud funny (but often enough, it is), but it is a very clever and witty sitcom that does not deserve the (somewhat muted) laugh track that plays behind it. (I could go on about how much I HATE laugh tracks, but I’ll put that on the backburner for another blog post.)
Samantha Who?
Here’s another sitcom, like HIMYM, with a very strong cast that I like the more I see of it. It’s not my favorite, but it has no laugh track (big plus!) and I there’s no episode that I can recall that I really disliked.
Like I said, the whole cast is great, but the one standout is Jennifer Esposito. This might have to do with the fact that before Samantha Who? I had previously seen her in Rescue Me and she was annoying and not good at all. (But she might have been victim of Rescue Me in general being annoying and not good at all in its last season.) Whatever the reason, she is very suited to her role here, and plays off everyone (especially Melissa McCarthy) really well. She’s one of those actors that I had heard was really fantastic, but I was always ‘meh’ on. Now I see it though. She should stick to sitcoms.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Sarah Connor is a show I like, but like Heroes, I think it takes itself a little too seriously. It’s a good show, but it’s not as good at it seems to think it is.
Lena Headey is good. Thomas Dekker is good (much better than he was in the first season). Richard T. Jones is a good actor, but almost wasted on this show because it seems like they don’t always know what to do with him. I like Dean Winters, but I’m glad he hasn’t shown up in awhile. (Maybe he’s preparing a return as Beeper King Dennis Duffy?!?) Shirley Manson is odd – I’m not sure if I like her or not. Garret Dillahunt was (is?) pretty good. The blond girl (Levin Rambin?) can be a bit annoying, but I do think that she and Dekker have good chemistry. Summer Glau is fantastic, but the writers have inconsistently played around with Cameron’s character too much. And last but not least, Brian Austin Green is shockingly great. Every week, I find it harder and harder to believe that I’m watching David Silver.
I often feel there’s just something missing from the show – something small, but if it was fixed they could really pop out some great episodes. I don’t know what it is, but for example, that episode where it was told from a bunch of different perspectives and ended with them defeating Cromartie, seemed like it was almost great, but it just wasn’t.
They have to stop sending people back in time though. It’s getting to be too much and it hurts my brain when I watch.
I’ll start with The Daily Show & The Colbert Report, which I watch every weekday when they are new.
Not really too much to say about these two. The rarely disappoint in giving me at least one big laugh per episode, especially during the past election.
I know a lot of people joke that they watch The Daily Show for their news, but I say without a trace of irony that I watch The Daily Show for my news. Sure, I’ll read Newsday everyday (Newsday everyday!) but in addition to being an unapologetic Mets (sigh) fan, Jon Stewart is also my Chuck Scarborough/Sue Simmons.
As for Stephen Colbert, I think I slightly prefer the Report to The Daily Show most days just because Colbert plays the crazy so well. My favorite shows of his are ones where he interviews people that have not seen his show before or were not properly briefed as to what to expect. I also enjoy the ones that are all too familiar with Colbert’s shtick and play along really well, just not as much.
Chuck
I liked Chuck a lot last year: it was funny, well-acted, charming, featured Adam Baldwin, had a character named Captain Awesome. It was a good hour spent where you could turn off your brain and enjoy.
This year though, Chuck has really been a show that I look forward too and can’t miss. Zachary Levi is a likable lead, a goofy nerd that I find it easy to identify with. He plays the character exactly right, and if I ever had anything to complain about, it wouldn’t be with him.
Something I can always appreciate in a show is one that knows what it is and plays to that. Going into Chuck, you obviously have to suspend disbelief and the people behind Chuck know that, which I appreciate. One instance I can specifically think of is during the Thanksgiving episode last week, Chuck learns that his ex is a spy for the bad guys. Like much of the viewing public was thinking, Chuck expresses his incredulity and says something to the effect of “Who in my life isn’t a spy? My sister? Morgan? When I meet new people should I ask them if they’re a spy?” And then he has some line about ordering an extra value meal and asking the cashier if they have a membership to an evil organization. You’re laughing and agreeing with Chuck that you don’t really think about the ridiculousness of it all because you’re being entertained. There are many shows that could learn from Chuck, one of which just happens to follow Chuck at 9pm on NBC.
Something else that has been a vast improvement this season has been how the show has used Morgan and Ellie. Ellie never really bothered me last season, and without her there would be no Captain Awesome, so for that I was happy with her. But this year, she has been a much larger part of the show and I appreciate her relationship with Chuck that much more. I did not like Morgan at all last year, especially in the first few episodes. He grew on me, but was mostly an irritation. I’m glad that the show found a way to make his story, and the story of Buymoria an entertaining part of the show, rather than just an irritating distraction. Even before Buster Bluth arrived and made the Buy More crew that much more entertaining, I was glad to see Morgan, Lester, Big Mike and Jeff every week. But I miss Anna Wu – I hope she comes back soon.
The height of Chuck’s greatness this year came in the episode with Nicole Ritchie (who, actually, was pretty good). Seeing bits of Sarah’s (real) past, Casey as a DJ, Ben Savage thinking that Charles Carmichael was his savior and not Casey – all of this just made up an awesome, entertaining episode (and homage to Grosse Pointe Blank – a truly underrated movie).
Heroes
Oh Heroes, the very opposite of Chuck: too self-important, too crowded, too full of bad actors. I know it’s easy to jump on the “Heroes Sucks!” train, but if I’m not the conductor of that train, I’m at the very least a ticket-taker.
During the first season of Heroes, I thought it was ok – I didn’t really get the hype and thus I became incensed week-by-week as fans of the show kept proclaiming it “The Greatest Show EVER!!!” or (even worse) “the new Lost.” To me, save for an episode or two, it has never been a good show, so its “descent” into terribleness this season hasn’t really affected me: I really don’t think it’s changed that much. It’s not new and shiny anymore, but the characters have always made stupid decisions, the show only employs maybe 5 good actors, the plot holes are obvious and irritatingly prevalent – it’s just not a good show.
Honestly, I really could go on forever about how much I don’t like Heroes (starting with a certain character of pretentious voiceovers), but there’s not much of a point in me wasting my time; I’m preaching to the choir now, anyway.
…alright one last thing: I do hope that after Heroes eventually dies that that hack Tim Kring never gets a job again.
How I Met Your Mother
Now here is an example of a show that has gotten better with age. I liked it in its first season, and found it entertaining enough (thanks NPH!), but I think it has really come into its own the past two seasons. I think it’s mostly due to the cast seeming very comfortable together and effortlessly behaving like real friends.
Neil Patrick Harris has always been the best part of this show, and he still is. Barney is just awe…wait for it...some. (That reads cheesier that it did in my head.) Alyson Hanigan has always been a favorite of mine and after needing a few episodes at the beginning of the show to find her delivery and timing, she has become my second favorite cast member. Jason Segel can fluctuate between too much and not enough, but that’s more his character than him. Josh Radnor is probably my least favorite of the bunch, but he’s no Ross. It’s not necessarily Radnor’s fault; I just don’t always like Ted. Cobie Smulders, who I really, really did not like in the first season has risen the most in my estimation and I laugh at her more than I ever thought I would.
It’s nice when shows actually get better with age, and that’s how I feel about How I Met Your Mother. It’s not always laugh-out-loud funny (but often enough, it is), but it is a very clever and witty sitcom that does not deserve the (somewhat muted) laugh track that plays behind it. (I could go on about how much I HATE laugh tracks, but I’ll put that on the backburner for another blog post.)
Samantha Who?
Here’s another sitcom, like HIMYM, with a very strong cast that I like the more I see of it. It’s not my favorite, but it has no laugh track (big plus!) and I there’s no episode that I can recall that I really disliked.
Like I said, the whole cast is great, but the one standout is Jennifer Esposito. This might have to do with the fact that before Samantha Who? I had previously seen her in Rescue Me and she was annoying and not good at all. (But she might have been victim of Rescue Me in general being annoying and not good at all in its last season.) Whatever the reason, she is very suited to her role here, and plays off everyone (especially Melissa McCarthy) really well. She’s one of those actors that I had heard was really fantastic, but I was always ‘meh’ on. Now I see it though. She should stick to sitcoms.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
Sarah Connor is a show I like, but like Heroes, I think it takes itself a little too seriously. It’s a good show, but it’s not as good at it seems to think it is.
Lena Headey is good. Thomas Dekker is good (much better than he was in the first season). Richard T. Jones is a good actor, but almost wasted on this show because it seems like they don’t always know what to do with him. I like Dean Winters, but I’m glad he hasn’t shown up in awhile. (Maybe he’s preparing a return as Beeper King Dennis Duffy?!?) Shirley Manson is odd – I’m not sure if I like her or not. Garret Dillahunt was (is?) pretty good. The blond girl (Levin Rambin?) can be a bit annoying, but I do think that she and Dekker have good chemistry. Summer Glau is fantastic, but the writers have inconsistently played around with Cameron’s character too much. And last but not least, Brian Austin Green is shockingly great. Every week, I find it harder and harder to believe that I’m watching David Silver.
I often feel there’s just something missing from the show – something small, but if it was fixed they could really pop out some great episodes. I don’t know what it is, but for example, that episode where it was told from a bunch of different perspectives and ended with them defeating Cromartie, seemed like it was almost great, but it just wasn’t.
They have to stop sending people back in time though. It’s getting to be too much and it hurts my brain when I watch.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
My Sunday Night TV Shows
I very rarely watch any of my shows when they air live (probably only Pushing Daisies), but still it’s easier to break down my TV watching habits by the night they originally air. (All shows listed alphabetically)
Brotherhood
I started watching Brotherhood right before the second season premiered. I really hadn’t heard too much about it, other than general “This show is pretty good, you should watch it!” type reviews.
It’s a show about 2 brothers in Rhode Island – one a politician, the other a mobster. Similar in some ways to The Sopranos, but even if it had Sopranos-like acclaim, it would never be as popular as The Sopranos was in its heyday.
Brotherhood is filled with terrific actors, notably Fionnula Flanagan as the matriarch (like Livia Soprano, but Irish), Jason Clarke as Tommy Caffee, the corrupt-ish politician and Jason Isaacs as Tommy’s brother, Michael, currently the boss of the local Irish mob. Isaacs also plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies and is equally as excellent here as he is in those movies (obviously playing two completely different characters).
But the best of the bunch on Brotherhood are the two that surprised me the most. The first is Annabeth Gish, who I really had only known for jumping on the sinking ship that was The X-Files. She is phenomenal as Tommy’s bored housewife. Her work, especially in the first season, is something I never saw coming. She makes you feel pity for her even though her problems are generally her fault and you feel anger with her even when she’s wrong.
The second, and most surprising, is Ethan Embry. Absolutely riveting every second he is on screen. The weird kid from Empire Records does more acting with his sad eyes in one scene than Milo Ventimiglia has done in 2+ seasons on Heroes. His story is actually the only one with a glimmer of hope this season (the third) as he attempts to get his life back together and reconcile with his wife.
All that said, Brotherhood is tough to watch sometimes. It’s not really a feel-good show, which is odd to me because I prefer to watch it in chunks instead of week to week. (I’m 3 episodes behind right now). But it is compelling and well-made and definitely deserves more attention than it seems to get.
Brothers & Sisters
Brothers & Sisters can be a decent show, but its writers keep making irritating decisions that make me often question how much longer I want to keep watching the show.
I guess the acting is what keeps me coming back to the show (well, mostly). Sally Field is always good. Rachel Griffiths is fantastic. Matthew Rhys and Luke McFarlane are great together. Calista Flockhart actually makes me like Kitty a good portion of the time, which is surprising to me. Dave Annable is also surprisingly good, especially since I only knew him from Reunion on Fox a few years back and he was unsurprisingly terrible on that. Emily Van Camp makes Rebecca identifiable, sympathetic and never annoying, though she really should be. Patricia Wettig does a great job with an unlikable character. I like Ron Rifkin, but Saul is unnecessary. Rob Lowe is just there most of the time. Sarah Jane Morris is also just there, but she just kinda pops in and out whenever. Balthazar Getty is terrible and makes Tommy more irritating than he should be.
Every now and then, there will be an episode that I really enjoy and that gives me hope that this show is better than I think it is. Which is unfortunate, because when the show began, it wasn’t great, but I stuck with it and it got better, but then it seemed to reach the top of the mountain and they’ve been sliding down ever since.
Generally speaking, when they are drinking, the show is light and funny, and that’s when I enjoy watching.
Californication
Californication is a show that I never thought I would like. I liked The X-Files, but I never really like David Duchovny’s performance as Mulder and never quite got his appeal. The funny thing is that Duchovny is my favorite thing about Californication. That I like someone as sycophantic and self-absorbed as Hank Moody is due to Duchovny’s funny performance.
I also like Natasha McElhone as his ex, more this season because she is rid of her dull fiancé from last season. And Madeleine Martin as his daughter sometimes plays the deadpan a little too much, but she’s generally amusing as well. Also, the appearance of Callum Keith Rennie (from Battlestar) this season has been fun because he seems to be having so much fun with his character.
What I don’t like is anything to do with Evan Handler and Pamela Adlon’s characters. Handler’s Charlie Runkle was somewhat amusing last season but everything to do with him and his wife this year really strains the credulity of even this show. (And this is a show in which Hank Moody pretty much has sex with every female he looks at…) Handler and Adlon are not terrible actors; they are just saddled with annoying, stupid, irritating characters that bring down a show that’s only mildly amusing to begin with.
It’s a background TV show – something I watch while I’m cleaning or exercising. Nothing that I really have to pay too close attention to, and nothing that I would really miss if it was cancelled.
Desperate Housewives
I’ve been really enjoying this season of Desperate Housewives. I don’t know if it’s quite as engrossing as the first season (I still miss Rex), but it’s much better than the last few seasons.
I didn’t really like the second season at all and the third and fourth seasons certainly had their moments, but this year has really been consistently entertaining. With the five year jump, Susan has been (mostly) less annoying, Lynette is no longer a mopey-cancer patient, Bree is still Bree (of course) and Gabrielle has become my favorite of the four (and I was pretty much done with her last year). They’ve also found a way to bring Edie back that made sense (and I really like Neal McDonough). Shawn Pyfrom finally has something to do (though I do miss scheming Andrew). And it seems that James Denton has remembered how to act.
It’s not a perfect show, and these “event” episodes are getting a bit annoying, but I do still like the show and that doesn’t always happen with shows in their fifth year.
Dexter
I say this in the nicest way possible: Dexter peaked in season two and I do not think it will ever be the fantastic, edge-of-your-seat ride that it was last year. Breaking from the books (all of which I read) after a first season that followed the first book pretty closely was a really smart idea and made for great TV.
Michael C. Hall really came into his own least year and the whole show came together around one main story. They created a great, hateable bad guy in Lila. Doakes became a true adversary for Dexter, beyond the cartoon he was in season one. And while you knew that they show would be back, so Dexter was never really going to be caught, I found myself briefly wondering if he wouldn’t get away with it all. It all ended in a supremely satisfying finale, which I really don’t think the series can ever match. On one hand, that’s great. On the other, it’s unfortunate, because I’m left comparing season three to season two and it does pale in comparison.
That’s not to say that this season is bad. It definitely is not, especially in the last few weeks. Jimmy Smits has been a great addition to the cast, surprising me week-to-week. Absolutely everything with him and Dexter has been fantastic. And now it seems as though the show’s stories are all coming together to complete the whole story and I hope that it will make for a great finale in two weeks. I truly do not know how it will end and I think that’s excellent.
My problem this year has been with characters other than Dexter. I like Deb. I think Jennifer Carpenter does a great job with her. But the stuff with her and Internal Affairs did not work for me. I’m not crazy about the stuff with Anton, either. At least Anton is part of the main story, but they really telegraphed their relationship too much. I like Angel too, and I don’t really mind his story romancing the other cop, but I wish we saw less of it. I don’t care that much.
I do think that Rita’s pregnancy and her and Dex’s upcoming wedding storylines have worked, especially lately. And LaGuerta’s storyline has been handled well also. LaGuerta does not even survive the first book and I did not like her at all in the book, so her continued evolution is especially enjoyable to me.
I do still look forward to watching every week (I really can’t wait for next week) and I do still think it is a great show, but I can’t help but compare it to last season. I think that’s a good complaint to have, but a complaint nonetheless.
Summer Heights High
Don’t really have too much to say about this one yet. I’m only three episodes in, and it’s fairly amusing, not really laugh out loud funny. It’s certainly better than the last two “comedies” HBO offered, Little Britain USA and The Life and Times of Tim. (I probably have more bad things to say about those shows than I have good things to say about Summer Heights High.)
I like the show, but I don’t love it.
Brotherhood
I started watching Brotherhood right before the second season premiered. I really hadn’t heard too much about it, other than general “This show is pretty good, you should watch it!” type reviews.
It’s a show about 2 brothers in Rhode Island – one a politician, the other a mobster. Similar in some ways to The Sopranos, but even if it had Sopranos-like acclaim, it would never be as popular as The Sopranos was in its heyday.
Brotherhood is filled with terrific actors, notably Fionnula Flanagan as the matriarch (like Livia Soprano, but Irish), Jason Clarke as Tommy Caffee, the corrupt-ish politician and Jason Isaacs as Tommy’s brother, Michael, currently the boss of the local Irish mob. Isaacs also plays Lucius Malfoy in the Harry Potter movies and is equally as excellent here as he is in those movies (obviously playing two completely different characters).
But the best of the bunch on Brotherhood are the two that surprised me the most. The first is Annabeth Gish, who I really had only known for jumping on the sinking ship that was The X-Files. She is phenomenal as Tommy’s bored housewife. Her work, especially in the first season, is something I never saw coming. She makes you feel pity for her even though her problems are generally her fault and you feel anger with her even when she’s wrong.
The second, and most surprising, is Ethan Embry. Absolutely riveting every second he is on screen. The weird kid from Empire Records does more acting with his sad eyes in one scene than Milo Ventimiglia has done in 2+ seasons on Heroes. His story is actually the only one with a glimmer of hope this season (the third) as he attempts to get his life back together and reconcile with his wife.
All that said, Brotherhood is tough to watch sometimes. It’s not really a feel-good show, which is odd to me because I prefer to watch it in chunks instead of week to week. (I’m 3 episodes behind right now). But it is compelling and well-made and definitely deserves more attention than it seems to get.
Brothers & Sisters
Brothers & Sisters can be a decent show, but its writers keep making irritating decisions that make me often question how much longer I want to keep watching the show.
I guess the acting is what keeps me coming back to the show (well, mostly). Sally Field is always good. Rachel Griffiths is fantastic. Matthew Rhys and Luke McFarlane are great together. Calista Flockhart actually makes me like Kitty a good portion of the time, which is surprising to me. Dave Annable is also surprisingly good, especially since I only knew him from Reunion on Fox a few years back and he was unsurprisingly terrible on that. Emily Van Camp makes Rebecca identifiable, sympathetic and never annoying, though she really should be. Patricia Wettig does a great job with an unlikable character. I like Ron Rifkin, but Saul is unnecessary. Rob Lowe is just there most of the time. Sarah Jane Morris is also just there, but she just kinda pops in and out whenever. Balthazar Getty is terrible and makes Tommy more irritating than he should be.
Every now and then, there will be an episode that I really enjoy and that gives me hope that this show is better than I think it is. Which is unfortunate, because when the show began, it wasn’t great, but I stuck with it and it got better, but then it seemed to reach the top of the mountain and they’ve been sliding down ever since.
Generally speaking, when they are drinking, the show is light and funny, and that’s when I enjoy watching.
Californication
Californication is a show that I never thought I would like. I liked The X-Files, but I never really like David Duchovny’s performance as Mulder and never quite got his appeal. The funny thing is that Duchovny is my favorite thing about Californication. That I like someone as sycophantic and self-absorbed as Hank Moody is due to Duchovny’s funny performance.
I also like Natasha McElhone as his ex, more this season because she is rid of her dull fiancé from last season. And Madeleine Martin as his daughter sometimes plays the deadpan a little too much, but she’s generally amusing as well. Also, the appearance of Callum Keith Rennie (from Battlestar) this season has been fun because he seems to be having so much fun with his character.
What I don’t like is anything to do with Evan Handler and Pamela Adlon’s characters. Handler’s Charlie Runkle was somewhat amusing last season but everything to do with him and his wife this year really strains the credulity of even this show. (And this is a show in which Hank Moody pretty much has sex with every female he looks at…) Handler and Adlon are not terrible actors; they are just saddled with annoying, stupid, irritating characters that bring down a show that’s only mildly amusing to begin with.
It’s a background TV show – something I watch while I’m cleaning or exercising. Nothing that I really have to pay too close attention to, and nothing that I would really miss if it was cancelled.
Desperate Housewives
I’ve been really enjoying this season of Desperate Housewives. I don’t know if it’s quite as engrossing as the first season (I still miss Rex), but it’s much better than the last few seasons.
I didn’t really like the second season at all and the third and fourth seasons certainly had their moments, but this year has really been consistently entertaining. With the five year jump, Susan has been (mostly) less annoying, Lynette is no longer a mopey-cancer patient, Bree is still Bree (of course) and Gabrielle has become my favorite of the four (and I was pretty much done with her last year). They’ve also found a way to bring Edie back that made sense (and I really like Neal McDonough). Shawn Pyfrom finally has something to do (though I do miss scheming Andrew). And it seems that James Denton has remembered how to act.
It’s not a perfect show, and these “event” episodes are getting a bit annoying, but I do still like the show and that doesn’t always happen with shows in their fifth year.
Dexter
I say this in the nicest way possible: Dexter peaked in season two and I do not think it will ever be the fantastic, edge-of-your-seat ride that it was last year. Breaking from the books (all of which I read) after a first season that followed the first book pretty closely was a really smart idea and made for great TV.
Michael C. Hall really came into his own least year and the whole show came together around one main story. They created a great, hateable bad guy in Lila. Doakes became a true adversary for Dexter, beyond the cartoon he was in season one. And while you knew that they show would be back, so Dexter was never really going to be caught, I found myself briefly wondering if he wouldn’t get away with it all. It all ended in a supremely satisfying finale, which I really don’t think the series can ever match. On one hand, that’s great. On the other, it’s unfortunate, because I’m left comparing season three to season two and it does pale in comparison.
That’s not to say that this season is bad. It definitely is not, especially in the last few weeks. Jimmy Smits has been a great addition to the cast, surprising me week-to-week. Absolutely everything with him and Dexter has been fantastic. And now it seems as though the show’s stories are all coming together to complete the whole story and I hope that it will make for a great finale in two weeks. I truly do not know how it will end and I think that’s excellent.
My problem this year has been with characters other than Dexter. I like Deb. I think Jennifer Carpenter does a great job with her. But the stuff with her and Internal Affairs did not work for me. I’m not crazy about the stuff with Anton, either. At least Anton is part of the main story, but they really telegraphed their relationship too much. I like Angel too, and I don’t really mind his story romancing the other cop, but I wish we saw less of it. I don’t care that much.
I do think that Rita’s pregnancy and her and Dex’s upcoming wedding storylines have worked, especially lately. And LaGuerta’s storyline has been handled well also. LaGuerta does not even survive the first book and I did not like her at all in the book, so her continued evolution is especially enjoyable to me.
I do still look forward to watching every week (I really can’t wait for next week) and I do still think it is a great show, but I can’t help but compare it to last season. I think that’s a good complaint to have, but a complaint nonetheless.
Summer Heights High
Don’t really have too much to say about this one yet. I’m only three episodes in, and it’s fairly amusing, not really laugh out loud funny. It’s certainly better than the last two “comedies” HBO offered, Little Britain USA and The Life and Times of Tim. (I probably have more bad things to say about those shows than I have good things to say about Summer Heights High.)
I like the show, but I don’t love it.
Monday, December 1, 2008
TV is my drug of choice (plus The Shield is awesome)
I love TV. I can talk/write/think about it for days on end. Unfortunately, I find that no one I know watches as much TV as I do and if someone watches some of the shows that I do, they really don’t want to hear what I have to say (at least not ad nauseam). That’s where you come in, Internet. I know you’ll listen to me even if I write 500 paragraphs about Lost.
So, Internet, I am going to take you through my week in TV as best as I can remember without looking at my DVR. This is going to be my first writing project for this blog, and if this blog does nothing else, it will get all these crazy thoughts out of my cluttered head.
Before I get into my TV week, I’ve been dying to write about the final episode of The Shield which ended last Tuesday.
I felt that The Shield has always been an entertaining, well-made, generally well-acted show, that when on, I always looked forward to. (At most it would sit on my DVR for 24 hours before I watched it.) Michael Chiklis and CCH Pounder have always been fantastic and the show has worthwhile just for the two of them. In the last few years though, Walton Goggins has really put on a riveting performance and David Rees Snell, initially the forgotten member of the strike team, has brought himself into the forefront. I could also go on about the solid work of Jay Karnes and Benito Martinez and past standouts Anthony Anderson, Forrest Whitaker, Kenneth Johnson and Glenn Close, but what I really want to write about is the finale.
I was completely unspoiled going in (I don’t even watch previews) but I had read spoiler-free advance reviews alluding to shocking events and an all-around excellent episode. I wasn’t disappointed.
My only real complaint was the stuff with Dutch. It felt kinda shoehorned in and I think that particular story conclusion would have played out better in the second to last episode. I was more concerned with Dutch and Claudette and even Dutch and Billings to be invested in the serial killer. (By the way, Beaver Casablancas is really making a name for himself playing creepy teenage killers.) I am glad they resolved that story (pretty much), but I wish they could have done it earlier because everything with Vic and Shane was so riveting.
I’m glad they didn’t kill Vic for two reasons. The first is that I really didn’t want him to die. Much like Tony Soprano (as detestable a character as they both are) I wouldn’t have watched so long if I wanted to see them dead. The second reason is, as a character, the justice he received was a far worse sentence than being murdered or killed by another means. That he has to live with Corrinne betraying him, his betrayal to Ronnie and what he did to Shane and his family is perfect punishment. Even though his relationship with Shane had become so malicious, knowing that he made Shane into the man he had become, Vic not only has Lem and Shane on his conscience, but Mara, Jackson and an unborn child too.
And speaking of Shane and family…wow. The times I have been shocked by a TV show I can count on one hand (Locke in a wheelchair, Lost’s flash-forward and the last episode of the first season of the new Battlestar Galactica). I am often surprised by TV shows, but episodes that actually leave me with my mouth agape in shock are few indeed. Now The Shield has become #4 on my mini-list with the killing of Mara, Jackson and her unborn baby girl. It was disturbing enough to see Shane blow his brains out (an event not so shocking, but jarring nonetheless), but then to see the simple, silent scene of Mara with the flowers and Jackson the toy truck, both “asleep” on their bed…it was not something that I expected at all – especially Jackson.
And since I’ve brought up Mara, I feel like I should single out the work of Michele Hicks. When Mara was first introduced, I truly, truly hated her. Shrill, annoying, always crying and whining at Shane – I hated watching scenes with her and anyone. But this season, she has become much more sympathetic even while being in a situation she did not have to go along with. I felt bad for her even though I knew she was making the wrong decisions, and that rarely happens with shows that I watch.
And, of course, there are the comparisons that will be made between The Sopranos and The Shield. Even before it ended, Shawn Ryan insisted that he would not pull a David Chase. Whatever. I personally liked the way The Sopranos ended and it’s a credit to Chase that people are still discussing it (and are still pissed about it).
In its later years, The Sopranos became more artistic and symbolic than it was in at least the first two seasons when it was more a show about a mobster and his extended family. So they way it ended felt true to me. It seems like TV viewers are constantly out for blood, but when some character dies, but it’s not the character that you want, the response always is “Well that sucked!” (I have been guilty of this myself, but I stand by my opinion that killing Sheriff Lamb was an egregious mistake.) But anyway, I’m getting off-topic…
The Shield ended as the type of show that it always has been: gritty, dirty, messy and adrenaline-pumping. It’s always been consistently entertaining, never getting too muddled (see Alias) too frustrating (see ER) too ridiculous (see Rescue Me) too silly (see Prison Break) too over-the-top and generally irritatingly stupid (see Nip/Tuck). It was no Angel (best.finale.ever), but it was damn good. So, I send my thanks to the creator and writers of The Shield for that.
So, Internet, I am going to take you through my week in TV as best as I can remember without looking at my DVR. This is going to be my first writing project for this blog, and if this blog does nothing else, it will get all these crazy thoughts out of my cluttered head.
Before I get into my TV week, I’ve been dying to write about the final episode of The Shield which ended last Tuesday.
I felt that The Shield has always been an entertaining, well-made, generally well-acted show, that when on, I always looked forward to. (At most it would sit on my DVR for 24 hours before I watched it.) Michael Chiklis and CCH Pounder have always been fantastic and the show has worthwhile just for the two of them. In the last few years though, Walton Goggins has really put on a riveting performance and David Rees Snell, initially the forgotten member of the strike team, has brought himself into the forefront. I could also go on about the solid work of Jay Karnes and Benito Martinez and past standouts Anthony Anderson, Forrest Whitaker, Kenneth Johnson and Glenn Close, but what I really want to write about is the finale.
I was completely unspoiled going in (I don’t even watch previews) but I had read spoiler-free advance reviews alluding to shocking events and an all-around excellent episode. I wasn’t disappointed.
My only real complaint was the stuff with Dutch. It felt kinda shoehorned in and I think that particular story conclusion would have played out better in the second to last episode. I was more concerned with Dutch and Claudette and even Dutch and Billings to be invested in the serial killer. (By the way, Beaver Casablancas is really making a name for himself playing creepy teenage killers.) I am glad they resolved that story (pretty much), but I wish they could have done it earlier because everything with Vic and Shane was so riveting.
I’m glad they didn’t kill Vic for two reasons. The first is that I really didn’t want him to die. Much like Tony Soprano (as detestable a character as they both are) I wouldn’t have watched so long if I wanted to see them dead. The second reason is, as a character, the justice he received was a far worse sentence than being murdered or killed by another means. That he has to live with Corrinne betraying him, his betrayal to Ronnie and what he did to Shane and his family is perfect punishment. Even though his relationship with Shane had become so malicious, knowing that he made Shane into the man he had become, Vic not only has Lem and Shane on his conscience, but Mara, Jackson and an unborn child too.
And speaking of Shane and family…wow. The times I have been shocked by a TV show I can count on one hand (Locke in a wheelchair, Lost’s flash-forward and the last episode of the first season of the new Battlestar Galactica). I am often surprised by TV shows, but episodes that actually leave me with my mouth agape in shock are few indeed. Now The Shield has become #4 on my mini-list with the killing of Mara, Jackson and her unborn baby girl. It was disturbing enough to see Shane blow his brains out (an event not so shocking, but jarring nonetheless), but then to see the simple, silent scene of Mara with the flowers and Jackson the toy truck, both “asleep” on their bed…it was not something that I expected at all – especially Jackson.
And since I’ve brought up Mara, I feel like I should single out the work of Michele Hicks. When Mara was first introduced, I truly, truly hated her. Shrill, annoying, always crying and whining at Shane – I hated watching scenes with her and anyone. But this season, she has become much more sympathetic even while being in a situation she did not have to go along with. I felt bad for her even though I knew she was making the wrong decisions, and that rarely happens with shows that I watch.
And, of course, there are the comparisons that will be made between The Sopranos and The Shield. Even before it ended, Shawn Ryan insisted that he would not pull a David Chase. Whatever. I personally liked the way The Sopranos ended and it’s a credit to Chase that people are still discussing it (and are still pissed about it).
In its later years, The Sopranos became more artistic and symbolic than it was in at least the first two seasons when it was more a show about a mobster and his extended family. So they way it ended felt true to me. It seems like TV viewers are constantly out for blood, but when some character dies, but it’s not the character that you want, the response always is “Well that sucked!” (I have been guilty of this myself, but I stand by my opinion that killing Sheriff Lamb was an egregious mistake.) But anyway, I’m getting off-topic…
The Shield ended as the type of show that it always has been: gritty, dirty, messy and adrenaline-pumping. It’s always been consistently entertaining, never getting too muddled (see Alias) too frustrating (see ER) too ridiculous (see Rescue Me) too silly (see Prison Break) too over-the-top and generally irritatingly stupid (see Nip/Tuck). It was no Angel (best.finale.ever), but it was damn good. So, I send my thanks to the creator and writers of The Shield for that.
Don't ask, don’t tell...
Often when I see people that I haven’t seen in quite some time (anywhere from a few days to months and years), I’ll be asked, “What’s new?” After I rack my brains for something worth reporting, more often than not, my response is “Nothing.”
It’s not really because I sit around and do nothing, but because I honestly don’t like talking for the sake of talking. (This is why I like hiding behind emails and hate the telephone.)
If there is something worth talking about, something I’m interested in, then you can’t shut me up. Ask me if I’ve seen any good TV shows lately, talk to me about politics, ask me why I’m still a Mets (sigh) fan, give me a book recommendation and ask me if I’ve read anything good recently…I can talk about these things for days. (I can also write about them for days.)
Talking about “real” things has never really interested me. If you feel like telling me about your life, your job, your Uncle Leo’s bunion, I’ll be happy to listen, but if you ask me if I have any relatives that have bunions, even if I do, I’m probably going to say no.
It’s not really because I sit around and do nothing, but because I honestly don’t like talking for the sake of talking. (This is why I like hiding behind emails and hate the telephone.)
If there is something worth talking about, something I’m interested in, then you can’t shut me up. Ask me if I’ve seen any good TV shows lately, talk to me about politics, ask me why I’m still a Mets (sigh) fan, give me a book recommendation and ask me if I’ve read anything good recently…I can talk about these things for days. (I can also write about them for days.)
Talking about “real” things has never really interested me. If you feel like telling me about your life, your job, your Uncle Leo’s bunion, I’ll be happy to listen, but if you ask me if I have any relatives that have bunions, even if I do, I’m probably going to say no.
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