Other shows I watch that are on hiatus

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...