Friday, January 26, 2007

Brief (yeah, right) TV Thoughts

I'm all caught up on this week's new shows and, as always, had some thoughts on them.

Dresden Files
Eh. Not enough magic, but that's okay. I liked Murphy. Kind of weird having Bob be human-ish. The story was very reminiscent of Supernatural, except not as well written, not as kick-ass, and with a main character who's a negative 20 when compared to the Winchesters' 10.

I mean, Book!Harry's not smarmy, he's not a player, he's not a patronizing asshole. I really hope he improves. If not, I give it three eps total before I drop it. Which makes me sad, but on the plus side, it wants me to bump the rest of the books up my TBR pile. ETA: I forgot to mention--Harry drives a BEETLE, not a Jeep! Cheesh!

The Class
Not high-class entertainment, but it makes me LAUGH. Finally, someone got it right, a la Friends magic--give them real, unique, sympathetic quirks and make it about the people and their relationships, not the "hook."

Prison Break
I don't like Michael broken. I kinda feel like they jumped the shark with Stedman's death, which renders all hope impossible. Unless this wasn't the real Stedman, which seems unlikely. Though they were talking about all the reasons they'd think he was look-alike, so...

I don't care anymore about what they do to Bellick--it's enough to know he's getting his, I don't need to see it, and I DON'T want to root for him. I also don't want any more of the T-Bag storyline. Susan had better do him in. I hate kids in jeopardy.

Though the Mahone storyline is rocking my socks. I'm glad to see him getting some balls because he's quite a formidable opponent.

And I live for the upcoming Michael-Sara moment. That's the heart of the story for me. I can't help it. I'm a romantic sap.

Studio 60
Speaking of romance. It's so wrong of me, but I love that Danny won't give up on Jordan. She seems totally uninterested, but she can't be. She's just protecting herself and probably him. At the end, when she said "you have to stop," I yelled, "Say no!" and he did.

*sigh*

I just adore this show. When it's over, I feel a loss that I don't feel with anything else except Supernatural, and it's for a different reason. I get fully immersed in the world and want to stay indefinitely. Things move on from event to event, day to day, like it's real life and there's no real "end," like there is to most shows.

Heroes
I'm liking this show more as it goes on. Most of the characters are becoming a bit more likable, like Nathan because he seems less involved in his campaign now than his brother's safety. Claire is still whining, but it's a bit more mature of a whine. She is coming to terms with things now that she sees it's much bigger than she is. And Hiro is just continuously adorable.

So that's Monday. :)

Veronica Mars
I know not everyone likes Piz, or may like him but not as a partner for Veronica, But I think he's great, a nice change from all the destructive personalities Veronica has been surrounded by. Even if Veronica doesn't ever develop feelings for him, I think he's good for her, and doesn't deserve her total obliviousness. That just added to her TSTL tendencies this season. Can't say I liked Daddy Mars being so clumsy about the professor, either, but I guess he can't be perfect.

Smallville
Kill Lana. That's all I have to say.

Supernatural
Not going to repeat all I had to say before, but I forgot to ask one thing. Maybe I'll figure it out on second viewing, but...after Ronald gets shot, Sam pulls something off his wrist and hands it to Dean, tells him to take care of the guard. Dean holds it for a minute, then tucks it in his back pocket.

What the heck was it? ETA: It was the key to Ronald's lock on the door--I saw it more clearly this time.

Okay, I can't stop. One of these days I'm not going to post until I've watched a second time, Neo on my lap, remote in hand, taking notes about all my favorite moments so I don't continuously flood my blog with this stuff.

Everyone's favorite line this week is hilarious because these are all women (the fans I read on blogs) and yet the line is so geek-boy:

Sam: "We're not working for the Mandroid!"

Monkie, Dude! posted screencaps on her LJ, and I had to grab some:





Anything in unison rocks. Concurrent bitchfaces, badge lifts, and badge smacks on the door rock hard. :)

Ugly Betty
The least interesting thing about this show is the unmasked shadow woman. The most interesting is the dynamic between Betty and Daniel. If the focus is about to switch, I might stop watching.

Scrubs
I missed a few episodes at the end of last season, so starting this one I felt completely lost. It's still got the elements that always made it one of our favorites, but I never miss it when it's gone. And not just because my husband is watching it non-stop on DVD.

Numb3rs
One of those steady cop shows that never changes, even when it does. Didn't like Millie much at first, though I love Kathy Najimy. She's done a good job of taking over Fleinhart's role on the show. She's quirky and funny and I like Alan having a love interest.

So the only show that's not back yet is Lost. I keep defending it to people who are really snotty about how much they hate it now, and I'm not sure why (except for the "snotty" and the "hate" parts). The first six eps weren't as compelling to me as the last two seasons were. I still enjoyed watching it, but I haven't missed it like I did the first summer. I'm looking forward to getting back to the beach and my favorite characters, few of whom are named "Jack" or "Kate."

Finally, there's DayBreak. I am so grateful ABC is putting the rest of the episodes online starting Monday. I suspect the show "failed" because it was too smart--required viewers to keep track of too many details and threads. I, of course, had no trouble, though that probably had to do with the fact that I watched them all in two nights. :) The best thing about it is, again, the characters. Adam Baldwin's IA cop is such an ass and yet he's not. Good, subtle acting showing us the difference, and it applies to multiple characters. The second best thing is the writing, which takes a lot of talent to keep it cohesive and not dropping things or contradicting themselves.

So...yes, I watch too much TV, and I don't apologize for it. I would apologize for posting here too much about it, but that's what my blog is for, and no one has to read it. :)

Happy weekend, everyone!

4 comments:

MJFredrick said...

I loved the unison badges bit, too!!! I haven't watched a second time, though.

I actually think Dresden is kinda sexy. The dh thinks he should have been the new Bond. I really liked it.

I agree about Michael being broken. I need to see him working stuff through, not being dragged along.

I can't believe Lost only had 6 episodes and then went on break! No wonder people are fidgety ;) Two more weeks, right?

And no more Daybreak? I guess I can take that off my Season Pass now....

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

The actor is a good match for the character, I'll agree with that (though he's short). It's mainly the writing that bugged me.

Exactly, about Michael! Looks like that changes again in the next ep, luckily.

They did that with Lost because of all the whiners who complained about reruns last year (which were exactly the same in frequency as any other show). It comes back 2/7.

I've been afraid to take Daybreak off my Season Pass, just in case... :) It has 4 more eps and it looks like 3 of them might be up this Monday--can't tell for sure.

MJFredrick said...

Okay, I'll put Daybreak back on the season pass ;)

I know what you mean about the writing of Dresden - he does come off a bit mercenary.

And what's wrong with reruns? I wonder if the producers of shows like that are trying to get people to buy the DVDs? I like seeing reruns to catch what I missed the first time!

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

I think Lost was such a phenomenon, and kept us so eager to watch the next episode, that reruns were more of a letdown than we were used to with the weak TV that existed before the first season. It didn't matter that we got two MORE episodes of Lost than most other shows.

The good thing is that we do get the rest of the season uninterrupted now. They are talking about maybe next year doing a "24" and not starting until January, then running straight through.