Thursday, October 09, 2008

A Few TV Notes

I'm watching so much TV this fall--a truly stupid amount, really--that I've refrained from posting about most of it. This would become a fully TV-oriented blog if I didn't. But now that most of the shows I watch have debuted, let me make some brief comments:

First, I caught the trailer for Castle, a midseason replacement starring Nathan Fillion. It's yet another (OMG, when will they stop?) police procedural, my least favorite genre, but I'm still very much there when it premieres. And solely because of Nathan Fillion's character and performance. He's hilarious, gorgeous, and delightful.

But until then...

Monday
Man, Monday is packed. Some of the shows already rumored to be at risk would be better served, probably, if they were moved to the lighter Tuesday or Wednesday nights.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles started off with a bang and an awesome opening sequence, sputtered for a couple of weeks, and came back full force this week with a stellar episode. Unfortunately, it's facing cancellation already, and that pisses me off. There are far worse shows with worse ratings that have been kept for years and years. Come on, morons, do the math. You need to fill 70 hours of programming every week. Every show can't be in the top 20. Let it go, and accept your niche audiences. Fix the system.

How I Met Your Mother has been a little flat. Chuck is fun and stuff, but must start to grow a little or I'll get bored. Prison Break is surprisingly great and I'm so glad I caught up with last season and kept watching. Other people have already compared its vibe to Ocean's 11 and that's apropos, though PB is much darker and has much higher stakes. The conflicts and relationships and constantly shifting alliances are compelling instead of off-putting. And now Michael's health has put a ticking time bomb on the show, one that makes me afraid.

My Own Worst Enemy starts next week and I really hope it rocks, because, you know. Christian Slater. Me = slave to child of the 80s.

Tuesday
Fringe and The Mentalist are both okay. I really like the main character on The Mentalist. If Fringe were canceled tomorrow (which it won't be, it just got a full-season pickup) I wouldn't care. I like it, but distantly.

Wednesday
I was never a cult-level fan of Pushing Daisies. It's cute, and I like all the characters, but it's not a show I ever think about much after it's over, or am excited about seeing before it starts. Private Practice has caught me a little better. Partly because Dell is made of awesome (not the Dean Winchester flavor, though) and partly because they started off with a bunch of tough conflict that stirs things up pretty well. It's very emotional, and you can look at a room full of the ensemble cast and think, "Yeah, every one of them f**ked up good," but still care about them despite it.

Thursday
I caught a blog post the other day that said Supernatural is not the best show on TV. I take exception to that statement. Not because I think the statement is wrong, but because it's one of those opinions masquerading as fact. SPN is the show *I* think is the best one on TV. How do I measure that? Mostly by how I feel leading up to show time, while I watch it, and when I talk about it/watch it again. But someone who doesn't like horror/paranormal stuff or complex family relationships or shows that take place mostly at night probably wouldn't agree. There are people who think Grey's Anatomy is the best show on TV, or 30 Rock. But I didn't care about anyone on Grey's the one time I tried to watch it, and I thought everyone on the pilot of 30 Rock was an idiot pretending that everyone around them was a genius. Maybe the show got better, but that's not my point. My point is...just like with books and movies, it's all subjective. There are "objective" criteria that we can apply, but good writing, acting ability, and cinematography are still things that one person can love and another hate. There's no way to say any particular show is the best one on TV, so you also can't unequivocally state that any one show is not the best one on TV.

Unless it's Knight Rider.

Eleventh Hour starts this week, but I'm not fussed. It sounded better than it looks, and I think I already pointed out the OMGalready factor of yet another police procedural.

Friday
I really like The Ex List, a show that may or may not be ruined from its cute-but-not-annoying-or-exaggerated presentation once they burn through the episodes done by creator Diane Ruggiero before CBS chased her off for being, presumably, funny and fun and relatable rather than melodramatic or stupid. So I watch with trepidation.

Numb3rs remains consistently good, not great, a show I'm happy to have on my DVR but wouldn't cry about losing.

Anyone watch Valentine last Sunday? We recorded it but probably won't watch until the weekend. Is it worth it?

How are you feeling about the fall season so far?

7 comments:

Tracy Madison said...

And yet again, we talked about similar things on our blogs on the same day, lol. Though, you gave a lot more input on the shows you watch than I did! I still think it's funny. :)

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

And I thought I kept it pretty short! LOL Except for the one show, but that's how I roll.

Plus, I'm not on deadline, so that's a factor.

MJFredrick said...

I like the main character of The Mentalist, too, but it's not in my regular rotation yet. I saw Valentine and it was okay. I like that they have a romance novelist character.

Vicky B said...

Funny how many of the same shows we watch. Did see part of Valentine - not the whole show - eh - not bad, but I just finished reading a book with the same premise and wasn't that impressed. The story line was good, but that was as far as it went for me. I like Pushing Daisies only because it's so quirky and different. The stories themselves... not much there and wouldn't cry if it left. Fringe and Mentalist - like the actors, we'll see how it all plays out.

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

Okay, so, not rampant enthusiasm for Valentine. Noted. :)

Vicky, you don't surprise me at all. :)

Anonymous said...

Hey, Natalie, I've realized Supernatural is on my PVR! My son watches it.

We have very different TV viewing tastes. I don't watch any paranormal or cop shows. I go for the fluff and relationship shows.

My fav show is ER, which I've watched faithfully since its inception. This is its last year. It's also the last year for Boston Legal, which I adore. It was my replacement for Ally McBeal (I nearly wrote Allie McBeagle, LOL).

Sunday: Dexter, Desperate Housewives, Brothers & Sister.

Monday: I think Boston Legal is on Mondays now. I just PVR it, so I make sure I don't miss it.

Wednesday: Do You Think You Can Dance Canada. Oh, and Lipstick Jungle. Got onto that one during the TV strike in the spring.

Thursday: Grey's Anatomy and ER. I watched the first episode of Life on Mars last week, but I'm going to try REALLY HARD not to watch it again. With two of my shows going off the air, this is the perfect time NOT to get hooked on others.

The only show I watch that doesn't feel like "me" is Dexter. But it's not my fault. I accidentally watched a few episodes with the husband and eldest son last winter. It's just weird enough that it appeals to me.

I tried Pushing Daisies but couldn't get into it. I also tried Private Practice, however, despite the presence of Timy Daly and Tay Diggs, I couldn't get into it either. The Addison character only does it for me on Grey's. Actually, I think I like Grey's because they know how to spell grey!

Natalie J. Damschroder said...

As alike as we are, Cindy, it's really weird that we don't have a single show alike! Though I used to watch ER. I got bored with it about six years ago, though.

Anyway, Supernatural IS a relationship show. The storylines that fill each episode are secondary to the relationship between the brothers and between them and their father and their father substitute and their (dead) mother. Everyone I know who watches the show does so for the relationship. Well, except for the husbands. I think they watch for other reasons. :)