Fall TV 2008 and Summer Movie Wrap-Up

As mentioned, I've been watching Angel to tide me over until the fall season starts. My local Netflix center hasn't had the disks, so they're coming from Michigan and Louisiana, and taking three days to arrive. It's killing me.

Anyway, I'm getting my DVR situation straightened out (moving boxes around the house) and planning the recording for the fall, and this is what I'm planning to watch this season (in order of the return/premiere):

Prison Break
I had a mini-marathon a couple of weekends ago when Blockbuster didn't have Angel and I caught up on the two-thirds of last season that I didn't watch. Yes, I stopped watching when they cut Sarah's head off. Yes, I'm going back because so is she. But I missed the guys. I love Michael and Lincoln.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
As I said during last season, Brian Austin Green elevated a decent show to very good. I can't wait for it to come back.

Fringe*
JJ Abrams. Nuff said.

Supernatural
I spent some time earlier this week watching the last three episodes of last season while I recorded them for a friend. The return can't be soon enough for me, even though it's two weeks earlier than last year.

How I Met Your Mother
My lone sitcom. I like the dynamics and the writing, but it's all Neil Patrick Harris for me. This is a show I don't rush to watch and wouldn't lament if it was gone, but I enjoy watching it a lot.

The Mentalist*
I don't remember what this show is about, I just know that when I first saw the write-up, I decided to try it.

Knight Rider*
I know. Mock me all you want. I wasn't thrilled with the movie they did, and my expectations are really, really low, especially given how little I liked the remake of my favorite childhood show, Bionic Woman. Nostalgia has me giving it a one-episode chance. Then we'll see.

Chuck
This show has me all confused. There was an episode aired toward the end of the "season," but not the last show, where the military woman told Adam Baldwin's character that the Interface or whatever it was called had been rebuilt, and he was to kill Chuck. Then there were two episodes burned off after that that didn't reference that at all. And it hasn't been on since January, I think, so I barely remember what happened at the end.

My Own Worst Enemy*
For no particular reason, I get an Alias-type vibe off this show. Not that I've even seen a preview. It has Christian Slater--oh. He was on Alias and he's a spy on this show as well as a regular guy--and he was a regular guy on Alias. Okay. There's a reason. Anyway, even if the writing is mediocre, he's bound to elevate it.

Pushing Daisies
To be honest, I'm not as ga-ga over this show as everyone else is. It's a little dull. One of those shows I enjoy while I'm watching it, but wouldn't care if I didn't have it.

Private Practice
I can't wait for this to come back, solely for the Del storyline. I am completely in love with Del and his love for Naomi. And yes, I know she belongs with Sam, but day-um. Being loved like that by a guy like Del is a helluvan ego boost.

The Ex List*
I think this looks cute, and it's a good counterpart to all my testosterone-driven choices. :)

Numb3rs
A nice, solid, reliable show with great characters and investigative science that always has me going "huh? how did they make that leap?"

Eleventh Hour*
Jerry Bruckheimer, who has a lot of cred with me because of Pirates of the Caribbean, though I don't think I watch any of his TV shows. Like others mentioned above, I don't remember what this is about.

Crusoe*
The latest-debuting show on my list, and the one I'm least certain of (besides Knight Rider). But it seems worth a try.

*Last year, I was so pissed off by the previous year's cancellations that I refused to watch any new show until it had at least 4 episodes and showed no signs of being canceled. It worked then, but for some reason, I care a lot less now, maybe because I don't feel that betrayal. I'm prepared to fall in love with a show and lose it. I think partly because there are enough returning shows that are safe to keep me in TV for a while.

So what are you looking forward to? What shows will you be watching?

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I finally got to see Hancock last night, and I want to know what the critics were smoking. Some of the criticisms were:

SPOILER ALERT although this late after release, spoilers should be a given.

It took a dark turn about halfway through

Um, hello! Sociopathic alcoholic superhuman! We knew that immediately, right from the trailer. Most movies get darker as they go along, until they get to the "black moment" when all seems lost. I didn't see any inconsistency there. Despite the humor (which was pretty dark itself), Hancock was who he was.

Charlize Theron being his wife was out of the blue

Okay, I knew this ahead of time, but still, the instant she saw him, there was something there. We knew immediately that she knew him, even if we soon learned that he didn't know her. I loved the worldbuilding, even if it came as exposition and backstory, and it really fed the bitterness of the climax.

Some other thoughts...

Michael Mann. Geez. It's a joke now, about how much he likes to destroy things, but I'm tired of it. It's more tolerable in a movie like this that has powerful emotion, too, but still. Totally gratuitous.

Jason Bateman. I sooooo want to see him in a romantic comedy. He's just made of awesome. I can't decide if they missed the boat on his character development with not getting enough of a reaction from him to the knowledge that his wife is technically already married, or if they did a really great job avoiding the expected response and having him just be secure in her love and their belonging together. Him chopping off the bad guy's other hand was fantastic.

Tonight I'm going to finally see Dark Knight, and my summer movie viewing will be complete. There are a couple of movies I didn't get to see, Wanted the only one that actually comes to mind, but I'll Netflix 'em eventually, when I'm done with Angel.

The fall movie season is upon us now, and frankly, there isn't a single movie I'm excited to go see. Not sure if it's too early to blame the writer's strike, or if it's just that kind of year.