Saturday, September 27, 2008

The 2008 Fall Television Season

Huh, there's really not anything new and exciting on television this year, is there? I know, blah, blah the Writer's Strike. I'm only watching one new show and that's True Blood on HBO. Oh MY GOD, I love this trashy, gothic, weird little vampire romance. It's really got everything I like in a show: DRAMA, a hilarious heroine, a gentlemanly, but possibly EVIL love interest, amusing opening credits and funny dialogue. And there's vampires with really stupid-looking fangs.

Here's what I'm watching or planning to watch:

  • Dexter - This is such a great show. I love everyone on it and everything about it.
  • Gossip Girl and Heroes - this is my Monday night lineup and I usually watch both of these shows over IM with EGT and we mock and squeal about what bitchy thing Blair did this week and how stupid yet hot Mohinder is and how inappropriate the Petrelli brothers are. It's good times.
  • Pushing Daisies - I like this show a lot. The cast is fun and the narration always makes me giggle. I'm not deeply passionate about it but I enjoyed the first season and will give the second a go. Also, it makes me crave pie.
  • Supernatural - This is, sadly, my favorite show right now. The first two episodes of this season have been pretty great. I didn't love last season, it was a bit stilted and disjointed and also, wildly misogynistic. (Stop having Dean call women "sluts" and "bitches"! He never did that before and I don't care if they're demons. Doesn't make it ok.)
  • The Office and 30 Rock - Mame, I have to DVR them and watch them later. You will just have to deal with that. And I did watch The Office premiere last night! It was great. ("Happy birthday, Stanley!" You were right. I cracked up.)
  • Battlestar Galactica - IF IT EVER COMES BACK. I swear, the folks at the Sci Fi channel are SUCH dicks. After BSG and Doctor Who end their runs, I won't be watching anything on that channel again. I'm sure I would like Eureka, but I'm not putting up with this bullshit again. Anyway, BSG is the best show on television right now and I can't wait for it to come back.
  • Friday Night Lights - Enjoy it while you can, kids. It's probably getting cancelled after this season. That will be sad.
Television shows I'm watching on DVD:

  • The Wire - BW and I are a little more than halfway through the third season. It's such an amazing show. The writing, the acting, the plotting, it all knocks me out. It's not exactly Feel Good Television, some episodes make me feel like I've been kicked in the gut. Now I'm making BW watch episodes of The West Wing in exchange. The only Aaron Sorkin show he'd ever seen was Studio 60 or as we used to call it, The Longest Hour on Television. Clearly, I couldn't let that stand.
  • I have disc one of The Sarah Connor Chronicles home from Netflix right now. I watched part of the pilot when it aired originally but was put off by the portrayal of John Connor. Excuse me, John Connor is the leader of the Robot Resistance. He is NOT a whiny little bitch. But everyone keeps going on about how great it is, so I'll give it a try. Also, I love Summer Glau. So, we'll see. The Terminator is one of my very favorite movies and I'm VERY protective of that fictional universe. I'll be extremely put off if it sucks.
  • I just put Mad Men on my queue. I should be getting that next. I listened to a really interesting NPR podcast featuring the creator and two of the actors. It was fascinating, so now I'm really curious.
Shows I'm giving up:

  • Fringe - Ugh. I watched this one because everyone in my office was totally excited about it. I hated it. The second episode actually made me angry. It's totally unoriginal, kind of boring and features the kind of icky violence that makes me want to change the channel. (We've got a woman strapped to a dentist's chair being drugged and tortured by a psychotic scientist? We've got pregnant women screaming and giving birth to mutant babies then dying? Lovely.) So I did. FOREVER.
  • Numbers - Eh, I'm getting bored with this one. Everyone's still cute and I like the little bits of math and physics they throw at me, but it's so formulaic. I might finish the second season from Netflix, but then I think I'm done.
What are you guys watching? Or not watching?

5 comments:

Auntie Mame said...

You know what? No, I cannot DEAL WITH IT. I will NEVER be over the fact that you choose "Supernatural" over "The Office."
Although Jerod Padelicki (did I sspell that right?) is pretty hot now.

Bea said...

You did not spell it right. It's "Jared Padalecki." And I am NOT ashamed that I knew that without even looking it up. Ok, maybe a little.

Sorry, no one gets possessed by demons on "The Office." Although...that WOULD explain a lot about Michael Scott...

Dan Mac said...

Alan Sepinwall has summed up my feelings on Heroes exactly:

"Heroes is what it is -- just interesting enough to make me watch so I can complain about it, I guess."

"For whatever reason, every year on the blog there seems to be one bad show I stick with reviewing because I can't help but keep watching it, and neither can the readers, and we all get some kind of catharsis out of bashing it. This year, that seems to be Heroes."

I hate that Kring can't come up with original ideas, and that he repeatedly rips off X-Men, even when it's clear he's never read X-Men; if he had, his thievery would probably be better. Anyway.

I have one Netflix disc left on Mad Men Season 1. It's lived up to the hype. Holding off on The Wire S3 still just because I can't deal with the idea that there will come a time when I won't have that show to look forward to.

Watching the final season of The Shield, and still giving Sons of Anarchy a chance, even though it's not very good. Keep thinking it could turn the corner and join the ranks of quality F/X original series, but it's unlikely. Also DVR'ing It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but haven't watched any of this season yet.

BSG can't come soon enough, though again, I'm already despairing the time when the promise of new episodes won't be in my future.

Bea said...

For some reason, the many, many, MANY flaws of "Heroes" don't bother me all that much. I know it's really not a very good show. The writing is just...not great. Some of the actors are dreadful. But when it works, it WORKS. I don't know. I love everything that Jack Coleman (HRG), Cristina Rose (Mama Petrelli) and Adrian Pasdar (Nathan) do on that show.

I think I can just turn my brain off and enjoy things blowing up and Mohinder and Peter taking their shirts off. It's well-paired for me with "Gossip Girl." I don't give either much thought and just laugh at them. "Heroes" in INCREDIBLY derivative and you're totally right -- it's written by people who seem to have NO idea what they're ripping off.

I can't wait for BSG but I also kind of can't wait for it to be over. I'm sick of having my chain jerked by the Sci Fi channel. GOD, WHAT DICKS.

Anonymous said...

OMG! Monday night is the best night of television!