An autumn of TV-premieres
Saturday, 26. September 2009, 23:01:25
It has been pointed out to me - quite needlessly, but also flatteringly, and accordingly I don't mind at all - that there's been a sad amount of updates in this weblog of mine these last few weeks. Months. And what there has been, I'll usually reply with mindful self-deprecation, has been little amusing quotes. No posts of substance.
My posts of attempted substance have usually centred, with some few exceptions, on TV-reviews. I have no capacity this autumn to do many of those. Nor do I have the time to do book-reviews (heck, I don't even have the time to read non-curricular books), comic-reviews, movie-reviews... or, for that matter, the odd nonsense and musings on fanciful topics. I'm in the middle of putting an (unwanted) end to this university education of mine with an attempt to do twice the amount of courses you're intended to. I'm simultaneously digging through the bureaucracies of two countries, trying to figure out the whys and hows of next year without getting anything fatefully wrong. And, people, I still watch all that TV I don't take the time to review.
But tonight, I found myself with the urge to post, as it were, and so I'll do a composite post of what I am, have been, and will be watching this autumn. Some of it's started, some of it's already over, and some of it won't come around for quite a number of weeks yet. So please, come with me down the rabbit hole of much too much American television.
The story so far
As the summer was ending, and my Kings-abstinences were finally starting to subside, a lovely show named Easy Money was also waving its last goodbye. Having only ever gotten to finish eight episodes, this excellent little drama about a family of loan-sharks only managed to get four of them on the air last autumn. When the network finally started dumping the remaining four at the end of the summer nearly a year later, I was delirious to revisit the Buffkins and their morally ambiguous lives. Four weeks later, I was once again left hanging, all the more bitter this time for the certain knowledge there will never be more.
Then the beginning of the autumn proper was marked by the exit of True Blood's second season, which impressed me by being a good step above its predecessor. While I'm still not crazy about the show, it has solidified itself as a show in the upper end of the middle-tier of shows I deem good enough to bother with. Back when I first saw the pilot, I'd honestly not expected it to ever creep up to the midle-tier at all. So congratulations to Alan Ball and company. May your days be many and conveniently clouded.
Finally, Mad Men started back up. And while at first, I was still feeling like before about the show (everything is exquisite beyond belief except the dramatical confrontations and pay-offs), I have by now, especially in light of the most recent episode, started thinking that woah, the show might even be starting to do the big pay-offs right. While I can't claim to watch them all, I have to say, Mad Men is very likely to be the best made show in current American TV. If it is actually starting to improve in the one area I felt it was lacking, the sky's the limit.
Apocalypse, nowish
Boom. Mid-september hit, and so did premieres. Dexter, starting next week, and How I Met Your Mother, already on into its autumn roll, are both stockpile-shows that I'll catch up with come late December, but they're far from alone. New shows and returning shows, September's been a rich month for TV. Almost too rich - they're raining down on me so fast I ended up quoting an Angel-episode just to find a title for this section of the post.
In chronological order, as it were, this month of fresh TV started with Glee. I saw and liked the pilot this spring, and despite its dreary high-school premise, my fondness for musicals combined with the show's great humour is quickly bringing it up among my favourites this fall.
Another newcomer was Community, a half hour sitcom about a lawyer whose college diploma has been discovered as a fake and who ends up having to attend a crappy community college or face disbarment. So far, the two episodes have entertained and shown promise, but the great jokes, while there, are still too far between for a show that tries to be an outright comedy. For a drama, this show'd be hilarious, but for a sitcom, I feel it is a bit lacking. Still, when it's good, it's good, and I'll likely end up following it all fall in the hopes it will get better yet.
On the same day as Community leaped into the fray, Fringe came back with its second season. Crime procedurals don't really enthuse me much, no matter how much the try to disguise themselves as science fiction. But with a couple of really charming characters in a really distinct and unique father-son-relationship combined with an admittedly flawless execution of the plots-of-the-week, the show remains good enough to be worth the bother. With a little luck, the show will trap itself in its own mythos like Lost did, only quicker and with less obvious fillers on the road there. Not among my favourites this autumn, but given my standing investment of an entire season, I'm more willing to follow it further than I otherwise would be. Odds are that by Christmas, I'll have committed to this one for good, even if its basic structure is rather underwhelming.
Then followed another new sitcom, Bored to Death. With only one episode under its belt as of yet, this laid-back HBO comedy centres on a young author stuck with a writer's block on his work with his second novel. He turns to weed and white wine for inspiration, and his addiction eventually makes his girlfriend leave him. In desperation, he starts an impromptu career as an unlicensed private investigator. Yet another show I'm not sold on, but again one that seems to hold some promise. In particular the main character's best friend, a kid comic book artist trapped in a man's body, was hilarious. The show can also boast Ted Danson as a regular, which helps with the draw. Depending on how overwhelmed my TV-plate gets, this one might get the boot, but for now, I'm sticking with it out of curiosity.
Third and last of the new sitcoms I've tried this month is Accidentally on Purpose, where Jenna Elfman stars as a movie critic in her late thirties who gets pregnant on a one-night stand with a much, much younger man. The show was consistently funny - more so than Bored to Death or Community - but had less charm and identity. The pilot felt like it could have been an episode from any given sitcom of the last ten years, albeit a well-written one. However, one should not ever judge a show by its pilot, and once again, I'll be back for at least one more.
House M.D. is also back this month, and true to form, Hugh Laurie's magnificent as the title character. With the exception of a small Robert Sean Leonard-cameo, the remaining regular cast is absent in the double-episode season premiere. While I don't mind the regular cast at all, this is extremely good - because it also means that the premiere doesn't follow the show's regular episode formula. By the sixth season, the medical procedural with the House-twist has gotten incredibly old, and the only reason I'm still watching is because House himself is so compelling. The show, then, is by far at its best when it breaks this formula, and for two blessed hours including commercial breaks, it did so here. Stellar job, people. I can only hope and pray it'll retain a fragment of the awesome when it returns to predictable form next week.
On the very same day, Heroes returned, joining Fringe as the bottom of my barrel of expectations. Interestingly, my low expectations combined with a quite decent episode and Robert bloody Knepper made me quite happy with the premiere. If they keep going in this direction, the season could at least measure up to "volume 4" (the second half of season 3), which was rather decent too. In all honestly - anything that avoids the utter miserable crap that was "volume 3" will be appreciated. I'd even take the aimless-feeling season 2 again if we could avoid that. The trick to enjoying this show seems to be low expectations and accepting that Hiro simply will never die no matter how many stupid things he does, and I'm getting there. At least on the former half of that sentence. And as I said, the premiere was very decent indeed. Downright good in some aspects. I'm finding myself strangely up for more.
The third component to my barrel-bottom is traditionally Smallville which, despite its gradual improvement over the last four seasons (it has started season NINE now, if you can believe that), can never really shake my old, first-four-seasons' worth of "good LORD, this show's bad"-impressions. Admittedly, those first four seasons also had some really awesome nuggets of pure gold sprinkled in, usually involving Lex and Lionel Luthor. With both those characters gone by season 9, it is odd to see how the show can have improved so much on its average episode, and at the same time also never really reach the heights of those stellar masterpieces here and there that originally committed me to the show. Even so, all my prejudices aside, there is nothing to do but admit hands down that by now, for the most part, Smallville is a downright good show. And with the addition of the charming Callum Blue to the cast this season, I might almost forget how much I miss Lex and Lionel. Almost.
Final among the September Arrivals is also the one I've been looking forward to the most. In fact, I just watched it in the middle of writing this post. Dollhouse. An unabashed Joss Whedon-fan I might be, but the first five episodes of season 1 were really nothing special at all. Luckily, the show improved vastly starting with episode 6, and the thirteenth episode was nothing short of epic. This season premiere had a lot to live up to, and in my book, it did. Keeping everything that was good about episodes 6-12 alive and building it to new heights was exactly what I expected and wanted from this premiere, and it was exactly what I got. That, and razor sharp dialogue, great emotional moments, and wonderful characters. I even got an episode plot that wasn't standalone so much as it was a season plot cleverly disguised as a standalone. And Jamie Bamber being awesome and British and mean. And Amy Acker and Fran Kranz blowing my emotional equilibrium with every single scene. And Alexis Denishof as a Republican politician on a righteous rampage. And a hundred other, awesome little things. And beyond it all, looming in the horizon, chillingly conspicuous in its absence of overt reference, was episode thirteen and the both sad and scary taint it puts on every single little plot-development. As last season ended, I was hopeful about the show. As the thirteenth episode got out with the DVD, I got quite enthusiastic. Now, I'm sold for good. This show will be my favourite this autumn, I'm almost sure of it. Now let's just hope that episode 2 won't let down my soaring expectations.
Tomorrow, tomorrow
So is that all? Oh no. Oh no no no, is it ever not. Next month comes Star Wars: The Clone Wars back with its second season, a digitally animated show that in the latter half of season 1 quite surprised me with its (for Star Wars) rather complex stories and ethical dilemmas. I find myself almost embarrassingly excited to see if season 2 will make it even better. Also new in science fiction franchises next month will be Stargate: Universe, the Stargate-series' try at doing a Trek'y show with a darker frame than the predecessors in the vast SG-continuity. While I'm not a big fan of the old two, I've seen every single episode, which amounts to an ungodly amount of hours. There is no way I'm not following that continuity to its end now. Also? Robert Carlyle! So yeah. But still, my expectations are rather low, and checking this out is almost more of a duty I have to my standing previously mentioned ungodly commitment of time to this universe than it is any real interest.
Also in October is the final piece in the Battlestar Galactica-puzzle, as The Plan is released on DVD a good many months before it'll apparently air on Syfy. Seeing as I'm obviously a huge fan, and also wasn't as disappointed by the show's ending as many others were, I'm quite besides myself with anticipation for this promised answer to (hopefully all) remaining little nagging questions.
Finally, Legend of the Seeker will start back up towards the end of the autumn. Can't say I'm at all excited. I love the books, for all their flaws, but season 1 was as big a departure from those books as Quack Pack is from The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck. Entertaining in its own, cheesy, blatantly Xena-esque style and way, but not at all what I was wanting. Nor really a show quite suited for my tastes. Still, there is very little by the way of fantasy shows on air, and I sort of feel I should take what I can get. There's also the undeniable fact that season 1's very best episodes were in many ways rather good, even if the season as a whole was an insufferable cheesefest. So I might end up caving to my completism and deciding to follow this show yet another few steps further. We shall see.
-------
There. My autumn in TV-shows. I'm sure some additional surprises will turn up along the way in one form or another. Of shows airing this autumn, I should probably also check out Entourage, but with the six season head-start it has, that's severely unlikely to happen. Of other old shows, I'm coupling the new stuff with my first ever rewatch of Ally McBeal, where I'm currently mid-way in the penultimate season, and my first structured watch-through of the eminent Batman: the Animated Series. I've recently finished its spin-off Justice League: Unlimited as well as the British The Office, the miniseries State of Play, and a rewatch of the brilliant West Wing, so if you're interested in hearing what I think of any of these things, you should give a shout-out in the comments as I like mentioned probably won't find the time and energy to write proper reviews. (There should be some of West Wing already, though, if you're up to doing a little search).
Hopefully, there's one person out there who actually bothered to read all this. If not, well, that's another hour of my life wasted, I suppose. Cheers! And thanks for reading.
My posts of attempted substance have usually centred, with some few exceptions, on TV-reviews. I have no capacity this autumn to do many of those. Nor do I have the time to do book-reviews (heck, I don't even have the time to read non-curricular books), comic-reviews, movie-reviews... or, for that matter, the odd nonsense and musings on fanciful topics. I'm in the middle of putting an (unwanted) end to this university education of mine with an attempt to do twice the amount of courses you're intended to. I'm simultaneously digging through the bureaucracies of two countries, trying to figure out the whys and hows of next year without getting anything fatefully wrong. And, people, I still watch all that TV I don't take the time to review.
But tonight, I found myself with the urge to post, as it were, and so I'll do a composite post of what I am, have been, and will be watching this autumn. Some of it's started, some of it's already over, and some of it won't come around for quite a number of weeks yet. So please, come with me down the rabbit hole of much too much American television.
The story so far
As the summer was ending, and my Kings-abstinences were finally starting to subside, a lovely show named Easy Money was also waving its last goodbye. Having only ever gotten to finish eight episodes, this excellent little drama about a family of loan-sharks only managed to get four of them on the air last autumn. When the network finally started dumping the remaining four at the end of the summer nearly a year later, I was delirious to revisit the Buffkins and their morally ambiguous lives. Four weeks later, I was once again left hanging, all the more bitter this time for the certain knowledge there will never be more.
Then the beginning of the autumn proper was marked by the exit of True Blood's second season, which impressed me by being a good step above its predecessor. While I'm still not crazy about the show, it has solidified itself as a show in the upper end of the middle-tier of shows I deem good enough to bother with. Back when I first saw the pilot, I'd honestly not expected it to ever creep up to the midle-tier at all. So congratulations to Alan Ball and company. May your days be many and conveniently clouded.
Finally, Mad Men started back up. And while at first, I was still feeling like before about the show (everything is exquisite beyond belief except the dramatical confrontations and pay-offs), I have by now, especially in light of the most recent episode, started thinking that woah, the show might even be starting to do the big pay-offs right. While I can't claim to watch them all, I have to say, Mad Men is very likely to be the best made show in current American TV. If it is actually starting to improve in the one area I felt it was lacking, the sky's the limit.
Apocalypse, nowish
Boom. Mid-september hit, and so did premieres. Dexter, starting next week, and How I Met Your Mother, already on into its autumn roll, are both stockpile-shows that I'll catch up with come late December, but they're far from alone. New shows and returning shows, September's been a rich month for TV. Almost too rich - they're raining down on me so fast I ended up quoting an Angel-episode just to find a title for this section of the post.
In chronological order, as it were, this month of fresh TV started with Glee. I saw and liked the pilot this spring, and despite its dreary high-school premise, my fondness for musicals combined with the show's great humour is quickly bringing it up among my favourites this fall.
Another newcomer was Community, a half hour sitcom about a lawyer whose college diploma has been discovered as a fake and who ends up having to attend a crappy community college or face disbarment. So far, the two episodes have entertained and shown promise, but the great jokes, while there, are still too far between for a show that tries to be an outright comedy. For a drama, this show'd be hilarious, but for a sitcom, I feel it is a bit lacking. Still, when it's good, it's good, and I'll likely end up following it all fall in the hopes it will get better yet.
On the same day as Community leaped into the fray, Fringe came back with its second season. Crime procedurals don't really enthuse me much, no matter how much the try to disguise themselves as science fiction. But with a couple of really charming characters in a really distinct and unique father-son-relationship combined with an admittedly flawless execution of the plots-of-the-week, the show remains good enough to be worth the bother. With a little luck, the show will trap itself in its own mythos like Lost did, only quicker and with less obvious fillers on the road there. Not among my favourites this autumn, but given my standing investment of an entire season, I'm more willing to follow it further than I otherwise would be. Odds are that by Christmas, I'll have committed to this one for good, even if its basic structure is rather underwhelming.
Then followed another new sitcom, Bored to Death. With only one episode under its belt as of yet, this laid-back HBO comedy centres on a young author stuck with a writer's block on his work with his second novel. He turns to weed and white wine for inspiration, and his addiction eventually makes his girlfriend leave him. In desperation, he starts an impromptu career as an unlicensed private investigator. Yet another show I'm not sold on, but again one that seems to hold some promise. In particular the main character's best friend, a kid comic book artist trapped in a man's body, was hilarious. The show can also boast Ted Danson as a regular, which helps with the draw. Depending on how overwhelmed my TV-plate gets, this one might get the boot, but for now, I'm sticking with it out of curiosity.
Third and last of the new sitcoms I've tried this month is Accidentally on Purpose, where Jenna Elfman stars as a movie critic in her late thirties who gets pregnant on a one-night stand with a much, much younger man. The show was consistently funny - more so than Bored to Death or Community - but had less charm and identity. The pilot felt like it could have been an episode from any given sitcom of the last ten years, albeit a well-written one. However, one should not ever judge a show by its pilot, and once again, I'll be back for at least one more.
House M.D. is also back this month, and true to form, Hugh Laurie's magnificent as the title character. With the exception of a small Robert Sean Leonard-cameo, the remaining regular cast is absent in the double-episode season premiere. While I don't mind the regular cast at all, this is extremely good - because it also means that the premiere doesn't follow the show's regular episode formula. By the sixth season, the medical procedural with the House-twist has gotten incredibly old, and the only reason I'm still watching is because House himself is so compelling. The show, then, is by far at its best when it breaks this formula, and for two blessed hours including commercial breaks, it did so here. Stellar job, people. I can only hope and pray it'll retain a fragment of the awesome when it returns to predictable form next week.
On the very same day, Heroes returned, joining Fringe as the bottom of my barrel of expectations. Interestingly, my low expectations combined with a quite decent episode and Robert bloody Knepper made me quite happy with the premiere. If they keep going in this direction, the season could at least measure up to "volume 4" (the second half of season 3), which was rather decent too. In all honestly - anything that avoids the utter miserable crap that was "volume 3" will be appreciated. I'd even take the aimless-feeling season 2 again if we could avoid that. The trick to enjoying this show seems to be low expectations and accepting that Hiro simply will never die no matter how many stupid things he does, and I'm getting there. At least on the former half of that sentence. And as I said, the premiere was very decent indeed. Downright good in some aspects. I'm finding myself strangely up for more.
The third component to my barrel-bottom is traditionally Smallville which, despite its gradual improvement over the last four seasons (it has started season NINE now, if you can believe that), can never really shake my old, first-four-seasons' worth of "good LORD, this show's bad"-impressions. Admittedly, those first four seasons also had some really awesome nuggets of pure gold sprinkled in, usually involving Lex and Lionel Luthor. With both those characters gone by season 9, it is odd to see how the show can have improved so much on its average episode, and at the same time also never really reach the heights of those stellar masterpieces here and there that originally committed me to the show. Even so, all my prejudices aside, there is nothing to do but admit hands down that by now, for the most part, Smallville is a downright good show. And with the addition of the charming Callum Blue to the cast this season, I might almost forget how much I miss Lex and Lionel. Almost.
Final among the September Arrivals is also the one I've been looking forward to the most. In fact, I just watched it in the middle of writing this post. Dollhouse. An unabashed Joss Whedon-fan I might be, but the first five episodes of season 1 were really nothing special at all. Luckily, the show improved vastly starting with episode 6, and the thirteenth episode was nothing short of epic. This season premiere had a lot to live up to, and in my book, it did. Keeping everything that was good about episodes 6-12 alive and building it to new heights was exactly what I expected and wanted from this premiere, and it was exactly what I got. That, and razor sharp dialogue, great emotional moments, and wonderful characters. I even got an episode plot that wasn't standalone so much as it was a season plot cleverly disguised as a standalone. And Jamie Bamber being awesome and British and mean. And Amy Acker and Fran Kranz blowing my emotional equilibrium with every single scene. And Alexis Denishof as a Republican politician on a righteous rampage. And a hundred other, awesome little things. And beyond it all, looming in the horizon, chillingly conspicuous in its absence of overt reference, was episode thirteen and the both sad and scary taint it puts on every single little plot-development. As last season ended, I was hopeful about the show. As the thirteenth episode got out with the DVD, I got quite enthusiastic. Now, I'm sold for good. This show will be my favourite this autumn, I'm almost sure of it. Now let's just hope that episode 2 won't let down my soaring expectations.
Tomorrow, tomorrow
So is that all? Oh no. Oh no no no, is it ever not. Next month comes Star Wars: The Clone Wars back with its second season, a digitally animated show that in the latter half of season 1 quite surprised me with its (for Star Wars) rather complex stories and ethical dilemmas. I find myself almost embarrassingly excited to see if season 2 will make it even better. Also new in science fiction franchises next month will be Stargate: Universe, the Stargate-series' try at doing a Trek'y show with a darker frame than the predecessors in the vast SG-continuity. While I'm not a big fan of the old two, I've seen every single episode, which amounts to an ungodly amount of hours. There is no way I'm not following that continuity to its end now. Also? Robert Carlyle! So yeah. But still, my expectations are rather low, and checking this out is almost more of a duty I have to my standing previously mentioned ungodly commitment of time to this universe than it is any real interest.
Also in October is the final piece in the Battlestar Galactica-puzzle, as The Plan is released on DVD a good many months before it'll apparently air on Syfy. Seeing as I'm obviously a huge fan, and also wasn't as disappointed by the show's ending as many others were, I'm quite besides myself with anticipation for this promised answer to (hopefully all) remaining little nagging questions.
Finally, Legend of the Seeker will start back up towards the end of the autumn. Can't say I'm at all excited. I love the books, for all their flaws, but season 1 was as big a departure from those books as Quack Pack is from The Life and Times of $crooge McDuck. Entertaining in its own, cheesy, blatantly Xena-esque style and way, but not at all what I was wanting. Nor really a show quite suited for my tastes. Still, there is very little by the way of fantasy shows on air, and I sort of feel I should take what I can get. There's also the undeniable fact that season 1's very best episodes were in many ways rather good, even if the season as a whole was an insufferable cheesefest. So I might end up caving to my completism and deciding to follow this show yet another few steps further. We shall see.
-------
There. My autumn in TV-shows. I'm sure some additional surprises will turn up along the way in one form or another. Of shows airing this autumn, I should probably also check out Entourage, but with the six season head-start it has, that's severely unlikely to happen. Of other old shows, I'm coupling the new stuff with my first ever rewatch of Ally McBeal, where I'm currently mid-way in the penultimate season, and my first structured watch-through of the eminent Batman: the Animated Series. I've recently finished its spin-off Justice League: Unlimited as well as the British The Office, the miniseries State of Play, and a rewatch of the brilliant West Wing, so if you're interested in hearing what I think of any of these things, you should give a shout-out in the comments as I like mentioned probably won't find the time and energy to write proper reviews. (There should be some of West Wing already, though, if you're up to doing a little search).
Hopefully, there's one person out there who actually bothered to read all this. If not, well, that's another hour of my life wasted, I suppose. Cheers! And thanks for reading.
WIDGETIZE
Anonymous # 27. September 2009, 04:37
I had no idea your plate was so full. It's almost as full as mine, and you're not even majoring in television writing :O
Even though we've discussed many of the above shows, I did not know you had seen Bored to Death. I saw the pilot a few days in advance and reviewed. I'm not really a fan of the Wes Anderson style of writing, so I don't think I'll track this, but I do like its unique stand amongst the HBO shows. I just can't imagine how it will engage viewers without much of a conflict.
I have been wondering about how Accidentally on Purpose fared for its pilot. So, do you prefer this over the Community pilot? Meaning, is this worth checking out? I like traditional sitcoms (multi-camera, laugh track, all that jazz), but only if the story has a unique niche. If you like this you might like Big Bang Theory. I have been keeping track of ratings for all the shows I watch and this ranks amongst the very top, second only to darn Grey's Anatomy (seriously). It makes me hopeful for sitcoms.
Also, if you like sitcoms, I suggest Modern Family if you have a chance. It's one of my favorite debuts this season.
I agree on Heroes. It surpasses my expectations just enough for me to keep watching, but Heroes could easily jump the shark in the near future, but my consistently low expectations for the show won't make that too upsetting.
I don't watch Smallville or House. I thought House was very much a case-of-the-week series?
I plan on watching HIMYM to form my opinions about it. Besides that, this season seems pretty full of potential, except for a few (Cougar Town, Flash Forward).
Good luck on your academic overhaul. I completely empathize in that department. Hope you have time for your girlfriend and all.
Keep posting when you have time. I enjoy reading other people's reviews and forming a discussion from that. Looking at the hundreds of TV review/recap articles every week, an intelligent followup discussion is exactly what's missing. That's why I enjoy you and Beej's comments.
Amrasananas # 27. September 2009, 09:47
I think I'll direct the rest of this comment more to Robert Kuang's comment, seeing as I'm partially all twittered out on the show's you & I are watching.
I don't think it's the writing so much as Schwartzmann's involvment in "Bored to Death" that makes one think of Wes Anderson (I have no great love for him, either). Besides, with all the shows that immediately go "dark & realistic" on you, I welcome a show that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's like "Chuck" in that regard, and I hope it's a trend.
The biggest draw for Loki on "Modern Family" would be that it didn't have that sit-com feeling he despises. BBT & AoP has that in spades, but MF went a little outside the box. It didn't click to well with me though, mainly because such shows always feel a bit strained to me. I can almost feel the writers' room jumping up & down, trying to shove teh phunny in my face, and I'd rather it'd just relax & let me discover it for myself. Julia Bowen is great though.
How can you not be watching "House"? If you're majoring in television writing & not watching the best medical drama that's currently on air + not watching one of the best dissertations on a leading character I've ever seen, then you my friend have a glaring hole in your curriculum.
Cougar Town was AWFUL & DREADFUL & CREEPY all balled into one half-hour sit-com that rubbed me the WRONG way in all the MOST disturbing ways. I was willing to give the pilot a chance because of Bill Lawrence's involvement, but the man has lost his touch if this is the best concept he could come up with.
Flash Forward on the other hand, wasn't outright bad. It was just terribly mediocre in every way except its founding idea, which it basically made a whole lot less interesting by focusing it way too narrowly. I'll give it a couple of more eps to see where it goes, but for now I'll call this show this season's "Fringe": The Big Sci-Fi Show I Don't Care About.
Now where's that last season of "Lost"?
Loki Aesir # 27. September 2009, 12:01
First, Amras, I don't "despise" the traditional sitcom-feel! Not by any means. It's just not very impressive, and it feels rather done. Any show that leaves that impression will struggle much more than other shows to make an impact on me, but being jaded to it isn't the same as disliking it. Felt I needed to clarify that before I replied to anything else.
Then for shows I didn't mention:
I had already decided I'll shelf "Flash Forward", seeing as both you guys were less than thrilled about it and my plate, as you can see, is already very full.
"The Prisoner", on the other hand, I am most definitely checking out. Reason I forgot about it? I did this post with the aid of My episodes.com, and "The Prisoner" doesn't show up in my calendar all autumn. I guess it maybe doesn't have a set airing date yet? But yes, I'm totally going to check out that one, thanks for reminding me.
"Cougar Town", you've both scared me away from. "The Big Bang Theory" I might see someday, but being behind on it combined with Amras telling me it feels like a very typical sitcom is not making it a high priority, and this autumn won't be the time where I find that time. On my to-check-out-list, it's far behind shows such as "Weeds", "Entourage", "Breaking Bad", "The Shield" or "Damages", and thus eons into the future. Particularly considering I won't actually have as much time to watch TV this upcoming year and will likely have to drop a large number of the ones I already watch.
"Modern Family" I hadn't even heard about before. I'd appreciate it if you guys could give me some more extensive comments on it, perhaps compare it to other sitcoms in different ways and aspects so I know if I should go through the trouble of checking it out.
So, individual replies. Yes, Robert, my plate is rather full, but I chose it to be. I am taking twice the amount of courses I'm supposed to, but only for my own vanity's sake. The courses I needed were in English (one modern literature and one linguistics), and they sounded (and turned out to be) rather boring. I didn't want my last term of academics to be filled with only boring courses, so I added a course in medieval history and one in political thought, bringing my total amount of courses into twice what's normal. That might have been a mistake, but at least I'm having fun with some of my studies this term, and that's hard to overvalue. (And thanks for your concern, but don't worry, I always find time for my girlfriend. I'm a huge sap, my priorities in that regard is rather locked...)
You make a good point about the lack of a conflict in "Bored to Death". When I've seen another episode or two of it, remind me, and I'll get back to you on it. A little tough to judge based on the pilot alone.
"Accidentally on Purpose" vs "Community", broken down into lists:
Pro Community:
- the jokes I liked most from the two were all in Community.
- Community had a far more original premise, and a less over-used style.
- while having an obvious protagonist, the show had much more of an ensemble-cast where the supporting characters might be given a lot of attention down the road, too
Pro AoP:
- had much more frequent jokes than Community
- was thus consistently funny
- while the aesthetic might have been over-used sitcom-style, it used it well
Cons
- AoP basically only really had a couple of characters, with the rest being flat supporting people with one-track personalities
- AoP also felt a lot like any other sitcom, struggling with establishing its own identity
- Community, while really funny when it was, had good jokes too rarely and far apart for a comedy show
- Community is also set at a college, which, while the style of the show is more original than AoP's, makes it at times feel like "just another school-show"
In short, I liked both, loved neither, and need to watch more before I say which one is better.
"House" is indeed a very procedural show. As I mentioned in my post, it is, however, quite brilliant in the few episodes where it departs from its procedural style. (Usually premieres and finales, obviously) The fact that I still watch it despite my hatred for the procedural formula should tell you something about just how awesome Hugh Laurie is in the title role. And, as Amras points out, how great the show is at investigating and analysing the main character.
I see I've already addressed every one of Amras' points too by now, so I'll let that be it for this reply. Thank you both so very much for your extensive commenting. Makes me think it was worth the bother to write the post. :D
Anonymous # 27. September 2009, 20:02
Modern Family is a mockumentary style show that follows three families and their daily lives. They are all related in some way, but obviously they have different sorts of dysfunction tied to them.
Don't know if you would know any of the cast, but it stars the main actor from "Married with Children" as well as a man (forgot his name, sorry) from the underappreciated "The Class" (only one season and canceled as well as "Putnam County Spelling Bee" (musical).
It's quite different from "The Office" or "Parks and Recreation" which I appreciate. Hope that helps.
As far as "House," I don't think I'm committing a sin by not watching it, and it's not really on purpose, just that by the time I noticed it, it had been a few season in, much like
"24." So to catch up, which I wouldn't mind doing, would require A LOT of time because I have to do it from the beginning.
I don't think I'm going to watch "Bored to Death" so you should tell me how it is once you watch it Loki. And I'm still on the fence about another sitcom. There are so many...
Loki Aesir # 27. September 2009, 20:08
As for "House", Amras was overstating it by saying you were committing a sin. Of course you're not. But the show does have some merits that I rarely see other places, and its average episode holds a high level of quality in spite of the procedural structure.
Mockomentaries - my experience is mostly limited to "The Office" (which I wasn't crazy about, though it's well-made) and "Arrested Development" (which is hilarious). Thanks for the specification! I think I'll leave it be for now, three sitcoms is as mentioned already a lot for me.
I will totally keep you abreast of "Bored to Death", no problem.
Loki Aesir # 27. September 2009, 20:08
As for "House", Amras was overstating it by saying you were committing a sin. Of course you're not. But the show does have some merits that I rarely see other places, and its average episode holds a high level of quality in spite of the procedural structure.
Mockomentaries - my experience is mostly limited to "The Office" (which I wasn't crazy about, though it's well-made) and "Arrested Development" (which is hilarious). Thanks for the specification! I think I'll leave it be for now, three sitcoms is as mentioned already a lot for me.
I will totally keep you abreast of "Bored to Death", no problem.
Jackstrom # 28. September 2009, 21:40
Not really much I can comment on here, really. The premiere of House really blew me away, as it felt more like a full movie than anything else.
Heroes, by contrast, was a bit of a disappointment. And for some reason I'm incredibly annoyed by how (little) the death was treated when the conclusion about it was revealed. On the whole it just felt like more of the same, and to me that's never a bad thing, but it doesn't really get me excited either.
Dollhouse; they finally make Whiskey an awesome character and then they take her away. A very strong open for the new season that worked both as a stand-alone and as a part of an arc, and did pretty much everything right or as right as can be expected. But I know the ratings weren't exactly spectacular, so I can't help watching it with a deep rooted fear of commitment.
The rest of the shows mentioned I haven't really watched to the extent where I'd like to comment about it in this discussion. Though they will probably be briefly featured when at some point I make a post in my own blog.
Loki Aesir # 29. September 2009, 00:09
Heroes would've been a disappointment if I had any expectations, but I didn't, so I quite enjoyed it for the mediocrity it was. Also, Robert Knepper. Ser'sly.
Not really following your remark on "the death", don't know which one you're talking about. Some clarification please?
Dollhouse - yes, Whiskey became awesome last season. Sadly, nobody thought Dollhouse'd be renewed, and Acker already had a contract in place to do some other show. Thus they only get her for a very limited amount of guest spots this fall, and they're doing the most they can with them. That taken into consideration, I thought they found a plausible in-story way to remove the character from the fray for a while that in no way diminishes her awesomeness for whenever she'll return.
I agree on your feelings on the episode, but not on the ratings. This show won't get a third season (I cynically believe the only reason it got a second is because Fox wants to make it a cult hit before they cancel it so they can sell a lot of DVDs in decades to come, and the first season didn't make enough of an impact to do that alone. This is likely also part of the reason they bring on so many geek-approved guest stars this season, so they can throw their names on the DVD-box and make it sell even better) unless another miracle occurs, and that is in no way keeping me from committing. I'm hoping we'll get the backorder of the nine episodes bringing season 2 to 22, but even that's a long-shot. Other than that, I'm perfectly content with knowing it'll just be another season of 13. That's enough. That's 13 more than I thought we'd get this spring, and twice as much as Firefly got. I have no fear of committing just because it might end - Whedon basically guarantees he'll tie it up relatively well regardless just like he did with season 1. When I start a novel, I don't feel terrified the book will end on the last page without knowing how the ending will be beforehand or if the author will ever get to write sequels. There's no reason I can't watch season 2 of Dollhouse with the same attitude.
As for the rest - I'm looking greatly forward to your post!
Jackstrom # 29. September 2009, 10:27
Dollhouse: I actually didn't notice Whiskey much in the first season, it was really in this episode she stood out in her intaraction with Topher. As for the future prospect of the series; it's not so much commitment to the storyline I shy away from as it is to the entire series. I've pointed it out before that more of the same isn't necessarily a bad thing to me, and thus I worry more over the idea that there may not be more of the same. That distinction probably doesn't alter your opinion, though.
Loki Aesir # 29. September 2009, 13:22
Dollhouse: No, it doesn't. Of course I'd love more of the same, too, but I manage to enjoy Deadwood's three seasons just fine despite knowing there is the lack of a proper ending always waiting when I get through them. If I can do that with the best show ever, I can do that with Dollhouse, too. Especially since Whedon is likely to offer a bit more closure in his season finale than was done on a show at the time feeling certain it would come back.
Jackstrom # 30. September 2009, 10:52
Loki Aesir # 30. September 2009, 11:22
Anonymous # 5. October 2009, 03:15
Hm lot's of shows I'm unfamiliar with here, so I'll restrict my comment to the few shows I do know about.
The only shows I'll be following this season are The Big bang Theory, HIMYM and Dexter.
I'm curious to see how the fourth season of Dexter will play out, seeing as the previous season was rather... uneventful. However this new seaosn plot looks promising, especially due to the arrival of a new serial killer. I just hope he doesn't turn out like "The Skinner".
HIMYM looks promising aswell. I have yet to determine how I'd rate season 4 compared to 1-3, but I have high hopes the new season will turn out to be as entertaining as ever. The season 4 finale "teaser" was just annoying however.
I have much, much faith in The Big Bang Theory, as the previous seasons maintained a high, steady quality througout.
Though I'll admit it's more orthodox in it's format and structure than, say, HIMYM, it's still very funny, and contains much mcontains much less cheese then the aforementioned sit-com.
I have only watched seasons 1-3 of "House", andd do not think I'll continue further. The show fails on so many levels, in my opinion. With the exception of House himself, just about all the other characters are exteremeley boring to the point where I start hating them. Hugh laurie's performance as House is the only thing carrying the show, and even THAT character has becaome rather tedious.
I know that they have made some changes in the fourth season, but they would have to be pretty spectacular to save it from it's dull and repetetive state.
Loki Aesir # 5. October 2009, 10:10
Other than that, of shows I mentioned here and what I know of your tastes taken into consideration, you should check out this summer's canceled "Kings", as well as "Mad Men" and "Dollhouse". The latter two might take some getting used to, but half-way through their first seasons, I'm pretty certain you'll fall for them both. And "Kings" is just awesome from the get-to.
And thanks for commenting!