Fall TV thus far: Predictions and Misgivings
As a follow up report, here’s are a few reflections on how things are going thus far in TV land.
1. Biggest disappointment: Studio 60. It’s just blech-boring most weeks, showing little spontaneity or ingenuity. It’s a sad waste of talent and money. I predict it dies, and soon, probably/hopefully replaced by Battlestar Galactica. NBC will then p0wn Monday nights with a Heroes/BSG lineup.
2. Biggest surprise: Friday Night Lights. Heartwarming and interesting without being too sickly-sweet or talking down to its audience. The show just rings true, and it’s great to see.
3. Most welcome return: Veronica Mars. What a great show. The first two episodes of this season remind me of the genius of its creator, Rob Thomas, and of the show’s fantastic casting. Wit, drama, danger, comedy — it scores on all fronts. BSG is the runner-up thus far.
4. Biggest question: why hasn’t Fox cancelled most of its new shows already? I mean, Justice? Til Death? Standoff? Good gravy, it’s a walking gallows.
Posted on October 11, 2006, in Television. Bookmark the permalink. 125 Comments.
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Oh man, I was thinking the exact same thing about Studio 60. In fact I was thinking of doing a post specifically about it. What drives me crazy about it is the dialogue – it’s just way too perfect (not good perfect). There are no gaps, no breaths, everyone has the perfect response or perfect witty comeback immediately after someone says something. There is no spontaneity. They need to listen to how real people talk, how they often pause, how they sometimes mix up or stumble on their words. I think I’m done with the show.
by the way, tonight is the premiere of 30 Rock, the Tina Fey/Alec Baldwin comedy. People seem to like it.
Fox is just biding time through baseball until January where 24 and American Idol kick everyone’s but.
Speaking of which, NBC needs to move Friday Night Lights (which I am enjoying far more than I thought–the movie was just okay for me) before January. I’ll repeat what I said on the other thread, move it to Monday’s (after MNF is over) and have it lead in to Heroes. BSG after that would be quite a lineup.
Frak, never mind about BSG on NBC. Sorry to get your hopes up, people.
i too have been really taken by friday night lights. and it doesn’t hurt that explosions in the sky does most of the show’s music. it’s also one of those shows that looks great in HD (not that most don’t, but it really enhances the show imho).
I wouldn’t worry too much SG. I still think they might do it as a mid-season replacement like they did with Monk. It all really depends on what NBC has in store to launch midseason. If the cupboard’s dry, you could easily see BSG getting a run.
And I wouldn’t put too much stock into what the spokesperson said.
Studio 60 barely beat out What About Brian in the ratings last week. It doesn’t look good right now.
Question: Does this bode well or poorly for 30 Rock?
I’m not gonna give up on Studio 60 yet. It’s still better than most of the crap on tv.
The most fundamental problem with Studio 60 is that the show within the show is never funny. All of these people telling us about how they are saving TV and not one of them can write a comedy sketch. The show outside the show is sometimes funny, but more often strident in a way that is deeply, deeply unfunny. Sorkin doesn’t seem to know how Christians think or act and really can’t seem to avoid painting them as lunatics. Even his “sympathetic” Christian is a caricature.
One scene defines it: in the first show, there was a scene in the writers’ room where everyone pitches Chandler Bush jokes. He shoots them all down. At the time, I thought it was a commentary on how Bush jokes have worn out their welcome (it’s just too easy, folks). That actually seemed funny. Later, I learned that it was meant to show how Chandler was gun-shy. While that’s fine for characterization, I suppose, it wasn’t played that way initially. The joke turned sour when it turned out to not be a joke.
I’ve kind of enjoyed Studio 60. I had lowered expectations going into it which has probably helped. I recognize that people don’t talk like that, but I enjoy the writing as a stylized, parallel-universie kind of dialogue, like a Mamet film, or a Hartley film.
Has anyone been watching Six Degrees? I’ve liked the first three episodes.
Besides the above two shows, I’m also watching Lost and The Office. That’s it.
Oh, SNL has been just dreadful, especially the Dane Cook episode.
FNL won’t survive one season.
Friday Night Lights probably won’t even last that long. I just got the ratings for last week.
FNL premiered at a 7.2 which made it the 58th rated show. NCIS got a 15.9 in the same slot. Who watches NCIS?
Other interesting numbers:
Ugly Betty is blowing Earl/The Office away somehow. UB pulled a 14.3 (#17) while Earl got a 9.9 and The Office got a 8.9.
Six Degrees was mentioned. It got a decent 9.1, but I don’t think that’s going to fly since it has the best lead-in you could have (Grey’s Anatomy).
Heroes got a solid 13.0 (#25) and Studio 60 got a 8.9 (#44). Smith was canceled after getting an 8.4.
By the way, I don’t see NBC moving Battlestar Gallactica to network TV. It pulled a 1.4. Monk, The Closer, etc. usually get somewhere between a 5 or a 7.
I watched Lost and The Office for the first time last week. Neither show did anything for me.
Going back into my cave, now.
The Office hasn’t been quite the same this year. Have the original producers moved on, or something? There’s been less of the subtle jokes. The ones where you could watch an episode three times and still pick up new nuances.
I saw Ugly Betty. It had its charms, but I don’t see it lasting either. For one thing, it’s a half hour show stretched out to fill an hour.
Tim, BSG’s ratings are irrelevant; it’s on sci-fi, not TNT or USA or any general-purpose network. As a weekly hourlong on a specialty network, I find those ratings to be pretty good.
I have watched Dancing with the Stars for the first time this year, and I’ve watched it every week.
I don’t watch the whole thing, of course, just try to catch 3 dancers, Mario Lopez, Joey Lawrence, and Jerry Springer.
I agree with Susan about The Office. They seem to be doing more silly outlandish jokes and foregoing the subtleties that made it so great. I wonder when Jim will go back, and if that will help.
RE: BSG, it’s behind Eureka in the ratings. And the lack of wide appeal would make it less likely to go broadcast.
erg, brhind Eureka?! sheeeeeeite.
I’m still digging The Office. Loved the first two episodes. The third one was kind of average.
For what its worth, 30 Rock got a glowing review in the L.A. Times today. The reviewer called it the best new show of 2006.
I enjoy Lost immensely and find the direction interesting. I hope the writers don’t add too many new twists that convolute the story any further. Pull some knots free first, dudes.
Heroes is a great new show. I’ve always loved superhero characters and think the writers (and actors) are presenting a good story. One thing I would suggest to the writers of Heroes is this: lay off the negative baggage on your main characters. My favorite characters to this point are Hiro and Claire, because, well, they are the only two who seem to have fun in life and are not bogged down by some tragic situation. Have fun guys. Make it enjoyable. It is the essence of hero characters.
I saw the premiere of Studio 60 but wasn’t impressed enough to continue watching. How many shows are made about making shows? One too many.
oh a few others.
I wasn’t impressed at all with Jericho. I thought the idea was good, but the execution was terrible. So a school bus crashes by running into a deer. Um, that doesn’t kill the driver of the bus! In fact, the driver is probably the safest passenger in a bus! They added in an African American character—one—but in a small town in Kansas, just how many African Americans do you find? I guess the studio forced the writers to put one in, just so they don’t get criticized for not having diversity.
The Amazing Race continues to be amazing. This season is excellent, with great locales. The only problem I have with the show is that they make the participants race through all these wonderful places without really getting a sense of the life in these places. Yeah, going out to pull out oyster nets and giving them to a seller is what Vietnamese do, but I think they need to get even more personal to get a sense of what life is like for them. I realize this is a race, and foremost on the minds of the competitors is to win, but if you’re going to go around the world, create contests where time is not of the essence, at least for a period, so that these competitors get some sense of the lives of the people the rush by. just my soapbox.
I think Jericho has now officially lost me. Heroes is still quite good, though.
I watched the premiere of 30 Rock online this weekend. Tina Fey rocks! How can such a plain looking woman be so attractive? She’s crazy smart and funny, that’s how (and completely comfortable in her skin).
Alec Baldwin is amazing as well. Jane Krokowski? Meh.
As for LOST, mark my words — Ben (FHG) is not evil.
Heroes and LOST are my must-sees.
Bryce,
dude, Ben so reminds me of O’Brien of 1984. I don’t think I could ever trust him to be a good guy. No good guy lies like Ben has. If these guys were good, they would not play with people who just crashed in a plane, killing some, taking others captive, etc. That’s just simply not what good people do. If the writers intended the Others to be good, they failed to convince this fan.
Anyone catch “The Nine”. So far so good, but I’m not too sure where it’s going.
Did you guys see the promos for “Daybreak”? It’s looks like “Groundhog Day” on crack.
I decided I’m done with The Nine, and not just because of the backwards 9 in the title. The storytelling trick that they’re using is just frustrating. There’s a big mystery as to what happened in the bank, all the action has already taken place and they’re going to reveal the details painfully slowly, characters will talk about it without really talking about it, the writers will be all coy and give all kinds of misdirection, and I just don’t have the patience for it. I don’t mind when a storyteller witholds information, but if I know that they’re withoding it just so I keep coming back week after week, I’m not coming back.
30 Rock was OK. Twenty Good Years sucks royal. It’s painful to see Jeffrey Tambor in a lame, paint-by-numbers sitcom role after his great performance in a great role on Arrested Development.
My only question regarding “The Nine” is, What do they do once they reveal what happened?”
That’s the thing. They don’t seem to want to get on to revealing what happened. Last night we got a glimpse of hour ONE(!). They were in the fetchin’ bank for days. At the rate we’re going, we won’t know everything ’til about 2012.
Hey Tim J. – Where do you get all those numbers? I’d like to look that stuff up.
The Nine  takes place over 52 hours. Sounds like 2 seasons of 26 episodes each.
Jeremy,
I work in TV advertising so I get the numbers each week.
USA Today prints an extensive list on either Tuesday or Wednesday, thought cable isn’t included outside a top 10 list.
I’m still living for the Office, and it’s on tonight.
Twenty Good Years looked promising for the first 15 seconds – until the laugh track kicked in. Until then, I thought it might be a network friendly variation on Curb, but no. The jokes in that show were so old, cavemen told them over the cooking fire. About 8:41, I realized I had just received Veronica Mars season one disc 5! WOOT to Nancy Drew snark & my boyfriend: Netflix.
I’m reserving my opinion on 30 Rock for a couple of weeks.
I’ll be watching Ugly Betty tonight, if I remember it’s on. I do have that disc 5, and the rest of last night’s PR to watch.
The Office has slipped considerably. Michael and Dwight have gone from great characters to caricatures.
Still really funny though.
“I now have the strength of a grown man AND a little baby!”
That was really the only funny part last night, though, in the room talking about people they had lost…
“I was on a safari in Africa, with my cousin Mufasa…”
Last week’s episode was pretty good though.
I wonder if the elimination of the UST has harmed the show.
No way. The funeral was hilarious (did you see Ryan in the background?). Jim really needs to come back, though. I don’t mean for the UST, although the lack of it is apparent, but because he’s just not as funny in the other office.
I think this show has some of the best acting on television. Like the scene in this season’s opener when Jim walks in on a naked Angela waiting in a hotel room for Dwight. His reaction was brilliant.
I think they need to do more with the other office instead of manufacturing a new love interest for Jim. Ed Helms needs to be used more.
I liked last week’s episode with Michael having Dwight stand on the desk with a “LIAR” sign jung around his neck.
Creed is hilarious, too. We kept waiting to find out that he’d made up the bit about Ed Truck being decapitated—by a truck! haha. But they never went there.
Who’s the really dopey, deap-pan guy? He needs more lines.
Toby? Oh wait, the bald guy who’s a drummer? That’s Kevin.
All the lesser characters need more lines, and I heard they were going to start developing them more this season. I hope they do.
I was thinking about what you said about Michael and Dwight becoming caricatures, and I think it’s true of Dwight, but I don’t know about Michael. He seemed more like one when the show started out. He’s shown a lot more depth since then.
Did you catch Dwight’s comment about reburying his grandfather (in an oil barrel)? In an earlier episode he was wearing a tux that his grandfather was buried in. Does that mean he dug up his grandfather to get the tux, and then tried to rebury him? Hilarious.
Toby, yeah.
In the episode where Michael burns his foot on the George Foreman grill (a top 3 episode), he has the best lines when Michael falls in the toilet and asks if he can get Ryan to help him…
“No…I can’t…he’s…he’s dead…he died.”
I was rolling.
Heroes and Jericho have each been picked up for full seasons, y’all. The strongest shows so far.
Jericho is good?
Jericho was too hokey for me. I didn’t get past the first episode. Heroes is good though.
UPDATE: Runaway on the CW network has been cancelled. Read about it here. Hopefully this means more CW money for Veronica Mars!
Speaking of Heroes, did anyone else notice that Hiro is turing into Hiro Protagonist? Like waltzing into subways with a big samurai sword strapped to his back?
HP, that was future-Hiro, not the present mild-mannered version.
That’s what makes the show so awesome. How and when does he turn into Sword-wielding Hiro?
The way he was dressed, I assumed he was a jukebox Hiro.
Medium is replacing Kidnapped on NBC Wednesdays at 10/9c. Never really cared for the show much.
next: Guitar Hiro? (nyuk nyuk)
Never cared for Medium, or Kidnapped? I like Medium, because, well for one, I’m a sucker for anything ESP-related, but also because they have these unexpected scary moments. Like when she’s sitting in her car and suddenly a dead body lurches out of the passenger seat at her. So rad.
I never cared much for Medium–Kidnapped was actually not too bad.
I’m not a huge fan of Patricia Arquette and here winning an Emmy was right up there with Marisa Tomei and Mira Sorvino in award show blunders.
What’s this? NBC excercising some common sense and moving Friday Night Lights to Mondays after “Heroes”?
Though I’m not sure if a show about football would do well in a head to head time-slot against an actual football game, it just might work.
Now, what to do about Studio 60?
Here’s the trailer for Day 6 of 24.
I’d say the ante has been raised.
It’s a fair trailer, Tim, but don’t you think it’s all been done before?
The Heroes/FNL lineup is magical.
Done before? Yes. WIll I still watch? Absolutely–and you will too.
But this time he has a beard. And he’s going to sacrifice himself.
THE BEARD CHANGES EVERYTHING!
p.s. the costumers at 24 aren’t going to win any awards anytime soon. Worst.looking.fake.beard.ever.
Doesn’t it seem like putting FNL up against MNF is a bad, bad idea?
Re: Keifer’s beard:
It’s not like regular watchers of 24 have come to expect realism or have any trouble suspending their disbelief.
RE: FNL vs. MNF
It comes on at about the same time as half-time, and if it’s a blow out…? I don’t know–it does seem curious–but it’s worth a shot.
It is a great show, though. And the fact that I can watch Heroes and FNL in one sitting is great.
Gilmore Girls is off the must-see (or even maybe-see) list.
Pity that. But not entirely unexpected.
I can’t really do serial dramas at the moment — I’m going to have to bump all of them to Netflix until such time as Tivo and cable come into my life.
That leaves me with Earl/The Office and college football. And I probably will watch VM if it’s on and I have the time. From what I’ve seen, I can watch it this season and it won’t ruin the prior ones for me (which I will get to on DVD once the wife and I finish the first two seasons of BSG).
I miss good sitcoms. Granted, Earl/The Office are some of the best ever, but there aren’t any good-to-middling ones out there that I can tune in to if I’m in the mood ala Frasier/Scrubs/Friends, etc. Maybe Everybody Loves Chris, but other than that…
WM,
Have you tried “How I Met Your Mother?” It’s fairly standard fare, but usually good for a few laughs. I catch it if I’m flipping channels, but not too often.
What about Monk or Psych? The latter is probably the next funniest show after Earl/The Office despite some over-the-top acting.
According to the website (not the most knowledgeable, I know) FNL (boo!) is only next week before Studio 60 is back (yay!).
You’re right. But I wonder if FNL pulls a bigger rating (shouldn’t be too difficult), it will cause a shakeup.
Studio 60 would probably do a whole lot better with a different lead-in as well.
What Tim said. “How I Met Your Mother” is a real jewel.
WM,
Hey, ask and ye shall receive. Scrubs is back on starting in November. NBC is still going to attempt to take back Thursdays with a comedy block.
30 Rock and Scrubs are going to be added to Earl and The Office. Of course, pitting Scrubs and 30 Rock up against CSI and Grey’s could spell disaster.
BTW, Twenty Good Years is being put out of its misery. I don’t see John Lithgow and Jeffrey Tambor will be adding the show to their respective resumes.
Wednesdays are now a mess for a NBC.
I watched Gray’s Anatomy for the first time, last week (high-def).
What a terrible show! I thought Lost was the worst thing I’d seen all year, until this.
The hottest show on television? Ugh.
D.,
Remind me again why you own a TV?
D., I agree — Gray’s Anatomy stinks. But Sumer likes it.
I work in an office full of women, and for the first three hours of work on Friday mornings, Grey’s is all anybody talks about. It’s getting out of hand.
HeHe, my home theater is my great hobby, and it has altered my life.
My monitor: Fujitsu 5001 50″ plasma
My audio: Boston Acoustics HT3000 (5.1 surround sound)
Video sources: Toshiba HD-A1 HD-DVD player, SA3000 High-Def DVR from Time-Warner
I watch movies, mostly. I have 2,400 DVDs, and about 10 HD-DVDs, plus I record high-def movies from HD-Net and other high-def channels.
Some friends came over last week because they wanted to watch Gray’s Anatomy in High-Def.
So, we watched it.
The people are pretty, but that’s about all I got out of that show.
(speechless)
Because you’re in awe of me, or think I’m just a huge troll?
Steve, back me up on this. Isn’t my HT everything I’ve said it is?
(wondering what Seven Brides for Seven Brothers looks like in HD)
I only have the DVD of it, and that’s an interesting example to have used. The negative was tragically destroyed when it was blown up to 70mm in the late 80s.
The DVD looks OK, but George Feltenstein was very apologetic about it (he’s the head of Warner Home Video).
DVDs are standard resolution, not High-Def.
How come no one mentioned Fashion House yet? Nothing to stir up some nice lowbrow mindless 80s nostalgia like Bo Derek and Morgan Fairchild. I’ve been seeing the ads on bus stops all over NYC.
Tragic, indeed.
#85 was in response to D. #83. Hate it when that happens.
Seven Brides, of course, was shot in Cinemascope AND flat (1.85:1), two completely separate movies, and both of them can be found on the DVD.
The flat version looks a LOT better, but it isn’t as good a movie as the Cinemascope one (which is the one that was destroyed).
I just ignore most TV shows and don’t have strong feelings one way or the other about them, even the ones that really suck. But I hate Grey’s Anatomy.
Tom, I feel the same way.
This is actually the first year in awhile that I’ve tried watching some network series.
The only one I continue to watch, in spurts, is Dancing with the Stars.
D., you sprung for the Toshiba HD-A1? How do you like it? How about we do a new post on home theater basics? you up for that?
p.s., D., you really need to get an antenna for HD signal. Cable HD is inferior to OTA broadcast channels — really. I’ve done a side-by-side comparison, and cable HD is just…. ugly.
Well, you know NYC, Super. I really can’t do satellite at all.
I’m satisfied with cable HD.
But the Toshiba has really put me into a quandary. It really wants HDMI, but my plasma (nearly 5 years old) doesn’t have HDMI. What’s an unemployed person to do?
I’ve never watched Grey’s Anatomy, for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I’m so sick of medical dramas and it just looked lame. I’m wondering now, though, if you guys hate it so much, if maybe I’d like it. For it’s stinkiness. Really bad tv is awesome, after all. Or is it just bad enough to be bad?
D., a plasma without HDMI is like a dog without a bone: fundamentally still a dog. But not a happy one.
And you can get quite a few HD channels over the air, for free, with a $20 antenna in NYC. That’s what we did. You get all the basic channels.
Hmm, I was told that I wouldn’t get any reception. North windows.
I do disagree with your idea that my plasma isn’t happy without HDMI. My plasma came before HDMI was developed, and it is very happy indeed with component cables.
I haven’t needed HDMI at all, until this year and the advent of HD-DVDs and BDs.
Wow – I go put the baby down & this explodes!
I completely agree that if FNLs does better, it may be a permanent shift. I just hope Studio 60 doesn’t go away completely. It’s a great show. Even if we are the only ones watching now!
Susan – I think it a great show. Not in the Criminal Minds kinda way, but in a great escape kinda way. I’d say it’s the tv equivalent of a chick flick, but my hubby likes it too…
(and yay for Scrubs coming back!!)
Susan, Gray’s Anatomy isn’t stinky enough to love it. It’s what gabby says: a TV chick flick.
Susan, Grey’s Anatomy isn’t fun/bad, like Desperate Housewives.
Grey’s Anatomy is ER without the drama, but with better sex and prettier people.
D., I mock your puny component cables. My single cable digital powerhouse HDMI connection looks down on you to scorn.
Ha, Steve. Of course, you have only tried to emulate me, your HT idol, in every single Best Buy purchase you ever made, but alas, the master remains the master.
Of course, I wish I had your salary…
D. Fletcher watches DANCING WITH THE STARS!
D. Fletcher watches DANCING WITH THE STARS!
And he’s really picky, so it must be good!
Hi, Brian!
Hey, do you guys write any of the actual lines? Like the jokes?
I didn’t watch Dancing with the Stars until this year. I watched the very first week, and I realized immediately that it’s all about the men.
Men can’t dance, traditionally, and so the fun of the show is seeing which ones will follow suit (like Jerry Springer, fun to see them make fools of themselves) or which ones will actually do well (like Mario Lopez, who might as well be a professional dancer).
The women are just less interesting, even the ones who can actually dance. Ho hum, don’t all women dance?
D.,
The innerworkings of DWTS are absolutely secret and confidential, I’m afraid, but to answer your question I don’t write the actual lines in the live show, those are either improvised by Tom Bergeron, or written by someone else.
I help put together the packages that run prior to a couple dancing, and it’s a process shrouded in secrecy, much like the Colonel’s secret herbs and spices. In fact, ABC security follows me around all day.
Really?
Isn’t that… kinda silly?
Well, I have enjoyed the show, sort of. I really don’t ever watch the second day (Wednesday). I don’t get anything out of the professional dancers doing their thing. I can just look up on the Internet who won.
Thanks, Tim J. I had no idea that Scrubs was coming back.
Monk and Psych are cable so no go there.
I do like How I Met Your Mother*, but it comes on during putting-the-kid-to-bed time (most of the time) so I’m not always able to watch it — plus there’s the very real danger that I’ll keep the tube on and end up watching Men/Christine — which is always a mistake.
* Weird thing about that show. It’s one of the few shows where the leads get together and it actually gets funnier. Of course, that meant the other couple had to break up — but that turned out to be not as much of as a disaster as it could have been.
Well, I made up the thing about ABC security, but yes it is pretty silly.
In any case, thanks for watching.
Um, I have neither cable nor Tivo. I don’t watch TV at night either. I pretty much watch everything on the internet the next day.
Looks like the John Lithgow crap-com is cancelled. SCRUBS is now on Thursdays:
NBC’s new Thursday line-up, effective Nov. 30:
8:00 p.m. My Name Is Earl
8:30 p.m. The Office
9:00 p.m. Scrubs
9:30 p.m. 30 Rock
10:00 p.m. ER
hp, we’re worse… no tivo, no cable, no internet (i read the blogs on my cell). oh, and what we DO watch is viewed on a 13″. such a simple life. i think d. fletcher is probably vomiting or at least convulsing right about now…
rabbit ears do us no good, so i get weekly packages from mother dearest with “the office,” “grey’s” (hate it!), and “er.” oh, and “desperate housewives.” i’m two weeks behind because we really just don’t watch tv that much. we just returned our lone netflix dvd after it took two weeks to watch. i’d thought of cancelling and just going with the local library, but the library obviously has a hideous selection AND charges $3.25 each movie check-out.
8:30 is such a bad time for the Office. It should be on at 9.
I’m guesing they don’t want it to go up against CSI and Grey’s.
I gave up on “The Nine.” It appears as though I’m not alone.
I’m down to Heroes, Studio 60, Friday Night Lights, Lost, and Earl/The Office.
Things looked so promising, too.
Tim, no BSG?!?! come ON, man
What’s BSG again?
All right, all right. I’ll check it out. Do I need to start with the miniseries, or can I just start with Season 1?
Actually, my list is the same as Tim J.’s except that I have How I Met Your Mother/The Class instead of Friday Night Lights. Should I add FNL to my rotation?
HP,
It’s really good–much better than I had anticipated, and this week it will be on right after Heroes.
Amen Tim. FNL is really very good.
Tim, you can start with Season 1, but the miniseries is also worthwhile. I’d watch it all if I were you.
Tim,
The miniseries is not as good as season 1, but better than much of season 2, and nowhere near as good as season 3 so far. It is probably worth watching since it introduces the characters, and they play the original BSG music at one point. Pay no attention to the fact that the bridge of the miniseries Galactica is not the same as the series Galactica.
rJ — it’s a different bridge? Hunh. I guess you’re right! I hadn’t noticed.
I would just point out that Season 2 is still very good, and the high points of Season 2 are about as good as TV gets (until Season 3 came, that is).
IMHO you have to start with the miniseries. I personally felt Season 2 was excellent and Season 3 so far has been good, but is being overhyped.
Season 3 though, is a good place to get on the BSG bandwagon because it begins at a good place to jump in.
SG,
Please don’t let that ruin your enjoyment of the show.
rJ, you know it takes more than that to derail a fanboy like me.
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