TV Week Four
OK, it’s about the fourth week of the new season. I know we’ve been discussing things off and on for a while now. I’m just curious as to where everyone stands. Here are my thoughts and the shows I’ve cast off.
From what I’m hearing almost everyone is giving up on the Bionic Woman. Pushing Daisies seems to be a hit with everyone although most are dubious if they can sustain it for a full season. (Although last week’s episode suggests it’s not going in the direction many of us feared) A lot of folks have given up on the well written but horribly directed Chuck. I think there’s a general disappointment with Heroes but I haven’t heard of anyone giving up on it. Yet.
House seems to be doing well. I don’t know how others feel but I think they’ve shaken up the format enough that it won’t seem like last season – too much copying of the prior season. (Although I honestly didn’t think the cop/drug subplot was that much a copy of the new investor in the hospital subplot)
I haven’t had time to watch last week’s My Name is Earl. While the whole “prison” bit was an interesting way to stick to the structure yet do it in a different way I kind of feel it’s wearing out its welcome. We’ll see though. Earl is always a bit hit or miss in its humor. (To me kind of like the Office – although I know others will disagree)
I’m still way behind in my Office viewing so I’ll not comment on that. From what I hear though it’s doing a bit better than last year. Mainly due to abandoning some of the romantic subplots.
One show I haven’t watched but some have enjoyed is Journeyman. I only have limited TV watching time so I just didn’t add it to my queue – primarily because it just looked like warmed over Quantum Leap but without the heart, humor or charm. Maybe folks can convince me otherwise.
Other shows that are winding down or ended. Top Chef, one of my few reality shows I watch, ended on a positive note. The Cooking Channel has tried to get back at Bravo by starting up The New Iron Chef which is basically a Top Chef clone but with more experienced (and better) chefs and done more in the style of Iron Chef. I enjoyed the first episode last week but I think Top Chef is just far better edited. New Iron Chef just doesn’t show enough of the cooking and it does that annoying “show everything from the next segment before the commercial break” bit. Although Top Chef does that annoying poignant pauses before telling you any information. I’ll admit I’ve become a bit bored with Iron Chef and have more or less stopped watching it. (My friends have said the same)
I’ve also become somewhat bored with American Chopper – one of those shows I used to relish. They don’t show as much about making the bike as they used to. So we find ourselves watching silly “let’s have some fun so they have something new to show” moments. On the other hand some of the conflict from the early seasons may be making a comeback. Pauli is acting erratic (to my eyes) Anyone think he’s returned to his drug using ways? It’s hard to say. (I hope not – although like the early dysfunction it’d make for compelling TV. But that’s a horrible thing to want.) The problem is that now that they are all multimillionaires it’s becoming less fun to watch. Although some of the staff are getting a bit annoyed with Pauli.
Coming up at the end of this month is Discovery following yet an other Everest Expedition. Last year’s was amazingly compelling and engrossing television. I admit that while I haven’t been able to climb much the past few years that climbing and mountaineering always has a special place in my heart. I’m eargerly awaiting this one.
In November the new Battlestar Galactica subproject is coming out. It’s all about the Pegasus rather than Galactica. Reportedly the first half is about their escape from the initial Cylon attack while the second half is all about Adama Jr. running the ship. According to rumors it ends up giving some important clues for how the final season of Galactica (which starts in January) will go. Apparently it also marks the return of the old school (i.e. Glen A Larson style) Cylons and their conflict with the new humanoid models. I can’t wait.
Posted on October 15, 2007, in Pop Culture. Bookmark the permalink. 59 Comments.
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Oh I guess I didn’t mention my own comments on what to keep or not.
I’m giving Chuck an other week. I thought last week was even worse directed (and acted) than previous weeks. But I just love the writing. But it’s becoming harder to keep.
Heroes is a big disappointment. I’m not giving up yet though.
House is a keep, of course.
My Name is Earl is a keep, although it’s one of the shows I postpone for watching.
The Office is getting recorded but it’s not my first pick. (To be frank I’m only on the season finale from last seasons – so yeah, I’m behind)
Things we are watching live (high compliment!): The Office (while still tivo’ing so we can go back & laugh again) and How I Met Your Mother and Aliens in America (only because both tivos are busy then – if I miss, I miss) and the hubby is still with Heroes. I gave up on it.
Things Tivo’d:
Chuck. I don’t get the hate. I’m loving it.
Big Bang Theory
Beauty & the Geek
Pushing Daisies
Life
Survivor
Without a Trace
Men in Trees
Ugly Betty
Things we aren’t watching anymore:
Grey’s
Earl
Back to You (it had such potential…)
Never started Bionic Woman and I’m feeling really grateful for that!
Bionic Woman is toastered, I think.
Heroes might be getting better. Not watching it tonight, but Geoff J will fill in.
My wife loves Ugly Betty and Dancing with the Stars. I haven’t watched Betty but hear it is good if you’re into basically a humorous Telemundo like soap translated into American network TV. Dancing I just can’t get into because the dancing isn’t that great. I liked So You Think You Can Dance though since it’s not taking non-dancers (with a few semi-dancers) and trying to teach them.
I’d forgotten about Aliens in America which seems like a riff on a similar show on the CBC about a Mosque in the Canadian prairie. (Which I hear is fantastic but which I’ve never seen) I’ve heard the American version, which is more about alienation of different kinds beyond the assimilation of foreigners but, is good. But I’ve never watched it. Anyone want to comment on it more?
The Office is still my fave. Clark I think you’ve missed the whole Dwight-mercy-killing-Angela’s-cat plot. Just the idea of it makes me laugh.
Bionic Woman I ended up not watching after the pilot, I think.
Chuck I’m still watching.
I didn’t get to Heroes episode last week and I’m not sure I’m going to bother now.
I still watch Dancing With the Stars religiously and find myself wishing there was dancing on every night. Loved the tango in Chuck, BTW, that was funny.
American Idol’s band competition show starts up this week.
I tried watching Journeyman but it was too quiet/slow for how late it was on and we turned it off and went to sleep.
Beauty and the Geek I love, America’s Next Top Model I love. Criminal Minds and NUMB3RS have both been awesomely bad this year.
I forgot to tape last week’s episode, but Reaper is worth checking out for those who have axed Bionic Woman and/or Chuck.
Tell us about Reaper William.
Susan, when was the cat subplot? I admit I missed a lot of episodes last year. Or was that this year? I’ll probably be caught up this week.
“American Idol’s band competition show starts up this week.”
Oooh, thanks for reminding me Susan!
I LOVE SYTYCD, but I don’t do Dancing w/ the Stars. Just can’t.
The cat subplot started in this season’s opener and is so stinking funny it hurts. We had to pause to wipe away tears.
Dwight euthanizes Angela’s sick/dying cat. And you know how she is about cats.
“As a farmer, I know that when an animal is sick, sometimes the right thing to do is to put it out of its misery.”
Dwight: It was only a cat.
Angela: You don’t like them.
Dwight: Cats do not provide milk nor wool or meat.
But the best line is Angela talking about the fights… jealousies… cliques… among her cats.
Susan, how did they write in Mandy P leaving Criminal Minds? We’ve missed them all this year.
Aliens in America deals w/ prejudice very well. I believe (though I could be wrong) that it is written by a Muslim, which may be why it’s remotely good! However, the American / Muslim prejudice parallels the general “doesn’t fit in in high school” prejudices that the host son is dealing with and how they forge a friendship through it. While being funny and parading around Luke (I mean Scott Patterson) for me to look at (even if his Wisconsin accent sucks).
The Office has been very, very strong this year.
I’m glad Top Chef was brought up. It was very good this year, but the LIVE season finale seemed very odd. Not sure why they felt the need to do it that way. I still consider it the best reality show.
I’m basically biding my time until Lost, American Idol, and 24 come around.
I caught Journeyman and it was just all right. It’s a bit different than QL, but not better.
Tracy, a good friend of his (girlfriend? dunno) was killed by a serial killer he was hunting, and then he lost it. Wasn’t any good on the job anymore—second guessing himself. So he wrote a big note to the geeky genius guy in his remote cabin—they totally made it look like he was going to commit suicide. So funny. But it turns out he just got in his car and started driving, no destination in mind. Bye bye, Mandy.
Meanwhile the rest of the team was in jeopardy of losing their jobs, under investigation, it was delightfully stupid. I really love this show.
Reaper is very good — I second the approval. It’s produced by Kevin Smith and has a nice Clerks-ish vibe, about a slacker working at home depot who becomes a bounty hunter for Satan.
Friday Night Lights
I was unable to record Cane, but not big loss.
Pushing Daisies,
My Name is Earl,
Five Parts- a really good HBO miniseries on with the hottie from Spooks/MI-5 (not the main guy, the black guy).
Ugly Betty
Office
(gave up on Heroes)
Journeyman & Life
Nothing strikingly good this season like Lost or BSG. Lots of fluff, which is OK. FNLights is perhaps the best out there imho.
It is the season of Brits trying on American accents. New find: Bionic Woman is from East Enders! Add to it Damien Rice, Journeyman guy.
Friday Night Lights is exceptional. They do need to get back to the football before it turns into Dawson’s Creek though.
Right now the shows I look forward to the most every week are Pushing Daisies and Gossip Girl. My other faves are How I Met Your Mother (except this season hasn’t been as good as the previous seasons) and 30 Rock. I’m also enjoying Ugly Betty. I do still watch Grey’s, but Private Practice is completely unwatchable, imo (many of you probably already thought that without even ever watching it). I’ve been watching Dirty Sexy Money and I want to see at least the first episode of Samantha Who. I also usually watch Desperate Housewives and Brothers and Sisters and Iron Chef America. (And semi-watch Next Iron Chef.) I watched the first 3 episodes of House but think I’ll let that one go. (I know, I know, I still should cut out a lot more.)
To follow up on what Super-G said:
I think that what I like about it is that although there is a lot of goofiness, the main character really does want to make sure that these escaped souls don’t continue to cause harm, but he struggles because a) he wants to try and have a normal relationship with a co-worker he likes and b) he doesn’t feel entirely capable (and he isn’t — one of the jokes is that he is a total slacker because his parents felt guilty about selling his soul to the devil [they thought they couldn't have children and so could safely make a deal with Satan to save his father's life]) and c) he wants his parents to not feel so guilty about what they did.
It’s sort of like Buffy meets Arrested Development. Sort of.
May I please reiterate my vote for funniest show on TV? It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Behold.
i love that dwight mercy-killed angela’s cat. this last episode where he was all scruffy and sad and beat the computer in sales to impress angela was my favorite so far this season. though they’ve all been good. my husband has been watching kid nation. he says it’s a great concept though there is way too much adult intervention. i have yet to watch pushing daisies.
I’ll have to check out Reaper. I’d not heard any buzz about it at all. When is it on?
BTW – anyone catch the last two South Parks? Pretty good this season. (Although every season tends to have one or two bad episodes)
Reaper airs at 9/8 central on Tuesdays on the CW.
I wish I had time to watch that much TV.
Heroes, Pushing Daisies, and Cavemen. (Yes – it’s actually quite funny. The first episode was only okay, but the second one was well done, and the reviews for tonight’s are pretty good).
That’s all I have time for. I’ll make time for BSG when it comes out, of course.
Oh, yeah. And House. But that’s not on this week.
And forget what I said about Cavemen. Tonight’s episode is awful. It’s now dropped. Perhaps I’ll add another show.
I’ll second the love for Big Bang Theory. Mondays on CBS are making for some smart humor.
Here are my one-word reviews of the new shows I have watched (number of episodes watched in parentheses):
Aliens in America (2) – OK
Chuck (2) – disappointing
Journeyman (3) – good
Cavemen (1, last night) – bad
Back to You (1, pilot) – OK
Reaper (1, last night) – good
Pushing Daisies (1.5) – good
Bionic Woman (3) – disappointing
Life (2) – OK
And another plug for Friday Night Lights (2) – awesome
What is it, exactly, that people love so much about FNL? I tried watching it once and turned it off after about 10 minutes because of the camera work. Just drove me crazy. All I saw were two guys in wheelchairs throwing themselves down a ramp or something. Is it a soapy drama?
OK, I’m more up to date with the Office. The cat stuff wasn’t nearly as funny as the whole rabies thing. Although it does seem like the Jim romance is still dominating the show. Ugh.
I tried to watch Reaper. But it had that sort of low budget HD-camcorder with poor lighting style that Chuck had. The writing just wasn’t enough to keep me watching it though. (I didn’t even watch the whole show)
Did anybody else freak out when “Wilfred Woodruff” made an appearance on Pushing Daisies?
i just watched the first episode of pushing daisies last night and loved it. i am looking forward to watching the next two tonight. …and i just noticed last lemming’s comment..wilford woodruff?
aubrey, it’s actually “Wilfred.” He’s Asian southern gentry.
I’m a bit behind on my TV watching, but Pushing Daisies is my favorite show on TV right now, and might just stay that way until Lost comes back on next year. I like Chuck quite a bit. I disagree with Clark about it being poorly directed. I don’t think McG has directed since the pilot, and I didn’t think that was bad, though it has gotten better each episode.
Other shows I’m watching: The Office, Ugly Betty, House, Bones, Avatar, Heroes. The Office, House and Avatar have all been strong this year. I’ve mostly enjoyed Ugly Betty, but the last episode I watched (I think I’m a week behind) wasn’t that good. Ugly Betty tends to have stinkers now and then, especially when it gets stuck in stupid subplots that don’t go anywhere. Heroes has been significantly worse than last year, but I don’t think the damage is irreparable. They could still get it going again if they develop the plots better.
Pushing Daisies and Chuck are enough for me to declare the new shows a hit, no matter what else is out there. Adding two new programs to my queue is plenty.
BTDG, I agree re: Pushing Daisies. It’s just great, hands-down.
Ugh. At least agree with me that Chuck’s cinematography (especially lighting) is horrible. But I’ll stand by my comment about direction. Compare the fight scenes in Chuck with Alias. Night and day. Yes any TV show will have multiple directors. But this is a place where producers have a lot of input into how shows are directed. That’s true for sure here on Chuck.
BTW – I’ll agree with The Office. In previous years I was always iffy. Some episodes were great and some were so painful it was hard to watch. But this year it has been fantastic. (I love the part where Michael goes into the lake because the computer told him)
Clark, I think you’re running into an apples-to-oranges problem if you’re comparing Chuck to Alias. Chuck is aiming at farce/comedy where as Alias was going for realism/noir(?).
To be honest, I haven’t really noticed any problems with the lighting. Sorry.
Cookie jar collection.
30 Rock is brilliant and hilarious.
To follow up with just one example:
At first I was afraid the character of Kenneth was going to be too broadly played and too one note — but during last Thursday’s episode (the cookie jars one), he showed a range that was fascinating and funny and expertly acted.
I finally watched a full episode of 30 Rock—the one with Seinfeld.
Every character in it is funny except for Tina Fey’s. Her character is lame.
I think Chuck is great. Doesn’t take itself seriously at all and hey, I have a thing for nerds.
Heroes still has a chance.
House is always good.
Life is sadly unknown to most people. It has a quirky lead character and a unique presentation style. You get one crime solved every episode AND a continuing plotline at the same time.
I admit it, I like Bones. Can’t help myself, love it.
Bionic Woman was, perhaps, the biggest disappointment of my young life.
Wish I could remember to watch Numbers still, but I’m usually renting movies on Friday night…..
Bones is unwatchable to me made much, much worse by being based on a fantastic fictional book (made into a crappy movie with Angelina Jolie) and then a real life person. I knew it was in trouble when they had that ridiculous office and then the big 3D computer. What????
Greg, the issue with Chuck isn’t the genre. I can accept it’s a comedy. It’s that it’s just so poorly acted and directed. But hey, I was laughing at all the inside homages to various Kung Fu filming styles last night. (All done on the Avid machine)
As to lighting. Wow. I can’t believe you missed those problems in the first few episodes. They were really glaring. (Pun intended)
I like the personalities on Bones more than the actual gizmos and unrealistic doodads they use. You’ve got your free spirit, your conspiracy theorist, your genius with no common sense, your person who is completely out of touch with pop culture and unable to relate to other human beings…Then there’s an average joe trying to understand them all, it’s fun stuff.
I like Chuck partially because it’s not so glossy, perfect and over-produced. It’s kind of like something you’d write with your friends during a fit of insane goofiness.
Yeah I’m really enjoying Chuck.
Clark have you seen CSI Miami lately? The computers on that show are straight out of Minority Report.
Most of my favorite shows are the ones where I can say, “My computer behaves exactly like that.”
i might give chuck a try since (almost) everyone has been saying it is good. and am i the only one who doesn’t think 30 rock is funny? i’ve only seen one episode and thought it was lame-o. is there a particularly funny episode i should watch?
I think maybe 30 Rock is one of those “funniest things on tv just because everything else sucks so much worse” dealios.
I find 30 Rock consistently good and not just in comparison to all the other lame crap on TV. It’s no Arrested Development, but it’s often as good as The Office.
Chuck to me is way under-produced trying to look glitsy. But I’ll let that dead horse alone. I’ve beaten it enough.
Susan, I’ve never seen CSI Miami. The one or two episodes of CSI Vegas was enough to know I’d scream if I watched it.
Oh, you would scream- with laughter! It’s positively the worst show on TV, and we watch it sometimes just for the screaming laughter it induces. Seriously, BAD BAD BAD- as Susan would say, so bad it’s good.
You really have to have a tolerance for *extremely* bad acting to watch CSI Miami. Or maybe I should say, a healthy appreciate for extremely bad acting. It’s so…(long dramatic pause)…awesome.
well, i am excited to get into arrested development. i have season one at the seattle public library, ready to be picked up. as for 30 rock..i’m still really not convinced.
I think I could handle CSI Miami only if there were a couple of ‘bots making fun of the show at the same time.
Oh, it’s definatly MST3000 material.
And YOU get to be the ‘bots!
I really wonder about the actors on these shows. Do they know how bad it is?
David and I have laughed at how, after David Carusso killed his career post NYPD Blue, that he’s going to ride this CSI beast all the way DOWN!
House has its moments of late – some really good ones, some cringing ones. The LDS church is sure taking a ribbing of late with Black Mormon Doctor. I hate the blonde disruptor – but I recognize the reality show-archetype almost has to exist for the entertainment factor. Was hoping it would be the Steve Carell twin that would be voted off last night.
“Beep, beep, boop, beep. The phones are clear, Michael.”
Oh, TV talk, I feel so at home…
I’m enjoying Chuck. The Office is always an automatic DVR. I liked the first episode of Reaper but subsequent eps have been retreat and disappointing. Too bad, because the lead is appealing in everything he is in. Heroes has been a big disappointment this year. I’ve enjoyed Life. I’m excited for Lost to start again, and my husband can’t wait for 24, even though last season was lame.