Fall TV, Week 5--addendum

OK, I realize that last blog post was a little short.

And I'm sorry that I'm still obsessing over Lexie's death, but there was a flashback of Lexie's face in the promo for this week's Grey's—it's as if they don't WANT me to forget her. Plus another character on another of my beloved shows was killed off this week, and it brought back all those memories. I'm not surprised by her death, not like I might have been by Lexie's if I hadn't read about it (sort of) on Twitter first, but I'm disappointed in this new death. Why bring her on the show if only to kill her off? Sure, she was always a guest star, and I figured that meant something, but still. It's as if she was brought on simply to move the plot forward. As if there was no other way to accomplish what they accomplished. (I don't want to give away too much—I'm sensitive to spoilers.) Weak writing.

So ther than that, I really have nothing to report on this week's TV. We've settled down into one of my least favorite times of the year—let's see how much we can mess with our loyal audience by putting on specials, going on hiatus for the holidays but putting in a special holiday eposide that you're likely to miss if you don't have a DVR, and sweeps.

Don't get me started about sweeps. November, February and May every year. It's supposed to determine audience size so they can figure out how much to charge advertisers, but if they always put on specials and special episodes of existing shows, it doesn't really tell what the "real" audience size is. And all I know is, I either miss my shows for some asinine earthquake/hurricane/volcano event miniseries, or my shows do some sort of over-the-top stunt to attract ratings. Either way, I get screwed.

So I'll talk instead about two shows I haven't mentioned because they're not on the networks: Dexter and Homeland.

I love Dexter, even though after the first few seasons, it's really been kind of up and down. This new situation with Debra knowing what he is has potential. And Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah from my beloved Chuck) could add a lot to the season.

But Homeland. There aren't enough superlatives to discuss this show. The two leads plus Mandy Patinkin and Morena Baccarin are fantastic. The storyline is intense. I didn't know how they were going to pull off a second season, but so far, words can't express how much I'm loving it. And you all know me and words. Even the sound design is amazing.

But this week, the best thing about Dexter and Homeland is that they are not going to be preempted by the election or the World Series (although, as that's going, it's not going to be preempting very much this week either), they are not going to have special Halloween episodes, they aren't going to do anything for sweeps, and they aren't going to go on hiatus.

Fall TV, Week 5

Lexie is still dead.

Fall TV, Week 4

Finally all my TV shows have premiered, and the fall schedule is firmly under way. That must mean it's time to ... start taking breaks.

 

[begin rant]

My rant this week is about breaks. I get it. There's some sort of election coming up, and the two practically unknown candidates (and their running mates) have to go head to head to yell at each other about how they are lying, and then they have to give their canned campaign speeches in return. Like we couldn't get that anywhere else. (Three million commercials a day, anyone?) BUT WHY DOES IT HAVE TO PREEMPT MY SHOWS? Can't they debate on a Saturday night? Just sayin'.

 

I also get that there's some sort of sporting event going on, and there's a run-up of smaller games to get to the big game, and some people appear to be intensely interested in this little contest. But there's a WHOLE CHANNEL devoted to sports—several, in fact, especially if you count ESPN 8, the Ocho—so why do they have to show this event on network television? THE NETWORK THAT SHOWS FRINGE, I might add.

 

It's hard enough to wait a whole week to watch my favorite shows. (And don't anyone say "Well, why don't you just record them all and then watch them when the season is over?" That is not an option. There are spoilers to contend with, and potential malfunctions of the recording device could cause me to miss a crucial episode that migth not be avalable online.) And it's hard enough to follow some shows (yes, Fringe, I'm talking about you) when you watch them every week. But to wait two, three, four weeks between shows, and then have one show, and then it's Thanksgiving, and then there's one more show, and then it's Christmas—you might as well ask me to remember what I had for breakfast on August 17, 1978.)

 

Can we just do what Lost did? Don't start airing a show until you can air it uninterrupted for its entire season. Or maybe you can take ONE break around midseason, and then do a recap show just before picking it up again.

[end rant]

 

Now, on to my pointless ramblings about what I'm watching on TV.

 

Emily Owens, M.D. premiered this week. It's a lot like Grey's Anatomy when it first started—and like Grey's, I love it, and I hate it. I'm not a huge fan of voiceover—I feel like it's the tool of weak writing—but it had some great emotional moments. If I cry during a show, I'm likely to want to watch it again. Don't judge me. (Margeaux, what were your favorite surprises about casting and set location? Too bad it wasn't actually filmed in Denver!)

 

So now that the last show has premiered, where does that leave me? Still watching too much TV. A day-by-day rundown:

 

Sunday

• 666 Park Avenue—I'm still on the bubble with this one, but it did receive an order for an additional two scripts, so I guess I'll stick with it for as long as it sticks around. 
• The Good Wife
• The Mentalist

Monday

• Castle
• Hawaii 5-0
• Revolution—I am really enjoying this and am dying to know how and why the power went out, and what's going to happen when (if) it comes back on? We talked a lot about how well we'd survive if it happened to us. Let's just say the conversation got really depressing really fast.
• Bones
• Notice anything missing? I dropped Partners this week.

Tuesday

• Emily Owens, M.D.—Reviewed above.
• Go On
• The New Normal—I will probably drop this one this week.

Wednesday

• Modern Family
• Criminal Minds
• Arrow—I was kind of ready to drop this, but there's just enough intrigue to keep me hooked. It doesn't have a permanent home, but it'll stick around for a bit.
• Chicago Fire—Ditto my "Arrow" comment.

Thursday

• Last Resort—I feel like this show just keeps getting better and better. It and Revolution are my favorite new shows this year. Plus it just received an order for more scripts, so apparently ABC agrees!
• Grey's Anatomy—This week's episode had me sobbing (see above comment re: crying). When she's not killing Lexie, I like Shonda Rimes very much.
• Scandal—Ditto my "Arrow" comment.
• Person of Interest—My favorite new show from last year is not disappointing me this year.
• Glee—As I mentioned last week, I'll stick with it through the Grease musical, and then we'll see how I feel about it after that.

Friday

• Blue Bloods
• Fringe

Other TV tidbits:

• Animal Practice (Scrubs in a veterinary hospital) was canceled this week. The only wonder is that it lasted as long as it did.
• We're starting to see previews for the midseason shows already. The one I'm most excited about is The Following, with Kevin Bacon and James Purefoy.
• Have you heard of Mockingbird Lane? Bryan Fuller's reboot of The Munsters startrng Jerry O'Connell, Portia de Rossi and Eddie Izzard that was supposed to air midseason? Bryan Fuller did Pushing Daisies, which was such a cute show but didn't last long, and the casting of Mockingbird was ... interesting. I was really looking forward to it, but now I see that NBC is burning off the pilot on Friday. I guess that's better than nothing—and it does give Fuller time to work on his midseason show Hannibal (yes, that Hannibal)—but I was hoping for a little more Munsters.

Well, that's it for now. Hope everyone has a good week!

Fall TV, Week 3

Greetings from fall TV week 3. Only one show has yet to premiere: Emily Owens, M.D. It premiere's Tuesday.

 

Three shows premiered this week:

·         Nashville: I think I made it about as long as my niece Margeaux. I love Connie Britton and Eric Close, but I didn’t like their characters (especially his), and I didn’t like any other characters. Especially Hayden Panettiere. She was awesome as the little girl in Remember the Titans. Since then? Not so much.

·         Arrow: I love a good origin story (this is the story of the super hero Green Arrow), and this does not disappoint. We’ll see how it holds up across a series.

·         Chicago Fire: For the first 55 minutes, we were both saying “It’s not Rescue Me,” but the last five minutes were nice, so we’ll watch again.

·         Beauty and the Beast: I added this for Vic, but I watched the first episode with him. I won’t be watching any more. (Not that it was horrible, but I already watch too much TV, and something has to go.)

 

Where I am on my “bubble” shows:

·         666 Park Avenue: As I said, I’m intrigued. Tonight is the third episode, so I should be making a decision soon.

·         Partners. I do not know why I am still watching this.

·         The New Normal: I don’t know why I am still watching this.

 

Tidbits:

·         Looks like my friend Michelle and I were both wrong. She chose Partners as the first cancelled show. I chose Men with Kids (or whatever it’s called). But it was Made in Jersey. Thank goodness I dropped it before I started watching it.

·         You know what I love about Modern Family? Everything.

·         Grease is the word! I may be on the bubble about Glee, but I’ll stay with it for that!

·         I love how every episode of Revolution has an awesome twist in it.

 

To Niece Margeaux re Grey’s: They intended to air the information out of order. Vic was excited because when they played the first episode, he thought we were going to get to skip all the blah-bu-di-blah blah blah crap about their time in the woods and the first six months. He was mightily disappointed when the second episode aired.

Fall TV, Week 2

I've finally caught up on all my new and existing shows. Still a few shows that haven't premiered yet (Emily Owens, M.D.--which I was thinking of dropping until my niece Margeaux said she was going to watch it, so now I want to watch it so we can compare notes, Nashville, Arrow, Chicago Fire, and Beauty and the Beast). I'll get to those in a later post.

So where are we after week 2?

• Only one new show premiered after my last blog. Still waiting for Emily Owens, Nashville, Arrow, Chicago Fire and Beauty and the Beast, so I won't comment on those.
• 666 Park Avenue was the new show that premiered. I was really looking forward to it, but I felt like it was a little bland. Still, it's intriguing, so I'll give it my three-try rule.
• After week 1, I was on the fence about Partners. Still am. So is CBS: It's considered on the bubble. I will give it my three-try rule as well, but my friend Michelle may have very well been right--it could be the first show canceled this year.
• Revolution: We've watched the third episode, and I like it enough to add it to my schedule. So, apparently, does NBC, which has given it a full-season pickup.
• The New Normal: I've now watched the first four episodes of this. I really don't like Ellen Barkin's character. I know why she's there, but I liked the way they handled the opposition on The West Wing. Remember when Ainsley Hayes joined the cast? She always made really smart arguments that made you realize there was another point of view in the world. And my EW skewered it (and Partners, and Cam and Mitchell on Modern Family) as presenting gay people stereotypically. So I'm a little uncomfortable watching it. But NBC picked it up for the full season, so I will give it a few more tries.
• Elementary: Dropped it. My friend Michelle said she thought his schtick would eventually get old, like Simon Baker's on The Mentalist. His doesn't. But Jonny Lee Miller's does. Besides, I figured if I wanted to like something so badly and was still "meh" about it, it was time.
• FYI: Go On (the new Matthew Perry show) has been given a full-season pickup.

And the rundown of my existing shows:

• Once Upon a Time: I was already tiring of it last year. Wasn't any more interested this year, so I dropped it.
• The Good Wife: Not my favorite show, but it's so consistently well done and the story lines are quite intersting, so I'm keeping it.
• Mentalist: Still loving it.
• Scandal: I do not love this show, and I almost dropped it after the first week. But I tuned in the second week--and almost dropped it again. Until the last scene. Now I'm comin' back for more. Stupid Shonda Rhimes.
• Blue Bloods: I never think of this as one of my favorite shows, but I think it is. Like The Good Wife, it's just consistently well done. Love it.
• New Girl: Dumped it.
• Grey's Anatomy: I know I already said I'm keeping it, but that Shonda Rhimes, she does not make it easy for me to love her.
• Haven: When I realized I didn't know why I was still watching it, I stopped watching it.