For those of you who will inevitably ask how I watch this much TV, I don't sleep as much as the average person...
Shows I Gave Up On This Year
- RINGER - Literally bailed on this one during the pilot when one of the most inept green screen FX in living memory totally took me out of the already questionable story.
- REVENGE - I could see where it could be enjoyable if I was in the right mood... but it was just too over-the-top for me.
- TERRA NOVA - Great premise. Bad show.
Shows I'm Still Watching But Don't Know Why
- HAWAII FIVE-O - Actually, I do know why... my wife likes this show. (I enjoyed the first season but a lot of the writing this season has been forced & over-the-top. Good guest stars, though.)
- UNFORGETTABLE - I seriously don't understand why I'm still watching this. But I am.
Shows I Like But Want Some Improvement
- BLUE BLOODS - The first season was really, really good... esp. the portrayal of a realistic family who had a real & meaningful faith connection with the Catholic Church. That's been shortchanged by the writing this season - but when you've got Tom Selleck & Len Cariou around to do the heavy-lifting, you can get away with that.
- ONCE UPON A TIME - The first of two LOST-inspired shows to premiere this year, it's a real mixed bag. The fairy-tale stuff has been very, very good... and the twists on the old tales are well-done. Sadly, the Mayor/Evil Queen is given very little to work with except mustache-twirling evil & scenery-chewing. (I'm 4-5 episodes behind on this one - but Tivo keeps them for me.)
- MISSING - Have just seen the pilot... am worried it will be "Nowhere Ashley Judd".
- AWAKE - Have just seen the pilot... curious as to where it will end up going - if anywhere. (It's not an easy show to watch casually.)
Shows I Look Forward To Each Week
- ALCATRAZ - The second of the LOST-inspired shows... and the better of the two. After a bit of early fumbling about, they've found a good tone, a sardonic X-FILES-ish sense of humor, and some genuine horror/tragedy in the premise. As well, they seem to be unspooling pieces of the mystery w/out giving the whole thing away. (I'm 3 episodes behind on this one - with the season finale showing tonight.)
- PERSON OF INTEREST - Combining the acting chops of Jim Cavaziel & Michael Emerson with some extremely tight writing (last week's "baby" episode managed to have humor w/out overwhelming the edgy nature of the show) makes for a winning combination.
- THE FINDER - Don't expect this to last... but I like the quirky, shaggy good humor of the show.
- THE FIRM - Thankfully, 22 episodes were purchased to start with (it's actually a Canadian show)... because the ratings on this one have exiled it to Saturday nights. Shari & I like it a lot, though - they've borrowed the "flash forward" technique from LOST and used it in a different (and interesting) way.
Reality TV
- SURVIVOR - the Coach/Ozzie season had some lovely moments... but I was so happy to see a season w/out a returning player this spring. OTOH, "One World" has given us (and thankfully taken away) one of the most obnoxious emotional bullies I've seen in a long time (Colton). I'm looking forward to seeing what happens now that his bad juju is gone from the show.
- AMAZING RACE - The boys have started watching with us... which means we get to explain why you shouldn't use "that kind of language" and also given us some excellent negative examples of how to treat your wife or girlfriend. At the same time, the race usually delivers some lovely moments (the Border Patrol guys giving Bopper some of their winnings, for example... or this week's Temple of Fire "hoedown") that are worth the junk.
And Finally, A Fond Farewell
- CHUCK - went out on a high note... there were some lovely moments and a willingness to mess with their own mythology in order to give the show a fitting & wonderful close.
Yes. It seems that every week I turn to my son during The Amazing Race and say, "I hope you don't talk to your wife like that." Its fun though and maybe educational with some nice moments, like you say. It's our family's Wonderful World of Disney. Our Happy Days and Lavern and Shirley are Modern Family and Malcome in the Middle on Netflix.
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize I was siting on the last episode of Chuck. Too bad, but when Sara turned evil Intersect I thought to myself, ok, they're out of ideas.
Sounds like you have plenty of shows, but I'd recommend Luther on Netflix.
Peace
Watch the last episode of CHUCK - it's a lovely parenthetical ending to a show we loved for a very long time.
ReplyDeleteI've got Luther on my queue - my wife & I particularly love WHITE COLLAR... but we don't have cable so we don't get to watch it live.
Reflecting on your list, it occurs to me that I am not watching anything on network tv except a few comedies, such as Big Bang Theory and Parks and Recreation.
ReplyDeleteThe two dramas I do watch are on AMC: Mad Men and Walking Dead.
If only I was willing to give up sleep, my friends tell me there are a number of good shows that I am missing out on.