March TV round-up

I'm going to talk about the new shows that premiered in March first, and then I'll move on to the established shows I've been watching.

Kings-- This show is beautiful to look at, and in tone and diction it comes off like a Shakespeare play. It hasn't been getting good ratings and looks like it's incredibly expensive to produce, so I'm trying not to become too attached.

Castle-- This is never going to win an Emmy, but I'm liking it just fine. Nathan Fillion plays a lovable rascal so well, and I love his relationship with his daughter. That's what saves the show for me, more than his supposed heat with the detective, which I don't feel one bit.

Better Off Ted-- I'm enjoying this show too, although it's suffering from the same problem that all sitcoms today suffer from. There's only so much story you can tell in 20 minutes! Still, it pleases me enough to stay with it for a while and hope it develops into something more satisfying.

In the Motherhood-- No thank you, please. There's nothing here we haven't seen before, and better.

Chuck-- I remain awed by the wonder that is this show. More please.

Heroes-- This season has been swinging like a pendulum between wonderful and woeful. Let's hope it straightens out before the end.

Reaper-- I'm so glad this show is back! The changes they've brought are really paying off, and it's much less the cookie-cutter show it was last year. The devil is really developing into a cohesive (and smarmy) character, and our heroes have deepened as well. And having Andi know about the secrets makes it so much better!

American Idol-- Most of the singers they've gotten this year can actually sing, and it's making it much harder for me to decide who to vote for each week. Also, I'm already sad at the people getting voted off, which isn't normal at this stage.

Life-- I can't help wondering how each episode would be different if Reese was still there. I can tell they took scripts already written and gave her lines to the new girl, because they're totally Dani Reese one-liners, even coming out of somebody else's mouth. Here's hoping for her speedy return!

Life on Mars-- Only one episode left, and I'm sad to see this story almost over, but glad that Sam may finally get the answers he's looking for.

Ugly Betty-- I feel like this show has finally gotten back into its groove, and now we have to wait 6 weeks to find out what happens. But it's a good sign that I'm missing it.

Friday Night Lights-- Only two more episodes left this season? Time has really flown by! I think we're leaving all of the characters in a pretty good place, except for J.D. McCoy, but as the only freshman we know, he'll probably have to carry more of the load in years to come. And I do hope there will be years to come.

Dollhouse-- This show has finally gotten to be what I expected it to be. I thought this week's episode was wonderful, as was last week's.

Brothers and Sisters-- I thought the whole "shocking death" thing was stupid, and I'm glad that's behind us. I'm also glad that Tommy didn't have to go to trial. I wonder what Ryan has up his sleeve? We have another long wait for new episodes for this show; more time to let the anticipation build, I guess.

Medium-- My curse holds, and it looks like Lifetime is removing this one from their rotation. Say it ain't so!

In DVD news, I've been watching Sapphire and Steel, which is ok, but isn't thrilling me as much as I expected. I'm going to go back to Dr. Who again instead.

But heroes often fail

This is another one where I'm cheating a little bit, because I love the Gordon Lightfoot version, but in this case, I almost think of them as two separate songs.

A distant ship floats on the horizon

Total eclipse

Ok, I'm kind of cheating with this one, because I was in second grade when the original version of this song came out, and I certainly do think of it as the real one. But this version, that came out when I was in college, seems to me the perfect example of a cover that totally reinvents the song in the process.

Things ain't what they used to be

That same old dizzy feeling

So a couple of weeks ago I was watching American Idol, and somebody sang "Never Can Say Goodbye," which we were told was by the Jackson 5. And I thought, "That song is by them?" And then I went to YouTube to watch a video of them singing it, and thought, "That sure isn't the version of the song I know," and then I had to dig around until I found the correct version. I've been doing this a lot lately; finding out that the version of a song I know from the 80's isn't really the real version of the song at all, but just an obscure cover that apparently nobody who didn't listen to KFYR ever heard. In that spirit, I'm going to be doing a series of videos of these covers this week, to celebrate my freedom from homework because it's spring break. In that spirit, here's the first one, the song that started it all.

The Hard Way Every Time

I've just recently discovered this song, and I think it could be my manifesto!

History repeats itself

Yesterday, as I rushed across campus at noon on a fine bright day that seemed like the first true beginning of spring, clutching to my chest a book by a dear author I just couldn't wait to read, I was instantly transported back 9 years to a similar situation on the campus of Iowa State. That day, I was holding a different book to my chest, and I was walking across Iowa State's vast central quad (which I have always thought would be more appropriate for raising an endless field of wheat than for rushing across every day), but the feeling of anticipation I felt was exactly the same. This made me realize both how much has changed and how much has stayed the same, and also that it all comes back to Ames, Iowa.

Working together to serve you better

I've been a busy girl this weekend, all in the name of you readers who may or may not actually exist. You may have noticed that a lot of music videos have suddenly disappeared from YouTube. You may also have noticed that I embed a lot of music videos in my posts. Well, I wouldn't want any of you to be disappointed when going through my archives by clicking on a video and finding that it no longer works. So I have meticulously gone through all the video posts, found the ones that weren't working, and either replaced them with another version of the song or deleted them. I think that everything should be working as of this moment, but if you find something that isn't, let me know by posting a comment here, ok?

Life on Mars is flying away

So yesterday we learned that Life on Mars will be over in another month. ABC is promising that the last episode will be a real last episode, but they said that about Men in Trees and it didn't turn out to be true, so I'm skeptical. I guess I'll just try to soak up as much of their cool 70's vibe while I can. I hear that the British version is coming out on DVD this summer, so I'll have to try to watch that as well and see what the differences are.