Monday, September 28, 2009

More new shows

I've liberated myself this year and decided not to watch the first episode of shows that I don't expect to like. It's been a wonderful experience so far, but it also means that most of my reviews are going to be positive, since I actually do like most of the shows that I expected to!

The Forgotten-- This show got a lot of bad reviews, but I actually kind of liked it. Maybe it helps that I haven't been watching every episode of every procedural for years and years, but it held my interest, and I plan to keep watching it for a while at least. I must say, though, that Christian Slater does nothing special for me. They could have saved their money and gotten an unknown to play the lead, and I wouldn't have noticed.

The Good Wife-- Everyone said this was the best show of the season, so I was inclined not to like it, but then I watched the first episode and actually did. It does a very good job of blending the different facets of the main character's life. But I've said it before and I'll say it again-- Chris Noth should be playing a lovable jerk, not an actual jerk. He isn't quite the right guy for the role of her smarmy husband.

Modern Family-- For the first episode of a sitcom, this was wonderful! I hope it can keep up this pace in future episodes.

Eastwick-- Another show that didn't get good reviews but that I'm inclined to like. I certainly do like the change in tone over the movie version, that's for sure. I think this could be a fun show!

Mercy-- I'm on the fence about this one, but I'll watch it at least once more. As much as I love James Tupper, though, he doesn't really seem believeable as a doctor. I'm not saying that a guy can't be smart and drop-dead gorgeous at the same time. Eric Bane on Grey's Anatomy pulls it off quite well, and I guess they were going for the same effect when they cast this show. But James Tupper has a "lovable bumbler" quality, and I just can't see him realistically getting all the way through medical school and becoming an army surgeon. The fact that he mumbled all his lines didn't help his case, either!

FlashForward-- This reminded me a lot of the first episode of Invasion. It does make me a little bit nervous that we'll never find out exactly what happened, but it seems like the stakes are low enough in this one that it won't really matter. I'll keep watching it, not because of the mystery, but to find out more about how the characters deal with their visions of the future.

That's it for today. Eventually I'll come back with a post on returning shows and how I feel they're doing, but I suppose I should see a few episodes of each of those before I make up my mind.

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

TV update

The fall season is just starting to kick in, and it seems almost a bit too premature to do a post, but if I don't, it's all going to get away from me real quick! First of all, I'm sorry to hear that ABC has apparently pulled the plug on Defying Gravity. I know it was a show that you either loved or hated, but I loved it, and I'm sorry we won't get to finish out the 6-year mission. I wonder if it will continue in Canada, and if so, if we'll ever get to see it on DVD here.

In DVD news, I finished the third season of Northern Exposure. It seems that most of the episodes I remember fondly were in that season; I think it was the peak of the show. The first two seasons were just sort of warm-up, and after this it started to go slowly downhill, what with the breakdown of the Joel/Maggie relationship, and then Joel leaving suddenly as he did. But this season was nigh unto perfect!

I also watched the first season of Jeeves and Wooster. (It was only 5 episodes, so it wasn't a major commitment.) Seeing those two shows at the same time really took me back to my high school days in a good way. It seems like my only really happy memories from those days are related to TV; it was my comfort when the rest of my life seemed confusing and full of trials. I suppose that's true for many people my age.

I have also been catching up with season 5 of Angel on TNT. Three more episodes and I'm done. It's clear that nobody realized the show was going to end; most of this season has seemed like a set-up for season 6, which obviously never happened. I'm curious to know more about the comic books, though.

A few new shows premiered last week. I work on Tuesday nights, so I didn't bother to watch Melrose Place, and I hear it's nothing special. I did watch Glee, though, which I'm still enjoying, and The Vampire Diaries. All I can say about that first episode was that it was a classic WB first episode, straight from the Smallville/Buffy playbook, but those turned out to be pretty good shows, so I'll keep watching for now.

Well, there you have it. I'm sure I'll be back soon with more info on more new shows.