Saturday, April 10, 2010

April TV thoughts

It's been a long, long time since I did a post about TV, and since the season is almost over, I think it's a good time to do so. This will probably be majorly long as I try to catch up on a lot of things, but that's what I get for being silent for 6 months! I'm sort of going to do these in random order, so bear with me.

Ugly Betty-- This show really got better this year, and I'm kind of sad it was cancelled, but I'm glad everybody is getting a nice wrap-up. Hilda is finally married, Justin is finally happy, Betty is moving to London, and it looks like she may be heading towards a relationship with Daniel after all. I can't wait to see what the last episode will bring!

Dollhouse-- I really loved this show, but I honestly don't know how much more they could have done with it. In two short seasons they managed to pull out a million plot twists from their bag of tricks. It ended on a kind of strange note, but what did anybody expect?

Eastwick-- I really liked this show at the time, but I haven't lost any sleep over it since it was cancelled. I do wish they'd had a chance to wrap things up better, though. Skipping all the way to the last episode like they did was stupid when it ended on a cliffhanger anyway.

Better Off Ted-- ABC's treatment of this show is breaking my heart! I love it so much, and I can't believe that the network has jerked the fans around as much as they have. I finally just set my DVR to record it any time it's on, because I kept finding out that an episode had been on the next morning when it was too late. Oh well, Hulu got a lot of my business that way! I wonder if they'll ever show the final two episodes, and I wonder if ABC will torture it again next year or let it die a nice dignified death this time. (Although that's definitely not what I want! More Ted, please!)

Chuck-- This show has been a rollercoaster ride this season. It looked for a while like Chuck and Sarah were going to be split apart for a long time, but then unexpectedly, they came back together, for good this time, I hope. It has been a little bit more serious this season and not quite as silly, but as Chuck gets older, I guess it's only right for the show to mature as well. I can't wait to see what they have in store for us for the rest of the season!

Heroes-- I can't mention Chuck without mentioning Heroes in the same breath. I think it ended in a good place, and if it doesn't come back, I'll be ok with that.

Castle-- Now here's a show that I want to come back. (And fortunately, it has already been renewed for next year!) This show is perfection and hearkens back to the great detective shows of the 80's with its blend of humor, seriousness, and romance. I LOVE CASTLE!

Fringe-- This show just keeps getting better as well. I can't help wondering how what Olivia recently learned about Peter will change the show, but somehow I'm sure it'll bring them closer together. They are both different, and we already know they love each other. I loved the conversation they had in the car this week!

Vampire Diaries-- This show has managed to cram about 7 seasons' worth of plot into less than one. I never know what's going to happen, and that's a very good thing, and I'm learning to appreciate Damon much more than I ever thought possible. Another show that I'm very glad to say has already been renewed for next year.

The Good Wife-- I'm not sure what to say about this show. It's always the last thing on my DVR every week, but I always enjoy it while I'm watching it. Is "understated" the right word for that? It's not flashy, but it has surprising depth if you're paying attention.

The Forgotten-- As I've said many times before, I really enjoyed this show. Yet I have to admit that I won't die if it's cancelled, which looks likely at this point.

Modern Family-- I really enjoy this show. The situations are always clever, yet true-to-life.

The Middle-- I also love this show much more than I ever expected to. ABC programmers take note: I always record it and watch it after Modern Family. It flows better that way.

The Mentalist-- This is the opposite of The Good Wife on my DVR. I always watch it quickly and then forget about it. This is a very well-done show, but there isn't really a whole lot of depth to it. (I could be really cynical here and say that's why it's got 16 million viewers!)

Brothers and Sisters-- This show has had so many changes behind the scenes, and I feel like each new person spends most of their tenure trying to undo the changes the previous person made. So now Justin and Rebecca still aren't married, and they lost the baby, and we've forgotten all about his medical school problems, and Holly is everybody's friend somehow, and Kevin and Scotty have forgotten about their surrogate, and Kitty is running for Congress? This is all too confusing for me. Let's hope this show figures out what it wants to be by next season.

Flashforward-- I'm liking this show more than I did at first, but I'm still not exactly sure how it is going to sustain itself. I'm pegging this for a one-season wonder, and I hope they wrap it up well.

V-- I want to like this show, I really do. But I keep thinking about other things while I'm watching it. And that's not a good thing, is it?

Mercy-- I have come to love this show so much. It's one of the few that I always make sure to watch live, because it needs my help with the ratings but also because I need to know what happens right away. The central love story breaks my heart, but it's also very realistically done. I really want them to get together in the end, but I know it'll be a long road, and so this just has to get renewed for next year!

Glee-- It's been so long since this show was on that I've almost forgotten about it, not that I could with the constant articles in the press about it. I hope there's not going to be a big backlash at some point, but to be honest, it seems almost inevitable.

Life Unexpected-- I love this show! The relationship between Baze and Cate is another one that seems inevitable in the far future, so this one must also be renewed.