My new TV season, so far

[gwyn]

I usually try to give a series at least a couple episodes before I decide whether or not to keep watching -- most series pilots are shot long before the rest of the show and frequently they betray their cast and crew by trying to find a rhythm or discover the characters. I go carefully through the TV Guide and EW and online resources, too, marking off what I'm interested in. I'm an early adopter; I gotta start watching on the ground floor or I tend not to ever get hooked (Due South being the only time that didn't hold true for me).

So these were the ones I decided to give a try to.


My Name Is Earl: My hands-down winner for this year. I laughed at the pilot so hard that I cried -- by the time Earl got to ticking off the things about Kenny he'd discovered while stalking him ( "a powder-blue Le Car that he was quite proud of") and Patty proclaimed that she "even pulled out my good boob," I was in tears. And then the 99 Luftballoons in German and the line "I realize now the running probably wasn't necessary" had me on the floor. And it just keeps getting better. Jason Lee is fabulous, the supporting cast is wonderful (how great is it that Kenny keeps coming back?), and the comic timing is impeccable. I love this series so much.

Prison Break: ZZZZZZzzzzz. I didn't think it was possible to make a show that featured someone getting their toes threatened with bolt cutters, and men in prison could be so boring, but it is. I watch sporadically, but despite the prettiness of Wentworth Miller, it's not worth keeping up on. He's a strange actor, really unengaging despite his looks, and a show hinging on his distanced, comatose persona seems very odd.

Threshold: Yowza! I was not expecting this one at all, mostly tuned in for Peter Dinklage and Carla Gugino, not to mention Charles S. Dutton. But it's gorgeous to look at, and while the plots after the pilot are somewhat overdone and stale at the same time, I like the energy of the group, especially Brent Spiner. And Peter Dinklage... man, he just gets better all the time. His line readings are stupendous (the poetry line in the third ep is a standout) and I like the weird bonding he has going on with Black Ops guy. Very interested to see if they can sustain this.

Invasion: Now here's a show I do wonder about sustainability for, a lot. By far the creepiest of the aliens are coming series, I'm somewhat comforted by the fact that they said at end of season, only 8 weeks will have elapsed since the pilot, so maybe they are going for the Lost factor in terms of time. My beloved Fichtner is remarkably ooky, and I like the fact that people are actually acknowledging the whole X-Filiness of it all, as if this has pervaded the culture so much no one questions it at the level other invasion type series do. It's on and off, but I think it's definitely worth keeping up for for more than just Fichtner.

Commander in Chief, and Chris: Neither has grabbed me, but with Commander, that might be because I only get to see the second half and so much of it doesn't make sense (sorry, Geena and Kyle, but Earl is first in my heart). Comedies, like Chris, have to work extra hard for me, and somehow I didn't click with this one, but it seems like a decent little show.

Surface: I didn't hate the lead actress as much as I thought (her face just bugs me), but I didn't like the show as much as I'd hoped. It doesn't seem to offer much that's fresh, considering there are two other alien invaders series this fall, both of which have staked out their own territory.

Rome: I see this quite a few weeks after most people with HBO, so I have a hard time keeping up with stuff because we go a couple weeks in between each viewing of two eps. But I like a lot of it. I can't keep any of the character names straight, they are all a mishmash to me except for Julius Caesar and Pullo, but I still enjoy them. Unfortunately a lot of the actors also look somewhat alike to me, so I have to work to differentiate them. When this comes out on DVD, I think I will sit down with it and really try to focus.

E Ring: gah. I love espionage, military stuff, but this is just... gah. Every awful cliche known to man. Did they also have to have a main character named McNulty? Geez.

Kitchen Confidential: Willage! The show is okay, Bradley Cooper is lovely, Nick Brendon is Xandery, and it's fun to see the kid from Freaks and Geeks, but... it's more to see Bradley Cooper. Especially if they could put him in boxer briefs again.



Gilmore Girls: I have discovered something awful. I hate Rory. I mean, I hate her. I used to like her. But ever since she went to Yale, I have hated her -- the stupid things she does, the wishy washiness, the way she rejected a good boyfriend opportunity for Future Rapists of America club member Logan (what is with that name these days?)... and the unspeakable way she treated Lorelai and now whines ceaselessly about it. I hate her! And it's spoiling the show, when I should be happy that Lorelai and Luke are finally getting together. I wish that someone would literally slap the shit out of her and send smarmy boyfriend packing.

Numb3rs: Still love it, even if I can see the awful thumbprint of CBS tinkering with the formula. I think CBS is the most evil of all networks, Les Moonves is satan, and he has no clue whatever about why people watch certain shows. It looks like they are trying to tone down the family aspect in favor of more people at the FBI office, and changing relationships for the guys. To me, this is a fatal error, but I get the sense, by their airing of episodes out of order so far and the truly egregious new guy, that CBS is shunting this off to the side. I think it's cute that Charlie is trying for Amita, because I love the actress since her gig on Angel, but I think the prosecutor couldn't be more wrong for Don. If they're going to force a romance (with anyone else but Coop!), then hooking him up with someone like the doctor from Man Hunt would be better, because the prosecutor simpers, and I hate simpery women.

Veronica Mars: Yay! Trauma and stuff. But... Logan, Logan, Logan... what are you doing, you idiot child? I have no idea where they are taking this (and if anyone has any idea, and knows of spoilers for farther into the season, please tell me or tell me where to go! I need to know!), but I much prefer Logan than Duncan if she's going to do the boyfriend dance. Which is a strange thing to say. Still, if I had my choice, maybe I'd choose Weevil for her, just because they look cute together on a motorcycle. Glad to see Wallace getting a little more to do, but that new love interest... I dunno. Jury's out on that one. I hope that some of the fallout with her mom will come back, because I'd hate to see them drop that. My main thing to watch for, though, is still Keith and Veronica, with a hefty side of Wallace, and I hope they will continue to plumb these wonderful relationships. Charisma Carpenter looks great!

Alias: Groan. Yes, my hatred of baby storylines rears its ugly head. I'll stick with it to see where it goes, though, but once they get close to the blessed moment, I'm gone. And people are so up in arms over Yawn being dead? Don't think so. He finally got interesting again, I doubt they'll drop him. I'm far, far more upset over Weiss leaving. I worship at the altar of Weiss.

Without a Trace: Martin! Danny! Jack going all sickhouse on the guy who shot Martin's ass! I hope they return to form, that excellent mix of personal and procedural, now. Some of the stupid storylines at end of year last season left me cold (that one with Jack's dream nearly made me shoot my TV), but I'm looking forward to seeing how wrecked Martin is, and how unstable Danny becomes. Not to mention what happens to Viv.

And can't wait to see what happens on 24.

Comments

[ludditerobot.livejournal.com]

Caught the second half of one ep of E-Ring. Even as a REMF, Dennis Hopper is 25 years to old to play a colonel. Hell, he's about five years too old to play chairman of the JCS. And the C130 animation made Fake the Snake from Buffy S5 look real.

[meko00.livejournal.com]

Aww, I adored Jack's dream last season. Mostly for the utter bizarreness and seeing LaPaglia in age-makeup. :-)

But yes, Martin! Danny! And Viv!

As for Numb3rs, the family vibe was the main reason why I fell in love with it last season. *sighs* Luckily, one of the new shows, Supernatural, has a fabulous family vibe.

[merricatk.livejournal.com]

I just started watching Gilmore Girls last year, but I think I'm caught up on the old eps, & I, too, am hating Rory. As a daughter who was symbiotically close to her mother, I know she has to rebel & that that rebellion will be very hard on both her & Lorelai (I was in my mid-twenties when I finally broke away, & my mother still isn't over it), but there's rebelling and there's going over to the enemy. Rory seems to have no mind of her own anymore, she's whoever she's talking to at the moment tells her to be, which is just awful to watch.

And yay! Someone who watches GG who isn't a) my mother or b) babbling mindlessly on TWoP. *g*

[http://users.livejournal.com/_jems_/]

I think I may have looked like a bobblehead doll while reading this post. While I agree with you on Prison Break, it really has gotten better the last two episodes, I think. However, they're now going on hiatus, so I don't know if I'll pick it up when it comes back. I do know what I find so annoying about Wentworth Miller, though: he doesn't move his upper lip when he talks. It's distracting as hell! At least when you start to notice it.

My Name is Earl is my favorite new show, and quite frankly the only show I know I'll be sticking with.

Re: Numb3rs, I really didn't enjoy the premiere, though I thought the second episode showed some improvement. But it just doesn't feel the same, and if CBS is meddling then I can see why. I'm hoping CBS loses interest in making it a crowd-pleaser and just focus on other shows so Numb3rs can go back to the family stuff again, which was the reason I liked the show in the first place.

As for VM spoilers, I am not spoiled, nor do I want to be. However I have friends who are and they're saying spoilers are practically impossible to come by.

[mlyn.livejournal.com]

MARTIN GOT SHOT?

You can tell all I've been watching thus far is Lost and Invasion.

[melinafandom.livejournal.com]

Hrm, agree with you on a lot, but also disagree some :)

Prison Break -- definitely not for everybody, and very much like 24 in the sense that you just have to let reality go completely and take it for what it is. I also don't think Miller's style (which I agree with you, has a certain coldness and distance) is necessarily his choice. He had a lot more nuance in his brief performances on Joan of Arcadia and the pilot of the (otherwise awful) Ghost Whisperer. I know that it's a totally silly show, but I'm finding it very engaging. I thought the 2-parter really upped the stakes for everyone.

CiC -- I am really enjoying it, but I am a longtime fan of Rod Lurie. He has a true passion for this subject and it shows. I thought the second episode was better than the pilot.

Alias -- well, not what it once was, but I'd still rather see her have a baby than try to hide behind desks. And I still love the interaction between Syd and Jack, and Syd and Dixon, and just Marshall in general :) I'll be interested to see what the new characters bring to the table.

Threshold and Invasion -- enjoying them, but not as much as Lost. Have no idea where they are going or if they can hold up over time. Surface -- meh. The sea monster thing just pings my silly button. And that kid has Dumb Parents. I *hate* Dumb Parents.

Rome -- I think the characters sort themselves out after the first 3-4 episodes, but there's a handy guide with pictures on hbo.com/rome that might help :) Like a lot of HBO shows, waiting until DVD or some opportunity to watch a bunch of episodes in a row is probably not a bad idea. (I might try that with the next season of The Wire.)

Still loving Veronica Mars, Numbers, WaT. :)

[minim_calibre]

KC is merely okay, yet the small amount of fic that's come out of it has been excellent, so I'm sadly addicted. Plus it is filled with the pretty.

[barkley.livejournal.com]

E Ring: gah. I love espionage, military stuff, but this is just... gah. Every awful cliche known to man.

YES! I love this stuff. But the acting was terrible, and the writing was even worse. I am so pleased that the one show I watched was "what if he went behind enemy lines and got hurt and everyone worried about him!" because if that doesn't work for me, then nothing will.

My love of Numb3rs knows no bounds to the point where I find myself not talking about it because I feel like I talk about it all the time. When in actuality, I'm probably only talking about it 80% of the time and thinking about it the other 20%. But it's pretty much taken over my fannish life.

[kirbyfest.livejournal.com]

I wish that someone would literally slap the shit out of her and send smarmy boyfriend packing.

LOATHE her. And I liked her very much early on. I do find it fascinating how she's embracing the life her mother had the good sense to abandon, but I wish I could just know she was embracing it and not actually have to watch her doing it.

And Logan-- please. I went to college with a whole lotta Logans, and Rory is really messed up if that's what impresses her.

I want Rory utterly wrecked, and I want her to then have to use that smart brain to figure out what matters in this world and to rebuild herself entirely , brick by brick.

[movies-michelle.livejournal.com]

With the large cast with unfamiliar sounding names, I think it makes it harder to figure out who is who on Rome, unless you're familiar with the history. But once the season wraps up, I'd be more than happy to loan you all the DVDs I'm making so you can sit and concentrate with them a little more.

Rory

[black-bird-777.livejournal.com]

See, now, I really like Rory this season. I like that she's getting some dimension to herself. She's always been perfect and needs more than that to be an adult. She needed to get some backbone, learn some lessons on her own, be a little crazy, and how it feels to not be perfect for a while.

I think she's going to regret leaving Yale, and maybe should have waited until she got out to go a little crazy. But although I'm not happy with the rift between Lorelai and Rory, I support her need to be herself for a while. (I realize it's arguably not being really herself, living under her grandparent's house and rule...)

And I love Logan. It's not going to last, so she should totally go for it as long as it does. Of course her heart's going to be broken by him, but I hope she'll learn a whole lot from the relationship and the break up. And that she got to spend some quality time with such a babe. A rich one at that.

[keiko-kirin.livejournal.com]

What you said about Numb3rs and Without a Trace: Totally with you. I loved the family moments in Numb3rs and don't want to lose those. Oh, CBS, keep your grubby paws off the formula. And ditch Mr. Extraneous Agent. (My mom hopes he's just being set up to die later, thus causing Don lots of Don-angst, but I have no such illusions.)

The opener for Without a Trace went far better than I imagined. Danny! Danny-angst! I can eat that up with a spoon all day long. But I'm not sure about the Sam and Sam/Martin angle. And yep, I hope the stories get stronger. I also hated the dream episode last season.

The only new show you mention that I've seen is Surface, and I confess I have an inexplicable soft spot for it, but only marginally. I'm sure it'll get axed, and I may not even notice. Practically everything else conflicts with something I'm already watching (although I may jump ship on some of those). And of course, no HBO. But I want the Rome DVDs. Like, now would be good. *impatient sigh*

I thought this season would finally be when I jump ship from Law & Order, after the shaky eps they ended with last season, but they brought back Jesse L. Martin! So they hooked me again, L&O crack-whore that I am. (Have been since, what, 1993? Egad. I'm old.)

I missed Bradley Cooper in boxer briefs on Kitchen Confidential?? Whaaa. Oh man.