Some second takes

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - Pilots are tricky. A good pilot can really make a good impression but I feel like it's not always a good indicator of what subsequent episodes will be like. And you know, as much as I loved the pilot of this show, it's been kind of declining since. The comedy sketches they've shown so far have not been funny, and it's messing with my perception of Matt being a briliant writer. I'm thinking they should cut those out entirely because it's just not working for me. I still love Matt and Danny and Harriet and yes, even Jordan, but the show is getting up there with its West-Wing-esque pretentiousness, and I've never really watched too much SNL but is it really that politics/religion focused? The second episode was good, but the third I felt was kind of a chore to watch, and honestly I don't have a lot to say about it, which aren't good signs. I'm keeping with it, but I don't know. The ratings aren't so hot either, so we'll have to wait and see.

Jericho - I have to say I'm surprised that this is as big a hit as it is, I was positive it was going to go the way of Threshhold and Invasion. I mean, don't get me wrong, I'm glad it's doing well, but I'm really not sure why it's doing so well. It has the most intriguing premise of the season and ultimately it's about a small American town, which has wide appeal, but I'm not really in love with the acting or writing yet. Skeet Ulrich just doesn't strike me as being this great hero. Is that the point maybe? I liked Sprague Grayden on Joan of Arcadia, but here she's kind of meh. I don't care at all about Jake's brother's affairs, and some of the acting on the show is just plain awful, like that bratty spoiled teenage girl and that IRS lady. I commented on the use of pop music in my first review, and it's still bothering me. They really need to tone it down. But Gerald McRaney is always good and Hawkins is totally channeling Morgan Freeman (even though he might be evil), and in the end, I guess the plot is what's most interesting and in this day and age a nuclear attack hits closer to home than aliens.