fall 2009 - initial thoughts

My DVR is still full of shows that I need to catch up on (both from last season and this season) but because it was getting so full, there were many shows I had to catch up on to open up space for more recording... :) In any case, I had a few initial reactions to shows, old and new, that I've been following this season.

Old:
-- 90210: So very angsty! I think it's because Darcy... or whatever her name is, Annie?, is so very angsty this season and she was all sunshine and optimism last season. I'm not sure I like it, but I do like the strong bond forged between Naomi-Adrianna-Silver. Actually I've gotta say that as a whole I kind of hate it, but there's something about high-school angst tv shows that draws me in... Oy.
-- So You Think You Can Dance: Having to watch audition episodes week after week after week is kinda getting sucky. Plus, it's so weird to have a new season of it SO SOON. Especially since last season, while it had its moments, for the most part it was underwhelming. But, I'm glad to see that there are breakers and well, non-contemporary and non-ballroom dancers auditioning! Plus I'm still waiting for Natalie to come back!!
-- How I Met Your Mother: This show is so reliably fun. I really do hope we finally get to meet the damn mother this season. I'm not sure how many more seasons of NOT meeting the mother I can go through. But I do love Barney. And it'll be interesting to see how Barney-Robin develop, but I really hope that doesn't become the focus of the show.
-- Greek: I caught up with all the old episodes right before this season started. SO much fun. This is my happy show of the moment.

New:
-- Melrose Place: Not really sure why, but I'm enjoying this show. Maybe it's just that I never get to watch soap operas anymore and this show is the perfect night-time soap opera: psychotic characters, tons of secrets, murder, betrayal, and good-looking people. Plus the character that's the most fascinating to me is Ella, who I sort of see as a new generation Heather Locklear. BTW, I didn't actually watch the original MP when it aired back in the day, though I've caught a few episodes of it here and there on Soapnet in the past few years.
-- Glee: I was expecting this to be my happy show of the moment, but no, it's definitely a lot darker than a happy show can be. I love the musical numbers and truthfully, I watch just in anticipation of those. I like the main teacher-guidance counselor romance undercurrent, hate the psycho wife, love the psycho cheerleader coach, and am very amused by the awkward football coach. I could care less about the kids, but the gay kid is the most interesting by far.
-- The Beautiful Life: This show has already gotten canned, thank goodness! Well, it's mostly a thank goodness because if it didn't get canceled, I would probably continue to watch it. So, I really am glad that the network is taking this off of my insane list of tv shows I watch. :)
-- Community: I had high hopes for this show but so far it's been amusing at spots, still has good potential, but hasn't really delivered. We'll see.
-- Accidentally on Purpose: One episode was enough, I do believe I have the willpower to stop watching this show.
-- Eastwick: Uh, I might continue to watch this, but mostly because it kinda satisfies the part of me that was sad to lose Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle (and yes, I may be the only person in the world that was sad to lose those shows).

Still waiting to be watched on the DVR:
-- Grey's Anatomy
-- Gossip Girl
-- Heroes
-- House
-- The Good Wife
-- Cougar Town
-- Modern Family -- have high hopes for this one!!
-- Flash Forward

Oh, what's occuring?

A rundown of my TV and pop-culture consuming as of late.

!. The title of this post is a reference to the really great British romantic comedy sitcom, Gavin and Stacey, now airing on BBC America. I feel kind of bad that I haven't gotten around to blogging about it until now, but it's not my blogs have some great influence over the TV viewers of the world anyway. I really do love this show though! It's the story of a young couple (yes, named Gavin and Stacey) as they meet, fall in love, get engaged and get married. The best part of the show is really the supporting players, though, including Nessa, Stacey's best friend, whose catchphrase is "what's occurring?" There's also Smithy, Gavin's best friend, Gavin's parents, and Stacey's mom and uncle, all of whom are hilarious in their own way. There have been two seasons and the second is airing right now. Not sure if there'll be a third, though I believe a Christmas special will be airing in the UK soon!

2. The word is that ABC has canceled Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money. It's not entirely surprising...Pushing Daisies was a little too quirky for me so it was definitely too much for network TV, and Eli Stone and Dirty Sexy Money never really caught steam. I am glad that the writers' strike enabled all of them to get another half-season, but I'm definitely disappointed that they probably won't get to wrap up much storyline. It's pretty terrible that three generally critically acclaimed shows like these get axed while things like Knight Rider, Kath & Kim, and 90210 are going to keep going...

3. Speaking of 90210, I'm still watching it despite how really terrible it is. The writing is just so...BAD. The storylines have all been predictable, dialogue is horrendous, and the acting isn't much better. Annie is not interesting or likable enough to be the lead, and the original flavor characters like Kelly and Brenda aren't being given anything good to do either. And yet I keep watching...

4. There is a good show on the CW on Tuesday nights though: Privileged. I'm not sure how it's doing in the ratings, but I think additional scripts were ordered so hopefully it'll stick around for a little while. The show centers around Megan, a recent Yale graduate who returns home to South Florida to become the live-in tutor to twins Rose and Sage, who are the granddaughters of Laurel, a wealthy cosmetic mogul. Megan is played wonderfully by Joanna Garcia...she's smart and optimistic and a little dorky, but she's not perfect. She has strained relationships with her father and sister, and is sometimes too wrapped up in her own life to realize what's going on with her friends. I do love the twins too -- Rose is played by Lucy Hale, who I found annoying in Bionic Woman and the second Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants but I find really sweet here, and Sage, who's the taller, bitchier twin has really been growing on me. Michael Cassidy finally gets to play the good guy as Megan's best friend from childhood, Charlie, and there's Marco, the house chef, who's hilarious as the gay BFF type.

5. I've fallen behind with Terminator, Heroes, and Fringe, for different reasons. I do like Terminator, but it's sometimes just a little too like angsty and serious and I'm not that interested in whatever Ellison and Catherine Weaver are doing. Heroes just sucks and I doubt I'll ever get back into it, but I haven't quite cut the cord yet. And Fringe...the gore every week has turned me off a bit and the "Pattern" thing worries me because it seems to have the potential to spiral off into some Rambaldi type thing. (Yes, I will always begrudge J.J. Abrams for screwing up Alias.)

6. My favorite shows this season so far: Gossip Girl, Top Chef, 30 Rock, and the Amazing Race.

7. Shows I'm looking forward to in 2009: Battlestar Galactica (final season), Scrubs, Kyle XY, and Joss Whedon's Dollhouse (though it's been doomed to a Friday night timeslot). Oh, and 24, too, I guess, though I didn't finish watching the last season and I'm a little miffed over the idea of Tony returning from the dead to be a bad guy. Can't they leave well enough alone?

8. I feel like I should comment on all the hoopla surrounding the Twilight movie. I originally wanted to see it but after reading some reviews and some audience reactions I think I'm going to pass and wait to see it on DVD. It's weird, I totally admit to have been sucked in by the books, but I really have a lot of problems with the series and I find it kind of bizarre that so many people are so ga-ga over it. (See my original reviews of Twilight/New Moon and Breaking Dawn. Also this article on Salon says a lot of what I was trying to.) But I'm sure it's going to make a killing at the box office anyway.

blog may seem abandoned, but we're still watching tv... ;)

... at least until the shows start running out of episodes.

I'm probably in the minority, but I'm kinda glad this writers' strike is going on because it means I have a chance to catch up on all my shows. I'm still a few episodes behind, but here's what I'm still watching...

Every week:
* Heroes
* Chuck
* How I Met Your Mother
* Samantha Who?
* House
* Gossip Girl
* Pushing Daisies
* Private Practice
* Project Runway
* Grey's Anatomy
* October Road

Sometimes:
* Shark
* Dirty Sexy Money
* Las Vegas
* The Unit
* Numb3rs
* Friday Night Lights

Playing catch-up

I know, I know, I've been a bit delinquent with the blogging lately. So here's some random stuff on the shows I've been watching:

Gossip Girl: My favorite new show of this season, hands down. And I'm not afraid to admit it. New York Magazine loves it too, and their weekly recaps are totally hilarious. I'm kind of disappointed in what they did with the Vanessa character though. I might be completely making this up but in the books I thought she was a bit more...dark and sullen and edgy. The TV Vanessa is positively sunny, and she's not different enough from Serena to really be a good alternative for Dan. And the way they've set up Dan and Serena to be the like "it" couple for the series...I'm kind of not sure what she's even doing there besides giving random sage advice to Jenny. Oh well.

Friday Night Lights: I'm so glad Coach Taylor's back in Dillon. I thought the first couple of episodes of the season were just kind of too depressing but they've returned to more of a balance. I'm kind of meh on the whole Landry storyline...both Jesse Plemmons and Glenn Morshower are acting the hell out of their roles but I liked Landry better when he was the comic relief. And I'm sort of meh on him being on the football team...the episode where he saved the game and everyone was chanting his name was a bit much for me. I am glad that Julie has gotten over her heinous rebellious stage and apologized to Matt. But I'm also glad that Matt hasn't given into her. That new cheerleader is so just a random rebound though. Loved Smash inviting Riggins over for dinner, though I kind of wished we got some wisdom from Mama Smash. I don't really know what they're doing with Jason though...he keeps diving into things that he thinks will give his life meaning: first quad rugby, then coaching, but I guess he's still looking for something else. I did kind of like him as a coach though...

Ugly Betty: Soo....as much as I like Henry, all the Betty and Henry angst is getting kind of boring, and I almost want him to just go away so that Betty can get over him. I mean, that whole Wicked episode was kind of just terrible. (I'm actually still waiting to see Wicked on Broadway but I really didn't need to watch all those clips of the show.) Otherwise though, the show is still pretty awesome. I LOVE Marc and Cliff! It's just so cute and sweet and I'm just eating it up. And Victoria Beckham was actually pretty funny in this past week's episode. Oh, and did anyone else flash back to Caleb Nichol when Bradford keeled over at the altar??

The Office: I know that Michael's antics are kind of like the basis for this show, but I have to say that it's almost always the other stuff that I enjoy more. Sometimes the stuff that he and Dwight do is just so preposterous and stupid that I don't find it terribly funny. That said, I really liked the little tag at the end of this past week's episode where Michael and Jim have that really normal conversation. It was really refreshing to see that Michael's not insane all the time, and it was still funny.

Heroes: Finally got somewhere last week. And interestingly, Tim Kring, the show's executive producer has gone on record admitting that the beginning of the season pretty much sucked. Let's hope things get better from here on out. Although with the writers' strike thing there's a possibility of no new episodes after December...

Chuck: This show has really been growing on me these past couple of weeks. I don't know why nobody, including me, can stop comparing it to Reaper, but while Reaper's been suffering from bad pacing and repetitive storylines, Chuck's been getting more enjoyable by the week. Each episode has Chuck and Sarah and Casey going on some mission or whatnot, but the variety so far has been pretty great. Even the B-stories at the Buy More have been entertaining. This past week's episode we got to flash back a bit to when Chuck was at Stanford and how he got kicked out, which I really loved. I remember in the pilot I was having trouble buying Chuck as this socially inept person but now I totally see how he was really a pretty happy average guy at Stanford and it was him getting kicked out that just messed him up. I mean, I know that we've been told this all along but now I finally believe it.

The Amazing Race: It's back! I can't believe how long it took for me to get hooked onto this show...NINE seasons aired before I starting tuning in. This season has some interesting pairs, including those requisite bickering dating couples that you wonder how they ever decided that going on the race would be a good idea, and a pair of Goths who I wonder how long are going to keep up with their makeup. Fun times.

And finally, Project Runway Season 4 premieres this week! Am excited beyond words.

Sophomore slumping?

A bunch of the shows I'm watching are in their second seasons now, and that brings up the question, are they facing the sophomore slump? Here's my verdict so far:

Heroes: Definitely slumping. I think part of what was exciting about last season was that we were just meeting these characters in their separate worlds and there was this anticipation of their storylines converging and everyone meeting up. But now everyone's separated again and I don't get a sense of where things are going at all. Some of the stories still interest me, like Claire and her flying boy, West, and I'm actually liking Micah and his peppy cousin Monica. And thank goodness Mohinder and Matt and Molly in New York are actually doing something productive.

But Hiro? The thing with Kensei was amusing for maybe one episode but why are they dragging it out? And Peter in Ireland? Milo Ventimiglia does look kind of hot in all those shirtless scenes, but the whole memory loss thing is so not working for me. And I KNEW he wasn't going to want to open the box. Stupid Peter. And finally, our two new heroes, Maya and Alejandro...after watching them on the run for three episodes and having basically nothing happen to make us want to care about them, they run into Sylar. Whom, by the way, I despise. Yeah, he's the bad guy and I'm supposed to hate him, but bad guys should be entertaining to watch in some respect, and for me, he's just not. I don't want to watch him. I DON'T.

So...yeah. I mean, even last season I didn't think Heroes was as great as people hyped it up to be, but it more than held my attention. So far this season I've just been kind of bored. The promos are hyping Kristen Bell joining the cast in next week's episode but I don't know that I'm necessarily excited about that. Obviously I was a huge fan of Veronica Mars but I get the feeling her character is one of those smartass sarcastic chicks that I usually find kind of grating. We'll see...

Friday Night Lights: Umm...I hate to say this, but I'm worried. Things just aren't right with Coach Taylor not in Dillon with the Panthers. I know that this shakeup with pretty much every character is intentional but I can't say that I've been really enjoying it. I'm especially not enjoying the fracturing of what last season was one of the best families on the TV (the Taylors) and the end of my favorite couple from last season, Matt and Julie. I mean, when the scenes I enjoy the most involve Buddy Garrity of all people, something's got to be wrong. It looks like Eric will be back in Dillon pretty soon, but he's going to have an uphill battle getting things back to normal both at home and on the field.

Let's start with Julie. In my review of the premiere, I said that I was kind of okay with her and Matt breaking up and exploring other things, but I didn't want them to make her too unlikeable. But it's happened. I mean, even outside of her love life, she's just being HORRIBLE to her mother. Last night when she told Tami "your baby's crying" I pretty much wanted to kill her. And even though Tami slapping her was probably a little over the line, I'm kind of glad she did. I really hope this little rebellious stage of Julie's is going over soon because if it keeps going then she's not even deserve to have Matt back (assuming that's the plan...which I suppose it might not be). Although I don't know about Matt either now. I thought it was so cute how he was apologizing to Coach about the breakup when none of it was really his fault and Coach didn't even know about it, but then I'm really afraid of where they're going with him and Carlotta. What is up with these Dillon Panthers and older women??

I mean, it's not all bad. I was worried about the Landry-Tyra thing but oddly enough that's really been the least of the show's problems. I liked how Landry's father reacted in this week's episode. I thought he was going to confront Landry in some cliched TV parent way but instead he goes to see Tyra and asks why she's into his son. (BTW, Glenn Morshower aka Agent Pierce from 24, is so the perfect casting for Landry's dad...LOVE him!) Somehow I'm actually finding the Landry/Tyra dynamic to be pretty believable, but I kind of miss the old goofy Landry.

I don't know, I'm hoping that once Coach Taylor is back with the Panthers things will seem more right again, but that really remains to be seen. I want so badly for the show to continuing being as awesome as it was last season, but maybe my expectations are a little too high?

Ugly Betty: Definitely NOT slumping. I really consistently enjoyed this show last season although I never really blogged about it. But this season so far has just been AWESOME. There was a bit too much melodrama in the first episode for my taste but things since then have been back to all crazy wacky fun. This week's episode had a ton of incredible guest stars, including my favorite SpyDaddy Victor Garber as Betty's snobby writing teacher, John Cho as Henry's fellow accountant, and James Van Der Beek as one of Mode's top advertisers. Yes, James Van Der Beek. As you may know, I have this bizarre love/hate thing with Dawson's Creek but the sight of Dawson Leery himself cracked me up.

Also beyond awesome this season is Justin. First he's all fashion elf-y at Mode, then he asks Daniel to play basketball with him (totally classic), and now he's trying to be Santos, complete with sullen attitude, beer, and making out with a Queens girl! (I'm actually from Queens, but you can't really get offended by the stereotypes on this show.) And...Ugly Willy! And Alexis waking up from the coma not knowing she's a woman now! And Amanda and Marc! And Henry! I LOVE THIS SHOW!

And now, the continuation of Heroes...

(Huge backlog of shows to post about, bear with me as I catch up!)

So...is it just me or is Heroes a really big downer?

I mean, I know it's a drama where a lot of heavy stuff happens and along with the special abilities come danger and burden and loneliness and all that, but really, it's one thing to be serious, but it's another to be positively somber. All the mournful theme music isn't helping and the characters on this show seem to spend an inordinate amount of time actively sulking. Somehow I just always end up feeling thoroughly depressed after watching this show.

At least Hiro is still Hiro. He seems to have dropped himself into 17th century Japan, where he meets his idol Kensei, only to discover that this legendary figure is not even, but an Englishman (played by American David Anders, aka Sark from Alias), and not so much a hero after all. Plus the timing of Hiro's little drop-in seems to have messed with history. Who knows where this is going...and isn't Hiro curious about what happened with Sylar? Back in the present, apparently he's been gone for 4 months.

As for our other heroes, Claire, HRG, and their family seem to have moved to California, where Claire attempts to be "ordinary" but immediately meets a cute boy who turns out to have the same power as Nathan: he can fly. This is kind of interesting, as we haven't seen any heroes with duplicate powers before. I hope this doesn't mean he's evil. Matt Parkman is now divorced and taking care of Molly, and he finally makes detective with the NYPD. Mohinder is traveling around giving lectures about the heroes to people who don't really care but it seems he's actually trying to bait HRG's old employer. Nathan is bearded and sulking. Ando is waiting around for Hiro to come back. (Ando's part of the main cast now though, yay!) And Peter somehow ends up in Ireland? No mention of Niki or DL or Micah or Sylar.

We also get introduced to two new heroes, Maya and Alejandro, who are making their way to New York to find Mohinder. I'm not sure that it was such a good idea to introduce them in the season premiere. We all want to know what's going on all the existing heroes, and I found myself pretty much not caring about them, especially since they didn't interact with any already existing characters.

The season's first big mystery was also setup: something to do with that symbol that was popping up everywhere, a helix. This is pretty standard sci-fi/fantasy stuff...secret groups really like their symbols. Apparently it was all over the place last season too but I had no idea. I'm trying not to analyze the show too much because that generally gets me in trouble.

Anyway, they definitely packed a lot into the hour, but there was nothing too mindblowing. What do you suppose the next catchphrase is going to be?

Finale report, Part 2

The Office: Jim and Pam! This season's moment perhaps doesn't top last year's glorious finale, but in a way, it was much more satisfying because it was so simple and relatively angst-free. I feel a bit bad for Karen, but she knew what she was in the middle of, especially after last week's beach confession. Which, by the way, was really incredible. Pam is awesome! Also, usually I get a little worried about the main couple on a show getting together, but somehow I think this will be fine. I think they'll be sort of Lily/Marshall-esque--back to their old chemistry but with an extra boost of cuteness. After 3 years they don't need any more conflict for awhile.

As for the rest of the hourlong episode, it was chock-full of really great moments. My favorite was probably the very end where Ryan, of all people, gets the job at corporate and immediately breaks up with Kelly. Poor gal, but Ryan definitely needed to get out of there. I was also highly amused at how Michael and Jan have pretty much exchanged roles and Jan is now the one with the crazy antics. Melora Hardin's always put a little bit of the manic in her portrayal of Jan and she's done a really good job at gradually bringing it out full force. I also loved Michael calling all the women in the conference room for advice while Jan was in the office. And I'm glad that Michael didn't make a big deal of not getting the job at corporate and realized that Scranton was really where he belonged.

Jericho: Wow. I really was not expecting this to be cancelled, and I'm pretty upset about it. I mean, I know earlier in the season I described this show as kind of mediocre and silly in many respects, but the story started to really get interesting by the end of the season and a lot of characters were really growing on me. And with the way the season ended...I'm really bummed that we won't get to see what happens. The writers really came up with a lot of really interesting stories to keep the story going, and I thought the Jericho-New Bern conflict was actually kind of awesome. Despite the fact that they were dealing with plenty of heavy stuff before, at some points it seemed to me that life in Jericho was getting a little too normal. The New Bern stuff injected a new sense of urgency into the show and I loved it.

Anyway, this last episode was really excellent. I had heard that a major character was going to die and I was kind of devastated that it was Johnston. At least he and Jake had come to a better place in their relationship. Truthfully I don't know how much I would have liked the show without Gerald McRaney in it, so maybe in that respect maybe cancellation isn't so bad? I also liked that they gave Stanley and Mimi and Bonnie that moment at their parents' graves, and oh, and the Jake/Emily kiss was kind of hot. I'm not into them at all, but the way Jake just went over and kissed her after getting the message from Hawkins that the second round was coming was yeah, hot. And Heather! I KNEW she wasn't dead. I wish she'd have been reunited with the Jericho crew, but it was great seeing her. Oh, and minimal Dale and Skylar = good.

The ending was a cliffhanger but I thought it was actually pretty awesome. It actually kind of reminded me of the final moments of Angel, with everyone just ready to fight their hearts out.

Best moment of the show, when Jake tells Constantino "Nuts!" and tells him to stuff it.

I think a lot of people are upset about this one, and I believe there's already a "Nuts" campaign to try and save the show. I'm honestly not sure what can be done at this point, but these things are always worth a shot.

Heroes: I haven't written all that much about the show this season, not so much because I haven't been enjoying it, but because I sometimes find it to be a bit of a chore to watch, especially when it gets really bogged down in all the angsty emotional stuff. The only character that's really been having any fun at all pretty much EVER is Hiro, but with him being much more serious these past couple of episodes, the show has just been a really big downer. I know, I know, saving the world is stressful and serious business but I feel like a show like this needs a little more balance. It's kind of draining to watch EVERYONE with their pained desperation ALL THE TIME. They really need to bring back a little more fun next season.

Anyway, as for how the season ended...I found the final action sequence to be much too short. There were some unexpected things, but everything happened so quickly and easily. And with D.L. and Mohinder and Parkman and Niki and HRG and the kids just watching and not really doing anything...it was kind of bizarre. And of course all these questions remain: what happened to Peter and Nathan? What happened to Sylar? Where the heck did Hiro end up? Is D.L. going to be ok? Is Ando off the show now? Are Claire and HRG and Parkman really just going to just go back to their families? Is Mohinder going to like, adopt Molly?

I don't know, I don't really want to get myself too obsessive over the show, but I'm really unclear about how all the season's events led up to this, and I don't understand what everyone's roles really were. But maybe it's better that I don't think about that stuff?

Upfronts -- Another take

I think what surprised me most about this year's upfronts were how few returning shows I'm going to be sticking with this fall. There's only Brothers & Sisters, How I Met Your Mother, Heroes, Ugly Betty, the Office, Scrubs, Beauty and the Geek, and Friday Night Lights. There are plenty of new shows, though, and it seems that there are two trends: sci-fi twists, and glamorous rich people...

NBC

• So glad Friday Night Lights is renewed, but are they really putting it on Friday? I know, it's kind of fitting because of the title of the show, but Friday at 10PM? Not sure how that's going to work out.


• Chuck sounds like Jake 2.0, so I might like it.

ABC

• SO EXCITED for Pushing Daisies. I recently watched the full Wonderfalls series on DVD and I'm a huge huge fan of Bryan Fuller and I'm so happy to see Lee Pace back on TV. I'm still kind of worried though, because it really seemed like it could be too quirky for network TV.


• I'll probably check out Big Shots because Michael Vartan is in it, haha.


• Still can't really believe that they're actually doing the Cavemen show.


• Dirty Sexy Money might end up being a guilty pleasure?

CBS

• Really really surprised and pretty upset that Jericho was cancelled. More on that later though.


• Um, Moonlight is Angel. Is it not?

FOX

• New Amsterdam seems to be another version of Angel too. What the heck?


• Kitchen Nightmares. Gordon Ramsay. I am so there!


• The Search for the Next Great American Band. This seems to be an extension of American Idol, but is this for rock bands or just like singing groups? I'd much rather see Rock Star come back...


• The Return of Jezebel James, scheduled for mid-season. Amy Sherman-Palladino, Parker Posey, and Lauren Ambrose? Kind of sounds like the dream team, but early reports say that it was a bit disappointing. Will definitely check it out anyway though.

CW

• Pretty relieved that Veronica Mars was cancelled, because all the talk about the show coming back in all sort of different incarnations was just ridiculous and worrisome. I'm pretty eh about the state of the show right now, considering how much I LOVED the show first season. But more about that later with what's now apparently the series finale.


• Yeah, like Mira, I will not be able to resist Gossip Girl. Yes, I read some of the books. Yes, they're trashy. Yes, I'm too old for it. But yes, I will watch it. I also hear that Kristen Bell will be narrating the show as Gossip Girl. She's one of the few actors that I can take hearing voiceovers from, so that's a good sign.


• Life is Wild sounds like it's going to crash and burn like Runaway.


• Reaper could be good. Is this the return to teen genre TV that I've been waiting for?

2007 upfronts

Since Jenn's not around to blog about the Upfronts, here is my opinion of it in short:

NBC

• Yay for giving Zach Braff & co. the opportunity to end Scrubs right.
• Yay for giving Friday Night Lights another season, but they deserve a full one, not just 13 episodes!
• Yay for another season of Heroes, though that is no surprise.
• Boo for canceling The Black Donnelly's and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (though I know that perhaps I'm one of the few people that LOVED that show).
• Unsure what I think of Las Vegas without James Caan and with Tom Selleck instead, but we'll find out next year!
• None of the new shows particularly excite me. So... meh, we'll see.
  

ABC

• No surprise on the renewals of Ugly Betty (which I still need to catch up on), or Grey's Anatomy.
• Yay for them giving October Road one more shot. I really liked it, but it might be just cuz I like Jake from One Tree Hill.
• It's cool that the Lost creators decided to set a deadline for the show. But really, do they need 5 more years? I guess, I won't be starting that show anytime soon...
  
• Surprisingly I'm excited about the Grey's spin-off, Private Practice.
• So what happened to that Traveler show?
  

CBS

• Not surprised by How I Met Your Mother's renewal, but yay!
• Glad to see NCIS, Numb3rs, and Shark will be back.
• May give Cane and maybe Kid Nation a try.
  
• Sad but not surprised to see The Class is gone.

Fox

• Not surprised but glad to see House back.
• Kinda want Prison Break to be over already. Okay, okay, I like the show, it's just inane that he escaped prison in Season 1, he continued to escape prison in Season 2, and now he's captured and is going back to prison.
• Amy Sherman-Palladino making a new show? Yeah, I'm there. The Return of Jezebel James(working title apparently) will get at least a few tries by me.
• Ending The O.C. this past year was the smartest thing Fox could've ever done!

The CW

• One Tree Hill needs to go.
  
• Yay for FINALLY ending Seventh Heaven and Gilmore Girls.
  
• Boo for completely screwing up what WAS a great show (Veronica Mars) by going so back and forth on how many episodes it was getting this year. And now by not making a decision on whether it's getting renewed. UGH. I don't think I will be buying Season 3.
• I probably will not be able to keep myself from watching Gossip Girl, unfortunately.

Has anyone noticed the number of shows about three or four friends of the same gender who bond together to take on the world? Very Sex and the City.

• Lipstick Jungle(NBC)
• Bigshots(ABC)
  
• Carpoolers(ABC)
• Cashmere Mafia(ABC)
• Cavemen(ABC)
• Women's Murder Club(ABC)

Oh wait, it looks like it's mostly an ABC trend!

Shows that I watch but never seem to blog about:

1. Ugly Betty: I'm still really loving this, should definitely write about it more often.

2. How I Met Your Mother: Am super glad that Ted and Robin decided not to move in together. I'm not sure how long they're planning on dragging this relationship out, but the show has been extremely funny and innovative this season and the cast just has great chemistry that gets better every week.

3. The Amazing Race: All Stars. I was pretty thrilled when Rob and Amber got kicked off, not because I hate them with a passion like some people, but because it was just a great twist. Am not so thrilled that somehow Charla and Mirna have somehow taken their place as the frontrunners. I just don't understand their crazy antics and accents coupled with their eerily serene and controlled interview segments in which they seem convinced that they're the only nice and honest people on the show. I'm rooting for Danny and Oswald because they're funny and generally positive and pretty good racers on top of that. Also wouldn't mind seeing Dustin and Kandice do well...I didn't like them all that much last season but they've been floating under the radar this time around despite a few dumb moves.

4. Jericho: This falls into the category of not very good dramas that I watch because I want to know what happens. I still think the show has a great premise, it's just that the execution is kind of nothing special. It's in the same timeslot as Friday Night Lights and Bones, and I really feel bad for not watching Bones, but oh, well...

5. Heroes: So I like this show too. But I'm not super invested in it, like I am with Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars and Friday Night Lights and Battlestar Galactica (the shows I seem to be blogging about most this season). It's entertaining enough but a few things are holding me back. The first is all that Niki/Jessica nonsense. And the second is Sylar. I don't know, sure, he's creepy, but I don't find him to be all that great of a bad guy.

6. Brothers & Sisters: I've been meaning to do a "second chance" blog on this because I went back and watched the entire season to date on ABC.com and I've gotten really into it. I think I go through this sort of process with every Greg Berlanti show (Everwood and Jack & Bobby before this). I think the first couple of episodes are pretentious and sentimental but then later on I somehow get lured back to it and discover that it's actually really good.

7. Top Design: I know, I know, I said that I probably wasn't going to watch it anymore, but it's kind of interesting. No way near as good as Project Runway or even Top Chef, but it's still pretty watchable. I don't care who wins but the designs are fun to see.

8. The Hills: Ummm yeah. For some reason I just love this packaged reality stuff that MTV does. This season has focused a lot on Heidi and her beyond-irritating boyfriend Spencer, but I think Lauren's been growing up a lot and has started standing up for herself, which is really nice to see.

9. Wildfire: Yeah, even more ridiculous teen TV shows. I'm not sure why I subject myself to this one, considering I can't stand Kris anymore and Matt and Kris are boring together, but well, I blame the DVR. In fact, I blame the DVR for most of this list. I don't know if and when they're having a 4th season but I should really seriously consider not watching it. Enough is enough, right?

10. Instant Star: ....or not. It's official, I watch too many teen shows. Anyway, this season seems to be THE season for Jude and Tommy, since she's finally turning 18. It's still a bit ick when you think about it because Tommy's got to be in his mid-twenties at least, but they're kind of hot. Jude's always been pretty self-righteous and I feel like it's been getting worse lately, but the show is still fun.

11. Dancing with the Stars: Well, I watched the first two episodes this season. I don't know why, considering I didn't watch any of the previous two seasons. I'll probably drop it eventually now that a lot of other shows are returning after March hiatus.

Pilot reviews continued

Heroes - This was the show that I had been most excited about when word of pilots starting leaking out, but it's somewhat mixed reactions from upfronts and Comic Con and TCA press week made me sort of wary. But I really liked last night's premiere. I mean, yeah, a lot of the narration is laughably cheesy, although it helps that it's a voiceover from an actual character who I buy really just talks like that (and who's kinda hot). And the whole concept of the show isn't anything new at all (i.e. X-Men, the 4400). But I'm okay with all of that, because they introduced the characters so well. Masi Oka as the nerdy Japanese guy with the most appropriate name ever (Hiro) was my favorite (as I'm sure is the case with many others). Amidst all the angst, it's nice that they have one "hero" who's just really excited about his newfound powers (which I think are the coolest so far). His babbling and geeky references are incredibly endearing. Milo Venitmiglia as Peter is next. I'm a huge Milo fan (ever since that short-lived sitcom on Fox called Opposite Sex with Allison Mack and that chick from Saved by the Bell: The New Class plus Jess is still my big for Rory's soulmate) and I'm glad he has a new show. They set up the dynamic between him and his brother extremely well, and the twist at the end was AWESOME. Hoping that Peter really does has a power of his own too though. Ali Larter has the most intriging power, which I don't really understand, and Hayden Pannetierre was perfect as the popular cheerleader who's basically indestructible. Not sure about the painter dude but we'll see where that goes. And more characters are yet to be introduced (Greg Grunberg in a non J.J. Abrams show for once, and Leonard Roberts, who was Forrest on Buffy). I'm excited.

Brothers & Sisters - I didn't really enjoy this. There are a ton of really great actors in the cast (including a couple of Alias alums, my favorite guy from Reunion, Rachel Griffiths, and of course Calista Flockhart) but I don't know, I guess there just wasn't enough concept to hook me. I mean, I've watched my share of family dramas, but I think it was more because they were also teen shows. Now that I'm out of college you would think that this might be a logical next step, a family drama with all adult children. But somehow I just couldn't get into it. Maybe it's because even though I'm definitely not a teen anymore, but I still don't really feel like an adult yet. It was interesting that they made Kitty an active right-wing conservative, and made a big deal out of it. I guess it's supposed to drum up all sorts of drama, but all the political talk doesn't interest me either. There was some good acting, I guess, and the pilot set up quite a few storylines but I don't know, I guess I'm just not in the target audience for this show.

Ugly Betty - Ever since Gilmore Girls went off the deep end, I've been lacking a "happy show." You know, that show that's fun and a little ridiculous and just makes you happy. I think Ugly Betty might be it. Everything was really predictable and over the top and campy but that's what made it so fun. America Ferrara was adorable, Eric Mabius was hot (and a Jamie Bamber look-alike), and Vanessa Williams and Gina Gershon were hilarious. Also LOVED the fake telenovela with Salma Hayek. I know that this is going to be compared to the Devil Wears Prada, but it has a very different feel, and Betty is much more convincing as a misfit in the fashion world that Anne Hathaway could ever be. Also Daniel isn't anything like Miranda, it looks like he'll be trusting and leaning on Betty quite a bit, despite the disastrous situations she'll inevitably find herself in. Really promising. The only problem is that it conflicts with both the Office and Survivor (which I've found myself hooked on again). What to do??