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

Catching up with the midseason shows

Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles: Confession: I've never watched any of the Terminator movies. I know, I know, I've been meaning to watch at least the first two for years now but they've just been buried deep down on my Netflix queue of 150+ (getting trumped by things like Avonlea and various BBC productions) and I just haven't gotten around to them. That didn't stop me from watching this show though...and with a little help from wikipedia, I think I sort of know what's going on? And so far, I've been enjoying it, though maybe not blown away. Lena Headey is much more convincing at the ass-kicking than say, Michelle Ryan of Bionic Woman, and I always love Summer Glau. Thomas Dekker as John is kind of the weak link for me, although it seems like they've been trying to show more that he's going to grow up to be a hero. I'm not that interested in the FBI part of the show, and the time travel part kind of confused me, but overall it's been a pretty entertaining show.

Eli Stone: I'm not that much of a legal drama fan (although I was really into The Practice for a few seasons during its earlier seasons) but two things attracted to me to this one: Greg Berlanti and Jonny Lee Miller. Thanks to Everwood, Brothers & Sisters, and Dirty Sexy Money I am officially a huge Greg Berlanti fan. And I kind of have a thing for Jonny Lee Miller. Anyway, the gimmick with this show is that Eli, the main character, learns that he has an inoperable brain aneurysm that's causing him to have hallucinations that seem to be pointing him towards taking on cases to help everyday people rather than the big corporations that his firm usually defends. The visions are really kooky...the first episode featured George Michael, of all people, and it seems that he'll be making more appearances. It's all pretty amusing, and it's made even better with Victor Garber, another favorite of mine, who plays Eli's boss, and a funny acupuncturist who thinks Eli is a prophet. I'm not too sure about Eli's fiance, Taylor, though, and whether we're supposed to like her or not...she's been kind of blah so far. Also in the cast is Julie Gonzalo (Parker from Veronica Mars but with brown hair now), who might end up being competition for Taylor? But overall the show is definitely being carried by Jonny Lee Miller, who I think I now love even more. He's awesome!

Lipstick Jungle: A comparison to Cashmere Mafia is inevitable because the two shows are just stupidly similar. People seem to be divided on which they like better although most think both are generally pretty bad. Maybe because I've already seen a few episodes of Cashmere Mafia now but I think I liked that one better. Part of my problem with Lipstick Jungle is that I've never been a big fan of Brooke Shields, and I completely cannot buy her as the head of a big movie studio. I guess her character, Wendy, is supposed to be "nicer" than your stereotypical businesswoman, but she seemed so frazzled in the pilot that I didn't get any sense of power at all. And I mean, do head of movie companies really work in New York? Plus, the deal she was trying to work with Leonardo DiCaprio and a Galileo movie? Just random. I also have a problem with the Lindsay Price character. Victory is kind of a terrible name and she seems like she's at least 10 years younger than the other two so I don't get why they're all friends. And her little storyline with the Andrew McCarthy character is really terrible. I've never been a big fan of Andrew McCarthy, even back in the Pretty in Pink days, and his super billionaire here is just annoying. Their stupid banter with Victory not wanting to be rescued by his money, and him saying that he's losing $20,000 by talking to her in person...blech. I thought the only bright spot here was Kim Raver, but she really deserves to be on a better show...