12.03.2007

Talking TV

So I haven’t been much for talking about TV this fall. Sorry.

I blame it partly on getting so wrapped up in the postseason baseball. Then, I was racing to catch up with so many shows on the DVR that I hardly had time to soak up a lot of them. And now Hollywood is in a writer’s strike that’s halting our favorite shows and there's no signs of them resuming.

I also blame it on the fact I haven’t exactly been blown away by anything I’ve been watching this fall -- at least not the way I was always blown away by the hilarity of Friends, Fraiser, Raymond or Will & Grace. Or the soaring drama, action and charm of West Wing, or the early episodes of Lost and Heroes… Which is sort of surprising because it’s a rarity I don’t really like at least a handful of the new shows ...

This year has been a rarity … I was turned off by Caveman and Carpoolers in just five minutes. We stayed with Samantha Who for two episodes before cutting that one loose. And Reaper hung around on our DVR for about three or four episodes before we dismissed that one too …

Oh, and Private Practice? Yeah. Still boycotting it.

We’ve kept up with Big Bang Theory (I do really enjoy Sheldon …) and Back To You, but those are starting to wear too … Even How I Met Your Mother and The Office seem to have lost their edge (Although I must admit the first couple episodes of this season's Office, despite being an hour long, were pretty stellar -- Angela to Dwight, referring to her cats: “I don‘t want Garbage! I want Sprinkles!” And later during their breakup: “I will leave your toothbrush on your tire.”) ... That said, 30 Rock may be the sitcom I've most enjoyed watching this fall -- and that's something I never thought I'd be saying last fall ...

If a show has any premise remotely about crime and cops, or even smells of sleaze, I'm not getting near it. I don’t care how well it’s written or produced -- I get enough of that in my every day work …

There have been some signs of TV life lately, though … mostly in Daisies, a tornado and a favorite from last season that couldn’t have returned at more appropriate time.

Yeah. So how about that tornado on Wisteria Lane last night!? Captivating at times (Lynette's scream at the end), funny at others (Edie vs Gabby; Victor vs Carlos -- I saw Victor getting pinned with that fence post a mile away), and sometimes just dumb -- No one predicts a tornado hours before it's going to hit and then prepares for it. McClusky driving up in her car and yelling to the neighbors (who were standing under a sunny sky) at 9 in the morning that a tornado had hit Mt. Pleasant and they'd better get under cover for the 4 o'clock tornado was the worst. And c'mon, aside from the Scavo clan, why was nobody worried about Julie and the rest of the kiddos!? ... If you ask me, the Halloween episode was the best so far of a season that's almost reached First Season levels. Danielle playing Bree might have been the funniest thing I've ever seen on Housewives… Still, more recent Sundays have been like watching “a very special episode” of Desperate Housewives. Between Lynette’s cancer battle, Mike’s drug user/abusive husband persona and now Andrew moving out ... Seriously.

Keeping with the Sunday night lineup, Brothers & Sisters quietly endures as the new age thirtysomethingSally Field. Rob Lowe. Calista Flockhart. A large, beautiful California family. Wonderful plots. A good wedding. I love the dynamic Rebecca adds to the family ... If B&S lost any points with me this season, it happened when they brought in that creepy Leena to sleep with idiot Tommy ...

On to Monday nights ... Heroes didn’t start out so hot, and I was beginning to doubt my draw to the show I fell so deeply in love with last year … Ah, but the last few weeks have turned almost as stellar as the high points of last season’s fight to save the world … With every new episode, new character and new power revealed -- it’s like one giant game of rock, paper, scissors! Seriously. It's like regeneration beats electricity, which beats flight and -- you get the idea … I'm comfortably on board again. Except, now it's over for a few weeks. (Who assassinated Nathan!?!)

As for Greys Anatomy, however, I've resigned to the notion it's never going to be as good as the pre-Super-Bowl bomb-era Grey's. … Our fearless, gonna-save-the-world interns are growing up; they're not so innocent anymore. They're more cynical and mean now. And these days they appear to be more concerned with who can have the most closet sex than they are with being chummy at the cafeteria table. I miss those days ... At least Bailey finally got to be a chief.

And that leaves me with the colorful and dazzling Pushing Daisies ... Why the buzz on this show is so subdued baffles me. (Kates was slow to warm to it too, but I finally got her hooked after a couple episodes) Did I mention how colorful it is? I love the straight-on camera angles of the characters during their conversations. I love the narration. I love the idea that Ned and Chuck are so deep into each other but it's impossible for them to touch, and the way your heart sinks for them every time they get close. And I love that each episode is a 40-minute fantasa-magical who-dun-it adventure with four people I'd love to spend my days with ...


Oh, and that show that couldn't have returned at a more appropriate time? I'm talking about Notes From the Underbelly, baby! The critics can and will say what they want about it. Yeah, so it's not the greatest premise ever, but it's darn fun and cute for a young couple that's sharing the same experiences -- and I'll watch anything with Rachael Harris ...

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