Could not authenticate you.

On TV


A couple of weeks ago, I put together a post taking a quick look at the new fall lineup on the networks. At the time, there were a few shows that hadn’t yet premiered, and a few that I was reserving judgement on. So I guess it’s time to revise some of my thinking…

Let’s start with NBC’s Friday Night Lights. Slate’s TV guy, Troy Patterson, is pimping this one and trying to keep it on the air depite its dismal ratings. I watched the first couple of shows, and here’s my problem. Everything I have seen so far was in the movie – everything!

If I wanted to see a movie on TV that I’ve already seen, I’d rent the damn movie. The adaptation changes the name of the town, the name of the team, and the name of the coach, but Boobie Miles is still Boobie Miles whether you change his name to Smash Williams or not.

The worst part of the first two hours of the series is that the first two hours have only gotten us about 20 minutes into the movie. So not only can I get the whole story from the DVD, I can do it 9 times faster.

I still haven’t gotten around to Ugly Betty. That’s likely to be my overlooked series this year. I have it Tivo’d, but I’m just not that interested in actually watching it. Grey’s Anatomy started out the same way for me, and now I feel like I’m the only guy not in on the secret, and I don’t care to buy the season’s to catch up.

The Class, a CBS sit-com about a group of twenty/thirty-somethings who were in third grade together is still sort of an enigma to me. I can’t quite decide if I like it. The Ethan/Kat storyline and the woman with a knack for dating gay men are both pretty funny, but the rest of it is sort of stale. I’m hoping it gets funnier overall, or they start to drop some of the deadweight (“Tonight, on a very special The Class, Duncan, Matt LeBlanc’s girlfriend, and the two morons who are sort of dating die in a tragic bass fishing accident.”)

Lost was awesome last week. I was actually kind of dreading the start of the new season for two reasons. First, I am still kind of unhappy that we get six weeks of new material, then a four month break. It really pisses me off. Second, I was kind of disappointed in last season. It didn’t really hit me the way the first season did.

This season is off to a good start, though. I like the dark feeling to it all. I also got a kick out of the humor. (Hey! You got a fish biscuit! Good for you… It only took the bears two hours.”) hopefully tonight is as good.

Finally, I’ll offer some thoughts on the shows I’m really digging…

Jericho, despite its odd premise, is actually pretty good. I’ve seen a lot of reviews dogging it, but I really like it so far. It does make you wonder how the small towns that are disconnected from, but still reliant on our major urban centers would deal with the isolation of being cut off if a massive attack occured.

Studio 60 has been phenomenal, as well. I’m old enough that I remember Saturday Night Live when it was cutting edge (I even remember Fridays, which I liked as well, but may have been ahead of it’s time). The show has the trademark Aaron Sorkin feel with quick, jerky dialog and short scenes, but it also has moments of brilliance. It made me think of the first season of West Wing. I just hope it doesn’t start to suck as quickly as that show did.

Also on NBC, Heroes has been an interesting show so far. It’s kind of like DC Comics meets X-Files. The indestructible cheerleader is cool, but the Japanese guy is just realy, really annoying. Honestly, the women on the show are all generally cool, but most of the guys come across as whiney little douchebags.

So there you have it, more on the fall season.



Share
Tags
Written by Michael Turk