THURSDAYS
ABC will
air their Charlie’s Angels remake,
followed by Grey’s Anatomy and Private Practice. Charlie’s
Angels just looks bad. I have to
wonder why the networks keep remaking shows that were popular in
yesteryear. People’s tastes have
changed, something that was funny in the 90s (Home Improvement) is eye-roll-inducing today. I will not be giving this one an episode
because I just don’t care.
Grey’s
Anatomy I abandoned after the episode with the ghost sex, poo transplant,
and the intern trying to perform her own appendectomy. I heard the show re-found its way, but it’s
kind of like an ex-boyfriend: yeah, it’s great you cleaned up your shit, I’m
really happy for you, but I’ve moved on.
Private
Practice seemed over the top from day one, and I didn’t make it past a few
episodes.
CBS kicks
things off with The Big Bang Theory,
a show that kind of lost me at the laugh track.
A line that makes you smile is nice.
A line that makes you smile and makes the “audience” fall over laughing
just makes you think about how little you’re laughing. It’s about geeks, so it should be right up my
alley, but with so much else to watch I probably won’t check it out again.
After Big Bang, they’ll debut How
to be a Gentleman, another show that looks absolutely atrocious. The preview clip CBS aired was all I needed
to see of this one.
At 9:00, they’ll air JJ Abrams’ Person of Interest, which I will only
watch because JJ Abrams’ name is attached.
I haven’t heard the best reviews, and, despite the slight Sci-Fi twist,
it seems like it will be your average case-of-the-week procedural. So I don’t know that I’ll stick with it past
my initial sampling, though I wish it well.
Following Person of Interest, CBS will air The Mentalist. Another
innocuous procedural, so not much to say (though I love when Psych, who had the idea first, and made
it much more fun, references this show).
NBC will
bring back Community, another show
that Toaster (and the rest of the world) seem to like more than I do. I find it funny. I like it.
I just don’t love it. There are
great episodes (the Dungeons and Dragons one, for instance), but most episodes
the characters just seem like people that I probably wouldn’t be friends
with. So I’m not so emotionally invested
in their problems (though they’re still funny).
I am, however, emotionally invested
in Parks and Recreation, the best
comedy on TV right now. There’s an
underlying sweetness to Parks and Rec that
I really love, and it helps to keep the characters (like the awesome
Ron-F-ing-Swanson) from becoming too one-note.
I’m genuinely invested in the relationship between Leslie and Ben, and
absolutely adore April and Andy. I love
the friendship and respect that underlie Ron and Leslie’s interactions, despite
the fact that they are political polar opposites. Heck, I love just about anything to do with
Ron-F-ing Swanson.
At nine, I’m hoping The Office can still be good without
Carell. The Finale last year did not
leave me hopeful, but if we can get more episodes like “Dwight Schrute, Acting
Manager,” I’ll definitely be watching.
After The Office, NBC will debut Whitney,
which doesn’t look all that funny based on the previews I’ve seen. I’ll probably watch an episode, or at least
part of one.
At ten, NBC will air Prime Suspect, which I’ll probably watch
an episode of to make sure it’s another innocuous procedural that can be
ignored, rather than something better.
From what I’ve heard, they’ve massively toned down the personal problems
of the Maria Bello character from the BBC original, and have gone from a
case-per-season to a case-per-week format, so I’m not hopeful.
FOX will
air The X Factor results, followed by
a shortened season of Bones, to
accommodate Emily Deschanel’s pregnancy.
This show kind of fell off my radar near the end of last season, but I’m
glad they finally got Booth and Bones together, and am intrigued at the thought
of them having a baby. If I can find the
time, I want to watch last season’s finale and maybe get back into this. The shortened season makes it easier for me
to make another attempt to commit to this show.
The CW will
air The Vampire Diaries and new show The Secret Circle. I attempted to watch The Vampire Diaries when it first premiered, but lost
interest. There were just too many
better things I could be watching. I’ve
heard it’s gotten better, but it sounds a little too soapy for me – I don’t
need another guilty pleasure. The Secret Circle looks very much like Vampire Diaries with witches, so while
I’ll check out the first episode, I suspect I won’t stick with it for
long. I like Thomas Dekker, though.
The other
show I’ll be watching on Thursdays is Project
Runway, which is partway though its season on Lifetime. I’m still pissed at the judges for choosing
Gretchen over Mondo last season, but I couldn’t manage to drop this show. There are a few good designers this year,
though it’s probably not a good sign that I don’t have a clear favorite yet
(maybe Anthony Ryan or Anya, but I’m not completely sold on either). At least the “villains” are redeemable,
fully-dimensional human beings, so I’m not actively rooting for anyone’s demise.
FRIDAYS
ABC will air Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, which I
think I’d like a lot more if it aired on HGTV and didn’t feature so much soft
music and crying. This will be followed
by Shark Tank, and 20/20.
Needless to say, I don’t plan to tune in to ABC on Friday nights (which
is sad, because I have semi-fond memories of TGIF, though I probably wouldn’t
like any of them today).
CBS will
air A Gifted Man, which I will
probably watch an episode of to see if it’s the new Eli Stone. It almost
certainly won’t be. After that they have
CSI: NY and Blue Bloods.
NBC will
air the final season of Chuck
followed by new show Grimm, then Dateline NBC. I’ve intermittently watched Chuck throughout the years, and I may
try to pick it up again for its swan song.
Chuck is harmless and fun, and would be a great show on USA, but I find
myself wishing there was something deeper, or that the show was funnier. Regardless, I recognize that it’s a good
show, with a loyal and passionate fanbase, and I hope it goes out with a
bang.
Grimm,
on the other hand, looks not to be very much fun at all. And it looks to be a procedural in genre
clothing. Which could be good if it were
executed well, but the reviews do not make me hopeful. It will probably get an episode before being
purged from my TiVo. Airing against Fringe and Supernatural, I doubt it will be long before it’s purged from NBC’s
schedule as well.
FOX will
air Kitchen Nightmares and Fringe.
Fringe really kicked it up a
notch the second half of Season Two, and the time spent Over There last season
kept the show on a roll. I am really
looking forward to this show, though I hope they don’t keep Peter out of the
timeline forever.
The CW will
air Nikita and Supernatural. I watched some
Nikita last year and it was fine, but
I wasn’t loving it, and eventually it fell off my radar. If time permits, I may check back in this
season.
I will be watching Supernatural, though probably after
first watching time-slot competitor Fringe. Since Eric Kripke stepped down as showrunner,
the show hasn’t felt the same. Or maybe
it was just half a season of soulless Sam kind of screwed up my feelings
towards him. I still like the show, and
it has the potential to really suck me in, but last season we weren’t quite
connecting.
SATURDAYS
CBS will air Rules of Engagement. Why?
Because they felt like spending money to air a bad show in a dead time
period? Not sure, but, like most of America, I will
soon forget that there is original network programming on Saturday nights.
So, this is
a lot longer than the brief post I had intended. I will continue to post my thoughts about TV
and TV-related-news as I feel inspired (or, assuming I get actual readers, as I
feel nagged) to do so. Toaster and I
will probably make an occasional podcast, and I will likely guest in a few Wasting Our Lives podcasts.
Until next
time…
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