TV Log: Sept 28 - Oct 4
Caution, spoilers below.
Pretty solid Monday. House was good, as usual. Interesting to see how Foreman took over House’s role and how the rest of the team responded to it. Being the man in charge isn’t as easy as it looks. Looks like we’ll see House back in the office soon. Heroes needs to do something, quickly. The episode showed some promise (re-introduction of Sylar, etc) but it definitely isn’t living up to its potential. The universe just has a ton of potential
Gossip Girl was pretty great. Good to see the show back to its fun-loving, not taking things too seriously self. The combination of likeable characters and a fun plot with what The CW does pretty well (see below) is a solid combination. The season premiere of Lie to Me was great. Always lives up to the premise, especially since this episode was quite a bit out there, even for the series.
Tuesday wasn’t quite as good. The only real reason to watch 90210 and Melrose’s Place is because The CW does a pretty good job of taking awesome scenery shots (that look amazing in HD) and mixing those up with good looking people and a Top 40 soundtrack. The 90210’s plots have been decent but the Asian med student turning call girl is the only thing keeping me watching Melrose’s Place, which is almost countered by Ashlee Simpson’s horrible acting.
The Good Wife was great-an extremely well done show. I wish there was less legal drama and more personal drama but it looks like the show is balancing both pretty well. Likeable characters and solid acting, too.
Wednesday is turning into another comedy night. Modern Family was just as hilarious as last week. I’m really loving the characters on the show and how they play off each other. Cougartown showed definite improvement over last week. It was actually pretty funny the whole way through this time around. I was pleasantly surprised with the series premiere of The Middle. Not quite laugh-out-loud funny but definitely worth watching with a solid cast of characters. Looking forward to seeing more.
Last week’s Glee was a bit more of a musical than I like but it’s too hard to complain with a show as genuinely made as this one. It’s clear that the writers really care about the characters and everything comes across very well. A bit disappointed with Eastwick though largely because the series premiere was so good. I missed the comedy and overall silly fun of last week’s episode, although some of the actual drama could be good.
Thursday night comedies were excellent. Really enjoying the office drama between Michael and Jim on The Office although I’m wondering how long they can keep that going for. Community was good but largely because the guest-star teacher, which was the same as last week. Wondering if the core cast can make a funny episode on their own. Parks and Recreation pleasantly surprised me. The decision to focus more on small-town living than a parks department is really paying off. Probably the first laugh-out-loud episode.
Flashforward is moving along well. I like the pace that the characters are developing and new tidbits are being introduced. Not quite hooked yet but intrigued. Guilty pleasure Vampire Diaries is becoming a decent show in its own right. I especially liked the dig at Twilight: “Why don’t you sparkle? Because real vampires burn in the sun.”
On Friday, I’m interested to see where Dollhouse’s new direction takes it. Last season was more about individual roles/personalities Echo was thrown into while this one is more about the overall, big picture message. It could work as long as every episode isn’t a hardcore big picture episode.
Today, I was blown away by Californication. When that show is good, it is really, really good. Hank (the guy, haven’t seen the show yet) delivered on all fronts, though his parenting skills are questionable. Gossip Girl’s Ed Westwick (Chuck) made an awesome cameo, as a gay, vampire fiction writing student. Mad Men was solid this week. The show hasn’t been mindblowing this season yet but it’s always very well done. Betty wasn’t annoying in this one, which is a huge plus.
Pretty happy with the season finale of Entourage. Some plot twists, a pretty funny cameo from Matt Damon (with more after the credits!), and gorgeous scenery. The Ari / Lloyd final scene was pretty amazing and it’s always good to see Ari get screen time. I’m not too sure that the E / Sloan proposal could have reasonably happened in real life but eh. The show could have been more interesting without their plot line going in that direction, imo.
And yes, I realize that I watch a ton of television.
