Mid-week assessment re: Fall TV
So far my DVRroll barely has a chunk taken out of it as it it stacked like, 20 shows deep. Fall TV is hard, people. Your hopes are all high, there's so many new and enticing options, but you know you must be discriminating. You also don't want to be too hasty and chuck something good before it can hit its stride.
Speaking of "chuck," I really want to like the show Chuck. We did watch this one the other night, though Heroes and Journeyman still sit sadly untouched. I found myself getting very antsy during Chuck, and if and only if Journeyman really sucks are we going to give it a second go. I feel like the writing on Chuck is super-smart and the story has a lot of potential. But all the CIA stuff, which is, um, pretty key to that story? Eh. I don't know. I guess I would just rather stay with Chuck at his $11 an hour job and watch him fumble his way through relationships, banter around with his friends and family, etc. I feel like maybe this show is trying very hard to appeal to two different audiences and bring them together for a big viewership, but the end result may be that it only half-hooks each of those audiences, and everyone will be too bored to stick around.
I am also on the fence about Big Bang Theory and Gossip Girl. Big Bang falls right between How I Met Your Mother and Two and a Half Men, both of which we do watch, but the magic of DVR means that we don't have to suffer through the sandwich filling if we don't want to. We could just eat the bread. I don't know if I want to eat just the bread, though; maybe BBT will be as tasty as a Fluffernutter and I have to give it more of a chance. Sitcom pilots especially can be slow... this one was definitely slow. But it did have some great lines, and sticking around could prove worth it. Although, looking back at last season, The Class started about just as slow and got better--but then right as we really got hooked, it was cancelled. And that is the worst possible scenario for your investment.
Gossip Girl is maybe being too hyped up and maybe from that I am expecting too much? Also, I admit I was only half paying attention yesterday afternoon when I had it on, which could be the problem. On the other hand, nothing on the show particularly wrested my attention away from playing on the Internet, sooo... I don't know. I think I'm axing it for now, unless and until I hear that it's a train worth hopping on board.
So I was beginning to think it was just me. I'm into Kid Nation enough to keep going, but all the other hopefuls so far have bombed. Maybe I'm just being a snob about these new shows because I already have my favorites and am rewriting history for when I first viewed their pilots, thinking that I was immediately and irrevocably hooked. It's just not true--The Office, my current absolute favorite show on TV, took me at least 3 episodes to really get into before I could get past the uncomfortable comedy of Michael Scott. And I'm so glad I did wait it out because the show is absolutely brilliant on several levels.
I still might be a snob. But, I am 15 minutes into Reaper, and I already know this one's a keeper. (Okay, I did not mean to make a rhyme there. Sorry.) It's funny, it's smart, it's got an interesting storyline, and it's fun. Directed by Kevin Smith, the show is about a 21-year-old guy in retail whose soul has been sold to the devil by his parents, but he doesn't know it yet. Fantastic. I'm going to finish watching, pronto.
Here's to the remaining hopefuls--may they, too, be worth it.
8 comments:
my friend almostanonymous will be totally happy you're tuning into Reaper. Since she does post on the show- though i'm pretty sure ksmith only directed the pilot and there's another guy holding ep2-on. hope they solve that whole, gee i have to be a slave to the deviL? and get somebody working on how to get him out of it- callie says i'm like the sidekick for which i am mostly pretty honored.
My parents had a Reaper screening party. (Even though my name does not flash by in the credits.) Apparently it's got enough appeal to the 40-50 crowd that the teacher couple across the street stayed for the whole thing, even though they were going to leave at the first commercial. (Jr. high teaching starts early.)
Mendacious...you're like him in the good ways :) When I'm laughing he makes me think of you.
almost anon, we are in the presence of greatness!
still haven't finished it yet due to k.lo interruption, but soon. i really think it's good. m, you as the sidekick, hehe. i'll be thinking about that.
Pen, I am so thankful for your blogging. I'm not even watching the pilots. I'm just waiting for you to tell me what to watch.
I'm with Ashley. I haven't had time for TV in weeks (I know, I know -- crazy doesn't begin to cover it) and I'm trusting you to screen this for me. So, thank you. :)
We watched Chuck, Reaper and Dirty Sexy Money. Chuck was just alright. I'm going to give it one more shot. Reaper was a lot like Chuck, and now I can't remember which is which. I'm also going to give it one more try. It had such good buzz, as did DSM, but that didn't excite me either, although Peter Krause was good. Someone must paying someone off for the good reviews.
When I think of Gilmore Girls, or Arrested Development, they were both fresh and interesting. All of the new shows (so far) seem like retreads.
Haven't even heard of Reaper, will check that one out.
I watched Journeyman last night. It was decent - intriguing at times even with a bit of suspended reality that you have to approach these types of shows with - but I'm still skeptical that it will be successful as a full season versus just the 2-hour movie plot that's been done before. several times.
I also watched Gossip Girl for the first time last night, missing the premiere (even despite your helpful note that I could catch the rerun of it on Sunday! I still neglected to set my TiVo) and I wasn't really sure about the whole premise, and definitely not embracing the name, but I found it somewhat intriguing that it was narrated like it was from a gossip columnist/blogger persona. The voice sounds like Kristen Bell to me and that was very comforting and exciting for me. I never got on the OC train thinking it too much of a soap opera and I'm not sure about this whole high society fascination/exploitation, but I haven't written it off yet. There's some definite eye candy in it that will keep me for a bit longer.
I have Bionic Woman waiting to watch and set Pushing Daisies to be recorded as well. It just looks cute and might have potential.
What about ANTM last night?
Kristen Bell is the voiceover for GG! She's everywhere this season. Can't wait to see her on Heroes. I still don't know about Gossip, though. Someone has to really convince me.
I want to watch Pushing Daisies, but it would mean giving up Kid Nation... which doesn't seem like that big of a sacrifice, really. Maybe I'll watch PD and decide which one has more potential.
ANTM--okay, I just really love Heather and hope she goes far. It kind of made me nervous when they paired her up for a photo shoot, like they kind of did that on purpose because they know she's socially awkward? And then her partner and Jay seemed to feel she did terribly--but then she was ranked first! What is that all about. Ebony was annoying in the first ep, but now that she's decided to hang low, she's more appealing, and def has quite a dramatic look to her. Glad it was ditzy blond to go, she really annoyed me both weeks, and this week esp with the chemo hair, laughing her ass off. It's like she just lacks depth... though on the other hand she was the only one to treat Heather well.
Yale chicky is interesting, not quite sure what to make of her yet, but it seems like she does have innate talent, and at least she's not catty. She kind of reminds me of Elyse from cycle 1, not in looks, but personality.
I thought the photo shoot was cool, but kind of can't wait to see how this whole non-smoking cycle pans out. Let the nic fits begin!
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