[TV] First Blood

I dropped the first show off the TiVo schedule: Back To You. It’s like they didn’t know if they wanted to do a sitcom/comedy or a half hour drama. And as far as I’m concerned, they didn’t really do any of it well enough to be worth giving up 20 minutes of my time (that’s the running time without the commercials).

Chuck: I’m conflicted with this show. I’ve only watched the pilot so far, so it’s too early to call. Pros: The lead, his friend, and his sister are all very fun characters. Adam Baldwin is in it (Jayne!), and the preview for the second week seems to play up the humor of having the trigger happy possibly evil spy working as part of the Nerd Herd. Hell, the Nerd Herd and store in general are pretty much in the pro column too. Cons: The spy/action things are so over the top that they’re into roll your eyes territory. The hot blond love interest who’s possibly a good spy but definitely more deadly than a squad full of trained men doesn’t do much for me either. My gut says that I’ll end up liking the show, but I’ve been proven wrong before.

Journeyman: I watched the first two episodes back to back last night. I’m intrigued, and the lead is an oddly attractive guy. I’m sure that the Nerd Herd (hee) could pick apart the time travel and physics issues, but I’m willing to hand wave that for a good story. This looks like it might have that.

Reaper: There’s an intangible tang to the show, or maybe it’s a wang. Whatever you want to call it, there’s just a Kevin Smith flavor to the show, or at least to the pilot. I’m a fan, so to me, that’s a good thing. I’ll keep watching until that’s either gone or the CW pulls the plug.

Big Shots: Not enjoying the majority of this show. I’m giving it a second or third shot because of Christopher Titus and Joshua Malina, but it’s going to have to step up quickly. The storyline with McDermott and the daughter made both of them very unsympathetic. Vartan had almost no personality at all. Malina seems to be cheating for no other reason than a hottie was willing to do him. Titus, well that was the only one of the group that I’d want to actually watch. Maybe it’s that I’m not the target demographic, what with the ovaries and all.

Moonlight: It’s a good thing the main guy is so damn pretty, that’s all I’m saying. Well, and it has Jason Dohring (Logan from Veronica Mars). It’s on life support though unless they unleash the evil in Dohring.

My Name Is Earl: I was fading on Earl last year. I think I skipped or skimmed about half of the season. But the season opener seemed to be rejuvenated, and I’ll keep it around for a while longer.

Grey’s Anatomy: I’m just not sure how much longer I can take this show. Is there anybody out there who really cares about Meredith and McDreamy? Does anybody even consider him McDreamy anymore? Because I’d be more inclined to call him McFickle and let’s call her McWhiny/McDramaQueen/McFlaky while we’re at it. More Bailey! More George! More Izzy (except I want IzzyLovesDenny not IzzyLovesGeorge please)! I do love all the Callie we’re getting, and that’s the only part of the Izzy+George storyline that I actually like. More Cristina, and I don’t care how much of a prejudiced ass he is in real life, bring back Burke! While I’m demanding, lose the new show and bring Addison back home! I have a feeling that I’m going to be watching this show until they drive it into the grave (because I must people, it’s a sickness) while grumbling at it the entire time. *sigh*

[TV] Angst Me? Angst You!

Ready for the latest round up? Too bad!

Private Practice: I didn’t like the pilot of this one as much as I liked the preview of it from last year’s Grey’s. Addison just wasn’t the same. It felt like the character lost so much when she was removed from the angst of Derrick and relocating and Meridith. I can totally do without the Mer-Der angst over on Greys, but it served as a fantastic backdrop for Addison to shine. The rest of the group fared a little better, but honestly the only characters I’d like to see more of are Brenneman, Adelstein, and Lowell. Yeah, the last one is totally because he’s Piz except hott (HottPiz just sounds wrong). I’ll give it two more shots, then I’m out.

Dirty Sexy Money: I gave this show a shot based purely on Peter Krause having the lead. But what a wonderfully manic pilot. This is probably my favorite so far of the new shows. I’m not as jazzed by the major who dunnit aspect, but I suppose they need it to give the show a little more depth than Lawyer Gets To Be Moral Compass For Crazy Rich Family. Again assuming they can keep the charm going, I’ll be in for the long haul with this one.

Bionic Woman: I think I like it. All the science fiction casting and cameos (Katee Sackhoff and Aaron Douglas from Battlestar Galactica, and Mark Sheppard from Firefly, BSG, Medium) had me rooting for it as soon as I learned they were going to be on the show. Aside from those, the main actress was puzzling to me. At first, she seemed plain. Too plain to hang a show on. However as the episode continued, there were times she was absolutely a knock-out. I actually like the character. Plus, finding out that Glen Morgan (exec producer of Space: Above and Beyond, Millennium, The Others, and some of my very favorite X-Files) is working on it pretty much guarantees that I’ll watch it for as long as the idiotic moronic just plain blind, blind, BLIND wise Powers That Be keep it on the air.

Life: I’ll be honest with you. I only caught the tail end of the show and then the intro after I time-shift TiVo’d the Bionic Woman. The main guy is very appealing as an abused, every-day kind of guy (who happens to be a stand up hero/white hat, of course). There was enough there in support of the main character to make me look forward to catching the whole thing later.

NCIS: I’m really glad the whole Frog thing is over. If they had really killed off #REDACTED for spoilers#, then I would probably have quit watching. I mean, I love me some Gibbs and Abby and Duckie, but come on. And as much as I like Lauren Holly as an actress, someone shoot her character. I’m begging you, anyone? Man, this is as scattered as they come, isn’t it? To sum it up: not a bad opener, but I’ll be hard-pressed to continue watching it if the director is going to be a large part of the story lines.

House: I can’t believe that this show and Hugh Laurie did not get an Emmy. That’ll be a rant for sometime later though. Great opening episode, and the previews for next week look like a lot of fun. Can we keep Dr. Buffer?

[TV] Pilots, In More Ways Than One

All righty then, here we go!

Back To You: This is the sitcom with Kelsey Grammer and Patricia Heaton. They’re co-anchors on a small TV news station. I loved Grammer in Cheers and Frasier, so it made the trial list. Even with Grammer though, the first episode was on the meh side for me. Up until the end. I think they hooked me with the kid. I’ll give it another four episodes to see if things gel.

Big Bang Theory: I’m a geek and I love me some geeks. And the promos for this were pretty entertaining. It got a few laughs in the Marginally Bright household, for what that’s worth. The three leads seemed to have really good chemistry, but the two add-on friends fell flat. All in all though, the pilot for this one was stronger than Back To You and I think it has serious potential if they can fan the sparks.

K-Ville: I want this one to work for multiple reasons. I’ve loved Cole Hauser since I noticed him in Pitch Black. Anthony Anderson has been on my radar ever since Exit Wounds. The only thing I really remember from that movie is Anderson and Tom Arnold doing a hilarious bit under the credits that feels like it’s totally improvised. Then he’s been holding his own against Michael Chiklis on The Shield. The last reason is that it’s filmed down in New Orleans. Anything that brings money into that community has got to be good, right? As for the pilot itself, it’s got some good elements. The two likable (possibly even lustable, shhh) leads bought the series a good five or six episode buffer, and the pilot didn’t knock it down.

As for the returning shows, well that’s been a mixed bag:
‘Til Death is sort of like the little show that could. I dropped it off of our Season Pass last year but then had to put it back on since WhatsHisFace would catch it live and quote it at me all week long. There’s something in every episode that either rings completely true (probably that whole 20 year marriage with all the good and bad that comes along with it) or provides a nice evil chuckle.

Two and a Half Men was back to the core folks for this first episode of the season, which is good. Some of the additions they’ve tried to bring in the last couple of years fell flat for me. I’d keep watching it just to see how the episode titles fit in. If you’ve never payed attention, then take a look next time. Most of the time, the titles are a hoot all by themselves.

Heroes, ah Heroes. Here, drink the Kool-Aid. It’ll help. Seriously though, the first episode was a let down. But at the same time, it was glorious. I’m going to assume that if you continue to read, you’ve either seen the episode or don’t mind spoilers. What the hell happened to Nathan? Wasn’t he elected Senator? Scruffy drunk guys don’t make good representatives. Or do they? Probably not a good choice for re-election, I’m thinking. I’m so glad Ando is still around, and how weird was dinner at chez Claire? I’m not digging the Hiro storyline so far, but I have every confidence that it’ll take off at some point. And last but not least: Peter! PeterPeterPeterPeterPeterPeter! He should have shaved that mop off long before, if that’s what was underneath. We need volunteers to stand ready with a taser and scissors in case he tries to grow it back out.

Well, that’s it for things so far. I’ve got Chuck and Journeyman on the TiVo, but I ran out of time last night. And that’s not exactly true, but I had to finish up the Studio 60 burn off from this summer and the season ender for Saving Grace. I’ll skip a writeup of those, except to say: damn, Holly Hunter is Hotttttt. I’d be jealous that she looks like that at her age, but she’s just too damn fun and conflicted and talented to focus on the negative. Oh, and that show is just rife with the eye candy. Bring em back!

* – Get it? I’m talking about some of the new pilot episodes of the new show in the very first [TV] tagged post? So, it’s the pilot post? Anybody? Anybody? Is this thing on?

Who Needs Nielsen?

I say that, but I’d turn into a squeeing fan-girl if they’d ever choose us. I promise that I’d faithfully enter everything into my journal, honest. Why won’t you pick me, why, why, WHY? *sob*

Ahem. Sorry about that.

Moving right along. I’ve got a huge list of new shows on my trial season pass (which means I’ve got them TiVo’d and will keep them until WhatsHisFace makes me clear out the pack-rat list or I start running out of space to record Heroes. Seriously, don’t mess with my Heroes). I’ll give all of the shows on my list at least three or four episodes to hit their stride before I start culling.

Here’s the list of everything. And no judging – I’ll end up watching about a quarter of all of these. Unless I figure out a way to get episodes from the TiVo to my iPod where I can watch it at lunch or working out. And yes, I know. Some of this stuff is awful, but I just can’t seem to help myself.

New Shows: Big Bang Theory, Chuck, Journeyman, K-Ville, Samantha Who?, Cane, Reaper, Pushing Daisies, Private Practice, Dirty Sexy Money, Bionic Woman, Life, Back To You, Big Shots, Woman’s Murder Club, Moonlight

Returning Shows: How I Met Your Mother, 2.5 Men, NCIS, House, ‘Til Death, Ugly Betty, Grey’s Anatomy, My Name is Earl, Supernatural, Friday Night Lights, Lost, and last but top of the heap, Heroes (Hiro! Peter! Nathan! New people! Kristin Bell!!!)

So this is a really long winded introduction to a new set of posts that are going to be cropping up. If I thought that it would stick or that I was capable of maintaining multiple blogs, I’d create one just for the TV stuff. But what fun would that be? So I’ll sprinkle them in here as the mood strikes me. I’ll tag the title so it’s a little easier to skip.

PS – We should so make a geek/sci-fi version of Nielsen. Who’s with me? We could have daily on-line journals for folks to record what they’re watching. We could even have marketing information – age, household income, amount spent on games, beer, and toys. I’m betting we could make a juggernaut. We just need a catchy name. WNN (for Who Needs Nielsen)? Geeks Unite, Nielsen Sucks (GUNN)? What do you think? Some help here, people! I can’t do everything…..

And of course we need the site setup. Beosig – get right on that!

Stupid Work

Nothing exciting for this weekend. Friends, chores, more friends, more chores. The life of a two-job family. One of these days, I might even get back into the habit of a real grocery store trip instead of hitting the place every day or so to get us through the immediate.

I spent Sunday night setting up the TiVo for the fall shows, watching off the stored up programs to free up some space, and playing World of Warcraft. But that staying up till 2am on a school work night was not my smartest choice. Oy….

I’m Classy Like That

So have you guys seen this commercial?

If the video doesn’t work or you have some fanatic hatred of YouTube, I’ll sum it up. PrettyPeopleMan gets out of bed while his PrettyPeopleWoman continues to sleep. He closes the window, goes and gets a diamond necklace, opens the clasp, and drapes it over her neck then pretends to go back to sleep. PrettyPeopleWoman wakes up with hair and makeup intact, reaches down and finds the necklace and gets all misty eyed and lovey-dovey.

The only thing I can think when I see this thing? I’d probably freak out when the thing hit my neck, fling it halfway across the room to never be seen again screaming “Spider! GetItOffMe! GETITOFFME!!”

Either that, or I’d punch WhatsHisFace in the neck when he leaned over me. They should make commercials of my life

I’m Classy Like That

So have you guys seen this commercial?

If the video doesn’t work or you have some fanatic hatred of YouTube, I’ll sum it up. PrettyPeopleMan gets out of bed while his PrettyPeopleWoman continues to sleep. He closes the window, goes and gets a diamond necklace, opens the clasp, and drapes it over her neck then pretends to go back to sleep. PrettyPeopleWoman wakes up with hair and makeup intact, reaches down and finds the necklace and gets all misty eyed and lovey-dovey.

The only thing I can think when I see this thing? I’d probably freak out when the thing hit my neck, fling it halfway across the room to never be seen again screaming “Spider! GetItOffMe! GETITOFFME!!”

Either that, or I’d punch WhatsHisFace in the neck when he leaned over me. They should make commercials of my life

No Surprise There…

Your results:
You are Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)

Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 70% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 70% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 60% Wash (Ship Pilot) 50% Alliance 50% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 40% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 35% Inara Serra (Companion) 30% River (Stowaway) 30% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 20% A Reaver (Cannibal) 5%

You are good at fixing things. You are usually cheerful. You appreciate being treated with delicacy and specialness.

Click here to take the Serenity Firefly Personality Test

No Surprise There…

Your results:
You are Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic)

Kaylee Frye (Ship Mechanic) 70% Zoe Washburne (Second-in-command) 70% Dr. Simon Tam (Ship Medic) 60% Wash (Ship Pilot) 50% Alliance 50% Malcolm Reynolds (Captain) 40% Derrial Book (Shepherd) 35% Inara Serra (Companion) 30% River (Stowaway) 30% Jayne Cobb (Mercenary) 20% A Reaver (Cannibal) 5%

You are good at fixing things. You are usually cheerful. You appreciate being treated with delicacy and specialness.

Click here to take the Serenity Firefly Personality Test

Yeah, Yeah. I’m Talking About That Harry Kid Again

I’m paranoid. I’ve read several blogs now about people who have gotten comments with book spoilers. *

And there was apparently some spoilers in a New York Times article.

I think I might have to just shut everything down until after the weekend. Dorky, I know. But I want to have the story told to me the right way. Which is the way the author wants to tell the story, not by having the ending blurted out of turn.

Oh, and if the hot dog eating competition guy actually knew what he was talking about, then I will be finding him so I can kick him in the nads. Count on it.

* – For those of you under a rock, I’m talking about Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.