TV Roundup Time!

[okayawesome]

Fall is here, and while back in New Hampshire that meant beautiful leaves turning and shit like that, here it means there's lots of American TV to carry me through my boredom. Last year, I was too busy to really catch anything new, but between my back injury and packing up to move (I have a gooorgeous new apartment, y'all), I've had nothing to do, so it's basically been NOTHING BUT PREMIERES for me.

Let's see how everything stacks up!


In no particular order:

REVENGE: Definitely my favorite new drama so far. I'm a sucker for anything related to the Count of Monte Cristo, so it was a given that I would watch this, but I'm glad that it's actually looking decent so far. It's just close enough to the source that I can see where most of the character inspirations lay, but having a girl in the lead is a really nice change. The tone of the show is soapy... but, let's face it, the book is hella soapy too in some places. Unless something Gankutsuou-level drastic happens, this is a keeper for the season.

RINGER: Let's face it, we're all watching for Sarah Michelle Gellar. Also, it has good eyecandy. The plot seriously makes no fucking sense, though. And can we laugh forever about that horrible boat scene in the pilot?

UP ALL NIGHT: Surprisingly cute! I don't know what I was really expecting, but Will Arnett definitely makes a far better romantic lead than I ever could have pictured. I find Maya Rudolph sort of hit-or-miss, but I think she works. Christina Applegate rules.

PAN AM: Boring. The music is horrifyingly bad. The costumes are predictably cute, because it's '60's drag, but. Boring.

THE PLAYBOY CLUB: I watched five minutes of this and turned it off. Ugh. Done with exploiting rape for the purpose of (stupid, poorly done) character development.

NEW GIRL: I had to come back and write about this one because I realized I forgot about it, which sort of says a lot. IDK, it's cute enough, but again, I'm sick of "let's tell stories about women by talking about how they affect men!" I'll probably give it a shot anyway.



PARKS AND RECREATION: Let's just face it now, this was the best returning premiere. Flawfree show continues to be flawfree. I loved everything about it, especially Ann actually having a good storyline, and everything about the people that are Ben Wyatt, Leslie Knope, and Ron Swanson. AND DONNA, God, I love her. If I had to take one point off, it would be for Chris's tragic wig.

COMMUNITY: Why was everyone so down on this premiere? I thought it was a perfectly acceptable episode. IDK, I haven't been passionately in love with Community since season one (except for flashes of s2 like Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas), but I still laugh at it plenty.

MODERN FAMILY: I quit. No, really, I quit. How did that show win the Emmy against the two I just mentioned? I laughed exactly once, and that was at Dylan, who is apparently now gone.

IT'S ALWAYS SUNNY IN PHILADELPHIA: This is one of those shows that kind of just keeps on chugging, like, forever. It's not as funny now as it was in its s2/s3 heyday, but shit like the rum ham and the Waitress on ecstasy had me snorting, so.

THE OFFICE: I legitimately don't know why I still watch this show, and yet, I'm not quitting until the end.

AMERICA'S NEXT TOP MODEL: Ditto.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES: My friend said that this show has amazingly consistent writing, and I sort of agree in terms of sheer quality level. It's never going to be Breaking Bad (see below), but it's pretty much always good now that the crap that was the first half of season one is past. I have my issues with the whole Andie storyline, but other than that, I continue to be sold. Plus, like five seconds into the premiere I was already like, "Oh God, this is SO MUCH BETTER THAN TRUE BLOOD."

RAISING HOPE: Did not watch this at all last season, caught up on the entire thing just in time for the premiere. WHAT A CUTE SHOW. Honestly, I think it's already better than Modern Family... certainly season two, if not season one. The premiere was adorable, too -- Jimmy and Sabrina's actors are getting pretty good at actually acting, where they used to be totally outshone by Garrett Dillahunt and Martha Plimpton. I like that they just went ahead and aged Hope up instead of trying to keep her a baby baby.



BREAKING BAD: Okay, look... you know how when people convert to religions, they can get even more hardcore about them than the people who grew up with them? That's where I am with Breaking Bad. I am officially the craziest, most die-hard Breaking Bad convert in the universe. I legitimately believe -- no, I know that this is not only the best show on television, but MILES ahead of any plausible competition. Even Game of Thrones. EVEN MAD MEN. I still have my reservations about seasons one and two, but holy crap, season three and the currently-running season four have been nothing but incredible every step of the way. Like, every second. This show deserves every Emmy that it can possibly win. If it were a movie, it would deserve every Oscar. It's just that fucking unbelievably good. WATCH BREAKING BAD, PEOPLE.

TRUE BLOOD: IT SUCKED. THAT'S NOT A PUN. The Marnie plot had potential, and then they ruined it. But after that cluster-fuck of an ending, maybe I can just... not watch it anymore next year. PS: How awful to go from Breaking Bad to True Blood on the same night. Yeeeurgh.

CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM: Like TVD, is just basically always guaranteed to be quality. The season was funny, the ending was funny... that show is just always consistently hilarious to me. Plus, Michael J. Fox was in the ending, and that dude is one of my heroes. (And Wanda Sykes and Susie Essmman pretty much are too.)

SIRENS: Whatever, I just want to talk about Sirens even though it ended weeks ago. What a surprisingly decent show, considering I only watched it in the first place to see Richard Madden kiss boys! I'm really happy it got renewed, even if I have to wait forever to see it again.

BREAKING BAD AGAIN: SERIOUSLY, WATCH IT.


Meanwhile, I quit The Big Bang Theory and Grey's Anatomy without bothering to watch the premieres. I just... can't seem to drum up the interest in either of them. OTOH, totally going to be catching Once Upon a Time when that comes out. My beloved Cougar Town is pushed to midseason, and I guess so is 30 Rock? :( Mad Men is pushed to FOREVER (seriously, MARCH, WTF). Game Of Thrones and Sirens are both back in April, and Misfits... when the hell is Misfits back, anyway?

So... anyway, I like TV. Let's talk about TV.

Comments

[sithwitch13.livejournal.com]

I'm having an Argument with a friend of mine re: The New Girl. He's pushing it as a wonderfully feminist show with a quirky (god, I want to stab that word in the face) female main character and I'm convinced it's another wish fulfillment manic pixie dream girl thing and I don't care. I promised him I'd give it a shot but have been dragging my feet on it.

Also yeah, True Blood was terrible. I'm mostly watching it to mock it with friends now.

ALPHAS. I liked it more than I thought I would and if you haven't seen it and want to check it out I think there's a s1 marathon Friday. Gary and not!Professor X are great.

[ncc-gqmf.livejournal.com]

I do think it's not Manic Pixie just by virtue of the fact that it seems like she's going to be a more fleshed out character than they usually are... but the first episode was far from feminist. Which is sad, because it was written by a woman! It wasn't awful or anything, but it was very stereotypical, heteronormative gender roles, Men Are From Mars Women Are From Venus, blah blah blah... and it does seem to be about how the Girl affects The Boys, and I'm just kind of over that. So basically: somewhere in the middle, is my answer.

LOL you realize that "there's a marathon on" means nothing to me when I get no American channels out here. But I have heard about Alphas, and I've decided I'm going to give it a shot only once I hear that season two is also decent. I GOT TOO BURNED BY HEROES, MAN.

[sithwitch13.livejournal.com]

Well, that's... I don't know if it's encouraging or not. I said I'd give the show an honest shot but I have such an irrational hatred for it's ads and I think it's biasing me.

...it's all on torrent? And yeah, Heroes burnout made me not tune in for a while, and then when my GWC buddies started talking about it, I gave it another shot and decided that it had potential. The cast is manageable and Jeph Loeb is nowhere near it, which are two votes in it's favor from me. S2 should probably start up next summer, so hopefully momentum carries.

[ncc-gqmf.livejournal.com]

I've got a lot of stuff to get through in the meantime, anyway. I think it's high time I actually watched The Wire and maybe Twin Peaks. I'm pretty committed to my "no first-season superhero shows" philosophy for now. It is the only way to protect my easily-broken heart!

(That said, Sanctuary also seems promising.)

[fauxkaren.livejournal.com]

IDEC. I AM LOVING RINGER. It is full of soapy goodness. But I mean, I still watch Gossip Girl, so clearly I just enjoy watching rich New Yorkers or something.

I'm enjoying Up All Night too.

I'll keep watching Modern Family because for me it's still kind of reliably amusing, even if it isn't laugh out loud funny. Except of course for Dylan saying that just in case any one was wondering, there was a fan in his room that sounded like a woman crying.

True Blood was such a mess this year. I know the books are badly written, but at least they're fun in a cheesy sort of way. This season was just kind of painful to watch. LAFAYETTE BECOMES A MEDIUM? THERE IS A POSSIBLE DEMON BABY? WTFFF?

Also, MTE about Sirens. I liked it a surprising amount.

[ncc-gqmf.livejournal.com]

If you like rich New Yorkers, try Revenge! They're all in the Hamptons, but it's got the same soapy goodness and rich people being horrible to each other thing going on. And, while I fully intend to keep watching Ringer, Revenge is like... waaaay better written, so far.

I honestly found, like, two things in the dude ranch episode funny (that Dylan line being one of them), and I think I'm just so bitter towards it for winning the Emmy that it's too hard for me. Like, I'd forgive other shows for being that mediocre, but since it's EMMY-WINNING COMEDY MODERN FAMILY I just feel pressed about it.

Sirens. ♥ I seriously thought it wasn't going to get renewed, given how long it took to announce. I hope next season has oodles of Rachid and possibly, you know, that scene where Ashley and Rachid totally hook up.

[htbthomas.livejournal.com]

*smiles about Breaking Bad* Didn't I say? :D Seriously, people who have not watched through to S3 and S4 don't know obsession.

I loved the Community premiere! Among my Twitter peeps and Tumblr buds, everyone enjoyed it emmensely. *shrugs* I laughed more than P&R, which was still fun. I think 4.02 "Ron and Tammys" looks like it could make me bust a gut, though.

Of your new set, I'm only trying New Girl, and mostly because it's on before Raising Hope. It was cute, but we'll see. :)

[ncc-gqmf.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I really needed to break through (so to speak) to season three. But man, once I got to "One Minute," there was just no stopping anything. UGH IT'S SO GOOD. Every other episode makes me cry now.

AND DUDE WHAT WAS THIS WEEK'S ENDING? I seriously have no idea what could possibly happen next week. The only thing I can think is that Walt will probably have to ask Jesse for money... but even if that works, what then?

Man, I need a Jesse icon. Or Gus.

[htbthomas.livejournal.com]

That ENDING. GUH. I just, I have no idea where it's heading.

I only have an icon of the two together, and the way this season has gone.... it just seems sad. :(

[ncc-gqmf.livejournal.com]

I WANT TO BELIEVE. :( Jesse made Gus not kill Walt! That has to be good for something!

...Even if Jesse actually seems to be way mentally healthier away from Walt. :( Which is pretty messed up considering who his new dad is.

[leatherteal.livejournal.com]

Man, I loved the Community premiere! Maybe even more than the Parks premiere. It made me laugh more, at least. Are other people are more annoyed by fanservice than me? I was surprised that no one else found the glances to the camera in Parks awkward, but maybe I'm just being weird.

I think Misfits is back in October?? HOPEFULLY?

I've been considering Breaking Bad since I feel like I would fall in love with Jesse Pinkman real easy, but I legit could not care less about action or violence. I'm also having this problem with Drive, my life is so hard.

[ncc-gqmf.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure what you mean about the glances to the camera in Parks? They've always done that, it's part of the format.

I'm not much of an action/violent show watcher, either (still haven't seen The Walking Dead, Dexter, most cop shows, etc.), but I seem to have found my exception in BBad. And OH MY GOD Jesse Pinkman is so easy to fall in love with. I have fantasies where I hug him and feed him cake and tell him LIFE IS GOING TO BE OKAY. He's like the new Zuko in my head.

[leatherteal.livejournal.com]

IDKY but it felt forced this time! It's hard to explain. And still very likely that I'm being weird since it didn't seem to bother anyone else. ALSO, I had crazily high expectations for Parks because S3 ended so well. W/e w/e.

I think you may have sold me on this. GDI, I still need to watch Avatar, too.

[ncc-gqmf.livejournal.com]

Iiii genuinely did not notice any more interacting-with-camera action than they usually have, so IDK what to tell you.

It's SO GOOD, DUDE. SO GOOD.

[ncc-gqmf.livejournal.com]

AVATAR IS REALLY GOOD TOO.

[stealstheashes.livejournal.com]

PARKS AND REC WAS SO GREAT. I am really excited about Leslie running, ngl.

[ncc-gqmf.livejournal.com]

ME TOO and ugh what an amazing show for having Ben not only be totally okay with it, but actively support her and want her to do it. ♥ What other show would ever actually do that?

[stealstheashes.livejournal.com]

Inorite? I feel like most shows, the male equivalent character would either sulk around and be an ass or be portrayed as ~emasculated for being supportive. &Parks and Rec;

Also somehow this reminded me of how much iled Leslie and Ann's cheering moment and the middle part where it was like OH NO BREAKUP D: and then they went back to cheering.

[ncc-gqmf.livejournal.com]

Yeah, exactly. On any other show, there'd be a big ~thing~ about it and the guy would be all "No, don't do it, stay with me" and blah blah blah. I fucking love them for having Ben (and Ron!) actually be the one to be like, "No, seriously, you're doing this, and we will back you."

[beanarie.livejournal.com]

Big Bang is just... sigh. It's like. I enjoy Bernadette (especially when she sounds like Howard's mom) and Amy, but every minute they aren't focusing on Sheldon, they're wasting my life. They lost their magic, and they don't seem to want it back.

Once Upon A Time has got the most amazing posters in the subway. I want to see this show so bad.

The New Girl was fun. I liked it. Kind of expected, given the star. Whatever. I'm sad that bb!Damon Wayans isn't actually on the show, though.

Also, lol. Yes. To Top Model. So what did you think about Kayla getting upset about being told that she had to try being something other than just gay?

[ncc-gqmf.livejournal.com]

They lost their magic, and they don't seem to want it back.

Yeah, that's basically how I feel about it. It wasn't awful last season or anything, but it was the sort of thing where I kept forgetting to watch it and not really caring. I actually forgot about the premiere, too, and by the time I remembered, I was like "...yeah, not worth it, let's Vampire Diaries instead."

I feel like Once Upon a Time is either going to be awesome, or awesomely bad, but either way, I'm excited.

bb!Damon Wayans is on the far better HAPPY ENDINGS, though. Which starts today, yes.

Ugh, IDK. On the one hand, I think she's gorgeous and has the potential to be amazing and needs to break away from that whole self-imposed label thing. On the other hand, the producers clearly wanted to handicap her by giving her "free." On the other other hand, I feel like she's savvy enough that she started clinging to gay in the first place because she knows, like most of the other All Stars, that having a Thing is what gets you through.

[beanarie.livejournal.com]

*nods* I understand. And I hate that feeling. When a show used to be gold and just... isn't, any more. Total bummer.

Me too! And I'll probably be able to follow it regularly since my sister really wants to see it, too.

Ooh, I'll keep that in mind. On Demand can be annoying, though. I hate that they only put up three or four episodes at a time. I know they want people to buy the dvd's instead, but it doesn't result in me buying the dvd's. It results in me never getting introduced to their show.

That is a very good point. It does make sense that she would want to have a hook from the beginning because, you're right, she is very smart. Lol I don't know if "free" is any worse than "girlfriend". Most of them were just incredibly stupid and Nigel weaving them into his critiques about their photos was teeth-grittingly irritating. As for one of the few that sort of worked, I don't care how "daring" Lisa is, her skinny ass is not winning.

You should watch Walking Dead. It's not perfect, but the writing is really layered. And I caught one episode of Alphas. The aspie(?) kid made me want to watch more.