Alright, I’m back and ready to give you part two of the good and the bad of TV this season. Check out Part 1 for a recap of what I’ve been through already.
Show Cancellations:
The Good: Knight Rider on NBC
The Skinny: First, I have to say I never even watched this piece of garbage, so I’m only going from what Seamus told me. Of course, he was one of twenty people who actually watched it (before he got so disgusted with it that he couldn’t watch it). Reboots, reimaginations, and sequels are tough to pull off. NBC should have learned this with the Bionic Woman reimagination, which had a boatload of potential before it got pissed away.
From what Seamus told me, the decided that plot wasn’t that important and hot chicks and fast cars was the way to go. No offense, but that route has failed so many times, its not even funny. It’s even worse when you take a show that many people remember and love from there childhood and slip that crap into it. The only good thing NBC did with this show was put it out of its misery.
The Bad: Pushing Daisies on ABC
The Skinny: This delightful and witty show was killed by the greedy writers. The writing was top notch, but the writers strike basically killed any momentum it had and by the time it premiered in September, the sheep that make up the TV viewing public forgot all about it. And yes, I still have anger issues over this.
This show had a lot of potential, a great cast, great writing, and was just plain fun to watch. Bryan Fuller has talked about bring the show to the big screen, but only after a comic book run. I’m all for continuing the run. Heroes fans should be jazzed that Fuller is going back to that show to help out the horrid writing that has plagued the show since the end of the first season. Personally, I think it’s too far gone to help.
Josh Schwartz:
The Good: Chuck on NBC
The Skinny: Schwartz has always had problems with second seasons (example: The OC). He tends to buy into the hype and either prolong a storyline or get away from what made the show good to being with, the characters (again, The OC). Thankfully, Chuck flew under the radar and didn’t fall into the trap.
The show is just plain fun to watch. It’s light, escapist fare. The characters have remained true to themselves and the storyline hasn’t gotten too convoluted (although the FULCRUM storyline is kinda tough to follow at times). It pulls in great guest stars and stays true to the formula that made it fun to watch. It’s a show on the bubble and I hope NBC brings it back, as it’s the only show worth watching on that network.
The Bad: Gossip Girl on The CW
The Skinny: Well, Schwartz may have escaped his OC disease with Chuck, but not with Gossip Girl. The first season was actually semi-worthwhile, but the second season isn’t even watchable. I get annoyed by the preview ads for it, let alone if I actually tried to sit through an hour long show.
I tried to watch the second season, I truly did. But after I watched the first episode of the season, I just deleted it off my DVR. It was characters acting out of character and just cringe-worthy writing and acting. Every time I see that pretty boy who plays Chuck Bass, I want to hurl something at my TV. Every time I hear about a Gossip Girl spin-off, I wonder what parents let their children watch. While Chuck will probably get cancelled, this piece of filth will probably stick around way too long.
Smallville:
The Good: The first half of the season, up to the Chloe/Jimmy Wedding
The Skinny: I think Seamus summed this up perfectly when he said “well, it’s not great, but it’s definitely better than the last few seasons.” The show had finally cut the dead weight (Kristen Kruek) and was running fast and lean. It was basically the Chloe/Clark/Lois show, with little bits of Jimmy and Oliver mixed in. They introduced the new bad guy (Doomsday) and the new Lex Luthor (Tess Mercer).
They kept the storylines simple, had Clark take yet another step towards his destiny, and started to introduce some sweet Clark/Lois moments. Plus, I think everyone can agree that more Oliver Queen equals a better show. They were starting to show flashes of what this show had been in its first few years. And I was enjoying it.
The Bad: The second half of the season, from the wedding on forward
The Skinny: The second I saw Kristen Kruek’s name in the guest star list (the exact second), I muttered “well, there goes the season”. It just becomes an utter train wreck at that moment. I laughed when she was introduced in her fight scene with Oliver in the factory that supposedly had Lex.
Then she got super powers, and got back together with Clark, and got infected with kryptonite and couldn’t go near him anymore. What the hell is this crap?!?! When they finally booted her off the show, I thought maybe the rest of the season could be salvaged. But like a bad fart, her presence just lingered. They came up with horrible storylines like Davis being taken in by the Luthor’s when he first came to Earth, or Chloe becoming Lois, or Tess engineers a plane crash so Clark will reveal his secret.
The worst one was the episode that aired just last week, entitled “Stiletto” in which Lois pretends to be a superhero. About 15 minutes in, I wanted to be impaled by one of her stilettos, so as to put me out of my misery. Even Seamus, the world’s biggest Smallville apologist, fell asleep about 20 minutes in.
This half of the season has only been saved by two things. One, the Legion episode and two, “this is Watchtower, signing on.” That’s it. That can’t save any show. Not even this one.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
The Good and The Bad of TV - Part 1
I know it’s been ages since I’ve updated, and for that, I’m a bad person. However, before we hit the stretch run to the end of the TV season, I want to run down the good and the bad we’ve seen so far.
First, a little RIP for Bea Arthur. Best known for Golden Girls, Maude, and celebrity roast jokes, she will be missed. Just imagine if Maude had been on during the time of idiot bloggers. The landmark abortion episode would have caused the web to explode. My take on it would have been that no matter what your views on abortion, the episode should not have aired. Not because of the fact it was about abortion, but for the fact that there is no way Bea Arthur gets pregnant at over 50 years old and looking like she did in that show. That’s all I’m saying.
Anyway, on to my rundown. Part 1 now and Part 2 tomorrow.
24 Plot Twists.
The Good: Tony Almeida being the good guy.
The Skinny: When we first jump into 24 this season, Tony is working with the terrorists while Jack is trying to bring him down. We then find out that Tony is actually working with Bill and Chloe to bring down rogue elements of the government. Far-fetched yes, but still good drama. Plus, Tony was always a good guy, even if it’s highly implausible that he survived that attack last season. If you want revenge for Michelle, go after Logan, not the US Government.
The Bad: Tony Almeida being the bad guy – redux
The Skinny: So, Tony goes to all this trouble helping Jack get the CIP device and warning him about the attack on the White House and taking out the Starkwood Compound only for us to find out he is actually working against the government and now had a canister of the nerve gas. Huh? If this was his goal, just keep the attack on the White House a secret or just lay low at the Compound instead of blowing it up. It just makes no sense he would go to all this trouble.
Series Finales:
The Good: Battlestar Galactica
The Skinny: Like I didn’t go into enough detail about this. I really liked it, it tied up things nicely, and it is aging extremely well…so far.
The Bad: Life on Mars – The US version
The Skinny: I’ve said before that the US version isn’t half bad if you lobotomize yourself to forget the British version. It was intriguing and kind of made you wonder how they were going to play it out. The best part of the British finale was that the easiest answer was the correct one, and Sam made his choice. The US version decided to go the exact opposite.
What we got was an actual literal playing out of the show title, as a space ship touched down on Mars, all played to an Elton John song (instead of David Bowie). They all wake up from their sleep pods and it was all a dream for Sam. Not only that, but Gene is his father. Are you frakking serious?
It’s like the writers took the Mission Space ride at Epcot one too many times. If they tried, they couldn’t have come up with a worse finale. I really don’t think I’ve seen a finale this horrid. I was watching with the Duchess and she turns to me after it’s over and was like “That sucked.” I think she was being nice. To paraphrase Bart Simpson, this both sucked and blew.
Mid-Season Series:
The Good: Castle on ABC
The Skinny: Detective writer Richard Castle needs to start a new book series and decides to base his new character off of NYPD Detective Kate Beckett. Wackiness ensues. I find this show entertaining and hope that ABC renews it (which means they won’t). Nathan Fillion is a freaking riot as Castle. There isn’t one character that annoys me either. The cops at the NYPD and Castle’s mother and daughter are separate, yet both make the story great. The best thing and an easy trap for every show, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet isn’t complete camp.
The Bad: The Unusuals on ABC
The Skinny: When you watch the ads for this, you think it’s going to be a quirky cop show, which is desperately what TV needs. I was also intrigued because Amber Tamblyn was getting a paycheck for doing something that didn’t involve Bible thumping or an overly dramatized plot about a well-travelled pair of jeans.
So, I watched the first two episodes and found myself struggling. Yesterday, I sat there looking at it in my DVR trying to talk myself into watching it. Instead, I watched the 1998 series premiere of Seven Days (I miss the old days when UPN would throw everything against the wall to see what stuck).
Unlike Castle, this show does take itself too seriously, while the ads make it seem campy. I don’t know how they did it, but they did. Plus, seeing as I don’t like this show, ABC will probably renew it over Castle. Sometimes I just hate TV.
See you all tomorrow.
First, a little RIP for Bea Arthur. Best known for Golden Girls, Maude, and celebrity roast jokes, she will be missed. Just imagine if Maude had been on during the time of idiot bloggers. The landmark abortion episode would have caused the web to explode. My take on it would have been that no matter what your views on abortion, the episode should not have aired. Not because of the fact it was about abortion, but for the fact that there is no way Bea Arthur gets pregnant at over 50 years old and looking like she did in that show. That’s all I’m saying.
Anyway, on to my rundown. Part 1 now and Part 2 tomorrow.
24 Plot Twists.
The Good: Tony Almeida being the good guy.
The Skinny: When we first jump into 24 this season, Tony is working with the terrorists while Jack is trying to bring him down. We then find out that Tony is actually working with Bill and Chloe to bring down rogue elements of the government. Far-fetched yes, but still good drama. Plus, Tony was always a good guy, even if it’s highly implausible that he survived that attack last season. If you want revenge for Michelle, go after Logan, not the US Government.
The Bad: Tony Almeida being the bad guy – redux
The Skinny: So, Tony goes to all this trouble helping Jack get the CIP device and warning him about the attack on the White House and taking out the Starkwood Compound only for us to find out he is actually working against the government and now had a canister of the nerve gas. Huh? If this was his goal, just keep the attack on the White House a secret or just lay low at the Compound instead of blowing it up. It just makes no sense he would go to all this trouble.
Series Finales:
The Good: Battlestar Galactica
The Skinny: Like I didn’t go into enough detail about this. I really liked it, it tied up things nicely, and it is aging extremely well…so far.
The Bad: Life on Mars – The US version
The Skinny: I’ve said before that the US version isn’t half bad if you lobotomize yourself to forget the British version. It was intriguing and kind of made you wonder how they were going to play it out. The best part of the British finale was that the easiest answer was the correct one, and Sam made his choice. The US version decided to go the exact opposite.
What we got was an actual literal playing out of the show title, as a space ship touched down on Mars, all played to an Elton John song (instead of David Bowie). They all wake up from their sleep pods and it was all a dream for Sam. Not only that, but Gene is his father. Are you frakking serious?
It’s like the writers took the Mission Space ride at Epcot one too many times. If they tried, they couldn’t have come up with a worse finale. I really don’t think I’ve seen a finale this horrid. I was watching with the Duchess and she turns to me after it’s over and was like “That sucked.” I think she was being nice. To paraphrase Bart Simpson, this both sucked and blew.
Mid-Season Series:
The Good: Castle on ABC
The Skinny: Detective writer Richard Castle needs to start a new book series and decides to base his new character off of NYPD Detective Kate Beckett. Wackiness ensues. I find this show entertaining and hope that ABC renews it (which means they won’t). Nathan Fillion is a freaking riot as Castle. There isn’t one character that annoys me either. The cops at the NYPD and Castle’s mother and daughter are separate, yet both make the story great. The best thing and an easy trap for every show, it doesn’t take itself too seriously, yet isn’t complete camp.
The Bad: The Unusuals on ABC
The Skinny: When you watch the ads for this, you think it’s going to be a quirky cop show, which is desperately what TV needs. I was also intrigued because Amber Tamblyn was getting a paycheck for doing something that didn’t involve Bible thumping or an overly dramatized plot about a well-travelled pair of jeans.
So, I watched the first two episodes and found myself struggling. Yesterday, I sat there looking at it in my DVR trying to talk myself into watching it. Instead, I watched the 1998 series premiere of Seven Days (I miss the old days when UPN would throw everything against the wall to see what stuck).
Unlike Castle, this show does take itself too seriously, while the ads make it seem campy. I don’t know how they did it, but they did. Plus, seeing as I don’t like this show, ABC will probably renew it over Castle. Sometimes I just hate TV.
See you all tomorrow.
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