major_kerina | TV SIGN!!!

Okay this is a short, 'what I you think about the new/returning tv shows this fall which I watch when I actually have time' dealie.

Prison Break - watched it last season. Not quite as much fun this season because the character dynamics are kinda weird. It's only good when they're actually confined in one place and trying to get out. Orchestrating a whole season of near-escapes is gonna be tough. I really hope they play out their plot at the end of this season and it's fun. B+ (broke out but what now, smart guys?)

Vanished - *hurts the tv* I loath this show. The fact it's still on is an abomination. How could they take a concept as interesting as secret societies and hidden identities and make it so dull!? They're poisoning the soil for my own tv show concept. The jerks. F (would not watch. See me after class, Vanished, so I can make you disappear.)

House - Started well this season, then it went back to the usual. I do enjoy the feeling of continuity between episodes of late but the formula for each case is getting tiring to the point of annoyance. C+ (needs improvement. You cannot coast on name alone, House.)

The Simpsons - Uhh...it's ok...it's the Simpsons. But it's really long in the tooth. It's like an old-action-movie actor like say Sean Connery trying to be suave in a new movie. You feel a little uncomfortable with his female pairing but you respect his past, you just wish he'd try something new. Simpsons needs to reinvert what it does in a way that isn't Family Guy-like. B- (good history, but repeating it.)

American Dad and Family Guy - They kinda go together. What can I say. They're a particular style. They're crude, they're rude, they're occasionally giggly. The scene with the hummer guy on Family Guy. Dropped an F-bomb @_@. Then dropped a shocker by saying "Rumsfield rocks!". Family Guy needs more Stewie and more over-the-top and vicious Stewie. B (less language in class, more wit and you'll be fine).

Real Time with Bill Maher - What I want to know is how come this is the only show available to me on-demand on my list? Why? In short, love the show but has drawbacks from now being daily and needing to cover broad themes since it's a weekly show but I think it also works weekly because there's not enough news in a day for a full hour without the need to pad. Has been sharper but still the best political laugh out there. But then I don't watch Daily Show or Colbert Report with any real regularity (if the Colbert Word counts, I'd use that. Best instance of written humor you can find). A- (need to keep alert if you want to keep at the top of the class)

Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip - No matter how cutely liberal this show is (like West Wing before it), it can't save itself from the fact that Network did satire better and West Wing did walking and managing 12 plot-threads while talking with more at stake than a tv show. I don't have anything else to watch at that time but I'd really rather try it on DVD where I can set my own schedule. But then that goes for most of these shows. C+ (looks and talk will only get you so far.) TOO POMPOUS, TRIES TOO HARD, HATE IT.

Smith - I wanted to like it because it was filmed out here but sorry, I keep groaning each time it's on. It's impossible to really get into. There's not a lot at stake and it's really just an overcomplicated Ocean's Eleven each week. D- (you can't cheat and steal your way through this and expect to come out on top). TOO CONVOLUTED

Jericho - A tale of two cities. Two series really. The series of the pilot and the series of the 2nd episode. The former is a pop-song riddled setup with groans included and a barely plausible mushroom cloud over Denver visible from Kansas (please! geography, people!). And I thought Prison Break had incredible leaps in sense and reason. Then came tonight's episode. Granted it reminded me of the best of Prison Break, it still was something that had me coming back and wishing to see more. Oh and the commercial breaks were greatly positioned. The world ends and it's great fun! I really hope the next episode gives a little bit more to chew on with what actually happened to cause at least 6 major cities to be wiped out. They're teasing it in an intriguing way. The first episode was pure CBS tripe trying to be cool, tonight was actually succeeding. B+ (much improved but you need to clean up your logic and keep doing what you're doing, only better) DOING GREAT RATINGS, LOVE IT. NEEDS TO AVOID MAD MAX-ization

And then

Heroes - Wow, nice setup, neat concept but I hate NBC and how they kill shows. This show really needs to ape Lost a lot more if it wants to succeed. I like the jam-packed dialogue and settings but I need more assurance that there is actually some "there" there behind the pretty exterior. I'll give it six episode to try. B- (nice first effort but you need to emulate your peers and dig a little deeper if you really want to be super). RENEWED FOR A FULL SEASON!!!

And I'm not watching the other shows. The only other ones on my radar are -

Ugly Betty - if it's witty, fun and cute, I'll try it even if it is just a melodrama for girls. - quickly lost interest
Everybody Hates Chris - I need to try it again and I need a reason to see the new CW network. EDIT - Not too interested...
Dexter - A serial killer who kills serial killers and he's played by the effete gay guy from Six Feet Under? I'm there! Well sorta. I'll try in on-demand. LOVE IT!
Eureka,(RENEWED FOR 2ND SEASON) Life on Mars, ~~Three Moons Over Milford~~ (CANCELLED) and Kyle XY- I need to catch up on these somehow. Probably on DVD. First is a town of geniuses with crazy gadgets, next with a British cop thrown back in time somehow, a town with a goofy apocalypse and last...well look at the title! It's near zappy-sounding! They scream "Kerina!" all over in their plots too
Lost - So long as they try to explain a little before their half-season "SHOCKER!!!" - not looking to good yet...
The Nine - It looks like the most character-drama-based, actiony bit of fun to be had this fall. - Forget that, I hate it
Big Day - Maybe, real-time wedding a la 24, only dramedy.
The Knights of Prosperity - KILL THE TITLE! Bring back "Let's Rob Mick Jagger!"! It's a great title!! A bunch of losers stiving to one day rob Mick Jagger. You gotta have dreams. (delayed till next year...drat)
Day Break - Groundhog Day with murder. I'm intrigued since it's gonna be a short-run show. I hope it makes it for the whole show.