Welcome back to TV or Not TV where I don’t fear the Reaper.
It’s been nearly a year since we last saw Reaper, which is returning March 3rd at 8 PM to the CW, and truth be told we’re lucky we’re even getting a second helping of the show. Reaper originally showed a lot of promise in its pilot episode, but quickly devolved to a simple “monster-of-the-week” retread that we’d already seen in year’s prior from show’s like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Charmed. The only saving grace at that point was the flawless performance of Ray Wise as the Devil.
About the same time I was thinking to myself that Reaper was going to fall off of my viewing list the Writer’s Strike happened. When it was over Reaper returned and something had changed. Suddenly the reaping was playing second fiddle to story lines like a demon uprising wanting to overthrow the Devil and the nagging question of lead character Sam’s own parentage. In the season finale we were even given a gem in Sam‘s own father seeming to be a demon (or something else that is capable of surviving being buried alive). The increased interest from the fan base seemed to give the CW reason to give Reaper a second season order of 13 episodes.
The initial question that has to be asked is if this new season learned from the last part of last season and will the show really try to knock it out of the park for what could be it’s final 13? The answer to the question may be revealed in the season opener where Sam encounters a soul of interest who he may pursue over the course of this season’s run. Sam also has challenges to over come as he returns from a road trip with friends Sock and Ben to discover he’s been evicted from his apartment, fired from his job at The Work Bench and girlfriend Andi may not be terribly happy with him either. Of course the Devil also makes things a bit difficult since he isn’t the type of employer that likes granting extended leaves from work.
The second question also is if the CW really wants to see Reaper do well at all. Originally the show was slated to premiere March 17th and it was going to have the drama ladened 90210 as it’s lead in. Suddenly the premiere has been moved up two weeks and Reaper is now the lead in show, and if you look at the schedule it looks more like the sacrificial lamb the CW is handing over the FOX‘s American Idol, pushing 90210 to the safer 9 PM post-Idol slot originally intended for Reaper. I suppose we can just be thankful that if that is the case as we’ll at least see all 13 episodes of Reaper. The show’s producers have stated they plan to deliver a complete story for us should Reaper be shaking loose this mortal coil at the conclusion of this season. Even if it does, I’m glad we’ve got 13 more episodes of Ray Wise‘s Devil to enjoy.
If all of this Reaper talk didn’t scare you off than here’s what else is coming up in the next seven.
MONDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM: It’s two hours of 24 tonight with a full on assault on the White House. It’s bad enough when they asked us to believe… well, just about everything from all of the seasons past, but really… the White House? Shame on you 24. Shame…. on…. you!
NBC – 9:00 PM: I admit that I acutally enjoyed Heroes last week up until the last five minutes of the show. They bought my interest for one more week. Let’s see if they can do it again.
FOOD – 9:30 PM: Rabidly interested in how cranberries are harvested? Hop into the bog on Will Work for Food.
TUESDAY
BRAVO – 1:00 PM: Hunker down for a marathon of The Real Housewives of New York City. Did I just type that?
FOX – 8:00 PM: American Idol rolls out the poor song choices performed horribly by the next 12 contestants hoping to survive the night.
CW – 8:00 PM: Yup, like stated above, Reaper is back. Give it a try if you didn’t before.
WEDNESDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: Tonight on Knight Rider… hah, just kidding! This show is harder for me to watch than a vasectomy reversal (and yes, I’ve seen one).
FOX – 8:00 PM: Nine more dreams are crushed as three more are chosen for the final 12 contestants on American Idol. Dragging this out for 60 minutes is almost as unjustifiable as the running time of the Oscars.
HIST – 9:00 PM: If you’ve ever wanted to see the sewers of New York than tune in to MonsterQuest as they delve into the disgusting depths in search of alligators.
ABC – 9:00 PM: I’ve noticed a trend that is happening on LOST. They’ve been playing this cat and mouse game of mysterious and answers so much that they are creating mini-mysteries that surface and get paid off in a few episodes. Watch more tonight as we get caught up with where Sawyer and crew have been in LaFleur.
THURSDAY
TOON – 2:30 PM: I’ve really been enjoying Batman: The Brave and the Bold and I really wish I had recommended last week this first part of a two parter. It’s got everything geeks love: super heroes and alternate universes where the good are bad and vise versa. The second part airs tomorrow night, so set your DVR for this one to get caught up.
FOX – 8:00 PM: Just when you thought they couldn’t shove more Idol down your throats they bring out a wild card show. The judges favorites shill one more time for a chance on the show.
NBC – 8:30 PM: Does anyone who reads this column want to email me and tell me what I’m missing not watching Kath & Kim? I only ask because it’s the only show I skip on the Thursday night NBC lineup.
CBS – 8:00 PM: The first alliance of the season surfaces tonight on Survivor: Tocantins.
FRIDAY
TOON – 8:00 PM: Batman teams up with The Joker (what?!?!?) to try to foil Owlman in tonight’s season finale of Batman: The Brave and the Bold.
FOX – 8:00 PM: It’s just so hard having a Terminator on your team when they have a damaged chip, which appears to have a BIOS made by Microsoft. Haha! Nerd humor!
AMC – 8:00 PM: See the entire first season of Breaking Bad tonight and you’ll be jonesing for more.
SATURDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: Didn’t catch the premiere of Celebrity (really?!?) Apprentice? You get a second shot tonight.
DISNEY – 8:00 PM: I know it is no great work of cinematic art, but I really got a kick out of Sky High.
ABC – 9:00 PM: This is really shaping up to be second chance Saturday. Miss the two hour Brothers & Sisters episode from last week or your DVR botched up? Queue it up again.
SUNDAY
Hope you remembered to set your clock ahead an hour!
NBC – 7:00 PM: Sometimes a show name says it all: Saturday Night Live: Just Game Show Parodies. As long as it is 90% Celebrity Jeopardy I’m in.
FOX – 8:00 PM: The home loan crisis hits Springfield as The Simpsons ARM skyrockets. Way to help us escape from our everyday lives guys!
NBC – 8:00 PM: I don’t think you can take any percentage of anything to make me watch Saturday Night Live: Just Commercials.
AMC – 10:00 PM: Did you get hooked on Breaking Bad after Friday night? Good news, season 2 premieres tonight.
– Will Wilkins wrote this column while thinking about his Dad. It’s been a year Pops and I still miss you.
Comments: 2 Comments
2 Responses to “TV Or Not TV: 3/2 – 3/8”Leave a Reply |
March 2nd, 2009 at 1:22 pm
I dunno, Will, some of SNL’s best bits over the years have been the commercial parodies so that might be worth watching, no matter how many times we get to see a Sean Connery verbal smackdown on Alex Trebeck.
I’ve managed to get through the pilot of “Kath & Kim” and that was only with massive amounts of painkillers and a lost remote control to the DVD player. Knowing that a lot of pilots are the weakest episodes of a series, I gave it another shot and didn’t make it through the first commercial break.
I think NBC should renew “Knight Rider” for 5 seasons. Not because it’s good but because it is such a colossal train wreck that it elevates the rest of the NBC schedule by comparison. Hell, it elevates just about anything else on television, even FOX News.
March 3rd, 2009 at 11:27 pm
I’m hoping that “Reaper” manages to survive for much longer than 13 more episodes. The show really kicked it up a notch in the second half of season 1 and these are some of my favorite characters on TV. Shame on WB (oh, I’m sorry CW, whatever its calling itself these days) for hanging it out to dry.
And “Breaking Bad” is pure gold. I just hope it gets more attention before it too goes the way of the dodo.