Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV… where I’ve pre-empted myself.
From time to time I receive an email from a reader of the column asking what I actually watch when I’m not finding new shows to write about in my attempts to fake being a TV critic. Since I haven’t done any of the aforementioned new viewing (and since I don’t feel like faking it this week) here in a quick summary is what I regularly watch right now.
This summer the viewing choices aren’t exactly abundant but they certainly are staggered enough where if you are on a tight viewing schedule you can still take in some nice television. I have to give the television network execs some credit as they’ve certainly made it so I’m at certain channels on certain days, which is right where they want me.
HBO has me on Sunday nights with both True Blood and the return of Entourage. I haven’t really gotten in to Hung and I’m sure it is one of those shows that I will catch up on video after the fact and kick myself for not being drawn in to it during its original airing. CBS also hooks me in for the first time in the week with the nomination ceremony episode of Big Brother. Even if you aren’t into the show tuning in to see how a new Head of Household let’s their newfound power go to their head is always amusing (plus it can be a great drinking game to hear the new person say what everyone else says with bragging thoughts of “turning the house upside down†with their nominations).
Monday night there is only one thing I’m watching for sure and that is Weeds. At the beginning of the season I didn’t hold out a lot of hope for the forthcoming season. Now that we are into the second half of the season I am fully strapped in and can’t wait for the remainder of the ride. If I remember it I will watch The Secret Life of the American Teenager, but it still isn’t in the DVR list so it more often than not goes unnoticed.
Tuesday nights are a dilemma for me, so thank goodness there is DVR. SyFy piqued my interest with Warehouse 13 and CBS has me with Big Brother 11. I only wish the latter weren’t so dead set in casting specific “types†for the show because it seems every season is beginning to merge in my head into another forgettable group of House Guests. Even with this shortcoming I can’t stop watching.
Wednesday is my night off. The DVR records nothing for me and I’m thankful for that because it is the night that I get to get caught up.
Thursday once again is a battle between two networks. USA has me locked in for Burn Notice and Royal Pains. Although the former still outshines the latter in quality both are entertaining and are in no way a waste of time. CBS once again draws me in to the eviction show of Big Brother where another hopeful wannabe gets ousted from the house and into obscurity. My hope at this point is that the person being ousted is Jesse (even though he is probably not even up for eviction) because he is the stereotypical representation of a body builder: big on muscles, small in personality and brains. The night is capped off with The Listener on NBC. It isn’t exactly great TV but it is enough to make me come back for seconds.
With Friday I once again am blessed with a night of only one show to watch and plenty of time to catch up on those I haven’t watched. SyFy wins the coveted viewing spot with their original program Eureka. This show pleases me the way the first three seasons of Sliders pleased me as well. The show has enough science fiction to be nerdy but enough human to it to not be embarrassing to tell your friends about.
This dissection of my viewing finally brings us to Saturday where I am definitely watching something, even though I’m getting caught up on it as well. I didn’t see Castle during its first run and I’m so glad that ABC re-airs it on Saturday nights. Yes the show is formulaic but Nathan Fillion as the title character once again takes a simple roll and fills it in to perfection in the same way jelly does to a donut (no, I have no idea what that actually means but right now I’m craving said jelly donut).
There you have it. That’s my viewing week. Now let’s see what else is out there for the next 7 days as well.
MONDAY
TVLAND – 8:00 PM: Retake that amazing road trip journey down the holiday road with National Lampoon’s Vacation.
DISCOVERY – 9:00 PM: Celebrate the 40th anniversary of the moon landing with the MythBusters as they shatter all of the conspiracy theories around the faking of the famous event.
ABC – 10:00 PM: Sometimes I wonder who comes up with these shows. Dating in the Dark takes six singles and subjects them to “blind dates” where they are literally in the dark and unable to see one another. This show could either be a major revelation or should go sight unseen. Let’s watch together and decide.
TUESDAY
FOX – 8:00 PM: Chef Gordon Ramsey prepares to break down 16 new gluttons for punishment with the new season of Hell’s Kitchen.
DISCOVERY – 10:00 PM: 10 people spend 10 weeks in an abandoned, dilapidated and miserable warehouse to try to set up a society in The Colony. Do you see how the collapse of the lending market even makes this sound good?!?
WEDNESDAY
ABC – 9:00 PM: Adults wearing diapers and it isn’t about fetishes? Not when it’s I Survived a Japanese Gameshow.
TLC – 10:00 PM: I’m surprised CPS hasn’t been called on every single parent of the children featured in Toddlers & Tiaras. Seriously.
THURSDAY
CBS – 8:00 PM: Even though someone will leave the Big Brother house tonight I know it won’t be the meathead bodybuilder. Maybe next week?
ABC – 8:30 PM: After a fantastic start as a series the final episode of Samantha Who? airs tonight. Like so many before it the series finale doesn’t give you closure because they didn’t know the end was coming. Maybe they should have hired Bryan Fuller to show them how to turn it into a finale in post.
FRIDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: Remember The Chopping Block? Me either. The finale is tonight though and the winner of this weak performing cooking show is chosen.
NICK – 8:00 PM: Two hours of The Penguins of Madagascar? I’m in.
SATURDAY
G4 – 2:00 PM: If you’ve got that Storm Trooper costume in the closet and just couldn’t get out to San Diego than I’ve got good news. Strap on that vacuum formed costume and watch The Star Wars Comic-Con Spectacular! Immediately followed by Comi-Con Live ’09.
NBC – 8:00 PM: It’s the finale of Kings. I don’t mean to spoil anything but a certain presumed dead person is going to ruin the coronation.
BBCA – 9:00 PM: A werewolf, a vampire and a ghost all share a flat. Sounds like the beginning of a joke, right? Nope. It’s the idea behind Being Human, where all of the above are roommates trying to hide their true natures and live normal lives. Oh yeah, I’m watching it.
SUNDAY
BBCA – 8:00 PM: Fans of David Tennant as Dr. Who will want to tune in to Planet of the Dead, the first of the final four specials featuring Tennant as the good time-travelling doctor.
NBC – 9:00 PM: First they brought us Impact, and now we get The Storm. People try to control the weather with technology and things go from bad to catastrophic. Go figure.
CARTOON NETWORK – 11:30 PM: There’s only one thing that can help hold me over until the return of The Venture Brothers and that’s the return of Robot Chicken. Bring on the stop motion goodness!
Will Wilkins is glad you stopped by.
Comments: 2 Comments
2 Responses to “TV Or Not TV: 07/20 – 07/26”Leave a Reply |
August 12th, 2009 at 3:31 pm
Entourage is back and so is Ari, I just don’t think the series would be near as good without him!
August 16th, 2009 at 6:26 am
Entourage is a very clever series, every episode is very witty and the character Ari is so watchable.