Welcome to another edition of TV or Not TV where I fear I may be getting TV’d out.
If you are a regular reader of this column you may think that I live the care free lifestyle of a professional columnist who has the luxury of sitting around all day with an array of DVR’s that allow me to watch every show aired. Perhaps you see me at 400 plus pounds and smothering my couch or favorite recliner as I do this. Thankfully all of the above couldn’t be further than the truth.
I’m a guy just like anyone else. I have your standard 8 to 5 that I have to commute to and give up another two hours of my life doing so. When it finally comes time to be able to sit down and watch the latest and greatest offering the boob tube has to share I’m probably getting my daughter ready for bed and will be reading her to sleep until 9 PM. It is at this point that I have to decide if I’m finally going to sit down and watch TV or throw in the towel and just go to bed. Depending on the night TV may win the decision but it has to be a pretty good night of television to do so.
As you can see from the outline above viewing time is at a low even though we are at in a content rich time of year. This is not the place you want to be when writing about television.
Because of this sometimes frustrating limitation of time let me give you my thoughts on the shows that I do actually take the time to watch.
HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: This show is exactly what I want out of every sitcom. It is intelligent, entertaining, and always keeps me grinning for 22.5 minutes. So far I have no complaints.
HEROES: After two episodes this season I’m not really sure if I am in fact going to stick with it. I could think of about 10 reasons why the show is broken and I don’t think the writers know how to fix it.
CASTLE: I was pleasantly surprised when ABC gave Castle the pickup for a second season and the show hasn’t failed to deliver. Nathan Fillion plays arrogant well and the ensemble cast truly clicks on this show. I only wish I weren’t an episode behind right now.
THE BIGGEST LOSER: I freely admit that this show isn’t for everyone but for those of you that do enjoy it you have to admit that so far this season is good. We’ve already had the emotional, we’ve seen them do the seeming impossible and last week we got to see them role out the crazy with one loose cannon of a contestant. The fact that the show can also be inspirational doesn’t hurt.
GLEE: Let’s be real folks, everything after the pilot is very unbalanced. This is to be expected with a show that has such a wild premise. It needs to find its voice and when it does we will all be just as bowled over as we were with the pilot.
MODERN FAMILY: I saw the pilot and it captures the documentary feel of THE OFFICE with the complexity of dealing with your family. I haven’t seen subsequent episodes yet but if they make me want to laugh and feel awkward like at Thanksgiving I’m all for it.
FLASHFORWARD: There have only been two episodes so far but I have to say that this show has really delivered. J. Michael Straczinski proved with Babylon 5 that it isn’t a bad thing to show the audience a glimpse of the end of the story because the journey of getting to that point is just as, if not more, entertaining. We as the audience can instantly connect with every character on this show because we are in the exact same mindframe as they are. We have seen the future and now we have to wait and see how, or even if, they get to that time we had a glimpse of. I am also intrigued because the creators of the shoe have stated that they have a complete story to tell here, we will see characters get to their visions by the end of season 1 and they know how all of the subsequent seasons will play out. Count me in for the ride.
SURVIVOR: I don’t know what it was about the previews for this season that got me to finally watch again but so far I’m glad I did. Russell is so cocky and seems to be playing such a good game that I loom forward to his malevolence each and every week.
SNL WEEKEND UPDATE THURSDAY: Entertaining but detracts from actual SNL. Great gimmick during an election year and probably should have stayed there.
THE OFFICE: It would be very hard for this show to screw up at this point. Jim & Pam getting married could be a slight detriment but I doubt it.
COMMUNITY: Well written, entertaining, but I’m still not sure of it at this point. Doesn’t really do anything to stand out.
BONES: I don’t know what it is about this show that keeps me drawn in. The cast clicks, the stories are good and even when it gets corny it is stills good watch. I’d imagine it is hard to come into the show as a new viewer at this point but you can get every previous season on DVD do don’t let that deter you.
FRINGE: The season premiere felt so forced and poorly balanced that I haven’t been back yet. Maybe this week.
MONK: The final season has proved to be a very good one. Every episode makes me sadder that the show is coming to a close.
PSYCH: There are many times that I don’t think that PSYCH plays up more of the unique observational skills of lead character Shawn. The stuff he notices tends to be something that everyone else really should notice as well.
MEDIUM: I’ve completely forgotten to DVR this show and I have no idea how it is now that it is back and on CBS. Not happy with myself over this.
DOLLHOUSE: Two episodes in and this season is just as good if not better than the last part of last season. It pains me to know that as I type this the show may once again be in jeopardy as the ratings for last Friday’s show were an all time low. How can Joss Whedon have such a cult following and not have more people watching this show? Oh yeah, it’s on Friday and has a horrible lead in.
DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES: First off, stop snickering and don’t judge me. Second I have to say that for a show that has been in one neighborhood for all these seasons it still comes off very fresh. Well played.
THE SIMPSONS: Still good, even after all these years.
So there you go, the things that I watch and what I think of them. That’s enough for one week isn’t it? Oh, you don’t think so? You still want your silly listings? FINE!
MONDAY
CBS – 8:00 PM: Ted teaches Barney all about dating Robin. Great plan, he did such a great job.
TUESDAY
NBC – 8:00 PM: People will cry, trainers will yell and there will be plenty of sweat on The Biggest Loser. Someone is going to get pulled out for health issues. Overweight people with health issues, who knew?
TBS – 8:00 PM: Four hours of The Office repeats in syndication? Yeah, I could do that. The one at 9 PM had some of the funniest moments with Darryl negotiating a pay raise with Michael. “I accidentally cross dressed.”
WEDNESDAY
FOX – 9:00 PM: Battle of the sexes in a mashup showdown on Glee. I think that last sentance may be too young for me to even understand.
DISC – 9:00 PM: The MythBusters are back. Take your shoes off because they are going to knock your socks off (actually just test to see if it can actually be done). Yeah, that’s time well spent.
THURSDAY
NBC – 9:00 PM: Pam & Jim get married in Niagara falls on The Office. Hopefully this will be more entertaining than anything I could type about it.
FOX – 9:00 PM: Olivia drinks a special mix from Dr. Bishop to try to shake loose her memory on Fringe. Great plan, drink the stuff the doctor that always mixes up halucinogenic compounds.
FRIDAY
FOX – 9:00 PM: One active is imprinted as a psychotic and the other a fun love college co-ed on Dollhouse. Throw in a guy in a creepy mask and it could be the Halloween episode!
SATURDAY
COMEDY – 10:00 PM: Wanda Sykes: I’ma Be Me is a guaranteed laugh.
SUNDAY
ABC – 8:00 PM: Xzibit helps out the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition to pimp out the crib of a musical family that lost there home to fire damage.
TLC – 8:00 PM: Mermaid Girl followed by Mermaid Girl: A New Chapter may sound like made for TV movies on Disney but it is far from it. I’ll never make that mistake again.
– Will Wilkins wrote this while trying to catch up on TV.
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