The state of television
Mar. 17th, 2007 05:14 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
fenchurchI've been meaning to do this for awhile and have, in fact, written vast pages about the subject in my head while I've been stuck in my car. Sadly, none of that ever saw its way to my computer's keyboard. When are they going to invent that direct brain input jack, anyway??
So, a few comments on current shows that I've been watching:
Dresden Files: So far, it's enjoyable, but not blowing me away. It feels like they're holding back on us or something. Paul Blackthorne is better than I'd thought he'd be and I mostly like the other actors and actresses... although the one playing Bianca weirds me out. It's her upper lip, I think, that does it. Also, she comes across as sleazy, and I always got the impression of Bianca as being fairly classy. Yeah, yeah I know... the show is not the books. Must think of it as something completely separate.
We still haven't seen the last two episodes yet.
Bones: It took awhile, but I've gotten really hooked on this show. It's not Must See TV (in that I don't search the world over to find a copy of an episode if I happen to miss it when it airs), but the characters are really starting to grow on me. And DB is just so wonderful in that role... as if he was made to play Seeley Booth.
This week's episode was a lot of fun, even if more than a little bit predictable. In fact, right after the second murder, I turned to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
rackham and said "oh! The other thing the two murders have in common is that they both have clear-cut suspects with a lot to gain who have air-tight alibis... but that seems too obvious, so it's probably not going to end up being important." Heh. The bit of meta (Brennan's fictional character being named Kathy Reichs) actually annoyed me, rather than being funny, which is what I think they were aiming for.
House: Another show that took awhile to hook me, but that I now watch every week. I can't tell you how glad I am that the stupid Tritter storyline is over, over, over... although I wish we'd gotten some sort of forward momentum on character arcs out of it, just so that it would have been worth all the suffering we went through.
Funniest scene this week: House rolling his eyes when Cameron kissed him. I'm still not on the House/Cameron bandwagon and I seriously backed off House/Wilson during the whole Tritter fiasco, although they're starting to win me back. In the end, all I really care about is that House is sarcastic, rude and suffering (but only a little) and that the team is solving improbable illnesses in equally improbable ways.
Blood Ties: I've never read the books, but the show looks like it's going to be really good... and how the heck did this end up on the Lifetime network, anyway?!?! Production values were better than I'd anticipated and the casting seems to be good. I like the fact that the lead actress isn't young and "television pretty" -- she looks like an attractive mature woman who was a cop for awhile and is now making a living as a PI. Perfect! From what I understand, Henry in the books is supposed to look around 17, but I think the showrunners went the right direction with casting a young twenty-something in the part. He seems like he's going to be able to pull off playing a character with several hundred years of experience, but he looks quite a bit younger than Vicki, which I believe is the point. So far I'm also really enjoying the glimpse we've gotten into the interplay in relationships between the various character. I'll be tuning in again this week!
Mythbusters: Yes, I'm a geek. Even more, I'm a geek who likes to watch things blow up. I'm so glad they're still putting out new episodes of this show... I mean, who hasn't wanted to know if you could really distract a guard dog with a hunk of raw meat? Plus Grant Imahara is Teh Hawt!!1!!
Numb3rs: Another show I like but am not particularly hooked on. I had some serious misgivings about Kathy Najimy joining the cast, simply because she's always rubbed me the wrong way in her other roles and I had no idea if it was her or just the characters she was playing. Apparently, it was the characters, because she's been a surprisingly good fit! I still miss Larry, though.
24: I'm so far behind on this show... I loved how they handled the nuclear explosion in the fourth episode (the way it was filmed was incredibly effective) and its immediate aftermath in the fifth episode, but I haven't had a chance to watch the show since then. It's on directly opposite "Heroes" and I'm having to record it on the VCR in the bedroom... and since that's the only VCR in the house, I haven't wanted to take the time to sit in there to watch it. I may have to see about hooking up a VCR somewhere I'm likely to spend some time not sleeping so I don't have to keep dodging spoilers everywhere!
Veronica Mars: I stopped watching VM after the last hiatus. It just occurred to me one day that if I were to watch the show now for the first time, it wouldn't hook me at all. In fact, odds are really good I wouldn't even watch it in the first place. However, I've enjoyed reading everyone else's reactions and discussions about each new episode... and it didn't surprise me in the slightest that the show is getting canceled. Or that RT seems to be going a bit wacky.
Heroes: Oh yeah... now we're talking! Still not the Best Show Ever by a long shot, but it's certainly the best show currently on TV.
There were some definite twists in the last new episode that really took me by surprise. In fact, I believe I actually said "WHAT?!?!" out loud when the door to Mother Petrelli greeting Claire by name. I've long wondered if the late Papa Petrelli had superpowers that led to his death... now I'm pretty much convinced of it.
It looks like they're going to continue the Peter/Isaac rivalry and hatred, which really disappoints me.
But Ando is back! And saving the day! Yay Ando!!!
Claire has really grown on me since the show started... and having her do incredibly clever things like using airport security as a way to slip away from the Haitian just makes me love her even more.
Also, Nathan's not quite the scum we thought he was! Wow!
And I'm really hoping Mrs. HRG isn't dead... she's grown on me, too.
There. I think that about covers it... at least, I can't think of anything else. Now hopefully I can make an effort to post about stuff on a more timely basis, so I don't have to do these television stew type posts, only touching lightly on each ingredient!
So, a few comments on current shows that I've been watching:
Dresden Files: So far, it's enjoyable, but not blowing me away. It feels like they're holding back on us or something. Paul Blackthorne is better than I'd thought he'd be and I mostly like the other actors and actresses... although the one playing Bianca weirds me out. It's her upper lip, I think, that does it. Also, she comes across as sleazy, and I always got the impression of Bianca as being fairly classy. Yeah, yeah I know... the show is not the books. Must think of it as something completely separate.
We still haven't seen the last two episodes yet.
Bones: It took awhile, but I've gotten really hooked on this show. It's not Must See TV (in that I don't search the world over to find a copy of an episode if I happen to miss it when it airs), but the characters are really starting to grow on me. And DB is just so wonderful in that role... as if he was made to play Seeley Booth.
This week's episode was a lot of fun, even if more than a little bit predictable. In fact, right after the second murder, I turned to
rackham and said "oh! The other thing the two murders have in common is that they both have clear-cut suspects with a lot to gain who have air-tight alibis... but that seems too obvious, so it's probably not going to end up being important." Heh. The bit of meta (Brennan's fictional character being named Kathy Reichs) actually annoyed me, rather than being funny, which is what I think they were aiming for.House: Another show that took awhile to hook me, but that I now watch every week. I can't tell you how glad I am that the stupid Tritter storyline is over, over, over... although I wish we'd gotten some sort of forward momentum on character arcs out of it, just so that it would have been worth all the suffering we went through.
Funniest scene this week: House rolling his eyes when Cameron kissed him. I'm still not on the House/Cameron bandwagon and I seriously backed off House/Wilson during the whole Tritter fiasco, although they're starting to win me back. In the end, all I really care about is that House is sarcastic, rude and suffering (but only a little) and that the team is solving improbable illnesses in equally improbable ways.
Blood Ties: I've never read the books, but the show looks like it's going to be really good... and how the heck did this end up on the Lifetime network, anyway?!?! Production values were better than I'd anticipated and the casting seems to be good. I like the fact that the lead actress isn't young and "television pretty" -- she looks like an attractive mature woman who was a cop for awhile and is now making a living as a PI. Perfect! From what I understand, Henry in the books is supposed to look around 17, but I think the showrunners went the right direction with casting a young twenty-something in the part. He seems like he's going to be able to pull off playing a character with several hundred years of experience, but he looks quite a bit younger than Vicki, which I believe is the point. So far I'm also really enjoying the glimpse we've gotten into the interplay in relationships between the various character. I'll be tuning in again this week!
Mythbusters: Yes, I'm a geek. Even more, I'm a geek who likes to watch things blow up. I'm so glad they're still putting out new episodes of this show... I mean, who hasn't wanted to know if you could really distract a guard dog with a hunk of raw meat? Plus Grant Imahara is Teh Hawt!!1!!
Numb3rs: Another show I like but am not particularly hooked on. I had some serious misgivings about Kathy Najimy joining the cast, simply because she's always rubbed me the wrong way in her other roles and I had no idea if it was her or just the characters she was playing. Apparently, it was the characters, because she's been a surprisingly good fit! I still miss Larry, though.
24: I'm so far behind on this show... I loved how they handled the nuclear explosion in the fourth episode (the way it was filmed was incredibly effective) and its immediate aftermath in the fifth episode, but I haven't had a chance to watch the show since then. It's on directly opposite "Heroes" and I'm having to record it on the VCR in the bedroom... and since that's the only VCR in the house, I haven't wanted to take the time to sit in there to watch it. I may have to see about hooking up a VCR somewhere I'm likely to spend some time not sleeping so I don't have to keep dodging spoilers everywhere!
Veronica Mars: I stopped watching VM after the last hiatus. It just occurred to me one day that if I were to watch the show now for the first time, it wouldn't hook me at all. In fact, odds are really good I wouldn't even watch it in the first place. However, I've enjoyed reading everyone else's reactions and discussions about each new episode... and it didn't surprise me in the slightest that the show is getting canceled. Or that RT seems to be going a bit wacky.
Heroes: Oh yeah... now we're talking! Still not the Best Show Ever by a long shot, but it's certainly the best show currently on TV.
There were some definite twists in the last new episode that really took me by surprise. In fact, I believe I actually said "WHAT?!?!" out loud when the door to Mother Petrelli greeting Claire by name. I've long wondered if the late Papa Petrelli had superpowers that led to his death... now I'm pretty much convinced of it.
It looks like they're going to continue the Peter/Isaac rivalry and hatred, which really disappoints me.
But Ando is back! And saving the day! Yay Ando!!!
Claire has really grown on me since the show started... and having her do incredibly clever things like using airport security as a way to slip away from the Haitian just makes me love her even more.
Also, Nathan's not quite the scum we thought he was! Wow!
And I'm really hoping Mrs. HRG isn't dead... she's grown on me, too.
There. I think that about covers it... at least, I can't think of anything else. Now hopefully I can make an effort to post about stuff on a more timely basis, so I don't have to do these television stew type posts, only touching lightly on each ingredient!
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no subject
Date: 2007-03-18 08:44 am (UTC)Blood Ties - I liked it for the cheesy demons and the sparkage between the three main characters. And yeah, Vicki is not only older but she's got actual curves (I mean I noticed them). And Henry has a nice twinkle in his eye.
House - I actually stayed away during the Tritter arc because I hated it so much but now that it's back I'm happy again. And I don't want anyone with House, I like him best when he's cranky and miserable.
VM - Did not like the rape storyline at all and wasn't overwhelmed with the Dean's death. The show just seems to be foundering so I don't know what I'm going to make of the last episodes. And if RT really gets the show back and sets it in the future and there's no Keith I'm gonna be pissed.
Heroes - Is just a lot of fun as long as Nikki/Jessica isn't anywhere around sucking the life out of the show. And now that MMcD is on board I'm even happier.
Rome - Must see TV for me although there's only 2 more episodes to go. "weeps".
no subject
Date: 2007-03-19 06:02 am (UTC)Vicki is not only older but she's got actual curves (I mean I noticed them).
Yes! Exactly!! She looks like the character she's supposed to be playing. It's wonderful! And this week's episode was still pretty good (and the second episode of a new show is often fairly weak, so I was impressed).
And I don't want anyone with House, I like him best when he's cranky and miserable.
Oh, me too... but I still love reading things into his interactions with Wilson. It's fun.
Is just a lot of fun as long as Nikki/Jessica isn't anywhere around sucking the life out of the show.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one. I don't dislike her as much as I used to... but I'm much happier when she's not taking up too much screentime. Even Micah is starting to lose his appeal for me and I suspect it's because most of his scenes are with her.
Rome -- it's on a network we don't get, so I've never had a chance to watch it.