| TV Club! |
September 30, 2007 |
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| TV Club! |
In the summer of 2005, my friend Claire and I got tired of those media monkeys and their
junky junkies inviting us to their plastic pantomime. So we threw their invites away
and started a club that everyone belongs to but no one necessarily admits. Thus, TV Club!
was born. TV Club! membership has increased 500% in two years and boasts members in four
different cities. As the 2006-2007 season president, I thought it only fitting to
comment on my planned TV watching schedule during the 2007-2008 season. Be warned,
spoilers for previous seasons are below.
Monday
Prison Break
Prison Break is like this one ex-girlfriend that I kept getting back together with even though I knew it was
bad news. It was a great show that first season. Then in season 2 it got quite ridiculous to the point that
I almost stopped watching. Then in the season finale four of the main characters ended up in a Mexican prison.
How will Scofield break out of this new prison? There is a good chance this will turn into Dawson's Creek and
I'll end up fast forwarding through most of the show.
|
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| Heroes |
Heroes
Although the season finale was a little disappointing, I think season 2 of Heroes is going to be stellar.
Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) is joining the cast as is Sark (David Anders) from Alias fame. Plus, I will
enjoy any show that features an Indian actor who is not a doctor or cab driver. I wonder how many people
think Sendhil Ramamurthy's name is really Mohinder.
24
Similar to last year, 24 doesn't kick off until January 2008. If Prison Break is the bitch girlfriend I shouldn't
get back together with, 24 is the (non bitch) ex-girlfriend who I get back together with, and then after a month,
realize why we both split up. Kiefer is great playing the same CTU agent since season 1, the supporting cast is
generally excellent, and I look forward to every season. Then, halfway through the season there is a mole in CTU,
a presidential coup, a Bauer family member in trouble, and someone from the Palmer family shows up. It's the same
story every year, and that's why I both like and dislike the show.
Tuesday
Beauty and the Geek
From the daring mind of Ashton Kutcher comes the next season of Beauty and the Geek. There is nothing really
special about this show yet I still watch it. 10 parts geek, 10 parts babes, mix, serve. I know that at least
half the girls are aspiring actors but still - I find the show oddly addictive. Plus there is a gorram LARPER!
A LARPER!
Wednesday
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| Bionic Woman |
Bionic Woman
From the creators of Battlestar Galactica, comes the 2007 remake of the classic TV show. I wasn't that interested
in this show until I watched the ten minute preview online. I thought it looked excellent, the acting seemed
pretty good (except for Bland Anne) so who knows. It's from the creators of BSG so I'm hoping it will have the same
quality. It's worth watching just so we can see a cameo from Lee Majors and Lindsay Wagner. This is one of two
new shows I'm picking up this season.
Dirty Sexy Money
I have no idea what I'm getting into with this show. It stars Peter Krause who I've been a big fan of since
Sports Night. I watched the Sci Fi channel original movie The Lost Room solely because he was in it. It seems
like this could be a drama-ish version of Arrested Development - which doesn't bode well. Of all the shows I
watch, I think this could be the one that gets cancelled quickly. Once I see the pilot I'll decide if I still
think that's the case. This is the second new show I'm picking up this season.
Thursday
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| Smallville |
Smallville
One of my favorite shows. It may seem juvenile - superheroes and teen angst - but I love a weekly show
about superheroes. That's why I was pretty optimistic about Heroes last year and that's why I love
Smallville. The show gets the Superman mythos right. Last season they moved the story along quite a bit
and I think they'll do the same this season. I am not a big fan of the Lana-Lex relationship and the
show does get a lot of things wrong, but it's still a good reimagining of the Superman story.
Plus Supergirl is pretty hot.
Lost
Another one of my favorite shows and this is a show that is finally doing it right. I've always believed
that concept shows like Lost should have a fixed lifespan so it can tie up mysteries nicely and not leave
things completely open and a clusterfuck to end. I was worried the show would do that but now that the
creators plan to end the show in another 3 years gives me a lot of hope. After the premiere I'll probably
write more on the season 3 finale and season 4 premiere.
30 Rock
Hands down the best new comedy of 2006 and maybe even better than The Office. Yes, I said it. 30 Rock
reminds me so much of Arrested Development. Another great ensemble cast and everyone is used so perfectly.
Alec Baldwin's delivery is perfect. The two funniest lines from last season (which I actually don't
remember 100%), "Chewbacca, is Tracy home?" and "Television On. Pornography."
|
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| The Office |
The Office
The show that started TV Club! On my TV watching schedule, there really aren't many comedies. In fact,
all the sitcoms that I do watch are on Thursday night. Anyone that knows me will tell you that I wasn't
the biggest fan of The Office when it first came out. The BBC version was better and I thought that in
real life, no one would work for Michael Scott - he didn't have any redeeming qualities. In the second
and third seasons they did a great job of fleshing him out and made him a more realistic character.
Last season was great and if season 4 is even half as funny as the Business School episode from season 3,
it will be good times.
Scrubs
I got into Scrubs late. I didn't really start watching until the 3rd season. Then I bought seasons 1 and 2
on DVD to catch up. Seasons 1 through 4 were excellent. Then something happened in Season 5 - the main
storyline seemed to take a backseat to the fantasy sequences. It felt like the creators/writers were writing
fantasy scenes and then fleshing out stories to include them. I really thought the show would have been
cancelled after last season but it's back in what I predict will be the last season for the show.
Friday
|
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| Friday Night Lights |
Friday Night Lights
As Bill Simmons said in his
Don't turn off the "Lights" article, Friday Night Lights is the best show no one is watching. If you want
to know why I watch it, just read his article. I don't see why anyone wouldn't watch a better version of
Varsity Blues each week - and I liked Varsity Blues! Sadly, based on the ratings from season 1, I have a feeling
that FNL won't make it too deep into its second season.
Sunday
|
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| Battlestar Galactica |
Battlestar Galactica
I started watching Battlestar Galactica in between season 2 and 3. I heard about the show and that it was good
but never got into it because I never had cable (don't ask). My friend Jon told me to watch it so I rented
the original movie. I was hooked. I borrowed season 1 and season 2 part one from Jon. I loved the show so much
that I went over to Jon's place to watch the second part of season 2 on itunes. I could barely contain my anticipation
for season 3 and even told all my friends to watch the show. Season 3 started out great but quickly fell apart
after the 5th episode. The show was not consistent and like the ship itself, I just felt it was wandering around lost.
I am still excited about this last season of BSG but not nearly as much as I was heading into season 3.
There are other shows I watch (Simpsons, The Sarah Silverman Program, Mad Men, Survivor), but these are ones where I can miss
an episode and it's not a big deal. The list above are shows that I need to watch every episode. Yes, I watch a lot
of TV. I don't know how I started to watch all these shows and every year I actually try to cut down the amount of
TV I watch, but here we are with twelve shows on my schedule but two don't start
until January...still, way too much TV.
