Television! Television! Part 2

Lordy, I just love me some TV! Sometimes there's nothing better than curling up with a good snack (Homemade popcorn, please!) and a great show on the ol' tube. Here's a rundown of my faves from this Fall.


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1) Heart of Dixie: Look, I know this isn't the best show in the world. I actually don't quite buy Rachel Bilson as a doctor. Not that she doesn't seem smart enough, I just don't see her wanting to help people in such a (frequently) complex way. But, it pushes many of my Gilmore Girls/Everwood buttons. It makes me feel warm inside; like everything's going to be alright somehow. Who doesn't need a bit of that every week?

2) Ringer: Lots intrigue with rich people, down-on-their luck folks, druggies, Feds, cops, stuck up teens and lots of amazing clothes is keeping me glued. I wish the twins that Sarah Michelle Gellar plays seemed more different, and I could do with a bit more humor, but I'm basically digging it. I do worry a bit about the long-term story prospects for what's essentially a pretty cut-and-dry premise, but if they can keep it fresh I'll keep watching.

3) New Girl: One of my favorite new shows, it holds up quite nicely to repeat viewings. It's cute, funny and there's stuff to love about all the characters, not just Jess. Schmidt is comedy gold!


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4) Suburgatory: This is my other new comedy fave of the season. It's a fish out of water story about a New York City girl who's forced to move to the 'burbs by her single dad. I know that might not sound hilarious, but it is; and they do it without a single one-note character in the bunch, even folks we barely see have sides to them. This is another show that's funny after multiple viewings. Also? Dallas and Dalia kill it every week.

5) Person of Interest: I've already detailed my main issue with this show, but they've got a nice over-arching mystery going and manage to bring the action-packed drama every week. It's a keeper.

6) Prime Suspect: I'll admit, I was not sure about this one after seeing those ads that made the lead character seem unreasonably hard-nosed. After weeks of watching, though, I can tell you that it works. Too bad it's been canceled!

7) Allen Gregory: I thought this show was quite funny and unique, though after looking at a lot of reviews online it seems I was the only one. This show? Also canceled. Bah!


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8) Homeland: If you're looking for superb, real-world, suspense-filled drama and surprises galore, get thee to Homeland. It is, hands down, the best new drama on TV. Period. You must see it to believe the awesomeness.

So, there we have it. Unless some new things come along in the Spring to rock my TV world, I'll be down to six broadcast shows to keep up with. Do better, network television overlords. Do. Better.

Person Of Interest Has a Problem...

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Fall TV has quickly become Winter TV as 2011 winds down. I'm going to talk tomorrow about how the new shows are faring creatively and what I'm looking forward to in the mid-season, but today we need to discuss CBS' Person of Interest.

I basically like the show. I think it's a great premise; the idea being that post 9/11 the US government wanted a super-efficient way to track the shit out of terrorist suspects and found such a way, but that it's also being used on the sly by its creator and a damaged ex-CIA badass to stop the small-scale acts of terrorism (muggings, rapes, random homicides) that we all pray to avoid each day.

I'm enjoying Taraji P. Henson as the cop that's trying to track them down and Michael Emerson as a non-creepy scientist. There is one problem, though.

Jim Caviezel is too, too, too intense.

And, look, I know his character is supposed to be kinda intimidating and serious and a bit damaged. I get it. But I think his deadpan portrayal is turning the show into a downer.

I didn't really notice it at first. HUBS pointed out his unwavering seriousness to me as we watched one night. It's too much and it's heightened by the fact that the writers give him the occasional pithy one-liner, which is supposed to lighten the mood...And be amusing. But it never is, because Caviezel says pretty much everything in monotone and with the stone-cold look of a killer on his face.

So, keep everything else the same, but have Jim brighten up just a titch. I do believe that would make for a perfect show.

The Chew Isn't Working

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Has anyone been watching The Chew? It's the show ABC killed All My Children for. Now, I'm going to admit my bias toward soaps up front; I'd watched AMC off and on for around 16 years, though for the past two our relationship was mostly 'off'.

However, I wanted The Chew to work out. I love cooking and am a huge fan of cooking shows, even ones with stupid names. I've now watched about a week's worth of episodes and can state without a doubt that it's semi-painful to watch. Separately, all the hosts (There are five. FIVE, people!) seem likeable enough. Together, though? It's just too messy. Here are my reasons why it's not working.

Why The Chew Sorta Sucks

1) There's already four chef/food people in the house, we don't need an official moderator. Clinton Kelly, why are you here?

2) Even with Clinton, the conversations are always awkward. I don't think any of the hosts are used to dealing with a live audience...Or each other, for that matter.

3) Dammit, there's just too many bitches on stage! And they're never all doing the same thing. Two people are standing, three are sitting, someone's cooking, someone's chopping, someone else is gesticulating wildly...THERE'S JUST TOO MUCH GOING ON AT ONCE!

4) No one here is a journalist or has any real interviewing skills. Yesterday Mario Batali asked guest and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg, "What do you expect from a New Yorker?" I could see Bloomberg's befuddlement and really wanted him to answer, "Well, the least you can do is not be a dick." But, he answered without a hint of sarcasm. Damn!

5) No one here is Regis. The hosts tell stories, but none of them have the right oomph to make them pop. Cue additional awkwardness.

6) Crap, I just found out they have a correspondent. Are you really telling me Clinton couldn't do the remote pieces for them? It's not like he's running a restaurant at night. Again...Too. Many. People.

7) The food looks good, but the prep work lacks even the most remote appeal. Part of this is due to the lackluster set; it just barely looks like a kitchen in there.

8) None of the hosts seem to be very well prepared. And, on top of that, they seem to be trying really hard to make us like them. As a result they come off as super desperate.

I'm not the only one thinking the show needs some major tweaking to work. Even at it's silliest, AMC was still a better, less jumbled and boring, package.

Have you seen The Chew? What do you think?

Television! Television!

Unless you've been under a mossy rock for the past week and a half, you know we've been getting new fall TV shows. Yay! I've been watching as many as possible and hopefully by the end of next month I'll have a few new faves that I can look forward to each week.

Here's what I've seen so far:



Ringer: I cannot tell you how intriguing it was to find out that Buffy herself was coming back to TV. I missed the second episode, but plan to catch up online. I found this story of identical twins with screwy back stories interestingly twisty and something I can see myself getting into.

Up All Night: Normally a show about new parents probably wouldn't appeal to me. But, the average show about the newly parented doesn't generally star the likes of Christina Applegate, Will Arnett and Maya Rudolph, does it? I have to admit that I was hoping the show would be funnier than it's ended up being so far. But! I will keep watching for a few weeks to see if it amps up the laughs.

Free Agents: I wasn't planning on watching this one, but decided to give it a shot anyway. Again, not outrageously funny so far, but everyone is so likeable I find it hard to turn away during an episode. It's pleasant and just amusing enough, so, for now, it stays on my radar.

The Secret Circle: Oh, Jesus. We've got another teen supernatural show on our hands, folks. I never got into Vampire Diaries, but I've seen enough of it to know that The Secret Circle looks and feels just like it. It wasn't horrible, but one viewing is positively all I need.



2 Broke Girls: This one was another nice comedy that didn't knock me out laughing. If you've seen the previews you know the girls in question are a sassy brunette and a stuck up blonde. But the thing I really liked about it (and PT...and HUBS) was that the blonde is actually smart, industrious and rather tough. We all thought for sure she'd be dumb and so rich-bitchy that she'd begrudge her waitressing gig and hardly work. I'm so glad to have a sitcom surprise me! That's enough reason to keep giving this one a try for a while.

New Girl: Now, here's a comedy that really did it for me. I'm willing to put aside the improbability of someone as cute as Zooey Deschanel not being able to get a guy, because she and everyone around her brought the funny. If you haven't seen this one you should check it out.

The X Factor: Wow. Just...Wow. As soon as this singing competition went off for the night I wished it was still on. It was that compelling and entertaining. And? Simon didn't piss me off once last night. Fabulous!

Revenge: Oh, my. We're still trying the glittery night-time soap, are we? I must say, I either hated or couldn't have given less of a shit about any of these characters. I also don't know how they could possibly keep things going for more than a season. I wish Everwood was still on.

I'm looking forward to about six more new shows, airing through October 30, plus I'm watching all my returning faves (P&R!) and looking into other new shows. Is there anything better than curling up on the couch with a warm piece of pie and a good TV show? Is there?

What new fall shows have you liked so far? What are you still looking forward to?


All photos, here