On TV

So most of the new fall TV shows have premiered now, and I’m deciding what to give a season pass to and what to give up on.

Of the new shows, I’m enjoying The Mentalist and Privileged the most. I also think Valentine is cute, but I doubt it will last the season since the viewership is so low (which makes me sad). So those are the new shows I’m going to keep watching.

My Own Worst Enemy is okay, but I like Christian Slater better as the bad-ass character than the regular family man. I’ll probably watch a few more episodes to see if it gets better. Fringe didn’t really hook me, and I didn’t care for The Ex List at all. Those two have already gotten scratched off my schedule.

Of the returning shows, I’m still absolutely loving Gossip Girl and Chuck — both are just excellent every single week. I’d also forgotten how much campy fun Dirty Sexy Money is (it’s like a grown-up version of GG).

But some of my old favorites are starting to feel, well, just old. My Name Is Earl and Grey’s Anatomy haven’t wowed me at all this year. Seriously, does there have to be some sort of external crisis every single week on Grey’s? First, it was the car wreck, and then the busted water pipe, and this week, it looks like it’s some super-duper surgery.

I think Heroes has gotten a little better (I love Daphne the speedster character). But Robert Forster doesn’t seem to have much personality as Papa Petrelli, and they killed David Anders off last week (or at least reduced him to a pile of ash). Why couldn’t they have offed Mohinder instead? I would have been much happier to see him go than Sark. Sigh.

Ah, well. I’ll keep watching — for now. :rolleyes:

What about you guys? Which shows are you loving or hating? Share in the comments.

So television junkie that I am, I’ve been glued to the TV all week catching the premieres of all my favorite shows and trying out some new ones. Here’s what I think so far:

How I Met Your Mother: I’m really digging the Barney/Robin storyline, and I love Sarah Chalke as Stella. I hope she’s the mother. Looks like this comedy is still going strong. Neil Patrick Harris, you were so robbed of an Emmy this year. Because your performance is — wait for it — legendary. 😎

Heroes: It’s still entertaining, but we’ve seen the save-the-world storyline twice now. And honestly, all the time travel/shocking reveals in the season opener made my head hurt. Why doesn’t somebody just kill Sylar and Mama Petrelli already?

Also, what’s up with Nikki/Tracy/whoever she is these days? Last time we saw her, she was in a burning building in New Orleans. So how did she become a governor’s aide? And where’s her son Micah and his muscle mimic cousin (whose name I don’t remember)? And how did Niki/Tracy get a new power? I’m thinking she has to be able to astral project or something …

It seems like the writers are just ignoring where things left off. I understand that some storylines get scuttled, but they could at least give us a little bit of explanation. A throwaway line or two about Micah still being with his grandmother or something. Molly also disappeared, although Suresh said something about taking her somewhere.

Also, I have to say Suresh should know better than to inject himself with some wonky serum he cooked up in his lab. And that scene between him and Maya … that creeped me out a little bit.

I am digging Hiro and his new nemesis Daphne, though. And I’m jonesed about Weevil joining the cast. Now, if they could just use Kristen Bell and David Anders more … and maybe get Jason Dohring for a few episodes … then it could be Veronica Mars meets Heroes. I’d definitely watch that.

CSI: Miami: I used to really enjoy this one, but the plots have become ridiculous with leaps of logic/time/distance. I think I’ll be tuning out for good soon.

NCIS: I thought the premiere was very well done, giving a plausible explanation for the breakup of Gibbs’ team. And I loved the twist at the end. I hope we get to see more of the nefarious Agent Lee during the course of the season. Overall, a great start.

The Mentalist: This one sort of reminded me of House, if House was a detective instead of a doctor. I thought it was a good blend of light-hearted detecting by Simon Baker (loved that scene with the other detectives at the lobster restaurant), mixed with his anguish over the death of his family at the hands of Red John. I’ll keep watching.

Privileged: This one is kind of like Mary Poppins teaching rich girls, but Megan, the tutor and lead character, is charmingly played by JoAnna Garcia (I think that’s her name). I’m enjoying it so far.

Knight Rider: Yes, I watched the premiere. Seems like they’re going for a sort of spy show vibe. Wasn’t great, wasn’t bad. Pretty average, including the special effects. I’ll see what happens for a few more weeks.

My Name Is Earl: Loved the episode with Seth Green. The other one was kind of boring. Earl is sort of like Heroes in that I think we’ve seen a lot of this stuff before. But I’ll keep watching.

Grey’s Anatomy: I liked the fact that they didn’t break up Meredith and Derek for the umpteenth time. The overall tone seems to have gone back to more light-hearted and soapy, which is what this show does best. I’m interested to see the romance develop between Christina and the new Army doctor. But can someone please give Eric Dane a real storyline? Pretty please? I think pairing him up with Lexie or even Izzie would be better than the Lexie/George and Izzie/Alex hookups that look like they’re in the offing …

And that’s it for now. Next week brings the premieres of Chuck and CSI, both of which I’m looking forward to. What about you guys? What you loving/hating this year on TV so far?

So a couple of fall TV programs have already started. And of course, TV junkie that I am, I’ve been watching. Here’s what I think of some shows so far:

Gossip Girl: I heart Chuck and Blair. Need I say more? I think they’re one of the most fascinating couples on TV right now, and the first two episodes of Gossip Girl have only made me root for them even more. That scene at the end of the first eppy where Blair told Chuck that she was his if he’d just say that he loved her … wow. Just wow.

C&B are definitely the highlight of the show for me. But I’m also interested to see how Nate’s affair with the married woman plays out and Jenny’s internship with Eleanor’s company. So far, it’s all been soapy drama at its finest.

Prison Break: Yeah, this show probably should have ended two years ago after the brothers broke out of prison, but I keep watching. You know what? I’m really digging the premise this season where the brothers and their ragtag band of frenemies are working together to take down the Company. But then again, I love caper books/shows/movies.

I think Michael Rappaport is a bit miscast as the FBI (or whatever department he’s with) boss/liason. He’s not quite serious/tough enough. But I’m really glad they brought Sarah back and didn’t kill off Gretchen (just yet). Would it be too much to ask for a knock-down, drag-out fight between Sarah and Gretchen?

Fringe: This is the new show by J.J. Abrams about an FBI agent who investigates strange phenomenon with the help of a slacker genius and his previously institutionalized scientist father. I thought the pilot was a bit slow in the beginning. Overall, it was okay, but I have a feeling the show’s going to be a little too X-Files for me (I’m not a huge fan of sci-fi).

Also, I kind of felt like I’d already seen everything before in other Abrams’ shows. The tough heroine (Sydney on Alias, Kate on Lost); the brilliant but slightly psycopathic father (Jack Bristow on Alias, Christian Shepherd on Lost); the daddy issues (Sydney/Jack on Alias, Jack/Christian/Claire on Lost); the big, shadowy conspiracy (SD-6/Rimbaldi on Alias, Dharma Initiative/etc. on Lost).

All writers tend to repeat the same themes/ideas (yes, even me) whether it’s conscious or not. Usually, it doesn’t bother me. But there were so many things that were so obviously the same in Fringe. It was a little disappointing.

Overall, Fringe didn’t immediately hook me the way Alias and Lost did. Although I did think Dr. Bishop’s various ramblings were amusing. And the scene with the cow was funny. So I’ll keep watching for a few more weeks at least.

As for other shows, I’m eagerly awaiting the return of Chuck and How I Met Your Mother. 😎

What about you guys? Which shows are you loving? What are you looking forward to? Share in the comments.