On TV

Is it just me, or is Heroes starting off really slowly this year?

I know every episode can’t be as awesome as the Homecoming show, Company Man starring Mr. Bennett, or the truly stellar episode set five years in the future. But this season has been disappointing so far.

I think one of the main problems is too many characters. Does anyone care about the Wonder Twins and their plague-like power? And those scenes with Maya and Sylar in the car this week. If I picked up a strange, creepy man on the side of the road, who said he happened to know a guy three thousand miles away that I was going to see, I think I would find that a little suspicious. Just a little bit. But perhaps that’s just my jaded nature peeking through.

Then, there was the thing with Matt. As soon as he looked at that picture, I knew his dad was going to be the Big Bad this year, aka Nightmare Man. That didn’t bother me. What annoyed me was when Matt said he left his wife because she was pregnant with somebody else’s kid. In the future episode from last year, Matt looks at a picture his son drew. From what I remember, the kid’s mom was his wife — the same wife he had last year. Continuity issue, anyone? (Of course, the writers could come up with some explanation to weasel out of this, but the heroes saving New York shouldn’t have affected the paternity of Matt’s baby in California.)

But I suppose my main problem is this — most of the drama on the show could be resolved if the characters just sat down and talked to each other. Seriously, most of them know each other now. Would it kill them to have a cup of coffee and share info about The Company and the murders? Romance authors get bashed for this all the time. Character conflict needs to be more than just lack of communication.

Ah, well. That’s my TV rant for the week. I’ll keep watching — for now. Here’s hoping Kristen Bell is deliciously evil next week. :joker:

What about you? What TV shows are still rocking your world this season? Or letting you down? Inquiring minds want to know …

So, Brian asked about the fall TV season in another post. I’ve been pleasantly surprised so far. I’ve watched a lot of the new shows and my old favorites. Here’s what I think:

NEW SHOWS

Bionic Woman: Na-na-na! Okay, I couldn’t resist. I really enjoyed this darker version of the campy TV show. The new Jamie Summers acted a little stiffly, but the chick from Battlestar Galactica made up for it as Psycho Bionic Woman. I always enjoy seeing Molly Price and Will Yun Lee, and the mythology has the potential to be really interesting. Don’t care too much about the sister at this point, though. But it looks promising, and I’ll keep watching.

Chuck: It’s a spy show, which I am predisposed to like. Not nearly as cool and clever as Alias, but more lightweight fun. I really liked the main character, who is a geek without being overly bumbling, and Adam Baldwin was cool as the trigger-happy badass. I’ll keep watching.

Dirty Sexy Money: I watched this on the spur-of-the-moment, and I’m glad I did. Oh, those Darlings. They are the most dysfunctional family I’ve seen on TV in quite some time. This has the potential to be a dark, quirky soap opera. And how cool were the ring tones on the laywer’s phone for each twisted family member? This was one of the best pilots of the year. I hope it lasts.

Moonlight: I watched this mainly because Jason Dorhing from Veronica Mars was recently added to the cast (and Marshall from Alias guested as a cameraman in the pilot). Not the worst thing I’ve seen, but not the best either. Give me more Jason, or I’ll soon be tuning out.

Reaper: This was fairly entertaining (Ray Wise as the Devil is a hoot). The sidekick best friend got on my nerves, though. And I wonder how many similiar-themed paranormal shows the CW can put on before viewers get tired of them. I’ll probably give it a few more episodes to see if it really hooks me. (Although it’s in Veronica Mars’ old time slow. Oh, the pain of no new VW. The pain!) 

OLD FAVORITES

CSI: So, they didn’t kill Sara, but she’s still leaving the show. Did anyone else wonder why she walked away from the car wreck instead of just staying put? Still, this was one of the best CSI episodes in quite some time, right up there with the two-parter where Nick was buried alive (my all-time favorite). Still, I’m a little disappointed in how they wrapped up the miniature killer. I wanted her to have more of a motivation other than just being crazy.

Grey’s Anatomy: The tone was lighter than the finale, which was good. But enough of George and Izzie already. I did like seeing the interns graduate and become teachers rather than just grunts. And please, please just let Meredith and Derek be happy for a while. Still, better than last year. So far. And give me more Eric Dane!

Heroes: I didn’t think much happened in the first episode, and it felt more like a set-up for things to come. Although Mr. Bennett was hysterical when he strong-armed his obnoxious boss at the copy store. David Anders as Hiro’s, well, hero was pretty funny too. He looks much taller than he did on Alias. The Peter-has-amnesia storyline could be really good or really bad. I’ll hold my tongue now. The new brother and sister characters didn’t really grab my attention that much. And am I the only one who wants Mama Petrelli to bite it before the season’s over with? And when is Kristen Bell showing up? Give me my Kristen Bell!

How I Met Your Mother: This is one of the funniest shows on TV. Neil Patrick Harris is hysterical and sooo got robbed of the Emmy last month. The premiere was excellent, as usual.

Prison Break: So, it’s not the most realistic show on TV, but it’s cheesy action fun, which I always enjoy. Although Michael’s love interest is supposedly not returning to the show, which really sucks. Still, I’m interested to see what happens — and I wonder if this is the last year. Given Fox’s lack of hits, I’m guessing probably not. We’ll see.

VIEWING PROBLEMS

What to watch on Monday nights: I already like Prison Break and HIMYMother. But Chuck comes on at the same time too. Decisions, decisions …

Which shows to drop: I think I’m about done with Without a Trace, CSI: Miami, and NCIS. They just don’t wow me any more.

(Yes, I watch way too much TV. I should be doing something more productive, like writing). 😉

What about you? Which new shows are you digging? Which do you think are headed for the chopping block? Inquiring minds want to know …

If you’ve read my blog, then you know of my love for Veronica Mars, which sadly got the official axe from the CW this week. Sniffle.

But then, I see this gem on TV Guide in the Ask Ausiello column:

I think it goes without saying that this would be awesome! Here’s the link to the story he’s talking about in the Star.

DC Comics, are you paying attention? Everyone knows that the Buffy comic has been a huge success for Dark Horse. I imagine that Veronica Mars would be the same, since it has that same sort of rabid, loyal fanbase.

I don’t know how TV viewing numbers translate to comic sales, but I imagine that if just half the VM fans (let’s say an even 1 million folks) bought a comic, then it would be a runaway hit.

Hey, if I sold a million books, I’d be dancing on the moon. 😎

In other VM news, I won a copy of a book of essays on VM called Neptune Noir as part of a contest over at Diana Peterfreund’s blog. She’s another VM fan. I haven’t read the book yet, but its very existence makes my inner fangirl shriek with glee. I’m sure it will be most excellent. I’ll do a review after I’ve read it.

What about you? Would you buy a VM comic book? Inquiring minds want to know …

Lame.

That’s the word that comes to mind when I think about last night’s season finale of Lost. So totally lame. For those of you who haven’t seen it yet, you might want to skip this post (rant).

The first hour was fine … until a very grown-up Walt comes to the wounded Locke and tells him to get his butt in gear. Is it really Walt? The smoke monster? Does anyone care anymore?

And kill off the one-eyed guy already. He’s been beaten, had his brain electrocuted, and shot with a spear gun. But somehow, he manages to put on scuba gear, find a grenade, blow up part of the underwater hatch, and drown Charlie. Is he a superhero in disguise or something?

And Charlie … poor Charlie died, and he didn’t have to. Charlie, why didn’t you put on the scuba gear before you disabled the jamming system? When you saw one-eyed guy with the grenade outside the hatch, why didn’t you run to the other side of the door and shut it so you wouldn’t drown? Or try to swim out the porthole afterwards? At least Charlie managed to tell Penny that Desmond is alive and learn that Naomi isn’t working for her before he died — and he told Desmond too.

And then, there’s Jack. I really can’t stand his character anymore. He’s so smug and self-righteous. Sayid is a much better leader. And we got two hours of Jack flashback going over the same ground as before — wife left him and now he’s turned into a pill-popping alcoholic, just like his father.

Only the twist was that the Jack flashbacks weren’t flashbacks — they were flash-forwards, showing the future. Evidently, he and at least Kate get off the island. Jack goes to someone’s funeral (I’m thinking it was Locke), and Kate has to get home to someone (I’m thinking that’s Sawyer). And Jack mentions his father too — like he’s still alive. Please don’t tell me that the island magically heals a dead guy. I know this is supposed to be a fantasy, but that’s just sloppy world building and not following your own rules.

But in the future, Jack wants to go back to the island, spouting the same destiny crap as Locke has been the last three years. This was supposed to be the major thing that completely changed the show? A flash-forward? How over-hyped.

The only part of the show I found entertaining was Hurley running over the Others with that old VW van he found earlier in the year. That was cool.

Lost capped what has been a disappointing May on TV. In general, I’ve been underwhelmed by TV season finales this year.

Grey’s Anatomy was just depressing, with everyone dealing with their personal crises. And how unrealistic is it to have Derek and Meredith break up now, after he’s gotten divorced and she dumped her vet boyfriend? Geez. Talk about dragging something out just to drag it out. Just let them be happy for a while. Or let somebody on the show be happy.

CSI was appropriately creepy, but the Miniature Killer also underwhelmed me. The chick is obviously crazy, but nobody’s going to call the cops on her? Nobody thinks she’s weird and suspicious? And they’re going to let her work at the police station? And they never really explained why she killed those people. Because she cleaned their homes with bleach? Again, kind of lame.

Heroes was a bit of a let-down as well. I knew Nathan would swoop in at the last minute and fly Peter out of the city so he wouldn’t kill everyone. And again, just kill Sylar already. It was cool to see all the heroes at the end, though.

I’d have to say out of all the finales I’ve watched, My Name is Earl was the best — with a twist I didn’t see coming with Earl taking the fall for Joy and going to jail. I haven’t watched the last two episodes of Veronica Mars yet (I’m a bad fan, I know). But I’m hoping it lives up to its usual excellence.

What about you? Did you enjoy the Lost finale? Hate it? Inquiring minds want to know …