Fall TV 2010

I made a decent dent in my Summer TV Viewing schedule.

• Fringe season 1 and 2 – check!
• CSI season 10 – check!
• Rescue Me season 5 vol. 1 & 2 – check! And bonus, I watched season 6, too!
• The Shield season 7 – check!
• Stargate Atlantis seasons 2 thru 5 – check! Stargate Universe season 1 – check! Thank you, Netflix instant streaming!
• Breaking Bad seasons 1 & 2 – check! (Gonna get season 3 soon).
• Mad Men seasons 1 thru now – check!
• Prison Break seasons 3 & 4 – check!

And as a bonus, I bought and watched all four seasons of Friday Night Lights and it fast became one of my all-time favorite shows. Then there were the shows I watched that weren’t on my list: Dollhouse seasons 1 & 2 and Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles season 2. Not to mention I actually managed to re-watch shows like Roswell, Buffy and Angel and the last two seasons of Lost.

Yeah, I’m a TV-watching badass. But now it’s time to settle in to the new fall shows and returning favorites. I’ve made my annual spreadsheet (hey, FOUR TiVos, people!) and I have to say: it’s kinda weird making a fall schedule that doesn’t include Battlestar Galactica, LOST, 24, or Nip/Tuck. Whatever shall I watch?

Have you ever seen my schedule so barren?!

I was going to lessen my Netflix subscription from five/mo (summer viewing) to one/mo, but I don’t know now. Maybe I’ll go back down to three/month because this schedule doesn’t look like it will satisfy much.

Sunday: The Amazing Race, Dexter, Desperate Housewives.

- The obvious winner here is Dexter. I pay for Showtime for three months out of the year just for Dexter.

But I have to say, this watermelon to the face on Amazing Race is HILARIOUS!

Monday: The Event, Chase, Hawaii Five-O

- The Event has promise. Some early reviews call it “the new LOST.” I don’t know about all THAT, but it’s probably the new show I’m looking forward to the most. I’m watching Hawaii Five-O only to support Jin from LOST and Boomer from BSG. Yeah, I said it.

* Funny story about The Event. While watching The Emmys a commercial came on for The Event. When Blair Underwood said he’s the president, Kali said, “You’re not! Obama is the president. Just because you’re black doesn’t mean you’re the president.” A few minutes later he comes out on the stage to present an award and Kali says (I shit you not), “He kinda looks like Obama.” I said, “Kali, that’s the same man you just said didn’t look like Obama.” “Ooooh, they tricked me!”

Tuesday: Glee, Raising Hope, The Good Wife, No Ordinary Family

- Need I say it? GLEEEEEE!!!!

Raising Hope looks funny. I love The Good Wife and I’m looking forward to more of the lovely Archi Punjabi now that she’s won an Emmy for her portrayal as the sexy and resourceful Kalinda. I wish No Ordinary Family had a better name.

Raising Hope – this preview makes me laugh and cry…

Wednesday: Undercovers, Law & Order: SVU, Law & Order: Los Angeles, Modern Family, Detroit 187, Criminal Minds, Survivor

- I’m happy to see a show with a mainstream premise starring a black couple. Thank you, J.J. Abrams! He consistently casts the most diverse casts that represent what the world REALLY looks like. However, I’m sure the show won’t last. I’ll support it anyway. Donny is making me watch Detroit 187. And we are big Criminal Minds fans in this house. Why, oh why, did they move Survivor to Wednesdays?!

Thursday: Bones, Fringe, Vampire Diaries, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, CSI, Nikita

- I still need to get caught up on Bones. We LOVE Fringe and I’ve been singing its praises to anyone that would listen all summer. Vampires Diaries was a surprise to me last season. I didn’t expect it to be so good. Ian Somerhalder’s fine ass doesn’t hurt and the season finale was jaw-dropping. I loved the movie La Femme Nikita so I’ve decided to give this 2nd TV reincarnation a shot.

Friday: Medium, Smallville, Supernatural

- CBS bumped Medium up to 8pm which suggests that the tone may not be as dark as previous seasons. This is Smallville’s last season and I’m sure the same is true for Supernatural (another great show I wish more people would watch).

There’s a very good chance that I can actually cancel the service to the TiVo in Jack’s room if I don’t watch Modern Family and move Criminal Minds to the TV in the family room and if I give up CSI altogether. We’ll see.

My fall schedule begins tomorrow night when Vampire Diaries returns!

What about you? What are you excited about?

STOP THE PRESSES! I just found out there’s a show on AMC this fall about … wait for it… wait for it… wait… for … it . . .

The ZOMBIE APOCALYPSE!

The Walking Dead has lots of promise!

Where I’ve Been

1. Doing a solid for a friend… for which I’m being paid.

2. Entering flash fiction contests. My story, “At Last,” is on page 2. Join the forum and rank the stories you like. There’s some good stuff like….

“The Vigil of Clouds” on page 8.

“Frangible Choices” on page 7.

“Have Your Cake” on page 1.

You have to register before you can rank the stories, but it’s fast and easy. The forum is Flash Fiction 40 Contest.

3. Working on two other short stories. They’re creepy and twisted. I’ve discovered that I like writing about the creepy and twisted. What does that make me?

4. Getting caught up on Southland, Supernatural, Weeds, and Criminal Minds.

Blogging will commence tomorrow with a Top Ten. My Top Ten Memorable Encounters.

What about you? What have you been up to?

TV Roundup

As the spring 2009 TV season came to an end I was swamped with finals for five classes and battling a budding video game (Animal Crossing: City Folk for the Nintendo Wii) addiction. I wasn’t able to keep up with my TV viewing (gasp!) much less recap anything for the site.

Just when I was thinking that it wasn’t a big deal because no one was reading anyway, I got this e-mail from someone explaining how they were searching the internet for 24 updates because they’d missed the show due to traveling.

Brilliant…you write so well – kind of flowing, current, and annotated with your thoughts – and now I actually know what went on. You might just be a modern day (American) Samuel Pepys, but with better grammar. Good luck with that!

Of course I had to ask Kevin who Samuel Pepys was and he told me he was a British serial killer because Kevin is a fucker. Anyway, that letter and a few others reminded me that I’m awesome some people are actually reading some of the TV stuff.

Without further ado, here are my thoughts on some of this past season’s finale. We start, of course, with 24.

24

When we last saw our cooties-infected hero he was warned that if he didn’t help Soulpatch Tony escape FBI custody, Kim Bauer would be toast.  That’s right. After a kickass season, the final two hours were dedicated to yet another, “Oh, no! Kim Bauer’s in trouble storyline.” Oh, and Tony’s betrayal? Revenge for Michelle’s murder. Olivia, the president’s daughter, did get her comeuppance and Agent Walker ended the day displaying some very Bauer-like characteristics. Oh, and Kim didn’t die (we knew she wouldn’t) and after Jack was placed in a medically-induced coma, she agreed to particpate in the experimental treatment that would save Jack’s life… like we knew she would.

Grey’s Anatomy

The second best season finale this year. I’ve always thought that George an Izzy were the heart of Grey’s (I really could care less about whiny, needy, damaged Meredith an the neutured McDreamy) and this season left off with both of their lives in the balance. It would serve the show right to lose both characters. Maybe then they’d concentrate on some of their other good characters like Callie and McSteamy. And though I adore Calliope Iphiginia Torres, I wish they would have found something else for her to do instead of making her a lesbian out of the blue. Nothing against lebsians (I love lesbians!), but it was such a random plot device and it’s yet to pay off. All in all, the finale had me bawling!!

From the moment Meredith’s voiceover began (Did you say it?), I was a sobbing mess. If you can watch the next 4.5 minutes without crying, you don’t have a soul.

(That finale is still on my TiVo… don’t judge me.)

Lost – You can read my Lost finale recap here. Best finale of the season.

Rescue Me - I totally fell out of watching Rescue Me, which is surprising because I enjoy it. I may have to do a DVD catch up. Also, though the show is great, it wasn’t as fun to write about it like Lost, 24, Nip/Tuck, etc.

Survivor: Tocantins – One of the more enjoyable seasons. You had people you loved and rooted for (Taj, J.T., Stephen) and one you loved to hate (Coach McDouche.) Thank God that J.T. won. A nice guy, and hot to boot.

Desperate Housewives – This show wasted a perfectly good opportunity when they flashed forward five years. When the season began, jinxed couple Mike and Susan were split up for some mysterious reason. We later find out that they were involved in a car accident that killed a mother and young daughter. The stressful aftermath ruined their marriage. Then, Edie moves back to town with her new husband who is holding a grudge against Mike. Why? Because it was his wife and daughter that died in the crash, but only the audience knows this.

They dragged this farce out for the entire season and the payoff was blah. Although I liked the fact that Gabrielle had a ton of baby weight after popping out two kids in five years, the speed in which she dropped it all was unrealistic and a slap in the face to real moms. Also, Lynette should just fry up Tom’s ball and have them for lunch already. She’s annoying.

How did it all end? Mike marries a veiled woman and we have to wait till September to find out if it’s his ex, Susan, or his new love, Catherine. OH, and they killed Edie.

I still have to catch up on Harper’s Island, Criminal Minds, Smallville, and Supernatural.

So, what will I be watching/reviewing this summer? True Blood, Weeds, So You Think You Can Dance, and Big Brother. You can also check the new BIOB posting schedule here.

What else should I be watching this summer?