Fall TV In Review

We're officially about 2 weeks into the fall TV season and I'm ready to assess the shows I'm watching thus far. Warning: Spoiler alerts coming. If you aren't caught up, check back once you are!

Dexter: A- After an abysmal 6, Dexter is back with an amazing premise. FINALLY, Deb is in on it, and it couldn't be more uncomfortable. I was SURE that when Dexter called Deb for support that he was going to kill Louis and pretend he hadn't. But maybe Dexter really is going to change? According to TVLine.com, episode 3 has one of the best deaths we've seen in several seasons. So, maybe our protagonist isn't quite ready to put away the knives. Obviously, the Trinity season was the best there ever was or will be, but I like the way this season is going so far. The only hitch is his annoying son Harrison. Couldn't he go live with Rita's parents? I feel like trying to explain where he is each week is cumbersome.

The Mindy Project: B+ My most anticipated debut of the season, this show seems like it is written for me. Granted, Mindy's book made me feel like like she and I should (obviously) be best friends, but I am pleasantly surprised at the snappy writing and good character development of this show. I could do without her receptionists and the new nurse, but I have laughed out loud at several lines and I love the SNL alums who make cameos as potential love interests.

Nashville: A Ok, so we've only seen one episode, but man, does this show have potential. Connie Britton is fantastic, but I'm more surprised by how amazing Hayden Panettiere is. There is so much drama in this show and I am really excited about where this season is going. Plus, with T-Bone Burnett in charge of the music, there is actually something worth listening to.

Gossip Girl: No Comment. Yes, this show is a guilty pleasure and I have been watching it since day one. I only mention it because did anyone else hear Blair say in episode 1, "Serena isn't what I'd call 'Country Strong.'" an obvious reference to the movie Leighton Meester was in with Gwyneth Paltrow. A cute wink to those in the know.

Revolution: C- I always give at least a couple new shows a chance and this one didn't hold me past episode 2. I think J.J. Abrams found something special in Evangeline Lilly and Matthew Fox and any attempt to recreate that is a fool's errand. I felt this way about Alcatraz and despite claims that Revolution is the next big thing, I'm over it. The characters are too pretty and I just don't buy it.

Grey's Anatomy: A- I've stuck with this show for 9 years, and I am happy to say that it does not disappoint. There is nothing more effective than tragedy on a grand scale and to end last season with a plane crash and to begin this season with the death of a beloved character is the best thing they could have done. Although I've never been a fan of April, I'm interested to see what happens with her and Jackson and the Christina fugue state was interesting. And Meredith as the new Bailey? I love it!

30 Rock: B- This is the last season of my favorite show and I just want it to end with some of the greatness that we've seen throughout the years. I thought the first episode was a letdown. I couldn't care less about Kristen Schaal's Hazel, and for some reason, Kenneth only pops when he's a supporting player to Tracy or Jenna. The second episode was way better. I'm really hoping to see more of those great one-liners that made the show great initially. I did enjoy the word "slut" on Jenna's bachelorette t-shirt, which is an obvious reference to the episode where Cerie asks Liz and Jenna to be bridesmaids and Jenna says that the theme of the bachelorette party should be sluts.


Elementary: B- The only reason I don't love this show is because I JUST finished watching the British show Sherlock, which features an Asperger's (?) inflicted Sherlock Holmes played by Benedict Cumberbatch....I could not even make that name up. God knows I love me some Jonny Lee Miller (ever since the days of Hackers), but I'm not sure I prefer the recovering drug addict to the clever and funny! Sherlock of the BBC.

Parenthood: A If you had asked me a month ago how I felt about Ray Ramano, I would have punched you in the face and asked you never to speak his name around me again. Oh, how the tables have turned. Here were are, three episodes into the new season and I'm actually rooting for his character!!! I've never been a huge Monica Potter fan but with the development of Christina's breast cancer, I feel like I need to invest in Kleenex because I cry during the last two minutes of Every. Single. Episode. I agree with my parents that with so many storylines, it's hard to fit everything in and sometimes the episodes feel clogged, but who doesn't love Mae Whitman? And I think there is a potential love interest between her and FNL alum Matt Lauria (Luke Cafferty), which I am so psyched about.

Homeland: A I was a fan of this show before it won every single award possible at the Emmys. Damien Lewis is amazing, especially since he's British and you would never know it. But Claire Danes is really what pulls it together. I'm a little bummed that she's knocked up, only because it means the shots will get tighter and tighter as the season goes on and I feel like it will affect the character development a bit. The suspense each week is worth the price of admission.

Obviously, I watch many, many other shows, but these are the ones that I felt deserved attention. I am still waiting for the premieres of American Horror Story, Happy Endings and The Walking Dead, but I think I've got enough good TV to make it through the winter. Hit up the comments with your own assessments.

I Wanna Do Bad Things With You

I used to play a little game with Time Warner when I lived in Maine. Get HBO for six months for shows like True Blood or Six Feet Under and then when they were over, switch to Showtime in late August just in time for Dexter and Weeds. Nowadays, the premium channels are on to me, and insist on delivering great programming year round. As May network TV finales wrap up, I always feel let down and resigned to a summer of crappy Bravo reality shows (minus Top Chef, which is amazing) and catching up on shows I missed the first time around like Alias and Dollhouse. But this year, I feel like there is so much summer TV to look forward to that I can barely keep up. Here is a rundown of some great shows on the way.

Mad Men, Girls, Game of Thrones, Nurse Jackie and The Big C: These shows are a great segue from the network finales to the premium debuts. With just a couple weeks left of each of these shows, I feel better about the fact that I have to wait 6 months to find out who lives on Grey's Anatomy and what happens between Will and Alicia on The Good Wife. Mad Men has been spectacular this season (as always), and Girls is the breakout hit of the year. They are great place holders until we get to the heavy hitters of summer...

True Blood: Premiering June 10, we will finally get to see if Tara lives or dies (unfortunately, I think she makes it) and what Chris Meloni is like as a vampire. Now entering its 5th season, True Blood has strayed so far away from the books that I don't think Charlaine Harris recognizes much of her own original concept. However, by keeping entertainment like Layfayette, eye candy like Alcide and Eric and Arlene's creepy baby, this season looks very promising. And I've made a drinking game out of the weird way that Bill whispers, "Sookie".

Breaking Bad: If you aren't watching this show, go to the video store, logon to Netflix or go On Demand and catch up NOW. Vince Gilligan has done an amazing job of showing the drawn-out, painful deterioration of our protagonist from a loving family man who just wanted to do right by his wife and son to a cold, calculated killer. I love that this show has an end date and that we know at some point Walt will hit rock bottom. I can't imagine a finale more explosive (pun intended) than last season, but if any show can pull it off, this one can. I never thought I would sympathize with a teacher-turned-meth-maker, but this formula (i.e. Dexter) seems to be working for me.

The Newsroom: I happen to be one of the 10 people in the world who actually loved Aaron Sorkin's short-lived show "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip". I'm hoping that by living outside of the constraints of network TV and heading instead to HBO that The Newsroom can be everything that Studio 60 wasn't able to be. I'm ok with the fact that the cast strays away from Sorkin's usual crew (Bradley Whitford, Timothy Busfield, etc) and I can't wait to see how Jeff Daniels carries the show along with Emily Mortimer and Jane Fonda. Seriously, I could not be more excited for this show.

Add to those shows the opening of movies like Moonrise Kingdom, Your Sister's Sister and Ted and I think I can break my cycle of spending the entire summer watching 6 seasons of some 90s show that I missed the first time around (although season 3 of The West Wing is next on my Netflix queue).  :)

Why Happy Endings is ah-mah-zing

I didn't give this show much of a chance when it first came out in 2011. All I knew was that it seemed like another Friends rip-off, starring Elisha Cuthbert, who I only refer to as mountain lion (after that awful episode of 24 when she was chased by a mountain lion). After some prodding by my friend Cory and a couple good reviews by EW, I decided to give it another chance. I watched all of Season 1 on Netflix streaming and now that they are into season 2, it's one of my favorite shows to watch each week.

Here's why it's great:
1. It isn't stereotypical AT ALL. Yes, there is a gay character, but do they make him flamboyant and a good dresser? NO! He's constantly teased for being fat, sloppy and just plain lazy. In fact, we probably wouldn't even know he was gay unless they occasionally gave him a love interest.

2. This show has great throw-away lines that span the decades. When Penny gets excited about potentially having a new step-brother, she talks about her childhood companion:
Penny: "I always wanted a sibling, but the closest I got to a kid sister was a My Buddy doll."
Max: "Why didn't you just get a Kid Sister doll?"
Penny: "I did, but we weren't that close."

That one was for the 80s kids. In this week's episode, Alex gave us a 90s reference:
Alex: "I just got the Criterion Collection of Clueless, so I'll see you later. I hope not sporadically."

And finally, in this week's episode, in the midst of Brad and Jane's big fight, the guys want to go to a strip club and a steakhouse, but Brad would rather stay home and "catch up on Downton Abbey."

The show is truly funny, in part due to the improvisational styles of all of the characters (except Elisha Cuthbert. She's still kind of the weak link). Casey Wilson, as Penny, gets to show off her comedic skills way better than she ever did on SNL. The characters also make fun of themselves. There was a great scene last season when Elisha Cuthbert claims she isn't ready to date yet, and Penny asks, "But what if you were being chased by a mountain lion and your dad was, like, this counter terrorist guy".
Or in last week's episode when Penny gives a tongue-in-cheek reference to her catch phrase:
Penny: "It's ah-mah-zing. What? I haven't said it barely at all this season!"
Dave: "Season? You mean winter?"
Penny: "Yeah, it's more of a summer saying."

The show is quirky, sometimes a little too quirky (I didn't care for the Max as a bear plotline), but most of all, it makes me laugh, out loud, every week. If you haven't seen it, get season 1. Watch it all in one sitting, preferably without any distractions, and tune in Wednesday nights to catch up with Season 2. You'll thank me.