What I Saw During My Summer Vacation
We're quickly stepping into the fall season of TV so I thought I'd leave some quick thoughts on my summer TV shows that have already or are coming to an end sometime this month.
White Collar - Season 2 of the USA network show that was really the first original series cable show that I actively started watching last year. This first half of S2 has a different feel from S1 that took a few episodes to get used to with Tiffani Thiessen pregnant they used very little of her character, the show completely dropped Agent Cruz and reduced Agent Jones' role while bringing Agent Barrigan aboard full-time and increasing Mozzie's inclusion in the main plot of episodes. All that said, the triumvirate of Neal, Peter and Mozzie have kept the show entertaining and there hasn't been a down/lull episode so far like that popped up during S1. The mid-season cliffhanger was mean, but there's like a .5% chance of that moment having permanent implications.
Covert Affairs - This is a show that benefited from being paired on the same night with White Collar. Since I was already invested in watching the USA network for one hour on Tuesdays, I figured another hour wouldn't hurt the show and gave the Piper Perabo show a try. I've learned to appreciate the show during the run of season 1 but the casting change from the pilot threw me for awhile because I liked the Conrad character, and it might be the cynic in me but I find the relationship between Annie and Ben Mercer to be more fantasy than reality. I was hoping that the CIA leak would be one of the main cast because that would make things interesting but I can understand the direction the show decided to take because that revelation would truly erase any goodwill fans have for the character. I also totally called how the season finale would end because I think the show depends on being able to develop Annie's relationships with Auggie and Jai.
Rizzoli and Isles - I wasn't expecting to watch this show, in fact I hadn't even heard about it until I stumbled upon the premiere and decided to give it a look. It's a typical cop, crime investigating show with the twist being the focus of the show is on the friendship between the main two characters, the cop and the medical examiner. There's nothing special here and I watch mostly because I'm into this genre of TV and I am a fan of both actresses from their prior roles, Angie Harmon in Law & Order and Sasha Alexander in NCIS. There have been some weird consistencies with the show and that may be because it's based off characters from a book series, like all of a sudden Rizzoli's family becoming a recurring theme of the show after a few episodes after not being mentioned at all in the beginning.
Sherlock - This special/show made me wary of 90 minute episodes. The visual presentation of Sherlock was brilliant, especially in showing aspects of Holmes' thought process as he went through solving a case. I loved the first episode twist with Mycroft and the last episode reveal was interesting but at times the pacing of the episode slowed to a drag. If there is a second series next year I'll tune in but I will readily admit that I'm more looking forward to the next Holmes movie.
The Glades - Another show that I didn't know about until coming upon the premiere, the Glades has been very entertaining. Another cop/crime investigating show and the main actor has the stuff to carry the show. As i noted on Twitter earlier this week, this show has the complicated love interest aspect in the form of a nurse who's a mom and her husband is in jail. That doesn't stop her and the main cop starting to come together. Interesting fact, this show and Burn Notice are the only shows to be shot exclusively in Florida.
Psych - How it took 5 seasons for me to give Psych a chance I'll never understand. I started watching it this summer since I was practically watching every other USA show and it quickly became my favorite tv show to watch. Watching comedies on TV is hard for me (I tried Modern Family last year but it felt too ordinary for me to laugh. That show would mostly get a smile out of me if that.) but sometimes its the shows that aren't typical sitcoms that can excel at comedy. That show is Psych. Shawn and Gus are always entertaining, their relationship with the Santa Barbara PD and the trouble they get in constantly keep me watching and I'm going to start looking out for the earlier season sets.
Warehouse 13 - I never saw season 1. I started watching the second season mainly because I liked Allison Scagliotti from her appearance on Smallville and I have this thing about supporting people that get involved with Smallville. I also like sci-fi and to be honest I've never really given any of the shows on Syfy a chance before. Haven't watched the new Battlestar, never tried the Stargate shows and I don't watch Eureka but I have to say there is an adorable quality to the fantasy of the show, and the cast is very likable. There is some small story weaving between the episodes but for the most part they can be seen as stand alone.
White Collar - Season 2 of the USA network show that was really the first original series cable show that I actively started watching last year. This first half of S2 has a different feel from S1 that took a few episodes to get used to with Tiffani Thiessen pregnant they used very little of her character, the show completely dropped Agent Cruz and reduced Agent Jones' role while bringing Agent Barrigan aboard full-time and increasing Mozzie's inclusion in the main plot of episodes. All that said, the triumvirate of Neal, Peter and Mozzie have kept the show entertaining and there hasn't been a down/lull episode so far like that popped up during S1. The mid-season cliffhanger was mean, but there's like a .5% chance of that moment having permanent implications.
Covert Affairs - This is a show that benefited from being paired on the same night with White Collar. Since I was already invested in watching the USA network for one hour on Tuesdays, I figured another hour wouldn't hurt the show and gave the Piper Perabo show a try. I've learned to appreciate the show during the run of season 1 but the casting change from the pilot threw me for awhile because I liked the Conrad character, and it might be the cynic in me but I find the relationship between Annie and Ben Mercer to be more fantasy than reality. I was hoping that the CIA leak would be one of the main cast because that would make things interesting but I can understand the direction the show decided to take because that revelation would truly erase any goodwill fans have for the character. I also totally called how the season finale would end because I think the show depends on being able to develop Annie's relationships with Auggie and Jai.
Rizzoli and Isles - I wasn't expecting to watch this show, in fact I hadn't even heard about it until I stumbled upon the premiere and decided to give it a look. It's a typical cop, crime investigating show with the twist being the focus of the show is on the friendship between the main two characters, the cop and the medical examiner. There's nothing special here and I watch mostly because I'm into this genre of TV and I am a fan of both actresses from their prior roles, Angie Harmon in Law & Order and Sasha Alexander in NCIS. There have been some weird consistencies with the show and that may be because it's based off characters from a book series, like all of a sudden Rizzoli's family becoming a recurring theme of the show after a few episodes after not being mentioned at all in the beginning.
Sherlock - This special/show made me wary of 90 minute episodes. The visual presentation of Sherlock was brilliant, especially in showing aspects of Holmes' thought process as he went through solving a case. I loved the first episode twist with Mycroft and the last episode reveal was interesting but at times the pacing of the episode slowed to a drag. If there is a second series next year I'll tune in but I will readily admit that I'm more looking forward to the next Holmes movie.
The Glades - Another show that I didn't know about until coming upon the premiere, the Glades has been very entertaining. Another cop/crime investigating show and the main actor has the stuff to carry the show. As i noted on Twitter earlier this week, this show has the complicated love interest aspect in the form of a nurse who's a mom and her husband is in jail. That doesn't stop her and the main cop starting to come together. Interesting fact, this show and Burn Notice are the only shows to be shot exclusively in Florida.
Psych - How it took 5 seasons for me to give Psych a chance I'll never understand. I started watching it this summer since I was practically watching every other USA show and it quickly became my favorite tv show to watch. Watching comedies on TV is hard for me (I tried Modern Family last year but it felt too ordinary for me to laugh. That show would mostly get a smile out of me if that.) but sometimes its the shows that aren't typical sitcoms that can excel at comedy. That show is Psych. Shawn and Gus are always entertaining, their relationship with the Santa Barbara PD and the trouble they get in constantly keep me watching and I'm going to start looking out for the earlier season sets.
Warehouse 13 - I never saw season 1. I started watching the second season mainly because I liked Allison Scagliotti from her appearance on Smallville and I have this thing about supporting people that get involved with Smallville. I also like sci-fi and to be honest I've never really given any of the shows on Syfy a chance before. Haven't watched the new Battlestar, never tried the Stargate shows and I don't watch Eureka but I have to say there is an adorable quality to the fantasy of the show, and the cast is very likable. There is some small story weaving between the episodes but for the most part they can be seen as stand alone.