I've overdosed on television! *grin*
To my flist... Sorry to spam, but I wanted to get this up while I still had brain function.
Oh, and this isn't a GIP, as I have a bunch to talk about, but I love this icon. It always makes me giggle.
Okay, I was sick and in bed for a long period of time last weekend and continued a lethargic existence this weekend, so I watched a bunch of shows on videotape and download. I’ve finished the last season of most of my shows, and have started watching the current seasons of some of them. I’m sure there really isn’t anyone who cares of my opinions about these shows, especially at this late date, but I wanted to write them, so here they are anyway.
CSI
Well, I not only am not watching Miami anymore, the original has added itself to my list of shows I used to watch. Really, why did they have to go and do that at the end of last season? I know a lot of people wanted Grissom and Sara together; however, I was never one of them. First of all, I don’t consider Grissom to be capable of a relationship in the first place. And I like him that way. I want him to remain the quirky, strange, idiosyncratic bugman that he is. Even if he were perfect relationship material, though, I still wouldn’t find Grissom/Sara to be a good thing. I mean, Sara has such father issues, and I doubt that she resolved them all off-screen with her therapist; Grissom, being her boss and mentor just isn’t a suitable/healthy/pick your adjective relationship choice for her.
Why is CSI going the WaT direction and switching from doling out personal information in small doses that intrigue me to shoving relationships in my face? I wasn’t a fan of the Warrick marriage, but at least that was a small subplot that didn’t affect the main story parts too much. *sigh*
If ever CSI goes back to being about interesting (not sensationalistic) stories with twists and turns and no excessive personal stuff, I might consider watching it again.
Lost
I was a bit disillusioned with last season. I liked the show because of the main characters, their slowly emerging stories, and their interactions with each other. Instead, last season, they focused mainly on the new characters and the plot to the detriment of everything that I had enjoyed. With the season premiere, it looks like they are going back to the good stuff. They focused on the characters, hinting at the story, and leaving us guessing and speculating. I did miss the other characters, but I liked the episode overall and am eager to see where they go next. (I could do with never seeing Sarah again, though. Really. What is it with the writers’ need to hit us over the head with things? I mean I got that Jack had control/letting go/fixing things issues a long time ago.)
I thought of a lot of stuff to say when I was watching the episode; however, everyone else has said it so much better in their journals, so I’ll leave that to the others. Not ‘The Others’, just the other LJers. *grin*
NCIS
I think that NCIS has settled on a perfect mix of humor and seriousness. Season 2 went way too far into the slapsticky stuff. I was often wondering throughout that season how Tony managed to keep his job. Well, that’s not entirely true, as he did show occasional flashes of competence (‘Eye for an Eye’ for example), but overall he was just way too juvenile and the characters were becoming too much of cardboard cut outs. I was concerned when I heard at the end of the second season that NCIS was planning on becoming darker, as it is one of my stress relief/humorous shows, but I think that they toned it down just enough.
A good example of that, in my opinion, is the contrast between the Tony/Kate relationship and the Tony/Ziva relationship. I was somewhat of a Tony/Kate ‘shipper, but it got way out of hand by the end of the second season. I mean the whole picture battle was too much. In what world would there be no consequences of sending a photomanipulation of your co-worker as a naked cowboy to your boss? Now I wasn’t a Ziva and Tony ‘shipper in the third season, but I liked their more subtle relationship so much better. I liked that Ziva could shut him down with a look or a phrase. Of course, I adore Ziva, so...
I love Ziva, and I’m not afraid to say it. I think she is a wonderful character that improved the dynamic of the show. I know that some people (it seems primarily slashers, but I don’t want to say it is entirely so) say that Ziva is a Mary Sue. I don’t deny that canon characters can be such (see my Veronica Mars commentary), but I just don’t see it here. Is it because she is scarily competent? She is Mossad, and I would think that most of their agents are scarily competent. I was friends with someone from Israel who had trained over there, and I would never want to have to face him. He was not only well trained in the martial arts, but also was quite proficient with a number of weapons. (And he was only in his early 20’s!) Is it the language thing? Yes, she knows quite a few, but again, I wouldn’t think that would be that big a deal for a foreigner in this day and age. Especially a spy. Is it because she’s pretty? I acknowledge that she is pretty, as virtually every agent-type-person on television nowadays is going to be. I don’t think she is gorgeous in an unbelievable way such as the agents on Without a Trace are. She has some substance to her, and I wouldn’t think it completely improbable that she has the job that she has, unlike Elena, for crying out loud. I like that she also doesn’t seem to fuss too much about her appearance for the most part. She looks more natural to me than a lot of other females on television today, so I just don’t get that argument. Is it her relationship with everyone there? I won’t deny that the Abby thing was resolved a bit faster than I would have liked it to be, but this is network television. Nearly every storyline is resolved faster than I want it to be (see my Without a Trace critique). I also won’t deny that I’m not a big fan of her relationship with Jen, but I think it was necessary as a ploy to keep her on the team. I also don’t think it is too much of a stretch compared to other things on the show. (I mean, come on, if you can accept Kate being put on the team after being fired from the Secret Service and showing no real skills during that investigation in question, then I really think Ziva’s introduction should be acceptable. Of course, as a Ziva fan, I do admit a little bias here.) So, honestly, I really want to know. Why is she considered a Mary Sue?
Speaking of characters that I love, I’ve become more attached to Tony as he has matured. I hated his antics in some of the season two cases (I mean, the whole thing with the yoga instructor and all of those comments really grated on me in that episode, whichever it was), but he grew out of it for the most part in the third season. Let’s take ‘Under Covers’ for example. Sure, there were a lot of comments on his part as he went through the scenario with Ziva, but I never got the impression (as I had in the past) that anything was secondary to the case. And then, this season, when he was in charge at the beginning, I got the impression that he’d done well in the past couple of months. It wasn’t just because they said that he had done well; he just seemed to project an aura of competence. I do, like, though, that they let him keep a little insecurity as a team leader, as I find that more believable than him jumping in without any problems. I loved the “eavesdropping like little girls” line. It showed that he was a bit uneasy, but not so much that he couldn’t rebound and jump right in with Gibbs. He is not yet Gibbs’s equal, but he’s a Hell of a lot closer than he used to be. I also like that he was so used to commanding in the last four months that he couldn’t quite relinquish it. It might have been better for him to take the command posting offered to him, but I’m glad that he didn’t; he definitely is a valuable addition to the team.
Overall, I liked how they dealt with the Gibbs subplot. It makes some sense that a rogue agent would get frustrated with the bureaucracy of it all, especially with a precipitating event, such as what happened in ‘Hiatus’. I like that they didn’t instantaneously get Gibbs back, either, but rather slowly resolved it. (Well, slowly in television terms. Four months and three episodes is an eternity in tv time.) It made sense to use Gibbs’s friends/teammates to pull him in. It’s sort of like a “real-life” version of “It’s a Wonderful Life”. All of these people need Gibbs and their lives are so much better for him being in them. Hopefully this will allow him to retain his edge/attitude that I love, but bring him back to the fold.
As far as the other characters go... Abby occasionally has the tendency to feel over-the-top to me, so I prefer to have her add to the show in little doses, rather than to be the focus of episodes, but I like her well enough and wouldn’t want the show to be without her. Her obsession with Gibbs was a little amusing, and thankfully, the show managed to keep it in just the right amount rather than overdoing it (which used to be a problem). McGee has grown on me. I liked how he stood up to the guy during the video-conferencing last season, and he seems to have taken it even farther this year. I believe in him as an agent now, rather than seeing him as an insecure little probie. I don’t dislike Jen as much as others do. I wish that they wouldn’t keep doing the stupid flashback things about her having sex with Gibbs, and I wish she’d become a bit more complex, but every once in awhile there is a sign (like her speech to Gibbs at the end of ‘Escaped’ or the way she dealt with the Tony promotion thing in ‘Singled Out’) that makes me think something could be done with her character. I like Ducky and Palmer and wish they were on a little more, but I don’t really see an organic way to work that in. I mean, they are mostly confined to dealing with medical issues, and on a cop-type show, that isn’t going to be a big focal point (see Melinda Warner on SVU, Doc Robbins on CSI, Alexx on CSI: Miami, etc.); I think that they’ve managed to make them a part of the team without making it seemed forced. I especially like that they were both included in the pact during ‘Shalom’. Maybe Ducky becoming a forensic psychologist will allow TPTB to organically include him more.
One of the things I like about NCIS is the potential for all kinds of ships. In most shows there are a couple of popular ‘ships and that’s it. Here, there are very rabid Tony/Kate (me, sometimes), Tony/Gibbs, Kate/Gibbs (me, sometimes), Gibbs/Abby, and Gibbs/Ducky ‘shippers. It’s also possible to find some Kate/Ari (me!), Tony/Ziva (maybe me, we’ll see!), Kate/Abby, Abby/McGee, Abby/Tony, Jen/Gibbs, Jen/Ziva, etc. out there as well. I personally cannot see any slash on this show (femmeslash, perhaps, but Tony and Gibbs just ring too hetero for me to pair them with each other or another guy), I like that overall everyone accepts everyone else. While there is some character-bashing and ‘ship-bashing, especially on mailing lists (although it nowhere reached the proportions of the CSI ‘ship-bashing that I saw and some of the WaT ‘ship bashing that I see), there are just so many people shipping so many different things without too much conflict. I love it.
I also, for the most part, like the cases. I admit that I don’t hold NCIS to the same standard that I hold my other procedurals to as far as plots go, because from the start I’ve watched NCIS as more of a character show than a plot show; however, they’ve had some decent plots in the past year. I wasn’t a fan of ‘Hiatus’, mostly for timeline issues, and I thought that they dealt a little lightly/cavalierly with the Iran/Israel conflict in the first episode (but it fits with the tone of the show, so I cannot be too harsh).
As far as ‘Escaped’ goes, I loved the episode. While I liked the basic premise, capitalizing on my post-‘Fugitive’ state and making me assume that the guy was actually innocent, then making me think there was a twist and he was guilty, and then finally having him be innocent, it was the details that made the episode great. I loved the “eavesdropping” line, like I mentioned earlier. I also loved the Tony driving thing. When Tony drove with Gibbs in the backseat early in the episode, it was a definite sign that the power dynamic had shifted. I also loved the ‘Fugitive’ scene in the interrogation room. It was great that Tony spouted off about the film because that is so Tony, but it was even better that Ziva and McGee acknowledged that they had been avoiding the word “fugitive” to keep from setting him off. It was so great and so funny for long-time viewers. Another bone tossed to loyal viewers was Gibbs saying “please”. It was such a throwback to the earlier episode. Of course, he seemed a lot more sincere this time around. (Maybe an indication of character development for Gibbs? It’s interesting to see this new interrogation style.)
The ‘Singled Out’ story was decent as well. I did guess that it was the bartender, just because Tony talked to him, but I didn’t guess the reasoning behind it, and the progression to the speed dating thing was logical enough so that was good enough for me. As far as character interactions go, I loved how Abby competed with McGee and Tony to present Gibbs with info. They are getting back some of that familial element that I love so much; the ‘kids’ competing for ‘dad’s’ attention. I also liked the conversation with Gibbs and McGee about ‘probie’. I thought the Tony/Gibbs dynamic was interesting. No longer is Tony fully under Gibbs’s command, but yet he is not an equal. I also loved the humor that they were able to interject into the story, such as “your computer’s on fire”, the baby morpher, and “Never more than once, DiNozzo” (although I didn’t think the potential child of Jen and Gibbs looked all that attractive). My one nitpick is the computer password thing. I know they were trying to make Ducky useful, but really, even I wouldn’t use two standard words that are based on my personality as my password. All of my passwords are combinations of letters and numbers and not easily guessed, and I would like to think that a high-level computer person would do even better than that. I know, I know, I don’t watch NCIS for the realism, but still, it bugged me.
For the past year or so, NCIS has definitely been one of my favorite shows, and the fourth season looks to be continuing in the same strong vein as the third. I hope that it doesn’t let me down.
Speaking of being let down by a favorite show...
Gilmore Girls
I never understood why ASP said that she couldn’t get drama out of happy things. I mean, Luke and Lorelai were happy in their friend relationship and Lorelai and Rory were in a good relationship the majority of the time, and the show was great the first couple of seasons. If they could find the humor and the drama back then, why couldn’t they find it later? I knew that Luke and Lorelai would probably never get to the point in “real” life that they were during the “great alarm clock massacre” dream, but that was cute and funny and wonderful, so why couldn’t something similar be done for “real”? I think that so much could have been mined out of a Luke/Lorelai marriage.
And then, the way the drama was added was awful. I wouldn’t have necessarily minded Luke having a daughter, if it had been handled differently. I mean, I know that Luke does not make rapid decisions, but having him keep it a secret from Lorelai for months? That’s not really in character. First of all, despite his gruff exterior, he has demonstrated more than once that he puts others ahead of himself. Second, he has wanted Lorelai for so long and knows her so well. Put those together, and there is no freakin’ way that he wouldn’t know what that whole situation would do to Lorelai and how she would react, and do everything he could to make it all work out.
Of course, maybe he couldn’t know how Lorelai would react as she is not acting like herself. At all. I mean, I know that she can be self-centered at times, but she has shown that when it really matters, she thinks about others. For example, when the show forced Chris back into the show (the Chris resolution would have been so much better in the third season), Lorelai helped him out with Gigi. There are a bunch of other examples, large and small. Plus, she has always said what is on her mind, even when it would have been better to keep her mouth shut. And there’s no denying that she knows Luke very well. So why was she first so silent about her feelings in regards to April and then didn’t consider Luke’s feelings/thought processes at all when she forced the ultimatum on him? She spent the whole damn season being OOC. I would have had no problems with her going to Christopher for comfort after the Luke incident (well, assuming that I was okay with the Luke incident in the first place *sigh*), but having sex with him? While his young daughter was in the next room? This is the woman that didn’t even bring a guy home until Rory was in her late teens.
Okay, and do we really need to retread the Christopher ground again? I liked when Christopher was with Lorelai the first time around. Unfortunately, that story was played out seasons ago. I was fine with Chris and Lorelai being friends as adults, but the relationship stuff should have been finished with. Why rehash an old story?
I’m still watching, but I just don’t enjoy the show as much as I used to.
Veronica Mars
The critics always rave about this show. My best friend loves this show. So many people I read on LJ like this show. I have tried at least one episode each season so far, and I still dislike the show. Veronica was so smug and self-centered. She seemed like such a Mary Sue. Of course she’s always right, others always wrong, and she can roll her eyes at everyone because they don’t appreciate her brilliance. And none of the supporting characters were fleshed out at all or were even more than stereotypes, with the possible exception of her father, who was give much too little screentime in my opinion. Although, the fact I really wasn’t so sure of what the heck was going on in his storyline did lessen my appreciation of it. I liked him, though.
I think if this show were “Daddy Mars” with only a side story of Veronica instead of the other way around, I’d be much more likely to enjoy it. Oh well. I will probably try again in a few months. Maybe. (Shouldn’t 4 episodes be enough for me to be sure that I don’t like the show without feeling guilty that I didn’t give it a chance? Apparently not, as I’m still feeling guilty.)
Heroes
I like the premise; I think it shows promise. As I said above about Lost, however, I am more about the characters than the plot, and I just don’t think the characters are that compelling yet. If I dislike more characters than I like (although I’m still neutral about most of them), I think that is a bad thing. I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt (and a few more episodes!), at least until they all start meeting each other so I can see how their characters are fleshed out by their interactions. Next week looks promising in that regard.
I really want to like the show, but so far? Not so much. I do have to say that it is really odd to watch in real time and to see Studio 60 after Heroes. They are not very similar and even though I like both well enough, it’s a bit jarring to go from one to the other.
House
I like House as a character well enough, and I tolerate the majority of the supporting cast (except for Wilson, who is a smug ass); however, the storylines really don’t grab me that much, either the "plot-y" ones or the character ones. I hated the whole "Let’s have House think he was wrong for once to teach him humility/humanity" storyline. Ugh. That did not paint any of the characters in a flattering way, even House. I’m undecided on the Vicodin storyline. I think there is potential there, but so far it has been overshadowed by everything else. The "disease-of-the-week" stories didn’t grab my attention very much. In fact, the only one I can remember off of the top of my head was the alien-abduction-twin one, and I didn’t really care for that one.
I know that the medical stories are going to be a side plot to the character stories at the moment, but in this show (unlike Grey’s Anatomy), I think I prefer it the other way around. In my procedurals (versus my soaps), I like getting character stuff through the plots, not be hit over the head with character stuff. I know that House isn’t strictly a procedural, but I just don’t care enough about the characters to view it any other way.
I might end up giving up this show, as my Tuesdays are already so crowded (see NCIS and Gilmore Girls, plus there is also Friday Night Lights, which I have yet to watch, but which I’m told is great). Eh. We’ll see.
Supernatural
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate it or anything. I just see it like a Friday the 13th the Series--silly, scary entertainment. A lot of people on my flist, however, whom I consider to be intelligent, erudite people really seem enamored/obsessed with it beyond that, and I don’t quite understand it. I like the pretty (Jensen Ackles), and the stories have mostly been interesting (Bloody Mary and the hook man freaked me the Hell out, and the shape shifter was disgusting in a cool way, but the bug one which was silly; I mean everyone else gets something deadly sent after them, yet on the final night of the curse they only get termites? Some killer curse), but I just can’t find anything more to the story. Someone enlighten me? (Without spoiling me, please, as I hate to be spoiled.)
So, I’ll keep watching, but I don’t see it becoming an obsession unless something changes.
Grey’s Anatomy
I watched the last nine episodes of last season and then the first three of this season. I love, love, love Addison. In fact, I love her (and dislike Meredith) so much that I think everyone should be fighting over her. I hope something works out for her.
On the other hand, I couldn’t care less about the McDreamy/Meredith/McVet triangle. I like McVet best, but I think maybe McDreamy and Meredith deserve each other. I just want the damn storyline to end so that the storyline doesn’t consume so much time.
I didn’t like Izzie at the end of last season, as the obsession with Denny thing (even before the end) was getting to be too much, but I’m starting to like her more this season.
I love Alex, though. I’ve always liked him (well, except for a couple of moments, such as when he told on Addison about the tube-tying thing), but I love the way he’s been dealing with Izzie. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a sarcastic/sort-of-jerky guy who occasionally shows a sensitive side. (See my Sawyer love.)
I’ve never really liked George (not really a big surprise, as he is the opposite of Alex), but he is really treating Callie (how is her name spelled, anyway?) like crap, and I like her, so I dislike him even more now. I just wish he’d grow a personality spine. The ankle thing is a decent example of that, as he couldn’t face her, so he went behind her back instead. *sigh*
I love Christina, and usually like Burke, so the screentime devoted to that storyline (unlike the triangle (pentagon?)) is fine with me. I especially liked the chicken thing at the end of the last episode. Good for Christina for not letting Burke wallow in self-pity. I hope that storyline ends soon, though, as I like competent Burke, not whiny/self-pitying Burke and want him back at the hospital.
Who else is there? Oh yeah, I like Bailey a lot, but she hasn’t been given much to do. I did appreciate her speeches to Izzie and the Chief. I hope we see more of her. And speaking of the chief, I like him well enough, but I don’t really get what the point of his wife kicking him out is. Is it just supposed to demonstrate that no relationships of surgeons ever work out? It’s been such a small part of the show that I’m not really sure why it was put in there.
All that being said, I think Grey’s is one of my favorite shows right now.
And that got way, way too long, so although I don’t want to give each show its own post (because that would be spam to the highest degree, I will devote a separate post to Without a Trace. (Of course, that allows me more time to formulate it, as I think that post might be the one that I can actually find a couple of people to care about. :)
Oh, and this isn't a GIP, as I have a bunch to talk about, but I love this icon. It always makes me giggle.
Okay, I was sick and in bed for a long period of time last weekend and continued a lethargic existence this weekend, so I watched a bunch of shows on videotape and download. I’ve finished the last season of most of my shows, and have started watching the current seasons of some of them. I’m sure there really isn’t anyone who cares of my opinions about these shows, especially at this late date, but I wanted to write them, so here they are anyway.
CSI
Well, I not only am not watching Miami anymore, the original has added itself to my list of shows I used to watch. Really, why did they have to go and do that at the end of last season? I know a lot of people wanted Grissom and Sara together; however, I was never one of them. First of all, I don’t consider Grissom to be capable of a relationship in the first place. And I like him that way. I want him to remain the quirky, strange, idiosyncratic bugman that he is. Even if he were perfect relationship material, though, I still wouldn’t find Grissom/Sara to be a good thing. I mean, Sara has such father issues, and I doubt that she resolved them all off-screen with her therapist; Grissom, being her boss and mentor just isn’t a suitable/healthy/pick your adjective relationship choice for her.
Why is CSI going the WaT direction and switching from doling out personal information in small doses that intrigue me to shoving relationships in my face? I wasn’t a fan of the Warrick marriage, but at least that was a small subplot that didn’t affect the main story parts too much. *sigh*
If ever CSI goes back to being about interesting (not sensationalistic) stories with twists and turns and no excessive personal stuff, I might consider watching it again.
Lost
I was a bit disillusioned with last season. I liked the show because of the main characters, their slowly emerging stories, and their interactions with each other. Instead, last season, they focused mainly on the new characters and the plot to the detriment of everything that I had enjoyed. With the season premiere, it looks like they are going back to the good stuff. They focused on the characters, hinting at the story, and leaving us guessing and speculating. I did miss the other characters, but I liked the episode overall and am eager to see where they go next. (I could do with never seeing Sarah again, though. Really. What is it with the writers’ need to hit us over the head with things? I mean I got that Jack had control/letting go/fixing things issues a long time ago.)
I thought of a lot of stuff to say when I was watching the episode; however, everyone else has said it so much better in their journals, so I’ll leave that to the others. Not ‘The Others’, just the other LJers. *grin*
NCIS
I think that NCIS has settled on a perfect mix of humor and seriousness. Season 2 went way too far into the slapsticky stuff. I was often wondering throughout that season how Tony managed to keep his job. Well, that’s not entirely true, as he did show occasional flashes of competence (‘Eye for an Eye’ for example), but overall he was just way too juvenile and the characters were becoming too much of cardboard cut outs. I was concerned when I heard at the end of the second season that NCIS was planning on becoming darker, as it is one of my stress relief/humorous shows, but I think that they toned it down just enough.
A good example of that, in my opinion, is the contrast between the Tony/Kate relationship and the Tony/Ziva relationship. I was somewhat of a Tony/Kate ‘shipper, but it got way out of hand by the end of the second season. I mean the whole picture battle was too much. In what world would there be no consequences of sending a photomanipulation of your co-worker as a naked cowboy to your boss? Now I wasn’t a Ziva and Tony ‘shipper in the third season, but I liked their more subtle relationship so much better. I liked that Ziva could shut him down with a look or a phrase. Of course, I adore Ziva, so...
I love Ziva, and I’m not afraid to say it. I think she is a wonderful character that improved the dynamic of the show. I know that some people (it seems primarily slashers, but I don’t want to say it is entirely so) say that Ziva is a Mary Sue. I don’t deny that canon characters can be such (see my Veronica Mars commentary), but I just don’t see it here. Is it because she is scarily competent? She is Mossad, and I would think that most of their agents are scarily competent. I was friends with someone from Israel who had trained over there, and I would never want to have to face him. He was not only well trained in the martial arts, but also was quite proficient with a number of weapons. (And he was only in his early 20’s!) Is it the language thing? Yes, she knows quite a few, but again, I wouldn’t think that would be that big a deal for a foreigner in this day and age. Especially a spy. Is it because she’s pretty? I acknowledge that she is pretty, as virtually every agent-type-person on television nowadays is going to be. I don’t think she is gorgeous in an unbelievable way such as the agents on Without a Trace are. She has some substance to her, and I wouldn’t think it completely improbable that she has the job that she has, unlike Elena, for crying out loud. I like that she also doesn’t seem to fuss too much about her appearance for the most part. She looks more natural to me than a lot of other females on television today, so I just don’t get that argument. Is it her relationship with everyone there? I won’t deny that the Abby thing was resolved a bit faster than I would have liked it to be, but this is network television. Nearly every storyline is resolved faster than I want it to be (see my Without a Trace critique). I also won’t deny that I’m not a big fan of her relationship with Jen, but I think it was necessary as a ploy to keep her on the team. I also don’t think it is too much of a stretch compared to other things on the show. (I mean, come on, if you can accept Kate being put on the team after being fired from the Secret Service and showing no real skills during that investigation in question, then I really think Ziva’s introduction should be acceptable. Of course, as a Ziva fan, I do admit a little bias here.) So, honestly, I really want to know. Why is she considered a Mary Sue?
Speaking of characters that I love, I’ve become more attached to Tony as he has matured. I hated his antics in some of the season two cases (I mean, the whole thing with the yoga instructor and all of those comments really grated on me in that episode, whichever it was), but he grew out of it for the most part in the third season. Let’s take ‘Under Covers’ for example. Sure, there were a lot of comments on his part as he went through the scenario with Ziva, but I never got the impression (as I had in the past) that anything was secondary to the case. And then, this season, when he was in charge at the beginning, I got the impression that he’d done well in the past couple of months. It wasn’t just because they said that he had done well; he just seemed to project an aura of competence. I do, like, though, that they let him keep a little insecurity as a team leader, as I find that more believable than him jumping in without any problems. I loved the “eavesdropping like little girls” line. It showed that he was a bit uneasy, but not so much that he couldn’t rebound and jump right in with Gibbs. He is not yet Gibbs’s equal, but he’s a Hell of a lot closer than he used to be. I also like that he was so used to commanding in the last four months that he couldn’t quite relinquish it. It might have been better for him to take the command posting offered to him, but I’m glad that he didn’t; he definitely is a valuable addition to the team.
Overall, I liked how they dealt with the Gibbs subplot. It makes some sense that a rogue agent would get frustrated with the bureaucracy of it all, especially with a precipitating event, such as what happened in ‘Hiatus’. I like that they didn’t instantaneously get Gibbs back, either, but rather slowly resolved it. (Well, slowly in television terms. Four months and three episodes is an eternity in tv time.) It made sense to use Gibbs’s friends/teammates to pull him in. It’s sort of like a “real-life” version of “It’s a Wonderful Life”. All of these people need Gibbs and their lives are so much better for him being in them. Hopefully this will allow him to retain his edge/attitude that I love, but bring him back to the fold.
As far as the other characters go... Abby occasionally has the tendency to feel over-the-top to me, so I prefer to have her add to the show in little doses, rather than to be the focus of episodes, but I like her well enough and wouldn’t want the show to be without her. Her obsession with Gibbs was a little amusing, and thankfully, the show managed to keep it in just the right amount rather than overdoing it (which used to be a problem). McGee has grown on me. I liked how he stood up to the guy during the video-conferencing last season, and he seems to have taken it even farther this year. I believe in him as an agent now, rather than seeing him as an insecure little probie. I don’t dislike Jen as much as others do. I wish that they wouldn’t keep doing the stupid flashback things about her having sex with Gibbs, and I wish she’d become a bit more complex, but every once in awhile there is a sign (like her speech to Gibbs at the end of ‘Escaped’ or the way she dealt with the Tony promotion thing in ‘Singled Out’) that makes me think something could be done with her character. I like Ducky and Palmer and wish they were on a little more, but I don’t really see an organic way to work that in. I mean, they are mostly confined to dealing with medical issues, and on a cop-type show, that isn’t going to be a big focal point (see Melinda Warner on SVU, Doc Robbins on CSI, Alexx on CSI: Miami, etc.); I think that they’ve managed to make them a part of the team without making it seemed forced. I especially like that they were both included in the pact during ‘Shalom’. Maybe Ducky becoming a forensic psychologist will allow TPTB to organically include him more.
One of the things I like about NCIS is the potential for all kinds of ships. In most shows there are a couple of popular ‘ships and that’s it. Here, there are very rabid Tony/Kate (me, sometimes), Tony/Gibbs, Kate/Gibbs (me, sometimes), Gibbs/Abby, and Gibbs/Ducky ‘shippers. It’s also possible to find some Kate/Ari (me!), Tony/Ziva (maybe me, we’ll see!), Kate/Abby, Abby/McGee, Abby/Tony, Jen/Gibbs, Jen/Ziva, etc. out there as well. I personally cannot see any slash on this show (femmeslash, perhaps, but Tony and Gibbs just ring too hetero for me to pair them with each other or another guy), I like that overall everyone accepts everyone else. While there is some character-bashing and ‘ship-bashing, especially on mailing lists (although it nowhere reached the proportions of the CSI ‘ship-bashing that I saw and some of the WaT ‘ship bashing that I see), there are just so many people shipping so many different things without too much conflict. I love it.
I also, for the most part, like the cases. I admit that I don’t hold NCIS to the same standard that I hold my other procedurals to as far as plots go, because from the start I’ve watched NCIS as more of a character show than a plot show; however, they’ve had some decent plots in the past year. I wasn’t a fan of ‘Hiatus’, mostly for timeline issues, and I thought that they dealt a little lightly/cavalierly with the Iran/Israel conflict in the first episode (but it fits with the tone of the show, so I cannot be too harsh).
As far as ‘Escaped’ goes, I loved the episode. While I liked the basic premise, capitalizing on my post-‘Fugitive’ state and making me assume that the guy was actually innocent, then making me think there was a twist and he was guilty, and then finally having him be innocent, it was the details that made the episode great. I loved the “eavesdropping” line, like I mentioned earlier. I also loved the Tony driving thing. When Tony drove with Gibbs in the backseat early in the episode, it was a definite sign that the power dynamic had shifted. I also loved the ‘Fugitive’ scene in the interrogation room. It was great that Tony spouted off about the film because that is so Tony, but it was even better that Ziva and McGee acknowledged that they had been avoiding the word “fugitive” to keep from setting him off. It was so great and so funny for long-time viewers. Another bone tossed to loyal viewers was Gibbs saying “please”. It was such a throwback to the earlier episode. Of course, he seemed a lot more sincere this time around. (Maybe an indication of character development for Gibbs? It’s interesting to see this new interrogation style.)
The ‘Singled Out’ story was decent as well. I did guess that it was the bartender, just because Tony talked to him, but I didn’t guess the reasoning behind it, and the progression to the speed dating thing was logical enough so that was good enough for me. As far as character interactions go, I loved how Abby competed with McGee and Tony to present Gibbs with info. They are getting back some of that familial element that I love so much; the ‘kids’ competing for ‘dad’s’ attention. I also liked the conversation with Gibbs and McGee about ‘probie’. I thought the Tony/Gibbs dynamic was interesting. No longer is Tony fully under Gibbs’s command, but yet he is not an equal. I also loved the humor that they were able to interject into the story, such as “your computer’s on fire”, the baby morpher, and “Never more than once, DiNozzo” (although I didn’t think the potential child of Jen and Gibbs looked all that attractive). My one nitpick is the computer password thing. I know they were trying to make Ducky useful, but really, even I wouldn’t use two standard words that are based on my personality as my password. All of my passwords are combinations of letters and numbers and not easily guessed, and I would like to think that a high-level computer person would do even better than that. I know, I know, I don’t watch NCIS for the realism, but still, it bugged me.
For the past year or so, NCIS has definitely been one of my favorite shows, and the fourth season looks to be continuing in the same strong vein as the third. I hope that it doesn’t let me down.
Speaking of being let down by a favorite show...
Gilmore Girls
I never understood why ASP said that she couldn’t get drama out of happy things. I mean, Luke and Lorelai were happy in their friend relationship and Lorelai and Rory were in a good relationship the majority of the time, and the show was great the first couple of seasons. If they could find the humor and the drama back then, why couldn’t they find it later? I knew that Luke and Lorelai would probably never get to the point in “real” life that they were during the “great alarm clock massacre” dream, but that was cute and funny and wonderful, so why couldn’t something similar be done for “real”? I think that so much could have been mined out of a Luke/Lorelai marriage.
And then, the way the drama was added was awful. I wouldn’t have necessarily minded Luke having a daughter, if it had been handled differently. I mean, I know that Luke does not make rapid decisions, but having him keep it a secret from Lorelai for months? That’s not really in character. First of all, despite his gruff exterior, he has demonstrated more than once that he puts others ahead of himself. Second, he has wanted Lorelai for so long and knows her so well. Put those together, and there is no freakin’ way that he wouldn’t know what that whole situation would do to Lorelai and how she would react, and do everything he could to make it all work out.
Of course, maybe he couldn’t know how Lorelai would react as she is not acting like herself. At all. I mean, I know that she can be self-centered at times, but she has shown that when it really matters, she thinks about others. For example, when the show forced Chris back into the show (the Chris resolution would have been so much better in the third season), Lorelai helped him out with Gigi. There are a bunch of other examples, large and small. Plus, she has always said what is on her mind, even when it would have been better to keep her mouth shut. And there’s no denying that she knows Luke very well. So why was she first so silent about her feelings in regards to April and then didn’t consider Luke’s feelings/thought processes at all when she forced the ultimatum on him? She spent the whole damn season being OOC. I would have had no problems with her going to Christopher for comfort after the Luke incident (well, assuming that I was okay with the Luke incident in the first place *sigh*), but having sex with him? While his young daughter was in the next room? This is the woman that didn’t even bring a guy home until Rory was in her late teens.
Okay, and do we really need to retread the Christopher ground again? I liked when Christopher was with Lorelai the first time around. Unfortunately, that story was played out seasons ago. I was fine with Chris and Lorelai being friends as adults, but the relationship stuff should have been finished with. Why rehash an old story?
I’m still watching, but I just don’t enjoy the show as much as I used to.
Veronica Mars
The critics always rave about this show. My best friend loves this show. So many people I read on LJ like this show. I have tried at least one episode each season so far, and I still dislike the show. Veronica was so smug and self-centered. She seemed like such a Mary Sue. Of course she’s always right, others always wrong, and she can roll her eyes at everyone because they don’t appreciate her brilliance. And none of the supporting characters were fleshed out at all or were even more than stereotypes, with the possible exception of her father, who was give much too little screentime in my opinion. Although, the fact I really wasn’t so sure of what the heck was going on in his storyline did lessen my appreciation of it. I liked him, though.
I think if this show were “Daddy Mars” with only a side story of Veronica instead of the other way around, I’d be much more likely to enjoy it. Oh well. I will probably try again in a few months. Maybe. (Shouldn’t 4 episodes be enough for me to be sure that I don’t like the show without feeling guilty that I didn’t give it a chance? Apparently not, as I’m still feeling guilty.)
Heroes
I like the premise; I think it shows promise. As I said above about Lost, however, I am more about the characters than the plot, and I just don’t think the characters are that compelling yet. If I dislike more characters than I like (although I’m still neutral about most of them), I think that is a bad thing. I’m going to give it the benefit of the doubt (and a few more episodes!), at least until they all start meeting each other so I can see how their characters are fleshed out by their interactions. Next week looks promising in that regard.
I really want to like the show, but so far? Not so much. I do have to say that it is really odd to watch in real time and to see Studio 60 after Heroes. They are not very similar and even though I like both well enough, it’s a bit jarring to go from one to the other.
House
I like House as a character well enough, and I tolerate the majority of the supporting cast (except for Wilson, who is a smug ass); however, the storylines really don’t grab me that much, either the "plot-y" ones or the character ones. I hated the whole "Let’s have House think he was wrong for once to teach him humility/humanity" storyline. Ugh. That did not paint any of the characters in a flattering way, even House. I’m undecided on the Vicodin storyline. I think there is potential there, but so far it has been overshadowed by everything else. The "disease-of-the-week" stories didn’t grab my attention very much. In fact, the only one I can remember off of the top of my head was the alien-abduction-twin one, and I didn’t really care for that one.
I know that the medical stories are going to be a side plot to the character stories at the moment, but in this show (unlike Grey’s Anatomy), I think I prefer it the other way around. In my procedurals (versus my soaps), I like getting character stuff through the plots, not be hit over the head with character stuff. I know that House isn’t strictly a procedural, but I just don’t care enough about the characters to view it any other way.
I might end up giving up this show, as my Tuesdays are already so crowded (see NCIS and Gilmore Girls, plus there is also Friday Night Lights, which I have yet to watch, but which I’m told is great). Eh. We’ll see.
Supernatural
Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate it or anything. I just see it like a Friday the 13th the Series--silly, scary entertainment. A lot of people on my flist, however, whom I consider to be intelligent, erudite people really seem enamored/obsessed with it beyond that, and I don’t quite understand it. I like the pretty (Jensen Ackles), and the stories have mostly been interesting (Bloody Mary and the hook man freaked me the Hell out, and the shape shifter was disgusting in a cool way, but the bug one which was silly; I mean everyone else gets something deadly sent after them, yet on the final night of the curse they only get termites? Some killer curse), but I just can’t find anything more to the story. Someone enlighten me? (Without spoiling me, please, as I hate to be spoiled.)
So, I’ll keep watching, but I don’t see it becoming an obsession unless something changes.
Grey’s Anatomy
I watched the last nine episodes of last season and then the first three of this season. I love, love, love Addison. In fact, I love her (and dislike Meredith) so much that I think everyone should be fighting over her. I hope something works out for her.
On the other hand, I couldn’t care less about the McDreamy/Meredith/McVet triangle. I like McVet best, but I think maybe McDreamy and Meredith deserve each other. I just want the damn storyline to end so that the storyline doesn’t consume so much time.
I didn’t like Izzie at the end of last season, as the obsession with Denny thing (even before the end) was getting to be too much, but I’m starting to like her more this season.
I love Alex, though. I’ve always liked him (well, except for a couple of moments, such as when he told on Addison about the tube-tying thing), but I love the way he’s been dealing with Izzie. What can I say? I’m a sucker for a sarcastic/sort-of-jerky guy who occasionally shows a sensitive side. (See my Sawyer love.)
I’ve never really liked George (not really a big surprise, as he is the opposite of Alex), but he is really treating Callie (how is her name spelled, anyway?) like crap, and I like her, so I dislike him even more now. I just wish he’d grow a personality spine. The ankle thing is a decent example of that, as he couldn’t face her, so he went behind her back instead. *sigh*
I love Christina, and usually like Burke, so the screentime devoted to that storyline (unlike the triangle (pentagon?)) is fine with me. I especially liked the chicken thing at the end of the last episode. Good for Christina for not letting Burke wallow in self-pity. I hope that storyline ends soon, though, as I like competent Burke, not whiny/self-pitying Burke and want him back at the hospital.
Who else is there? Oh yeah, I like Bailey a lot, but she hasn’t been given much to do. I did appreciate her speeches to Izzie and the Chief. I hope we see more of her. And speaking of the chief, I like him well enough, but I don’t really get what the point of his wife kicking him out is. Is it just supposed to demonstrate that no relationships of surgeons ever work out? It’s been such a small part of the show that I’m not really sure why it was put in there.
All that being said, I think Grey’s is one of my favorite shows right now.
And that got way, way too long, so although I don’t want to give each show its own post (because that would be spam to the highest degree, I will devote a separate post to Without a Trace. (Of course, that allows me more time to formulate it, as I think that post might be the one that I can actually find a couple of people to care about. :)