TV Year Roundup and Look Ahead
Huge post time!
Okay, here's what I thought about the major shows I watched this year. They're not the only shows I watched, but the ones where I made it a point to watch them. There will be spoilers, in some cases for the season finale, as well as a look ahead at what's coming. There will be some ranting.
Ongoing shows: BSG, GA, Heroes, Lost, Office, Prison Break, Supernatural, SGA, 24
Battlestar Galactica: Liked the start of the season, the middle kind of dragged, and the end... well, I liked it except for the whole 'last 4 Cylons' crap. It still bugs me. If they don't handle it very very well, I'll be disappointed and probably consider it the 'jump the shark' moment for the series. It still might be worth watching, but the series as a whole will be lessened because of it.
Grey's Anatomy: Really lost a lot of interest for me this year. Izzie was crazy for far too long, way too much time spent on Derek/Meredith. And the finale? Okay, I get that Burke had to go because of the behind the scenes stuff. Wish he didn't, though. Still... George failing his exams? What crap. Plus his whole marriage subplot... grr. I like my George smart like he was in the first two years. I don't mind George and Izzy, but don't like how it was handled. I always have a personal bias against 'affair' plots. This one was probably handled as best as it could be, under the circumstances, but it still sours me on the whole relationship some. I want him to leave his wife because they don't really fit together, rather than leave her to be with Izzy. Meredith and Derek continue to bore the hell out of me. It's a bad sign when your title character is in danger of dying and your reaction is to cheer for it, or when she's in danger of flunking because of a personal issue and you want her to. Of course that's nothing new.
Heroes: Best new series of the year! Of course, aside from Jericho, it was the only new series of the year that I really watched. But still, exceeded my expectations. Started a little weak, but once it got moving, it was great. Can't wait for S2 - and NBC's at least doing a smart thing now by comissioning that 'Origins' 'spinoff'. Lessen the huge hiatuses by having another show that Heroes fans will watch. I suppose it's much easier that way than just making 30 episodes of Heroes a year, because you don't have to use the main actors and can film them at the same time. But good plan, NBC. Shows flexible thinking in the changing world of TV. Similarly, a very good idea to wrap up most of the ongoing plotlines in one season and start new ones for the next, rather than dangling us along like some other shows I could mention.
The finale was pretty good, although a little predictable in a number of respects (heck, I predicted a little bit of the resolution months ago, altered only by the fact that we didn't know the specifics of how Peter's powers work back then). But the 'teaser' for Volume 2 rocked.
I'd like to go on record here and make my guess for the new "big bad" they teased, 'worse than Sylar'. My reasoning is as follows:
1) Season 2 is called Generations.
2) Molly presumably hasn't just searched for everyone in the world and said, 'oh my god he's looking back at me'.
3) While the Company had her, her powers were hampered by her illness, so it probably wasn't anyone they asked her to find. Even if it was, she wouldn't know he was worse than the Bogeyman.
So, from all that we get:
4) She knew him, personally, before her parents died.
and combining that with point 1, we get my theory: The next Big Bad is a relative of Molly, probably her grandfather, and she considers him worse than Sylar because he was abusive in some way.
Lost: The first 6 episodes stumbled badly. There were a few good ones, but not enough. After the long break, again the first few were a little weak, but it started picking up again. Desmond's visions had better be gone for good though, because you've already used "You're going to die, Charlie!" as the impetus for 3 episodes this year, and, well, that's more than enough of that kind of plot, even if Charlie does seem to be dead (but with this show I'm not putting it past them to bring him back).
The finale... okay, I hadn't heard any spoilers or anything, but the first flashback I thought, "oh, crap, is this a flash-forward to after the island?". Later on I started to doubt my initial guess, and then I happened to read a spoiler from someone who confirmed that it was. My feelings on it were a bit mixed.
If this was a one off, I think it's a bad move. However, we've done three seasons. We have three seasons left to go. If this is a 'tipping point', and the next three seasons are all flash forwards, fleshing out the future bit by bit as all the other stories have fleshed out the past... it could be quite cool. Really, the past is almost all mined out for the main characters. A lot of flashbacks have gone over old ground, and setting up new surprises gets wearying after a while. So I'm hoping this marks a big change for the show.
Oh, and Charlie? You didn't die because you had to in order to get everyone rescued. You died because you were an idiot. I mean really, it wouldn't have taken that much time to get on the other side of the door before closing it. Then you and Desmond could have dived out. Your death wasn't redemptive or destiny, it was Darwinism. You were too stupid to live, and you took yourself out of the gene pool. Bravo. Luckily, Aaron wasn't yours, so he might have a chance.
The Office: Again, NBC with the flexible thinking of ordering 30 episodes next year, instead of the traditional 22-24. Good year, pretty much. Nice handling of the Jim/Pam plot and the background characters begin to shine more and more. Of course, the conversion of a long term sexual tension into an actual relationship is the biggest pitfall of comedic television. They managed to stall it with the revelation of last year turning into a 'split office' for a little while until the merger.
Prison Break: The 'being on the run' plot started well, but about halfway through the year it started running out of steam and getting too convoluted with the changes. I am however surprised and pleased they wrapped up some plots, and set up a new one. I'm not too sure how that'll turn out, though, quality wise, but a Panamanian Prison could be a cool setting for S3.
Supernatural: Overall, a good second season, despite the death of the father. I didn't like the resolution to the whole 'psychics' plot, but the plot itself was good, as was the fun of the increasing pressure from the police department. Ellen and the Roadhouse were a nice addition, and I'm hoping Ellen and Bobby become more permanent members of the cast. Back to the psychic plot for a moment. The resolution, like I said... I didn't like it. It just felt too rushed and... pointless, to do a Battle Royale of them all (and not even all of them, since by the time Sam showed up most of them had been eliminated). Dean's sacrifice in the last episode was a little expected but good nonetheless, and provides a nice driving force for next year. Still, again, I was disappointed with the yellow-eyed demon plot. This whole thing was just to open up a hellmouth. But... well, it's stupid. Samuel Colt, demon hunter, creates a demon trap. Apparently to seal a hellmouth. That can only be opened with his own gun.
Okay, but let's say you're a demon hunter. WHY WOULD YOU SEAL A GATE TO HELL AND THEN GIVE IT A KEY. When sealing off hell, you don't leave a key.
So, meh. Kinda weak on the plot of the ending, although the emotional beats of the season were pretty strong.
I'm a little mixed on John Winchester's return. If his escape from hell was being used as a means to get him on the show more permanently (having clawed himself from the bottom of hell to be at the door when it opened), it could have been cool. Instead they gave him the cheesy 'ascending to heaven' ending. You know what I would have preferred to that? Him getting sucked back in, and thus leaving an eventual plot outline where Sam and Dean literally storm hell to rescue him and get him back. Now that would be a cool plot. Maybe they'll do that for Dean after failing to save him. Have Ellen, Bobby, and Sam use the Hellgate to sneak into hell and rescue Dean. That would make a kickass S3 finale.
Stargate Atlantis: Good year overall, though as I recall a bit too much treading water with weak episodes. Not sure about all of the twists and turns leading to the next season, and the new Replicators still worry me as an ongoing threat. You can only have them so many times.
24: Season started out okay, but by the end I was just bored and found I wasn't watching it much anymore - and this was after taping it because it was on the same time as Heroes. I literally was watching it on tape and got distracted, and when I missed plot events, instead of rewinding to see what I missed, I let it run. Season Finale was likewise a bit of a yawn.
Still MIA (shows that either have summer debuts or have yet to air
in Canada, or are still ongoing as of this writing)
The 4400: Can't wait to see how the serum that makes people into 4400 changes things.
Dead Zone: Kind of a slow burn, the everyday episodes are enjoyable but not spectacular. Not excited about it in the sense that I can't wait for it to come back, but I'll still be watching it.
Doctor Who: Okay season, but I've already commented ont he Daleks problem and they really need to move farther afield from Earth, New Earth, and Ships from Earth. Some alien planets, please! I do like Martha however, more than Rose... I just wish they'd drop the whole sexual tension thing with the Doctor. Also, I'm getting a little sick of the SuperDoctor, able to survive things mere humans can't, like radiation, freezing, etc. I'd rather him be more or less human just really really smart, rather than superman. Dropping the sonic screwdriver is another thing that would help in this regard. With the screwdriver, he has a super power, essentially technopathy. Without it, he's a smart guy who could perhaps rig technological systems any way he wants. Finally... I think the time has come for RTD to move on. I want some new blood in charge of the series who can make the kind of changes that RTD doesn't seem to want to. Things like a lot of the above problems. Sure, his vision brought back Doctor Who, but, frankly, I think it was more a matter of being the right time, and any decent writer who did a decent Who with a good cast would have made it successful. RTD just happened to be the decent writer, but he's annoyingly sloppy in a few ways.
Cancellations/Ending Shows: Drive, Jericho, SG1, VM
Drive: We hardly knew you. I was still mixed on it overall, but I was enjoying it, and Fillion was fun to watch. A bit annoying that there won't be any closure even if they air the last two of the filmed episodes. Still, I can't be all that disappointed.
Jericho: I was never 100% thrilled with this show. The concept was always much better than the execution. Still, about midway through the season they started to pull it together and were producing better episodes with interesting ongoing subplots, and the courage to make major changes and inflict deaths on the main cast. There was always a little bit of stupid and cheese and stupid cheese throughout (which continued to the last episode where a guy had this stupid 'If I don't stop looking at the satellite before all these numbers lock, they'll have traced my location!' when the satellite was locked onto the general area he was in already, and the people he was afraid of knew he was there. Anyway, I'm more annoyed at being left on a cliffhanger, but there's apparently some slim hope of resolution of some sort.
Stargate SG1: The oldest of the departing shows, I'll miss this, it gave me 10 long years of mostly good TV. It had a good run, longer than most, so it's hard to be too upset, especially since one spinoff is still ongoing and there are at least 2 direct-to-DVD movies coming. But you'll be missed. Indeed. It had a good season, too, for the most part. I was a little annoyed at the casual treatment of the Asgard in the last ep, but for the most part I liked what happened. There was a plot where I imagine that if the show had been coming back, the plot would have been extended and been quite cool.
Veronica Mars: Already wrote about this a bit, but that was pre finale. I'm still more disappointed that we won't be seeing 'Veronica in the FBI' than I am that the show itself is being cancelled. But how was this year? Worst of the three. Which isn't to say bad, just not as good as others. The main reason for this was the lack of supporting cast. I understand part of this was to keep costs down, but it just doesn't feel like Veronica Mars anymore without Mac, Wallace, and so on lurking around the fringes. Here it felt like they absent and thus Veronica's world felt disconnected. I didn't mind the mini-mystery arcs, but I felt something was lacking in the last set where there was no overarching mystery. I like the formula of the first two seasons best - big overarching mystery for the year, smaller mysteries involving characters and such, and a minimystery in each ep.
The finale was pretty good though. It wasn't perfect - Dick's sudden introspection seemed to both come out of nowhere and go nowhere. But the first hour was a classic 'clear Weevil' plot (even though we already did one this year), and the second half included my favorite thing about Veronica. Her 'full of righteous anger, and ready to make life miserable for anyone who gets in her way' mode. Particularly the bit with the guy who wouldn't give her the name of the person he got the video from. I think the ending worked well overall... not a cliffhanger, not completely resolved, but enough implied to make it work as a series ending, while not completely closing the door on any other options.
But Rob Thomas is such a whore.
The Coming Year
The networks have released their TV upfronts, detailing the new shows going on the network. A good one-stop site for it all is here.
Shows I'm interested in or vaguely interested in: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, New Amsterdam, Pushing Daisies
So far, the most exciting of the new shows for me is The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I liked the Terminator movies, for the most part, and the trailer looked good. Having Summer Glau kicking ass for the forces of good is _always_ a benefit. Of course, it's not airing until January.
There are a few other shows I'm vaguely interested in... these are ones that I'll check out the first episode, but have no excitement for.
Pushing Daisies: This is about a guy who discovers that he can touch dead people/things and bring them back to life... but if he touches them a second time, they die again, presumably for good. I dunno, the concept sounds interesting enough, so I'll give it a look.
New Amsterdam: Two 'immortal detective' shows are debuting this year. Moonlight, featuring a vampire PI and this one, featuring a guy who just happens to be immortal, who lived back in New Amsterdam, but who is now a cop in NY. Vampire PI show just feels so... done. In Angel, to be specific. And the description of the show didn't wow me. I'm done with vampires for a while unless they'd done really really well, and "Let's make him a PI!" doesn't scream of originality. But with New Amsterdam, there's a chance. So I'll give it a look.
Because it seems to be airing in a Timeslot Gap, I'll probably give Journeyman a time travel show that sounds vaguely Quantum Leapish.
It seems Babylon Fields, the zombie apocalypse dramedy, didn't make it onto a fall schedule. I'm of mised feelings on this. On the one hand, it might have been okay. On the other hand, it wasn't really a _traditional_ zombie apocalypse story, since it was about the zombies trying to resume their old lives. With Babylon Fields not coming to air, it still leaves a small chance for a _real_ zombie apocalypse series to eventually get pitched, without fear of competition. You know, ones with small bands of survivors trying to survive in a world of mindless, shambling zombie hords.
Overall, though, it seems I lost 3 shows and gained 1 I'll probably like and 3 maybes-but-with-no-particular-confidence. And of course the big one I'm interested in isn't starting until January anyway.
This is of course leaving out some of the new offerings from cable networks like the Sci-Fi Channel. Some of them might well be good, but they're a little less on my radar. The only one I can recall off hand coming up is the new Flash Gordon, which might be worth a look, or might suck completely. Such is often the way it is with Sci-FI Channel series.
My fall viewing schedule, Monday to Friday:
Monday:
8pm: Prison Break
9pm: Heroes
10pm: Journeyman
Tuesday:
8pm: New Amsterdam
Wednesday:
8pm Pushing Daisies
Thursday:
9pm: The Office
9pm: Grey's Anatomy (tape one, watch the other, probably)
Friday: I usually catch up on Supernatural where it airs on my local channel. Don't know if that'll continue, but it's a possibility.
Saturday/Saturday I sometimes get local broadcasts of US cable shows, plus there's always the typical animation block.
Once January rolls around I'll have BSG, Lost, 24, and Sarah Connor Chronicles
Okay, here's what I thought about the major shows I watched this year. They're not the only shows I watched, but the ones where I made it a point to watch them. There will be spoilers, in some cases for the season finale, as well as a look ahead at what's coming. There will be some ranting.
Ongoing shows: BSG, GA, Heroes, Lost, Office, Prison Break, Supernatural, SGA, 24
Battlestar Galactica: Liked the start of the season, the middle kind of dragged, and the end... well, I liked it except for the whole 'last 4 Cylons' crap. It still bugs me. If they don't handle it very very well, I'll be disappointed and probably consider it the 'jump the shark' moment for the series. It still might be worth watching, but the series as a whole will be lessened because of it.
Grey's Anatomy: Really lost a lot of interest for me this year. Izzie was crazy for far too long, way too much time spent on Derek/Meredith. And the finale? Okay, I get that Burke had to go because of the behind the scenes stuff. Wish he didn't, though. Still... George failing his exams? What crap. Plus his whole marriage subplot... grr. I like my George smart like he was in the first two years. I don't mind George and Izzy, but don't like how it was handled. I always have a personal bias against 'affair' plots. This one was probably handled as best as it could be, under the circumstances, but it still sours me on the whole relationship some. I want him to leave his wife because they don't really fit together, rather than leave her to be with Izzy. Meredith and Derek continue to bore the hell out of me. It's a bad sign when your title character is in danger of dying and your reaction is to cheer for it, or when she's in danger of flunking because of a personal issue and you want her to. Of course that's nothing new.
Heroes: Best new series of the year! Of course, aside from Jericho, it was the only new series of the year that I really watched. But still, exceeded my expectations. Started a little weak, but once it got moving, it was great. Can't wait for S2 - and NBC's at least doing a smart thing now by comissioning that 'Origins' 'spinoff'. Lessen the huge hiatuses by having another show that Heroes fans will watch. I suppose it's much easier that way than just making 30 episodes of Heroes a year, because you don't have to use the main actors and can film them at the same time. But good plan, NBC. Shows flexible thinking in the changing world of TV. Similarly, a very good idea to wrap up most of the ongoing plotlines in one season and start new ones for the next, rather than dangling us along like some other shows I could mention.
The finale was pretty good, although a little predictable in a number of respects (heck, I predicted a little bit of the resolution months ago, altered only by the fact that we didn't know the specifics of how Peter's powers work back then). But the 'teaser' for Volume 2 rocked.
I'd like to go on record here and make my guess for the new "big bad" they teased, 'worse than Sylar'. My reasoning is as follows:
1) Season 2 is called Generations.
2) Molly presumably hasn't just searched for everyone in the world and said, 'oh my god he's looking back at me'.
3) While the Company had her, her powers were hampered by her illness, so it probably wasn't anyone they asked her to find. Even if it was, she wouldn't know he was worse than the Bogeyman.
So, from all that we get:
4) She knew him, personally, before her parents died.
and combining that with point 1, we get my theory: The next Big Bad is a relative of Molly, probably her grandfather, and she considers him worse than Sylar because he was abusive in some way.
Lost: The first 6 episodes stumbled badly. There were a few good ones, but not enough. After the long break, again the first few were a little weak, but it started picking up again. Desmond's visions had better be gone for good though, because you've already used "You're going to die, Charlie!" as the impetus for 3 episodes this year, and, well, that's more than enough of that kind of plot, even if Charlie does seem to be dead (but with this show I'm not putting it past them to bring him back).
The finale... okay, I hadn't heard any spoilers or anything, but the first flashback I thought, "oh, crap, is this a flash-forward to after the island?". Later on I started to doubt my initial guess, and then I happened to read a spoiler from someone who confirmed that it was. My feelings on it were a bit mixed.
If this was a one off, I think it's a bad move. However, we've done three seasons. We have three seasons left to go. If this is a 'tipping point', and the next three seasons are all flash forwards, fleshing out the future bit by bit as all the other stories have fleshed out the past... it could be quite cool. Really, the past is almost all mined out for the main characters. A lot of flashbacks have gone over old ground, and setting up new surprises gets wearying after a while. So I'm hoping this marks a big change for the show.
Oh, and Charlie? You didn't die because you had to in order to get everyone rescued. You died because you were an idiot. I mean really, it wouldn't have taken that much time to get on the other side of the door before closing it. Then you and Desmond could have dived out. Your death wasn't redemptive or destiny, it was Darwinism. You were too stupid to live, and you took yourself out of the gene pool. Bravo. Luckily, Aaron wasn't yours, so he might have a chance.
The Office: Again, NBC with the flexible thinking of ordering 30 episodes next year, instead of the traditional 22-24. Good year, pretty much. Nice handling of the Jim/Pam plot and the background characters begin to shine more and more. Of course, the conversion of a long term sexual tension into an actual relationship is the biggest pitfall of comedic television. They managed to stall it with the revelation of last year turning into a 'split office' for a little while until the merger.
Prison Break: The 'being on the run' plot started well, but about halfway through the year it started running out of steam and getting too convoluted with the changes. I am however surprised and pleased they wrapped up some plots, and set up a new one. I'm not too sure how that'll turn out, though, quality wise, but a Panamanian Prison could be a cool setting for S3.
Supernatural: Overall, a good second season, despite the death of the father. I didn't like the resolution to the whole 'psychics' plot, but the plot itself was good, as was the fun of the increasing pressure from the police department. Ellen and the Roadhouse were a nice addition, and I'm hoping Ellen and Bobby become more permanent members of the cast. Back to the psychic plot for a moment. The resolution, like I said... I didn't like it. It just felt too rushed and... pointless, to do a Battle Royale of them all (and not even all of them, since by the time Sam showed up most of them had been eliminated). Dean's sacrifice in the last episode was a little expected but good nonetheless, and provides a nice driving force for next year. Still, again, I was disappointed with the yellow-eyed demon plot. This whole thing was just to open up a hellmouth. But... well, it's stupid. Samuel Colt, demon hunter, creates a demon trap. Apparently to seal a hellmouth. That can only be opened with his own gun.
Okay, but let's say you're a demon hunter. WHY WOULD YOU SEAL A GATE TO HELL AND THEN GIVE IT A KEY. When sealing off hell, you don't leave a key.
So, meh. Kinda weak on the plot of the ending, although the emotional beats of the season were pretty strong.
I'm a little mixed on John Winchester's return. If his escape from hell was being used as a means to get him on the show more permanently (having clawed himself from the bottom of hell to be at the door when it opened), it could have been cool. Instead they gave him the cheesy 'ascending to heaven' ending. You know what I would have preferred to that? Him getting sucked back in, and thus leaving an eventual plot outline where Sam and Dean literally storm hell to rescue him and get him back. Now that would be a cool plot. Maybe they'll do that for Dean after failing to save him. Have Ellen, Bobby, and Sam use the Hellgate to sneak into hell and rescue Dean. That would make a kickass S3 finale.
Stargate Atlantis: Good year overall, though as I recall a bit too much treading water with weak episodes. Not sure about all of the twists and turns leading to the next season, and the new Replicators still worry me as an ongoing threat. You can only have them so many times.
24: Season started out okay, but by the end I was just bored and found I wasn't watching it much anymore - and this was after taping it because it was on the same time as Heroes. I literally was watching it on tape and got distracted, and when I missed plot events, instead of rewinding to see what I missed, I let it run. Season Finale was likewise a bit of a yawn.
Still MIA (shows that either have summer debuts or have yet to air
in Canada, or are still ongoing as of this writing)
The 4400: Can't wait to see how the serum that makes people into 4400 changes things.
Dead Zone: Kind of a slow burn, the everyday episodes are enjoyable but not spectacular. Not excited about it in the sense that I can't wait for it to come back, but I'll still be watching it.
Doctor Who: Okay season, but I've already commented ont he Daleks problem and they really need to move farther afield from Earth, New Earth, and Ships from Earth. Some alien planets, please! I do like Martha however, more than Rose... I just wish they'd drop the whole sexual tension thing with the Doctor. Also, I'm getting a little sick of the SuperDoctor, able to survive things mere humans can't, like radiation, freezing, etc. I'd rather him be more or less human just really really smart, rather than superman. Dropping the sonic screwdriver is another thing that would help in this regard. With the screwdriver, he has a super power, essentially technopathy. Without it, he's a smart guy who could perhaps rig technological systems any way he wants. Finally... I think the time has come for RTD to move on. I want some new blood in charge of the series who can make the kind of changes that RTD doesn't seem to want to. Things like a lot of the above problems. Sure, his vision brought back Doctor Who, but, frankly, I think it was more a matter of being the right time, and any decent writer who did a decent Who with a good cast would have made it successful. RTD just happened to be the decent writer, but he's annoyingly sloppy in a few ways.
Cancellations/Ending Shows: Drive, Jericho, SG1, VM
Drive: We hardly knew you. I was still mixed on it overall, but I was enjoying it, and Fillion was fun to watch. A bit annoying that there won't be any closure even if they air the last two of the filmed episodes. Still, I can't be all that disappointed.
Jericho: I was never 100% thrilled with this show. The concept was always much better than the execution. Still, about midway through the season they started to pull it together and were producing better episodes with interesting ongoing subplots, and the courage to make major changes and inflict deaths on the main cast. There was always a little bit of stupid and cheese and stupid cheese throughout (which continued to the last episode where a guy had this stupid 'If I don't stop looking at the satellite before all these numbers lock, they'll have traced my location!' when the satellite was locked onto the general area he was in already, and the people he was afraid of knew he was there. Anyway, I'm more annoyed at being left on a cliffhanger, but there's apparently some slim hope of resolution of some sort.
Stargate SG1: The oldest of the departing shows, I'll miss this, it gave me 10 long years of mostly good TV. It had a good run, longer than most, so it's hard to be too upset, especially since one spinoff is still ongoing and there are at least 2 direct-to-DVD movies coming. But you'll be missed. Indeed. It had a good season, too, for the most part. I was a little annoyed at the casual treatment of the Asgard in the last ep, but for the most part I liked what happened. There was a plot where I imagine that if the show had been coming back, the plot would have been extended and been quite cool.
Veronica Mars: Already wrote about this a bit, but that was pre finale. I'm still more disappointed that we won't be seeing 'Veronica in the FBI' than I am that the show itself is being cancelled. But how was this year? Worst of the three. Which isn't to say bad, just not as good as others. The main reason for this was the lack of supporting cast. I understand part of this was to keep costs down, but it just doesn't feel like Veronica Mars anymore without Mac, Wallace, and so on lurking around the fringes. Here it felt like they absent and thus Veronica's world felt disconnected. I didn't mind the mini-mystery arcs, but I felt something was lacking in the last set where there was no overarching mystery. I like the formula of the first two seasons best - big overarching mystery for the year, smaller mysteries involving characters and such, and a minimystery in each ep.
The finale was pretty good though. It wasn't perfect - Dick's sudden introspection seemed to both come out of nowhere and go nowhere. But the first hour was a classic 'clear Weevil' plot (even though we already did one this year), and the second half included my favorite thing about Veronica. Her 'full of righteous anger, and ready to make life miserable for anyone who gets in her way' mode. Particularly the bit with the guy who wouldn't give her the name of the person he got the video from. I think the ending worked well overall... not a cliffhanger, not completely resolved, but enough implied to make it work as a series ending, while not completely closing the door on any other options.
But Rob Thomas is such a whore.
The Coming Year
The networks have released their TV upfronts, detailing the new shows going on the network. A good one-stop site for it all is here.
Shows I'm interested in or vaguely interested in: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, New Amsterdam, Pushing Daisies
So far, the most exciting of the new shows for me is The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I liked the Terminator movies, for the most part, and the trailer looked good. Having Summer Glau kicking ass for the forces of good is _always_ a benefit. Of course, it's not airing until January.
There are a few other shows I'm vaguely interested in... these are ones that I'll check out the first episode, but have no excitement for.
Pushing Daisies: This is about a guy who discovers that he can touch dead people/things and bring them back to life... but if he touches them a second time, they die again, presumably for good. I dunno, the concept sounds interesting enough, so I'll give it a look.
New Amsterdam: Two 'immortal detective' shows are debuting this year. Moonlight, featuring a vampire PI and this one, featuring a guy who just happens to be immortal, who lived back in New Amsterdam, but who is now a cop in NY. Vampire PI show just feels so... done. In Angel, to be specific. And the description of the show didn't wow me. I'm done with vampires for a while unless they'd done really really well, and "Let's make him a PI!" doesn't scream of originality. But with New Amsterdam, there's a chance. So I'll give it a look.
Because it seems to be airing in a Timeslot Gap, I'll probably give Journeyman a time travel show that sounds vaguely Quantum Leapish.
It seems Babylon Fields, the zombie apocalypse dramedy, didn't make it onto a fall schedule. I'm of mised feelings on this. On the one hand, it might have been okay. On the other hand, it wasn't really a _traditional_ zombie apocalypse story, since it was about the zombies trying to resume their old lives. With Babylon Fields not coming to air, it still leaves a small chance for a _real_ zombie apocalypse series to eventually get pitched, without fear of competition. You know, ones with small bands of survivors trying to survive in a world of mindless, shambling zombie hords.
Overall, though, it seems I lost 3 shows and gained 1 I'll probably like and 3 maybes-but-with-no-particular-confidence. And of course the big one I'm interested in isn't starting until January anyway.
This is of course leaving out some of the new offerings from cable networks like the Sci-Fi Channel. Some of them might well be good, but they're a little less on my radar. The only one I can recall off hand coming up is the new Flash Gordon, which might be worth a look, or might suck completely. Such is often the way it is with Sci-FI Channel series.
My fall viewing schedule, Monday to Friday:
Monday:
8pm: Prison Break
9pm: Heroes
10pm: Journeyman
Tuesday:
8pm: New Amsterdam
Wednesday:
8pm Pushing Daisies
Thursday:
9pm: The Office
9pm: Grey's Anatomy (tape one, watch the other, probably)
Friday: I usually catch up on Supernatural where it airs on my local channel. Don't know if that'll continue, but it's a possibility.
Saturday/Saturday I sometimes get local broadcasts of US cable shows, plus there's always the typical animation block.
Once January rolls around I'll have BSG, Lost, 24, and Sarah Connor Chronicles