We’ve had to pare down the list considerably. There just aren’t enough leisure hours for many new shows on our TV schedule. Hubby and I sat down together and did some triage, and we decided that some shows were “must watch” and some were “might watch.” This is our list of new shows:
Musts:
Eureka
Heroes
Ugly Betty
Dexter
Maybes:
Vanished
Jericho
The Nine
Shark
Six Degrees
I’ve liked almost everything new I’ve seen this year. Maybe it’s just because I’m so desperate for tv after being in the Reality tv wasteland for so long.
Really Like New:
Shark
Heroes
Studio 60 (Matt Perry is brilliant. I knew he was good; I didn’t know he was that good.)
Smith (Well, Jim really likes it. I’m more “meh.”)
Will Watch; Not Super Thrilled New:
Stand/Off
New to Me that I Really Like:
4400
Supernatural
Returning Favourites:
Battlestar Galactica
Corner Gas
The Office
My Name is Earl
Thank you. I was thinking about starting a thread like this. I did something similar a year ago, handicapping the new shows and I failed miserably. I mean, who thought Ghost Whisperer would last six weeks, let alone get renewed for another season?
Oh well. Let’s try again.
New shows:
Studio 60: Cautious liking so far. I am generally wary of movies about the movie business, or television about the television business. I like Sorkin, and will probably keep watching.
Heroes: Interesting enough so far. The conspiracy angle is a bit lame, but I’ll stick with it. I’d like to see where they go with this.
Vanished: Gee, more conspiracy? Masons? My grandfather was a Mason, dammit! Curiosity may keep me a few more shows, if only to see how they shift the lead role.
*Kidnapped: * May be shelved? Huh. I liked this, although the plot line about the good cop on the verge of retirement is the plot equivalent of “It was a dark and stormy night…” I’ll watch it until it goes away.
Jericho: I watched the first three show. Those are three hours of my life that I would like back, please. I kind of like Ulrich, and Alicia Coppola is hot, but not enough to waste time better spent cleaning grout in the bathroom.
Smith: I like it, but then I like any heist/caper genre movie or TV show. Like Heist. Or Thieves. Or T.H.E. Cat. Or It Takes a Thief. And evidently most people do not (other than the last one, and only because it was Robert Wagner). It seems that morality wins out over greed. Pity.
Shark: If it weren’t for James Woods, I wouldn’t have bothered. An expensive lawyer changes sides and goes to work for the good guys! Hooray! I don’t see me watching this much more.
Old Shows:
CSI Miami: It’s like a wreck on the highway. You can’t turn away, and you know that you will regret it later. Self righteous posturing. David Caruso holding a gun in a very menacing way, while presumably squinting behind sunglasses. Acting that makes me appreciate the early work of Ronald Reagan and Charlton Heston. Why do I do this to myself? It must be the swimsuits and implants. This week I kick…
*Lost: * Oh no you don’t. I haven’t gone all this way to give up now! This will be my new The X-Files, and I will watch until the show’s producers have drained every drop of creative blood from the dessicated carcass.
The Unit: I had reservations about this, but I think that Mamet’s touch is ultimately what made me watch again. It doesn’t pull any punches about what soldiers are asked to do, and how they can be hung out to dry by their superiors. In fact, their missions are far less interesting to me than the battles their wives fight for survival.
Criminal Minds: A guilty pleasure. I think that they are running out of different types of sociopaths, and I’d certainly hate to wish for all sorts of new types of death and dismemberment on large groups of people for my own entertainment, but so far it’s kept my interest.
The Office: I don’t watch many sitcoms faithfully, but this and Scrubs are always on my list.
Heroes: The first episode was little more than a rip-off of X-Men (complete with the “next step in evolution” speech) and Unbreakable (somber, reluctant heroes slowly discovering their powers), with lame dialogue and mostly uninteresting characters. The second episode was much better. Maybe once they get past the initial set-up, the story will start to pick up speed. Plus, I like the Japanese guy. He’s a fellow geek!
Studio 60: I know a lot of people are going ga-ga over this, but I found it pretentious, preachy, and self-indulgent. Yes, the dialogue is witty and fast paced . . . but when *every character * talks the same way, it all sounds fake. The previews of *30 Rock * look better.
Jericho: I’ve only seen the first episode so far . . . could be good, depending on where they take it. Plus any show with the scruffy half of Simon & Simon deserves a chance.
Standoff: Just like Moonlighting, only with hostages! And not entertaining.
Kidnapped: I liked the pilot – better written than the similarly-themed Vanished – but it’s been sentenced to the Saturday Timeslot of Doom and told to finish the story by episode 13. Too bad . . . on the other hand, I’m glad it will at least have a chance to end. If more cancelled shows at least got that much, there would be fewer pissed-off fans.
Vanished: Not as bad as some reviews have said, but whether it ever gets to the level of good depends on whether or not the writers know where they’re going. The most recent plot twist . . .
killing off the lead character without warning
. . . may have been a great way to shock and throw off viewers, or just a move of desperation, I’m not sure which.
It’s moving from Wednesday to Saturday? That might help. Wednesday’s overloaded with watchable shows.
Not much more info to go on:
Grrrrrr. :mad:
One other show I forgot to mention was Knights of Prosperity which I’ll give a chance once it premieres.
I’ve seen:
Standoff, Smith, Vanished, Kidnapped, Justice, The Class, Jericho
Thus far I’ve crossed all but the last two off my list. Every other one was really disappointing.
I’d like to see The Nine, Help Me Help You, and Dexter. One’s online, and another is on in-demand, but I’m not sure about HMHY.
Sticking with:
*Jericho
Heroes
Ugly Betty
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
*
Fell asleep three quarters of the way through the pilot and will have to watch the rest on the internet:
The Nine
Still waiting for:
30 Rock
Picking Up:
Ugly Betty
Heroes
Battlestar Galactica
Keeping
South Park
Eureka
Stargate Atlantis
The Ultimate Fighter
In Grave Danger of Being Dropped
Lost
Desperate Housewives
Damn, that’s a lot more TV than I realized I watched. We Tivo it and watch it at our convenience with no commercials, though.
old shows I’m sticking with: My Name is Earl, Grey’s Anatomy, Smallville, One Tree Hill, Gilmore Girls, Boston legal, What about Brian, Corner Gas, Scrubs
old shows dropped: ER, Desperate housewives, Law and order Criminal Intent, Law and Order Special Victims Unit,
New Shows I like: The Class, The Nine, Jericho (sort of, I really only tolerate it), Studio 60, Heroes (on the verge), Six Degrees
New Shows dropped: The rest.
Of the new shows, Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip is far and away my favorite, but The Class is a close second. The others I’m really just giving a chance to get going. ER finally lost me because it struck me sometime a few weeks ago that I really hadn’t liked the show since George Clooney left. I never really liked Desperate Housewives.
This list doesn’t include HBO. I like everything on that channel except Lucky Louie.
TiVo: second only to my daughter in my heart.
Nothing new this season has really grabbed me.
A possibility I might stay with:
Heroes
Studio 60
Shark (eh, maybe not)
Old Favorites I absolutely will keep devoted to:
House
24
My Name is Earl
The Office
CSI - haven’t watched since the first episode this season, and I really didn’t like it. Remaining episodes are in the Now Playing list, but I have no real spark to watch them.
Will Give a try to:
30 Rock
I forgot Ugly Betty. I quite enjoy that show in a guilty pleasure sort of way.
New shows I saw and dumped: Standoff, Smith.
New show I’m watching because I’m a sucker for anything post-apocalyptic: Jericho.
New-ish show that my husband and I like to watch together: The Unit.
There are lots of others that sound interesting, and I’m sure I’ll get around to watching eventually.
Ooh, “Jericho” is post-apocalyptic? I did not know that. I’ll have to give it a go.