I'm back! I know you're all relieved and super excited. Please contain yourselves...that's just embarrassing. Sorry for the delay. You can blame Mike Hefer for getting me addicted to a web series named Strip Search.
So I've got some catching up to do and I'm going to do my best to get to it quickly. We'll start with the next part of the Season Rundown.
The Following (Fox): I skipped over this one in an effort to comment about my disappointment about Go On. The other reason is that I'm doing this rundown off my series recordings, which The Following is no longer a part of. This show had such a promising start. It was fresh and interesting and the episode with the siege of the farmhouse was spectacular. However, the repeated incompetence of every branch of law enforcement and the sameness of the plots started to grate on me and the thoroughly unsatisfying finale sealed the deal. I think Kevin Bacon and Shawn Ashmore did great jobs but unless season 2 starts getting stellar reviews, I don't foresee giving this another shot.
Grey's Anatomy (ABC): This is the first season of the show I've watched weekly since season...3, maybe? I would usually just catch up on Netflix when it came out but I started to like the show again the past couple of seasons so I decided to go back to being a weekly viewer. I think the show has grown up a lot. Does it still have some pretty childish drama? Sure, but I choose to focus on characters that have legit problems that I can care about. I liked the new set of interns this year, mostly because I knew a couple from other things. I thought it was a relatively strong season and I'm looking forward to its next and probably final season.
Modern Family (ABC): Probably their best season since the original. Consistently one of the funniest shows on TV. If you're not watching it, shame on you.
Nashville (ABC): I had very high expectations for this show going into the Pilot and I was honestly pretty disappointed. I stuck it out because I love Connie Britton and Scarlett and Gunnar sounded great together. About midway through the season, they pulled a twist that was very fresh and surprising to me and I started to take more notice. A couple weeks later, this was very much appointment television for me. Now, all that being said, the finale was VERY soapy and over the top on several plotlines and *spoilers for last night* we got every soap opera cliche, an alcoholic falling off the wagon, a paternity reveal, a federal investigation, a car accident, a pregnancy, a proposal, and a closeted homosexual confronted with his dirty past. It was all just a little much to cram into a single hour of television. My eyes almost rolled out of my head by the end. It was "oh look, Rayna and Deacon are arguing in slow motion while driving a vehicle, what could possibly be coming? Oh, look, their car flipped a bajillion times, I'm so surprised.......... *spoilers over* The music was typically excellent and the show in general has reignited my love of country music that's been dead since middle school. I'll stick around for season 2 and hope they pull some original stories out of all the cliches thrown in my face last night.
New Girl (FOX): No sophomore slump stink on this show. Two words for you: True American. Best fake drinking game ever.
True American: This is the best video of it I could find but doesn't do it justice. 1, 2, 3, 4 JFK! FDR!
This show continues to make me laugh and surprise me on a fairly consistent basis. The progression of the will they/won't they was a pleasant surprise and I'm curious to see where they go with it. The only negative I will say is they spent an awful lot of time getting us to invest in CeCe's wedding, an event we knew would never actually happen.
The Office (NBC): I won't post any spoilers on the finale. I will just say that it's easily one of my favorite series finales ever. Excellent end to an excellent season and an excellent show. We will miss you The Office, but we're glad you went out on a high.
Once Upon a Time (ABC): In my opinion, this show knocked it out of the park this year. Sure, there was a small slump in the middle of the season but the first 7-8 episodes and the last 6-7 were something pretty special. The show consistently works to improve its formula. Changing the game and putting people in new situations. After successfully juggling 3 plot lines in season 2 (Storybrooke, Enchanted Forest Past, and Enchanted Forest Present), I'll be curious to see if they can do the same with seemingly 4 plotlines in season 3 (Storybrooke, Enchanted Forest Past and Present, and now Neverland)
Parenthood (NBC): This show is simply amazing and thankfully, after a criminally short order of 14 episodes this season, this fall will be the beginning of a 22 episode season. The show handled almost every storyline perfectly last year and I'm looking forward to spending more time with the Bravermans.
Parks and Rec (NBC): Best comedy on TV, hands down. Moving on.
Psych (USA): After a really disappointing season last time and an almost year break, I was very wary of Psych this season. However, they came back with a vengeance and an energy I haven't seen for a couple years from them. The 100th episode Clue homage was one of my favorite hours of TV ever and giants leaps in the main relationship of the show have been handled extremely well. I'm looking forward to the two-hour musical episode to close out the season. If any show can pull off something that ridiculous, it's Psych.
Revenge (ABC): What was a solid guilty pleasure show in season 1 became a bit of a chore to watch in Season 2. I'll probably watch the premiere of season 3 to see how the new showrunner handles the cliffhangers but I'm probably done after that. I have way too many shows that look interesting next year to continue on with shows that don't engage me more than half time.
Smash (NBC): Oh Smash, you fixed some problems of season 1, just to replace them with new problems in season 2. Megan Hilty as Ivy continues to be the one consistent bright spot in a sea of hit-or-miss characters. The music for the new musical was consistently stellar but the obnoxiousness of one of its writers made it hard to really enjoy. I'm sad that this show never really reached the potential it's premise had but I can't say I'm terribly sad to see it go.
Supernatural (CW): Yet another show that rebounded like a boss from a lackluster year. I thought the show had finally run its course after the very poorly executed Leviathans plot in season 7. However, this show came back with a season that will probably rank top 3 for me (below seasons 4 and 5)
The Big Bang Theory (CBS): This is really the only "traditional" sitcom I still watch. It's really hit or miss for me. There are things that I've found hilarious, like an entire episode dedicated to Sheldon's reaction to the cancellation of Alphas, and things that I've had to sit through to get to the good stuff, like most things involving Raj.
The Good Wife (CBS): Sweet Baby Jeebus this show is so freaking good. Season 1 was solid TV, Season 2 was mind-blowingly awesome, Season 3 was a little slower, but better when watching on DVD, and then Season 4 comes along. A show with this many high profile guest stars should not work but while the marketing department make a big deal out of it, the show writes the characters and these particular guest actors just merge into these roles seamlessly. Nathan Lane, Kristen Chenoweth, Michael J. Fox, Maura Tierney, Amanda Peet, Matthew Perry, Denis O'Hare. All of these actors are in recurring roles on this show and never once do they overpower an episode with their presence. They just complement everything that is already great about it. I can't recommend this show enough. Although most of your are probably wishing I could since this is attempt #237 to get you to watch it. It's one of my favorite shows on TV right now.
Tosh.0 (Comedy Central): I think this show might have run its course. There's so little laughable stuff left. Most of the time its too crass (even for me and that's a really high bar) or just plain gross. I had to look away from last week's episode because I started dry heaving and came this close to actually throwing up. That's no longer entertainment for me.
So that does it for my season rundowns. Please feel free to leave your own thoughts and comments below. Would love to hear from you. I'll be back possibly tomorrow but at the least next week with the first part of my Upfronts breakdown, complete with previews for all the surprisingly solid looking new shows next fall. Then again, I did strongly recommend Revolution and look that got us all.
Until then, Happy TV Watching (what little of it there is left)!
No comments:
Post a Comment