TV Season is BACK!
And I am a very happy girl.
Before I begin, I want to fully acknowledge that I watch entirely too much television.
Let me tell you about a few new shows:
Chuck - NBC, Mondays at 8
So far, this is my favorite new show. NBC had the pilot episode available On Demand before it actually aired this week. I watched it twice. Then I watched it again when it actually aired on Monday - that's three stinking times. First, let me say that you completely have to suspend disbelief to watch this show. But once you do, it's a really fun ride. Chuck (played by Zachary Levi, who was last seen as Kip on Less Than Perfect) is a smart college drop-out (or he was possibly kicked out of college) who hasn't been able to get his life back on track. He's still hung up on his old girlfriend. He makes $11/hr as the team leader for the Nerd Herd at Buy More (substitute Geek Squad and Best Buy to get the picture). He lives with his doctor sister and her doctor boyfriend (who he calls Captain Awesome because he is such an alpha-male who overuses the word "awesome"). Most of his free time is spent hanging out and playing video games with his best friend, Morgan, who also works at Buy More. Chuck's old roommate from college, Brice (possibly the guy who got him kicked out, definitely the guy who stole his girlfriend), is now a rogue CIA agent. Brice steals "all" the secrets that were being shared between the CIA and the NSA and sends them to Chuck.
OK, this is where you have to suspend disbelief. The secrets are revealed to Chuck through a lightning-paced, epilepsy-inducing series of flashing images that lasts for an entire evening. At the end of the "message," Chuck's only awareness of the event is a hang-over sized headache (hey! I know what that feels like). The CIA and NSA each dispatch agents to find out who received Brice's message and determine the threat level. Naturally, the CIA agent is a bombshell blond who investigates the situation by going out on a date with Chuck. There are some great scenes/dialog between Chuck and his sister and Chuck and his best friend leading up to date night. Chuck even earns a "That's awesome!" from Captain Awesome. The NSA agent (played by Adam Baldwin, who was last seen as Jayne in Firefly/Serenity) only wants to eliminate the threat (Chuck).
But how could they get a show out of that? Of course, Chuck convinces both agents that they "need" him and that he can actually help them decipher the information they collected (and have now lost).
The real genius of this show is not in the flimsy geek turned government agent premise. The real genius is in the writing and character interaction. Zac Levi plays his role to perfection. And don't get me started on the guy who plays his best friend - he's hilarious (or annoying, depending on your perspective). There are also a few minor characters that are part of the Nerd Herd who will hopefully get some screentime, but not too much 'cause I think they will steal every scene they're in. (Keep an eye out for the one named Jeff.) The relationship between Chuck and his sister is portrayed very well. And Captain Awesome is, in a word, awesome.
If you missed the season premiere, you can watch it online at nbc.com. If you have On Demand, it may still be available there, but I don't think so.
Journeyman - NBC, Mondays at 10
This show was much better than I expected it to be. I only recognized one of the actors - the hero's brother, but don't ask me to tell you where I've seen him. The lead actor is a Scottish guy named Kevin McKidd. McKidd plays ... I don't remember the character's name - a reporter living in modern day San Francisco. The Reporter is married with a son who looks to be about 5. One day The Reporter is simply transported through time - no explanation, just BAM!, he's in SF circa 1999. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to how or why he gets there, or how long he stays gone. During the course of the show he is transported back in time on three separate occasions. The first time, he is only "gone" from his own time for an hour or so, making him late for dinner with his wife. The second and third times, he is gone for two or three days each. He eventually figures out that his "trips" seem to put him in contact with one man. He successively 1) saves the man's life 2) talks the man's girlfriend out of having an abortion and 3) no, I won't spoil the last thing he accomplishes. As he jumps back and forth in time, he uses his Reporter investigating skills to check up on the man in Present Day. (And to convince himself that it wasn't all a dream.)
Backstory - He was engaged to (and nearly married) a woman named Livia. Livia died in a plane crash just before their wedding. At some point after that, he ended up marrying the woman who was dating his brother. Huh. I thought it was going to be more difficult to explain that.
The Present - At some point, The Reporter and his wife have had problems, possibly even related to him being a drug abuser. When he goes missing for days at a time, she assumes the worst and arranges an intervention for him. He tries to explain what's going on, but of course, he can't do so without sounding insane. There are some very real moments between him and his wife (and son). They don't just gloss over this like many TV shows have done before, "What? You say that you travel through time, saving people's lives? That's kinda hard to believe, but if you say so..." However, the viewer wouldn't feel too comfortable watching him help other people knowing that his own life is in a shambles. So, in the end, they have a nice way of making her realize that he's been telling the truth.
I really don't think this show will last. I thought it was pretty interesting and I'd like to watch it. But it's too sci-fi-y to be a drama and too drama-y to be pure fun sci-fi. I like the mix, but I'm weird. Again, you can catch the pilot at nbc.com.
Life - NBC, Wednesdays at 10
Yeah, this one isn't going to last. The only thing that made me even half-way interested was the final scene, but that was enough to make me tune in next week. This is a procedural cop show (of the kind I really don't watch any more) with one story arc that will be unwound during the season. So, it should have a little of everything for everybody. But I don't think the procedural portion (the weekly cases) will be exciting enough to grab people's interests.
A cop (detective?) was arrested and incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. After 15 years in prison, he is back on the job. He's got more money than he knows what to do with since he successfully sued the justice system over his wrongful imprisonment. But still, he has chosen to work instead of live off his untold riches. He's got some issues - his wife divorced him while he was in prison. He has fun giving her new husband tickets for minor traffic violations (I didn't know detectives could do that). He went through a lot while in prison, being a cop and all. While in the clink, he took up the study of Zen Buddhism.
That leads me to things about his personality that are supposed to be quirky, but are just random. He's working this Zen thing, so he says random non-sense things about "the moment" or about being "calm." He also LOVES fruit. And I don't just mean that he seems to always have a piece of fruit in his hand. I mean, the other characters mention how much he loves fruit in almost every scene. Enough already, I get it. He LOVES fruit. Just let him eat his fruit, stop telling me how much he loves to eat fruit. He is completely baffled by modern technology. When his old partner recognizes him in the station and wants to take his photo, he says, "That's a phone, not a camera." When his cellphone rings at a suspect's house, he looks around to see why no one is answering the house phone. Finally, his new partner says, "Are you gonna get that?" and motions to his pants pocket. With a surprised look on his face, he says, "Oh, that's me." He doesn't understand the term "IM", nor how to use Google. His is a detective, so he picks these things up, but seriously? There was no TV in his cushy prison?
I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling you the ending - in fact, it may be the only reason you decide to tune in tonight. After the case is wrapped up (too easily) and all his quirks are exposed, we finally figure out why he decided to go back to work. He's got a very interesting organizational chart on the wall of his bedroom closet. Under a sign that reads, "Follow the money," there is a whole network of people who are obviously related to his original arrest. He has filled in many of the squares with photos of people we've already met in the episode. Some of those people have already been "x"ed through to show that they were not involved. Some of the lines lead to empty boxes. I'm sure the real point of this show is going to be filling in those empty boxes and getting to the bottom of a big conspiracy. I didn't see this coming. If they give me more to this storyline next week, I may be hooked. And I usually HATE season long arcs.
Returning favorites:
Stargate Atlantis - SciFi, Fridays at 10 - The fourth season begins this Friday. The annoying Dr. Weir is gone, replaced by Samantha Carter from the original series. The last time we saw the gang, they had just launched their city-sized ship into space. Duhn, Duhn, Duhn. Tune in to see what happens.
The Office - NBC, Thursdays at 9 - The fourth season begins tomorrow night and IT'S A DATE! The last time we saw the Dunder-Mifflin gang, Ryan got the VP job at Corporate and Jim finally asked Pam out on a real date. We get hour-long episodes until half-way through October. Woo hoo!
OK, I'll let you go. Wait, do you want to hear about soccer now?
[and now a word from our sponsors...]
Before I begin, I want to fully acknowledge that I watch entirely too much television.
Let me tell you about a few new shows:
Chuck - NBC, Mondays at 8
So far, this is my favorite new show. NBC had the pilot episode available On Demand before it actually aired this week. I watched it twice. Then I watched it again when it actually aired on Monday - that's three stinking times. First, let me say that you completely have to suspend disbelief to watch this show. But once you do, it's a really fun ride. Chuck (played by Zachary Levi, who was last seen as Kip on Less Than Perfect) is a smart college drop-out (or he was possibly kicked out of college) who hasn't been able to get his life back on track. He's still hung up on his old girlfriend. He makes $11/hr as the team leader for the Nerd Herd at Buy More (substitute Geek Squad and Best Buy to get the picture). He lives with his doctor sister and her doctor boyfriend (who he calls Captain Awesome because he is such an alpha-male who overuses the word "awesome"). Most of his free time is spent hanging out and playing video games with his best friend, Morgan, who also works at Buy More. Chuck's old roommate from college, Brice (possibly the guy who got him kicked out, definitely the guy who stole his girlfriend), is now a rogue CIA agent. Brice steals "all" the secrets that were being shared between the CIA and the NSA and sends them to Chuck.
OK, this is where you have to suspend disbelief. The secrets are revealed to Chuck through a lightning-paced, epilepsy-inducing series of flashing images that lasts for an entire evening. At the end of the "message," Chuck's only awareness of the event is a hang-over sized headache (hey! I know what that feels like). The CIA and NSA each dispatch agents to find out who received Brice's message and determine the threat level. Naturally, the CIA agent is a bombshell blond who investigates the situation by going out on a date with Chuck. There are some great scenes/dialog between Chuck and his sister and Chuck and his best friend leading up to date night. Chuck even earns a "That's awesome!" from Captain Awesome. The NSA agent (played by Adam Baldwin, who was last seen as Jayne in Firefly/Serenity) only wants to eliminate the threat (Chuck).
But how could they get a show out of that? Of course, Chuck convinces both agents that they "need" him and that he can actually help them decipher the information they collected (and have now lost).
The real genius of this show is not in the flimsy geek turned government agent premise. The real genius is in the writing and character interaction. Zac Levi plays his role to perfection. And don't get me started on the guy who plays his best friend - he's hilarious (or annoying, depending on your perspective). There are also a few minor characters that are part of the Nerd Herd who will hopefully get some screentime, but not too much 'cause I think they will steal every scene they're in. (Keep an eye out for the one named Jeff.) The relationship between Chuck and his sister is portrayed very well. And Captain Awesome is, in a word, awesome.
If you missed the season premiere, you can watch it online at nbc.com. If you have On Demand, it may still be available there, but I don't think so.
Journeyman - NBC, Mondays at 10
This show was much better than I expected it to be. I only recognized one of the actors - the hero's brother, but don't ask me to tell you where I've seen him. The lead actor is a Scottish guy named Kevin McKidd. McKidd plays ... I don't remember the character's name - a reporter living in modern day San Francisco. The Reporter is married with a son who looks to be about 5. One day The Reporter is simply transported through time - no explanation, just BAM!, he's in SF circa 1999. There seems to be no rhyme or reason to how or why he gets there, or how long he stays gone. During the course of the show he is transported back in time on three separate occasions. The first time, he is only "gone" from his own time for an hour or so, making him late for dinner with his wife. The second and third times, he is gone for two or three days each. He eventually figures out that his "trips" seem to put him in contact with one man. He successively 1) saves the man's life 2) talks the man's girlfriend out of having an abortion and 3) no, I won't spoil the last thing he accomplishes. As he jumps back and forth in time, he uses his Reporter investigating skills to check up on the man in Present Day. (And to convince himself that it wasn't all a dream.)
Backstory - He was engaged to (and nearly married) a woman named Livia. Livia died in a plane crash just before their wedding. At some point after that, he ended up marrying the woman who was dating his brother. Huh. I thought it was going to be more difficult to explain that.
The Present - At some point, The Reporter and his wife have had problems, possibly even related to him being a drug abuser. When he goes missing for days at a time, she assumes the worst and arranges an intervention for him. He tries to explain what's going on, but of course, he can't do so without sounding insane. There are some very real moments between him and his wife (and son). They don't just gloss over this like many TV shows have done before, "What? You say that you travel through time, saving people's lives? That's kinda hard to believe, but if you say so..." However, the viewer wouldn't feel too comfortable watching him help other people knowing that his own life is in a shambles. So, in the end, they have a nice way of making her realize that he's been telling the truth.
I really don't think this show will last. I thought it was pretty interesting and I'd like to watch it. But it's too sci-fi-y to be a drama and too drama-y to be pure fun sci-fi. I like the mix, but I'm weird. Again, you can catch the pilot at nbc.com.
Life - NBC, Wednesdays at 10
Yeah, this one isn't going to last. The only thing that made me even half-way interested was the final scene, but that was enough to make me tune in next week. This is a procedural cop show (of the kind I really don't watch any more) with one story arc that will be unwound during the season. So, it should have a little of everything for everybody. But I don't think the procedural portion (the weekly cases) will be exciting enough to grab people's interests.
A cop (detective?) was arrested and incarcerated for a crime he did not commit. After 15 years in prison, he is back on the job. He's got more money than he knows what to do with since he successfully sued the justice system over his wrongful imprisonment. But still, he has chosen to work instead of live off his untold riches. He's got some issues - his wife divorced him while he was in prison. He has fun giving her new husband tickets for minor traffic violations (I didn't know detectives could do that). He went through a lot while in prison, being a cop and all. While in the clink, he took up the study of Zen Buddhism.
That leads me to things about his personality that are supposed to be quirky, but are just random. He's working this Zen thing, so he says random non-sense things about "the moment" or about being "calm." He also LOVES fruit. And I don't just mean that he seems to always have a piece of fruit in his hand. I mean, the other characters mention how much he loves fruit in almost every scene. Enough already, I get it. He LOVES fruit. Just let him eat his fruit, stop telling me how much he loves to eat fruit. He is completely baffled by modern technology. When his old partner recognizes him in the station and wants to take his photo, he says, "That's a phone, not a camera." When his cellphone rings at a suspect's house, he looks around to see why no one is answering the house phone. Finally, his new partner says, "Are you gonna get that?" and motions to his pants pocket. With a surprised look on his face, he says, "Oh, that's me." He doesn't understand the term "IM", nor how to use Google. His is a detective, so he picks these things up, but seriously? There was no TV in his cushy prison?
I don't think I'm spoiling anything by telling you the ending - in fact, it may be the only reason you decide to tune in tonight. After the case is wrapped up (too easily) and all his quirks are exposed, we finally figure out why he decided to go back to work. He's got a very interesting organizational chart on the wall of his bedroom closet. Under a sign that reads, "Follow the money," there is a whole network of people who are obviously related to his original arrest. He has filled in many of the squares with photos of people we've already met in the episode. Some of those people have already been "x"ed through to show that they were not involved. Some of the lines lead to empty boxes. I'm sure the real point of this show is going to be filling in those empty boxes and getting to the bottom of a big conspiracy. I didn't see this coming. If they give me more to this storyline next week, I may be hooked. And I usually HATE season long arcs.
Returning favorites:
Stargate Atlantis - SciFi, Fridays at 10 - The fourth season begins this Friday. The annoying Dr. Weir is gone, replaced by Samantha Carter from the original series. The last time we saw the gang, they had just launched their city-sized ship into space. Duhn, Duhn, Duhn. Tune in to see what happens.
The Office - NBC, Thursdays at 9 - The fourth season begins tomorrow night and IT'S A DATE! The last time we saw the Dunder-Mifflin gang, Ryan got the VP job at Corporate and Jim finally asked Pam out on a real date. We get hour-long episodes until half-way through October. Woo hoo!
OK, I'll let you go. Wait, do you want to hear about soccer now?
[and now a word from our sponsors...]
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1 Comments:
I only saw the last part of the Office. truthfully, michael annoys me sometimes but don't tell him that. I'm really looking forward to the season premiere of 30 Rock.
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