What I'm watching

courtesy of my blog: http://cjferrara.blogspot.com/

My friend Joe got me hooked. He's a huge TV fan. Ask anyone. He knows the insider info about what's coming back next season, what got cancelled and why, which producer won the biggest foot contest they had backstage at the Emmys... EVERYTHING! I was exposed to his deadly obsession when he would regularly come over to my house, or me to his to watch 24. We then got to talking about virtually every other show, and I made it a point to go out and watch the shows I didn't know. As a result, when the new TV season starts, I start planning my weeknights.

This week was the week everything is premiering, and I'm DVRing everything, watching the first episode. If it doesn't hook me right away, it's gone. I forever believe it to suck. But then there are some that are given a few weeks to prove themselves (like Glee, and The Good Guys,) and some that downright offend me, (like Glee and Big Bang Theory.) As a result, this week, I have some new obsessions and some returning faves.

Sunday: Boardwalk Empire. Absolutely outstanding. Period appropriate. Gangster, but a different kind of gangster. Plus it's about the prohibition era, which fascinates me. I mean a radical movement uses political tactics to make a ridiculous amendment to the constitution that infringes on individual freedoms. I mean, how crazy is that?

Monday: The emptiness I felt losing Lost and 24 has now been filled by The Event. I started just thinking, "OK, terrorist hijacking, assassinating the president... seen it all before..." then the ending, which I shall not spoil, flips everything around!!!! If you miss Lost, SEE The Event. Yeah, the promos are annoying. Get over it!

Also, Hawaii Five-O. I'm giving this a few weeks. The premise is a good one, it's entertaining, and the characters really drive the procedural plot. Plus Grace Park is hot. I'll give it a shot.

Wednesday: Undercovers. I originally thought that this was just another spy show. I think the key to any procedural is the writing and the characters. This couple has a nice rapport, and J.J.Abrams dialogue to make this rise above typical spy shows. The question is, when J.J. lets go of the reins, will the show continue to be cool?

Thursday: $#!^ My Dad Says. Again, was not expecting this to be good. But it is. The Opening credits told me why: David Kohan and Matt Mutchnick. The producers responsible for Will and Grace and others. It's well written, and hysterically acted. And it's realistic. The actors aren't mugging for the camera, or overacting a stereotypical character, they're just playing the moment. Most of all, 6 words: William Shatner, Will Sasso, Nicole Sullivan.

* Law Shows: The asterisk is because a few new shows, all of them courtroom dramas, are toss ups. I'm giving them a chance, but I'm concerned that they won't go anywhere. The Good Wife  is an exception because the cases aren't the focus of the show, they are simply what Alicia Florick does at work. Sometimes she's the lead council, sometimes she's assisting, or even staying out of it. It's the characters and the back story of Alicia dealing with the embarassment of her husband's infidelity that drives the show. Outlaw has a similar back story, a Supreme Court Justice, sick of the politics of his position, trying cases to make up for lost karma. The Defenders is... um... set in Vegas? ...has Jim Belushi and Jerry O'Connell? Not so much. I'm going to try Outlaw and the Defenders for a few more weeks. I hope they don't lose me.

What I DO like is The Whole Truth. I had an idea a few days ago, that law shows are always showing lawyers on the right side of a case. Prosecuting the guilty, or defending the innocent. I thought it might be interesting to have a show about someone defending someone they know to be guilty. I thought it wouldn't work, because viewers don't want to see the "hero" of a show on the wrong side. The Whole Truth shows a trial case from BOTH sides, prosecution AND defense. It's interesting because through the prep for the trial, we, the viewer, don't know who's right. It's cool. I love writing for television.
Returning Champions: Chuck, House, and How I Met Your Mother. Sadly, I can't DVR three things at once, so I need to watch "Mother" on the Computer. But Chuck is a great guilty pleasure. It's well shot, and has a great energy. Plus, they throw in references to Tron and other Nerd movies, so what's not to love? And if you need me to tell you why House is so good, well then, it's time for that lobotomy.

I'm also getting BACK into Community after a half a year of angrily boycotting NBC. But since I watched Jimmy Fallon religiously during that time, the boycott really made no sense. Also, The Middle is a favorite new comedy. It is also, in my humble opinion, the only ABC Wednesday night comedy worth a damn. I don't care if it won an Emmy, Modern Family is over the top stereotypes gone wild, and Cougartown is Courtney Cox falling a lot. The Middle, not only has a great Scrubs-like comedy style, keeping it grounded in reality while also being zanily out there; but Heck, I'll say it: it has a heart. (Get it, Heck? As in the last name of the family?... never mind.)  Every parent has felt that their family is exactly like the Hecks at one time or another.

CSI : Las Vegas. The original. Miami and New York are like Crystal Pepsi, and Pepsi twist.

Medium -  NBC's loss is CBS's gain. HA HA!

Human Target - A million times better than the Rick Springfield version from the 90s. I think it's cool that DC is not trolling out all the big names. They're peppering the franchises of the big names, Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman; with some of the lesser known, but awesome comics, Jonah Hex, Red, Human Target. Seriously, check it out, it's good!

Next Blog post.... What I'm NOT watching and WHY!!!!