What I'm Watching 2011 (Or Not) - Mondays

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

Well, TV Premiere Week is ended, and we're headlong into the new season. Every year, I DVR every first episode of as many shows as possible, then watch. Some I love immediately. Some, well, not so much.

Monday - I'm in a quandary! I'm a HUGE How I Met Your Mother fan, and yet, there are two powerhouse shows on at exactly the same time, and my DVR can only tape two shows at once. So, as consistently awesome as HIMYM is... I'll have to catch you on the Internet, because The Sing-off is on!

I'm a rabid fan of a cappella music, which explains my obsession with this singing competition for a cappella groups, but there's more that brings this show above and beyond the quality of shows like American Idol, or it's illegitimate evil demonic twin, the X-Factor. Whereas other "singing" shows are about embellishing the crap out of a melody, and blasting away the microphone's decibel limit the power of your screaming; Sing-off shows of genuine musicianship. Also, Sing-off has actual judges who a) know what they're talking about, and b)offer constructive MUSICAL criticism to the groups. They've also lost their weak link, Pussycat Dolls' Nicole Scherzinger, for whom the first comment was, "You mean you all sing different notes? What's that like?" She's been replace by the infinitely more knowledgeable Sara Bareilles, who like Shawn Stockman, and unlike Ben Folds, was actually IN an a cappella group.

Tonight, I check out Terra Nova, and if Fox doesn't screw it up, it will be awesome!

Meanwhile, 2 Broke Girls SUCKED! In the first scene, the main character rudely tells off a customer in the diner she works in, and rattles off a series of "jokes" that, while it would be cool for someone to put someone else in their place like that, establish that this is going to be a show that is build on "wisecracking." I just found it grating, and annoying, and not really funny. I DID find it interesting that it was co-created by Whitney Cummings, and after watching her other show, Whitney, I'm not surprised it's so bad. Cummings made her name by being featured in Comedy Central Roasts, and that brand of humor works there, but not so much in a sitcom. Plus, her stand up is the stereotypical epitome of the bad female comic.

The Playboy Club  looked sexy but then I watched a whole episode and....zzzzzzzzzz. They started with a plot of one of the bunnies killing a mobster, and then something else happened, and I was so bored I shut it off. Clearly NBC is trying to sell the show as being provocative and sexy, but yeah, plot matters also.

I'm also back on Hawaii Five-0. I missed a few episodes, and got lost, but I'm back now, and so is 5-0. Terry O'Quinn is on the show now, and it's only a matter of time before they turn the wheel and make the island of Kauai disappear into the fabric of time. Or is that another show set in Hawaii starring Daniel Dae Kim?

For the record, I actually LIKED Charlie Sheen before his meltdown, and thought he was funny. Jon Cryer is awesome. Hot Shots and Hot Shots Part Deux are two of my favorite comedies. But the writing of Two and a Half Men didn't grab me, and I decided not to watch it, even when I LIKED the cast. Now Ashton Kutcher's on it. And I hate him. So why would I watch it now? Just to see Charlie's character die? No Thanks.

Mike and Molly, Sweet Show, well done, but just, eh. Nothing brilliant or addicting about it to make it worth my DVR space. And Castle? I know people like it, but it feeds into a pet peeve of mine. I prefer crime shows where the cops catch the criminals. There have been a string of shows where civilians with "Special powers" help the cops, and actually solve the crimes better than the police would. The Mentalist, a magician. Numbers, Math. The new show, Unforgettable. And also Castle where a mystery writer can solve a mystery better than a cop can. Not feeling it. And before you bring up Psych, don't forget that he is passing himself off as a psychic, but has actually been trained by his father as a detective. So, he's more of a private eye, which is OK. Well, that covers Monday. See you tomorrow.