So that whole blog hiatus really put a damper on my TV week recaps, huh? Though it definitely didn't slow my TV watching (see the previous post about the new TV and the corresponding rise to infinity of my viewing habits). So rather than try to catch back up, I'm going to zero everything out to coincide with the the summer season finales. And then none of us will have to worry about my TV rants until the Fall. Everyone wins (especially you, the reader)!
Monday
The Big Bang Theory - I'm still shocked that this show has grown on me so much. Particularly because when the first episode aired, I distinctly remember calling it one of the worst atrocities I'd ever seen committed on the airwaves. But they've really done something with nothing. Mostly by realizing the strengths of the show - the character of Sheldon and the comedic timing of the actress who plays Penny - and milking the hell out of it. They still have some glaring issues, mostly revolving around the Leonard character who they can't seem to properly pin down, and the protracted romance issues which just are not that compelling. But by really compartmentalizing each episode (the continuity is there, it's just very subtle) they avoid the worst traps, and just focus on the humor, which I'm a big fan of. Color me shocked, but I'm really looking forward to this show coming back.
How I Met Your Mother - A lackluster season finale, but a strong continuation of the series this season, despite some huge off-screen challenges. When both of your lead actresses get pregnant in the same season (and neither is ready for pregnancy in the series), I'm willing to grant some allowances for how you deal with it. HIMYM did extraordinarily well in that regard - hiding Lily and making up jokes for her large belly and then eventually writing her out of a few episodes. To be fair, the ones that she was gone for were some of the weakest in a long time (as much trouble as I have with her character as a person, she really rounds out the cast perfectly), but overall they did good things with a bad situation. The show has definitely fallen from my favorite thing on TV, but it's still great viewing. And NPH is still a national treasure.
Tuesday
The Biggest Loser - Y'all, I always feel like I should qualify every reality TV review that I do with some kind of blanket apology for liking it, but I don't even have a defense anymore. How good (but way too bloated) was this season? I mean, mostly I watch it for the awesomeness that is Jillian the Brutal Trainer (who is a cross between a lunatic and the best person in the world), but for possibly the first time ever, this show had a real level of drama to it. Usually it's about product placement and contrived inspiration (in that order), but this year there was an extra helping of strategery (by the father/son duo) that actually mattered and wasn't trumped up by the producers later. And the end results were seriously crazy - how hot (and overly tanned) were the son and former model by the season finale? And then at the end, my favorite (the crazy old lady) won the whole thing! I don't know, it was all very satisfying, which is something I don't usually associate with The Biggest Loser. What is happening to me?
American Idol - I don't want to talk about this show. But I watched it a lot this year. It was better than usual, but only because my favorites actually lasted until the end for once. And that's all I have to say about that.
Wednesday
Better Off Ted - I don't think I did a single post while this show was airing, but it might have actually jumped up to #1 or #2 on my list of favorite things on TV right now. And that was with the knowledge hanging over my head that it was surely going to get canceled, which makes it a doubly huge feat, since I try my very best not to get attached to doomed things. But then they went and renewed it for a second season, despite the fact that there were only three of us actually watching (I assume).
In any case, this show is so good. I will watch Portia de Rossi in anything, and she absolutely kills with her character - so weird and quirky, but wholly realized and not overacted. Plus the lab duo of Lem and Phil provide some of the most simple and perfect comedy I've seen in ages. I need to stop talking at this point, before I get into individual episodes and this becomes a real essay (but seriously - the one where the company assigns each of the cubical workers one of 4 different personalities and they become rival cliques is so funny that I sort of greyed out from laughing so much. Oh, and the one with the motion detectors... No, no, I will stop).
Lost - How, how, how is this show still on the air and popular? I mean, don't get me wrong - I basically love it like a member of my family, but this is not mainstream television. This is hard-core sci-fi/metaphor shit going down, with so much backstory and episode retention required that I don't understand how people consistently keep watching. Anyways, great, great stuff, even though they (no joke) killed off all three of my remaining favorite characters this season. It got to the point where I was afraid to reclassify my new favorite in my mind, because the next week they would totally end up dead. But I appreciate the progress the show had made, and the strides they are taking to come to a real resolution.
I say all these nice things upfront because I'm about to rage against the show though: It's all about Kate? Really? REALLY? Jack's entire motivation in the season finale? Despite the fact that Juliette is approximately 20 times the better and more interesting character? Despite the fact that there is zero chemistry there? Despite the fact that it makes zero logical sense (if you change everything, Kate is back handcuffed next to an air marshall on plane and you don't know her!). God, I hated that with the power of a million flaming suns.
South Park - one of the weakest half seasons in a while - I laughed at the Jonas Bros episode, and the finale with the pirates was really well done, but everything else added up to absolutely nothing. No wait, I sort of liked the fish sticks episode, a tiny bit. Overall, though, sort of a downer season.
Thursday
I stopped watching Ugly Betty (too repetitive and insulting), Survivor (boring), and Grey's Anatomy (manipulative tripe).
Parks and Recreation - I hated, hated, hated the first couple of episodes (a ripoff of The Office so complete and terrible I felt physically affronted) but I kept watching because there was something interesting hiding there in the characters. They weren't all just stock profiles - Rashida Jones and Chris Pratt (or Bright from Everwood as he will always be in my heart) as the standouts, but a huge nod also to Paul Schneider as the weird womanizer/sort of good guy/sort of terrible person. And the season finale finally delivered on the promise - a funny, no - super funny, and touching episode. After that I'm actively interested in this show, and practically begging that they keep that feeling going.
The Office - Best stretch of episodes in a long, long while. The MSPC thing was amazing - a pretend game-changer that shook up everything, while in the end keeping everything the same. The new receptionist is a surprisingly well done addition, and the non-office relationship stuff was perfectly downplayed while still being interesting.
30 Rock - Still probably my favorite thing on TV. Almost every single line is quotable, to a ridiculous degree. Jane Krakowski needs an Emmy, like, right now.
Southland - Am I crazy, or is this a really good show? I can't tell. That slow-burn reveal on the 'is he gay or straight' cop seemed to me like some of the best ambiguous writing I've seen in a long while.
Friday - None
Saturday - None
Sunday
The Amazing Race - Despite the heavy favoritism at the end (wasn't that three straight legs in China, one of which was a double leg? And wasn't the eventual winner the brother/sister team who could speak Mandarin?) it was a very solid season, Excellent tasks, good teams, and for once there was some actual restraint in over-hyping the tension at the end of a leg.
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