The Not-So-Off Season

Bloody good television

Used to be the television season started in September, ended in May, and summer was deadly dull for television. Of course, when I was young, we had maybe six or seven channels to choose from so that was probably a bigger problem.

Anyhow, these days there seems to be a season, then a mid-season, then a late season and best of all, a summer season. The other day as I bemoaned the temporary and sometimes permanent departures of some of my favorite shows I was cheered by the fact that there are at least a dozen or so shows starting up in June and July to fill this former gaping hole in my viewing schedule.

Led by another light and enjoyable slate from USA Network (HBO lite as I like to call them), here’s what my summer viewing looks like (in order of preference):

True Blood, June 10, HBO
White Collar, July 10, USA
Burn Notice, June 14, USA
The Glades, June 3, A&E
Covert Affairs, July 10, USA
Alphas, July 23, SyFy
Falling Skies, June 17, TNT
Suits, June 14, USA
Teen Wolf, June 3, MTV
Royal Pains, June 6, USA
Warehouse 13, July 23, SyFy
Perception, July 9, TNT

Which shows will be a part of your summer fun?

I want closure!!!

Two dreams, both cancelled!

Regardless of how and when a good television show ends, it always sucks. But when cancellation is swift and unexpected, it really stings for fans of truly enjoyable television. (Heck, even the ancient Mayans would have given more notice about Awake than NBC.)

It’s the time of year when the networks announce their Fall schedule. While most of the shows I enjoy typically make the list, too many do not. This year’s most painful losses were the The Finder, which has been far better than Hart Hanson’s other show, the increasingly-brittle Bones, and Awake, which furthers a past contention of mine that NBC is asleep at the switch when it comes to recognizing and airing quality sci-fi. (See Journeyman)

The bottom line is, if the networks expect us waste our perfectly good free time indulging them in what appears to be little more than live beta testing for their  shows, then we need a commitment from them to provide some closure if the show suffers a premature demise. I respectfully offer the following solutions:

• Give us an abbreviated bonus season to wrap up story lines and provide the show and its fans a proper send off, even if it happens to be a nightmare about an goofy little inn in Vermont or a journey into the afterlife after a twisted, time warped stay on a not-so-deserted island. Chuck got a 13-show send off last fall and Eureka is close to finishing up its farewell season. And 30 Rock and Fringe are slated for victory laps next season. It can be done.
• If you’re too cheap to provide an on-the-air send off, why not have the writers get together for a webcast of what they believed the end would have been, allowing fans to chime in with questions and praise before another show becomes nothing more than a test pattern.
• Or even just post a synopsis of how the end would have went down.

Any of these options sound like a plan. Do you think any network execs will read this blog post? Maybe not. Oh, well, guess I’ll have to start looking for replacements. Maybe Elementary, the Sherlock Holmes update. Or Revolution, set in the future 15 years after electricity has gone away (Guess I would have to start blogging on a roll of papyrus about the latest about the latest play in the park.)

What was the last good show you watched that was gone before it’s time?

It’s bleak, baby

Ah, Sunday. Relaxing before the work week with these cheery programs.

Sunday is supposed to be a restful day. The last bastion of a carefree weekend, in which you recoup for the work week ahead.

So why is there so much heavy (albeit good) TV on this night? My lineup for Sunday consists of The Walking Dead, Dexter and Boardwalk Empire. Does this sound like a restful evening?

To preserve my glass-half-full outlook on life, I spread these three shows out and watch them on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday from my DVR. Otherwise, I lie awake Sunday night, with dreams of gangsters scalping cronies, religious zealots dismembering runners, and nice people getting torn apart by walkers, dancing in my head.

It’s bleak baby. Does anyone else watch all of these shows? If so, do you have the stones to watch all three on Sunday night?

99% full

If you have a DVR, you know what I mean.

Right now, there is simply too much good TV. My problem is this: I started watching The Mentalist re-runs on TNT this summer, and am recording two of those every Wednesday. But, I am also recording the new episodes of The Mentalist to watch when I get caught up.And then there’s Sons of Anarchy (SOA). I am caught up on SOA through the second season, which is available on Netflix instant watch. But the third season isn’t available yet, so I am recording the new episodes while waiting on that release.

And then, there’s Burn Notice, which I love, but didn’t have time to watch this summer. So I have six episodes of that on my DVR.

What this means is that I barely have enough room to tape the shows I watch weekly (Tosh.0, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, American Horror Story, Raising Hope, New Girl, Ringer, Vampire Diaries, The Office, Parks and Recreation, Dexter, Boardwalk Empire, The Walking Dead, Fringe, and the aforementioned Mentalist reruns). Add to that the return of Beavis and Butthead, and next week’s return of Bones, and I’ve got a real problem.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m somewhat of an expert in solving recording conflicts, but the real issue here is space. Anyone else having these issues? How do you manage? I guess it’s a sign of good TV that there is so much to watch.

The Witching Hour: HBO, 9 p.m., Sunday

Marnie’s got that crazy look in her eye. I like it.

After a year of waiting, True Blood fans got their first episode of season four on Sunday.  Beginning with Sookie’s journey to the fairy world, the episode started off with a distinctly different feel from previous seasons. And while this may have seemed disjointed to some fans, die-hard Trubies who have read all of Charlaine Harris’s books probably weren’t too surprised by the show’s new dimension (although book purists probably noted many differences).

Here are my two cents on the premiere. I liked the opening. I think it was an abrupt start to the new season, but it also allowed the story to move forward one year in time. While this jump did not make much of a difference in the Bill-Sookie-Eric love triangle, the year seemed monumental in the character development of Jason, who is noticeably more mature; Andy, who is a V addict; Tara, who is having a lesbian relationship; and Bill, who seems to have taken on a high-profile role in local vampire politics. Of all of these developments, I was the most pleased to see the growth in Jason’s character. To be honest, his ditsy routine was getting a bit old by the end of last season. And he looks gorgeous in that uniform.

Many loyal fans of the books rate the fourth in the series as their favorite (myself included). There are a few reasons for this in my case. First, I’m Team Eric. And if the show follows the books (and Alan Ball’s allusions) this is going to be a good summer for Eric fans. Second, the witches are cool, and introduce yet another interesting supernatural element to the mythology. Third, Sookie really comes into her own as she explores her options post-Bill.

If the first episode is any indication, all of these elements are going to come into play. And while I’m not going to count down my favorite moments, I will say that the witches’ coven left quite an impression on me. The lead witch Marnie, played by Harry Potter’s Fiona Shaw, is a frightening, intimidating and wild presence. As she was chanting to resurrect her bird, I had the distinct feeling that she is completely unstable – and there’s nothing more dangerous and interesting than an unstable, morally dubious, brilliant purveyor of the mystic arts.

Did anyone else tune in? If so, I’d love to hear your two cents.

Blogging for two

Don’t forget to tune in for True Blood Sunday at 9 p.m. on HBO.

It’s been a busy few months for me, so forgive my absence. Never fear, I’m still watching TV and talking TV, although blogging about TV has taken a backseat to another very important adventure: Baby Rogers.

My friends and family already know what I am just now announcing on Remotely Entertaining (and to the world). I am 16 weeks pregnant with my first little one. The husband and I are super-excited.

In between eating for two, running for two, and sleeping for two; I found time over the last four months to watch The Killing, Game of Thrones and Borgias, which were all pretty great. I also caught up with the first two seasons of Sons of Anarchy, an awesome, gritty, over-the-top show that I was instantly addicted to.

Now, I’m watching Teen Wolf, Covert Affairs and Burn Notice. Most importantly, this Sunday I’ll be watching episode one of True Blood season four. Stay tuned for Monday updates, as I’m sure I’ll have a lot to say.

Aren't they cute? Scott and Allison get up close and personal in MTV’s Teen Wolf.

The big surprise for me has been Teen Wolf. If you haven’t checked it out, and you are a fan of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, I’d highly recommend you give it a whirl. I think it comes the closest to striking the Buffy chord of any show I’ve seen in recent memory – humor, supernatural elements, teen angst, good special effects and best of all, strong acting and writing.

Is anyone else loving Teen Wolf? Who’s going to watch True Blood this Sunday?

The shark is in da House

"Hmmm. Time to kill my ex and her friends and family," he thinks.

It all started when Fonzie used a motorcycle to jump a shark on Happy Days. While the writers may have thought they had crafted an important moment in the enviable history of that simple, yet popular, family-oriented sit-com, what they really done was dump a load of hooey on millions of devoted viewers, making Hollywood history in the process.

“Jumping the shark” became the catch phrase for what I call stunt writing – something writers do when they weave a sensationalistic, even absurd moment into a show when they seemingly lack the creativity or talent to do a little bit of “real” writing that’s actually true to what the show represents – and what the audience expects – even if it’s an innocuous little show like Happy Days. When this happens, the end is usually not far behind.

In its recent season finale, the writers of House “jumped the shark” big time when they had House drive his car through Cuddy’s front window. While no one will argue that House is a wonderful person, perhaps even misunderstood, what he did was no less than attempted murder. Only moments before, he stood before that window, slack-jawed as Cuddy and her sister, and their respective beaus, laughed an enjoyed a meal – directly on the other side of the window.

When he came back down the street, turning sharply as he reached Cuddy’s front yard, he had no way of knowing they were no longer in the room, or even if Cuddy’s adorable little daughter had joined them. When this case came to the DA, and it would, he or she would have no trouble making a convincing case for attempted murder, especially in light of House’s history of drug abuse, criminal record, and general demeanor, not to mention his stay in the mental institution.

Can we say GONE TOO FAR! Under no reasonable circumstances would House be able to get his job back, or any job, even in the twisted world that has allowed him to operate as he has for several seasons. In fact, he should be spending this season and the next several seasons diagnosing what that green gel-like substance is in the mystery meat at the state penitentiary.

Anything less, and I’ll stop watching the show. Of course, his diagnostic skills and his interactions with his team were probably the primary reasons for watching the show. But if that’s allowed to continue with no consequence, I’ll have to stop watching the show. So I guess that means I won’t be watching the show this fall. Guess I’ll be jumping elsewhere on Mondays this fall.