Let there be thoughts

Welcome to my blog! Olli has been championing this project for a while, and I finally decided to appease him. I don't have any particular theme in mind, although it seems likely that film and television will feature heavily :-)

On that note, I thought I might jump in with a topic that always occupies me in the summer: things I'm looking forward to in the upcomming tv season! And since everything is nicer in list format...

(no worries, I've kept it mostly spoiler-free)

10 Desperate Housewives - This show just barely makes the cut, because I spent the first half of the season stewing over what I thought was a shark-jumping decision to project the characters five years into the future. However, Creepy Dave drew me in, and kept me interested enough that I didn't tune out, and by season's end I was glad to have been along for the ride. But I warn you, ABC, if Mike and Susan aren't back together in the fall, you may lose me forever.

9 Southland - I made no secret of the fact that the passing of ER was very hard for me. Many a tear was shed as County took it's last bow. So, it was with a heavy heart that I first watched Southland, from some of the same production team, and in that hallowed must-see 10pm thursday slot. What a great relief this show has turned out to be! In the few episodes they've had, they have created a world with the potential to be as complex and diverse as it's predecessor. I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I think this show could be for cop-drama what ER was for medical drama, a freshly nuanced take on a tired formula. And I love all that great LA location shooting!

8 Gossip Girl - We all know that this show suffered from kind of a rough 2nd season. I remember when GG first came on the air how surprised and excited I was by this frothy little high school dramedy that was as clever as it was trashy. But like a souffle collapsing from it's own loftiness (is that what souffles do?) the second season suffered from the wacky plotlines and high expectations created by the first. However, aside from Lilly turning into a monster, and the teaser for the spinoff they forced upon us in the prom episode, the season finished well. I was very pleased with the return of Georgina Sparks, and foresee lots of interesting possibilities in their mass matriculation.

7 The Simpsons - To know me is to know that I value this show above everything else on the air. And it may not have fancy cliff hangers, or sexy new plotlines to entice viewers come fall, but the beauty is that it doesn't need those things. It is practically perfect in every way, and I look forward immensely to the return of my guaranteed weekly half hour of pure joy!

6 30 Rock - Like the Simpsons, 30 Rock is not a show I watch because I care what happens next, but rather because it's delightful no matter what's happening. Although, I do want to see how long they can hold on to Alan Alda.

5 The Office - A show that's a classic in it's own time, the Office finished their season in typically classy fashion. And while I look forward to seeing Jim and Pam's big surprise play out next year, I'm honestly more excited about the continuing evolution of Michael Scott. He's a character for whom I feel a lot of empathy, and it's sometimes very difficult to watch him struggle through the series of minor tragedies that make up his life. But his monologue about Holly in the finale is probably the most mature, considered thing his character has ever said, and it gave me hope for the future, both of their relationship, and his life in general.

4 Dollhouse - Like a lot of Whedon fans out there, I did not fall immediately in love with this show. I think there was some struggle in the beginning to find the right balance of concept, humor, heroism, and ass-kicking. And, let's be honest, it took some adjusting to deal with such familiar Whedon-verse faces in these strange new circumstances. But about a third of the way in they found their sound, as it were, and ended the season on high note. Mad props to Alan Tudyk for being jaw-droppingly cool, and bringing it all home. I really look forward to watching this series get better and better.

3 Chuck - I have to say, I really admire a season finale that fundamentally alters the protagonist's world. Not a hook-up, or a break-up, or a complication likely to be resolved in the first few episodes of the next season's premier, but a full-on game-changer. That was a solid finale, my friends. Chevy Chase, Scott Bacula, Jeffster! And I don't think I've been as pleased by a closing line of finale dialogue since Ross said Rachel's name when he was marrying Emily. I can't wait to see how this new situation plays out, both in terms of crime fighting, and the Chuck/Sarah relationship.

2 House - The important thing to note here is that House has never been a high priority show for me. I've watched and enjoyed it for ages, but it's never been a huge deal if I miss an episode, and it was never a show I thought about when I wasn't watching it. Until the season ender that changed everything! Those last few episodes, and perhaps most importantly the last few minutes of the finale have been on my mind constantly since May. I have rarely felt so manipulated, cheated, and yet riveted at the same time. And have you seen the teaser for season 6? Holy cow, you guys, we are in for a wild ride.

1 LOST - It seems cruel that the show for which I am most excited is the one for which I have to wait the longest. It is almost inconceivable to me that it will be 2010 before I know what happened to the island (almost as inconceivable as the fact that in a few months it'll be 2010). Specifics which cause me particular concern include: Locke. The apparent reappearance of Charlie. Richard Alpert's extreme handsomeness. Sun and Jin. The whole of the space/time continuum and the Losties' place in it. This final season had better be everything I've ever dreamed of and more.

Shows that are on probation, for various reasons, include: Grey's Anatomy, Bones, Brothers & Sisters, and Castle. Maybe my next post will tell you why...

3 comments:

Mimsy said...

i think you've done fine analyses of TV fare on your current scanner, in spite of contending without the cothenveniences of DVR and adequate array of channels. What of Weeds? or the show with the actress who won an Oscar for Piano?
As for Desperats H-wives: their hybrid of fantasy romance, thwarted husbands & macabre mystery has played variations on characters' themes to a faretheewell; so, upcoming episodes will probably be more & more absurd.
"- Not that there's anything wrong with that!" How 'bout Edie and the original dead h-wife, dukin' it out in the nether-sphere?

olliahaaskivi said...

Yes, I did champion this project and I will continue to do so.

Fictional Ice all the way, all the time!

Unknown said...

I didn't even know Chuck was still running! I haven't watched it since the end of the first season... glad to know it's doing well enough to make your list.

Wow, actually there are a couple of shows on here that I started to watch and never kept up with. I wish Hulu could just post up every episode of every show ever.

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