Hey folks,
See…this is what happens when you are up writing early in the morning. I couldn’t remember where I had left off in the whole TV thing…so I sent out the previous entry when I should have sent out this last entry. To quote Maxwell Smart “Sorry about that, Chief.”
Anyway…here’s the Fugue you should have gotten.
This issue contains the rundown of a bunch of odd shows. These are the shows we watch on cable, in syndication or on DVD release.
Sex and the City – 6 Seasons/94 Episodes
Well. It’s over. And quite honestly I don’t have much to add beyond what’s already been said by others (and I don’t necessarily agree with a lot of it). It’s one of those shows that I feel will lose its “classic” status over the years since it was thrust upon the show unjustly (as it is with almost any show…a “classic” has staying power and timelessness…you can’t tell if a show has either until its been gone for a while). It was fun while it lasted.
Jeremiah – 2 Seasons/35 Episodes/8 Unaired
This Showtime series was the brainchild of J. Michael Straczynski, creator of “Babylon 5”. Here he adapted a French comic book series into a wonderful TV show. The first season is available on DVD and that’s how I wound up watching most of it (I had actually started watching the series when it aired, but lost track of it after a while figuring there’d be a DVD). The second season started and then mysteriously stopped. Eight episodes remain and no one knows when or if they’ll air. JMS is on record as saying if the show did return for a third season it would be without him. He has nothing but good things to say about the network, but it’s the production company MGM that has pissed him off. There are no specifics, but part of his animosity may come from how they treated his script for the film version of his comic book “Rising Stars” (I won’t get into that here other than to say it’s being rewritten by other people). Perhaps Showtime figured that without JMS the series isn’t worth continuing. Time will tell. Meanwhile, catch the DVDs of the first season (even though they’re not presented in widescreen like the series was when it aired).
Carnivale – returns for a second season on HBO in early 2005
This slow boiler still hasn’t laid out exactly what it’s really about…but it was fun getting to the end of the season. Hopefully the second season will start to narrow the focus a bit more.
Dead Like Me – returns for a second season to Showtime on July 25
This is the living definition of “quirky”. If you didn’t catch season one, it’s out on DVD soon. One of the best shows anywhere on the dial.
The Dead Zone – returns for a third season of 13 episodes to USA on June 6
While Stephen King himself doesn’t seem to be fairing too well in the weekly series arena, this show remains well written and engaging. It could be gimmicky at times, but does its best to stay above that. Reporter Dana Bright will not be returning for the third season and I haven’t heard yet if the mystery man from season two (played by Frank Whaley) will be back this season (which means there better be a fourth season). Season 2 arrives on DVD in mid-June.
Six Feet Under – season four begins June 13 on HBO
I’ve missed chunks of this show over the last two seasons…but it remains well written and engaging (I’m starting to sound like a broken record…where’s my thesaurus).
Monk – returns for a third season of 16 episodes to USA on June 18
If the pilot didn’t cement Adrian’s place in the pantheon of great detectives, then all the episodes that have aired since definitely have. This is a wonderful show where half the time the actual mystery is almost irrelevant to how Monk’s going to get through his neuroses. Season One arrives on DVD in June.
The Sopranos – the fifth season comes to an end on June 6
And what a season it’s been. Things are coming to a head on a number of fronts and yet it all seems a bit lackluster. Maybe it’s the long waits between season? Maybe it’s the fact that last season wasn’t all that and this season’s trying to make up for it? The next season (number six) will be the last, but who knows when it will start.
Deadwood – the first season comes to an end on June 13
Never a fan of Westerns, I love this show…if only for the weird “Who’s on First” inspired routine between Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) and the non-English speaking Mr. Wu that prevalently featured the word “cocksucker”. It’s not a comedy by any means, but this show is well written and very well rounded for a “western” (which I’m not so sure it is at times in spite of its setting). A second season will arrive in 2005.
South Park – the second half of season eight will air starting in October
Between poking fun at the special Olympics, Mel Gibson and Michael Jackson, Parker and Stone gave us an episode that became an instant favorite of mine…Cartman disguising himself as a robot just to play a joke on Butters which backfires horribly when Butters admits he’s got a video of Cartman dressed like Brittany Spears dancing around his back yard. Cartman is one of the most reprehensible characters on TV (he falls somewhere between Lionel Luthor and Al Swearengen as far as TV villains go) and I love episodes where he gets his comeuppance. Season four arrives on DVD this summer.
Teen Titans – there are 4 episodes left to air from season two. The show has been renewed for both a third and a fourth season. This will bring the total number of episodes to 52. Hmmm…must be a Warner cartoon. The anime aspect to the show keeps things a bit silly at times, but the show has found a nice balance between playing to its intended audience (kids) and playing to older people. Now if they would just come out and tell us which universe the stories take place in (is it the same one as all the previous animated DC Comics shows).
Justice League – Cartoon Network has retooled this show for its 3rd season (in addition to renewing it for a fourth as well). Look for the current seven members of the team (Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Martian Manhunter, Hawkgirl, Flash and Green Lantern) to be joined by just about everyone else from DC Comics history. The new season starts on August 7 and each stand alone episode will pair one or two of the old members with a few of the new ones. Look for appearances by Supergirl, Captain Atom, The Question, Booster Gold, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Elongated Man, Wildcat, The Atom, Vixen, Vigilante, Zatanna, Red Tornado, Hawk & Dove, Star Spangled Girl & S.T.R.I.P.E. and many others. We can even look forward to an adaptation of an Alan Moore story. Look for a name change as well (it’s now Justice League Unlimited).
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! – Two Seasons and 21 episodes
The comedic magic team debunk various myths, fads and hoaxes each week (the end of the world, feng shui and P.E.T.A. are examples of things they’ve tackled). They do it in the same humorous way that Michael Moore does…only they seem to tackle it from the other end of the political spectrum with a bit less distortion of “facts” and they do it as entertainment, not as a one-sided political tract. Season One is on DVD. I’m unsure if the show will be returning for a third season yet.
Battlestar: Galactica – 13 episodes will premiere on Sci-Fi in early 2005
The re-imagining of the cheesy sci-fi cult classic is a bazillion times more interesting than the original (and actually leaves room for the original to be something of a prequel). The entire cast of the four hour mini series will be returning (well…those that survived anyway) and an appearance by Richard Hatch is also scheduled (as who or what we don’t know…but obviously he got over his anger at his own version of a remake not being done). The four hour mini series should be arriving on DVD around the same time the episodes premiere.
Babylon 5 – With the entire series now on DVD (and a box set of the TV movies on its way in August…and a set for “Crusade” due later in the year), you’d think that life for this franchise was over. Creator J. Michael Straczynski has been hinting around for a while about a project that’s brewing and while nothing official has been announced yet, it’s pretty obvious from what JMS has said online that it’s a feature film (whose initials are B5: TMoS). He’s also recently said that there’s more than one B5 project on the horizon. My guess is that like with “Family Guy” and “Firefly”, the DVD sales have fired up the new interest. Now is the time to start watching this great series from the beginning if you haven’t already (just put it in your Netflix queue). As we go to press, we must report on the sad passing of Richard Biggs who played Dr. Franklin on the show. He was a talented man and will be sorely missed in any upcoming endeavors in this universe.
Farscape – While the series came to an abrupt end in March of 2003 (after 4 seasons and 88 episodes), the DVD releases are still playing catch up (the final volume will be out in July). Couple that with a four hour mini-series airing on Sci-Fi before the year is out and it’s gonna be a great year for this show. I’m still muddling through Season 3, but having a lot of fun doing so.
CSI/CSI: Miami – Since my boycott of CBS is still in place, I’ve had to catch these shows in reruns on other networks…this has led to me doing marathon runs on DVD. These are well written shows with good casts and I look forward to eventually seeing the new version CSI: New York when it arrives on DVD.
Poirot – David Suchet returns to play Agatha Christie’s most famous detective in four more adaptations. While they have yet to air in the U.S., they have done so in the U.K. where they are also available on DVD. Look for “Sad Cypress”, “Death on the Nile”, “Five Little Pigs” and “The Hollow” to hopefully appear either on TV or DVD on this side of the Atlantic soon. Four more movies will go into production by year’s end for airing in 2005 in Britain (and who knows when here). I’m looking forward to these and hope they eventually redo “Murder on the Orient Express”. Rumor also has it that a Japanese anime version of Poirot will be appearing in the near future.
Miss Marple – Speaking of Agatha Christie’s detectives…Geraldine McEwen has been cast in the role of Jane Marple for a new series of remakes. The previous run starring the late Joan Hickson was the definitive version of the character and they did film all of the novels (leaving only the short stories unfilmed) so I’m not sure why we’re getting new versions of “The Body in the Library”, “A Murder is Announced”, “Murder at the Vicarage” and “4:50 from Paddington” so soon…but they may be worth a watch as they are a good crop of mysteries. The rumor about the Japanese anime Poirot also extends to Miss Marple. Interesting.
Prime Suspect – This wonderful mystery series returned after a 7 year hiatus with a sixth series. They are all available on DVD and are worth watching. Supposedly Helen Mirren will return for a seventh series and then call it quits for good.
The Shield – the third season is currently still airing. There will be a fourth season.
If you ever needed a reason to think that Michael Chiklis would make the ultimate Ben Grimm of the “Fantastic Four” (he’s the Thing), this show provides it. It’s the dark side of the law and it’s very well done. Boy am I getting repetitive.
Doctor Who – Well…the BBC finally figured out how to bring back this show. While a lot remains under wraps, we can tell you that Christopher Eccleston will officially be the ninth actor to play the Doctor (but it remains to be seen if this is the ninth incarnation of the Doctor or a reboot from the beginning). There will be 13 episodes in the first season. Each episode will run 45 minutes and there will be a combination of one and two part stories. There is currently no distributor for airing the show in the U.S. The rights to use the Daleks have been sorted out, so expect the dated looking robots to return (hopefully with something of a facelift). The show starts filming in July and will air as early as Christmas (according to rumor).
Well…I think that covers everything else I’m watching these days (or have been watching in off hours…or am waiting to watch again). I’ve said I watch way too much TV (and you can add to all that the shows that Natasha watches when I’m just in the room…mostly Food Network and Home & Garden shows like “Unwrapped”, “Iron Chef”, “Trading Spaces”, “House Hunters” and “Clean Sweep”).
Next up will be an update on things around here and then a massive crop of movie reviews (assuming I get around to watching most of what’s on the list).
Be seeing you.
Spleenless Joel
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