So the new Fall TV Season started a few weeks ago and I have yet to comment. Why? Well, we can start with some laziness. My laptop was in for repairs (took 28 days) and I was too lazy to use either the desktop in the office (cause its hard to do any work in there with Malcolm poking his fingers at everything) or my wife's laptop (I felt like I was hogging it anyway).
So...we're "back" in business and what do I have to say about the new Fall TV Season? Not much it seems.
You see...my toddler has spent the last couple of months winning the bedtime battle...so our viewing habits have changed drastically. Between not getting him to sleep until 9pm and all the rehearsals either one of us has had in the last two months, if we get to watch one show a night, we're lucky.
Of course, some things are slowly getting back to "normal". Rehearsals have fallen by the wayside for the most part and I've gotten Malcolm's bedtime back to between 8 & 8:30 which does give us more time to catch things...but honestly, the energy and desire aren't quite there anymore.
For example...I enjoyed the first two seasons of Prison Break and while our DVRs have been recording away, neither one of us cares much to actually try and watch it. The cliffhanger from Season 2 left us a bit cold anyway. Desperate Housewives is also starting to fall into this category.
Journeyman and The Bionic Woman sounded interesting, when they started I had no interest and no longer have the time or energy to catch up.
So I do apologize to all of you. I know in years past I have at least reviewed the pilot of most of the new fall shows. This season, you'll barely get that.
So what are we watching? Let's take a look night by night.
Mondays -- Its all NBC. Chuck is a great new show about a guy who accidentally "downloads" (or ingests or views) all the top secret info the government has been collecting over the last few years. So now, in addition to being the head of the "Nerd Herd" at Buy More (the fictional equivalent of Best Buy's Geek Squad), Chuck Bartowski is now a "spy" as he gets dragged along onto assignments by CIA Agent Sarah Walker (not her real name) and NSA Agent Casey. The show is well cast, well written and highly entertaining. Heroes is faltering a bit in its second season. I'm thoroughly bored by the Hiro in ancient Japan storyline and dislike the fact that they seem to only be able to afford one old Star Trek actor at a time. But while it has diminished a bit, its still a great show.
Tuesdays -- While our DVRs are still recording Bones we're so far behind its not even funny. House remains as good as ever and the first few episodes with House's American Idol-like methods for picking new assistants was just short of brilliant. Boston Legal even with all the casting changes (yet again) also remains a fun and entertaining show (maybe more so with the addition of John Larroquette). The new show of the night that we're enjoying is Reaper about a guy who turns 21 only to discover that his parents had sold his soul to the devil and Satan has come to collect. Now he's the devil's bounty hunter as he has to capture souls who have escaped from hell and are wreaking havoc on Earth. Its a fun show (with an exceptional performance by Ray Wise as Satan) that has gotten a bit repetative (much like Smallville in its first season), but will hopefully come out of that.
Wednesdays -- We're still sort of watching Criminal Minds since we wanted to see how they wrote out Mandy Patinkin's character and I like Joe Mantegna and want to see how he gets worked in...but the episodes between those events are a bit blah and have started sitting on our DVR. Back To You starring Kelsey Grammar and Patricia Heaton is a typical newsroom sitcom, but one that is funny and well done. I'm surprised its on FOX. Pushing Daisies is easily the best new show of the season. Quirky and enchanting, I won't say much more about this other than Tash & I both make it the first show of the night (especially if its the only show of the night). South Park has also returned for a bunch of episodes that feel forced and old hat. But they're still funny in that gross way.
Thursdays -- Ugly Betty is still our guilty pleasure that we both enjoy. Smallville also remains high on the list. We do wind up watching this a few days later (like Saturday afternoons during Malcolm's nap). My Name Is Earl and 30 Rock also remain funny shows that we try to watch (well...I do with the latter, Tash doesn't care much for it). Law & Order: Criminal Intent has moved to USA and still remains the best of the franchise in my opinion...but it also gets "time shifted" in viewing.
Fridays -- Aside from still recording the abomination known as Flash Gordon we use this night to catch up on things from the week and watch The Soup when Monk and Psych are on their breaks.
Saturdays -- Just early morning cartoons in The Batman and Legion of Super Heroes get watched. If we're awake at night, we're still catching up on things or going out to see movies if we can get a sitter.
Sundays -- While I'm in the process of finally admitting that fatherhood has changed my movie watching & TV viewing habits, you'll have to pry FOX's Sunday night animation lineup from my cold dead hands.
There's only one new show that we have any interest in that has yet to premiere. Viva Laughlin will get a full review once it does start this week. And I'll mention that somehow Lost, Scrubs, 24, Doctor Who, Torchwood, Battlestar Galactica and possibly the original Law & Order will find their way back into our lives when they return to the airwaves.
That's all for today. I'll be back sooner rather than later with a few things...including some BIG news.
Be seeing you.
