NationStates Jolt Archive

Well, it is that time of year again. This thread is for people to discuss what TV shows they will be watching, and tell everyone else if they're any good.

Oh, and this thread is specifically for American shows. I'd rather avoid the risk of an energetic discussion about some British show that is well-written, fast-paced, and not airing in the United States take over this thread.

Anyway, there are five shows I intend to watch - three returning, two new. Sorted by date:

Monday, September 8, 8pm, FOX: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (returning)
Watched this show when it premiered. Very good, avoided the pitfall of "Terminator of the Week". Oh, and Summer Glau.

Tuesday, September 9, 9pm, FOX: Fringe (new)
Don't know much about it, but it's sci-fi, and I like sci-fi. Worth checking out.

Monday, September 22, 9pm, NBC: Heroes (returning)
My all-time favorite TV show. The second season wasn't so great, but Tim Kring knows and has apologized. Previews seem to indicate that he has learned. Among the things we've seen:

Sylar in the hands of Angela Petrelli
Hiro encountering a woman with super speed
Nathan and Niki are both alive
Claire takes a level in badass, having encounters with Sylar and... Peter?

Wednesday, September 24, 8pm, NBC: Knight Rider (new)
It could be good. Simple as that.

Friday, October 3, 10pm, CBS: NUMB3RS (returning)
Another favorite show of mine, though I missed most of Season 4 (but read the synopsis of the finale). I'm pretty sure that they'll undo what happened in the finale, but there's no reason they couldn't do it properly.

South Park and Top Gear... Nothing else of interest to me seems to come out this season.

I hold more hopes for 2009.

I generally watch South Park, Mythbusters, Man Versus Wild, Burn Notice, Monk, House M.D., and the History Channel (when it's showing something historical, not that Ice Road Truckers BS).

I'm looking forward to the next season of Burn Notice... It looks pretty darn good.

South Park, Top Gear and Heroes Season 3!

SCC tonight! woooohooo!

....
Anyway, there are five shows I intend to watch - three returning, two new. Sorted by date:

Monday, September 8, 8pm, FOX: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (returning)
Watched this show when it premiered. Very good, avoided the pitfall of "Terminator of the Week". Oh, and Summer Glau.

I keep hearing raves about this from different people, which surprises me as I watched the pilot and thought it was deadly dull. Summer Glau is a major plus, but the titular Sarah Connor seemed underwritten -- I really never thought I'd miss Linda Hamilton that much. Perhaps it got better after the pilot?

Tuesday, September 9, 9pm, FOX: Fringe (new)
Don't know much about it, but it's sci-fi, and I like sci-fi. Worth checking out.

Eh. I hope it's good. Not surprisingly for a J.J. Abrams-helmed show, it features a male protagonist who "who can’t escape the shadow of his brilliant scientist dad" to quote the TV Guide puff piece. Really, J.J.? Sci-Fi with Daddy issues? Didn't you hash all this out on Lost? or Alias? On the plus side, Joshua Jackson is an OK actor and Abrams usually doesn't suck; on the minus side, the dreaded blue-filter cinematography. ("How can I say 'bleak and futuristic' without actually spending any time or creativity on set design? I know! Blue filters! They're not cliched at all!")

Luckily, Fringe is not in the same timeslot as The Eleventh Hour on CBS (10 PM Thursdays), the other paranormal/sci-fi/investigative new show this season. You can tell the difference because 11th Hour is using both blue and green filtering in the previews. Also, 11th Hour stars Rufus Sewell, who is awesome. Rufus Sewell's intense stare kicks the ass of Joshua Jackson's intense stare. Don't believe me? Check out Dark City, where Sewell basically saves civilization by staring and thinking really hard. I'm going to watch at least a few episodes in the hopes that they haven't stuck Sewell with a dud show.

As for other sci-fi, Joss Whedon's Dollhouse hasn't found a place on the schedule as he's <sigh> been shooting a new pilot. Because that worked out so well for Firefly. Looks like the fans who started a preemptive "save our show" campaign for Dollhouse weren't being unrealistically pessimistic. :( Here's hoping it finds a mid-season timeslot.

Wednesday, September 24, 8pm, NBC: Knight Rider (new)
It could be good. Simple as that.

I got burned by the badness of The Bionic Woman relaunch, so I'm staying away until they find a guest spot for David Hasselhoff and/or KARR, at which point I will tune in for the camp value.

Friday, October 3, 10pm, CBS: NUMB3RS (returning)
Another favorite show of mine, though I missed most of Season 4 (but read the synopsis of the finale). I'm pretty sure that they'll undo what happened in the finale, but there's no reason they couldn't do it properly.

I'm so torn about this show. I like David Krumholtz and Judd Hirsch and I like math, but I really don't care about Rob Morrow's character's personal issues. Was it the end of Season 4 where Charlie loses his security clearance? I'm assuming they'll work themselves out of that one pretty quickly. Nice piece of casting with Ravi Kapoor as the suspected terrorist, as he's a perennial favorite for the title of World's Least Intimidating Indian Actor (currently held by Kal Penn.)

Unfortunately I do have a timeslot conflict with Numb3rs, as NBC has put Life up against it. I really thought this show was too quirky to catch on, but it got renewed somehow. Damian Lewis's zen-obsessed detective, back on the job after being wrongly imprisoned for 12 years, is a meaty character that Lewis keeps from disappearing behind his quirks. Probably one of my few must-sees this season.

Have to rush off to an appointment -- will be back with more later. That's a threat, not a promise.

what I want to know is...where's Chuck?

As for other sci-fi, Joss Whedon's Dollhouse hasn't found a place on the schedule as he's <sigh> been shooting a new pilot. Because that worked out so well for Firefly. Looks like the fans who started a preemptive "save our show" campaign for Dollhouse weren't being unrealistically pessimistic. :( Here's hoping it finds a mid-season timeslot.
I thought it was supposed to start in 2009 anyway?

what I want to know is...where's Chuck?

*runs to Wikipedia*

It's Mondays, 8pm on NBC. Season 2 premiere on September 29.

I thought it was supposed to start in 2009 anyway?

My understanding is that it's been moved from the definite midseason pile (along with 24) to the we'll-try-to-find-a-slot-for-it pile. But now I can't find the news item that gave me that impression, so it's possible I just dreamed it. Some people dream about more interesting things than TV scheduling. I envy them.

Chuck: (yay!)
Terminator: SCC (so many mistakes.... but still entertaining in it's own way.)
Knight Rider: the TV Movie didn't impress me...
My Own Worst Enemy: this sounds interesting...
Fringe: looks good
Middleman: I did tell you guys that I love the Cheese... right?
Fear Itself: I hope NBC continues this...

Moar attack of the show and X-play thank you.:D

I'm sort of, almost, looking forward to these:

Crusoe. It'll either be a fun, frothy, "running around in the jungle in britches and funny hats and being way more progressive than appropriate to the period" mild amusement, or it's going to unwatchably bad.

Eleventh Hour, because Rufus Sewell is so worth staring at. I'll take almost any chance to just look at Rufus Sewell for an hour a week. On the other hand, its time slot conflicts with Burn Notice (Jeffrey Donovan is also worth staring at) and I don't have tivo. Also, the blurb -- "Eleventh Hour: A top biophysicist is called in by the government to investigate unusual scientific happenings at the 11th hour." Get it? Witty, right? See, it's like where we got the title from -- is not very promising.

I haven't seen any ads for other new shows that interest me.

Eleventh Hour, because Rufus Sewell is so worth staring at. I'll take almost any chance to just look at Rufus Sewell for an hour a week. On the other hand, its time slot conflicts with Burn Notice (Jeffrey Donovan is also worth staring at) and I don't have tivo.

Burn notice is going away until like...February or March anyway.

Iasip!!

Burn notice is going away until like...February or March anyway.
Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting it's an off-season show. So I guess Rufus will get his chance. Maybe if I turn the sound down it won't be too bad. ;)

Friday Night Lights
Pushing Daisies
Dexter
House
Lost
Battlestar Galactica
Heroes

I don't actually know if all those start this fall, it's entirely possible some only start next year. I really hope it's this fall, though...

Oh, that's right. I keep forgetting it's an off-season show. So I guess Rufus will get his chance. Maybe if I turn the sound down it won't be too bad. ;)

USA is annoying in their split season nonsense like that. They do it to Monk and Psych too.

Better than the venture Bros, that has a 13 episode season like once every 2 years.

Friday Night Lights
Pushing Daisies
Dexter
House
Lost
Battlestar Galactica
Heroes

I don't actually know if all those start this fall, it's entirely possible some only start next year. I really hope it's this fall, though...

Lost doesn't start till next year, I'm afraid. They're doing stupid little spring seasons for the duration of the show.

And, of course, you already know I heartily second House and Pushing Daisies. Heroes....we'll see. I was getting kinda bored with it last season, to the point where I was only watching it for the amusement of playing the Mohinder In My Pants game my friend invented.* Well, that and Milo Ventimiglia running around shirtless. ;)








*no, it's not as dirty as it sounds, I'm afraid. My friend simply observed that, given the actor who plays Mohinder's invariably Dramatic tone, a great many of his lines of dialogue are vastly improved if you imagine them ending with "in my pants." :tongue:

Moar attack of the show and X-play thank you.:D

G4 is an abomination.

I'm sort of, almost, looking forward to these:

Crusoe. It'll either be a fun, frothy, "running around in the jungle in britches and funny hats and being way more progressive than appropriate to the period" mild amusement, or it's going to unwatchably bad.

Eleventh Hour, because Rufus Sewell is so worth staring at. I'll take almost any chance to just look at Rufus Sewell for an hour a week. On the other hand, its time slot conflicts with Burn Notice (Jeffrey Donovan is also worth staring at) and I don't have tivo. Also, the blurb -- "Eleventh Hour: A top biophysicist is called in by the government to investigate unusual scientific happenings at the 11th hour." Get it? Witty, right? See, it's like where we got the title from -- is not very promising.

I haven't seen any ads for other new shows that interest me.
oh

eleventh hour wasnt on my list but

rufus sewell

ill give it a try.

burn notice should also have alternate play times until it is done for the season. i just got a DVR (tivo) its the greatest invention since tv itself.

Monday, September 8, 8pm, FOX: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (returning)
Watched this show when it premiered. Very good
I hated it so much :P

Myself, I'll be watch yer Eureka stuff. Excellent light entertainment. Also, although it's more like the start of 2009, I shall obviously be watching BSG's conclusion.

Lost doesn't start till next year, I'm afraid. They're doing stupid little spring seasons for the duration of the show.

And, of course, you already know I heartily second House and Pushing Daisies. Heroes....we'll see. I was getting kinda bored with it last season, to the point where I was only watching it for the amusement of playing the Mohinder In My Pants game my friend invented.* Well, that and Milo Ventimiglia running around shirtless. ;)








*no, it's not as dirty as it sounds, I'm afraid. My friend simply observed that, given the actor who plays Mohinder's invariably Dramatic tone, a great many of his lines of dialogue are vastly improved if you imagine them ending with "in my pants." :tongue:
Yeah, Heroes is very much "I'll watch it, but it'd better be good, hrmph". It almost wouldn't have made it on the list but eh, who am I kidding, I will watch it anyway.

I shall try the "in my pants" thing.

USA is annoying in their split season nonsense like that. They do it to Monk and Psych too.

Better than the venture Bros, that has a 13 episode season like once every 2 years.

I know, seriously. I hate being made to wait and wait or, worse, chase around a show that keeps getting moved. If I'm hooked on a show after a season or two, I just start looking for the DVDs. I can't put up with that stupid network crap.

I shall try the "in my pants" thing.

It's pretty fun, although it did cause my parents to look at me funny when Mohinder said, "I found the cure! It was -" and I interrupted him to declare, "IN MY PANTS!" and giggle uncontrollably.

...yes, I am a dork. :tongue:

Old shows - Cold Case, Bones, NCIS, CSI, Numb3rs and Eureka.

New shows - Fringe, My Own Worst Enemy, the Mentalist and Caprica (I'll watch a couple of episodes of each to see how good they are). If any of them are good, I'll consider investing in TiVO

I download movies and old t.v. instead. Though I like the History Channel's original documentaries and an occasional episode of Law and Order (the older ones). :)