Sunday, December 19, 2010

TV 2010: Runners up & Disappointments

Runners up for favorite shows:

The Good Wife: This show was a bit of a surprise for me because I don't always like procedurals and I didn't really care for the premise. But it's really well-done and more subtle than I thought it would be. Plus, Nurse Hathaway? Still hot. And Alan Cumming!! Even as a buttoned-down lawyer dude, he's still so fun and yummy.

Friday Night Lights: This last season was particularly well-done, especially in their handling of a teenage girl's pregnancy. But the biggest draw for me is still the relationship between Coach Taylor and Mrs. Coach. And yes, I know her name is Tami, but I like calling her Mrs. Coach. They show that married couples can fight, they can agree, they can be just sick of each other once in a while, but they still love each other and are committed.

Treme: I had some trouble with this show in that I always seemed to wait and let about 3 or 4 episodes pile up before I'd watch them all up. I think Breaking Bad may have been on at the same time, so I'd catch Treme On Demand. I kept thinking maybe I just didn't like the show, but every time I sat down to watch, I'd watch everything that was available. I think it's just a show that works better in large doses. Anyway, the show was truly spectacular in many ways, the cast, the setting, the music...I loved it. And Khandi Alexander? Truly amazing. She probably won't be nominated for an Emmy, but she should be.

Luther: This show was a bit of a mess in some ways, but I still really enjoyed it. Luther is a quite interesting character, kind of a blue-collar Sherlock Holmes. He's rough around the edges but he's highly intelligent. And Ruth Wilson's character! I'm not sure I've ever seen a dynamic like the one these two shared. I am a bit worried about the second series because they ended the first in a crazy nutso place, and I'm not sure they can extricate themselves, but it was a ballsy move, and I do want to see what happens next.

Sherlock: I realized before writing this that I have quite a fascination and love for the character of Sherlock Holmes, even though I've only read a few stories and seen a few incarnations. I actually think that the only Sherlocks I've seen (apart from this one) are Basil Rathbone and Robert Downey Jr. Anyway, I LOVE LOVE LOVE Martin Freeman and I really liked this updated version of the characters. Overall, I don't think the show was as strong as I would have liked, but I liked quite a bit in each episode and the first ep was particularly good.

Dr Who: I think that if I were able to actually watch this show weekly on my TV, it would be on my favorites list. As it was, I almost forgot about it simply because I have to wait for the DVDs to come out. And they did, so I am all caught up and I absolutely adore Matt Smith as the new Doctor. And Amy Pond is Smokin' Hot. And funny and wonderful.

Lost: I can't say the last season was the best. It had a lot of good and bad, but mostly I liked it. I just couldn't not mention it somewhere here, since I watched it from the very beginning, almost stopped watching a few times, but I stuck it out and I'm glad I did. Can't say the ending was all I'd hoped for, but what ending can be? (Except the ending to The Shield, nothing tops that in my book.) I enjoyed hanging out with the characters and enduring all manner of what-the-fuckery, so good on ya, Lost.

Disappointments:

Big Love: Hubbie and I feverishly tore through the first 3 seasons of this show and absolutely loved it. Well-rounded characters, good stories, good acting...awesomeness. We got all caught up in time to watch the fourth season on HBO. Great. And then...I dunno, the show just fell apart somewhere. There was just too much going on, half of which was utterly redonkulous. And then there was the problem of Bill. He was never someone I completely rooted for, but at least I could see his humanity and his earnestness to do the right thing by everyone. But then towards the end of the fourth season, I started to actively HATE him. A few days ago I saw a teaser preview for the fifth and final season, and the minute he appeared on screen, I wanted to throw something at him. I will probably watch at least the beginning of the new season, especially since it's the last one, but it will definitely be on a short leash.

Sons of Anarchy: A lot of people were unhappy with this season, and I'm reluctantly with them. This show was just so damn good in its second season, and the third season was kind of a bust for the most part. It had a lot of good moments, but overall it took them way too long to get to Ireland to find Jax's son. By the time he finally got back to Charming with Abel, it was all very anticlimactic. I understand that Kurt Sutter wanted to tell that Ireland story, but I wish he'd come up with a better way to do it.

True Blood: True Blood and Glee have a lot in common. Big, over-the-top, rather inconsistent. And despite, highly watchable. But the third season...I dunno. It felt like they wanted to get EVERY character possible in the thing, rather than just adding a few and then spending some time with them. I mean, they introduced Alcide but really didn't do much good with him. And he's quite a good character in the books. NERD ALERT! Plus, they always pronounced his name with a hard 'd' even though it's supposed to be pronounced "Alcee". However, one good thing? Denis O'Hare as Russell Edgington. He was just the right kind of big, over-the-top scenery chewing that the show needs. I'll probably watch the new season cuz I'm a glutton for punishment, but things don't look good since every story I've read about the new season is "2 new characters cast!" and "three MORE new characters cast!!" It's going to be a big mess, but will it be a good mess? Time will tell.

The Walking Dead: Zombies. AMC. YES!!! Pilot, good! Second episode...not so good. Third, okay. The rest? Mix of good and bad. Basically, this show just never really made me LOVE it. I liked it. But I SOOOOO wanted to love it. I'll likely watch the second season, but it may drop quickly from the list if it isn't a whole lot better.

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