Another Season Over

So, another season is over, and I must say, it was quite blah. No new shows sparked my interest beyond one episode. The Event was so uneventful that it was not picked up for next year. Neither was No Ordinary Family, which took every cliche and did nothing new with them. Hawaii Five-O will return, an unqualified success, but it just wasn't for me (though I'm thrilled for Daniel Dae Kim). I never saw Undercovers, which was canceled before the season even ended.

I think it was a good thing that this season was so bad, however, as I had less time to watch television than normal. I know a number of my friends with children are able to maintain their viewing schedules, but I wasn't. I have no ideas why, and this isn't really the venue for me to contemplate how the way I am with my twins affects my TV.

Because of this, I rarely watched any show on a "timely" basis, i.e., within a day or two of its airing - heck, getting to watch within a week was sometimes more than I can handle. But now, I've watched the very last episode of the season, so I've some thoughts.

Let's start with the show that excited me the most: Fringe. It was a fabulous show, with a confusing ending. It turned some of its own mythology on its head (no mention of the Pattern this season!), and really fleshed out the alternative universe. Walternate's sole goal, of course, is to destroy our universe, with our characters, but we came to know and care about the characters in the alternative universe as well, even Fauxlivia. Since the machine that would destroy one universe (or the other...or both) required Peter (and, it turns out, Olivia), Peter's role became central. And who he picked would also be central - Fauxlivia or Olivia?

But the final episode of the season was terribly confusing. Peter decided that he could prevent the machine from working by entering it, but once he did, he jumped to the future, a terrible future, in which the alternative universe was destroyed, and only Walternate (who had allegedly jumped to our universe to make peace), survived. But the destruction of the universe led to the slow death of ours, helped by Walternate's terrorism. Before it was over, Olivia (married to Peter!) was killed by Walternate, and Walter, released from jail, realized that he was the one who sent the machine back into the past (so much for the First People), and that Peter must go back to let everyone know the universes depended upon each other for survival.

Suddenly, the two universes were together, in our timeline, at Staten Island. Two Walters, two Olivias, two Astrids. Only one Broyles (of course, since Alternative Broyles was killed), and one Peter. Though, as Peter explained his theory to the Walters, he suddenly disappeared. And no one blinked.

Then, we were watching the Observers, as they observed. No one missed Peter, because he never existed.

Hunh?

So why did Walter go to the other universe, causing all the harm to the alternative universe? How did the machine work? Who fathered Fauxlivia's child? I'm frankly having a hard time wrapping my head around this.

But, I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt, as I always do. I believe in trusting the producers to make sense of the seeming messes they've created. I hopefully will be rewarded. Good news: Seth Gabel has been brought on as a regular. Maybe Lincoln Lee fathered Fauxlivia's child?

My next favorite comedy this season is Community, which will also return next season. The show's meta focus has remained meta, which might throw some people off. It ended with yet another paintball contest, with Pierce winning and donating the earnings to save the school. But he left the study group, not surprising considering he was the villain throughout the season. I guess the group will have to do something next season to bring him back in. They will also have to figure out what to do about Senor Chang, who was mostly endearing through the season. I for one was rather sad Shirley's baby wasn't his.

My last favorite? The Good Wife. I have a friend who reported being embarrassed that she likes this show as much as she does, yet she watches almost all The Real Housewives. Go figure. Juliana Marguilies continues to hit this one out of the park as the stoic, heartbroken junior associate at Lockhart Gardner. There were some fun shenanigans with the law firm, but what most stood out was the destruction of Kalinda and Alicia's friendship. Alicia figured out that Kalinda once slept with her husband, a discovery that destroyed her marriage and her friendship with Kalinda, and opened up the door to a night in the Presidential Suite with Will. Kalinda was devastated by the loss of her friendship, and almost left the firm. Before the season was over Kalinda made herself hard, commenting that she doesn't have to share her feelings with anyone. We'll see what happens with that.

Bones ended on a high note for many people this season, except those who actually wanted to see Booth and Bones "do it". Bones is pregnant after at least one night with Booth. His sly grin told all there is to know - he's thrilled. What will happen with this relationship? I don't know. We'll find out.

On the other hand, House ended on a very low note. Destroyed by his break up with Cuddy and his discovery that she might have moved on romantically (or even lied to him about it, though we know she didn't), he drove his car into her house "to return a hair brush". Cuddy told the cops she never wanted to see House again (which should be easy, since Lisa Edelstein is leaving House). Even Wilson implied he thought House should be arrested. House, on the other hand, was last seen in some beach setting that clearly couldn't be New Jersey. Presumably, he's left the country. What will happen next year? Who knows.

Let's not forget Chuck. Chuck and Sarah married, all without bringing the show down to Moonlighting levels. But to get married, Chuck had to betray the CIA, so Team Bartowski was essentially fired. But thanks to the former Volkoffs (I just can't go into it), the team has enough money to investigate corruption in the CIA. The evil CIA had removed the Intersect from Chuck, but the show ended with Morgan Grimes inadvertently downloading the Intersect into his brain. Okeydokey.

Sadly, the Human Target, which I think never got a fair chance, was canceled. It was a good show. Shame on you if you never watched it!!

So, here is my report card on the shows I actually watched:

Fringe - A-. The season finale was lackluster and confusing. Otherwise, this show would have been an A.

Community - B. It's still a great show but needs to be careful with it's meta focus.

The Good Wife - A + - this show was top-notch the entire season and never once missed a step. I would grade it even higher (if I could) just because they promoted Alan Cumming to series regular.

Bones - C - I'm happy that Bones and Booth finally got together - I really like the characters. I do. I just think the show is running out of steam.

House - B - - Is this an example of grade inflation? I don't know. I like that Cuddy is leaving, since that will cause some major, needed changes. But the medical mysteries are boring and repetitive.

Chuck - B - - This show gets a higher grade just because it is actually ending next season. I like it when shows have an end date (see Lost), just so the producers have an opportunity to end the show in a way that will please us all. Or not. But I'm looking forward to seeing how it wraps up.

Human Target - A +. I'm still disgruntled.

So, that's that. At some point, I'll be writing a post about next season, which seems to hold a lot of promise. I'm sure I'll post about the summer season as well.

Report Card for Fall, 2010 Shows

To be exact, this is a report card on shows I watch. I am afraid to report that I watch only bits and pieces of new shows. This was just not a good year for new shows.

I may not be blogging much (blame my two little niblets for that!), but I'm still watching television. I may not watch the show in the same week it airs, but I'm still watching. This post will discuss how I think the shows are faring this new season.

Chuck

One of the marvels of Chuck is that it has taken science fiction conventions and turned them on their head. In this case, Chuck's family all knows about his superhero powers (I guess that's what you'd call the Intersect) and he landed the hot babe. Chuck's sister is extremely smart, so the writers would have to stretch credulity far more than they already do to have Chuck keep that secret hidden. However, Ellie has made Chuck promise to leave the spy game, a promise Chuck has broken. How long can he hide that from her? Who knows?

Many have decried Chuck's relationship with Sarah Walker as a Moonlighting moment, claiming that the affair has caused the show to jump the shark. I disagree. From what I've read (amazingly enough, I never watched Moonlighting), Moonlighting lost it's spark long before the leads shared a bed. Plus, keeping Chuck and Sarah apart in the past two seasons alone has stretched the writers' abilities, so it was time for them to either come together or get rid of one. And what would Chuck be without Sarah? Or Chuck, for that matter? No, I think the relationship is fine, though some of their arguments are as manufactured as the plot points that kept them apart.

The major reveal of the season is Morgan Grimes, Chuck's Buy-Moron best friend. Last year Morgan learned Chuck's secret and joined the CIA. This season, he was made manager of the CIA-front Buy More, earned John Casey as a mentor, and started dating Casey's daughter. He's a bumbling fool who more often than not is right. In other words, in a way, he's taken on the role Chuck used to have. He's the outsider whose perspective and unusual ways have earned him the respect of John Casey (brilliantly portrayed by Adam Baldwin). He's also earned my respect, and has become the heart of the show.

The first half of this season has focused on Chuck finding his mother (who - surprise, surprise - is also a spy). This plot line has been underwhelming, though Timothy Dalton as the psychotic Volkoff has been a joy.

The Volkoff plot has been a bust, but Morgan makes the grade higher: B.

House

Last season ended with House starting a relationship with Cuddy after almost relapsing into narcotics abuse. Huddy fans rejoiced.

I was never a Huddy fan, but I preferred House with Cuddy than Jennifer Morrison's self-righteous Cameron. Cuddy, at least, was House's emotional and intellectual equal. Plus, unlike Cameron, you knew Cuddy would know exactly what she was getting herself into. And that's what's been so cool about the season. House and Cuddy both know their weaknesses, and have been trying to address them as adults. House has not been made softer (watch him describe his relationship with Cuddy as an episode from Wild Kingdom), and he has resorted to form by lying and manipulating her to get his way, both at work and in their relationship. Many television romances are predictable, and thus boring, but this one so far has not been. I have no idea if they will make it or not. And I like that I don't know.

The only other thing worthy of note is that Peter Jacobson and Olivia Wilde have finally been added to the credits, and Jennifer Morrison's name has been removed. Cameron, I hardly missed you.

That said, this show is clearly aging, and the writers don't seem to acknowledge it. The cases are becoming less interesting, and House's arguments about human nature have been aired many times before. The acting remains top-notch. Grade: B-.

Human Target

This show is the perfect comic book television show. It has succeeded in a way that Heroes can only imagine. Christopher Chance is a former assassin who is now attempting to atone for the harm he has caused. He knows many languages and forms of fighting. He can protect people better than anyone else, but often puts his own life in danger, simply because he doesn't really care if he lives or dies. If he lives, he wants to continue to help others. He is joined by Winston (the incredible Chi McBride) and Guerrero (Jackie Earle Haley, how steals just about every scene he's in, except with McBride).

I learned just recently that I missed last season's finale, I presume because of all the changes in cable boxes we experienced this last year. From what I can tell, enemies of Chance took Winston captive to force Chance to help them. Winston was nearly blown up, and Chance was so traumatized that someone he loved almost died because of him. So he joins an ashram in Nepal. Or Tibet. Whichever. He is found by a Melinda Gates-like woman, who's life is in danger after her husband was murdered. After Chance saves her, she essentially "buys" his business. So Indira Varma (of Rome fame) joins the cast.

I've only seen two of three episodes so far this season, and so far, I've found the series to be the same in tone and atmosphere as last season. Mark Valley as Christopher Chance brings a warm, self-deprecatory humor to the role, and the addition of Varma (and a female thief who idolizes Guerrero) has not interfered with that yet. We'll see. In the meantime, I'm giving the show a provisional: A.

Community

Community is the only comedy I have on DVR. I like its zany humor, and I love that John Oliver from The Daily Show with Jon Stewart has a recurring role. Last season, the show struck comedy gold when it parodied every bad action flick, with the students of Greendale Community College join a paintball war with the winner earning the right to priority registering. This season they've parodied zombie films and Apollo Thirteen films. Like last season, the episodes are a bit inconsistent - Betty White's guest turn was underwhelming - but it's always a fun half-hour. I'm giving a B+.

Bones

Last season, the group broke up. Bones went to some remote island to study the beginnings of humankind, Booth went to Afghanistan to train would-be snipers, Hodgins and Angela went to Paris, and Sweets grew a beard (or something like that). Caroline Julian, one of Bones' recurring characters who's more interesting than some of the main characters, brings them back to save Camille Saroyan's career. After doing so, the gang's all back together, like nothing's changed.

Or so it would seem. Angela's pregnant (and the storyline where everyone figures it out but keeps it from Hodgins because he wanted to surprise them was deadly dull) and Booth has a serious girlfriend. The girlfriend is the real source of dramatic tension this season, as Bones has to deal with the fact that she rejected Booth, who has moved on. The girlfriend is an accomplished journalist, and quite likable, and Bones has made an effort to be a friend. But it's obvious she recognizes what she passed up, and that Booth still cares for her. It appears that soon Bones' inner turmoil will be expressed. I'll be curious to see how that works out.

Bones remains, as ever, inconsistent, so I'll give it a B-.

Fringe

Fringe is one of those shows that just gets better each year. Last season ended with Walter successfully finding Peter in the other dimension and bringing him home. However, unbeknownst to both of them, they brought along the other dimension's Olivia, called "Fauxlivia". "Our" Olivia remained in the other dimension, where she was experimented upon to discover what it was that allowed her to cross dimensions. While maintaining the "monsters of the week" story line, the show managed to show Fauxlivia's attempts to accomplish whatever she was sent over to do and Olivia's eventually successful attempts to return home.

Anna Torv has shown herself to be a far better actress than she was ever given credit for. Many complained that she was too flat in her portrayal of Olivia, but I thought her lack of affect made sense, given the fact her lover was initially thought to be a traitor. This season, she played two Olivias, and managed to show the tiny, subtle differences that exist between the two. John Noble has always been recognized as a great actor, and his portrayal of two Walters has not disproved that. We see in the alternate Walter - called "Walternate" - what our Walter could have been, and it is not a pretty picture. Joshua Jackson as Peter Bishop remains as watchable as ever.

The Olivias have returned to their rightful universes, and only time will tell what damage Fauxlivia managed to wreck here. The immediate fall out, of course, will occur between Olivia and Peter. Somehow, Peter will have to reconcile his affair with Fauxlivia, and his own inability to recognize her as an impostor. This is one show I look forward to seeing week after week. Grade: A+.

Project Runway

I've already blogged about my impressions of the great season of Project Runway we just had. I never posted my thoughts about the fact that Gretchen won over Mondo, but I refuse to let that disappointment sway me from my opinion. Grade: A.

The Good Wife

I remain captivated by this show, in large part driven by Juliana Margulies's portrayal of a betrayed wife. This season, Alicia's husband campaigns to win his job back, while the law firm she works for has merged with another. The firm's merger may have saved it from bankruptcy, but has created a whole new set of problems, including the addition of a potentially felonious investigator and Diane's decision to leave the firm. Meanwhile, Alicia has just learned that Will apparently left her a message detailing how he feels about her, a message she never got because Eli Gold deleted it. Will's moved on, assuming Alicia moved on. This sounds like a soap opera, doesn't it? But it's still good, and my description doesn't do it justice. The writing is excellent, the acting is impeccable, and the plots are interesting without being predictable. I'm definitely giving this an A.

I never did watch Undercovers. I eventually deleted the episodes. Apparently, I wasn't the only one not watching - the show was canceled.

I've watched a few episodes of Raising Hope. It is amusing, but Cloris Leachman's character is a little too broad and silly for enjoyment. It's fun to watch when I come across it.

I've started watching The Office, and I must say, it turns out I'm a fan. Who knew? I've not seen enough this season to have an opinion as to its grade. Maybe at the end of this season.

You might be justified in accusing me of grade inflation, and you may be right. But why waste my valuable time watching a show that doesn't even warrant a B-?

The Fall Season

I must say I'm sadly underwhelmed by the new season this year. For the first time in I can't tell how long, I'm not adding a single show to my "must see" list. Some thoughts:

I don't know why I wasn't interested in The Event, touted by many as the next Lost. As you know, I like me some Lost, but nothing about the show interested me in any way. I'm happy that Jason Ritter (from Joan of Arcadia), ER's Laura Innes, and go-to guy Blair Underwood have found work, but their presence is not enough to make me want to watch. I saw a half hour the other day. As you may recall, I didn't start Lost from the first episode. But I caught part of an episode later in the season, and I found myself enthralled and wanting to know more. That's not the case with my glimpse into The Event. None of the characters jumped out at me, and I'm totally not interested in knowing why some characters will do anything to get Jason Ritter's character.

I did watch a full episode of the revamped Hawaii Five-O, solely to watch Daniel Dae Kim's new show. The powers-that-be have been desperate to find a vehicle for Alex O'Loughlin. His first show, Moonlight, was a cult favorite that was cancelled too soon (full disclosure: I never watched it). His second show was the abysmal Three Rivers, which found itself on the chopping block pretty quickly. I think he's found a successful show, however, in Hawaii Five-O, in which he takes over from Jack Lord as Steve McGarrett. He's joined by Scott Caan as Danno, Kim as Chin Ho Kelly, and Grace Park as the now female Kono. I watched the premiere, and will watch no more. I found the dialogue to be cliched, the characters to be cardboard, and the villain (played by the former Spike, James Marsters) to be dull.

I have on a season pass of sorts Undercovers, a new show by J.J. Abrams. I've yet to watch a single episode. That tells me I'm not looking forward to it, and I may just have to cancel the whole thing. I never watched Alias, so maybe I just don't like the genre?

I also tried to watch No Ordinary Family, starring the former Darla and Dexter's Rita Morgan, Julie Benz. She's joined by Michael Chiklis and one of the Panabaker girls. You would think the show is right up my geek-girl alley. The family takes a trip, the plane crashes, and each has a special power afterward. But I found nothing new or unusual in the pilot, just a family drama filled with cliches, in which the family just happens to develop powers. It doesn't help that the show has one of the worst cliches of all time: the stereotypical troubled teenager.

Lost and Buffyverse fan alert: Daniel Dae Kim (Jin and Gavin Park) plays Chin Ho Kelly in the revamped Hawaii Five-O.

Buffyverse fan alert: James Marsters, Spike, played a villain in the premiere episode of Hawaii Five-O. Does Marsters just not want a series or do producers not recognize his charisma? Granted, his charisma was not in evidence in this episode... Also, Julie Benz, Darla, plays Stephanie Power in No Ordinary Family.