It's been awhile since a good 'ol random thoughts post. (Even Alison Brie agrees!) So why not dig into the multitude of crap I watched over the last year. Let's go in the order they aired during the week...
- Chuck: Listen, the second season of Chuck is one of my favorite seasons of television I've watched in years, but Chuck has run its course for the most part. I did enjoy spending an hour with the crew on a week-to-week basis, as Season Four was a solid, if inconsistent, run of episodes. However, it's time for Chuck and company to gracefully bow out (which it will after airing a thirteen episode fifth season). This season had the same problem Season Three had: a plot worked out for 13 episodes that wrapped up nicely (finishing with the excellent "Chuck versus the Push Mix"), but with a backorder of 11 episodes tacked on that felt so much less planned out than the beginning of the season. There was a nice twist during the finale that will make Season Five a little less formulaic and a little more interesting, so I will say that I'm looking forward to see how the writers and producers will wrap things up.
- House: Hmm... where to begin? Actually, My comments on Season Seven of House sort of mimic that of Chuck: an inconsistent season for a show that has run its course. I really wasn't a fan of the finale, especially after hearing the news that Lisa Edelstein won't be back for Season Eight. I liked the House/Cuddy romance, as it showed progression of the Greg House character, but once they split the show pretty much devolved into what it's been for years. I was a big fan of "The Dig," the episode which featured the return of Thirteen. Beyond that, I can't recall too many memorable moments.
- Raising Hope: Without a doubt, my favorite new show of the year. I fucking loved Raising Hope. It was so smartly written, and wonderfully combined wacky hilarity with touching, heartfelt moments. There's really not much else I can say other than you should buy this when it's released on DVD (here's hoping for a Blu-ray release too!). Raising Hope is awesome.
-White Collar: The second half of season two aired this winter (the first half over the summer of 2010), so it counts for me. White Collar is a fun show, but nothing more. The plots are silly and the writing often makes the show seem second-rate, but it's enjoyable mainly for Matthew Bomer's performance. He's great and makes it much better than it is. I think my favorite thing about White Collar is when they shill for Ford. Listen, I'm a Chuck fan, so I know you have to find ways to pay the bill (by eating Subway!), but the Ford moments of the show are downright hilarious. Peter is in his car. His cell rings. Cut to a close up of Peter pressing the phone button on his steering wheel and answering the phone (what incredible features!). He finds out he needs to be somewhere quick. He talks for 30 seconds about the navigation features his car offers. Hilarity ensues!
-Justified: Oh hell yes. The second season of Justified was terrific, sans one terrible plot point (Winona stealing money; it was so out of character for her, and even worse when Raylan helped her cover it up). This show, along with the aforementioned Raising Hope and the soon-to-come Community were my absolute favorites of the television season. Walton Goggins is a fucking juggernaut as Boyd. Seriously, I can't even begin to describe his greatness.
-Community: Probably the smartest show on TV (at least of the ones I watch, obviously). Community is so well-written and often so smart that I can't believe Dan Harmon and crew were able to plan things out as creatively as they do. Oh, and I can't overstate how much I am smitten with the lovely Alison Brie. One day.
The Office: I'm happy to say The Office returned with a bounce back season after the disappointing Season Six. Of course, it's nowhere near as good as the original seasons, but if the writing is as decent as it was this year, the Steve Carell-less eighth season may stand a chance. I wasn't a huge fan of the Will Ferrell episodes, but I guess it got people talking. I'd rather them keep the big names out and focus on the characters they've built up for seven seasons. They're the people we truly care about.
Archer: I can't believe I'm saying this, but after the brilliant first season of Archer, I never got around to watching the second season of this show. I have all of the episodes saved on my DVR, though. I just missed a few weeks in the beginning, and then it was easier to watch other shows then rip through a backlog of Archer episodes. Soon.
And of course, here's what's on the tube now...
White Collar: Yes, it's back again. The show had a short layoff between Seasons Two and Three (the layoff in the middle of Season Two was longer). So far, it's the same as I wrote above. Only two episodes in though.
South Park: A lot of the internet bitched about the first half of Season Fifteen, but I enjoyed it. It wasn't as laugh-out-loud funny as other seasons, but I thought it was pretty clever in the traditional South Park style. We've already hit the halfway mark, so no new episodes until the fall.
Friday Night Lights: Even though it's the last season (and has already aired on DirecTV's channel), I haven't gotten around to this show yet. I have the seven or so episodes that aired on my DVR, but I'm not sure when I'll get to them. I think it's mostly because with the exception of Riggins and Coach Taylor, all of the other orignal characters I liked have moved on. The current cast is fine, I just don't really care that much about them. I've never been in love with this show like others, but it's always been a good watch (with the exception of the awful second season). Oh, and Aimee Teegarden is FUCKING HOT.
The Killing: So, I watched the first three episodes of this show... then stopped. I really liked the pilot, so much so that I was recommending it to people (the scene where Rosie's parents find out she's dead was amazing). But then the show just got really, really boring. I let the next couple episodes build up on the DVR before diving into a thread about whatever the latest episode was on DVDTalk. People were complaining on there about it's slowness along with the lack of anything happening, so I quit the show. I appreciate a good slow-burn, but The Killing just wasn't doing it for me.
The Glades: Despite the familiar premise that brings nothing new to the detective genre, I enjoyed this show's first season. It seems to be more of the same this year, so we'll see. Like White Collar, we're only two episodes in.
So that's that. I didn't include shows like Mythbusters and Tosh.0, but be aware: I watch them. Mythbusters has generally been disappointing this year; I really think they're running out of shit to do. And Tosh.0 is Tosh... so you know what you're getting there (hilarity). There's a substantial lack of solid shows that I've never gotten around to watching yet (like Mad Men, Breaking Bad, and a few others I have on Blu-ray or DVD), so hopefully I can catch up on a few over the summer so I can dive in when their new seasons premiere. I'm out.
Oh, and I have it on good authority that if you click on that picture of Alison Brie, wonderful things will happen.
Blow Out (1981)
