In a story I broke this weekend, tonight sees the debut of two nerd oriented shows. Of the two, The Big Bang Theory (see my First Impressions) by far handled the nerd culture better than tonight’s other debut, Chuck. But if we want to get technical, the guys from The Big Bang Theory are actual nerds while Chuck and his co-workers, despite working for something called the Nerd Herd, definitely fall under the label of nerds. And if you have to ask what is the difference between a nerd and a geek, you are definitely not either.
What’s worse Chuck even calls himself a nerd in the pilot. Seriously whoever is Chuck’s nerd advisor needs to fired (or possibly they need to find one if they don’t already have one) because Chuck and his best buddy Morgan are completely one note and clichéd and it was almost like the writers got the inspiration for their jokes out of a Nerds for Dummies guidebook. And while they are firing people, the cinematographer and all his uber-close up shots need to go. It is not often I am thankful for not having a high definition television, but this would be one of those cases because I bet anyone who does could count the number of nose hairs the actors had in those shots. I also have to question the musical adviser too, yeah Jet’s Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is was a great choice for the seen with the Token Hot Chick getting dressed, but they didn’t even feature the best line in the song, “You’ll be the sinner and I’ll be the sin.” Then the big emotional scene at the end features a song by The Shins; how Zach Braff
of them.
But all that is knick picking, my biggest problem with the first episode has to do with the main plot. So Chuck is e-mailed sensitive government information which is downloaded to his brain. That isn’t as close to being as farfetched to how they portray our government employees so ruthlessly. We have in one episode we witness an NSA agent kill an unarmed CIA agent (albeit a rouge one), then give the okay to kill another CIA agent, which he almost does with his car, who is just following order from the superior. Then we have a CIA agent stabbing multiple NSA agents. Really, if I wanted to hear how inept and corrupt our government is I’d listen to Air America.
That is not to say the whole show is flawed. The two saving graces are the two government agents sent to look after Chuck. First for the NSA there is Adam Baldwin (My Bodyguard
) who steals every movie or television show he has ever been in and the plot twist with his character at the end shows that the series has much potential after the Pilot. But more importantly the show could possible feature the hottest Token Hot Chick ever in the history of television in the form of a CIA agent. Her dance sequence could be the sexiest thing you will ever see on network television. Her twist at the end can also put a major monkey wretch in the future of the show.
Even though Morris is extremely annoying, the background geeks of the Nerd Herd could prove to be more entertaining, led by archenemies Harry, who was also a great source of comic relief as horny forensic guy on Dexter. Surprisingly even though the easiest scene stealer to write, the geek, turned out extremely annoying in the form of Morris, the breakout scene steal is token perfect dude (who typically is the most annoying character), Chuck’s sister’s boyfriend Captain Awesome.
Verdict: A pretty lackluster Pilot but they do set up things nicely for the show to improve considering the two twists at the end. But I still a little worried because for something labeled a dramady, the laughs were not all that funny. Really the only thing that got more than a chuckle out of me was Chuck’s choice of ringtones. So they may want to add a comedy writer to the already long list of people I said they need to bring on. Chuck airs Mondays at 8:00 on NBC. You can also download the Pilot for free on Amazon Unbox.
Also I would like to mention with premiere week in full swing for the credible networks, the good people over at Tapeworthy and The TV Addict round up a group television blogger and myself to rate this year’s new shows and you can find a grid of all our responses here. For those that find graphs too complicated, below I took the averages of all the show and put them in order below as well as the rubric and the list of who participated:
1. Pushing Daisies: 5.00
2. Chuck: 4.67
3. Dirty Sexy Money: 4.56
4. Reaper: 4.31
5. Gossip Girl: 3.92
6. Aliens in America: 3.75
7. Journeyman: 3.67
8. Bionic Woman: 3.54
9. Private Practice: 3.33
10. Cane: 3.20
11. Samantha Who?: 3.17
12. Sarah Connor Chronicles: 3.00
New Amsterdam: 3.00
K-Ville: 3.00
15. Life Is Wild: 2.75
Life: 2.75
17. Back to You: 2.70
18. Women's Murder Club: 2.50
Big Bang Theory: 2.50
20. Carpoolers: 2.43
21. Viva Laughlin: 2.00
Big Shots: 2.00
23. Cavemen: 1.63
1 - Don't waste your time unless you find ACCORDING TO JIM 'funny'
2 - Not great but at least doesn't offend me.
3 - Fun to watch if nothing else is on.
4 - Has potential. Worth a second look.
5 - Set your TiVo to Season's Pass!
N/A - Haven't watched yet.
BuzzSugar, DaemonsTV, DuckyDoesTV, GiveMeMyRemote, GlowyBox, MikeyLikesTV, ScooterMcGavin, SillyPipeDreams, Seat42f, TapeWorthy, theTVaddict, TiFaux and TubeTalk
I was a little surprised of how high people ranked Reaper and I am beginning to think either everyone else saw something different than I did or I am the only one not on the CW payroll. It weird that everyone “in the know” thinks the show is great yet not actually saying what is so great about it yet every normal person I talk to say it would be kind to call it mediocre. The best description I have heard about the show was that it was in a word underwhelming. My only other theory is that everyone else is grading on a curve because lets face it, if you take Pushing Daisies out of the equation, none of the other shows would have even ranked in the top five of last year’s list.
Now if happened upon the 9th Green from one other other TV blogs, you may want to check out my contest where I am giving away the fourth season of Nip/Tuck on DVD. Click the banner on the top of the sidebar for details.
And I would be remised if I didn’t mention that I am up for an award for Best TV Blogger. Yeah so technically I shouldn’t win this award because I’m not a TV Blogger. And really I don’t want to win. I just want to come in third, fourth or fifth because they win t-shirts, and winning a t-shirt means one more day I can procrastinate doing laundry. So if you have too much time on your hands (you do have to sign up to the site), please click the badge below and vote for me. Well unless of course I am in first or second then vote someone else to bump me down to third.
Every new television season you inevitably hear shows being called the “new” this or that. This is done to get fans of previous shows to tune in. But whenever I hear the “new” tag I usually think why would watch Moonlight just because it is a lesser version of Angel
. I watched Angel because it was great not because it was a second rate version of something else. Another new show this season that gets a lot of comparison to a past show is Journeyman with everyone talking about it is like Quantum Leap
thanks to the time travel to fix things in the past.
But really, that is where the similarities end for good or for bad. There is no hologram there to give the time traveler any hints on what they should do and the Journeyman always comes back to the present at the end of the day which brings in a whole new dynamic because he has a wife, kid, brother, and job he has to juggle while unexpectingly being taken into the past. And Journeyman is certainly not done tongue in cheek like a bulk of the predecessors episodes were.
Kevin McKidd plays the time traveler in question and for anyone who has watched Rome it may take a little time to get used to his new accent. And maybe it will show up in future episodes but it is somewhat disappointing that he wasn’t able to inject any humor into the role because as seen on Rome
he can make something seem funny even in a serious setting. Not only does McKidd has to deal with leaving his family without notice while whisked into the past, while in the past he always seemed to run into his ex-girlfriend who later died in a plane crash.
But to say the Pilot was mediocre would be kind. It is hard to follow at time; it took me three “journeys” to realize he was going back at different points in time. And I am not sure if Moon Bloodgood, the ex-girlfriend, could be a convincing actress even if she were playing Moon Bloodgood in The Moon Bloodgood Story. But then again her poor acting won’t seem that out of place considering the show follows Heroes
and she does get as naked as any censor would allow on network television, so that is a plus. On the good side, the episode had a twist so surprising I had to rewind to see if I saw what I thought I just saw (see spoiler section at end of the post). Plus the episode ends with an emotional moment that gave me goosebumps and that just doesn’t happen that often. Darn you The Fray and your melodic tunes.
Verdict: Here is a show that can go either way. The twist seen mid way through the episode could make the series very interesting. But it could also fall into a Quantum Leap retread. If NBC.com offers the show to stream on their website I may continue to watch the show. Journeyman airs Mondays at 10:00 on NBC. You can also download the first episode for the show for free on Amazon Unbox (see below for the ad and below the ad are some spoilers so be warned).
Spoiler Section
Okay, I try to avoid major spoilers for show that haven’t aired but the major twist was so shocking I just had to write about it. From the beginning I was convinced that the ex-girlfriend wasn’t dead, but I was completely blown away when it turned out that not only was she not dead but she herself was a Journeywoman. Which brings up so many questions like is she the reason why he is now journeying? Did she go in hiding in the present after her first journey or is she constantly leaping through time like Sam Beckett? This twist alone makes the show another shot for at least a couple more episodes. But I have to wonder if him journeying back to San Francisco, where he lives, was a just a plot point for the first episode for him to run into his ex-girlfriend and will be going other places in future episode or if he will go back to San Francisco exclusively because that can cause way too many conundrums for the show.
This Monday during the eight o’clock hour sees the debut of two shows that features a nerd whose life is infiltrated by a token hot chick. Of the two shows, The Big Bang Theory by far handles the geek culture better. But on the other hand Chuck doesn’t utilize a laugh track (more on Chuck Monday). The “audience” for The Big Bang Theory laughed about four times before they actually said something that made me laugh. Sure the laugh track worked on me when I was nine watching Family Matters (Urkel: now there was a real nerd) but I can’t imagine anyone whose age has reached the double digits that doesn’t see through a laugh track. Seriously, if you film before a studio audience, just go with the natural laugh a joke generates. And if a joke doesn’t get a laugh from them, maybe you should think about cutting the joke from the show not artificially creating a laugh.
Crappy laugh tracks aside, being someone who knows whether to use an integral or differential to solve for an area under a curve, the show is right up my alley. Well that is until I found out the show is from the “comic geniuses” behind Two and a Half Men. Yet The Big Bang Theory is surprisingly funny thanks in part of their grasp on nerds. Granted some of the jokes did bomb which were then only highlighted more in the in fallibility by the laugh track. But I wonder if those are actually found funny by people with IQ’s in the double digits who then scratch their head at the jokes I laughed at. Maybe, if my theory is correct, the ingeniously created a show that both morons and smart people can enjoy. Naw.
The show itself centers on a pair of nerds who live and work together, Johnny Galecki (Dave Matthews Band Satellite video) and Jim Parsons (School for Scoundrels
) who get extremely lucky when a moderately attractive, but somewhat intellectually challenges, member of the opposite sex moves in next door in the form of Kaley Cuoco (Growing Up Brady
). The rest of the cast is filled with more nerdy colleagues including the want to be cool Simon Helberb (Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip) complete with old school Nintendo controller belt buckle, and the silent one Kunel Nayyar (nothing). But when it comes down to it, if you have seen the extended promo for the show, you basically have seen all the best parts. And if you are wondering why the people singing the theme sound familiar it is because it is the Barenaked Ladies which is a natural fit for the show. You can actually download the theme on iTunes or on the Amazon MP3
site.
Verdict: In the battle between the nerds, Chuck currently holds a slight edge if only because it has the hotter Token Hot Chick. But if you can find time to fit How I Met Your Mother into your schedule, you might as well stick around and watch The Big Bang Theory or tape it as well. At least as long as it stays out of Two and a Half Men territory. The Big Bang Theory airs Mondays at 8:30 on CBS. You can download the Pilot episode for free on iTunes or on Amazon Unbox (see right for ad).
One more television related story, I wasn’t going to mention that you can watch the season premiere of Friday Night Lights over at Yahoo because 1) certainly you have already heard about it by know, and 2) I hadn’t planned to watch it myself because I would rather wait and watch it on my television. Well that was until Herc over at Ain’t it Cool mentioned, “Yahoo has the whole second season premiere, featuring many of the lead actresses cavorting in swimwear here.” So I have a feeling that I will be watching the show sometime this weekend. And if you are still on the fence on whether you are going to watch the show or not, if that sentence doesn’t get you to watch, I don’t know what will.
Well they blew up the chicken man in China last night and my sources tell me that they blew up his house too. But anyways.
Two seasons ago Survivor trotted out their Jim Crow edition dividing the four tribes by race. Even though they didn’t do that the following season, the producers said that would continue filling the tribes with people of diverse backgrounds which they in Fiji. Then this season in China the racial breakdown goes like this (assuming I am correctly guessing their ethnicity): Blacks - 2, Asian - 2; Hispanics - 0; Whites - 11. But they did bring back the token gay homosexual which I don’t remember them having one for a while and if I am not mistaken this season has the very first French dude. So there is progess in that sense.
And the white people didn’t really represent the race very well, most notably, Courtney Yates, who completely disrespected the Chinese culture by whining through the whole thing with a holier than thou attitude and Leslie Nease who walked out of the ceremony because she only bows to Jesus. Listen ladies: you are the reason why the terrorists, and now most of the world, hate us. Ever heard the phrase when in Rome? And Leslie, I am a religious person myself and have been in a Buddhist Temple before and even have a little Buddha on my bookshelf but I don’t worship him. And didn’t you hear Jeff Probst say it wasn’t a religious ceremony? Morons.
Added to that we get the closest thing to a celebrity in a WWE wrestler (Synergy Alert! Ashey appears on Friday Night Smackdown on The CW which just so happens to be owned by the same company that owns CBS). And not surprisingly, even though Ashley Massaro was on the chopping block, she of course wasn’t the one to leave the first week even though she deserved to go more so than Steve “Chicken” Morris who knew more about the outdoors that the rest of his tribe combined. Hooray synergy. Is there anywhere I can bet that Leslie’s radio station just happens to be owned by CBS?
But you got to love how Probst said that the tribes had to leave all their worldly possessions behind even though they were all dressed in their nice cloths that the show probably told them to wear to the ceremony just so they would be forced to walk around in their underwear all season. Yet the ban of worldly possessions was lifted slightly so the could get their running shoes. How shameless (not that I’m complaining). Zhan Hun (which every time is spoken I think they are saying John Who) then dominated the immunity challenge and looking at their tribe we might have a complete sweep in challenges this year. The show better switch it up soon before that happens. Now for some predictions:
Will Be Most Loved: Dave Cruser
Will Be Most Hated: Lesie
Most Likely to Quit: Sherea Lloyd
Greatest Mullet in Reality TV History: Denise Martin
Girl Whom I’d Still Have Dirty, Dirty Sex with Even if She Hasn’t Showered in a Month: Jamie Dugan
Should Be Voted Off Next: Courtney
Winner: Amanda Kimmel
Back Up Winner: James Clement
Verdict: An auspicious start with the blatant synergy knocking out what could have been the most interesting character this season, the Chicken man. No we have to settle with the gay Morman flight attendant Todd Herzog who at first impressions just seems like a carbon copy of Brandon from Africa. But I’ll be tuning in next week just to see if there is gonna be a rumble out on the promenade. Survivor China airs Thursdays at 8:00 on CBS. You can watch the latest episodes at innertube.cbs.com.
Scooter Note: This contest is over. Congratulation to Geraldine from Boca Raton, FL who won the copy of Nip/Tuck DVD. Be sure to check back later this month for an exclusive look at season 5 and other contests.
I could never get into Nip/Tuck because I have a low tolerance for blood. And whenever I happen upon the show when flipping through channels I usually happen upon a scene that usually make me thank that I never started watching. But for those that don’t mind all the graphic surgery scenes I have a treat for you, in honor of the fifth season starting up on October 30th on FX, I am giving away one copy of the fourth season of Nip/Tuck on DVD. There are three ways you can enter:
1. Tell me what you don’t like about yourself (yeah it’s shameless, but that’s just how I roll).
2. My sources tell me the boys are closing up shop and moving to southern California, so which Hollywood star(let) who you most like see walk into their office this season?
3. Mention and link this contest on a blog or message board. (Only one entry allowed per message board and link must be posted at least 48 hours before the conclusion of the contest; feel free to use the badge to the right).
You can e-mail your entries to ScooterKSU(at)aol(dot)com (subject: Nip/Tuck) or leave them here in the comment section (but if you leave a comment make sure there is an easy way for me to find how to contact you). If you link the contest, make sure you let me know you did by comment or e-mail letting me know where so you get credited with an entry. You may enter multiple times (up to three times). The contest ends Friday, October 12 at 11:59 PM EST. The winner will be picked at random from all eligible entries and will be contacted shortly after. Also this contest is only open to people with shipping addresses in the Untied States.
Okay enough with all the legal mumbo jumbo out of the way here is exactly what you will be winning.
Synopsis:
Sex. Seduction. Liposuction. Find them all in the fearless Nip/Tuck, the award-winning series that's the scalpel's edge of entertainment...and the spark for debate about what cosmetic surgery can or cannot bring to a patient's life. Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon play plastic surgeons/best friends whose glamorous South Beach practice is a revolving door for Season 4's hot-button issues (including a terrifying story arc about an organ-harvest ring) and human foibles (a ventriloquist wants to look like his dummy). Guest stars include Jacqueline Bissett, Larry Hagman, Alanis Morissette, Mo'Nique, Rosie O'Donnell, Brooke Shields and more. Thrills, surprises, shocks, stars abound in this 5-Disc Set. And all it takes is a little Nip/Tuck. Season 4 DVD
Features:
- Clever Casting: The Seasons Guest Stars
- Sizzle: The Sexuality of Nip/Tuck
- The Cutting Edge: How Real-Life Dramas Are Incorporated into the Show
- Additional Scenes
- Deleted Scenes
- Featurette
- Gag Reel
Like I mentioned before, the fifth season of Nip/Tuck starts up on October 30th and really, what better way to start off your Halloween celebrations. To wet your appitite below are some exclusive pictures from the new season (click to enlarge) as well as a promo for the new season as well the previous seasons of Nip/Tuck that you can pick up on DVD:
Like I mentioned in Part 1, A couple weeks ago I realized I never got around to giving full season reviews of many of the past year’s programs. But I figured since the introduction of 57 Channels and Only This Is On this past year it seemed redundant to waste a whole post reiterating this I have probably said earlier. Even though I didn’t want to write up full reviews for each show, I did want to give each show a rating on my Terror Alert Scale. So here in a sort of television in review I’m going to give a quick though on each show (no seriously, I can write short things) and then give it a rating. If you want to go more in depth of my thoughts on each show, than click its label at the bottom of the post.
My Name Is Earl: It is very rare for a great show not to show signs of a sophomore slump in its second season but it even rarer for a show to actually get better. And to think after the first season I had serious doubt that Earl could continue to find entertaining thing to cross of his list. But this season saw the two funniest half hours of television with Our Cops Is On and Two Balls, Two Strikes featuring the extremely hilarious Norm McDonald with oversized, um, just watch the episode. Surprisingly the only let down was when we finally found out why the one legged woman was on the list. But a season filled with Joy arguing with her deaf lawyer, a trip to Mexico, and plenty of Camden County’s finest reappearing definitely made up for it. And for those that can’t wait for the new season, head over to NBC.com where you can see a Free Earl music video made by the Camden residents as well as download the mp3. My Name Is Earl 2.x gets a ![Terror Alert Level: Severe [RED]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjcsCV5I3jWQDVTcnVoXbArSx3kHl02FZ8FkOHBBKP2w8mQulcCF614SIw1GjuB2JtKV2YcQOKXtMlnW2ulLSOvYvvXzDwZ3JF4Mlh0Dt2nfEL1oGLh0sk7O-GRHWbCPvJmMMKg/s400/small_severe.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale. The show also won two Scooter Television Awards (five lifetime). Download the whole season of My Name Is Earl iTunes.
Rescue Me: after three stellar seasons the show had its first sub-par one. The plotlines seemed to be dropped for now reason with little or no payoff, there where just way too many moments where Tommy’s antic left everyone scratching their head and Papa Gavin showed up late in the season only to die on us. If Denis Leary wants a mulligan I’ll be happy to forget this season ever existed. Rescue Me 4.x gets a ![Terror Alert Level: Elevated [YELLOW]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6-iVFV0hXCTSYP16K_V0Rrxp3GqFrtBIJKeTUyQ2LpxZQ9XKHFj6QGtqqa7oxhLadLV8vUj8R84AftD8IKUSfN0u_u0CYDtJwhrpCPN2DBWquAIDv0jbVlhZL0mDFKlPKluGyxw/s400/small_elevated.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale. The show also won an STA (three lifetime).
Smallville: Actually I can’t really remember much of the past season but if they really killed off the Token Hot Chick I will never watch this show again. Smallville 6.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.
Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Here is a story of two seasons. The first half knocked out some of the best television of the year from the Pilot to the Wrap Party to the Christmas episode with plenty of great behind the scenes of what goes on at a television show and a network. Then when it became clear that the show was heading for cancellation it seemed like Aaron Sorkin stopped caring and the second half was bogged down by the horrible courtship of Danny and Jordan and his uber-liberal take on the Iraq war. Who knows how great the show could have been if he seemed to care the whole season. Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip 1.x gets a ![Terror Alert Level: High [ORANGE]](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhebDZ0qqwOVKMZj7oFSUe8Hm3ax54U9Hp1fThJPgiddTyzcdwx_5SV6E3b7hkKyxbaDiym4COmUXT2YJnsKCUjBHI_a2xZtNoY7qFQRslP5AGO5gLkJwn2ZbO0wIF80ycbKrgPPA/s400/small_high.png)
on my Terror Alert Scale.
Veronica Mars: Many people complained of the mini arcs, but those people are morons because the first arc finale, Spit and Eggs is up there as one of the greats in the series run. Same for those that complained about the stand alone episodes because the series finale is also near the top. The heart of the show was the relationships. For three seasons Ronnie and Keith remain the best father daughter on television, Vee and Wallace were the best friends on television and the only one who possible liked Dick more than I did was Dick himself. Sure people like to jump on board flashier names in the Grey’s Anatomy, Heroes and Friday Night Lights, but there was no show more entertaining this past year than Veronica Mars. And now that the series is over we can stop debating if it is the best show currently on television and start throwing it into the discussion of bet ever. Veronica Mars 3.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale. The show also won five STA’s (fourteen lifetime). Download the whole season of Veronica Mars on iTunes.
In my life, very rarely do I ever give up on a television show before its run is completely over but this year there were four shows that I actually gave up in the middle of the season. I don’t think there have been four shows that I dumped midseason in my previous years of watching televisions. Here’s what and why:
Jericho was so boring Invasion seemed fast pace in comparison and there is nothing more shocking than to see that people actually cared that is was canceled because CBS was right to do so in the first place.
The Class was basically a place holder between How I Met Your Mother and Heroes but after a month and no laughs I found I rather spend that time reading, the show was that bad.
Everything that could have gone wrong went horribly wrong for Pirate Master. Maybe you shouldn’t have filled the cast with rejects from the stack of Survivor applications.
After I deemed the last year’s Supernatural the worst season finale ever, I didn’t plan to watch it this season, but when it was announced that Meg Manning was going to make an appearance (and Studio 60 moving from its timeslot) I though I’d give it another try. Bad idea. Sure the show does have the ability to crank out a great episode or two but there are just too many mediocre X-Files retreads in-between to watch week in and week out.
For those wondering where Friday Night Lights is, the show was one of the few full season reviews I wrote this year thanks in part to it ending in April (see Clear Eyes, Full Hearts Can’t Lose). I bring this up because in the most recent ESPN The Magazine, one of my favorite writes (at least when he is not trying to defend cheater Bill Belichicken) Bill Simmon wrote an impassion article about why you should watch Friday Night Lights (that can also be found at ESPN.com; see Don’t Turn off the “Lights”). I have to agree with everything he says including how the Pilot was clichéd and how the Taylors are two of the best actor on his Tivo (not that I’m pretentious to have a Tivo). Okay he lost me at The OC comparison, but overall it is a great read especially if you are still on the fence on whether to start watching yet.
And for those that want to run your own television network, TelvisionWithouPity is starting up a new fantasy television game, TVBigShot.com. It started off to auspicious start because the link in the e-mail the sent me initially didn’t work, then when I tried later I was able to create an account but wasn’t able to log in. I was finally able to get through to day and filled the appropriately named Scooter McGavin Television. There is a monthly prize and a grand prize of $100,000 at the end of the year which I doubt I’ll win because I went with quality over quantity. If decide to play, a word of advice, don’t just start picking shows like I did because you only have a limited about of money to spend. First write down your favorite shows and their cost, and then pick and choose within your budget because it will cost you money to drop a show once you have selected it.
A couple weeks ago I realized I never got around to giving full season reviews of many of the past year’s programs. But I figured since the introduction of 57 Channels and Only This Is On this past year it seemed redundant to waste a whole post reiterating this I have probably said earlier. Even though I didn’t want to write up full reviews for each show, I did want to give each show a rating on my Terror Alert Scale. So here in a sort of television in review I’m going to give a quick though on each show (no seriously, I can write short things) and then give it a rating. If you want to go more in depth of my thoughts on each show, than click its label at the bottom of the post.
Everybody Hates Chris: One of the most consistent comedies on television, but even though that means there are no bad episodes, there really are not too many great episodes either. Plus you never know which long forgotten black actors that are going to pop up with this season seeing Jimmie Walker and Todd Bridges making appearances. Everybody Hates Chris 2.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.
Greek: Typically I avoid shows that can qualify as a guilty pleasure but since it aired during the summer when there is nothing else on it makes it less guilty. Plus the show is on the high end of guilty pleasures thanks to its sometimes high brow humor with jokes about Dick Cheney and Ronald Reagan (thanks to Frannie, the pseudo-conservative sorority president who is one of the most entertaining characters on television). Aside from Frannie the rest of the show was pretty hit or miss. Greek 1.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale. Download the whole season of Greek on iTunes.
Heroes: I’m not sure what is annoying, the Lost fanboys that would have you believe the show is still as good as its first season or the Heroes fanboys who ignore some humungous flaws, most notable it is poorly written and its acting is even worse. Then some of the secondary heroes (see Radioactive Man, Invisible Dude, the Haitian) are much more entertaining than the main ones like. Hearing Cop needs to die. Split Personality Chick needs to die. Absorbing Guy needs to stay dead. And wouldn’t you know, the three worst characters were all seen in the future. Then the show went and broke the cardinal rule of shows like this and didn’t kill off the Big Bad. Shows should never recycle Big Bads. Maybe if they kill off the three characters above, have the new Big Bad kill off Sylar early (after he repents for his sins), start turning Hiro dark (because he is already starting to get annoying), and bring in Rob Thomas (no, not the dude from Matchbox Twenty) to write for Kristen Bell and maybe Heroes can finally live up to the hype it got in the first season. Heroes 1.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale. The show also won an Scooter Television Award.
How I Met Your Mother: The show hit a big sophomore slump this year. But I guess that would happen when Ted spends the entire season tied to someone we already know is the mother in question. Added to that the show spend too much time trying humanizing Barney. I prefer my Barney with no redeeming qualities. How I Met Your Mother 2.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale.
Knights of Prosperity: One of the biggest crimes against humanity was this show never finding an audience thanks to ABC screwing with its scheduling then saying they couldn’t find a slot for it this fall though they found one for Cavemen as well as finding a reprieve for According to Jim. The show did rival My Name Is Earl in terms of laughs most of the time although never did quite have any instant classic episodes like Earl had this season (more on that later). The absurd cast was cast of characters were instantly likeable including Rockefeller Butts who had me on the floor every time he opened his mouth. Knights of Prosperity 1.x gets a on my Terror Alert Scale. The show also won two STA’s.
Lost: The show recovered a little after suffering one of the worst sophomore slumps ever in television history. And the show looks to be curing one of its worst ills, boring flash forwards (seriously did anyone care anymore when we found how Locke got in his wheelchair), with the shocking introduction of the flash forward in the finale. And I know I may be in the majority, but the two random people-centric episode was up there as one of the best in the series history just because how inane it was. I laughed more during that episode than I did during an hour’s worth of some sitcoms. Lost 3.x get a on my Terror Alert Scale. The show also won two STA’s (five lifetime).
Check back later this week for part 2.
In a story I broke this weekend, tonight sees the debut of two nerd oriented shows. Of the two, The Big Bang Theory (see my First Impressions) by far handled the nerd culture better than tonight’s other debut, Chuck. But if we want to get technical, the guys from The Big Bang Theory are actual nerds while Chuck and his co-workers, despite working for something called the Nerd Herd, definitely fall under the label of nerds. And if you have to ask what is the difference between a nerd and a geek, you are definitely not either.
That is not to say the whole show is flawed. The two saving graces are the two government agents sent to look after Chuck. First for the NSA there is Adam Baldwin (My Bodyguard
