TV Reviews

Unlike, say, a TV Guide writer, I can review only what I want to review and ignore everything else. It's a time-saver.

If you haven't watched a show or seen recent episodes of a show as of the date of this post, beware of minor spoilers.

New Shows

Chuck
I watched the first episode and had several moments of "Oh brother, another cheesy sitcom-college-guys-in-a-locker-room-humor show." (It's a specialized genre.) In spite of a shaky first episode, it had something...something...so I watched the second episode. I've had it on "Record Series" ever since.

Chuck's sister had to be chosen with care. She had to be sisterly enough that there wouldn't be any untoward chemistry between her and the Chuck character, but beautiful enough that she's still sexy. She's obviously smart, but how bright can she be--look who she picked for a boyfriend.The guy who plays Morgan, Chuck's best buddy, is either playing himself or he's an acting genius. I vote for genius and hope to see more of him in other roles.

The pigtails on Chuck's fake girlfriend are a constant irritation, even if it's a plot device because she's a fake employee at a hokey fast-food restaurant. Outside of the pigtails, she's a fun character. You do wonder why she's attracted to Chuck since the writers buried his formidable intelligence so deep in the first few episodes I thought it would never see the light of day.

Her partner is a kick. I like that the writers had the sense not to play any chemistry between the partners--it's more like real life, where not every male-female team sleeps together. More importantly, it frees the partner up to be his a------ self at any time or place the plot calls for it, and it frees her up to obliviously crush on Chuck.

I didn't imagine "Chuck" would be this enjoyable. But this is one of only two shows I particularly refuse to watch unless I'm alone--so I can really savor it.

K-Ville
I thought I'd probably enjoy this show if I happened across it. What pulled me in for one episode was Cole Hauser. He's a good, underrated, underutilized actor until now. I hope this role boosts him up to the next level in movies and TV. Anthony Anderson has been a favorite of mine since I discovered quite a while back that he can do serious roles as well as he does comedic roles--which is to say, very well.

I watch K-Ville occasionally and enjoy it because it showcases an American subculture I'm not very acquainted with. The insults and wisecracking between the partners are fun.

Bionic Woman
I have seen a few episodes of the original series. This new series didn't meet those expectations, but it's still an enjoyable show and I do record the series. The actress who plays the title character was not quite ready for this role yet. She overdoes it sometimes, underdoes it at other times. With time, she may grow into it and look more comfortable and natural in the role. The sarcastic byplay between Jamie and her boss is entertaining even if I don't always buy this actress saying those lines.

Enough with the first Bionic Woman already. Who cares what illness she has? The dramatic tension they're trying to generate by not letting you know for sure whether she's good or bad just makes it dull to watch. Too much mystery = no investment in the character. She has no chemistry with the guy who plays her former lover. Boot one of them out and we can all move on.

Jamie's scenes with her therapist are uneven. The bad ones are dull; the good ones are jewels. This part of the show is going someplace good.

Let's see a little more of the lives of other characters than Bionic Woman so we can give a crap about them. And give Jamie cool gadgets like James Bond has--or more cool body parts, which he only wishes he had.

Moonlight
In spite of his romance-novel name (Mick St. John), the hero is cool and funny. You think "metrosexual" but it doesn't matter.

In the casting choice of the stereotypical generic blond blue-eyed love interest, "Beth"--I braced myself to be bored. Fortunately, the actress has a personality and it shows. She does have an uphill struggle against being a generic stereotype, which I'm sure she's aware of, but she shows uniqueness and wit, and that has mostly saved her character in the show. If the actress ever gets bored with her own role, Beth is finished as a character.

It doesn't hurt at all to look at Mr. St. John for extended periods of time. His older and far less compassionate bloodsucker buddy is cute in a white-bread way. Let's see more smart remarks and good-natured (or is it?) psychological torture of the hero by the buddy. It's entertaining.

Existing Shows

24
Great the first couple of seasons. Once I got busy and couldn't watch every episode, there was no point anymore--you can't tune in and understand everything that's going on very well.

If you can't watch consistently, it's still worth watching if you're just looking for an action show to veg out to with popcorn, pizza, or your caloric drug of choice. (I personally prefer a Chantico from Starbucks but they rewarded my consumer loyalty by discontinuing the drink, may hail beat down all their outdoor umbrellas.)

The "anybody can die at any time" schtick isn't fresh anymore.

CSI/CSI: Miami (I'm ignoring CSI: New York since I rarely watch it)
One of my favorite things about the original CSI is finding great music. I often watch it with iTunes open on my laptop.

Never got Grissom and Sara. They do seem to care about each other but it's hard to feel it. The recent crossover episode featured interesting interactions between the two shows' characters, but the case itself was not a standout. CSI is still worth watching for new plots, twists, and growth of characters.

CSI: Miami is easy to poke fun at because the lieutenant gets to work on so many high-profile cases. Everyone you see (including crowds of extras) is hot, in great shape and lives in a big, beautiful house or apartment-sized luxury hotel room, usually near the ocean.

Not many normal people work in the lab. A gambler, a spy, a gunshot-to-the-head victim. Note to the wardrobe director: Buy Callie some professional shirts. She's a cool and composed character, one of the best on the show. A CSI, not a stripper.

If the male characters didn't take themselves so seriously--"I'm so cool I'm not any fun"--this show would be even more entertaining.

Criminal Minds
Not for the faint of heart. The cast chemistry is good, and new guy Joe Mantegna fit into that chemistry immediately. They keep coming up with good plots, finding a way to have everybody be involved and teach you a bit about procedure as well. The acting is generally above average, although last season's episode with Matthew Gray Gubler's character taken hostage by a guy with MPD didn't showcase Gubler's acting talents to best advantage.

So Hotch finally lost his family. No surprise there. Terrific character, well-written, engages well (obviously), you care about him.

Love Emily Prentiss. I've seen this actress in other roles and she's terrific. Her articulate way of speaking pulls me in. She's smart and doesn't pretend she's dumber than she is. There are times you can see an actress struggling to be dumber than she is to fit a female character. I'm relieved this type of "creative" tension doesn't have to happen here.

Past seasons' flirty little byplay between Garcia and Morgan seems to have petered out this season after a couple of embarrassing situations for Garcia. I am bummed out by this. It has affected the actual quality of the show, because they took it away, and it was so great, and they haven't replaced it with anything. Look, this show is dark. If somebody somewhere isn't having fun, then we're all going to get depressed and quit watching.

Heroes
A great, great show that's slowing down this season. We just found out whence the whole "Hiro in the far past" plotline and I hope his story gets more interesting. It can't get less. Maya and Alejandro, scene after scene of running scared and accidentally killing people. Who are they and why do I care? Things are only just starting to get interesting now that Sylar has joined them.

Claire with the boyfriend = snore. She deserves one, but it's still dull. There are hints that the boyfriend isn't the Sir Galahad he seems and that's the only thing keeping it interesting. HRG shooting people? Is he symbolically the new Company? I'm watching that one unfold. I keep waiting for Mrs. HRG to grow a brain. Please off Mr. Muggles. Please.

Dr. Suresh, getting less interesting. He's so smart but so naive. This guy is a scientific genius but can't figure out what the repercussions of a mutated virus might be? That's his field. Suresh: Go back to high school biology class with Claire. You could learn a few things from her. And keep Niki close by; she is always interesting. She can't figure out which side she's on either, but in her case you can see why. The writers hold our interest in Niki by not making it too easy to figure who we're watching or which side she's on.

D.L. has a cool ability, but he doesn't have a personality. His character has potential and I hope they exploit him more this season. We all love Micah. I was bored with Micah at first, but he grew on me and I wanted to watch him more. Wisely, the writers are limiting how much we see his powers in action. We only get to see them once in a while.

Nathan Petrelli, mixed bag character. He can't decide whether to be good, or to be bad with good intentions. He doesn't use his ability much and does more dull politicking than getting in on the action. With some worthwhile exceptions. Peter is more interesting in that he always seems to be in action.

The actor portraying Adam/Kensei bores me--he was much more interesting when as Kensei he just got drunk and made smart comments. Keep watching, though, because Adam has potential. Ando--you can't help liking him, and he's courageous. He took the sword and went off to fight Sylar even though he has no powers. He's a more extraordinary character than you think at first; it's easy to underestimate him because he's surrounded by super-people. Molly--a dull character in herself, but she's in an interesting plotline so it's not an issue right now.

Love Matt Parkman. He gets into all kinds of stuff, and mind-reading is an ability we've all wished for at times. It didn't save him from a divorce, which is sad, because the actress who played his wife is a strong actress, great work, and I wish they'd found a way to keep her. His power is evolving--very cool stuff. (It's also cool when Claire learns more about her power by chopping her toe off to find out whether she can actually regenerate tissue or whether she just heals.)

Elle--boring so far. Like a vain, boring teenager who happens to have a power, which doesn't make her an interesting character. She incinerated the one guy, a disappointment--I liked that guy! The light at the end of the keeping-it-interesting tunnel is dear old Dad and that's all we'll say about that. I don't buy her as a sociopath.

Stargate SG-1/Stargate Atlantis
The Stargate shows are funny, have good cast chemistry and feature entertaining plots (most of the time). Last season the Wraith started morphing into good bad guys. Which is apropos since last season the humans started to be bad good guys.

Here's an annoying case of "she's the boss but not really" between Torri Higginson's character and Joe Flanigan's character. Usually Sheppard does what Weir says, but when the rubber meets the road, he does whatever he wants and disregards her. What's fun to watch is Ronon Dex, except when he's eating. McKay's ego is entertaining to watch and so is McKay himself, most of the time. The occasional one-upping he experiences appeals to the evil schadenfreude side of us all--the mindmeld episode with Lt. Cadman, and McKay's sister telling him, "I solved your [complex and advanced astrophysics] problem in my spare time. It must be just killing you."

Teyla and Beckett have settled into grooves as characters. Beckett in particular needs some work as a character. He comes worrying along with his little medical case, looks solemn, and says he doesn't know whether the injured party is going to be OK. That about covers it. Does the man have hobbies? Famous relatives? Hidden skills? A tail? Something!

NCIS
I'm generally not a fan of slapstick, but seeing the boss smack Tony upside the head will never get old. Another show with terrific cast chemistry. Shepard vs. Gibbs is another case of "she's the boss but not really." Can the writers just get over it? It's an ongoing irritant, a pain in the...shoe.

Good dialogue among characters, witty and entertaining. I keep waiting for McGee to turn up with unexpected martial arts skills, or Ziva to turn up with totally expected martial arts skills, and kick Tony's deserving...shoe. Not a deep or dark show; in one recent scene Tony has just rescued Gibbs from the water, Gibbs isn't breathing, and Tony wisecracks about having to kiss the boss. That's typical of this show.

Abby in the lab is a spark plug. As the only character who can hug, kiss, or sass Gibbs--and the only one he brings drinks to--she stands out. She's the free-spirited goth queen of the lab. Aside from needing, oh, any variety whatsoever in her choice of lab music, she's a breath of fresh air. The pigtails that don't work on Secret Agent Woman in "Chuck" do work on Abby. Did you see that Marilyn Monroe getup the other Halloween? Unforgettable.

Bones
This show is just fun. Although again, not for the faint of heart. This is the only show where I've actually had trouble eating while watching. The chemistry between Brennan and Booth--excellent. Cast chemistry--excellent.

This isn't just another police procedural with people going around looking grim, cracking the occasional macabre joke (no, this show does macabre jokes as a matter of course), and treating people like crap because hey, that's how TV cops do things. "Bones" develops the characters, rounds them out more than the average such show. Everybody gets off a good line now and again, and everybody gets moments to look grim and struggle with the monsters they come across at work.

House
Hugely entertaining. Working for Dr. House in reality would be a misery, but it's so fun to watch. His humor shows that he's actually very insightful--but he never lets his good qualities get the best of him.

The way they've worked the previous three characters back into the show is halt, maimed and blind. It's too late to go back to the way it was. Partial compensation has been watching the entertaining "House and the Job Candidate Masochists" show-within-a-show. These candidates aren't any better off than House when it comes to being emotionally together. Maybe that doctor-who's-not-a-doctor. He was fun. I miss him.

Shark
Shark needs a chance to show his warm fuzzy human side; I can't think of a single other reason why the daughter Julie's character exists. It hasn't stood out, hasn't made a place for itself in the show, and bores me. I hope the actress moves on to bigger and better roles.

The addition of Kevin Alejandro, lately of "Drive"--great move. Alejandro gets into his role more smoothly and does a better job all the time. He's entertaining. Isaac and Raina--good chemistry. I've enjoyed Sarah Carter's acting since I first saw her and she brings that sharpness to the Madeline Poe character. (Among a multitude of blondes, Carter and Ali Larter of "Heroes" are two who stand out. We can hope to see more and greater things from both.)

Smallville
This show has gotten so much darker. Every time I watch, I remember the very first episode, with Clark's sweet crush on an innocent Lana Lang. Wouldn't want to go back there, but the contrast is striking. While entertaining, "Smallville" lacks a huge credibility factor because none of the characters have aged or shown any signs of strain over the supposed years of the show (high school, college, marriage, etc.). Every face looks precisely the same as Day 1 of shooting. A little Oil of Olay, a little makeup, and they all look like high school students trying to play adults.

Credibility aside, the writers mostly keep our interest. It can get monotonous to always have Lex or Lana or Lionel embroiled in some conspiracy (all right already, we know they're all about secrets and plots, do we have to flog it to death?--not to mention we think they're dumb because they never learn from their past experiences) but plot twists and sometimes the cool special effects are entertaining to watch.

Classics

Twilight Zone (old and new)
The new version is not quite up to the standards of Rod Serling, but is still an entertaining and creative show worth watching. The classic episodes from the original series never lose their power to amaze, horrify or mesmerize us.

To keep it entirely fresh, those in charge of the new series should maintain a rotating staff of writers, each writer/team to write two or three episodes per season. Writers could do this on a contract basis while still working on other shows. I recommend writers from "Outer Limits," "Star Trek" (both series), "Stargate" (all series), but not those from "Smallville" or "Heroes." (They do a fine job on their shows, but they're more about plot twists than truly original surreal science fiction.)

The Outer Limits (old and new)
Re-read "The Twilight Zone." I can say many of the exact same things about "Outer Limits."

Star Trek (original)
If you can overlook the pebble-in-the-shoe effect of ridiculous uniforms on the women and writers who wrote them as less competent, you will continue to love this show. It was revolutionary in its time for its challenges to racism and sexism, and the plotlines continue to reflect universal themes people are still interested in today--humor, drama, teamwork, action.

The bottom line: You don't need to enjoy science fiction or be a Trekker (not a Trekkie) to enjoy this series. It hasn't lost its appeal. Plus there's the entertainment of critically deconstructing the totally-cheesy-by-today's-standards sets and special effects.

"Hey, is that a paper plate?"

"No, fool, they don't use paper plates on television. That's a foil pie plate."

Guilty Pleasures

So You Think You Can Dance
Greatest strength: No matter how bored you are at the prospect of watching people dance--you will love watching this show. Compared to other reality shows, you'll see less on-camera wrangling, scheming to make your partner/competitor fall and break a key body part, etc. In this environment you have highly conditioned, extremely competitive people.

You can see that more goes on behind the scenes than the cameras show, and they do a good editing job. We're allowed to maintain a few of our illusions.

You can't fake good dancing at this level, and the show enlists choreographers to create routines for the dancers in every imaginable style, from ballroom to hip-hop and beyond. The chemistry between some partners adds even more sparkle.

One choreographer created a routine to honor her late father. The dancing partners felt the burden of living up to the choreographer's expectations and dancing the routine with grace enough to make her proud and happy in her father's memory. With this weight on their young shoulders, they went out onto the stage and nailed the routine.

Another pair of partners (same male dancer) danced a routine set to the storyline of an aggressive corporate negotiation, complete with business attire--within reason, for dancing--and an actual negotiation table. This one stuck in my memory as one of the hottest dances on the show. Great chemistry, heated (very heated) negotiations, great choreography. The female dancer went on to win the competition. Whew, that male dancer...But I digress.

Last season the producers broke tradition at the end of the season and paired two women for a dance, then two men. Both choreographers went the stereotypical route--a nurturing mother-daughter dance for the women and a fighting dance for the men. The routines were fresh, but I wished for some originality in the themes instead of reverting to the easy ideas.

The only downside of this show: Unless you attend a performance on their post-season tour, you don't see or hear much of the contestants again. A little more follow-up on the competitors who gripped us would add interest to the show, because many people will never see these dancers again, unlike "American Idol" where you see the most popular contestants for years afterward.

Beauty and the Geek
There are times I watch closely, and there are times I switch off this show thinking, "I cannot believe I'm watching this." That's the beauty of this show (bad pun alert--woops, too late).

In general, the geeks are more willing to break out of the mold than the beauties. Obviously, that's because what the geeks do isn't working (i.e., getting them beauties). But what the beauties do is working quite well.

Still, resist the show's editing and observe that geeks have prejudices too. One geek, who got married after his season ended, proudly described his new bride as smarter than he, "which is rare in a woman."

When you see barriers come down and new skills on display, it's oddly touching. You can see that this show will make an actual, qualitative difference in the lives of the geeks.

Will it make any permanent difference for the beauties? It doesn't seem to. Past beauties--any input on that?

Additions to 8/30/07 "Hot New Athletic Activity"

To the Ironmans and half Ironmans in the 8/30/07 post, I'm adding marathons and half marathons. The best resource on the Internet for these is Marathonguide. When you click on a race, it takes you to a Marathonguide summary page that includes comments by those who have run the race and a link to the race website.

There's a search function where you can search by nearly any race-specific keyword or by location, date, and more. The marathon map with marked race locations will help you find a race by location or by date.

Comments by those who have already run a course are helpful. Racers discuss hotels, restaurants, race amenities, parking, the type of course (hilly/flat, etc.), the weather, expected times (whether it's a course where you can realistically expect to qualify for the Boston Marathon or set a new personal record, for example) and more.

You can view races two months at a time. The list itself shows the city, state and exact date of the run, and it links to a summary page for that race. The list also links to all available info by way of comments, news, press releases, course maps and results for each race listed. Not all races have all these items available.

Since I'm in Washington State I looked for races in WA. There were many, with full descriptions and comments by past runners. It's inspiring me to get back out on the road and get ready to run one!

To cast a wider net than the U.S., visit 42k195, billed as "the worldwide marathon directory."

To train properly for a marathon--there's more to it than just running a lot until you can run 26 miles--go to Marathons, Marathon Training, Marathon Training at Runner's World (where you can get your own training plan), and many more sites.

Many marathoners like to try to run a race in every state. If you've run marathons in at least 10 states, you qualify to join the 50 States Marathon Club.

Half marathoners can consult Half Marathons.