The Writer's Strike Stinks.... Kinda

Well, I miss my shows. I think the only scripted series that are still showing that I watch are Moonlight and ER. Maybe Earl, maybe the Simpies. I miss my shows. However, A Daily Show is back, and I am enjoying that. I am getting caught up on old boxing, too. I saw Dirty Jobs for the first time in a while last night and I have really missed it. I like Mike Rowe. Project Runway is in good form this season. I do not like Christian at all. He is a total whiner and he acts like he can't be bothered by anything like the judges or the rules or other people. I think he is just immature. Last night Kevin got the boot, which was a shame because I liked him, but, his dress was bad. I thought Sweet Pea should have one the thing last night, because I liked her dress the most. I don't like Victorya. I guess Kit would have to be my favorite one left. Not Ricky, Chris is OK, but he can't win. I like the bald guy, he may be my number 2. I have also been watching the Amazing Race and it is nearing its conclusion. TK and Rachel are the ones I like the best, but I can't imagine them lasting another episode. I guess my number two would have to be Son and grandfather, though couple maybe next. I don't like father and daughter. Lost is coming. That's good. Until then, support labor over bosses always...

The Week Ending 11/11

I think I have pretty much settled into it now. Monday has Chuck and Journeyman; a light dramedy spy thing (did you notice that the frat in the one where he went back to Stanford was Lambda Delta Psi or LDS? Mormons anyone?), and a sci-fi time travel fixsomebody's problem every week. Tuesday is House. Wednesday is Pushing Daisies, another dramedy about solving "crimes" with an element of the supernatural. Thursdays are the staples, The Office, Earl, Grey's, and ER. The Office and Earl are the better of these, the others are sliding. Grey's to the point where I might give it the old heave ho, ER to the point where I might wish I could. Friday has Moonlight, another crime solving-PI thing with suprenatural overtones. Sunday is The Simpies. The Tivo picks up Cane, which I catch up on periodically, Women's Murder Club which I am trying to motivate myself to give it that second chance I said I would give it, and some reality stuff, Last One Standing, The Amazing Race, and Dirty Jobs. I think I may try adding 30 Days to this. I miss The Daily Show, though I had not watched it in a while before the strike. And Project Runway starts today. I look forward to that. So, if anything perks the interest, or when turnover starts happening, I'll check back in. Until then, steady onward.

The Week Ending 11/4

This week included some Halloween Episodes, particularly the Simpsons Treehouse of Horror. It was OK. Not great, but not terrible. It ended in a creepy way, with Ned, post Devil-diddly-doodly saying he hoped he had gotten his point across. It was weird in a lame way. Oh well. Chuck was back into it's old decentness. There was another spy-guy who escaped fromthe CIA and was trying to blow up stuff. Chuck tracked him down and got him not to. We also got some more relationship development between Chuck and Morgan, which was decent. Er brought us Abbie getting in trouble, perhaps suggesting her falling into alcoholism. We also see Pratt taking leadership roles and Moretti teasing Pratt, showing maybe he isn't a jerk. And, maybe we add a new character, I liked her, though I don't think she will be around long. A decent episode. Neela's intern is occasionally funny. Grey's Anatomy, I like the two guy doctors resuming their friendship, though I don't like the new lady. Maybe I associate her too much with her role on The West Wing, but I don't like her. I am still waiting for this to get a little more energy. Yawn. House was good. The patient this week could not find his own identity, but instead took on the identity of whoever was in the room with him. A novel, if ridiculous concept. If in fact, three of these interns stick, I hope it's Kumar, 13, and the black Mormon. I wonder if any of them will stay... Journeyman was interesting. The brothers seem to be getting their relationship back on line, I hope that continues. That story was paralleled as our hero went back to save two brothers, though the "bad" one is not the one who needed it. We saw that changing stuff in the past makes things in the future change, suggesting the possibility that that vehicle will be used more often. We also saw one of the brothers completely convinced that our hero was a time trveler, then, in the present deciding time travel was impossible. That seemed a bit lame to me. I like Moonlight, again. The reporter got a taste of what being a vampire was like and we hear the "downside" essentially adding up to loneliness. I suspect that by the time the show ends the two will be together. I like it anyway. My Name Is Earl was not great this week. It involved another episode of COPS and there are other things they do that I like more. Oh well, any show can have an off week. Pushing Daisies was good. This episode centered round Kristen Chenowith's character and I occasionally have trouble distancing her from Ainsley Hayes, which is troubling. But, Chi McBride is funny every week and I like the narrator. I was also glad to see that the main guy can't eat his own pies, as the fruit involved dies when he touches it. Glad to see that consistency. The Office was very good. Jim and Dwight and Michael in their mustaches was very funny. I wonder if Karen will be back for long or only an episode. The Finer Things Club is very funny, Oscar's gay remark was also good. And, I'm glad Jim was lame in the club. It felt like an easy opportunity to trend sappy and I'm glad they didn't. I shouldn't have expected anything else, I suppose. The week seems to be draggin on. I guess I am falling into a bit of a tv rut. As one is wont to do, I suppose.

The Week Ending 10/28

Well, I finally gave Women's Murder Club a try. It was OK, but pretty hokey. I think I will give it one more shot. I like Angie Harmon. I like James Patterson. But the shape of the show was not one that I enjoyed and the story was kinda lame. It also started in media res regarding the characters. I prefer a little more background. So, I guess we'll see what happens. The Cane I watched this week was goodish, though it tends to list toward evening soap. I am gonna have a hard time leaving Jimmy Smits, though. I also enjoy Rita Moreno and Hector Elizondo. This episode involved Smits giving some fake information to his brother who then took it to the rival sugar gang, who then made a bad deal based on it. That followed up with the obligatory discussion about loyalties and so on. A long story line, I suspect this show won't make it to the end of it. But, I'm hanging on. Chuck hit another speed bump this week. It has to walk a fine line to keep from just being lame. One thing I liked this week, though was the portrait of his relationship with his sister. I like images of positive brother/sister relationships. Hopefully it will get back on track soon. Damages wrapped up well. Patty showed her true nasty nature by agreeing to a nondisclosure settlement with Frobisher, who was then shot by the mole he had cut loose. Patty then gave the tape of damning evidence to the DA so he could get reelected. But, she then gets double crossed as Ellen agrees to go back to work for her while spying on her for the Feds, who were working with her mentor guy. I hope they bring this one back. I would like to see where it goes. ER was good. There were some funny bits with Morris being approached by lots of attractive women. We see Abbie thinking about getting back on the wagon. I was worried about this story line, but they avoided the drunken bits that I feared. At least so far. John Stamos is back in the ER as opposed to ICU his trip there appeared to do him some good. Stanley Tucci is also back from a conference. I like his character, but I suspect he will be killed off or something like that soon. I feel like he is too big a name to stick long, a la Alan Alda. Grey's Anatomy seems to be falling into a bit of a rut. But, it's not like I am going to quit watching it in the middle of a season. House was good. He fired the old guy, whom I liked, but Foreman came back, and that's good. I wonder how he will be brought back into the fold. Journeyman made a bit of a departure this week. He went back and found a guy who was a legendary missing person. He had to help him save another family, which was normal, but, instead of turning him into a story, he let the story go. I guess it is an obvious move for a "good guy" but I don't think we had firmly established that this guy was one like that. IF they continue to suggest that he might do something for his own gain and he doesn't, it may get old, but the first time, it was good. Moonlight is now trying to deal with the after effects of the reporter letting the vampire eat her blood for a bit. There was a kiss. It has been coming for a while and the only question now is when the DA boyfriend will get the shaft and when he will turn the reporter into a vampire. Interesting questions, but obvious. As I mentioned here some time ago, I am not sure how long the back drop of campire stories will remain interesting enough to carry the show, but for now, it is kind of fun. The main guy is good, the rest, so-so. My nMae is Earl was good. I think we may have added another long-time character for Earl to pursue in the person of Alyssa Milano. We'll see how that progresses. Randy as prison guard has been funny. I am suprised at how well they have dealt with a change in the show's location from the world to prison. I suspect he will get out soon, but the scene change has been impressive. I hope it is not indicative of running out of ideas. Pushing Daisies continues to be good and funny. The Office, bak in it's 30 minute slot was still very funny. This week sees Jim being nice to Michael again. Which is always cool. Be nice to the lame boss every now and then because they need it. Andy's retelling of Angela calling out D while they were "necking" was funny. Dwight is out of his funk. The World Series is finally over. I look forward to the return of The Simpies.

The Week Ending 10/20

I watched a couple of Cane's this week. My Tivo failed me on the pilot, but I was able to find it on Youtube. I like it. I think I will stick with it. I'm a little nervous about the evening soap opera possibilities. I don't want to watch Dynasty, but right now, Jimmy Smits is good enough to keep me. He is the adopted son of Hector Elizondo's Rum magnate and is given control of the family business ahead of the two blood sons. He is not the typical wholesome Smits though, with some dangerous happenings in both of the episodes I watched. I liked him angry. We'll see where it goes and if it can hold me. Chuck was less than stellar this week. There was a bad girl spy from out of town who came in and the vibe she brought with her was not a good one. I hope it does no continue in that direction. As Lisa later put it, it was the Charlie's Angels direction and I am not interested in that. Damages was good again. Funny that last week I forgot that Frobisher's lawyer killed himself at the end of the episode. I guess he won't be back after all. We also saw that the good guy friend of Ellen looks like he may turn out to be a bad guy. And, we are starting to see a lot of space developing between Ellen and Patty. I will miss Danson if the season comes back for a second episode, but I could imagine another big nameish kind of person taking the role of the object of a big case each year. I am excited to watch the season finale and see if they tie everything up suitably. If Carter was originally the focus of the show, I think it's clear that Abby is becoming the focus of the show now. Last week she was giving everybody love, this week, her son gets hurt and she needs love from everybody else. It looks like she may fall off the wagon, which is not really a story line I am intereted in pursuing, but oh well. Morris is showing out as a metrosexual and a new gay guy was hired to man the desk. Also we saw a bit of Greg's gay brother getting some grief, but he seemed to handle it well enough. (So did Greg in my opinion, I think they did a good job with it.) Following in the footsteps of Carrie and her child issues, I think this show is at least willing to look at sexuality issues in a meaningful way without reorting to cariacatures. So, that's good. Grey's was good. I like Callie being forgiving. It sort of brings George up short for not telling her the actual truth, which is that he wants out of the relationship. I hope Callie catches a break somewhere along the line. I liked the issue with the chief's niece. I think that was handled well, identifying the difference in roles between the uncle and the doctor. Journeyman took an interesting turn, delving into the how and why of his traveling a bit. He somehow found out something about tachyons, which seemed out of the blue. Then he talks to a professor who calls him in the past. Also weird. I am interested to see where that goes. The episode also brings into question if it is ok to break the law in the past, which, apparently, it is. It also allows Dan to drop some evidence on the scene of a crime to change what's going on. I wonder if we are heading to an ends justify the means kind of thing... In Moonlight, we finally get to see some effects of sun exposure, though I wonder why he doesn't carry a balaclava around with him. If shade works, why not clothing? Also he had to bite the reporter. Early stages of her deciding she wants to be turned into a vampire and live with him forever. We'll see where that goes. My Name is Earl was hit and miss this week. It had each main character telling a creative writing story. Unfortunately, each story was right in line with the character, so I did not really enjoy any of them, except Crab Man's ode to vegetarianism, which was very funny. I liked the idea behind it, though, that some people do not need to escape from their normal life, they want to escape to it. Pushing Daisies rose a bit of a flag this week. There were vehicles that were powered by daisies and of course all of the people involved in it were bad guys. I wonder if they are slamming environmentalists. I hope not, because I have laughed out loud during every episode of this that I have watched. Mostly due to Chi McBride, but there have been other moments as well. I like it. I wonder if Kristen Chenowith will end up with the new guy that is trying to court her. That might be good. I have to confess I am interested in baking a pie with cheese in the crust, just to see what it tastes like. Still like the show. The Office was good again. Michael was dealing with money issues and walked into the Office to "declare" Bankruptcy. Very funny. The signing of the cast was also funny. This week marks the end of the hour long episodes, to my chagrin. We finally see Jan in a somewhat easy light. She managed to be there for Michael when he needed it. I like Darrell putting Kelly in her place also. I hope they have more moments. No House, no Simpies. I also missed Laughlin and did not get it tivoed. So, it goes off the list. Brad had to run a lot in the Last Man Standing. It was not his best event. I felt for him struggling through. He finally had to quit and he took it really hard, which was a shame. I liked seeing a picture of his daughter, which I had not seen in a while. I bet she is huge now.

The Week Ending 10/13

Sorry I'm late, it's been a busy week.
And it has been a good week in TV viewing land for me. I added two saved shows to the repertoire, Pushing Daisies and Moonlight. And they were good. This week, I look to check out Life, at the request of MJRB. We'll see how that goes. As for this week in tv...
The Simpsons are always solid. I am going to start including Sunday in the previous week, because I usually do this Monday and it is just easier. Consequently, I have seen two Simpies this week, both of which were good. In the first, we had Maggie being weaned off her need for Marge's love and affection, resulting in an independent Maggie and a needy Marge. An interesting commentary on parenting, though I am not sure if it reaches a conclusion. We had a funny bit of inept parents on the computer... not sure how realistic that is... We also had Homer becoming a tow truck operator, ending up making a comment about overenforcing laws. Does it make sense? For those of us who might have exceeded the speed limit from time to time, maybe not. The next one had Steve Buscemi as a bank robber who turns Marge into his mother. Some funny bits, though nothing too memorable. Chuck was good again. There was a funny bit where Captain Awesome (sister's husband) teaches Chuck the tango. He later attempts to use what he learned only to discover that he only knows the girl's part. More funny gender bending from Chuck. (His partner was a notorious crook of some variety, despite numerous attempts to convince us that the nefarious looking man was the crook. She gladly led.) I still find it engaging. Journeyman went back to the earthquake World Series game and discovered that he could not successfully do things outside the scope of his mission, failing to alert the public about the impending disaster but successfully rescuing the single fellow he was after. The dynamic between he and his ex-girlfriend and he and his wife is a bit sketchy for me still. Will he end up with one or the other? OR not... Not a story line I am neccesarily fond of. I still like the main actor, though. I think he does well. Damages this week was good, though we see Patty looking like she is about to hire Frobisher's lawyer. He, meanwhile, is getting questioned by his own firm, where he is going to be shadowed by a partner on the case. I think this show is making some moves to hang on to some of the characters that have proven popular while resolving this case. I also think we see that Patty is surprised that Ellen is blamed for the murder, suggesting that she was not culpable, though that has seemed like what we have been leading up to. I am quite interested to see the upcoming season finale...
House was good this week. It involved a case that they did not solve quickly enough. The culpable intern, one I like, was concerned that she would be fired but House kept her, suggesting that she would never make the same mistake again, as it resulted in death. Foreman got fired from his job in New York. I would like to see him come back. Maybe dueling diagnosticians??? I caught up with Pushing Daisies this week and I like it a lot. If you haven't seen the previews, the main character can touch things and bring them back to life for a minute before he touches them again to send them back to death. If he doesn't, something else dies. I like the characters in the show. It also has a Lemony-Snicket's-style narrarator. It is cool and quirky. Chi McBride is one of the stars and he is very funny. He plays a PI who also knits. Think, a closeted Rosie Grier. Lots of little jokes and quips, dry humor kinds of things. I like this show a lot and hope it catches on.
Thursday was solid as usual. Michael Rappaport guested on Earl. He did a solid job as a former friend of both Earl and Joy. This one saw a lot of connections being made between the characters. This was not particularly surprising as it is a small town they live in and, I like it. I wonder if Rappaport will stick around... The Office was good, as always. Meredith and her cast, Andy and his trio/quartet by phone. Angela and Dwight. And the kidnapping. Office gold, as always, though I missed Jan. Grey's was OK. I like the sister. I like that they seem to be coming to some sort of resolution. I like Miranda and Callie teaming up (why was Miranda being sucha loser about it before?). I wonder what will happen with Callie and George. I like the idea of the woman telling her friends the truth and them coming back and giving her the business as well, but I thought it was a bit hokey to be drumming up all that hysteria about losing her tongue. She could still write, email, etc. It was not like she was dying, or losing all ability to communicate. I thought that was a bit lame. As for ER, it was ok. I certainly felt like we were about to hear that Morris's girlfriend was dead, but it was his Dad, whom we never knew. I felt like that was a bit of a setup, but who cares. This episode saw a lot of Abbie patting people on the back, giving the empathetic contact. I don't like Sarah, either (Stamos's daughter?). We'll see how that goes.
I watched three episodes of Moonlight and I like it. It is probably on the level of the hokey XFiles episodes. The main character is a Vampire Private Eye. I like him. He has been keeping a close eye on a girl his ex-wife, who turned him into a vampire, kidnapped to give them a family. He killed his wife and saved the girl from being turned into a vampire herself. The girl then grew up and became a reporter, who is now about the same age as him and they are becoming friends. In this most recent episode, she finds out he is a vampire. This is not a great show, but I am enjoying it, despite the main girl's distracting resemblence to Rachel Weisz. (For some reason, Chuck's sister's resemblence to Lucy Lawless is not as distracting, nor is Chuck CIA girlfriend's resemblence to movie Marsha Brady/girl from Dodgeball I think?) I like the secondary character of friend vampire, who is 400 years old and is not shackled by the scruples of the PI. I suspect the stories will fade quickly or become supremely repetitive, but right now, it's fun. I guess that's about it. Brad performed well on Last One Standing. He thumped some dude in Zulu stick fighting. I don't get why he didn't get to fight again, but, there you go.

The Week Ending 10/6

I feel like this was a good week for TV in my house. It began with The Simpsons, which I always enjoy. We had Homer becoming a lying down opera singer, we got a guest voicing by Placido Domingo. All good. We had another episode of Chuck, including the CIA woman getting a job at the Winer house next to the place Chuck works. We also saw Chuck using his computer skills to disarm a bomb. (Actually he managed to give the bomb an internet virus that had been wreaking havoc with his own computer.) Again, the point is not to be intellectually ground breaking, but the tone fits the show, which I like. Damages sits waiting on my Tivo. As do the last two weeks of Cane. And the last two weeks of Moonlight. ER was good this week, though not particularly noteworthy. I don't like Neela much, nor do I like John Stamos and it felt like their stories were front and center. Yawn. I watched the premiere of Last One Standing and loved it. If any of you choose to check it out, root for Brad. He is a former student of Dad's and a friend of mine. And, he looks good in this episode, despite having chili and salt rubbed into his recently aquired wounds. What fun. By the way, this is not a Fear-Factor-style tough show, it is a bout figuring out how to compete in indigenous tribal games. I think I would like it even if I did not know a contestant. As for Grey's Anatomy, I don't like the moves George is making. I think he needs to be up front with Callie. I also don't like the moves she is making, preferring not to know. I think Diahann Carrol does her part well. I suspect she, like her son are now gone for good. House was fun this week. I cared less about the case than about the dismissing of the doctor folk. One girl is particularly annoying and I hope she doesn't last. I wouldn't mind seeing the black Mormon stay, or the guy who plays Kumar. Journeyman was good this week again. This time the person he saves then knows him in the present, which might make for some interesting moments later on. My Name is Earl was very gay friendly this week, and very funny. Pushing Daisies is still waiting on me. The Office was good, with everyone finding out a bout Jim and Pam. We also see Ryan being a complete loser. In fact, with Michael, it's like dueling losers. Creed provided a good laugh. But, then again, this show is pretty reliably laugh out loud funny.