tvthatdoesntsuck

I’ll do a full season “award show” in May, but I thought it would be cool to give a little progress report to all the shows.  Sort of like an end of the year look back at the best and worst of the season.  Feel free to comment and give feedback on my choices.

MOST IMPROVED SHOW OF THE SEASON (so far) is… Pushing Daisies. While the show started off as a somewhat dry procedural, showrunner Bryan Fuller bounced back halfway through the season and delivered episode after episode of excellence… just in time for the show to get cancelled.  At least they went out strong.

LEAST IMPROVED SHOW OF THE SEASON (so far) is… Heroes. Tim Kring apologized for the uneven second season, and followed it up with an even more uneven third.  Though the premiere was quite good, the episodes that followed turned all the promising plot twists into a confusing mess of bad writing that truly went no where.  And just when you think they’ve got a handle on things, such as the actually rather good Sylar arc… they deliver a two-part “The Eclipse” episode (though, with “It’s Coming,” it’s really three) that was one of the most effective exercises in pointlessness I’ve ever seen.  They did bounce back with two good concluding episodes, but the next volume really, really has a lot to prove.

WORST NEW SHOW OF THE SEASON (so far) is… Sanctuary. You really can’t get worse.  From cheesy CGI beasts to cheesy CGI backdrops to the worst acting this side of an elementary school play, Sanctuary sucks as a sci-fi drama but is excellent for unintentional comedy.

BEST NEW SHOW OF THE SEASON (so far) is… True Blood. Alan Ball writing a vampire series.  A dream come true for someone who loves Six Feet Under and Buffy the Vampire Slayer as much as any TV fan with taste does.  The show started a bit slow, but by the fourth episode, I was addicted.  While new shows such as Fringe, The Ex-List, and Life on Mars have been entertaining, True Blood took it to the next level.

WORST SHOW OF THE SEASON (so far) is… Sanctuary. Congrats.

BEST SHOW OF THE SEASON (so far) is… Supernatural. Epic, tragic, hilarious, and so so dark, the Winchester brothers are in the biggest predicament ever… the impending apocalypse.  With angels and demons clashing in front of them, things are getting worse and worse for them, but creator Eric Kripke manages to keep that essential Supernatural humor in the face of all the horror and emotion.  The first season was good, the second and third were great, but this fourth season is taking the show into all new territory.  I’m not sure the show will be able to face off with Lost and survive as the best show of the year, but it was by far the most captivating show of the first half of the season.

So yeah.  No TV on.  At all.  Most of it comes back January, and I’m whipping up this entry for two reasons.  One, I want to help make sure all you guys know when your favorite shows are coming back.  Two, I want to help make sure that I know when my shows are coming back.  Checking back and forth at all the various TV.com links reaallllly doesn’t work for me.  So I’ll list ‘em all up, right here.  With a little extra stuff at the bottom.

Returning Shows 

Lost- Wednesday 1/21/09

Supernatural- Thursday 1/15/09

Heroes- Monday 2/2/09

Pushing Daisies- NBC said they would air the remaining three episodes of the cancelled show in Summer 2009.  I might just wait for the DVD, which should be either on the way or out by that time.  Could they really have not deaded the reruns and played these episodes from mid-December until… oh, I don’t know… late December?  N00bs.

Fringe- Tuesday 1/20/09

The Office- Sunday 2/1/09

Life on Mars- Wednesday 1/28/09 (Switching days)

24- Sunday 1/11/09 (First two episodes.  The show airs again the next day, Monday 1/12/09, and will continue to air on Mondays for the rest of the season).

New Shows

Dollhouse- Friday 2/13/09

Cupid- Tuesday 3/24/09 (Really, ABC?)

Party Down- March.  TBA.  Just found out, as a sidebar… the show has the best cast ever.  As if Rob Thomas being the creator and showrunner wasn’t enough.  The cast consists of Ken Marino (Vinnie Van Lowe from Veronica Mars), Adam Scott, Jane Lynch (Paula from 40-Year-Old Virgin), Martin Starr (Bill f***ing Haverchuck from Freaks and Geeks), Ryan Hansen (Dick Casablancas from Veronica Mars), and Lizzy Caplan (Amy from True Blood).  I’m so gassed up right now.  That cast honestly could not be better. 

The United States of Tara- Sunday 1/18/09

Harper’s Island- Thursday 4/9/09

Castle- Monday 3/9/09

Check back tomorrow for the…

BEST OF THE SEASON (so far) AWARDS

The Guild
Season Two
“Christmas Special”
Written by Felicia Day
Directed by Sean Becker

I love that The Guilddoes Christmas specials.  Last year, they did a sort of all inclusive Christmas song mix, rewriting and Guilding up the lyrics of the holiday songs of olde.  This year, do a The Guildversion of “T’was the Night Before Christmas,” in which they recount the story of how their guild, the Knights of Good, face off against monstrous reindeer and… wait for it… an uber Santa Clause.  They make easy work of the reindeer via sword strokes and hilarious rhymes, but then get pwned by Saint Nick, who proceeds to call them noobs and tells them to go to bed.

It’s twisted, quick, cute, and guaranteed to put a smile on your face.  Felicia Day is, as usual, great and–this time–the supporting cast come through nicely as well.

8/10

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So I’m watching the fourth season of Lost on DVD in anticipation for the new season.  I just got to The Constant, the episode where Desmond Hume is stuck in a time loop between his past and the present, and needs to connect with long lost girlfriend Penelope Widmore in the present to save himself.  The episode, and the whole season really, are just beautiful television work.  It’s making me ache to see the next season, but I’m having a great time appreciating this show for what it is, and that’s one of the best series to ever grace the small screen.  Lost is Whedon quality material, and I can’t wait to feast my eyes on episode 5×01.

REVIEW FOR

Pushing Daisies
Season Two
Episode Ten
“The Norwegians”
Written by Scott Nimerfro
Directed by Tricia Brock

So the damn-that-was-a-good-episode streak Pushing Daisies has been having continues.  With only three episodes left, Bryan Fuller’s quirky show knocks ‘em consistently out of the park.  This one is mostly focused on the Dwight Dixon/Charles Charles arc, and things keep getting more and more mysterious.  When three Norweigan detectives–who, sidebar, are rivals of Emerson–begin to investigate the disappearance of one Dwight Dixon, the trail leads back to Emerson, Ned, and Chuck.

There’s an awesome B plot, which eventually ties into the main plot, which involves Olive feeling left out of the loop… and it’s about time.  It seems like she’s hardly noticed that she’sbeing kept out of so many things, so when she finally gets fet up with it, that really rang true to me.  They’ve done a wonderful job subtly developing her this season, and her and Ned have a moment that was really, really sweet.  It’s pretty amazing how Pushing Daisies can have Ned and Chuck as the most likable couple ever, but at the same time, make the audience–me anyway–sort of want something, in a way, to happen between Ned and Olive.  Sort of.  It’s just really well written.

 And also, there’s another great, subtle, emotional scene between Emerson Cod and Lillian, that I didn’t see coming at all.  The show is just really really good, and I’m going to miss it when it’s gone.

8/10

REVIEW FOR

Heroes
Season Three
Episode Thirteen
“Dual”
Written by Jeph Loeb
Directed by Greg Beeman

Let’s get the bad stuff out of the way first.

- What’s up with Matt Parkman?  He gets all the corniest lines and actor Greg Grunberg does absolutely nothing to inject life into them.  He’s quickly becoming the weakest member of the cast, and that’s pretty sad, because Matt used to be one of my favorite characters.

- Nathan Petrelli.  Another favorite character who the writers have messed up.  Unlike Grunberg, however, Adrian Pasdar is doing his best to make Nathan into a believable character… but the writers turned him from a morally grey politician who loves his family but is ashamed of them to, first, a fanatic Christian (what was that about), and now… an arch villain.  With almost no explanation.  I guess the “Eclipse” episodes were the catalyst for this, but the dude went from good to evil in a night.  All the character’s moral ambiguity seems to be gone.  A few tweaked lines here or there would have made him, and his conflict with Peter, utterly believable… but Loeb didn’t think that was important.

So two gaping, stinking flaws so far.  Luckily for the fate of this already rocky show, the rest of the episode is gold.

+ With Big Bad Arthur Petrelli disposed of in the previous episode, Sylar steps up his villain game and traps Claire, Angela, Meredith, and Noah in Primatech and plays Jigsaw with them.  Only, unlike Saw, this is actually goodand not torture porn.  Sylar, played to perfection by Zachary Quinto, is a nuanced villain here that is as desperate to prove something to himself as he is to prove it to everyone else.  Only… he’s not sure what he wants to see.  He, at different times, begs to see that there is good in the world… but he also tries to prove that everyoneis like him.  The Sylar scenes really bring his arc to a surprisingly great close.

+ Not everyone makes it out alive.  One of the main characters Sylar has trapped die in this episode, and a whole bunch of villains die.  All the cards are on the table, and it looks like the series isn’t playing games anymore.  One person who “dies” is obviously going to come back, but the considerably numerous rest are probably down for the count.  And the series will be better for it.

+ Ando gets a power.  And it’s awesome.

+ Peter didn’t suck in this episode.  He actually became the morally grey hero that Nathan once was when he decides to bring down his father’s company.

+ Despite Tracy completely sucking as both a concept and a character… or maybe because of it… there is a scene between her and Hiro that is perfect.  And, yes, it involves her calling him “Pikachu.”  And a great, well-deserved response.

 So overall, while the structure is still flawed, most of the bad stuff here come from things established in other episodes.  Could Loeb have fixed Nathan’s arc and tried to save Parkman’s character?  Yeah.  Did he?  No.  And the episode suffers for it.  However, it’s still a very good conclusion to an uneven volume.

8/10

REVIEW FORHeroes
Season Three
Webisodes
“Destiny”
Written by Adam Armus & Kay Foster
Directed by Eagle Egilston

REVIEW FOR

THE OFFICE
Season Five
Webisodes
“The Outburst”
Written by Nate Fenderman & Jonathan Hughes
Directed by Lee Eisenberg & Gene Stupnitsky

URL: http://www.nbc.com/The_Office/video/webisodes/the_outburst/#vid=844801

Since there’s less and less new TV to review every week, I figure I’ll tackle some new media.  The Officeis one of the biggest participants in the whole interactive online experience.  Most of the characters have official blogs, and they just put out their third webseries.  Their first, a length ten-episode long The Accountants was the first one, followed by Kevin’s Loan which I have not yet seen, and–most recently–they released The Outburst, which focuses on the supporting characters as they try to figure out who Oscar yelled at on the phone.  The plot is a bit mundane, but really did give an in-the-office kind of feel, which was cool.  I also liked how they keep focusing on the supporting characters, and didn’t even use one member of the opening credits.  Kevin, in particular, was great to watch this time around.  He used to be one of my favorite characters, but his recent performance in the actual series has been a bit lacking.  He’s back on his game here, though, and the best scenes in the webisodes pretty much all go to him.

What it lacks, though, is intrigue.  With The Accountants, I was really interested to what happened to the missing money.  But this time around… the writing didn’t succeed in making me care about who Oscar was yelling at.  The way it was solved was pretty funny and there was some chuckle-worthy dialogue, but it wasn’t as tight as their earlier web-based material.

5/10

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REVIEW FOR

REVIEW FOR

THE OFFICE
Season Five
Episode Ten
“Moroccan Christmas”
Written by Justin Spitzer
Directed by Paul Feig

I don’t really remember there being a more inconsistent episode of The Office… ever.  The saving graces of this episode are the scenes where Toby begs Daryl to relinquish the rare toy he bought from Dwight, which Toby had promised to his daughter, and the final scene with Andy, in which he acts like his goofy self, oblivious to the fact that everyone has just discovered that Angela was cheating on him.  It was a truly funny and truly, deeply sad moment that all of the best The Office dramatic scenes capture.

But, unfortunately, the rest of the episode utterly blew.

No one is really in character.  Phyllis is a stone cold b***h, Jim’s witty dialogue is replaced with awkward jokes, and even Jenna Fischer can’t save Pam’s scenes from sinking.  It’s not at all in the acting, though… this week, the script was just shamefully weak.  How these jokes got past the pitching stage is beyond me.  How this entire script was agreed upon in the writer’s room and how the normally competent executive producers let this slip though the cracks is astonishing.

Weakest party episode, weakest episode for character interactions, and weakest on pretty much all fronts… only the two aforementioned events save this episode from being a 1/10.  But, as is, the episode still only warrants a pitiful…

3/10

REVIEW FOR

Pushing Daisies
Season Two
Episode Nine
“The Legend of Merle McQuoddy”
Written by Dara Resnik Creasey & Chad Gomez Creasey
Directed by Lawrence Twilling

Again, at the last moment, Pushing Daisies is finally showing its chops.  I thought it might have just been my realization that there are only a few episodes left, but it turns out that everyone I’ve been talking to agrees… the last two episodes have been the best of the series.  There is an urgency to the writing that just wasn’t there before, and that was the only avenue that was really lacking.

This episode follows the same structure as last week’s “Comfort Food.”  Two of the characters take on the mystery of the week while the other two deal with the major plot of the season.  Hilarity–of course–ensues.

Emerson and Olive team up, and man do they have chemistry.  Olive gets Emerson to open up in a way that he has never opened up before which in turns leads Olive to letting it slip to Emerson that she still loves Ned.  Watching the two slowly bond in the eccentric Pushing Daisieswas is great, and really warms your heart like a good slice of pie.  The mystery is interesting, if a bit simple, but the true enjoyment comes from the character interaction and dialogue that the mystery inspires.  “Shut the a capella up” comes to mind.

The arc of the season continues to get a hell of a lot more interesting, as Charles Charles’s resurrection gives Ned a lot more trouble than expected.  The tone of it goes from “protective father” to “kung fu zombie fight” to “possible villain?” as the two clash over Charlotte’s future.  The pie/cake comparison was such a nice touch, too.

Oh, also, the little kid from Weedsis in this episode.  I’ve yet to see anything past season two, so it was pretty hilarious to see little Shane all gawky and voice cracky.

8/10

The Guild
Season Two
Episode Three
“Quest Accepted”
Written by Felicia Day
Directed by Sean Becker

As promised earlier by Felicia Day, the guildies venture into new territory this season.  This episode features Codex helping Zaboo move into Vork’s house, but to do so, they must first brave the dangerous path that leads there.  Yup, they walk through the ghetto.  Most of the comedy here revolves around Vork’s eccentricity, and it’s more than enough to keep this episode entertaining.  I can’t wait to see how Vork and Zaboo play off of each other, because really… Vork’s obsession with his grandfather and Zaboo talking about drinking “cog nack” is hilarious.

Also, Felicia Day is especially terrific in this episode.  I was unsure about this season before, but now it seems like things are coming together.  Felicia gives a strong opening monologue, and shows some great facial expressions in the final scene when… well, you’ll see.  It’s nothing you can guess.

While this all still seems to be setting up the plot, it’s funny and quirky like old school The Guild.  Can’t wait for next week!

8/10