This past week was the official start of the season for new shows, and with this week out of the way, I can focus a post on what I’m watching and why. I’ll be mixing in new shows with old standbys, and also some must see shows that aren’t on the traditional schedule. Just to be creative, which I’m not, I’m putting them into food groups, to help with people that might be watching TV unhealthily, relying on too much junk food to get you through the week.
Junk Food – guilty pleasures
Hellcats – Fun and light show, that, as Damon Lindelof tweeted, is surprisingly not about Hell or Cats. This cheerleader drama should be right up my teenaged daughters alley, but alas, they’re not interested. So I’ll keep up with the show to bring them up to speed on the haps of Sharpay (Ashlee Tisdale) and Aly. In my house the TV spends a lot time on Nick and Disney, and it seems that TheCW is trying to pull those younger viewers in by grabbing the ex The Suite Life and Phil of the future stars. It’s a teen soap, sure, but it’s on TheCW so won’t be early on the cancel list.
The Big Bang Theory – Used to be a Monday night standard, but shifting it to Thursday (probably a good move, since Monday is being onslaught with new shows) for me makes it a Friday night watch. Love the characters and the geek humor. One sad aside from the premiere episode is there seems to be a trend at putting really inappropriate sexual innuendos on at 7PM by CBS, which makes watching this show with my young sons very much awk.ward. Or maybe I’m getting to be too old and cranky, but speaking of …
How I Met Your Mother – This show about some dude in 2030 telling his teenage kids a long-winded tale about how he met their mother, has always had a bit of the innuendo. Barney Stinson being the main culprit, which is awesome, of course. But this first episode was a bit over the top, 7PM Central is a bit early to get the ‘tent in the shorts’ jokes. I might not have noticed it as much in the past as I time-shifted the show til after the kids went to bed. I love this show, but it might have to go back to the time-shifted DVR slot for. the. sake. of the children.
Protein – Good meaty dramas
Rubicon – This AMC drama is about 9 episodes into it’s run, sharing Sunday night AMC slow with Mad Men, and it’s gaining strength as the show is connecting many of the crumbs that got dropped early. The slow place makes it intriguing to watch, not much action, but lots of ‘where are they taking this’ questions get answered in unexpected ways. I’d recommend going back and finding some good recaps before diving in, or finding the episodes to watch, since this is certainly not a procedural. I love the mind twisting goodness, and the characters are getting fleshed out, as slowly as the plot. A show that makes you think, I love that.
Mad Men – THE reason to turn on the TV on Sunday nights for me (not that it’s ever off very long) is to figure out how Don Draper is coping with his life. The last few episodes either has Don bouncing off his whiskey soaked bottom, or a false bounce with the promise of a deeper crash coming. Last week, Don lost his anchor, as Miss Blankenship passed on, and daughter Sally has a rebellious streak that we all know Betty won’t be able to handle. So Don’s new sobriety is tenuously handing on the ledge of Cooper, Sterling, Draper & Pryce’s window ledge, lets see how he handles it.
Terriers – It’s set in Ocean City (small beach suburb of San Diego) and has nothing to do with a canine club full of pedigreed terriers. Instead it’s following the gritty lives of an ex-cop Hank, played wonderfully by Donal Logue (Life), and his partner Britt, as they start a fledgling Private Investigation business. They are both all sorts of messed up, but another slow-burn season long arc is unwinding as their partnership begins to jell. It’s on the FX, so some episodes (like this last one) can get the parental warning sign, so keep this one on your DVR and enjoy it after the kids hit the hay.
Castle – This is just a delightful show, I love love love Nathan Fillion and it’s great to see him get a good breakout show. That said, it’s good because of the rest of the cast, a core family for Rick, and a caring group of cops that keeps Castle grounded as he researches his next novel. Simmering relationship drama is still fresh and doesn’t feel teased and overdone yet (see Bones). It’s a procedural, but so much fun that it’s on my must see list.
Grey’s Anatomy – This is weekly date night TV for me. If there is only one show I’ll actually watch on my very busy Thursday night, it’s Grey’s, with my wife, and enjoy it every week. Characters are still fun and engaging, and the stories are consistently solid. Good stuff to watch with my favorite person in the world.
The rest are below the fold.