Now that the holidaze is done, that means the 2nd halves of seasons are rolling in and mid-term premieres start jumping. I'm completely BEE-HIIND, sorta.

Here's a rundown on things that have already arrived and things that are joining in on the fun soon. (In no particular order...)

Damages, Season 3, FX
Over the weekend I DVRed and watched the S2 finally. I watched the first 2 or 3 episodes of the season and waited to finish S1 before moving forward. Never did, but still didn't seem to miss much in terms of plots. Apparently, I missed a bunch of twists, turns, and shark jumping according to reviews in anticipation of S3. This will always be a tough one to stomach weekly. There are details, performances, time jumps, red herrings, and other important things that I can't NOT pay attention to, so sitting down and giving this one undisturbed attention in my "time-cramped" nights would be tough. There are a few shows that I MUST pay attention to per second. This would have to be one of them. But will it hold up? Season 3 premiered last night so I have to see what ties are going to be unraveled, withered, and utterly destroyed.

Caprica, SyFy
Never caught the official pilot that was a straight-to-DVD release that included the nudity and cursing (yes, earth version "frakking" - in both cases). Finally caught the two parter on OnDemand a couple weeks back. It officially premiered last week. It took me a few scenes to displace my BSG-ties to fully commit to this prequel, but when I did I found it pretty darn good. Except for the final scenes in the 2nd hour that, I suppose, had to be included as the big carrot on the stick, the overall experience did its job well. I am engaged with the characters and I thought Esai Morales and Eric Stoltz demonstrated the chemistry and singular ability to carry this character driven family (and societal) drama. Yes, the BSG nods beyond the obvious familial ties, like the racism, religion, and CYLONology, made me geek out.

Life Unexpected, The CW
Just for full disclosure, I have a soft spot for CW shows. Yes, I admit that the 13 year old in me does come out often. But, that's not why I hope for CW shows to hit. Because the Big 3 1/2 (CBS, ABC, FOX, and nbc) will undoubtedly control the network ratings, the CW is the one network that will consistently take risks in programming. They've hit and they've missed, but at least they try. And yes, this goes back to the WB and UPN days. They have procedurals, but they're housed in comedy or horror (Buffy, Supernatural, Reaper, Roswell). They master the nighttime soap/ guilty pleasure (targeted at the tweens, teens, and the rest of us that think that shit's funny) like Dawson's Creek, Gossip Girl and 90210. Although, ripoffs of older iconic shows isn't all the risky. And, they do family dramas with compassion and style (Gilmore Girls, early Smallville, Charmed). Now, they have a chance to hit that stride again with Life Unexpected. I've only seen the first segment of the pilot and I can see how it can work. Quirkly dialogue, potentially complex characters, real family dynamics to work out, and pretty people. I'm definitely on board until it proves stupid, lame, or insensitive or inane (re: the foster youth experience).

Chuck, nbc
I'm on board until the Kristen Kreuk arc runs out. Kristen's not much of an actress, but she'll always be Lana to me so I'll follow. Chuck's never hit with me. The colors/lighting aren't appealing. The sets looks really cheap. The humor can be hit or miss. It basically looks like a USA Network show or something that could be syndicated on late night Saturdays (like She Spies or that Pam Anderson joing, VIP or something). Nonetheless, KK's reppin' so I'm steppin. And, if it gets good, I'll keep rolling til it's not.

More later..

posted by breakfast boy@ 2:15 PM