tv mid-term report card

My love of television is well-documented on this blog and I hope that everyone knows that television right now is better than most films. I've listed my favorite shows in the past so now I just want to let everyone in on some new shows I've discovered this fall. In September I set my tivo to record a TON of new pilots with the hope that one or two might be watchable. Here's how it went...

What's with all the hype? This show sucks.
Granted, I'm sure there were a ton of terrible shows this fall (particularly shitty sitcoms), but I never even dreamed of watching those so I can't discuss them. The one I thought I might like is Heroes. But, guess what? It's not good. The mainstream media is slobbering all over it and of course it has big ratings, but it's crappy. There are too many characters but, more importantly, the amount of blood and gore in this 9 p.m. network show is insane. I've never been offended by television but it was so disturbing that I changed the channel. So don't watch it.

Eh, it may be fine but who cares?
I can think of three shows that fit into this category - Studio 60, Ugly Betty, and Standoff. I watched all of these shows in the beginning but it just wasn't compelling enough to keep watching. I know there are a lot of Studio 60 fans out there and maybe it's gotten better. But I just didn't think that Sorkin's fast-talking self-important monologues worked with the topic of Hollywood. Because while politics might make for good soap box speeches, who cares about overpaid Hollywood execs? And Ugly Betty was cute enough, but nothing grabbed me to make me watch week after week. Standoff I probably watched the longest because I love Ron Livingston. If they would make this show more like Moonlighting and less like some lame cop show, I'd watch it.

Sweet! I can finally add some Season Passes to my Tivo!
I have been thorougly enjoying a couple of new shows this year that I think are catching on. I won't count What About Brian because I started watching that show last year when it debuted mid-season. But Brothers and Sisters and Men in Trees have been really great this year. I've always loved Sally Field and she is great in B&S. Luckily it's not so much a Calista Flockhart show as a huge ensemble that's well written and well acted. The only criticism I've heard is that it's about wealthy yuppies in suburbia but I don't know why that is bad. :) As for Men in Trees, what a guilty pleasure. I was completely biased against the show at first because Anne Heche has been lame (and batshit crazy) in the past, but she's actually good. And, truthfully, the male lead on that show is so damn attractive that I feel compelled to watch week after week.