It’s been a difficult week in that there was just so much to watch. Not only were there a large number of pilots to watch and critique, but there were also quite a few returning shows that need to be ripped apart.
House, How I Met Your Mother, Two and a Half Men, Castle, Glee, Parenthood, Modern Family, Cougar Town, Bones, Big Bang Theory, The Office, Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice, Community, the Simpsons, and Family Guy… all shows I’ve come to love very much for very different reasons. You can find all of my thoughts after the jump. Continue reading
I’ve been struggling for weeks with what to watch this season for tv. Do I want to add more comedies? Is there room for another drama? So many questions and less than a week to go until the major premiers start happening.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I am more reliant on my DVR now than I ever have been. I find this is because Hubs and I keep relatively different schedules and watch most of our shows together.
So without further adieu, here are my recommendations.
On Monday:
- At 8PM, How I Met Your Mother. Although, I don’t hold out much hope for this particular series anymore. I’ve been let down way too many times, and the new “let’s finally meet the mother storyline seems too good to be true.
- Also at 8PM, you’ll find House. I’ve always loved this one. I find that I enjoy recording it and watching it right away. Unfortunately, FOX and Verizon do not have any type of agreement for OnDemand programming, so I can’t say just look for this one OnDemand like I would for some other favorites.
- At 9PM, Two and a Half Men. This is another show that’s been around for awhile, but has started lacking in overall story.
- At 10PM is one of my favorites, Castle. But this one you can find OnDemand.
- Check out the new Hawaii 5-0, also at 10PM. I’m not so sure about this one, mostly because there’s been so much hype around it. I’ll give it 3-episodes.
On Tuesday:
- At 8PM, a fan favorite Glee will be there to watch and love and sing along with.
- No Ordinary Family with Julie Benz will also show up in the 8PM spot. I love Julie Benz, and I like the idea of superheroes. This happens to be an ABC show, so I may or may not try to check it out OnDemand. If it’s good enough, I’ll just have to watch it live or DVR it.
- At 10PM, watch Parenthood. You will often find NBC shows OnDemand, but it’s still a great show to watch.
On Wednesday:
- Check out a new JJ Abrams show at 8PM. Undercovers. It looks good, but only time will tell.
- At 9PM, my new guilty pleasure Hellcats is on. Yes. I enjoy shows about cheerleaders. It might be awful, but it’s like a car wreck or going to a hockey game.
- Also at 9PM is Modern Family. You’d be a fool to miss this Emmy Award Winning show.
- At 9:30PM, watch Cougar Town. Although it’s less about cougaring and more about dysfunctional families, it’s still pretty good. And Jennifer Aniston will be making a cameo this season.
On Thursday:
- At 8PM, on a Thursday night which is the most jampacked night for tv, you should be watching Community. If you caught it last season, you’re in for a treat in the next season. If you missed it, well… you missed a lot.
- Also at 8PM on CBS is The Big Bang Theory. Enough said.
- At 9PM you should watch The Office. It is Steve Carrell’s last season, and it would be a shame to miss it. Even though I think they should throw in the towel after this…
- I’m a HUGE Grey’s Anatomy fan. You’ll find it at 9PM on ABC. However, if you miss it, you might be able to catch in OnDemand.
- If you like Grey’s, you probably like Private Practice, which is on immediately after at 10PM.
On Friday:
- You should be trying to catch up on anything you missed and delete things from your DVR to make room for the following week. I don’t usually find anything of interest on Friday nights, but you can be the judge.
On Saturday:
- Get outside. Enjoy some fresh air. Come home, rent a movie and relax. Or… go out. Have date night. There’s nothing really good on anyway.
On Sunday:
- At 8PM, you can find a classic staple in American television, The Simpsons.
- At 9PM, you MUST watch Dexter on Showtime. Period. The End.
So, Gentle Readers, those are my opinions on what to watch this season. I’m sure as the season gears up, there will be some changes to the lineup.
What will YOU be watching this fall season?
Everyone has one. Maybe more than one. A show that you can watch over and over again, and it helps you feel better, puts you in a good mood, or helps you to sleep in a good way.
Hubs and I have been talking about our comfort shows for a few weeks. Mostly because since I bought the first to seasons of The Big Bang Theory it has been a permanent fixture in the dvd player in our bedroom. I don’t have cable running to the bedroom tv. I had every intention of doing so, but just never got around to it, and I think we’re better for it. We just have the dvd player, and it’s just enough television: great show, no commercials.
But Big Bang has been in the rotation for months. To the point where we’re talking about starting to rate our favorite episodes per disc and then per season. Yes. We’re dorks. Deal with it.
Big Bang is our comfort show. It’s the show we watch every night before we go to bed while we’re falling asleep and when we wake up just before we get up for the day.
I have other comfort shows. I don’t know what others Hubs would consider as a comfort show, but I certainly have a few.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer of course is right at the top of my list of favorite shows and is definitely a comfort show for me. Yes, there are vampires and it can be scary, but it is forever unchanging. And I can marathon the entire series very easily.
Veronica Mars is there to satisfy my Kristen Bell craving. And also my desire to be a tiny blonde teen detective.
And then there’s Grey’s Anatomy. It’s not so much the surgical storylines that keep me coming back. It’s the personal stories that make me want to watch over and over. And I can’t wait to watch what will happen in the upcoming season.
What are some of your comfort shows?
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I’ve been on a Dawson’s Creek kick for that last two weeks. Which has been made more difficult but the fact that I only own the first three seasons. And there are some discs missing. I forgot how much I actually enjoyed this show of my youth. Yes. They are all hypersexed, over-dialoguing teenagers. But it’s not really about the witty quips and writing that makes teenagers talk like middle aged adults. It’s about the relationships. It’s the personal interactions that make me swoon, and keep coming back to the show, as dated as it might be.
And while having gone back to watch what I had available of the first three seasons, I found myself once again swept away and weepy about one of my all-time favorite TV relationships: Pacey and Joey. I wrote about my favorite TV relationships awhile back, and Pacey and Joey were definitely on that list. There’s a lot to be said about sworn enemies finally putting aside their differences and pushing passed the sexual tension to just be together, despite what anyone else thinks, says or does.
Perusing Youtube, I came across someone’s top 20 Pacey/Joey moments, and I definitely have to agree with each of the moments, although I’m not sure about MY order. And really? Each and every moment where Pacey and Joey are happy and together are my favorites. I was never a fan of all the times they split up, both convinced that they didn’t belong together, and they were never meant to be, and blah blah blah. But it was made worth it by them getting back together shortly after and giving me reason to swoon all over again.
Among my other favorite TV couples are Logan and Veronica, Spike and Buffy, Derek and Meredith (from the early seasons). But it’s funny thinking about my favorite couples and realizing that in the current tv season, I have not found a couple to swoon over. Is it that they are just not written as well as they used to be? Or maybe it’s because I can’t connect to any of the characters… which is shocking, mostly because this television season is almost over, and it’s quickly becoming too late to be attached to any characters if you’re not already. Food for thought, I suppose.
Who are your favorite TV couples?
It’s interesting when dueling networks have similar programming. It was painfully clear a few years ago when reality tv was all the rage and EVERYONE was showing the same programming but with different characters and producers but the storylines from week to week would be shockingly similar.
I can remember when I first started watching Grey’s Anatomy that many of the basic plots were the same as what I’d been watching on House in previous seasons. To the point where the diagnoses were spot on.
Even wannabe shows that don’t seem to last have constant similarities to currently high-rated programming. Take a look at Rules of Engagement, which only last little more than a season. There you had 2 couples, and a single guy. It felt like I was watching a cheapened version of How I Met Your Mother.
So, in light of all those crappy rip offs and wannabe shows, I present to you the very latest in the Battle of the Networks: Accidentally on Purpose vs Cougar Town. CBS vs ABC.
I watch both shows. I LOVE both shows. They each have their own little quirks and qualities that make them funny. But are they the same show?
The basic premise is the same: older woman (40s) is having trouble with being the older woman and ends up in search of a younger life, thus leaving her in the arms of a much younger man. Each woman is an individual. They both have their own little things that makes them special. And funny.
The MAJOR difference between the shows? One is pregnant by her younger man, and the other already has a kid, and has lived that life.
Bille (Accidentally on Purpose) shacks up with a guy in his early 20’s and ends up getting knocked up.
Whereas, Jules (Cougar Town) already has the kid, and is looking to recapture her youth after a divorce.
Both shows provide hilarious antics and amusing dynamics between the characters. It’s even easy to see which characters match up on both shows. Two best friends, the guy next door and his friends.
But each show is funny in it’s own right.
What I do find comforting is the fact that after their freshman seasons respectively, each show will find footing and become more original and unique. And both, on separate networks will probably survive.
Just look at House and Grey’s Anatomy. Sure, early on some of the episodes had hints from the other show, but here we are, many MANY seasons later, and each show has a completely different feel, and have both taken totally different paths. *Sniffle sniffle* They grow up so fast.
So, in looking at all those things, I like both shows because of their similarities and differences and can’t wait to see each one pan out for more than a season because it will be interesting to see which path each show chooses.
Whose side are you on?
I haven’t watched Grey’s Anatomy in 2 seasons. Maybe a season and a half. I own the first 4 seasons on dvd. And I love the first 3. But I haven’t watched it in a really long time.
I’ll admit that I haven’t even DVR’d it this season. Mostly because it seemed like the show that you have to watch beginning to end, and can’t really pick up periodically along the way.
Only you can. Apparently.
So, late at night, when I can’t sleep, and I’ve watched everything on my DVR – twice – I’ve been putting on Grey’s Anatomy from the On Demand menu. And I must say, I’m getting hooked again. And it wasn’t all that difficult to just jump right in and pick up where I left off.
And it’s great.
Except…
Izzie has cancer. And is married to Alex. George is dead. Derek and Meredith got married via a post-it note, allegedly. Dr. Hunt and Christina are dating. But Christina misses Burke. Bailey is an Attending, and getting a divorce. Callie is dating another woman, who is overly emotional and would probably cry at a pin drop. Mark is dating Lexie, who Derek often refers to as “Little Grey.” And Derek and the Chief are butting heads. Hard. Oh, and Mercy West and Seattle Grace merged hospitals, leaving half the doctors in the area out of jobs.
Breathe.
So much for a recap.
But to be perfectly honest, even though all those things annoy me, I still like the show. I don’t actually like the show, but it’s addicting. And I think I’ll be watching it more and more. Late at night, when I can’t sleep and have watched everything on the DVR. Twice.
shameless watching of tv 