Wednesday, September 21, 2005
Television: New Season, So Far:
New Shows: Seen so far: “Bones,” “Head Cases,” “Everybody Hates Chris,” “Rome,” “Supernatural, “Surface,” “Threshold.”
New Shows: Plan on trying to catch: “My Name is Earl,” “Just Legal,” “E-Ring,” “Criminal Minds,” “Invasion,” and “Killer Instinct.” - Other than “Invasion,” I would not be disappointed if I am not able to catch an episode of these new shows.
Bones: (9/13/05) -FOX- One of the shows that I was interested in before the year began. Two episodes have now aired, but I’ve only seen the first, as I was at a baseball game when the second one aired. I’ll reserve judgment on the show until I’ve seen more than 1 episode. I watched the first episode after reading a lot of negative reviews, so my expectations were low. Maybe because of that factor (plus the fact that I really disliked the one Kathy Reichs book that I have read, the first book in the Dr. Temp series - just looked the book up and was mildly surprised at how much I hated it, I gave it a rating of 2.60 out of 5), the pilot wasn’t that bad. The mystery was a little flat, and the side characters were more annoying than amusing, but the two leads seemed interesting enough. Just a quick note on Dr. Temperance - in the one book I read, she was a lot more whiny and annoying, and strangely “stupid” than she was on the show (in that one book, she goes to a very bad neighborhood alone, unarmed, and at night to investigate, wearing, if I recall correctly, skimpy clothing, as opposed to the pilot, where the “stupidest” thing that she did was to confront the Senator alone . . . and her actions ended up working well for her (both the actions and the results are part of the low rating of the book)). Out of 5 stars, I rated the pilot 4.15, which, I believe, converts to 8.30 out of 10. At the moment, I would be disappointed, mildly, if the show didn’t last a least through the fall season. - had the best premiere numbers for Fox in 4 years - might keep Bones and House on together and push Idol to another night, according to FOX exec talking with Variety.com.
CSI: Miami (9/19/05) -CBS- Three CSI’s, three different shows. I’m not sure why, but I’ve tended to rate CSI: Miami higher than the other two series, despite the fact that I don’t like the lead on Miami. The single season highest rating, though, belongs to the 4th year of CSI (4.24 out of 5). I’ve mostly watched Miami through DVD viewings, though I’ve occasionally caught the show in first-run. I only own the first season DVD, and watched most of the second through Netflix. Saw just 4 episodes of season 3. I’d prefer to not have to deal with the expense of buying or renting CSI: Miami, so I’m going to attempt to watch the series in first-run from here-on out (note: watched “24" and “Alias” through DVD viewing up to last year - started to watch both in first-run for same reason given earlier, and ended up dropping both series from my viewing line-up - I believe both are much better without commercial interruption and without a week between episodes). So, something of a test. First episode of season 4 aired 9/19/05 (“From the Grave”). I must have liked the episode well enough, I rated it 4.22 out of 5, but I can’t remember, now, what the episode was about. If I recall correctly, a somewhat thin storyline about a gang killing an “ex”-member because he was arrested for selling drugs (killed for the drugs issue, not for being arrested). Now that I think about it, the episode was anything great. Compared with the ratings I’ve given the new shows episodes . . .. Just a note - New CSI series have started after the newest CSI series is in it’s third year (with a cross-over episode in the second season of the newest CSI series) - mentioned just to point out that if this process continues, then the cross-over, introductory episode of the new CSI series would occur this year as, I believe, the next to last episode of CSI: NY.
Head Cases (9/14/05)- FOX - High flying lawyer has a panic attack and goes away for several months. Returns. Law firm fires him. Hot wife was in the process of leaving him before the panic attack, and is reluctant to take him back. The mental institution, or wellness center, or the lodge in the mountains, whatever the place was, sets the high flying lawyer up with a partner to try to help both get over their problems (the partner has trouble controlling his anger). Did not notice until this write up, but I guess I liked the pilot more than I realized, as I rated it a 4.23 out of 5. Neither Goldberg nor O’Donnell are actors that I particularly like. I’ve seen at least one acting performance by Goldberg that I liked, but otherwise I do not particularly like his acting. O’Donnell always seemed something of a lightweight in the acting department. I will apparently miss the second episode because of a baseball game, and unlike Bones and Supernatural, I do not believe that I will be able to get that episode recorded (mostly because I forgot it was on until this write-up). I like giving new shows a chance, otherwise I wouldn’t have seen the first episode of this series, and while I seem to have liked the first episode well enough to continue to watch this series, I would not be disappointed if I never saw another episode. - did worse than the shows in its time slot last year in the all important 18-49 audience numbers (I’ve seen it as 18-24, 18-24, and 18-49, pick a “young” range already).
Everybody Hates Chris -UPN- Received a copy of the first episode on DVD in Entertainment Weekly. Based on what I’ve since read elsewhere, maybe what I had was just a cut down verison of the pilot. I found the episode, or the clip, solid enough, but not particularly interesting. The narration by Chris Rock was more distracting than helpful, for the most part. Not a series that I will watch in first-run. Do not plan on watching, so not particularly concerned about its fate.
King of the Hill (9/18/05) FOX - Mention just to point out that this is the series final season. I’ve seen 96 episodes of King of the Hill, but I never watched the series on any regular basis. The series was good enough combined with something like The Simpsons or Futurama, but not great. As this is the last season, I plan on trying to watch the full season. Saw the first episode of the 10th season on 9/18/05. Episode was just ok, and receives from me a 4.15 rating out of 5 (I seemed to have been in a “4.15" giving mood).
Prison Break: I never caught an episode as the premise was too absurd. Maybe if I had watched the pilot, I would have been drawn in and the absurd plot points would have been overshadowed by good acting or good story or . . .. The one primary problem was the concept of a guy committing a crime so that he would go to the exact same jail as his brother (this issue, oddly enough, turned up in a promo for an episode wherein the warden told the Prison Break star that he was being transferred - that episode may or may not have occurred by now). This is a type of show that needs to be watched from the beginning, and as I wasn’t interested in the very beginning, I’ll end up not watching this series (I was initially interested because of the presence of the ex-“John Doe” actor). Not watching, do not care if it last full season or more.
Rome (HBO): I’ve caught every episode so far and I am happy that HBO has ordered a second season. I also watched the ABC mini-series Empire, and Rome is a superior series. I missed the final two episodes of Empire, and overall, gave the series a rating of 4.19. Rome, so far, has a rating of 4.30, and the highest rated episode, so far, has received a rating of 4.35 (and if anyone cares, it is the episode with the least nudity, if that means anything). I like history and have read many books set with historical themes (and liked those episodes of “Angel” that included scenes set in the past, and enjoyed the couple of episodes of “Roar” that I saw). I would be rather annoyed if Rome were to be suddenly yanked from the air, and would likely not watch HBO in the future if that were to occur.
The Simpsons - FOX: I’ve mostly just watched this series in reruns (mostly prime time, not syndication), but there are seasons that I’ve watched first-run. Caught the first two episodes of the 17th season, and so far the series still seems interesting and worth my time. I don’t want to get to deep into examining/discussing a returning show, so I’ll just note that I gave the first episode of the season a 4.15 rating (out of 5; 8.30 out of 10) and the second episode a 4.30 rating (out of 5). Overall, I’ve rated the series 3.94 out of 5 (average of all the seasons, season average is based on rating of the episodes in that season). Never ending?
Supernatural: (9/13/05) - WB- A lot of seemingly similar shows starting this year, at least in brief glances at the “flavor” of the shows (Supernatural, Invasion, Threshold, Surface). Considering the people behind the show, I ended up liking Supernatural a lot more than I expected. Despite that comment, I rated the first episode a 4.15 out of 5 (seen that storyline once too often, and trying to not give anything away, the second woman on the ceiling was obviously enough needed to push the main character into a certain direction, but was otherwise confusing as to what the “monster” had been attracted to - obviously enough women, maybe ones that have strong attachments to one man, and I had thought, wrongly, - some child or baby present). The atmosphere of the show was well constructed. It might be interesting to see what a regular line-up of Bones and Supernatural might be like, but once again, didn’t see the second episode of Supernatural because of a baseball game, so I’ll have to wait to see if I like the series. Interested in seeing that recorded second episode, and would be mildly disappointed if series did not last at least through the fall season. - 19% better numbers than last year’s One Tree Hill (Variety.com article).
Surface (9/19/05) NBC - Of the new science fiction/fantasy/supernatural/horror shows that have so far premiered, Surface receives my lowest rating of 3.93 out of 5. Unfortunately, I think that I do not like any of the characters (which is different from liking or disliking an actor), and some of the reactions and scenes were annoying and unwatchable (some scenes were great, though). I was slightly distracted when I watched the first episode, so I’ll watch the next episode (I try to catch at least 3 to 5 episodes of a new series). Obviously enough, I would not be tremendously disappointed to see the show cancelled (other than the loss of a science fiction show, and implications of its failure on other science fiction shows). - Surface - down from Fear Factor’s viewing numbers.
Two and a Half Men - (9/19/05) CBS - I have mostly seen this show in reruns, and only very occasionally in first-run airing. That viewing style is likely to have limited my enjoyment of the series and lowered the individual episodes ratings. The first season, which I watched completely out of order, is the season that I have liked least (4.06 out of 5), while the second season, which I saw somewhat more in order was rated by me a much more healthy 4.24 out of 5. I did not particularly like Everybody Likes Raymond, and there wasn’t anything else to bridge me to the 9:30 pm (EST) time slot that Two and a Half Men enjoyed previously. Now that the series is in the 9:00 pm slot, I plan on watching the series in its first-run airing. So far that plan is still working, as I’ve seen the only episode aired so far this year. I didn’t particularly like this episode. I rated the episode 4.23 out of 5. I’m beginning to think that I rather disliked shows like Bones that I rated less than this rating. - down from Everybody Loves Raymond’s numbers
Threshold (9/16/05) CBS - Of all the new shows, this one received my highest rating, but I have a feeling that its time on the air will be limited. I’ve forgotten, now, what my reasons were for this belief (which developed while watching the first two episodes), but they were probably similar to the reasons expressed by Grailwolf on www.tv.com (cost of the show, night on tv, shows being canceled that are liked). - already in trouble - while it did better than “JAG” its targeted audience did not watch in any large numbers (target - young 18-34 - got a 6 share)
Oh - forgot I tried to watch “War at Home” - stopped watching after about 5 minutes - could not stand. And I forgot I watched “Out of Practice” - it had its funny moments, and I’ll watch it in the future.
Just for my own records:
Sunday:
7:30 - King of the Hill
8:00 - The Simpsons
8:30 - some ½ hour DVD show
9:00 - Rome
Monday:
8:00 - “Surface” or “The King of Queens”
8:30 - if watch “The King of Queens,” then watch “How I Meet Your Mother” or “Kitchen Confidential”
9:00 - Two and a Half Men
9:30 - Out of Practice
10:00 - CSI: Miami
Tuesday:
8:00 - Bones (if cancelled or find I dislike it - replace with NCIS)
9:00 - Supernatural
Wednesday:
8:00 - ??????????? - That ‘70s show - maybe
8:30 - ??????????? - Yes, Dear - maybe
9:00 - “Head Cases” or “E-Ring” or “Criminal Minds”
10:00 - Invasion
Thursday:
8:00 - Joey
8:30 - DVD show
9:00 - CSI - maybe
Friday:
8:00 - ??????????????
9:00 - Threshold
10:00 - Numb3rs
New Shows: Plan on trying to catch: “My Name is Earl,” “Just Legal,” “E-Ring,” “Criminal Minds,” “Invasion,” and “Killer Instinct.” - Other than “Invasion,” I would not be disappointed if I am not able to catch an episode of these new shows.
Bones: (9/13/05) -FOX- One of the shows that I was interested in before the year began. Two episodes have now aired, but I’ve only seen the first, as I was at a baseball game when the second one aired. I’ll reserve judgment on the show until I’ve seen more than 1 episode. I watched the first episode after reading a lot of negative reviews, so my expectations were low. Maybe because of that factor (plus the fact that I really disliked the one Kathy Reichs book that I have read, the first book in the Dr. Temp series - just looked the book up and was mildly surprised at how much I hated it, I gave it a rating of 2.60 out of 5), the pilot wasn’t that bad. The mystery was a little flat, and the side characters were more annoying than amusing, but the two leads seemed interesting enough. Just a quick note on Dr. Temperance - in the one book I read, she was a lot more whiny and annoying, and strangely “stupid” than she was on the show (in that one book, she goes to a very bad neighborhood alone, unarmed, and at night to investigate, wearing, if I recall correctly, skimpy clothing, as opposed to the pilot, where the “stupidest” thing that she did was to confront the Senator alone . . . and her actions ended up working well for her (both the actions and the results are part of the low rating of the book)). Out of 5 stars, I rated the pilot 4.15, which, I believe, converts to 8.30 out of 10. At the moment, I would be disappointed, mildly, if the show didn’t last a least through the fall season. - had the best premiere numbers for Fox in 4 years - might keep Bones and House on together and push Idol to another night, according to FOX exec talking with Variety.com.
CSI: Miami (9/19/05) -CBS- Three CSI’s, three different shows. I’m not sure why, but I’ve tended to rate CSI: Miami higher than the other two series, despite the fact that I don’t like the lead on Miami. The single season highest rating, though, belongs to the 4th year of CSI (4.24 out of 5). I’ve mostly watched Miami through DVD viewings, though I’ve occasionally caught the show in first-run. I only own the first season DVD, and watched most of the second through Netflix. Saw just 4 episodes of season 3. I’d prefer to not have to deal with the expense of buying or renting CSI: Miami, so I’m going to attempt to watch the series in first-run from here-on out (note: watched “24" and “Alias” through DVD viewing up to last year - started to watch both in first-run for same reason given earlier, and ended up dropping both series from my viewing line-up - I believe both are much better without commercial interruption and without a week between episodes). So, something of a test. First episode of season 4 aired 9/19/05 (“From the Grave”). I must have liked the episode well enough, I rated it 4.22 out of 5, but I can’t remember, now, what the episode was about. If I recall correctly, a somewhat thin storyline about a gang killing an “ex”-member because he was arrested for selling drugs (killed for the drugs issue, not for being arrested). Now that I think about it, the episode was anything great. Compared with the ratings I’ve given the new shows episodes . . .. Just a note - New CSI series have started after the newest CSI series is in it’s third year (with a cross-over episode in the second season of the newest CSI series) - mentioned just to point out that if this process continues, then the cross-over, introductory episode of the new CSI series would occur this year as, I believe, the next to last episode of CSI: NY.
Head Cases (9/14/05)- FOX - High flying lawyer has a panic attack and goes away for several months. Returns. Law firm fires him. Hot wife was in the process of leaving him before the panic attack, and is reluctant to take him back. The mental institution, or wellness center, or the lodge in the mountains, whatever the place was, sets the high flying lawyer up with a partner to try to help both get over their problems (the partner has trouble controlling his anger). Did not notice until this write up, but I guess I liked the pilot more than I realized, as I rated it a 4.23 out of 5. Neither Goldberg nor O’Donnell are actors that I particularly like. I’ve seen at least one acting performance by Goldberg that I liked, but otherwise I do not particularly like his acting. O’Donnell always seemed something of a lightweight in the acting department. I will apparently miss the second episode because of a baseball game, and unlike Bones and Supernatural, I do not believe that I will be able to get that episode recorded (mostly because I forgot it was on until this write-up). I like giving new shows a chance, otherwise I wouldn’t have seen the first episode of this series, and while I seem to have liked the first episode well enough to continue to watch this series, I would not be disappointed if I never saw another episode. - did worse than the shows in its time slot last year in the all important 18-49 audience numbers (I’ve seen it as 18-24, 18-24, and 18-49, pick a “young” range already).
Everybody Hates Chris -UPN- Received a copy of the first episode on DVD in Entertainment Weekly. Based on what I’ve since read elsewhere, maybe what I had was just a cut down verison of the pilot. I found the episode, or the clip, solid enough, but not particularly interesting. The narration by Chris Rock was more distracting than helpful, for the most part. Not a series that I will watch in first-run. Do not plan on watching, so not particularly concerned about its fate.
King of the Hill (9/18/05) FOX - Mention just to point out that this is the series final season. I’ve seen 96 episodes of King of the Hill, but I never watched the series on any regular basis. The series was good enough combined with something like The Simpsons or Futurama, but not great. As this is the last season, I plan on trying to watch the full season. Saw the first episode of the 10th season on 9/18/05. Episode was just ok, and receives from me a 4.15 rating out of 5 (I seemed to have been in a “4.15" giving mood).
Prison Break: I never caught an episode as the premise was too absurd. Maybe if I had watched the pilot, I would have been drawn in and the absurd plot points would have been overshadowed by good acting or good story or . . .. The one primary problem was the concept of a guy committing a crime so that he would go to the exact same jail as his brother (this issue, oddly enough, turned up in a promo for an episode wherein the warden told the Prison Break star that he was being transferred - that episode may or may not have occurred by now). This is a type of show that needs to be watched from the beginning, and as I wasn’t interested in the very beginning, I’ll end up not watching this series (I was initially interested because of the presence of the ex-“John Doe” actor). Not watching, do not care if it last full season or more.
Rome (HBO): I’ve caught every episode so far and I am happy that HBO has ordered a second season. I also watched the ABC mini-series Empire, and Rome is a superior series. I missed the final two episodes of Empire, and overall, gave the series a rating of 4.19. Rome, so far, has a rating of 4.30, and the highest rated episode, so far, has received a rating of 4.35 (and if anyone cares, it is the episode with the least nudity, if that means anything). I like history and have read many books set with historical themes (and liked those episodes of “Angel” that included scenes set in the past, and enjoyed the couple of episodes of “Roar” that I saw). I would be rather annoyed if Rome were to be suddenly yanked from the air, and would likely not watch HBO in the future if that were to occur.
The Simpsons - FOX: I’ve mostly just watched this series in reruns (mostly prime time, not syndication), but there are seasons that I’ve watched first-run. Caught the first two episodes of the 17th season, and so far the series still seems interesting and worth my time. I don’t want to get to deep into examining/discussing a returning show, so I’ll just note that I gave the first episode of the season a 4.15 rating (out of 5; 8.30 out of 10) and the second episode a 4.30 rating (out of 5). Overall, I’ve rated the series 3.94 out of 5 (average of all the seasons, season average is based on rating of the episodes in that season). Never ending?
Supernatural: (9/13/05) - WB- A lot of seemingly similar shows starting this year, at least in brief glances at the “flavor” of the shows (Supernatural, Invasion, Threshold, Surface). Considering the people behind the show, I ended up liking Supernatural a lot more than I expected. Despite that comment, I rated the first episode a 4.15 out of 5 (seen that storyline once too often, and trying to not give anything away, the second woman on the ceiling was obviously enough needed to push the main character into a certain direction, but was otherwise confusing as to what the “monster” had been attracted to - obviously enough women, maybe ones that have strong attachments to one man, and I had thought, wrongly, - some child or baby present). The atmosphere of the show was well constructed. It might be interesting to see what a regular line-up of Bones and Supernatural might be like, but once again, didn’t see the second episode of Supernatural because of a baseball game, so I’ll have to wait to see if I like the series. Interested in seeing that recorded second episode, and would be mildly disappointed if series did not last at least through the fall season. - 19% better numbers than last year’s One Tree Hill (Variety.com article).
Surface (9/19/05) NBC - Of the new science fiction/fantasy/supernatural/horror shows that have so far premiered, Surface receives my lowest rating of 3.93 out of 5. Unfortunately, I think that I do not like any of the characters (which is different from liking or disliking an actor), and some of the reactions and scenes were annoying and unwatchable (some scenes were great, though). I was slightly distracted when I watched the first episode, so I’ll watch the next episode (I try to catch at least 3 to 5 episodes of a new series). Obviously enough, I would not be tremendously disappointed to see the show cancelled (other than the loss of a science fiction show, and implications of its failure on other science fiction shows). - Surface - down from Fear Factor’s viewing numbers.
Two and a Half Men - (9/19/05) CBS - I have mostly seen this show in reruns, and only very occasionally in first-run airing. That viewing style is likely to have limited my enjoyment of the series and lowered the individual episodes ratings. The first season, which I watched completely out of order, is the season that I have liked least (4.06 out of 5), while the second season, which I saw somewhat more in order was rated by me a much more healthy 4.24 out of 5. I did not particularly like Everybody Likes Raymond, and there wasn’t anything else to bridge me to the 9:30 pm (EST) time slot that Two and a Half Men enjoyed previously. Now that the series is in the 9:00 pm slot, I plan on watching the series in its first-run airing. So far that plan is still working, as I’ve seen the only episode aired so far this year. I didn’t particularly like this episode. I rated the episode 4.23 out of 5. I’m beginning to think that I rather disliked shows like Bones that I rated less than this rating. - down from Everybody Loves Raymond’s numbers
Threshold (9/16/05) CBS - Of all the new shows, this one received my highest rating, but I have a feeling that its time on the air will be limited. I’ve forgotten, now, what my reasons were for this belief (which developed while watching the first two episodes), but they were probably similar to the reasons expressed by Grailwolf on www.tv.com (cost of the show, night on tv, shows being canceled that are liked). - already in trouble - while it did better than “JAG” its targeted audience did not watch in any large numbers (target - young 18-34 - got a 6 share)
Oh - forgot I tried to watch “War at Home” - stopped watching after about 5 minutes - could not stand. And I forgot I watched “Out of Practice” - it had its funny moments, and I’ll watch it in the future.
Just for my own records:
Sunday:
7:30 - King of the Hill
8:00 - The Simpsons
8:30 - some ½ hour DVD show
9:00 - Rome
Monday:
8:00 - “Surface” or “The King of Queens”
8:30 - if watch “The King of Queens,” then watch “How I Meet Your Mother” or “Kitchen Confidential”
9:00 - Two and a Half Men
9:30 - Out of Practice
10:00 - CSI: Miami
Tuesday:
8:00 - Bones (if cancelled or find I dislike it - replace with NCIS)
9:00 - Supernatural
Wednesday:
8:00 - ??????????? - That ‘70s show - maybe
8:30 - ??????????? - Yes, Dear - maybe
9:00 - “Head Cases” or “E-Ring” or “Criminal Minds”
10:00 - Invasion
Thursday:
8:00 - Joey
8:30 - DVD show
9:00 - CSI - maybe
Friday:
8:00 - ??????????????
9:00 - Threshold
10:00 - Numb3rs
