What's on our DVR?

[yendi]

adam_0oo asked what shows I'm watching in a comment to another post, and I figured I'd break this out into its own post. Note that this covers network TV stuff, not cable (so Leverage, Pretty Little Liars, Game of Thrones, etc. aren't listed here) We generally don't' watch all these in one week; we'll let shows pile up, and mini-marathon some of them when we have some free time.

New Stuff:

Comedies:

New Girl. Yeah, it's far from perfect, and my crush on Zooey is a big factor, but I'm also kind of hooked on having this broken a character starring in a sitcom. This is a lead who is barely above Sheldon on Big Bang Theory in terms of social skills, having been in one relationship (as best I can tell), and not having a clue how manipulated and abused she was in that. She has no idea how to act around anyone, and is every bit as falsely influenced by pop culture as the characters on BBT. Now if the guys were only a little more interesting, I'd be more excited about new episodes.

Suburgatory. Took me about a week to adjust to this one, but it's got a great cast (Ana Gasteyer, Allie Grant, Cheryl Hines, Alan Tydek, etc), likable leads (Jeremy Sisto and Jane Levy), and a wonderfully over-the-top false dichotomy of the suburbs and the city that gets both gloriously and hilariously wrong. And it uses that setting not only to explore the city/burb divide, but to explore contemporary gender roles quite wonderfully so far. It's not perfect (I'd like to see some exploration of gender roles beyond straight males and straight females, and Tudyk and Grant are both underused, considering their talents), but it's fun so far. Oh, and I think this might be the one show where we won't see Tudyk die.

Up All Night. The best new comedy of the year, hands down. Damned near perfect writing and three actors -- Christina Applegate, Maya Rudolph, and Will Arnett -- who do comic timing perfectly (and having Jennifer Hall as the fourth case member certainly doesn't hurt). They also clearly get parenthood, and avoid the cliched Mr. Mom/women shouldn't work jokes that a lesser show with this setup (lawyer dad quit his career, producer mom is back at work full-time) would resort to.

Dramas:

Ringer. Yeah, I know. We only started watching because of Sarah Michelle Gellar, but it's a surprisingly good piece of brain candy. There are lots of lovely twists, a cast who can handle the soapy material (Nestor Carbinell is probably relieved that his storylines actually make sense after the end of Lost), and some nifty guest stars (including Jason Dohring).

Revenge: The other cheesefest. I've posted about this before, and it's just a solid, well-acted show with a great cast of folks. Yeah, it's rich white folks hurting other rich white folks, but it's aware of its schlockiness, and has a group of likeable (or likably horrible) folks to follow. Plus, CCH Pounder just guest starred as, essentially, a non-heroic world version of Amanda Waller. Or that's what I've decided she is, at least.

Prime Suspect. It's not as good as the original. It's damned good, though (and I realize it's not been picked up for a full season yet, so it might well be the only one here I don't see all year long). Maria Bellow is great, and the crime are pretty damned fascinating, too.

Once Upon a Time and Grimm: Yes, two shows built around the same theme, going in completely different directions. I like 'em both, although OuaT is less of a high concept tale (Grimm is basically, "Buffy as a Cop" or "Special Unit 2 without the infrastructure"), and has me more hooked for now.

We've also been Tivoing Person of Interest, but haven't watched it yet.

Returning stuff:

Comedies:

How I Met Your Mother (still funny, often still as fascinating as a storytelling and structure exploration as it is a sitcom), Glee (getting weaker and weaker, and mostly an excuse for good cover songs and the occasional good character bit), Happy Endings (such a strong cast, and just a funny, often raunchy show), Parks and Recreation (the best-written and best-acted comedy on TV, bar none), and Saturday Night Live (which has been generally good to great this season). We'll be watching Breaking In when it returns, too (with Megan Mullally added to an already-great cast).

Dramas:

Castle (love the characters, don't mind the mystery cheesefests, which remind me of '70s era shows at their best), House (better than last season, so far), Criminal Minds (still solid, and now back to the way it should have been before being messed with by the network), CSI (found a second life, creatively, with the addition of Ted Danson, and it's been damned fine this season), and Fringe (god, do I just adore this show).

Shows that we've stopped watching over the last couple of years include The Simpsons (except for the occasional ep like Treehouse of Horror), Desperate Housewives, and Chuck.

Comments

[heathrow.livejournal.com]

Oh, I wouldn't count Tudyk alive for the entire run. That floor shower could get him.

[sdaisyk.livejournal.com]

I wasn't able to convince myself to watch House this season. Don't know why. I think I just can only handle so many shows and that one got pushed over the edge. I'm also enjoying New Girl. I really did LOL at the last episode, and I'm not someone who will always do that. I haven't been able to catch Grimm or Once Upon a Time yet but they are on my list to catch up on soon. I also am regretting not setting up Unforgettable to record for the season, the couple episodes I have managed to catch have been enjoyable.

[readingthedark.livejournal.com]

The only two new shows I'm trying to watch are Ringer and Prime Suspect. I would watch Sarah Michelle Gellar as a lead in almost anything--but it looks like you appreciate the overall show more than I do. The twists and turns are weird (often in a good way) and some of the characters are great, but it's clear that their shooting schedule is hampered by needing SMG in almost every scene and sometimes in every scene twice. (Scenes run long, we go into weird flashbacks with other characters to try to spare SMG screen time, etc.) The show has also done a consistently poor job of depicting Bridget's NA and recovery, which is relatively easy to find a consultant for, and Siobhan is making a great villian--but I'd love to see her more. [Note: I've stopped watching anything new but these two shows--so I'm probably being nitpicky here. I'm enjoying Ringer and I plan on watching it for as long as it goes. I just keep feeling like it's a great story hampered by inexperienced scripting (plot good, but pacing and dialogue inexperienced) and inconsistent / inexperienced directing.]

Prime Suspect, on the other hand, is everything I didn't want in a tv show and yet it's perfect. The banter, teensy throwaway lines, and how much they trust the actors to balance the intimate and the intense is just gorgeous. Characters, camera work, pacing; it's an extraordinary production. Even the overhead secondary establishing shots of the city are some of the best I've ever seen (yes, they probably hire some separate company--but they're still buying the best.

I don't like most police shows; feel that most BBC shows get ruined in translation; felt Peter Berg was 100% the wrong person to shepherd this project; was convinced Maria Bello would play cute too much; saw no way of balancing her personal life, the squad internal politics, and the cases themselves; etc. There were a dozen more reasons why I didn't even want to watch a single episode. But I got talked into it and consider the U.S. Prime Suspect to be the best new show I've seen in years. I also concede that it's on the bubble and might be gone within a few weeks--but, wow, this is how I think a tv show should be put together.

Maybe Prime Suspect will survive--but if it doesn't, Ringer should hire lots of the staff to take advantage of their technique. Ringer has a neat story, plot, and characters, but I keep feeling let down by the same technical production details that Prime Suspect is making look effortless.

And Fringe is the best drama on television and the best speculative fiction on television, except for the rare episodes where Canada's Lost Girl accidentally does everything right.

[yendi]

Heh. Good point.

[yendi]

I haven't seen the latest New Girl yet, actually, but it's on my list. House has had some nice changes, and it's got that feel of a show that recognizes it's in the last season, recognizes that it screwed up, and is trying to do all the real storytelling it failed to do before.

[yendi]

I actually like the lack of Siobhan, if only because it makes her more effective; even though she clearly led a double life, it's also clear that she wasn't a traditional Evil Villain, so softening her too much too early could be dangerous. Also, for us to get too much of her, Bridget would have to find out the truth about the faked suicide, at least, and I think that's got to be a later reveal. I don't really disagree with any of the nitpicks; I just came in with pretty low expectations here.

Lost Girl's been on my list of things to download if the TV season had gotten slow (not a concern), but I'm content to wait for SyFy to re-air it next year.

[adam-0oo.livejournal.com]

That is a lot of television. I am happy at your description of New Girl, that they seem to be addressing that the main character is Zooey Fucking Deschanel. I mean, I have heard it referred to (before it came out mind you) as a fantasy series where someone as adorable as Zooey has trouble finding dates.

[galdrin.livejournal.com]

From your list ...

Regulars - still include Fringe, Castle, House, and Bones regularly.

New ones - we've been watching POI and OUaT each week. Haven't watched Grimm yet but will get around to that one.

[theloriest.livejournal.com]

Prior to my trip I was watching Castle, Glee, NCIS, NCIS: LA, Revenge, and Fringe.

After I get back I'll pick back up Bones, and likely start on Grimm. I am less intrigued by the description of Once Upon a Time.

I think I'd like to check out New Girl, Suburgatory, and Up All Night. But I'm not in a hurry for them.

[yendi]

All of the sitcoms are pretty much "jump on anywhere" sitcoms, although the pilot episode is always useful to establish the characters.

[yendi]

*nod* It's really the only way it could work (although I'll not there are people -- my wife included -- who do not find Zooey adorable at all).

[adam-0oo.livejournal.com]

Well, the Hollywood concept of what is desirable...I mean, she sometimes wears GLASSES and dances weirdly and has her hair in PIGTAILS and yeah. I mean, again, I haven't seen the show, but you need a certain amount of suspension of disbelief to watch anything, but as long as they at least mention it in the show.

[feste-sylvain.livejournal.com]

I could not stand "Suburgatory". I considered it a total waste of the brilliant acting talent they assembled.

Then again, I just barely made it thru the pilot without vomiting up the dinner I had just finished. If they fired all of the writers and brought on a new slate of them after the first episode, it might have gotten funny.

[lurkerwithout.livejournal.com]

Regular network tv-wise I'm still dvr'ing Castle, How I Met Your Mother, Parenthood, the Mentalist, Blue Bloods ('cause I just really like Wahlberg and Tom Sellek) the Good Wife, the Middle, Rasining Hope and Modern Family. Oh and Glee is still on the bubble with me. I'm hopeful for bringing in Mike O'Malley's Burt as a counter to Lynch's Sue. Of the new shows I'm sticking with Up All Night, Grimm and..hunh. Could have sworn there was something else new from this Fall on network tv I liked...

Anyway I tried out Terra Nova, Once Upon a Time, Suburgatory and the New Girl and had to give up on them. I like the main lead for the dino show but the rest of the actors are pretty annoying. Plus not enough dino-action. OUaT, the dialogue just sets my teeth on edge about 80% of the time. Though RObert Carlisle is choice. Suburgatory has a great cast that just seemed to be spinning their wheels with no actual direction or even really clever sitcom situations to deal with. And the support cast to Dooschanel on the last one are just a waste of space...

And while I'm not dvr'ing Prime Suspect I somehow end up catching it fairly regularly while getting ready for work. Good police procedural, nice chemistry in the cast and clever dialogue. Don't see why they bothered to buy the name to the British show since they have so little in common though...

[raidingparty.livejournal.com]

Huh. I take it you own a television?