One Eye on the TV

They made me go to Miami!

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 19:29:00 +0000

I’m a huge fan of the original CSI. I’ve watched the repeats so many times on Spike that I can usually figure out which epi it is in the first 5 minutes. I also watch CSI: NY, though not quite as obsessively (Mmmm, Eddie Cahill). But I have never been able to get through more than a few minutes of CSI: Miami, until last night. And I gotta tell you, it was NOT easy.

If you are a fan of CSI: Miami, you might want to wander off, because I’m probably about to insult you. How can anyone watch that crap!

For those of you who managed to miss CBS’s wall to wall ads, there is a CSI “trilogy” this week, as Dr. Ray Langston follows a case from Miami on Monday night, to NY on Wednesday night, back to Las Vegas on Thursday night. The case is unusually gross, with hacked up body parts of several victims surfacing in Miami.

I enjoy the way the ensemble casts are used in LV and NY, and the writing is sometimes wonderful, and always at least good enough for me to want to know how it ends. But I’ve always found Miami to be all about Horatio Caine. He wanders onto crime scenes and solves them by osmosis, then he brings down a drug cartel, fathers a child, and befriends orphans on his lunch break. And he whispers. All the time. I think he’s creepy.

So anyway, I sat through the whole episode last night so I wouldn’t be missing parts of the story later in the week. The dialogue was cheesy and awful. Suspects confessed for no apparent reason. And the background music was grating and often overpowered scenes. Was I supposed to be surprised that the guy who owns the “butcher” themed restaurant butchered the victim? And the acting amounted to everyone making doe-eyes at Langston, and calling him “Dr. Ray”. Ugh.

I don’t understand how this show gets such high ratings! What is the appeal? If they made me watch Miami to try to convince me to be a regular viewer, they accomplished the exact opposite. Fail!

How to navigate Thursday night TV

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 20:51:00 +0000

Why do they do this to us? Why do they have to stick all the good shows on one night? Let’s look at 9PM (Eastern) on Thursday:

CBS – CSI
NBC – The Office & 30 Rock
FOX – Fringe
ABC – Grey’s Anatomy
CW – Supernatural
And part of the season
USA – Burn Notice

All of these are top quality shows that deserve your attention. OK, maybe not Grey’s. I can’t stand it, but a lot of otherwise intelligent people seem to be addicted to it! It also doesn’t take into consideration televised sports and, well, a social life.

My solution was arrived at after a great deal of list-making, hair-pulling, and mind-changing. I watch Fringe at 9PM, mostly because I just can’t wait to see what happens and I frequent a community forum and don’t want to be late to the party. I record CSI, The Office, and 30 Rock and watch them over the weekend. And I try to catch Supernatural online, but haven’t been finding the time. So I hope it’s still available at the end of the season.

Mind you, this doesn’t even include what’s going on at 8 and 10! So how do you navigate the most difficult night of the week for TV-aholics? Multiple televisions? PIP? Time travel?

Not Buck Wild

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 22:20:00 +0000

Why does Joe Buck call baseball games for Fox? He makes it abundantly clear that he isn’t interested in the game – he couldn’t sound more bored. Except for when he is being sarcastic about the players, coaches, umpires, advertisers, and pretty much everything else. So why is Buck there? Do they not pay him enough for football? Does he just not want to go home?

It’s bad enough that when your team makes it to the playoffs, you have to watch the national telecast and lose your local commentators. At least give us excited, knowledgeable pros that are happy to be there!

When the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in ’94, it was the last year that the NHL allowed the Finals games to be broadcast by the local channels. It was so cool listening to two guys, who had struggled through the bad times with all of us, enjoy the moment too. (Listen to the awesome end-of-game call here) I just don’t think the moment would have been as memorable without them.

I understand why they do it – otherwise they are giving away the biggest ratings to the local channels! But it ends up being another price the fans pay. Oh well…

Jon & Kate Plus Nausea

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 22:42:00 +0000

While flipping through the channels last night, I settled on TLC for a few moments. In the corner of the screen was one of those constant, annoying text ads for an upcoming show. I find those ads moderately annoying (especially the USA ones with little tiny people running across the bottom of the screen – creepy!). But this one was worse – “Kate’s Story”, Monday night at 8 PM. Why?

• It’s sad that I know who “Kate” is, without even stopping to think about it.

• I am so tired of these people, it’s not even funny. Someone needs to sit these two morons down and explain – no one watched the show for you! We thought your kids were cute!

• I seriously doubt she has anything remotely interesting left to say.

• Judging by the press surrounding this latest interview, I already know that she’s going to complain about the stress this situation is putting on her kids. So let me get this straight. You’re upset at the stress your children are under due to all the media attention on your lives, so you decided to complain about it on TV. At this point, feel free to picture me slowly beating my head against my desk.

I understand that these folks originally thought that doing the show would help them support all those kids. But you’d have to be living under a rock not to know that fame ALWAYS turns on you, so you should get out while you’re ahead. They made beautiful children together, but Jon & Kate don’t have two working brain cells between them. For their kids’ sake, and for mine, I want them to go away. Far, far away.

My TV Week So Far – Amazing Race, Top Chef, and Brooke Shields

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 20:19:00 +0000

I have been watching a lot of baseball and hockey this week, so my viewing schedule is a little off. But I am still incredulous (yes, incredulous!) that Mika wouldn’t go down the water slide on The Amazing Race. Listen, I’m not a big fan of heights myself, but it’s for a million dollars! And has she ever watched the show? Heights, water, tight spaces…it’s part of the deal.

Don’t even get me started on the fact that she was wearing swimmies.
On national television. Or that her boyfriend seemed more than willing to forcibly shove her off the platform, despite her screaming and crying. And then he berated the Globetrotters for talking smack? Ummm, you were going to pick her up and basically throw her off the side of the building! I guess it’s okay though, because she was wearing swimmies…

What does Robin have to do to be sent home from Top Chef? She is so obviously out of her depth, that I would feel bad for her if she wasn’t such an annoying mess. My pick for this season is definitely Kevin – funny, sweet, and winning tons of challenges.

Is anyone else creeped out by the Brooke Shields Latisse commercials? The concept of rubbing chemicals on your eyeball every night just to lengthen your lashes is bizarre. The fact that a recognizable star would consider this an issue to attach her name to is even more out-there. And does anyone believe Shields has sparse lashes? I’d say I have lost respect for her, but honestly, did I have any reason to respect her in the first place?

P.S. – I am giving Flash Forward another chance tonight. Please, give me a reason to keep watching! I want to like you :)

Castle is King

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:27:00 +0000

It’s easy to think that for television to be intelligent, it has to be innovative or complicated. It has to blow your mind, or make you see something differently. But every once in awhile, a show comes along to remind you that intelligent can be fun. Case in point: Castle.

Wow, I love this show! The dialogue is natural and witty. The character portrayals are genuine, likable, and believable. The murder mystery that each episode is framed around is usually pretty easy to figure out, but the clues develop nicely and never insult the viewers’ intelligence. And I usually laugh out loud at least three or four times each episode.

To start off with, Nathan Fillion is awesome. He is perfect as the mystery writer turned NYPD “consultant”. I love how he can transition seamlessly from wise-cracking trouble maker to thoughtful protective dad. Fillion has been everywhere – from Firefly, Buffy, and Lost to Desperate Housewives, Miss Match, and One Life to Live, and he’s the reason I first gave Castle a try.

I wasn’t familiar with Stana Katic, who plays the NYPD detective Castle works with. Her character is supposed to be kind of stiff and by the book, but she does a great job of making the character likable and showing little peeks of what she is hiding. As the show is developing, her back story is really helping to fill out the character.

The chemistry and banter between these two is intelligent and engaging, and it’s what the show is built around. But it doesn’t end there. Their interaction with the other detectives is just as fun, and Castle’s relationship with his mother (the hysterical Susan Sullivan) and his daughter is sweet and equally funny.

Overall, Castle is a comedy/mystery/drama that is smart, sexy, funny, won’t insult your intelligence, and won’t embarrass you if your kids happen to be in the room. The writing and dialogue pacing is so natural, and the acting is so spot on, these characters are all people you wish you knew personally.

If the promos didn’t pull you in, you HAVE to give Castle a try. It isn’t a show that will be hard to get into mid-season, and it’s a rare gem.

What Did You See?

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 17:22:00 +0000

I admit it, I fell for it. ABC said that Flash Forward would be perfect for Lost viewers. They teased me with glimpses into an intriguing mystery. And I fell for it hook, line, and sinker. I couldn’t wait for the first episode. I even tweeted a “Woot!” that morning. And then…

Thud.

Flash Forward is a derivative waste of time that Lost viewers were tricked into watching. There, I said it. My great hope, for a new addiction that could fill the conspiracy zones of my brain after Lost ends, has died. I am instead faced with a confusing, formulaic, poorly written mess with one dimensional characters and lazy writing. Pthth!

There was an international phenomenon where every person on the planet blacked out for 2 minutes. Millions were killed in the resulting accidents. The lead FBI office is basing their entire investigation on one agent’s flashforward of his case board six months from now. Which he was still studying at that point, so how useful could it be? Let me count the other ways Flash Forward has ticked me off:

1. The entire planet is still littered with wreckage and 9/11-style missing persons boards, but everyone is going about their business like nothing happened. There is still no explanation for the blackout, so it could happen again! And nobody seems worried.

2. Despite the fact that most of the crows in the world dropped dead during the blackout, only an old Nazi in a German jail noticed.

3. Despite the fact that mere days have passed, the FBI agents investigating the incident are going out drinking, flying to DC for Senate hearings, going on dates, and getting home in time to tuck their weird children into bed. I work harder than these people!

4. I feel no emotional attachment to any of these characters. None. I don’t care if their marriage ends, or they fall off the wagon, or get shot three times in the chest.

5. Way too many unnatural exposition-serving conversations. If the only way to move the story along is to have characters engage in long conversations to explain it, your story stinks.

6. They keep introducing characters or clues, and then completely ignoring them for episodes at a time. I can’t build a relationship with a character or a story when they come and go like that friend you never see until they need cash.

7. Last night they pulled the “start the episode with the final scene, then rewind and spend the rest of the episode building up to that final scene” trick. It’s so overused that we can consider it lazy storytelling. But regardless, in order for it to work, the episode should actually explain why that final scene happened. Last night’s episode didn’t do that. When we again saw our FBI agents ambushed at the end, we didn’t know any more about that scene than we did in the first place. Although we now know for sure that FBI agents are inflammable and immune to explosions.

For the sake of brevity (too late!) I will stop here, but I could go on all day. The basis of Flash Forward is a fantastical event, so it stands to reason that some leaps of faith would be necessary. If you provide relatable, likable characters and tell a great story, I can overlook a lot of stuff. But I’m not getting either from this show, so I find myself tangled up in the constant barrage of absurdities.

There is way too much good TV on Thursday nights for me to continue wasting time on this train wreck. I will probably give it another couple of episodes. But I feel like a sucker.

We’ve been had!

Are you disappointed with FF too, or am I in the minority?

The Persian Gulf and Balloon Boy: Random Weekend Musings

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 19:38:00 +0000

Maybe contestants on The Amazing Race should be required to take an intelligence test? Last week we discovered that most of the teams did not recognize Jackie-O in a picture of a trip she took to Southeast Asia.

This week, teams were told to go to the Persian Gulf and find their next clue at the world’s tallest building. I knew that the world’s tallest building is in Dubai, but then random knowledge sticks in my brain like gum. So I can understand that they needed to ask around or look up that info.

But one team actually went to the airport, walked up to the ticket counter, and requested a ticket on the next flight “to the Persian Gulf”. O-M-G. I get not being clear on what countries are technically in the Persian Gulf. But not realizing that the Persian Gulf is an area, like the Midwest or the Mediterranean? Geez! Score another one for the US educational system!

Despite the fact that the Balloon Boy saga is a news event (I guess?), it happened on and because of television, so I think it’s fair game. Disgusting, depressing, pathetic fair game. I have never been able to turn my brain off sufficiently to watch a full episode of Wife Swap, but all the families involved are clearly messed up in some way. Is it any surprise that after failing to become rich and famous from that show, one family tried something stupider? Is it any surprise that the 24 hour news outlets were more than willing to risk televising a glimpse of a 6 year old falling out of a balloon? Have we finally reached the saturation point where people realize it isn’t worth throwing away your dignity and sanity, or your children’s dignity and safety, to get your 15 Minutes? I’m talking to you, every single new show on TLC!

Not Feeling the Glee

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 19:40:00 +0000

I know I’m supposed to love Glee. I’ve heard that every week the songs from the show end up at the top of the I-Tunes charts. But I just don’t get it!

For me, musical numbers are a tricky proposition. Most of the time I think characters suddenly breaking into song in the middle of a scene is too cheesy and makes it tough for me to take the storyline seriously. A few movies have done it successfully (“Chicago” comes to mind), but even well-done big screen examples are few and far between.

As far as Glee is concerned, sitting through the musical numbers is (appropriately enough) like watching a high school recital. They all seem to be very talented. But one of the numbers will be catchy, and then the rest just make me fidget and consider heading to the exit (or in this case finding the remote). Just when I get caught up in the storyline – ta da! - everyone breaks into an amateurish version of some pop song and I’m off to see how gross this week’s episode of Criminal Minds is. Hmmm, high school kids singing pop songs or serial killers with fetishes? Tough choice?

Having said that, Jane Lynch’s portrayal of the bitter, drill sergeant-like cheerleading coach is HYSTERICAL! Lynch has a laundry list of guest star and returning character roles, and she is always perfect. I will probably continue to flip over to Glee every once and a while just to catch a few minutes of her!

Friends Don’t Let Friends Lose Their Passports

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:30:00 +0000

Last night on The Amazing Race, Zev and Justin came from the bottom of the pack to win this leg of the race…and were eliminated. Why? Because they lost Zev’s passport, and you can’t technically finish the race without your travel documents.

This is a sad loss for the show for a couple of reasons. First, it stinks to have a team perform well but lose anyway. One of the aspects fans love about TAR is that there is very little scheming, back-stabbing, and strategic alliance making. The best team usually finishes first, end of story. Second, the way Zev and Justin dealt with the loss is exactly why they will be missed. They both blamed themselves for the passport loss and gave heart felt testimonials to each other’s friendship. Not to mention that Zev has Asperger's Syndrome and showed beautifully that individuals struggling with the syndrome can rise above their perceived limitations.

They’ll be missed! I was a little misty-eyed watching them say their goodbyes. Neither Survivor or the Bachelor ever have that effect on me!

PS - Is it possible that no one recognized Jackie Kennedy in the picture of the hotel they needed to find?? I know the teams left are pretty young, but still... that left me scratching my head!

To all that is weird!

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:19:00 +0000

Are you watching Fringe? It is a smart, scary, wonderful show that no one I know cares about. The show is about the Fringe Unit of the FBI, which investigates unusual crimes. I spend the entire hour on the edge of my seat, and then an hour the next day lurking in forums to see if I caught the same hints and details as everyone else.

I expected to be disappointed by Fringe for two reasons. First, they cast Joshua Jackson in one of the lead roles, Peter Bishop. I hated Dawson’s Creek, and I viscerally associate him with that annoying piece of teen-angst soap opera. Second, it sounded like a modernized rip-off of the X Files, which is one of my favorite shows of all time. Well, at least until it became redundant and boring.

Anyway, while Fringe definitely has an X Files feel to it, it is a unique and inventively written drama. It mixes in some comedy and horror without losing focus, and it is beautifully shot and acted. Anna Torv is FBI Agent Olivia Dunham, a kickass, stubborn girl-power lead. John Noble is Dr. Walter Bishop, a mad scientist who spent years in a mental hospital and emerged child-like and focused on righting his wrongs. And Joshua Jackson is a dream as Walter’s son and international fraud - I think by the end of Fringe’s second season, I will have forgotten about Pacey altogether! Other impressive regulars are Lance Reddick, Blair Brown, and … Leonard Nimoy!

So if you find yourself muttering at all the insipid crap passing for entertainment some night when you’re planted in your easy chair, try catching up with Fringe on-line and adding the new episodes to your DVR.

Top Chef Rule #27 – Don’t serve raw prawns

noreply@blogger.com (KimS) — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:20:00 +0000

On Wednesday nights, I always expect I will flip back and forth between Top Chef and CSI: NY. So I watch the setup on CSI and flip over to Bravo in time for the Quick Fire challenge. And then I get so engrossed in Top Chef that I forget about Eddie Cahill, which is hard for me to do.

Top Chef makes me wish I liked cooking. The contestants are so passionate about what they do – it becomes this beautiful combination of practicality and art. Last night Ashley and Eli were not excited about their dish and it showed in the final product. That’s another beautiful thing about Top Chef – the chef who cooks the worst dish usually goes home, end of story. And if you serve something raw that wasn’t supposed to be, you can pack your knives and go!

I really thought Ash should have gone home, though. That whole “letting Mike lead was like washing brushes for Picasso” thing was just way over the top and a little too much groveling for my taste. If he’s so convinced he wasn’t worthy, why should he stick around? I like my reality show contestants to walk that fine line between deserved self-confidence and obnoxious arrogance. That’s why I literally cheered when Kevin won the Quick Fire and chose the money over immunity. He knew he was good enough to not have to worry about going home so soon.

I’m off to go microwave a Hot Pocket for dinner…