New TV Season Thoughts

Desram wrote:

What about arrested development?

I forgot about that. I watched some episodes from the first season and it wasn't bad. But it isn't a classic sitcom. Dead genre, maybe.

gromit wrote:
Desram wrote:

What about arrested development?

I forgot about that. I watched some episodes from the first season and it wasn't bad. But it isn't a classic sitcom. Dead genre, maybe.

The "no laugh track and we give you enough credit for intelligence to know when to laugh" genre.

What constitutes a sitcom anymore anyway? Is any 30-minute comedy show a sitcom now?

unntrlaffinity wrote:

What constitutes a sitcom anymore anyway? Is any 30-minute comedy show a sitcom now?

Wikipedia says The Simpsons are a sitcom, so I have no idea. But I wouldn't consider something like Curb Your Enthusiasm a sitcom.

The "no laugh track and we give you enough credit for intelligence to know when to laugh" is a good start. Even live recorded sitcoms are annoying. In an audience of 50/100 the probability of someone having a "crazy laugh" is very high.

unntrlaffinity wrote:
gromit wrote:
Desram wrote:

What about arrested development?

I forgot about that. I watched some episodes from the first season and it wasn't bad. But it isn't a classic sitcom. Dead genre, maybe.

The "no laugh track and we give you enough credit for intelligence to know when to laugh" genre.

What constitutes a sitcom anymore anyway? Is any 30-minute comedy show a sitcom now?

Nah, I wouldn't call My Name is Earl a sitcom, nor would I call It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia one, either. Two shows that, if you're looking for comedy, you should watch.

"Son of a Female Doggo Ferris Buellered me!"

Second "It's Always Sunny...." a demented "Friends".....

I'm waiting for "The Nine"...and, of course, "Gilmore Girls" and "Veronica Mars".....I've enjoyed "Til Death" and "Happy HOur"- the second is weird and maybe it's like mold, just growing on me....most of the hour-long crime dramas and law enforcements stuff is just "meh" to me. I've liked "Standoff" and "Vanished" is interesting, but kind of messily plotted. The Senator's daughter is worse that "Cougar Kim" from "24"

I just saw "Heroes" and to my surprise I actually liked it. I can't wait to see next week's eps. i really like the incorporation of "human" aspects/flaws in these super heroes (or maybe villains) soon-to-be.

Comedy Central now has "Scrubs," therefore Comedy Central now rules the universe.

I'm all caught up on the Wire, and it's definitely at the top of the list.

If you haven't seen it before, Weeds is worth watching. It's not quite a sitcom/comedy show, it's not quite a drama. One thing that almost bothers me is that the characters never seem to have more than they can handle, and all their problems are resolved almost too easily. But it is really funny.

I'm watching Kidnapped as I write this, and it seems interesting, but with a big focus on action, at least in the premiere. I still don't see how it can go on longer than a season and not jump many, many sharks.

I watched Studio 60, and that's the only thing so far that I will wrestle the remote from "she who must be obeyed" for. I've been catching up on all the shows that everyone says I should watch (24, Battlestar Galactica, etc.) via DVD.

Didn't want to dig up an older thread or start a new one, but I thought I'd just share:

My Abnormal Psychology class' textbook has case studies of people, but use pseudonyms to protect their identities.

One such study had a guy going through mood swings - the psudonym? "James McNulty."

A textbook never made me laugh out loud, but it just did.

I really like House, I own the first two seasons on DVD and have managed to catch all of this season so far. The thing with House is that it's about the characters, not the story. The actual plot of each individual episode is just there to give the characters something to chew on and butt heads (and also a reason to make them mention Lupus, an inside joke you won't get unless you're a fan).

I like what I've seen of Eureka so far. It's well-written and witty, but it's not as smart as it could be. I feel like it's probably targeted towards the early-teen audience, so far I've been able to figure out where each episode is going to go within the first fifteen minutes, and these days with shows like Lost, House and Battlestar, that's just not doing it for me anymore.

I caught the new seasons of Stargates SG-1 and Atlantis. Enjoyable, but pretty much the same thing they've been doing for a while now. I've heard that SciFi is dropping SG-1 and renewing Atlantis, I don't know whether that's true or not, but it seems like a weird decision to me.

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Wow! You must really like House. An octopost has to be a record.

I'm with you on Eureka. I'm watching it and entertained but it's not as compelling as it could be. It's definitely sci-fi for the masses.

LiquidMantis wrote:

Wow! You must really like House. An octopost has to be a record.

I'm with you on Eureka. I'm watching it and entertained but it's not as compelling as it could be. It's definitely sci-fi for the masses.

Sorry, I'm on a public comp and the browser bugged on me. I edited out the text on the re-posts so they don't take up quite as much room.

Aw... I was thinking Logan's thread like, took off or something.

...

Watch the wire.

Studio 60: cool
Jericho: please be cool
Shark: is wanting to be House really, really badly... cool?
Six Degrees: could be cool, if not exactly inspiring in the pilot
Heroes: it better be cool
Smith: cool right now, how long can such a show be interesting though?
Kidnapped: cool to start, hopeful for the future
The Nine: if the theme song is Revolution 9, that would be cool

Can't wait for Studio 60 tonight and I'm pretty sure I'll have to tune into Heroes due to it having heroes.
That is if I can escape watching Monday Night Football and remembering to play some Chromehounds.

While the pilot season is now over (but it did get picked up), did anyone else get into Kyle XY?

Finally watched Jericho on tivo last night. I actually kind of liked it. It seems like it can really go both ways, really good, or dreadfully bad. But I thought the same thing about Lost, so I will give it some time. My wife and I felt pre-dispoded not to like it, but we both found ourselves wanting to know when the next episode was coming.

My wife is enjoying Men in Trees, which is not bad. I doubt I would ever fire it up myself, but it is does what it is trying to do very well. It's Northern Exposure with female lead. Ann Heche is pretty good, and the town has its nice set of interesting characers.

Personally, I love House. But then, the first thing I read in discover magazine is always Vital Signs. It is intersting to see how you diagnose things that are off the beaten path. Don't really care if the show follows a formula when it comes to solving the disease of the week. That's just half the story anyway. The rest of the story is anything but formulaic, and there are some great storylines that have been developed. That, with great characters and some very good acting make for a very good show.

So far, the only new shows we are watching are Jericho, Smith, and Men in Trees. Nothing else looks that good, and we have enough other shows on our plate as it is.

Jayhawker wrote:

Personally, I love House. But then, the first thing I read in discover magazine is always Vital Signs. It is intersting to see how you diagnose things that are off the beaten path. Don't really care if the show follows a formula when it comes to solving the disease of the week. That's just half the story anyway. The rest of the story is anything but formulaic, and there are some great storylines that have been developed. That, with great characters and some very good acting make for a very good show.

The formulaic nature of House bothered me less and less as I have watched the show.

Halfway through the first season, I was thinking, "OK this is fun, but find a way to do something new".

Now, it's just such a joy to listen to House talk and interact with people, the plot is practically beside the point.

I out-diagnosed House on the episode with the boy who believed he was being visited by aliens.

House is formulaic, just like Monk. The point of the show is not varying formulas, but how the characters interact within the framework of that formula. If you can't appreciate that, then simply don't watch it.

Just finished the CSI: Miami premiere. Generally I find the show entertaining, but this episode was just all kinds of abysmal. At least they finished up that storyline. The whole relationship with H and Delko's sister was just laughable. There was absolutely zero chemistry between the two of them. Absolutely not believable in the least.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

Just finished the CSI: Miami premiere. Generally I find the show entertaining, but this episode was just all kinds of abysmal. At least they finished up that storyline. The whole relationship with H and Delko's sister was just laughable. There was absolutely zero chemistry between the two of them. Absolutely not believable in the least.

It's David Caruso, for crying out loud. You couldn't believe a relationship between him and his own hand.

Quintin_Stone wrote:

I out-diagnosed House on the episode with the boy who believed he was being visited by aliens.

House is formulaic, just like Monk. The point of the show is not varying formulas, but how the characters interact within the framework of that formula. If you can't appreciate that, then simply don't watch it.

Just finished the CSI: Miami premiere. Generally I find the show entertaining, but this episode was just all kinds of abysmal. At least they finished up that storyline. The whole relationship with H and Delko's sister was just laughable. There was absolutely zero chemistry between the two of them. Absolutely not believable in the least.

I don't watch it. And when the opportunity presents itself, I say why. So unless you're saying "If you ever have anything bad to say about something I like, then don't say it." which would rule out 85% of the discourse on this entire board, then we've all acted properly.

You could say the same thing about sitcoms. Static characters interacting within a very strict framework, signifying nothing. I don't watch sitcoms either. I don't read romance novels, but when critiquing certain branches of fiction, I do criticize them rather harshly.

I understand there are formulas to storytelling, and that unless a great effort is made, we are more or less bound to them, but I also appreciate it when that effort, any effort, is made. I think House, while interesting, isn't nearly interesting enough to warrant 3 or more seasons, and that for as long as it stays on the air, it will exist in this little static bubble of "Grumpy doctor says funny things". What makes me tune-away from the show, despite having many other positive qualities, is this strict adherence to formula, which is unwavering. I used to enjoy Grisham, Clancy, Cook, really any of the "something-thriller" authors, but once you realize you're reading the same book over and over again, I lost interest. Such realizations have made me less patient with other things, such as House.

I've never liked Csi Miami myself, I always thought it's storylines were ridiculous, even for a show in the CSI vein.

Six Degrees,House are great and My Name is Earl was good last year but I didnt like the Season 2 starter.