In past years, I've done posts on which shows I plan to watch in the new TV season. I never did that this fall. Now it's November, and basically everything that's going to air this fall has already started. So, I figured I'd do a post on what I think of the shows that I've watched. Some I've been keeping up with religiously, watching the first night it's available online. Other shows I've seen a few episodes of, and may watch more if I find the time. Others I may give up on. Mostly, I've been a bit disappointed with this year's freshman shows. We'll start with those.
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New Shows
Pan Am
I love this show. I'm a couple episodes behind, but only because it's not a show the Housemate watches (loser). See, most of my TV-watching time is during dinner (and lunch on the weekends) which I have with the Housemate, so any show that he's not interested in gets pushed aside, and I have to find my own time to watch it.
Pan Am is probably my favorite new show this season. I love the period setting, the world travel, the glamour of it all, even if it is exaggerated (I don't care). Of the six main characters, I loved about half of them right from the start, and the rest I've warmed up to in recent episodes. The show is funny and fun, but can also be surprisingly moving, as I found myself tearing up a bit on behalf of Colette in the Berlin episode. Anyway, if you're at all inclined to watch this sort of show but haven't given it a try, I highly recommend you check it out.
Terra Nova
I so wanted this to be good. I still do. It's just they keep being stupid about it. I'm no writer, I don't know how to fix it, but I can spot bad choices when I see them. First, they chickened out in the pilot by tacking on an awkward scene in which Mira (Christine Adams) and some other Sixer discuss Taylor's son, basically saying "See? We already have answers to our mysterious mythology, we promise." But that scene somehow managed to make the mystery both less mysterious and more confusing at the same time. Then you had that terrible conversation between Mira, the evil(?) Sixer leader(?) and hero Jim (Jason O'Mara) that went something like this:
Mira: You seem useful. Be on the right side of history. Make the smart choice. Join us.
Jim: But I like Terra Nova. It's a new beginning, and all that good idealistic stuff.
Mira: You're naive if you think that's really what Terra Nova is about.
Jim: OK, I'm listening then. What is it really about?
Mira: You know, you'd think I'd tell you because I'm trying to convince you my side is the smart choice, but the writers are telling me we can't give away too much of the mystery yet, so instead I'll just say, "You'll see."
Inexplicable. Side plots have been pretty lame, too, perhaps reaching a new low as Jim and littlest daughter Zoe spend the whole episode trying to get out of what is essentially a personal theater room. Why does that room only have an emergency door release on the outside? Is it a prison cell or something? I've been in walk-in fridge rooms, and they have emergency releases on the inside, because that is the more awkward of the two sides to get stuck on. And why would someone construct an access shaft that's only large enough for a small child to fit through? Did Hobbits build the place? And how many different scene cuts do you need to spend on these people figuring out how to escape that room? The only thing that could have made their plotline exciting would have been if there were ACTUAL spiders in there, trying to attack them.
OK, I should have saved my Terra Nova rant for its own separate post. Contrary to how it may sound at this point, I'm still enjoying the show, and I watch it every week. But I do so hoping that it will suddenly get better. They have a beautiful, interesting world to explore and some good characters. They just need to figure out what they're doing and use them intelligently.
Person of Interest
I like this show. I don't love it as much as I'd hoped, but I think they've been doing a pretty good job with it. I think my main issue is the cool, detached manner that Jim Caviezel gives hero Reese. It makes scenes with him that don't have any action a little...boring. Without more passion, I find it hard to really become attached to the character or the story. But I'll keep tuning in for now.
The New Girl
I really wanted to love this one, but after three episodes, I've just been a bit disappointed. There have been some good laughs, and I like some of the characters sometimes, but just not enough. Only if I find myself with a lot of free time, or hear that it's gotten much better, will I catch up with this one. I think Zooey Deschanel is a talented, funny actress. I just wish the material she got were better.
Revenge
I started this one late, but now I've seen three episodes and I have to admit, it's totally a guilty pleasure show. Watch beautiful people live extravagant, glamorous lives, and see the nasty ones take nasty falls. Like Pan Am, the Housemate doesn't watch this one, so I have to find time to catch episodes on my own. I may watch some more episodes at some point, but only if I'm caught up with everything else.
Once Upon a Time
I wasn't entirely sold after watching the pilot, but after watching the second and third episodes, I'm loving it. If any show challenges Pan Am as my favorite new show of the season, it's this one. The characters are fun (especially the Evil Queen), and the fairytale premise is intriguing. I just wonder how they can keep the plot going. I guess time will tell.
Grimm
Another disappointment. It's not bad, but it does suffer from characters being unbelievably stupid from time to time. It's also a bit hard to believe how many fairytale-creature cases Nick and his partner pick up. Does this reflect a universal percentage of perpetrators who are actually fairytale monsters? If only a Grimm is well suited to take out these creatures, does that mean that the rest of them, who get other detectives assigned to their cases, go free? It's one thing when a certain detective is well known for being good at "these sorts of cases", and gets called in from around the city or state to investigate. Alternatively, they could explain that this city is a fairytale monster haven. But they need some sort of explanation, because at the moment, it just doesn't make sense. There have only been two episodes, so I'm willing to give it some more time. If it gets better, great. If it gets worse, I may start tuning out.
Returning Shows
Fringe
Favorite show on TV right now. It's a bit frustrating at the moment (vague SPOILERS) with the new altered storyline, but things are definitely progressing in an exciting way. I love it.
Nikita
This was my favorite new show of last fall, and I think it's still going strong. The formula has changed a lot since the first season, and that took some getting used to, but change is good. It keeps things interesting.
How I Met Your Mother
Fun, lovable characters, and I've been enjoying Kal Penn's recurring guest star role this season. And, as I've already explained, I really liked their Ewok episode. Ted can take as long as he wants to find their mother.
Big Bang Theory
The other of the two sitcoms I watch. It's light and amusing, and I like the characters. They've had a couple good cameos so far this season, and they FINALLY admitted that maybe, just maybe, there might be one or two women out there who actually like comic books. Progress.
Glee
I think I've only watched the first episode, maybe two, from this season. The Housemate has given up on it, so I find it's a good one to catch a couple episodes of while I'm beading, since it doesn't exactly require my undivided attention. I'll have to see more before I decide what I think about this season.
Merlin
Yes, the Housemate and I are still hooked on Merlin. It alternates between painfully silly and surprisingly grim, and I really wish the characters would learn to recognize traitors (Look! He's smirking! All the time when bad things are happening! Why doesn't anybody see?????), but somehow I love it still. I like fantasy and Arthurian legend (even perversions of it), and I've fallen for the characters. Also, James Callis was in an episode this season. Oh, how I miss Baltar.
Walking Dead
This is a good show, but it's also distressing and depressing. If the Housemate weren't such a big zombie fan, honestly, I might drop it. It just never leaves me feeling good. At least it's staying interesting.
Chuck
This is Chuck's last season. We were lucky we got it this long, seeing as it was renewed only by the skin of its teeth the past couple seasons. I'm finding the current plot very frustrating. I understand why they wanted to switch up the Intersect a bit, keep it fresh, and didn't want to make things too easy for them, but it still pains me. Still, I've been with the show long enough that I'll see it through till the end, which I trust them to wrap up in a satisfying way, given that they have advance notice of the series finale.
Covert Affairs
I'm so glad we didn't have to wait until next summer to see more of this show. I love it so much. Annie, Auggie, and Joan are great, and the filming on location that Annie gets to do is beautiful and refreshing. So many shows try to make L.A. look like other cities in the world, who can blame the Covert Affairs folks for rubbing it in: "See? We really went to Paris! Not a set! And this? Yeah, we went to Venice. For real!" Fun, delightful show, and lighter and more realistic than my other two returning favorites, Fringe and Nikita.
******
Well, I think those are all the shows that I've seen this TV season. Any other shows I need to pick up this fall before I fall too far behind?
Showing posts with label Nikita. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Nikita. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Friday, December 31, 2010
The close of 2010
I have been a pretty terrible blogger in the last month (assuming I was ever marginally competent). Sure I can claim to have been busy and preoccupied, but part of it was just me feeling unmotivated. I guess there are times when I write here because I feel the need to share my thoughts on some subject, but there are also times when it seems like too much work. There were three posts that I started in the month of December but never got around to finishing (and are now too out of date to complete). Any other ideas I might have had last month (if there were any) didn't even get that far. Still, I feel like 2010 deserves some form of closing post, even if I will be publishing this in the new year.
So what (of note) did 2010 bring to me?
Games
I was still playing some Dragon Age: Origins at the beginning of the year, and then again when they put out the Morrigan DLC. I also played through Portal after Steam offered it for free, and that was quite a revelation. It was too short, of course, but I am eagerly anticipating the release of the longer, larger Portal 2. I finished up the main campaign of Guild Wars all alone, as my brother couldn't bring himself to play the last three missions with me (sniff!). He did, however, get me to buy Borderlands, which he is willing to play with me, and we're nearing the end of our second playthrough together. But really, this year was all about Mass Effect 2. It is an awesome game, fun, powerful, and very well done. I loved it so much, and the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC which I recently played was just icing on the cake. I can't wait for Mass Effect 3, but at the same time I will be so sad to see the saga end.
Regarding other types of gaming, I also just got hooked on Dominion. Unfortunately, it was a Christmas gift that my younger brother received, so if I want to continue playing it when I go back to Hawaii, I will have to secure a set for myself. If you don't know the game, I highly recommend you check it out.
TV
Fringe continues to be my favorite show on TV. My favorite new show of the year was Nikita, though Hawaii Five-0 is a guilty pleasure of mine as well (it's so fun to recognize places they go to, though less so to imagine that people have been found dead there...). Glee had some ups and downs, but I think they may be on the right track again (hope hope). More disappointingly, they canceled FlashForward last spring, and Caprica this fall. I'm particularly bitter about Caprica. Maybe Blood & Chrome will help explain how the events in Caprica ultimately led to the Cylons of the Cylon War, but I'm not counting on it.
Movies
I saw more this year than I think I usually do in the theater. I'm trying to remember which ones (I should keep a list or something). Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Inception, Kick-Ass, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, and Black Swan stand out, but I'm surely forgetting others that I enjoyed. And those are just ones in the theater--I also recently saw the movie Clue for the first time (funny and very enjoyable), as well as (500) Days of Summer, which was quite beautiful.
I just have to share this anecdote from the theater when I saw Black Swan. At the end of the movie, as the credits started rolling and the lights went up, my friend and I overheard this conversation behind us:
Person 1: I don't get it... Did [slight spoiler happen] at the end?
Person 2: No, they have to leave it open for a sequel.
It was hilarious. This is not the type of movie that would have a sequel. Really, I mean, it's Darren Aronofsky. Imagine The Wrestler Returns. Requiem II for a Dream. Or Pi^2. No. Anyway, my friend and I thought the idea of Black Swan 2 was pretty hilarious.
Academics
In terms of classes and grades, 2010 may have been my best year ever (that one darn professor who only gave me an A). But unfortunately I'm not an undergrad anymore, and doing well in classes is not enough. I need to be doing research, developing my plan for my dissertation, writing my prospectus. That is so much harder for me than the clear-cut goal of mastering class material to do well on an exam. I got enough research done in one of the summer months to have something to present at the yearly student presentations, and then again at a presentation to the general public at Hanauma Bay. But that was really my only productive month of the year. Aside from that, I have failed miserably at being a good grad student. Luckily, I have PhD Comics to help me feel like I am not alone.
Family and friends
2010 was the first year that I had a boyfriend (and the same one, at that: "The Housemate") for the entire year. Over one sixth of the year, though, he was away in Antarctica. I rather like having a boyfriend, but I'm still not sure how serious the relationship is or where it is going. This will deserve its own post, later.
My grandmother died. I am now down to one grandparent--her husband. As the only one of their progeny living in the same city (in fact, I live less than a mile from my grandfather, whereas the next nearest descendant is a five hour plane ride away), I think it will largely fall on me to keep him company. I can't imagine how lonely it must feel to lose your spouse of 62 years.
My roommate from college came to visit me right before Christmas. Despite unusually rainy weather, we had a lot of fun, and her stay was all too short. I still need to go through those photos. If there are any good ones, I'll be sure to share.
In short
It was a good year overall. Could have been better, but could have been a lot worse. I hope that in the new year I'll be able to sort out some of the kinks I've developed in the past year (mainly, questions about the boyfriend and what the heck I'm doing in grad school). So I'll take a cup of kindness for 2010, and I wish for an even better 2011.
So what (of note) did 2010 bring to me?
Games
I was still playing some Dragon Age: Origins at the beginning of the year, and then again when they put out the Morrigan DLC. I also played through Portal after Steam offered it for free, and that was quite a revelation. It was too short, of course, but I am eagerly anticipating the release of the longer, larger Portal 2. I finished up the main campaign of Guild Wars all alone, as my brother couldn't bring himself to play the last three missions with me (sniff!). He did, however, get me to buy Borderlands, which he is willing to play with me, and we're nearing the end of our second playthrough together. But really, this year was all about Mass Effect 2. It is an awesome game, fun, powerful, and very well done. I loved it so much, and the Lair of the Shadow Broker DLC which I recently played was just icing on the cake. I can't wait for Mass Effect 3, but at the same time I will be so sad to see the saga end.
Regarding other types of gaming, I also just got hooked on Dominion. Unfortunately, it was a Christmas gift that my younger brother received, so if I want to continue playing it when I go back to Hawaii, I will have to secure a set for myself. If you don't know the game, I highly recommend you check it out.
TV
Fringe continues to be my favorite show on TV. My favorite new show of the year was Nikita, though Hawaii Five-0 is a guilty pleasure of mine as well (it's so fun to recognize places they go to, though less so to imagine that people have been found dead there...). Glee had some ups and downs, but I think they may be on the right track again (hope hope). More disappointingly, they canceled FlashForward last spring, and Caprica this fall. I'm particularly bitter about Caprica. Maybe Blood & Chrome will help explain how the events in Caprica ultimately led to the Cylons of the Cylon War, but I'm not counting on it.
Movies
I saw more this year than I think I usually do in the theater. I'm trying to remember which ones (I should keep a list or something). Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, Inception, Kick-Ass, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, and Black Swan stand out, but I'm surely forgetting others that I enjoyed. And those are just ones in the theater--I also recently saw the movie Clue for the first time (funny and very enjoyable), as well as (500) Days of Summer, which was quite beautiful.
I just have to share this anecdote from the theater when I saw Black Swan. At the end of the movie, as the credits started rolling and the lights went up, my friend and I overheard this conversation behind us:
Person 1: I don't get it... Did [slight spoiler happen] at the end?
Person 2: No, they have to leave it open for a sequel.
It was hilarious. This is not the type of movie that would have a sequel. Really, I mean, it's Darren Aronofsky. Imagine The Wrestler Returns. Requiem II for a Dream. Or Pi^2. No. Anyway, my friend and I thought the idea of Black Swan 2 was pretty hilarious.
Academics
In terms of classes and grades, 2010 may have been my best year ever (that one darn professor who only gave me an A). But unfortunately I'm not an undergrad anymore, and doing well in classes is not enough. I need to be doing research, developing my plan for my dissertation, writing my prospectus. That is so much harder for me than the clear-cut goal of mastering class material to do well on an exam. I got enough research done in one of the summer months to have something to present at the yearly student presentations, and then again at a presentation to the general public at Hanauma Bay. But that was really my only productive month of the year. Aside from that, I have failed miserably at being a good grad student. Luckily, I have PhD Comics to help me feel like I am not alone.
Family and friends
2010 was the first year that I had a boyfriend (and the same one, at that: "The Housemate") for the entire year. Over one sixth of the year, though, he was away in Antarctica. I rather like having a boyfriend, but I'm still not sure how serious the relationship is or where it is going. This will deserve its own post, later.
My grandmother died. I am now down to one grandparent--her husband. As the only one of their progeny living in the same city (in fact, I live less than a mile from my grandfather, whereas the next nearest descendant is a five hour plane ride away), I think it will largely fall on me to keep him company. I can't imagine how lonely it must feel to lose your spouse of 62 years.
My roommate from college came to visit me right before Christmas. Despite unusually rainy weather, we had a lot of fun, and her stay was all too short. I still need to go through those photos. If there are any good ones, I'll be sure to share.
In short
It was a good year overall. Could have been better, but could have been a lot worse. I hope that in the new year I'll be able to sort out some of the kinks I've developed in the past year (mainly, questions about the boyfriend and what the heck I'm doing in grad school). So I'll take a cup of kindness for 2010, and I wish for an even better 2011.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Happy Autumn, Moon Festival, and Hobbit Day!
It is now officially fall, if you take the beginning of fall to be the autumnal equinox, which was at 5:09 pm Hawaii time (erm...11:09 pm East Coast U.S. time, and the rest of you will have to figure it out for yourselves). September 22 is also the Chinese Moon Festival this year, also sometimes called the Mid-Autumn Festival, but I won't call it that because I just said that autumn started today. I feel like a bad half-Chinese person, but I don't really know much about the Moon Festival, beyond that we get to eat mooncakes. Mmmm. Today also happens to be Hobbit Day, as September 22 is the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. So there are many reasons to celebrate today (though I realize that for most of the world it is already tomorrow, which messes up the alignment of autumn with Hobbit Day and the Moon Festival, but whatever). Anyway, happy autumn, happy Moon Festival, and happy Hobbit Day!
I don't have anything humorous or insightful or cool or geeky to share today, just some scattered thoughts. It has been a very long week, and I can't believe it's only Wednesday. Feels like it must be Friday. The Housemate is on the mainland this week for a workshop relevant to the research he is doing, so I've been having solitary evenings and nights. It's a lot less fun when there's no one to watch TV shows with me (especially considering that this week is the big pilot episode week for most TV shows), cook dinner with me, and dine with me. And cuddle with me. I think of it as practice for when he goes to Antarctica for over three months. But thinking that makes me sad.
My grandmother went to the hospital on Saturday night, just a couple hours after I had visited her at her apartment. She had seemed tired when I saw her, but I just assumed it was because I was visiting during afternoon nap time. I guess later she was feeling extra tired, and very weak. Turns out she had a very low red blood cell count, and low sodium. The MRI also revealed what the doctor told me were "mini strokes", which I thought sounded bad (even a mini stroke is still a stroke, right?), but he said they didn't seem to be causing problems, so it was fine. So every day this week, I've been driving my grandfather from his retirement home to the hospital in the morning, then going back after work to visit my grandmother, help her eat dinner (and make sure she eats well--she needs her strength!), and take my grandfather home. The last time she was in the hospital, there were other relatives that my grandfather asked to help out, too, but his brother is in China right now, and his sister-in-law just had an eye operation and can't drive... So it's been me. I'm happy I'm here to help, but it has made the days especially long. The good news is that they discharged her this evening, and I just drove her home. It will still be nice to visit, especially since she's in the special care wing of the retirement home, rather than her apartment, but at least I don't have to do all the driving anymore. And she's happy to be back at the retirement home, which is good.
Even though I'm going to wait until the Housemate gets home before I watch most of the TV shows this week, I will mention what shows I plan on following this fall. New show Nikita (CW, Thurs. 9pm) has already hooked me, after debuting two weeks ago with a pretty awesome pilot. I'm very excited for the return of Chuck (NBC, Mon. 8pm), How I Met Your Mother (CBS, Mon. 8pm), Glee (FOX, Tues. 8pm), Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thurs. 8pm), and Fringe (FOX, Thurs. 9pm), all of which are back this week. I'm still trying to catch up on last season of Castle (ABC, Mon. 10pm), which came back this week as well. I have high hopes for the Hawaii Five-O reboot (CBS, Mon. 10pm), as well as the new J.J. Abrams creation Undercovers (NBC, Wed. 8pm), about a married couple who return to the CIA, both of which debut this week. I also plan on checking out No Ordinary Family (ABC, Tues. 8pm, starting next week), about a family who suddenly get super powers, and The Event (NBC, Mon. 9pm, starting this week), which looks like "this year's FlashForward"--a confusing, mysterious sci-fi/conspiracy type thing. I actually watched about half the pilot of The Event before feeling guilty and deciding to wait for the Housemate, but I was pleased with myself when I recognized a couple of the filming locations to be here on Oahu, though I don't think the scenes were supposed to be in Hawaii. This got me all the more excited to see Hawaii Five-O, which is shot here in Hawaii and is supposed to be Hawaii. That should be fun.
OK, looks like it's time to end this rambling post. Sorry about that. Tomorrow I'll post the video I took snorkeling in Sharks Cove, which includes a glimpse of an octopus. I promise tomorrow's post will be decidedly less rambling.
I don't have anything humorous or insightful or cool or geeky to share today, just some scattered thoughts. It has been a very long week, and I can't believe it's only Wednesday. Feels like it must be Friday. The Housemate is on the mainland this week for a workshop relevant to the research he is doing, so I've been having solitary evenings and nights. It's a lot less fun when there's no one to watch TV shows with me (especially considering that this week is the big pilot episode week for most TV shows), cook dinner with me, and dine with me. And cuddle with me. I think of it as practice for when he goes to Antarctica for over three months. But thinking that makes me sad.
My grandmother went to the hospital on Saturday night, just a couple hours after I had visited her at her apartment. She had seemed tired when I saw her, but I just assumed it was because I was visiting during afternoon nap time. I guess later she was feeling extra tired, and very weak. Turns out she had a very low red blood cell count, and low sodium. The MRI also revealed what the doctor told me were "mini strokes", which I thought sounded bad (even a mini stroke is still a stroke, right?), but he said they didn't seem to be causing problems, so it was fine. So every day this week, I've been driving my grandfather from his retirement home to the hospital in the morning, then going back after work to visit my grandmother, help her eat dinner (and make sure she eats well--she needs her strength!), and take my grandfather home. The last time she was in the hospital, there were other relatives that my grandfather asked to help out, too, but his brother is in China right now, and his sister-in-law just had an eye operation and can't drive... So it's been me. I'm happy I'm here to help, but it has made the days especially long. The good news is that they discharged her this evening, and I just drove her home. It will still be nice to visit, especially since she's in the special care wing of the retirement home, rather than her apartment, but at least I don't have to do all the driving anymore. And she's happy to be back at the retirement home, which is good.
Even though I'm going to wait until the Housemate gets home before I watch most of the TV shows this week, I will mention what shows I plan on following this fall. New show Nikita (CW, Thurs. 9pm) has already hooked me, after debuting two weeks ago with a pretty awesome pilot. I'm very excited for the return of Chuck (NBC, Mon. 8pm), How I Met Your Mother (CBS, Mon. 8pm), Glee (FOX, Tues. 8pm), Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thurs. 8pm), and Fringe (FOX, Thurs. 9pm), all of which are back this week. I'm still trying to catch up on last season of Castle (ABC, Mon. 10pm), which came back this week as well. I have high hopes for the Hawaii Five-O reboot (CBS, Mon. 10pm), as well as the new J.J. Abrams creation Undercovers (NBC, Wed. 8pm), about a married couple who return to the CIA, both of which debut this week. I also plan on checking out No Ordinary Family (ABC, Tues. 8pm, starting next week), about a family who suddenly get super powers, and The Event (NBC, Mon. 9pm, starting this week), which looks like "this year's FlashForward"--a confusing, mysterious sci-fi/conspiracy type thing. I actually watched about half the pilot of The Event before feeling guilty and deciding to wait for the Housemate, but I was pleased with myself when I recognized a couple of the filming locations to be here on Oahu, though I don't think the scenes were supposed to be in Hawaii. This got me all the more excited to see Hawaii Five-O, which is shot here in Hawaii and is supposed to be Hawaii. That should be fun.
OK, looks like it's time to end this rambling post. Sorry about that. Tomorrow I'll post the video I took snorkeling in Sharks Cove, which includes a glimpse of an octopus. I promise tomorrow's post will be decidedly less rambling.
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