[NOTE: I've added to this post below]

This happens to me every year. The relationship blossoms brilliantly. I am enamored by the newness. You learn something each week. But somehow, life gets in the way. The honeymoon ends and suddenly, you see things for what they are – ordinary.

I’m talking to you Flash Forward, V, and Better Off Ted.

Flash Forward
I think I’ve only watched 3-4 episodes. I loved the reveal of the man who was walking around the baseball stadium during the blackout. I loved how another person who didn’t see anything during the blackout actually died – foreshadowing what would happen to John Cho’s character (who also didn’t have a flash forward) And then they revealed Joseph Fiennes’ friend’s flash forward was actually fake. What he saw doesn’t actually happen and thus throws off the mythology of the show all in 3 episodes. Now as an educated TV show watcher, I’m sure they’re going to call back to this and somehow explain that perhaps this character misinterpreted the flash forward. For example, he was sleeping at that very moment and what he saw was a dream. This would be lame. And because of this, I stopped watching. This doesn’t mean I don’t want to know what happens, I just don’t want to sit through it. Know what I mean?

V
I think I’m current with this show. Again, I want to know what happens but I can’t really handle the horrible dialogue or the uber-cheesy green screen shots of people on the ship. As SFX have advanced in the past decade or so, audiences are pretty hip to good and bad effects. I’m sure many don’t notice, but step up your game SFX team. And as someone who likes to completely invested in the world a show is trying to create, too many flaws (like bad effects, stilted dialogue, and expository scenes) really take me out of it. But I suppose I do look at film/tv through a different prism.

Better Off Ted
LOVED the first season of this show. It’s back and while it continually entertains, I just don’t feel I need to watch it every week. I think I’d be content with just watching it if it happens to be on. I’ve mentioned this in the past too, but they’d definitely changed the cinematography/production design a bit this season. You now see much warmer tones and generally more color in every frame. This contrasts the cooler, slightly desaturated look of last season. I’m used to it now, but it definitely felt different when I watched the first few episodes. The feel of Better Off Ted was there, but something was a bit off.

[ADDENDUM 2/8/10]

The Office
I don’t think I’ll be hurting anyone’s feelings if I said this show’s been heading south since Pam and Jim found out they were having a baby. Michael Scott will always be Michael Scott, Dwight will be Dwight and the same goes for pretty much the rest of the supporting characters. The audience falls in love with these characters and enjoys seeing them react to the random events that seem to happen in their daily routine. But there needs to be an emotional through-line the audience can follow. They need to know that something is going to happen with these characters. This is what Pam and Jim brought to the show for the first 3 seasons. Witnessing the hijinx was fun, but audiences connected with the Pam and Jim storry.

But now that Jim is a co-manager, married and expecting a kid, what’s really left? You can tell they’re shifting the romance from Jim and Pam to another salesman-receptionist potential relationship. Andy (Ed Helms) who is quickly becoming one of my favorite characters wants Erin and I’m sure that will turn into something eventually. That’s just par for the course.

Kudos to the writing staff for giving Michael some romantic pursuits because we got to see Michael fumble through something more than just being the boss. But again, it’s Michael being Michael. Also, the Dwight-Angela-Andy love triangle was enjoyable and helped transfer the emotional core away from Jim and Pam, if only for a little while.

Dunder-Mifflin getting acquired by a printer company called Sabre is interesting, but I’m wondering why it happens mid-season versus at the beginning of the next? Maybe they’re just running out of ideas?

I’ll still watch, but I won’t cry if the DVR accidentally deletes it.

[END ADDENDUM]

So these are the shows that have fallen to the wayside. This doesn’t mean that I’m not watching anything. Modern Family continues to impress in its freshman season. Castle is a guilty pleasure that keeps my interest week to week. I suppose my man crush on Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic’s hotness help with that. But I just love how that show looks – beautifully shot. And the guiltiest pleasure of all is probably Supernatural which is a perfect example of how to NOT take yourself too seriously. The creators of the show have fun with the rules and conventions you’ve established over the past 4.5 years.

I am waiting patiently for the return of Mad Men, which I can now watch in HD since Time Warner Cable FINALLY has AMC in HD.

Tags: reviews, TV

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