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TV Slut Report - Top Ten Favorite TV Shows
Should be asleep, not in bed typing away on lj. For some bizarre reason, I always get uptight before a trip - mine is on Wed. Still have to deal with work, printing off boarding passes, calling car service, packing, and straightening up tomorrow. Sorry been less than responsive on this journal of late - been a bit busy/stressed.
Finally watched all of the Life episodes I had saved on my DVR this weekend (watching the episodes with Wales, who kept pointing out all of the implausible plot threads, made me realize how silly the show truly is. Yet as Wales put it - sort of fun.) As well as the latest installments of Journeyman (which I'm going to miss now that it's been cancelled - thanks to the writer's strike - we actually get to see all thirteen episodes that were filmed and written or its a causality of the strike and we would have seen them anyway depends on which news source you've read), Nip/Tuck (which may have not only jumped the shark but hired tap dancers to tap across the shark), and Friday Night Lights (which may be the most adult soap opera I've seen in my life. Thank God they've finally wrapped up the horrid Landry/Tyra murder/rape plotline). Also quite a few Blood Ties and Moonlights.
This brings me to the dreaded list: my list of favorite tv shows for 2007. Note, I said my favorites, not the best tv shows of 2007. Since I have rather ecclectic tastes...you are bound to agree with a few of my choices and wonder what the heck I've been smoking regarding the other ones. (Rest assured I'm thinking the same thing about most of the best/worst lists I've seen to date as well. Mad Men continues to bewilder me - granted I only watched twenty minutes of the pilot with Wales, and both of us were sleepy or distracted at the time, but it bored and grated on my nerves. Yet it appears to be the *trendiest* thing in pop culture since I don't know the mini-skirt.) One of the best bits about being human is that no one agrees on everything. Bits and pieces sure. But not the whole enchilda. It's also one of the most frustrating things.
MY Top Ten Favorite TV shows in no particular order:
1. Heroes (I liked this series better in 2007 than 2006. In 2006 I found it visually stunning but somewhat slow and a bit cliche in places. With weak female characterizations. Then it took off and surprized me with some interesting character evolutions and twists and turns.
HRG is as complicated as you get. Is he a villian, a hero? Both. Company Man, The Future Episode are two of my favorites.)
2. BattleStar Galatica and Razor. Brilliant depiction of the muggy ambiguity of human conflicts. Dealt realistically with torture, war, racism, union uprisings, and religious discrimination. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? The line becomes murkier and murkier as we move along. It may be the most brilliant commentary on the inane pointlessness and horror of war on tv since MASH. Both series ask the same question - who is the real enemy here and what is this fight really about? And finally, is war about survival or destruction?
But that's not why I watched BSG. I watched it because I enjoyed the characters. I continue to be gripped by their emotional struggles. I love the writing, production, acting, and music.
It simply entertains me and rivets me in a way few television shows do.
3. Burn Notice - a fun show with a hot lead and a great supporting cast. Sort of a combo McGyver/The Equalizer/and Magnum PI but with a better cast. Also unlike those shows it's not episodic, it has a clear through thread...
4. Supernatural - horror with a grin and a bit of noirish angst thrown in. IT's a HP Lovecraft meet Raymond Chandler pulp novel come to life as written by Stephen King. Gritty.
With homages to real folk and urban horror legends. The second season was much much better than the uneven first. Not for the faint of heart, politically correct or squeamish, but anyone who appreciates a good politically incorrect - you'll have a blast. And there's a bit of heart as well...the bond between the two brothers lies at the center of this tale.
5. Smallville - scoff all you like, in 2007 Smallville kicked ass. The women came into their own. Clark is no longer at the center of the action - instead we spend an equal amount of time on Lois, Chloe, Lana and Kara. Lana may be the best surprise - a dark avenger, and perfect foil for Lex.
6. Pushing Daisies - quirky as all get out, with a children's book narrator and a dark undertone - this satirical murder mystery series gives the genre new life. It's like nothing else on TV.
7. Journeyman - found out this will be cancelled. Shame. It was just beginning to get good. Each episode delves deeper into the gaps between the characters. How the time travelers travels affect those around him as well as himself. Not always in a good way. How it causes a type of disconnect, so that he in effect is caught observing life not really living it.
8. Reaper - I know, I know, everyone and their mother prefers Chuck. But I find this one more realistic and charming. These are guys I've met. The women in it are real, I know them. They aren't drop-dead gorgeous or fashion models. And the male leads aren't perfect either. The best has got to be Sock, an overweight, hulk of a guy, who was huge his entire life (reminds me of Adam Baldwin) except Sock is the anti-Adam Baldwin. It's not deep. And played more for laughs than angst. A nice bit of fun.
9. Desperate Housewives - has oddly gotten good this season after two lacklustre seasons in a row. The gay couple. Dana Delany and Nathan Fillion. And I haven't laughed so hard in a long time - watching Gabby and Carlos. This show made me laugh harder than any of the sitcoms currently on.
10. Lost and Friday Night Lights (tie). I enjoyed both. For different reasons. Lost had it's fair share of lacklustre episodes. But it continued to amuse and thrill me. My favorite was the one in which they found the car - it made me laugh my head off. Friday Night Lights surprised me - I didn't want to like it, but found I did in spite of myself. Perhaps the best nighttime soap opera I've ever seen.
Other shows that entertained: Ugly Betty, Brothers & Sisters, Project Runway, The 4400 (I'm probably the only person who still watchs this show), Dresden Files (short lived, but I loved every moment and bought the DVD), Veronica Mars (not as good as earlier seasons but the finale ended the way a good noir tv series should in the rain with the heroine inadvertently causing the downfall of everyone she loved very reminiscent of Chinatown), Dirty Sexy Money, Damages and Chuck.
I'm still watching Grey's Anatomy but it wasn't really a favorite.
Okay, off to sleep since already in bed.
Finally watched all of the Life episodes I had saved on my DVR this weekend (watching the episodes with Wales, who kept pointing out all of the implausible plot threads, made me realize how silly the show truly is. Yet as Wales put it - sort of fun.) As well as the latest installments of Journeyman (which I'm going to miss now that it's been cancelled - thanks to the writer's strike - we actually get to see all thirteen episodes that were filmed and written or its a causality of the strike and we would have seen them anyway depends on which news source you've read), Nip/Tuck (which may have not only jumped the shark but hired tap dancers to tap across the shark), and Friday Night Lights (which may be the most adult soap opera I've seen in my life. Thank God they've finally wrapped up the horrid Landry/Tyra murder/rape plotline). Also quite a few Blood Ties and Moonlights.
This brings me to the dreaded list: my list of favorite tv shows for 2007. Note, I said my favorites, not the best tv shows of 2007. Since I have rather ecclectic tastes...you are bound to agree with a few of my choices and wonder what the heck I've been smoking regarding the other ones. (Rest assured I'm thinking the same thing about most of the best/worst lists I've seen to date as well. Mad Men continues to bewilder me - granted I only watched twenty minutes of the pilot with Wales, and both of us were sleepy or distracted at the time, but it bored and grated on my nerves. Yet it appears to be the *trendiest* thing in pop culture since I don't know the mini-skirt.) One of the best bits about being human is that no one agrees on everything. Bits and pieces sure. But not the whole enchilda. It's also one of the most frustrating things.
MY Top Ten Favorite TV shows in no particular order:
1. Heroes (I liked this series better in 2007 than 2006. In 2006 I found it visually stunning but somewhat slow and a bit cliche in places. With weak female characterizations. Then it took off and surprized me with some interesting character evolutions and twists and turns.
HRG is as complicated as you get. Is he a villian, a hero? Both. Company Man, The Future Episode are two of my favorites.)
2. BattleStar Galatica and Razor. Brilliant depiction of the muggy ambiguity of human conflicts. Dealt realistically with torture, war, racism, union uprisings, and religious discrimination. Who are the good guys? Who are the bad guys? The line becomes murkier and murkier as we move along. It may be the most brilliant commentary on the inane pointlessness and horror of war on tv since MASH. Both series ask the same question - who is the real enemy here and what is this fight really about? And finally, is war about survival or destruction?
But that's not why I watched BSG. I watched it because I enjoyed the characters. I continue to be gripped by their emotional struggles. I love the writing, production, acting, and music.
It simply entertains me and rivets me in a way few television shows do.
3. Burn Notice - a fun show with a hot lead and a great supporting cast. Sort of a combo McGyver/The Equalizer/and Magnum PI but with a better cast. Also unlike those shows it's not episodic, it has a clear through thread...
4. Supernatural - horror with a grin and a bit of noirish angst thrown in. IT's a HP Lovecraft meet Raymond Chandler pulp novel come to life as written by Stephen King. Gritty.
With homages to real folk and urban horror legends. The second season was much much better than the uneven first. Not for the faint of heart, politically correct or squeamish, but anyone who appreciates a good politically incorrect - you'll have a blast. And there's a bit of heart as well...the bond between the two brothers lies at the center of this tale.
5. Smallville - scoff all you like, in 2007 Smallville kicked ass. The women came into their own. Clark is no longer at the center of the action - instead we spend an equal amount of time on Lois, Chloe, Lana and Kara. Lana may be the best surprise - a dark avenger, and perfect foil for Lex.
6. Pushing Daisies - quirky as all get out, with a children's book narrator and a dark undertone - this satirical murder mystery series gives the genre new life. It's like nothing else on TV.
7. Journeyman - found out this will be cancelled. Shame. It was just beginning to get good. Each episode delves deeper into the gaps between the characters. How the time travelers travels affect those around him as well as himself. Not always in a good way. How it causes a type of disconnect, so that he in effect is caught observing life not really living it.
8. Reaper - I know, I know, everyone and their mother prefers Chuck. But I find this one more realistic and charming. These are guys I've met. The women in it are real, I know them. They aren't drop-dead gorgeous or fashion models. And the male leads aren't perfect either. The best has got to be Sock, an overweight, hulk of a guy, who was huge his entire life (reminds me of Adam Baldwin) except Sock is the anti-Adam Baldwin. It's not deep. And played more for laughs than angst. A nice bit of fun.
9. Desperate Housewives - has oddly gotten good this season after two lacklustre seasons in a row. The gay couple. Dana Delany and Nathan Fillion. And I haven't laughed so hard in a long time - watching Gabby and Carlos. This show made me laugh harder than any of the sitcoms currently on.
10. Lost and Friday Night Lights (tie). I enjoyed both. For different reasons. Lost had it's fair share of lacklustre episodes. But it continued to amuse and thrill me. My favorite was the one in which they found the car - it made me laugh my head off. Friday Night Lights surprised me - I didn't want to like it, but found I did in spite of myself. Perhaps the best nighttime soap opera I've ever seen.
Other shows that entertained: Ugly Betty, Brothers & Sisters, Project Runway, The 4400 (I'm probably the only person who still watchs this show), Dresden Files (short lived, but I loved every moment and bought the DVD), Veronica Mars (not as good as earlier seasons but the finale ended the way a good noir tv series should in the rain with the heroine inadvertently causing the downfall of everyone she loved very reminiscent of Chinatown), Dirty Sexy Money, Damages and Chuck.
I'm still watching Grey's Anatomy but it wasn't really a favorite.
Okay, off to sleep since already in bed.