With or Without You

I noticed something about my viewing habit during last night's episode of Heroes. During the commercials I would run into the other room and check on CDs that I was ripping down to put on my iPod (I'm still in the process of throwing all my music on my lovely new 80 GB model). The funny thing is that the show would come back from commercial and I wouldn't be in a hurry to get back to the living room to watch it. If this was Battlestar Galactica or Lost, I would probably still be in my seat, most likely due to the mind-frak that occurred before the break and my inability to move as a result.

Heroes used to be a really entertaining and unique show. Now it's become just silly. Granted the concept is outlandish, but so are BSG and Lost. It comes down to the writing and to some extent the acting. Bad acting can kill a show, no matter how well it is written (I'm looking at you Babylon 5). Still, the words on the page have to deliver, both in plot and dialogue.

Take Farscape for example; this was visually one of the most outrageously goofy looking shows on television. Half the cast was in heavy alien makeup or were puppets, but if the show didn't have me on the floor laughing, in a good way, it had me sobbing due to the emotional turmoil the characters had to endure week to week. Of course the beauty of the show was that the main character was a guy from Earth thrown in the middle of it all who acted as our lens to this incredible universe.

In other words, what makes shows like BSG, Lost, and Farscape work is that there's a heavy emphasis on realistic reactions to outlandish situations. The characters on Heroes react, but usually the reactions are knee-jerk and for plot movement only. At least the show has narrowed the focus for the last half of the season. One of the biggest faults of the first half of season three was that the show was spread to thinly over way too many plots, many of which were just there to give some cast members something to do.

On the other end of the spectrum, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles may be suffering from too much character focus as of late. Granted, Sarah is the title character and she was in danger of becoming overshadowed by the rest of the cast. Unfortunately, the writers have spent four consecutive episodes diving deep into her fragile state of mind. While most of it is compelling, this show also has the word Terminator in the title, and people, including myself, want to see big robot shoot 'em ups, motorcycle chases in dried up canals, and explosions in factories that are empty of personnel yet still operating. Still, it's a ton more interesting and entertaining than Heroes has been as for the past two seasons.

I'm going to stick with Heroes for the rest of the season though. I rarely dump a show in mid-stream (the last season of the Dead Zone was such crap, I couldn't stand it anymore and jumped ship). Also, Bryan Fuller (DS9, Voyager, Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me, Pushing Daisies) has been tapped to come on board for the last quarter of the season and hopefully fix it. He wrote the show's best episode, the excellent "Company Man" from the first season, so there's some hope.

Now if they can get some better actors. I'd keep the guys that play Noah, Nathan, and Ando, but I say they should kick the rest to the curb.

Plans of a Future War Was All I Saw on Channel Four

Last week, I mentioned some of the genre show I was watching during this new fall season. This week's Sarah Conner was pretty good and went down some interesting roads, particularly in the development of Cameron. Last night's Heroes left me a little wanting for more. The thrill and spark of the first season has all but extinguished. As lackluster as the shortened second season was, it was able to ride on a little of the first season's momentum. I really think that the creators need to narrow the focus a little and concentrate on some major character development and emotion rather some of these convoluted plot threads. Complex is good if written well and is acted well (see Battlestar Galactica). Let's hope that tonight's Fringe keeps me engaged, but last night I was beginning to feel that the current/new "Golden Age of Television" was on the wane.

One new show I'm really enjoying it HBO's True Blood. It's Alan Ball's (Six Feet Under) show about vampires that are "out" and their impact on the world, specifically a small town in Louisiana. Anna Paquin plays a young human woman named Sookie that happens to be telepathic. She becomes intrigued by a vampire that moves into town named Bill, mainly because she can't read his thoughts. There's a great oddball cast of characters. Sookie's best friend Tara is unable to self-censor, but she cares about Sookie. Sookie's brother is a bit of a screw-up horndog who keeps ending up at the wrong place at the wrong time. Speaking of dog like behavior, Sookie's boss Sam has been displaying some strange canine-esque mannerisms. The show is funny, odd, full of mystery, and worth checking out.

Thursday saw the return of The Office. I actually think this show works just as well in a one hour format as it does in a half hour. I really didn't start watching this show that closely until the end of the third season. I've quickly fallen in love with it. It and 30 Rock (when it returns) are the best comedies on television at the moment.

Survivor also came back last Thursday. Sure, it's the poster child for all that went wrong with the reality television boom at the beginning of the decade, but it's a guilty pleasure. I like the strategies and the dealing and the backstabbing. It can be pretty unpredictable during the last half of the season when it becomes every person for themselves. Makes me wonder what I would do if tossed onto that show.

Signal To Noise

It appears that the Fall 2008 television season is in full swing as of this week. Some shows have premiered or kicked off their seasons over the last two weeks, but this week sees the return of some of the bigger series like The Office, My Name is Earl, Survivor, and Heroes. Though I am still mourning the loss of Journeyman, this season hasn't been short on sci-fi or high-concept offerings.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is big dumb fun. I really shouldn't use the word 'dumb', since it is engaging and has some good character moments. It's probably the most consistently action-packed series I've watched in a long time. The season opener was a non-stop chase scene which was probably a smart move to lure in new or casual viewers. This could run the risk of becoming repetitive, but the creators continue to find interesting ways to endanger the Connors and their cohorts. Also, there are a few neat little plot threads that poke out between explosions.

The acting is fairly decent overall. It pains me to admit it, but Brian Austin Green is pretty good as Derek Reece. Hopefully, he won't use the success of this show to make another go at a rap career. Summer Glau, who perfected the vacant stare on Firefly, does a decent job convincing me that she's a killing machine inside of the body of a thin, young woman. While Shirley Manson isn't the greatest actress in the world, she gets to play a pretty cool character that is poised to have long term consequences for our heroes. Last night's episode saw the very expected exit of a semi-recurring character which will hopefully convince John Connor that he cannot have a normal teenage life and that there are consequences if he even attempts it.

Heroes kicked off its third season with two back-to-back episodes last night. It appears that the show is off to a better start than the last season. From comments about season two by the creators, I'm hoping that they've learned from the mistakes made last year and the show will return to its first season glory. There is a dizzying amount of plot threads and mysteries established in these two hours. The real trick will be in keeping the series from collapsing from under the weight of them. For the most part, I'm genuinely interested in most of them, which isn't something I could say about the second season.

So far, I really like the more active role of Mama Petrelli. She's a pretty compelling character in how she has to balance the bigger picture which conflicts with her maternal feelings. Though, those feelings could all be a sham given the reveal at the end of the second episode. Still, she's less hand-wringing than Linderman or EVIL like Sylar. I thought the new speedster was fun and cute. I'm glad there wasn't any sign of Micah and that Molly, though sloppily handled, was written out of the show. I'm looking forward what the future may hold for Hiro's buddy, Ando, too. I also want to know what the deal is with Nikki/Jessica/...Tracy?

Fringe is the new X-Files. So far the show has been fun to watch and has had some crazy, gross-out moments. The three principle characters seem to be a hodge-podge of Mulder and Scully's personalities. Olivia is out to find the truth like Mulder, but more by-the-book like Scully. Peter is cynical like Scully (times 11), but is sarcastic and gifted, similar to Mulder. Walter fills Scully's medical/scientist shoes, though a bit madder. While Mulder could be a bit unstable, Walter is full-blown crazy. Hopefully, he won't pull a Denethor and try to set himself and Peter on fire.

At the moment, Fringe seems more concerned with high-concept more than character development. Not that there isn't any, but I'd like to see more once the show settles into a groove in about two or so episodes. Also, it could benefit by widening the focus of the character base. With only three main characters and only a few peripherals, plus a slowly revealing background mythology, Fringe could run into some the problems that The X-Files had. However, I remain cautiously optimistic.

Down Is the New Up

The last ten songs of the year end countdown are just around the corner. Don't fret. But first...

The War On TV Shows That Paul Likes continues. The USA Network has officially killed The 4400, as well as The Dead Zone. Granted, The Dead Zone had seen its better days and had been on a rapid decline for the past couple of seasons. I quit watching the Anthony Michael Hall vehicle about four episodes into the last season. The 4400, on the other hand, is a whole different story.

For those who do not know, The 4400 was a wonderful mix of The X-Files meets Uncanny X-Men and lasted four tightly written seasons. It was Heroes before there was a Heroes, and in a lot of ways it was a lot deeper than the NBC hit. Due to only having thirteen episodes a season (the first had six), the writers for The 4400 always kept the story on track and each episode built on previous ones. Characters came in and out of the narrative and there was a prevailing feeling that anything could happen. Sure, the acting was your run-of-the-mill basic cable best, but it was good enough and the story was what really mattered the most.

At least, the writers and showrunner Ira Behr (he ran Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, too) had the foresight to give enough closure in fourth season finale, that it works as a wrap up for the whole series. Could they have kept the series going and expanded on ideas and themes established in that episode? Absolutely. But, I'm satisfied in where they were able to leave the characters and the world of The 4400, that I don't feel like I'm left hanging.