Kill Your Television Update

The ending of Battlestar Galactica has left me without a weekly excuse to blog about something. I don't plan on reviewing shows episode to episode as I did with the final season of BSG, but I'm going to try to post my thoughts about some of the shows I'm currently watching. Be forewarned about spoilers ahead.

Lost - Season five continues to build on the momentum established by the last season and the new shorter seasons, plus the established end date, seem to suit the show well. This makes the writers fill each hour with little filler, which bogged down some of the first three seasons.

This week's show was a Kate episode that was actually really good. The character was given quite a bit of badly needed development. Hopefully this will continue to happen and we'll get a Kate that is creating her own destiny and not dependent on someone else the entire time.

Sawyer has really developed into a great multi-faceted character. I used to hate the guy and his nicknaming and smart remarks, but the writers have gone a solid job of transforming him into a leader over four and a half years of the show. I certainly hope he sticks with Juliet and doesn't go padding off after Kate, again. This week's show gave me hope.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - Despite how slow the show tends to be, particularly during the first three episodes after the winter hiatus, I'm still really digging it. The resolution of the whole Jesse/Riley arc was handled really well and we finally got to see John behave as if is going to grow up to be the savior of mankind that we've led to believe he's going to be.

I was sad to see the death of favored recurring character last week. I was hoping that his reintroducton would lead to a more frequent appearances, maybe even joining up with the Connor's team, but it doesn't look like that will happen now.

The Weaver/Ellison/John Henry plot took some interesting turns this past week. While Weaver's true agenda continues to be unknown, we now have another rival agency to contend with. I wonder if this will force Weaver and the Connors to have to work together in the near future.

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.