What I'm Watching: Dramas
It's been FOREVER since I posted anything of substenance, and for that, I apologize. I just read, read, read all the time, so between the two blogs, it's 
calico_reaction that gets the attention, not devilwrites.
But let's talk tv, because that's the OTHER thing I do all of the time. Dramas first, because oddly, I watch fewer dramas than comedies (at least, that's what it feels like), and hopefully, I'll remember to post my comedies later. :)
What I'm going to do is my shows in order of favorites, from most to least, if that makes sense, and then talk about why. :)
Lost: Season 06
Okay, we're finally into Lost's final season and to be honest, I love this show so much I can't talk about it rationally, even to defend it from detractors. I will say this though: as much as I love this show, as much as I'm excited to see it end so that I can buy the complete series on BluRay and watch it all over again, I'm going to withhold any sort of verdict or praise for this show until it's over. Why? Because I vigorously defended Battlestar Galactica until halfway through its last season, and then the show bitterly disappointed me. Lost has the potential to do that, though I have every faith in the writers that it won't happen. They know their ending, unlike the writers of BSG who went on record saying they sat in the writer's room FOR HOURS trying to figure out how to write the finale. Sigh.
But yes. I love this show to pieces. I think it has the potential to be one of the greatest television shows of all time, if they end it right, and the way the show's progressed, I honestly think it could happen. :) This show is the only thing on my television schedule that I absolutely MUST WATCH LIVE, and that's saying something.
Fringe: Season 02:
This show is rapidly becoming a favorite, and it's all due to the cast and the way the cast relates to the mythology itself. Even when the stand-alone episodes ring a little too close to The X-Files, they always manage to focus on the cast in a way that makes you love them more. And honestly, Fringe is what would happen if The X-Files and Lost had a baby: fascinating overall mythology (but not as convoluted as Lost), with stand-alone episodes that are freaky, fun, and frightening. I hope to hell Fox renews this for a third season, because I'm going to NEED this sucker after Lost is over. YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
Or maybe you do: "Olivia, please don't tell him."
*dies*
Human Target: Season 01:
This show is just a lot of fun, with a self-aware kind of cheese that reminds me fondly of action shows from the eighties. Not QUITE as cheesy, and I like the production, but what I like best is the cast: Mark Valley (Fringe) as Chance, Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies, how I miss thee!) as Winston, and Jackie Earl Hayley (Watchmen) as Guerrero: these three are a lot of fun, and it's also entertaining to recognize the guest stars, like Kevin Weisman (Marshal from Alias) and Tricia Helfner (Six from Battlestar Galactica). At any rate, I'm enjoying the show, but if something happens and it gets canned, I'm not going to be broken-hearted.
FlashForward: Season 01:
The first half of the season took its dear sweet time in pulling me in, and I still stand by my earlier critique. However, the episodes started picking up, and while characters still did things to irritate the snot out of me, I'm interested to see where the story goes from here. The episode "Believe" was particularly engaging, and I'm just starting to get to the point where this show COULD become must-see tv for me. But this show, too, is one of those that won't break my heart if it doesn't get renewed. We'll see if I'm singing the same tune after the finale, though.
Caprica: Season 01:
The verdict is still out on this one. The prequel to Battlestar Galactica is certainly thought-provoking and I like the cast quite a bit: all of the roles feel lived in, like these people have been around forever, and I'm fascinated to see the mythology behind the cylon's rise to consciousness. Almost giddy. However, I feel very cautious about this show, simply because I don't trust the writers to fill in the blanks in a way that makes sense. More worrisome is my fear that they'll ignore the continuity set up in BSG and introduce certain characters in this series that should still be on Earth at this point in the timeline (or at least in space, flying in the right direction). You know who I mean. *cough*Final Five!*cough*
That said, I'm enjoying it. It's a slow-building show, with a sharp focus on characters and issues, and in spite of myself, I'm interested. But I don't trust it. I probably never will, and that's a shame. But Moore brought it upon himself with that BSG finale, so he's going to have to earn my trust back, and it won't be easily given.
V: Season 01:
This is fun in a pure, unapologetically SF way, but in some ways, it's almost too fast-paced, too simple. I keep wanting to complicate matters, but really, the story is what it seems on the surface. Not a bad thing, as the show is entertaining so far, but I'm not sure of it's chances for renewal. We'll see. The show returns the end of March, right after Lost, and it does have actors I enjoy watching (Elizabeth Mitchell from Lost and Morena Baccarin from Firefly/Serenity). It's another that if it gets canceled, I'm not going to be too upset (unless the show manages to hook me on an emotional level and combines that with a cliffhanger ending).
Stargate Universe: Season 01:
Stopped watching. I hated to admit defeat, but let's face it: I was DVR-ing every episode and letting them pile up, and there wasn't anyone I was truly attached to in the cast. Sure, there were some sympathetic characters, but no one whose story had be tuning in each week for everything morsel I could get. I got through six episodes, but just couldn't bring myself to continue. Maybe the show will get better in time (maybe it's already gotten better), but the format was too formulaic from week to week, and if I don't have a cast to latch on to and focus, I can't get past the formula. I was also tired of characters acting like assholes for no good reason, and I was tired of other characters getting shit on for no good reason. Oh well. :)
calico_reaction that gets the attention, not devilwrites. But let's talk tv, because that's the OTHER thing I do all of the time. Dramas first, because oddly, I watch fewer dramas than comedies (at least, that's what it feels like), and hopefully, I'll remember to post my comedies later. :)
What I'm going to do is my shows in order of favorites, from most to least, if that makes sense, and then talk about why. :)
Lost: Season 06
Okay, we're finally into Lost's final season and to be honest, I love this show so much I can't talk about it rationally, even to defend it from detractors. I will say this though: as much as I love this show, as much as I'm excited to see it end so that I can buy the complete series on BluRay and watch it all over again, I'm going to withhold any sort of verdict or praise for this show until it's over. Why? Because I vigorously defended Battlestar Galactica until halfway through its last season, and then the show bitterly disappointed me. Lost has the potential to do that, though I have every faith in the writers that it won't happen. They know their ending, unlike the writers of BSG who went on record saying they sat in the writer's room FOR HOURS trying to figure out how to write the finale. Sigh.
But yes. I love this show to pieces. I think it has the potential to be one of the greatest television shows of all time, if they end it right, and the way the show's progressed, I honestly think it could happen. :) This show is the only thing on my television schedule that I absolutely MUST WATCH LIVE, and that's saying something.
Fringe: Season 02:
This show is rapidly becoming a favorite, and it's all due to the cast and the way the cast relates to the mythology itself. Even when the stand-alone episodes ring a little too close to The X-Files, they always manage to focus on the cast in a way that makes you love them more. And honestly, Fringe is what would happen if The X-Files and Lost had a baby: fascinating overall mythology (but not as convoluted as Lost), with stand-alone episodes that are freaky, fun, and frightening. I hope to hell Fox renews this for a third season, because I'm going to NEED this sucker after Lost is over. YOU HAVE NO IDEA.
Or maybe you do: "Olivia, please don't tell him."
*dies*
Human Target: Season 01:
This show is just a lot of fun, with a self-aware kind of cheese that reminds me fondly of action shows from the eighties. Not QUITE as cheesy, and I like the production, but what I like best is the cast: Mark Valley (Fringe) as Chance, Chi McBride (Pushing Daisies, how I miss thee!) as Winston, and Jackie Earl Hayley (Watchmen) as Guerrero: these three are a lot of fun, and it's also entertaining to recognize the guest stars, like Kevin Weisman (Marshal from Alias) and Tricia Helfner (Six from Battlestar Galactica). At any rate, I'm enjoying the show, but if something happens and it gets canned, I'm not going to be broken-hearted.
FlashForward: Season 01:
The first half of the season took its dear sweet time in pulling me in, and I still stand by my earlier critique. However, the episodes started picking up, and while characters still did things to irritate the snot out of me, I'm interested to see where the story goes from here. The episode "Believe" was particularly engaging, and I'm just starting to get to the point where this show COULD become must-see tv for me. But this show, too, is one of those that won't break my heart if it doesn't get renewed. We'll see if I'm singing the same tune after the finale, though.
Caprica: Season 01:
The verdict is still out on this one. The prequel to Battlestar Galactica is certainly thought-provoking and I like the cast quite a bit: all of the roles feel lived in, like these people have been around forever, and I'm fascinated to see the mythology behind the cylon's rise to consciousness. Almost giddy. However, I feel very cautious about this show, simply because I don't trust the writers to fill in the blanks in a way that makes sense. More worrisome is my fear that they'll ignore the continuity set up in BSG and introduce certain characters in this series that should still be on Earth at this point in the timeline (or at least in space, flying in the right direction). You know who I mean. *cough*
That said, I'm enjoying it. It's a slow-building show, with a sharp focus on characters and issues, and in spite of myself, I'm interested. But I don't trust it. I probably never will, and that's a shame. But Moore brought it upon himself with that BSG finale, so he's going to have to earn my trust back, and it won't be easily given.
V: Season 01:
This is fun in a pure, unapologetically SF way, but in some ways, it's almost too fast-paced, too simple. I keep wanting to complicate matters, but really, the story is what it seems on the surface. Not a bad thing, as the show is entertaining so far, but I'm not sure of it's chances for renewal. We'll see. The show returns the end of March, right after Lost, and it does have actors I enjoy watching (Elizabeth Mitchell from Lost and Morena Baccarin from Firefly/Serenity). It's another that if it gets canceled, I'm not going to be too upset (unless the show manages to hook me on an emotional level and combines that with a cliffhanger ending).
Stargate Universe: Season 01:
Stopped watching. I hated to admit defeat, but let's face it: I was DVR-ing every episode and letting them pile up, and there wasn't anyone I was truly attached to in the cast. Sure, there were some sympathetic characters, but no one whose story had be tuning in each week for everything morsel I could get. I got through six episodes, but just couldn't bring myself to continue. Maybe the show will get better in time (maybe it's already gotten better), but the format was too formulaic from week to week, and if I don't have a cast to latch on to and focus, I can't get past the formula. I was also tired of characters acting like assholes for no good reason, and I was tired of other characters getting shit on for no good reason. Oh well. :)