Catching Up with TV

There are a lot of good shows on right now that either just ended, just started or are about to just start — South Park, The Office, Entourage, Dexter, Californication, 30 Rock, Weeds, and of course Paris Hilton’s My New BFF. (Yes, I’m joking. Everybody knows Entourage sucks.) I’ve been scrambling to keep up with all of them. This is really my first year of regular TV watching, so it’s kind of weird for me.

I haven’t been all that impressed by this season’s South Park. Fans seem to say every season is the worst yet and this has been going on, seriously, since at least the early 00s, which were, in my opinion, the show’s peak. However, I do have to agree that this season has been generally lackluster. I was in the minority of people who loved the Indiana Jones episode a couple weeks ago, but partly because it was exactly how I felt after seeing the film. (Although, admittedly, when I said George Lucas had raped another element of my childhood, I didn’t picture it quite as vividly as Trey Parker and Matt Stone apparently did.) Last week’s Cloverfield spoof was amusing and gave Randy more time to shine again, but tonight’s episode was subpar.

Moving on…

Dexter is an interesting show. I sped through the first couple seasons starting a few months back. At first it seemed a bit gimmicky, but it developed a stride within the first few episodes. It suffers from, ironically, typical television cliches (not what you’d expect in a drama about a serial killing hero) — the supporting characters and subplots feel routine. The minority police chief who’s always pissed off about something (she’s also a female – bonus token points), the slovenly lovable poor soul, the sassy tomboy, the big black Army dude, the creepy Asian with a penchant for gross sex jokes, the doe-eyed single mother with an abusive ex-husband. However, the show works thanks to some clever main narrative focuses and C. Thomas Howell’s Michael C. Hall’s performance as the titular character. He is the show. And the supporting characters get better as the show goes on; the interaction between Dexter and Debra (Jennifer Carpenter) is enjoyable, despite Jennifer Carpenter being one of the most annoying actresses ever (but that’s kinda the point with her character, so it works).

The second season was better than the first for the most part, and the third season seems good but is definitely hitting some dead ends. The problem with a show like Dexter, really, is that it’s a novelty. There’s only so much you can do before you begin stretching the boundaries of plausibility – and interest. The idea of a forensics expert using his “inside” information to track down and slaughter unjustly freed criminals or scum in general is cool – but it reaches a point where the number of repeat rapists or murderers getting off on technicalities seems a bit forced, as does the idea of Dexter bumping into all these random criminals and seedy characters. I mean, in the second or third episode of the new season, he bumps into a pedophile in a grocery store who was trying to stalk his girlfriend’s daughter. He goes home, types the guy’s license plate into his computer, and – whaddaya know – he’s a sex offender. Of course.

It’s kinda like Diagnosis Murder. That show had a pretty good idea: an old doctor solving murders that the police are too busy or stupid to focus on. (Because, let’s face it, we all know aging doctors in lab coats are more intelligent than those donut-eating fatties.) But after Dick Van Dyke solved his 10th murder in the hospital, you started to think to yourself, How many fucking murderers ARE there in this town?! (Actually, now that I think of it, the plot of Diagnosis Murder was a terrible idea.)

Still, it’s an extremely addictive show. I like it a lot in spite of my complaints. It’s one of those shows that you find yourself really enjoying even though you know you really shouldn’t. (Dexter, not Diagnosis Murder.)

Californication was one of my favourite shows last year – showed real signs of brilliance – but this season is, simply put, hugely underwhelming. Too much shock humour. I don’t think the writers expected a second season because the finale of season one wrapped everything up; they have, unfortunately, written themselves into a wall. David Duchovny is great as Hank Moody, a depressive writer who just wants his family back while coping with the excesses of the California lifestyle. But the writing has gone downhill. The rock star character is getting on my nerves. Hank’s daughter is grating. There’s no reason for Mia to still be hanging around. Natascha McElhone’s character has nothing to do; she was the object of Hank’s desire in season one, but by closing that season with them back together, there’s nowhere to go now. So they force them back apart – but now you don’t really feel sorry for Hank anymore, because he’s blown two chances to get the girl of his dreams. In season one, you empathize with him for getting caught up in vices and losing what he didn’t realize he really cherished until after it walked out on him.

But in season two, there’s no excuse. Now he’s just an asshole who doesn’t learn from his mistakes and sits around whining about things he’s screwed up multiple times. And the humour isn’t half as organic and amusing as it was in season one. Now it’s just gross and annoying. I’ve never seen a show drop so drastically from being absolutely stellar to absolutely crap. I’m really hoping the last few episodes pick things up.

I’m too tired to keep going on about other shows. Maybe I’ll talk more about them later. Quick recap in case I don’t get around to it:

Entourage: picking itself up quite well after a couple average beginning episodes that didn’t go anywhere
The Office: still frighteningly consistent and hilarious; in fact, it’s better than last season so far
30 Rock: finally finished season two and watched the first episode of season three. One of the most brilliant comedy shows ever (honestly, close to Arrested Development territory for sheer originality and quality of non sequitors)
Weeds: the last season (which just ended recently) was the worst. They took everything great about the show – the satiric elements, the subversiveness, the humour in an “average” soccer mom becoming a drug dealer – and threw it out the window. Nancy isn’t really sympathetic anymore; she’s also not just peddling weed. The change of locale is frustrating. Kevin Nealon’s character has been stripped of his awesomeness; he was a happy-go-lucky stoner in the first three seasons, never taking no for an answer. Him dancing to Butt Machine with the little shit-geisers explosing everywhere was classic. Now he’s a depressive junkie. The subplot with Silas and the older mom was silly, unrealistic and a blatant attempt at pushing boundaries; so was the younger son masturbating to pictures of his mother. It’s really not that shocking, just stupid and gross. Still, it’s a good show. Just not as great as it was before. I hope Season 5 moves them back to the ‘burbs – the show’s whole essence is that locale. It’s too gritty now, like some kind of lighter version of The Wire.