The funny thing is, I never watched TV — at all, really — until the advent of DVD. It changed everything. And now I also do a lot of watching online, or at least on my computer, which makes it far more addictive. So now I’m stuck watching all these programs I’d have never thought about a couple years ago. Anyway, I digress…
Tonight were the finales for both Dexter and Cali. I was harsh on the latter a couple months ago, saying it had drastically dropped in quality compared to the first season. While my complaints were fair at the time, it must be said that it did get better towards the end — enough for Showtime to renew it for a third season. Once they stopped trying so hard it felt more natural, but it still never altogether recovered from its early drag. I do think a large part of that had to do with them adding closure to season one, assuming it wouldn’t be picked up for a second spin at the time. Luckily, with the third, they’re in a position to bring back some more consistency. I don’t think all is lost yet.
Entourage had a good season. People were complaining early on, but I liked it. The episode with Fake Plastic Trees was one of the more memorable segments on the entire show and added more depth to Vincent’s relationship with Ari. Some of it kind of felt awkward (the whole Jamie Lynn Siegler thing, for example) and the cameos got a bit insufferable (Marky Mark and Gus Van Sant both plugging their movies?!), but it was solid. Much better than last season, too.
Dexter was pretty consistent all through its third season and found a way of bringing some freshness to a premise that could have easily become stale. Jimmy Smits did a good job; unfortunately, the series always heads towards a fair amount of outlandishness for its finales, featuring contrivances and Hollywood-style showdowns that seem, well, Hollywoodish. But it was still a solid season and about on par with the last two. The Skinner was such a lame serial killer, but I think that’s the point. Michael C. Hall deserves an Emmy nom, however that works (are the Emmys already over? I don’t pay attention to them).
It’s Always Sunny had its worst season this year but it still had plenty of funny moments (“Wild card, bitches!”). I just got the feeling they were trying a bit too hard this time around to have shock value rather than letting it be a natural element (my exact concerns with the second season of Cali). The trademark dark humour of this show has become a brand (just look at how F/X is marketing Sunny’s follow-up, Testees); it has moved from being kind of dirty, yet also realistic, towards caricatures, sitcom humour and screaming. Lots of screaming. It’s still one of the best shows on TV, but it feels calculated now — more like a product than it has ever been before. But I guess that’s only to be expected when the network brings in Fred Savage (yeah, that Fred Savage) for creative control. They need to take their time developing ideas for Season 5 because this is the only season where I actually found myself getting bored through certain episodes.
30 Rock is hilarious so far. The Jennifer Aniston episode was the worst episode of the entire series, but the Steve Martin one alone more than made up for it. (Some classic stuff on that one, especially the prop Tracy Jordan.) I just think it’s fairly disappointing that the show, after finally attracting viewers thanks to Fina Fey’s recent rise to pop culture fame, caught wide demographics with such an uneven episode. Jennifer Aniston really does ruin everything she touches. I wish she’d just go away. I didn’t take a look at figures for the last couple weeks but I’m hoping it didn’t drop any large percentages.
The Office is still going strong – another great show that’s almost never not funny. I think a couple episodes this season focused too much on trying to find a storyline rather than focus on the humour (last week’s being a good example) but that’s a small quibble.
Well, that about does it, I suppose. Overall, a good season for TV and now that the shows have mostly all ended for this year, I can start focusing on some of the movies I’ve missed. I’m watching Milk tomorrow and (hopefully) Gran Torino afterward. The idea of a grumpy Clint Eastwood spouting racial slurs for two hours just really appeals to me.
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The only show I'm consistently watching is The Office, which is still funny, but it seems like it struggles to find the right tension like it had in the early seasons (someone needs to kill the Angela/Andy wedding storyline which has dragged on forever).
Agreed. I didn't mind the stuff with Michael's romantic interest in the first few episodes, because they actually handled that fairly well and moved on before it became tiresome, but some of the other continuing subplots are just boring. I think my favourite episode this season is the one where Toby came back, if only for Michael's scream in the beginning when he first sees him.