The Best Time of Year October 04, 2003 - 5:23 a.m.

With the start of the new TV season, and to show just how lame I am, I thought I'd list the shows I'm watching this season.

And, yes, I realize most of these shows are cheesy and slated for a younger demographic. Or simply, genre shows. But I don't care.

Sunday
8 pm - Charmed
9 pm - probably Tarzan
We record Carnivale so Chris and I can watch it later.

I've followed Charmed since almost the first season. Our local channel wouldn't carry it at first because they were a religious station and felt witchcraft was evil. [Yet they aired Buffy?!] So someone decided to start their own channel and host the WB on it. I'm sure WB had issues with them not airing their shows to begin with.

I have no real desire to see Tarzan, other than the fact that Lucy Lawless [Xena] is going to be in it. But seeing as I wait and watch Carnivale with Chris when he gets home from his geek game, it will be something to fill that tv void.

And Carnivale rocks. Carnies, gotta love 'em.

Monday
8 pm - 7th Heaven
9 pm - Everwood
I'll tape Skin when it starts on the 20th, and give it a shot.

Yeah, yeah, yeah.... I know. You're thinking "7th Heaven?!?!? Why??" I honestly don't know. I'm far from religious, so that aspect certainly doesn't appeal to me. But I used to watch it with my mom when it first started and I'm a sucker for having to know how a story ends. Plus it's pretty refreshing to see this very clean, filtered, all-too-ideal family and how they cope with various issues. Although I agree, it seems a little trite as well as contrived. Guess those words are almost synonymous.

Everwood is really cute. It blends Norman Rockwell imagery with the daily setbacks of life. It doesn't force drama, and it doesn't paint everything to be hunkydory. It shows things as they could/would really happen. Of course, being a drama, there is plenty of it.

As for Skin; Romeo and Juliet with conflict set in the world of taboos... groovy.

Tuesday
8 pm - Gilmore Girls
9 pm - Joe Schmo
10 pm - Nip/Tuck

My normal Buffy night is horribly lacking. Though I love the Gilmore Girls, with all it's witty one-liners and verbal diarrhea that spews forth from no real-life mouth, I so miss my Buffiness. But, hey, at least I get some Espenson greatness as she is both writing for and co-executive producing Gilmore Girls this season. Go Jane! And Joe Schmo? Well, that's just some funny stuff.

I haven't watched Nip/Tuck from the very beginning, but I only missed the first episode or two. It's certainly interesting, even though it seems to try and shock, just for shocking's sake. I wouldn't be upset if I missed an episode or two, but I enjoy what I do watch.

Wednesday
8 pm - Smallville
9 pm - Angel
And I tape Jake 2.0, and will tape The O.C. when it returns at the end of the month.

Smallville is good stuff. The life of Superman as he's struggling to cope with his powers as well as typical teen drama. Dawson's Creek meets superhero comics. My one issue, why the fuck does everyone on this show seem to have access to kryptonite?! I hope they put a stop to that this season. It was getting crazy. It's like the first season, there was a car wreck in nearly every episode.

And... aaaahh, Angel. My weekly dosage of Whedon's genuis mind at work. It will be a sad day indeed when I no longer have one of his shows to look forward to every week. Hopefully that will mean he's doing movies though. That's the only way it would be less painful. Angel, duh, I love.

Jake 2.0 on the other hand... not so much. I'm giving it a shot because of Christopher Gorham, who was in Popular, and David Greenwalt, who worked on both Buffy and Angel. It's not all that bad, but it's just not pulling me in like other shows do. I'm sure I'll stick with it, at least for awhile.

The O.C. is just the next generation of Beverly Hills 90210, but that's okay. I liked that show when it first aired too. And Jane Espenson worked on it at the beginning; she wrote one of the episodes and helped flesh out some of the later plot points. So it can't be all bad. Again, there's witty dialogue. And it focuses just as much on the parents as it does the kids, so that's really cool. Originally this was going to return on Thursday and follow Tru Calling, but they apparently decided Wednesday was a better spot. Good thing we have two VCRs.

Thursday
8 pm - Tru Calling
9 pm - What I Like About You
9.5 pm - Run of the House

Tru Calling, Eliza Dushku's new show. Of course I'm going to watch it. It may not do well, and I've heard that it isn't really that great. But with Fox's reputation, the shows that aren't too good stick around longer than the really good ones. So at least I'll be able to enjoy a bit more of it. As opposed to Firefly and John Doe, the two best new shows of last year, which were canned. At least Firefly is being turned into a major movie! The commericals for Tru Calling actually look fairly decent. Nothing overly spectacular, but decent all the same. I'll certainly give it a chance, and probably continue to watch even if I don't find it that interesting. I'm weird that way.

What I Like About You is just cute, with Amanda Bynes' crazy antics and an almost straight laced [read: nutty] portrayal from Jennie Garth. Probably not the best tv out there, but I still find it entertaining. And Run of the House I watch just because it's already on and I'm too lazy to find anything else. There's really nothing special I can find about this show. I won't be heartbroken if I miss it or it's cancelled. They could bring back Do Over or Off Centre and put either in it's place, and that would be fine with me.

Friday
8 pm - Reba
Record Joan of Arcadia
8.5 pm - Like Family
9 pm - Grounded For Life

Fuck you, Reba is funny stuff! The mom is more of a smartass than her kids. She's completely honest with people, usually in a way that seems mean, and it's great. Her oldest daughter, who just had a kid, got married, and barely finished high school, is vapid as hell. She has her blond moments, as well as the occasional smart thing to say. Her husband, Van, is a total ditz and they pull so much humor out of that. Kyra, youngest daughter, is a very intelligent, angry, smartass who recently moved in with her dad. The dad is married to Barbra Jean, who's just scary. She's very extreme and often funny, in an annoying way. These personalities play off each other so well, that we can't help but enjoy the show. It's hokey, and sure, Reba's voice can be annoying, but we still manage to laugh.

I wasn't going to watch Joan of Arcadia. Though it sounded like a good idea, I just wasn't too impressed. But for some reason, once I saw a commercial for it, I figured I could check out the first episode. And I really liked it. The girl that plays Joan also played the first Emily in General Hospital and was in an episode of Buffy in season six. As well as playing Katie in The Ring. Ya know, the first girl that dies and stands in the doorway with her stupid waterlogged face and red makeup around her eyes and they show that on the dvd menu and she's also the face in the closet, the sunken in nightmarish, skull of a freak that haunts me. Yeah, I realize it wasn't really her for that part, but that stupid face in the closet bugs me. But it didn't stop me from enjoying this show. Also, John Ritter's son, Jason Ritter, is in it. And Sam from Ginger Snaps played God in the first episode, and I think he comes back for a few more episodes.

Like Family I just watch between shows. Nothing special. I like it better than Run of the House though. And Grounded for Life is just funny. It is its own special kind of funny. I would even say, a dysfunctional funny.

Normally we would watch Dead Like Me at 10, but its season ended last week. It's only a summer series apparently. It was a great show and I'm glad it's being picked up for a second season. I have plenty of shows to fill the time between now and then. Including Wonderfalls, Still Life, and Fearless... all midseason replacements that won't be on until the second half of this season.

See? Lame City. Aren't I just the biggest bore with the worst taste?

I have noticed that shows don't seem to interest me nearly as often as they used to. I honestly think I was spoiled with Buffy. It was the best well-rounded show I have ever seen. And now that there are so many shows that seem to focus on one aspect more than others, or just fail when they do try, it's sad and I feel like I'm missing out on something that just isn't there.

Bastards.

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