2006 Fall TV Lineup

I’d like to welcome a new member to the MilesRausch.com family: Lindsey! Be sure to bookmark and subscribe to milesrausch.com/lindsey and welcome her!

This weekend, Holli and I travelled back in time! No. We drove back to Hawarden. There we were originally going to aid Holli’s father, Larry, in constructing the set, but we didn’t have to. So, instead, we got a relaxing weekend. I did get some video of the Little Shop of Horrors rehearsal, and I got some pictures from the weekend. We carved pumpkins! Also, if you looked at the Thoughts section on the sidebar, you’ll see that there’s a new Musebleep up. Also, I updated a set called Office Magic with more office-related pictures.

One other thing we did this weekend was watch an episode of The Office. I’m a big TV buff. I think what appeals to me is that television shows can have nearly the same quality as motion pictures, but TV comes in bit-sized chunks. Some television show budgets run into the millions of dollars per episode and boast enormous crews to handle effects (practical, special, and computer), and you get a brand new 22 minutes or 48 minutes every week. Also, with my brand new Internet TV Show, Newsbleep, I can consider every second I spend watching television as “research”. And not the boring, Computer Science Journal Weekly type of “research”.

So, here are my thoughts on some of the shows in the 2006 Fall TV Lineup.

Heroes (NBC, Mondays) (website)

This show has caught my attention. I wasn’t sold at first, but as the show has gone on, I’m a fan. Heroes is a complex show about a group of seemingly unconnected individuals who all suddenly find themselves endowed with super heroic traits: flying, foretelling the future, bending time and space, and indestructibility to name a few.

I like:

• The super hero theme
• Hiro, a quirky, enthusiastic Japanese guy
• The complexity of the story (so far)

I dislike:

• The “symbol” that shows up everywhere
• Some of the cheesy effects that aren’t that good
• “save the cheerleader, save the world”

Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip (NBC, Mondays) (website)

This is, by far, the best show on television. It centers on a sketch comedy show that is trying to make a comeback. Created by Aaron Sorkin, the creator of West Wing, this hour-long drama follows a number of key characters, from the head writer to the president of the network. I really like that Matthew Perry, who plays Matt Albie, has found a nice dramedy to hone his dramatic and comedic skills. In most ways, he’s the main character of the show so far, a decent portion of the show exploring his (ex)relationship with actress Harriet Hayes (… real name). Perfect everytime.

I like:

• The comedy
• The drama
• The music: same guy as West Wing
• The writing
• The acting
• The directing
• The everything else

I dislike:

• It’s only on once a week
• It’s only on for an hour at a time

Gilmore Girls (The CW, Tuesdays) (website)

This is a show for moms and daughters, or, in my case, moms and sons and sometimes girlfriends. Really, the general consensus on Gilmore Girls is that it’s a girl show. That is probably because the two mainest characters are female, both named Lorelai and both with a formidable vocabulary and pop culture knowledge. However, every guy who I’ve talked to who has given the show a fair chance (Seth Larson) has decided that it really is one of the smarter shows on tv. Unfortunately, the creator and head writer for the show, along with her husband (writer and director), left the show at the end of last season, and I’ve felt that things have been amiss. This may be the last season for Gilmore Girls.

I like:

• The fast-paced, reference-laden banter between L&L
• How everyone in the show seems to be really smart
• The music

I dislike:

• That Lore and Luke broke up
• That Lore and Chris are together
• How the show doesn’t seem as vibrantly witty as before

Mythbusters (Discovery, Wednesdays) (website)

This show really could be considered research, and it is by far the most educational show that Holli and I watch. If you’re not familiar with it, Adam and Jamie, and the rest of the cast, take on urban legends and myths, and then they work on either proving it, disproving it, or reaching no conclusion.

I like:

• The science aspect
• The interesting way they present the science aspect

I dislike:

• How it’s on Discovery channel, and I never think to watch it

The Office (NBC, Thursdays) (website)

The Office is back with its third season. There were many who thought the show wouldn’t make it past season one, but it really has proven to be the sleeper hit of the NBC lineup (hence the move to the Thursday Primetime spot from Tuesday last year). I’ve been losing faith in this show, however. I feel that, in order to cater to a more popular audience and in order to satisfy more artistic whims, they are sacrificing their own rules on how to direct and write it. I hope that this doesn’t keep up, or that they keep it minimized, because I really want the show to keep that quirky aspect. We’ll see. So far, I’ve found the show entertaining, and I hope they really develop Jim’s story-line (and find more humorous situations for him and his coworkers to be in) to keep us all interested in the “other branch”.

I like:

• That the show is still going strong

I dislike:

• “Artsy” direction and writing
• A somewhat weak Jim treatment so far

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation (CBS, Thursdays) (website)

This is the CBS workhorse. No one can even think the letters CBS, in that order, without thinking about CSI. With that said, I’ve been unimpressed with this season so far. I just haven’t managed to get really interested (or perplexed) by any of the cases so far. Maybe they need another genius serial killer, or maybe they just need to hang up at the end. I think this may be CSI’s last life, also, but we’ll have to see if they pull out of it.

I like:

• The dramatic/science mixture
• The combination of dramatic/frightening episodes with humorous/ridiculous episodes

I dislike:

• That it seems they’ve exhausted all creative avenues for the show (or so it would seem)
• That Grissom is getting gradually less and less attention overall (phasing him out?)

And that’s what you gots. Those are my takes on this season of television. Anything to add? Disagree with something? Let me have it.