Boob Tube Round Up

The Office
What a tease. 1 hour episodes to start the season – almost too much of a good thing. Almost. Now we’re back to 30 minutes. It’s been a good year, but a few of the episodes just didn’t quite do it for me (my expectations are waaay high). There has been a lot of classic stuff, including the Shrute B&B, Michael running down Meredith and Dwight’s Second Life flying paper salesman. I once though this was the best half hour on TV, but now I may have to lean towards:

30 Rock
They’ve sorted out what makes things work on this stuff – and it ain’t prolonged scenes in the writer’s room. Seinfeld’s appearance was ‘Meh’, but the rest of the year has been great. Jenna’s weight gain from all that pizza was perfectly played out – you don’t see shows running with a gag for more than one episode. This will be a show I’ll be happy to watch on DVD 10 years from now.

K-Ville
I liked the concept of a show set in Post-Katrina New Orleans. Great on-location shooting and references like ‘he’s got a girlfriend over in Algiers’ – make it all feel pretty authentic. Some decent storylines so far – nice variety. I’ve heard it’s struggling in the ratings, and that too bad as this show has promise, but they do need to help Anthony Anderson’s character down from the soapbox from time to time.

Bionic Woman
I tried it. I wanted to like it. It just didn’t happen. I just don’t find myself caring for any of the characters. I’m not sure they pick the right lead – more like the Robotic Woman. I gave up after 3 episodes.

Amazing Race
Phil still needs to work hard to regain my trust after that Family Edition fiasco. I’m not in love with any of the teams at this stage (although the Goths are fun, but saying ‘Oh my Goth’ is beyond lame. I really like this show when they test people’s ability to travel in new places (getting push onto a train in India etc…), I feel like they’ve had it pretty easy so far (Ireland ain't exactly Senegal). Here’s hoping they hit some tougher destinations soon.

Men In Trees
I’m not entirely sure why, but my wife and I have stuck with this show. This kind of thing isn’t normally our cup of tea, but we were both happy that it was returning. I’m fairly certain Anne Heche has some kind of work done on her eyes and they are kind of freaking me out. Beyond that, this show is the television equivalent of nice mug of hot chocolate. Not enough John Amos this year, though!

My Name is Earl
They’re losing me. I’d like so see more Crab Man and less Michael Rappaport. There such a thing as too many guest stars. A well placed Sparky Anderson will do the trick every so often.

Kid Nation
I have seen the future and it is lazy.