My Recent Thoughts about the TV Shows I Love. Or Don't Love. Or Used to Love.

I, for one, was glad to see Jack Bauer back in action, saving children no less, last week. Is it just me or was 24: Redemption pretty awesome? I think this show has a serious chance of reviving itself so long as I can buy the reason Tony is still alive. I'm excited about the new direction, and found the child soldier storyline powerful and effective without half the violence of the movie Blood Diamond (which is also good just very very very violent) Some of the things I love about 24 are the incredible production (tight editing, original score, fantastic shots--so few shows have this), the ability to convey serious emotional consequence amidst all the action...and of course Kiefer Sutherland whom we love so dearly as our hero Jack Bauer. A flawed and imperfect hero to be sure, but one that is impossible not to root for. (I once saw a poll that asked who was the better hero...Jack Bauer or Jack Shephard...really? Sorry, no contest)

In other very sad news, Pushing Daisies has been canceled. This is a big loss as far as I'm concerned. Sadly, I tried to force my relatives to watch it Thanksgiving Eve and they just didn't get it. It's a highly stylized show but even as the relatives were rolling their eyes, I was giggling at the funny and smart dialogue. (i.e. from Emerson: "You're about to be the first man to be murdered twice") Oh well. I guess we can't win them all. I hope Lee Pace finds another awesome job asap. I just love him.



LOST released a new promo that struck me with the realization that Desmond might be required to go back to the island. This is intolerable. He can't leave Penny! (not to mention he was on that island for soooo long already!)


Did anyone else watch Gossip Girl last night? Nate continues to baffle me, Dan and Serena clearly need to get back together (am I really supposed to take Aaron seriously? eww!), and Chuck and Blair keep teasing me!!! Actually it looks like Ed Westwick has some great stuff coming up in the next show. By the way, I read that Verizon will have an exclusive series from the viewpoint of Dorota. I have to admit when I first read this, I thought it was the dumbest thing ever. But, I suppose if they make it funny enough, it might not be bad.



Which leads me to the show I wish I liked, but just can't seem to get. I really really really wanted to like Fringe. It had so much going for it. An interesting mythology. A pretty stellar cast. J.J. Abrams. (and other LOST alums) but I've missed several episodes and can't seem to care. When I do manage to watch it, I sometimes have to force myself to concentrate. I've tried to figure out why this show doesn't work for me and sadly I think it's the main character, Olivia. She just has no spark. She's boring. Very boring. And while I'm somewhat interested in Josh Jackson's character and his father, that interest is not enough to overcome the fact that I feel nothing for Olivia. Anyone else share these sentiments?

Oh and I've officially given up on Grey's Anatomy. Considering how much I used to love that show, this is kind of surprising. But somehow, the writers thought when there was backlash over Izzie/George that what the fans wanted was Izzie and Denny sort of resurrected from the dead. The writing is just so completely out there in almost every storyline that I can no longer enjoy it. Which is too bad, because the first two seasons were excellent television.

So....how are your favorite shows going?