The Best Of Fall TV - Part 1 (Monday Nights - Yes, Belated)

Fall TV actually started a couple of weeks ago, so why the delay? Well, networks seem to be unfurling their new schedules slowly, possibly due to the writers’ strike having stunted the progress of new shows. At any rate, they’re just tossing out a few new nuggets every week. So, are those nuggets gold or something that came out of Lassie’s posterior? I’ll try to clue you in during the next few weeks – but my Tivo has been smoking and rumbling with the amount of new stuff in the “To Do” list, so be patient!

This week in particular is a big one, so stick with me – I’m taking you onto the front lines:

1. Returning And New Monday Comedies On CBS – You can either try to give your funny bone more Calcium, or just tune into CBS tonight. I can promise that the 8-9pm hour of How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory is possibly the funniest 60 minutes of the week. (Alone, I think My Name Is Earl could probably still kick either of their butts. But together? I’m pretty sure Leonard would trip Earl while Barney taunted him while he was down.) Tonight, we get introduced to Worst Week – which is yet another British remake, and could go either way. The plot seems a bit thin – a groom-to-be makes a (repeatedly) bad impression on his future in-laws. But there have been worse ideas that have turned into great shows, so I’ll try it out – plus, Week features Red Forman (Kurtwood Smith) from That 70’s Show. Who knows?
(Some might question my omission of Two And A Half Men. I’ve never gotten around to watching it, and I simply don’t have time to get hooked on any more TV. ‘Nuff Said.)

2. Monday Is Heroes Night On NBC – Three. Hours. Of. Heroes. Wow. So what’s going on tonight? Well, the first hour is a catch-up clip show. You can’t have a huge conspiracy/
superhero/serialized drama without the ability to catch new viewers up before your new story arc starts - that would just be silly. Will they gloss over the fact that season 2 of the hit drama found them losing viewers because they kinda went off the track, storywise? Will they play down the idea that the strike ending that story might have been the best thing that could have happened? Most definitely on both counts. But that just gave the writers/creators time to sift through fan feedback and retool.
So whats’s up for new stuff? Well, the fact that the name of the new arc is “Villains” should clue you into some of it. At the end of last year’s finale, we saw Sylar regaining power, so you can bet your sweet patootie he’s involved. And there looks to be a slew of big bads we haven’t seen yet.
And Dark Claire. Yeah, they’ve been doing the promo shots implying that the former cheerleader will end up as one of the baddies. But with Peter’s/Hiro’s ability to time travel, we’ve seen that all futures are not destined to be – so we’ll wait impatiently and see. At it’s best, this show had the ability to do what an old Buffy episode did for me on a weekly basis – it left you with a “What the f…?” moment that made you both hate the writers for making you wait until the following week for an answer and simultaneously love them for making you invested enough to need to know. I’m hoping for another season like THAT.

3. Terminator-y Goodness On Fox – (*WARNING - Spoilers ahead*) I know I’ve already talked up The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but it needs to be said again. It’s fun. It’s pretty. It’s pretty fun. Seriously though, the opening montage to the first episode of the second season (yes, it started on the 8th, so sue me) alone is why the show is worth watching. There was no dialogue, only music (the incomparable talent of Shirley Manson of Garbage – who also happens to play the new uber-villain – doing a remake of “Samson & Delilah”). Yet, during that opening sequence, we wrap up the cliffhanger from last season with Cameron walking out of the blown-up Jeep while Sarah and John escape their bonds and defeat their captor. Sounds peachy, right? Did I mention that Cameron accidentally started a house fire on her way in (which threatens to burn our heroes alive), and that she tries to kill John when her damaged processing chip orders her to “Terminate”? Things are never simple for this crew.
And Shirley Manson’s villainous move at the end of the episode? Morphing from a urinal to reveal that she’s a T-1000 style Terminator? Besides bringing a whole new meaning to Porta-Potty, it tells me that this second season has a few new tricks in its bag. (And even more impressive would be how the geeky Brian Austin Green from Beverly Hills 90210 has transformed into grizzled freedom fighter Derek Reese – and has actually been believable.)

That’s all the tidbits for now – there will be more updates from here on, and even more Monday night stuff. Just hold on ‘til then, kids…

A Wonderful Week To Be A Geek: New Web Productions From Both Joss Whedon and Heroes

TWO new web series in one week? I may not be able to contain my geekthusiasm! It’s like Christmas morning, when you come downstairs to find the chocolate eggs hidden inside the Jack-O-Lantern. Too…much…goodness!

Is it True? The genius behind Buffy, Angel and Firefly is trying his hand at… musical comedy? Oh, come on – you know you’ve seen the Buffy episode “Once More With Feeling” a thousand times, and what would you call that? Joss Whedon’s latest project is “Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” (click the link – you know you want to), and it’s one good thing that came from the Writers Guild picket lines. Mr. Whedon and some other folks (including his brothers Zack and Jed) were talking about how to circumvent the whole studio system to produce something fairly cheap to distribute on their own terms. And here we are – there are three 10-minute Acts to this comedic musical oddity. Each will be released on a separate day during this week (Act One on July 15th, Act Two on July 17th and Act Three on July 19th), but *poof*, they all disappear at midnight on July 20th.

But why do they have to go away? And what the hell is this thing even ABOUT, anyway? Keep your pants on people – you’ll still be able to download the series for a fee, or you can wait to buy the DVD. Joss would actually like to be able to pay some of the crew after all… As for what it’s about – I’ll leave that to Joss: “It’s the story of a low-rent super-villain, the hero who keeps beating him up, and the cute girl from the laundromat he’s too shy to talk to.” says Whedon. “Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog” will star Neil Patrick Harris as Dr. Horrible, Nathan Fillion as Captain Hammer, Felicia Day as Penny and a cast of dozens.” (For Whedon’s whole manifesto about the project, click here.)

And NBC’s Heroes starts their first series of webisodes this week, too? It’s true - we may not have to leave the house all week! “Going Postal” is a trilogy as well, starting on Monday July 14th, with new chapters the following two Mondays. We are introduced to Echo De Mille, a mailman who seems to have a Black Canary-like sonic scream thing going on - and Mama Petrelli from the regular show seems to be along for the ride.


While you’re at the Heroes site, check out the web comics they have. There’s a new one posted every Monday, regardless of whether or not the show is airing new episodes. Do these people know how to treat us geeks or what?

Have fun everyone!