Vague spoilers for the most recent episodes of New Girl, but otherwise I think this post is pretty safe.
Tuesdays
Keeping Current
- The Mindy Project (second season, 9/17)
I've already written about why I like The Mindy Project, and all those reasons still stand. I will also point out that, hey, if we're looking for female anti-heroes, Mindy Lahiri is the best example we've got that isn't Olivia Pope. In any case, I keep up pretty well with this show--it's usually the first sitcom I catch up on, if I fall behind.
- Trophy Wife (first season, 9/24)
I think of this show as, like, Modern Family, but with people who like each other. I wasn't quite sold on it at first--I let the first four episodes queue up on Hulu Plus--but once I watched the pilot, I watched the rest of the episodes immediately. This is a rare show where the kid actors are, somehow, more believable than the adult actors--and the adults aren't slouches, either. Plus, they're only a few episodes in, and they've already done a lot of different pairings/groupings of characters to emphasize the super-mixiness of the blended family + friend as played by Natalie Morales.
NATALIE MORALES! Hooray!
- Brooklyn Nine-Nine (first season, 9/17)
A police procedural by the makers of Parks and Recreation, this show is kind of weird and goofy and fun, but it took a while to find its voice. Actually, I'm still not sure what its voice is, because "Andy Samberg doing Andy Samberg things" is kind of how they started it. And he's fine, but there is a limit to how much I care about that.
Things that are great: the general diversity of the main cast (two Latina women, two black men, two white men, one white woman) is supposed to be reflective of the diversity in actual Brooklyn police departments. Terry Crews is AMAZING. And, while the show is tonally imperfect, I laugh out loud more often than not.
- The Originals (first season, 10/03)
QUICK, SOMEBODY MAKE A ROMEO + JULIET REFERENCE.
It's so weird, because I really like The Vampire Diaries, but I am more than two seasons behind now. THEY MOVE SO QUICKLY. But I missed it, and this is an all-new spinoff that does not hinge on love triangles in any way. So, yeah, this is schlocky (and does have hints of love triangles, alas), but it's the perfect show for all my turgid supernatural drama cravings.
I keep up on this show via Hulu Plus, but I can't let it sit too long--shows from The CW tend to expire after a few weeks. After I watched the first couple of episodes, though, I don't have any problem with watching it on a weekly basis. Gotta keep up!
- New Girl (third season, 9/17)
So, I still watch New Girl every week, and I still like it, but...this would have been at the top of my list last year. What happened? Well, Schmidt went full-on evil, which was disappointing. And while I don't subscribe to the belief that sexual tension must always remain unrequited, the Jess/Nick relationship so far isn't hitting any new ground. (Like, the thing about paying bills was fun, but not a very significant development from all of the stuff last season.) The Winston stuff is getting more interesting, though, so hopefully it is Year of the Winston. I'mma keep watching, anyway. The show, for the most part, has only improved over time.
- Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (first season, 9/24)
Ughhhh this show. I want to love it. I want to love it SO MUCH, but so far I only care about Melinda May and Agent Coulson, the embittered mysterious middle management. Skye is fine but needs some new schtick, SOON, and Fitz and Simmons were more interesting when they were Tosh and Owen on Torchwood. Or even those two techs on NCIS: Los Angeles. (YEAH I SAID IT.)
And Ward. UGH WARD. Blandity bland bland bland. No offense to the actor (who is fine, but not my jazz), but Ward is kind of the epitome of everything that bores me about the show.
Anyway. Fine. I will watch this. I hope it will get better. I mean, Whedon-and-Company shows generally need some percolating before they hit quality. SO FINE. I WILL WAIT.
- Supernatural (ninth season, 10/08)
I think I am on the sixth season? There was a war in heaven, last time I checked. I have no squabble with Supernatural, though I wish it treated women better--the cosmology is kickin', and I usually like all of the cast. I just...I can't watch it at night, y'all. It somehow falls right into all my spook-me spots. I've been following up via Netflix, and expect to catch up in chunks over the next couple of years.
- NCIS (eleventh season, 9/24)
I know people like to rag on NCIS, but it's a well-oiled machine. I used to watch it every week (CBS has great streaming on their website), but life got in the way. While the procedural aspect is, yeah, not super-original, NCIS is really good at rewarding the long-loyal audience with notes and cracks and peeks that reference the complexity of the characters' histories. They dole information out slowly, and when they get into a mini-super-serious arc, everything pays off because there is no reset button for the characters. They carry their pain with them and, weirdly enough, it shows.
- NCIS: Los Angeles (fifth season, 9/24)
Because LL Cool J and Linda Hunt. And Daniela Ruah is pretty. That...is all I've got. I stopped watching because, again, time, but it wasn't because I got tired of the show or anything.
- Person of Interest (third season, 9/24)
I never watched this show, but Sarah Shahi is on it now. And I kind of dig the premise and the philosophical debates it must (it MUST) foster. I never picked it up because its initial marketing was, like, Jim Caviezel and that guy from Lost FIGHT CRIME WITH MAGICAL SCIENCE. Yawn. So I will watch it eventually? Probably?
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