'Tis that time of year again. What's everyone excited about?

My season started off with a two hour episode of Bones (yeah, I watch it because Angel is on it), and has continued with Terminator: SCC, and now this evening with Fringe. Did anyone catch it? I for one thought it was pretty good. Right from the beginning I was impressed with how much gore they were able to get away with right at 8pm. The plane scene was pretty terrifying (and a funny nod to how JJ's last series started).

I have all the premiere dates for my favorite shows on my Google Calendar, and the month of September alone has 16 premieres. Then I have seven in October. I watch a little too much TV.

New shows I'm excited about: Fringe. New shows I'll check out: True Blood, My Own Worst Enemy, Life on Mars (which I have very low expectations for, having seen the British version and liking it), and lastly Dollhouse (I'm just not sure how Dushku turn out).

What I'm most excited for overall: Supernatural (don't know why, but I can't get enough of this show), Dexter, and Pushing Daisies.

So, what shows are you looking forward to? Any series premieres?

My only question... what in the hell were they thinking when they put on that Hole in the Wall show or whatever it is? The commercials for it made me question the sanity in the country if that is the kind of thing that passes for entertainment.

I wanted to watch Fringe, but I think I forgot to add it to the playlist. If it is all about the gore though, I probably won't watch it, I deal enough with that at work. Ever see what a thermobaric missile does to people inside a house it hits? Nothing on TV will ever compare to that.

I'm glad Termimator started back up and I'm looking forward to the new season of Heroes.

It's just the next step in our long descent into oblivion. People will watch it precisely because it's so ridiculous. It looks like something that's probably been done already in Japan, and I've seen several other Japanese-inspired game shows advertised, so clearly, the American TV execs are banking on our appetite for the absurd and shocking to increase. It's probably a safe bet.

In a few years or so, Idiocracy will be reclassified as a documentary because of crap like this.

Oh, to answer Matt's quesrtion, the only shows I'll watch this year will be 30 Rock, The Office, How I Met Your Mother and, if it doesn't suck as bad as it did at the end of last season, My Name is Earl.

Yeah, My Name is Earl had a disappointing finish last season. Not sure how much was due to the writer's strike.


I never said it was "all about the gore." I was just surprised that it had it. I thought the effects they used were excellent. The only thing that concerns me in that regard is that apparently the pilot cost $10 million, and I'm certain most of that went to the special effects budget (but was well used). I just worry how future episodes will hold up. It's a little disingenuous to present the show like they did if they can't follow up.


I believe they're re-airing it this Sunday. Smart move on their part.


Really? I mean, it's certainly not something I'm going to watch, but I definitely don't find it as offensive as you guys do. As far as the current trend of reality/game show premises go, I think it's the best one I've seen in years. Hell, I'm most thankful for the fact that it's delaying the next season of "To Tell the Truth," which is probably the worst premise I've ever seen for any show ever. That's one that disgusts me. A show where people get into poses so a wall doesn't knock them in the water? What's wrong with that?

Oh, and according to the article I read, it did come from Japan, although the Youtube video I found was of a British version.

There's nothing offensive about it, it's just retarded.

I liked Fringe. However, I do think JJ Abrams is very much over-rated. Everything he's done seems to be very derivative. And that's putting it loosely in some respects.

Fringe is the X-Files. Period.
Lost borrowed a lot from Earth 2.
Alias borrowed from a lot of previous shows.

The other thing that worries me about the creators is that they're fickle. Alias went to trash after the second season. Lost was about to hit the bin and somehow they turned it around last season and made it interesting again.

I worry the follow-on episodes for Fringe won't live up to the pilot. We'll see. One thing they can do to vastly improve on the X-Files is to keep continuity and the story arc evolving. The X-Files was a mess in this regard and it bugged me right from the first season.

I don't know about anything else newly premiering this season that I should check out. I'll do a quick peek at the shows Matt mentioned to see if they're worth a spot on the PVR.

True Blood is something I'm grabbing for a friend, but I may watch the first episode to see if it's any good.

None of the new shows have really grabbed my attention yet. I'll basically wait for you guys to tell me that I really need to watch something or other. For now, I'm looking forward to the return of "Chuck" (my guilty pleasure), "Heroes" (which had better not suck like the wrap-up of last season), "Battlestar Galactica" (damn you and your cliffhangers!), and the continuing "Top Gear" (which I'm forced to watch via BitTorrent because BBC America is airing ancient episodes).

Also, much to my amazement, the iTunes store is now carrying "Entourage". Since I refuse to pony up the $20/month for HBO, this means I can get caught up on my other guilty pleasure.

I'm modestly annoyed that they're apparently killing "Swingtown", which was a very well-written and enjoyable show this summer (and not nearly as skanky as it could have been). I'll keep watching "Terminator", but I'm not deeply excited by its return or, even worse, all the other franchise-expansion going on over there. I know I'm supposed to like "Mad Men", but it hasn't really hooked me. They're working on a second season of "Breaking Bad" which should be lots of fun.

Of course, what I *really* want is a full season of "Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog". Man, what more could you ask for?

I'd sign up for a full season subscription for Dr. Horrible as soon as it was announced. Good thing nothing that entertaining or original will ever make it on network television - it might ruin shows like American Idol and whatnot.

Entourage for me. Still watching all the old episodes before I watch the new one from Sunday...

real time with bill maher, dexter, californication, sarah conner chronicles, cops, simpsons, family guy, american dad, and fringe

So does/did anyone watch Heroes? I just watched the season premiere, and could not believe how bad it was. Seriously, I'm not sure where to begin with this one, but the writing, acting, story, pacing, and even basic logic were complete crap. (some spoilers for S3E01 follow)

The writers don't have a clue, and it's not just a feeling. I believe that in the last Heroes thread on this board I laid out why I thought the basic plot of the first season failed (essentially my theory is that Hiro didn't do anything after coming back from the future to prevent that future from happening). Now in this episode, we see Peter with a facial scar, presumably to be able to tell he's the "bad Peter" (what, he couldn't grow a goatee?). But how did he get the scar? He has Claire's powers to regenerate. And were they insinuating that "future Peter" was actually Sylar? Then why did he seem so affectionate towards Nathan? I suppose they might find some way to answer all that, but honestly I don't care. Here's why:

What is there to enjoy about Heroes? Watching this show, I have no sense of joy, no sense of deeper meaning, no sense of caring for the characters or interest in what happens to them. I think I don't care because I don't identify with any of them. In the first season we saw nothing but a dozen people finding out they had super powers, and then spending their entire waking hours either hating themselves for it, hiding it from their loved ones, or even denying they had them (like Nathan). As much as I couldn't stand Claire's boyfriend, in a way he was a breath of fresh air because he was the first person on the show who actually had some FUN with this power.

Perhaps this attitude was out of necessity. Maybe it's just me, but it seems like 95% of the show involves no use of anyone's powers at all. Is the attitude of the characters a cost-saving tactic?

Lastly, has anyone noticed what a downer this show is? For a show called "Heroes," the good guys sure seem to lose nearly all of the time. Yeah, they somehow saved the day at the end of season one (actually, only Nathan did, the rest pretty much stood around and failed to kill Sylar), and they stopped the virus at the end of season 2 by merely freezing time for a second with no final confrontation or anything, but the rest of the time they truly seem like a defeated bunch of people. Again, maybe this comes down to their attitudes toward their powers, but I really wish we'd see a few more victories from the good guys.


So I will stop watching Heroes now. I leave you with a series of other complaints I have:

- for the most part it seems impossible for these people, who all appear to know each other by now, to communicate with one another
- so Sylar now has Claire's powers and tells her she can't be killed, which means she didn't need to be saved in the first season, they just needed Sylar to not have it, but now he does, so that whole endeavor was pointless
- Sylar can block all the doors in Claire's home, but he can't break through a flimsy pantry door?
- Sylar could block the doors, but Claire didn't think to jump out a window? It's not like she'd be hurt for long...
- the extremely annoying Suresh lumbers off like a caveman at the end of the episode, just happening to be walking by the same graffiti depicting the world splitting that Matt sees in his alternate dimension or whatever. Unless these things are everywhere in the world, which someone must have noticed, isn't it a coincidence that Suresh walks by one at a random shipping port? It's not cool, it's very contrived.

ditto.

I also was really looking forward to the new season. Especially with all the talk about how the writers had learned their lesson, and were going back to the quality and style of season one. Oh, well...

We're quite enjoying series 2 of Lost

Series 6 of 24 is waiting in the background.

(ah, MythTV)

I'd make some different points than Matt and even rebutt some of his, but I agree with what he states at the opening. Heroes' writers are out to lunch and the show generally stinks.

I liked season 1. Thought the aborted season 2 was crap from the start and season 3 (which includes the aborted parts of 2) is starting out even worse than that.

Having the two parter was risky. Why? Because I almost fell asleep watching.

Damn, even the new X-Files (Fringe) is better than this.

I didn't much care for fringe. The absent minded professor is over the top.

On the other hand Eureka is better. They finally figured out how to keep a subplot going across many episodes. Though

I'm a fan of Eureka. It's a really charming show. In response to your spoiler:


As for Fringe, I actually think the professor is hilarious. I'm more worried about the rest of the cast.

I finally got the time to watch Heroes.

Eureka

Dan, I just wanted to clarify that my overall complaints about Heroes are not at all isolated to the season 3 premiere (and I'll point out that it is a premiere, so naturally there's going to be more special effects and what-not). I think that overall the show is a complete mess in all categories, from acting to writing to pacing to storytelling to everything else. Yes, they created a whole bunch of new, "compelling" mysteries. That's just funny to me, seeing as how Heroes was lauded as the show that answered its questions (in response to Lost). Turns out that: a) they aren't doing that, b) the few times they do it doesn't really turn out to be something worthwhile, and c) new mysteries don't feel like they grow from the plot or characters organically.

So to sum it up, my overall impression of the show Heroes, since its beginning, is that it's a complete mess and such a downer that it's not really worthwhile.

The sad part? I'll probably keep watching the train wreck, because I'm interested in only a couple of the passengers. I always liked Greg Grunberg, and find his character somewhat compelling, and Hiro is definitely the best character on the show, but they've turned him into a joke again (and I can't stand the girl playing the speedster).

Heroes was wrecked from the first episode of Season 2. It may have been internally wrecked before that, but as far as I'm concerned, it was when Season 2 started that it hit the fan for the viewers in the worst and seemingly irreparable way.

The creators and producers seem much more interested in cashing in on the popularity of the first season. Talks of spin-offs were in the air before season one ended.

Continuity is completely out the window and doesn't look like it will ever be aligned. The writers obviously don't watch the show themselves or they'd realise that they're writing new episodes that just don't connect with previous ones.
The characters have all been put out to pasture. I'm sure this is all down to the writing and direction, since I find it hard to believe the actors have suddenly become less capable of delivering lines and the appropriate emotions. Clearly any early established character bios/traits have been thrown out the window. Everyone is acting out of character. It's as bad as the X-Files at its worst where you'd swear the characters' minds had been wiped and replaced with some stranger's every episode. If not every episode, then at least every few or at the very least every season.

The Suresh character for instancehas exhibited 3 or 4 different and conflicting personalities since season 1. Unless they write off season 2 and 3 as a giant dream sequence or explain that he and some others are afflicted with multiple personality disorder, it just doesn't make sense. Worse that that, it's simply not enjoyable.

Apart from that, I hate the Sylar character. Maybe if someone else had been playing him it would be different, but Quinto's portrayal just makes me want to skip his scenes. I still think it's down to the writing and direction though.

I've lost sight of Syler's motivation, any more he just seems to be a goal less kleptomaniac.

I don't really care for the whole multimedia concept of Heroes.

Actually I'm sure I'm missing some explicative elements for not pursuing the online graphic puzzle junk.

I agree that the Heroes characters are getting a bit strange. I'm a bit of a sucker for an unanswered mystery so long as there's some clue that we're making progress (e.g., Babylon 5) versus going nowhere (e.g., X-Files).

No doubt about it, they're basically burying season 2, save for the barest outlines. I have the sneaking suspicion they're going to play timeline hokus-pokus on us more than once to change out the ground rules they established in the first episode.

In other words, they decided that people really liked the idea of Evil Sylar trying to suck out peoples' brains, and thought "how can we build an interesting plot around this?" Along with random thoughts like "Malcolm McDowell was far too cool to leave dead. We have to get him back." "Oh, and I really liked this Run Lola Run thing. Can we have a character like that?"

I'm just hoping they bring in Ewan MacGreggor playing his "Renton" character from Trainspotting, only with super powers. Hey, why not?

There was that whole Peter and the Irish plot line that just went nowhere. With Peter inexplicably loosing the girl in an alt future. She's just gotta reappear later somehow, though I don't see how there could be any continuity to her character.

Then there's been no explanation why the whole Linderman led coalition existed and was crushed. Unless we are supposed to accept that is was

This whole working with alternate time lines, changing either the future or past is just too convenient for the writers. I just hope there's a plan to tie it back together before the series gets canceled.

Two of the best shows on TV are leaving soon. Boston Legal says goodbye next week and Pushing Daisies will air out the remainder of this season's episodes before fading away from TV. ABC clearly has their heads way up their arses.

That said, I'm liking the US version of Life on Mars - enough that I'll need to check out the UK original next. I have a feeling it might not make it to a second season though.

Every time I watch Californication, Dexter or True Blood (which just ended its first season), I'm reminded how cable programming is miles above what's available on the traditional networks. Pushing Daisies was about as close to "cable" as I've seen on "network" in a long time.

I quite enjoyed True Blood, despite the constant cries of "OMG this is so changed from the books" emanating from the person seated beside me.

I'm so pissed that Pushing Daisies got canceled. I really hope they at least wrap it up somehow. Fuller mentioned that at the least he'd like to do a comic book to finish it, and at most a movie.

True Blood was a bit all over the map. Most of the characters or actors annoyed me (including and especially Anna Paquin), but the world of the show is getting pretty interesting.

The original Life on Mars is way better than the US version. Nobody can touch Philip Glenister's portrayal.

Dexter is fantastic. I hate that there are only two episodes left in the season and they need to get here quickly.

personally, i like heroes! take it as a bit of fun, with a twist and a cliffhanger here and everywhere each week, and it's great. i do wonder if some are trying to take it toooo seriously!!

life on mars, the uk version, is fantastic, i've seen a couple of episodes from the US show, and as much as i love watching all the old cars bombing about (i was into yank cars and drag raced for 10yrs+ until recently), it just doesn't do it for me.

you might still be able to see some of the uk series on www.bbc.co.uk iplayer service. you can certainly watch the current top gear and many other shows.

currently getting into a show called survivors, bit of a toned down remake of 28days later but without the gore and zombies. a viral pendemic spreads across europe and probably the world, killing 95% or more of the population within a week, now we see them gradually build groups and try to rebuild, it's getting a little tiresome already though, not sure if i'll continue much longer!

Lost... lost me after missing a few episodes in series 2, i think it was series two where they found the bunker place? kinda got wierd and i couldn't watch it regular enough to keep up. series 1 was a cracker though!

you guys get dr who over there? bit of a british institution i guess, fun to watch the kids scared of a show that used to scare me when i was their age! last few series have been fun.

We get it here in Canada -- the CBC was involved in sponsoring the first of the new series a couple of years back. Right now we're about a half season behind in episodes. Great stuff!

I love the bbc, i guess if it wasn't for bbc1 and 2 i could just cancel my cable subscription (would have to pay extra for 3 and 4, with another extra package of junk channels, so i just bt what i want from those)

Spooks, Apparitions, survivors, top gear, coast, buzzcocks, Lead balloon, Qi, Merlin, culture show. That's almost my complete current pvr list.

Oh, and iplayer only works in britain, so you'd have to use a proxy to watch that.

It shows in the US on two different cable channels, both the SciFi Channel and BBC America. I'm waaaay behind (like multiple seasons), so I don't know where they are. Also, I have the suspicion that they may cut them down to fit into an hour with commercials — about 44 minutes.