Tuesday Top Ten: For the listmaker in me and the listlover in youThe days of Tivo / DVR have finally defeated me and I now find myself regularly watching television... even if I'm not really writing about it yet. No longer dependent on air times, I actually enjoy it --occasionally. Let's not get crazy! These are the (still running) shows I'm into...
10 (ok 12) Shows
I can sometimes be found watching Desperate Housewives.
Not by choice!
I can sometimes be found watching Desperate Housewives.
Not by choice!
12 Top Chef (Bravo)
My hesitation with this show was always: you can't taste the food. That's still a problem. You can hear the singing and watch the dancing and consider the clothing on various other game shows. You can't taste food if it's on your TV. Licking the screen
11 Make Me a SuperModel (BBC/Bravo)I was stunned to discover that America actually did this show better than Britain (we usually mess up transfers) not that it isn't still stoopid. That said: pretty people being very pretty (and often naked) is good disposable TV ... with less of the rampant delusion and repetition that ANTM's 209th cycle will bring you. Plus: it's unisex. I'm for that (see also: #1)
10 Moonlight (CBS)
This is my guilty pleasure. Only there's little pleasure and lots of guilt. It's really terrible. It's so terribly written I've considered writing down the names and... um... doing something with the names. Voodoo dolls maybe? Gift baskets full of garlic?
You don't really need sunglasses to watch this show. You need earplugs.But you're aware of my soft spot for the vampiric. And bad acting aside, I like both leads for some reason. I even hate the bad '80s inspired set design. Why am I watching this? What's wrong with me???
09 Step it Up & Dance (Bravo)
As a big fan of Showgirls, dance heavy musicals and "body flight" (thanks Strictly Ballroom), this was a natural fit for me. However... I'm considering dropping it from my DVR. For a show on Bravo it sure does feel homophobic. Every f'ing week the judges bitch that certain male dancers are too feminine and praise the"masculine" ones for just that even as they acknowledge their bad technique. We get it. You're the type of fags who write "straight acting" in their 'what are you looking for?' dating profiles. Issues!!! Please keep those between you and your therapists, judges. Please and thanks.
08 Big Love (HBO)I don't have HBO so I have to wait for the DVDs but I think it's a strong show and definitely a unique one. I'm especially fond of Jeanne Tripplehorne's work (who'd have thunk it back in the Basic Instinct bad-acting days?) It's disappointing that she's not nominated for Best Actress @ the Emmys. But then Emmys and disappointment go hand in hand. It's the law.
07 Weeds (Showtime)
Mary Louise Parker forever! Billy Crudup's life choices confuse me.
06 Torchwood (BBC)
It appeals to the same geek pieces of me that Buffy bulls-eyed, only its not as strong thematically or as consistent in its quality. That said, it's fun, weird, genre-loving and unapologetically queer... a thrilling combo that nothing else on TV can claim.
The team (sniffle) as it was. Two of them died in the season finale. 05 Brothers & Sisters (ABC)
All of its weaknesses are still present (hysterical drama and overdone comedy even at times it should pull back, so many characters that not all of them get interesting stories, boring business deals, Calista Flockhart's story lines if not Calista Flockhart) but the most important selling point of any scripted show is characters the audience falls in love & comfort with and wants to spend time with every week. And on that count it's grade "A"
04 Project Runway (Bravo)
This used to be the best thing on television but there were times during this past season that I just wanted to scream. Couldn't they have just one episode where they just make pretty dresses instead of fulfilling some random stupid gimmicky corporate-sponsored "challenge" So maybe it's jumped the shark. I'm definitely worried about the move to Lifetime. We'll see. It's "on notice"
03 30 Rock (NBC)The only show on television that makes me laugh so hard that I have to hit pause once or twice to recover. I am a Krak addict. They don't use Ms. Jane Krakowski enough... but the rest of the show is hilarious enough to compensate.
02 Pushing Daisies (ABC)
When is this coming back on? I'm dying here. I need its whimsy and its anti-depressent pies in my tiny unmusical life.
01 Battlestar Galactica (Sci-Fi)
One of the greatest shows of all time. Why? Oh I don't know... endlessly fascinating characters, brilliant rug-pull plotting, intellectual and emotional rigor. Take your pick. Even when it errs or tries too hard you can always be sure that it's trying. More movies and TV shows should. Not for this show any coasting. It wants to be great. It often is.
If you're still not watching, I may never be able to convince you. Your loss. Do you happen to vote on the Emmys? You'll start with the miniseries on DVD if you're finally ready to be sucked into its intergalactic maelstrom.And you?
Do you watch any of these shows? Would you like to see a weekly television column here? Which shows are you faithful to week in and week out? And which are you running out of patience with? I'm full of questions.
*
Posts
89 comments:
Weeds is my number 1 hands down favourite show right now. MLP is so amazingly fantastic. It's the one show I don't miss.
(But I love Tyra and the top models. I have to make my boyfriend leave the room when it's on as he hates it so much)
OMG (or OMFG to quote one of the shows I don't actually watch): your Top 3 are carbon copies of MY Top 3. It's like a triad of goodness: the funny, the whimsical and the geeky; or maybe the hilarious, the colourful and the allegorical. (And also a great trio of blonds: Jane, Cheno and Katee; or a trio of strong men: Alec, Lee and Jamie... oh how I could keep on going.) All in all, I love 30 Rock, Pushing Daisies and BSG mainly for the strength in their writing.
Now, is there a reason why the consistently hysterical How I Met Your Mother is missing from the list?
There are plenty of shows that I should be watching but are not. The Office, 30 Rock, Mad Men are all among them.
DVDs have spoiled me. I just can't bring myself to sit down for appointment viewing (I don't have a DVR).
Anyways I do stick with Pushing Daisies, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Riches, and Project Runway (which I agree had it's worst season).
Also seriously dug the John Adams miniseries
1. Pushing Daisies
2. Battlestar Galactica
3. Lost
4. Brothers & Sisters
5. Mad Men
6. The Wire
7. Amercian Idol
8. Dexter
9. 30 Rock
10. Weeds
I love B&S, even after their shark jumping with Rebecca's storyline. Cant wait to see Patricia Wettig and Sally Field battle it out.
Ew! Shame on you for watching Moonlight. That absolutely should be a source of guilt for you. I couldn't last even one episode without wanting to choke someone.
Anyhow, enough of that. I fully agree with you about BSG Pushing Daisies and 30 Rock. I also love How I Met Your Mother and The Office. I still love Scrubs, too, but it's clearly not the show it once was.
owen ---i self-flagellate after each episode of moonlight to make amends! i keep hearing about how i met your mother but i'm allergic to laugh tracks. i try not to watch any show that has one. doesn't it have one?
mb --you may have noticed i have a thing for the blondes (female variety)
i can't afford to get addicted to more than the 4 shows i watch online (dont have tv or tivo).
so amongst them:
1. Brothers and Sisters ('Moral Hazard' was excellent; palpitational)
2. Ugly Betty
3. Desperate Housewives
4. American Idol
Although none of these come near my all-time favorite, Six Feet Under, followed by Friends, The Wonder Years and My-So-Called-Life.
I love 30 Rock but I'm getting worried. Season One was gold because they kept to the premise of being about making and maintaining a skit show. But with Season Two, they seem to be making it too much about the characters (they're leaving the 30 Rock out of "30 Rock")and now I still laugh but I laugh less. :(
I have never seen an episode of Battlestar Galactica.
Alex O'Loughlin gets a pass for life just for being the son of AC/DC's Bon Scott.
I used to be an extreme TV addict but since watching The Wire I have a hard time tolerating network drama. Seriously: watch it.
That said, my disgust with the drama offerings has led to a renewed appreciation of comedy. I adore The Office and love 30 Rock. Alec Baldwin is truly a delight to watch.
My main disappointment has been Grey's Anatomy. The awful downward trajectory of the show and the malicious character assassinations have been hard to watch. I officially changed my Tivo over to The Office right before the writer's strike.
I love it when you talk TV. Mostly because you insist you don't watch, but can't help betray your deep love for several shows all the same.
Weekly column would be welcomed, though spoiler warnings would be a must!
Rob
Wow, from the list I only watch "Pushing Daisies". "Moonlight" seems like a bad "Angel" ripoff.
For those of you who share my love for Pushing Daisies, I just wanted to make sure that you were also aware of Bryan Fuller's other shows.
While Heroes and Star Trek: Voyager are fine in their own right, I'm talking about Dead Like Me and Wonderfalls. Both of these share that special element that just makes you smile uncontrollably while you watch.
Both Dead Like Me (only two seasons long) and Wonderfalls (only ONE season long) are both available on DVD, both in stores and on Netflix. Enjoy.
My Top 10 (in order of how sad I'd be if I missed it):
10. Hell's Kitchen
09. Beauty and the Geek
08. The Colbert Report
07. 30 Rock
06. Saturday Night Live
05. Family Guy
04. How I Met Your Mother
03. Big Bang Theory
02. The Office
01. Top Chef
Scott
he-shot-cyrus.blogspot.com
The only thing I regularly tune in to these days is I'd Do Anything on Saturday nights. For those who don't have BBC, it's basically a glorified audition/singing contest for the part of Nancy in an upcoming production of Oliver. Only a handful of the girls are any good, really, but I'm addicted to it. And John Barrowman is one of the judges.
When ANTM is on, I watch it religiously. Apart from that, it's old West Wing / Arrested Development dvds for me.
As soon as I saw this list, I knew Battlestar would top it, and that made me happy.
I just realized I don't know anyone who watches the show who's not obsessed with it. I don't think there are any. You're either uninitiated, or a true believer. It's just that not enough people watch it.
I did find season 3 a bit off the rails at times, mostly just that whole middle stretch when SPOILERS Baltar was on the cylon ship and there was that silly cylon virus thing. Between the somehow-not-as-good visual effects, the inevitable disappointment of the details of the cylons' world, the relative lack of urgency in the plot, and the strange melodrama that ensued aboard Galactica, I was a bit disappointed. I think the series lost its way a bit. But goodwill from season 2 (and Exodus part 2) carried me through, and will surely continue to pull me through the rest of the series, even if season 4's not great (though it looks to be picking up as of last week).
Seriously Season 2 is like one of the greatest seasons of any show ever in the history of the world. It was quite literally a religious experience. I have little doubt that it will remain the series' peak, which is fine.
I also deeply love the miniseries and often let it lull me to sleep at night (yay, iTunes). There is a real poetry, technical virtuosity, economy and tightness there that still keeps it so compelling. I love how they got so much in in such a short time, and still found time for those beautiful, slow, poeti montages that are what really make it stick with you. Aaaaah, the miniseries...
Season 1 was very heavy on setup for the big payoffs in season 2, and employed the kinds of plots that are less exciting when you already know what's gonna happen, so I rarely get the urge to rewatch it. But I was totally hooked the first time through. It really followed through on the promise of the miniseries, and was an excellent bridge from that to the orgasmic highs of season 2. SPOILERS Everything from the beginning Kobol storyline through the Pegasus stuff right through to the end of New Caprica is just gold.
I could talk about this show forever, but I'll stop now. I'm a little embarrassed at how much I just wrote.
But before I stop typing, can I just say that I think the miniseries deserved the Emmy over Angels in America; it was THAT great. And this is coming from a big gay Angels fan.
And can MLP just give her Emmy to Katee Sackhoff, please? MLP's "look I'm on valium and am therefore deadpanning every line" act can't hold a candle to Katee's "look, I'm the hottest shit the universe has ever seen, and I'm just bein' myself" act. MLP's the one thing I really don't like about Angels.
Meryl Streep can keep her Emmy... though in my imaginary perfect world, Mary McDonnell would indeed go on to win one for season 2.
You watch far too much reality tv for my taste. That leaves no room for quality like Mad Men and How I Met Your Mother (I think the latter does have a laugh-track, but the fact I can't remember is surely testament to its brilliance). And no need to feel guilty about DH... it was officially on-notice last year, but it's really picked itself up this season.
But major kudos for having Big Love on there. LOVED the first season... and then, unsurprisingly, it vanished from screens because no one watched it. The fools. There's nothing like a quality polygamy drama...
And there's yet another guilt-trip for not having seen Battlestar Galactica. I will, I swear!
I barely watch any TV when it's on the actual TV. It helps that I don't have Australia's version of cable (Foxtel) or else I would indeed be watching Australia's Next Top Model (which, I've heard, is far better than the American which I watch like crack whenever it's actually aired) and Top Chef. I have access to it on Monday nights, however, which is Project Runway night, so that's really lucky for me.
On free-to-air TV I watch Good News Week, At The Movies, Ugly Betty (sure, Betty's a bust, but the cast is so great and it's nice to have an hour of silly mindless, yet occasionally quite beautiful, tv) and So You Think You Can Dance (whatever).
I do think, however, that The Closer is the best show on TV it's just that the network that airs it down here (free-to-air, not cable like in America) took it off due to low ratings so I have to wait for the DVDs.
However, I have recently caught the first two seasons on How I Met Your Mother on DVD. VERY funny - Nat, search for "Robin Sparkles" on youtube and if that doesn't make you burst out of chair with laughter then I fear you are dead inside.
I also got Dexter on DVD a couple of months back and it's also very excellent. You should check it out, Nat. Sexy serial killers and the like.
Good News Week continues to be hysterical week after week. So glad it's back.
I stopped watching Brothers and Sisters. It just go too frustrating and over-the-top. It was like watching the dinner sequence from Texas Chainsaw Massacre each and every week except this time there's a character who talks about the hardships of being gay all the time. And then Sally Field gives Leatherface a run for his money in the evil monstrosity race.
Like a good TV junkie I just like making lists and will take any opportunity.
Top 10 - in no particular order (I tried to number them but it was like Sophie's choice):
Battlestar galactica
Mad men
House
How I met your mother
Lost
Brothers and sisters
Torchwood
Skins
Doctor Who
Shameless
dave --the weird thing is i hate the very concept of "reality tv" but as with, I suspect, other people... my choices are not always solitary decisions but compromises with the other person in my house ;)
I like Mad Men from what I've seen but haven't invested the time.
I currently don't watch any shows, but I'm going through all the Twin Peaks Gold Box episodes a second time, and I figure I don't need any more TV than that.
Ahhh, Twin Peaks. Even mentioning the name gets me hankering for a cup of black coffee, even thoug h it's absolutely roasting outside and an iced tea would be more suitable.
Hooray for 30 Rock! Do you love it so much you want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant? Haha. Tracy Morgan, well, everyone on that show, is perfect.
Catherine
It's summer temperature here too, but I'm still enjoying a cup of damn fine coffee.
Also, I forgot The Office. Good stuff.
30 Rock and The Office are appointment televsion. Also, Life on NBC -will restart in the fall - Damian Lewis is awesome.
Definitely check out How I Met Your Mother. It has a laugh track, I'm not going to lie, but it's absolutely worth it. I know there's not many shows that are worth putting up with it, but this is one of them.
I'm with all the How I Met Your Mother devotees-- you get used to the laugh track after a while and settle down.
I adore 30 Rock and The Office, but I've found both of them lacking since the strike ended. I'm kind of ready for this mini-season to end and to let everyone start fresh in the fall.
I also recommend Lost, but you have to start from the beginning with that one, and slog through the end of season 2/beginning of season 3 before it picks up again.
Nat - you got me to finally watch BSG and thanks to you I'm hooked!
I can't rent the shows fast enough.
ADDICTIVE!!!!
A weekly television roundup column would be nice to change things up around here. The shows I'd love reviews for are "Grey's Anatomy", "Lost", "Project Runway", "30 Rock", "Ugly Betty", "The Office", "Mad Men" (everyone on the planet should be watching this show!), etc. There's so much great television out there right now.
I suck with network television. I see commercials for upcoming shows, get excited, forget when they're on, miss the first episode, never watch them. This happens almost every time.
One of the notable times this didn't happen was with Pushing Daisies. I wasn't sure what it was though, but I watched the pilot on a whim, and FELL IN LOVE. I actually kept up for a couple of episodes, but then I just stopped watching - not because I wanted to stop, I just did.
And then the goddamn strike.
That also stopped me watching every other network I was even sparsely watching, including 30 Rock.
*cries*
I guess it's because I'm not entirely passionate about television as an art form, or something. I wish that weren't true, but I think I'm not at a point in my life where I can just watch anything I want do. *shrugs*
"(everyone on the planet should be watching this show!)"
Unfortunately the world isn't America and we don't get it yet.
Catherine, seriously, your reply made me giggle so much! That is why I want you to start blogging more. Seriously. Hop to it.
1. Mad Men. I have a flippin' blog about Mad Men. Best. Television. Ever.
2. Saving Grace. Holly Hunter is so amazing. She's amazing beyond amazing. Laura San Giacomo. Great, great show.
3. Life. Can't wait for this one to come back. Damien Lewis is brilliant and fascinating, the premise is compelling and the writing is top-drawer.
4. New Amsterdam. Kind of not as good as I'd hoped, it's almost Life-lite, but it's smart.
5. Grey's Anatomy and House have both jumped the shark but I haven't quite stopped watching yet.
6. ER jumped and came back about five times but hell, it's almost the last season. It's been quite good lately.
7. What Not to Wear. A full-blown addiction.
8. So You Think You Can Dance? Mind-blowing (my son is a dancer, it's his favorite show).
9. Project Runway. I only started this season, so I can't compare, but I truly love it. Chris March was robbed. Love me some human hair.
I tried Moonlight, I really did, but the awfulness hurt me too much. Same with Brothers & Sisters.
Oops, forgot Heroes.
Season 1 was so good that I'm going to try to forgive season 2 and hope for season 3.
So glad you mentioned Big Love. Such an underrated series. People don't give it a chance because it's kind of slow moving, but there's so much simmering under the surface. It's also probably the best thing that HBO has going for it now that The Wire is finished its run. That and Flight of the Conchords, which I'm not sure is coming back and I'm surprised no one has mentioned.
I'm with you on the Brothers & Sisters front. Watch it, but they overdo it with the drama sometimes. The comedy is a little too broad and Ally McBeal-y (for lack of a better term). It's kind of like weekly installments of "The Family Stone." Also, I'm now convinced more than ever that "Brothers and Sisters" has jumped the shark in the last two weeks (anyone who watches knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about)
1. Weeds
2. Big Love
3. 30 Rock
4. The Office
5. Scrubs
6. Flight of the Conchords
7. It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
8. Dexter
9. South Park (which is having it's worst season ever. I'm so disappointed)
10. Top Chef (total guilty pleasure for me)
"(everyone on the planet should be watching this show!)"
Unfortunately the world isn't America and we don't get it yet.
Yeah, I think I realized that from my world geography class. Anyway, the DVD set will be out this summer.
As for "Brothers & Sisters", I'm sticking with it until the end, shark-jumping be damned! I'm going to hold out hope that they're taking it to a better place next season and will be able to climb out of this colossal hole that they've dug for themselves with the paternity storyline.
yeah me no like the new storyline although it's not quite a shark jumper --i mean, it does make narrative sense given everything we've seen to date. it's just. well, it'll make it more soap opera hateful from here on out.
but i'm consoling myself with the thought of seeing Patricia Wetting transform into Alexis Carrington Colby at the rate the show is heading into Dynasty land
Moonlight is one of my favorite new shows. It is delightful in its cheesiness. Truth be told it is probably Alex’s smile that gets me to return each week. I agree the two leads are fun to watch and they have great chemistry. Some of the vamping special effects have me slapping my forehead occasionally. 80s, you are so right about that! (It did take at least four episodes before it became appealing, the first episode was bad).
My top ten:
1. Damages: I'm a fan of the serie and the fantastic Glenn Close for her portray of a maquiavelic and bitch lawyer and I'm glad for the aussie Rose Byrne (Underrated actress)
2. Grey's anatomy: My guilty pleasure
3. Desperate Housewives
4. South Park: I'm a fan but I think too this is the worst season.
5. Mad Men
6. Dexter
7. 30 Rock
8. Torchwood: I'm not a fan but I like this show
9. Ugly Betty
10. Brothers and sisters: This is a over the top and crazy-stupid situations show but it's attactive in a few of episodes.
So glad that you enjoy 'Big Love'. I absolutely adore that show, and all of the performances in it, (especially Seyfried and Zabriskie).
Glenn - I'm Top Model junkie as well! I think Australia's version is better, though, and that's in large part because the American winners typically don't become "top models." Of the nine winners, only three have had their winning Cover Girl contract renewed (Danielle Evans, Caridee English, and Jaslene Gonzalez) and only two have had their agencies give them show cards for New York Fashion Week (Danielle Evans and Jaslene Gonzalez).
- Adam
10) Ugly Betty
9) Dexter
8) Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice
7) The Closer
6) Brothers & Sisters
5) 30 Rock
4) Doctor Who/Torchwood
3) LOST
2) Battlestar Galactica
1) Pushing Daisies
So, so with you on Jeanne Tripplehorn. She's fantastic (and insanely gorgeous) on that show. The entire ensemble is really great. But I could do without the whole Roman as supervillain nonsense (although maybe that kind of thing does happen? I'm not sure)
Also with you on 30 Rock (MILF Island and Alec Baldwin's preoccupation still makes me laugh), Battlestar Galactica, and some of the others.
Oh I just love Desperate Housewives (too bad you don't like it... =/ Why is that?)
But my list would be something like this:
1- Desperate Housewives
2- Lost
3- 30 Rock
4- Damages
5- Pushing Daisies
6- Family Guy & American Dad
7- Grey's Anatomy (it's having a bad year, but I want to believe thats its going to get better! ^^)
8- America's Next Top Model
9- Brothers and Sisters
10- It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
Medium would made the top 10, but for now it's in the 11th position.
I never watched Battlestar, but everyone I one just love this show, so I guess I should watched it quickly...
30 Rock, the Office, and Bones are the only shows I watch but they're all so good they fill up my need for tv. Woo hoo!
Nathaniel,
Watch The Wire. It will blow your mind-seriously. Greatest show ever.
This loses poignancy because the person above me said the same thing, but: watch The Wire. Nothing else compares.
1. Grey's Anatomy
2. The Simpsons
3. 30 Rock
4. Family Guy
5. Ugly Betty
6. Brothers & Sisters
7. Desperate Housewives
8. American Dad
9. CSI: New York
10. Supernatural
11. Ghost Whisperer
12. Moonlight
13. Survivor
14. Reaper
Oh yeah! I totally forgot that I was hooked by Damages' first season, but when is it gonna return? And will the twist at the end of season one make season two interesting? I also watch Heroes, but I forgot about it because it's not on atm and it hasn't been for seemingly months on end. Even if the second series has been a bust for the most part.
For me I stopped watched Desperate Housewives when the actor that plays Bree's son said that people have really responded to his gay character because he's not the typical token gay. Yeah, his character is a real role model! A blackmailing, evil little creten who's only goal in life is to cause his mother misery for no reason. I hate him so much. I was glad when Bree dumped him at the side of a road in the forest.
Oh, and I gave up on Grey's Anatomy after the apocalyptic disaster that was the second half of season three. They spend half a season showing Izzy (Katherine Heigl) grieving for the love of her life and then all of a sudden she's in love with George (TR Knight) and decides she loves him so much that she's going to destroy his marriage. That, and does anybody like Meredith/McDreamy's continual to-and-fro anymore?
1. Season three of BSG derailed me. I do plan on finishing it, but man, the drop in quality from season two has been precipitous. I love the show, but don't consider it one of my personal favourites. I think I fall into that rare category Adam K describes.
2. If it wasn't for British television, my consumption of television would be much lower.
3. I love TV on DVD. Appointment viewing is a passe concept.
season 3 is my least favorite BSG season as well. but i'm liking 4 a lot.
i never liked grey's anatomy but a lot of my friends watch so i used to see it. Now i adamantly refuse. I think it's so crappy... ( sorry to offend i know it's a fav of many people ). But the plots are so soapy and demeaning to the characters and the medical stuff is ridiculous. like that time that 'poor sad blonde girl' stopped breathing for hours after drowning and was up and at em within minutes of being revived with no brain damage or anything.
so stupid.
heroes was a tease for most of season 1 but it still had its moments but i gave up a third of the way through season 2 because i was completely and utterly bored by roughly half of the nothing-ever-happens multiple plots. and i love superhero stuff so that's saying a lot.
As I was reading the names I was worried my favourite show hadn't made your list... until I joyfully found it at its rightful place: 1!!!
Battlestar Galactica rules!!! (I loved your rant Adam!)
I actually haven't see any of the others except an episode or two of Pushing Daisies which was funny, but the odd Amélie-like narration was a bit awkward.
On my list this year (after BSG): Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (can't wait for Sept!!!), Jericho (please come back!), House M.D. and Bones! (even though I get them slightly delayed on this side of the pond)
For guilty pleasure I caught the BBC's Robin Hood (so scrumptious-looking I finally managed to get over the "modern" themes in it), New Amsterdam (yum!), Grey's Anatomy (which just keeps on going downhill with their convoluted plots) and Private Practice (just for fun and laughs)...
"Grey's Anatomy" is excellent, and they're having a great season 4 after a meandering season 3. Can't wait for tonight's episode.
Moonlight is an incredible show. The sets are stunning. The writing is amazing and Moonlight has the hottest and most talented cast on tv!
I love BSG, though I'm enjoying season 4 a bit less than the previous three. When I find the Cylon plotlines more interesting than the human, you know pigs are flying somewhere.
My other two "can't miss" shows right now are Bones and Supernatural. Both started out kind of as guilty pleasures and have gotten less so as time goes on.
Bones is basically the most adorable show about rotting corpses ever - no matter how gruesome or horrible the crime I finish almost every episode with a massive sappy grin on my face from the pure love between Booth, Bones, and the family of squints, and I also enjoy that it's a too-rare show that's full of very smart people being very smart.
I'm not a horror buff, though I do enjoy the urban legends aspect quite a bit, so I watch Supernatural mostly for the family dynamics. This show does brothers better than any other show on the air: the devotion, the loyalty, the resentments, the scintillating wit *cough* of the insults... The sweet soundtrack and eye candy don't hurt either, and as a lifelong resident of "flyover country" I also love the gritty backroads America feel of the show. The Winchester brothers may deal with extraordinary circumstances, but they and the people they meet on their travels are people that I recognize, not the usual crop of Californians and New Yorkers with no obvious source of wealth who nevertheless manage to dress in designer clothes and rent mysteriously fashionable lofts.
Moonlight is my favourite show,the writing, story lines, action and the chemistry between the cast are incredible! I believe Moonlight gets better every week!!
Bears. Beets. Battlestar Galactica. (Watch The Office.)
30 Rock is also awesome, and though I just can't get into BSG I agree with what you said about it never settling. I want to love Pushing Daisies so bad, but it just seems like a strange combination of Amelie and Tim Burton.
I'm looking forward to Life returning in the Fall; hilarious! I'm also enjoying Moonlight a lot more since it's come back on. It was difficult to swallow in the beginning, but they've worked out a lot of the kinks, and the sarcasm is becoming more frequent; gotta love that...
You're right about Moonlight being a guilty pleasure. I felt the same way for months. I didn't want to tell people I watched it. I didn't even want to watch it to begin with, but something just kept drawing me back to it.
Ultimately, I think it was Alex O'Loughlin's personality and charm that finally did it, although the rest of the cast simply charms me as well. That, and I always thought the lighting was stunning; the lighting has been different these last two episodes since much of them take place outside in the daylight, but the night scenes are still fantastic. Add some pretty impressive camera work and music that is always perfectly chosen for every scene, and you can see why we keep going back for more.
Oh, and just because the actors underplay their roles, rather than giving the usual overdramatic performances we've come to expect on television, that doesn't harm their performances, but makes them stronger.
So, learn, as I did, that not only is it okay to like Moonlight, but you can embrace your love of it, and be proud. It has come a long way since its shaky inception, and has fairly consistently improved (with a couple of bumps along the way). Furthermore, it promises to keep getting better. And when all your friends and colleagues down the road discover for themselves how good it is, you can smile a smug "I told you so."
Sorry, that last one was mine. I'm used to LiveJournal.
I love to love Moonlight! Alex O'Loughlin is so bewitching, I can't help but watch! I am totally hooked to this show, I love it!
I love Moonlight! It is the ultimate escape and that's what I'm there for! The writing is great and everything about the show gets better and better! I'm a big fan of both Jason Dohring and Alex O'Loughlin!
i see the Moonlight fans are coming out of the woodwork. I was under the impression it was improving myself but then post-strike the writing has gotten worse. They are always saying exactly what you're seeing happening. I makes me crazy. It's just so redundant.
but vampires me likey.
and i like that the vampires don't get ugly like they do on other shows when they turn. Their eyes just go a little glassy is all
I'll preface this by saying I LOVE MOONLIGHT and there is no way it is a Guilty Pleasure.
For those who like to criticize content, sets, acting, etc. I'm sitting here wondering where you can say any of that given the shows you are watching. What show/piece of fiction is not a copy of some thing else. I can’t think of anything totally original in probably 100s of years. How many copycat reality shows are there - if you like that? Do you not watch something because it COPIES another. How about Medical shows? I guess you don’t watch any of those. They’re all copies or shows in the 60s, 70s, or 80s. Or the procedural dramas - what about them? CSI is the most original. Guess you don't watch any of the others - copies you see.
Just because a show has elements of previous shows does not make it “bad” or a copy. I love Moonlight! It has taken some new twists to the vampire lore that I love. You can totally believe that vampires walk among us and function in today’s world. There are no other unbelievable monsters or demons. Moonlight offers the most solid chemistry between the cast that I’ve experienced and the MickBeth romance is the best I’ve experienced in many years. It also has the most charismatic leading man with an incredible talent as well.
Those of you who prefer shows that don’t involve you or your emotions, that’s fine. Go watch those shows. To each their own. I was never one to get very involved with TV and had pretty much give up on it until Moonlight came along. I’ll stick with Moonlight’s glow that leaves me feeling fulfilled and happy after each episode.
justmick
I just wanted to say that I love Moonlight and I personally think the writing, acting and sets are top notch.
I also wanted to address a previous comment, Alex is not Bon Scott's son, that was a rumor. Alex has confimed that it is not true.
LauraKT
I have been in love with Moonlight since the premiere aired on CBS last September 2007! Moonlight is a winner, in fact it won the 2008 Peoples' Choice Award as the fans' favorite new drama! All four attractive and very talented actors (Alex O'Loughlin, Sophia Myles, Jason Dohring and Shannyn Sossamon) are superb and have an incredible on-screen chemistry together on Moonlight! The writers are very imaginative and have made brilliant modifications to the old vampire legend and created stimulating and thought-provoking storylines! I believe that Moonlight is a big success for CBS and it continues to have very strong and consistent viewers' ratings week after week!
I agree with many in your list, particularly BSG and Torchwood, and would also agree with other posters who have added Mad Men.
I also must agree with other posters about Moonlight. Guilty pleasure it may be - but what a pleasure. I would never have thought it would be my kind of show (vampire genre not really my thing) but, I confess, I'm completely hooked by the main love story.
Redwinter
crazycris Thanks for loving my rant! Glad someone got something out of it. Also thanks to arkaan for mentioning me. I put a lot of energy into that comment, without even meaning to.
I don't think season 3 was terrible so much as just startlingly uneven. New Caprica was choice, and Exodus part 2 was one of the best and most ambitious episodes of the whole series (arguably even the very best, I'd say), but the whole time Baltar was on the baseship and everyone on Galactica was just kind of sitting around figuring their shit out just struck me as sloppy and not in keeping with previous brilliance. But then everything started to pick up again around the Eye of Jupiter episode. It wasn't season 2, but it was at least back up to par. I'm curious to listen to commentary and figure out just what Ron Moore was thinking with some of those episodes. But some eventual wobbling was inevitable; no show can stay perfect forever.
Season 4 is pretty good so far; these past few episodes have been slow going, but you can tell they're taking it somewhere...
I have watched Moonlight since it first aired in September. This show is the most unique and original show on television today. Contrary to what has been said, Moonlight has an excellent cast and an excellent writing staff. It's the new age of the vampire and if you want pure enjoyment, this is the show to watch.
I fell in love with Moonlight from the first promo for episode one and have been hooked ever since the show just gets better with each new installment. The writing is brilliant, the actors are truely gifted, the sets are fantastic and I love the lighting and Mick St John's voice overs just adds a beautiful touch. Moonlight has the perfect mix it has drama a touch of comedy a beautiful romance and some action scenes all together they make it an absolute master piece!
I was gonna watch Moonlight when it started purely because of Alex O'Loughlin, but then I realised I could just pop in my DVD of Oyster Farmer and watch him stand around half naked. I think the decision was a wise one.
i had never heard of him before this. should I have?
he is sexy though. Also like the female lead though they really did go all out Angel on us there... brunette vampire and blonde love mostly platonic love interest who gets the story
Moonlight is a captivating romantic thriller and the cast is highly talented! The writers are very creative and have come up with exciting storylines that keep the viewers on the edge of their seats. As for the set designers, they managed to create stylish interiors reflecting the characters' personality. Moonlight is just great entertainment!
Hi, Nathaniel! Alex is just starting to make a name for himself in the U.S. He was on The Shield and in August Rush. He's also in Whiteout; I'm not sure the role he's in, but he is listed second after Kate Beckinsale at imdb.com.
I like Moonlight...it's a great show. And I don't consider it a guilty pleasure! I'm a proud obsessed fan of that show. LOL :p
Anyways, I also watch Medium and Ugly Betty. Chuck ...I miss that show. Canterbury's Law was pretty good too until they started to show it at the same time as Moonlight so I had to watch that one online.
MOONLIGHT... Ahhh, I will have to disagree with you profoundly on your summary of this series. I am a BIG moonlight fan and proud of it! It takes a refreshing new look on the vampire theme and makes it at least believable, which is more than you could say about Buffy, Angel et al.
The whole caboodle of elements that make up the program as we view it is has somehow invented the most easily addictive and fascinating series I've seen in a looooong time. It has a fantastic cast, great scripts and great camera work, to name a few of the best aspects of the show, of which there are many. I am one amongst millions who faithfully watch it each week, so I can't be alone in my feelings!
Perhaps, next time you watch an episode, you could try to view it with a less jaundiced and cynical viewpoint and see it for what it is - a brilliant new series which deserves a renewal by CBS. You might be pleasantly surprised at what you really see!
Moonlight is great storytelling. I enjoy having my imagination exercised by television programming again. I must admit to watching Moonlight, Blood Ties and Murdoch Mysteries on Prime Time and very little else, for just that reason...nothing else is very imaginative!
now y'all are talking crazy. it is possible to love something AND see its flaws. and Moonlight, for its addictive qualities (like I said I watch it every time it's on) has a lot of problems. The writing is so redundant for one. It's written like you're not paying any attention.
for example. you'll see something on a computer and then one of the characters will say in dialogue exactly what they've just shown you in closeup. Happens all the time. Makes me crazy. But I like when Mick growls ;) that never gets old.
and Buffy is the greatest television show EVER so dissing that won't help your cause ;)
i hope moonlight gets renewed too. I think it did already, didn't it?
Moonlight is simply a pleasure to watch!!! I'm completely addicted as are a lot of other people!! The chemistry between Alex & Sophia is undeniable and they are both amazing actors!! Jason Dohring as Josef is funny as hell!!
Moonlight is a MUST SEE!!
I don't find Moonlight a guilty pleasure at all.I love watching the show and is guilt free for me. I fell for the characters in the first episode and have kept watching ever since.I love the writing and sets.I think the show has it's own unique style.
I agree with your comment about the DVR getting me to watch TV again, but I gotta disagree with you on your Moonlight assessment. There is no guilt associated with the pleasure it gives me. Love the sets, the acting, the characters,the voice-overs, the vamps... It's the one show I will watch live and only depend on my DVR for repeated viewing. Most of the rest of network TV I can take or leave, but Moonlight has me watching a lot more CBS than usual. Any show that has also provided the incentive to donate blood (a habit I'd largely fallen out of) can only be considered a force for good. Vampire Solidarity etc., etc., etc.
i think getting rid of BUZZWIRE will help the show not seem ridiculous. this episode (without buzzwire) was already better than last weeks.
There's no guilt here when I say Moonlight is pure pleasure!
Alex and the cast are amazing! The story drew me in from the beginning. I suppose the lack of overacting and loud 'reality tv' style is too much for some to handle, but not me.
The acting, the writing, the lighting... There's nothing like Moonlight on TV, and if it goes away, I will lose all faith in network TV.
Nathaniel, I totally agree. Moonlight does have flaws. And I do find myself cringing occasionally during the episodes. But I can't help my love for it. I am utterly sucked back week to week. Personally I'd love to see it get picked up by another network who would take it down a grittier road. The original pilot script is floating around and it's much darker and IMHO more interesting.
Anxiously awaiting the return of Big Love. Enjoy Torchwood but don't think it lives up to some of the hype that originally drew me to it. Weeds has been on my list of "need to see" for a while.
I loved moonlight! FINALLY a show that hasnt be done and redone and done again like most everyting else on tv these days! I mean people how much reality tv can we handle?? Ugh honesly much of tv today makes me sick and before Moonlight was on CBS..my tv was never on! And now that its gone..off it goes once again!!
You people that love these retarded laugh tracks and all the same reality crapola..have got to be about what 12 years old!! (laughs) adults with half a brain do not like these shows! The mentality here we can totally see..is filled with children..(Sad)
thats what our tv networks are aiming towards anymore..children who dont have a clue as to what good acting means.
I never thought i wiso much I'll have to sign petition,wright a letters and other stuff just to get someone attention to see how good this show is and how addictive .For this year the show got People's Choice Award for new drama,it has more than 8 million viewers dedicated and passionate fans to follow there show to whatever network decide to give our show second season. Moonlight has it's fans all over the word and group ages from 17-55 or up.It would be rewarding decision to give our favorite show chance to show how much it wort to us as a fans .Moonlight is a paranormal romance starring Alex O'Loughlin who is wonderful actor and Sophia Myles,Jason Dohring and Shannyn Sossaman.Moonlight consists of action,suspense and special effects.All show is wort to watch you can't stop thinking about,and what will happen next .I think supporting the show and give a chance for second season can be very rewarding for any Network and solid investment for any corporate sponsor .Please help as save what is really good and wort to save .Bring our favorite show Moonlight back to life .Thank you.ll love show
I'm a 60 yr old woman who can't get enough of Mick and Josef. Don't usually find men this young to be so incredibly sexy. They didn't make um like that when I was younger. Moonlight does tend to overpackage the "sex" angle from the too tight jeans on both Mick and Sophia to the deep cleavage on all of the women. But then all the CSI shows show way too much cleavage on supposedly professional women.
All I know is that I'm going to be an Alex O'Lachlan and Jason Dohring fan for the rest of my life.
Post a Comment