REB #12: “She’s not going to have premarital sex until she’s married.”

– Bright Abbott on Everwood

If you don’t know me very well, you may not know this, but I watch TV like it’s my job; I watch entirely too much TV.

Which means that this past week has been amazing and yet stressful for me. On top of homework, class, and work, I now have to add a large pile of TV shows to my to do list. Thankfully, True Blood is over for the season, and Mad Men will be over next month. That’s two shows down for the season, at least 13-18 to go (depending on how you count them).

I wouldn’t have it any other way. 🙂

Sundays, I’m watching Brothers and Sisters (ABC) and Dexter(Showtime) – and, for a few more weeks, Mad Men (AMC), which I am relieved to say did a complete 180º, going from a terrible season 3 to an awesome season 4.

Mondays, I have nothing for now, but I plan to watch Lonestar (FOX) at some point, even though I’m 98% sure it’s going to be cancelled. I saw the pilot, and I really liked it. Anyway, in the spring, my Monday show will be The United States of Tara (Showtime).

Tuesdays, I’m watching Glee (FOX), Life Unexpected (The CW), and Parenthood (NBC). Unfortunately, the critically acclaimed Life Unexpected will probably be cancelled after its initial 13-episode second season order, due to low ratings. Parenthood didn’t exactly rock the ratings house either. In November, V (ABC) premiers, and if it stays in the same timeslot, it will air on Tuesdays; honestly, I don’t expect it to be renewed for a third season. I’ve seen the pilot to No Ordinary Family(ABC) and will likely be watching that as well, and I want to watch Raising Hope (FOX) at some point, but it’s going to have to wait.

Wednesdays, I have no commitments, but I am mildly interested in Undercovers (NBC). I might watch it when the season is over. Also, in the spring, Glee and Raising Hope will be switching to Wednesdays to make room for American Idol.

Thursdays, I’m watching The Vampire Diaries (The CW), 30 Rock (NBC), and The Office (NBC). I was actually impressed with The Office’s premier, as I did not like last season and fully expected this one to be terrible as well. They’ve got me for at least a few more episodes. Also on the potentially watch list is Nikita (The CW). I’ve seen the pilot, and for a CW remake, it was actually pretty good. And surprisingly strong in the ratings.

Fridays, I’m watching the final season of Smallville (The CW) – which started off amazing, by the way – as well as the shouldn’t-even-exist sixth season of Supernatural (The CW). It’s not that I didn’t want Supernatural to be renewed; it’s just that I wanted the producers/network to stick to the original five-year plan that the show’s creator had. This surprise renewal resulted in a bit of a cop-out for the season five ending, which should have been amazing but instead was a little too miraculous for my taste. That said, the premier left something to be desired, but I’ll continue watching out of loyalty and to see if it gets back to the high-quality episodes I know the show can produce. Anyway, in the spring, I’ll be watching the spinoff/second season of Spartacus: Blood and Sand (Starz). I’m so sad for Andy Whitfield and wish him the best in his cancer treatment. I hope he’ll be better in time for season three, but obviously, it’s not about the show. Best wishes, Andy. Get some rest. Take your time. ❤

*NOTE: This blog entry is syndicated from a blog I had to start for my Electronic Publishing class at U.B. this semester. I may or may not delete the extraneous blog when the class is over, but I thought I would at least give my readers the opportunity to read the contents of that blog indefinitely.

Announcing Twit TV?

With the official fall 2010 TV season just around the corner (FYI, some shows will start up in less than a month), I would like to try an experiment: I’ve been wanting to force myself to write/blog more often anyway, so one of my ideas is to start a regular section/tag of this blog called Twit TV in which I would weigh my favorite new show pilots (we’ll call these the “freshman shows,” since most people in the TV industry do anyway), choose one to follow for the whole season (or at least to the end of its run, if it happens to get canceled), and review/respond to each episode, highlighting my favorite and least favorite (if there are any) moments and why I like/dislike them. And so on.

I would also like to choose a veteran show to follow (one of which I’m already a dedicated viewer, anticipating the season premier), perhaps for comparison/contrast reasons, but whether I do that or not really depends on the shows I choose. They may not mesh well enough.

In any case, the meat of this idea is that I will be tweeting (via my personal account, RogerMarket) initial gut reactions as they happen while watching both shows (freshman and veteran)—hence the clever or not so clever “Twit” part of this blog series’ name—and other Twitter users can follow along and respond to my tweets as well as those of others, in addition to responding here on this blog, although I do get a lot of spam comments. I don’t accept spam comments, so if you do respond, make sure it pertains to the blog entry and the show, and if it does, I’ll accept it, unless, of course, I see a reason not to do so. Also, be advised that I can’t watch every show when it airs because I have class some nights, so the tweets may come a day or two late; I’ll try to write the blogs within a week, maybe less. This may be a huge commitment for an M.F.A. student at the University of Baltimore to make, but I’m going to try my best to do it.

By the way, if the freshman show I choose happens to be canceled early in the season, I may choose another freshman to continue the Twit TV series, or I may just choose another veteran show to follow and just have two; I haven’t decided yet. Suggestions?

Now, here are the shows I’m considering.

For freshman shows, I am interested in Lonestar (FOX), No Ordinary Family (ABC), Raising Hope (FOX), Undercovers (NBC), and Nikita (The CW). Nothing on CBS interests me. Out of these five, I’m most excited about Lonestar and No Ordinary Family (I’ve seen the pilot of the latter, and it’s pretty good; I’ve heard great things about Lonestar). Any thoughts on which freshman show I should pick?

For veteran shows, I am thinking about doing the tenth and final season of Smallville (The CW), the second season of Parenthood (NBC), the second season of Life Unexpected (The CW), or possibly the second season of The Vampire Diaries (The CW). As of this moment, I’m torn between Smallville and Parenthood. Any thoughts on which veteran show I should pick? Is anyone even reading this? Does anyone care?

I know that’s a lot of CW shows, but I don’t even want to think about tackling the monster that is Glee (FOX), a lot of my shows were canceled last season, and if I did The Office (NBC), I’m afraid it would be unenjoyable for all involved, as I’ve become quite disillusioned with that quickly declining show and would probably not find much to like anymore. I really didn’t like last season. Beyond that, the other bloggable shows that I watch are on cable and have irregular seasons (e.g., Mad Men, True Blood, Dexter, and Spartacus: Blood and Sand), so I couldn’t really blog about those. Maybe I could do one of them as a bonus at some point—next summer? We’ll see.

P.S. I’d like to do a book version of this series at some point, just at my own leisure.