More Tube Stuff

OK, I watch commercial television. Call me low-brow. I don't own a jacket with patches on the sleeves either. I think it's got the best writing right now, particularly cable. Don't know why, but it does.



"Hey, let's see what Dexter is up to tonight!"

 PBS is only a fraction of what we watch. Guess what PBS? The British programs are the best programming on your airwaves. Shouldn't that say something? You better get more compelling (Laurence Welk is a joke that even SNL mocks.) and follow the example set by cable or you will go the way of the eight-track tape.

1. Revenge. That little slam against PBS being said, there is something artificial about network TV. ABC's Revenge is a great example. While Emily VanCamp does a delightful turn as a woman out to destroy despicable Martha's Vineyard snoots responsible for the ruination and death of her father, there is something almost too predictable and clean about this show. Network TV has this way of making everything look so perfect that only the best actors can penetrate the sterility.
 Madeleine Stowe does a great turn as the ice-bitch-queen of the Martha hive. Imagine if HBO had done this show. Now that would be a real fun time.

My rating: not bad, but let's rev it up a bit.

Critics have been praising Dechanel
as the goofy, but lovable, Jess on
New Girl. I liked the false teeth she
insisted on wearing to a wedding.

2. New Girl. The premise is kinda loopy: hot, but goofy to the point past annoying, girl, Jess (Zoey Deschanel), is a recent victim of a romantic breakup. She needs a place to live, so there's these three guys who happen to have a room for her in their apartment. Sounds mighty thin? Yep, but Deschanel is a hoot as a dorky misfit. The writing is good so far, but I'm not sure this is going to last.

My rating: Not bad and keep the laughs coming.

3. Terra Nova. I had low, low expectations for this one. Like SyFy channel low. CGI dinosaurs better be mighty convincing or I'm wincing. Premise: earth is dying (we done kilt it. them eco-assholes were right. huh.) and conveniently a hole in the fabric of time (I'm wincing here) allows folks to go back 65 million years when the earth was new and filled with large dinos. The novo society not only must  survive the raging carnivores, but a rogue group of people who split from the tribe to form their own society. Overall, it's not bad. I could skip the ubiquitous teen-love interest storyline, but the youth demographic prevails in network world. Let's hope this show doesn't go the way of the dinosaur unto extinction.

My rating: good start, now let the carno-devouring games begin.

4. Charlie's Angels. One episode said it all: some remakes shouldn't be remade. "Goodbye, angels." It's all beauty, slick, stylish and pretty lame.

My rating: Not this time, thank you.

5.  Dexter. This is some dark shit. If you let your kids watch this, you suck as a parent. That being said, Dexter is red hot and the reason cable is kicking the ass of network TV every week.

My rating: a "killer" of a show.

6. Hung. I am the only one in my household with any affection for this odd little show. It's inappropriate and naughty, naughty, naughty, but the humor is what saves it from being Skin-o-max and the show from taking the show too seriously. Thomas Jane understates and that's why his character works.

My rating: fun, light, good stuff.