This Week 3/7 to 3/12

So yeah. I guess I’m back.

I’ve spent the last…however long its been…mostly hacking away at my To-Watch list of old. Progress so far: Seasons 1 and 2 of Damages, Seasons 1-3 of Dexter, rewatching Season1 of Dollhouse, attempting to watch The 4400, and then also watching hours and hours of Whose Line Is It Anyway. Next up is Season 1 of The Closer, and I’m very excited.

BUT. Time goes on. New things air. And I try to keep up, or at least catch up.

MONDAY:
8pm – Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family
8pm – The Event on ABC (2-hour midseason return!)
9pm – The Chicago Code on FOX
9pm – Being Human on SyFy

Of these four, I’m only current on The Event, and that’s only because there haven’t been any new episodes since my Great Catch Up of early January. Actually, I haven’t even started The Chicago Code yet. But people I trust tell me I should, so.

TUESDAY:
8pm – Glee on FOX
10pm – White Collar on USA

GWYNETH PALTROW IS BACK ON GLEE!!! (Which reminds me. I finally caught back up on Glee after my period of disenchantment. And I LOVE IT again. Good times.)

WEDNESDAY:
10pm – Justified on FX

Question for Wednesday: is Mr. Sunshine worth watching? I’ve been curious.

THURSDAY:
9pm – Bones on FOX
10pm – Facing Kate on USA

This week on Bones: continuation of the “sniper arc” I keep hearing about. What makes that actually exciting: Arnold Vosloo!

FRIDAY:
9pm – CSI: NY on CBS
9pm – Fringe on FOX

I really need to catch up on Fringe. I miss it.

SATURDAY:
11:30pm – Saturday Night Live (Zach Galifianakis and Jessie J.) on NBC

In Big Screen Brain news, I just saw The Adjustment Bureau. Expect a review in the next couple of days.

Waiting until January is not The Event

Yes, Asa, you were correct and I admit it.

It can fairly be said that, now I have seen the first ten episodes, I do regret not having started watching The Event sooner. In a television world now without 24, Heroes, and Lost, The Event has successfully filled the gaping hole left in the hearts of sci-fi fans…and without trying so hard that it comes up an obvious second.

What sets The Event apart from its predecessors is the presentation. It requires undivided attention from the viewer, but it does not demand that attention. The show almost tricks the audience into believing it is boring, until it pulls some ridiculously creepy stunt out of nowhere. Except not actually out of nowhere, because everything that happens fits into the narrative…somewhere.

The first few episodes, I felt like I needed to make myself a timeline to figure out exactly what was happening when and what the actual chronological order of events was. Now that the story has become more or less linear, the confusion is considerably less. And so is the excitement. The first three episodes were characterized by melodrama in the same class of, say, Lost or 24. Lots of fights, lots of booms, a little narrative progress, but mostly content to grab the audience’s attention. It took a few more episodes before something happened to keep that attention.

Visually, The Event matches the tone of the narrative. The cinematography is a bit reminiscent of the semi-voyeuristic, close-up ridden camera work of 24. But there are a lot more sweeping, cinematic sequences, and the overall colorscheme is actually rather light and airy. There’s little harshness to be found.

The thing about The Event is that it is so…calm. Even though all of these epic things are happening, the story twists and turns are allowed to stand alone without being punctuated by ridiculous, overbearing, dramatic sound effects a la JJ Abrams shows or constantly, melodramatically shouted swears a la Jack Bauer. People get shot, people die, bombs are set off, yes. But the greatest off-putting comes from quiet, creepy moments like little girls with old lady faces.

And maybe that is this show’s greatest trick. It doesn’t feel the need to force itself on you every single moment, but it does provide just enough reminders to keep you watching because you never know when the next crazy thing is going to happen.

The storytelling method – technique and pacing – are impressive. But The Event also has its disappointments. I’ve yet to get really attached to any of the characters. They’re all so-so at best. The president (Blair Underwood) wavers between being irritatingly moral and disturbingly short tempered. The two central action stars, Sean (Jason Ritter) and Simon (Ian Anthony Dale), are interesting to watch but not particularly connectable, despite efforts to make them so. Oddly, I find myself most drawn to Leila (Sarah Roemer), but I couldn’t tell you why. The two characters who disappoint me the most are Sterling and Sophia; the first because I expect so much from Zeljko Ivanek and am not getting it; the second because the character is half Laura Roslin, half Kathryn Janeway, but Laura Innes is not even a quarter so fascinating or chasimatic as those two.

I can’t say that The Event has moved me or captured me in any monumental way. It’s not…exciting enough. (That isn’t quite the word I want, but I can’t think of the one I’m looking for.) But all the elements needed to make a great sci-fi show are more or less in play. I definitely have hopes that this series will grow and develop given time. Hopefully that time will be given.

Tis the Midseason

It’s that time again. Midseason return/premiere schedule. Go!

Monday January 3
8:00pm – Pretty Little Liars on ABC Family (midseason return!)
10:00pm – Castle on ABC (midseason return!)
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS (midseason return!)

Hey, I could actually catch up on time to watch PLL! But that really doesn’t matter because I’m mostly just SUPER jazzed about more Castle.

Tuesday January 4
8:00pm – No Ordinary Family on ABC (midseason return!)
9:00pm – V on ABC (season premiere!)
10:00pm – Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC (midseason return!)
10:00pm – Southland on TNT (season premiere!)

…I probably will not actually watch anyof these. But I thought I’d include them just for kicks. (Question: Should I be watching No Ordinary Family?)

Wednesday January 5
8:00pm – Human Target on FOX (midseason return!)

Happy half-birthday to me!

Friday January 7
9:00pm – CSI: NY on CBS (midseason return!)
10:00pm – Blue Bloods on CBS (midseason return!)

Sunday January 9
9:00pm – The Cape on NBC (2-hour series pilot!)
9:30pm – Episodes on Showtime (series pilot!)
10:00pm – Shameless on Showtime (series pilot!)

Not gonna lie, all three of these shows look semi-ridiculous. The Cape is about a cop who gets framed and goes all caped vigilante on his city and, honestly, it looks even stupider than it sounds. Episodes is about Matt LeBlanc (playing himself) ruining the marriage of a British couple. And Shameless is just the newest in a long line of excellent British shows being stolen for and ruined on American television.

Monday January 10
9:00pm – Lie to Me on FOX (midseason return!)

Tuesday January 11
8:00pm – NCIS on CBS (midseason return!)
9:00pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS (midseason return!)
10:00pm – Lights Out on FX (series pilot!)

In Lights Out, a former heavy-weight boxing champ starts working as a debt collector to make ends meet. Doesn’t pique my interest, but FX’s original series track record is pretty good and so should this be.

Wednesday January 12
10:00pm – Off the Map on ABC (series pilot!)

Basically it’s Grey’s Anatomy, but without indoor plumbing.

Monday January 17
8:00pm – Chuck on NBC (midseason return!)
8:00pm – House on FOX (midseason return!)
9:00pm – Being Human on SyFy (series pilot!)
10:00pm – Harry’s Law on NBC (series pilot!)

Being Human is another of those ripped-off Brit shows. Harry’s Law is a legal drama with an incredible cast that will most likely be at least fairly decent…but, frankly, I’d just rather have The Whole Truth back. (Oh, wait, wrong network…) Also…I can totally catch up on Chuck by this day…right?

Tuesday January 18
10:00pm – White Collar on USA (midseason return!)

I’m getting the impression that this show has only gotten better. I should work on catching up at some point.

Thursday January 20
8:00pm – Bones on FOX (midseason return!)
8:30pm – Perfect Couples on NBC (series pilot!)
10:00pm – Fairly Legal on USA (series pilot!)

Perfect Couples comes from minds behind 30 Rock and Friends. Fairly Legal stars Sarah Shahi and Michael Trucco and I have been waiting for it for two years. So guess which of these two shows is the one I’m going to be watching.

Friday January 21
9:00pm – Fringe on FOX (midseason return!)

Oh shit guys, Fringe has been relegated to the Friday Death Slot.

Wednesday January 26
10:00pm – Face Off on SyFy (series pilot!)

Normally I avoid competition/reality shows like the plague. But a competition/reality show about special effects makeup? Hell yes!

Thursday January 27
8:00pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW (midseason return!)
9:00pm – Nikita on the CW (midseason return!)

Monday February 7
9:00pm – The Chicago Code on FOX (series pilot!)

It’s just another cop show, but it’s shot on location in Chicago and really wants to be the next hardxcoreawesome thing.

Tuesday February 8
8:00pm – Glee on FOX (midseason return!)

Wednesday February 9
9:30pm – Mr. Sunshine on ABC
10:00pm – Justified on FX

Mr. Sunshine sounds like an awful everyman semi-comedy indie film come to television. But more glamourous because, well, that’s just how it works.

Monday February 28
10:00pm – The Event on NBC (midseason return!)

Tuesday March 29
9:00pm – Body of Proof on ABC (series pilot!)

Crime procedural slash personal drama centered around an M.E. It could easily be interesting and fun. It could just as easily be awful and boring.

Wednesday April 6
9:30pm – Breaking In on FOX (series pilot!)

Oh look, Christian Slater‘s back. Again. Trying to make it as a television leading man. Again.

Wednesday April 13
10:00 – Happy Endings on ABC (series pilot!)

It’s another of these melodramedies about attractive young people and their romantic shenanigans. But I will admit, it has a pretty good cast.

This Week 11/22 to 11/28

I AM BACK WITH A VENGEANCE.

But of course I would choose Thanksgiving weekend for my glorious return. Ah well.

Tonight:
8pm – Chuck on NBC
8pm – House on FOX
9pm – The Event on NBC
9pm – Lie to Me on FOX
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS

Dear Boycool, I PROMISE my first MB-related priority right now is getting up to speed with Chuck!

TUESDAY:
8pm – Glee on FOX
8pm – NCIS on CBS
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS

Oh Glee. I have words for you. And now they will be expressed again.

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Human Target on FOX
10pm – Terriers on FX

THURSDAY:

Nothing new is airing. Because it’s Thanksgiving.

FRIDAY:

Nothing new is airing. Because it’s the the day after Thanksgiving.

SATURDAY:

Nothing new is airing.

SUNDAY:
10pm – The Walking Dead on AMC

I haven’t seen any of this. But I’ve been informed that I really ought to get on that.

This Week 9/27 to 10/2

WOW, last week.

I had no idea there were that many interweb-active Castle fans. For those who haven’t heard, last week’s Melted Brain review was a HUGE SUCCESS on Twitter. By “HUGE SUCCESS” I mean it has a Topsy.com page with twelve – count ’em, twelve! – tweets. Keep in mind exactly how ridiculously small-scale and amateur my effort here is and you should be AMAZED. I certainly am. Thanks, Castle fans!

Anyway.

No promises on what I’ll actually get done this week (because clearly those promises aren’t worth a whole lot). But you can probably count on seeing reviews for Castle and Glee and another installment of “Oh THAT Guy.”

MONDAY:
8pm – Chuck on NBC
8pm – House on FOX
9pm – The Event on NBC
9pm – Lone Star on FOX
10pm – Chase on FOX
10pm – Castle on ABC

Also, FX is airing 27 Dresses AGAIN. Seriously. They play that movie ALL THE TIME.

TUESDAY:
8pm – No Ordinary Family on ABC (series pilot!)
8pm – NCIS on CBS
8pm – Glee on FOX
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS
9pm – Raising Hope on FOX
9:30pm – Running Wilde on FOX
10pm – Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Undercovers on NBC
10pm – The Whole Truth on ABC
10pm – The Defenders on CBS
10pm – Terriers on FX

Fyi, this week’s episode of Terriers is entitled “Fustercluck.” Keepin’ it classy, FX.

THURSDAY:
8pm – My Generation on ABC
8pm – Bones on FOX
8pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW
8:30pm – Shit My Dad Says on CBS
9pm – Fringe on FOX
9pm – Nikita on the CW
9pm – Project Runway on Lifetime

FRIDAY:
8pm – Human Target on FOX (season premiere!)
9pm – The Good Guys on FOX
9pm – CSI: NY on CBS
10pm – Blue Bloods on CBS
10pm – Outlaw on NBC
10pm – Haven on SyFy

HUMAN TARGET! SO EXCITED!

SATURDAY:
11:30pm – Saturday Night Live (Bryan Cranston and Kanye West) on NBC

Enjoy your week!

This Week 9/20 to 9/26

DID YOU KNOW: It is a year later and Melted Brain still exists.

The fact that this month has kind of gotten away from me aside, THIS THING HAS STAYED ALIVE. FOR A YEAR. That is CRAZY.

All the more reason why this week, I am getting with the program and doing stuff! Come rain or shine or sleet or snow or thunder or nuclear holocaust!

Tonight:
8pm – House on FOX (season premiere!)
8pm – Chuck on NBC (season premiere!)
9pm – Lone Star on FOX (series pilot!)
9pm – The Event on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – Castle on ABC (season premiere!)
10pm – Chase on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS (series pilot!)

Don’t ask what I’m going to do. I really am not sure.

TUESDAY:
8pm – NCIS on CBS (season premiere!)
8pm – Glee on FOX (season premiere!)
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS (2-hour season premiere!)
9pm – Raising Hope on FOX (series pilot!)
9:30pm – Running Wilde on FOX (series pilot!)
10pm – Detroit 1-8-7 on ABC (series pilot!)

WEDNESDAY:
8pm – Undercovers on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – The Whole Truth on ABC (series pilot!)
10pm – The Defenders on CBS (series pilot!)
10pm – Terriers on FX

I didn’t realize that The Whole Truth and The Defenders were time-slot buddies. That’s interesting.

THURSDAY:
8pm – My Generation on ABC (series pilot!)
8pm – Bones on FOX (season premiere!)
8pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW
8:30pm – Shit My Dad Says on CBS (series pilot!)
9pm – Nikita on the CW
9pm – Fringe on FOX (season premiere!)
9pm – Project Runway on Lifetime

FRIDAY:
9pm – CSI: NY on CBS (season premiere!)
9pm – The Good Guys on FOX (midseason return!)
1opm – Outlaw on NBC (series pilot!)
10pm – Blue Bloods on CBS (series pilot!)
10pm – Haven on SyFy

SATURDAY:
11:30pm – Saturday Night Live (Amy Poehler & Katy Perry) on NBC (season premiere!)

SUNDAY:
9pm – Rubicon on AMC

Now that I’m looking at this schedule, it is really scary.

Working my ass off, ho!

Enjoy your week.

Wham Blam Thank You Ma’am (Fall TV I am jazzed about)

Well, by the end of last spring a lot of my favorite shows were done and over with for good. No more Heroes. No more Lost. No more 24. And while there were several exciting new series this summer that I am pretty much entirely devoted to at this point, they are going to be gone soon. Thank goodness for new Fall TV!

I’m not ridiculously excited for any of this, really. But several things intrigue me, others worry me, and a couple I am just expecting to fail. The good news: if nothing else, I will have lots of fodder for blogging.

ANYWAY. New shows. Checkitout.

Nikita

Yes, Nikita. As in “La Femme.” As in, based on the movie and television series of bygone days. No, no, sadly there are not any original ideas anymore.  But hey, this looks exciting. And I am a fan of Maggie Q (scrawny an action star as she may be). Plus this is definitely my kind of show. Action! Spies! Lead female badass! Xander Berkley! Hopefully Nikita will turn out to be one of the good CW shows (a la Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, etc).

Outlaw

I predict this is going to be one of those shows whose livelihood is totally dependent on the popularity of its lead actor, because the rest of the cast is generally unknown and only passably interesting. Luckily for Outlaw, Jimmy Smits is a BAMF. I doubt I’ll become crazy dedicated to this show (see: my general disinterest regarding law shows). But the pilot definitely seems worth a shot.

Lone  Star

A con man living two lives but trying to get out…because he’s in love with both his wife and his girlfriend and has suddenly developed a conscience? I could potentially really love or really hate this show. The lead, James Wolk, seems loveable enough, and god knows I enjoy Jon Voight. Lone Star is gonna have to seriously impress to stick around, though, at least on my post.

The Event

Trying to be the new Lost? Quite possibly. Also trying to be the new 24? Probably. Going to fail as badly as FlashForward did? Just might. Do I care? No. Am I still going to be watching? Obviously. Because even if it ends up being terrible, it has Zeljko Ivanek. What else do you need.

Hawaii Five-0

Speaking of unoriginal ideas! Remaking Hawaii Five-0 might be one of the most questionable plans of the season. Could it succeed? Maybe. Especially if they’re keeping the music (one of the best TV themes Of All Time). Why might it not succeed? Well, it stars Alex O’Loughlin and he, well…see: Moonlight and Three Rivers and their utter failures. On the other hand, the rest of the cast includes Daniel Dae Kim, Grace Park, Will Yun Lee, and Jean Smart. (Dear H5-0 2.0: way to hog the bankable Asian actors.)

Raising Hope

There is little to no chance I will watch this show. I only mention it because a) it is new and that is the point of this post/list/thing and b) it has Garret Dillahunt and I am excited he’s got a regular gig.

Running Wilde

Here is another show I probably won’t watch. I also don’t expect it will last very long. But it is probably better than it looks, because that is what we would expect of the minds behind fan-favorite Arrested Development. The trick will be making sure this show doesn’t get a case of same-old-same-old-itis. Who knows, maybe some especially clever writing’ll make it a break-out hit (or, you know, not).

Detroit 187

Hey, cop show! I don’t think I know who anyone in this cast is, but that’s okay. What we seem to have here is a gritty cop drama where the cases are less like wealthy-and-pretty CSI: NY stuff and more of the down-and-dirty Southland variety. Nice of ABC to give Detroit a little boost too, considering how much the last couple of years have sucked for that city.

Undercovers

Sooooo excited. I’m a little afraid it’ll end up being terrible. But then I remind myself that it is J.J. Abrams and that he is a champion of awesome when it comes to the spy genre. All the preview stuff is so shiny and clean and, well, sort of cheesy, that I can’t help worrying. I am definitely hoping that is all unnecessary anxiety and that Undercovers will end up being as spectacular as lead actress Gugu Mbatha-Raw is ridiculously attractive.

The Whole Truth

Rob Morrow vs. Maura Tierney. If ever there was a chance to maybe convince me that I should start watching legal dramas, this is probably it. Except that I still probably won’t. I’ll watch the pilot, at least, which is notable. For those who do like legal dramas, I expect this is probably a good one. You can expect the acting to be excellent, and ABC is good with the lead-male-lead-female interaction stuff shows.

The Defenders

This show has the potential to be hilarious. Jerry O’Connell being over-the-top wacky and James Belushi being grumpy but probably also wacky? The stuff that awesome is made of. Funny story: from 1961 to 1965 there was another legal show called The Defenders but the 2010 version is not a remake!

My Generation

Basically, My Generation is an attempt to take the fake-documentary method of comedies The Office and Parks and Recreation and utilize it for a drama. The plot is not particularly fascinating: it’s one of those reality show “where are they now” ten-years-after-graduation-old-friends-meet-up-and-dramatic-shit-happens things. Only scripted. Interesting concept, but I don’t know that it’ll pan out successfully.

$#*! My Dad Says

Hereafter referred to as Shit My Dad Says because everyone knows that’s the real title (and also it is a pain typing those characters instead of letters). For those not in the know, this show is based off of some guys Twitter account on which he posted Shit His Dad Said because they were living together and his dad was old and the two of them apparently didn’t get along all that well. This show will probably be a major hit this year for three reasons. 1) the Twitter account has thousands of fans and I’m betting a good portion will cross over to watch this, 2) William Shatner is the star and (logic defying as it may seem) he brings the fans, and 3) there has already been so much publicity/free press due to the “controversial nature” of just the title.

Blue Bloods

Hey, cop show! Slash family drama. I think the most interesting thing about this show is going to end up being the audience demographics. Depending on exactly where Blue Bloods ends up falling on both the Gritty Cop Grit and Touchy Feely Family Love scales, it could end up having either very wide or very narrow appeal. And wide appeal is what keeps things on the air.

No Ordinary Family

It is going to take a lot of awesomeness for me to watch more than the pilot of this show. I adore Julie Benz, I enjoy Michael Chiklis, and Romany Malco is a funny dude. But let’s be honest. This really just looks like ABC trying to remake NBC’s Heroes and cover up the fact they are doing so by dressing it up in Aww Family junk. If you want superheroes + warm fuzzies, watch The Incredibles. Seriously.

Law & Order: Los Angeles

Dear NBC,
Why exactly did you decide that making a new Law & Order series seemed like a better idea than just extending the original for one more season and letting it take the record for longest-running primetime television series?
Love, Logic

The world may never know.

Stuff is happening soon!

Hey guys, it’s the Fall Premiere Date Calendar! Exciting!

As always, please note these are just the premieres that I care about (read: shows I already watch/intend to watch plus new series). If you’re looking for something else, may I direct you to SideReel.

Thursday September 9:
8pm – The Vampire Diaries on the CW
9pm – Nikita on the CW (pilot!)

Wednesday September 15:
10pm – Outlaw on NBC (pilot/special preview!)

Friday September 17:
10pm – Outlaw on NBC (timeslot premiere)

Monday September 20:
8pm – House on FOX
8pm – Chuck on NBC
9pm – Lonestar on FOX (pilot!)
9pm – The Event on NBC (pilot!)
10pm – Castle on ABC
10pm – Chase on NBC (pilot!)
10pm – Hawaii Five-0 on CBS (pilot!)

Tuesday September 21:
8pm – Glee on FOX
8pm – NCIS on CBS
9pm – NCIS: Los Angeles on CBS
9pm – Raising Hope on FOX (pilot!)
9:30pm – Running Wilde on FOX (pilot!)
10pm – Detroit 187 on ABC (pilot!)

Wednesday September 22:
8pm – Undercovers on NBC (pilot!)
10pm – The Whole Truth on ABC (pilot!)
10pm – The Defenders on CBS (pilot!)

Thursday September 23:
8pm – My Generation on ABC (pilot!)
8pm – Bones on FOX
8:30pm – $#*! My Dad Says on CBS (pilot!)
9pm – Fringe on FOX

Friday September 24:
9pm – CSI: NY on CBS
9pm – The Good Guys on FOX
10pm – Blue Bloods on CBS (pilot!)

Tuesday September 28:
8pm – No Ordinary Family on ABC (pilot!)

Wednesday September 29:
10pm – Law & Order: Los Angeles on NBC (pilot!)

Wednesday November 10:
8pm – Lie to Me on FOX

Wow. There are a couple days on here that are going to be the death of me. I foresee Mondays being a major pain in my reviewing ass. Because of course I’ll have one again by them. Looking back at what’s new, this might be the year I get converted to legal-themed shows. Maybe. The only one I’m actively interested in is The Defenders, but who knows: maybe it’ll turn out to be a gateway show. Anyway, lots of cop shows, lots of spy shows, and it looks like I may need to suck it up and actually deign to watch the CW this year (“suck it up”? Vampire Diaries? Wait pun what? No.).

Coming up next: the new Fall shows I am excited for! …or at least morbidly curious about.