Prime Time

So I've decided to change this blog a little. I'm still going to put some pretty random thoughts on here whenever I feel the need but I also want to start putting up some reviews and recommendations. I did so in my other blog but they don't seem to fit in as well there. I thought I would start out with television. I'm going to talk about tv shows that I'm currently watching or have decided to stop watching this season. Since there are so many, I thought I would go with what I watch on Monday and Tuesday first.

If you haven't been keeping up, Monday is quite possibly the most intense night of TV out there right now. Fox has really done some good work, putting 'Prison Break' and '24' back to back was genius. Sure, I need Gatorade now for the event (yes, it is an event) but it's so worth it. Both shows use a similar formula, by letting the main character have to think his way out of possible catastrophies with the help of their supporting cast. The main characters on both shows also seem to have huge complexes of some kind. So it's really interesting to see how they'll get out of their jams and what personal effects they'll have as consequences.

It should be noted that '24' is in it's fifth and final season. All the past seasons have been good, I don't want to give away anything, I hate spoilers but if you were to pick up a season right now, I would go with 2 or 3 first. They really go together though. Season one is probably the weakest of the series, not only because of a lower budget but because it seems to be the most poorly written of the bunch.

'Prison Break' is a beast but I don't see how they're going to keep things going for any substancial length of time. Also, Dominic Purcell has never done a tv show that has lasted more than a season, no matter how good it's been, 'North Shore' and 'John Doe' are both great examples. So enjoy it while it lasts.

Tuesday night is when I need to get the VCR out. There are just too many shows I watch on this weekday (Yes, I'm a total loser). Let's go through the list, 'Scrubs', 'Teachers', 'House', 'The Amazing Race' and 'Gilmore Girls'. Now the only two shows on that list that I watch with great dedication are 'Scrubs' and 'Gilmore Girls'. So let's get the B list shows out of the way first.

'Teachers' is a new show on NBC. It's not bad, the main character actually seems pretty witty and plays the 'good guy' really well. The supporting cast also isn't bad at all. The problem is that NBC made the mistake of putting it after 'Scrubs'. This makes the show seem a lot less funny than it actually is. It's not a bad show, it's just at a bad time.

'The Amazing Race' has it's moments but the show has the fatal flaw of not being able to keep certain types of teams in the game. So once certain teams leave, the show starts becoming a lot less interesting. Like when the Double D team left this season, that killed the show a bit for me.
http://www.cbs.com/primetime/amazing_race9/bios/danielle_dani/
To tell you the truth though, Gilmore Girls has the same time slot, so that's what I watch instead. Anyways, each season of 'The Amazing Race' is unique, so catch the next one when all the teams are there. You'll probably end up liking a couple of them.

'House' is a pretty cool show. I wish that it wasn't on at the same time as 'Scrubs'. I only have a few problems with it. 'Mad TV' actually made a great parody of the show (I rarely watch 'Mad TV' but from what I've seen it's pretty funny), saying that the patient is dying from an unknown cause, the Doctor tries to save them for most of the hour, but they only seem to get worse, and in the last ten to fifteen minutes of the show, he discovers the cause of the illness and cures the patient. It sounds really repetitive, and in a way it is but it follows the same ideology as 'Matlock'. We all know he wins, but it's not about the fact that he wins, it's about how he wins. That's where the magic is.

So now it's down to my two heavy hitters. Ladies first. I use to cover up the fact that I liked this show, changing the channel whenever my roommate walked in, and lying about what I was doing between the hours of ten and eleven on Tuesday nights. That has changed now though, Flash's girlfriend has learned my secret, I watch 'Gilmore Girls'. I've watched it for many years now. I think I started watching it when I caught it after 'Smallville' by accident, for all of you people that aren't TV nerds, before 'Smallville' was on City TV, the first episodes aired on Global. The current home of 'Gilmore Girls' in Canada. Now, this show didn't really have any hot chicks when it first started out. Well, Teal Redmann was in it. She's a serious fox.
The main character Rory (Alexis Bledel) has also turned into a babe in recent years but that's not why I watch the show. The writing is good. It's really good actually. The writers keep the show interesting without letting it burn out. There is just so much wit and banter in the show, and if you know me at all, I love anything of the sort.

Finally, we reach one of my all time favourite shows. This thing is a monster. I love it so much. When episodes didn't start at a regular time this year, I was frightened. Did Zach Braff the actor who plays the main character of the show, have so much success with 'Garden State' (Great movie, but we'll get to that another day) that he thought he didn't need to do the show 'Scrubs' anymore? Perish the thought. Anyways, I'm glad that 'Scrubs' is back. It's arguably the funniest TV sitcom there is right now. Sure, I have a small crush on Sarah Chalke. Yes, Mandy Moore did just do a recent guest appearance (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QAfbohqwwKg&search=scrubs). It is also difficult not to admire a man who made out with Natalie Portman.

These aren't the reasons why I watch the show though, they're just added bonuses. This show is just so innovative. It's so damn fresh. They use a lot of different directors, there are just so many cool cameos (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucLcN2ftiNo&search=scrubs), the jokes are so well written and integrated into the show (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbLkQdb85AE&search=scrubs) and the show actually feels like it's moving forward. Something that comedies often have trouble doing. It's simply an amazing show and I hope it lasts a few more years.

After completing this post, I realize it's huge. I guess that's fine, since I haven't updated this blog in so long. I also realized I watch way too much television.