MagneticMediaFed

Better to burn out or to fade away?

This thing is killing me. We all knew the writers’ strike was going to be a major inconvenience, but I never suspected it would have the effect it’s currently having on my psyche. Ever since the writers took to the picket line three weeks ago, television has kind of sucked, and not just because my beloved late-night shows immediately went into reruns. Despite the fact that we’ve still been getting new scripted episodes these past few weeks, the strike has, in a way, highlighted just how solidly mediocre this fall has been. The new series, while marked by very few cancellations (honestly, who would have thought Cavemen would still be airing new episodes three weeks into November?), have generated no significant hits (with the exception of Samantha Who?, but it’s hard to say if it is the show that is successful or its Dancing With the Stars lead-in) while our favorite returning series from years past have either been wildly inconsistent (How I Met Your Mother), shockingly awful (Weeds) or just kind of a mess (Friday Night Lights). To top it all off the two series that have been consistantly good and occasionally great in The Office and 30 Rock are the first to run out of episodes. The whole mess can put your average television viewer into something of an existential conundrum: if interesting stories can vanish as quickly as they appear, what’s the point of it all? More after the jump…

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Was once a geek?

Thursday evening I visited my alma mater with some college friends to see old professors, walk around campus a bit, and catch a student performance. Being there, of course, brought back memories, and I spent most of the evening telling stories over pitchers of beer at the local bar. While I had some of the best four years of my life in college, it’s nice not to live in that world everyday. (That’s a lie; I do miss my daily wardrobe of sweatpants, jeans, and hoodies.) But what about the hot doctors of Grey’s Anatomy, I wonder how they spent their undergrad years, or even med school? More after the jump…

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At the beginning of the season, I wrote about my low expectations for season premieres, but now during November Sweeps I want the best a show can offer. I might not have invested millions of dollars in ad buys for the month, but I have cozied-up on this cool, crisp fall evening and want to be entertained.

As always, pretty Seattle aerial shots and great music starts the episode (as does a TV-14, SV rating, perfect for Sweeps), and then—eww! George and Izzie are sweaty and panting and in bed. Mer’s voiceover kicks in rasping about physical chemistry; something George and Izzie do not have. They too realize there is a problem and spend the rest of the episode trying to recreate their first rendezvous of drunken, adulterous sex. I stress drunk and adulterous. At least Izzie figured alcohol might be a needed but some actual on-screen chemistry could have helped, too. They should have taken a lesson from this week’s Gossip Girl. More after the jump…

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“I love passing judgment on people!”

Last week on Grey’s Anatomy, real life kicked my ass, the Callie-Izzie-George triangle erupted, Lexie was less annoying, Mer and Der don’t go away for the weekend, and the Chief’s niece reappeared (different actress, natch). And a few seasons ago, Dr. Hahn from Seattle Presbyterian operated on some hearts and Alex fell in love with Ava / Rebecca.This week’s ABC-mandated Halloween episode opened with a Mer mid-dream: “Pick me, choose me, love me.”, mean Mommy, corpse Mer, ect. While this isn’t Grey’s first use of a dream sequence, it was one of the best. But then maybe I am biased because of the “Pick me, choose me, love me.” inclusion—which really is a better representation of Mer’s psyche than her dreams—and that the nightmare that the ghost of Ellis Grey is haunting her prompts Mer to finally get her mother’s ashes out of the closet. More after the jump…

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It’s been a month since new shows started popping up and my god has it been a rough ride. I was able to keep for the better part of two weeks, but lately I’ve had to throw my hands up and declare that once again, the television has won. Part of the problem, for me at least, is this fall seems to have more decent shows than season’s past. There are always one or two really good new programs, but typically the rest of it is just dreck. This year there have only been a small handful of shows I would consider abdominal, but with an unusually large amount resting somewhere in the middle. But how does one justify sticking with a series that is at its very best just OK. I think now would be as good a time as any to look at where we are and decide how to move forward.

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There has been a significant trend this season in the complete absence of comedies from the Nielson top 10 (and only an occasional representative in the extended top twent, usually Two and a Half Men). This can be traced two a few things. Obviously the number of comedies is way down compared to what was on the networks ten years ago. Also, I feel the television comedy is in a period of change, and yet the audience seems to be slow to adapt. If you aren’t one to obsess over comedy (or television) you could easily find yourself flipping around the dial (who uses a dial?) trying to decide between watching something that looks and feels completely different from what you’re used to (like Arrested Development or The Office) or watching something that is entirely familiar, but unfunny. Keep reading by clicking below…

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There’s nothing more shocking than a recurring character getting killed off of a television series. Well, maybe that’s a lie. I’m sure there are plenty things MORE shocking– like waking up in the morning only to realize that someone has stolen your kidneys, or perhaps, putting a fork in an electrical outlet. Nevertheless, it’s a dramatic trick as old as sweeps itself: killing off characters. This past season has been no exception, as many lives were claimed and many plots were twisted (some were killed off in such a dramatic fashion they were forced to leave TV altogether for the movie biz).

Anyway, please click below to pay respect…
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