A New Golden Age in TV

[AzStevenCal]

I just looked over what I've got set up for recording now and what I've got planned this fall and was amazed at how many decent shows there are. I actually have more than 40 of the hour long scripted TV shows on my list. That's just an incredible number. Fifteen years ago I was lucky to find 6 shows a year worth recording/watching.

The list: Leverage, Closer, Eureka, Rookie Blue, Dexter, Bones, Criminal Minds, Memphis Beat, White Collar, Covert Affairs, Warehouse 13, Fringe, Rizzoli & Isles, The Gates, Sanctuary, Haven, Rubicon, Chuck, House, Human Target, Stargate Universe, Justified, Castle, V, Dark Blue, CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, NCIS, NCIS LA, Hawaii 5-0, The Event, Chase, Detroit 187, Lie To Me, The Whole Truth, Defenders, Undercovers, Law & Order LA, Mentalist, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Breaking Bad, Nikita & The Good Wife.

I think I'm either going to have to get a life or put another DVR into play.

Steve

 

[Chaplin]

I just looked over what I've got set up for recording now and what I've got planned this fall and was amazed at how many decent shows there are. I actually have more than 40 of the hour long scripted TV shows on my list. That's just an incredible number. Fifteen years ago I was lucky to find 6 shows a year worth recording/watching.

The list: Leverage, Closer, Eureka, Rookie Blue, Dexter, Bones, Criminal Minds, Memphis Beat, White Collar, Covert Affairs, Warehouse 13, Fringe, Rizzoli & Isles, The Gates, Sanctuary, Haven, Rubicon, Chuck, House, Human Target, Stargate Universe, Justified, Castle, V, Dark Blue, CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, NCIS, NCIS LA, Hawaii 5-0, The Event, Chase, Detroit 187, Lie To Me, The Whole Truth, Defenders, Undercovers, Law & Order LA, Mentalist, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Breaking Bad, Nikita & The Good Wife.

I think I'm either going to have to get a life or put another DVR into play.

Steve

All those shows and no Supernatural?? You should be ashamed! And the final season of Smallville is going to be very interesting as the mythology of Superman comes full circle.

Plus you have several shows on there that are pretty much the same thing, just different cities. I've seen a lot of the pilots already and a very few are ok, and a lot are average. I only saw one really good one that impressed me and it's not your list.

 

[AzStevenCal]

All those shows and no Supernatural?? You should be ashamed! And the final season of Smallville is going to be very interesting as the mythology of Superman comes full circle.

Plus you have several shows on there that are pretty much the same thing, just different cities. I've seen a lot of the pilots already and a very few are ok, and a lot are average. I only saw one really good one that impressed me and it's not your list.

I got behind on Supernatural (and a couple other shows such as Psych) so I've given up trying to stay current. I'm just buying the DVD's and watching them that way but I'm still more than a season behind.

I'm sure some of the new shows will drop off the list after a few watches however I've been very pleased by the summer/off season shows that have recently started up (The Glades, Covert Affairs, Haven, Memphis Beat and Rookie Blue especially). Regardless, I'm still quite amazed at how many watchable programs there are today.

I stopped watching Smallville in season 4 and I'm waiting till the show ends it's run before getting back into it. When you talk about disappointing pilots are you referring specifically to the fall shows? For me, the pilot is usually a pretty good indicator about how I'll feel about the show in the long run. I hope the really good pilot you've seen isn't the one about trial law viewed from each side. The premise doesn't interest me but I guess I could get talked into giving it a try.

Steve

 

[Chaplin]

I got behind on Supernatural (and a couple other shows such as Psych) so I've given up trying to stay current. I'm just buying the DVD's and watching them that way but I'm still more than a season behind.

I'm sure some of the new shows will drop off the list after a few watches however I've been very pleased by the summer/off season shows that have recently started up (The Glades, Covert Affairs, Haven, Memphis Beat and Rookie Blue especially). Regardless, I'm still quite amazed at how many watchable programs there are today.

I stopped watching Smallville in season 4 and I'm waiting till the show ends it's run before getting back into it. When you talk about disappointing pilots are you referring specifically to the fall shows? For me, the pilot is usually a pretty good indicator about how I'll feel about the show in the long run. I hope the really good pilot you've seen isn't the one about trial law viewed from each side. The premise doesn't interest me but I guess I could get talked into giving it a try.

Steve

Yes, talking about the new pilots coming up in September. Even though I, like you, have Bones and Castle (I'll have the Mentalist also) on my DVR, I usually do not care for procedural drams, and that includes law as well as police. I did see the pilot for that show that you mention, and it was mildly interesting, but nothing more than that.

Hope I don't get in trouble for mentioning this stuff.

 

[AzStevenCal]

Yes, talking about the new pilots coming up in September. Even though I, like you, have Bones and Castle (I'll have the Mentalist also) on my DVR, I usually do not care for procedural drams, and that includes law as well as police. I did see the pilot for that show that you mention, and it was mildly interesting, but nothing more than that.

Hope I don't get in trouble for mentioning this stuff.

I'm not really fond of the procedurals either. My wife likes CSI and Gary Sinise so I'm stuck with those two. We both like Miami CSI but mostly so we can laugh at Caruso. I really like Bones and Castle but I don't really think of either of them as procedurals. I like the Mentalist (don't know how I left this off my list) although I prefer the slightly edgier Lie To Me.

I'm only halfway interested in checking out Law & Order LA. I never really cared for any of them except the 1st season of Criminal Intent. I suspect most of the shows about the justice system will fall off my watch list fairly quickly. I'm even thinking of talking my wife into giving up on The Good Wife.

Have you checked out any of the new shows I mentioned or do you avoid a lot of the ones that aren't work related?

Steve

 

[Chaplin]

I'm not really fond of the procedurals either. My wife likes CSI and Gary Sinise so I'm stuck with those two. We both like Miami CSI but mostly so we can laugh at Caruso. I really like Bones and Castle but I don't really think of either of them as procedurals. I like the Mentalist (don't know how I left this off my list) although I prefer the slightly edgier Lie To Me.

I'm only halfway interested in checking out Law & Order LA. I never really cared for any of them except the 1st season of Criminal Intent. I suspect most of the shows about the justice system will fall off my watch list fairly quickly. I'm even thinking of talking my wife into giving up on The Good Wife.

Have you checked out any of the new shows I mentioned or do you avoid a lot of the ones that aren't work related?

Steve

If I can remember the names, LOL.

Yes, I've seen 22 of the shows you've listed off and 8 of the pilots (although Memphis Beat and Rubicon have both aired now).

As far as avoiding stuff--I work in television so pretty much everything is work-related. But of course, I've seen a ton of pilots already both from my company and from competitors.

 

[Brian in Mesa]

The Mentalist is such a ripoff of Psych.

Shawn and Gus even reference it on the show.

Love it.

 

[AzStevenCal]

The Mentalist is such a ripoff of Psych.

Shawn and Gus even reference it on the show.

Love it.

I think Mentalist and, to a lesser extent, Lie To Me were both ripped off from Psych but IMO, they've each passed Psych by. I like all 3 but Shawn's buffoonery grows wearisome at times. OTOH, the other 2 shows don't have Lassiter and Juliet so maybe it evens out. And I do get a kick out of the not so subtle digs about the rip-off.

Steve

 

[Dr. Jones]

I think we will all be adding Boardwalk Empire to our lists as well.... It starts on HBO on September 19th.

I saw a great trailer for it yesterday before Boxing After Dark.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I think we will all be adding Boardwalk Empire to our lists as well.... It starts on HBO on September 19th.

I saw a great trailer for it yesterday before Boxing After Dark.

I love Steve Buscemi but I was less than impressed by the trailer I saw. The dialogue sounded pretty stale to me. I'm also not sure I buy Buscemi as the heavy. I'm gonna give it a try but I hope it has more than just a few lines of typical gangster speak to make it worthwhile.

Steve

 

[DemsMyBoys]

I'm only halfway interested in checking out Law & Order LA.

Steve

That's the one show I'm really looking forward to. I play a lot of "I Know That Street Corner/House/Taco Stand" when watching TV shows and commercials filmed in the LA area. Very anxious to see where they film. If they copy the original and have a lot of location shots I'm going to have some fun. Hoping most of all, though, that they have some really great writing. (SVU is getting worse and worse IMO.)

 

[AzStevenCal]

That's the one show I'm really looking forward to. I play a lot of "I Know That Street Corner/House/Taco Stand" when watching TV shows and commercials filmed in the LA area. Very anxious to see where they film. If they copy the original and have a lot of location shots I'm going to have some fun. Hoping most of all, though, that they have some really great writing. (SVU is getting worse and worse IMO.)

Yeah, I used to play that game whenever I saw a show that filmed in the Valley (especially the Scottsdale, Tempe and Mesa areas). Now, though, it's changed so much I recognize very little from my youth.

Steve

 

[Covert Rain]

Anything is better then the huge push by networks to produce cheaper reality shows. Honestly, for a while there I thought reality television was going to ruin TV. It's nice to see some networks getting back to the scripted television program.

Then again, we also now know that many of the "reality" shows were scripted too.

 

[Ouchie-Z-Clown]

And the final season of Smallville is going to be very interesting as the mythology of Superman comes full circle.

i enjoyed smallville initially and then just tired of it. but your comment interests me. when you said it brings the mythology full circle, what do you mean?

 

[Covert Rain]

i enjoyed smallville initially and then just tired of it. but your comment interests me. when you said it brings the mythology full circle, what do you mean?

This is the season where Clark becomes Superman, accepts his destiny, probably will take flight. Not to mention I am expecting some cool tie in to current mythology in terms of Superman and his enemies (like Luther) and allies (Justice League).

 

[Chaplin]

This is the season where Clark becomes Superman, accepts his destiny, probably will take flight. Not to mention I am expecting some cool tie in to current mythology in terms of Superman and his enemies (like Luther) and allies (Justice League).

This.

I don't know for sure yet, it's still a big secret, but there is a lot of anticipation for this season. Looking forward to hearing some stuff this weekend about the new season.

 

[Beaver]

I just looked over what I've got set up for recording now and what I've got planned this fall and was amazed at how many decent shows there are. I actually have more than 40 of the hour long scripted TV shows on my list. That's just an incredible number. Fifteen years ago I was lucky to find 6 shows a year worth recording/watching.

The list: Leverage, Closer, Eureka, Rookie Blue, Dexter, Bones, Criminal Minds, Memphis Beat, White Collar, Covert Affairs, Warehouse 13, Fringe, Rizzoli & Isles, The Gates, Sanctuary, Haven, Rubicon, Chuck, House, Human Target, Stargate Universe, Justified, Castle, V, Dark Blue, CSI, CSI Miami, CSI New York, NCIS, NCIS LA, Hawaii 5-0, The Event, Chase, Detroit 187, Lie To Me, The Whole Truth, Defenders, Undercovers, Law & Order LA, Mentalist, Vampire Diaries, True Blood, Breaking Bad, Nikita & The Good Wife.

I think I'm either going to have to get a life or put another DVR into play.

Steve

Jeez, how do keep all those shows organized and how does it all fit on your dvr?

 

[AzStevenCal]

Jeez, how do keep all those shows organized and how does it all fit on your dvr?

I have 3 DVR's hooked up to my TV/Receiver. Unfortunately, I'm on FIOS and their DVR isn't addressable so I have to block the sensor on 2 boxes while I access the 3rd. This was so much easier when I was on Directv.

Since I made that list I've come up with 7 or 8 more shows that I'm watching or intending to watch so obviously I'm still having some organizing issues. It really becomes a challenge once September rolls around as my recording time clashes with my sports viewing. Even with 6 feeds available I often have conflicts. Fortunately, a lot of my shows are also available On Demand.

Steve

 

[Cheesebeef]

I hope the really good pilot you've seen isn't the one about trial law viewed from each side. The premise doesn't interest me but I guess I could get talked into giving it a try.

my boss is a writer on that show this season. I thought the pilot was OK, but recasting Joelly Richardson with Maura Tierney is a stroke of genius. I bet this is Jerry's first new show to get a second season since Cold Case.

 

[AzStevenCal]

my boss is a writer on that show this season. I thought the pilot was OK, but recasting Joelly Richardson with Maura Tierney is a stroke of genius. I bet this is Jerry's first new show to get a second season since Cold Case.

Isn't Dark Blue one of his? I didn't follow this show from it's initial airing but I'm currently watching the 10 episodes that are out (they're on On Demand right now) because I thought I saw that the new season would be starting soon. I'm only 3 episodes into it and I'm not sure how I feel about it yet. Dylan McDermott generally bores me.

Steve