I Am Infected With National Pride*

Oh the Olympics, how I love you so!

Just wanted to make a quick post about the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing. Regardless of how I feel about China, they did a bang up job with the Opening Ceremonies, and Michael Phelps has been kickin' ass so far. So much fun.

I grew up in a pro-Olympics household, and every four years we would gather around the TV for all the spectacle and fun of the Summer and Winter Games. I have very fond memories of all those Olympics, and now as an adult, I get all excited whenever Olympic time rolls around.

Badminton? Yes. Track and Field? Oh, yes. Swimming, gymnastics, diving, equestrian, table tennis, volleyball, handball, tennis, rowing, baseball?! More and more. I will watch just about any sport they put in front of me, and I cheer and yell from my couch.

Just think, in two years we get the Winter Games! So great. Okay, enough of this, I gotta get back to the games!

*Thanks to the guy at the wine store, who when I asked him if he had 'Olympic Fever', he responded with "I am infected with national pride!", inspiring this post, and giving me a kick-ass title. Hee!!

Don't Say It's Over!

Is it really time to eulogize Jericho? I, for one, am not ready. So please excuse the randomness of this post, I am still working through the grieving process, and I'm not sure which stage I am actually working through yet.

Season Two as a whole: Wow! Given the truncated season, and the slashed budget and a shortened shooting schedule, they really gave us something to behold. Not only did they pick up and run with a compelling storyline, but they gave us action, thrills, tears and satisfying character growth. Jake grew up, Stanley was deeper and more layered than we had ever seen, Heather showed us her steely side, and even Stupid Ol' Eric grew a pair and showed us that he is Johnston's son after all.

The writers and producers gave us a tight, focused seven episodes, and had us on the edge of our seats for an hour every Tuesday night for almost two months. It was a great ride, and highly satisfying.

The impact of Jericho: This show had an enormous impact on me. If someone had told me a year ago that a TV show would lead me to a rousing SOS campaign, and introduce me to a great bunch of folks, I would have rolled my eyes and shook my head. As I've said before, I was a cynical bastard when it came to believing in people, but I have a new group of pals that are kind and thoughtful and actually do their best to help each other. Just like those crazy Jerichoians. Looking back, I shouldn't be that suprized that a show that touted loyalty, family, and stepping up when times are tough would attract exactly those kind of people. Schmaltzy and starry-eyed? Maybe. But really, I have met some awesome souls, and I don't care how cheezy it sounds, it is the truth, and I love it!

Why was no one watching this show??!!!!: Honestly, such a great show. My friends and I would shake our heads at the end of each episode of season two, knowing the ratings, and declare this statement time and time again. I understand the people who were scared off by the beginning of the first season, the show took some time to get its legs. But once things got rolling, it was smart and asked very interesting questions of how people react to great adversity. I am a fan of the history of our country. HBO is airing an excellent take on the American Revolution right now, putting David McCullough's awesome book 'John Adams' the TV as a lovely mini-series (no really, check it out, it's gooooood). After watching the first two installments, I thought to myself, Jericho has stolen some of these stories, and retold them in a modern and interesting way. Watching characters struggle with making the tough choices while doing their best to keep their humanity is good stuff. One of the only things that makes me truly happy, is the knowledge that people are still discovering this show, and most of them, no matter how cranky and fight-y they are about it at the beginning, eventually find themselves cheering and getting sucked in like the rest of us Nuts. That is most satisfying, indeed.

No, really, why weren't people watching this show?: Please take the Nielsen numbers with a big, fat, grain of salt. Because for some reason, this show appealed to the Internet types. Jericho has had good numbers on iTunes, Unbox and various other alternate viewing platforms. The numbers of streaming episodes on CBS.com were high. Two weeks ago or so, Jericho was #15 in the Top 20 of all shows DVRd (that's what my Entertainment Weekly told me!). So first of all, the numbers were generally higher than the old-fashioned, creaky Nielsen numbers would tell us.

But other than that, why didn't this show have higher 'live' numbers? I mostly blame CBS. The show was actually doing pretty well in its first season before a poorly-timed hiatus, and practically ignored return, against American Idol, killed the ratings. I know plenty of people who thought it had been cancelled, or who just plain forgot it was back on. And while the show got lots of press after the Nuts Campaign brought it back, and the bloggers made some noise when it returned, CBS waited much too long to air Season Two in a bleak, writer's strike induced wasteland. They promoted the shit out of it on their own network, but we didn't see ANY magazine covers, billboards, talk show visits or blitz of any kind trumpeting its return. If you weren't a regular viewer of CBS (kinda like me), you probably didn't know it was on.

Some are lamenting the viewing audience as a whole. Saying that your average TV viewer just wasn't interested. Hmmmm... I'm not buying that. One of the most complex, interesting, genre-busting shows on TV has a huge audience, and its name is Lost. That show has numbers that networks kill for. It has a passionate, loyal base, and is a complicated, conspiracy driven serial. I used to get mad at people comparing Lost to Jericho, but they do have some similarities, and somehow, ABC figured out how to not only market the show effectively, but engage that rabid fan base and expand upon it. Personally, I think the real problem, is that CBS was fat and happy as the ratings leader, and didn't have a stake in nurturing a newbie, no matter how promising it was. They already had all the money, while ABC was struggling when Lost came along, saw the gem they had, and busted their asses to make it work.

What's next?: There are still a lot of Jericho fans (me included), who aren't ready to give up hope. Many of the fan built message boards, and the CBS boards, are full of motivated, passionate fans throwing out any idea to try and save the show again, hoping something will stick. I love it. It makes me happy that so many are still moved by this show. I am getting out my snail mail to Paramount, letting them know that I will follow this show, and to give the producers the option to take the show somewhere else. Executive Producer Carol Barbee has said that she is shopping the show, and there is some interest out there. Maybe a long shot, but Jericho was all about hope, in my opinion, so I am on board. If you'd like to voice your opinion, send your cards and letters to:

CBS-Paramount Network Television

4024 Radford Ave.
Studio City, CA 91604

Final thoughts: It's always nice to have a show that you adore. I am lucky enough to have a few of them. But I am a TV junkie. It is always sad to have a show you adore not given its due. The years are littered with shows I loved that never got a chance. This is the first time I was engaged enough to participate in a SOS campaign. Glad I did. No matter what happens next, I have learned some stuff, I have seen some amazing acts of love because of this show, and I have the ability to always say, I was part of that. Yes, it's just a TV show. But it is also a bunch of people. The fans, the cast and crew, the bloggers, the cheerleaders. Even the people who hated the show, even the people who attacked my friends, all of them affected me, and many others, and being affected by anyone in this world is important and a great part of life. It helps you put a focus on what you want your life to be, and that should be an ever evolving thing. That is what I got from Jericho. Pretty cool, yo.

Just because I can, a little quick trip to the shallow end, because even though I like to think I am above all the fluff of the world, sometimes the shallow end makes us all feel better. Hee!

What's Goin' On

So, there are all kinds of things running through my head tonight. Many of them spurred on by, what else, television.

Tomorrow is the season premiere of Jericho. I am beyond excited. The past year has been a really interesting ride for me. I jumped on the SaveJericho train almost right from the beginning, and I have found a whole community of passionate and humble fans. They have encouraged me and commiserated with me, and I can truly say that I have made some new friends because of all of this. Everyone worked so hard to save the show, and then continued with great ideas for promoting and getting the word out. The fans voices have been loud and strong, and we have been rewarded with not only seven new episodes, but the pleasure of cast and crew members reaching out to us through message boards and chat rooms. It is a great feeling, and I can't wait for it all to start.

This weekend I spent watching Band of Brothers on The History Channel. This was a ten part mini-series originally shown on HBO back in 2001. I caught a few installments back then, but never really had a chance to see them all. This season, I became a fan of the show Life, which stars Damian Lewis, who also had a major role in BoB as Captain Dick Winters. Yes, I wanted to check it out because of him. Yes, he is one of my new TV boyfriends (what?), and he was great. But I gotta say, once I got rolling on this series, the thing that really stood out was the whole story. WWII is an amazing time in our history, and the story of Easy Company is remarkable. I can't really shake what I got from this show. And I spent a good chunk of today thinking of our soldiers over in Iraq and Afghanistan. How anyone who has been to war can come home and get on with some semblance of a normal life is beyond me. I have a deeper respect for anyone who has been in a combat situation. War is horrifying and numbing, and to run into the fire is nothing more than heroic. Forget the politics, forget the reason they are there, these kids deserve everything we can give them, both on the front, and here back at home.

Don't these two make a nice pair?

I am not shy in letting people know that I am a proud Democrat, and a fervent Hillary Clinton supporter. Not that I rhave anything against Barack Obama, but I feel like Ms. Clinton is the best choice. Regardless of how this all turns out, we will get a quality candidate. But I gotta say, I thought sexism was more dead than it really is. Day after day I see and hear things about Ms. Clinton that is insanely offensive to me. The misogyny that is running rampant in this camapign is intolerable, and the fact that no one with a big voice is up on a soapbox denouncing this is disheartening. Someone told me that she was talking to some female coworkers of hers about it, and they said, 'That's just the way it is, it's never gonna change.' I was agast to hear this. There is plenty to do about it, starting with just talking about it. It's pretty eye opening to someone like me, who on a day to day basis doesn't feel the sting of sexism, but now I realize that it is boiling under the surface, and it frustrates me.

Anyway, that is what's rolling around in my head today. Wonder what will be there next.

Digg For Jericho

One of my fellow Jericho fans has designated Sunday, October 28th as Digg Day for Jericho. What's a Digg? Glad you asked. Digg is a website that posts articles from blogs all over the web. You may have seen the 'Digg' icons on some of your favorite sites. It takes you to the site where you can click and add your Digg. The sites with the most Diggs get put up on the sites top ten articles and get more exposure. You can search for top articles in different categories, or see what's new on the front page. During the Nuts for Jericho campaign, blog posts got hundreds of Diggs, helping keep the story in the forefront of the news. Now, we would like to make a little noise about how we feel about CBS' handling of the DVD release and when we will get to see the new seven episodes. More on Digg here or here

Digg-ing is easy and can be fun. You do need to register, like just about everything online these days, but they will never spam you. It's kind of a power to the people site. If you want to join in the fun, here is the link to the Digg sites.

So, what is going on in the world of Jericho? Beats me. CBS and Nina Tassler told the fans they needed to get more people to watch the show when it came back, a task that we have been happy to take on. BUT. And this is a BIG BUT. We do feel like a multi-million dollar corporation like CBS has much more to do themselves. They had an opportunity to made a big noise when the DVDs were released. I only saw a little side banner ad in my Entertainment Weekly. It was a whisper, when it could have been a boom. They have a whole network at their disposal. Hell, even the Sci Fi network had an exclusive online video interviewing cast members and producers at the DVD release party. THE SCI FI NETWORK! Maybe they should take the show.

As most of you know, I am also a huge fan of 24. They do not debut until January 13th. You know what FOX just did? They had a world wide tah-da, debuting the trailer for the seventh season this past Wednesday. They put it up on the jumbotron in Times Square! Now, I know that 24 is a huge, moneymaking extravaganza for FOX, but Jericho is hopefully due to debut in January. All the episodes have been shot. CBS could totally make a big noise, starting right now, and ramp up the excitement, feeding off the good will they got from the successful fan campaign. But we still don't even know when the show will be back on the air. How are we supposed to drum up viewers when we can't even tell them when to tune in?

The other potential stick in the plan is the looming writer's strike. CBS had said that as soon as one of their new shows tanked, Jericho was first in line to replace it. But when Viva Laughlin bit it after two episodes, they announced The Amazing Race would take it's place. Being a fan of that show, I am fine with that decision. It will run into the holiday season, and putting a show with many Emmy's and an established fan base is the smart move. Some have speculated that CBS will hold Jericho if the strike happens, and will be one of the few networks that has new, scripted shows to debut. 24 is debuting in January, Lost is debuting in February. There is still time to get us all a-buzz over Jericho. I hope that CBS doesn't drop the ball on this. There is only so much we can do.

Here's the video they showed at Comic-Con to thank the fans. Please enjoy! For The Fans

Sing A Song

I have always loved a well done TV theme song. The theme to The Dick Van Dyke Show stands out immediately as I think about them. Over the years, some of my favorite shows had theme songs that immediately got me into the mood for the show. In college, my good friend Rhonda had a cassette of Mike Post theme songs (LA Law, Remington Steele, NYPD Blue, The A-Team, Magnum, P.I., et.al.) and would put it on her stereo and blast it out the dorm room window out into the quad. Aaah, good times.....

A while back TV shows stopped with the pesky theme song, what with more commercials and less time to tell a story, that precious minute or two was used to start the actual story, leaving time for a title card after the teaser, and credits would run at the bottom of the screen once the action started. It made sense financially, but I missed the theme songs and opening title sequences.

But with the new television season, I have noticed that more shows are going back to theme songs and opening credits, although most of them are instrumentals. A lot of them are wonderful little ditties. As expected, sit-coms have perky, sing-songy tunes that make you want to sing along. Notable ones are from The Office, 30 Rock and How I Met Your Mother. The dramas have some nice ones two, my current favorite being "A Place In Time" which opens The 4400. Other notables are Ugly Betty, Journeyman, Chuck and Bionic Woman, in all it's cheesiness. The CSI franchise has given The Who a nice little boost as well.

Not all shows have added the theme songs back (my favorite, Jericho, has a bleak, morse code title card that seems appropriate for the show), but it's a nice little trend that I hope continues.

Well, Hello Ladies...

Let me start this off by saying this is all conjecture. I don't have any hard stats on any of this.

I am suprized by all the female fans of Jericho. Hm, maybe suprized is not the right word. Let's go back.


I am suprized by all the female fans of 24. Hey, this is a show that is marketed towards men in that juicy 18-49 year old demo. There is lots of fighting and blowing stuff up and driving around in big cars and shooting bad guys. But most of my female friends love 24. I mean, when you mention 24, their eyes get dilated and you can see them get all excited. I have had this experience with all fans of 24, they can't wait to talk about how much they love (or, in some cases after season 6, how much they are disappointed by) the show. At first, with the Ladies, I thought it was the hotness factor. 24 is never short on men that are easy on the eye. But once you get past the 'Kiefer is so my TV boyfriend' conversation, these Ladies are real and actual fans of The Show. My favorite TV related internet site has just as many women, if not more women than men, posting on the 24 forums. I found this curious, but never really thought about it much.


Then came Jericho. And then went Jericho. And then came the Save Jericho campaign. I met a lot of wonderful fans on the Jericho message boards that have popped up on the Interwebs (man, I wish I knew who first used this word, I love it), and it slowly dawned on me that most of the people I had gotten to know were women. So now, I started to wonder if this is maybe just an internet thing. Maybe women are just more likely to post on the internet message boards, being the chatty, social creatures that we are. But then CBS started running the reruns of Jericho on Friday nights, and I took notice of the commercials running during the show (yes, I am watching the re-runs; does this suprize any of you?). Among the expected ads for cars and electronics, there were ads for make-up and kitchen-related stuff that was clearly meant for the Ladies of the household. Veerrry interesting. Because while Jericho isn't as obviously an action-adventure type show as 24, it is still very male skewed in a traditional, stereotypical sense. Apparently I am not the only one who noticed the large female fan base, and female appeal of the show (lovely looking actors, once again, not being the only reason to tune in).


Obviously, 24 is not on the air right now (and who knows if it will ever make it back hearing about all those stops and starts of production), so I can't look in on their ads. I seem to recall the shows being heavy on Big Freakin' Car ads, though.


Anyway, I find all of this very interesting. After spending years deflecting odd looks when I confessed to liking action movies and being accused of being a Sci-Fi nerd because I've seen Star Wars a bajillion times and own at least four versions of the trilogy, looks like I am not a 'weird girl' after all. Looks like I have lots of female counterparts out there who like the rough and tumble stuff just as much as the boys. So maaaaybe, just maybe, we are all slowly inching away from the stereotypes and assumptions that we all have.

A Lady can dream, right?

Hooray For Our Side!

Well, that was fun!

After three weeks of nuts and emails and cards, CBS relented and gave us our show back, even if it is only on a trial basis. Fan-tastic!! (oh god, please ignore my silly pun...)

There is still much work to be done if we want to keep our show around, but now is the time to celebrate!

If you'd like to play catch up and see what all the fuss is about, you can check out all the episodes from season one on CBS.com!

Or, if watching TV on your computer isn't your thang, CBS will be re-running season one all summer long (starting July 6th at 9pm), and last, but not least, check out iTunes and buy yourself the season (DVDs available October 2nd, for all you 'extras' junkies).

Obviously, this is a show that I adore, and I think this summer is the perfect time to catch up and get ready for season two. Someone over on YouTube has already taken the first step, and cut together their own Season Two promo. Enjoy!

TV is FUN!!

Those of you who know me, know I love my TV. When people ask me what my hobbies are, I always want to tell them, "TV!" but I usually don't. There's a general acceptance that TV is bad, so I normally keep that to myself. But no more! I am coming out of the television closet.

So now that all the networks have blown their collectives wads, I felt like it was time to comment on my TV addiction. An addiction that I love to feed. Let's see what I thought of this seasons offerings.

THE GOOD STUFF
Reality TV:

Survivor - This season we started off with one team living with luxuries, and the other living with nothing. After a few episodes it got really, really uncomfortable. It was looking like one of the most depressing seasons ever. But then, the teams merged, and everything was taken away except fire, a machete and a pot. Surprize! The ensuing scheming and strategy ramped up and it became an exciting show. By the end, as usual, the person who played the best game didn't have a chance in hell of winning, but it ended as one of the best seasons yet! Tune in for the fall season, when they will be living in China (and maybe Jeff will wear that lavender shirt I like so much). Good times...

The Amazing Race - One of my all-time favorite shows. A game that rewards skill and clear thinking, while sometimes dooming teams to incredible bad luck (anyone who has travelled knows the pain of missing a flight or suffering an incompetent cabbie). If you've seen the show, you know how much fun it is, without all the silly crap of lesser reality fare (I'm looking at you, The Real World). The next season has not been officially scheduled yet, adding to my current grumblings towards CBS, but chances are we will get to see Phil eliminate teams all around the world sometime mid-season.

Sit-Coms:

How I Met Your Mother - This one is smart and charming, and Neil Patrick Harris steals the show time and time again. A light, cute show that I always would forget about, but thanks to my trusty DVR, one I never missed.

My Name Is Earl - This is one of those quirky shows that consistently has outstanding writing and brilliant comedic actors. Also, it regularly ends with a touching moral that is never trite and frequently brings a tear to my eye. Extra special credit goes to Jaime Pressly for her awesome portrayal of Earl's ex-wife, Joy. Hilarious.

30 Rock - A new show this year that started off okay, but really found it's way by mid-season. The chemistry between Tina Fey and Alec Baldwin was perfect, and by the end of the season, became one of the funniest shows on TV. A much better depiction of life behind the scenes of a late night sketch show than the flailing and now cancelled Studio 60. Here's hoping Alec returns as network exec Jack Donaghy next season.

The Office - Hands down one of the funniest sit-coms ever made. Steve Carrell is brilliant as the wildly embarrassing Michael Scott, and every single actor has fleshed out their characters nicely. Of course I breathlessly followed the Jim and Pam storyline this season, but am consistently amused by Dwight Schrute, and all the other Regular Joe's just trying to get through a work day, surrounded by a boss who is always impeding their work. This show has evolved into its own, after taking the ball and running from the British original, brilliantly conceived by the hilarious Ricky Gervais.

Dramas (hold on, this could take a while):

Heroes - Holy comic book Batman! A fun, exciting new series that captured the imagination of many, and proved that serial dramas can work if it has compelling characters and a clever story. Some have criticized this show as being poorly written and badly directed. Well, I'm not an expert on such things, I just know what I like, SuperHeroes! We spent the season getting to know an unsuspecting group of ordinary people, discovering they have extraordinary powers, while coming together to help save the world. Right up my alley, folks. We got everything from mind-readers and time-benders to an indestructible cheerleader and an evilly good villain. Even though I was mildly disappointed by the season finale, this show racked up enough good credit throughout the season to keep me interested to see what happens next!

24 - Speaking of racking up credit. For those of us who have been series long fans of the show, this year came dangerously close to riding right off the rails. An amazing beginning of the season winded down into a messy tangle of poorly thought out story lines and characters that were hard to care about (one of the most compelling parts of the show in the past). But we had Kiefer Sutherland and his outstanding (and Emmy winning) acting to keep me interested enough to hold on, and I felt I was rewarded at the end with an emotional plea from Jack Bauer, and the hope for something better for him next season. 24, you're not getting rid of me that easy!

Lost - There has been much bitching about the third season of Lost. A lot of fans became bitter during season two of this castaway drama, and the beginning of this season didn't help. But after the loooong and inexcusable three months off, the show came back guns blazing (that's for you Paul), and rolled crazily to the best season finale of the whole TV season. Some find the fact that this show breaks it's own rules regularly, and that the story is too slow to unfold to be maddening. But the meat of this show, the characters and their own struggles with their past while trying to fight for their lives, is as compelling as the first day it aired. To anyone who insists on trotting out the tired 'They never answer any questions', should re-watch the two part Pilot. We have come a long way. The decision to announce a specific end date for the series is a brave move for a money hungry network, and a boon to the creative process for the writers. Looking forward to season four immensely.

The Sopranos - This show is in it's last throes, and David Chase and company are giving us a humdinger of a season. A beautiful balance of introspection and terrifying violence, every episode is full of HBO goodness. There are two episodes left, and we have no idea how this story will end. A great cap to a ground-breaking series.

Battlestar Galactica - I was late on this train, but finally jumped on board this season. Immediately intriguing, and made awesome by the stellar work of Edward James Olmos, James Callas and Mary McDonnell (go Fredonia!). This is an amazing show in both its visuals and storytelling.

Planet Earth - I am putting this under dramas, because it was sooooo dramatic! Shown on the Discovery channel, a ten part series that explored every corner of this planet. We got to see things we've never seen, in ways we've never seen them. A stunning look at the world we live in, but rarely ever see. Everyone I convinced to watch this was in as much awe as I was. Makes the current environmental movement seem much more relevant and necessary. It is now available on DVD, so NetFlix it, buy it at Amazon, do whatever you can to watch it. It's good. And beautiful. And amazing.

Jericho - As some of you know, the cancellation of this series was a heart breaker. The show started out, by all accounts, as a freshman hit. But just as it was trying to really get a feel for what kind of show it wanted to be, CBS pulled it for an extended hiatus (a mistake several networks made this season with similar, serialized shows), and brought it back against the American Idol juggernaut. It still held fairly solid ratings against the beast that is AI, and there was not unwarranted hope for a second season. Unfortunately, the show was pulled. The last third of the season was solid, compelling and exciting. Great performances by Skeet Ulrich (I had no idea how well this boy could act), Lennie James and Gerald McRaney. A rare feat of giving us a cast of characters that we actually cared about, regularly giving us scary insight to the possibilities of a post apocalyptic world, while reminding us of how important we all can be to each other. There is currently a campaign from the fans to get the show back on the air. My mildly cynical heart feels we may not get our show back (business is business), but the effort of the fans has been almost as compelling a story. If you happened to love this as much as I did, visit http://jericholives.com/ to see what's going on, or see http://www.nutsonline.com/jericho, to send some nuts to the CBS executives. An awesome grassroots movement that is fun to watch (oh yeah, and the episodes are still up on CBS is you wanna play catch up http://www.cbs.com/primetime/jericho/).

Honorable Mentions:

Bones, Medium & Numb3rs - This is how procedurals should be done. Clever, smart and interesting characters, if you like that kind of stuff.

THE BAD STUFF
Reality TV:

America's Next Top Model - I think I watched this season out of some kind of sick loyalty. It was fairly boring, and The Soup and Best Week Ever did the job mercilessly skewering this shows season. I think I may be done with this one.

Top Design, Shear Genius, Top Chef - Running on the massive goodwill of Project Runway, Bravo inundated us with these knock off shows. Boring, boring and mostly boring. I don't know why Project Runway works so well and these shows didn't. I guess one size fits all concepts don't work.

American Idol - This show for me has always been about Simon Cowell. I love him. But this season was wildly uneven due to the insistence of having an even amount of boys and girls to start it out. The fact that Blake made it to the final, when Melinda and LaKisha were miles above him talent wise was close to ending this show for me. Seeing that the finale had the balls to run nine minutes over, thus cheating us who DVR'd the show from seeing who won, may have been the final straw. The fact that Jordin rightly beat Blake to win did not placate me. At this moment, I have no interest in next season.

Sit-Coms:

Scrubs - At one time, this was one of my favorite comedies on the schedule. Now, it is tired and played. I couldn't even muster enough interest to find out if it was renewed for another season. Enough said.

Two and A Half Men, The World According to Jim, et al - This is the kind of pandering, low-brow stuff that gives TV a bad name. Blech.

Dramas:

Law & Order, CSI, et al - All versions of these shows are being clumped here. For people who like procedurals, I know these are well liked, but it is beginning to get a little thick. These shows are fine for what they are, but there are a plethora of them, and a little more creativity and originality would be welcome in TV land. It's shows like these that kill the chance for more interesting stories to be told, but they make the networks TONS of money, so I don't see them ending anytime soon...

WHAT's NEXT?

The 4400 - A compelling little show that will be starting it's fourth summer season on USA. I have been with this show since the beginning, a little different twist on the SuperHero type sci-fi fare. It's a fun, summer distraction, and surprizingly well done for a low-budget, cable produced show.

Big Brother - A prime example of a trashy, lowest common denominator reality show. But I love it unabashedly, and have no intention of missing it this season. Please don't judge me.

Baseball - Yankee fans have had a tough go of it this season, and it's not really looking up (I'm watching the Blue Jays beat them AGAIN). But I am life long fan of baseball, and these are my boys, so bring it!

Tennis - I never really get rolling on tennis until Wimbledon, but thanks to my good friend Rhonda, I may get back to it sooner this year (The French Open just started!). Looking forward to heading out to Flushing Meadows for the US Open, something that is becoming a seasonal tradition, and it's always lots of fun.

Good god, people! That's a lot of TV (do the last two count as TV? Hmmm). To be honest, as much as I love my TV, this year has been exhausting. Lots of entertaining goodness this year, but I am looking forward to a little reprieve. Although, my roommate and I have started watching The X-Files on DVD. It is so nice to have Mulder and Scully back in my living room! There's gotta be something to keep us entertained.

PS - Thanks to Paul Preston for his always entertaining, seasonal movie rants, which inspired my own TV rant.