TV from 9/23 - 9/29

15 goddamn shows just this week. I am a sick bastard. Hopefully going forward I can get this done before the new week starts.

Monday (9/24)

Prison Break

We are jumping in on the second episode. I lost my chance to rant about how they literally reset the show back to the beginning. One of the brothers is in jail, one of them is trying to break the other out, and there is an evil conspiracy using them. It is so past ludicrous that it works for Prison Break. Episode 2 brought more of the same. Michael is the smartest man alive and can fix every situation, this time he MacGyver’s the broken water pipes. Linc gets to know shadowy organization #2. The annoying Sucre/Maricruz storyline is hopefully wrapped up cause it bores me to tears. Sucre working with the brothers is definitely a better use for his character. The best thing about the show right now is that Bunny from The Wire is the head convict in charge. He improves the show just by standing around. His butting heads with Michael should continue to anchor the show for me.

5 out of 10

Chuck

I hate pilots. All the characters have to be introduced, the premise needs to be clearly explained, and the status quo needs to be established but it still has to come in at less than an hour. So everything is smashed together to fit and it always feels rushed. Lets judge the 3 parts. The characters are good enough; Chuck seems to fit the role, the dueling agents are okay, and there are plenty of supporting characters to provide humor. The premise seems to be a one-note joke about a nerd saving the world. Will he always save the world straight from the floor of not-Best Buy? I was hoping for better action, but I always want better action. 24 and Alias has spoiled me. Plus there is another big government conspiracy to bother with again too. I’ll give it a few more weeks.

5 out of 10

Heroes

I came pretty dang close to despising the season 1 finale. Every single character coming together, multiple characters in mortal danger but no one clearly dead, and the time travel ending left me feeling annoyed instead of intrigued. Were any of these things fixed? Well no. The Hiro in ancient Japan plot was made better because of Sark as Hiro’s hero. On the other hand, it looks like no one died in the finale. Instead we get another secondary character killed. This grows tiresome; eventually someone big has to go. So I am still stuck with way too many people to keep track of which leads to storylines that I will check out for. I did like the new stories for Claire and Jack Bennet. In fact I want a whole episode to take place in Copy Kingdom. Nathan Petrelli’s beard is fantastically fake and ridiculous. Parkman still bores me. I am unsure about Mohinder. We’ll see about the new chick. I know Ali Larter will be back soon but do we need the kid? I miss Sulu already.

6 out of 10

Weeds

First Post-U-Turn episode and the show definitely suffers in his absence. His funeral is still the best scene even when he’s dead. Nancy grieving with the other gangbangers, Marvin trying to take control … U-Turn is a huge loss. That being said, Nancy and Marvin going to the summit with the Mexican gang was great. The porn set should have been funnier. The Matthew Modine story is still boring when Nancy isn’t involved. The Christian indoctrination school and the Olsen twin fits the show but it seems to be taking the place of Heylia and Conrad. I still love the tone of the show.

7 out of 10

Californication

The tone of this show is starting to confuse me. We are only halfway through the first season and instead of Hank being completely out of control, the story has already shifted to Hank trying to put his family together. Is it just going to be constant setbacks? That will get boring. Maybe I miss the constant nudity of the first episode. Or maybe Mia is just that annoying. Or maybe I don’t care about Hank’s agent. I do like when Hank spars with the director. Eh, it’s a half-hour that follows Weeds so I’ll stick around.

5 out of 10

Tuesday (9/25)

Bones

This show has constantly improved since it began airing. Which is a good thing since I have zero tolerance for procedurals. And one of the important aspects of a procedural is the need to get everything back to normal, so by the end of this episode Booth and Bones are a team again and Zack is back from Iraq. That means that there is nothing new here so it all comes down to the case and this week its cannibals. Good stuff with an actual hint at a larger case for the season to deal with. I’m intrigued, not so much the green screen stuff at the end but still intrigued.

7 out of 10

House

Just like how last season began with House walking; this season starts without his minions. I don’t trust it and am biding my time till everyone is back in the fold. Cameron, Chase, and Foreman are coming back eventually so all I can hope for is that their absence leads to good stories. Does it this time? Hells yes. The guitar kidnapping by Dr. Wilson is enough to make this a great episode. This included one of the best House/Wilson scenes of all-time, which is when he gives the sound that a guitar string makes when it is wound too tight. Plus switching bodies, House dickishness, and Cuddy proving to House he needs a team. The abuse of the potentials hires should carry the next few episodes.

8 out of 10

The Unit

I’m jumping back in after taking the second season off. Thank you second DVR box. Automatic high score because Jonas shaves his head and gives me Pedro Cerano flashbacks. If he threw in the Cuban accent this would have been the best hour of television all week. The wives sections still lose my attention. I have no idea what happened between Mack and his wife. But it is still fun to watch all the team members do their thing. Come on, Bob hid in the casket and shot the assassin checking Jonas’ non-existent dead body. I assume everything will reset after the second episode. But maybe they’ll surprise me.

7 out of 10

Reaper

This seemed interesting enough. Plus Kevin Smith directing was hook enough to get me to record it for future viewing. Devil’s bounty hunter seemed to be a damn decent premise. President Logan’s VP is the devil which you would think should have been the other way around. The star and his buddy seem to have good timing with the buddy being real funny in this role. It’s still the CW so everything skews young and not that deep. Plus I don’t know if the budget will allow them to do decent special effects for the demons and shit. Still for a pilot it didn’t bore me, so I will return for a little while longer.

7 out of 10

Damages

I may not watch every FX show but it seems like everyone I have checked out were well worth the effort. Damages seems to be the first one since The Shield to actually get me to come back week after week. The performances are so good, from Glenn Close to Tate Donovan to Ted Danson to Rose Byrne to Zeljko Ivanek to just about anybody who shows their face. The only real negative I have for Damages is that I am not a fan of the format; telling the story of the case while slowly revealing the horrible conclusion where Ellen’s fiancé is dead and we don’t know how or why yet. It works though. This week’s episode includes showing Patty breakdown in the future, the continuing revelation that Ellen can’t trust Patty or Tom, and just more awesome work by Ted freaking Danson. I still have no idea how this is going to wrap up while at the same time I have no idea how there can be a second season.

9 out 10

Wednesday (9/26)

Bionic Woman

So I have been trying to replace Alias for 2 years now. 4 years if you want to remove the last 2 years of Alias from the record books. Here’s hoping Bionic Woman can do the job. After the pilot, I am not jumping ship so that is a good start. As a pilot, this avoided many of the pitfalls. By the end of the episode I really didn’t know how each hour would go down which I liked. Jamie Sommers was introduced, fucked up, then rebuilt using magical technology. Another world famous shadowy conspiracy was introduced. Evil doctors, sketchy doctors, kung fu dude, whiny sister, evil bionic woman, and no Isiah Washington were all introduced without feeling forced. I was hoping for a better fight scene at the end but it didn’t suck and hopefully the show can grow into great action. I could do with out the aggressive soundtrack playing over every important scene. Still I feel pretty good about this show at least lasting the season.

7 out of 10

Life

Second most precarious show, if it doesn’t vastly improve over the next week or so I will not stick around. It is just a cop drama with the all-necessary twist. I don’t have much to say. Calamity Jane and the overarching mysterious conspiracy may keep me coming back but it is touch and go right now.

4 out of 10

Dirty Sexy Money

This is a step above Life but still behind Bionic Woman, Chuck, and Reaper for new shows that I am going to follow. I like Peter Krause and I like Donald Sutherland so here we go. It could be fun. Lots of Darling children running around acting crazy, William Baldwin sleeping with a tranny hooker, priests with illegitimate children, and other real soapy situations. Then again the soapy nature will probably be the reason why I fall off this show. Then again the omnipresent conspiracy over Peter Krause’s dad’s death might keep me coming back.

5 out of 10

Thursday (9/27)

Smallville

Still crap and I am still watching. Smallville has not improved and in fact has probably worsened. Another female is added to the cast so there will be even less time for Chloe or Lois which sucks. Of course Bizarro was finished off before the end of the episode because there is a new season to start building even though the conclusion will be rushed and lead to nothing for next season. And the Lana reveal at the end was just awful. How stupid do they assume the audience is if they feel that people believed she was dead and would be shocked by her still being alive? There is nothing promising about this season.

2 out of 10

Big Shots

This is the worst new show that I watched. I will record next week’s episode and that will be the final call. Outside of Vaughn from Alias, I have nothing positive to write. Christopher Titus in a semi-serious role? Yet he is still doing his stand up? Do we need more tranny hookers on ABC? This seems like more soapy drama that doesn’t interest me at all. I do not have high hopes.

3 out of 10

Damages wins for the week with House coming in second. I wasn't blown away by any premiere but at the same time I have nice slate of shows to follow.