Favorite TV of 08

5. The Wire – An appropriate ending for a fantastic series. I will miss McNulty and Bubbs and everyone else. This show was a master class in writing compelling characters.

4. The Office – Holly’s addition was pitch perfect and hilarious, and made her departure more painful. Here’s hoping the eventual problems in Jim and Pam’s engagement are not one big cliche.

3. 30 Rock and SNL – Tina Fey is brilliant in my eyes and I don’t care who tries to hate on her. They are wrong.

2. The Soup – Only two shows in my young TV watching life have been so strong as to get me to choose them over going out on a Friday night, even when I had two DVRs, and The Soup is one of them. Joel McHale is snarky in a lovable and brilliant manner, and he hates reality shows as much as I do. Getting to see a screening last year was an enlightening experience. This year brought us Spaghetti Cat and a plethora of other hilarious and spot on commentary on the state of television, and in general, the world.

1. Battlestar Galactica – There is not enough praise I can give to this show. It has become more than just a television show for me, but more of an experience, if I think about everything that I’ve seen and done this year. It will be sorely missed.

I also need to mention Veronica Mars, which i was able to finally watch this summer. VM’s first season was as perfect as a season can get, and the other two were incredibly enjoyable. It’s a pity the show did not last longer, I guess because of people like me.

On what exactly did Fringe spend those $10 Million?

 

It's Pacey!

 

 

Around a month ago I got my hands on an early screener for the Fringe pilot. Being an unabashed fan of everything JJ Abrams [Felicity, Alias, and LOST were all brilliant before he moved on to other projects -though LOST has recaptured what it once lost], my sister and I sat down to watch the very hyped, Fringe pilot.

 

Our initial reaction? Meh…

We were excited to see Pacey back on our TV, and any show that uses Lance Reddick must be of quiality. But there was just something missing. We were never hooked or intrigued enough to care about the show. The lead actress was rather bland, and the story, again, not compelling enough. 

LOST’s pilot was brilliantly brutal and engrossing from the very first second. Fringe tries to bring back the magic by opening in an airplane, but they just don’t get it. Melting faces and projectile vomiting are not as thrilling as a plane crash.

To its credit, the show is very well produced. I am looking forward to the next few episodes, as it is being billed as a procedural drama, which when done well [The Closer] can be absolutely thrilling. Yet when done sloppily [Criminal Minds], well it means I won’t bother tuning in.

Two things I did love about Fringe were the titles integrated with the scenes. Everytime a new location was presented, it was announced with over the top captions that are made to look like someone hung them into the environment. They are fantastic, and a wonderful evolution of Alias’s title cards. The fact that there an evil corporation doing sinister experiments with Fringe sciences also guarantees some sort of LOST/Dharma-ish mysteries that I can’t wait to learn more about. I was also very intrigued about where the show can go in the future. When Lance Reddick explains what kind of Fringe cases they might investigate, my mind just tingles with excitement. 

I’ll definitely continue watching, but it needs to have a very compelling episode that makes it rise above other shows. LOST had it, go watch the fourth episode of the first season “Walkabout”. Brilliant episode that paved the way for an amazing show. Let’s hope Fringe has the magic.

 

Here’s other people’s take:

TV Squad’s Fringe Pilot Review

Alan Sepinwall on Fringe

Veronica Mars is the evolution of cool

Too bad it was canceled. And that it’s only now that I get into it. But as I make my way through season 2, there are a few things that just make this show for me, especially as a fan of television in general. The biggest thing is the relation to Buffy and it’s universe. From guest stars, to a tiny blonde with a big attitude, Mars is Buffy for another generation. Then there are the other little things, like the shout out to LOST from above, or the references to Battlestar. Again, too bad it was cancelled.

Lucille Bluth is back!

 

Gene!

But this time in the re-make of 90210. The show was rather meh, but it has one very strong reason to watch: Jessica Walters is a riot! A few weeks ago I said it would be so cool if she was playing Lucille from Arrested Development in the 90210 world, and well, she is!

 

Guess I’ll have to watch this show now.