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My Shows: Making The Best Out Of Nothing

Back in September, or whenever the new television season started, I made myself a promise.  I was going to stay in more.  I've always been a movie person, but decided that I would start watching a little more TV.  The reason was simple.  I don't have many cable stations to watch sports or movies, but I'm still paying about $40 a month for the damn thing.  So it began.  A quest to find one show a night to watch. 

Prime Suspect was the first show that grabbed me. The American version of the English hit was the best show on TV.  Then like anything which might have good acting, great dialogue and a need for the slightest bit of intelligence to "get," it was taken off the air.  Not even finishing season number one.  So aside from that failure, I've gotten caught up in exactly one show per evening.  It should also be noted, that most of them I normally forget to watch and then catch them On Demand.  So with the exception of one, they aren't all that wonderful.

Monday: Alcatraz - The creators of Lost have an other island-themed show, that plays of the past, the present and the future.  The difference with this one, is that there is an actual direction. While I can't see this show being on more than another year (unless it introduces some actually interesting characters), it is slightly compelling. The story of a group of inmates and guards that disappear from Alcatraz in the 60's, this show draws us in with the idea that in some way the past and present characters all need each other, for some reason or another.  The star is a young, very attractive woman who is paired with a comic book salesman and Alcatraz expert.  They hunt down all these blasts from the past and it always ends with their success.  I assume this will change, as the last episode has hinted their is much more to the story.  The show is not great, but the plot is interesting enough and the pace is quick enough, that on a Monday night, I can handle it.  I'd rate it a C+.

Tuesday: New Girl - The quirkiest, slap stick comedy show to come around in years.  The best part of this show is that as much as the characters act in odd ways, we can relate and we know them.  The newly dumped girl, lost in a world she doesn't understand, but she always looks for the light at the end of the tunnel.  The guy who was dumped, doesn't know how to go on, then meets someone and just wants to be loved.  The guy who thinks he's all that, but the truth is he's as vulnerable and sweet as anyone else we know.  The guy who had everything for a while and now has to come back to reality and pick up where everyone else has left off.  And finally, the really hot girl, who deep down is just a sweet, innocent girl looking for love.  The key to this show, is that every character has reached that age where they should be settling, but can't find Mr. or Mrs. Right.  In their attempts, insanity ensues.  I'd rate it an A.

Wednesday: Criminal Minds - The FBI drama has definitely lost it's luster.  It's starting to rely too heavily on it's model and it's shows haven't really hit the mark.  The show somewhat jumped the shark a few years ago, when they featured a two part finale called "To hell....and back."  I say it jumped the shark, but really, it hurt itself, by having one of the better finale's in the last five years.  No cliff hanger, just a great story, great acting and a not so friendly and very realistic ending.  While the shows has gone downhill, it is still the most interesting of all the cop dramas, or as they call them now, procedurals.   My grade is a B-.

Thursday: Up All Night - Christina Applegate was never this funny in Married With Children or the show she had amnesia.  In this she is downright hilarious.  Coupled with Will Arnett, the duo are constantly turning every day things into hilarity.  I'll get shit for this, but they have succeeded where Seinfeld failed, because they make it realistic. These things happen.  People fall, get back up and then curse a lot.  The show really took off when the famous co-star found a mate.  While it's definitely a secondary story, it has added layers to what started out as very simple characters.  A loving couple, whose only desire in life is to give their baby daughter the best life she can have and finding that the little things in life are so much more important than what they initially thought they wanted for her.  My grade B.

Friday:  Grimm - A crime drama based on the Grimm fairy tales, this show explores a small town in Portland, Oregon that seems to have some very interesting criminals.  It's obviously working it's way up to something bigger and we see that those amongst us are rarely who they appear to be.  The show isn't well acted.  It isn't exactly tight at times.  It is however captivating if you know the true Grimm's fairy tales. Not the G-rated versions you might have read as a child, but the bone chilling horror stories that I read as a child.  In those versions, Little Red dies and she dies a horrible death.  In the show, it's even more weird.  My Grade B.

I'd be remiss if I didn't get sucked into the anus of our society, which is reality TV.  Now while I find American Idol to be one of the worst shows on television, I do enjoy hearing singers pour their hearts out.   American Idol has had a few good singers over the years, but they are few and far between and I rarely care who wins.  Last year, I got caught up with The Voice.  Talented singers competing for a contract, in the same fashion as AI, but with a twist.  They are chosen strictly due to their voices, not their general appeal.  What makes this show so much better than AI is that the worst singers in the room are better singers than the best AI has to offer.  They might not have the marketability, but they absolutely nail their renditions of most songs.  Under the guidance of four superstars of today's music they go through a brutal competition where they are compete head to head.  It is much more complex than AI and the winner, might not be the best singer.  Last year, I have to say, I didn't agree at first, but after thinking about the entire season and not just one performance, the right person won.  I hate reality TV and to be honest, I don't even know what night or channel this show is on, but it's pretty good for a reality competition.  My grade is a B.

And there you have it.  I basically watch no other TV shows. I have seen Person of Interest, but it's become the same silly thing every night.  I have tried Whitney and Chelsea, but they are asinine.  I've tried the others that have come out recently, but can't stomach any of them. So that's my lineup. Aside from New Girl, there isn't one in the lot worth staying home for, but when I do, this is what I watch.  And before you judge and say what about this or that. I like Modern Family but it is on when Criminal Minds is on.  It's very funny and has moments of sheer brilliance, but I only watch it once in a while.  I don't want to fall too much more in love with Sofia Vergara, so I must abstain.

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