[Dean's World] Andrew Cory: Fall 2006 TV season

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Posted by Andrew Cory:
Fall 2006 TV season
http://www.deanesmay.com/posts/1160248195.shtml


   I watch some TV. And now that Iâve got myself a TiVo, I watch more of
   it. Also, the networks are beginning to realize that âGeekâ is a valid
   lifestyle choice. Anyway, Iâm watching more TV. Since itâs heading
   into October, the shows Iâm watching have started their new seasons.
   Iâm actually kind of excited about a couple of the shows.

   Monday: [1]Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Gods what an unwieldy name!
   So itâs had 2 episodes and itâs by Aaron Sorkin. Itâs about a Saturday
   Night Live type variety show, and attempts to show the creative
   process as it plays out over a week. So far, the show has been as
   unwieldy as the name, but Sorkin has built up enough trust that Iâm
   willing to give this show a bit longer... [2]Heroes: This show has
   also had a pair of Episodes to itâs credit. Itâs a superhero story set
   in modern times. One of the eponymous is a Japanese businessman who is
   obsessed with the original Star Trek. Another is a heroin-addicted
   comic book writer whoâwhen heâs highâgets glimpses of the future and
   draws depictions of it. And then thereâs your by-now-expected shadowy
   government conspiracy. Iâm convinced that they will turn out to be
   good guys in this whole affair...

   Iâd have a lot less faith in this show were it not for the creative
   team. [3]Jeff Loeb is a longtime comic book veteran with a penchant
   for creating wonderful and believable characters. He has, in the past,
   dwelled too much on the internal life of a charterâforgetting that
   superhero books are supposed to include a modicum of action.
   Nevertheless, the last 10 seconds of the second episode leave no room
   for doubt that there will be plenty of bang...

   Tuesday: [4]Veronica Mars: The first season of this show was
   everything that Television ought to be. It was smart, featured some
   great characters (admittedly with a bit of rough acting), and was a
   terrific exploration of class issues in the United States. The second
   was... good, donât get me wrong. The writing wasnât as even as the
   first season. They werenât as focused on a single story and didnât
   seem to know how to bring it together. Of course, the last quarter of
   the second season brought it all together tremendously...

   Which brings up the third season. There has been one episode so far.
   Veronica is off to college, her Father is doing a road trip with a
   known killer andâwait, huh? This canât end well. Also, Veronica is hot
   on the heals of a serial rapist. This season will feature six episode
   arcs, rather than a more traditional 22 episode story. If the ratings
   donât pick up, the show will be canceled. So, um, tune in...

   Friday: [5]Battlestar Galactica: Ron Moore is all over my TiVo list,
   Iâve also got Deep Space 9 set to regularly record. The thing is: Iâm
   not so sure about this third season. As Iâm sure you know, in the
   first season, humanity was brought to the brink of extinction. Of the
   billions that had been, we were reduced to 50,000âroughly the number
   of people in Tower 1 when the World Trade Center got hit. The first
   season did an excellent job of establishing that humanity was weak and
   needed to run run run in order to survive...

   Season 2 saw Humanity starting to settle into their new lives. Also,
   we began to have a clue as to where to go next. The Pegasus arrived
   and humanity had a second defense platform. Ron Moore had told just
   about all the story he could without fundamentally changing the mix.
   And so he did. In the last 15 minutes or so of Season 2, humanity
   found a world, settled down, lived a year in the lifeâand then were
   enslaved...

   The third season opens four months into the occupation. 2,000 humans
   managed to be off-world when the Cylons hit. This season wants to
   explore was it is like to be occupied. There is a direct allegory
   thereâfor those who take itâof American operations in Iraq. The
   parallel isnât very exact (we Americans have no intention of being in
   Iraq foreverâthe Cylons want to be on New Caprica forever), but the
   emotions and thoughts are close enough for Television. Me? Iâm hoping
   someone shoots Tigh and takes leadership of the resistance from him.
   Especially since the Cylons who most want to destroy humanity also
   want Tigh in charge. I guess weâll see...

   So there we have it: my weekly diet of Television. So: whatâs on your
   list thatâs not on mine?

References

   1. http://www.nbc.com/Studio_60_on_the_Sunset_Strip/
   2. http://www.nbc.com/Heroes/
   3. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeph_Loeb
   4. http://www.cwtv.com/shows/veronica-mars
   5. http://www.scifi.com/battlestar/