< meta >That last week has been slow posting. I think the two causes are the belaboring of a topic (eBay) combined with better posted comments that the blog entry itself (SCHIP). These combine to raise the interesting-ness of my next post to a level I'm not confident I can make. Hence a lack of posts. < /meta >
The irony of Joanne & I spending so much on a TV nearly two years ago is that we don't actually watch a lot of TV. The main reasons being a lack of cable and the regularity of ultimate 2-3 times a week. Homeownerness and increasing internet connections speeds are also a factor.
Two years ago, we had 4 shows: West Wing, Alias, Arrested Development and 24. So that left us with with just 1 last year, with the cancellation of the first three. But we added Studio 60 (which wasn't very good most of the time) and through that, we added Heroes, the only show that made it to this year (yes, 24 wasn't canceled, but last season was bad enough to kill any enthusiasm for it this year).
But we've made an attempt(?) to add/watch more, not that there's any compelling reason to do so.
Chuck - the lead in to Heroes is pretty good. It's likeable and fun, but I think it will have a short shelf life (2+ seasons at most). No reason not to watch while it's on though. The everyday nerd as James Bond--we can all identify.
Back to You - Kelsey Grammer, Patricia heaton and Fred Wilbur, what's not to like cast-wise? It's a by-the-numbers sitcom, and watching the first couple of episodes, it made me realize how long it's been since I've intentionally meant to watch a formula sitcom.
Private Practice/Bionic Woman - neither of these are in rotation, but I watched an episode of each--they are on at the same time. PP wasn't bad, but the ep i saw didn't seem to have compelling personal dynamics which are supposed to drive soaps/dramas. BW is fairly weak IMO
Life - I've watched two episodes and it is fairly well done. The star, Damian Lewis was Winter in Band of Brothers. As a police procedural, it may fall into the trap of being predictable, but for now it has a certain Boomtown like flair (Boomtown was on NBC in 2001-2, last 24 episodes. The first season is a great DVD buy.). This is scheduled against Dirty, Sexy Money. Joanne saw an initial promo for DSM and was excited about seeing Casey (Peter Krause) back on the air (no cable means no familiarity with 6 feet under). Then we saw a longer promo after PP and she remarked "you're not actually going to watch that are you?!")
The Office and 30 Rock - More on Joanne's watch list for now, as I've got league. But we got the first season of the Office on DVD and enjoyed it quite a bit.
Las Vegas- i imagine this is the trashiest non-Fox network show on the air. By no means do we schedule around it (Fridays 9 pm), but I've caught two episodes after Joanne's gone to bed by 9. It is entertaining, I'll give it that.
And then, of course, the aforementioned Heroes. It's off to a bit of a slow start, but it might be similar to last year when we only had it on in the background for the first couple of weeks. It wasn't until the Save the Cheerleader, Save the World arc that we stopped doing other things while it was on. Claire has taken a step backwards, which is the biggest annoyance so far. We'll see how the new "heroes" get incorporated.
What are you watching (or plan to watch from your Tivo/DVR)?
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Jill and I have different tastes, and even more significantly we have different styles of tv watching.
When Jill is working, she frequently has the tv on in the background, running episodes of one of the many series she tapes. It seems to help her focus on her work to have that mild distraction in the room - maybe it is like being innoculated against larger distractions. (Since she works at home, I guess it could also be a way to keep her sitting at her desk during those pauses in work that could otherwise lead to protracted departures from the office.)
I mind this nearly incomprehensible. It is virtually impossible for me to ignore something playing on a tv, even if I don't care about it. This makes it very difficult for me to work at home when Jill is also working, and also means that I can tell you a fair bit more about most of "her" shows that she can. I can also tell her about 45 seconds into an episode if she has seen it before, while it often takes her until the second commercial break.
Given how easily I get sucked in to the tv, I don't usually plan to watch very much - it happens by itself often enough. But we use tivo & netflix to catch up on quite a few series, even though we are usually a season behind on a few things. Some of my favorites:
Rescue Me: the 2nd & 3rd seasons weren't quite as good as the first, mostly because it is hard to sustain the relationships between the characters without getting into full-on melodrama, but also because there has been less focus on the speaking-with-the-dead hook. But still, it makes very good watching with long, complex story arcs.
The Shield: another top-notch show on FX with as much morel complexity and ambiguity as you could possibly hope for, along with some of the best actors on a small screen. If you think all the talk about Michael Chiklis moving from The Commish to Vic Mackey was just hype, watch the show and then tell me what you think.
Lost: not on yet, but much anticipated. I was very glad to hear that there is a finite run planned; the questions-answered-by-more-questions motif is fun for a while, but an X-Files-like collapse was on the horizon if they can't find a way to wrap up the rules of their universe soon.
The Simpsons: week in and week out, the best half hour on tv.
Currently, there is nothing on network TV that we make an effort to watch. I think the last thing was West Wing, oh so long ago. Or maybe Eyes, a series that lasted about six episodes. Lately, during dinner, we watch shows rented through Blockbuster Online. They're usually "older" genre shows like Highlander and Forever Knight. They've replaced Rome and Deadwood now that those series have come to an end. We'll probably get around to The Riches, Dexter, and maybe The Tudors via DVD.
Like Jill, I end up having TV shows on in the background while I work. Since we're both home now, I watch them streaming on my computer with headphones on. I find it hard to work in quiet conditions, so yes, I'm only half watching and three-fourths listening to these shows. Right now, I "watch" Heroes, House, Pushing Daisies, Journeyman, Reaper, and the non-network Mad Men. Mad Men is probably the best of the bunch.
The only series I absolutely go to great lengths to watch (and considering our lack of cable, the lengths are great) is Doctor Who. Eric hates Doctor Who with a burning passion, but I find it goofy and fun. It's something I was raised on and see no reason to give up.
The only network show that I have to watch is heroes. I agree that it is off to a pretty slow start but they do seem to be setting up a lot of interesting plots. I also like that they have supplimental material online such as commics and talk boards where people can talk about possible theories. It's the most I've cared about any show.
The office is second on the list. It's hilarious. The british version is also pretty good. I like that NBC lets you watch them online too if you miss them, I don't have DVR or Tivo. I'm half way through last weeks episode of the office.
I am a sports junkie and could spend a couple of hours a night watching sportcenter. I recently realized that I do this out of habit more than anything else. Plus I think that because I love to play sports I must love to watch them a lot. However, I don't really think that it adds to my quality of life at all. Besides knowing more in the office about sports than anyone else it doesn't really do anything for me. I've since gone cold turkey on ESPN, except for 2 seconds to check the MNF score. It was a commercial. So far I haven't missed it one bit.
Otherwise, Kaitlin and I have very different tastes in TV. This results in catching glimpses of a lot of shows that I don't really care about. In general I'm jealous of you and Joanne not having cable. I really don't feel that it adds anything to quality of life. It's just a distraction and I'm easily distracted. Plus it would be nice not to have the bill each month.
First, I only watch sports in real-time. Everything else is Tivo-time. Second, your post made me really miss Alias (I missed the entire last season, so I need to catch that at some point).
My shows are The Office, Colbert Report, and Daily Show. I also love Project Runway, but it isn't on right now. While Colbert and Daily show are on M-Th, I maybe catch only a couple of these a week, but it is nice to sit down and watch one in 20min. before bed.
Anyways, I have cable and really only use it for the sports stations (including TBS), Bravo, and comedy Central. I also get this channel called Fit TV, so sometimes I tivo yoga shows in the hope that one day I'll be bored enough to do the routine...
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