My day was pretty much this: "No... I didn't watch the season finale of Lost. Thanks for asking."
I dropped the insanity of Lost after the "PUSH THE BUTTON" stupidity of 2005. Big questions were never getting answered, and the entire show consists of adding even more questions that probably won't be answered either. What's the point of watching if there's no pay-off? Hopefully, for the sake of those still devoted to the show, they wrap it up at the end. As for me? I'm done.
But not done with television. Because even though many shows have just ended their seasons, there are some most excellent shows coming up with fresh material this summer...
SUNDAY, JUNE 1st: Code Monkeys 2nd season premiere on the G4 Network (official site).
This animated show is lovingly rendered in faux old-school 8-bit graphics, and tells the story of coders working at an 80's video game company. Always entertaining, Code Monkeys is, at it's best, hysterically funny and even raunchier than South Park. If you are even remotely attuned to 80's geek culture, this is a must-see.
SUNDAY, JUNE 1st: In Plain Site series premiere on USA Network (official site).
I fell in love with Mary McCormack when she joined the cast of The West Wing as National Security Advisor to President Bartlet. When that gig ended, I always wondered where she'd turn up next. Turns out she's a US Marshal for the Federal Witness Protection Program. Cool enough. My hopes are running high, and I'll definitely be tuning in.
FRIDAY, JUNE 6th: Meerkat Manor, The Next Generation 4th season premiere on Animal Planet (official site).
Some of the hottest soap opera action ever to air on television just happens to star little fuzzy animals. Life, death, sex, loyalty, romance, betrayal, jealousy... and a never-ending struggle for survival... it's all here on Meerkat Manor. Shockingly addictive television that will ensnare you like few shows can, the third season replaces Sean Astin with Stockard Channing as narrator. Hopefully the drama is one thing that won't be changing.
THURSDAY, JUNE 12th: My Boys 2nd season premiere on TBS Network (official site).
A show that took me completely by surprise, My Boys is a comedy about a female professional sportswriter named PJ and the "boys" she's friends with. It's really well-written as far as comedies go, but the reason I love it so much is because the show is completely ingrained in its Chicago setting. The city is practically an 8th character. The first season ended in a massive cliffhanger that has had fans agonizing for months, and I can't wait to see what happens next.
MONDAY, JUNE 16th: Weeds 4th season premiere on Showtime (official site).
The show about pot-dealing widow Nancy Botwin just keeps getting better and better. What started as a fairly simple and straight-forward series has rapidly evolved to an intricate and complex drama with some of the darkest humor found to date. Showtime is promising that the 4th season will head in an entirely new direction, which both worries and excites me at the same time.
THURSDAY, JULY 10th: Burn Notice 2nd season premiere on USA Network (official site).
Another series that grabbed me from the first episode, Burn Notice is a clever reinterpretation of MacGyver, this time as a spy who is abandoned in Miami and has to put his skills to use in a new line of work. As if that wasn't cool enough, Bruce Campbell and Gabrielle Anwar round out the cast.
MONDAY, JULY 14th: The Closer 4th season premiere on TNT Network (official site).
Kyra Sedgwick is riveting as LAPD Deputy Police Chief Brenda Johnson, heading one of the best ensemble casts on television. I worry about the cases getting a bit repetitive, but they always seem to have enough interesting stuff going on in the periphery to keep the show from getting boring. As an added bonus, the lead out for this show is Saving Grace, the Holly Hunter vehicle that adds a new kind of bizarre to crime television.
FRIDAY, JULY 18th: Psych 3rd season premiere on USA Network (official site).
By all rights, this show about a fake Psychic detective should be worn out and buried by now (much like I consider Monk to be)... but somehow they manage to keep things fresh. This season, they cast Cybill Shepherd as Shawn's mom, so there's new season freshness right there.
There's something good on television!
Ok, I need to check out Code Monkeys. That sounds like a show I would like.
And Weeds is already a show I like a lot. I'm waiting for the 4th season to start so I can keep up on what's going on in Agrestic.
Posted by ChillyWilly on May 30, 2008 | Reply
I think Lost actually has too many answers now. The show has progressed so quickly. I'm worried about how they are going to handle the last 2 seasons.
I just really wish Jack and Kate would die :)
Posted by joy on May 30, 2008 | Reply
You stopped watching Lost way too early. The second season was meh. The third season focussed on a completely different part of the storyline. This past season (4) put everything together and answered a LOT more questions than it asked. We know so much more, and it all makes much more sense.
That's the thing with good long range story telling. In order to make a good story great, you have to do character development first, then start with the global viewpoint, narrow down the story to the main protagonists, and then bring the story to a climax before sweeping up all the crumbs in the finale. The LOST writers are masterful at looking at a 7 year time plan, and making the story last with enough questions and enough information to make some great theories, while keeping your interest up the entire time.
So yes, season 2 was problematic because it was the season that introduced the tailies, and tried to put them together with the beachies while still keeping you fearful of the others. Three disparate groups, each with their own backstories, and fitting them all into one storyline was not done as well as it could have been.
However, THIS season was so good, I can't think of anything that has EVER been on TV before or since that is this good. Not St. Elsewhere, The Sopranos, Hill St Blues, West Wing, Huff, Homicide, NYPD Blue or any other ensemble show.
Of course, I'm willing to admit that our taste in tv is radically different, since I've never even heard of most of what you watch. But don't castigate Lost based on the 2nd seaason. Really.
Be glad you don't watch Lost anymore. They take 2 hours of a finale and tell you one thing. I'm afraid it's going to end up cancelled leaving me wondering what it was all about. Same happened with Greatest American Hero, Journeyman, and the 4400.
I'm looking forward to checking out the shows you mentioned once I upgrade DISH. Right now DISH doesn't allow those channels on their "family" plan. All they offer are cartoon channels and the Food Network.
You don't watch Battlestar Galactica. Man you are missing out, Big Time.
Posted by Michelle on May 31, 2008 | Reply
Chilly Willy... I will be the first to admit that Code Monkeys has limited appeal. BUt, for somebody like me, it's fantastic!
Avitable... Oh I love Traylor Howard, and thought she breathed new life into Monk... but that was several seasons ago, and the show is getting kind of tired. Monk's paranoia has gone from an interesting character quirk to downright annoying to me. I still watch from time to time, but am not liking it as much as I used to.
Claire... I dropped Showtime after they killed "Dead Like Me," so I have been keeping up by watching torrents (until it comes out on DVD so I can buy it). I would gladly buy it on iTunes as it is released, but Showtime doesn't sell them there after airing. Yet another example of a company not understanding how modern distribution works in the computer age. :-(
Joy... Every time one of my friends tells me that they are finally answering stuff, I ask a bunch of questions that were lingering from season's 1 and 2... only to find out they haven't been answered at all! I think it was the WRITERS who were lost in the early episodes, and they are choosing to ignore bunches of stuff that they threw out for shock value early on.
Mik... Yeah... that's life (and death) in the world of nature. The harder deaths are when characters you've grown attached to over many episodes is killed. It's like losing family!
Whit... Eh, I've been fooled many times before by friend's going OMG! YOU'VE GOT TO WATCH!! Only to tune in and have it be more of the same. I'll wait until all the episodes have aired and see if they do in fact wrap everything up before being fooled again. :-)
Margalit... I understand the concept of long-range storytelling, but Lost is too much a mess for me to buy that. I don't consider recycling the same crap over and over again to be "character development." Every time somebody tells me OMG! YOU HAVE TO TUNE IN... I do, only to find an episode where they are recycling Locke's past all over again, adding no new information. Then they just add a bunch more crap, when past anomalies are still ignored. I got tired of it and left.
Yellojkt... Tom Zarek.
Sue... I like Psych because they are constantly pushing the show to be fresh. Just when you think it's going to get boring, they have Shawn as a Mexican soap star and it's cool all over again!
Kevin... I think LOST will manage to keep ratings up to finish out the show. Whether the writers choose to wrap things up to anybody's satisfaction is the REAL mystery of that show!
Michelle... Of course I watch BSG! I love that show! Where did I ever say I didn't?? I'm just listing shows that are premiering their new seasons over the summer... not every show I watch. :-)
Poppy... No doubt! It has been WAY too long since that cliffhanger! Who showed up?!? I must know!
USA is turning in to the Channel Of Summer, isn't it? I've been waiting ALL WINTER for Burn Notice, In Plain Sight and Psych. Damn good stuff, and the ads they create, like Gorman from Law And Order:CI bringing a pie to the female lead of In Plain Sight, are just charming.
Burn Notice=AWESOME.
Posted by Tracy Lynn on May 31, 2008 | Reply
I love Burn Notice and Psych. I was surprised they made it to another season. Usually the shows I like the most get canceled.
Posted by Mad William on May 31, 2008 | Reply
You had me worried there for a minute because it says on your post that My Boys is starting May 12th, so I thought I missed a few shows.... but I clicked over to the TBS site and it doesn't start until June 12th..... so we are safe!
Posted by dropdeadchris on May 31, 2008 | Reply
i love love love code monkeys's have you watched the IT crowd? also fantastic but you gotta kinda like brit humor
Posted by nicole on June 01, 2008 | Reply
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