Thursday, September 15, 2005

Bob Declares the 2005 TV Season Officially Open

OK, like it’s my choice in the matter.

If you know anything about me, you know that I watch way to much TV. If obsessive TV watching rots your brain, then I probably have like 14 brain cells left. Yet, I won’t just watch anything. For the most part, sitcoms annoy me to all hell, and soaps, whether day time or the primetime ones like the O.C and such leave me feeling shallow and empty. Yes, and surprisingly to some, the majority of reality shows are not my cup of tea.

That being said, the mother of all reality/competition shows Survivor starts tonight and that is enough to have me declare the Fall Season open.

OK, so it’s not the first premiere of the year. Fox has premiered the intriguing Prison Break already, but let’s face it, it’s Fox, and they follow no set rules on premiering a show. The WB has premiered The new show Supernatural, whose pilot was pretty good, and of course, The Gilmore Girls for you ladies.

But, Survivor is here… and that’s good enough for me.

Funny thing is, it’s been almost 9 months since I have written a significant piece of TV critique or analysis or whatever. I semi-retired from writing my Survivor and The Amazing Race thoughts for many reasons, but mostly because the writing had become stagnant and actually started detracting from my enjoyment of the show. I actually watched Survivor: Palau solely as a fan and it renewed my love for the show. This season I plan to write again about the show, but with a lot less structure, and basically, when the spirit impels me.

This summer also sort of renewed me towards TV a bit.. There really wasn’t much significant TV watching on the networks. I truly don’t think I watched a single episode of anything on CBS, NBC, FOX or ABC this summer. I spent a lot of time watching 3 full seasons of the USA original series La Femme Nikita which I ordered on Netflix. I actually was surprised by how much I liked this series.

Yet, two shows this summer really stand out for me. Firstly, The 4400. The first season was an intriguing, five episode mini-series. The second season, a full 13 episode treatment moved it from an interesting series, to one of the best things on TV. The second series I really have enjoyed has been Bochco’s Over There. Strip away the politics, and gritty reality of war, and what stands out about this show are it’s characters. Also, we get a good cheesy quote from Eric Pallindino’s character, like “What you believe doesn’t matter, so put that sh*t away, It’s Killing Time.”

Yet, the summer is over, and along with Survivor, a bunch of shows are premiering over the next week or so, tomorrow is The Threshold, which looks interesting. Them we have Lost, Alias, Invasion and a few others.

I know I am looking forward to it.

Oh, and the Emmy’s are Sunday. I’ll probably have my picks and predictions posted soon.

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