Catching Ducks

There were several new shows I wanted to try this fall: Heroes, Smith, Jericho, The Nine, and Ugly Betty. In the past I've limited my choices, but now I try anything I think might enjoyable. I call this the "Now and Again" rule. (When Now and Again premiered, there were several other shows I wanted to try, so I decided not to watch it. Two months later, I came across an episode and said, "Hey, this is good. Way better than those other shows! Too bad I missed a bunch of episodes...") This year I have added the "Veronica Mars" corrollary to my rule, which is why I gave Ugly Betty a chance. (Veronica Mars was a show that I heard was great, but I didn't think would interest me. Two years later I watched the DVDs and fell madly in love with it. I've seen all the eps, but I'm kicking myself for not getting in on the ground floor.)

So, here's my reviews:


Heroes

Fun. A nice large cast, which I like. Large ensembles shows (like Lost) mean that I don't have time to get truly fed up with potentially annoying characters. Superpowers are always fun. It's got kind of a pompous "They will avert the apocalypse.... dun dun DUN!" thing going, but I don't mind it so much. I'll keep watching.

One of the characters is Japanese and speaks very little English. I read a review that wondered if viewers could handle a non-English-speaking character. But Lost has a character that only speaks Korean, and viewers don't have a problem with that! I started wondering if the Heroes people were willing to take a chance on the Japanese-speaking character because of the Korean characters on Lost.


Smith

As I was saying to my mom the other day, I'd rather watch the good guys than the bad guys. So if I'm going to watch people wearing trenchcoats and sunglasses, talking on hidden radios, and blowing stuff up, I'd rather watch, say, the spies from MI-5 than the thieves of Smith. However...... there's some serious HoYay going on. Cannot... resist.... the....HoYay! Aarggh! Maybe I'll just fast-forward through the other characters' scenes...


Jericho

It's dark and not that well written. But I'm a sucker for a post-apocalyptic story. (And one of the minor characters is deaf!) I'll keep watching until they cancel it. (Which will probably be soon.)


The Nine

I'm not sure what I think about this one. The idea is intriguing and the acting is sound, but for some reason it didn't grab me. I want to know what happened/happens, but I'm not sure I can see myself watching it every week.


Ugly Betty

I had every intention of disliking this show. Hollywood's idea of a "fat" "ugly" girl is just... offensive. (Especially to an actual fat girl like me.) Despite my plans, I didn't hate it. It's not going to be a oh-my-gosh-I-can't-miss-an-episode show for me, but I really enjoyed the relationship between Betty and her boss.


Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip

I didn't plan on watching this one, but Bravo re-airs the episodes right after Project Runway, so I've caught some of it. My verdict: Self-indulgent crap. Someone (cough cough, Aaron Sorkin, cough cough) thinks waaaayy to highly of himself. Ick.



One final note: Veronica Mars is awesome. If you're not watching it, you should.

Labels: TV, Veronica Mars