Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Fall 2011 Television

For us TV junkies, the Fall is the best time of the year. New shows to sample. Old shows returning.

Here are my Top Ten Television Shows I'm Looking Forward To - Fall 2011...

10. Grimm (New Show - NBC, Friday nights) - I've always been a fan of fairy tales. This show proposes that those tales were real - are running around New York City. It could be interesting; it could be very lame. I'll watch the first episode and decide.


9. Terra Nova (New Show - FOX, Monday nights) - Time travel. I'm hooked before I even see an episode. I love good time travel yarns - the 2007 TV series Journeyman, the 1989 movie Millennium, (though it seems everyone else hates this movie), the 1995 movie 12 Monkeys, the 1979 movie Time After Time - but will quickly turn against bad ones - 2003's Timeline, no matter how cute Paul Walker is; 2004's The Butterfly Effect or any of its sequels - so I'll watch this show just based on that one point.


8. The Amazing Race (CBS, Sunday nights) - My friend Debbie turned me onto this show about five seasons into its run. I'm not a huge fan of reality shows. Except for Survivor, I really don't watch reality TV - though I did watch The Real World through the first New Orleans season. As far as The Amazing Race, if I like the contestants, I stick around.


7. It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia (FX, Thursday nights) - Such subversive fun. The people remind me of my friends and I back in high school - if we ran an empty bar and were all sociopaths. Here's a typical scene from one of my favorite episodes:

6. The Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thursday nights) – The first season is still the best. (I think the show is on its fourth season now.) But it’s still the second funniest comedy on TV. The first? See further up my list.


5. The Good Wife (CBS, Sunday nights - moved from Tuesday nights) – Carlos and I sampled this show last season – the show’s first – and loved it. Bonus: Carlos can point out Julianna Margulies’s wig in every shot.


4. Survivor (CBS, Wednesday nights) – As with The Amazing Race, if I like the contestants, I stick around. With Survivor, however, I don’t think I have ever not liked the contestants enough to completely delete the show from my DVR – though certain seasons are definitely better than others.


3. Criminal Minds (CBS, Wednesday nights) - I also watch the reruns on Ion Television and A&E. According to my spreadsheet, I have seen every episode at least three times. I also talk with other fans via two different newsgroups. For those who watch the show, I'd like to tell you that there are two episodes that I refuse to watch again: 100 and Mosley Lane. They're just too disturbing. Sorry: No spoilers here for those who haven't seen the episodes, but if you're a fan of the series, I urge you to see those episodes – but only once. I have tried to indoctrinate Carlos into the show. He can't get past that much of the violence is against women. I can't blame him, but I look past it.


2. Modern Family (ABC, Wednesday nights) – Even when I’m home alone, I laugh out loud. By far, the best comedy on TV. This would be my choice as the best show on TV except for …


1. Supernatural (The CW, Friday nights) – I discovered this show in reruns on TNT during its third season. Until I caught up, I was watching older episodes – first through season five, then back around to season one – along with the newer season six at the same time. I even buy the monthly Supernatural magazine at Barnes and Noble.



Honorable Mention (in no particular order):


Two and a Half Men (CBS, Monday nights) - Just the first episode to see how Ashton Kutcher does. I've never liked this show. Maybe I will now. (Update: I watched the premiere last night. Nope, I still don’t like the show. Though the Darma and Greg cameo, a show also created by Chuck Lorre, was cute.)

Glee (Fox, Tuesday nights) - I have to like the show. It's in my Gay Agenda contract. But I've never really been crazy about it. Please don't turn me in. (Here are my past posts about Glee.)

The Vampire Diaries (The CW, Thursday nights) - I have seen exactly one episode, but Ian Somerhalder is one of my Top 20. Plus, he is from Mandeville - right across Lake Pontchartrain from me.

Bully Beatdown (MTV and MTV2, various nights) – Another reality show from Mark Burnett, the creator of Survivor. In each episode, show host Jason “Mayhem” Miller challenges bullies to fight against a professional mixed martial artist for a chance to win $10,000. The money they get depends on their performance against their opponent, with any money they don’t win going to the bully’s victims. It's great fun to see the bullies get their ass kicked.

1 Girl 5 Gays (Logo, various nights) – A Canadian talk show that premiered on MTV Canada in 2009 and on Logo in 2010. The female host sits down with a revolving cast of five gays to discuss love and sex. (Here is my past post about 1 Girl 5 Gays - from April 2011.) I used to love the show, but now that the novelty has worn off, I seek it out less and less.

Here are a few sample questions from the show:
Would you let someone go down on you if you hadn’t showered?
Is long hair sexy?
Describe your shortest-lasting sexual encounter.
Who would you do – John Stamos or Johnny Knoxville?

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What show are you most looking forward to this season?

2 comments:

jason said...

no
yes
4 hours
both

:)

Trixie said...

Modern Family has made me laugh on my darkest day. I love it.

Also, what you call your Gay Agenda I call my Queer Eye. Kind of like a third eye, but I look at it media through the eye of a queer theorist. If I didn't they would revoke my Women's and Gender Issues Minor.