recent TV premieres that were not Smallville

[norwich36]

Moonlight

Not even cutting, since I'm not saying anything spoilery, but DAMN is it bad.

Ok, it was a show about a vampire detective, so I obviously HAD to give it a shot, because long before Angel was even a glimmer in Joss's eye, I was a huge fan of Forever Knight. And OMG. Moonlight is so bad it's actually kind of good--I haven't seen anything so mockable in ages (though I don't get the Sci-Fi channel, so I didn't actually *see* Highlander: The Sauce, which I understand has set a new standard in cheesetastic badness). With the right group watching and MST3k-ing, I'm sure Moonlight would be downright hilarious. But not even Logan Echolls as an ancient vampire (pardon me while I laugh hysterically) and the cute nerdy guy from Alias as a reporter are going to prevent this from being cancelled, so if you want to watch for mocking purposes, I'd do it soon.


Bionic Woman

I really wanted to like this, because the original Jaime Summers was probably my very first girlcrush, and it has Katee Sackhoff as a villain, so despite the negative buzz on my f-list I was still holding out hope. I almost turned it off before it was over, though, because Michelle Ryan has negative charisma. I couldn't connect to her character AT ALL, so I had no sympathy or investment whatsoever in her storyline. I watched to the end of the episode mainly because I really like Will Yun Lee, and was hoping to see more of him. If the whole show was about him and Katee, I would watch--the premise of the shadowy military experiments is semi-intriguing, and I can see how they might go somewhere with it if I gave a damn about any of the main characters, but I don't.

So maybe the universe does want me to start watching Friday Night Lights, since I pretty much hate every new pilot I've seen other than Reaper. But am I going to be able to understand it going in cold to the second season? There's no way in hell I'm going to have time to watch the season 1 DVDs until maybe Thanksgiving, with my work schedule.

Comments

[belmanoir.livejournal.com]

WORD to the negative charisma of bionic woman. god, she was bland! she was 47 million kinds of bland! and it didn't help that her character made no sense. like, you were going to die and instead your bf gave you superpowers and you're mad at him because...? i mean, i get that she doesn't want to be part of some military blah blah blah but you'd think she'd have SOME more nuanced reaction than feisty!heroine!flips!her!shit!for!no!reason!every!five!seconds....

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Yeah--very bland, almost a cipher. And the writing wasn't that great either--I agree her reaction when she found out about the implants was way OTT and unnuanced.

Now if Katee Sackhoff had been the lead....but I don't want Starbuck to be dead on BSG, so I'll be perfectly happy if Bionic Woman completely tanks in the ratings.

[serenography.livejournal.com]

Aw, man.. I wanted to check out Moonlight, but I forgot to tivo it tonight. I was going to try and catch it on a repeat or just d/l the torrent. Perhaps I won't bother after all.

And YES to you watching FNL! I posted a link to the premiere that is online in its entirety in my LJ. I can't wait for this show to start up again. I'm surprised that you don't already watch it, there are so many wonderful characters I think you'd really appreciate them. There are also many varieties of HOT on the show.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I think I watched the Pilot and wasn't really into it, and then it was on a night where I had a regular meeting that meant I couldn't watch it live and was taping something else at the same time. However, I think it might be too real to me. I seem to only be able to stand dramas when they are over-the-top soaps (like Grey's) or have scifi elements (everything else I watch).

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh, p.s., slodwick has a very funny running commentary on Moonlight that may give you a better idea of whether it's worth torrenting or not. It's here: http://slodwick.livejournal.com/875683.html

[latxcvi.livejournal.com]

Moonlight was terrible. I think I'll whine about losing that hour when I'm on my death bed, that's how awful I found it. And from what I understand, this is the re-worked version of the pilot! This is apparently an improvement over what CBS initially optioned.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I'm actually pretty happy it is so bad, since that means it will probably be cancelled soon and not be a serious competitor against Blood Ties (which I totally forgot is returning in a couple weeks)--but yeah. Too bad we can't demand a return of all those hours of bad TV on our deathbeds!

And whoever is picking shows on CBS must be ON CRACK.

[abby82.livejournal.com]

I'm loosing my lj virginity with this post. I hope you don't mind being my first and my randomly jumping in here.

I really wanted to like Moonlight, maybe a little too much. I didn't really watch Forever Knight until after the darned thing was cancelled so I missed out on being a real fangirl about it. I wanted Moonlight to be my attempt at real time vampire show fandom. So much for that. Blood Ties is far superior. Not to mention that it has potential Mike/Henry. However I think I'm gonna put on some rose colored glasses and keep watching Moonlight. It'll be some form of self-flagellation for me at least until it gets cancelled. I liked Coraline though. Too bad she was off her rocker.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Welcome! Nice to meet you.

You are a stronger person than I am to keep trying with Moonlight, but perhaps it will improve. If not, I believe Blood Ties is coming back very soon.

[random-serious.livejournal.com]

So maybe the universe does want me to start watching Friday Night Lights,

I think you have correctly interpreted the universe's intentions. (Also? FNL is great, or at least S1 was.)

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, everyone I know who watches it loves it. It's just the burden of catching up on a whole season when I have limited time that is a little daunting. Why don't people release DVDs earlier???

[random-serious.livejournal.com]

I don't know, but trust me, the show is so great that you won't regret catching up.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I'm sure that is true, but since as it is I am sacrificing sleep to watch the few shows I am already committed to (and probably can't keep that up for long), I expect it will be awhile before I can catch up.

[random-serious.livejournal.com]

Hmmm, for pete's sake, sleep! That is why DVDs etc. were invented, so that we could watch the shows on our timetable.

[mskatej.livejournal.com]

I'm feeling quite glum about this year's offering of shows, for while I will almost certainly watch Reaper, it's not exactly Great TV. I'm already wondering whether I can handle Gossip Girl's dubious morality, and I hated everything else I saw. Plus, Prison Break's premiere was a big pile of suck, so I'm not sure I'll be sticking with that, and I can't get excited about S2 of Dexter either.

SIGH. I mean, it's probably not a bad thing that I'll be watching less TV this year, but I am disappointed that nothing new is going to seduce me, like FNL did last year and PB did the year before.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

*Cuddles you* There's still Pushing Up Daisies, though, right? I haven't seen the pilot here, since it doesn't air 'til next week, but I thought you liked that one? I'm sorry Prison Break isn't winning back your love, since I know you used to really like it.

It's too bad you don't get to have new show love, though.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Michelle Ryan has negative charisma. I couldn't connect to her character AT ALL
Word. She's attrocious. Time-poor as I am, I DID turn it off before the end. :D

So maybe the universe does want me to start watching Friday Night Lights
IT DOES! IT DOES! And yes, I think you can go in cold. It's a character show and there's always new character plots unfolding. I think you'll find it rewarding enough without the background... of course I'm not quite sure how they're structuring this season, but I have COMPLETE faith in the amazing ensemble cast and the whole unscripted filing process. *nods*

pretty much hate every new pilot I've seen other than Reaper
I watched Reaper.... well a bit of it. I wasn't thrilled.

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Yeah. I was actually reading fic through most of Bionic Woman, which is how I made it through to the end, basically only looking up when Katie or Will was onscreen.

The great thing about FNL is here it's being broadcast on Friday nights this season, which means absolutely nothing is competing with it in my schedule. (Social life? What is this social life you speak of?)

Reaper is very Kevin Smith-y, I thought, even though I think he only directed the first ep and isn't involved on a long-term basis. So if you like that Kevin Smith type of slacker guy humor, you're the target audience, and if not, I'm not surprised you didn't like it.

[bop-radar.livejournal.com]

Friday nights... that's right, I remember now! Cool. I'm glad you'll be able to catch it. And don't worry--for me, Friday nights means Smallville download and squee. ;)

Yeah... I'm not crazy about Kevin Smith... so you're probably right--I'm probably not the target audience. I know he has a big following and I do find him funny but not omgthisisthefunniestshitever kind of funny. I like more absurdity and less deadbeat in my humour. ;)

[duskwillow.livejournal.com]

Moonlight was so bad I couldn't even mock.
The dialogue was awful. I was LMAO at that last scene, I just couldn't stay serious any more.
And My immortal? Seriously? I know vamps are old-fashioned but what is this - 2003?

Go with FNL. That show is great. ♥

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

Well, I think I made it to the end of Moonlight because I was reading stories online as I watched, at least by the second half hour. It was a lot less painful that way.

I will definitely try FNL.

[tasabian.livejournal.com]

I was disappointed in Bionic Woman too (though apparently it scored well in the ratings.) I liked Michelle Ryan's scenes with her sister but there was absolutely no chemistry between her and that dull boyfriend. Katee Sackhoff was great - oodles of "postive charisma" - I've never seen Battlestar Galactica so her awesomeness was a welcome surprise. Mark Sheppard was good as Evil!Dad (but surely too young for the part?)

"Reaper" was fun but shallowly, I wish there was at least ONE hot boy in the cast. There are TWO hot girls - give the ladies & the gay boys something to ogle too!

[norwich36.livejournal.com]

I actually kind of liked the bratty sister, even though I hear she was a replacement and most people think the first sister was better. Katee definitely rocks--she's pretty much my favorite character in BSG, so I wasn't surprised she was good in this, but she's not in enough of it to keep me watching.

It would be nice if there were hot guys on Reaper.