Tag Archives: American Chopper

What I am Watching

Posted on by renmiked

I have decided to cut back most of my TV watching this fall season.  I just do not have enough time to keep up with the mediocrity that networks are pumping out these days.  From Lost rip-offs to medical dramas there is so much garbage on right now, that it was incredibly easy to pare it down.

I started this process last year.  This year I decided to go all out, and eliminate anything with more than a twenty episode season from my viewing schedule.  I do have two hold-overs with long seasons, Glee and Supernatural, that I have already been watching so I will continue even though they are long seasons.  I have concerns for Glee, since they are planning to do a 25 episode season.  There is no way to keep up quality with that length of a season.  I haven’t actually started Supernatural this season yet, and still have the finale from last season to watch, but I do plan on watching it eventually.

I did watch the first season of Fringe during the summer but, I really did not have the desire to watch another 23 episode season and commit to a long season this fall as well.  Another show I picked up over the summer was Eureka, and it has been added to my TiVo season passes.  I’m not sure when it comes back on, but I like that it is a lighter show and is only around 15 episodes on average.  Also it is not overwrought  with an intense overly complicated mystery that drowns out the characters and fun.  Basically, I can accept a lighter show having a slightly longer season, 15 – 20 episodes, but serialized dramas with an intense mystery need to be shorter.

I am looking forward to The Walking Dead in a few weeks, I really hope it lives up to the expectations.  The bar is going to be set very high for a show that is on the same network as Mad Men and Breaking Bad.  AMC has definitely done it the correct way, by giving us shows that concentrate on characters and story, not an event or mystery.  I tried watching the first episode of Rubicon but it was far too slow and uninteresting, so that may be the exception.  Mad Men on the other hand, had its best season to date.  The characters, except Betty, are compelling and complex, making the show a pleasure to watch.

The big four networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX) have no concept of how to produce shows with great characters anymore.  There is not one thing on those networks that spark my interest at all.  There may be a show or two that I am missing but I doubt it.  I’m not a huge fan of the network comedies either but they are not as bad as the horrible dramas they put out.  I’m not sure if these networks will survive to the next generation.  The only shows getting serious ratings are watched by older people.  Shows like Two and a Half Men, The CSI‘s and the Law and Orders have ratings, but I’ve  never met anyone under 50 who watches any of those shows.  What are they going to do to appeal to an audience that wants quality and won’t tune in just because it’s on a major network?

I’m not going to rant about the networks any more, they are digging their own graves without any help.  Let me just run off a few other shows I am watching or will be watching once they come back.

Terriers I believe it’s on FX and is a great and gritty detective show

American Pickers is on History Channel and a definite to check out if you like Antiques Roadshow or Pawn Stars

American Chopper the show is much better than it has been in the past two season, a guilty pleasure.

LA Ink 100% guilty pleasure, I’ll put it on in the background or buzz through it

Eureka this show is probably nearing the end of its run but I suggest picking it up from the beginning

Lost in the Shuffle

Posted on by renmiked

This past TV season I dropped a bunch of shows that I used to watch and some I even still had interest in. Time was a major factory in me dropping most of the shows some have just run their course.

Flash Forward: I never came back to this one after the break. I would like to finish it up but I doubt that will happen. I really just didn’t care about the characters and fond the story meandering.

Bones: This is one I definitely want to catch up on. Last seasons finale really sucked but I did watch the first few eps of this season and enjoyed it. Bones was simply lost in a time crunch. I’ve watched it from the beginning and enjoy the characters although the lack of a major story arch may be why it was easy to forget.

Desperate Housewives: I enjoy campy television and this was good replacement for the original Melrose Place (not the abortion that’s on the CW) but it has run its course and I just can’t stand most of the characters anymore. More babies, break ups, all in all more of the same… yawn.

Supernatural: I kept up on this until March and is the first show, once Lost is over, that I will watch. I love the story, I care what happens to Sam and Dean, and it is just smartly written. Supernatural is one of may favorite shows of the last few years and Dean’s “Eye of the Tiger” performance was a classic TV moment.

There were other that I can’t remember offhand, which means they have no shot of being watched. Here’s a quick list of what I stayed up on:

LOST
Mythbusters
American Chopper (yes I was the one still watching)
LA Ink (guilty)
American Idol (easy to ffwd through in 20 minutes)

Wow, that list is way shorter than I thought. Most are shows I don’t have to pay complete attention to or can FFWD through, so it was easy to have them in the background. I am looking forward to the return of Mad Men which is my favorite show not named LOST.

So what should I catch up on and what should I check out?