2009-2010 TV: Friday

Friday Nights, the night of death if you're a tv show. Somehow we've found bizarro world with this being one-of the busiest nights-of-the-week now. Stuff has been moved and somehow some of the networks have decided to bank on the lower viewership here. Maybe it'll cost them less? People often don't watch tv on Friday Nights because they go out. But in the age of the DVR and online stream/downloads, maybe some of them have decided to throw in the towel and save a little $, by gambling on new shows and more reality shows earlier in the week.

What it means for me is, this is a busy dvr/watching evening, which given some of the Cable shows also air on Fridays, I'm not all that crazy about.

7-8PM

Smallville (the CW 7-8PM Premieres September 25)



So this is now the 9th season of this show, lol. It started out the same fall as Enterprise. That's all you need to know. I mean obviously the writers are trying to eventually get Clark to become Superman and have him hook up with Lois Lane. And gradually they keep killing characters off. Although, Chloe, the one character in the Superman Cannon they easily could, they never have. She is a loved character, and Ally Mack has always been a cutie. But it's surprising. Jimmy is gone, but now we learn he wasn't actually THEE Jimmy Olsen that is part of the Superman lexicon, but the older-brother. Mmmmkay.

This really is the only show on The CW worth watching, even if some of the plots, acting, and stories can be a bit fluffy and lacking. However, the actors are attractive, and if you like the Superman universe, you probably still enjoy it. How much is there left to do before Clark actually is "Superman"? you'd think not a heck of a lot. He hasn't started flying yet I suppose (if he ever will, lol). And the plot with Doomsday ain't over yet of course. I gotta believe it's finally this season Lois will have a more central role on the show. And you'd think they will manage to bring Lex back again, at least a guest.

Also now just reading, it appears Brian Austin Green who we last saw on the now canceled Terminator show, will be portraying John Corben/Metallo. He was good in the Terminator show, so I welcome his appearance here.



Also Callum Blue apparently has been cast to portray Major Zod. Callum Blue I really enjoyed as Mason on Dead Like Me. Now part of that was his british accent/british personality traits and humor. As Zod though, who knows. The accent will probably be gone, and the humor? Perhaps they can write his dialogue a bit like Ray Wise in Reaper. Sure he's evil, but he's charming and thus funny at times. Speaking of Wise, a note about him in another Friday show in Dollhouse.

We'll see. Why they moved it to Friday is puzzling, but it must be some kind of budgeting thing.

Brothers (FOX 7:00-7:30 premieres September 25th)
is a television sitcom scheduled to premiere on Fox on September 25, 2009. It will air on Friday nights at 8:00 pm as part of the 2009 fall schedule.
Michael Strahan can act? I like Daryl Mitchell, but if this turns out to be another one of Fox's black sitcoms, I don't know why I'll watch. But who knows, it might be better than most of the other new sitcoms the networks are trying out.

8-9PM

Dollhouse (FOX premieres September 25th)



Well, this show barely survived I guess (and Terminator did not, given the choice I would have gone for the other way around). Eliza Dushku and Joss Whedon reunited again. The premise was unusual, but the story arc actually got me eventually. Echo is a doll like the other dolls, but she is learning. Who the good and bad guys is a bit ambigious. Maybe The Dollhouse actually is a good thing? I do like Tahmoh Penikett who plays the FBI agent Ballard. He was good on Galactica, and also here. And Harry Lennix as well.

I suppose part of this show's fate could be if the story-arc doesn't fall into what happened with Heroes or even just with Buffy in the latter seasons. Can Joss keep it fresh and will the ultimate direction of the show keep the audience intrigued? The ambiguity might be the biggest reason why. Who really is the bad guy here? Echo will bust the Dollhouse, but how and when. Ballard will be involved with them now. And not just that Dollhouse, but all the others that exist across the globe.

EDIT:
Ray Wise who was really good as the Devil for 2 Seasons on Reaper, will be guest starring on Dollhouse article

it looks like Summer Glau from Terminator/4400/Firefly and another Whedon alum Alexis Denisof also will be guest-starring.

Ugly Betty (ABC Premieres October 9th)

This show got moved to Friday too. I would like to care about it, and the show has never been bad, but just a victim of my time/interest compared to more appealing shows. I'm totally out-of-the-loop about it, other than the fact Rebecca Romijn is gone for Eastwick, and Tyler Jensen for Accidentally On Purpose. I can't say if or when I'll try and get back into this show, but I wouldn't rule it out.

8-10PM (Cable)

Caprica (SyFy Premieres January 22, 2010)





is a television series set in the fictional Battlestar Galactica universe. Beginning 58 years before the events seen in Battlestar Galactica, Caprica tells the story of how Colonial humanity first created the robotic Cylons, who would later plot to destroy human civilization in retaliation for their enslavement.

The trailers look intriguing. It has Eric Stoltz and Magda Apanowicz (Andi from Kyle XY) among others in the cast. It's the BSG writers. So, why have I not gotten around to watching the 2-hour pilot? Good question, other than I don't feel like paying for it. There is the option of a download of course, even on and in a dark and low resolution monitor.

I will see it. Hopefully SyFy will air the 2-hour pilot soon enough. And hopefully this show will not be an absolute direct prequel to BSG, but instead more of a complex origin of the new BSG story/universe. How did the Cylon race come to be? Have they been in existence for much longer than we figure. They didn't evolve from toasters did they?, lol.

And while it should have some good original characters, it could be nice to off-and-on reference the BSG characters we knew. Their ancestors, and even younger versions of them. Will any of the BSG cast show up? Somehow I think it's inevitable. Perhaps though, they could get Dirk Benedict finally to appear here, as he failed to do so on the recently finished BSG show; maybe have him play like an uncle or father to Starbuck.

No, I'm looking forward to this certainly, it's just a matter of can it come close to the quality of what Ron Moore set from BSG. I hope so. Especially since Warehouse 13 is done; we get another Stargate show, lol ("Stargate Universe" premieres October 2nd, Lou Diamond Phillips is cast) and Sanctuary (new season I guess premieres October 9th)?

This at least seems like SkeeFee's best potential show they got coming up.


Monk (USA network. 8PM Series Finale December 4th, 2009)



It's final season, and unlike the previous 7, it will air all the episodes in succession (more or less) from August through December. Normally they air an 8-episode Summer, and then 8-episode Winter schedule. I'll admit, I never got into this show until I started watching Psych in 2006. But it's grown on me a lot, and I will miss it. Shaloub gets nominated for a Globe and Emmy every year for this. I probably missed them, but he did win 3 Emmy's and 1 Globe, although those were early-on in the show's history (2002, 2003 mostly) which is the trend. He and the show will be eligible again next September for an Emmy again.

What or how will the show end? It's kind of obvious; he solves his wife Trudy's murder. They have been bringing on the big guest stars this final season. Expect to see Sharona return certainly.

Monk isn't entirely done though as the USA Network have a new "Web Series" called "Little Monk" (kind of like Psych's "Little Shawn and Little Gus" except it's live-action), so that is something to look forward to after the finale on December 4th.

White Collar (USA network Premieres October 23rd 9PM)





White Collar is about the unlikely partnership of a con artist and an FBI agent who have been playing cat and mouse for years. Neal Caffrey (Matt Bomer), a charming criminal mastermind, is finally caught by his nemesis, FBI Agent Peter Stokes (Tim DeKay). When Neal escapes from a maximum-security prison to find his lost love, Peter nabs him once again. Rather than returning to jail, Neal suggests an alternate plan: he'll provide his criminal expertise to assist the Feds in catching other elusive criminals. Initially wary, Peter quickly finds that Neal provides insight and intuition that can't be found on the right side of the law.

It premieres on Friday October 23rd after Monk, which makes me think Psych will be done at that point. This doesn't look bad, although like every new USA Network show, they promote the hell out of it. I swear I've seen that trailer 100 times already. Matt Bomer was good on Chuck as Bryce Larkin. It also has Tiffani Thiessen, who generally is worth having on a show for eye-candy among other reasons anyway. Tim DeKay looks familiar, but looking at his credits, other than some guest-appearances, nothing stands out from my viewing memory.

Some of the word is this is basically a ripoff of the DiCraprio 2002 movie "Catch Me If You Can" but I don't exactly follow that. The ending perhaps. But also some mention of a 60's show called "It Takes a Thief" which based on that premise, I can follow a little bit more why. But people said Burn Notice was a ripoff of Dexter, Heroes a ripoff of The 4400 and X-Men. Yes and No.

Jeff Eastin is the creator, and his credits on imdb really give no evidence about how good this may be. But sometimes an unknown can be better anyway. Just imagine not knowing of Bryan Fuller with Dead Like Me, Steve Franks with Psych, or J Michael Straczynski before Babylon 5? (who btw, it appears is doing a Silver Surfer movie and Forbidden Planet remake..interesting) hell, even the guy who created Burn Notice, Matt Nix, didn't have a HUGE resume and the show may have been received all the better for that. we'll see, although it does have heavy-shoes to fill as the cliche goes with Psych leaving and then I imagine when Monk is done, Psych will get paired on Friday with this show depending on how many episodes are ordered.

Edit: 14 episodes, so certainly that will go through January.

Or depending on things, we may see what I'd really like is Psych and Burn Notice on Fridays, and then pair White Collar up with Royal Pains on Thursdays. I guess it may depend on how well this show does.




Psych (USA Network airing through October 16th, 2009. Then returning in January 2010)

The best show on tv. Well, close competition from Lost and The Big Bang Theory I suppose. It still is. And I do a podcast for it even. Why is it so good? It's funny, clever, rarely boring, and the plots are always fun and intriguing. It doesn't take itself too seriously, which is the problem with a lot of shows. The pop-culture references are addictive. Gilmore Girls and Buffy did them, Veronica Mars as well. Now it's Psych, and they are probably doing it as well if not better.

What's the story arc? only that he continues to get away with being a fake, but it doesn't matter that he is; what is important is we want him to remain known as a psychic for as long as possible. Dule Hill inconsistently is more funny than Roday I think. Sure, I'd love for him to get more credit for solving the murders; but it doesn't matter. He's funny, and Shawn's not as good without him.

So enough kissing-of-its-ass. With Monk's departure coming up, some big things could happen for Psych I presume/hope. For one, who are the academy/foreign press going to nominate for a Globe and Emmy with no Tony Shaloub for Monk? Come 2011 for the Emmys and Golden Globes we should know. And what show will the USA Network be pimping? I gotta believe it'll be Psych. It'll be the veteran show on their network, and frankly it deserves a lot more recognition from a media-standpoint in Hollywood, and just on their network itself. They air Monk reruns all-the-time, but Psych? Pretty rarely.

We'll see, but I'm optimistic about it's future prospects. It is the heir to Monk, and hopefully it'll reap the same benefits once the father is gone, handing the throne over to the son.