The Fall 2008 Television Season: Rants and Reviews, Part II

The ranting and reviewing continues, though remains incomplete.

More shows and my impressions:

Californication - after an absolutely hysterical first season, our favorite addictive writer is back and true to form. HD format aside, Showtime makes itself worth it just for this series.

Chuck - what can I say? This show is ridiculous and charming. The opener picked up right where the previous season left off, in story, tone, and quality of writing. NBC's got a home run.

The Family Guy and American Dad - for whatever reason, The Family Guy just never gets old. No, the reason is obvious: anything and everything is fair game for vulgar ridicule. And I do mean anything and everything. Throw in your gratuitous pop culture references and you've got entertainment even the dumbest people can get. While mysteriously under-appreciated, its sister show, American Dad, keeps up the game The Family Guy started. Sure, it seems to fill more of a niche than The Family Guy, but it's just as good and sometimes better.

House - television's favorite doctor is back, and as good as ever. The new cast seems comfortable in their characters, Hugh Laurie plays as irritable as usual, and the writing rarely (if ever) slips. There's a reason House is one of my two favorite shows on television.

Life - the other of my two favorite shows on television. I have to admit, the less-than-stellar season premiere had me worried. The disjointedness of the script, combined with a new police captain (played by the underwhelming Donal Logue) replacing my favorite lieutenant (the wonderful Robin Weigert) and Dani Reese's lame hairstyle, gave me cause for alarm. Thankfully, the second episode returned to form, even if Reese's hair remained.

The Mentalist - like House and Life, this show centers on a quirkly main protagonist who is surrounded by competent "normal" people. Instead of being an asshole genius doctor or a wounded zen cop, the protagonist of The Mentalist is a former con artists (of sorts) who simply notices everything. Also like House and Life, this show is good. We'll see if it can keep it up.

Pushing Daisies - a completely ridiculous concept. A man who can bring the dead back to life with a touch, and kill them again with another touch? Oh, and if the first person brought back to life is kept alive for more than a minute, somebody else somewhere dies. Completely. Ridiculous. And the most charming show on television.

The Simpsons - what can anyone really say about The Simpsons? It's still around after all these years. It's still of reasonably high quality. Sure, it's not still the animated true sitcom it once was, and it's been heavily influenced by The Family Guy as of late, but it's The Simpsons. By now as American as apple pie (despite being animated in Korea).

Rant and Review Update: Heroes - if the last couple of episodes are any indication, Heroes is back on track to be great entertainment. Kudos.

Still to be R&Red are My Own Worst Enemy, The Unit, so expect a Part III (trilogies are cliché, I know) with those shows and more updates.

Nothing But Pointless Musings

Voicemail menus are slow and complicated on purpose, so phone companies can squeeze every possible extra second out of your phone plan.

Bono and U2 definitely outshined Billie Joe and Green Day on Monday Night Football, despite what all those emo/screamo/wannabe-punk kids will tell you. But it was still cool to see them on stage together.

Why does Hollywood remake good movies? Shouldn't they remake the bad ones?

That brunette I'm hard-up for officially hates me. If anyone wants to ask a lonely, pathetic, self-righteous blogger out on a date, message me for my phone number. (seriously)

The San Diego Padres are now two games ahead of the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kick ass.

I'm almost in agreement with Bob Dylan: modern music tends to suck. I don't really think it's the talent... it's more to do with all the emo/screamo/wannabe-punk bands that are full of "musicians" who can't read music.

MySpace is taking over the world. There's apparently a MySpace television show now. That's ridiculously frightening.

High school kids with MySpace quotes like "live every day like its your last" really annoy me. As do people with quotes from Will Farrell movies... especially Anchorman. People, you are not kind of a big deal. In fact, you're all idiots.

Anybody who feels like going to Croatia for a couple of weeks during summer of 2007, let me know. I'm planning a trip and, unlike many of my recent plans, I'd like to see this one NOT fall through.

American Dad is better than The Family Guy.

Goodyear blimps flying over domed stadiums during football games seems kind of pointless to me.

Soldiers should never feel guilty for being alive when someone they know is killed, but we do anyway.

If the world went through a Sudoku craze instead of a Karaoke craze, the world would be less annoying. Damn the Japanese. Damn them.

I wish I could cook. I wish I could dance. So much so, I will one day attend culinary school and enroll at a dance studio. Really.

Mitch Hedberg was right... life would be easier if we all just had one long curvy tooth.

My nephew won't date a cheerleader because he thinks they're "peppy" all of the time. Personally, I think my nephew is gay, but oh, well.

I read about two crimes this past week that officially make me sorry to be a human being. I won't go into detail here, but one involved a pregnant woman, her three kids, and a babysitter, and the other involved a man getting angry at his wife and daughter while driving.

Writing would be easier for me if I were better at it.

So would brain surgery.

I'm really pissed that not one person that counted answered the questions from my last blog.

Calgon, take me away. If you know what that means, you are officially too old.

This was very pointless... and not very musing.