Midseason Review – Mondays

old-tv-set1Day 2 of our look back at my thoughts on the new fall television season and what is new for the winter and spring.

7:00

How I Met Your Mother – Entering its 9th and final season, the show finally introduced the titular mother in last spring’s finale.  This entire season will take place over the weekend of Barney and Robin’s wedding, but should have some flashbacks and flashforwards involving the mother.

The show has worked best this season when the mother has been involved, which, sadly, hasn’t been too often.  The plan is for it to air without reruns through the series finale in March.

Bones – Also returning for its 9th season, Bonesstarts the year on Mondays but is scheduled to move to Fridays after the World Series.  Replacing it on Mondays will be

Well, FOX finally pulled the trigger and actually moved Bones to Fridays.  Not much to say about the show that hasn’t already been said.  It seems to just keep chugging along.

Almost Human – Brought to us by some of the good folks responsible for Fringe, I’ll give this a shot, assuming it ever does show up on Mondays.

We’re 9 episodes into the season and I’m still not sure what to make of this one.  More often than not, I find myself falling asleep during the show, which I guess doesn’t bode well for it.

8:00

2 Broke Girls – Entering its 3rd season, it is time to accept that this show is not going to change.  It will continue to feature two talented leads and surround them with base racial stereotypes and humor aimed towards the lowest common denominator.  To this point, the charm of the leads has been enough to overcome bad things about the show.  At some point, though, that is bound to change.

The status quo got shaken up a bit, first with the addition of the cupcake window at the back of the diner and then with the addition of the baking school. Continue reading →

Goodbye, iPhone 4S – Music Edition

A little more than a week ago, I upgraded my phone from the iPhone 4S to the newly released iPhone 5S.  The biggest difference, aside from a slightly bigger screen, is the jump from 3G (or 4G, if you believe AT&T’s hype) to LTE.  I had the 4S for a little under 2 years, and in that time, we traveled the world together (well, at least going back to the UK) and have listened to a lot of podcasts and music. Here is every song (all 2079 of them) I’ve listened to on the phone, with some (ok, very little) bonus commentary.  Godspeed.

 

Let’s Go-Go-Go White Sox Captain Stubby and the Buccaneers 33
He’s a Pirate Klaus Badelt Pirates of the Caribbean (Soundtrack from the Motion Picture) 32
Take Me Out To The Ballgame Harry Caray 31
Thunderstruck AC/DC The Razors Edge 31
Gordon Beckham Intro 29
Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye Steam Billboard’s Top Rock ‘n’ Roll Hits: 1969 29
Don’t Stop Believin’ Journey Journey’s Greatest Hits 27
sox05_montage 27
We Are The Champions Queen Queen: Greatest Hits I & II 27
Your Love The Outfield Play Deep 27
2008 White Sox Central Division Champs Montage Chris Tannehill WSCR 670 The Score 25
Take Me Out To The Ballgame Nancy Faust 25
Harvester Of Sorrow Metallica …And Justice For All 20

You would hope that these numbers would have been higher, but this past season’s miserable performance by the White Sox has put the songs on their playlist out of mind more often than not.

Cannonball The Breeders The First 1000 Years- Rock 19
Man Or Muppet Jason Segel The Muppets 15
It’s Time For Our Song Miss Piggy The Muppets 14
Get Out There And Help Those Guys Jason Segel The Muppets 13
Main Title LOST Soundtrack LOST Soundtrack 13
Are You A Man Or A Muppet? Amy Adams The Muppets 12
How Charming, A Finale Uncle Deadly The Muppets 12
I’m On A Boat (ft. T-Pain) The Lonely Island Incredibad 12
Down At The Ole Barbershop Kermit The Muppets 11
Me and Drugs David Cross Bigger and Blackerer 11
The Antichrist Howard Stern Private Parts: The Album 11
Continue reading →

2013 New Fall Season – Mondays

old-tv-set1

Day 2 of our look at the new fall television season brings us to Mondays.

7:00

How I Met Your Mother – Entering its 9th and final season, the show finally introduced the titular mother in last spring’s finale.  This entire season will take place over the weekend of Barney and Robin’s wedding, but should have some flashbacks and flashforwards involving the mother.

Bones – Also returning for its 9th season, Bones starts the year on Mondays but is scheduled to move to Fridays after the World Series.  Replacing it on Mondays will be

Almost Human – Brought to us by some of the good folks responsible for Fringe, I’ll give this a shot, assuming it ever does show up on Mondays.

8:00

2 Broke Girls – Entering its 3rd season, it is time to accept that this show is not going to change.  It will continue to feature two talented leads and surround them with base racial stereotypes and humor aimed towards the lowest common denominator.  To this point, the charm of the leads has been enough to overcome bad things about the show.  At some point, though, that is bound to change.

Sleepy Hollow – The new show takes Ichabod Crane and the Headless Horseman and brings them from the Revolutionary War to the present day.  I was not very impressed with the pilot, but I’ll give it a few weeks to see if it improves.

Continue reading →

Midseason Review – Mondays

Day 2 of our look back at my thoughts on the new fall television season and what is new for the winter and spring.

7:00

How I Met Your Mother – Entering its 8th, and last, season, this is a show in desperate need of a change.  I’ve never been one of those people who felt that the show needed to introduce the title mother in order to make the show worth while, it has started to feel that the writers and producers are treading water while waiting to bring the mother on board.  That could give the show enough juice to energize not just this season, but any possible future ones as well.

As it turns out, this is not the final season for HIMYM.  Which means they will likely continue to tread water for another year.

Bones – Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz returned last week for the 8th season with a move to Mondays, taking over the House timeslot.

At this point, Bones is, to paraphrase Dennis Green, the show we thought it was.

8:00

2 Broke Girls – In some ways, this was one of the more disappointing series to debut last season.  Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs are both talented actresses who could use better material.  Hopefully the writers and producers spent the summer focusing on what worked last year and got rid of the base racial stereotypes that tended to drag things down.

The second season has improved somewhat, but the show still tends to go for the lowbrow laughs at every opportunity.

Continue reading →

2012 New Fall Season – Mondays

Day 2 of our look at the new fall television season brings us to Mondays.

7:00

How I Met Your Mother – Entering its 8th, and possibly last, season, this is a show in desperate need of a change.  I’ve never been one of those people who felt that the show needed to introduce the title mother in order to make the show worth while, it has started to feel that the writers and producers are treading water while waiting to bring the mother on board.  That could give the show enough juice to energize not just this season, but any possible future ones as well.

Bones – Emily Deschanel and David Boreanaz returned last week for the 8th season with a move to Mondays, taking over the House timeslot.

8:00

2 Broke Girls – In some ways, this was one of the more disappointing series to debut last season.  Kat Dennings and Beth Behrs are both talented actresses who could use better material.  Hopefully the writers and producers spent the summer focusing on what worked last year and got rid of the base racial stereotypes that tended to drag things down.

Continue reading →

Midseason Review – Mondays

Continuing our look back at the fall television season and what is coming up this winter.

CBS

How I Met Your Mother – Based on the season premier, we are no closer to meeting the titular mother, and the surprise reappearance of VIctoria will likely kill some time.  By adding another tease (who will Barney marry?), the show seems intent on giving its critics more ammunition, but could avoid it if they start paying off on some of these “mysteries”.  Meanwhile, after a season that stretched his dramatic acting skills, the first two episodes of the season gave Jason Segel more comedic moments.

I still enjoy the show and am not one of those people who think they absolutley need to get the whole mother meeting out of the way, but the writers do seem to be treading water somewhat, almost as if they are deliberately not introducing the mother, but they don’t know what else to do at this point.

2 Broke Girls – The first episode started off kind of weak, but it got better later in the half hour.  I’ve been a big fan of Kat Dennings dating back to The 40 Year Old Virgin and Beth Behrs seemed to have some chops as well.  I’ll give it a chance.

The show has gotten better, but it still seems to be missing something.  I do think Behrs has been one of the shining stars of the new season. 

Hawaii Five-O – After a mostly popcorn-fun first season, the show returns with a new recurring guest star in Terry O’Quinn.  That in and of itself would be a reason to turn in.

 Continues to be a fun show that doesn’t take itself too seriously.  O’Quinn has been entertaining in his occassional appearances.

NBC Continue reading →

2011 New Fall Season – Mondays

CBS

How I Met Your Mother – Based on the season premier, we are no closer to meeting the titular mother, and the surprise reappearance of VIctoria will likely kill some time.  By adding another tease (who will Barney marry?), the show seems intent on giving its critics more ammunition, but could avoid it if they start paying off on some of these “mysteries”.  Meanwhile, after a season that stretched his dramatic acting skills, the first two episodes of the season gave Jason Segel more comedic moments.

2 Broke Girls – The first episode started off kind of weak, but it got better later in the half hour.  I’ve been a big fan of Kat Dennings dating back to The 40 Year Old Virgin and Beth Behrs seemed to have some chops as well.  I’ll give it a chance.

Hawaii Five-O – After a mostly popcorn-fun first season, the show returns with a new recurring guest star in Terry O’Quinn.  That in and of itself would be a reason to turn in.

Continue reading →

Midseason Review – Mondays

As we start to gear up for midseason premieres and February sweeps, let’s take a look back at what I said and thought back in September.

7:00

How I Met Your Mother – It looks like we (and Ted) are finally going to meet the long-teased titular mother this season, which could be just what the show needs.  It started to drag a bit last season, but the premiere seemed like they were back to form.  At its worst, it is worth watching for Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris, who always bring their A-game.

Well, despite a tease here and there, we aren’t really any closer to meeting the titular mother.  But, the season has been good so far, and the last new episode had Jason Segal show just how much range he actually has.

Chuck – The spy comedy enters its fourth season with a new season, a new Buy More, and, finally, Chuck and Sarah together for reals.  One of the better shows on TV at bringing out nerd-culture without talking down to it. 

The introduction of Chuck’s mother has been a godsend for the show, if only for the occasional guest spot from the surprisingly funny Timothy Dalton.  Beyond that, the show has been up to its usual snuff.

  Continue reading →

2010 New Fall Season – Mondays

To start off, I realize I watch way too much TV.  2 HD DVRs and no social life help this out considerably.

7:00

How I Met Your Mother – It looks like we (and Ted) are finally going to meet the long-teased titular mother this season, which could be just what the show needs.  It started to drag a bit last season, but the premiere seemed like they were back to form.  At its worst, it is worth watching for Jason Segel and Neil Patrick Harris, who always bring their A-game.

Chuck – The spy comedy enters its fourth season with a new season, a new Buy More, and, finally, Chuck and Sarah together for reals.  One of the better shows on TV at bringing out nerd-culture without talking down to it. 

House – At this point, the case of the week is nowhere near as important as the characters, and this year House and Cuddy are together and 13 disappears for awhile.  It will be interesting to see how long they can keep House and Cuddy together without toning down their workplace dynamic.  On the plus side, Amber Tamblyn joins the cast while 13 is off shooting a movie.

Continue reading →