smörgåsbord

I used to post practically everyday or at least every other day about pop culture stuff. Now I have to force myself to sit down and regurgitate about 10 days’ worth of TV tidbits and reviews and general gushing.

Here we go:

Chuck: Oh, how I missed Chuck. With the exception of some of the Lester/Jeff/Anna/Morgan stuff, which can get a little too annoying and over-the-top, there’s not a thing I don’t love about this show. This season started off with a bang — interesting premise, interesting wrench thrown into said premise, great action, great comedy, a little bit of romance and longing between Chuck and Sarah, great guest star in the form of one Michael Clarke Duncan, and plenty of Casey. What more could you ask for? Cannot wait to see more. And in case you haven’t heard it enough in recent posts, I absolutely adore Zachary Levi and want to be BFFs with Yvonne Strahovski.

Summer Glau

Sarah Connor Chronicles: I know that I posted last week (or whenever) that SCC was in trouble. I’m happy to report that I must’ve been on glue. Or something. Matt Roush addressed the issue in his Ask Matt column yesterday, and while, yes, SCC’s ratings haven’t skyrocketed this season, they’re still seeing solid results in the form of playback (on TiVo and DVRs and through iTunes downloads) and that FOX expected this. His verdict? He’s not worried. (Yet.)

But wow. “Alison From Palmdale” was, in my opinion, the best episode of the series. As a Firefly fan, I knew Summer Glau was fantastic. Spectacular, even. She made River Tam vulnerable and sympathetic and heart-breaking and mysterious (and yes, a bit frightening) without making her a caricature. River was by far my favorite character, even topping the always awesome Captain Tightpants Mal Reynolds.

Even knowing that, however, her performance last night was remarkable and stunning and nuanced and, yes, phenomenal. It was interesting to see Cameron forget that she was a machine and revert to the human from whom she drew her inspiration and personality. I love the moment that John walked into the halfway house and saw her playing foos ball, acting like a normal 17-year-old girl and not a cold, calculating killing machine.

I’m not sure what we learned, though. Has Cameron always been, as she called it, an infiltrator? I choose not to believe that, especially since it makes no sense that she’d be sent back in time to protect John. She could’ve killed him the instant she met him in that classroom and prevented the rebellion that ultimately destroys the machines. I think it is a chip malfunction. My cousin Emily made a very interesting point — she believes (and I concur) that Cameron is actively choosing to go against her programming.

Anyway. Last season was good, but so far this season is better. I am really loving the exposition and the plot arcs and I like Sarah and John a whole lot better than I did last year. Last year I mostly just watched for Cameron, and while I would probably be less motivated to watch if she were suddenly to blow up, the writing seems a lot more consistent.

NCIS: I missed a large chunk of last season, but I think I’ve more or less caught up thanks to reruns on USA. I’ve always liked the show, but I’ve only been watching semi-consistently (and now consistently) for the last 18 months or so. I’m so glad USA and ion have it in syndication. ion’s episodes are back in the days of Kate (I miss Sasha Alexander) and USA’s are about two seasons ago. Provides great exposition for me for this season.

I think they explained the finale’s events in a fairly realistic and compelling way in last week’s premiere. Made for an interesting story, and the twist at the end will provide for an interesting season. I, for one, didn’t see it coming. I really like Gibbs and his team, and I’m glad that Lauren Holly’s gone. I have nothing against her, but I just was never that attached to Jenny. Looking forward to the new season — and how they’ll get Tony off the sub to which he’s been assigned.

Fringe: I’ve been gushing about Fringe since before I’d seen anything but the trailer, and I haven’t stopped. Love. This. Show. As Steve Betz so succinctly said, it’s an homage to The X-Files with far better storytelling. Is it dark? Well, yes. Graphic? Certainly. But — and correct me if I’m wrong — there was some pretty gruesome stuff on The X-Files, too. I wouldn’t call Fringe gratuitous, and I’m pretty sensitive when it comes to gratuitous gore and violence.

Also, Anna Torv has been criticized for playing Olivia Dunham too woodenly. Again, feel free to tell me otherwise, but Dana Scully was no ball of sunshine. Not only has Olivia been flung into a series of mind-boggling, inexplicable occurences, but her boyfriend almost dies, then she finds out he’s betrayed her, and then he does die. (Or at least she thinks he’s dead) within a week or two at most — why, exactly, should she be walking around with a 100-watt grin on her face?

John Noble is excellent, and I love Pacey Witter. Er, Joshua Jackson. He’s just so cute. And now he’s all grown-up. Yum.

Criminal Minds: Glad that none of the regulars were blown up, and what a chilling end to a chilling arc. Not a whole lot to say about this show — it’s a criminal procedural, and a solid one at that. I like the characters, I like the storytelling, I like to see how the resolution is reached.

Pushing Daisies: Absolutely a modern-day fairytale. I obviously haven’t seen the premiere yet, but I hear it’s fabulous. This show oozes charm and whimsy and I cannot help but smile the entire time I’m watching. Lee Pace is delightful — the entire cast is delightful. Definitely deserving of the Emmy consideration, and I can’t wait to see how the new season unfolds, especially since we got an abbreviated glimpse last year, due to the writers’ strike.

The Office: Oh my goodness. The rest of the episode leading up to the rainy rest station proposal are kind of a blur. Okay, that’s not true. What a premiere. Funny. Very funny. I hope Amy Ryan sticks around forever. She is awesome and is the perfect counter-balance for Michael.

But come on — Jim proposing to Pam? I think I rewound that scene three times.

Maybe four.

Perhaps a half-dozen.

Also?

Poor Toby. He reminds me of Eeyore.

Heroes: Yeah, okay, so I know I said I absolutely wasn’t watching this season, but I admit — the first three hours have been interesting and a lot less erratic and uneven than the majority of last season.

I still don’t like any of the Petrellis, although Future Peter is a lot easier to take than Whiny Present Day Peter. And wow, Mama Petrelli is chillingly creepy. Is she really Sylar’s mother? I see far more resemblance between the two of them than Obama Nathan or Peter.

Claire is so incredibly annoying, I don’t even know where to begin, so I’ll leave it at that.

Same with Mohinder.

And Maya.

The villain angle is very interesting, and Weevil turning up as first Peter and than some scary bad guy was a nice little twist.

I love love love Daphne. She reminds me of Kristen Bell. Must be the hair. And the sarcasm. And the tiny blondeness. I sense a major connection with Hiro coming up.

Speaking of Hiro — I’m now dying to see the events that lead Ando to the point of betrayal and murder.

Noah and Sylar as partners? This is the most compelling storyline of the season, I think.

And I’m already sad that Elle’s leaving, even though Kristen Bell has a 13-episode agreement.

Anyway, I’m sticking around this season so far. It certainly has gotten off to a far better start than Volume II.

Prison Break: I still fast-forward through a lot of the Company stuff, but I like the parts involving Michael and Sara and Lincoln & Co. It has a very Ocean’s Eleven-type feel, and the action sequences are great. It’s a pleasant show. Doesn’t suck, I don’t feel the urge to watch it again when it’s over. A nice diversion.

Life: This is a show that I started liking when its season was almost over. It was pretty easy to pick up on, though, and I caught the last 4-5 episodes before the writers’ strike. I caught last night’s special premiere and really dug it, and am definitely looking forward to Friday’s episode — and the rest of the season.

Damian Lewis and Sarah Shahi are awesome.

House: Honestly…even though Hugh Laurie is just as amazing as he’s been since the pilot, and even though the show is still firing on all cylinders, I am less and less enthused to watch. I think House’s misogyny and, well, sociopath-like tendencies are grating on my nerves.

The character of House has to be like a seesaw — make him too warm and cuddly and that ruins the entire premise of the show. But make him too much of a sociopath, and he loses any smidge of a sympathetic quality he may have had.

The writers have done a great job in the past at allowing House to retain that sympathy — even a touch of vulnerability. Episodes like the little girl with cancer, or the autistic boy, or the episode where Cameron helps the one guy commit assisted suicide, or one of my favorite episodes, Three Stories — even though the guy’s a jerk, there are moments where you do kind of see through the walls and the facade and feel a bit sorry for him. Or at least kind of understand why he is the way he is.

But lately, he’s been all jerk and nothing else.

Makes me not really want to watch anymore.

And I’ve given up on anything happening between him and Cameron. At this point, I think I’d lose any respect I had for her.

Bones: Still funny. Still awesome. Still fascinating.

And that’s all I have to say about that.

Cold Case: See Criminal Minds. A solid procedural that is always interesting thanks to the time period shifts. I really enjoy this show and have watched it consisently since its premiere.

That’s it, I think.

Off to watch tonight’s Fringe and maybe last week’s House.

I’m running a bit behind — somehow I feel that’ll be a theme this season.