TV shows and some other stuff

My Heroes review will likely be posted sometime tomorrow, but I thought I'd take this opportunity to discuss some of the other shows I watch. But before I get to that, I'd like to thank my good friend Neal over at Oblivious to Melody (and he actually deserves the shout out this time -- he updated his blog!) for taking advantage of the Proposition 9/28...er...proposition. Indeed, the big guy purchased me a Simpsons Kidrobot figure and I ended up getting somebody I don't already have -- Marge!! Very appreciated, my friend.

Now, to some of the shows I don't formally review. Unfortunately, I haven't gotten around to watching last week's Vampire Diaries yet, but only because last I checked it hasn't been added to the CW website yet. I also intend to watch Flash Forward, but I haven't gotten around to that either. Actually, I was out Thursday for a work event, and it struck me at that point that I have A LOT of shows to watch that night. The Office, Vampire Diaries, Flash Forward, and Survivor. That's pretty intense. But now onto the shows I have had the chance to watch.

Melrose Place - I've really enjoyed the season thus far, and I think the use of flashbacks have been very clever. It's like a combination between Lost and early Desperate Housewives. Don't get me wrong, it's still a soap opera, and the writing is no where near the level of Lost, but it's been an enjoyable show thus far. Nonetheless, I was HIGHLY disappointed by the explanation provided for Sydney's faked death. When it was announced that her death had been faked, and that Michael had somehow assisted her, I was deeply intrigued. But the story they told was completely thrown together and utterly lazy. Like, I almost found it offensive.

Anybody who was a fan of the early season likely recalls that (a) Michael's cartoonish hair looked nothing like that at any point in the season of the original series. Actually, it was pretty similar to the 'do he sports now, (b) Michael wasn't even in the hospital the night Sydney died -- if I remember right, he was getting thrown through a window by Peter, (c) at the time of Sydney's "death," she and Michael barely interacted any more. At that point, they were no where near close enough that Michael would risk his livelihood for her. Hell, even when they were close he barely liked her, (d) Sydney's death had nothing to do with any hit whatsoever. And it certainly had nothing to do with her husband.

Additionally, for the life of me, I didn't understand the whole deal with her going to jail. Was she caught and sent to jail? Or did she go to jail in place of her dying? I don't know. It was just really disappointing, as THIS backstory was the one I was looking most forward to. It just seems wrong that it was revealed in the third episode in such a lackluster manner.

Oh, and the actor who portrays Jonah really fell ass backwards into a sweet deal, having the two hottest girls on the show fighting over him.

The Cleveland Show - I'm still willing to give this show a chance, but man, that was a pretty rough pilot in my opinion. I'm a MASSIVE fan of Family Guy, and American Dad has grown on me more than I ever imagined it would, so I obviously appreciate of this brand of humor. But the show seemed like it was trying entirely too hard -- and it wasn't very funny. And it was one of those odd situations where the writers say, "Hey, this character is strong enough to carry his own series. Let's change everything about him." The reason I'm willing to give it a shot, though, is because it doesn't compete with any other show I watch. And Family Guy and American Dad have both improved by leaps and bounds since their debut.

Family Guy - Like I said, huge fan of the show, and I found the premiere absolutely brilliant. I sometimes feel like the writers resort to the old "Stewie and Brian hijinx" routine a bit too often, but this was spot on. I positively LOVED the Disney universe (awesome animation, by the way). And the tongue-in-cheek shots at Robot Chicken are always fun.