Penciling in the rotation (part 1)

I thought of titling this post “The return of good TV” because after watching 3 awesome shows last night, I actually thought out loud “That’s a good fucking night of TV watching, right there.” And indeed it was. 3 solid, non-reality, scripted television shows that renewed my faith in broadcast TV; and fanned the flames of my desire to see more scripted shows and far less reality garbage. Except for Who Wants to be a Superhero? That shit rules.

I saw 2 season premieres last night. Well, one season premiere and one series premiere anyways. A returning and kick-ass How I Met You Mother cemented its Monday @ 8:30 spot in the rotation, while the new Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip absolutely blew me away and grabbed the Monday @ 10:00 time slot. The third show in the middle was one of my little summer gems, Vanished. And that would lock up the Monday @ 9:00 position, if it weren’t for Heroes starting in the next couple weeks at that same time. And as much as I really like Vanished, how can it stand up to a show so obviously geared towards geeks like me? Damn, I really need to try and get TiVo. Or a life. **The Princess says I should just start dating a girl with TiVo. That would pretty much take care of both of 'em. Any takers?**

Like I said, Mother was kick-ass as usual. Continuing on from last season with the same wit, humor and emotion as last season; it had me thinking that Mother was my version of “Friends”. And not just because they hang out at a bar instead of a coffee shop. But that does help. Then there was Barney. Barney is enough to make any show better: “Chico & The Man & Barney”, “Knight Rider & Barney”, “ER & Barney” or how about something girlie like “Oprah & Barney”? See? It’s limitless.

On to Studio 60. When I say that Studio 60 “blew me away”, I mean it. Aaron Sorkin has done it again. First was Sports Night, which was far too short-lived and is still one of my favorite shows. Then came The West Wing, which admittedly I never watched, but I imagine that people interested in politics and who followed that show from the beginning, felt about it the way I felt about Sports Night. And now how I feel about Studio 60.

Yes there was humor abound, and yes the pacing and exchanges were fast and furious; but it was the way you had to think to follow the exchanges and not just sit there and absorb it a la something like Friends that really got me into it. Not to mention the backstage or “behind-the-scenes” style of the show, which immediately reminded me of working in broadcasting. It actually made me miss it again for the first time in a long while. Plus Matthew Perry’s character Matt made Chandler look like Joey. As long as he can keep this up, the show has a strong chance; especially since he is arguably the show’s biggest star.

And back to Vanished again. As I said, it’s one of my summer gems (along with Eureka and Blade: The Series) and it’s had me hooked since it started. It’s a good, little “whodunit” that takes place in Atlanta, but is curiously devoid of any southern people. I guess it really takes place in Gwinnett or something. So far there’ve been more twists, turns and second guesses than a fat chick standing in between a Jenny Craig and a Ben & Jerry’s. I’m really hoping that Fox decides to move it to a more D-friendly time slot during the week. Or that they re-air episodes so I can catch them later. I’d really hate to drop this one.

So that’s the first 2 starters in the ol’ TV rotation, and the first to probably be heading to the Disabled List. Check back tomorrow for a possible second look into what’s gonna help me create the second greatest butt-groove my couch has ever seen. Not much is gonna beat “Free Movie Weekend”.

D