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October 2, 2006
Monday's TV Picks
Before I choose what you SHOULD watch on TV tonight, let’s breakdown the weekend:
Another superb CBS broadcast of the Pats-Bengals game on Sunday. A few hitches in the audio (switching from 5.1 Dolby Digital to 2.0) didn’t hamper a perfectly called game by Big Texan Jim Nance and Pats-lover Phil Simms.
The 4:15 p.m. start was perfect, since Mr. and Mrs. Ravens attended a long, fun wedding the night before. We reconnected with some wonderful people from Central New York (that’s CNY folks) who promise us they’ll start participating in our “forum.�
While I was still nursing a smooth Coors Light at the Burlington Marriott ‘round midnight, my DVR was busy recording the season premiere of “Saturday Night Live.� All I heard this summer was how the cast was revamped, but we, unfortunately got much of the same “hee-hee-that’s-sort-of-funny� humor.
Pros: The airport security gig was funny. As was the Al Pacino checks his bank balance sketch.
Cons: The opening sketch – the one that should be over-the-top good – fell flat. Writers could have made a better effort at mocking President Bush. Is it really that hard? Tune into the “Daily Show,� SNL employees.
Let’s see what’s happening on TV tonight:
Fox’s “Prison Break� (8 p.m.) is a lock. As is NBC’s “Heroes� which airs at 9 p.m. That means I’m giving up on “Vanished,� which also airs at 9 p.m. on Fox. I’ll tape “Vanished,� but let’s see if I even bother to watch it.
We’ll, of course, tune in again to “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip,� which stars old friend Matthew Perry. And for the record, this show shall now be referred to “Studio 60,� because it is shorter and quicker to type. Mmmkay?
Sitcom land offers a lot tonight. My pick of the bunch is not a surprise: Yes, CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother� (8:30 p.m.) takes the crown.
If sitcoms and dramas aren’t your thing, check out a full slate of appealing movies: “Man on the Moon� (6 p.m., Encore); “Scarface� (8 p.m., AMC); and “North Country� (9 p.m., HBO) all air tonight.
I’ll leave you with something really funny to watch. If you didn’t like Billy Bob Thornton in “Sling Blade� or Jon Heder in “Napoleon Dynamite� don’t click here.
Posted by Andy Ravens at October 2, 2006 12:13 PM
Comments
Isn't Heroes just a new spinoff to the Mutant powers story line which we have already seen with X-men and multiple other tv shows and movies?
Can they be any more unoriginal?
Posted by: T-dog at October 2, 2006 3:36 PM
T-Dog,
You are right. Mutant-related programming isn't a new idea. But I wouldn't be so quick to judge "Heroes" just yet.
There are tons of cops and robbers TV shows and movies that are very solid.
Mafia related movies and TV have also found success (For example, "The Sopranos" and "The Godfather").
Just because a genre has been tapped, doesn't mean all the creative juices are gone.
Give "Heroes" a chance tonight. It's not like you'll be missing out on a great Monday Night Football game.
Posted by: Andy at October 2, 2006 3:43 PM
I think that "Heroes" is the best new show on TV so far! Of course that's not saying much when there are shows around like "Vanished", "Kidnapped" and "The Class". They're just awful!
I agree that mutant-type shows and movies have been done over and over, but you have to admit that the Japanese guy is totally adorable. And that chick that takes her clothes off on the internet? That oughta help bring in the appropriate target audience, don't ya think? I'm going to keep watching because it looks they may have something original to add to the genre... and really, after the excitement of Prison Break I need to watch something.
Posted by: Carolynn at October 2, 2006 5:45 PM
I saw the first episode. It wasn't bad but just was missing a strong start. The girl sticking her hand in the disposal was...different. Kind of an X-men meets X-factor meets any other mutant show you can think of. I liked the artist who could predict the future. If they keep him in as a major asset to the shows direction this will help. If they even start to turn this into a "The 4400" show, they will lose viewers. That show was good at start but tended to drag out after the first couple of episodes because they focused on to many characters. As long as this show follows just a few main peoples lives, it will definately be worth watching.
Posted by: X-Lost? at October 4, 2006 12:59 PM
Haha! Funny you mention he 4400! That used to be my favorite show, but it totally lost it's way. But... it was a CABLE show, so let's not lose hope on Heroes just yet....
Posted by: Carolynn at October 4, 2006 9:11 PM
How is this not a cable show too? Isn't anything on cable other than movies or mini-series considered a straight to cable show?
Posted by: X-Lost? at October 5, 2006 8:53 AM