Where's Your Baby!?!?

Ok, first and foremost, does anyone else HATE the new imdb format as much as I do? Ugh! I can't find anything!

Last night I saw the premiere of House, tried to watch The Event (just wasn't in the right mood to pay attention to all the time changes, warning, don't try this show after 2 glasses of wine, the pilot requires sobriety), fell in love all over again with Glee, and caught the new Raising Hope and Running Wilde. (I need to catch up on the end of last season for both NCISs and Life Unexpected before I go there.) Now, let us begin:

House:
First of all, DON'T YOU HAVE A BABY?! WHO IS WATCHING THE BABY??? Yes, I was screaming this at the screen every 3 minutes. I am the first person to suspend (and expect others to suspend) disbelief for TV, but it always irritates me when people have babies (as a rather large storyline) and then drop the concept once the drama of it is over. I was never really a huge Huddy 'shipper, and still haven't decided how I feel about it...but either way, I can't wait to see how Wilson reacts when he finds out. Also, while I'm sad to see 13 go, I Love Amber Tamblyn (yeah, Emily Q!). This season could go one of 2 ways, and it will go there hard; this relationship needs to be handled very very carefully...good lick writers!

Glee:
Dude, you're mouth is huge! How many tennis balls can you fit in there?
Oh my little Gleeks, I missed you. I have heard the Glee version of Empire State of Mind like 5 times on the radio, but it was So much better with the dancing (though, with all the talk of budget cuts, where did the new outfits come from so soon?). Also, Telephone, while short, was awesome. I was a little less impressed with the Sue and Will v. Beiste storyline; I wanted more singing and humor, that was just sad...I felt bad for the Panther. This season is going to be awesome if the music keeps up this pace (and you know me and Britney, cannot WAIT for next week!!!)!

Raising Hope:
I thought this would be cute and funny, but I underestimated how much so. This is another one where you definitely need to suspend reality to really get into it (sex with a fugitive once who gets pregnant and then the electric chair all within a year and a half?...I can accept that), but once you do, it is so worth it. And OMG, Garret Dillahunt in such a different role from his usual (superevil) choices (i.e.Simon from Burn Notice, child molester in SVU, serial killer in Criminal Minds, Cromartie in Sarah Conner Chronicles, Matthew Ross on 4400, and probably 100 other things I haven't seen)! There were so many great moments, and now I know how to harass grocery store managers in ways I had never thought of (melon graffiti!)! I am loving the funny and the baby (so supercute). Bottom line, I cannot wait for next week!

Running Wilde:
Also cute, but I actually had higher hopes for this one than for Raising Hope (AD creators and actors and all), but was...mildly disappointed. Will Arnet seems to just be playing GOB Bluth again, not really pushing himself. Again, it had its moments ("I saved a tine horse today!...Well I will......I know where it is..."), and his interactions with his neighbor/friend/competition-guy were the hilarious ("Doctor!"). But, let's be honest, everything really hinges on Keri Russell's ability to not cut her hair...and I, for one, have been burnt before! Final Verdict: who names their kid Puddle? Ugh!

A Blessed Reunion

No, the title of this post is not in reference to the blog and myself. Yes, I am trying again (somewhat less ambitiously), but no, I do not have much hope. The reunion in question is between me and my Fall Season. Summer TV is awesome and cows less to public opinion, and mid-season replacement time is fun, but Fall is when the heavy hitters, the bug kahunas come alive. I am whole again!

Granted, the season really started with the CW a couple of weeks ago and Outlaw (new with Jimmy Smits), Parenthood, and Always Sunny were on last week, but this is the week I've been waiting for! (As a side note, however, Nikita kicked ass--and filled that Dollhouse-shaped hole in my schedule--and I've already watched the Always Sunny premiere twice!) (reserving judgement on Outlaw for a week or 2)

Last night brought us How I Met Your Mother, Rules of Engagement (which really is as bad as you'd expect, but I need something to fill the 8:30 post-HIMYM slot, and it has its mildly amusing moments), House, The Event, Lone Star, Mike & Molly, Hawaii Five-0, Chase, and Castle. As of now I've seen all but House, The Event (both slated for viewing this afternoon), and Chase (whenever I find the time).

How I Met Your Mother:

Oh Barney! Selling your dibs on the hot lesbian for $20? Tsk Tsk. Now, those of us paid attention knew that A) there'd be a wedding (whose is still unknown, but with Marshall and Ted in the wedding party, my guess is Robin or Barney, and I can't wait to see how they work that!), and B) that the chick in the bar couldn't be the mother cause House's Cameron is coming in this season for a big Ted-Romance arc. Anyway, strong start, especially with Robin Sundress-ing up and Lily and Marshall's baby-granddaddy drama!

Rules of Engagement:

Eh, predictable even for this show. (since you don't care, Audrey and Jeff finally found their perfect surrogate and Russel sleeps with her)

Lone Star (or "Lonestar", I've seen it both ways so many times I can't figure out which is official):

Ok, so I'll admit that I was really afraid that I'd find it too difficult to root for a main character who was essentially a liar, a thief, and a cheater...but James Wolk made it work for me and now I'm totally hooked. The biggest problem is that I know I'm gonna have a hard time trying to figure out which life I want him to pick (and now that he's married to both girls it's going to be even harder), and until I make a final decision, I'm going to be a waffling mess. Help appreciated. I keep trying to make a hybrid-show comparison (Dallas-meets-Leverage-meets-some-show-where-a-guy-lives-2-lives), but even as I wrack my brain I'm at a loss. Bottom line, I cannot wait to see how he pulls this off or as it comes crashing down around him.

Mike & Molly:

Cute. Super formulaic. Prime for syndication. Equal parts of funny lines to superstereotypical/obviouslaugh lines (ok, maybe 40/60, and not in the good way). I'll probably keep on watching it (cause, come on, it's me), but not regularly, and unless it gets wittier, I may stop and save it all for hiatus time.

Castle:

The end was both Awesome! (that double-over-the-shoulder-shot) and Adorable! (letting Rick "win" the bet). I really like Beckett's hair this season and can't wait to find out what Nikki Heat's up to in the new book! (I'd give more specifics, but I was uploading pictures to FB and creating witty and entertaining captions while I was watching and not paying nearly as much attention as I should have been, oops!)

Hawaii Five-0:

Will third time be a charm for Alex O'Loughlin and CBS? The network really really wants this man to have a career (Moonlight in '07 and Three Rivers in '09)! I think this might be it. This is the kind of thing CBS has been really good at recently, a little gun play, a team that really seems to have chemistry, and (the potential for) intriguing mysteries--both weekly and in longer arcs (see NCIS and CSI franchises). I am superpleased with the casting; it was great to see Jin back on an Island, and Boomer kicking some serious ass in that warehouse. I think my 2 favorite scenes were when O'Loughlin took control of the crime scene at his father's house with a call to the governor who swore him in over iPhone, and the best entrance by a semi (through the wall) so far this season. The only think I'm not sure about are whether the throwbacks to the original show (the theme song, "book 'em Dano") are a nice touch or overkill...but either way, if the show keeps up last night's pace, I can live with it.

Overall, Now a bad start to the Season. I'll let you know how tonight's watching goes........and I think I need a catchy sign-off, so I'm taking all suggestions.

My name is Jennika, and I love TV.

I am good at it and passionate about it. Some people listen to music, others read books; I TV (verb. note it.). Television is everything life should be--exciting, passionate, tragic, elating--only prettier and more satisfying. If you are reading this, you probably already know about my hobby (my mother calls it an "obsession", but I'm not really a kettle and she's not really a pot, so we'll let that go). I don't try to hide it or mask it or dilute it. That's who I am, and that's what I care about (or was that brake pads?).

So, I'm starting this blog for three very distinct reasons:

1) to chronicle my television watching and to keep my ever-growing list of shows straight in my own head (excel spreadsheets be damned!);

2) to demonstrate my illustrious TV watching skillz (yeah, I just read that and won’t be using it again, apologies) to those who have any doubt as to whether or not I can actually watch as much TV as I say I do; and

3) to issue a challenge to myself: I am setting a goal of watching 67 current shows at a given time. Why 67, you ask? Well, I like prime numbers, for one thing. Second, when I came up with this challenge, I was already at 39 shows and that was without even putting in the effort (so anything in the 50s and definitely 40s was out). And third, the title “Channel 61” was already taken out here in blog-land.

And thus, “Channel 67” was born.

Here is my current list of shows that I watch:

30 Rock, Big Bang Theory, Big Love, Bones, Burn Notice, The Closer, Criminal Minds, CSI: NY, Dollhouse, Drop Dead Diva, Eureka, Fringe, Greek, Grey's Anatomy, House, HIMYM, L&O, L&O: SVU, Legend of the Seeker, Leverage, Lie to Me, Lost, Mad Men, Medium, The Mentalist, NAOC, NCIS, Numb3rs, Nurse Jackie, Private Practice, Project Runway, Psych, Royal Pains, Sanctuary, Secret Life, Supernatural, United States of Tara, Warehouse 13.

Now, a little bit of a clarification. My definition of the word “watch” might be a little different from yours. I will not go out and watch one episode of 67 different shows and count myself as done (lying to yourself is so much less fun—and less funny—than lying to other people). First, to qualify for the list, I need to have seen every episode of a show (none of this starting in the middle of season 3 crap), most recent episode notwithstanding—with so many shows on the list, I can sometimes get a little behind. Also, since a lot of my shows are head-to-head on the schedule, and I do have some semblance of a social life, I often don’t watch TV when it’s actually on. Second, for a show to make the list, I have to actually take it seriously; this means that I rarely include cartoons (yes, I do watch The Simpsons) or reality shows (save PR) and ABC Family shows need to be in at least their second season. Finally, I have to want to watch the show. Seems obvious, I know, but it is particularly important for the new season—no shows will make the list until I am sure that I want to continue watching indefinitely (Melrose Place, I’m looking at you!).

That’s all for my Jennika *hearts* TV primer.

A few final notes: this blog is to be my companion throughout my personal journey to #67; all are welcome for the ride, but this is about me (anyone surprised?). If you are looking for a scene-by-scene recap of any given show, this is not the place (that might be a lie). And everyone remember, I have a shitty attention span (it’s a chicken/egg thing with the TV watching), and will most likely abandon this blog to the ‘verse within the month.

Happy Watching

--Jennika

P.S. A couple (fairly obvious) things about my writing style: as you can probably tell (given that it is the premise of this blog), I like lists; lists of threes are even better. Next, I have an affinity for semi-colons (;) and exclamation points (!) (and parentheses). Finally, I tend to write the way I talk, and while I take pains to be as grammatically correct as I can be, sometimes I make up words, and you are going to have to live with that.