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.