Fall 2010 Television: Your Thoughts So far?

So, we're 4-5 weeks into the fall 2010 season of television. There's a lot going on in television right now (not necessarily all good things, as the batch of new shows this season seems to be subpar...or really, more like awful, but I digress) and I just wanted to ask how everyone was doing at this point in the season, pre-November Sweeps. Which shows are you watching? Which shows are really surprising you with how great they've become since last season? Which shows are you regretting having on that DVR? I'll give the rundown on how my season is going as of now:

My main shows/Favorites so far this season:

FRINGE is having a hell of an arc for the first half of the 3rd season! In just four episodes it feels like so much ground has been covered: Olivia is battling a traumatizing identity crisis after the abominable Walternate (Who scares the hell out of me increasingly with every scene he is in!) subjects her to experimental memory exchanges with Fauxlivia's brain tissue (more on Fauxlivia later) and lets her loose into the world with the Fringe Division of the alt-world. In the alt-world we see that while Walternate may be a super-scheming scary guy, not all of the alt-world is so bad, (The Cab driver, Scarlie, and the charming Agent Lincoln) and that their world has problems just like we do. (Actually, they have completely different fringe events "Over there" that have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives ever since the emergence of the Pattern around 25 years ago... So...maybe our world doesn't have it so bad after all)

Meanwhile, in our world, Fauxlivia has taken her place as head of the Alt-world initiative to be...well, abominable and mysterious. She seemingly has been sent to manipulate Peter and Walter into some sort of circumstance that probably doesn't bode well for us--or at least this is what I'm gathering from the strongly-written, super-teasing direction things are going in. We're discovering shapeshifters in high places (a well-placed agent had every detail about every Fringe phenomenon and investigation for the last 2 years, when Agent Dunham showed up) and through Newton's (untimely) suicide, we realize that one of the characters we thought for so long had to be a hugely-influential part of the process was just another pawn to be sacrificed. The implications of his death are immense, and really start to ramp up the urgency of this situation, to me at least.

From the storyline aspect to the execution of these episodes, the production team, the cast, the writers are all on top of their game. The episodes are perfectly-paced, and it feels like a different sort of episode every week! They have also perfected the half-procedural, half-mythological sharing 1 episode formula perfectly as well. As for the acting: I've been completely blown away by Anna Torv's performances this season. She has been able to shift between two different sides of Olivia in such subtle yet startlingly powerful ways! Fauxlivia is having to fake out Peter and impersonate our Olivia, and at times you can see the effort Fauxlivia has to make to calculate how our Olive would react to what's going on, and I love that she isn't 100% capable of keeping up pretenses all the time, it just makes the whole ordeal more believable and great! And our Olivia shifting back and forth between her mannerisms and the aspects of Fauxlivia without meaning to just stuns me.

Onto the more abbreviated appearances of John Noble, on our side, Walter is as lovable and crazy as ever, but there are differences in the works, and you can see that something about Walter is changing--probably for the better. He seems more coherent (He finally got Astrid's name right last week!) and ready to move into his role as the head of Massive Dynamic. Walternate, however, is (as I've already stated) the scariest thing on tv right now. His intellect+his strong will to destroy our world makes me feel faint-hearted. Such a commanding presence that is completely different from the Walter we know and love. Unfortunately, due to the circumstances unfolding in this season, so far we see minimal Peter. Joshua Jackson is still doing quite well, in between his scenes with Fauxlivia (He just HAS to know, right? Those knowing eyes betray him--He MUST be playing her, right?? This is me hoping so...) and those haunting images of Peter pushing our Olivia back to us is just the right amount of charming, spooky, and heartfelt. Overall, if things stay the way they are now, this might be the best season Fringe has ever had!

THE GOOD WIFE on the surface looks like another CBS soulless procedural. Well, if you think that, then you'd be completely wrong. This show is the best Network legal drama I've seen since Damages! The characters and the writing, and the cases all crackle. Kalinda (Liela?) is the definition of badass with a side of mystery. When she takes a baseball bat to new competitor Blake's car (played brilliantly by Scott Porter of Friday Night Lights fame), steals his documentation and then finds him standing at her car waiting for her in retaliation, she gets in his face. "Too close?" She teases. Then she brings up the bullets she found in his trunk "Been shooting deer, or you compensating for something?" He coolly replies "I'm...invested..." She gets even closer and a sudden look of shock comes over his face as (out of the camera's view) she cops a feel of his junk. "Oh, you are invested..." she sneers as she brushes him off and leaves. That'll teach him to stir up shit at work.

Meanwhile, Alicia Florrick's life is once again dragged into the dirt of her husband's new campaign. Balancing her morals and her strengths, she has taken out a few arbitrary judges, and a lawyer or two along the way of this season. Eli, Mr. Florrick's PR man has become a full-time character, and thank God, because Alan Cumming's performance has been equally hilarious and enthralling as he desperately tries to keep The Florrick Campaign out of the traps laid by the press, the politicians, and the other similar instances of scandal regarding politicians and their "good wives." There is so much to love about this series, and with every episode, it seems to just get better and better, in a similar fashion to how I described the season of Fringe so far. Absolutely outstanding dialogue all around gives me chills several scenes at a time. If you like character development, witty displays of power, and the occasional twist, The Good Wife is killing it so far this season.

THE VAMPIRE DIARIES started out probably as bad as the Twi-hard "saga" but after a few episodes it turned into generally compelling television, and had some great twists, and the acting wasn't Godawful, either. This season, it seems to have hit a new level of quality, and is definitely defining itself as the teen True Blood, not the TwiVamp Show. We're only 6 episodes into the season and the show has already let loose the thrills, gore, and killing of characters. The writing is actually very good at amping up drama and yet remaining self-aware, and therefore, not nauseatingly annoying, (they have some of Joss Whedon's writers on board, so that shouldn't be too much of a surprise) and Katherine is a great addition to the show. I sometimes find it hard to believe that this show is for the teenage girls because (especially episode 2.06) it can be downright disgusting at times, (I feel like Supernatural has had some influence on this show sometimes--the brotherly relationship, the random and brutal gory parts, etc.) It makes for some pretty good television.

SUPERNATURAL is subpar so far this season. However, that doesn't mean it isn't good. It's a common joke that a meh episode of Supernatural is still better than all the medical and cop procedurals on television, and that mantra has held up well over the years. I want to keep this short because I have a lot of ambivalence so far for certain aspects of this season: some of it I believe is part of the writers' plan for this season, but some of it is a feeling that something might be missing from the equation of the show...I'm not sure, but this is something I want to think about for now, until we get further into the season. The first episode I thought was pretty great, and the second was a great intro to the alpha storyline along with the continuance of the "WTF is wrong with Sam!?" arc. I have to say that the mystery in this season really is working out for me, and mainly my issues are diminutive and (based on what I've noted from the spoilertv SPN articles) not felt by the general Supe community. I just feel like it hasn't quite hit its stride yet this season, and the storyline, while really promising, is wavering a bit. The pacing is all over the place in episodes "The Third Man" and "Live Free or Twihard" but the episode "Weekend at Bobby's" was absolutely a perfectly crafted episode that delivered on all fronts for me, so I still trust the marvelous team of writers at Supernatural's disposal.

SMALLVILLE is Smallville so far. Generally good acting, spurts of great writing in between small hiccups of cheesiness and rehashed ideas. The 200th episode was wonderful, as was the season premiere. Even "Isis" wasn't so bad, but the fact remains that this show is right outside its expiration date. (How many times has a chick from this show been possessed by a random enraged spirit!?) I love that stupid new reporter for The Daily Planet: "I will never understand liberals." She's just the right amount of adorable, annoying, and stupid to keep me interested. The humor on Smallville has always been cutesy, witty, and sometimes hilarious. This tradition continues in season 10, and helps keep the scenes light and entertaining. The guest stars, and the looks into the future, and above all, the plot progression is (FINALLY) being allowed to reach a climax. Let me quote Lois on this one: "What took you so long!?" (when Clark Finally came out to her as the blur, cue really adorable and yet sexy Lois tackle.) This show may be long in the tooth, but it's still in touch with its former glory(or should I say reclaimed glory?) and its audience.

LIFE UNEXPECTED may not be expected to live much longer. (Whoaaa pun-ny irony!?) The ratings are abysmal (even for CW standards) and the core female audience The CW yearns for is slowly dwindling. This is really unfortunate because the show is still a great melodramatic family series with spunk. All the characters are delightfully (and heavily) flawed, but still relatable, and the little (and sometimes really big) unexpected events just keep coming this way for Cate and her little brood. There's already been some high points for the writing, and the arc of the season (no back 9 so far, so it may be a short season...) but I implore you to check out this show that's not afraid to break the hearts of every character in the show (and therefore the viewer--if the viewer has a freakin' heart, that is) just to build them back up into stronger people. Sounds a lot like how life works doesn't it?

MEDIUM was pretty good last season after its switch from NBC to CBS, but it felt like a "safe" sort of season that lacked really good arcs that lasted longer than 2 episodes--understandably so, since it was on a new network and a new night. (In a death slot on Friday, no less...) So when this season opened up with heavy-hitting multiple arcs that dealt with Detective Scanlon's family history, a dramatic change for the Dubois' as Ariel is going to college, and Allison's gift still causing the usual (sleep-deprived) issues, complete with excellent writing, and great acting from all the Dubois, I was just so happy. This show has always been overlooked in my opinion, for some truly great (and truly horrific) hours of television, and now it's back in full force, rebounded back to the excellence of the first 4 seasons. Unfortunately, it looks like this is the last season, as its ratings are falling way too low for CBS to keep. Oh well, it was great while it lasted, so let's make the most out of this season and keep the thrills coming!

Other good shows so far this season:

30 Rock

Community

Dexter (What's to explain, it's ALWAYS amazing...)

Weeds

The Big C

Summer Favorites that Just Ended:

RUBICON went from almost unwatchably boring to the best new show on television this past summer. The last 6-7 episodes of the season drew the goosebumps from me with every little detail leading to a conspiracy that really did merit all intrigue. The cast was well-composed (Kale Ingram is the ultimate badass on this show) and with some tragically powerful twists, the season ended on a note that left me begging for more. I won't go into any details so as not to give away any of the (awesome) plot.

MAD MEN hit a new level this season when it reinvented itself as a dark comedy--ok I kid--but there was a fresh layer of hilarity added to this conceptually and almost consistently dark drama. While Don Draper hit the lowest of the low and rebuilt himself (well, in a way, at least) Betty Draper went off the deep end, Sally Draper hit some existential issues, and Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce went under suddenly when their main client Lucky Strike decided to take another direction. Through Peggy's tropes into the underground realm of the budding anti-establishment movement and gaining a stronger hold on her own perspective, and Joan's subtle changes and rather important decisions, and all the perfectly-laid out drama in between, Mad Men sizzled this summer. The episode "The Suitcase" alone is worth a dozen emmys. I think this year Mad Men deserves an emmy nod more than it did in any of the previous years. (which could be problematic because it has won every year since its debut and this year might be the year they decide to go in another direction) I don't know how I am going to live without my weekly dose of Peggy and Don until August 2011! Ok, now back to shows currently on television!

Between Watchable and Awful:

Law & Order: SVU. (Not good! The writing has gone out the window)

The Event (Watchable, but awful dialogue and not enough depth yet)

Outsourced (stupid.)

SH!T MY DAD SAYS (Abhorrent. Tepid. Disgusting.)

glee: (More than just watchable, but while the writing is good, it's hit or miss as usual, and the characters can be so annoying at times. Still, it has heart, and Ryan Murphy generally knows what he's doing...Plus Jane Lynch is just awesome.)

No Ordinary Family (Same as The Event. Watchable but there's not much to it that keeps me there... even with Julie Benz.)

Onto a different sort of analysis:

This season, the trend of dropping ratings seems to continue. For the first time in several years, almost all of the new shows (14 out of 19 in all I believe) have been branded as failures in terms of ratings. There seems to be a competition between certain shows on certain networks that are blatantly competing with each other to see which will not be cancelled (there's a few battles like this every year, but this year is a bit more intense for my viewings):

FOX

On Fox, there seems to be a fight between Fringe, Lie to Me, Human Target, and The Good Guys: I'm expecting at least 2 to be cancelled and at least one exiled to Summer next season. My prediction: The Good Guys+Human Target are cancelled, Lie to Me moved to Summer, Fringe either stays on Thursdays at 9 or moved to Friday slot.

NBC

While the ratings at NBC are in a freefall and all the new shows so far have been picked up for full seasons (pretty desperate) this leaves a rather big issue for the comedies of Thursday, most importantly, Parks & Recreation and/or Community.. Outsourced has been slated to have a full season, and Parks & Rec. is slated to come in midseason. Community (forced to start the night and go against the behemoth The Big Bang Theory, is not doing well for the ratings) is looking pale, and the prospects of Parks & Rec. Midseason debut is looking sketchy. My prediction?: I have none, as all logic regarding handling a television schedule is out the window on NBC.

CBS

While, generally everything is successful this season on CBS, there's a few midseason replacements that are going to be tried out, and while the new shows may be doing well, they might not be doing good enough to not warrant being replaced after November sweeps.

This situation: It seems The Defenders and The Good Wife are competing for which show will be able to stay on their night and which will be banished to Friday/replaced by Criminal Minds 2. So far, The Good Wife, with its emmy buzz and its slightly better ratings is making it hard for The Defenders to be a good choice to keep, not to mention, The Defenders premieres in the slot directly after Criminal Minds, what's a better place for them to put the spin-off?

ABC

Generally there's not much going on around ABC that I am aware of: if you know anything big happening between shows, just post below!

So, there's my general thoughts on the progression of this season so far, with regards to the efforts of the showrunners/writers/actors, etc. and how strongly the shows themselves are doing ratings-wise. What shows have caught your eye this season? Which shows are making you wish you never watched them? Which shows do you think will make it to next season? Which shows do you want to be vocal about and spread the word on? Do you disagree with my thoughts on certain shows?

Just sound off below in the comments!