Television Grades by Day: Monday

Sorry it's been a while since I updated this, but hopefully I'll make up for it over the next week or two with my thoughts on a lot of the current shows airing. Remember you can hear more of my week-to-week opinions on my podcast; TV for Vendetta. So, check that out, comment here or on our Facebook page and follow the show on Twitter @TVforVendetta.

How I Met Your Mother (C) – For fans of the podcast, they know I’m basically hate watching this show right now. I truly do feel that they’ve drawn out the premise of the show far too long and it is resulting in multiple out-of-character portrayals from the cast. The reason I won’t grade the show worse than a C is that there are moments in episodes or even full episodes where the heart of the show is remembered. The fourth Robin Sparkles episode was a standout. And while not a great episode, Barney’s proposal to Robin was a great moment. Now if only the show can do what is right, introduce the mother at the end of the season and let the final season be one where we get to follow along with Ted’s journey to marry her. How I Met Your Mother airs on CBS at 8 P.M. est.

Bones (C+) – Quite an uneven season to me and I believe it’s feeling the effects of answering the lingering “will they/won’t they” question with regards to Bones and Booth. The show still has it’s easy to watch procedural elements and when they get into a juicy case, it’s a fun watch but those episodes seem to be few and far between. The secondary characters from Angela to Hodgins to Sweets to Cam have become plot devices to further the Booth and Bones relationship and the only time that changes is when they’re a focus of an episode. The one great redeeming factor of the season has been the continued, but limited use of Pelant as a serial killer who keeps the entire Jeffersonian staff guessing and off balance. Bones airs on Fox at 8 P.M. est.

Continuum (Inc) – Have only gotten to watch the pilot so far, but did enjoy it and will hopefully catch up soon. The concept of the show is that in the future, the country is ruled by corporations and they have their own police force. Revolutionaries to this way of thinking are sentenced to death but at their execution, they use a device that sends them to the past, along with one of the police officers instrumental in their original capture. It seems as if the show will play with whether or not the future she wants to defend is worth defending, but I’ll find out more as I watch. Continuum airs on SyFy at 8 P.M. est

2 Broke Girls (Inc) – Have fallen a bit behind on this so I don’t feel comfortable giving a grade especially when I feel the show does deserve two grades. All complaints about the show being too crass and degrading itself to the lowest common denominator are valid, but I believe those flaws could easily be fixed. The issue with the show is that I think there are 2 separate shows fighting for dominance. There’s the Max and Caroline cupcake business and friendship that probably deserves an A- especially with the introduction of Andy as a love interest for Caroline. The second show based on Max and Caroline’s work at the diner and featuring Sophie deserves a D, bordering on D-. It’s clichéd and stereotypical bad humor and over the top caricatures just to push the envelope and the truth is it takes away from what could be a really solid show with 2 leads who have great chemistry and timing between them. 2 Broke Girls airs on CBS at 9 P.M. est.

The Following (A) – One of the best pilots I’ve ever seen and the show hasn’t really fallen off at all. Great chemistry between the leads Carroll and Hardy and that’s matched by the breakout chemistry Denise/Emma has with everyone. The show takes the psychological drama aspect of serial killing and ramps up the motivations behind the characters. The show, because of its limited episode order, has not had any filler in its first few weeks and seems to be entering the pinnacle of the drama. Looking forward to seeing how the season wraps up and assuming a second season is ordered, if they move on to a different case or continue with the Carroll/Hardy aspect. The Following airs on Fox at 9 P.M. est.

Bunheads (B+) – Not much to say about this one except that it’s just a fun and enjoyable way to spend an hour. It’s not very realistic with the characters backgrounds and stories, but if you’re a fan of witty dialogue and banter, this show will be enjoyable. Very similar to Amy Sherman Palladino’s “Gilmore Girls” but with a more ensemble feel to it. The show is clearly focused on Michelle, but the second half of the 1^st season has given the rest of the cast a lot of room to grow and they’re all unique and fun in their own ways. Solid chemistry and acting all the way around, even if the stories are off-the-wall and unrealistic for the most part. Bunheads airs on ABC Family at 9 P.M. est.

Dallas (B) – While not having been a major television viewer during the original, I gave the updated sequel a chance because of the casting of Jordana Brewster and Julie Gonzalo, I have to say I am enjoying the show. I know I’m not getting Larry Hagman at his absolute JR best and I know his time is coming to an end on the show, but it has been an honor to watch even 75% of one of the best villains in television history. And I have to say that Josh Henderson’s portray of John Ross (JR’s son) gives hope that the continuation of the legacy has at least a chance of surviving. As to the actual show, it’s not much more than a typical soap opera, but it does have some great acting from Hagman, Duffy, Henderson, Gonzalo, Brewster and a few others. It won’t ever win any awards but there are worse hours of television. Dallas airs on TNT at 9 P.M. est.

Castle (B+) – Still one of my favorite hours on television. This is probably one of the shows where I’ve read the most feedback on the internet and while it’s fanbase will never compare to the obsessive CW fanbases, it does come close. The biggest complaint about the current season is the lack of Castle & Beckett romantic interactions now that they are a couple, but I find this to be a really stupid complaint. To do anything above and beyond what they’ve done would be a detriment to the show that they’ve built over their history. Castle as a show has never been about beating you over the head with the personal development of the couple, but it’s been about the moments that made them into people compatible with each other. And this season has followed that guideline very well. We still get to see the relationship but it’s more of a behind the scenes growth. It’s the little scenes that make them such a great couple. And as to the actual show, I think they’ve had some misses, but their hits are big ones. The episodes dealing with Beckett’s journey towards the apprehension of her mothers’ killers has been portrayed brilliantly and the most recent episode with the kidnapping of Alexis allowed Castle to show a darker side that has been bubbling below the surface for a while. As his backstory continues to grow, I predict I will enjoy the show more and more. Castle airs on ABC at 10 P.M. est.

Hawaii Five-0 (B-) – Not much to say about the typical CBS procedural. The show relies on the chemistry of the main cast carrying the case of the week format. And that’s the best thing the show has going for it…a great cast with phenomenal chemistry. They’ve tried to do deeper storylines and those have been hit-or-miss. And they’ve tried to expand their main cast and while I personally have enjoyed the additions they attempted to make, none have caught hold with the overall audience so we get a show mostly focused on McGarrett and Danno with added help from Chin-Ho and Kono. Hawaii Five-0 airs on CBS at 10 P.M. est.

Deception (Inc) – Having only seen the pilot, I don’t have a lot to say here. I will say that the pilot seemed like a mundane murder mystery drama and didn’t hook me with any character or aspect of the show. I will hopefully be getting to this soon, but it’s not a priority. Deception airs on NBC at 10 P.M. est

Lost Girl (Inc) – Haven’t been able to watch much of the current season yet, but from what I’ve been able to gather they are delving into Bo’s dark fae side. I’m interested in seeing how this develops and will make this a priority watch in upcoming weeks. I loved the first 2 seasons because of, once again, the chemistry the cast exhibits with each other. The Bo and Kenzi friendship is one of the best, most sincere friendships on television and it’s fun to watch them interact with one another. Lost Girl airs on SyFy at 10 P.M est.

Hell on Earth: Battlefield Los Angeles

When I started this blog, I did mention that I wanted to use it for more than just current television opinions or even classic television opinions. But that I wanted to use it as a creative outlet for my own writing and while this isn't anything new but something I've had written for a long time, I think posting it may spur me to continue it. So without further adieu, my first attempt at fanfiction in the Buffy universe.

Fic:    Hell On Earth: Battlefield Los Angeles

Rating:  M-17 (War type battle scene violence, dialogue, sexual situations)

Spoilers: Everything through all 7 seasons of Buffy is fair game, as is everything from Angel…but the basis of the story will be everything from Angel’s 100^th episode and forward. That means no comic book canon.

Summary: One possiblilty of the outcome of Angel’s final season and what may have led up to it.

Pairing:  Probably a few at some point, not sure what they’re going to be. Some slash probably but nothing graphic. Xander’s relationship is a surprise, but I’ve given quite a few hints on it and it’s ever changing as the story progresses.

Disclaimer: Mutant Enemy and Joss Whedon, among others are responsible for Buffy and Angel and every other character. It’s just fun for me to use them as playthings for a while. All original characters are basically mine, and any resemblance to actual people or characters is hopefully unintentional. A slight homage exists to Tarantino and that will be obvious when it happens. I’m not getting paid for this, but if you leave me feedback that would be great. It is the first time I’m ever letting anyone else see any fan fiction I’ve written. There may be crossovers but not til the sequels as this is just a Whedonverse fic except for the one homage.

Author’s Notes: I have to thank whoever laid out the challenge awhile ago for those of us who have never written to post a story. I had something else planned based on “Restless”, but after watching the finale of Angel, I had so many ideas for this, that I just started writing. I also wanna thank BC for pushing me to actually start writing instead of talking about it and being someone to toss ideas off of. And I wanna thank Fire for being a very helpful beta. And then every author who’s ever posted a story gets my thanks for forging the terrain I now travel into. No matter what you think of this, please reply to me either her, on Facebook, via email, I don’t care how just let me know what I’m doing wrong, and anything I may be doing right.

“…” Indicates spoken dialogue.   ***…*** Indicates thoughts.

Remember, this is also just a rough draft as I do need to go back and touch up/add/delete some aspects but I want to get this out there before I change my mind.

Chapter 1: African Visit

            The only light that can be seen is the faint glow of a campfire and the silhouette of a man carving something out of wood. By that light, a number of tents are noticeable and the outline of quite a few girls could be made out. We see one walking towards the fire and she speaks to the man sitting by the campfire.

            “Hey Xand-Man. A few of the girls are getting restless. They wanna know when they’re gonna be able to head to England and get started on the full training.”

            “I don’t know Vi. Something’s coming soon, real soon…maybe even tonight…”

            “You need me to get everyone ready; mount up and all that.”

            “No…not this time…”

            “But Xander…

            “Nah, Vi. This is something else. I don’t think it’s bad or evil, but it’s coming. So just be on guard in case I’m wrong…and you know what to do if something really goes wrong. Get everyone out of here, get to Johannesburg and get on the first flight out of Africa. You have our list of contacts.”

            “Xander, I’ll send the girls, they know what to do, but I’ve made promises to people and I WILL NOT leave you here. You will be with us, one way or another. But none of that matters, because I know you and you won’t leave us alone out here. You’re too good a man to do that to a group of poor defenseless girls, aren’t ya?”

            “Real funny Vi. We both know that none of you are defenseless and to put yourself in that group…well we both know the truth on how defenseless you really are. You took apart those Fyarl demons last week like they were nothing.”

            “It was that time of the month…

            “Way too much info there for my liking. I gotta do this Vi, I’m going over that hill right there, keep everyone safe and remember what I said if I’m not back by morning.”

            “Right, get the girls to the airport and then come find and save your cute ass.”

            “What is it with me and strong, sexy slayers never listening to me?”

            “Did you just call me sexy, Xand?”

            “Ummm….gotta go…….

            “But Xand, the night now has potential….

            As Vi watched him go, her thoughts were completely focused on making sure she knew what to do next and how to handle things if they went to hell. Well there was another thought in her head as she watched him walk away and that was he does have a really cute ass and that if he didn’t come back, there would be lots of people who wanted to string her up for losing him.

           

Xander made his way down the dirt path through the hills as he reached the top, he gave a little look back and noticed Vi starting to gather up the stakes he just finished carving and passing them out. She saw him and a little nod was exchanged between them. An unspoken agreement that Vi would do what was necessary and Xander would come back or die trying. Xander turned back and continued walking down the path when he heard a rustling in the grass. He reached behind him and took out the crossbow with one hand and the fantasy dagger. The dagger was new to Xander’s weapon arsenal and it had proven handy already after that fight with the Blugrash demons. It cut through their thick hides like butter and then the true blessing of the dagger was shown as the demon blood was wiped clean without being touched. He’d gotten the dagger after saving that witch doctor type fellow in the jungles of the Congo and he was hoping he’d use the dagger to fight offer whatever was out the right now.

            The rustling got louder and a figure stepped out of the bushes. Xander let fly with a bolt from the crossbow, but at the very second he turned it up and it flew over the person when he recognized who it was, “Wha, wha, what are you doing here?”

            “Well, I wasn’t hoping to be shot at by you, ya big dweeb. What are you looking at like that? Shut your mouth, you’re gonna catch flies. Are my clothes wrinkled or something? Would you stop staring at me like that? Yes I’m here. Jeez.”

            “Cor…Cordy…Cordelia…..”

            “Ummm, well duh, who were you expecting?”

            “I wasn’t expecting you, that’s for damn sure. Wow…what are you doing here? Hell, how did you know I was here?”           

            “Well I can tell ya it had nothing to do with hell. The other end of the spectrum…maybe, but not hell. And as to why I’m here, well I’m really not here.”

            “What do you mean you’re not here? I can see you. I almost put a crossbow bolt through your skull…wait, you’re the first aren’t ya? Damn it, I knew we didn’t win that war last year. Look nothing you can say is gonna matter to me, you didn’t visit me last year so I know I’m not important to your plans.”

            “Are you done yet Lunkhead? You’re right about one thing you just said. You didn’t technically defeat the first evil last year, but you did enough to put it away for a while and rethink its plans. Just know it’ll be back and things will have to be done differently. And that’s where what you just said is completely wrong. You think that you weren’t visited because you don’t matter, god I know I said dumb stuff in high school, but I’ve gotten past it. I figured you would have by now too. You hurt me back then, but I know you’re more important to this fight than almost anyone.”

            “What are you talking about? You for one should know that I’m just “The Zeppo.”

            “Oh god, are you gonna harp on that? I was in high school and you just cheated on me with the worst possible person imaginable. I knew what buttons to push and I needed to hurt you, but we both know what happened that night in the basement and just how big a zeppo you really are. And honestly, if you weren’t so important, why are you leading the African portion of the council. Why would Giles give you such an important job? Now just shut up and let me tell you what I have to.”

            “Wait, I need to do something first.” Xander walks up to Cordy and wraps his arms around her and gives her the biggest hug he could.

            “Hey, watch your hands mister. I’m not a grope toy.”

            “Just needed to make sure you weren’t the first.”

            “I told you…

            “I know what you said, and I trusted you enough, but I owed you that hug. I wasn’t able to do it in L.A. because you were in that bed, and it was something I just needed to do.”

            “Understood, but don’t let it happen again.” Cordelia gives a lil wink and continues to speak; “Now we need to get down to business.”

            “I don’t like the sounds of this. Another apocalypse?”

            “Kinda, sorta, it's not another apocalypse…this is The Apocalypse.”

            “You mean, the be-all, end-all.”

            “Again with the kind of, sorta. The fight against evil will never be over. We both know that. If there’s good out there, there has to be the bad to balance it. But this is the one that’s gonna turn men and women into heroes and push the darkness to where they’re on the defensive from now on. We’ll be doing the attacking and pushing the evil out. But you’re not going to be doing it in Africa.”

            “Time to go to Cleveland.”

            “Wrong again…jeez. Would you let me talk? It’s L.A.”

            “Isn’t that Dead boy’s territory?”

            “I swear to you up there…if you don’t shut up, I’m gonna beat you down with my own hands. I just got done visiting Angel and he knows what has to happen and how to get there, but when he gets there he's gonna need all the help he can. He knows that it’s time to stop waiting for things to happen to him. He’s gonna make things happen on his end, and it’s time for you make things happen on yours. This is the big one Xand. We need to call in everyone we can. Get Willow and her brigade out of Rio. Get Faith and the Cleveland contingency on the horn. Get Dawn and Buffy back into the fight and meet up with Giles in England at first. Do whatever you need to do to convince them that this is the real deal. They won’t listen to you because they don’t trust Angel right now. Hell they sent Andrew as their representative to deal with him already. You need to make this work on both ends. Get whoever else you need to. Get everyone.”

            “I don’t wanna be beaten by you…well not yet anyway, but I need to ask this: What exactly are we going to be fighting?”

            “The complete forces of a hell dimension. The Senior Partners of Wolfram & Hart. The big boys of darkness Xand. I wasn’t joking when I said this was The Apocalypse. So, do what you have to get the troops ready. I gotta go now.”

            “No, not yet Cordy. I’m not the right person for this.”

            Cordy places her fingers over Xander’s lips and whispers in his ear, “Not only are you the right person for this, but you’re the perfect person for what’s to come. Look, I’m not dying, well not really…but don’t tell Angel that. He needs to think I’m gone. You’ll be seeing me again. Soon, I promise. Now go. Get your stuff together and go save the world.”

Cordy gives Xander a peck on the lips and starts to shimmer up into the sky. Xander watched her go and sat there for just a moment reflecting on what he’d just been told. He starts the walk back to the camp and realizes he’s not sure he can do this, but he also knows he has no choice, because it’s what he does and if he doesn’t do it, his family wouldn’t survive. Speaking of family, he sees Vi waiting by the fire. He may have only known Vi a little over a year now, but she’s fought alongside him the entire time and that made her family.

            “Hey Vi.”

            “You look like you’ve seen a ghost Xand. Is everything ok?”

            “I’m fine, and no, everything’s not ok, but we’ll deal with the specifics later. We’ll be leaving in the morning. Call the airport and make sure the Council’s plane is ready.”

            “Where are we going?”

            “Well, you and the rest of the girls are headed to England. Make sure you pack everything and bring it all to the council.”

            “No way buster…if we’re leaving, you’re coming with us. I’m not leaving you down here alone.”

            “Not to worry. I’ll be meeting you in England. I just have a stop to make in Rome first.”

            “Xand, you’re not gonna like this, but I’ve been keeping in touch with Dawn. Buffy’s dating someone called The Immortal. Dawn’s said he’s not evil, per say, but he’s not exactly on the good side of the fence either.”

            “Ha-ha wouldn’t have it any other way if I didn’t have to convince Buffy of something if she wasn’t dating someone who was bordering the line of good and evil. Don’t worry bout me Vi. I can handle myself.”

            “I have no doubts about that Xand. Just wish you’d handle me sometime.”

            “None of that missy.”

            “Seriously Xand, I can tell this is bad, but how bad are we talking? Apocalypse bad, Sunnydale First Evil bad, what?”

            “I know you trust me. I don’t exactly know why sometimes, but I know you do. So I’m gonna be honest with ya. This is gonna be one of the two things; either the end of the world as we know it and I mean that in the worst possible way, or it’s gonna be the start of something great and we’re gonna be there for it. And Vi, no matter what…I will make sure you survive whatever is to come. You’ve been there for me this past year and that’s meant the world to me.”

            “Damn it Xander, with words like that you’re gonna make a girl cry.”

The two walk toward each other and embrace. They hug for a long moment and as they pull apart Xander kisses her forehead and wipes away a little tear from her eyes. Vi pulls back and starts shouting orders to the girls to start packing up the gear. She tells em to all be ready for a flight in the morning. She’s about to say something else, when she looks back towards Xander and he gives her the nod to say it.

            “Listen up slayers….starting at dawn tomorrow, we’re in training. 100% non-stop. We’re going to war.”

Top 10 Most Annoying Current TV Characters

 
10. Bill Compton (True Blood) – Bill is on this list for not much more than his incessant SOOKIE’S. But that’s not to deny his own annoying factors even if they are limited to his interactions with Sookie. Outside that relationship Bill isn’t the worst of characters, but since the show is kind of centered on that Bill & Sookie relationship, Bill’s annoyance factor skyrockets.

 

9. Elena Gilbert (Vampire Diaries) – A very recent addition to the list because of how she’s handled her transformation into a vampire. Elena always had her whiny qualities but it was normally limited to which vampire brother (Damon or Stefan) she should love. In a CW teen supernatural show you can look past that if her other qualities are strong and Elena was nothing if not a passionate fighter so she got a pass for the most part. But with her transformation, the whining has been ramped up to almost unfathomable levels especially when compared to prior characters going from human to vampire. Elena has become almost unbearable. 

 

 

8. Andrea (Walking Dead) – Here is a situation of a character from one medium not translating as well. Andrea’s comic character in The Walking Dead is one of the strongest and self-sufficient characters. In the television show, she is the walking embodiment of a damsel in distress basically. She’s latched onto every unattached guy and in one case a female in the vicinity in order for her to believe she has a role in the world she’s been thrust into. From Dale to Shane to Darryl to Michonne and now the Governor, Andrea seems to need to rely on someone and while in the grand sense that might not be annoyance, it becomes a major annoyance when you realize the potential of the character that the comics established.

 

7. Jane Forrest (New Normal) – Here is a character who could and should probably be higher but I’ve become accustomed to tuning out her scenes. On a not very good show, this is the biggest reason why. The rest of the cast has their moments of charm and humor but this racist, sexist, misogynistic, and every other -ist you can think of ruins every single scene. It seems they want to take her over the top attitudes and make it funny but to me it does the exact opposite and annoys me that other characters haven’t beaten this miserable bitch up. 

6. Carl Grimes (Walking Dead) – The first of three child characters on the list and the one who’s been annoying on both ends of the spectrum. He’s gone from a season 1 and 2 annoyance levels of stop being so damn stupid because of incessant running off and causing the rest of the survivors to have to spend hours looking for him to now being the baddest of the bad asses. The fact is he still sucks and the sooner he’s zombie bait and gets a bullet between the eyes, the better everyone in the group will be.

 5. Manny Delgado (Modern Family) – Number two of the child characters and the one with probably the most annoying singular personality. His 40 year-old-man in a 12-year-old-body grates on every single nerve because it is so unrealistic. I understand the negatives of bullying but if ever a kid needed to be beaten daily on the playground, it’s one Manny Delgado. Please Manny…STOP GROWING UP.

 4. Tara Thornton (True Blood) – I don’t even know where to begin with where this one annoys me but she just does. Human, vampire, straight, lesbian, single, dating, etc. and etc. and none of it has changed the fact that Tara seems like a complete black hole of interest. On a show with vampires and were-animals and faeries and shape shifters and witches and everything you can imagine including a few normal humans, Tara has never fit in the world and every scene she is in, you just wait for her to leave so something interesting could happen. Even her getting her head blown near clean off before becoming a vampire was boring. Shotgun blast to the head and still I didn’t care; that’s a sign of annoyance.

3. Lori Grimes (Walking Dead) – This one’s dead but I don’t think that’s going to change her annoyance factor. She’s manipulative without meaning to be and a drama queen in a world where drama is totally unnecessary. One could hold her choices before Rick’s arrival against her but that was the least of her issues. Her continuing playing of Rick against Shane led to a major chasm between the two and a fracturing of the group prior to Shane’s death. And her “mothering” of Carl led to his inclusion on the list and the hopes of many that both wind up zombie bait sooner rather than later.

2. Ted Mosby (How I Met Your Mother) – A catalyst for his show and this one’s as big a wet blanket as you can get. Some of this blame should be on the writers for dragging out a 2-3 season story for 7 years, but even as a character Ted is just someone you’d never want to be around. He complains about finding love and then when he dates he jumps right into the 8^th month of a relationship even if it’s been 8 minutes. And then he compares everyone to his “first” “true” love when the fact is he had no chemistry with her. We get it, you want to find someone to be the mother to your children, we just don’t care about it anymore because whoever she is will need to be dumb, deaf, and stupid to deal with you.

1. Henry Mills (Once Upon A Time) – The catalyst for the entire show is also the biggest problem for the show. While the character of Henry was necessary to bring Emma to Storybrooke and kick off the story since that moment, he’s done nothing but cause problems for the entire population of the town. And yes, he’s still just a kid but for a kid who believes in fairy tales, he totally doesn’t grasp the concept that lying and disobeying and just being a general nuisance will lead to problems for everyone around him.

First Month Impressions of the Fall Season

So we’re about a month into the new 2012 television season and most shows have aired somewhere between 2 and 5 episodes depending on pre-emptions for the Presidential debates or playoff baseball or late starts. I’ve watched quite a bit of the new shows and kept current with my returning favorites and a few things are catching my notice. For today, I’m mostly going to focus on the serialized shows both on network and cable television. Shows where watching from week to week is almost mandatory as the plots and characters develop and you need to know what happened last week to understand what’s happening this week and in the future.

We’re going to start with the best and that’s the Emmy award winning Best Drama, Homeland. Words can not do justice to the amazing quality this show has delivered week in and week out. Performances from lead actors Claire Danes and Damian Lewis as well as supporting actors Mandy Patinkin, Morena Baccarin, and even Morgan Saylor have been off the charts good. And that’s nothing compared to the work going on behind the scenes by the writers, directors, and producers. A show like this that is coming off such high accolades like award wins and high ratings could have rested on its laurels and moved along at a slow pace and not rattle any carts, but they’ve blown that theory out of the ballpark. The breakneck speed that Homeland is running at this season would give Usain Bolt a run for his money. They’ve taken their status quo of Carrie Mathison’s psychological problems and Nicholas Brody’s wounded turned soldier and allowed them to develop into the next stage of the growth of their characters. It’s no longer about proving that Carrie was right from the very start, it’s about changing the rules of the show and showing how Carrie, Brody, Jessica, Dana, and the rest of the cast adjust to the new status quo. Personally, I couldn’t be more thrilled to see what happens next and that’s what television should be about; anticipating the next week.

A few other shows have followed this new concept of taking their status quo and shaking it up. Walking Dead has followed up a lackluster to most second season with two fantastic third season episodes to start. They’ve taken the moral compass of the show in Rick and allowed him to grow and develop into the leader the group needed him to be instead of the man he would be under ideal circumstances. They’ve allowed a realistic growth of not only Rick, but of Darryl, Carol, Maggie, and Glenn among others in a very unrealistic world. And it’s this growth and change in characters that has allowed Walking Dead to flourish and grow to unforeseeable heights. Another show that has changed its status quo is the storybook based Once Upon A Time. Being a network show, OUaT has the unenviable task of having to produce almost double the number of compelling hours than shows like Walking Dead and Homeland and so far they’ve been able to succeed at not having a majority of the show feel like filler. After the first season when characters were developed, motivations were figured out, and storylines progressed the premise of the show changed in the finale as the cursed backgrounds of the characters were thrown into the limelight and an almost new show was on the horizon for season two. And the producers didn’t stop with the curveballs there as in the season premiere they took two of the 4 or 5 main characters and took them on their own journey outside the core of the show. And they’ve succeeded in my opinion. The show is expanding their universe without losing the core heart of the show and that’s something that has been hard to find in recent years of television, especially network television.

Serialized shows like Once Upon A Time, Revenge, Revolution, Fringe, Last Resort and others have been able to avoid the pratfalls of previous serial shows like 24 and Lost in that filler seems to be less of a focus now. As big a fan as I am/was of shows like 24 and Lost among others, they did fall into the trap of having almost pointless episodes in the middles of their seasons as they started big and knew they needed to finish big so they coasted through portions of their season…whether it’s the development of the quicker cable season or just a change in the philosophy of show runners, this doesn’t seem to happen as much anymore. It’s never going to go away but I do like the core change that television seems to be slowly developing.

That’s not to say every show is clicking on all cylinders as I’ve found the start of Supernatural through a month very, very lackluster and almost like a completely different show with characters I haven’t spent 6 years getting to know. I also understand the criticisms that shows like Revolution and Last Resort have received but I’m willing to give those shows some more time as Revolution has slowly started answering some of their biggest critics complaints with regards to the reality of the situation and Last Resort’s issue of whether or not the entire concept is possible. Because at the end of the day, to me, it’s not about the realism of the situation but the ways in which the characters deal with the situation that’s been hoisted upon them.

Agree, disagree, have your own opinion…I’d love to hear it. If it’s something you just wanna talk about with me or in general, email me at bvanalstyne@gmail.com or post on my podcast’s page; www.facebook.com/TVforVendetta. If you want to hear it discussed on air, send an email to vendetta@flawedcast.net and it’ll be talked about in depth. And if you just wanna listen to two guys talk about tv, check out TV for Vendetta on the Flawedcast network; www.flawedcast.net/vendetta.

So, get out that popcorn, grab a drink, watch some television and I’ll be back soon with another edition of Devil’s Vendetta for the couch potatoes of the world.

An Introduction

Let's start with the simple stuff, my name is Brian VanAlstyne in real life and DevSop in the cyber world for the most part. If you're reading this, you either came across it by accident or you were directed here by myself or a friend/fan. A fan of what you may ask, my views and opinions on television that I've started to make more public via a podcast I am a co-host of on the Flawedcast Network. That podcast is called TV for Vendetta and I host it with a friend I met on the Punshouse message board, Michael Demko. It's a TV news and review podcast for the most part but we also delve into general entertainment news and just try to have fun with it and each other while relaying information we find useful.

For the most part I'll be using this blog to expand on opinions I come up with on the podcast or create new opinions on topics that we don't get to on the podcast. Also, I'll try and use this to review  things I'm watching that are either currently airing or that I'm catching up on. I'm a massive telelvision fan that admits I probably watch too much. I don't limit myself to good quality as I'll watch anything it seems, except for most reality. But even in that genre I can find myself finding something to watch from time to time. My favorite shows range in style and tone from comedy to sci-fi to procedurals to character-based dramas to serial soap type shows. My top 5 shows vary everytime I'm asked but you will hear me mentions shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Friday Night Lights, Sopranos, Fringe, Lost, Community, Castle, Homeland, Newsroom, Sports Night, Freaks & Geeks, Roswell, The League, and so many others. I will watch shows long past their quality has expired because I become invested in characters. And that's what I love about television; the diversity of characters and relationships on television that I can lose myself in and find myself rooting for or against. And it doesn't always have to be the lead characters or the relationships the creators/writers want you to become invested in because they might not be the ones you connect to, but at the end of the day it works out anyway because you're connected to someone and that's what television can be. A connection, an escape and so much more.

Hopefully everyone enjoys reading my opinions and if you find this prior to listening to the podcast, you can find that on iTunes under TV for Vendetta or on the Flawedcast Network at www.flawedcast.net/vendetta and then you can like it on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TVforVendetta

So, pull up a chair, grab some popcorn and a drink and enjoy the wide world of television as brought to you by a Devil.