It's the most wonderful time of the year

The fall viewing season is rapidly approaching - thank goodness there'll be new t.v. soon! I've trimmed down my schedule a bit (in part because I may be giving up my DVR for a while (nooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!)) but Mondays are still triple-booked at the 8:00 p.m. (EST) slot ... here's what'll be on at the Mouse House:

Mondays
8:00 - How I Met Your Mother (CBS/Sept. 21), House (Fox/Sept. 21), Heroes (NBC/Sept. 21)
10:00 - Castle (ABC/Sept. 21)

Tuesdays
8:00 - V (ABC/Nov. 3)
9:00 - The Biggest Loser (NBC/Sept. 15)

Wednesdays
9:00 - Glee (Fox/Sept. 9)

Thursdays
8:00 - Flashforward (ABC/Sept. 24)
9:00 - The Office (NBC/Sept. 14)

Fridays
9:00 - Dollhouse (Fox/Sept. 25)

Also, Lost comes back to ABC in "early 2010" and darling little Better Off Ted (also ABC) will return "later."

So, also, thank goodness that I can probably catch Heroes online because even if I do keep the DVR, I can't access three shows at once and Heroes, since it has been so entirely el sucko lately, will just have to wait. Yes, I will continue to slog through the recaps for you because I am eternally hopeful that the writers will get their heads out of their asses and bring this show back to its shiny S1 potential. But you just know that's not going to happen because (1) the dang trailers are ALL focusing on frakking Hiro and his stupid time-travelling and (2) I've heard that Claire Bennet is going to have a bi-curious relationship when she goes off to college.

Now, I am absolutely in favor of same sex relationships on popular television shows. Done correctly (BtVS, Torchwood, etc.), they are healthy, normal, not titillating and something that is lacking from mainstream programming. But I have no faith whatsoever that Heroes will handle this well: it's going to be the blonde cheerleader snogging another girl for ratings. It'll be bullshit and, worse, it'll be damaging to those folks who are trying to portray same sex relationships in a positive and unsensational light. Stupid Heroes.

Enough ranting. What will you be watching?

BBC America kicks ass

I was simply blown away by the Torchwood S3/miniseries (subtitled Children of Earth) that ran M-F this past week. Holy friggin' moly, that was great! Despite not being a Dr. Who-ligan, I enjoyed the first two seasons of its spin-off (see here, here, here and here) and was dismayed that the third season would only be a five-episode miniseries. But the miniseries was vastly better than the first two seasons, pared down, action-packed from the get-go, funny, exciting and heart-breaking.

An alien race has come to Earth and demanded 10% of the planet's children or it will eradicate the entire human race. The aliens are dealing with the Brits because this is the second time they've come to Earth: back in 1965 the British government gave them twelve children in hopes they would go away. The Welsh Torchwood unit is poised and ready to help, but the government, keeping their 1965 dealings with the aliens a secret, confounds them at every turn. The thing is, while the government is as much the Big Bad as the aliens, the viewer does not have an easy time knowing whom to side with. Would you sacrifice 3,500,000 children to save the remaining billions of people? And if so, how do you pick who is sacrificed?

Russell T. Davies has now supplanted Joss Whedon as the most ruthless television writer/producer: SPOILER he has killed off three of the five original cast members in 3 seasons; he has a government worker, betrayed by his boss, the British Prime Minister, shoot his two daughters, his wife and then himself, rather than give his children to the aliens; and Captain Jack is forced to sacrifice his only daughter's only child to save the planet. Grim, heartrending stuff - and really good television. END SPOILER.

The ending of Children of Earth was ambiguous as to whether there will be any more Torchwood episodes - Davies and the show's stars (those still living) seem ready and willing to do more, so fork over the money, BBC! It looks like I'm going to have to start watching Dr. Who episodes (man oh man that's going to take me decades, isn't it?) so as not to lose touch with this world. In the meantime, I urge you to rent or buy Torchwood 1, 2, and 3 (the last of which should be coming out on DVD very soon).

Also, I caught the pilot of Being Human, a new (new to the U.S.) supernatural BBC America show about a ghost, a werewolf and a vampire who are flat-mates. The pilot was a little rough, as pilots are wont to do, as it seemed as though the viewer was dumped into the show somewhere in the middle and had to figure out what was going on (as in, how did the vampire and the werewolf, who were already acquaintances before they occupied the flat that holds the ghost, first meet? although I suspect we'll get to see that as the series goes on). The show seems to be trying for a balance of horror and humor, like Buffy et als., and does fairly well; the werewolf when not wolfing out is a little squirrelly for my taste, but the gore is quite bloody, so that's fun. I suspect Being Human will only get better as it goes along and plan to keep it in the DVR queue for the duration.

Puppies, the return of Spike and oh, a book

If you're not that interested in either the Giants or the Patriots (or the ads in between the football), Animal Planet offers an excellent alternative to the Superbowl: Puppy Bowl IV. Mr. Mouse and I have watched this for the last couple of years and it is hilarious, heart-warming and oh-so fuzzy. There's a kitten half-time show but my favorite part is the Bowl-Cam. Be sure to check it out.

The season premiere of Torchwood's Season 2 was last Saturday night and it was fantastic to see James Marsters guest-starring as a blast from Captain Jack Harkness's past. Marsters was channeling early Spike for sure, full of swagger, sex appeal, British accentyness and unrepentant evil. And that much ballyhooed kiss between him and John Barrowman? DAMN sexy. Marsters is said to be returning for several more episodes as the season goes on to which I say bravo.

Finally, I guess I should mention the last book I read: Amy and Isabelle by Elizabeth Strout. I'm not giving this one a full review because I didn't really like it. Set in a mill town, the story is about a single mother struggling to raise her 16-year old daughter. The writing was fine if unremarkable; I didn't like any of the characters; and the reveal of the mother's big harrowing secret turned out to be an inconsequential let-down. Anyway, I'm putting it in the "already read" stack and moving onto something else.

Fall television report card update

I should probably wait to do this post until the networks completely run out of new episodes due to the Writers' strike but since they're going to run out any minute now, I figure what the heck. Way back in the beginning of September I outlined my hopes and dreams for the fall 2007 television season. In this post, a little bit later, I gave Pushing Daisies an A, Chuck a B+, Reaper a B-, Bionic Woman a C and Moonlight a D+. Now it's three months later, the end of new television episodes is looming large and I'm superthankful that I have a Blockbuster Online queue with 300+ DVDs in it.

Shows that I have long since broken up with: Reaper - even the great Ray Wise cannot overcome a boring relationship storyline that insists on pushing itself to the forefront. Moonlight - I tried one more ep recently and yup, it's still awful. Bionic Woman - Katee Sackhoff left BSG for this dreck? Her agent should be beaten. Desperate Housewives - there's not nearly enough Nathan Fillion to make me want to suffer through Susan and Gabi's bullshit.

Shows that are in the doghouse: CSI/Las Vegas - we're still (stubbornly) watching and are hoping that dreary Sarah Sidle's departure will put the spring back in their step. More Warrick! More Brass! Better crimes!

Shows that I am faithful to: Chuck - it's continuing to get better but there should be even more Adam Baldwin. Friday Night Lights - I think they made a mistake in cutting most of the football and replacing it with that stupid Landry-kills-a-guy-for-Tyra storyline; on the plus side, I can't decide if I want Coach Taylor to be my father or my husband (thanks to Anna B. for the paraphrase there). The Office - I prefer the half-hours to the full-hours and the last new episode was depressing as hell (Michael Scott getting grilled by the Dunder Mifflin lawyers about his relationship with Jan) but this show continues to be generally brilliant and so, so funny.

I heart these shows: Heroes - I know, this sophomore season limped along early on but I think Tim Kring has listened to the ranting of the fans and is (or was or will be when the strike is resolved) changing things ... the episode last week was as good as anything last season. [Note: we've had houseguests tonight so I haven't seen tonight's episode yet; recap will be up tomorrow night - sorry!]. Dexter - again, this season lagged a bit at the start but has been building steam nicely. Plus, Dexter's sister is sleeping with Wild Bill Hickok! Torchwood - a couple of the episodes were just cheesy beyond belief, even for a Dr. Who spin-off, but this is generally good sci-fi stuff, including better sex than on most American shows and what was the scariest television episode I've seen since "Home" (X-Files). Pushing Daisies - this has got to be the darling of the fall. Vivid, funny, twisted and clever, it just keeps getting better and better. I love Kristin Chenoweth!

Shows I am waiting (and waiting and waiting) for: Battlestar Galactica - I've got the recent Razor miniseries sitting in the DVR but I don't understand why the third season isn't out on DVD yet. Very frustrating. Lost - I am continuing to be hopeful here but Mr. Mouse is on the verge of giving up (he wants some answers). Plus, more Sayid/Hurley/Jin and less (much less) whiny Jack and Kate, please.

Watch Torchwood, I cannot stress this enough

It's 11:53 p.m. my time and I just finished watching the Torchwood episode "Countrycide" (BBC America is currently showing all Season 1). At this risk of hyperbole, that was one of the most exciting hours of television I've ever seen: sexy, bloody, violent and wicked scary. I jumped at least twice in my seat and had to cover my eyes three times. For television.

The Torchwood gang is a group of Men In Black-ish government agents whose normal course of work is to track down aliens over there in Wales. This episode takes them out of their comfort zone, away from the city of Cardiff and into the beautiful green fields and rock cliffs of the country ... to investigate people being abducted, butchered and eaten. By what would be too big a spoiler. It rattles the team and it rattled me. Again, I couldn't believe this was television, even British TV (which seems to have fewer constrictions on language and subject matter).

I was losing my crush on this show a couple of episodes back - the badly-acted one with the robot girl - but the last two episodes, and especially this one, have restored my faith. The production values are a little lower than what U.S. television viewers may be used to, but if they keep the shocks and tension up like this, no one will mind. Moonlight (wasted opportunity that it is) should have taken notes. Watch this show.

Y: The Last Man, Fables and Torchwood

Just to prove that I am still watching and reading things that score high on the cult-meter, here are some short thoughts about:

Torchwood - Season 1 is now showing on BBC America and two episodes into it, I'm already developing a crush. Think X-Files meets Angel but with Welsh accents and the delightful tendency of British television not to get hung up on girls snogging girls and boys snogging boys. Fantastic. Apparently this is a Dr. Who spin-off but so far you don't need to know the parent show - which is great because I've not seen a Dr. Who episode since the days of Tom Baker. My only quibble is with the male lead, John Barrowman: he is an American-raised Scot - which explains how good his accent is - but he plays Captain Jack a little too Tom Cruise for me. Hopefully he'll move away from that a bit as the series goes on.

Fables: Storybook Love - I didn't love this one quite as much as the previous two Fables trade paperbacks. I guess I just wasn't as interested in the quickie stories bookending the main story arc. SPOILER Pluswhich I think they killed off Bluebeard way too early END SPOILER. I did like seeing Bigby in his Big Bad Wolf body tho'.

Y: The Last Man - Unmanned - There's a quote on the cover of this book from RevolutionSF.com: "This is why God created comic books." Now, I'm no expert but they may be right. This book is incredible. A plague has killed off every single male - man and animal - on the planet, except one guy, Yorick, and his pet spider monkey. One plot thread follows these two on their quest to reunite with Yorick's girlfriend (oh, yes, and also to figure out why they were spared). But as important are Yorick's mother, a U.S. Representative, struggling to rebuild her nation's government; the mysterious Agent 355 who is keeping an eye on Yorick (but to what purpose is not clear); and Alter, a single- and bloody-minded Israeli colonel. Again, I'm late to the show with this series but I am absolutely hooked. In fact, it's been a couple of weeks since I stopped by my comic shop ... perhaps I'll swing by tomorrow for Vol 2., Cycles.