Falling for the New Season

I entered the new line-ups into my DVR and have been slowly working my way through the new shows, but it seems to me that they are old shows with new casts. I've deleted more new shows than I've saved because if they don't make a good first impression, I'm not impressed.

I watched CHASE, but won't watch it again: the summer US Marshal show was much better, with Mary and Marshal Marshall stiking sparks off each other. Under Covers is ... inane. Lone Star is ... wow, I cannot think of a word to capture "what the hell were you thinking when you filmed this show?" I love The Glades, but it's almost finished its late summer run; another fav, Miami Medical, was just gone one week. The new Miami 5-0 is pretty good, but could just as easily be any of the CSI, L&O, NCIS shows set in a different locale. Flashback is one of the best of the cop genre, but it may be heading off-schedule, too. I watched Blue Bloods for Tom Selleck, who is aging nicely.

Glee always has unbelievable/mediocre storylines, but the singing is nice. Castle would never be in a second season if success depended on good storytelling, rather than the charisma shared by Castle and Beckett. House has gone on far too long, so I wait until the endless summer reruns for that boredom-breaker. Some of the other good shows are supposed to return about January, including The Closer and Rizzoli and Isles, both of which feature strong women in strong roles.

I enjoy the cooking/cake shows, but cannot fathom why some of the contestants last past the first week of temper tantrums, melt-downs, and tasteless food. The latest one, the dessert show, drives me crazy with the pastry chef who runs around the kitchen like a chicken with his head cut off, getting in everyone else's way, and then bursts into tears because ... wait for it ... the red hots were his mother's favorite candy. OMG: make room for some real chefs, please. Duff's road trip has been a hoot, and the Ace of Cakes must be ready to move into the larger bakery and/or hack off his sister's head and use it as a cake-topper. How anyone can put up with Mary and her mother is beyond me. Thankfully, most of the cupcake shows are gone, but the contests to see who can make the biggest, gaudiest theme cake are thriving. Carrie Ann, the acerbic judge whose work has never been showcased, boils everyone's best efforts down to sloppy fondant, poor execution, or "it looks like a wedding cake." I'll bet she's never been in the position to do anything well under pressure, and I'll double dare that she's one hell of a bitch to work for.

It's only the last week in September, but the new season has already decided what's going to make it to the spring and which shows are going to fold. Me, too. Maybe I'll sign up for NetFlix afterall: my new TV has an option to download movies directly, which could be a nice option if I can figure out how to do that.