Fall TV Thoughts

1) Walking Dead

I'll be honest, I didn't hear anything about this until right around the day of the show's premiere. And I originally wasn't hearing how great it was, just that it was super scary. It wasn't. It was however, instantly compelling because of the way the story was told - and the aftermath. It's kind of Lost-like, in that we have to pick up the pieces after something catastrophic - like Oceanic 815 crashing or a virus turns everyone into the undead, hungry for more flesh - and the story is about how the survivors have to 'live together or die alone'. Man I really miss Lost.

I caught on late, but really like the overall concept. It's not just blood/guts/gore/death, it's really about the human connections made in times of panic. It's weak that the first season was so short and ended on such a rather open-ended note. There's alot of things that leave me scratching my head (how the doctor was going to let everyone die, how they didn't save Merle but went back to try to find him, etc).

With all that said though it is easily my favorite new show, and I have huge expectations for season two now that it's a a 'real' show and has been picked up.


2) Boardwalk Empire

I've said it before how I really want to like this show, but I just need a hook. Something to get me saying "wow." I realized I was treating it more like a Entourage when it's like The Wire in that the story is best appreciated after the last chapter is told. I couldn't agree more - they finally tied up some of the loose ends that started 12 episodes ago, with a really well-shot murder/press conference montage of Nucky.

I'm still not sold with Steve Buscemi. I said it before, I'm still not. I talked before how I think sometimes the people on Mad Men act too proper, and Boardwalk they act even more proper. That's our perception of how things were, we'll never know if it actually was. Maybe I just cannot fathom being in that time period and speaking in that manner. In the future they won't believe how we speak I suppose.

The end of the season set things up for an amazing second season with Darmady and Nucky's brother trying to truly "take back" AC. It was finally worth the long three months of the show.

3) Dexter

This season is really great. I originally thought that the first few episodes were so weak that this season was going to be such a drag. It picked up very, very quickly and getting Jordan Chase has become this huge priority. I still don't think it's better than the Trinity Killer of season 4, but it is interesting. I'm also guessing Lumen dies or takes the fall or something. It wouldn't be Dexter without him losing something.

Also, real quick - that might be the worst promotional poster I've ever seen. Just looks dumb.

4) Treme

Okay, so this isn't a new fall show, but it's been on my list since the summer and for some reason I didn't get around to it. I finally am getting around to it on round two of my "funemployment" experience.

I knew Treme as David Simon's latest creative show since the end of The Wire. Clearly, I'm a huge Wire guy and still believe it is the best show ever created on so many levels. That's what originally draw me to Treme. I heard about Treme as "Serious Glee." I've never seen Glee, but from what I've heard it doesn't sound like the type of thing I would be into. Except if they do a Bruce Springsteen episode, and even that might be brutal. Anyways, the Glee comparison scared me a little bit, but I gave it a shot because of The Wire connection.

I believe Treme is actually excellent. It looks at something that we as a country never really wanted to acknowledge - the aftermath of New Oreleans following Katrina. We were too worried about how we failed - on so many different levels - to worry about what the people still there were doing, and how this devastating event actually changed them and their way of life. I really don't think we can ever comprehend. Our country is so East Coast Bias with regards to the Northeast that we tend to ignore things going on elsewhere. It's a big country.

I personally didn't know much about the New Orleans musical history, or Indian heritage, and found it all to be fascinating and captivating all at the same time, mainly because it really happened. We can waste all the time we want talking about Lost, Dexter, Walking Dead etc, but none of them actually happened. Treme actually happened. Maybe not the exact way it's portrayed, but similar types or stories did occur all over the area.

I realized what makes David Simon so great is his authenticity. The Wire felt real. Treme feels real, as if you're watching a real reality show. Or reading a graphic novel. Other shows dumb things down to appease the viewer. This doesn't. The thing that's interesting is there hasn't been a hook - something that really captures my attention, but for some reason it has. Nothing really happens, there is no resolution to even the smaller plot lines. And I love it. Really looking forward to season two.

Is it time for Jersey Shore Season 3 yet?????