With the fall season now officially a few weeks old, I thought it was time to check the pulse of the television landscape a bit.I'm extremely curious to know what new and returning series everyone is watching. Have you fallen for ABC's Modern Family? In love with NBC's Community? Dying to see ABC's V? Surprised by how much you're enjoying CBS' The Good Wife? Laughing your head off over NBC's reinvigorated Parks and Recreation? Singing your heart out to FOX's Glee? I want to know.
Conversely, which new or returning television series have you given up on? Have you moved out of Melrose Place? Been traumatized by NBC's Trauma? Frustrated by FlashForward? Already forgotten about The Forgotten?
I'd be interested to know either way which series are at the top of your must-view list and which ones have been deleted from your season pass. And, most importantly, why.
Talk back here.
Comments
Given up on: The Forgotten. Seriously? This replaced the far-superior Without A Trace? I really wanted to like this, but it's bad. Also gave up on Cougar Town. Actually I think I gave up on that the first episode when they tried to sell us Courtney Cox with flabby underarms. But after a few more shows I decided it just ain't funny.
I have also given up on my former favorite older show Dexter but that's a rant for another time.
NOT WATCHING: Melrose Place - awful, Parks & Rec - unfunny, Community - stupid
Sunday - Three Rivers, Cold Case
Monday - House, HIMYM
Tuesday - The Forgotten, The Good Wife
Wednesday - Mercy, GLEE, CSI:NY
Thursday - Bones, FlashFoward, [Vampire Diaries online because I can only record 2 shows at once], Fringe, Grey's Anatomy, Private Practice
Friday - Dollhouse
I have my hopes up for Dollhouse. And no, I don't need to hear how its pointless or that nobody else likes it. Frankly, I find it interesting and I don't care about anyone else's opinions at this point besides my own. And yes, I realized that makes me very conceited.
I also have my hopes up for Three Rivers, Cold Case and The Forgotten. I find them all interesting for the hour they air. They're not the most stellar shows, I know, but I find at least Three Rivers to be an ER replacement and The Forgotten to be a Without a Trace replacement (a show I loved...and then they canceled it).
The Good Wife is a show I watch whenever I have nothing else to see or just whenever I can get to it. I found the pilot amazing, but I just can't bring myself to keep up with it, for some reason. It's doing well without me, so that's good.
HIMYM is TiVo'd because I'm trying to get into it. I hear such great things and I love NPH, Aly Denisof and Cobie Smulders, but for some reason I keep putting off watching it. I guess I have too much on my plate.
House is...well, it's supposedly in its best season yet, but I feel like it's been going on for too long for me to love it like I once did. Like The Good Wife, I get to it when I can.
Mercy intrigues me, and somehow I always make sure I keep up with it. It's the lead actress...I have a huge crush and she's just stunning to look at for an hour. I do wish they'd move the story along though. We all know she's going to end up dumping her "fiancee" for the doctor she met while in Iraq. Get on with it already!
Ah, GLEE :) It just makes me smile. I listen to the music all day at work and I anticipate new episodes every week. Fox is the only thing that brings the show down - like when it replaces it with baseball. There was only one episode that didn't have enough oomph! for me, but I cannot wait for it to return on Nov. 11 with its Defying Gravity performance! :)
CSI:NY is just something I keep up with. I blame TNT for its re-runs of the show (that irritatingly take over Bones' TNT re-runs sometimes, which I love to watch) that got me hooked in the first place.
Thursday night are my busiest, and most fun of all (Wednesdays are second, but a far away second at best). I watch Bones live - no contest on that one. However, I itch in anticipation for FlashFoward, which is the first show I always watch once I'm done with my live viewings. I usually watch Fringe live as well, unless I'm busy with work or whatever and just want something playing in the background that I don't need to pay 100% to, which is when I watch Grey's Anatomy live instead. Private Practice is getting so good, but I fear the lag that will come once Amy Brenneman's character's interesting attack storyline comes to an end. And Vampire Diaries I have to catch online because I obviously can't record 3 shows simultaneously.
TiVo'd for the future is V, when it starts airing on Nov. 3 (next week!).
I'm also waiting for Day One to air, which was turned into a mini-series.
I used to watch The Beautiful Life. I saw the pilot of Modern Family before it aired and I did find it funny, but I'm not really into comedies on broadcast tv - they're usually too stupid-funny to interest me. I'm probably NEVER going to watch Community - that's definitely my definition of stupid-funny, and it will just irritate me.
I was never a Melrose Place girl in the first place and that's not going to change. I was going to watch Trauma, but it's lack-luster ratings and poor reviews from critics have led me to delete its season pass on my TiVo. And Parks and Recreation, as with 30 Rock and SNl, fall under the same category as Community for me.
Castle - Nice, frothy entertainment.
House - Showing small signs of it's former glory, so I'm sticking with it for the time being.
The Office and 30 Rock - They continue to amuse, though they can be uneven.
FlashForward - Has not lived up to the hype and I'm close to giving up.
Glee - It continues to be a mixed bag. The musical numbers are great, but I'm not warming to the characters and I hate Terri.
Modern Family - Totally lived up the the hype. Laugh out load funny. Love it! (The only funnier series may be Flipping Out ;)
Stargate: Universe - I loved Stargate. This show is no Stargate. It's like BSG without strong writing, character development or great actors.
I have separated from Brothers & Sisters, it became too much of a soap opera.
Modern Family is clever, well written, and I'm going to continue the relationship.
Mad Men is my number one show, it's terrific television.
I gave up on Accidentally On Purpose, The Middle, Mercy, & Trauma.
I didn't even try Vampire Diaries, Three Rivers or The Forgotten.
Looking forward to V.
Also, I can't imagine anyone calling 30 Rock "stupid-funny".
Wish I was still watching: TSCC, BSG.
Looking forward to: United States of Tara, True Blood, Spartacus, Caprica.
Not watching: Everything else.
I obviously watch a lot of TV, but as far as new shows go, I'm completely in love with Community--I think it's hilarious but it's hard to make a case for it really because I think it just either appeals to people or doesn't.
I was a little late to the Modern Family and Glee parties, but I'm loving them both (as are many people, obviously).
I finally had to quit Heroes--it was just becoming a chore to watch and I hate Claire, and it's clear that she's the writers' fave. And I'm bummed about it too, because I love T-Bag and would've loved to have seem him on there, but he wasn't quite enough to pull me back from the ledge. And I do wish it hadn't come to this.
In terms of returning shows I have basically dropped Heroes and Fringe. The plan is to rewatch the already aired episodes and catch up but it is just something I have trouble getting to. Of those I am most likely to pick Fringe back up.
Still watching these shows when they air new epiosdes: Amazing Race, Desperate Housewives, HIMYM, Two and a Half Men, Big Bang Theory, Survivor, Grey's Anatomy and Dexter.
Lokking forward to the return of Party Down and Lost. Hoping for good things from the premiers of V and Human Target. Was looking forward to Day One but not sure if I will still bother now that it has been neutured into a mini-series.
New shows that have grabbed my attention: Glee, FlashForward, and Modern Family. Glee took awhile because I had trouble learning not to take it so seriously. I've been completely hooked since "Somebody to Love" though. Modern Family is such a refreshing comedy. FlashForward worries me since it reminds me of how I felt during season one of Heroes and we saw how that turned out, but I'm enjoying it while it lasts.
Shows I've Given Up On: The Good Wife, Trauma, The Vampire Diaries. The Good Wife is good and I still put it on but I think I've just had enough with the procedural format to really fall in love with it. I was really looking forward to Trauma but that's been a big disappointment. The Vampire Diaries is great in theory, I guess, but something about the acting just doesn't do it for me. Mercy, Eastwick, ABC's other comedies, Melrose--those I never even really bothered watching after the first episode.
Flashforward
Good Wife
Community
Sticking with
Glee
Modern Family
Our DVR is empty, a rarity for us.
Monday - HEROES - hoping for it to get better it still has its moments.
Tuesday - NCIS, NCIS:lA (Not as good the original but I refuse to watch Dancing with the Stars). THE GOOD WIFE.
Wednesday: EASTWICK...intriqued by it for some reason.
Thursday: SURVIVOR, record FLASH FOWARD and FRINGE; GREY'S and the PRIVATE PRACTICE (Again both on the downslide, but don't like NBC or CBS' offerings).
Friday: GHOST WHISPERER, record SMALLVILLE, MEDIUM, RECORD SANCTUARY and STARGATE UNIVERSE...which I agree with other commentators, not a real STARGATE show....but I'll give it a season.
Sunday - AMAZING RACE, DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES and BROTHERS AND SISTERS....The last two are getting old, but what else is there to watch?
Also watch TOP CHIEF and PROJECT RUNWAY.
SO waiting for the last season of LOST.
Saw the pilot for V at Comic Con....sorry, kids, rehash of the original, but I'll still give it a view. But what does it say for ABC's faith in it IF they're showing a couple of episodes and then shelving it until after the Olympics which airs on NBC???? Hello ABC not everyone watches the Olympics 24.7!
Can't wait for EUREKA to return.....clever show...and will give WAREHOUSE 13 a second season of viewing when it returns.
My Schedule:
Sunday: Curb/Bored to Death (though I could easily give this one up), Desperate Housewives...
Monday: Greek (just about to wrap up for the season), Heroes (this season is a bit better than the last two, and I can't seem to shake it), Gossip Girl.
Tuesday: The Hills (barely watchable and about to give up), Sons of Anarchy. Was watching Shark Tank until that wrapped up. And will watch V.
Weds: Top Chef, Nip/Tuck (thank god its finishing up soon), Real World/Road Rules Challenge: The Ruins, Modern Family (best new comedy), Glee (hit or miss, but I'm still watching for now)
Thurs: Survivor (as good as ever), Fringe, Flash Forward (they better start moving the story along), 30 Rock
Friday: White Collar, Dollhouse (when its on). Was watching Psych until that wrapped for the fall.
Looking forward to return to Lost (thank god, answers!), 24 (maybe the final season), Chuck, and Southland (whenever that's on TNT).
It's shocking that the networks have been sticking to their shows this season - guess in a recession, better to air out their committments (i.e. ABC with Eastwick) than dump it before the end of the run. I think it will help keep viewers to other shows as well, when people see the networks actually have some faith in their shows.
And FYI people you are supposed to hate Terry on Glee, that is the point of the character. You can't like every character or you won't have a very interesting show.
GIVEN UP: Flashforward, Glee, Cougar Town, Vampire Diaries
I sampled the new series but am going back to established well written returning shows.
Monday: How I Met Your Mother and Big Bang Theory (I wish CBS'd put them back together as a comedy hour.)
Tuesday: Nothin'
Wednesday: Glee
Thursday: All of the NBC comedies, The Office is a mixed bag, but the rest are wonderful.
Friday: Dollhouse
Sunday: 60 Minutes
What I've stopped watching:
Modern Family, sorry but my enjoyment of singing and dancing and Jane Lynch wins. Maybe with the World Series I'll be able to catch up.
FlashForward, starting the pilot in the middle of the actual episode and then flashing back really bothered me and the second episode just bored me.
I'm very curious about V and hope it's really good and I'm excited for the return of Lost and Chuck and 24 this winter.
I like Modern Family, The Middle, Community, P&R, 30 Rock, The Forgotten, Bones, Medium, and several others that I plan to catch up with when I can.
Mondays - House, Heroes, Accidently on Purpose, Californication
Tuesdays - NCIS, NCIS LA, The Good Wife
Wednesdays- Dragons Den, L + O SVU
Thursdays - Bones, Vamp Diaries, Supernatural
Fridays - Ghost Whisperer
Sunday - Brothers and Sisters
Will be giving up on (if no improvement is show asap!)
Law and Order SVU, Heroes, Accidently on Purpose, Ghost Whisperer NCIS LA
Dropped: Modern Family - rarely funny at all, Flash Forward - flat characters and stupid action sequences
Desperately waiting for: Lost and Chuck
- Mad Men, House, Bones, Grey's Anatomy, 30 Rock, Project Runway, Top Chef
- Glee, Modern Family, Good Wife
Second choice:
- Dollhouse, Lie to Me, Fringe, Heroes (I like the new carney folk), Office, Numb3rs
Guilty pleasures:
- Ghost Whisperer, Sanctuary, Castle, Smallville
On the bubble:
- Flash Forward, Community, Stargate Universe, Cougartown
Ready for:
- V, White Collar (based on recs here!)
Gave up on:
- Brothers & Sisters, Desperate Housewives, Vampire Diaries (may get a second chance)
Monday - Waiting for Chuck - my favorite. Also catch Castle - so great and Lie to Me. Castle and Lie to Me have both really improved this year. Based on other comments I may catch up on House but I dislike 13 so much I could not start watching again.
Tuesday - Always watch NCIS. LA is not as good but still watchable. The Good Wife is such excellent tv. The actors are great.
Wednesday - Glee. Dislike the wife intensely and the pregnancy plot. So stupid.
Thursday - Supernatural is fabulous this year and Fringe is so much better this year. FlashForward is slow but I am still on board. Bones if I have time.
Looking forward to the return of Legend of the Seeker and start of Life Unexpected, Parenthood (although I will miss Maura Tierney) and Human Target.
Waiting for: "V", return of "Burn Notice", "Chuck", "24" and "Lost"
Watched: "Warehouse 13"
Gave up on: "Flash Forward" in 3 eppies, "Defying Gravity" on opening night
Missing: "Alias"
New shows I added to my series recording: Modern Family, Flashforward, Glee and White Collar.
Shows I still love: SYTYCD, Big BangTheory, Castle, Fringe, Amazing Race, Top Chef, Project Runway, Psych
Shows on the bubble: Community, The Mentalist, Dollhouse, Numbers
I will give V a try but not sure if I will like it.
Shows I will watch when they come back on:
Better Off Ted, Lost, Breaking Bad, Damages, Chuck, Burn Notice, Saving Grace.
Cougar Town: Funny.
Community: Witty writing.
Modern Family: Original writing.
The Big Bang Theory: Still funny and intellectual.
Secret Girlfriend: Surprisingly original and funny, but crude.
Heroes: Not as tight as it was, but still good.
Nip/Tuck: Not as good as it was.
Parks & Recreation: Good, but I could drop it.
The Office: I hope they tie it up soon so I can drop it.
Stargate Universe: Could drop.
FlashForward: The book was better. Could drop.
White Collar: Haven't seen pilot yet.
The Prisoner: Looking forward to it.
V: Looking forward to it.
modern family - best new show
parks and recreation - unbelievably improved
glee - even though it suffers from early ugly betty/desperate housewives syndrome - stupid storylines and dodgy continuity made bearable by likable performances and sheer entertainment value (plus jane lynch is the breakout star of the season)
dropped after three episodes:
flashforward - didn't know enough about the characters to care about what happens to them in the future
community - didn't laugh once
dropped after one and a half episodes:
cougartown - truly awful
Monday: Heroes (what can I say, I like Jack Coleman); Lie to Me (Tim Roth); Castle (it's my Monday fun show)
Tuesday: The NCIS's and I sorta watch The Good Wife
Wednesday: reruns of Leverage on TNT and sometimes CSI:NY
Thursday (I watch some of these online later since I am DVR-less): FlashForward (I hold out hope); Fringe; Community (I teach, nuff said); Bones; and Private Practice sorta
Friday: Sanctuary; Dollhouse; Psych; White Collar
I don't think I tried anything I've given up on.
Looking forward to: V, Chuck (woo hoo!), Caprica, The Prisoner, Burn Notice, Leverage, and probably some others I'm not thinking of.
Monday: House, Heroes..still hoping it will get better or end soon, Big Bang, How I Met Your Mother, Lie to Me. Tried to get in Accidentally on Purpose but could not do it. But my must watch show of Monday is Castle.
Tuesday: NCIS, NCIS:LA, and Son of Anarchy...best show on television.
Wednesday: Gary Unmarried, The Middle, and Modern. They are some of the best sitcoms on TV. I tried to watch Hank for about five minuets before I had to turn it off and I gave it up and Cougar Town was just creepy after watching Courtney Cox do such good serious acting on Dirt. I love Glee, but it is over the top a lot. Glad Nip/Tuck is back. I also have to catch Top Chef on Wednesdays.
Thursdays: I have to watch Bones and Fringe. I hope Fringe gets renewed. I still like the original CSI and Grey's Anatomy. Digging FlashForward...for now. I want to see how the first season will end before I put to much faith in it. I can not forget about Its Always Sunny. As for NBC and their comedy block, I gave up anything good coming out of NBC since they canceled Kings.
Friday: It is ruled by USA with Monk and White Collar. USA really knows how to develop a quirky, smart show. Also I still love Numb3rs. I also will be watching Dollhouse till they drag it off the air.
All in all, I tried to watch most of new shows. Some are great like The Middle, Modern Family, and Bored to Death. Others like any of the crap on the CW (I'm a straight male in my mid 20s so I'm no way their target audience and the fact they canceled Reaper make me not care at all about that network) and NBC (the exception is that I did like Community's pilot, but I a can only handle the three other shows I've commited to during that time slot) are mostly garbage that I could care less about.
Also, to make this a complete article for Televisionary, I must mention that I am ready for a new season of Chuck until NBC manages to screw up and cancel it.
My current schedule is as follows:
MON-How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Greek, Lie to Me, Gossip Girl
TUE-Sons of Anarchy
WED-Glee
THURS-Fringe, The Office, FlashForward, Bones
SUN-Dexter, Mad Men
I will be giving V a shot I think.
I am close to giving up on Gossip Girl, as it's getting boring. It was never a ~good show, just a guilty pleasure, but it's losing my interest.
Very excited for the return of Lost and Friday Night Lights. May watch the new season of 24.
Will definitely watch V really enjoyed the pilot at Comic con
For a show that ripped of Lost they should have paid closer attention to Lost. Also, marc Guggenheim was a bad pick to showrun. Note to execs -- it really does matter who you hire. You can't just stick a melodrama guy on a sci-fi/drama and expect it to work.
Mon: Castle (I'll watch anything with Nathan Fillion).
Wed. Eastwick (I'll watch anything with Paul Gross).
Thurs: Flash Forward (like others, I live in hope), Modern Family (just discovered this, think it hilarious, The Office/30 Rock, passed on them last season.
Fri. Stargate Universe, intrigued but not fascinated
Waiting for V, have White Collar recorded but so far unwatched. That's it. Clearly didn't give many new shows a chance but on the flip side I'm reading more
I'm watching Dollhouse, Flashforward and Glee on Hulu - and am adoring Glee. I'd like to see the last few Castle and House episodes that I've missed and, if the joblessness keeps up, I'll probably catch up with Fringe which I gave up on halfway through S1.
Since I'm in the mood to hate on some more shows...is anyone else giving up on Dexter lately? I just feel like they've dumbed it down SO much. I noticed a huge difference when they switched showrunners before Season 3. To me, the show hasn't been the same since and has lost a lot of its former edge and intelligence. I am still mourning it since it was so formerly great but I've finally given up watching.
Another thing I've noticed...the writing on Castle is getting better while the writing on The Mentalist is getting worse. How long can both fake detectives last I wonder? Seems like people like both. I am sort of meh on both but I like Castle more lately.
Also, while I still like Flash Forward, someone really needs to tell Joseph Fiennes to dial it down a notch. Or ten.
Mad Men continues to rock!
Modern Family - I don't tend to watch comedies, but this one sucked me in. I've actually found myself laughing out loud when watching by myself, which rarely happens to me.
White Collar - Sure, it has only been one episode so far, but it was enjoyable, and fit the USA "formula" well enough that I think it'll be a keeper for me.
New shows I'm "eh" about...
Glee - love the musical numbers, hate the storylines that deal with the adults.
Flash Forward - don't really care about any of the characters, so having a hard time caring about the show.
Vampire Diaries - I like it well enough (especially Damon), but it hasn't fully captured me yet.
NCIS: LA - I want to give it a chance because I like the original, but I just cannot get into it.
New shows I've given up on...
the forgotten - bland and uninteresting.
Community - just didn't strike a chord with me. I really disliked the characters in the first episode and didn't care for the show overall.
Three Rivers - I love Alex O'L, but the show is pretty dull.
Stargate: Universe - I really wanted to like this to fill the BSG void, but I had to force myself to make it through the premiere episode.
Returning shows I'm really enjoying...
Castle - what's not to love? The characters and writing are excellent, and it is a fun, entertaining show.
NCIS - Tony is annoying me, but I like the rest of it for the most part this season.
Bones - I disliked the end of last season, but it has gone back to being good again, with the right mix of humor and drama.
Supernatural - the apocalypse story has really kicked the show into high gear again.
The Mentalist - pretty much just for Simon Baker.
Law & Order - I like the current cast's chemistry.
Returning shows I've given up on this year...
Grey's Anatomy/Private Practice - they just got to be too much for me and (with the exception of a couple of characters) not so much fun to watch.
SVU - the first few episodes were too over the top for me, so I bailed.
Dancing with the Stars!
So You Think You Can Dance!
The Biggest Loser!
GLEE!
Modern Family!
America's Next Top Model!
The Vampire Diares!
Community!
The Office!
GAVE UP ON:
The Beautiful Life
Cougar Town
Flash Forward
Parks and Recreation
30 Rock
Mondays - Accidentally on Purpose. It's prety awful, but it always makes my wife and I laugh so we're still watching.
Tuesdays - We gave up on Melrose after one episode, just didn't care enough to keep going.
Wed - Modern Family and Cougar Town are both hilarious, so we'll be with them until they get horrible or cancelled, so hopefully many years. Eastwick is being DVRed but we're several weeks behind.
Thursday - Missed a few eps of Community but will catch up online and stil DVRing the others, Loving Vampire Diaries, so much better than I had expected. FlashForward is still being watched, but there's just something a little off about it that I can't place my finger on.
Fridays - White Collar.
So far this season we've also cast off One Tree Hill, Ugly Betty, and Private Practice, mostly because we still had several episodes from last season we still had DVRed and hadn't watched and we just stopped caring about them.
Also, of course, can't wait for Chuck.
i've given up on flashforward (too slow and complicated and boring), v (wth is THAT show!), i'd seen the pilot of the vampire diaries - ohh cmooon... sooo not a hit.