TV is the New Reading

Shows you can look forward to

I know I'm leading with shows to look forward to. First off, however, if ever there were shows that lasted one season too long, the BBC America’s “Robin Hood” would be one of them.

"Robin Hood" was an action-adventure production set in Sherwood Forest and Nottingham featuring palace intrigue, greed and corruption while King Richard the Lion-Hearted was off fighting in the Crusades. It was about people taxed beyond their ability to pay to support dark enterprises by corrupt pretenders acting counter to their own interests, and a rebel leader who fought the system.

For the first two seasons.

Then, following the jaw-dropping and angry-making death of Maid Marian, it was about uncontrolled, masterless rage and weird backstories and abortive love interests fizzling left and right and things blowing up and Friar Tuck is a black guy for some reason and Prince John was a fop and it all probably made perfect sense to someone but Robin got stupid and pointless more than once -- the reason his character works is that he’s deeply intuitive, jacked into the people’s rage and capable of playing geopolitical chess a dozen moves in advance. We capture a messenger here, we disrupt shipping there, all to bring down the Sheriff. It’s all guerilla warfare and oh yeah, with way more Merry Men than what he had. It was a rebellion, not a committee, and Robin Hood was such as to inspire everyone from the countryside to take part. The prevailing mix of fear and anger would’ve made it impossible that he not be surrounded by a massive show of support all the time.

So when he’s distracted by Sir Guy of Gisborne’s sister because she’s pretty, or a farm girl from Nottingham because she’s pretty -- all of this within weeks of the death of his wife by promise of marriage -- or a freebooting brother he’s never heard of because he’s his brother, and when he makes an alliance with rival Sir Guy of Gisbourne because oh yeah, we grew up together, how is my mind forgot, now you’ve just got people doing stuff to have people doing stuff. The final moments of the third season where he appears to join Maid Marian in a heavenly glade, that was emotionally satisfying, but the rest of season three was actively annoying on a lot of levels and I’m glad they’ve done with it.

'Doctor Who'

Fans of David Tennant’s magnificent presentation of The Doctor during these past few seasons of “Doctor Who” wonderfulness are right in mourning probably the best actor in that role since Tom Baker’s extended run with that character offering everyone in the universe a jellybaby through the ‘70s.

Tennant’s Doctor took us to alternate timelines, saved the universe through a metameld with a human, became a human being himself and installed the logical basis for bringing back his archnemesis, The Master, as well as the Time Lords themselves. He retained his form through an eleventh regeneration so technically he’s on his tweltfh body although the show is only on its eleventh actor to play the Doctor, and the third for the renewed series (or fourth, counting Catherine Tate as Donna Noble playing The Doctor Donna in the first and only time and space-saving metacritical regeneration of a time lord fusing with a human). Of course, Billie Piper’s Rose Tyler fused with the Eye of Harmony at the heart of the Tardis, the Doctor’s time-machine, and for a moment controlled all of time and space so that was pretty impressive, too.

David’s Doctor inspired Shakespeare, bedded Queen Elizabeth, met Agatha Christie on the eve of that author’s mysterious disappearance and intervened in countless human and alien events on behalf of the lost, the displaced, the hopeless and the downtrodden, and did so in his own exciting joie de vivre. I’m looking forward to seeing what Matt brings to the role -- the couple seconds I witnessed at the end of “The End of Time Part 2” were quite promising -- but for now, I will wish Mr. Tennant all the absolute best and salute him for five years of outstanding storytelling. Well done!

"Community"

I’m never able to see Joel McHale’s hilarious production of “Community” Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC because it’s always up against “FlashForward” on ABC and “Bones” on FOX. In that “FlashForward” won’t be returning until March, however, I’ve been able to watch it and my heavens this show is hilarious. First and foremost -- to the comedies that are daring to go without laughtracks, thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I find them to be so intrusive and I can figure out what I find to be funny.

NBC’s “Community” and “Parks and Recreation” and “The Office” and … I haven’t been watching “30 Rock,” sorry, but ABC’s “Better Off Ted” and “Modern Family” (well, that one might have a laugh track but like me it doesn’t find much of anything in that show to be funny) and “Cougar Town,” all of these have boldly forgone the canned laughter. So NBC and ABC have decided their audiences are smart enough to find the comedy, what does that say about CBS and its beating us over the head so hard with a laughtrack that I swear it sounds like a monkey in a kindergarten. STOP IT! Jenna Elfman is funny. Jim Parsons is funny. Charlie Sheen is … good looking, and delivering lines in a not tragically unfunny way (like his co-star Jon Cryer). You shouldn’t have to flood the room with nitrous oxide to get laughs.

As I was saying, “Community” is running pretty strong. There’s not an especially well developed character in the bunch, but the banter back and forth points to some agile writing, and I’m enjoying the comedy the actors bring to the presentation. For instance, one episode was a complete ripoff of “Dead Poets Society,” and in my opinion it was still way funnier than “The Middle.” It may be that it’s just my kind of humor, but I’m enjoying the heck out of it while I can. When “FlashForward” comes back in March, I am not missing the rundown on that worldwide physics-meets-psychology experiment -- especially since Premonition Day is just a month beyond that. And in just a couple of weeks -- the “Lost” sixth season premiere that seems in fact to have single-handedly rescheduled a State of the Union Address. There aren’t even words to talk about how excited I am to see that. “Lost” returns in a night-long event beginning with a recap clip show at 8/7c Feb. 2 on ABC.

"Sit Down and Shut Up"

Finally, for people who have been staring at MTV waiting for something like “Daria” to come back you can switch over to FOX late Saturday nights for something called “Sit Down and Shut Up.”

It’s not as funny as “Daria” and the animation style is about a 1-to-1 match in terms of quality. It reminded me a lot of co-creator Josh Weinstein’s animated production “Mission Hill,” which ran on Adult Swim for awhile after getting canceled by the WB 10 years ago. This is so weird, of course, because apparently “Sit Down and Shut Up” was already canceled by FOX and they’re just airing it after "The Wanda Sykes Show" until they … stop. And you’ll already have decided if you find “The Wanda Sykes Show” to be funny or not.

The storytelling is pretty broad, the situations are unlikely and the observations are pretty random, but it’s a half-hour of pure, silly, animated snark and that might be all you need at that hour -- Saturdays at midnight/11c on FOX.

Coming up

Coming up this week: “Fringe” Monday at 9/8c and Thursday at 9/8c, “Bones” at 8/7c Thursday, “American Idol” audition rounds Tuesday and Wednesday at 8/7c, new episodes of “Mercy” Wednesday at 8/7c on NBC and “Grey’s Anatomy” Thursday at 9/8c on ABC and “Dollhouse” at 9/8c on FOX.

“Nip/Tuck” has apparently returned for what they’re calling a seventh season, but whatever they’re calling it, they should start wrapping it up and calling it quits. Those boys have been put through a wringer, drawn and tortured almost as much as their storylines. Sean was doubting his abilities back in Season 2 fer crissakes and he got his thumb chopped off end of Season 3 and his upperbody hacked and slashed in Season 5. Christian and Kimber have been orbiting each other for most of a decade, now, along with his thousand-plus other love interests and it’s hard to believe there’s an eye-popping surgery they’ve never done so please, in the name of all that is holy, you’ve done everything to these two surgeons you possibly can. Wrap it up already! That’s Wednesday nights at 10/9c on FX.

And I’ll bet a “Desperate Housewives” where Susan takes up stripping is a hoot in HD, but I’ve gotta check out “The Simpson’s 20^th Anniversary Special! In 3-D! On Ice!” Sunday at 8:30/7:30c, and sorry, but I’m not missing the third-season premiere of “Chuck” Sunday at 9/8c and Monday at 8/7c on NBC.

Although I will ask -- what’s up with premiering “Chuck” on Sunday and Monday nights? I thought the superspy geek edition was getting shoved into the Friday basement. I guess since NBC has a product anyone is remotely excited about, they’re going to promote it with a few disruptive programming choices and no small amount of confusion. That is, they’ve been promoting the Season 2 DVD set for awhile now without even mentioning the Season 3 premiere. Nice.

Anyway, with all of that to look forward to it makes being snuggled up inside and warm for the winter a little more bearable. Enjoy!

Back Back to Shows Back to Main Page Next