On the "Fringe"

I watched the first three episodes of "Fringe". Mix one part "Alias" with two parts "X-files", shake maddeningly, and serve. Conspiracy, monster of the week, evil corporations, and enough grounding in science and pseudo-science to provide a foreboding sense that this stuff might be possible. The ensemble cast is likable. The mad scientist is deliciously quirky. The red-haired corporate dominatrix is delightfully two-faced. The hero investigator is a little bland, but I think she could grow on me. I think the cats and I will stick with this one for a few more episodes, at least.

Only their hairdresser -- or screen writer -- knows for sure...

Who decided that red-headed female corporate execs are the villians du jour this season?

--- Evil Corporate Dominatrix Catherine Weaver (actress Shirley Manson) of "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles"

--- Evil Corporate Dominatrix Nina Sharp (actress Blair Brown) of "Fringe"

--- Evil Corporate Dominatrix Eva Thorne (actress Frances Fisher) of "Eureka"

Catching up on last week's premieres...

... Mary Tyler Moore was on "Lipstick Jungle"! She looks great. Playing Brooke Shield's mom! Cool!

... Charlotte Rae (Mrs. Garrette from "The Facts Of Life") did a walk-on on the season premiere of "ER". At least I think it was Charlotte Rae. She sure sounded like her. But she's looking a little thin.

... William Katt ("The Greatest American Hero") got iced on the season premiere of "Heroes"!

... Seth Green on "My Name Is Earl"... (elaborate hand gesture) AWEsome!

"ER" ... either inject a couple amps of epi, or pull the plug already

It's hard to get excited about the final season of "ER". The marketing department is even spinning it as "a chance to say goodbye to old friends". Are they really going to use that hammer all season long? Sigh. I have to admit that last season was getting pretty tedious. This season portends more of the same. I mean, really, they killed off one of the most likeable characters (Dr. Pratt) right off the bat. And how, exactly, do they plan to pull off a visit from the long-dead Dr. Greene?

Spin-free democracy...

I watched the presidential candidate's debate last night on public television to avoid the annoying commentary you get on the cable news and standard broadcast channels. I learned that lesson during the broadcasts of the Democratic and Republican national conventions -- you tune in to hear the speeches, and all you get is blah blah blah and spin from "commentators". PBS at least lets the event speak for itself and saves the spin for afterward.

Whatever happened to ...

Whatever happened to Statler and Waldorf? I loved those guys. Here's a piece from today's New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/imagepages/2008/09/26/opinion/26suboped_ready.html

"The Mentalist" rips off "Psych"?

"The Mentalist" promos... isn't his "special skill" a direct ripoff of Sean Spencer's faux psychic skills in "Psych"? Some critics are calling it a mashup of "Psych", "House", and "CSI". This one isn't on my "must watch" list (yet), but it does sound intriguing... Perhaps I'll pick it up on the Internet.

Just sayin'...

When the president breaks into regularly scheduled programming to discuss the end of the American economy as we know it, it really messes with regularly scheduled DVR recording. Just sayin'.

An introduction, of sorts...

Why write a blog about watching television? And what do cats have to do with it?

The easy answer is that I watch entirely too much television, and I don't write nearly as often or as much as I think I should. That's not a good thing for a professional writer.

I blame this on the digital video recorder (DVR). Back in the old days, when there was only live TV, my choice was simple: I could only watch one thing at a time. Then came the video cassette recorder (VCR), which enabled me to time shift and watch something live while recording something else to view later.

Now, I have the DVR. In fact, I technically have three DVRs: my old 40-GB ReplayTV unit, and the new dual-recording unit provided by my cable company. (Thanks, SureWest. You're enabling my addiction.)

So here I am, blogging about watching television. With cats. What could be more American than that?