TV Update 4
- In keeping with my tradition of coming to shows late (I didn’t even get into Friends till the fifth season), I spent this afternoon getting caught up with Gilmore Girls.
To promote the addition of syndicated episodes to their late-afternoon lineup, ABC Family ran a marathon of “favorite episodes” selected by the cast. It was a good way to catch up, though I obviously missed a few lynchpins (first Lorelai meets a guy, the next episode shown they almost got married but didn’t).
I liked the show; when I’ve tried an episode or two in the past my reaction has been that the scripts were so hyper-wordy it put me off, something that never bothered me on West Wing. But I must have gotten used to it because it wasn’t putting me off today.
I’ve heard from the same people whose enrapturement (is that a word) with the series made me want to give it a try in the first place that the last season was a big jump-the-you-know-what moment. So maybe I’m glad I have the first couple seasons to go through this way.
Oh, and there was also a “backstage special” hosted by some non-entity named Brooke Burke, mainly notable for the barely-veiled hostility the cast evidenced towards her. It was kind of cool.
- Desperate Housewives couldn’t hold my interest. This can’t really be any kind of a review because I didn’t watch enough of the show. I tried, as the cast seemed promising (is Felicity Huffman ever going to get anything to do as good as Sports Night ever again?). But the writing seemed so obvious, so cliched, my remote control just kept zapping back to the Gilmore Girls.
Get this: “Here, in seemingly placid suburbia, homemakers tend their husbands, children and flower beds – while barely suppressing fear and frustration that threaten to blow the place sky high.” Gee, I’ve never seen that before.
I didn’t think it was terribly sexist or insulting, it was just boring. And sometimes that’s worse.
3, Fortunately, Boston Legal was a hoot. And a holler, if you will. In a very guilty-pleasure kind of way, the way I imagine Dallas was in the ’80s (I was too young). The characters are sharks, extortionists and liars, and undeniably entertaining. I never watched much of The Practice, though I enjoyed one or two episodes I did, so I don’t know how this compares as a spin-off. But it’s just a treat watching James Spader and William Shatner (that’s right, I said it) play off each other. And the main case of the episode was resolved with a brilliant twist involving a guest star playing himself and poking a little fun at his image.
