Season's Review - Glee, Season 1

Glee was a far greater success, I think, than the producers, writers, directors, and actors originally anticipated. This meant that, while the concept was thought through, no plot really was. So you have a terrific idea - essentially high school dramedy which is a musical - and it doesn't really get backed up by solid story-telling.

I really enjoy Glee. I turn it on, I enjoy the music, I laugh, I get angry at the bad things that happen, and I wish that I knew more about how Sue C's it. But I try not to think. Because when I think too hard about it, I realize that there are so many little holes, so many contradictions, so many things that happened which nobody thought through completely. And it makes me sad that such a great idea, which has met with such terrific acclaim, doesn't do the one thing I really believe television is for - it doesn't tell a long and lasting story which develops perfectly because television has more time than almost any other story telling medium.

Glee relies on its music and on its fantastic cast of characters. The characters are all interesting and diverse. They have issues which are believable and which we can relate to, and they overcome them in ways which are inspirational to young people. Certainly, sometimes, I worry that the beauty of Sue (Jane Lynch)'s sarcastic view on life might be above some viewers' heads, that her racist and discriminatory comments may offend or encourage negative behaviours. It's funny that there are such smart and witty comments on a show that in general doesn't really reach.

What I want is for the writers to sit down before they start filming the next two seasons (both of which have already been renewed), and actually plan what they want to have happen to each and every character and how that is going to work as a plot. If they succeed at that, Glee will not only be a fad of the turn of the decade, but might become a classic.

So, to sum up, I love the characters, I love the actors, and I love the concept. I just want those to be united in a plot so that I can love that too!

Season's Review - Dexter, Season 4

After watching Season 4 of Dexter, I was certain it was the best season of the series yet. The villain, the Trinity Killer, was the most terrifying, violent, yet visible serial killer we have met so far - other than Dexter (Michael C. Hall) of course. And Dexter's own relationship, both with the Trinity Killer and with the serial killer within himself, created an understanding of how the two halves could be a functioning whole. Plus, those last few minutes of the final episode will definitely remain the most unforgettable of the series. Yet, saying it was the best season ever might not have been accurate.

Season 1, in my mind, remains the very best, better than 4. This is because we learned so much more about Dexter and his back story. It was the season in which is origin was explored, and I don't think any storyline can actually top it. Two serial killers so permanently entwined...it's the stuff of comic books, the stuff that makes the dark hero and the twisted villain so compelling and understandable. Without Harry (James Remar), Dexter would have become the villain. Thus, no matter how wonderful Season 4 was, it can't compare with 1.

Now that we have that out of the way, let's sing the praises of 4. Certainly back to the quality we want and expect from Dexter. We had the focus back - Dexter vs the Trinity Killer (John Lithgow), instead of the multiple plot lines of seasons 2 and 3. Plus, most of what was going on in Dexter's personal life was tied right into that relationship, as he tried to learn everything he could from Arthur Mitchell. While Harry had been the guiding force to keep Dexter from being discovered, Arthur gave him the possibility of remaining hidden while still having a full life. He began to understand that a wife, kids, and friends weren't just a cover to keep people from suspecting that he had a darker side. He could have the things he wanted, the things he was beginning to realize he needed, without compromising them or himself.

Sure, it turned out that Trinity's version of happy family life was not actually what Dexter was looking for, and in the end Dexter stopped Trinity from ever killing again (a bit too late, but at least it happened), but that option became possible. Dexter as a human being and not just the carrier of a dark passenger began to emerge and to understand that he too had a place on this earth.

And as much as the focus of this season was on Dexter and Arthur, I think that Deb (Jennifer Carpenter), Quinn (Desmond Harrington), and Christine (Courtney Ford) deserve praise for the way they developed their storyline as well. I loved the tie in of this seemingly unrelated subplot. I loved what it did to Deb and Quinn's relationship, and how far the two have come as partners. Plus, Dexter's ability to get under Quinn's skin, while not the same sort of suspicion as Doakes (Erik King) had, gives me great pleasure. It's nice to know that Dexter hasn't quite got everybody on the force entirely fooled.

Otherwise, the only questions that remain are about what's going to happen next season. I can only hope that the writers, producers, and directors have properly understood what made this season SO great and keep the quality at this level.

Season's Review - Chuck, Season 3

For a season which was originally given a 13-episode order because at the end of Season 2 it was almost cancelled, Chuck made sure to show NBC that that would have been a terrible mistake. It got 6 more episodes added to the order, and was renewed for Season 4 before the run was over. And it absolutely deserved it.

Now, I know that some people are going to point out some of the strange choices that were made. Chuck (Zachary Levi) decided that it meant more to him to be a spy than to be with Sarah (Yvonne Strahovski), so their relationship ended, and he worked really really hard and finally became a spy, but as soon as that happened, and he and Sarah got together, they considered running from the spy game. Realizing neither wanted this, they continued working until Ellie (Sarah Lancaster) discovered Chuck's secret, and finally made him promise to get out. He did, but will now have to use all that he learned to find his mother...He just won't have CIA or NSA backup, unless you could Sarah and Casey (Adam Baldwin). It's all a little confusing.

Also, Chuck and Sarah's on again, off again relationship was a little tiresome. Chuck's other choice was hardly around at all before he essentially realized that she wasn't Sarah and so it wouldn't work out. But, they did end up realizing that they loved each other, that they wanted to be together, and that nothing was going to stop them.

More shows need to realize that you can get your main couple together and not lose everything that makes your show amazing (unless you show has nothing else going for it). The challenges that Sarah and Chuck now have to face as a couple, but the strength they can draw from each other gives me a greater incentive to watch the show than simply wondering when they'd eventually hook up ever did.

Finally, the transformation of Chuck, from asset to full out spy, the involvement of the rest of his friends and family, as Morgan (Joshua Gomez), Ellie, and Devon (Ryan McPartlin) discovered his career, and the psychiatric issues Chuck suffered as a result of what the intersect was doing to his mind, all of these were beautiful and brilliant story arcs. Also, the revival of Daniel Shaw (Brandon Routh) was a perfect parallel of the return of Bryce Larkin in the first season.

Chuck continues to be the perfect action-comedy, sparing neither the great fight segments and explosions, nor the many opportunities for hilarity. Can't wait to see what Season 4, the search for Chuck's mom, will bring.

Season's Review - Castle, Season 2

Most people started watching Castle because Nathan Fillion plays the lead. His fan base, mostly drawn from his days as Captain Mal of Firefly, knows that it doesn't matter what he's in, he's going to be great. So let him be a charming and intelligent, famous and affluent mystery writer - he'll do it perfectly.

Once people start watching, they can't really stop. Over the second season, the viewership continued to increase every episode. At the beginning of the season, not whole lot of people tuned in for the amazing and fantastic Hallowe'en episode, even though Fillion's Castle was dressed as a Space Cowboy (brown coat, boots, suspenders, and everything), but by the terrifying cliffhanger during March Sweeps, so many of us were desperate to know if Kate Beckett (Stana Katic), Castle's partner, had survived the explosion of her apartment that the show got an early third season pick up.

Once you watch one episode of Castle, you want to watch all the others. Fillion and Katic have such great chemistry, and so far the will they/won't they tension still makes sense given their relationship and personalities. I suspect that it will not be something simply left in a back corner with the promise that in the last episode our heroes will finally hook up because if they hook up any sooner than that our ratings will crash like they did for Moonlighting. If the couple tension is all that you have going for you ***cough*Bones*cough*** then you've already jumped the shark.

Regardless of how great the leads are, the rest of the cast of characters are equally responsible for the quality of the show. Beckett's other partners, Esposito (Jon Huertas) and Ryan (Seamus Dever), give the police work legs so that we get a sense of what else is going on in the investigation - it's so simple that one person can do it all herself. They also play perfectly off each other, and when you add Castle to the mix, you feel like these are three normal guys just having a laugh at work. Plus, Castle's mother and daughter remind you of his family values, which prevents him from being too smarmy when he decides to turn on the charm. Not that he can ever do it without a sense of humour.

As a season, we only had two episodes regarding the bigger mystery - what happened to Kate's mother. The finale did not touch this subject. But it is there. Plus Castle's writing career also gives form to the series, so it doesn't just feel like we are watching a bunch of slightly interconnected crime show episodes tied loosely together by one romantic connection. The connection is there and is an important part of the whole, but every other relationship is equally important and Castle and Beckett both have personal developments to make in the context of the whole.

My advice, don't change. Continue to advance and develop and make us laugh, but don't wait too long before something happens between Castle and Beckett. If you've read Heat Wave, you know it's possible to keep the show entertaining without only relying on requited but denied love.

Season's Review - Bones, Season 5

Welcome to the first posting in my Season's Review category. We've seen the season finales of all Fall/Winter season shows, and as we get into our Summer program, I want to take some time to think about the series we've been watching as a whole. Please let me know if you agree on my take, and if you have anything else you want to contribute.

First Season's Review - Bones, Season 5

As the saying goes, Bones has jumped the shark. It did so at the end of Season 3, when the story arc focusing on Gormagon ended. It wasn't because Zack (Eric Millegan) left, it wasn't because of the addition of Sweets (John Francis Daley) or the many interns, and it wasn't because the Gormagon plot line caused an end. It was because since the end of Season 3, there have been no real story arcs tying together the episodes and the seasons.

Since then, the focus has been on the characters. Will Bones (Emily Deschanel) and Booth (David Boreanaz) ever get together? What about Hodgins (T.J. Thyne) and Angela (Michaela Conlin)? In fact, the characters have been so much the focus that the individual episodes have suffered because not enough attention has been paid to the case, while too much was placed on some relationship dilemma.

In Season 5, it became clear that Bones had lost most of what made me watch it in the first place. The 100th episode, a gem amid the refuse of the rest of the season, only made the changes more obvious. We saw an analytical Bones, a surly Hodgins; we heard Booth call the team squints, and Zack claim that he didn't understand pop culture references. And the balance between the character development and the case gave those of us interested in solving mysteries enough to be satisfied. None of this remains.

The last episode was said to be a terrible end to a fantastic season. What season were those people watching? Besides, they weren't annoyed with the final episode, but with the time jump taking place during the break. The complaints weren't about how absurd Sweets break up with Daisy (Carla Gallo) was or about how strange it is that almost the entire team working at the Jeffersonian was able to take a full year off, just about the passage of time which we weren't going to get to see. Frankly, I think that aspect was the best choice made in the episode.

What could Bones do to get back on track? Give us another serial killer. Make the cases count. I don't want to watch a show about a couple who can't seem to realize they ought to be together - I've given up on Soap Operas. I watched Bones because I loved how, through forensics and evidence paired with the understanding of the human psyche, Bones and Booth worked together to solve cases. It's like a cake, where the icing was the character development. How many people really enjoy that much icing with almost no cake?

Despite the wonderful 100th episode, this season was mostly a waste of time. I give it a D.

If the Season 6 premiere isn't bloody brilliant AND doesn't promise a story arc for the season, I'm not watching anymore.