Groonkly Bits

As certain areas of finance wait for Daddy to cut a check and save them(and possibly us) from living lives of Common People*, I turn my eyes to that magic box of light and shadow. Dancing, drinking, and screwing are sure to come later. Perhaps only moments after House snarks, bitches, downs a few vicodin and saves another life through sheer orneriness. Until then…

Previously on my TV/DVR:

Heroes, season 3 has a long way to go before I care about it again. They’re well on the way to re-treading the first season which is silly since they already had a first season. Time to move on to the next level, please. Heroes will never be A-List superhero TV fiction for me. I’ve read my fair share of good(Rising Stars, Powers, X-Men, etc etc) and bad(thankfully, I’ve forgotten the names of those books) steps into the superpowers-are-real-and-we-must-find-a-way-to-deal-with-this trope. Heroes will never be as smart as Buffy or Angel. The one thing I could count on Heroes to be was a fun distraction. Lately, it’s managed to be an unfun bitch.

NCIS still finds a way to be a fun, character driven show. It even throws in mini-bits that turn into season long arcs. Then, of course, there’s lovable goth metal forensic scientist Abby Sciuto. Spinning an entire episode around her wouldn’t be a bad idea. (Looking at you CBS.) I didn’t forget about you, Ziva David. We’ll talk more on you later.

Fringe is going in the right direction. Denethor makes my night every time crazy falls out of his mouth. I’d like to get a better idea on the clandestine group running The Pattern. I get there are people out there making a lab experiment of the world, now show me pieces of why they’re doing it.

Knight Rider murdered 44 minutes of my time. It was a vengeful murder, too. I want my fucking time back but I can’t have it as it lays lifeless and cold in Ducky’s morgue. You can bet your ass Knight Rider won’t get a 2nd chance to kill again.

House without Wilson is gonna be tricky. I hope they’re up to it. They get bonus points for having the lovely Felicia Day(she’s answering House questions behind that link BTW) not have cancer this week.

True Blood I liked better when it was called Angel(and before that Forever Knight). I really dig Sookie’s(worst name in TV) telepathic nature and would rather follow that more. The vampire bit has been done to death. Not undeath. Just death. By the by, HBO, next time you set a series in The South, give at least half a thought to having actual southern actors play the leads. You can’t tell me Hollywood isn’t overflowing with actors running from their small backwater towns. Least that way the world gets the authentic southern twang that I hate so much.

No Heroics is airing across the pond. I’ve only seen one episode so far. After that one viewing I’m generating intense like for it. Sure it’s crass. Sure there’s gonna be sex and shooting and the neurotic/psychotic side of “capes” you normally wouldn’t see. Which is the reason I like the thing in the first place. (noted earlier here)

I’ve not made time to watch anything else.

Pushing Daisies starts next week. Never has death made me happier.

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No Comments | In: Pop Culture Love, Television | tags: 2008 fall tv season, boob tube, no heroics, pushing daisies, too much time wasted. | #

Warren Ellis reports seeing the first 3 episodes of a new superhero comedy show called No Heroics. The three and a half minute trailer (seen below) sold me.

This trope has been done with varying degrees of success. For a long while you couldn’t trip over a new comic that didn’t play up the ideas for laughs. I recall two movies via Hollywood that even attempted to pull off the “superheroes are ordinary” angle.

THE SPECIALS, a James Gunn creation that I’ve not had the pleasure of seeing.

MYSTERY MEN fell short in so many areas it can’t really be called good without sneering a little.

On TV we had/have:

The Tick. The animated version was a jewel of win. The live action version, that never got a chance to shine thank you very much Fox, had more than enough laughs inside to satisfy your average fanboy or mainstreamer.

HEROES had a decent stab at being intriguing the first season. After that second season, though, the less said about Heroes the better.

THE MIDDLEMAN does not deal with a world of superheroes but it does include a heavy dose of comic book evil that must be fought. How I kept from geeking-out all over this show on a daily basis is proof of my superhuman ability to horde all the good television and not share them with the world. I keep them in various trees around my backyard. From time to time, I lose track of some shows. They sit buried in cold earth forgotten and alone. Maybe they’ll sprout into marvelous Bushes of Serial TV and my entire complex will gather round them and watch the strange synergy of nature and technology unfold before them.

But that’s a silly idea. I don’t even have a back yard.

NO HEROICS (he says with trepidation) looks like they made all the right moves. You folks in Britain can watch it on ITV2 this Thursday at 10:30 PM. If it turns out to be as good as advertised, you(see british citizens) should watch it on the TV. It’d keep the ratings high and NO HEROICS on the air.

Elsewhere in the world, other means of non-heroic enjoyment will surely be available hours after each show airs.

Am I missing any other shows or movies where Superheroes roam the Earth in mass quantities? Drop a note and let me know.

2 Comments | In: Television | tags: british, comedy, it will be televised, no heroics, superheroes, trailer. | #