What I Watched This Fall, 2011 Edition

As veteran readers know, there used to be three Five-Spots a week. I always planned on scaling that back to just two this fall, and the plan was Sked & Opinion, figuring I'd hit most of the ratings news elsewhere on this blog. Then the SpoilerTV Ratings Five-Spot opportunity arose, so I decided to cut Opinion rather than keep adding to the load. As a result, I haven't really talked much about what I'm watching, even though I'm still watching a lot.

So I'm gonna bring over my summer wrap-up format to cover this stuff pretty quickly. Since I watch more in the fall than in the summer, I'll further divvy up the regulars by identifying when I watch them. I'll use a few familiar ratings terms: Live + SD (I usually watch within 24 hours), Live + 7 (I usually watch an episode by the time the next one airs), Live + 70 (I let it pile up) and Samples (I'm not a regular viewer). I thought this would correlate neatly with quality, but as I wrote this I discovered that I often don't watch the "best" shows first.

What I watched this summer, 2011 Edition

Since the Five-Spots took the summer off and thus I didn't talk a whole lot about my actual watching of the TV, I thought it'd be fun to do this again this year to keep a record of my summer viewings.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 5/1/11 - The Voice, The Office, Law & Order: CI, The Killing, The Chicago Code

Here's my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending May 1, 2011:

The Voice - This ain't my genre, and it's been several years since I watched a full season of a talent competition (I think season 2 of American Idol?) but what do you know, I actually found this one pretty interesting! The "blind audition" phase has a Shark Tank vibe that I kinda dug. Adam Levine stood out as someone really taking the "strategy" of team-building seriously, and he snagged both people all four judges wanted. Will I be interested beyond the blind auditions? I'm quite skeptical based on the promos. But I was impressed with the production so far.

Opinion Five-Spot Extra - Remembering Michael Scott

Most people interested in something big start with an interest in something small, and their appreciation of that thing is so deep that it makes them more interested in everything else around it. For me, that small thing was The Office. I'd watched shows regularly in primetime before it, but never that many. As of the mid-2000s, the only shows I really watched in primetime were Lost and Desperate Housewives, and I didn't know a thing about how they fit in the TV industry and I didn't care. The Office was the show that made me a superfan, so much so that I started posting about it online, reading spoilers and even checking its ratings each week. To figure out what its ratings really meant, I then started trying to figure out the ratings of everything else, and then I became fascinated with that landscape. Though I still like the show a lot, and I still get kinda defensive when people simply dismiss the last few years of the show, I've sort of drifted away from Office superfandom and spread my attention across more shows. But it's probably safe to say this blog wouldn't be here today if not for The Office. I'd probably also be watching a lot less TV, so I'd likely be more active and healthier and stuff. Hmm... thanks a lot, The Office.

Anyway, Steve Carell and his character Michael Scott are leaving the show tonight. As seemingly part of the minority on the Internet that still digs the show, I'm hopeful for the future. The ratings are likely to get ugly either way, but the ensemble of this show has been so strong that I want to see what they can do without him. That said, Carell's impact has been undeniable. He's provided the sort of big, dynamic performance that has helped this show to stick out among so many other low-rated comedies of its ilk. So I'm gonna take a look at five of my own memorable Michael Scott moments. Some are really common "best episode ever" nominees, and others are less common but tie in closely with my experience watching the show. This is far from my top 5 episodes ever; in fact, I think only one (maybe two) of the eps discussed herein would make that cut. This is more of a "remembering Michael's run on The Office and my own run watching it" thing. Maybe I'll list my actual top 5 perhaps when the series finale rolls around.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 4/17/11 - Breaking In, Happy Endings, The Paul Reiser Show, Fringe, Burn Notice: The Fall of Sam Axe

Here's my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending April 17, 2011:

Breaking In - This is very much the opposite of the next two new sitcoms I'll discuss in that I find it pretty endearing (I like Bret Harrison) but generally lacking in the laughs department, especially episode two. I will say that this Jack Nicholson impression that Christian Slater's doing is way better than anything I saw out of him in his previous two returns to TV (My Own Worst Enemy and The Forgotten), and he actually seems to be an asset to the show this time around. It's yet another underwhelming-yet-not-awful midseason comedy, but I think I'll stick for a bit since it has a likable foundation.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 4/10/11 - Five Friday Night Delights

Fridays have been getting a bit of a bad rap lately; when USA Network abandoned original programming on Friday night due to depressed viewing levels and Syfy brought in pro rasslin', I had pretty much given up hope that it might ever become one of the truly elite nights of TV again. I was pretty sure the last time I'd ever call it my favorite TV night of the week would be summer 2008, when Sci-Fi was airing Doctor Who and then USA had their great Monk/Psych block.

I would never have guessed that it'd take less than three years for Fridays to get back on top. It certainly doesn't play out that way in the ratings, but this evening has quietly assembled a high-quality collection of programming that all deserves to do better.

Shark Tank - I don't watch a lot of unscripted TV, but this is one show that's must-see for me. It's neither a trainwreck nor a blatant tug at the heartstrings. In fact, sometimes it might seem to be setting up a tug at the heartstrings and then it turns around and rips it out. Such is life in the world of business sometimes. The "trainwreck" aspect has always sorta been there too, but this season seems to have toned that down in favor of what really made this show pop: the negotiations between the sharks and the promising businesses and especially the in-fighting among the sharks.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 4/3/11 - Army Wives, Body of Proof, Chaos, Shark Tank, The Killing

Here's my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending April 3, 2011:

Army Wives - I've defended this show for most of its run as... well, maybe not great, but at least above the Lifetime "stigma" that a lot of people probably attach to it. That said, I've found the whole death of Jeremy situation kind of... slimy. From their promotion of the event two weeks before it actually happened to the fact that he was the most "convenient" person to kill for drama (almost anyone else in combat would've rendered somebody Not An Army Wife), I just haven't been a fan of the decision. But there's no denying it's made HUGE ratings for the show. That almost makes it worse.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 3/20/11 - V, Survivor, March Madness, Shark Tank, Pretty Little Liars

Here's my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending March 20, 2011:

V - I made it through all of season two of V (after bailing early in season one and returning during the New Year's Day marathon) but I was still never really convinced the show was that good. The finale, while very meaningful to the show, didn't really convince me either. But I'm more interested in seeing the complete reinvention of the show that the finale promised than I would be in more of what has come. And as I remarked on the Twitter, if they had to kill off a bunch of characters (budgetary reasons?) they certainly picked the right, most useless ones.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 3/6/11 - The Chicago Code, Justified, America's Next Great Restaurant, Breakout Kings, The Event

Here's my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending March 6, 2011:

The Chicago Code - Haven't seen this week's episode yet, just going by last week's, but I think my verdict on this show is that it is pretty compelling when Delroy Lindo is on the screen and relatively run-of-the-mill when he isn't. Alderman Gibbons is definitely one of TV's best villains of the moment, in part because I just want to find out what the deal is with him. That guy alone has me still watching. Jason Clarke and Jennifer Beals are better than I thought they'd be before the show began, but still nothing amazing.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 2/27/11 - V, Parenthood, Survivor, The Office, Fringe

Here's my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending February 27, 2011 (and to some extent the week before that as well, which I took off):

V - The alien drama is sitting squarely on the fence ratings-wise, but I have to say I think I'm at a point where I wouldn't mind seeing more. Perhaps it's just the big void left behind by Lost, but the show has more forward momentum than when I gave up on it last year, and I think it's been a good idea to pit Anna's daughter (and mother, played by Jane Badler) against her. Downsides: the addition of Bret Harrison was pretty much a non-starter, and Erica's son remains a pretty terrible character, but... at least he got a haircut?

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 2/13/11 - Traffic Light, Parenthood, Mr. Sunshine, Justified, Mad Love

Here's my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending February 13, 2011:

Traffic Light - If there were a shade of blue between the "meh" and this "good," that's what I'd give Traffic Light. Maybe it was the low expectations (as the premise is just as generic as the other umpteen relationship shows premiering this season), maybe it was the Office guest stars playing two of the lead male roles, but I kinda detected a low-key Office sensibility here. Needs to get funnier, but I definitely saw a pretty decent foundation. Nice to see David Denman playing something other than a dunderhead romantic foil.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 2/6/11 - Community, Fringe, Super Bowl, Glee, The Chicago Code

Here's my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending February 6, 2011:

Community - It's been a few years since my last game of Dungeons & Dragons, but I've played it a handful of times. Enough to pick up many more references than in plenty of this show's other pop-culture eps, at least! I was almost frightened by how deeply villainous Pierce Hawthorne became, but after thinking about it a bit... I say bring it on. That character's always sort of been on the fringes of the show, and giving him a role this clearly defined hopefully makes the character more interesting than he's usually been so far.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 1/30/11 - Harry's Law, Royal Pains, Parks & Recreation, Fairly Legal, Working Class

Here's my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending January 30, 2011:

Harry's Law - I loved previous David E. Kelley effort Boston Legal, and my thought after the Harry's Law pilot was "watered-down Boston Legal." Kathy Bates' Harriet Korn still seems like a sort of mash-up of the three leads on that show. But I think in the two post-pilot eps to date, some of the "wackiness" has been dialed back just a bit, maybe for the better. Not sure where on the "Boston Legal vs. actual drama" spectrum this should fall, but I'm sticking around for now. Could use some cast expansion if renewed.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 1/23/11 - Life Unexpected, Lights Out, Skins, Retired at 35, Being Human

Unlike in many recent weeks, I actually looked at a ton of shows this week, so I think I'm going to just spread the new shows out over the next few weeks. I'm gonna start by knocking out mostly the stuff that's either ending or that I won't be watching in the future. So on that note, here's my more-negative-than-usual Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending January 23, 2011:

Life Unexpected - I liked how this show ended, jumping straight to the endgame and giving many characters amazingly happy endings in somewhat jarring fashion. But I think a lot of the reason I liked that was because it was better than the alternative: more years of ridiculous, over-the-top angst. I was gonna quit this show if it hadn't been cancelled, but I'm glad it was. The fact that the warm and fuzzy ending actually made me feel warm and fuzzy despite how bad this show got is a testament to the great performances.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 1/9/11 - HIMYM, V, Grey's Anatomy, The Cape, Bob's Burgers

Here's my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending January 9, 2011:

How I Met Your Mother - It wasn't a standout HIMYM episode by any means, in fact probably one of the lesser episodes of what's been one of the lesser seasons of the show. But we may well look back on this one and say it had a big impact on the show going forward. Will Marshall's bad news take the show into full-on drama mode? I'm sure hoping not. In other news, can't say I was a fan of the "countdown" gimmick that led up to Marshall's bad news, but maybe I'm just bitter that I didn't notice it till the single digits!

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 12/19/10 - Burn Notice, Survivor, The Next Survivor, Million Dollar Money Drop, Perfect Couples

Here's my Five-Spot of TV opinions for the week ending December 19, 2010 (or more like December 20):

Burn Notice - The two episodes that made up the finale on Thursday were both good, as a lot of villains of Burn Notice past came back to haunt Michael. And I have to say that I'm quite intrigued by the way the episode ended, with Michael Westen seemingly on his way back into the spy game. You'd think this won't be a long-term thing (or at least not a full-time thing) because they'd drop the other characters, but for now I'm still interested to see where it goes. And Dylan Baker is a great supporting actor get for the show.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 12/12/10 - Men of a Certain Age, Glee, Community, The Office, Desperate Housewives

Here's a Five-Spot of TV opinions for the week ending December 12, 2010:

Men of a Certain Age - I'm not quite "of a certain age," but this is still one of the most enjoyable shows I watch, and I'm happy to have it back for one more run (probably the last run based on its ratings). Love the show's usually dry humor. It looked like they might be backpedaling on some of the things set up in last season's finale, but I'm happy they ultimately kept Terry working for Owen. I think that's got potential to make Bakula's character more interesting this season. (Haven't seen last night's ep 2 yet.)

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 12/5/10 - Survivor, Psych, Fringe, The Office

Here's my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending December 5, 2010:

Survivor - My goal was to not get too redundant with these, but here's Survivor for the fourth time in five Opinion Five-Spots. How can I not talk about DoubleQuitGate? Plenty have voiced their distress that Na'Onka and Purple Kelly are still on the jury after quitting, but what amazed me was how nobody on the show thought about the quitting in terms of alliances or game dynamics. It was all about the morality of quitting. I guess it just goes to show how little actual gameplay there has been in this rather subpar season.

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 11/28/10 - Parenthood, Survivor, Modern Family, The Walking Dead, The Event

This week's edition (and there may be more like this through December) is closer to "the only five things I watched" than "the five notable things I watched." Here's hoping it'll be interesting. Now, my Opinion Five-Spot for the week ending November 28, 2010:

Parenthood - This show, which last week I called the only Tuesday show I genuinely enjoy most weeks, was on top of its game for the Thanksgiving episode. It's amazing how much stuff is woven into one episode and how many different dynamics and relationships are touched upon, yet it never feels rushed. There's a lot of heart without being too sappy, and a lot of good drama without going over the top. This is a good show, and probably the best of the Thanksgiving eps I saw, even beating out HIMYM (discussed last week).

Opinion Five-Spot, WE 11/21/10 - Tuesday TV, Glory Daze, Human Target, Fringe, HIMYM

Here's my TV opinions Five-Spot for the week ending November 21, 2010:

Tuesday doldrums - On Tuesdays, I'm recording more than any other night but one (Thursday), and yet I don't really even look forward to any of it, whereas on most other nights there are one or two shows I really do anticipate. Glee is inconsistent, No Ordinary Family is mediocre, Life Unexpected is repetitive. I do usually enjoy Parenthood, but even then I often don't watch the ep for several days. Maybe I ought to just quit TV on the night cold turkey? Been wanting to try The Good Wife and Detroit 1-8-7 again...