mychai's Diaryland Diary

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JP TV Preview: Season 2002-2003!

Sorry I haven't been updating as often as I did over the summer. But when you work for 40+ hours a week, attend class for 12 hours, and spend at *least* another 12 hours in the library, simple pleasures like taking an hour or so to write a decent Diaryland entry tend to take the back seat.

Don't worry though since I am starting to getting back into the swing of things. I'll be back to updating five times a week before you know it.

Since nothing of major importance is going on...

Wait. How has that stopped me before? I've written several entries that I can remember about me using the bathroom. How mundane can you get??

Anyway, I promised you a week ago that I would give a JP-Land preview of the upcoming television season, especially the new shows on NBC. I've seen the pilots for all of the new NBC shows, and I have to say that it looks promising.

So, sit back. Grab a glass of wine. Eat some cheese. And, most importantly, enjoy!

First things first, I would like to talk about the shows that are coming back for return seasons. These are the shows I will be watching with great anticipation. I am very excited about these shows, and my TiVo has already been set.

What list can you not start out with The Sopranos? Not only am I excited about seeing the new season, but it will be time for me to dream about taking baseball bats to my enemies.

Supposedly, in this season, someone really close to Tony gets a little jealous of the power and decides to jump ship. I'm sure a wacking or two will ensue. I don't know who it is, but last season's final episodes had Paulie Walnuts getting the major shaft from Tony. I could definitely see him jumping ship... in more than one meaning of the phrase.

Personally, I hope it is Ralphie. I can't stand him. He's a little too cocky for my tastes. But given the fact that he ordered the hit on his own step-son as "requested" by Tony, I think he will do well.

The next show I am excited about is NBC's Ed. My only hope is that they either revert back to the first season's theme song or find another one. It completely blew last year.

I watched every single episode last season..... except the season finale. For some weird reason, I didn't give it a Season Pass on my TiVo, and I plum forgot to catch the last episode. Thankfully, they are airing it again next Wednesday.

From some of the promos that have been coming down from NBC, supposedly Ed and Carol do a lot more kissing. I can't stand Dennis. He has the cockiest, most unbased confidence-holding pesonality I just naturally hate.

I also hope they kill off Phil. He was originally supposed to be the "dumb, silly comedy relief," but I just find his clips annoying. Let Warren take over that role.

Hand over my geek stripes, because I am pumped and ready for Enterprise on UPN. Especially Linda Park, who I think is the hottest character on TV since Julie McCullough was on Growing Pains.

Last season's finale, like all Star-Trek season finales, was a true cliff hanger. Captain Archer was tossed way back in time without any idea how he would get back. It sounds boring here, but the final show showed Archer in a demolished building, and the camera backed out to show that he was completely alone, supposedly forever.

This is another show to which I hope they change the theme song. I kid you not when I say I heard the theme song while shopping for groceries over the summer. It's MUSAK! I'm almost embarrassed for the Enterprise people.

And now for the NBC new season! I'll start out with the worst of the five shows, and I'll finish with what I feel to be the best.

• Good Morning, Miami I wish NBC, along with the other major networks, would realize that the old sitcom format is really not that good, and the whole production is a waste of money. So goes it with this show. The writers follow the format of "Three laughs per page!" Each joke is promped to the "Live Studio Audience" so they will laugh. This, in turn, tells you when to laugh. The jokes are stale. The ideas are extremely overused. When I watched it, I didn't laugh once. Partly because the only funny moments-- and I use those words lightly -- are in the promos. A nun does the weather. A guy "boinks" the cute coworker in the head. Har de har har. Expect this time slot to be empty by November.

• In-Laws. I like how, in the picture of the characters, they try to pose in character. Do you get a laugh from looking at that picture? Well, then, you probably won't laugh at the show. Only slightly better than Good Morning, Miami -- which isn't saying much -- is this show. It is another one prompted by a live studio audience. It tries way too hard to influence social talk ("Private Convo Time!"), and the situations aren't comical at all. There is way too much crude sex humor ("Who's your daddy? Who's your daddy?") for my tastes. And the characters are way too predictable. This is another time slot that will be open in November.

• Hidden Hills This show falls in the "mediocre" range. It could really go either way. Thankfully, it is one of the new types of sitcoms (Scrubs, Malcolm in the Middle)that has done away with the laugh track. The jokes are somewhat funny, and the directing is well-done. They do revert to a few crude, old jokes, as seen when the lead character gets popped in the balls by a mis-hit baseball. But I think the directing and writing have a lot of potential to be strong in this show, as long as they don't fall into the trap of trying to make the audience laugh for a solid 30 minutes. I think more comedies should be like M*A*S*H, where it was funny, but it was also devistatingly sad at times.

• Boomtown This is a show that I personally didn't really care for, but that is because I'm just not a fan of this genre of TV show. It is well written, and the idea is very fresh. The audience at any point in the show knows more than any single character. They also show crimes happen from many points of view -- the cop's, the criminal's, the bystander's. Starring in the show is fomer New Kid on the Block Donnie Wahlberg. What crime/cop show can you not watch with a former N.K.O.T.B.? Hangin' Tough, dude, hangin' tough. Also starring is Neal McDonough, who we last saw on Steven Spielburg's Minority Report. This is a great cast for a great show. I wish I would like it.

• American Dreams On the pilot we got, this show was called Our Generation, but I guess NBC execs liked the current title better. This is going to be the best show of the season. Although it is premiering on Sunday night -- against HBO's winning line-up -- I predict this will take ER's place when it finishes out. This is one knock-out drama which documents the life of a family in the late 1960s. Brittany Snow plays Meg Pryor, a middle teenager whose only dream is to be on "American Bandstand." She gets in the doors, despite her father's wishes, and gets on national TV. After the show ends, she is asked to be a regular, only to come home to a father who is livid with her and grounds her from ever leaving the house again. Other stories are with the all-star football player son wanting to quit playing the game, and the father being somewhat frustrated with the way his life is turning out. You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll feel excited for the girls, and you'll wish that you were that age again: when the best thing on earth is dancing on TV.

So, that's it. That's my TV preview. Extra points to you if you read the whole thing. It has taken me well over an hour to write it.

The new season starts in a week and a half, and I am super ready! When you watch the new shows that I have listed here, email me and tell me if you think I am right or wrong. I would be interested in hearing your opinions.

1:43 p.m. - Thurs., Sept. 05, 2002

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