1. How I Met Your Mother, one of my favorite shows of all time, returns fresh from a rather stilted, sitcommy Season 5 with the undeniable combination of Wayne Brady and Neil Patrick Harris. Good times were had by all.
2. Mike & Molly, which I was excited about, being an overweight person finally represented on TV by characters who were not just sassy sidekicks. You'd think we were a minority from the way we're invisible on screen. Embrace the jigglypuff, America. They got a lot of the obligatory fat jokes out of the way, and still managed to have some sweet moments.
3. Hawaii 5-0. Never watched the old one. Probably wouldn't watch the new one if it excluded Jin from Lost and super sexy though super boring Alex O'Loughlin. But I was pleased to see as the inaugural baddies, the less attractive Boondock Saint (Norman Reedus) and Buffy's own Spike the vampire (James Marsters). Wasn't otherwise too impressed with the pilot, but the following episode ended with an adorable makeshift police academy graduation.
4. Raising Hope. The best new show I've seen so far. It's random and awkward (high praise in my terms), with a pretty man candy lead, and extremely well-done. Highlight was when new father Jimmy pukes on his new baby whilst changing her diaper. Sounds cheap and vulgar, but it was genuinely hysterical. Watch it now, I say!
5. Glee. I love it with all my heart, but it is seriously flawed. Hated the new kids, and as for the Britney episode, surely they could have picked better songs. Though "Stronger" re-imagined as an 80s training montage power ballad, was a stroke of genius.
6.. Lone Star. I confess I did not watch it. And I was not alone. It didn't really appeal to me, despite the attractive star. But upon hearing the news yesterday that Fox was canceling it after two underachieving episodes, my heart broke for the Dallas-set sudser. Fox has a history of canceling amazing shows (again, didn't see this one but it got great reviews), many of which became legendary in their afterlife. But what the network needs to remember, is that this was someone's baby. Someone dreamed up the concept, pitched it, was stoked when it sold, even more stoked when it was produced, and probably experienced the realization of a dream the night it aired. Its creator even appealed to audiences in an open letter, pleading his case to a public overwhelmed with new shows and old favorites. And yet still Lone Star got the axe. Production on episode 6 was halted, most likely never to be finished. All those people lost their jobs and may not be hired again now that the season is underway. Am I the only one who is touched by this? That some cliched money-grubbing executive can just yank the show off the air with a metaphorical vaudevillian shepherd's crook? I know television is a business, and what's a business, without revenue. But they could have at least given it a chance to find its identity and its audience before throwing in the towel. (How many metaphors can I mix here?) Anyway, I'll be mourning the death of a show I never watched while rejoicing in the (fingers crossed) success of my other obsessions.
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