My Year in Television 2013

As we near the end of the year I like to reflect on all the things I watched over the course of the year. Warning: this is a LOOOONG post. I watch a lot of TV. I find that it’s good for me to keep track of things and when I’ve watched them, but just know that it’s kind of a lot.

I spent most of January and February at home in San Francisco, and took over the DVR as much as I could. I continued watching Elementary and Once Upon A Time, as well as being supremely excited about Community‘s return in February.

There are a handful of shows that overlap between what I like to watch and what my parents watch. We would watch Downton Abbey the night it aired, and we began House of Cards together. I also watched some of the shows my parents watched such as American Pickers and American Restoration. I left would leave whenever they started up Dog the Bounty Hunter. I have to draw the line somewhere.

During the day I would watch DVDs and Netflix. I finished Band of Brothers and re-watched Luther to prepare for my semester. I watched Leverage episodes as in order as I could find them. I wrote about Angel on the blog and got really into web series. The Lizzie Bennet Diaries and a handful of others.

In March I moved to LA in a strange housing situation, and set all my usual recordings. I watched Doctor Who and saw a few episodes of Orphan Black that were fantastic. I wrote a spec of Luther that was the most complete script I’ve ever written. I’m proud of it, but I’m not sure it’s something that I’ll be able to use in the future.

I spent most of April waiting for a phone call that never came. I watched documentaries on Netflix and rented DVDs from the library. Most notably I rented Roots and got through at least half of the series. In finished House of Cards and joined the rest of those who finished but didn’t want to spoil anyone else. With no word from school and no reason to stay in my weird housing set up I went back to San Francisco at the end of the month.

At home I dove back into my old routine of watching TV with my parents. I got back into shows that I had taken a long break on. I returned to my first television love, CSI and started watching Major Crimes when it returned in June. When I watched by myself I watched episode after episode of The Good Guys, finishing the entire series in record time.

June also saw the release of Much Ado About Nothing, which I first saw at the San Francisco International Film Festival. I know it’s technically not TV, but anything Joss Whedon feels TV-esque to me, and the cast is full of my favorite Whedon TV people, so I’m going to say it half-counts. Also half counting would be web series. I’m never quite sure where to put them, but over the summer I watched Welcome to Sanditon and An Autobiography of Jane Eyre.

In July I returned to LA just in time to start my summer semester in LA. I was a bit slow to set up internet access and TV, but when I finally did I pulled together all the recordings I could ever want. In between classes I watched Major Crimes, King and Maxwell, Hell’s Kitchen, MasterChef, and Camp. I happened upon a Blue Ray of The Newsroom and watched the entire first season quickly in order to prepare for season two which happened to fall within my HBO free trial.

Through my class, I found myself at San Diego Comic Con without much of a plan at all. I was woefully under prepared, but managed to make the best I could of the one day I had. I wandered the expo hall in awe and waited in line to see the Once Upon A Time pirate ship. I went to a panel for Husbands, the web series I was a PA for last year and got a chance to talk with a few of the people I had connected with there. All in all a good, if a little overwhelming, day.

As the summer ended I said good-bye to all my summer favorites, and geared up for premiere season. While a friend of mine was in town we went to see a taping of Mom, a new show because we both love Allison Janney. It was fun to be in the audience (I think it was the 4^th episode), but neither of us fell in love with the show. Certainly something I would do again, and a great idea for people who are visiting from out of town.

In September I started online classes and internships and a whole slew of new shows. I watched or recorded everything. NCIS, Elementary, CSI, Parks and Rec, The Middle, Modern Family, Once Upon A Time, The Good Wife, and The Mentalist on the returning side. I started watching Agents of SHIELD, Once Upon A Time in Wonderland, Trophy Wife, and The Crazy Ones of new shows. I’ve stuck with most of these to varying degrees. While all of the ones listed are still being recorded, there are a few I’m woefully behind on.

There were two shows that weren’t even on my radar at the beginning of the season, but I wound up recording on a whim and then LOVING. The first is Sleepy Hollow, which I recorded because it was mentioned at one of my internships and wound up completely blowing me away. Now that I look back I vaguely remember seeing some Sleepy Hollow things at Comic Con, but think that it wouldn’t be for me. WRONG! I also wound up recording Brooklyn Nine-Nine because I was recording Dads. While I’m not a fan of Dads, I love Brooklyn Nine-Nine.

As the semester got started I returned to Leverage and started Orange is the New Black. I watched movies and TV pilots for my internships and fell behind on a lot of current TV. November brought on the 300^th episode of CSI, and the Doctor Who 50^th Anniversary special. Thanksgiving rolled right into December and the live Sound of Music production. I have mixed feelings on the event, but do hope that the fantastic ratings will encourage networks to do similar things in the future.

As the year comes to an end I will be watching the Bonnie and Clyde mini-series, and tuning in for the mid-season finales of the shows listed above. I’ve finally caught up on a few and will continue to watch as the new year begins. While TV is on a break, I’ll be finishing shows that I can catch on Netflix including Leverage and Orange is the New Black.

This year has been full of great TV shows, and I’m excited for the year to come. What shows did you watch this year? Any favorites I’m missing?

Belated TV Wishlist

Over the years I have fallen out of an old habit I used to have of making wishlists starting at the beginning of the TV season. I know we’re a month in already, but there are a few shows that haven’t premiered yet, and there are some that have premiered that I haven’t seen yet, so I wanted to put together a bit of a wishlist for this season.

This list does not cover EVERY show I watch, and while these things would be lovely to see, I know that some of them are impractical. This is just for fun and entertainment.

In this season I want…

them to wait to replace Ziva on NCIS. The team has been three before, and while I do want to bring some female energy back in there at some point, I also think these characters need some space to grieve.
Ichabod Crane to show his protectiveness over Abby in a way that is awkward or culturally ignorant. I also want Ichabod to never change. (Sleepy Hollow)
an answer to how Agent Coulson is alive. (Agent’s of SHIELD)
Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character on The Crazy Ones to go on a date.
Will to wind up at the governors inauguration against his will. I want the awkward and awful conversation that is sure to be Will and Alicia at the governor’s ball. (The Good Wife)
Rumplestiltskin’s magic to be used against him in Neverland somehow. (Once Upon A Time)
Alice to go to a tea party. (Once Upon A Time in Wonderland)
a West Wing reference in either Trophy Wife or Mom. I would also be happy with a Good Guys reference in Trophy Wife.
Rose to be treated with the respect she deserves in the 50th anniversary. Honestly, I’m a little scared. (Doctor Who)
Grissom to come back for the 300th episode. I know this is probably a long shot, but isn’t that what wish lists are for? (CSI)

What do you want to happen on your favorite shows this season?

Fall TV

With the turning of the calendar to September and the beginning of the school year (my online classes), I’m excited to head into TV premiere season as well. With nearly fifty new shows and dozens of returning shows, I have only recently sat down to determine what I’m going to be sampling and committing to this fall. I don’t really know what else there is to say, so I’ll just dive right in.

New Commitments
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.: Drama, Joss Whedon with Clark Gregg in charge? Agent Coulson lives.
The Crazy Ones: I saw some preview footage of this one and I’m honestly excited. Robin Williams returning to TV and Sarah Michelle Gellar as his daughter. Done and done.
Once Upon A Time in Wonderland: It’s Once, but with Alice. I’m so pumped I don’t even know what to say right now. It looks so gorgeous!

Continuing Relationships
NCIS: While I’m already devastated over the loss of Ziva, I’m curious to see how it’s handled. If done well the show will continue to thrive. If done poorly, it could mean the loss of more than just a favorite character.
The Middle: My old roommate and I used to call The Middle and Modern Family “Comedy Night done right”. I still hold by that phrasing. With Axel gone, I think Frankie might loose it, which will be hysterical to watch.
Modern Family: Deserving of all the praise.
Parks and Rec: Because Amy Poehler.
Elementary: Part of me winders how they can possibly top that fantastic finale, but I’m guessing the answer may be in the picture I saw of Lucy Liu and Johnny Lee Miller on the London Underground.
Once Upon A Time: This show just keeps getting better, and now that all our favorites are crossing over to fairy tale land… #excited
The Good Wife: That twist! It’s not anything that hasn’t been done before, but I am still pretty excited to see how it ends up. Getting away from Will is going to be good for Alicia.
The Mentalist: I’ve always been a fan of this show. Part of me still wonders how long they can stretch out this Red John thing, but for now I’ll agree to suspend disbelief.

New to Sample
Dads: Because I love Seth Green and the promos look good. I’m not usually a comedy person, but lately I’ve started warming up to the idea.
Mom: Allison Janney is back on TV. The premise dosen’t even matter to me, I’m just so excited to see her on my screen.
Trophy Wife: Two words. Bradley. Whitford. Hmm, I’m noticing a theme of watching new comedies solely because of someone who’s in them. I care not.
Ironside: I’m not sure about this one, but the premise seems straight up my ally, so I’m going to give it a shot.
Super Fun Night: Because I could use some more girly fun things in my life. Also because Rebel Wilson.
Tomorrow People: Because YA sci-fi is apparently the next big thing for the CW and if I want to catch this train there’s no way I’m joining in later. It’s now or never.
Reign: Saw this one in promos at Comic Con. I’ll bite. No promises though.

Returning to Keep Track Of
New Girl: I love New Girl, but I’m not a regular viewer unless I remember to set a series recording. It’s on the list and in the plan.
The Mindy Project: Along the same lines as New Girl, I love this show when I watch it, but sometimes don’t remember.
NCIS:LA: It’s a fun show that I love whenever I watch it, but tends to linger in the depths of the DVR if not carefully attended to.
CSI: I haven’t watched CSI in ages, which is a shame because it was pretty much the show that got me interested in the TV industry. I think it’s time to return to my roots.
Bob’s Burgers: I watch this one as my Saturday morning cartoon on Netflix, and while I’m nowhere near catching up with what going to start airing, I don’t think it makes much of a difference in this show.