Now that it May Be Over: A Look at the TV Season

The television season started in 2007 and I was full of anticipation. The previous season had been one of the best I could remember. I had discovered some brand new shows that I loved and had found a few a few shows that had been on a few years were pretty good and I became a fan. This is how a 35-year-old single, heterosexual man ends up watching "Grey's Anatomy." I also fell in love with shows like "House" last season. I was anxious to see how some of the new shows from last season that I loved would follow things up this year. I was anxious to see what new places "Heroes" would take me and hoped "Friday Night Lights" would manage to maintain its quality.

Well, it has been a very mixed bag so far, I have to say. There have been some disappointments, but there have also been a few surprises. Some shows took their time but eventually came around. Now, however, with the writer's strike, some of the shows I have been anticipating may not even be shown this season. My usual staples of "24" and "Lost" may not even see the light of day (or the light of a television screen). As such, it may very well be that the 2007 television season will not carry much into 2008, if at all, and it all may end very soon.

So, here's a look at some of my favorite shows and how they have fared so far. It's just my opinion, but what the hell, what else do I have to write about/

1. Heroes - This was, without a doubt, my favorite show last season. I am a comic book geek and I loved this look at the superhero genre. I thought the characters were fun and the writing top-notch. I also felt the season built and then delivered in a successful way. It may not have hit on all cylinders all season long and the large break in the middle of the season did not help, but I loved it. I was anxious to see where it would go this year.

Well, it started off slow. The new characters didn't work. The separation of the surviving characters from last season did not help. Having Sylar in Mexico or South America or wherever did not help. But a surprising thing happened on the way to destroying the best show on TV...the writer's and creators listened.

Finally, with the past couple of episodes, the show has shown some of its spunk from last season. Gone are the ham-handed romances. Some of the new characters are showing some potential and it appears like the major threat has finally be revealed. This show has lost a lot of viewers this year, but I hope enough come back now that the show has pulled an impressive turnaround.

2. Friday Night Lights - is a gem of a show that is in constant danger of being cancelled. It's method of casting relative unkowns and making the entire show look like a documentary, brings you right into their lives. These are not actors you are looking at, but real lives and real people. Even the games were exciting.

This season, the show is now finally on Friday nights. The show has also managed to continue its quality. It took some time for Coach Taylor to finally come back home to coach his beloved Dillon Panthers, but he has finally done that and the show seems on track.

The one major misstep seems to be a soap opera-ish plot involving a murder committed by a minor character in the previous season that has suddenly become a major character this season. The plot doesn't work. It takes the viewer out of the feeling of realism. It's melodramatic on purpose with a show that has melodrama almost effortlessly. We want to see the cheerleaders hooking up with the football players and live and die, like the rest of Dillon, by the football season. We don't need murdered rapists and hidden bodies.

3. The Office - Let me just say, for the record, that I am completely in love with Jenna Fischer. Jenna, I really hope you suddenly develop a taste for overweight, bearded Chicago writers and give me a call soon. I know you and your husband just broke up, but I have no problem being a rebound.

Fischer, of course, plays the loveable Pam Beesley and she and Jim have finally become an official couple. I admire that. It has been handled well and, I think, realistically. There is no false drama added. They are together and seem happy to be. This is a nice change of pace from a lot of sitcoms who build a romantic tension between two characters for years, have them get together, and then make them more miserable than they were when they were apart.

Steve Carell is still hilraous. Rainn Wilson is still hilarious. The writing is still excellent. The laughs still come. The situations are still embarassing and, sadly, all too possible and realistic. Seeing Carell's Michael give a depostion was one of the funniest moments of television so far this season.

4. House - For me, so far, this has been the one returning show that has been a bit of a disappointment. Hugh Laurie is still excellent, but removing his team and spreading them out, has not worked for me. I am sorry, but none of the new people is as interesting or attractive as the people he had before. It just has not been nearly as compelling as I am assuming the writers and creators thought it would be to see the new people fight it out like some kind of reality show to become House's new team.

Well, the fighting is now over and the team has been chosen. Yippee... I still don't find them all that interesting although it is nice to see Kumar from "Harold and Kumar" working steadily now.

5. Family Guy - For my money, this is still the funniest show on television. Tasteless? Yes. Crass? You bet. Funny? It is still the one show that can have me drop my jaw in shock and then laugh until I can't breathe the next second. I still love "The Simpsons" but I fear that "Family Guy" may be the new touchstone in animated comedy on Fox for me these days.

And finally, my vote for best new show of the season:

Life - I can't get enough of this show. Damian Lewis is an actor I liked when I first saw him in "Band of Brothers." He plays the wrongly accused and jailed cop, Charlie Crews with a mixture of intelligence, intensity and whimsy that can only be balanced by an actor of Lewis' talent. The show manages to keep you wondering about who framed Charlie and how he will figure that out, and yet also make you care about each new case that he has to solve week after week.

Alan Arkin is excellent as his prison buddy, now financial manager. All of the supporting players are excellent, and played in such a way that it keeps you on edge. Are they involved in the conspiracy to frame Charlie? Why?

Of course, with a show like this, the danger is that the solution to the crime may not be as compelling as the journey to get there. Also, there is the question of what happens once it is solved and how long do you stretch out the plot about solving that crime? Too long and people get irritated. Too short and it feels false.

So far, though, so good and I hope it keeps coming back and I hope people are watching it.

I have no idea what will happen to "24" and "Lost" and I gave up "Grey's Anatomy" when "The Office" moved to 8 o'clock on Thursdays. So, I leave those shows to you or will save comment on them for another time.

In the meantime, I hope the writers and TV producers come to an agreement and soon. I need me some TV that ain't a reality show, as much as I may love Gordon Ramsay, I need more Pam, Charlie and Riggins.