A New Season Begins

I'm a fan of television. My co-host Dannt watches a little television and a lot of movies and it sometimes feels like I am the opposite. I'm so busy these days that getting a bit of entertainment and hour at a time is all I can manage. So each time the new season starts I find myself looking at all the upcoming shows to see if there is anything I would like to check out. There are a few guidelines though. Here they are...

1. I usually give the show at least three episodes to grab my attention. A lot of folks will just give them one chance but with the popularity of serialized dramas I feel that one episode doesn't give the storytellers the chance to open up the world that we are supposed to hang out in for the duration of the show. Three episodes is a good amount to learn the characters and the idea that the writers are trying to get across. But after three episodes if I haven't committed to the story by that point I don't think I ever will. So I tune out.

2. Find out what network the show is on. It seems over the last five years the networks have developed a pattern for how they treat their new shows. The worst of the bunch is NBC. They tend to load up on shows and cancel most of them within the first seven episodes. It's hard for me to commit to anything on this network because there is very little chance of it going for the long haul. Especially when the shows are serialized. Why get into a long running story that I will never get to see a conclusion to.
ABC will give a show a chance and have it finish out the season but you better hope the season doesn't end on a cliffhanger cause there is a good chance it'll be gone next year. CBS plays it safe and just does spin offs of their most popular shows all the time so you're pretty safe on this network.

3. Beware the genre shows. I'm a comic book fan and tv seems to be trying it's best to cash in on the superhero genre that's making big bucks in the box office but it doesn't seem to be catching on. Each show that focuses on the super powered folks seems to have a very short life span. Heroes lasted a few seasons but it went from being one of the hottest shows on the air to one of the most hated in just a few short years. ABC is trying their hand this year with No Ordinary Family and I plan on giving it a watch but I am aware that it's lifespan will most likely be a short one. Smallville is the only super show that has had any legs over the past few years and even that one ends it's amazing 10 year run this year. We also have The Cape popping up this season but I give this one less than half a season and then it's gone as well.

4. Find out what has stuck around the last few years and invest in some DVDs. There are some shows out there that didn't make the cut for me in years past that are still going strong. With these shows I like to get the DVDs and catch up. Something must be going right with these shows for them to have survived the brutal cutting process developed over the last few years so why not give them a chance. Bones, Chuck, Fringe, and Dexter were some of these shows that i have picked up and been happy with. There are some good shows out there and thanks to the awesomeness of that is TV on DVD we can catch up with them on our own pace.

5. Finally... tell your friends when you find a good show. Get the word out so the show you like can get all the attention it needs not to get cut. What difference will you make? Very little. But the more people you tell the more word of mouth grows and that can make a big difference.

Let me know what shows you have checked out this new season. What's good? What's bad?

So far I have seen the first episode of The Event and I wasn't too impressed. But it's got two more episodes to turn that around.