feelin' good about fall '08

Oh, my poor, neglected TV/movie/music blog. You're long overdue for some attention.

Well, here's something to talk about: the start of a new TV season. I mean, who else is excited? Maybe I'm just content-starved after the writers' strike cut last year's season short, but I'm uber-excited for some new "House," "24," "Lost," and all the rest.

First up, I have to weigh in on "True Blood," HBO's vampire drama. There's some promise there, but as a Whedon-phile, I have to say everything they're doing, "Buffy" did first and better. To start, Anna Paquin looks good as a blonde, and that accent is hot, and I did have a crush on her for like five seconds after the first X-Men movie came out, but she's no Sarah Michelle Gellar. They have a vampire named Bill? So did "Buffy," only he was more formally known as William The Bloody, and less formally known as Spike, and both names are much better suited to a nightstalker. The heroine, Sookie, has the ability to read minds. Hey, there was an episode where Buffy could do that...you know, nine years ago. But who's counting?

Next on the docket, I'm thrilled to have "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" back. And to all the naysayers who swore up and down they'd never have a T-1000 on the show, all I can say is, =p. I was excited when I saw a billboard for the new season a few weeks back showing puddles of liquid metal, but as I hadn't heard of any plans to introduce a shape-shifting Terminator, I wasn't sure if they were really doing it until the final moments of the season premiere. All I can say is, in the age of rampant spoilers, kudos to team Sarah Connor for keeping that one under wraps. And good usage of the Shirley Manson character.

Now, there's been a lot of hype over "Fringe," and while I admittedly didn't catch it, I didn't find the trailer/promo/sizzle particularly exciting. With so many shows on my DVR record list already, I just have to be more discriminating when it comes to new programs. If I continue to hear good things, I may check it out on DVD, but for now, it just didn't make the cut. (Ultimately, BTW, neither did "True Blood.") No, I'm reserving that coveted "new show" spot for "Dollhouse," Joss Whedon's next series, due this winter. I was a little concerned to hear production shut down temporarily when Joss found some of the latest scripts not up to par...but the same thing happened for the upcoming season of "24," and I'm hoping they're just being anal and it's not a sign that things aren't going well.

Still waiting to see what new "House", "Heroes", and "Chuck" have in store, and I'm seriously considering getting Showtime to see the new season of "Dexter" after discovering that gem this summer. I could almost write a whole blog about the charming, CSI-in-reverse, serial killer drama...but I should probably call it a night.