Tuesday, September 25, 2007

A Series of Unconnected Thoughts About The New TV Season

I might just check out the premiere of Reaper tonight on the CW.
The premise doesn't appeal to me at all, but some of the talent involved does. Frankly, I think the casting of Ray Wise (Twin Peaks' Leland Palmer) as Satan is simply inspired. Plus, tonight's debut episode is directed by none other than Kevin Smith.
I might take a look at Bionic Woman tomorrow night as well...though I strongly suspect that it won't last out the season. The reason is that, quite simply, revivals of classic TV shows never succeed--at least not on the broadcast networks. The revamped versions of The Love Boat, Fantasy Island, and The Fugitive testify to that. They have been known to work in syndication or on cable and one of the most successful cable revivals has been Battlestar Galactica, with which the new BW shares an exec producer. So perhaps there's a chance that the few episodes that do make it air might actually be worth watching.
The only show you could say that I'm sort of in any way looking forward to seeing is Chiristina Applegate's new sitcom Samantha Who? set to air Mondays on ABC. Applegate plays a woman with amnesia who finds out that before she was a horrible person. (Though I would have to disagree with Applegate's contention in a TV Guide interview that she's never played a bitch before. Generally, Married...With Children's Kelly Bundy was more of a slut than a bitch, but she could be quite bitchy on occasion.) I just hope they follow the lead of NBC's hit Thursday night comedy line-up and do the show without a laugh track. I hate laugh tracks. I also hate How I Met Your Mother, which has nothing to do at all with this post, but I just thought I'd mention it.

Friday, September 21, 2007

New Seasons of Legion and Batman Begin Tomorrow!

I swear that I have not been looking forward this much to a new season of Saturday morning cartoons since I was a kid. Tomorrow brings the season premieres of The Batman and Legion of Super-Heroes on Kids' WB.
Legion cemented its place as one of the best super-hero cartoons ever with its season ending two part adaptation of the Legion's classic battle to stop the Sun-Eater. Every comics fans even passingly familiar with pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths Legion lore knew where this story was going, but watching it get there was a hoot.
My only problem with Legion is that we still haven't seen my favorite Legionnaire, Wildfire, not even in the climactic struggle with the Sun-Eater. I hope this means that the producers have plans for him somewhere down the line.
I also hope that we see more of Matter-Eater Lad.
The Batman is my favorite of all the filmed adaptations of the Dark Knight's adventures so far. Most Batman series or movies have picked up with Batman firmly established as Gotham"s Guardian, complete with Robin and a pretty chummy relationship with Commissioner Gordon and the police. This show, on the other hand, shows us Bats at very early stage of his career, hunted by the police and as distrustful of them, and just about anyone else, as they are of him. We've actually gotten to see the character grow and progress over the course of four seasons. The series overarching story arc has concerned Bruce Wayne learning to trust others enough to let them into his life and work with them. First, he forges a tentative relationship with a police detective, then gains the trust of the commissioner. Next, he takes on a sometime partner in Batgirl before taking in fellow orphan Dick Grayson not only to work with him as Robin but to live in his house. Finally, at the end of last season, we saw him move into the wider community of super-heroes as he joined the Justice League.
From the promos I've seen for the new season, it looks like we're going to be seeing a certain Man of Steel guest starring on The Batman this season. I think it would be cool, don't you, if old Kal-El was reluctant to join the League and it was Bats, of all people, who manages to convince Supes of the advantages of being part of a team.