5/15/2010

The annual spring massacre...

Just a quick impression of Rocket Knight before I get into things-I downloaded the demo, it seemed like a solid, perfectly competent platformer, but it seemed like my money was better spent going towards Super Mario Galaxy 2 since that is out in just 8 days . I realize that may not be an option for the platform gaming-starved 360 owners and the only slightly better off PS3 owners (let's see, there's Ratchet & Clank and Little Big Planet and..... yeah that's it.), so it may be a solid option if you are looking for something in that genre.

So, we are nearing the end of the tv season, and that always comes with a long, long list of casualties. Shows that were barely hanging on, shows that sucked and were lucky to even last a whole season, shows that want to end their run before they really, really go downhill and are a former shell of what they used to be. This season, several shows are ending that I'd like to share my take on.

Heroes: I spit on your grave. Heroes had arguably one of the most fantastic first seasons of any show ever, then it went all to shit for several straight seasons. Power-switching, inconsistent characters that everyone hated, carrying around goddamn turtles on vision quests, and even hints of possible incest. And it was reviled. People watched in the sheer amazement of how much worse it kept getting, while good quality shows went by the wayside, speaking of which....

Better Off Ted: I feel like ABC could've done more to promote this brilliant show, namely moving it to their incredibly successful Wednesday comedy block, but they did try to get someone to watch this completely brilliant series that much like Arrested Development, everyone says its brilliant and yet no one watched it. I wonder if its mere coincidence that Portia De Rossi was a star of both, she wouldn't be the first talented star seemingly cursed to be on failed tv shows.

Scrubs: Granted, it's only been on ABC for 2 seasons, but this was it's 9th total, and it was going downhill starting in its 6th. This last season just felt some weird abstract spin-off with Turk & Cox who would show rare flashes of their brilliance of past seasons, but really, it had slightly overstayed its welcome, so sending it off while the fans still mostly remember it fondly.

Law and Order: Unlike the equally long-running Simpsons, the original L&O has never really suffered a serious downgrade in quality over the years despite being around for two decades and facing constantly changing cast members. But it's certainly fair to say it probably ran out of really solid ideas years ago and just kept recycling ones with a slight twist. Granted, with 2 currently still running spin-offs and a 3rd on the way, it's hardly gone as a franchise, it was just probably time to put the standard-bearer of crime procedurals out to pasture.

24: Season 6 was one hell of a low point, but I just watched season 7 on netflix recently, and it was a pretty solid return to form, though it had some ridiculousness piled onto it (FBI being wishy-washy about Jack's method, the usual ridiculous sub-plot involving his daughter, more moles than all previous seasons combined, a key character being undone by a moronic friend/relative/significant other, etc.)  which has been increasingly necessary due to the once seminal format. The move to a movie franchise seems extremely promising, since they can do away with filler subplots, and frankly with both Bond and Bourne franchises in flux, we need a venerable super agent to enjoy on the big screen.

Ok, that's really all I got for today, though as I have an extremely busy week I will most likely be back tomorrow with a post about this absolutely ginormous week of game releases, in the mean time, here's your FREE GAME OF THE WEEK: Cursed Treasure

4 comments:

Karabias said...

Eric - L&O getting cancelled made me sad. Not only are the new detectives/DAs excellent, but they actually had a storyline throughout multiple episodes in Van Buren's battle with cancer. Well, here's hoping That LO:LA is more SVU quality than, say, CSI:NY.

Also, I think you and I were two of the 10 people watching Better Off Ted (and loving it).

Karabias said...

Oh, and YAY FOR CHUCK BEING RENEWED!!

Eric Chrisman said...

I have really tried to like chuck, I just have never been able to get into it.

KK said...

I actually fell behind on Heroes early in the second season, and never bothered to start back up because of all the negative feedback. Now that it's cancelled, though, there's a visible ending point so playing catch-up won't be as difficult. It's just too bad there won't be any real closure.

I've never watched the original L&O, but have the first six seasons of SVU, which I love. With the patriarch show calling it quits, I may have to start watching for a sale on the DVD season sets.

As for 24, it definitely wavered throughout its run. The current season had some high points, but not enough to justify the continuation of a burnt-out series. Jack is awesome, but he needs to retire.