2011-2012 analysis, thus far

I didn't get around to a discussion of new shows this year, but I thought I would share my schedule again, since we're in hiatus mode (for the most part). You may remember my previous posts on this topic (you can look at them here, here, and here if you want a refresher). This year's schedule looks like this right now:

There are some significant changes from the last time I shared it. Some of these changes were not much of a surprise and I talked about them in the post from March, when I cut Supernatural. Since then I've removed the shows I mentioned might be on the way out (Chuck, Glee). There were other shows in there that I tried watching and just didn't work for one reason or another, including 2 Broke Girls, Grimm, Pan Am, Hart of Dixie, and possibly a few others I've already forgotten.

Interestingly enough, Glee, which I thought would be one of the last things to go, was the first one I stopped watching.  I just could not take it anymore. I don't know what happened over there, but the plot (when it had one) was horrible and they managed to make pretty much every character beyond annoying. Words are deserting me, but I could not stand the characters anymore so I stopped watching it. Except Britney - she remained as awesome as ever.

Then Chuck, in all it's adorkable charm. It's the same show it always has been. I thought I would watch this season, since it's the last one. But I was SO BORED. I couldn't take it anymore and I wasn't looking forward to watching it at all. So it went on the Netflix list for someday when I find it appealing again.

I'm still watching The Office, but it really isn't what is used to be. I find myself missing Michael Scott in pretty much every episode. That's just sad. I'll keep watching for now, but it's a low priority. Especially up against Vampire Diaries, Community (sadly benched for now) and Parks and Recreation. How I Met Your Mother remains, as does Bones. That makes 5 definites on my schedule, lower than it used to be. And outnumbered by new shows that so far have held my interest, at least somewhat.

So on to those new shows.
~Once Upon A Time I find intriguing in its premise and execution. So far I'm enjoying it, though I can't say I rush to watch it. It builds up on the DVR and then I get around to watching several in a chunk. I am interested to know what happens next.
~I can't decide if I like New Girl. I like Zooey Deschanel but I do find her character pretty annoying and often unnecessarily "quirky." Sometimes I find it cute and funny; a lot of the time I find it awkward and slightly off-putting. But I'm hanging in there for now.
~I'm kind of on the fence about Suburgatory as well. Some of it I don't like. But there are a lot of little things that make it good so I keep watching hoping it will work out the kinks. And I think Jane Levy, who plays Tess, is quite good. I think this is one of her first roles - I'm impressed. Plus she's adorable. I also think Cheryl Hines is fabulous and always entertaining.
~I Hate My Teenage Daughter just started. At this point it's very run of the mill sitcomy, but I'm sticking with it because of Katie Finneran. She is so funny and she makes this show enjoyable for me. I've loved her since Wonderfalls and I'm so glad she has another show. I hope it lasts longer and becomes as good as she is.
~I thoroughly enjoy Up All Night, but it isn't really must-see for me. Will Arnett, Christina Applegate and Maya Rudolph are all fantastic. I wish it were staying on Wednesdays and that NBC were cancelling stupid Whitney so Community didn't have to be benched. But NBC has a history of doing things like this because they wouldn't know good television if it smacked them across the face. That's all I really have to say about that. Nothing to see here. Moving on.
~That brings us to Secret Circle. Another one about which I can't make up my mind. It's no Vampire Diaries - I'll start with that. Both series come from L.J. Smith books, but thus far Secret Circle has not pulled me in like Vampire Diaries. I can't put my finger on why, but I'm trying to hold on through the season to see if I like it more. I seem to remember not being in love with Vampire Diaries initially either, so maybe things will change. Unfortunately, I think there is a vast difference between the casts and I just don't find the actors in the Secret Circle all that interesting, except perhaps Phoebe Tonkin. Plus, I am interested in where they're going with the story; just like Vampire Diaries, they veered almost completely off book pretty fast, which makes things interesting. We'll see.

I will have to come back when the midseason shows have started and give my opinions on those as well. I just never know how something will turn out, even from creators/producers I love. The mix has to be just right and there's no way to know if everything will combine into something good. I have found that having a DVR makes the process different than it used to be. I think it helps me give shows more of a chance to catch my interest, but also helps me decide quickly if I like something or not by how many of them are piled up to watch. It's interesting. I do find that I watch a lot less TV overall than I used to, and almost none during the week. So the DVR has really opened up my time to do the things that are important to me. I like that.

So I meant for this to be slightly deeper and more reflective than that, but my brain isn't cooperating. Maybe I'll be functioning better next week (which I have off! yay) and be able to post something of slightly more substance, that perhaps isn't quite so long. I probably won't post anything else before Sunday, so Merry Christmas!! xoxo