Category: Featured
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Chuck, “Chuck Versus the Suitcase”
Though I enjoyed last week’s Chuck premiere, there was some discussion Twitter about the series’ storytelling desires. After the premiere, Daniel Walters wrote a nice piece about what he’d do to improve the series, particularly when it comes to raised stakes and less formulaic cases that involve Chuck and Sarah infiltrating a party. I can’t…
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Broadcast network power rankings — Week 1
Earlier this month, I wrote a post discussing the possible new features that would be coming to TV Surveillance and if you remember that (or just clicked on that link), you’ll know that Broadcast Network Power Rankings was not something mentioned. Truth is, I had originally hoped to keep up with all the new series…
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Mad Men, “Hands and Knees”
Ed note: I’m currently with a laptop, so that’s why there was no posting over the weekend, why this is later than usual and why there might not be any other posts the rest of the day. Sometimes Mad Men is more obvious with its thematic concerns, but in most cases, that’s okay. If the themes…
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Season Premiere — Smallville, “Lazarus”
The premiere of Smallville‘s tenth(!) and final season is in a weird position. On one hand, this is the final season! By that I mean the writers should have no trouble moving towards the end of the story that we’ve all been waiting since 2001 for, the journey is almost completely. On the other hand, because…
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Season Premiere — Fringe, “Olivia”
Much has been made about Fringe‘s elevation from middling mythology series that leaned too heavily on the procedural to an impressive series full of innovative ideas and great, real characters. And for good reason, as the second half of season two was freaking fantastic and the two-part finale was the most confident I have ever…
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Season Premieres — Modern Family, “The Old Wagon” and Cougar Town, “All Mixed Up”
ABC’s two best comedies enter their second seasons with varying degrees of expectations. With all the critical hype and Emmy validation, Modern Family has been crowned as the new comedy king. Meanwhile, Cougar Town has grown in stature in the eyes of the critical community, but still isn’t seemingly as respected as its lead-in, particularly…
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Season Premiere — Glee, “Audition”
Like many critics and faux-critics, I had a number of issues with the back-nine of Glee‘s first season. And the events of the summer — additional cast members, more theme episodes and Ryan Murphy’s hyperbole about dialing it back — there wasn’t a lot to suggest things were going to improve. If there is any…
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Series Premiere — Lone Star, “Pilot”
Lone Star is, without question, the best broadcast drama pilot I’ve seen since Friday Night Lights‘ premiere back in 2006. That comparison is interesting (aside from the obvious inclusion of Adrianne Palicki in both casts and the Texas location), because while watching this episode, I felt some of the same feelings as I did when…
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Mad Men, “The Beautiful Girls”
The world of ’50s and ’60s advertising is certainly a boys club, and although things have been changing, particularly for Peggy, “The Beautiful Girls” goes a long way in suggesting that despite the advancements out in the world, the women of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce are still being held down, either professionally or personally. A…
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Event pre-air musings: Haven’t we been down this road before?
On Monday, NBC’s much-publicized The Event debuts. I should be excited. The series wants to fill the void left by Lost and 24 by creating a dense, complicated thriller with a global scope and some sort of secret ongoing mythology. It features a ridiculously cryptic title and is powered by an effective/stupid advertising campaign, much…
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The Vampire Diaries, “Brave New World”
The action-packed Vampire Diaries premiere reminded us of how great the series can be when a lot of crazy things are happening. The second the episode, “Brave New World,” suggests that the series can also do more low-key, character-centric episodes as well. “Brave New World” is all about the aftermath of Katherine’s rampage in the…
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Terriers, “Dog and Pony”
After a fantastic pilot episode, “Dog and Pony” proves that Terriers is going to be a must-watch new series this fall. The episode is fairly standalone in nature with only a few mentions of the Lindus case that Hank and Britt are now the prime witnesses in, but spending 45 minutes with these two guys…
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Test Pilot: File #2, The X-Files
Test Pilot #2: The X-Files Debut Date: September 10, 1993 on FOX Series legacy: One of the best science fiction television series of all-time, a major catalyst for modern fan cultures and the primary innovator of the use of “mythology” and its balance with standalone, procedural episodes. Welcome to the newest regular feature here at TV Surveillance,…
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Sons of Anarchy, “Oiled”
After a gripping premiere full of characters taking action, “Oiled” is much more subdued and exposition-heavy, as Sons of Anarchy settles in with its multitude of plot lines for season three. And while the ending result is not as enjoyable as “So” last week, the more subdued approach here is necessary to move forward.
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Season Finale — True Blood, “Evil is Going On”
My lord, what in the heck happened to True Blood? All season, I’ve flipped and flopped in my opinion of the series, mostly because I’ve seen the series start strong and completely run out of gas by the time the season is over. I was also concerned about how in the world the series was…
CB, PhD 