One more before the month ends

Thought I would post again to get one more post in September. Which doesn't really matter, but hey, three posts in a one-week period should be a record for me. Maybe not, but of late, it's pretty good.

I'm watching Spirited Away right now. Well, not right this minute. I'm watching the ABC lineup of Extreme Makeover: Home Edition, Desperate Housewives, and Brothers & Sisters. It is premier night, after all.

There's so much I could watch on TV of late. I don't know that it's ever been as good as it is now (over the past 5 years), and I'm talking about broadcast TV: ABC, NBC, CBS, Fox, and CW, not Showtime, HBO, etc. To give credit where due, however, HBO & Showtime really started this trend of making decent shows worth watching. The networks took notice that decent writing, complex stories, etc. were drawing people. Even though the Networks do have limits imposed upon them as to language and certain adult situations (which isn't necessarily a bad thing), they took these lessons to heart and started making shows people really wanted to see rather shows that people watched by default.

The downside, of course, is that some shows don't find their audience because there is so much good stuff from which to choose. Ten years ago, these canceled shows would have been top 10 for sure (for the most part — there are still turkeys that come out, but by and large less so now than a decade ago). Two shows I'm thinking of in particular are Invasion and Night Stalker. Well, I liked them, anyway. Ten years ago, I'm fairly confident they would have been five-season shows for sure (lasting five years).

For the current season, I'm most looking forward to Pushing Daisies on ABC on Wednesday nights. It starts this next Wednesday. The premise: this guy, Ned, has a gift of being able to bring people (and creatures) back from the dead. He makes a living using this gift to bring back murder victims, find out who killed them, and collect the reward money. Not bad work if you can find it.

With great power, however, comes a great curse: Ned's second touch sends the person back to the Great Beyond (perhaps permanently, I suppose; otherwise, there's no tension to hold one's interest). One of the people he resurrects is a young lady with whom he comes to hold great affection; the feeling is mutual. And they can never hold hands, kiss, or have any physical contact whatsoever. Otherwise, it's curtains for her.

What a great premise! I hope this show makes it. I think it provides a great deal to explore. At least, I can think of a bit they could do. Fortunately, in this day and age, even if it gets canceled after 13 shows, it most assuredly will be released on DVD (just a little cynical there), and one can always wonder what could have been.

Another show (on NBC) that looks intriguing is Life (I watched the premier free on Amazon Unbox video service). Premise: a cop is (wrongly) convicted of murder (framed, even), serves 12 years, and is then freed. As part of his deal, he receives an untold amount of money and is made a detective. I hope this show makes it, too, but I have my doubts. The main guy is far too eccentric to make a connection to a wide audience (or even a sustainable narrow one) methinks. It's a shame because the very last scene really changes what the show has made itself out to be so far (for motivation and purpose).

If I watched everything I wanted to, this would be my list:

Will Watch	ABC	CBS
House Bones Life Extreme Makeover HE Desparate Housewives Brothers & Sisters Cops	Carpoolers Lost Ugly Betty Women's Murder Club	CSI CSI: Miami. CSI: New York Big Bang Theory Criminal Minds Jericho Kid Nation NCIS Numb3rs Without A Trace
NBC	Fox	CW
Heroes Bionic Woman Journeyman The Office My Name is Earl	24 Prison Break Back to You K-Ville New Amsterdam	Smallville Supernatural

Life could be full. Or overcrowded.