My TV Week in Preview

“Elbert “Ickey” Woods, the Bengals were fools to cut you in ‘91. Your 1,525 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns will not be forgotten. So, Coach Dave Shula, screw you and your crappy steakhouse!”-How I Met Your Mother

So, I was planning on trying to post something everyday, yet, here in my first week of my new blog I’ve missed two days. Why did I miss these days you ask? Well, it was because of my X-Box 360, pure and simple. It is an alluring temptress that sucks me in, and seven hours later, finally releases me from her evil grip. This time it was video games that sucked me in though it is often DVDs. At the moment, my drug of choice in her evil little virtual crack den is Smackdown vs Raw 2008, though I’ve tried to detox a bit by playing some Madden to wean myself off. Now that that is out of the way, let me get to my week in preview.

In order to check out my TV week in preview, I’m going to go through my DVR looking at my reminders and scheduled recordings, pure and simple. Also, since some of my choices may be a bit on the less conventional side, so I will offer a defense of everything that I plan on watching, pure and simple. So, let us begin.

Today(Saturday)
NFC Divisional Playoff-Seattle at Green Bay

Why I’m Watching:
For one, it is playoff football. For two, as a Chicago Bears fan, I despise the Green Bay Packers and everything they stand for, thus I watch praying for the Seattle Seahawks to pull off a huge upset and, possibly, cripple Brett Favre if they aren’t too busy. Granted, I expect it to go the opposite way, but a man can dream, can’t he?

AFC Divisional Playoff-Jacksonville at New England

Why I’m Watching:
Once again, playoff football. But in this case, it is also a chance to watch the New England Patriots continue their march towards perfection. As I stated before, I’m a Bears fan, but I feel a certain affinity to the Patriots because the last time the Bears won the SuperBowl, we destroyed them. Also, my best friend is a Pats fan, so I feel obligated to cheer them on in this pursuit of perfection.

Sunday
More Playoffs, but I don’t feel like doing more information about them. Just know I like football.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Why I’m Watching:
Now, this is going to be the debut of this show, so I can’t defend it on the merits of the show at this moment. However, I can defend my love of the Terminator movies, and the idea of exploring that universe more thoroughly is quite appealing. Also, because of a love I have for all things Joss Whedon, the fact that the Terminator assigned to defend John Connor is played by the always adorable Summer Glau. On top of all that, John Connor is played by the cheerleader’s ambiguously gay best friend from the first season of Heroes and Sarah Connor is played by Lena Headey who is both stunning and talented, as shown in her work in 300.

The Wire

Why I’m Watching:
My roommate has been obsessed with this show for awhile. He owns all the seasons, but I have never actually gotten into it. However, with the one HDTV in our apartment, it seems like a good idea for me to at least try to get into it. That coupled with the fact that it is often, if not always, included on almost every top 10 list of TV shows every year, and often in top 10 TV shows of all time. So, I’ve seen a few episodes in my life before now and always found it somewhat enjoyable, but after the premiere of this final season, I think that maybe I’ll have to dig into the old seasons my roommate has and get myself into it from the beginning. Still, this season seems like a good jumping on point for now.

Monday
How I Met Your Mother

Why I’m Watching:
This is one of my favorite shows on television today. With the interplay between the main characters, the writers have accomplished capturing the very real dynamic of a group of late-20s friends. Why can I say this with authority? Well, I am a member of a group of late-20s aged friends, and, often feel that we have interactions that are on par with those found on this show, if not quite as well scripted. This episode on Monday is the 3rd season premiere, which, while a repeat, is worth me watching since the strike makes new episodes impossible.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Why I’m Watching:
Well, in all actuality, if it is horrible on Sunday, I won’t be. But the reasons I will be are detailed in the Sunday portion.

October Road

Why I’m Watching:
This show is a guilty pleasure of mine. I don’t think it is the best written show by any means, nor do I think it will last past this season, but I identify with the protagonist. A 28-year old who feels like his life hasn’t exactly been the way it was planned, and who has returned to his hometown to pursue his old life. While I haven’t done the last part, the first part is quite easy for a 28-year old college junior to understand. Thus, I watch the show.

Tuesday
NCIS

Why I’m Watching:
Mostly because I like crime procedurals. Mark Harmon is always solid. It is well-written, even if not very believable at times, but oh well. It is hard to defend police procedurals, past just saying that you enjoy procedurals. It is why they are so common on the airwaves now. Also, it seems this episode is scheduled to be new, which is a rarity among scheduled shows that had a full season this year.

American Idol

Why I’m Watching:
It is an audition episode of American Idol. As a guy who has sung for most of his life, it is fun for me to watch these people delude themselves into thinking they have talent and make fools of themselves. Also, on occasion you stumble across a truly talented person and get to see that. But mostly, Simon is fun when he’s had to listen to horrible singers for 6 hours straight.

Reaper

Why I’m Watching:
This is one of my favorite new shows this year, along with Chuck, so I try not to miss any episodes, even if this is only truly a repeat of the pilot. Ray Wise as Satan is worth the watch alone, even though Sock makes it even more worthwhile, and is the type of friend that we all wish we could have. This is a fun show about normal people in abnormal situations, which is always fun. Also, shows about slackers tend to make me identify with them, and I don’t want to dwell on that.

Law & Order:SVU

Why I’m Watching:
Christopher Meloni is genius. I’ll watch anything the man is in. Whether it be this or his turn as Freakshow in Harold and Kumar, or any number of other comic turns he’s done, he’s got more range than almost any other actor working today. Also, it is fun to, from episode to episode, see which of the actors are trying to win an Emmy. Trust me, it isn’t a hard game to play.

Wednesday
American Idol

Why I’m Watching:
Same reason as before. Schadenfreude, baby!

Law & Order

Why I’m Watching:
I used to watch this show regularly, but in recent seasons have sacrificed it to my busy schedule. Now, with the strike creating a bit of room, I decided to give it a shot to return to my schedule. I have not been disappointed thus far. With Jeremy Sisto, an actor I truly enjoy, joining Jesse L Martin as his partner creates a very believable team of detectives that I enjoy more than any team of L&O detectives since Chris Noth and Jerry Orbach were teamed up. Also, Linus Roache seems to make a nice ADA.

Thursday
The Office

Why I’m Watching:
This one is easy. My roommate is obsessed with this show, so I have been subjected to it. The happy by-product is that I find it quite amusing. Still, if not for my roommate, I wouldn’t be watching.

Supernatural

Why I’m Watching:
I’ve got an affinity for the occult themed shows. This one features two actors I like, whose characters are supposed to be from Lawrence, KS, which is always something that will get me interested. Luckily, the good writing and clever stories truly hooked me after the premise got me to check it out. This show is one of my top 10 of currently airing, so I highly recommend it to everybody.

Big Shots

Why I’m Watching:
This show is Sex and the City for men. It has already been canceled, but they are burning off episodes in this strike ravaged time, so I get to see what they did. Not great, but good fun.

Friday
Bones

Why I’m Watching:
Good writing, fun cast, a nice procedural. Also, if you put David Boreanaz in a show, I, as a Joss Whedon fanatic, will watch it. I own all the seasons of Angel on DVD. He’s got great chemistry to Emily Deschanel ’s Temperance “Bones” Brennan. This show is one of my favorite bits of escapism I get on a weekly basis.

House

Why I’m Watching:
Yet another bit of escapism that I absolutely adore. Hugh Laurie is beyond fantastic, especially when you consider that he has such a thick British accent in his real life and can accomplish the Greg House American accent with such aplomb. House’s relationship with Wilson and Cuddy, as well as his employees are what make this show great. The cases each week are treated in the same way as my crime procedurals I love so much, so that is a bonus, but the true show is House’s relationships with those around him.

Numb3rs

Why I’m Watching:
David Krumholtz, Rob Morrow, and Judd Hirsch. That is the reason. Plus, some great writing, even if the stories are often contrived, they are quite good. Plus, it makes smart seem cool again, which I enjoy.

Psych

Why I’m Watching:
Hysterical. And I like buddy comedies. Those are the two reasons, really. Also, Dule Hill was on the West Wing, and thus I’m contractually obligated to watch due to my adoration of that show.

That is my weekly rundown for the time being. It was long and boring. Sorry about that.