TV: Winter/Spring 2009
The 2008 writers’ strike had repercussions that resulted in a less than spectacular Fall 2008 television season, the casualties of which included critical favorites like Pushing Daisies. Cable and premium channels were somewhat less affected, aided by the more flexible nature of programming on cable networks, and the expectation of a reduced audience share, which is traditionally much lower than that of a prime time television show. Nevertheless, cable is hurting as well, with the departure of popular and celebrated series such as The Wire and The Shield. HBO has yet to recover from the double blow of losing The Sopranos and Sex and the City, giving way to rise of Showtime, buzzing with a reinvigorated Californication and Dexter, along with new audience favorites like The Tudors and Secret Diary of a Call Girl, while AMC has become a critical darling with Mad Men, a show which was first optioned and rejected by HBO, going on to win an Emmy for Best Drama for AMC. With all this TV chaos, what can people look forward to in 2009? Here are some shows that we’ll be watching:
Castle (March 9, ABC): Premiering on ABC, this show deals with a mystery writer, a la Jessica Fletcher, who becomes involved in the investigation of real crimes. Normally, this wouldn’t be enough to catch our attention, but this series warrants checking out, if only for casting Nathan Fillion in the lead role. Fillion has delivered strong and charismatic performances on Firefly, Serenity and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. He was also incredibly chilling in his guest starring stint as the misogynistic preacher on Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s final season. The question remains: will Castle give Fillion material as strong as the work he has done with Joss Whedon? If the material isn’t as strong, can Fillion sustain a series on his personality alone (as Hugh Laurie does on House)?
Scrubs (January 6, ABC): For the past 7 seasons, Scrubs has been one of the funniest, sweetest, and most poignant shows on television. Despite a decline in quality over the last couple of seasons, the show is still strong enough at its weakest to outclass most of the comedies on the prime-time and cable line-ups. Because of the goodwill that it has built up over the course of years, Scrubs merits a spot on our list of shows to watch in 2009, when it will enter its 8th season on a new network (ABC), and it will say goodbye to its original cast (if the show comes back for a 9th season, it will center on the new interns) of wacky doctors in the making at Sacred Heart Hospital.
Dollhouse (February 13, Fox): When given a great degree of control over a project, Joss Whedon can produce gold. Unfortunately for Whedon and his fans, Joss doesn’t often get that level of control or support from the suits, as evidenced by the mangled film adaptation of his Buffy the Vampire Slayer, a story which would win critical raves once Whedon took the reins in its subsequent television incarnation. Early word on Dollhouse is that there is trouble behind the scenes. Fox, the same network that sabotaged Whedon’s Firefly when it aired episodes out of order, demanded significant rewrites, and condemned the show to the Friday night TV graveyard, seems to have learned nothing from that fiasco, and has given Dollhouse the same treatment. They have scrapped the original pilot, demanded rewrites based on the supposition that fans won’t be able to follow Whedon’s mythology, and reassigned the show to the Friday night timeslot that has killed almost every series that has aired at that time (The X-Files and Law & Order: SVU are the only two significant hits to come out of the Friday night line-up). The rewrites have caused delays and production reportedly has shut down three times as scripts are being reworked. Through all of this, Whedon has defended Fox and he claims that the changes have enhanced the show to make it more accessible to viewers. Nevertheless, Whedon fans are wary of engaging with a show that has such an uncertain future, and perhaps the harbingers of the show’s demise will become a self-fulfilling prophecy of sorts. Either way, Whedon’s writing (and the phenomenal cast and group of writers that he has assembled) makes the show worth checking out.
Battlestar Galactica (January 16, SciFi): The SciFi Channel’s reworked Battlestar Galactica is the epitome of the best that television has to offer. It is thought-provoking, dark and complicated in a way that few shows ever are. Like The Twilight Zone before it, it asks the questions that most “realistic” shows don’t dare to ask, questions of politics, humanity, war, and identity. Unlike most series, Galactica doesn’t divide its cast of players into good guys and bad guys, but instead creates a universe in which all characters are immensely flawed and yet worthy, a trait that makes its universe very much like our own. This month, Galactica comes back after a 6 month hiatus with its last 10 episodes ever (a television movie, The Plan, and a prequel/spinoff called Caprica are on the horizon). With a series that has delivered so consistently, so strongly, and with such excellence, the home stretch of Battlestar Galactica is must-see TV.
-Artemis
I’m looking forward to Dollhouse. Maybe it will last at least half a season.