New Shows to Me: Glee (Wednesday 9/8c Fox)

I began watching Glee for the music and kept watching for the plot. I, like the rest of the world, watch the pilot episode of Glee in May. However, unlike the rest of the world, I was largely unimpressed. I found the music catchy but the plot unbelievable—a woman fakes a pregnancy to keep her husband at home? However, one day messing around Hulu I rediscovered the show a few episodes into the season. I decided to go back and give the show that world seemed to love another shot. Given the chance to watch the first few episodes in quick succession the plot, that at first I didn’t buy in to, quickly pulled me in. It was clear that I did not give the multi-layered dramedy enough chance. . The writers and creators of Glee seem determined to win a slew of awards for diversity. The show is about outcasts and the ensemble of characters certain encompasses outcasts—a heavy black girl, a newly out of the closet gay man, a stuttering Asian, a kid in a wheel chair, and a former cheerleading captain/president of the celibacy society pregnant teenager. This gang of outcasts attempting to navigate the tumultuous waters of high school is worth watching. However, what makes the show so watchable is the dynamic if the unattainable love between Emma and Will was adorable and—for once—delightfully innocent. I found myself quickly longing for the day that Will finds that his wife’s pregnancy is a lie. However, the producers seemed to have accounted for this day by putting another obstacle in the way—Emma’s pending marriage. As entertaining as the Emma-Will-Terri triangle is, one love triangle was clearly not enough for the writers. The quadrangle between Rachel, Finn, Quinn and Puck is less unique but somehow just as enjoyable. What is unique is the foil between Quinn’s pregnancy and Terri’s lack of pregnancy. This provides for not only an interesting dynamic but a unique plot that pushes the shows hook—music—effectively and enjoyably into the background.

New Shows to Me: Castle (Monday 10/9c ABC)

Castle, currently in the beginning of its second season, centers around Richard Castle, played by Nathan Fillion, who is a best selling mystery writer who is a womanizer and loving father. Castle is the perfect vehicle for Fillion as there really is no one better at playing the lovable scoundrel.

The series begins with the publication party for Castle’s new book in which he killed of his best-selling central character because he was bored. On the same night, intense detective Kate Beckett realizes a connection between a series of murders—that connection is the gruesome deaths portrayed in Castle’s novels. Castle is brought in as a suspect turned police assistant. By the end of the case Castle has found the subject for his next series of novels—a thinly veiled Beckett. Thanks to Castles friendship with the mayor, he gets to tag along with Beckett on future cases as he works the novel. The chemistry between Castle and Beckett (Stana Katic) is phenomenal. While is took a couple of episodes for Katic to hold her own opposite the tour de force that is Nathan Fillion, the show as been getting steadily better. The electric connection between the lead pair is not unique—Bones for one has the will they/wont they over the dead body as well. What is interesting about the pair is the fact that Beckett is known to be a fan of Castle’s work—though Castle has no idea just how much, and that affection is returned by Castle. The fact that this affection is, on some level, overt makes the relationship interesting, unique, and fun to watch. However, what makes Castle so enjoyable is the drastic difference between his besting selling author/playboy life style and his role as loving, doting father—interesting to the viewer and interesting to Beckett. Molly Quinn plays Castle’s daughter Alexis. Molly is the perpetual perfect child and student who Castle dotes on as well as encourages to lighten up. Quinn’s character is an excellent b-story foil to Castle. This show is well rounded, funny, and dramatic. When the plots stay away from the shows slight tendency for predictable stories, the show is a delightful way to cap off a Monday night.

New Shows to Me: The Big Bang Theory (Monday 9:30/8:30c CBS)

The Big Bang Theory (TBBT) is in its third season and from what I’ve gathered has been something of the little show that could. That was, of course, before Jim Parsons garnered an Emmy nomination for best actor in a comedy and the ratings this season began to shoot through the roof. I heard the buzz touting this show as one of the only intelligent shows aimed at people in their young 20s and I thought, “Hey I’m in my young 20s maybe I should check it out”. It’s been on the back-burner for a while especially after I saw the clips shown in the Emmy promos and shown during the actual ceremony—especially the Leonard Nimroy clip from “The Bath Item Gift Hypothesis”. I finally got around to checking the show out about two weeks ago and I actually gauffed out loud. The cast is lovely. I loved Johnny Galecki on Roseanne, Kaley Cucco on 8 Simple Rules, Simon Helberg in Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and when the hilarious Jim Parsons and Kunal Nayyar are thrown in the result is a heart-warming, hilarious show about incomprehensible physicists struggling to understand the social world. TBBT is a refreshing show for many reasons but the chief among these is the fact that show is about intelligent people. When was the last time a sit com centered around main characters that hold Ph.D.s in theoretical physics, astro physics, or applied physics? Or Ph.D.s at all? Sure Ross had a Ph.D. on Friends but he rarely acted like it. The guys on this show speak a language all their own—not only strange sounding physics lingo but also debating the minutia of the comic book and video gaming world. The show is intelligent, heartwarming and definitely worth checking out.

New Shows to Me: How I Met Your Mother (Monday 8/7c CBS)

How I Met Your Mother (HIMYM) has been on the air for years now, but I have only just crawled out from under the rock I apparently lived under to discover its hilarity. As soon as I finally got around to checking the show out, I fell in love. HIMYM has a refreshing catchy concept at the center, the familiarity of construct (including a laugh track), and a fantastic cast to recommend it. The refreshing method of telling the story from the future (in the voice of Bob Sagat no less) allows for hilariously fungible time lines—and what a great hook! Doesn’t everyone at some point ask how his or her parents met? While the show does come across as a bit of a Friends set in a bar, the concept of the show has at it center a drive that Friends and so many other sit coms lacked. The show is the story of a time when your friends are your family but it is also the story of the time when you’re ready to settle down but don’t have someone to settle down with. The character of Ted is endearing enough and Sagat’s voice over is funny enough that it makes the viewer really want to know how he meets the mother of his children. Finally, the awesome cast at the center of HIMYM. The cast includes two previously (relatively) unknowns such Josh Radnor as the central Ted, and Colbie Smolders as the perfect woman. The pair are delightful both together and separately. Each is at the center of some awesome story lines (for Ted see “The Pineapple Incident” and I’m partial to Robin in any of her turns as “Robin Sparkles” Canadian pop-star especially in “The Slap Bet” and “Sand Castles in the Sand”). Jason Segal is known from Freaks and Geeks and any number of other Judd Apatow projects. Segal plays Marshall who is a law student/lawyer and in a long-term committed relationship. Segal is the hilarious best friend to Ted and good-hearted foil to Barney. Segal has great story lines played with both heart and hilarity (see “The Duel” and “The Best Burger in New York”). The other half of Segal’s Marshall is Alyson Hannigan’s Lily. Hannigan is best known from her Buffy and American Pie days. Lily is the wannabe painter turned kindergarten teacher who is both hilarious and lovable as the gooey girlfriend and only real source of femininity in the show (for great Lily episodes see the B story in “Sweat Taste of Liberty” and “The Front Porch”). Last but most assuredly not least the one and only Neil Patrick Harris. NPH is the fantastically amusing, magic-trick performing, bro-code writing, catch phrase shouting, and man whorish Barney. There are no end of fantastic Barney episodes and the signs point to more great episodes to come (for great Barney episodes see “The Bracket”, “Zip, Zip, Zip”, “Game Night” and “Benefits”). The show is currently tying to find its way into a 5th season hook but the season is shaping up. Definitely go back to the season one because HIMYM is the kind of show that rewards its long-term viewers by inside jokes and past season references. The show is definitely worth checking out.