Is it just my bad mood? Or is television less than impressive this year?

by: Adela P

For some reason, I have been rather disappointed in television lately. I don’t know why, perhaps it’s just my mood in general. I have a thesis constantly looming over my head, I’m forced to take a class on environmental geography this semester (definitely not my forté), I have to regularly tear myself away from some truly amazing Harry Potter fanfiction in order to pursue my scholastic responsibilities… okay, it doesn’t sound too dire, right? But I remember back when Buffy was on, and I’d be so excited to just immerse myself in the show, and inevitably events would come about that would have me screaming at the television, standing up on my chair (literally), sobbing my heart out, or even just simply sitting on the edge of my seat, eyes glued to the screen, riveted.

I haven’t felt this kind of excitement from television in a long while.

I love Lost. But nothing can capture season one, when we were wondering about “the others,” wondering what that strange black smoke was, wondering if they were ever going to get back home. Now, we sort of know what happens in a backhanded way. Instead of flashbacks, we’re having flashforwards, and if we already know what’s going to happen, there’s not much suspense, is there? Well, okay, I’m not sure that Lost can ever lose its suspense factor. But I certainly am not fascinated by the show and its concepts as much as I was in season one. I’m sad about losing that excitement, that mystery of season one. I’m sad that a lot of the factors that I found so intriguing in the first few seasons, like the mysterious number, have sort of tapered away. The island just isn’t as scary, and for me, that’s what the major appeal of Lost was.

I enjoy watching Gossip Girl, but I’m not as invested in it as I’ve been with other teen dramas. For some reason, I’m just not that enraptured by the lives of these rich Manhattans. I love learning about them as people, but too often for me, GG seems to be getting by solely on garish outfits, mansions, and lifestyles. The characters don’t interact with each other nearly as much as they should, and we go through entire episodes without even seeing some of them. I shudder to think where this series is going to go when they all move on to college. Right now, it’s still entertaining, but perhaps not even enough to keep me watching.

Supernatural isn’t boding too well, either. It’s about 50/50 at this point. Half the episodes are boring, nonsensical, or standalones, and half are brilliant. Sorry, but for me, a season has to be at least 75% brilliant to garner my undivided attention. I’m not going to discontinue watching, but I probably won’t be putting as much effort in reviewing. I’m almost glad that season 4 might be the last.

I’m not too disappointed in Kyle XY, but then again, it’s only the beginning of the season. (I guess I could say the same for Lost, as well.) I’ve decided to stop watching Fringe, because it’s just not holding my attention. It’s taking much too long to establish its mythology. Perhaps I’ll tune in for the season finale to see if it miraculously improved over the latter half of the season.

I’m not disappointed in Terminator: the Sarah Connor Chronicles at all. That’s pretty much my main show at the moment, and I anticipate that Joss Whedon's Dollhouse will join those ranks once it premieres on February 13th. Friday nights are going to be my happy nights, and I’m sure much reviewing will ensue over the weekends. But sadly, as far as the rest of the shows go, I might just end up reviewing episodes here and there, or in one giant review at the end of the week, or maybe even just give a review of a show every month. I’m just not “feeling” television these days.

I’d much rather be reading Harry Potter fanfic. And on that note, I’m going to direct you all to my favorite thus far, a fic by Aspen in the Sunlight called “A Year Like No Other.” It's so amazing that it has its own fan page. Fans of Aspen's have created wallpapers and art for her story, translated it into several different languages, volunteered to create mp3s of the chapters for an audio book, converted it into an eBook for your Kindle, iPod/iPhone, etc., and have even written their own fanfiction based upon Aspen's universe (in turn based off of J.K. Rowling's universe). Go on, give it a chance. It’s extremely long and will probably take you awhile. Go ahead and read the first few chapters. I dare you to read them and not be hooked.