Summer TV ramblings
Here are some thoughts about the summer TV on SciFi (for the record, I refuse to acknowledge the current misspelling of that channel's name), which I'm generally very much enjoying. Spoilers for everything that's aired so far, but nothing beyond the previews for this week.
Eureka: Due to DVR troubles, we missed pretty much the entire season of Eureka last summer. Fortunately, we happened upon a marathon of last summers eps a month or so ago and finished watching them just in time for this season. Gotta love not having to wait 9 months in between! And yay, actual Carter/Allison before the end of the series! I was so relieved that they didn't do another timeline reboot in which they never got together. Of course, this whole thing with Beverly hijacking Allison's brain is creepy as all hell, but I'm glad to see from the preview for tonight's ep that folks seem to be figuring that out. I really do kind of hate Beverly, but villains are necessary, and she is a satisfyingly cryptic one.
Also, I love Holly Martin! She's like an even more socially awkward Willow :) She even dresses a bit like S1 Willow. D pointed out the other week that the actress was one of the S7 potentials from BtVS, which I totally hadn't realized, and it's kind of funny because I particularly hated her character there (though I didn't really like any of the potentials except the geeky one from Sunnydale High - Amanda?). But anyway, she's brilliant and adorable on Eureka and I hope she sticks around.
Warehouse 13: I'm glad that they resolved the whole Myka-leaving-the-warehouse storyline in the first episode. I was worried they'd drag it out for too long, but I should have trusted them. And I love the new guy, Jinks! I'm so glad he's sticking around so far and I hope it'll be permanent. I think he and Claudia balance each other out really well, and it'll be a new experience for me to enjoy the partner dynamic without shipping the partners. Speaking of which, it's awesome that they a) have a gay character and b) didn't try to present his announcement thereof as "hey, look how progressive our show is!" but instead as a normal part of life, which it is. Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the season, which I hope will have more Mrs. Frederick.
Alphas: We've seen the first three episodes so far, and I kind of like it but don't love it. It's very heavy on the angst, and while I enjoy angst in general, it hasn't thus far been presented in a way that's especially drawn me in. And I haven't fallen in love with any of the characters, though Cameron Hicks is my favorite. In fact, after the first ep, I decided that I would only continue watching if he were going to be a regular. But I have always loved David Strathairn, too, and he was a big reason I wanted to watch in the first place. I think the visual effects - when Mr. Nigel-MurrayGary "watches" security cameras and cell phone activity or when Rachel does her heightened-sense thing, for example - are kind of silly, but I'm hoping they'll tone that down once they've more firmly established the Alphas' abilities. But if they don't, it doesn't bother me that much. I'll keep watching for the time being, because shows do sometimes take a while to hit their stride. I do hope at least one of the characters will grab me soon, though, because without that? My interest will most certainly wane.
Haven: OMG, I love this show. I love it just as much as last season, though I miss the Chief like crazy. But everything else is awesome! I love that Audrey II didn't turn out to be a bitch, but a thoughtful and awesome and curious person just like our Audrey. I'm sad that her curiosity led to amnesia, but I'm certainly intrigued by what they'll do next with that storyline, particularly since it seems clear that whatever she found in the forest was intended to erase our Audrey's memories...
As far as ancillary characters, Julia's exit was a bit awkward ("Did you hear Julia Carr went back to Africa?"), but I'm guessing the actress got another gig? Fortunately, she hadn't been around long enough for me to get particularly attached to her - definitely not the way I was to her mother. *sigh* But I'm really enjoying Evie, particularly the fact that she and Duke are constantly lying to and conning each other. Of course he couldn't have a simple relationship! And, to my very great surprise, I actually like Jason Priestly's character. Though I knew it wasn't fair, I was disposed to dislike him just because of my dislike for 90210. But Chris Brody is misanthropic and fun! Even the Audrey/Chris vibe didn't make me dislike him, though I suppose I might feel differently if I didn't know he'll only be around for four episodes. I ship Audrey/Nathan all the way, but it's only the beginning of season 2, so that's unlikely to happen yet, and a little competition might be inspiring for Nathan.
My only real complaint is this new ending-with-a-song tendency from the last two eps. That's usually something shows do in the first season and grow out of (Alias was really bad with that, but Bones did it too), so I'm less than thrilled to see Haven starting it now, especially since the songs have been, let's say, not to my taste. I'm not against including songs with vocals on shows in general, but I prefer if they don't overuse them, and because the audience isn't going to have the same taste in music, I also prefer if it's not always the same type of song.
But overall, Haven is amazing and wonderful and makes me smile. I can't wait to see what will happen next!
Eureka: Due to DVR troubles, we missed pretty much the entire season of Eureka last summer. Fortunately, we happened upon a marathon of last summers eps a month or so ago and finished watching them just in time for this season. Gotta love not having to wait 9 months in between! And yay, actual Carter/Allison before the end of the series! I was so relieved that they didn't do another timeline reboot in which they never got together. Of course, this whole thing with Beverly hijacking Allison's brain is creepy as all hell, but I'm glad to see from the preview for tonight's ep that folks seem to be figuring that out. I really do kind of hate Beverly, but villains are necessary, and she is a satisfyingly cryptic one.
Also, I love Holly Martin! She's like an even more socially awkward Willow :) She even dresses a bit like S1 Willow. D pointed out the other week that the actress was one of the S7 potentials from BtVS, which I totally hadn't realized, and it's kind of funny because I particularly hated her character there (though I didn't really like any of the potentials except the geeky one from Sunnydale High - Amanda?). But anyway, she's brilliant and adorable on Eureka and I hope she sticks around.
Warehouse 13: I'm glad that they resolved the whole Myka-leaving-the-warehouse storyline in the first episode. I was worried they'd drag it out for too long, but I should have trusted them. And I love the new guy, Jinks! I'm so glad he's sticking around so far and I hope it'll be permanent. I think he and Claudia balance each other out really well, and it'll be a new experience for me to enjoy the partner dynamic without shipping the partners. Speaking of which, it's awesome that they a) have a gay character and b) didn't try to present his announcement thereof as "hey, look how progressive our show is!" but instead as a normal part of life, which it is. Anyway, I'm very much looking forward to the rest of the season, which I hope will have more Mrs. Frederick.
Alphas: We've seen the first three episodes so far, and I kind of like it but don't love it. It's very heavy on the angst, and while I enjoy angst in general, it hasn't thus far been presented in a way that's especially drawn me in. And I haven't fallen in love with any of the characters, though Cameron Hicks is my favorite. In fact, after the first ep, I decided that I would only continue watching if he were going to be a regular. But I have always loved David Strathairn, too, and he was a big reason I wanted to watch in the first place. I think the visual effects - when Mr. Nigel-MurrayGary "watches" security cameras and cell phone activity or when Rachel does her heightened-sense thing, for example - are kind of silly, but I'm hoping they'll tone that down once they've more firmly established the Alphas' abilities. But if they don't, it doesn't bother me that much. I'll keep watching for the time being, because shows do sometimes take a while to hit their stride. I do hope at least one of the characters will grab me soon, though, because without that? My interest will most certainly wane.
Haven: OMG, I love this show. I love it just as much as last season, though I miss the Chief like crazy. But everything else is awesome! I love that Audrey II didn't turn out to be a bitch, but a thoughtful and awesome and curious person just like our Audrey. I'm sad that her curiosity led to amnesia, but I'm certainly intrigued by what they'll do next with that storyline, particularly since it seems clear that whatever she found in the forest was intended to erase our Audrey's memories...
As far as ancillary characters, Julia's exit was a bit awkward ("Did you hear Julia Carr went back to Africa?"), but I'm guessing the actress got another gig? Fortunately, she hadn't been around long enough for me to get particularly attached to her - definitely not the way I was to her mother. *sigh* But I'm really enjoying Evie, particularly the fact that she and Duke are constantly lying to and conning each other. Of course he couldn't have a simple relationship! And, to my very great surprise, I actually like Jason Priestly's character. Though I knew it wasn't fair, I was disposed to dislike him just because of my dislike for 90210. But Chris Brody is misanthropic and fun! Even the Audrey/Chris vibe didn't make me dislike him, though I suppose I might feel differently if I didn't know he'll only be around for four episodes. I ship Audrey/Nathan all the way, but it's only the beginning of season 2, so that's unlikely to happen yet, and a little competition might be inspiring for Nathan.
My only real complaint is this new ending-with-a-song tendency from the last two eps. That's usually something shows do in the first season and grow out of (Alias was really bad with that, but Bones did it too), so I'm less than thrilled to see Haven starting it now, especially since the songs have been, let's say, not to my taste. I'm not against including songs with vocals on shows in general, but I prefer if they don't overuse them, and because the audience isn't going to have the same taste in music, I also prefer if it's not always the same type of song.
But overall, Haven is amazing and wonderful and makes me smile. I can't wait to see what will happen next!