AlanBarber.Org
Monday, September 29, 2003
State of TV report
Well the Season Finale of Dead Like Me was on Friday. I missed it but caught the repeat Saturday. It was a very good show and I liked how they ended the season.It was a nice happy ending. Obviously the writers didn't want to end with a big cliff hanger since they didn't know at the time if there would be a season two. The major plot was about Georgia getting her job back at Happy Times and her family placing the tombstone at her grave. After the family left Georgia and the rest of the reapers celebrated her new after-life by drinking champagne at the grave. It was all peaceful and joyous.
Sunday was the Alias season premier on ABC. A bit disappointing in how it turned out. They left us last season with Sidney waking up in Hong Kong 2 years after the big fight scene where she passed out at the end. The plot followed very closely to the pilot episode.
The plot goes something like this... She was an outsider but needed to get in and earn the trust of the leaders. So she goes awol and single handily retrieves the object everyone wants but can't get. Everyone trust her and it's all back to normal. A little too squeaky clean for my liking.
Still it's nice to have something to watch on Sundays again.
Finally there are two new shows on CBS.
The first is called Joan of Arcadia. It's about a teen girl Joan who God talks to. He takes on different forms and tells her to do things. It's a bit messed up but looks promising long as they keep the religious overtones to a minimum. It's the usual dysfunctional family deal; a workaholic father, goofy mother, geeky little brother, and sports jock older brother who had an accident and is now wheelchair bound. Admirably it was a bit corny at times but it still managed to keep my attention for an hour which is surprising.
The other is The Handler. Joe Pantoliano plays a FBI agent that manages people that do undercover work. He brings them in, trains them, and places them in positions to infiltrate criminal groups, drug dealers, prostitution rings, whatever. Similar to Joan of Arcadia being a new show there was a lot of character development so it didn't flow as well. But it also kept me watching for a hour and Joe plays the part pretty good.
So that's what's up with TV lately. Here's the rundown
Joan of Arcadia - 8pm Fridays - CBS
The Handler - 10pm Fridays - CBS
Alias - 9pm Sundays - ABC
Dead Like Me - Season is over but keep an eye for repeats - Showtime
on 09/29/2003 at 11:09 AM