The State of TV Series

I’m a big TV viewer. I didn’t think I was, until I listed the shows I follow to a friend. And…like wow, there were a lot. Luckily, I’m good at multitasking and still get a lot done with TV acting as a background.

I started out this season – whenever it starts, since there is no actually solid start with all these filler shows, etc. – Anyway! I started out watching my regular shows. And it’s a long list…

Blacklist
Sleepy Hollow
Hawaii 5-O
CSI
NCIS
NCIS New Orleans
Castle
The Strain
Under the Dome
The Voice
Dr. Who
Intruders
Face Off
Top Chef
Project Runway
Haven
Agents of Shield
Bones
plus more…

Then, life really got in the way. A lot of time on the road, days with family as my sister succumbed to cancer…

And when I came back to normal life, I found myself simply uninterested in quite a few of them. (I can always catch up with On-Demand.) I dropped The Strain, saw the season finale of Under the Dome and decided to skip it when it begins again. Watched a few new shows and decided I wasn’t going to follow them. Forever is interesting, but not captivating enough, for example.

I’m uncertain if I want to keep on with Sleepy Hollow. Not sure why… I’m no longer watching Bones after hearing how the started the season. (Long live Sweets!) I stick with Castle more for the supporting characters than the main couple.

The reality series…well, I really wish they were a bit less commercial and would return to fewer episodes.

I’m an on and off viewer of Dr. Who. I like the new Doctor, but the magic of when I first started the show, back when Tom Baker was the Doctor, just isn’t there. I liked Intruders, especially liked that it was 8 episodes long. Period.

I’ve always found television an excellent way to spur my imagination. Not the storylines, but mostly…the supporting characters. I found The Mentalist annoying, but wow, I loved Cho. My newest book, Essentially Human, was inspired by wanting to explore a character like Gibbs from NCIS and some of Cho, from The Mentalist.

As much as I like The Voice, I’m pissed at how many of the tryouts we aren’t shown…and they skip some of the first elimination performances. Keep the ‘cast’ to what you can fit in your timeslot. Period.

I’m not sure what changed for me. I don’t know if it’s the programs, my wanting to do more with my time, or a change in life priorities. I do know that several series I started, told they were limited episodes – like Gracepoint (and yes, I saw Broadchurch first) – are being turned into series with multiple seasons. I like a finished story because I feel like I’m making a limited commitment. They did it with Helix, Under the Dome, The Strain. And it pissed me off.

There is only so much time in my life. I like TV. Hell, I love TV. But something is disappearing… I’m not sure if I’m sad or pleased about it. I feel like my addiction is sliding away from me. And that’s gotta be good, right?

4 Comments:

  1. What series are you still watching? What have you dropped from your schedule? Do you know why?

  2. Yeah, there aren’t very many TV shows I’m into lately. I do like Sleepy Hollow, but I don’t follow every episode or anything. Oh, and I’m hooked on Utopia, but they haven’t been showing it lately ‘cuz of the World Series. 🙂

  3. I don’t watch that much, but I agree about limited series. I was PO’ed when they announced Under the Dome was coming back for a second season. I didn’t watch much of it, including the finale, and won’t watch season 3. It just got too ridiculous. They were running out of water in one episode, then 3 or 4 episodes later there was a huge lake. Really?!?!

    Though it started out very promising, I’ve just about had my fill of Sleepy Hollow, and for the same reason I stopped watching Grimm (which was great the first season) — the storylines all turned into “monster of the week.” Booooring. I watched a couple of episodes of Forever and found too much similarities to Sleepy Hollow but not as interesting.

    Outlander is the only thing I really liked,and they showed 8 episodes then took a 6 month hiatus. WTF?!?!

    AC

  4. I got tired of Jim being so up and down constantly. Which sounds odd, but you know what I mean, Auntie. And the ‘hero’ who can’t make up his mind if he trusts Jim or not. ARGH!

    Sleepy Hollow? I don’t know why I’m growing dissatisfied with it… I think it’s how easily Ichabod is adjusting. And how this stuff with his wife and Henry being their son… Okay, I’m just not buying where they are going. I actually prefer the monster of the week… I mean, how many things can Henry get away with and they are always surprised he’s behind it???

    I’m not sure on Grimm yet.

    I’m not going with Outlander, sorry, Auntie. Just…can’t get into it. And yeah, this breaking up the little series into so many seasons… They do it with Major Crimes, Defiance, Rizolli and Isles…Longmire. The one thing I was digging and they cancelled it. Double ARGH!!!!

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