I will admit it. I am a sucker for the new fall season.
I’m not talking about the season of fall, though I am somewhat a fan of the cooler weather, the apple desserts, and the changing colors.
I mean I am a sucker for the new fall season of television.
Again, I must explain that I don’t mean I am necessarily a fan of the 2014 fall season (that remains to be seen). I mean that I have always eagerly anticipated the new fall season.
When I was a little girl, my mother had a subscription to Good Housekeeping, McCalls, Readers Digest, the Columbus Daily Telegram, and TV Guide. I LOVED reading TV Guide all of the time, but I especially loved it in the late summer when they would begin talking about the upcoming television programs.
I would pore over the magazine, deciding which of the new programs would interest me and what would be happening on the programs that I was already watching. Would Jeannie and Captain Nelson get married? Would Tabitha be a witch or a mortal? Which program would I like better – The Munsters or The Addams Family? Would Hoss Cartwright find a love interest or was he gay? (Actually, I never wondered about that because at that point in my life, that was beyond my wildest imagination. I couldn’t even handle my mother and father having sex. Didn’t happen.)
By the way, as I think back, it makes me laugh that I contemplated this so seriously because it wasn’t like we had more than one television. So whatever was watched, we all watched together. And there were only three channels – NBC, CBS, and ABC – so our choices were limited. And, of course, no recording of programs. You watched what you watched, and if another interesting program was on the other channel, well, that was just tough unless you could lobby effectively enough. And let’s face it – the decision always rested with Mom and Dad.
Over the years, my love for the new television season hasn’t changed, except for the fact that I don’t subscribe to TV Guide. But I always eagerly await the new programs. This year is no exception.
Some have already begun, and some will premier this week.
I have no interest in any programs that involve super heroes, time travel, fairy tales, living in a post-apocalyptic world, or reliance upon laugh tracks.
I AM interested in political shows, police procedurals, and comedies that make me laugh out loud (i.e. Modern Family and The Mindy Project). I shamefully admit my addiction to Dancing With the Stars and American Idol.
I am willing to give things on the cusp of my requirements the ol’ college try, but I don’t want to have to work too hard. Shows like Nashville are predictable with generally silly plots, but I can sit back after a long day and follow that silly plot without having to work my brain too hard. Pretty characters, pretty scenery, pretty music. It’s a go (at least until it gets too silly, as it tried to do last season).
I love the family dynamics on Blue Bloods. I particularly like the weekly ending when the extended family is gathered at the table for dinner. I appreciate the mostly positive presentation of the family’s Catholic faith. And I think I would watch Tom Sellick clean up his back yard if that was televised. He is such a compelling actor.
Glee is the only way I’m able to keep up with contemporary music. The teenage angst is sometimes hard to take, but Jane Lynch makes it all worthwhile. It’s my only link to new music – that, and American Idol. Sad, I know.
This season, here are the programs I intend to give a try: Madame Secretary, The Mysteries of Laura, State of Affairs, and, of course, How to Get Away With Murder. There may be others. I’m open to suggestions.
I will admit, however, that How to Get Away With Murder is already causing me angst. Why, I wonder, are those kids lugging around that body in the rug? Why didn’t they just decide what to do with whoever it is, and then lug it to that location? It reminded me of Weekend with Bernie. No one seemed to be particularly concerned about these kids hauling around this giant rolled-up rug. Plus, the whole program is so dark that Bill and I, with our elderly eyes, are mostly saying to one another, “Who was that? I couldn’t see who it was.”
So, I’ll give it a try, but am not willing to give a long-term commitment at this time. Annalise is going to have to become a lot more likeable before I’ll do that.
What programs will you be recording this season? Am I missing out on something wonderful?