Tv You Should Watch

Fox Comedy Mini Review - Family Guy

Family Guy is an animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane. It centers around Peter Griffin, a clumsy but well-intentioned blue collar worker and his family. His wife Lois, a stay at home mother and piano teacher. Their children Meg, a teenage girl who is the butt of Peter’s constant jokes, Chris, a teenage boy who is a younger, dumber version of his father and Stewie, an evil genius baby who speaks like an adult but is still very much ignored as a child. Living with them is Brian, the very intelligent talking dog Peter found on the side of road. In many ways, Family Guy reminds me of All in the Family in that every character is dysfunctional in their own way but somehow they make it work and stay together as a family.

Family Guy on Fox, Sundays @ 8:00

Mini Review - Mythbusters

“Who are the Mythbusters?” Adam Savage and Jamie Hyneman, between them more than 30 years of Special Effects experience. Joining them is Grant Imahara, Tory Belleci, and Kari Byron. They don’t just tell the myths, they put them to the test! So basically they test out strange and crazy myths people submit and usually they get to make a crazy contraption to demonstrate it or blow shit up! It’s interesting to see what they come up with each week.

Mythbusters on Discovery Channel, Wednesdays @ 9:00

Treme, a new show on HBO depicts the aftermath of the Katrina Disaster in New Orleans in the summer of 2005. Treme follows the lives of New Orleans residents including Antoine Batiste (Wendell Pierce), a trombone player just trying to get by, Creighton Bernette (John Goodman), a college professor and Toni Bernette (Melissa Leo), a civil rights lawyer trying to help families find their lost loved-ones. Also staring Steve Zahn as Davis McAlary, a Dj/band leader with anger management issues along with Kim Dickens as Janette Desautel, a chef with a confusing relationship with Davis. Khandi Alexander as LaDonna Batiste-Williams, plays Antoine’s estranged ex-wife and local bar owner and Clarke Peters as Albert Lambreaux, a Mardi Gras Tribe Leader is trying to bring his people home.

Thoughts: With so many characters to follow, you can almost get lost in all of the story arches presented in the first episode but as a seasonal tv watcher, you can see that all of these charcters are very unique and they must be including in the telling of the Katrina Disaster. I’m not sure how some of the characters will interact with others but I hope they all meet up when Mardi Gras season comes around. That will be an amazing episode to say the least. Treme is like no other show i’ve watched and that is why I recommend you check it out.

Rating: ★★★½ (3.5/5) - Treme on HBO, Sundays @ 10:00

Fox Comedy Mini Review - The Cleveland Show

The Cleveland Show is an animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane. It centers around Cleveland Brown, a gentle and patient guy and his family including Cleveland Jr, Donna, his second wife, along with Rallo and Roberta, his step kids. Following the theme of dysfunctional families, Seth MacFarlane spun-off The Cleveland Show from Family Guy so he could show just what kind of guy Cleveland Brown is.

The Cleveland Show on Fox, Sundays @ 8:30

Fox Comedy Mini Review - American Dad!

American Dad! is an animated sitcom created by Seth MacFarlane. It centers around Stan Smith, a patriotic CIA agent along with his ditzy wife, Francine and their two kids, Hayley and Steve Smith. They also live with an escaped alien named Roger and a goldfish named Klaus, who was implanted with the brain of an East German Olympic skier. Along with The Cleveland Show and Family Guy, American Dad! shows just how funny and crazy a typical american family can be. American Dad! is one of those guilty pleasure shows that you secretly love to watch.

American Dad on Fox, Sundays @ 9:30

Party Down, a returning show on Starz that follows the catering crew of former and aspiring actors trying to live day to day doing their crappy jobs. Adam Scott as Henry Pollard and Lizzy Caplan as Casey Klein have an “on the job” love interest while Ron Donald (Ken Marino), the manager, just wants to own a Soup R’ Crackers. Kyle (Ryan Hansen) wants to be a famous actor while Roman (Martin Starr) just wants to be recognized for his genius. Lydia (Megan Mullally) is just a typical “stage mom” trying to get her kid to be a “star” in Hollywood.

Thoughts: Party Down is a great show for a couple of reasons. Everyone loves watching people that hate their jobs and this show is just that. Also, every episode has them doing a different event where they always seem to get in trouble no matter what the situation is. Ron tries to prevent anything bad from happening but it ultimately goes haywire and he has to pick up the pieces.

Rating: ★★★★ (4/5) - Party Down on Starz, Fridays @ 10:00

Underbelly: The Golden Mile, a returning show on Channel 9 that continues the Underbelly Series with The Golden Mile, a street in Sydney filled with strip clubs and other “legal” businesses where crime is a constant. The Golden Mile follows Kim Hollingsworth played by Emma Booth, a quaint girl who goes into prostitution to get away from her abusive boyfriend and John Ibrahim played by Firass Dirani, a tough high school kid who tries to make it big on the streets but hits a few bumps along the way. This series also follows the crooked cops from the previous season, who are still up to no good.

Thoughts: I actually started watching Underbelly when season 2 debuted in 2009, season 1 was about 1995-2004 so it didn’t have anything to do with season 2. I really enjoyed season 2 and I was really hoping season 3 would continue with the storyline and it did. Even though it follows mostly new characters, it still has the same feel of the show and I know I will enjoy it.

Rating: ★★★★ (4/5) - Underbelly on Channel Nine (AUS), Mondays @ 8:30

Stargate Universe, a new show on SyFy continuing the successful Stargate series. SGU follows a mix of scientists and military personel that had to evacuate to an ancient ship known as Destiny. Robert Carlyle as Nicholas Rush, a brilliant scientist, tries to decipher the ancient ships operating system while being opposed on most fronts by Captain Everett Young played by Louis Ferreira. The team knows they might not make it back to Earth, but they make the best of the situation and try to learn as much about the ancient ship and its people as they can.

Thoughts: When SGU debuted in Oct ‘09, I wanted to check it out even though I hadn’t watched a Stargate series since the movie back in the ’90s. I’ve been a sci-fi geek recently with Battle Star Galactica, Caprica and V but i’ve never been hardcore into the sci-fi scene.Having not watched Stargate recently, I came into SGU thinking I wouldn’t like it but I was pleasantly surprised in the fact that I fell in love with it. If you’ve watched the Stargate series from the beginning, you’ll continue watching SGU just for posterity but I know you’ll come to like it for its great character plots and the discovery of new worlds to become fascinated with.

Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5) - Stargate Universe on SyFy, Fridays @ 9:00

V, a new show on ABC that tells the story of an alien race arriving on Earth, they are known as the Vistors, a “peaceful” race, or so it appears. V stars Elizabeth Mitchell as Erica Evans, an FBI counter-terrorism agent who discovers something odd about the Visitors. Also starring Morena Baccarin as Anna, the High Commander of the Vistors, who has something up her sleeve. Erica, along her rag-tag band of “V-haters”, try and figure out just what Anna and her alien race has planned for Earth.

Thoughts: When this show debuted back in November, they almost killed its fanbase by delaying more episodes till March ‘10. That being said, of course I watched it knowing it would be delayed but I knew I would be watching it when it came back. The show started off giving us a huge scenario about aliens that really hasn’t seen from a show in a long time. If you like some Sci-Fi and battles against evil in your tv shows, you’ll love V.

Rating: ★★★ (3/5) - V on ABC, Tuesdays @ 10:00

How To Make It In America, a new show on HBO starring Bryan Greenberg as Ben Epstein, and his friend Cam Calderon played by Victor Rasuk, two New York City guys trying to make in the NYC fashion world. They use their street smarts and well-connected friends to try and achieve success in the industry.

Thoughts: From the moment I started watching, I knew I would enjoy this show. The way it comes together, from shooting on location, to the people they come into contact with, this show shows you just what its like struggling to make a name for yourself in an overpopulated industry like the NYC fashion world. If you like Entourage, it has the same feel to it, except the guys aren’t rich but you will enjoy it just the same.

Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5) - How To Make It In America on HBO, Sundays @ 10:00

United States of Tara, a show returning for its second season on Showtime starring Toni Collette as Tara Gregson, a wife/mother and mural painter who suffers from dissociative identity disorder, meaning she has alter-egos that get her into trouble and she no control over what they do. The first season shows what happened when she goes off her medication and all hell breaks loose when the alters go crazy on the small town of Overland Park, Kansas.

Thoughts: United States of Tara is a great show about a nice family, there’s just one problem, the extra three people that aren’t suppose to be there. Tara struggles to live a normal life while trying not to stress, which brings out the alters. Its a great show with characters that live with craziness and still seem to live pretty normally. If you like shows about crazy people, and what they deal with on a daily basis, then you’ll love this show.

Rating: ★★★ (3/5) - United States of Tara on Showtime, Mondays @ 10:30

Nurse Jackie, a show returning for its second season on Showtime starring Edie Falco as Nurse Jackie Peyton, a “flawed” Emergency Room nurse at All Saints Hospital in NYC. Jackie has her own way of doing things and other people, including her boss and the doctors she works with, just get in her way.

Thoughts: The first season of the show was great, it showed just how “flawed” Jackie is but how well she could still do her job. She has her own personal brand of crazy and she deals with it in untraditional ways, at least for a nurse. When the show was first announced, people described her as a female “Dr. House” but I never really saw her as that. Yes, they are both unconventional and a little crazy but they have different ways of doing things. If you like House and medical shows, then you’ll love Nurse Jackie.

Rating: ★★★★ (4/5) - Nurse Jackie on Showtime, Mondays @ 10:00

Breaking Bad, a show returning for its 3rd season stars Bryan Cranston as Walt White, a middle-aged high school chemistry teacher, who is diagnosed with terminal lung cancer. Walt, with the help of Jesse Pinkman (Aaron Paul), a former drug dealer student of his, start making and selling methamphetamine to cover Walt’s medical bills.

Thoughts: I’ve loved Breaking Bad since the moment I started watching it. The atmosphere of the show is like no other i’ve watched. The chemistry between Walt and Jesse is like a disfunctional father/son relationship. Walt tries to teach Jesse how to be a responsible person, while Jesse teachs Walt about being a drug dealer and all the stuff he goes through. If you like shows about drugs and crazy people, you’ll love this show.

Rating: ★★★★★ (5/5) - Breaking Bad on AMC, Sundays @ 10:00

The Pacific, a new show on HBO that tells the story of Marines Eugene Sledge, Robert Leckie, John Basilone and others during the war against the Empire of Japan. Episode 1 takes along for the ride to Guadalcanal Island for the Battle of the Tenaru.

Thoughts: Just like any other war-time tv series, there is going always going to be conflict happening that is the main storyline but The Pacific delves into the lives of the Marines fighting for our freedom. As the story will progress, the conflict will grow harder and the characters with grow as people and thats always a good sign in a tv series. If you like war movies/tv shows, then you’ll love this character driven show about fighting the Japanese in World War II.

Rating: ★★★★½ (4.5/5) - The Pacific on HBO, Sundays @ 9:00

Justified, a new FX show staring Timothy Olyphant as U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens. Givens, using his 19th century-style gets himself into trouble with his superiors, and as a result, he is reassigned to the field office close to his hometown of Harlan County.

Thoughts: Overall the show had a great first episode. The established the main characters and described how they will interact with each other. The main character, Givens, is a tough “badass” that gets the job done, the way he wants, which will always conflict with how its suppose to be done. Coming back to his hometown of Harlan County sets up many drama filled episodes to come, mainly his interactions with former friends and maybe even lovers.

Rating: ★★★ (3/5) - Justified on FX, Tuesdays @ 10:00