It’s almost here: 2009! After a short drought of nothing new but NBC holiday specials rehashing other shows or showing a mixed bag of holiday videos, it’s finally time for 2009 television season to kick off. I decided I wanted to put together a list of shows I’m looking forward to in 2009 (that I know about so far). I think the best way to look ahead to 2009 is chronologically, so here goes…
Sunday January 4th – The Unit – I don’t talk about The Unit much on the blog (if I have ever), but my wife and I have gotten into this season, which I hear is the last. For now, we’re just enjoying the ride, and after it’s all over we’ll have to go back and catch up. We both enjoy the action, and I just wish there were less scenes with the wives getting themselves into preposterous situations. The only one this season I’ve found plausible/somewhat enjoyable was Jonas’s wife’s stress when their daughter was captured in the Middle East. I can’t wait to see how they wrap this season up. Hopefully with a very large bang.
Sunday and Monday January 11th and 12th -24 – Jack Bauer makes his return over two days and four hours. I expect good things from the opening, since last season’s 2-day 4-hour extravaganza involved a nuke going off in California. It’s everything afterwards that I”m worried about. The real task this year for 24, in my opinion, is to freshen up the characters and the formula. We’ve seen the same 24 for a while now. A different threat each year isn’t good enough anymore, we need something else. And please, keep the same focus the whole season, don’t wrap one up and then switch everything up during the last 8 episodes like last season.
Friday January 16th – Battlestar Galactica – I’ll be the first to admit that I was a late-comer to this show as well. I didn’t start watching until just into season 3 after catching with Seasons 1 and 2 on DVD. I was drawn to this show due to the fact that it’s sci-fi. I’m still here because the action is good, the plots are intriguing, and most importantly, the characters are amazing. The ensemble cast puts out excellent performances, and I’m always left wondering what’s going to happen next. Additionally, you feel like everything they struggle with within the fleet would be a realistic struggle in a society with it’s civilization ripped out from under them. Plus, while you like many of the main characters, there’s at least one episode for each of them where you absolutely despise them. In my opinion, that’s good writing. Hopefully the last half of season 4 is a deserving end for this great show.
Monday January 19th – House - The general consensus seems to be, even at my place, that House is not quite what it once was. My wife usually mentions her desire for the old three doctors to come back. I have to admit that I like the new doctors as characters, but I know where my wife is coming from. There’s no real chemistry or good back-and-forth with the new guys. However, there is one excellent reason to keep watching every week: Hugh Laurie. The real tragedy for House during the new year is that it’s been moved from Tuesday to Monday (a night already packed with good shows) due to American Idol. I hope Fox uses its HD channels to air some of it’s better shows for those of us who can’t stand A.I.
Tuesday January 20th – Fringe – I didn’t actually expect a midseason cliffhanger on this one, but that’s what I got. It definitely has me looking forward to the return of the latest J.J. Abrahms brain-child. The interaction between Walter and Peter Bishop makes the show worth watching alone, and the creepy sci-fi science engages me even more. I just hope this show keeps going strong and then knows when to wrap it up, as opposed to what happened to The X-Files.
Wednesday January 21st – Lost – This show was the reason it was necessary for us to have a TV after I graduated from college and got married. I didn’t watch any TV to speak of during college and reality tv had basically made me lose all hope that good television would ever return. Then one summer, I sat down at my parents’ and watched a rerun of Lost. I was hooked. And while it’s had it’s ups and downs, last season was a triumphant return for the show. It knows where it’s going and how it ends, and the rest of us have to wait in suspense to find out.
Thursday January 22nd – Burn Notice – This show is one of USA’s hidden gems. There’s no cable at my place, so I started watching this one on Hulu, and it’s been more than worth it. The action is fun, the MacGuyver-like aspects put a smile on your face, and the writing is awesome. The underlying storyline is good, but it’s well balanced with each weeks job for Michael. You can watch both seasons on Hulu here.
Monday February 4th – Heroes – I’ll be honest. There’s still some work to be done here. I was apparently one of the few that thought that conflicted Sylar was cool. At least it allowed the actor to do something besides be angry and smile evilly. Other than that, it was an odd season with people getting powers, losing powers, getting them back (or not), dying, and sometimes being useful for a total of one episode. The one thing I liked was making story arc a half season. The downside to Season 1 was how much filler there was.
Chuck – The real reason to watch TV on Monday night is Chuck. Maybe if they’d used Chuck as a lead-in for My Own Worst Enemy, it’d still be on. Or maybe DVRs have just made lead-ins useless. Regardless, Chuck has clever writing, lots of geek, and Adam Baldwin. Chuck may be the funny geek who gets the girl, but John Casey is the man who has Ronald Reagan in a frame in his apartment.
Well that’s the look at 2009. There’s a lot of shows to be watching. If I had a DVR, this would be a whole lot easier.
So what are you looking forward to in 2009? Anything I’m missing? Anything I listed that you can’t stand? Let me know in the comments.
