Winter TV Overview

We came to find a small mountain of TV recordings on the TiVo, and we were already a little behind before we left. This is a busy time of year, with many new and returning shows. Many of these are worth your time; others are not. Of course I will share my opinions with you, because that's what I do.

A few shows are back from arbitrary breaks to finish their seasons. In the past I've talked about how I don't care for this practice, but I doubt USA and TNT will be dropping it anytime soon. These shows--Burn Notice on USA, Leverage on TNT--are light and breezy, with action and humor but not too much depth or seriousness, a perfect wind-down after a long day. While they may be slight, they are also pretty entertaining; I wouldn't watch them if they weren't.

To these you can add USA's new show White Collar, which has thematic similarities to both Burn Notice and Leverage but is establishing itself as its own thing. Its vibe is helped in part by its New York setting, where it is also filmed; USA's willingness to finance such productions adds greatly to their atmosphere (Leverage's obviously fake locations (especially the Boston ones) can seem a little cheesy by comparison).

TNT also picked up the cop drama Southland after NBC discarded it despite some critical praise back in the spring. They are in the midst of showing the seven episodes that NBC aired, which will be followed by six more episodes that NBC produced but did not air. Southland is likely to find a receptive audience on TNT; I would love to see it draw higher ratings than it did on NBC, but that's just schadenfreude.

24 is back, and having watched the first five hours of season eight, it may be time for Jack Bauer to hang up his shoulder holster. I had hoped the New York setting would be invigorating to the story, but the action so far seems lackluster; Freddie Prinze Jr. looks really uncomfortable, or constipated, or something; and the subplots (always the show's weakness, but necessary to fill its "real time" hours) have become annoying to the point of aggravation. However, I'm not ready to stop watching... just yet.

Fox has another new show that I'm enjoying, called Human Target. Based on a comic book, it's about a bodyguard for hire. The action is pretty satisfying, and the show reminds me somewhat of the first, great season of Alias. We'll see if this one finds an audience. Fox also has a comedy slated to premiere in March called Sons of Tucson, about a loser who pretends to be the father of three orphaned brothers so they don't have to go into foster care. That might not sound like everyone's cup of tea, but I'm looking forward to it.

Damages returned for its third season this week on FX with a storyline modeled after the Madoff case. The show is continuing with its time-twisting structure (not a surprise) and has lined up a cast that's even more impressive than last season's, with Lily Tomlin and Martin Short in dramatic roles as the corrupt financier's wife and attorney, respectively. Damages can be a bit over the top at times, but it's great television.

And of course, Lost returns next week for its final season. All the mysteries of the island will finally be revealed... or something like that. Actually I'm not expecting everything to be wrapped up neatly, and the show's creators have stated that not every question will be answered, because really, how could they? But I think we can expect a reasonable degree of closure, along with a few more brain-dislocating moments.