On to my other shows:

I know it has become rather vogue to rag on Heroes, but I have to jump on this fanboy bandwagon here. Seriously, what is up with this show lately? In Season One, the revelation that Claire was a Petrelli was shocking. Now Sylar is a Petrelli, too? Come on. And then there are more sisters that look just like Niki Sanders? Ugh. Niki was a terrible character in the first two seasons, and though they made a wise move in killing her off, the show runners should have let the actress go altogether. No offense to Ali Larter, but none of these sisters have added anything worthwhile to the plots, and Claire is better eye-candy anyway. And the whole time-traveling plot device has become moronic – Hiro sees a bad future, and doesn’t understand what’s happening, why doesn’t he go to a few days before the world ends and do some digging? Future Peter decides that Nathan’s revealing the Heroes is a bad move so he goes back in time to shoot him. Why not go back an hour before that and talk to his brother? And after F.P. figures out that shooting Nathan was a bad idea, why not go back again and stop himself? In The Eclipse Part 1, Noah rushes a lightly injured Claire out of the house, but doesn’t finish off Sylar and Elle. Why not? Sure he’s worried about his daughter, but how long does it take to shoot some suddenly powerless villains? There are way too many plot holes like these, and it’s just getting infuriating. I appreciate that the plots are moving faster, but sometimes it feels like they are moving too damn fast, and the stories aren’t given a moment to breathe. The flashback episode, like the season’s theme of finding a hero in every villain and a villain in every hero, is so full of potential, but the show has completely squandered every chance for greatness.

Now, on to my love-hate relationship with Smallville. Despite the incredibly noticeable absence of Lex, the show has been doing all right this year, looking like they are finally ready to have Clark accept and embrace his destiny as Superman. But then I have to go and read that the CW is looking to keep the show around for yet another season. Oh dear Lord, why? Well, the reason why is that Smallville’s numbers are still respectable, so they might as well keep trying to get blood from the stone. The problem with the show going on forever is that the very concept of the show was set up to establish Clark’s journey from a boy with superpowers to a man who is to be the world’s greatest superhero. And it’s a great concept for a show, but it needs to have a set end. By allowing the show to drag on for year after year, the series is basically making the character of Clark Kent less and less likeable because he just keeps putting off the inevitable. The show worked very well in the high school years, and even into Season Five, but after that point, Clark has been dragging his feet, and it hurts the overall tone of the show. This season, the Lois and Clark romance feels incredibly rushed to me, and there are so many nitpicky things that drive me crazy week after week. Like, for example, the fact that Chloe was given away at her wedding by Clark and not her father. Where the hell was he? And Martha couldn’t have taken a moment out of her schedule to attend the wedding at her family farm? What? All that said, I was glad they (finally) tied up the Kara storyline, and I have enjoyed the way the show has introduced Doomsday as a real badass with some frightening Kryptonian heritage.

Eli Stone has been great so far this year, and I am terribly bummed that the show will likely not live past halfway through this season. This is a really entertaining show that enough people just haven’t caught on to yet, which is a real shame. The musical numbers are fun, the characters are well-written, and the hot chick from Species is in the show. Why wouldn’t you watch it? With it’s themes of a higher-power making a guy set things right, the show has a very Quantum Leap feel, which is probably one of the reasons I like it. Hopefully ABC will give the show another chance.

The Office is back with a vengeance, which isn’t particularly surprising, but they continue to set the bar very high for themselves. Of course I loved the episode where Dwight mocked Andy by applying to Cornell, since it was chock full of references to my beloved alma mater, and the show has continued to handle the Jim and Pam storyline masterfully, and they remain one of the best couples to watch on TV. The Andy and Angela arc is still great, and the moment when Andy drunk dials his fiancée while Oscar watches was fantastic. Repairing Ryan and Kelly has reminded me how much I had watching them together, and I am convinced that for the series finale, whenever that may be, Michael and Holly will be reunited.

30 Rock has also been on a roll this season. I will admit to being one of the nerds who grumbled about all of the big name guest stars the show was bringing in, as it seemed like a ratings ploy. But the writing is so good, it doesn’t matter what star is playing the zany characters the show brings in, because it always works. And hell, I hope they do get more viewers with their special celebrity appearances, although Tina Fey’s Sarah Palin impression likely had much more to do with the ratings spike than an appearance by Megan Mullalley. My only complaint with the show was the way they abandoned the cliffhangers from last season’s finale. I know the Kenneth in China thing was a joke, but Jack being stuck in D.C. got a mention of how he was able to get out, and I would have liked a similar nod to the Page. But it’s a small quibble for a great show.

On the animated front, I am greatly enjoying The Simpsons and American Dad this year, while Family Guy just feels stale. The Clone Wars is great, even though the Jar Jar episode was, well, a Jar Jar episode. Robot Chicken’s second Star Wars parody was, like the first one, spot on with it’s great reimaginings, and I love the ultra-fast jokes for the super obsessed, like Lando commenting that he loves Boba Fett’s ship, but that he isn’t so crazy about the name. Brilliant. South Park had an amazing second half, and even though I thought the High School Musical and vampire kids episodes weren’t hysterical, they still had enough funny moments to make me happy. And the guinea pigs in their little outfits were simultaneously brilliant and adorable.

And a few other thoughts/news items:

The Girls Next Door remains a guilty pleasure, but the show has lost a little bit of its believability now that Hef has shed two-thirds of his girlfriend group. Eh, I always liked Bridget the best anyway, and I’m curious to meet these new twins.

And yay, Scrubs comes back on the air on January 6!

And could it really be that an Arrested Development movie is actually going to happen?