The TV Season is halfway over, with pretty much every show having had it’s “fall finale.” (When did that even become a thing, anyway?) At the season’s midpoint, I’ve decided to weigh in with my unsolicited opinions on the shows I’ve been watching, in order of the night in which they air.

SUNDAY
The Simpsons is still amazingly funny. This season has had some truly great episodes, “The Food Wife,” “The Book Job,” and “Holidays of Future Passed” all come to mind as modern-day classics. Of the MacFarlane shows, I still maintain that American Dad is the funniest of the lot. The Cleveland Show has its moments on occasion, and Family Guy has just been really tough to watch lately. Suddenly it’s become much more of a preachy and heavy-handed show and less of a funny show. I’m enjoying Allen Gregory so far – it’s pretty unique, utterly bizarre, and weirdly entertaining.

The Walking Dead has had more than it’s share of issues this season, as my buddy Brett has already wonderfully outlined. There’s been far too much talking, the Sophia storyline dragged on way too long, and the fact that Herschel never mentioned that he found a little girl is going to be tough to explain when the show comes back. Boardwalk Empire on the other hand, had a superb second season. The last three episodes in particular each had some pretty shocking and tough to watch moments, but I mean that in the best way possible.
HI
MONDAY
HIMYM has continued to prove this season that it can be funny and yet still pack an emotional punch There has yet to be any major movement on Ted actually, you know, finding the damn mother, but that’s just going to have to wait until the series ends, so whatever. We watched a few episodes of the new Charlie Sheen-less Two and a Half Men, and that was all we could take. The show was always low-brow and silly, but the simple fact is that Sheen was an infinitely better lead than Ashton Kutcher. Oh well.

Terra Nova I have mixed feelings on. The pilot was full of potential, but then the show’s mythology quickly took a backseat to ridiculous one-off episodes. I mean, an amnesia storyline in episode 3? Really? Things have picked up lately, but the pacing feels unnecessarily slow at some times, and insanely rushed at others. I’m writing this before the season (series?) finale, and I am still curious to see where they tale the story… and if the ratings will justify a second season for the big budget show. My guess is no.

TUESDAY
Parenthood is an amazing show, and one of the series I most look forward to. That said, there were some pretty big plot holes this year that kind of took me out of the show. Namely, the parents of the kid that Alex punched pressing charges against Alex. Underage kids were drinking at their house; why on earth would they want to involve the authorities? Haddie was drinking there – wouldn’t it have been simpler for Adam and Kristina to remind the parents of that small but important fact right away? And then later in the season, Sydney can’t figure out the rules of Charades, but she knows how to play chess? Huh? These are minor gripes, but I only nitpick because I love the show so much, and the fact that it feels so real and genuine is one of it’s greatest charms; watching that fall away just bums me out. Still, I love that Julia and Joel have a meaty storyline, and hey, Drew has a girlfriend! Yay!

Then there’s Glee. Ah, Glee. I keep on watching this show, yet I’m not totally sure why. There is so much potential for great stories with all of these characters, but it seems like so many of these plot threads just get left by the wayside, never to be mentioned again. Maybe I’m just expecting too much for a show where a bunch of people in their mid- to late- 20’s play teenagers that know the words to every song ever written and can dance in perfect unison without a single rehearsal.

I also tried to get into Ringer due to my love of Sarah Michelle Gellar, but I just couldn’t. Waaaaaaaaaaay to soapy for my tastes. Sorry, SMG, I love ya, but I think now that Smallville is gone, I am officially done with the CW.

Come back next week for Part 2!

It’s been a while since I weighed in on my thoughts on TV’s finest programming, so without further ado (or Apu, if you prefer), here are some quick thoughts on the current season through the halfway point. Beware of spoilers.

The Simpsons – Still funny after all these years, The Simpsons continues to be funny, occasionally touching, and culturally relevant. (Their triumvirate of jabs at Fox News got some positive and negative coverage.) I’m not sure about how I feel about their pretty racy Katy Perry gag, not because it wasn’t funny, but because it seemed like the kind of thing that would have felt more at home on Family Guy. And speaking of…

Family Guy, The Cleveland Show, and American Dad! – I lump these three shows together because they are pretty similar in tone, though I do stand by my assertion that of the three, the funniest and best written remains the under-appreciated American Dad! Cleveland has its moments, but it still feels like a Family Guy clone (as did American Dad before it found its own footing). And Family Guy has been pretty inconsistent – the murder mystery premiere was pretty lame, but the recent Christmas show had some good moments. Which proves that they CAN tell a story well, if and when they choose to actually do so.

Boardwalk Empire – Does it feel pretty similar to The Sopranos? Sure. But was it pretty damn entertaining anyway? Yup. There is plenty of gratuitous violence and nudity, but the characters and stories are really well fleshed out. And though I wasn’t totally sure about buying Buscemi in a lead role, his supporting cast goes a long way at making the world seem real.

How I Met Your Mother – HIMYM is still making funny observations about life in clever ways, like the “Where’s the poop?” bit and “The Mermaid Theory.” And while I do wish that Ted would actually start to come close to maybe perhaps finding the damn Mother already, the show’s use of flashbacks and flashforwards are still used to great effect. My main complaint with this season so far is the Zoey storyline – I’m just not feeling it. We know she’s not the Mother, so it feels like the show is just spinning its wheels.

The Event – Look, I’d love for TV to have another Lost-esque show on the air. But you can’t force a square peg into a round hole, and despite starting off promising, The Event got really lame really fast. Too bad.

Parenthood – Why aren’t more people watching this show? And why does it so frequently got pre-empted by The Biggest Loser? Parenthood is an amazingly well-written and well-acted show, with a realistic depiction of family life. Check it out! It’s honestly a lot better quality than…

Glee – Sure, I love the music. But this season it just seems like the writers are trying to shoehorn as many songs as possible into every show. I get it – iTunes downloads are what makes the show profitable, but when there are 7 songs and no story, the show suffers. And for every interesting storyline – like Kurt being bullied – there are many more retreads – Emma breaks Will’s heart by getting married, Rachel and Finn fight, Sue turns evil then good then evil again.

South Park – SP had a strong fall season, with the Jersey Shore spoof and Randy’s obsession with Food Network being standouts. The Coon arc could have been a two-parter instead of a trilogy, but the payoff at the end made it all worth it. Mint Berry Crunch!

30 Rock – Still brilliant. Tracy still gets a never-ending stream of hysterical and quotable lines. The humor works on every level, and the meta stuff never crosses the line of being “too meta,” if that makes sense.

The Office – Also going strong in Michael Scott’s final season. I have to say that after each episode I become more and more convinced that the honorable thing to do is to end the series on a high note with his departure, but the odds of that happening seem slim.

Community – Another under-rated show that is very funny. Their parodies are always spot-on, and the show seems to be embracing the whole cast now instead of being focused primarily on Jeff and Britta. Although it does seem that every episode has a theme about what great friends all of our characters are.

Fringe – Damn this show is amazing. The whole Olivia/Fauxlivia storyline played out beautifully over the first half of the season, and the upcoming battle between the two universes looks very promising. I personally don’t mind that the show is being moved to the “death slot” of Friday nights since we DVR everything anyway, but at least the new promos show that the producers are willign to make light of their new night.

Star Wars: The Clone Wars – This has to be some of, if not the, best political commentary around today. These are war stories, but they also focus on corruption, greed, and the behind the scenes machinations of the military-industrial complex. Heavy stuff for a kids show on the Cartoon Network, right? Well, there are plenty of fights and lightsaber battles, too, for good measure. And even though the last few episodes have been Galactic Senate-heavy, the second half of the season looks to heavily feature action – and Darth Maul’s brother!

Smallville – You gotta give it to the team behind Smallville – they are doing all they can to make this season memorable. Storylines are moving at a furious pace, and the Lois-Clark relationship has never been so fascinating, and as much as I loved Lana, her romance with Clark pales in comparison. Having less main characters has given the show much more focus, although I do miss Chloe. And it’s been nice seeing some old familiar faces, with the appearance of Lionel Luthor particularly well done. (Although I have to wonder why Earth-2’s Clark is named Clark also – the Kents named their adopted son after Martha’s maiden name, so it seems strange that Lionel would pick the same first name. Whatever.) I’m looking forward to more guest stars in the second half, as well as seeing more of Darkseid and his minions. The show has a nasty record of flubbing season finales, but I will hold out hope that it can nail the series finale.

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?

It’s the all-animation edition!

The Simpsons concept of Bart getting a cell phone didn’t sound very funny in principle, but the execution of the show was very well done, I thought.   Until of course things sort of unraveled in the third act with the family going to Machu Picchu.  But even then I was still laughing, and even though it’s only two episodes in, I’m enjoying the season so far.  And there’s been some good early buzz about the Halloween episode.

Family Guy has had its moments this year, but overall I’ve been sort of bored.  There have been too many jokes that they just don’t let go of that don’t work that well, and the real laugh out loud moments the show used to be so good at.  And while it was funny seeing Peter befriend Jesus, it felt very similar to the time he befriended Bill Clinton, and the time he befriended James Woods, etc.  Also, watching a very heavy Cleavland episode made me wonder how that character will survive on his own.

I dig the new American Dad opening credits, but the first two episodes were also underwhelming.  Roger is a fun character, but they really used him too much in the episode with his alter-ego.  Sure, the nod to Little Shop of Horrors was nice, but both episodes were a little light on the satire.

Clearly the highlight of recent television was last week’s South Park.  I know I had criticized the spring half of this season, but the fall season got off to a hell of a start.  Our DVR missed the opening credits, and when the show began, I at first thought I had missed something important; what the hell were Stan and Kyle talking about that they watched their friend got raped?  But when I saw they were talking about Indy IV, I had to pause the show I was laughing so hard.  Absolutely brilliant.  I can’t wait to see tonight’s episode.

(I still haven’t gotten to The Clone Wars episodes, but I’ll try to get to them soon…)

Summertime has come and (almost) gone, and now that we’ve all gotten that pesky fresh air and outdoor goodness out of the way, it’s time we can focus on the things that REALLY matter, namely TV. There are only a handful (thankfully) of new shows coming this season that I’m looking forward to checking out, and there are plenty more of my favorites coming back for another go-round. So here, for your reading pleasure, is my complete list of Must-See-TV this fall, in chronological order by season premieres.

First up is the (already behind us) premiere of Robot Chicken, which happened this past Sunday night. If you have a DVR/Tivo, you have no excuse to miss this show. It’s about 12 minutes long and consistently funny in it’s satirizing of random pop culture nuggets. Think of the throw-away gags in a Family Guy episode, but without any attempt at a coherent plot.

I’m also passed the premiere date of Z Rock, which airs on IFC.  It’s a sort of Spinal Tap meets The Office meets Entourage sort of show, about three hard rockers who play kid parties during the day.  It’s raunchy and simple fun, or at least the first episode was.

True Blood premieres on HBO this Sunday, September 7. The buzz has been mixed, but having recently gotten into TV shows about vampires, I figure this one is worth a look. Besides, I’ll already be on my couch watching HBO on Sunday for…

Entourage, which returns this Sunday right after True Blood. Entourage started to feel a little stale last season, and it didn’t help that it was paired up with the hysterical Flight of the Conchords. But it’s still good old fashioned mindless entertainment.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles gets to pick up from where it was so rudely interrupted in it’s first season run when it comes back on Monday, September 8th. Like I’ve said before, I was totally over the Terminator franchise, but this show has restored my faith.

The next day, Fringe makes it’s debut. J.J. Abrams, the dude behind Lost, is co-creator and executive producer, which is kind of all I need to tune in to see what it’s all about. Add in that it’s inspired in part by The X-Files, and I’m more than signed up. According to an interview with Abrams in the NY Times, viewers can drop in and drop out without missing a beat, which isn’t really an issue for me, because if I’m going to watch the show, I’m going to watch them all.  And while I’m a little afraid that giving a show with an overall arc the Law & Order treatment might dumb it down, I’m still curious to see. (IGN also has an interesting article on Fringe here.)

Smallville returns for Season Eight on September 18th. I’ve already said all I can on this. I’m worried, but I’ll watch anyway; with my expectations so low, I can only be pleasantly surprised. Or be disappointed even further, I guess.

Heroes’ third season picks up on September 22nd, and I am definitely jazzed. Some fans were really bitter with the way Season Two went down, and while I agree that it wasn’t amazing, I didn’t think it was that bad, and I’m totally confident that the show can really make this whole “Villains” story work. Besides, Kirsten Bell?  Check. Hayden Panettiere?  Check.  A funny and lovable Asian time-traveler? Check!  What more do you need?

Also that night is the return of Two and a Half Men.  The wife got me into this show, and I have to admit that it always makes me laugh.  It’s light-hearted and surprisingly dirty, but it works.  I also had hoped to watch the previous seasons of How I Met Your Mother this summer in time for that show’s premiere (same night), but that didn’t work out.  Though it’s never too late, I suppose.

The Dunder-Mifflin crew returns with new episodes of The Office on September 25th, and after last year’s amazing post-strike run, the show has set the bar incredibly high for itself. But I’m not worried; these guys have proven time and time again how amazing their writing can be.

Sunday, September 28th sees the return of Fox’s Animation Domination, with new episodes of The Simpsons, Family Guy, and American Dad. The sheer fact that a show I started watching and loving when I was 10 is now entering it’s 20th season is something I never would have imagined.  In the past 19 years I’ve never missed an episode, and I don’t intend to start now. Family Guy has definitely lost some of its magic lately (especially after the “Cartoon Wars” episodes of South Park), but it still does have great moments here and there. And despite initially being written off by a lot of people as a Family Guy clone, American Dad has completely come into its own, and often times is even funnier than the show that inspired it.

On October 3rd, The Clone Wars makes it’s television debut, and after enjoying the movie, I am definitely stoked for the small screen version. Sure, I’m a geek for anything Star Wars, but this show is dripping with potential, so count me in.

October 8th will bring another animated show, and that’s the return of South Park. The first half of this season definitely had some pretty big misfires, but I can’t help getting excited for new episodes. Matt and Trey can redeem the season with a strong second half, and I fully expect at least one episode with a biting election/political slant.

Eli Stone gets it’s first full season to start on October 14th, and the show’s run earlier in the year was a lot more fun than I expected. It was initially given the time-slot after Lost, and it will remain to be seen if the show can pull in good numbers without it’s big lead in. The concept is definitely a little out-there, but the wife and I came to really enjoy the show’s great characters.

30 Rock returns at the end of the month, on October 30th, and though it will be tough to wait so long for new episodes, it’s a safe bet that it will be well worth it. The writing on 30 Rock is definitely top-notch, the jokes come fast and furious, and the long arcs fit seamlessly into each episode. It really is, quite simply, a brilliant show.

Finally, deep into fall on November 23rd, we have 24: Exile, the two hour prequel to 24’s upcoming seventh season. It seems like 24 lost a lot of fans with it’s sub-par sixth season, and the fact that there haven’t been any new episodes since May 2007 doesn’t help matters. The show definitely allowed itself to slip into old habits its last time out, and it will have to really try new things this year if it wants to keep going. I’m willing to keep going with 24, if for no other reason than last year, the show *did* have some moments of brilliance, even if they were lost in the sea of mediocrity.