Looking at the 2012-13 TV Season

18 May

The 2011-12 TV season is drawing to a close and as we say goodbye to our favorite shows (some for good and others till September) we are also getting our first glimpse into next year’s TV season. While I’d like to do some seasonal reviews of my favorite shows of this past season, I thought I’d take a look at the upcoming one and see what it holds come fall-time.

By now all four major networks (and the CW) have announced their fall schedules and one thing is becoming abundantly clear – genre TV is seriously at risk. To be clear, when I say genre TV I refer to shows that have elements of the fantastic or science-fictional to them. So, while shows like Castle or Community like to play with genre stipulations, they are still set in the real world (to an extent) and thus, are not truly genre shows. So, judging by the shows picked up for next year (I’ll get to existing shows in a bit), it seems the networks are staying far away from genre TV. Of the main four networks’ (CBS, ABC, NBC and Fox) new shows, only two can really be counted genre shows – Revolution and 666 Park Avenue. The CW has slightly more offerings, with its new Green Arrow-based Arrow and a modern, Twilight-inspired adaptation of Beauty and the Beast. Other than these, and a select few other genre-friendly (but not, strictly speaking, genre shows) the networks are dedicating themselves to comedies (and a crapload of those), procedurals and singing competitions. As a genre fan, I’m sad.

That is not to say that I don’t understand the reasoning behind the aversion the networks seem to have for genre shows. They almost always seem to have less viewers, and last year there were many new shows that didn’t pan out and were cancelled. Some, like J.J. Abrahms Alcatraz or Spielberg’s Terra Nova were very heavily publicized before tanking. In fact, the only shows to survive the “great 2012 genre massacre” are, strangely, the two “fairy-tale creatures in the real world” shows, Grimm and Once Upon a Time.

So it seems the next year, barring any new surprised from the cable networks, will be a pretty dry year for us genre fans. What really interests me, however, is the following year – the 2013-14 TV season. The two “big” remaining genre shows to return next year, in my opinion”, are Fringe and Supernatural. The former is going to air its last season this year and latter needs to be put out of its misery, so I’m not sure a 9th season in two years is a good idea. I’m interested to see whether this is the beginning of a trend and genre shows will simply disappear from network TV or whether it will create a vacuum that will be filled by new shows come 2013.

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The Return of BunnyPriest and the Devil!

21 Aug

I was bored, so I thought I’d go back to the idiocy that is BunnyPriest and the Devil.

This will go on for as long as I feel like… Enjoy.

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My Life Changing Two Weeks – A Conclusion

4 Aug

I’m not trying to be cheesy, corny or other foodstuff related adjectives when I say that I truly regret having to announce that I’m killing the “My Life Changing Year” project.

I really wanted to do it, and the missions I’ve done so far – I’ve had fun doing. I also know what some of the upcoming ones were, and they would have been a blast to do. But, ultimately, it came down to a question of time. Time of which I didn’t have any. These days I seem to be swamped with work, writing papers for school, and trying to find time to work on my short story collection (and failing at that). This is me between semesters, so come two months from now when school starts up again – my free time will shrink significantly.

The project, while lots of fun to do, requires a lot of time. Whether it be preparation for the assignments, thinking how you’re going to do them, or actually performing the tasks – it’s something I simply cannot afford to do at this point in my life. I’m entering my final year of my BA, which means I need to start getting looking forward, and decide what I want to do moving on – and start doing it.

So, to those who’ve been following along, I’m sorry. I hope to be able to provide an alternative source of entertainment, but this project simply requires too much right now, and I don’t want to half-ass it.

My Life Changing Year – Day 15

28 Jul

Today’s assignment wasn’t really mine to do, but my friends and family. I was instructed to ask them to complete the following sentence:

What I don’t like about you, my friend/son, _________________. I hereby promise to disinherit/drop you by the end of the year if this hasn’t changed.

Let’s see what people see wrong with me:

  • … is that you didn’t call me when I got engaged; I thought you would.
  • … is how you always borrow my pink leather panties without asking.
  • … is that you are painfully romantic and it is excruciating to see you give your heart to those who are not deserving. I hereby promise to smack you upside the head by the end of the year if your pattern of choosing the wrong ones and getting hurt doesn’t change.
  • … is your tendency to be stubborn.
  • … is the fact that you cannot possibly be an asshole, no matter how hard you try.
  • … is that you tend to ignore reality for the sake of romance.

And finally, courtesy of my own mother:

  • What I don’t like about you, my son, is you are demanding, lazy, stupid and don’t love your mom. I hereby promise to disinherit you by the end of the year if this hasn’t changed.

So there you have it. A stubborn, leather panty wearing Romantic, who’s a complete and utter disappointment to his parents. In other words – a catch. Tell your friends.

Tomorrow: Give Yourself Up Day

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My Life Changing Year – Day 14

27 Jul

Today’s assignment involved going through the entire day without your sense of sight. Scattered throughout the book are days like this one dedicated to each one of the senses.

The loss sense of sight is one which I understand well as, while I am not blind, I have had glasses since the third grade and have a very high number, making me very close to blindness. I can’t function without my glasses, as anything further than several inches away becomes a blur.

Luckily, I never broke my glasses without a spare handy, so I never had to face the option of being grounded and imprisoned. But it’s a fear I live with – what happens if they fall and I lose them? What if I happen to be driving at the time? It’s not on my mind 24/7, but it is something I need to take into account.

Sight is important, probably the most important sense. And when you lost it, or part of it, you only appreciate it more.

I also didn’t gain a radar-sense or abnormally acute hearing, which kind of sucks.

Tomorrow: List Your Bad Points Day

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My Life Changing Year – Day 13

26 Jul

Transmission starts…

Validating…. validating…. validating…. Identity validated: Agent 174-2

Designation: Eyes only

The world is wrong today. Someone, somewhere, somewhen has changed something. You are tasked with finding out who, what, when, where and how and then restoring things to their natural order.

Mission paramaters are as follows:

  • Subterfuge – Granted.
  • Fraud – Granted.
  • Property Damage – Granted.
  • Lethal Force – Self-defense only.
  • Chronal Manipulations – Granted.

Beware blue t-shirts, they are not to be trusted.

This message will be revealed as mock “Act Like a Spy Day” within 457 cycles.

Tomorrow: No Sense of Sight Day

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My Life Changing Year – Day 12

25 Jul

Dear Mr. Cage,

I have long admired your work, and in trying to signal one out, I struggle. I’ve written about my adoration for your work, and never miss an opportunity to praise your limitless acting acumen which just blows me away like that time you played a misunderstood guy on the run in Pick any one of Cage’s movies.

I’m no one in particular, just a time agent for Temporal Inc. from Neo-Boston XVII, but I thought I’d send you a link to this book. It’s none of my business really, but I read in the press recently you had problems because of people saying you’re a talentless hack who just keeps playing the same schtick over and over again. They obviously make all this up, but still, it sounds like you could use a radical life-changer. Follow this book’s instruction every day and you’ll get much more positive publicity, let me assure you!

Anyways, I don’t want to bother you any longer, as I have my own problems such as chronal infestation of Zombie Pharaohs all across the timeline and a mosquito that will simply refuse to die.

I urge you to visit www.benrik.co.uk and join us for your own sake. Good Luck.

Itai Rosenbaum

P.S. Hit me up on Facebook if you need to discuss.

Tomorrow: Act Like a Spy Day

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