Television shows

Karen says I like to watch television too much.  I'm not sure about that.  There's a lot of crap on TV.  I think between the two of us, we like some good shows and like some bad shows.  I admit to having some guilty pleasures that I'm going to keep to myself.  Karen has hers as well, and we both think the other's shows are crappola.  Of course, she designates every thing involving sports as being sports crappola.

Recently, we let go of our cable movie channels for financial reasons.  Sadly, that meant we don't get Dexter, Homeland or Game of Thrones.  There are probably some other shows we'll miss as well, but those are the only ones that I can think of that we'll both miss.

The regular cable channels have some other shows that will fill the void.  Those Alaska-based shows are pretty interesting, for example.  Either way, between what remains on our cable package and Redbox movies, we'll be just fine.

In the meantime, there are a couple of new shows that have caught my interest.  One of them, Scandal, is surprising to me.  It has as its underpinning politics, which I abhor, but the storylines are intriguing to me for some reason.  They don't go too far requiring an absolute suspension of disbelief, but instead posit things that could actually happen.

Another, The Following, beguiles me.  It involves Kevin Bacon as a retired FBI agent who was instrumental in capturing a serial killer.  The killer, after being convicted, escapes from prison some years later and Bacon's character is called back to the force to help apprehend him.  If you haven't seen the show yet, give it a try; I won't explain any more of the plot other to say that the serial killer has a fixation with Edgar Allan Poe.  So far, we're only two episodes in, but I'm hooked.  And Kevin Bacon, a very underrated actor, is excellent in the role.

There's another show debuting on Valentine's Day that has caught my eye called Zero Hour.  I can't find out much about it yet other than it has something to do with a long-standing historical conspiracy.  What's been shown in the promos for the show seem to indicate devices along the lines of what was used in the original National Treasure movie which, despite the participation of Nicholas Cage, I could watch repeatedly.  I know the links between historical events in that movie -- and perhaps this new show -- are largely conjecture, but it fascinates me nevertheless.  I hope Zero Hour is on the same par.

A few years ago I was hooked on another such show, 24.  I almost didn't watch it because of Kiefer Sutherland, a member of the Nicholas Cage acting school.  The first episode was so thrilling I stuck with it and although later seasons never really measured up to the excitement of the first two, there were a couple of good seasons that kept me watching.

For all this I probably have to thank The Fugitive.  Although I never saw the show, the basic premise seems to have given birth to these kinds of shows.  Wiseguy, a show from the 80's, was another show that popularized arcs. 

What all of them have in common is a cerebral quality that makes me think.  I like to try to figure out what's going to happen next and am pleasantly surprised, typically, when I'm wrong and the plot plays out.  I enjoy the cleverness of twists and turns that are at the same time realistic. 

(c) 2013 The Truxton Spangler Chronicles