The Winter TV Season
Everyone’s used to the new shows that come out with the new fall season. There have been a bunch of new shows in the past few months as well though. Some are mid-season replacements. Others are shows on channels that release new shows at other times throughout the year. Here are a few of the shows I’ve been watching recently.
Lost Girl – This is a new show on SyFy. The advertising for the show didn’t draw me in at first. I didn’t understand what it was really about but one preview caught my eye and I started recording the show to see what it was all about. From the first episode, I was caught up though. The show is about Bo, a woman who finds out the oddness of her life is because she is a succubus, a fact she learns when she is drawn into the world of the fae. Her “sidekick” in the show is a gypsy girl named Kinsey. Kinsey is funny, quirky, and very outspoken. Another prominent character is Dyson, a scruffily sexy shape-shifter who becomes a wolf. There is a connection between Bo and Dyson that they both try to deny who at the same time draws them together and pushes them apart. Among the other recurring cast members is the human doctor who helps the fae and creates a bit of a love triangle with Bo and Dyson, a shorter male fae whose identity is only finally getting revealed, and Dyson’s (male) siren partner in the police department. There is still a lot of questions about Bo’s parents that she is investigating and a lot of places this supernatural show has yet to go. This one is definitely worth checking out.
Being Human (US) – This season, the SyFy version of the UK hit Being Human went off in it’s own direction. We get the repercussions of Aidan killing Bishop. This leaves Aidan dealing with Mother’s daughter, the “ghost” of Bishop, and the return of someone he sired. Meanwhile, Josh and Nora meet a pair of twins who were born werewolves and turn Nora more towards her wolf side. To make things worse, Josh’s ex-fiancee shows up in town. Sally us haunted by what she thinks is a reaper while she tries to get a woman who can reincarnate ghosts into the bodies of babies to give her a second chance, turning her life inside out as well. Lots and lots of drama. It’s decent but still not as good as the early seasons of the UK version.
Being Human (UK) – After a few weeks head start by the US version, the UK version of Being Human turned for its fourth season. At the end of last season, we saw George kill Mitchell. When the new season starts up, we find out that Nina had her baby but she had been killed by the vampires. Tom (the younger werewolf who had been introduces earlier in the series) is now living with Annie and George to help protect the unnamed baby. George ends up dying to protect the baby whom he finally named Eve. With most of the original cast gone, new members are needed. We get introduced to a new trio, a female ghost from probably around the 1920s, a elderly black man who is a werewolf and is dying from his transformations, and a male vampire. The new ghost and werewolf only last briefly into the season leaving the new vampire, Hal, to join Annie and Tom as the new trio. Add in that the baby is supposed to be some prophesied end to the vampires and the show is really heading out into the far reaches this season. Where the original seasons were about “monsters” trying to live a human life, the new season seems to touch on that while getting a bit extreme in the other free time. It’s decent so far but George and Mitchell were some of what really made the show. I’m going to miss Russell Tovey.
The Fades – Another BBC show, this is the first season of the show. With all the zombie stories out there nowadays, this takes a a whole new look at things. This is the story of a kid who can see ghosts (to start). The thing is that these spirits are people waiting for ascension. Those who haven’t made ascension are hanging around and and start eating flesh to gain physical form. The kid turns out to be one of a group called the Angelics and he may be the most powerful of them all. There’s enough humor to lighten things up in this dark show. It’s definitely an interesting concept. The season was very short and is already out on DVD and BluRay.
The Finder – This is a spin-off from Bones about a character that appeared in only one episode. The main character has a mental “disorder” which compels him to find things which he uses as his profession. They flesh out the background cast and expand it some. It was originally meant as a mid-series fill-in for Bones but has actually been extended and moved to a new night. It’s a very light show and a lot of fun. It’s interesting to see the way his mind works. I’m glad to see it was extended because enough people said it just couldn’t work and the character was best for a single appearance here and there. I like it though.
Alcatraz – As the story goes, the inmates of Alcatraz were to be shipped off the island but they all disappeared. Now, they are all returning and no one knows where they were or why they are back. The head of the team investigating it is one of the guards who discovered everyone missing. The rest of the team is made up of a female cop whose partner was killed by her grandfather who is one of the returned inmates and a comic store owner who is an expert on the prisoners of Alcatraz. It’s an interesting mix of people. Overall, it’s a decent show though a couple episodes have been a little bland.
Comic Book Men – Kevin Smith brings the staff of his comic store in for a radio show which is televised. Their discussions are intermixed between pieces of a story of something that went on in the store (filming a commercial, an attempt at a zombie based sale idea, etc) and stories of people trying to sell stuff to the store. Even with Kevin Smith on it, I don’t see it gathering enough interest to go too far. The stories and chat get a bit banal at time and the sales are almost pitiful at times.
Green Lantern: The Animated Series – After a pilot aired a couple months ago, it is finally airing. Hal Jordon and Kilowog are still stuck far from Oa fighting Atrocitus and a couple of his red lanterns. The CGI animation is ok and the story is decent but it’s pretty limited. I really hope they get back and we get to see more of the corps and some different villains, like Sinestro’s corps and regular GL bad guys. I really want to see Kyle Rayner too. On top of this, between this show and Young Justice has been a DC Nations clip. Among these are a Japanese Superman which is a baby turned into Superman but still sucking on a pacifier, a new Teen Titans short in the style of the manga-ized series but made even more “goofy” (and not in a good way) with the Titans Tower becoming a lower case “t”, a Plastic Man short that’s just really bad jokes, and more stupid stuff. They really could have done better with the fillers.
RuPaul’s Drag Race – It’s half way through the season. Half of the drag queens are gone. It seems as though as the seasons go on, I care less and less about most of the contestants. A lot of the bad contestants have left and there’s still a few weeks to go. I’m enjoying Sharon Needles who is very different from most of the normal queens. Latrice Royale (one of the few big queens to be pretty good) and Chad Michaels are both decent too. There’s one queen called Willam who is so stuck up and name dropping that she’s annoying along with being untalented. I usually enjoy the show but I’m going to be glad when this is over. At least Shawn Morales is still around in the pit crew. I definitely enjoy him walking around in a little pair of briefs.
Those are the good, the bad, and the really bad of the season right now. These have been some decent stuff to keep me entertained given my odd 3rd shift schedule at my job. Maybe this will help people find something they might like. I would definitely check out Lost Girl, the Finder, and The Fades though.
