COMMENTARY: Various Updates

I've decided to just make ad-hoc posts to this blog from now on. It is quite nice for me personally to look back at all the posts I've made in the past, so I do want to record at least some things here for my own "amusement", but I don't expect really anyone else to read the stuff I post from now on!

Season finale day 10 was held on 5th June, absolutely ages ago now but I never wrote a blog on that. It concluded the following seasons:

• Dark Angel Season 2. I knew that this season finale wouldn't be a narrative conclusion, but the exact place it ended was unexpected and very surprising. It was a good episode though, even featuring a prominent actor from Murder One's second season.
• 24 Season 8. Wasn't the best season finale ever, but neither was the whole season.
• Lost Season 3. This was great, although the multi-threaded aspect made it feel a bit disjointed sometimes and there wasn't quite the same on-island cliffhanger as there had been in season 2.
• Smallville Season 5. A great closing episode, almost too much to take in (though not quite as good as season 4's finale) and a great closing image of Lex/Zod and Lana on the roof looking out over city fires.
  

Recently I've also watched a few more season premieres, namely:

• Babylon 5 Season 1. Watched on 8th May (brand new programme).
  
• Twin Peaks Season 2. Watched on 16th May, after an absence of 1 year, 10 months and 16 days.
• The Prisoner Season 1. Watched on 22nd May (brand new programme).
  
• Gavin & Stacey Season 3. Watched on 31st July, after an absence of 7 months and 6 days.
• Superboy Season 2. Watched on 14th August, after an absence of 2 years, 4 months and 20 days.
• Monkey Season 1. Watched on 26th October (brand new programme).

One new programme was added to the watching matrix; namely "Misfits". This Channel 4 UK series is about young offenders who gain superpowers. It is currently in its second season.

I have decided to change my slot strategy again to better fit in with my current lifestyle. The changes are roughly described as:

• No more finale days
• Pokémon is still classed as out of scope, but tracked just like everything else
• Broadcasting programmes are now allowed even if they breach ATST rules
• Space Sci-Fi is now back on the ATST ruleset
• A minimum of two and a maximum of four non-broadcasting programmes may be "active" at any one time. Programmes are equally divided between "new" and "current".
  
• Programmes on mid-season hiatus are not classed as "active". When a programme goes on mid-season break, a new premiere can be watched or an existing programme can be taken off mid-season break.
  
• Any programme which is seen to be stalling the process (The Prisoner, Mad Men etc) can have a programme to run simultaneously with it from the new "safe list" of programmes (which excludes HST and certain episodic programmes - and includes things like Smallville, Prison Break etc). Such "stallers" must be watched at least once every 2 months. Other programmes must be watched at least once every month. If these deadlines are consistently breached then I need to review the strategy again.
  

It's more complicated than that but there's the basics. Yesterday I also moved all my physical DVDs from underneath my television into the main racks, as eventually there will not be that many to put there.

Currently I am still watching a total of 11 seasons, but am trying to close this down to the pattern described above. These are:

• One Tree Hill season 4: Only 2 episodes left. It's hotting up. Lucas has just shot Dan. This is turning out to be a really great season - Dan is really central to it.
• Twin Peaks season 2: This show is just as great as ever. It's moving gradually further into the paranormal space. I am savouring every episode and can't believe that there is not much left.
• Babylon 5 season 1: One of the best "new to me" programmes I've seen probably since Damages. The structure and symmetry of the cast, the interesting races, the diplomacy, the gradually evolving story: this show is shaping up to be a masterpiece, and by all accounts, it is.
• Monkey Season 1: Only watched one episode so far but it looks good: fun, continuous and interesting!
• The Apprentice (UK) Season 6: Each year is slightly worse than the last...no really interesting characters, "Baggs The Brand" is the only one who comes close, but is still edge-of-your-seat stuff from time to time.
  
• Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2: Still good, relaxing standalone episodes; it's good to watch to pass the time.
• Superboy Season 2: Still the same low-budget B-movie style stuff of the first season, but fairly interesting and mostly relaxing to watch.
• Pokémon Season 1: The group just got their first Generation II Pokémon. It's always relaxing to watch and makes me happy. Soon I will be watching the first film, which I'm really looking forward to.
  
• Mad Men Season 2: Very disappointing. It still hasn't picked up yet and there isn't the same compelling story as there was in the first season.
• The Prisoner Season 1: Entirely episodic; some great ideas in there, but I don't have anything to compel me to watch the next episode at the moment.
• The X Factor (UK) Season 7: Watching this at the moment; totally out-of-scope but some good acts this year.
  

NOTIFICATION: New programmes added to matrix

As of today there have been a total of 11 new programmes added to the watching matrix. This is to add programmes which I have definitely decided to get into at some point in the future, to help track them, and also to add Pokémon to the symbol list, which I started quite some time ago. The total matrix size has been increased to 63, including 2 free spaces to be populated as and when I find programmes to put there. These may include programmes new this year which have not yet really got off the ground yet, such as Game Of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire, Human Target and V.

Here is a full list of the programmes added, in the order they were added to my queue (and therefore will roughly correspond to the order they will be started, after the previous last WTS programme, namely Veronica Mars).

• Pokémon: Already started in the second half of 2009 (I do not know the exact date). Cartoon series which is based on the popular video games. Classed as out of scope of my usual TV rules. Currently ranked as 31. Episodes are 30 minutes in length and seasons are usually quite long; most seasons have 52 episodes; although arcs are usually restricted to "sagas" rather than seasons. Currently in its 13th season and a 14th has been confirmed. First saga corresponds to season 1, second saga is season 2, third is seasons 3-5, fourth is seasons 6-8, fifth is season 9, sixth is seasons 10-13 and a seventh saga will start with season 14.
• FlashForward: One of the most talked about shows of 2009-10 television season and termed the "next Lost". Lots of mysteries and story arcs and a show I can't wait to get into. At the time of writing it has not been renewed for a second season but is widely expected to be.
  
• The Wire: Single-handedly this is the show that most people tell me to get into when I talk to them about my passion for TV. One of my close friends, who got me into such shows as Farscape and Rome, says it is head and shoulders above all other TV shows. Things I have noted from my investigation are that it is gritty, has tough sociopolitical undertones, lots of plot twists, an engaging story which is hard to follow but satisfying when you do, realistic on a level beyond any other show, has a different theme to each season, and has an opening sequence that reveals the entire first season arc if you look carefully. There were 5 seasons of this show in total and it will be assigned to the Saturday morning (HST) slot within my schedule.
• The Shield: A show that is often compared to The Wire, has season-long arcs, shows some very corrupt characters, and a total of 7 seasons. It will also be assigned to the Saturday morning slot.
  
• ReGenesis: A Canadian show that I've been wanting to get into for years but never really investigated fully. Now I have done some digging and found it has a certain humour, good characters, good setting and a lot of good story arcs. This show has 4 seasons in total.
• Sons Of Anarchy: This one has 2 seasons but was confirmed for a third. It is being advertised on the London Underground at the moment as the "next Sopranos". Investigation reveals complex story arcs across multiple factions in a gang-warfare type situation.
• Nowhere Man: A show I've been interested in for a while but put off by the fact that there's only one season. Well it's a longer season than Invasion was, and does have a good continuity, with a proper resolution at the end and an interesting premise, so I'm going to start this one.
• Brotherhood: An interesting story which revolves around two brothers but sort of linked to the battle between good and evil in their personalities. After watching the season 2 trailer on YouTube I was hungry for this show. There were 3 seasons total, and this is another one for the Saturday morning slot.
  
• Stargate Universe: A recent entry to the Stargate franchise. Despite the longevity of the franchise (15 seasons over 2 shows) and all the story arcs it carried, I just couldn't get used to the whole idea. But this show has a much more interesting premise, promises many more story/character arcs, and will probably be a much better hook for me into the whole universe of the franchise (no pun intended). This is in its first season but has been confirmed for a second, and unsurprisingly will be in my space sci-fi slot.
  
• In Treatment: In its second season, this is one of the most unique and interesting format shows I've seen. It really picks up on the psychotherapy aspect which has been a part of many of the shows I've watched including The Sopranos and Mad Men.
• Desperate Housewives: This show needs no introduction and is really a bit of fun. It is currently in its sixth season and will have at least one more. Each season has a specific mystery attached to it, which is solved throughout the season, and that's the main thing which attracts me.
  

DATA: April 2010

Seasons finished in April 2010:

• Damages Season 3 (watched 4 episodes in April 2010)
• Jericho Season 1 (watched 3 episodes in April 2010)
• Pushing Daisies Season 2 (watched 3 episodes in April 2010)

Seasons started in April 2010:

• Mad Men Season 2 (watched 1 episode in April 2010)
  
• Was on Waiting To Start list since October 2009
• Time since last season: 1 year, 9 months, 15 days.

Seasons watched through April 2010:

• 24 Season 8 (watched 6 episodes in April 2010)
• Dark Angel Season 2 (watched 3 episodes in April 2010)
• Lost Season 3 (watched 3 episodes in April 2010)
  
• Pokémon Season 1 (watched 3 episodes in April 2010)
• Smallville Season 3 (watched 3 episodes in April 2010)
• Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2 (watched 1 episode in April 2010)
  
• One Tree Hill Season 4 (watched 1 episode in April 2010)
  

Seasons added to the "waiting to start" list in April 2010 (but have not yet started):

• Babylon 5 Season 1
• Twin Peaks Season 2
• The Prisoner Season 1
  

Raw Data:

DMG 03 10 03/04/2010
24H 08 14 03/04/2010
JER 01 20 03/04/2010
DRK 02 11 05/04/2010
JER 01 21 05/04/2010
24H 08 15 06/04/2010
24H 08 16 06/04/2010
DMG 03 11 06/04/2010
24H 08 17 13/04/2010
PKM 01 36 13/04/2010
DRK 02 12 16/04/2010
DMG 03 12 17/04/2010
OTH 04 06 17/04/2010
PKM 01 37 17/04/2010
PKM 01 38 17/04/2010
DRK 02 13 17/04/2010
MMN 02 01 17/04/2010
PDS 02 11 17/04/2010
LST 03 14 19/04/2010
SMV 05 07 19/04/2010
24H 08 18 20/04/2010
PDS 02 12 21/04/2010
LST 03 15 22/04/2010
SMV 05 08 23/04/2010
SMV 05 09 23/04/2010
PDS 02 13 24/04/2010
DMG 03 13 24/04/2010
JER 01 22 24/04/2010
ENT 02 07 25/04/2010
LST 03 16 27/04/2010
24H 08 19 27/04/2010

NOTIFICATION: Finale Day 9

Finale Day 9 will be held on 24/04/2010. The episodes comprising this session will be:

Pushing Daisies: "Kerplunk"
Damages: "The Next One's Gonna Go In Your Throat"
Jericho: "Why We Fight"

The replacement seasons will be:

[PDS] Pushing Daisies -> [BB5] Babylon 5 Season 1 (slot replacement; see earlier post)
[DMG] Damages -> [TWP] Twin Peaks Season 2
[JER] Jericho -> [PRS] The Prisoner

NOTIFICATION: Changes to slot makeup

There will be two changes to the slot makeup.

From Finale Day 9, a second space sci-fi slot will be added to cope with the backlog of sci-fi shows, caused by the delays in watching Futurama and now Enterprise. This slot will be initially just for new programmes and will replace an existing main slot. Despite this, the risk is still mitigated by disallowing different space sci-fi shows on the same or subsequent progressions.

From Finale Day 10, a second "main new" slot will be added to cope with the backlog of new main slot shows, and also to avoid a situation where there are not enough main slot shows to fill the schedule.

This means that after Finale Day 10, the slot makeup will be:

• 4x main slots
• 2x main new slots
• 1x space sci-fi slot
• 1x space sci-fi new slot
• 1x Superman mythos slot
• 1x horror, suspense and psychological thriller slot
  

COMMENTARY: Mad Men Season 2 Pre-Season

I'm going to start Mad Men Season 2 soon, probably today. I wanted to write a quick post about this, which seems to take place about 1 year after last season's finale.

It's been 18 months or so since I watched the season finale, and it wasn't my favourite finale ever. In fact the penultimate episode was leagues better, and should have been the finale in my opinion. "The Wheel" just felt a bit like an epilogue.

But, to recap what happened in it:

• Pete brings in a new account through his father-in-law. This gets him recognition from Bert Cooper. However it also puts him under pressure to have a child with Trudy.
  
• Peggy gets a job as a copywriter. Pete Campbell is not impressed. Hours later, she gives birth to his baby.
• Don finds out Adam is dead. He is overwhelmed by past memories of him and Betty, and collapses in sadness. Betty reveals that she knows about Don's affairs. Carlton/Francine and Harry are also having marriage problems.
  

In the penultimate episode, well that was the one where Duck was hired, we found out the truth about Don's military past, Don and Rachel break up, and Harry cheats on his wife with Hildy. Slightly more eventful I think! Well anyway plenty of steam for season 2, which apparently is set 1 year after these events.

DATA: March 2010

Seasons started in March 2010:

• One Tree Hill Season 4 (watched 5 episodes in March 2010)
• Was on Waiting To Start list since October 2009
• Time since last season: 1 year, 8 months, 25 days.
  

Seasons watched through March 2010:

• 24 Season 8 (watched 4 episodes in March 2010)
  
• Damages Season 3 (watched 4 episodes in March 2010)
• Jericho Season 1 (watched 2 episodes in March 2010)
• Pokémon Season 1 (watched 2 episodes in March 2010)
• Pushing Daisies Season 2 (watched 2 episodes in March 2010)
• Smallville Season 5 (watched 2 episodes in March 2010)
• Dark Angel Season 2 (watched 1 episode in March 2010)
• Lost Season 3 (watched 1 episode in March 2010)
• Star Trek: Enterprise Season 2 (watched 1 episode in March 2010)

Seasons on the "waiting to start" list through March 2010:

• Mad Men Season 3 (on WTS list since October 2009)

Raw Data:

24H 08 10 02/03/2010
DMG 03 06 14/03/2010
DMG 03 07 14/03/2010
24H 08 11 14/03/2010
PKM 01 34 14/03/2010
24H 08 12 16/03/2010
PKM 01 35 17/03/2010
DMG 03 08 18/03/2010
24H 08 13 24/03/2010
SMV 05 05 25/03/2010
ENT 02 06 25/03/2010
PDS 02 09 27/03/2010
DMG 03 09 27/03/2010
LST 03 13 27/03/2010
SMV 05 06 27/03/2010
PDS 02 10 27/03/2010
OTH 04 01 27/03/2010
OTH 04 02 28/03/2010
JER 01 18 28/03/2010
OTH 04 03 28/03/2010
OTH 04 04 28/03/2010
JER 01 19 28/03/2010
OTH 04 05 28/03/2010
DRK 02 10 31/03/2010