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.