The Zombies Ate My Spies, and Other TV Thoughts

It’s been a while since I’ve dumped a bunch of TV-viewing bulletpoints in this blog’s general direction. Some recent observations:

• I was very impressed with the pilot for The Walking Dead. Even as I found its story kind of predictable and unchallenging, the execution was just terrifically compelling: very, very suspenseful, creepy, and graphic. However, I lost track of the show after the first ep; ever since Rubicon was canceled I’ve found it hard not to blame Walking Dead for blasting it off the air. Stupid zombies! I suppose it’s not connected, unless Truxton Spangler orchestrated it to get his dirty laundry out of the public eye. Crafty bastard. Anyway, I’ll probably marathon The Walking Dead at some point, but for now it still feels like those blasted zombie hordes cornered my spies at API and ate them. Alas!
• Jenn and I caught up on season four of 30 Rock, courtesy of Netflix. Season three was kind of disappointing to me, but season four felt like a return to form. Loved Julianne Moore’s outrageous accent, and the Wesley Snipes subplot. Also, this season seemed to better deploy the supporting cast, not overdoing it on any particular character. Still some gas in the tank here.
• I’ve been re-watching Arrested Development on my lunch breaks. Remarkably funny stuff, often even funnier the second time around…every five minutes my favorite character changes. A classic.
• Also re-watching The Sandbaggers occasionally. For all its dated politics, its talkiness and its staginess, I still think this show’s best episodes hold up brilliantly as dialogue-driven drama. Roy Marsden’s Burnside is clearly the signature character, but this time around (my third) I’m finding that Ray Lonnen’s Willie Caine (Sandbagger #1) is really the glue of the series. Watching those guys argue never gets old for me!
• We’re also catching up on season three of Chuck, which I thought got off to a bumpy start — almost like a show that was surprised it had been renewed, perhaps? Zachary Levi is such a terrific comic lead; he tends to keep the show afloat even when the writing falters. Unfortunately the series seems to have lost its grip on how to write Sarah (not that it’s done a very good job with women in general, but their treatment of Sarah really nosedives here). Still enjoying the adventures in general, though. (And I don’t think I’ll ever get sick of Adam Baldwin’s grunts and facial expressions.)

That catches me up – more on the brilliant Terriers in a separate post. So what’s everyone been watching? Have I been missing anything essential?