Chuck (NBC) – You always know what you’re going to get with the Josh Schwartz-produced Chuck: solid acting, semi-cheesy plot lines, more-or-less slapstick action, pretty good humor, and above average indie music. Zach Levi is a strong leading-man, and the supporting cast of characters… from Chuck’s sister Elie and her husband (as of the season finale) Awesome, to Chuck’s best friend Morgan and the Nerd Herders Lester and Jeff, to Chuck’s government handlers Sarah Walker and John Casey… is really cohesive and makes the show enjoyable through side-plots that are often funnier and more entertaining than the requisite “missions” for each episode. Although they’ve had their number of episodes for next season reduced (and we can undoubtedly plan on more Subway product placement), having Chuck around for another year was great news to the show’s many (and vociferous) fans.
How I Met Your Mother (CBS) – Awesome… just a really really good season of television. The cast is quickly becoming one of the tightest in television, especially considering that this is a traditional sitcom (laugh-track included). No doubt benefiting from the star power of Jason Segel, Neil Patrick Harris, and even Alyson Hannigan, the writers have managed to stay smart while still appealing to the same audience as Two and a Half Men and The Big Bang Theory. Not a small accomplishment. Theoretically, this show could go on forever… and if they keep pace with the quality from this season, you won’t hear any objections here.
24 (Fox) – For about 16-18 hours, 24 was back. I still remember watching the first few seasons of the show and being completely swept up by it. Sure, the storylines and situations were probably as ridiculous as they are now, but you could always count on at least a few huge surprises that you didn’t see coming, but that actually made sense in retrospect. We were on our way to a gold-standard season and things started unraveling. Jack gets infected with an untreatable disease? He wants to die, although Kim wants to help save him? Tony is bad, then good, then bad, then good, then bad? And seriously, I’m supposed to believe that a group of foreign nationalists could invade the White House? Or that all it takes to smuggle a biological weapon into the US is to pay-off one night guard at the shipyard? Really??? In the end, this season was ruined by combination of unnecessary and nonsensical twists, a few annoying characters (I kept waiting for Renee and Olivia to die), and a nauseating commentary on current tactics against terrorist threats (“The FBI plays by the rules. Jack, what are your rules?!? How can you live with yourself??!?!?”). Just write something entertaining and let us enjoy our Jack Bauer Kill Count Drinking Game.Heroes (NBC) – Gave up on it. Loved the first season. Hated the second season. Tried to forgive it and watch the third season, and although it was pretty decent for a while, it derailed fast and I lost all investment in the characters.
Castle (ABC) – I never saw this show when it was regularly scheduled, and I couldn’t record it because it conflicted with other shows on my DVR schedule. But I saw every episode online and it’s definitely worth the time. Nathan Fillion excels as the title character of Richard Castle, a successful crime-story writer doing research for a new sequence of books based off of his interactions with Detective Kate Beckett (Stana Katic). It’s a different twist on the cop-show genre, and there’s plenty of humor to balance out the drama. The season finale served as a HUGE cliffhanger, and next season’s premier should be excellent. Already owning a strong supporting cast (Molly Quinn and Susan Sullivan are great as Castle’s daughter and live-in mother)… all this show lacks is a stronger viewership
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