New TV Power Rankings
These will be brief, but I did want to get going as shows have started up after the Christmas break. These rankings are through Jan. 24, 2010:
1. Fringe (At some point this season Fringe has eased into it's comfort zone as a show that's part X-Files, part Star Trek, and part JJ Abrams thriller. They've buckled down and focussed more on the characters and the creepiness factor to great success. Last week's episode, with the small town of people with hidden deformities was really classic sci-fi stuff.)
2. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (I didn't expect too, but I really enjoyed the Plan, perhaps because it answered many of the questions left unanswered in the series. That being said, it also lays it out pretty clearly that unlike the Cylons, the Battlestar writers didn't really have a coherent plan- either that, or they did a terrible job of plotting it and foreshadowing in the first few seasons. Further expanding upon the revelations from the Battlestar finale, the Cylon Cavil's manipulative role in all of the Battlestar events is revealed. In some ways, it's not much different than Lost, where we've seen various layers peeled back and new motivations revealed years into the series. But the difference is, Lost always promised us mysteries, while Battlestar specifically told us that the Cylons had a plan, not that one evil Cylon had plan. Given the twists and turns the show took, it's always felt like a bit of a bait and switch that justified the somewhat sympathetic portrayal of the other Cylons. But for all the structural problems of Battlestar, scene-by-scene, the Plan is still a marvelous piece of work.)
3. Big Love (The season opener had me very worried that Big Love was getting ready to jump the shark (Ben's band and Roman's frozen body being hauled all over the place), but the last two episodes have been much better. Many fans hate the new Mad-Men like title sequence, but the drifting and falling we see from our main characters in that sequence has mirrored what we've seen in the story. Last episode we saw Roman in a dream sequence and, unfortunately, when Joey dug his body. Dreams and visions are good, dead bodies, bad. Got that writers?)
4. 24 (I really thought getting through this season would be a chore, so I was pleasantly surprised when the 4 hour opener was written well enough to keep up suspense. Plenty of interesting elements are in play, but it wouldn't take much for it to go downhill. We'll see, but for now, I'm rooting for this new Jack like never before.)
5. 30 Rock (It's not that 30 Rock isn't good, but I was tempted to put it behind Parks and Rec and Community. I can't really place it, but this season just hasn't been as good as the last.)
6. Parks and Rec (Parks and Rec may be in the process of exceeding the best of the Office, which is no small achievement. Last week's episode with Leslie's dinner party was a perfect combination of plotting, character development, and clever jokes. The only thing missing are characters with Jim and Pam like charisma, but maybe that's a good thing.)
7. Community (Just keeps getting better and better as the characters are fleshed out. And Joel McHale just is really charming, isn't he?)
8. Law and Order SVU (The one episode since the break featured a very different appearance from Lost's Naveen Andrews.)
9. House (I said back in December that we needed more Wilson and we've gotten more Wilson. If only the writers could just change up the pace on the medical mysteries and we'd really be rolling.)
Not Ranked:
The Office (A clip show? Really? The worst part was, placed in a row, the clips really undercut a show that had tried to ground itself in the real world. While Parks and Rec has shined by keeping things simple, the highlighting of every ridiculous incident in the Office only had me wondering how such an Office could possibly still be in existence.)
Caprica (Just haven't sat down and watched it yet and I'm hoping to get the wife along for the ride.)
1. Fringe (At some point this season Fringe has eased into it's comfort zone as a show that's part X-Files, part Star Trek, and part JJ Abrams thriller. They've buckled down and focussed more on the characters and the creepiness factor to great success. Last week's episode, with the small town of people with hidden deformities was really classic sci-fi stuff.)
2. Battlestar Galactica: The Plan (I didn't expect too, but I really enjoyed the Plan, perhaps because it answered many of the questions left unanswered in the series. That being said, it also lays it out pretty clearly that unlike the Cylons, the Battlestar writers didn't really have a coherent plan- either that, or they did a terrible job of plotting it and foreshadowing in the first few seasons. Further expanding upon the revelations from the Battlestar finale, the Cylon Cavil's manipulative role in all of the Battlestar events is revealed. In some ways, it's not much different than Lost, where we've seen various layers peeled back and new motivations revealed years into the series. But the difference is, Lost always promised us mysteries, while Battlestar specifically told us that the Cylons had a plan, not that one evil Cylon had plan. Given the twists and turns the show took, it's always felt like a bit of a bait and switch that justified the somewhat sympathetic portrayal of the other Cylons. But for all the structural problems of Battlestar, scene-by-scene, the Plan is still a marvelous piece of work.)
3. Big Love (The season opener had me very worried that Big Love was getting ready to jump the shark (Ben's band and Roman's frozen body being hauled all over the place), but the last two episodes have been much better. Many fans hate the new Mad-Men like title sequence, but the drifting and falling we see from our main characters in that sequence has mirrored what we've seen in the story. Last episode we saw Roman in a dream sequence and, unfortunately, when Joey dug his body. Dreams and visions are good, dead bodies, bad. Got that writers?)
4. 24 (I really thought getting through this season would be a chore, so I was pleasantly surprised when the 4 hour opener was written well enough to keep up suspense. Plenty of interesting elements are in play, but it wouldn't take much for it to go downhill. We'll see, but for now, I'm rooting for this new Jack like never before.)
5. 30 Rock (It's not that 30 Rock isn't good, but I was tempted to put it behind Parks and Rec and Community. I can't really place it, but this season just hasn't been as good as the last.)
6. Parks and Rec (Parks and Rec may be in the process of exceeding the best of the Office, which is no small achievement. Last week's episode with Leslie's dinner party was a perfect combination of plotting, character development, and clever jokes. The only thing missing are characters with Jim and Pam like charisma, but maybe that's a good thing.)
7. Community (Just keeps getting better and better as the characters are fleshed out. And Joel McHale just is really charming, isn't he?)
8. Law and Order SVU (The one episode since the break featured a very different appearance from Lost's Naveen Andrews.)
9. House (I said back in December that we needed more Wilson and we've gotten more Wilson. If only the writers could just change up the pace on the medical mysteries and we'd really be rolling.)
Not Ranked:
The Office (A clip show? Really? The worst part was, placed in a row, the clips really undercut a show that had tried to ground itself in the real world. While Parks and Rec has shined by keeping things simple, the highlighting of every ridiculous incident in the Office only had me wondering how such an Office could possibly still be in existence.)
Caprica (Just haven't sat down and watched it yet and I'm hoping to get the wife along for the ride.)
posted by lonely libertarian at 4:09 PM
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