re TV

first, the new stuff:

• flash forward was cancelled. two episodes remain this year, and that's the end of that. i'm disappointed, because i really got into the premise, that the entire population of the world blacks out momentarily, except for a couple of people, during which they see a few seconds of their just-weeks-away future. how will they force that future "to come true", or prevent their perceived future from happening? i had a hard time watching joseph fiennes "act", but the inclusion of a few favorites from LOST (chah-lie, penny) as well as john ("the cho") cho, and some clever plot twists, made the show very watchable.
  
  
• community will continue on next year. hooray. it might be my tied-for-favorite show this year.
  
  
• modern family will also continue next year. hooray II...the other tied-for-favorite show this year.
  
  
• glee remains an enthusiastic viewing experience, even if the episode plots are so, so overdone now (yeah, someone's going to do away with the glee club; yeah, kurt's dad is kinda okay with the gay; yeah, this girl is dating that guy still). what i would like to see: a true musical episode -- they've come close -- where the characters play out their lives in song, as opposed to selecting a song for their weekly assignment that coincides with the moral to be learned in that episode.
  
  (note about musicals in general: why do they always have to be about performers, or people who dream of becoming performers? remember in the old days, when songs were part of the dialogue among characters, and not just "numbers" strategically placed to hold our attention?)

old stuff:

• LOST ends sunday night. this show, i'll miss it...it was engrossing, even during the season(s) where i couldn't figure out what the eff was going on, or keep track of the several new characters, and their place in the overall story. funny how a viewer comes to "care" so much about fictional characters. these characters, i'll miss them.
  
  
• so long, scrubs, you lost me at "med school". bye to better off ted, as well, which i didn't trust with the first episode or two, but thereafter became enamored.
  
  
• the office is still entirely watchable, as is parks and recreation, which finally doesn't look like the little sister of the office. 30 rock is forever hilarious.

scrub

dear project leader:

this alien is a fairly big fan of the tv series, scrubs. there have always been things about it that don't set well, but for the most part, great characters, silly-yet-interesting storylines, plenty of long-running jokes. one of the more appealing aspects has always been the not-quite-straight, just-this-side-of-irritating relationship between turk ("cocoa bear") and JD ("JD")...adorable!

so, the series looked like it was cancelled twice, first by NBC two years ago, then again by ABC last year -- with an episode completely suitable for a series finale. but no, it came back this year as scrubs: med school wherein the most implausible setup is the basis of the "new" series: the 8th year doctors and their mentor now serve as faculty for a neighboring medical college / teaching hospital.

half the cast is new (med students), and many of the characters from previous seasons are moving on...after having a few minutes to explain why they're no longer written into the script, oddly enough.

the new characters are cute and interesting enough, but the returning characters are suddenly UNBEARABLE. JD tops the list as the most, MOST agonizingly character since baby-talk jack from will & grace (normal-talk jack was great...baby-talk jack...ugh). always baby-talk, always trying to play pal-teacher, never comes down to earth, and is even more the "girl" in his crush on turk.

this alien never thought he'd sour on the JD-cocoa bear couple. after four episodes (so far), this alien isn't so sure he can keep watching anymore.