The idiot box to the rescue

What do you talk about when you have nothing to say? Sim Land is in hibernation for the winter; I have no strong opinions to rant about (well, I do, but I don’t want to share); too lazy to do a book review.

Oh, well, there’s always TV.

I suppose one advantage of getting TV serials late out here means that the Writers’ Guild of America strike has left us relatively unaffected. We are far enough behind the times to be able to anticipate new series—Ugly Betty season 2 and Grey’s Anatomy season 3 are two that I’d like to see some time soonish. Heroes season 2 gets under way on 22 January, though it doesn’t interest me that much.

So what am I watching these days?

TV

Brothers and Sisters

Tells the story of the wealthy Walker family, taking off from the time William Walker dies, leaving his widow Nora and their five children (Sarah, Tommy, Kitty, Kevin and Justin) to clean up after his not-quite-exemplary life. After William’s death it is discovered that not only did he misappropriate funds from the family firm, he also had a longstanding affair with a woman named Holly Harper, with whom he also had a daughter.

Entertaining, though predictable and clichéd, you probably need to have been following this from the start to figure out what’s going on. The lives of Nora and the five children are themselves complex enough; throw in Holly and the illegitimate daughter, and it meanders between the hilarious and the ridiculous.

It’s good fun though, and I have made it a point not to miss an episode. It’s slightly annoying though that it is being censored in India—as we know, the sight of two men holding hands is probably going to scar us for life.

(Point of Interest: Matthew Rhys, playing Kevin, the middle brother, is Welsh by origin. His accent on Brothers and Sisters is totally fake, but you’d never know it!)

Journeyman

Having missed the pilot, I don’t know how it all started out, but basically, Dan Vasser, a San Francisco-based journalist, finds himself pulled out of his time into the past at random intervals. He keeps going back and forth (between his present and the past), following a certain individual’s life in each episode. He has “fix” something in the past, and till he figures that out and does it, he keeps going back. During his forays into the past, he always runs into an old flame, who apparently does the same thing as he, only, she moves forwards in time.

His other troubles include: a wife who is certainly not comfortable with his time travelling and meeting up with the ex; a son who, having seen him disappear once, thinks his dad’s “magic” is cool; and a cop brother who is unaware of the time travel bit, but is sure Dan is up to no good.

The series is rumoured to have been cancelled, but one hopes the 5Ws and 1H are answered before the season wraps up.

(Point of Interest: Kevin McKidd, playing Dan Vasser, is another example of a British actor pulling off a very convincing American accent. McKidd is Scottish, and seems to change his voice when talking in “American”.)

Bones

A crime series based on the life (and books) of Kathy Reichs, also a producer on the show. Temperance “Bones” Brennan is a forensic anthropologist who works with the Jeffersonian Institution, and consults with the FBI, mostly working with Special Agent Seeley Booth. Bones is quirky, with no social skills whatsoever, and has no hesitation in speaking her mind. She admits that she has better relationships with dead people!

Despite her cluelessly abrasive nature, she and Booth form a pretty effective crime-fighting team. At times Bones seems to be a female House, but unlike House, really wants to make an effort to be “nice”.

Just seen two episodes so far, but I like what I see so far. The police procedural details sometimes seem too pat and convenient, but heck—I’m in SVU withdrawal, and I will take what I get! Also it is nice to see David Boreanaz as a human.

On DVD

On days there is nothing on TV to accompany my dinner, I resort to DVDs. Here’s what’s on the agenda currently:

• Blackadder (currently watching series 2)
• Queer as Folk (UK)
• Doctor Who (Ninth Doctor)
• Yeh Jo Hai Zindagi (in Hindi)

And here’s what I’d like to watch

• Ugly Betty, season 2
• Grey’s Anatomy, season 3
• CSI (it’s already on TV, but I can never catch it)
• Torchwood, season 2
• Law and Order: SVU, whichever season is next, 7, I think
• Dexter (and some hope of ever getting that on TV here!)

Well, that’s what’s happening in my world. What are you watching? What do you think I should watch?

~PD