New Fall TV Season

The new Fall season has started for some of the shows I watch, so below are some of my thoughts. I don't watch much TV these days, but there are still a few shows I don't miss.

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The Simpsons

You will find no bigger fan of The Simpsons than me. But in recent years, the show has sort of let me down. It used to be a clever caricature of society, pop culture, and the world in general. these days, it's a caricature of itself. So many of the ideas are being retread, and it just isn't funny anymore. How many times can Bart be expelled from school? How many times is Marge going to leave Homer, just to realize how much she loves him and return? There have been a few shows here and there that were good, but overall, the quality has declined tremendously. I used to be crying at the end of each show from laughing so hard, and my sides would hurt. these days, I'm lucky if I let out a chuckle or two. There was a time when the show self-referenced itself, and I think that's about where the series should have ended. For instance, you'd see Homer's Mr. Plow jacket, or Marge's bowling ball (also named "Homer") in the hall closet. But these days there are continuity errors, and the gags just aren't funny. Last night's episode was ok, but I really hate when they personify animals, like the manatees were this week. It was funny when Santa's Little Helper would roll his eyes at something. But this is a little out of hand.

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Family Guy

Family Guy is one of those shows that I hated at first, thinking it was another Simpsons ripoff. But I've grown to like it, and I think a lot of the plots and things that were suspiciously similar to the Simpsons was done on purpose. It quickly became one of my favorites. When it was cancelled, I was really upset, along with millions of other fans. Thankfully, due to record DVD sales, Fox wisened up and brought it back (in a hilarious moment, in the first episode back on the air, Peter mentions all the shows that Fox chose to air after Family Guy was cancelled, which are all now cancelled themselves...shows like Dark Angel and Andy Richter Controls The Universe). The summer season was great, with tons of hilarious moments. Last night's episode was the fall season premiere, but wasn't all that good. It seems to be trying too hard, and a lot of the jokes fell flat. I also don't like how Meg is being portrayed lately, always yelling at Peter and calling him a "fat bastard." It's just not what her character is supposed to be.

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Ghost Hunters

Ok, so Ghost Hunters premiered a few weeks ago, but I still love this show. This week's episode had some genuine creepy moments, as a door in an upstairs bedroom opened and closed twice, without any explanation, and it was all caught on video. Not the best evidence shown on this show (see last season's prison footage here http://www.scifi.com/ghosthunters/), but definitely interesting. One of the investigators, Brian Harnois, has left the show, hopefully temporarily. He was annoying, but brought a lot of comic relief to the show.

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Song of the Day: Love and Peace or Else, by U2

The "Bullet the Blue Sky" of How To Dismantle an Atomic Bomb. A real heavy song, and it builds to a great crescendo (I tend to like songs like that). The boys played a great live version of this for the MTV/VH1 Katrina relief show, and it was great. It's a very simple song, but heavy and groovy at the same time. And it's even better live.