And now for something completely different

Since the Dcat homepage promices a one-stop shop for “Pop Culture,” among other things, I decided to bear my soul here and reveal what I watch on TV and why

(NOTE: I really don't have time to watch anything since my comprehensive exams are next week, but then again, I really don't have time to post blogs either now, do I?):

1. The West Wing:
   Quite simply, my favorite TV show ever! It has managed to combine serious political issues with interesting characters and competent acting in a way that is entertaining. Recently, the creators have decided to shift the attention of the show away from the setting and characters that I have come to love and towards a new set of players running for president. Of course, Martin Sheen and company are still part of the show and sometimes even constitute the main plot of the episode, but it is clear that the campaign between Congressman Santos (D-TX) and Senator Vinick (R-CA) is the main element now. The creators took a big risk changing the primary format of the show like this and it paid off. Both candidates are likeable and the energy of the campaign season provides wonderful opportunities to make connections to reality (in last weeks episode, Vinick created a small scandal by promising a prominent religious leader that he would appoint pro-life judges and Santos recently justified voting against CAFTA by saying that he did vote for it… before he voted against it).
   
   Criticism: Not much. I have never been truly disappointed with an episode. If you are a conservative however, you might take note of the fact that the only way the writers could make a likeable Republican candidate was by making him a pro-choice, anti-religion moderate. This is a pity, as the show could have used this opportunity to portray a Republican as conservative as Santos is liberal and yet still caring and pragmatic, rather than refuse to even try.
   
2. Lost:
   Season One got me hooked, and I recently rented much of it at Blockbuster so my wife could enjoy it with me. Extremely character driven, but enough mystery about survivors of a plane crash on a mysterious island that kept me guessing from week to week. The first season was a perfect combination of individual character flashbacks and island drama which included monsters the audience does not see, a French woman who has been living there since her own crash 16 years ago, and a (group?) of “others” on the island who torment the survivors, and then kidnap one character in last years finale.
   
   So far season two seems… anti-climactic. Having exhausted most of the main characters reason for being on the plane last year, this season seems to move at a snails pace, promising much in the preview, but offering few answers. Last season’s primary mystery was a hatch that no one could open. When we finally get into the hatch this season, the results were disappointing. Although the past few episodes leaves more questions than answers, they are not the same type of questions, nor do they have the same emotional draw as last season. Still a great show however, and the depth of the characters more than compensates for any momentary slowness in the plot.
   
3. Smallville:
   In an article in Slate last week, Matt Feeney goes to great lengths to define a “guilty pleasure” and proceeds to confess his own guilty pleasure films (which, for him, include such Shakespearian dramas as Wild Things, and Cruel Intentions).
   
   Well, this is my guilty pleasure. As a huge Superman fan, I watched with eagerness this show about a young Clark Kent growing up in Kansas with superhuman abilities. The first three seasons were truly entertaining, as Clark slowly starts to develop more and more abilities (X-ray powers, eye lasers, super-hearing) and developing a friendship with a young Lex Luthor. It was cheesy, yes, but fun. Last season however, the show unquestionably “jumped the shark," as they say.
   
   The plots were implausible, even by Smallville standards, the dialogue almost unbearable, the characters behaved so inconsistently and out of character, and the creators decided to add the character of Lois Lane, seemingly, because she was hot. As a result, it is difficult not to find almost all of the main characters obnoxious. The sole exception being actor Michael Rosenbaum’s character of Lex Luthor who, despite the abysmal writing, manages to remain compelling.
   
   Sometimes, I think the only reason I stay loyal is to read the truly superb episode reviews by Neal Bailey, whose reviews often combine humor and philosophy to intelligent critiques.
   
   In short, it is my guilty pleasure.
   
4. Other than that, I have seen a few episodes of Commander in Chief. Once you get passed the cheesy, holier-than-though writing, and suspend disbelief enough to actually swallow the idea of a misogynistic Republican candidate picking a politically inexperienced female Independent as a running mate, only to die and have the nation’s first Independent President choose a Democratic Vice President, it can be entertaining. The only problem with the show is that it’s characters often resemble little more than caricatures, reinforcing this idea that a political novice that just wants to do good despite alienating BOTH major political parties can still stand up to career politicians (who are almost universally portrayed as evil, epitomized by Donald Sutherland’s character as the Republican Speaker of the House who, pissed that the new prez didn’t resign and let him lead, has vowed to bring her down. All that’s missing from the character is his Darth Vader voice and a mustache to twirl).