Week in Review, Sept 24 to 30

As I mentioned I might do last week, I'm expanding Week in Review this week to include music as well as television.

The Week in Music

Pearl Jam's "Backspacer" actually came out last week, and Porcupine Tree's "The Incident" came out on the 15th, but I didn't listen to them until this week, so... whatever, I'm reviewing them now. The music section of Week in Review is not going to be as date restrictive as the TV section.

Anyway, wow! Pearl Jam has been off my radar for a long time. I pretty much hated "Binaural" (2000) and "Riot Act" (2002). "Pearl Jam" (2006) was better, but my love for Pearl Jam the band was long gone. And now, suddenly and unexpectedly, it's back. I have been listening to "Backspacer" on repeat for the last few days and I am loving it. "Amongst the Waves," "Just Breathe," "Force of Nature," and "The End" are my favourite tracks, but this is an album that just needs to be listened to from start to finish over and over.

Porcupine Tree's "The Incident" is an interesting concept album. I don't think I've listened to it enough times to evaluate it completely, because there are a lot of layers here. It is definitely excellent, but I don't know if it is as good as "In Absentia" (2002) or "Fear of a Blank Planet" (2007). This will be a good album to listen to in the car on a long drive. And you can't really pick a favourite track on an album like this; I guess the eleven minute "Time Flies" is the centerpiece and an obvious standout. I look forward to hearing this album in 5.1 surround sound when the inevitable DVD-Audio is released.

This week's big release is the super disappointing "Black Gives Way to Blue" by the new incarnation of Alice in Chains. I have been following and really enjoying Jerry Cantrell's solo work since Alice in Chains disbanded, so I expected good things from the new Alice in Chains album. But Jerry Cantrell obviously used up his good songs on "Degradation Trip" (2002). New vocalist William DuVall is no Layne Staley, to say the least. Jerry Cantrell actually handles the majority of the vocals on the album, which in itself is fine, because like I said, his solo work is excellent. The main problem with the album is that the songs just aren't that great. The band plays them well, sure, and it still sounds like Alice in Chains, yes, but this is definitely lesser Alice in Chains. The best track is probably "Private Hell," but I haven't listened to the album enough to really get invested in any songs. The other two albums in this Week in Review are too good for me to spend much time with "Black Gives Way to Blue."

The Week in Television

Yes, I watch a lot of TV. I try to catch as much as I can live in HD, but obviously there are some nights where this is impossible (Thursday and Sunday). I don't actually have a PVR, which is pretty crazy in this day and age, because I bought my HD box many years ago and don't feel the need to upgrade it. My second option is to download the 720p mkv rips that are available for some shows. And then if I have to I will resort to the lower quality 480p avi rips.

This week's TV reviews will be slightly different from last week. Last week I took time to write a paragraph for every show I watched, but this week I am only going to write a paragraph if I have something interesting to say about a specific episode. Otherwise, I'm going to review most shows with a single word or sentence.

First, because I missed it last week and said I'd review it this week, what did I think of House's "Broken?" I have to say I was impressed by how they basically created a self-contained movie in the House universe with none of the other House characters. It was an enjoyable hour and a half, with a lot of good acting from everyone, but it was not necessarily believable in the way the plot points were resolved. And the fact that House's actual mental breakdown from the previous season's cliffhanger was resolved during the opening credits with a detox montage was quite weak. All it took was detox? Okay.

Thursday, September 24th
Interesting start, but already getting boring; not enough here to keep me watching: Flash Forward (1x1)
Very X-Files!--but I expect more: Fringe (2x2)
WTF?--I'll survive if I skip this show from now on: Community (1x2)
A little forced and unfunny this week: It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (5x2)
Back to season one quality, which is not a good thing; strike one!: Parks and Recreation (2x2)
More of the same; fun character, lame stories: The Mentalist (2x1)
Didn't love it, but the highlight of an unusually poor Thursday: The Office (6x2)

Flash Forward is a show with a cool premise and not much else. The sequences depicting what would happen to the world if every person on earth blacked out for two minutes (many while driving, or flying--think about it!) were easily the highlight of an otherwise pretty bland pilot episode. I will be skipping the rest of this show, unless I start hearing raves about it later in the season.

Community's second episode, "Spanish 101," killed my interest in the series. The Chevy Chase character, one of the most interesting from the pilot, was taken to absurd extremes here. A long and completely surreal episode-ending montage left me confused about what this series is trying to be. And the biggest crime: it just wasn't funny. My Thursday watch-list is getting shorter and shorter--which is definitely a good thing!

Friday, September 25th
In Joss I trust: Dollhouse (2x1)

Dollhouse's second season premiere, "Vows," was one of the most interesting--and confusing--episodes to date. I loved it! This will almost certainly be the last season of the show, and I look forward to the ride that Joss Whedon has planned for us.

Saturday, September 26th

There's something missing here! Fuck, CTV didn't air Defying Gravity this week! Apparently the next episode is airing on Space on October 2nd. That will be shitty non-HD quality, so I may just wait for the Blu-ray release of the series.

Sunday, September 27th
Good start to a reliably entertaining reality show: The Amazing Race (15x1)
Weaker than the pilot, but still my favourite new show: Bored to Death (1x2)
Hilarious return to form: Curb Your Enthusiasm (7x2)
Looks like it is going to be an excellent new season: Dexter (4x1)
Better than last week, but still way too much filler: Entourage (6x11)
Typical random, sometimes funny, sometimes not, nonsense: The Family Guy (8x1)

Curb Your Enthusiasm's "Vehicular Fellatio" was the funniest thing I saw all week. From the opening gag with the vacuum-sealed packaging to the hilarious payoff in the end, this episode was Larry David firing on all cylinders.

Dexter's fourth season premiere, "Living the Dream," sets up the pieces for what is sure to be an interesting storyline. I could do without all the Dexter and the baby action, but that is insignificant next to all the good things in this episode. The writers have also not forgotten the stories that were left hanging from the third season, which is nice.

Monday, September 28th
A small, clumsy step in the right direction: Heroes (4x3)
Some good, funny stuff, but not my favourite episode: The Big Bang Theory (3x2)

Heroes' "Ink" was an obvious filler episode, slowly moving pieces around, but it seems like the writers might have some interesting ideas in play this season with the newest characters. Claire's storyline is still extremely iffy, but the Matt/Sylar (or "Sylon"--bravo to TWOP for that one!) storyline has improved. As this is most likely Heroes' last season (due to awful ratings), I will hang in until the end of this very bumpy ride.

In Summary

Okay, so another long week of TV down, many, many, many more to go...

There are a number of shows that I haven't yet watched from this past week, generally because I had more of a life this week--which is obviously a good thing!--and these shows are on the bottom of my list: Merlin (2x2), American Dad (5x1), The Simpsons (12x1), House (6x2), and Modern Family (1x2). If I have anything to say about these shows, it will be in next week's review.

If I didn't enjoy watching this much TV, I wouldn't do it, but at the same time I wish there were less good shows to watch. As if all these shows weren't enough, I'm also catching up on some older series in my spare time (Breaking Bad, The Flight of the Conchords, Mad Men, True Blood). I'll probably have more to say about these older series in future reviews.