Television Collision: Which Shows Made a Glorious Fall Comeback?
Written by: Phoebe Raven, CC2K Staff Writer
The week of reckoning was upon us, the week we have all been waiting for all summer long (when we weren’t watching Mad Men or True Blood): the Week of Returns. All the fall shows came out of summer hiatus and some did so with guns blazing, while others fell short of the promises they gave last season.
Here’s a short breakdown of some of them:
The Vampire Diaries
The CW’s own take on the supernatural was one of the first shows to come back on the air and three episodes into Season Two it is a lot more of the same. Damon and Elena are back to hating each other after Damon killed her little brother Jeremy. THAT incident was actually shocking and would have been a brilliant twist
if Jeremy had actually died. Stupid magic rings ruin the whole show sometimes. The necessity for them is obvious, who wants to watch another vampire show that takes place only at night and is incredibly hard to light in all the dark rooms? And yet these rings are decidedly too easy to make, as Bonnie has shown, and therefore lose their specialness. Making Caroline a vampire was again a cop-out. She is annoying anyway, her friendship with Elena and Bonnie was never believable, so why not go for shock value and kill her? Right, we’re watching the CW, never mind.
The Vampire Diaries remains skipable except for the hotness of Ian Somerhalder.
How I Met Your Mother
Another show with more of the same. Some of this is a good thing, like the return of the always lovely Rachel Bilson and her fearless girl on girl kiss with a hot blonde. Marshall and Lily are also still the same, while moving forward and making a baby. Barney is still the same and still a hoot. Just Ted is still lame as a limping turtle. Can we get on with the story yet?
Castle
Did anyone fall for that set-up of Beckett pointing her gun at Castle and a shot being fired? Yeah, I didn’t think so. The show continues to construct paper-thin cases, but I forgive it for three reasons: Nathan Fillion is awesome, his chemistry with his on-screen daughter is awesome and his chemistry with his on-screen mom is awesome. In short: Nathan Fillion is awesome!
Life Unexpected
I wanted to rejoice that Cate and Ryan actually got married, but I have a feeling Season Two is going to be all about turning that around and finally throwing Baze and Cate into one pot (or one bed again). Bug leaving was a relief, he was holding Lux back, who is taking remarkable steps to be a “normal” high school girl, just as screwed up as everyone else. The introduction of her new love interest, who just happens to be her new teacher, was also another great move. The show continues to be unexpected, witty and yet very light snacking. Thumbs up.
Bones
Eh. As per usual with this show, the opener left me lukewarm. A time jump is always one of the devices a lazy storyteller falls back on when he or she has maneuvered themselves into a corner they know no other way out of. It was the case with Bones‘ writers, I’ve had issues with them for years (read about it here and here). How do we advance Angela and Hodgins’ relationship? Jump ahead in time and give them a baby. How do we give the annoying psychologist a chance to grow? Jump ahead in time and let him spend that time playing piano in bars and malls. How do we not put our leading couple together even though everyone knows they should be and yet maintain the tension between them? Jump ahead in time, throw in a pseudo-serious girlfriend for the male lead, but in the meantime, keep them apart for a while so they “have to get to know each other again”. Eh. Eh. Eh.
And why exactly is Cam the best at her job but misses signs of malnutrition and a puncture wound and hence needs saving? I’m not buying it. I haven’t been buying a lot of Bones‘ storytelling. Ever.
Grey’s Anatomy
How do you come back from a finale as grand as last years? I complained about some of the short-cuts and easy answers in the Season Six finale, but the fallout of it isn’t compromised at all by the fact no one we really cared about died. Derek was shot, Meredith lost a baby, Cristina operated with a gun to her head, Bailey lost an intern. Shonda Rhimes can be very dark and twisted, but in the Season Seven opener hope was omnipresent. I have nothing to complain about. Meredith was her usual twisty self again, not telling Derek about the baby, while Lexi busted Karev’s chops in a big way. Even Mark Sloan was utterly lovable in the way he cared for Lexi and cheered Callie on. But the best part of the whole episode, of which I couldn’t bear to watch the scenes in the OR for once, was when my favourite TV couple in years tied the knot. A big YAY for Owen and Cristina! Although I see bumps in the road because it all happened awfully quick, I rejoice at the fact that the characters on the show are allowed to grow up and become better, bigger, shiny new people. Just like Meredith said in her cheesy voiceover.
House
This show is always remarkable when it strays from its own formula, because it does so with intent and purpose. After years of keeping us hanging on, we deserved an episode dealing almost exclusively with the Huddy situation and how it could, would and maybe even will affect the every-week dealings at Princeton Plainsboro. Yeah, yeah, yeah, so Thirteen pulled a Kaiser Soze light on everyone and disappeared, who cares? The real question is: what do the fading smiles on House and Cuddy’s faces at the end of the episode mean? Are they not going to give their relationship a shot? Do they already know it can’t work? Or are they just freaked out by the fact that once they step inside the hospital together, it all becomes very real and potentially very messy?
Plus, Wilson climbing through the window and being rolled into the kitchen by House? A total win.
Just the new opening credits broke my heart. Jennifer Morrison, I miss you and wish you all the best!