Surfing SF: Weekly Roundup, or Welcome to the Desert of the Real
You may notice a little bit of a break in posting to the blog this week, as I’ve been without reliable internet (and without TV!) and will be through Friday. I already wasn’t able to get a post up about this week’s Eureka, and that’s too bad because it was one of the better episodes of the season. They finally made decent use of James Callis as Grant, and they did a better job of handling the off-the-wall cross-over with Warehouse 13 than the other show did. Overall, however, it was a little bit of an off week all around.
If you were on vacation or your TV broke or something, this is the one episode from this week you should go back and watch. It’s my… Pick of the Week!
I’m going to give this to last Sunday’s True Blood, “Hitting the Ground”. Yes, there was another new episode last night, but see above re: no TV, and I’ve been tracking this show from a little bit of a distance anyway. This episode was particularly strong because it brought a wide variety of disparate plot threads together into a single coherent narrative, something we haven’t seen this show consistently pull off for a long time. We had decapitations, completely insane nudie dream sequences, exploding vampires, action hero Tara, and Denis O’Hare nailing his performance as the Vampire King of Mississippi. If I give the Pick of the Week to a True Blood episode in which Jessica does not even appear, imagine the potential the rest of the season has.
I may not be able to check out some of the great new episodes this week, but I wouldn’t want to leave you high and dry. Here’s your TV schedule for this week, all times Eastern:
Tuesday
New
-This week’s Warehouse 13 focuses on Pete, who may be turning to the dark side or something if the promos are to be believed. Tia Carrere guest stars at 9 on SyFy. What I want to know is, when are we going to see H.G. Wells again on this show?
-It’s not really SF, but I have a feeling a few around here will be interested. The fourth season of The IT Crowd debuts on IFC at 10:30pm. This show follows the nerdy workers at a corporate Information Technology department, and has developed a strong cult following.
Re-Runs
-I know we have a few Charmed fans here, and to each their own I say. To these blessedly ignorant few I present “A Witch in Time” (is there any episode title from this show that isn’t an awful pun?) at 8am this morning on TNT. This is one of higher-drama episodes of the show, involving lots of crazy time travel and Phoebe’s boyfriend being fated to die, so if you’re gonna check it out, today might be the day.
Thursday
New
-This week’s Futurama is called “A Clockwork Origin” and involves robot dinosaurs. Viewing commences at 10pm on Comedy Central.
Re-Runs
-You may not remember the third season Angel episode “A New World”, written and directed by Tim Minear, so here’s some spoilers: Angel’s baby, suddenly a teenager, jumps out of a portal, gets into an awesome slow-motion fight, runs away, cuts off a drug dealer’s ear, makes out with a girl, but then she ODs on heroin and dies, and then Angel gets shot with a shotgun. Or something. Check out one of the show’s weirder cul-de-sacs at 6am on TNT.
Friday
New
-Eureka continues its time-displacement story arc this week with the creatively-titled “Momstrosity”. You can check that out at 9pm on SyFy.
-That’s followed by another new episode of Haven, which I think swung for thematic respectability last week and ended up with an incomprehensible mess set to some pretty decent music. See how they follow that up at 10pm on SyFy.
Re-Runs
-Part of the problem with Smallville (along, with, you know, the quality) is that the show continues to attempt to incorporate random bits of DC Universe mythology and yet, most of the time, changes it beyond all recognition. I have no problem with reimaginings, I really don’t, but I draw the line at the Justice League in hoodies. I rather enjoy the unabashed cheesiness of Michael Shanks’ Hawkman, though, so they don’t have a zero batting average. Anyway, at 8pm on the CW you can witness the show’s attempt to bring Checkmate to life on the small screen.
-If you’re looking for TV that’s actually good, check out Logo at 6pm, because they’re showing “Innocence”, the episode of Buffy that series creator Joss Whedon has more than once pegged as the one that really showed him how good the show could really be.
Saturday
New
-This week on Being Human, which unfortunately I’ve lost track of a little bit since the premiere, George tries to tranq himself at the full moon to reign in the werewolf. The results may be disastrous. Find out for yourself at 9pm on BBC America.
Sunday
New
-The promo for this week’s True Blood promises that Bill will reveal the truth about Sookie… to Sookie. Also lots of vampire awesomeness. Required viewing starts at 9pm on HBO.
-The Gates continues to exist, which is sort of surprising. There’s a new episode at 10pm on ABC.
Monday
New
-News of a new Scooby Doo series on Cartoon Network isn’t normally enough to raise my interest. However, I was caught in a room with a TV showing the first episode of Scooby Doo Mystery Inc. this week and discovered a few bits of interest. First off, this show is attempting to have some sort of season-long story-arc with a “Big Bad”-type of villain, which seems like a new innovation for the franchise. Also, Velma and Shaggy seem to be dating in this version. If that sounds like something you need to see for yourself, tune in at 7pm for the new episode.
So, can True Blood defend its title next week, or will it be usurped by robot dinosaurs or ear-collecting extra-dimensional teenagers? All will be revealed in the fullness of time!
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