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Some random notes on teevee I’ve been watching of late: :: This is surely going to go down as American Idol‘s worst season. It’s been awful. Just awful. We’re down to the final 11 now, but even when they were in the final 24, it was clear that there were only two or three strong contestants and a whole bunch of singers ranging from “Meh” to “OMG please put down the microphone before you kill again”. And that was before one of the truly unique and impressive singers, Lilly Scott, was eliminated before she even got to the final 12.Down the rabbit hole….

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I’ve been watching Grey’s Anatomy ever since somewhere around the midway point in its first season, and in all that time, Dr. Miranda Bailey has been one of my favorite characters. The show’s focus tends to remain on Meredith Grey and the original surgical interns who worked under Bailey, but Bailey often steals the show and often provides the show’s grounding during its odder flights of fancy. So, Bailey was originally one of my favorite characters on the show. And then, after several seasons, this moment took place, involving a teenage kid who had tried to impress a girl byDown the rabbit hole….

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Here’s part of the AOL welcome screen that greeted me this morning: Eight is Enough. “Classic” episode. Sometimes the world scares me. Eight is Enough? Classic episode?! Are we now defining “classic” teevee as “that which was originally televised more than thirty years ago”? Because, if we are, the whole notion of shark-jumping is in for some unfortunate revision…. Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….

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Back when we first got our flatscreen HD television, a bit less than a year ago, everybody told me that two things justified the purchase: movies, and televised sports. Now, with movies, this is clearly the case. Sports, I suppose; the only sport I watch much at all anymore is football, and it certainly does look better in HD, especially in a widescreen format so when the players are lining up, I can even see what the safeties are up to. (With the Bills, they’re usually gesturing back and forth to see if the other knows where he should be,Down the rabbit hole….

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Scrubs returns to the air tonight, but it will look significantly different than it did in its previous eight seasons: only three of the old cast regulars will be regulars on the new season (Turk, Dr. Cox, and the new intern last year dubbed ‘Jo’ by JD). Joining them will be a new cast, but other old regulars will apparently turn up in guest shots throughout the season. In addition, the show’s setting is changed, from Sacred Heart Hospital to a medical school where Turk and Cox are, I presume, teaching. Has there ever been a show that returned butDown the rabbit hole….

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SamuraiFrog points out that today is the 40th anniversary of Sesame Street. Wow. That means that the show was only a few years old when I was a part of its core audience. My memory of that period of my life is admittedly vague, but I recall being distinctly upset when it seemed like most of the day was gone and Sesame Street was still a few hours away from being on teevee. (I think it was on at 4:00 or something like that.) My era was, of course, pre-Elmo. I had no idea who Elmo even was until TheDown the rabbit hole….

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SamuraiFrog on The Office so far this season: Last week’s episode of The Office was the best this season. I liked the wedding episode, but the “mafia” episode was a real dud. There were a lot of people out there screaming about shark-jumping, which I thought was premature. Besides, you can’t even claim a show jumped the shark at a certain point until at least a half-season has gone by: the phrase is about the overall effect, not immediate bitching about something that pissed you off. There’s a new phrase for that: “nuking the fridge.” That’s when you idiotically whineDown the rabbit hole….

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Just a few quick thoughts from some recent teevee viewing: :: I understand why FOX had to do it, but geez, going from final three to the winner of Hell’s Kitchen in a single two-hour episode really seems rushed to me. In the past, the final two have had a two-hour show (or a two-parter) to themselves. (FOX’s scheduling bit the show in the arse — FOX runs the Major League Baseball playoffs, which are going on now, so it was either wrap HK up faster than usual, or have it go away for three weeks and then have theDown the rabbit hole….

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Some stuff on teevee of late: :: I make no apologies at all for my continuing love for Grey’s Anatomy, which is now entering its sixth season. The show’s ensemble continues to be strong, although I still seriously dislike Izzie Stevens (and I disliked her character even before it turned out that actress Katherine Heigl is a complete self-absorbed flake). I like how the show has modified its ensemble a little at a time, adding a character here and subtracting a character there; this maintains chemistry a lot more effectively than the approach taken by ER, which would introduce newDown the rabbit hole….

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You know how lots of times, in movies and teevee shows, someone will read a letter? And we might get a very brief glimpse of the letter itself, but not even close to being enough to actually read the physical contents of the letter (which is a prop)? Well, enter the DVD freeze frame, from an episode of Leave It To Beaver. Hilarious! Share This PostDown the rabbit hole….