I Watch TV: 2011-2012, Finale (Part Two of Four)

Man, life ran away with me. I kept meaning to get back to this topic and then not finding the time to devote it. And now, suddenly, it's August and new shows are up next month. Time to get on the stick! (Gosh, I hope I still remember enough.)

NBC is on the clock for this segment.

Disclaimer: You shouldn't read if you don't want to risk spoilers!


Harry's Law (season two): I'm still smarting over the fact that this show got the ax. I am an unapologetic fan of the creator, David E Kelley, following Boston Legal. This show wasn't quite "favorite show" material, but it was good. The characters were eccentric and exaggerated and completely unrealistic in many ways, but they were believable in the ways that mattered, when it came to their emotions and their humanity. Kelley always weaves current hot topics into the fabric of his episodes, addressing them in an over-the-top manner, but still giving you plenty to chew on after the credits roll. I will miss that tremendously. Very few shows can pull off being both fun and thought-provoking, making you laugh in one scene and cry in the next.

Favorite characters: Harriet "Harry" Korn. Adam Branch.

Best episodes: "Sins of the Father." "American Girl." "New Kidney on the Block." "Onward and Upward."

Parenthood (season three): One of my favorite shows currently running. I look forward to the Braverman clan every week. They are so real. The interactions and the emotions. This is the first cast that has felt like "people I know" since the set of Friends faded to black. Like any family, sometimes you love them and sometimes you really don't. They make you cry, warm your heart, make you feel. Season three brought a lot of upheaval. So many changes happening now, more on the horizon. Big changes and emotional challenges. They've been through the wringer, screamed at each other, betrayed some trust, and hugged it out. My heart broke for Julia and Joel, and ached for Sarah, who I just can't help but feel belongs with Mark despite the challenges. I marveled at the the way Amber as grown and cringed for her during every awkward moment she faced as she tried to navigate things with Bob. I alternated between feeling for Kristina with her worries about her marriage and wanting to smack her for meddling in Amber's life. I was disappointed in Adam more than once--isn't he supposed to be "the good one" of the bunch? And all my angst over Crosby and Jasmine was ultimately rewarded. I love that their relationship is messy, because sometimes real love is not quite so tidy and glossy as television scripts would have us imagine. I am so excited that this show will return.

Favorite characters: This one is tough because I think you need them all for this show to work, and I love them all as much as I want to shake them silly. I guess, this season, it was Crosby Braverman, Julia Braverman-Graham and Sarah Braverman.

Best episodes: "Sore Loser." "Just Smile." "Remember Me, I'm the One Who Loves You." "My Brother's Wedding."

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (season thirteen): It's so difficult to say you like a show of this nature, when it is frequently disturbing and always revolving around the anguish of a victim. There just aren't many light moments in this show. And this season brought some new faces, with Elliot Stabler gone. Two new detectives join the squad, Amanda Rollins and Nick Amaro, and they bring their own baggage. The former has some gambling problems, which find her beaten and threatened on more than one occasion, and the latter is clearly having some marital turmoil with his active-military wife. We dabbled in a little bit of romance between Olivia and the Executive Assistant District Attorney David Haden (played by Harry Connick Jr), but, to be honest, we've spent so little time focused on the personal lives of the characters as they dig into the personal lives of victims and suspects, that it all felt very contrived. The season's finale cliffhanger left me lukewarm. When the Captain starts digging into some dirty cops who want him out of their hair, it appears he gets framed for the murder of a high end escort who was earlier fearing for her life. Did he do it? Will they find the truth? Only the Law & Order ::chung-chung:: chimes know...

Favorite characters: Oh, probably Sgt. John Munch. Mostly because his sarcastic commentary makes me laugh.

Best episodes: "Double Strands." "Lost Traveler." "Child's Welfare."

Are You There, Chelsea? (season one): This was one of those new shows you start watching and you're just not sure how you feel about it, so you keep watching, hoping it will tip one way or the other, and force you to make a decision one way or the other. We ended up watching the whole (half) season of a show (Winter premiere) that never got any less awkward than its title. (Seriously, I never understood why *that* was the title.) And it was neither a surprise nor a disappointment when it didn't get picked up for a second season. Actually, it was kind of a relief.

Favorite character: Ummm...Dee Dee, I guess?

Best episodes: Hahahaha. Episodes. Ok. How about just "Those Damn Yankees" and that isn't saying much since it's only redeeming value was that they focus on Chelsea being a diehard Red Sox fan.

Whitney (season one): I'm still not sure how I feel about this show. Whitney Cummings is actually fairly amusing in an annoying sort of way, which sums up her show in a nutshell, really. Her mannerisms and tone lend themselves much better to stand-up comedy (which is her "day job," so to speak), but while we nearly stopped watching the show on more than one occasion, it did finally get to be a bit more funny during its second half. I'll be shocked if it's a show we ever love (T will loathe Alex's lazy scruff for eternity, I suspect), it does stand a chance at making us laugh, so we'll keep allowing the DVR to pick it up and then watch it when we get to it (read: after we've watched all the other shows we like better).

Favorite characters: I don't have one. Maybe that's part of the issue this show has. None of them have stopped annoying me long enough to emerge as likable enough to be called a favorite.

Best episodes: "48 Hours." "Mad Women."

Up All Night (season one): Neurotic Christina Applegate entertains me. It's clear that this show, much like one third of the Brinkley household, is in its infancy. I feel like Up All Night has places to go, once it can establish who it is. To be honest, I could live with less Ava and Missy, but they are the key people-components to Reagan's job, which comprises one part of who she is as a professional, mother, wife, woman, and friend. I feel like this show is so close to grasping its identity, and when I look back at the first season of Friends, it gives me hope, because, let's face it, go back at watch that show's freshman attempts and they are just as not-quite-but-almost-there. That isn't to say I am proclaiming this the next Friends (yes, the measure by which I compare all sitcoms forever and ever amen), but I'm saying it has potential. And I'll be tuning in.

Favorite characters: Reagan Brinkley, in all her awkward glory.

Best episodes: "First Night Away." "The Proposals."

The Firm (season one): I am completely baffled how this show got dismissed unceremoniously to Saturdays so early on. It's not just another law show. There was a ton of thriller action. Granted, I am not sure how much longer the McDeeres could keep up at this pace and adrenaline level, all the while casting a glance over their shoulders, without succumbing to complete paranoia. However, the show was certainly entertaining. Kept me on the edge of my seat to the point that I had to watch episodes during daylight hours, simply because I was too amped up by them to watch before trying to sleep. Each week left you with its own cliffhanger. It wasn't to be though. One season of The Firm is all I will get...and I'm still not done with it yet. Once I knew it was canceled (although NBC was tricksy-tricksy by never really announcing it), I decided to hoard save the episodes, which were still airing well into July, as some summer entertainment, when tv pickings are slim.

Favorite characters: Mitch McDeere. Ray McDeere. Abby McDeere.

Best episodes: (of the ones I've watched so far, so through Chapter Seventeen) "Chapter Eleven." "Chapter Twelve." "Chapter Fourteen."

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Part One (ABC)