(Note to blog readers expecting an August Top Ten TV list: It will be at the end.)
First, from Entertainment Weekly’s fall movie preview, I’ve made a list of big-screen movies I want to see (sans any $6 popcorn at AMC Theaters at Concord Mills). Topping my list, of course, is "Skyfall," the next installment in the James Bond franchise, which is scheduled in theaters on 11.09.12.
Also, "Resident Evil" Retribution" on 09.14.12 (okay, so what if I love Milla Jovovich in action movies!); "Looper" (with Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis) on 09.28.12; "Argo" (a Ben Affleck film) on 10.12.12; "Killing Them Softly" (Brad Pitt) on 10.19.12; "The Hobbit" on 12.14.12; "Zero Dark Thirty" (about Osama Bin Laden’s ultimate death) on 12.19.12; "Jack Reacher" (Tom Cruise) on 12.21.12; and "Django Unchained (a Quentin Tarentino flick with Jamie Foxx) on 12.25.12.Second, from TV Guide’s fall sneak peak (plus an Internet search), For I have dipt into the future, far as the human eye could see (a la Alfred Lord Tennyson) and don’t like what I read about the upcoming season. Admittedly, I am a procedural drama viewer – not reality shows (are they really, really real, I ask?); not "American Idol"-type programs with ego problems; not "Dancing With the Stars"; and definitely not any show having to do with bachelors and bachelorettes.
For me, the coming fall premieres will create serious gaps in my TV watching. Looking over the schedule, I have one show from ABC ("Castle"), zero programs from NBC (unless I count "Whitney," which I’ve viewed on and off), and, maybe, one FOX show ("Bones" – again and on and off program).
Everything else is on CBS – "NCIS"; "NCIS: Los Angeles"; "CSI"; "Person of Interest"; and "CSI: New York." There are other CBS shows that I watch on occasion – "2 Broke Girls"; "Mike and Molly"; and "The Big Bang Theory." Now that "The Mentalist" has been moved from Thursday to Sunday night, the program will join "The Good Wife" as minimal viewing. As for the latter two shows, any time a NFL game runs past seven o’clock, then the scheduling becomes askew and most of the time I never know when to set my DVR. I can just overlap shows so much.
Anyway, I’m still pissed at CBS for canceling "Unforgettable" and "CSI: Miami" (which fell into the Sunday night scheduling fiasco), so I don’t intend to watch "Vegas" or "Elementary" although reading about Lucy Lui playing Dr. Watson to Jonny Lee Miller’s latter-day Sherlock Holmes is tempting.
All that said (or written), here’s my Top Ten August television shows (with comments):
1. Perception (TNT). I really, really like this show because it tickles the inner recesses of my brain matter. Eric McCormack and Rachael Leigh Cook star.
2. The Glades (A&E). The summer season ender absolutely floored me. Matt Passmore and Kiele Sanchez star.
3. Rizzoli & Isles (TNT). A favorite in June, R&I started out with a rush, but took a nose-dive mid-season. Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander star.
4. Necessary Roughness (USA). The plot thickened and thickened and thickened – right up through the summer season ender. Callie Thorne stars.
5. Burn Notice (USA). Always one of my favorites. The summer season ender left me – and the Good Guys – out in left field. Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, Bruce Campbell, Coby Bell and Sharon Gless star.
6. Warehouse 13 (SyFy). Season started out slowly, but picked up quickly to whet my appetite. It sort of replaces the weirdness that made "Eureka" (R.I.P.) a favorite pastime. Saul Rubinek, Allison Scagliotti, Joanne Kelly and Eddie McClintock star.
7. Lost Girl (SyFy). The program has moved from Monday to Friday, but still a good action show with an interesting overall plotline. Anna Silk and Ksenia Solo star.
8. Covert Affairs (USA). Started out with a bang – literally – but has veered from the action-packed spydom stuff into oftentimes boring character development avenues. I need Annie Walker (Piper Perabo) to be kicking butts!
9. The Closer (TNT). In July, my No. 4 program. But as the series wound down to its final airing, it seemed to me that the writers just ran out of interesting cases to give Brenda Leigh Johnson (Kyra Sedgwick) a proper sendoff. As I recently posted on Facebook, "The Closer" didn’t give me any closure. (Note to sticklers for details: Yes, I spelled Leigh as Lee in a previous column. I stand corrected.)
10. Alphas (SyFy). Cracked the Top Ten for August with action-packed storylines.
For those of us who were endeared to the supporting cast in "The Closer," "Major Crimes" promised a continuing relationship – but with changes. G.W. Bailey (Lt. Provenza), Tony Denison (Lt. Flynn), Michael Paul Chen (Lt. Tao), Raymond Cruz (Det. Sanchez), Phillip P. Keene (Buzz) and Robert Gossett (Assistant Chief Taylor) are back. So is Mary McDonnell (Capt. Raydor), who has assumed the role of department leader. Kearran Giovanni as Det. Sykes is a welcomed addition to the office, but "Major Crimes" writers need to lose the whining Rusty Beck (Graham Patrick Martin) character if "Major Crimes" is going to succeed as "The Closer’s" successor. Thank goodness for DVR and the fast forward button so that i can zip through the inane storyline involving Capt. Raydor trying to mother a lost soul. Get her a cat! That’s what Brenda Leigh had!
The fourth season of "Sons of Anarchy" premieres 09.11.12 on FX. (Hey, it’s one of my guilty pleasures while sitting on the couch eating a 30-cent bag of popcorn!) And, as previously mentioned last month, "Haven" (SyFy) premieres 09.21.12.
One final observation. Beverley commented on my July Top Ten blog, "Elbert, what about ‘Person of Interest’? And then there is the marvelous PBS special ‘Endeavour’ paying homage to my beloved Morse. Did you see that one?"
Beverley, since "Person of Interest" (CBS) is in summer reruns, the show doesn’t qualify for my Top Ten list (but will likely be near the No. 1 spot after it premieres on 09.27.12). As for "Endeavour" (PBS), I confess that I knew nothing about Det. Endeavour Morse (Shaun Evans), but after reading about the program, I think I will try to catch repeats.
ERM-TV has signed off.
