Post-Friday Night Notes

I started writing a post on TV this morning, but it didn't get finished. Here's what it said about tonight's shows.

I've been spending a lot of time away from the internet, per my last post. But here are some comments on TV stuff.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
I recently described this show as "Mad Men with killer robots from the future." That is not a joke. SCC is one of the best shows on television now. I don't know if it will be on television after tonight, but for the next few hours, it can reign supreme.

I'm still holding out hope that it'll squeeze out a little bit more story, but the show has really taken a hit in ratings since the move to Friday. On the other hand, I think that Fox has actually done all right by the show (except for the aforementioned timeslot change.) I know most fans didn't expect to get a full second season, and the show has been free to do a lot of very, very risky things with it. I just hope it manages some closure, either tonight, next season, or something else.

In cutting back spending, I've seriously cut back on DVD buying. This show is one that I'd definitely want to own.

Dollhouse
Dollhouse has not gotten awesome, but it's gotten okay. It would certainly be doing a lot better if it weren't saddled with the first five episodes of the season. In fact, if you decided not to watch the show after the pilot, you could probably enjoy episodes 6-8 more than those of us who watched 2-5. If you missed the pilot too, you can take episode 6 as probably a better pilot episode anyway.

The show still has problems, but starting at 6 means you don't have the debt of ill will that all the totally deliberate creepiness has left the rest of us. Ultimately, I'm most surprised that nobody's dead yet. Isn't this a Joss Whedon show? Doyle was dead in nine episodes, and people liked him. We're at the nine-episode point with Dollhouse tomorrow, and the status of the show has been quo for a bit too long. When I watched the pilot, I felt that Topher was played extra-creepy (compared to later episodes) to help justify killing him off later. Why can't later be sooner?

And Dollhouse is still doing better than SCC. Sigh.

No update on Sarah Connor because, as has often been the case after the last few episodes, I'm still speechless.

As for Dollhouse, ( spoilers for last night's episode )

Off to the Rennaissance Fair tomorrow for the first time in over a decade.