Test Pattern #11

Homeland (Season 1) - The return of Claire Danes to television, and probably the best debut season to come out in a while. Claire plays Carrie, a gifted CIA officer who believes that a returning POW has been turned by enemy forces. That game of cat and mouse is already compelling on its own, but Carrie's a bit more complicated with her sexual habits and her secret mental illness.

In Treatment (Season 1) - A glimpse inside Dr. Paul Weston's psychology practice. The episodes follow one patient's therapy for each day of the work week, including Paul's own therapy with a colleague, for about 6 weeks. Season 1 has Laura and all of her relationship and transference issues, Alex and his PTSD and father issues, Sophie the teen gymnast and her attempted suicide, and Amy & Jake's crumbling marriage. Meanwhile, Paul is dealing with his own family drama, namely that his wife is having an affair.

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Season 4) - Well the gang continues to act badly. Season 4 doesn't offer up anything particularly different, so I would assume that people have decided if they like this show or not by now. I do have to point out that this season contains one of my least favorites episodes - "Who Pooped the Bed?"

New Girl (Season 1) - I really wanted to not like this show. I've been saying that Zooey Deschanel is totally overrated for years - just a cute girl with her stupid cotton commercials. However, after accidentally watching an early episode, and being prepared to hate it, instead I found myself laughing aloud and relating a lot to the characters. I think the show is smart in addressing Zooey's brand of quirk and how it may be off-putting for some, but I also think it has a lot of heart in the interpersonal relationships between all of the roommates.

RuPaul's Drag Race (Season 4) - I think this season may have had the weakest competition yet. There really wasn't a clear frontrunner until the last few episodes. Also, I think the girls were not required to do as much difficult costume construction...previous episodes have made a big deal about who could sew and who couldn't, but that never really came up. I'm happy with the winner, but even she was a queen that I initially didn't like, but really came around to for her sense of humor throughout the season.

Skins UK (Season 5) - I don't think any generation of the Skins cast will be as compelling as the first one. This time we have Franky, an androgynous girl who experienced a lot of bullying at her last school. Matty and Nick, brothers who struggle with each other, but even more so against their father. Mini the bitchy virgin, Liv the slutty one, and Grace the good girl are all best friends. Grace also gets involved with metal rocker Rich. And then there's weirdo Alo. I think it's fair that this show is getting cancelled.

the Voice (Season 2) - Coaches got have twice as many people on their teams to increase show duration (apparently something that NBC needed badly to boost their ratings). The blind auditions were fun again, but during the battle rounds, I think the judges made some really poor choices. Even after many favorites were gone, I still felt compelled to watch. Some other noticeable trends were that America for a while only seemed like it was going to save the men in the competition. Also, Christina seemed to be on quite the bitchy rampage this year. Where last year Adam and Christina seemed to have a sibling type relationship, this year I felt like she made a point to criticize Adam and his final team member at every chance. She also cannot shut up about herself, even when trying to give someone a compliment. I hope she settles down next season.

the Walking Dead (Season 2) - This season immediately correct the problems with the ending of season 1. For most of the season, the group is staying on a farm. The family that still lives there vacillates between being on good or bad terms with Rick and company. There's also a number of shocking deaths, but I was glad that the show went there. 100% better than the previous season.

Test Pattern #7 - Part 2

America's Next Top Model (Cycle 16) - The one good thing about this cycle compared to last, was that there really wasn't a clearcut winner from the beginning (I love Ann from last season, but total lack of tension or surprise). The problem is that I don't feel like anyone was really really strong. One of my favorites won, but overall this will be a forgettable season.

Chicago Code (Season 1) - Really great show that is like a hybrid of Law & Order but heavily influenced by the Wire. The new Chicago police superintendent is trying to crack down on corruption, a widespread epidemic in Chicago's political system. In particular, she is trying to convict one alderman who has his hands in the Irish mob, and pays off people all over the city. However, he is good at what he does, so it's hard to get anything to stick. Meanwhile, there is still everyday crime to deal with in the town. We get to know a handful of the officers and one undercover agent, all the more sad that Fox did not decide to renew this show for another season. I guess, I will just have to watch the show creator's previous project, the Shield.

Community (Season 2) - Community was a really interesting show this season. While there were general plot arcs, mainly it seemed as though the show was more focused on being "meta" about genre and television/film conventions. There's the animated Christmas special, the revisionist Western paintball finales, a Pulp Fiction/My Dinner with Andre tribute, and an episode about making documentaries. I think this show is so fun and smart, and really not like anything else on television.

Glee (Season 2) - Nowhere near as strong as the first season, but still some tearjerky moments and attention paid to the life of queer teenagers. The group finally makes it past Regionals, so the driving force this season is to win at Nationals. Relationship-wise, lots of boyfriend swapping, and one of the students realizes she is a lesbian, even if she is not ready to come out yet. The Britney Spears episode was a highlight, and any episode dealing with Blaine (especially the "Teenage Dream" performance. I'm fine with the addition of big girl Lauren, but I don't necessarily feel like she brings light to anything, and the only time you really hear her sing is the Waitresses "I Know What Boys Like"...a favorite of mine, but still. I'm pretty over the Finn/Rachel/Quinn dynamic which is sure to continue next season. Also, Gwyneth Paltrow was fun for one season, but I think she had too much screen time - Bring back Uncle Jesse!

the Office (Season 7) - the Office is a show that I wish would have ended somewhere around Jim and Pam's wedding, and yet I still have to watch. This was Steve Carell's last season, and the last half of this season seems to focus on saying goodbye in one form or another...really a perfect place to stop, but instead, apparently a new boss is going to take over and the show will continue. I liked having Holly Flack (Amy Ryan) back for a few episodes, and the addition of creepy Gabe was a good call in my opinion (all though it seems like he might be gone now). As usual, I wish the supporting characters would have more developed storylines, since this can be such a funny cast. In particular Kelly Kapoor (Mindy Kaling) should be on screen way more because she is the best. I also always want more Darryl, and occasionally more Creed and Kevin.

30 Rock (Season 5) - This show used to be the highlight of NBC's Thursday night line-up, but this year that honor definitely has been handed over to Parks & Recreation. That isn't to say that this show isn't funny anymore, but when you go back and look at the episodes from Seasons 2 & 3, there just really isn't a comparison. The main problem this year was the disappearance of Tracy Jordan. Also, the show made Kenneth do too many stupid things...I think everyone is fine with him being a naive hillbilly, but he shouldn't be made to look like he suffers from a mental health condition. Alec Baldwin as Jack is great as always, but Elizabeth Banks as Avery just can't possibly live up to some of Jack's old love interests (I'm thinking specifically of Salma Hayek), all though, thank God Julianne Moore and her horrendous Boston accent are no longer around.

Walking Dead (Season 1) - AMC is doing a great job of presenting a variety of quality shows. The first season of Walking Dead does a get job of setting up a group of characters in a really high stakes world. A zombie epidemic has been unleashed, and the apocalyptic tone is fantastic. I didn't realize there were only 6 episodes, and things move along quickly. I feel like everyone knows that the end of the season really sucks...it's like the writers wrote themselves into a corner, but I have faith with the return of producer Frank Darabont, and a more hands-on approach, the story can be salvaged next season.