It's been a while since I did a TV entry, and we're far enough into the new season that I've seen 2-3 episodes of all the new shows I thought I might like (and some I just had to see because I couldn't believe they got on the air). I had high hopes for a lot of shows this year, partly because with Veronica Mars gone I had an opening both for a new obsession and a new girl-kicking-ass show. Which is why I had really high hopes for Bionic Woman, and also why I watched three whole episodes before finally giving up. The show's developed a sense of humor since the dreary pilot, and also killed off the dull (and not really that cute) fiancee, which helps, but it's still really inconsistent and there seems to be a lot of forgoing human logic in order to get a cool scene, which most of the time isn't that cool anyway. I'll probably still see it a lot, because it happens to be in the timeslot between my two new favorites, but I also suspect 9 pm Wednesday may become my new time to do the dishes.

The other show I thought I would love, based on the promos, was Pushing Daisies. Words can not describe how much I do, in fact, love this show after only two episodes. Actually, words can't really describe this show in a way that really does it justice. It's stylized to a degree that isn't going to work for everyone, but it's also really clever. I can illustrate both with the same example from last night's episode: the villian of this week's episode, the inventor of an alternative fuel car, is arrested after the Hummer in which he's pursuing the main characters runs out of gas. Which sounds clever, but fairly standard until I add in that the alternative fuel was made from dandelions and he killed his victims while dressed like a crash test dummy. Then it gets a little ...acid trippy. Also, Kristen Chenowith had a subplot in which she sang "Hopelessly Devoted to You" and it was both awesome and hilarious. Perhaps the whole detective story + magical realism + occasional musical interlude might add up to too much for some people (my brothers, for instance) but for me it's like someone reached into my brain and mashed up all the stuff I love and put it on TV. (Except sports, I guess -- well, unless you count the synchronized swimming that Chuck's aunts used to do.) Anyway, I highly recommend it, but I would also totally understand if you watch five minutes and want to gag.

I did not expect to like Dirty Sexy Money at all, as the promos made it look like a soap opera about rich people, which is usually the exact opposite of my preferred viewing. But I read a few positive comments from people who's judgment I usually agree with, and it has Peter Krause in it, who will always be Casey on Sports Night to me, so I gave the pilot a shot and was pleasantly surprised. It's a lot funnier than I expected, the Darlings are totally ridiculous, but in a very appealing way (with the exception of Brian, but part of the joke is that the sibling in the clergy is the one who's wholly detestable). With the whole possibly-murdered-father plot it kind of feels like an adult version of Veronica, except with more emphasis on the humor than the mystery. Sus even found it entertaining and it's really not her type of show, either. This one's also worth a look, or a TiVo or whatever your preferred method of watching TV is these days.

It's really just a coincidence that all these shows happen to air on Wednesdays -- I've watched other stuff, too, just none of it really impressed or disappointed me like these. It does work out well for my non-DVR-having self to have one convenient veg out in front of the TV night, though.