Is it bad that I'm totally ready for the TV doldrums known as December? I need a break, people. In the meantime, though, some notes on Monday night...

I still find Gossip Girl entertaining, but much like The O.C. before it, Josh Schwartz has created a lead couple (or non-couple, as the case may be) that is simultaneously boring and annoying. ( The simplest terms and the most convenient definitions )

Meanwhile, I'm so over Heroes that I have no idea why I'm still watching. Seth Green and Breckin Meyer were the only redeeming aspects this week, and they're guest stars. Every sixth episode feels like a giant do-over. There's no continuity. There's no plot progression. No one ever dies (except recurring characters that I actually like). The integration of storylines is practically nonexistent--it's like four separate shows that happen to share an hour.

So why can't I stop watching?

Also, if you have not already done so, please feel free to request a fic for my 12 Days of Crossovers Fic Challenge!

So much TV, so little time. So far, the only new show that I've tried and abandoned this season is True Blood. My Own Worst Enemy and Life On Mars haven't premiered yet, so we'll see how those go. I'm still watching 90210, although it's getting harder and harder to justify why. I checked out The Ex List, and it's cute enough to warrant another viewing. Was bored last Sunday, and ended up watching Valentine, mostly for Autumn Reeser and Patrick Fabian (Taylor Townshend! and Professor Lasky!). Total brain candy, and I doubt that I'd bother to DVR it, but if I'm home, I'll probably watch. I also got totally sucked into Life, which is entirely the fault of monimala

So far this week, I've managed to watch The Big Bang Theory, Chuck, Heroes, Life, NCIS, Bones, Private Practice, and CSI: NY. HIMYM, GG, TSCC, 90210, Privileged, and two episodes of FNL (not to mention my continued backlog of House, entourage, Lost, and SPN) still await me. *sigh*

Here's the thing. I love HIMYM. I love Barney. I love Barney/Robin. It's a fantastic show that has become a part of my cultural lexicon. But minute for minute, I laugh longer and harder at The Big Bang Theory. This was a show I fully expected to loathe, that I started watching only as a time-filler. But dude, I love this show. My level of geekitude is moderate (increased by an engineering degree and an undying love of Star Wars, but tempered by a lack of any sort of videogame or roleplaying savvy), but this show totally speaks my language. Plus the characters are endearing, in large part because of--not in spite of--their flaws. And really, how often do you come across a show that makes visual jokes out of non-Newtonian fluids?

I continue to very much enjoy Chuck as well. It's a bit of a candy-coated show for me--nothing particularly deep or thought-provoking, but good, solid entertainment. Plus, Captain Awesome is still, well, awesome. ( Bartowski. Chuck Bartowski. )

Heroes continues to show flashes of greatness in between tidal waves of mediocrity. The nearly continual time-jumping has gotten old. ( The Once and Future Peter )

I am in Life overload, after marathoning S1 online and then NBC doing the two-episodes-per-week schedule. I'm still not quite sure how I feel about the changes made for S2. ( Really bad lipstick )

I still love me some NCIS, but I can't say that I found this week's episode overly engaging. ( Cupcake Caper )

Bones: Still not as good without Zack. Wasn't impressed with this week's NotZack. And yes, writers, we get it: Temperance isn't religious. Get a new idea already.

Private Practice still has lots of pretty people. That said...( Wow, incest really is the new black )

Monday night was the first test of fall DVR insanity, although Chuck still isn't back. I managed to watch Gossip Girl, Heroes (how did I not realize it was two hours?), How I Met Your Mother, and The Sarah Connor Chronicles. The Big Bang Theory is on tap for after work tonight, and as planned, I've abandoned One Tree Hill, even though I will miss Jamie.

Gossip Girl continues to be all sorts of trashy fun, and I really enjoyed most of the developments in last night's episode. ( All hail Queen S )

Another decent, if not spectacular, episode of The Sarah Connor Chronicles this week. ( Sorry, Charley )

And then, of course, there was Heroes. Holy crap, a lot of stuff happened. It was confusing enough on its own, but add the huge time gap since the S2 finale aired, and I had trouble keeping up.

( Playing catch-up )

On tap for tonight: DVRing NCIS and The Mentalist (mmm, Simon Baker) on CBS, and House and Fringe on FOX. 90210 and Eureka get the live view, Greek will be recorded during its Wednesday late-night re-airing, and I'll catch Privileged on Sunday. At least this is the mid-season finale for Eureka, which will make things a little easier.

Few minutes late with this one...my apologies.

Title: Twelve Days of Veronica (A Dirty Dozen): Nine Shocking Encounters
Author: angel_grace
Rating: R, for language
Pairing: Veronica/Peter Petrelli
Spoilers: Through the series finale of VM; through the current episode of S2 of Heroes.
Summary: Having someone else's face can be incredibly dangerous.
Disclaimer: Veronica Mars and its characters were created by Rob Thomas. I'm not him. Heroes and its characters were created by Tim Kring. Not him either.
Author's Note: Written for my own personal 12 Days of Veronica Fic Challenge. The prompt, "nine shocking encounters," was supplied by prv_3_13_15.

( Nine shocking encounters )

Another week of solid Monday-night TV. Barney continues to be made of awesome, Heroes is on an upswing, and The Big Bang Theory actually makes me laugh. What more can I ask for?

Some of my favorite episodes of Friends were the flashbacks, and the same holds true for this week's How I Met Your Mother. Between the bad hair, horrendous fashions, and pop-culture references, it's a fun trip back in time. Part of what makes this show so appealing to me is that I am roughly the same age as the characters (I'm a year older), so many of their cultural touchstones are the same as mine. ( Crazy-Hot )

Meanwhile, Heroes had its strongest episode of the season. The plot is finally advancing! ( Who's your daddy? )

I seem to be over my bout with the flu, thank goodness. I'm back at work, but still exhausted thanks to the totally messed-up sleep schedule the illness created. After initially going to bed on Monday night, I ended up being awake until 4 am due to overwhelming nausea and other unpleasantness. I finally slept from 4 until 10 yesterday morning, and then forced myself to stay awake in hopes of being able to sleep last night. And I did sleep, but I'm still tired.

In happier news, Heroes finally seems to be on a bit of an upswing. There were still things I didn't like about this week's episode (namely the WonderTwits and West), but the season is starting to take shape. ( Photo opportunity )

This week's episode of How I Met Your Mother wasn't the best of the season, but it was still amusing. And Barney and Robin totally need to hook up. Also, someone seriously needs to buy Ted a comb.

Due to postseason baseball, the only thing I watched last night was NCIS. (I have officially abandoned Reaper.) As usual, it was a solid episode, complete with Gibbs/Abby cuteness! ( And they call it Ducky love )

Oh, Heroes. Why must you be so disappointing? I suppose I shouldn't be overly surprised, given that I was utterly underwhelmed when the series premiered last season, and the first season finale didn't exactly blow me away. Still, I had hoped that the second season would have the same kind of energy and momentum that the middle of S1 did. Sadly, that is not the case so far.

( Spoilers ahoy )

In contrast to my Heroes disappointment, How I Met Your Mother continues to exceed my expectations this season. Even if Ted is, at heart, basically a tool. ( But what about the pineapple? )

Welcome back, TV! The fall season is underway, and I'm already enjoying it. I'm not sure when I'm going to sleep with all the shows I want to watch--hurray for TiVo.

Although the return of Heroes was quite exciting, I was looking forward to a new How I Met Your Mother just as much, and it didn't disappoint.
( ...dary! )

( Bring on the Petrellicest )

I also watched the premiere of Journeyman, which wasn't quite as much of a Quantum Leap ripoff as I thought it would be. The show was a little confusing, and I'm not sure I'll bother to record it, but it was an agreeable enough way to pass an hour. ( Paging Sam Beckett )

Life has gotten quite a bit better since my last post. My stress level at work has gone way down, and in the last three days or so I seem to have remembered how to sleep at night.

I'm also quite proud of myself, because I finally joined the community center at the local park district. They have really nice cardio and strength training equipment, and I've gone 5 of the last 6 days. Right now I'm just doing 30 minutes on the bicycle, but it's a start. I can't help but think that the physical activity is helping me sleep better. I've been pretty down on my self-image for a while, and I'm hoping this changes that.

Went and bought FNL on DVD today, which I'm very excited about. One of my friends pre-ordered Heroes for me as a birthday gift, but it's being shipped to her house, so I don't actually have it yet. I also need to go buy House S3.

Two of my summer shows are on hiatus the next week or two (Psych and Burn Notice) due to the US Open, but since I love tennis, I'm totally okay with it. Fortunately, Greek is still around and still awesome!

If this turns out to be true? Ohmygod so much squee and flail!

I realize that Studio 60 is a drama, not a comedy. But I can't help thinking that a show about a comedy should be at least marginally funny. Last night's episode wasn't just unfunny--it was downright depressing. I keep watching the show because it has some great people in it, but I don't know if I'll stick with it much longer. ( Party like it's 1999 )

I also watched How I Met Your Mother, The Class, and Heroes, but after my S60 diatribe, I don't have the energy to talk about them. I will say one thing about Heroes though: if you have so many characters that you have to ignore half the cast every other week, maybe you have too many characters.

Heroes continues to entertain me, but it's far from perfect. Both the Niki/Jessica storyline and the Matt storyline need to be better integrated, because I find myself utterly bored during those scenes. This makes me sad, since Micah is too cute for words and I adore Greg Grunberg in general.

( The Fix )

Oh, Studio 60, how you frustrate me. I really feel like the show doesn't have a clear idea of what it wants to be. I appreciate that it's moved away from the weekly diatribes about the idiocy of the American people, particularly Midwesterners, as that got old fast. I like that they're focusing on the characters, but sometimes it's a struggle to care because not all of the characters are particularly likeable.

( One star-studded Catholic dinner )

And I was totally bummed that HIMYM was a rerun this week. :(

I haven't really weighed in on the Isaiah Washington-TR Knight debacle, at least not in this forum. I don't know all the details or circumstances, but my knee-jerk reaction is to want Isaiah's head on a platter. For purely selfish reasons, though, relating directly to my enjoyment of the show, I can't help hoping he doesn't get fired. When I watch, I forget about all the outside bullshit, and I am captivated by Burke/Cristina.

( George O'Malley, sex machine )

I ended up watching Jay Leno last night, because Sendhil Ramamurthy (which I hope I spelled right) was going to be on. Wanda Sykes was on before him, and she was hysterical. But "Mohinder" was also awesome and funny. I had no idea that he was a Chicago native. Very cool. And so. damn. hot.

Bear down, Chicago Bears...

Okay, now that that's out of my system... :)

So excited about the return of Heroes this evening. I'm too lazy to detail the awesomeness, but let me just say that Adrian Pasdar should be in every scene, and I don't care what Zack's sexual orientation is, because I love him.

I still maintain that How I Met Your Mother would be funnier without Ted. The Marshall/Lily/Barney plot was hysterical.

Really enjoyed The Class again tonight. I like the tighter focus on Nicole and Duncan, Ethan and Kat, and Richie and Lina, with Kyle there being hot and funny.

Monday-night TV is fun. I watch a fairly eclectic group of shows, and last night all of them were on their game.

I still enjoy How I Met Your Mother, even if Ted and his love life are the least-interesting thing about it. ( AC, baby )

I also watched The Class, which actually made me laugh out loud several times. Maybe it's getting better? Someone needs to tell Jason Ritter to cut his hair, though.

Watched Heroes "with" monimala, and although she and I disagree over whether it's the best new show of the season, I still like it a lot. ( Mmm, Mohinder )

I admit, I've had mixed feelings about Studio 60. I loved the pilot, but several episodes since have felt overly preaching and condescending. Fortunately, I very much enjoyed the two-part episode that concluded last night. ( Nevada Day )

New Friday Night Lights and Veronica Mars tonight! Have I mentioned that FNL got a full-season order? And that I love Piz? Yay for Tuesdays!

Happy Halloween! It's not my favorite holiday, but I'm at least wearing my pumpkin earrings today.

I've probably said this before, but Friday Night Lights is totally my new Everwood. It makes me cry every freaking week! However, "Damn you, Peter Berg!" doesn't have quite the same ring to it as "Damn you, Berlanti!"

The good news is that FNL scored season-high ratings in its temporary move to the Monday 10/9c timeslot. Granted, CSI: Miami was a rerun, but I still think it benefitted from the Heroes lead-in. Besides, going up against CSI:M and the relatively weak What About Brian still seems like a better option than battling Dancing with the Stars, NCIS, Gilmore Girls, and whatever is on FOX.

( Git 'Er Done )

I'm still enjoying Heroes, although I'm no longer sure who's good or bad. I love Hiro and Ando best, though.

New Veronica Mars tonight! Although monimala is making me watch it by myself. :(

Why aren't more people watching Studio 60? According to the overnight ratings, not only did it get clobbered by CSI: Miami, it got outdrawn by the 857th edition of The Bachelor! People are still watching tha crap? Seriously? Grr...

Missed Heroes last night, due to some wicked weather in the Chicago area. Nothing like hiding in the bathroom during a tornado warning... Anyway, I'm debating whether I actually care enough to try and download the show.

Watched The Class last night, since I had a half-hour to kill. Jason Ritter is great, and I laughed every time he and Lizzy Caplan were on screen, but mostly the show is crap. I would have rather had a 2nd season of Out of Practice. The woman who played the neighbor/love interest on Joey is on the show, and I've decided she's kind of useless as an actress. She just does nothing for me.

Season premiere of Veronica Mars tonight! I really, really hope that the show can retain a good percentage of its Gilmore Girls lead in--provided, of course, that all the incessantly whiny Luke/Lorelai fans screaming that they won't watch anymore are really a bunch of irritating liars and don't actually drag down the GG numbers. But I digress. I'm really looking forward to the new season of VM, and the new regulars. I am not looking forward to yet another shitstorm from the incessantly whiny Veronica/Logan fans when the inevitable break-up occurs and Veronica gets a new love interest. (These aren't spoilers, just the reality of network television.)

( GA casting spoiler )

It looks like I'm going to be able to watch Friday Night Lights after all, which I'm happy about. Yay Kyle Chandler! I'll TiVo Gilmore Girls and NCIS, and tape FNL. Of course, this whole plan falls apart if House doesn't move to 9/8c after baseball is over.

My current viewing schedule:

Monday: 7 pm, FOX - Prison Break; 7:30 pm, CBS - How I Met Your Mother; 8 pm, NBC - Heroes; 9 pm, NBC - Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
Tuesday: 7 pm, CBS - NCIS; 7 pm, NBC - Friday Night Lights; 7 pm, CW - Gilmore Girls; 8 pm, CW - Veronica Mars; 8 pm, FOX - House; 9 pm, F/X - Nip/Tuck
Wednesday: 7 pm, ABC - Dancing with the Stars; 7 pm, FOX - Bones; 8 pm, ABC - Lost; 8 pm, FOX - Justice; 9 pm, CBS - CSI: NY; 9 pm, NBC - Kidnapped; 9 pm, ABC - The Nine
Thursday: 7 pm, ABC - Ugly Betty; 8 pm, CBS - CSI; 8 pm, ABC - Grey's Anatomy; 8 pm, CW - Supernatural
Friday: 7 pm, NBC - Crossing Jordan; 9 pm, CBS - Numb3rs
Sunday: 8 pm, CBS - Cold Case; 9 pm, CBS - Without a Trace