I've been hypnotized by the TV

It’s funny, now that we don’t have cable anymore, we’ve been watching more television than ever. Thank you, Usenet!

Here’s what we’ve been enjoying lately. A couple of the items are somewhat spoileriffic, so avert your eyes if you’re behind on anything (especially Lost or BSG).

Lost - Wow, what a season. It’s not often that a show keeps continually topping itself, but season 4 was a crazy-ass roller coaster ride. The finale was absolutely perfect – it was a great balance of new unanswered questions and tied-up plot elements. I’d also like to note that I totally called the occupant of the casket after last season’s finale. Sure, my details were way off the mark, but I was still right! Can’t wait for season 5 (acknowledged by the producers as “the zombie season” – or perhaps “the monkey season”).

Battlestar Galactica - This was one of my favorite shows throughout the first two and a half seasons. Then something happened – the show lost its bite. It went from a gritty, post-apocalyptic struggle for survival to… I don’t even know what it is now. It’s almost more like Star Trek – gallivanting around the galaxy without a care. There’s no sense of tension or urgency, like the Cylons could show up at any moment and finish off humanity. Heck, we’re allied with half of them now! Even though I don’t care for the turn the series has taken, we’re getting right up to the end and I have faith that Ron Moore will pull something out. This past week’s episode, “The Hub” was the best in recent memory, so hopefully we’re ramping up for a worthy finish to its final season.

Deadliest Catch - I normally hate reality shows, but this is more of a documentary than a reality show. There’s a very real air of danger to the life of a crab boat fisherman, and you know that it’s only a matter of time before someone we’ve gotten to know throughout the series dies or is severely injured (just this last week we learned that one of the North American’s deckhands lost a brother who was working on another boat). Not that I wish to see that, but it definitely keeps the reality of the situation foremost in the viewer’s mind.

Flight of the Conchords - My first thought when I heard about this series was “oh, so they made a Tenacious D series but without Jack Black”. It’s actually really funny and well-written, though, and the music is great. From the Hiphopasaurus rap to the parody of every David Bowie song ever recorded, the show keeps delivering.

Now if you’ll excuse me, I think I’ve got the first disc of Freaks and Geeks sitting in my mailbox, and typing this blog post is wasting valuable viewing time.