State of Fall TV

It's week 5 of the fall TV season and "lackluster" is a good word to describe this year's crop of new shows. There's very few shows that I would say I really like. I'm not sure if this is because we're behind on so many shows and I would feel more attached to them if I saw more, or if they just kind of suck. I have sampled a lot of the shows and here's how they stand for me so far.

Shows I Like
These don't rise to the level of "love" (nothing this season does) but I would miss these if they went away.

The Defenders (up to date): Of course the one new show I really like is possibly in trouble because CBS has too many well-performing shows. This show is just pure fun. I don't care about the law. I just love watching the characters and the fun and ridiculousness. It's light-hearted and a good time. I hope it lasts.

Nikita (4 watched, 2 behind): It's fun and has a good story going. (Funny how the new CW shows are 2/2 for me.) I hope this gets a full season order at some point.

Blue Bloods (up to date): I have a soft spot for Blue Bloods because my dad met the cast when they were taping near his workplace last week. And they film in NYC which makes it more authentic. And the stories are good. And it's about a big family. I love shows about big families.

Shows I Kind of Like
I enjoy watching these, I would feel a little sadness if they were gone, but I'd get over it... fairly quickly.

Hawaii Five-O (2 watched, 3 behind): I like Hawaii. I like the cast. I like their chemistry. But in the end it's just a procedural. Maybe I need to watch the other eps.

Chase (up to date): I like the action. The cast is pretty good. But again, it's just another procedural. It's getting a full season (as of today) but I wonder if it'll be around next season.

Undercovers (1 watched, 3 behind): I like spies and relationships, and putting them together is even better. I like the show but I put it in this category because I am resigning myself to the fact that it will probably get cancelled at some point since it's not doing well. Therefore, I should keep myself from liking it too much.

Hellcats (3.5 watched, .5 lost by DVR & horrible CW player, 2 behind): A really fun show which is different from everything else on. It's refreshing. But I don't love it yet. But I can see this moving up to the next category.

Shows I Watch but Don't Care About or Am Undecided On
I think that's self-explanatory.

The Event (3 watched, 2 behind): It's no Lost. But it was interesting and I'm curious to see where they go with it. Parts of it are compelling and parts of it are just bland. I kept tuning out during the pilot because I was bored, but the episodes after it got better. Do I like it? I don't know yet, but I'll keep watching for now.

The Whole Truth (up to date): I like legal shows. This one won't last though, and it's just OK anyway.

Shows I Stopped Watching

Detroit 1-8-7: I usually give shows 3 chances before I give up on them, and I stopped watching this during episode 3. It's not a bad show. I like the diversity in the cast and it seems well done. But it's just not my type of show.

Terriers: The critics seem to love this one, but I thought the 1st 2 eps were just OK. I liked the 3rd one, but not enough to log in to Hulu and watch the rest.

Shows We Still Haven't Seen Yet
Luther
No Ordinary Family

Shows That Got Cancelled Already

Lone Star: I rooted for Lone Star, mostly because it was different. It wasn't the best show out there, but I felt like everything else was a procedural and it would be nice to have something different to watch. I liked the storytelling and wanted to see where they would go with it. Perhaps it should have been something other than a show about a con man screwing over everyone in his life. Who could like or relate to him? I think I was more in like with the concept of a show like Lone Star on the schedule than the show itself.

My Generation: I was in the middle of watching the second ep on Hulu when they announced the cancellation so I just stopped. It was not a good show. I thought I would like it because I love shows that deal with history, high school, relationships, etc. The history segments were cool. The characters all kind of sucked.

Outlaw: I saw the first ep and thought it was ridiculous. I like legal shows but I couldn't care less if I saw this again. At least with The Whole Truth I wanted to see more eps if they made it to air. I completely ignored this after ep 1.

I'm going to check out Walking Dead after Halloween because I heard it's good but I worry that it will be too creepy for me and I may have to abandon it. We'll see.

Hopefully we can knock off that "shows we still haven't seen yet" category soon.

Why is this TV season so ... not extraordinary? Last year was great! Modern Family. Glee. Vampire Diaries. Good Wife. So many good shows. This year? This year people know more about the cancellations than anything else. Why does it suck so much?