It’s hard for me to watch TV alone. I know the stereotype is of an eyes-glazed-over viewer aimlessly channel surfing, but I rarely watch TV that way. I prefer to make it a social activity, because mockery or shock shouldn’t be solitary. Television is something I think about and experience and I prefer to do it with people. I assume if you’re here, you feel the same way.

What follows will be a weekly feature here at SPJ. It’s going to be us, talking about the shows we watch the previous week. It won’t be long recaps or lengthy reviews. It won’t even be the same every week, as sometimes a show doesn’t give you all that much to say.

What it will be is a conversation, not just between us, but you as well. Like I said, I think media experiences need to be shared and I’ll hope you’ll join us by letting us know what you thought about this week’s television.

Zoe:

Dexter
Critics have noted that Dexter seems to have lost it’s teeth, making the main character cuddly and more sympathetic a the show goes on. And while I agree, sorta, this week made me realize where a huge point of sympathy lies: every episode I’m so sick and tired of watching the other characters hack through their B, D, and Z-level plots, that when the time comes from the kill, I’m jonesing for it as much as Dexter is. I want their blood–whoever they are–simply because it’s a welcome and needed release from the rest of the cast. If intentional, genius on the writers part, but somehow I doubt it.

Glee
I have been a Glee fence-sitter: I enjoy it, but I think I like it more cerebrally than genuinely. The last few episodes have nudged me more into the Pro side, but really, let’s just talk about drunk Kristen Chenowith. The cancellation of Pushing Daisies still stings, but if it has given her enough of a TV presence to get roles like these thank god. Someone really needs to just create the Kristen Chenowith Variety Hour and be done with it.

Bored To Death
Seeing Brother Mouzone in this episode probably made me more excited than it should have, but if he becomes a regular, I’m sold. Especially since I’m just going to pretend it’s the same character.

Scott:

FlashForward
It only took about a minute into the second episode of FlashForward for me to give up on the entire series for good. It’s obviously ABC’s latest attempt at creating a serialized mind-bender to replace Lost when it draws to a close in May (see also: Daybreak, The Nine, V), but what it really resembles is Heroes: another show with an interesting premise and absolutely no idea where to take it, a great cast and absolutely no idea how to use them, a big budget with absolutely no scripts to shoot. And like Heroes, it opened with huge ratings that will inevitably collapse when viewers realize this is going nowhere, which can’t take long given that the show’s timeline currently has the whole freakin’ world ending before season one even ends. The only explanations for the events of the pilot are aliens or Jesus, and both are lame and easy.

Sons of Anarchy
From Vic Mackey to Patty Hewes to Tommy Gavin, the protagonists of FX’s original series are gray, morally ambiguous, ethically bereft antiheroes. That’s why Jax, the freewheelin’ young biker who anchors Sons of Anarchy, is so refreshing. Don’t get me wrong, Jax is a murderer and all, but Charlie Hunnam plays him with an easygoing sense of moral clarity that makes him the first real good guy in the network’s history. This becomes even more important as the show continues to integrate its first major arc villains into Charming, the Neo Nazis Zobelle (a slick, mild-mannered Adam Arkin) and Weston (Henry Rollins at his creepiest). So I can’t help but think, what happens when the obvious bad guys are inevitably vanquished and Jax has to face his own stepfather (Ron Perlman, arguably the greatest person in the world)?

Robert:

Modern Family
Two episodes in and I’m still pleasantly surprised by the simple but effective premise behind this new series. Sure, it sometimes goes for the obvious laughs, and I’ll admit the only thing that drew me in was seeing Ed O’Neill in the cast, but the show has a great combination of humor, heart and real-life moments. In particular, this episode’s question of “what it takes to be a good dad” played to charming perfection by the cast really hit home for me.

Castle
Getting a second season seems to be the hardest thing that a network TV show can accomplish these days, but even with less-than-expected ratings, Castle managed to pull through. After last season’s cliffhanger-y finale, Castle dug a little too deep into Beckett’s past and found himself on the outs with her, but while working a particularly heavy case, managed to win his place back on the team. In a fine display of how delicately the show walks the line between a classic procedural and complete comedy, last week Castle found himself in a bet with fellow detectives Ryan and Esposito, only to spur a full-on challenge throughout the precinct (including the infallable Beckett herself). Ultimately, the case was solved and no one really won or lost the bet, but does that really matter when all the fun is watching everything play itself out? BAM, said the lady!

Ellen:

How I Met Your Mother
This week, CBS’ only good comedy besides the Japanese-game-show bit on last week’s Amazing Race sent Ted Mosby back in time when he went out with a blind date named Jen, who he had been out with before in 2002. Fashion-related sight gags aside — luckily, the goatee years are behind us — it caused Ted and Jen to reflect on their love lives and hope to repeat fewer of their mistakes. What was TV like in 2002? American Idol and CSI were in the top 10, networks turned to reality shows to save money and a Joss Whedon production tanked in the ratings despite critical adoration. In other news, nothing has changed. But the success of Mother which just began its crucial fifth season, proves that there is a little learning going on on the lots; marrying the single-camera format and cutaway humor to a Friends-y ensemble cast and a laugh track would never have happened back then. For a show that in theory could end any time, that shift in attitude is crucial for success.

The Office
After a season premiere undermined by its own wackiness, Steve Carell and crew bounced back with “The Meeting,” which packed in more suspense than year’s Charles Miner plot, which brought in The Wire’s Idris Elba only to have him stare thoughtfully through his glasses for half a season without effecting much change. But now that Jim has maneuvered his way into being Michael Scott’s equal, what will the show do with that platform? “The Promotion” suggests the Michael vs. Jim scuffle is being cut in to dilute the sweetness of Jim and Pam’s domestic bliss — they will supposedly wed in this week’s double episode “Niagara.” But the longer Michael acts like a petulant child, the more viewers will wonder how long the untouchable buffoon will keep the job he walked away from last season. The British original solved this problem by ending the series, but NBC would be crazy to do that now.