Friday, February 26, 2010

Spring TV preview: Sepinwall on TV

In today's column, I give another rundown of mid-season premiere dates (or, in some cases, return dates for shows on long mid-season hiatuses). Lots and lots and lots of good stuff coming up, folks (most notably HBO's "The Pacific," pictured above, which Dan and I talked about a bit in this week's podcast), and while I'm still not sure how I'm going to handle covering it all (especially since I need to take some time off in early April), we'll figure that out as we go.

24 comments:

melymnosine said...

Oooh, I am literally counting days till the Pacific and Treme premieres. IsitMarchyetisitMarchyetisitMarchyet... *g*

JT said...

Alan, a few days ago you mentioned PACIFIC in the post and it seemed that you had seen all of it. Is this true?

Otto Man said...

Mid-March is looking good -- Pacific, Justified, and Breaking Bad.

Todd Winther said...

Any news on In Treatment?

Alan Sepinwall said...

Not yet, Todd. They're working on it, but clearly it won't be on in the spring again - which is just as well for me, given the time crunch.

Unknown said...
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Anonymous said...

Alan-
What did you think of Treme? I know it's David Simon, but we New Orleanians are weary it'll be K-Ville like or way too preachy. I'm hoping the Bunk will ground him into our culture at least...

Alan Sepinwall said...

Andrew, I'm gonna say this when we get to the Pacific reviews, but this is a case where we're going to treat small-scale history (i.e., not that we won the war, but things that happened to the main characters) as spoilers, for the benefit of those who don't know about it. The miniseries was written assuming most viewers would come to it with no knowledge of Basilone and the others, so that's how we'll approach it in comments.

And Jasctt, yes, I've seen them all. It's tremendous.

Alan Sepinwall said...

What did you think of Treme?

Liked the pilot, but it's very much a David Simon pilot, in that's introducing a million characters and starting to create a world, but in which not a lot happens and it's not clear what the show is. These guys have earned my trust, though, and this ain't no K-Ville.

Billiam said...

I have high hopes for the "creative retooling" that you mention in your description of V.

JT said...

Tnanx, Al. Can't wait.

Anonymous said...

I saw a commercial for Justified a little while back and am excited by the prospects.

Also looking forward to seeing Friday Night Lights again. I haven't followed your FNL reviews, Alan, because I didn't want to read any spoilers, but do you talk about the news that FNL is done after 5 seasons? I have mixed emotions about the decision, but in the end I'm glad to get 5 seasons of FNL.

Zac F. said...

Is The Pacific to Band of Brothers what The Godfather Part II is to The Godfather? Both just about equally good and you can't go wrong with preferring one to the other since they're both great?

Memo to self: Order HBO ASAP!

M. Haubs said...

Like many others, I'm most looking forward to The Pacific and Treme, though also intrigued by Louis CK on FX and the Funny or Die thing w/Zach G on HBO, both of which I think are premiering soon, though they did not make the cut.

Very much looking forward to Top Chef Masters, as I like it so much better with the drama excised and all the focus on the food.

And I have my hopes that the 30 for 30 on Allen Iverson's trial in H.S. by the director of Hoop Dreams is the best of the whole lot (though I think they have been very good, not great, to date).

On another sports note, I'm also looking forward to the Magic/Bird doc on HBO coming up next weekend.

Really an incredibly promising few months of TV coming up.

Unknown said...

Sunday nights are going to be busy with The Pacific and Breaking Bad. Then throw in Treme in April, and Sunday nights will be consuming me with great TV at that time. Can't wait.

Col Bat Guano said...

I'm hoping Justified is as good as it sounds like it could be. Pacific and Party Down are the two I'm most looking forward to.

Liz said...

I'm most excited for "Justified."

Alan, on your Twitter feed, I saw you mention that you received screeners. Did you watch them yet? If so, any opinions? Maybe just a simple "yes" or "no," with details to come closer to the show's premiere? Sorry to bug, I'm just really excited!

Alan Sepinwall said...

Seen the pilot. Liked the pilot. Have to watch the other episodes.

Liz said...

Very cool, thanks!

ThePacificfan said...

Alan, have you seen other episodes of Parenthood? If o, what did you think of them? Do you see Parenthood becoming a hit thanks in large part to the Olympics promotion.

JT said...

I worship at the alter of DS and THE WIRE as THE single greatest TV show ever. But I am worried for TREME. Mostly, because HBO AIN'T what it once was and I think that they will not let it develop as DS probably would like it to over the course of several seasons. let's face it, as great as THE WIRE is, the chances of it going 5 seasons at today's HBO are doubtful, at best.

JT said...

I worship at the alter of DS and THE WIRE as THE single greatest TV show ever. But I am worried for TREME. Mostly, because HBO AIN'T what it once was and I think that they will not let it develop as DS probably would like it to over the course of several seasons. let's face it, as great as THE WIRE is, the chances of it going 5 seasons at today's HBO are doubtful, at best.

Unknown said...

Hey Alan, sorry to bogg you down with more "have you seen" questions, but could you give a few words on the new season of breaking bad? I hope it continues to impress... I assume amc sent out screeners, no?

Kelly said...
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