TV discussions for me today.

After all, my most faithful reader prefers the TV discussions--when he's not accusing me of OCD! There won't be many mid-season replacement series on TV this winter, courtesy the writers strike. While I'm enjoying the extra time for reading, I kinda miss new shows coming out. At the same time, I'm getting a little resentful of the networks for continuing to air new scripted episodes of some shows (ER, Ugly Betty) and premiering others. I like not watching too much TV!

How are the new shows? Cashmere Mafia was first out of the gate, presumably because something this awful can't be restrained. Well, it's not as terrible as its male doppelganger, Big Shots, from the fall. But it's bad, bad, bad, as the networks try to catch the lightning in a bottle known as Sex and the City. Hey, I thought that show was bad, too, but at least Cashmere Mafia has better-looking leads. Sadly, there's no chance for nudity on ABC to improve this show (and the nudity on HBO wasn't enough to make Sex and the City watchable, anyways...).

The venerable Law & Order finally returns, and with a better time slot than it has seen in a while. While the reported network-imposed budget cuts are noticeable, this remains a classic, if not the most dynamic and inventive show on TV. Hey, it premiered in 1990, how could it? I suppose you could also say it has a bit of a wide-open field, with most popular shows already on strike hiatus for the foreseeable future. Here's hoping people take advantage of the lack of competition and rediscover an old favorite.

Prison Break has also returned with a sort of winter story arc, following the autumn arc (a bit like mini-seasons). These long-form serial programs don't do well when they take long breaks--I tend to forget where we left our heroes. I'm getting a little tired of this show anyway; it gets a bit dull, always plotting breakouts from one prison or another. I would prefer more of the "on the run" action after the heroes escape.

If Cashmere Mafia was an unwelcome shock, the pleasant surprise is Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Much as I loved the films (the first two, anyways), I wasn't optimistic that the movies would translate well in the small-budget world of series TV. I'm wrong--it's sensational. You wouldn't really know this isn't a big-budget program, the look is fine and the fights, effects, and stunts are well above-average for TV. Still, that's not what has made the first two hours of the show worth watching. The dramatic tension has been continuous and, even better, the plots work brilliantly. This was always a strength of the films (again, number three wasn't the best), the ability to logically use the implacable machines as the bogeymen. And I also think a strength of the Terminator series has been that both the machines and the protagonists, John and Sarah, have characters greatly formed the same way that comic book heroes are shaped--also a part of why Heroes is so good. Comic heroes like Superman, Spiderman, or Batman are deeply shaped by destiny and overwhelming circumstances--like John and Sarah, destined to save humanity from the evil machines, or the evil machines, utterly focused on their tasks, undistracted by any human feelings. Plus, the show has one needed extra that separates the good from the great action entertainments: tough-guy one-liners. Arnold made a legend of himself with his one-liners, and there have been a few in this show (a terminator, struck by a car, instructs the frightened bystanders: "Remain calm." Perfect.) I hope this show can keep up the good work!

CDs listened to today:

• Gin Blossoms: New Miserable Experience
• Matias Aguayo: Are You Really Lost
• Percy Grainger: The Warriors
• Gyorgy Ligeti: Le Grand Macabre
• Konono No. 1: Congotronics
• KLF: The White Room
• Arild Plau: Concerto for Tuba and Strings