At the end of last year I made a big list of things I wanted to see in 2010. Some things seemed exciting, some things seemed too dreadful on paper not to watch for a quick giggle. It’s now March and I’ve been way too busy to get round to 90% of it. Which is unfortunate.

But I have been watching some stuff while I’ve been drowned in coding and tech issues (and a bit of sewing to relax). And maybe it’s because I’m watching a lot less TV these days, I seem to be enjoying it. So… a quick round up of the latest from sci fi to manly comedy…

First off… Lost. The story of plane crash survivors has turned into a sci fi/fantasy bizarroworld. It’s hook was initially telling character stories in flashbacks and that changed to flash forwards and now it’s telling the story of whats seemingly a parallel universe.

A lot of people lost faith in it when the writers had to wank out the series to meet network demands but since it got a finishing date it’s been rolling towards the end with a thunderous pace. This season the premise changed again and we have something new to watch, but as we’re fast approaching the end of it all, answers are coming.

At this stage a lot of fans have made up their own ending in their heads and theorised so many possibilities that, much like BSG, the end result will likely be a disappointment. But the story leadng to the end of the show is exciting after so many years of questions and curiosities. New things are being explored, old things are being ended and… it’s exciting to know it’s coming to a close.

On our own shores we have Shameless still headlining Channel 4 and running longer than any previous series. Next year we’ll be heading into a 22 episode run, so obviously Channel 4 still has high hopes for the show.

If you don’t know about Shameless, it’s based on the common scum of Manchester with a lead character being a job shy useless father living on benefits and occasionally bringing drunken philosophy to the table. His kids have to fend for themselves, including he genius son Liam, and next door we have the former drug dealing McGuire’s.

The cast of characters includes prostitutes, thieves, ex-con barman and his bi-polar wife and many more misfits and it’s dark comedy contrasting with drama makes it work well. Even the irritating characters, such as the alcoholic benefit lifestyle icon Frank who is the polar opposite of the actor, are a joy to watch.

This series is just warming up and seems to be putting the pieces in place as usual, though if this years climax is anything like the last series which saw Paddy McGuire being forced to become a junkie by the mother of a girl his drugs killed only for his path of vengeance leading to the death of his own daughter… well, it’ll be good. And I’m looking forward to it, even if it is weird to see Mrs Doyle from Father Ted naked.

The rest of the UK’s current crop is less than inspiring overall. I’ve tried to watch a few shows like Survivors which didn’t have enough to make me care or watch more, which was a problem I found with Flash Forward. The main thing pushed on British TV are the soaps, and they’re just going through their normal business as usual core.

With Eastenders going for the dramatic endings and pushing aside their most interesting story revolving around a suppressed gay Muslim, they seem a little lost after the Archie Mitchell thing. Emmerdale wanked out it’s stalker story so far that it’s just dull now and has nothing worth watching to fill the void whle Coronation Street, despite also not being at it’s best or having any guest stars to whore out… well, at least they can write good comedy.

So that leaves me with Glee. A cheesy American musical comedy that I really shouldn’t like, but I do. I think that’s down to the Ugly Betty factor, of being a superfical looking show but has the sense not to take itself seriously. The show is silly, pointless fluff and it doesn’t hide that. It’s been billed as a mix of High School Musical and Ugly Betty… the Betty part I agree with, as it’s humour is similar, but I’d say it eminds me more of the old Fame TV series rather than HSM.

While some of it’s held together with cheap laughs and the dramatic stuff isn’t as hardcore as the Soprano’s, it’s obvious the main draw here is the music. Sometimes it’s a miss. That kid does not have the voice to cover Bon Jovi, and their Defying Gravity and No Air covers were far better.

But much like the occasional feel good comedy movie, I don’t mind this. It’s alright and I’ll merrily watch for the fluff and the music. Even if sometimes, they get that wrong.

Sadly, that’s pretty much it for my TV habits these days. I was intrigued by the new approach to Heroes, but either the new time slot on BBC2 isn’t working or it’s just not interesting enough for me to remember it but I’ve missed three weeks worth of the show and I don’t think I care.

The slower, less worldwide disaster movie angle with the carnies and their ‘family’ was an interesting approach, and I did enjoy Sylar invading Parkmans mind which made for more than a few entertaining scenes and made Parkman a little more useful in the story telling. But overall, it’s just too little too late.

So… are my tastes just off, or am missing something? Is there something I’ve passed by and should be making time for?

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Tags: geek, glee, lost, shameless, telebox