Lucky Number 2D6

Not dead, just busy

Been quiet around here for a while now, thanks largely to a stinking cold and a job interview (not the ideal combination, but fingers crossed), as well as my innate laziness. I'll try to post a bit more regularly this week, but in the meantime, here's a quick summary of things I have seen/done/played:

• 500 Days of Summer is a fun reaction to rom-coms, and one of those rare movies where the ending is actually the best bit, as opposed to tacked on, implausible, just downright bad, or some combination of all three. Dead Air is okay, but not as well produced, intelligent or effective as the almost-identical-in-basic-premise Pontypool. Pandorum and Spread are both extremely forgettable. Gamer is just downright bad. And not in that appealing, so-bad-it's-actually-genius way, just in a bad way.
• Have been working my way through Seinfeld, finally. It takes some time to find its rhythm, and the short first season is very weak, but it gets much better from the second season on, and I can already see why it was such a big hit in its day. 
• Haven't seen the latest Doctor Who special yet, but I do have it recorded for a rainy afternoon, which are becoming increasingly frequent here in sunny Brighton.
• Modern Warfare 2 is very slick and very good, at least in multiplayer - haven't actually done much single player yet, as online always beckons. It's definitely more of an evolution than a revolution, but when the previous version was so strong, that's no bad thing.
• Work on the Superman car design for Forza 3 has been slow, but I'm hoping to have something to show for it this week.

New season: More shows

Although the initial rush is over, the varying schedules of the different networks means that the new US TV season continues to roll out new and returning shows. Here's a quick run-down of the ones I've managed to catch...

New season: Returning Shows

As well as many new US TV shows, last week saw the return of several that I enjoy, including House, The Mentalist, Castle, How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Heroes and Dollhouse.

I haven't had a chance to watch Dollhouse yet, although after the literally mind-blowing DVD-only episode 'Epitaph One', I'm really looking forward to seeing it. Heroes will have to wait until I finish Season 3 (I know it's supposed to get a lot better once the fourth 'chapter' starts, but I got stuck ploughing through 'Villains' and still haven't got round to finishing it). But how were the others?

(Oh, before I forget, I should point out that the following may contain 'spoilers' about previous seasons of the shows in question. I honestly don't think that anything I say is going to ruin anyone's enjoyment - I think all are worth watching to one degree or another, whether you know how they're going to end or not - but if you really, really don't want to hear what happened in the last season of 'Show X' because you haven't got around to watching it yet, it's probably best to read with care.)

New season: New Shows

It began with a trickle, but last week the new US TV season picking up the pace with a flood of new and returning shows, several of which I managed to fit into my busy schedule of looking for work and trying to avoid spending money. I'll cover the returning shows in another post, but here's what I though of the new ones...

New seasons are in the air

As September rolls on, the Fall TV season is finally getting under way in the US, which hopefully means there'll be some shows worth watching for a change - other than the darkly comic brilliance of True Blood, there's been precious little of note over the Summer. The CW was first out of the gate this year, pairing the fifth season of Supernatural with the launch of The Vampire Diaries the week before last. This week, Fox joined the fray with the second season of Fringe.

So how were they?