and every time I've held a rose it seems I've only felt the thorns

[enthusiastick]

I spent much of last night catching up on television, which is sort of a ridiculous thing to do with one's time, but it was a snowy Monday night so I didn't feel too badly about it. I am now nearly up to date on all the shows I care about, a field that has grown these past few months to be slightly unwieldy. The joy of the Tivo is that it lets me watch whatever I want on my own time, but the curse of Tivo is that it makes me feel like I can watch everything that piques my interest. Something will likely have to go on the chopping block, since I'd rather dedicate more time to socializing and gaming than watching recorded shows. But what? Its all so good.

Starting from the top, Heroes was back last night. I continue to heart Hiro Nakamura so hard. Much of the plot was slowed to a crawl, likely so that the show can allow new viewers to catch up, and also because we've reached the first chapter break. The show has passed through its first set of climactic events and is now metaphorically catching its breath and taking stock of where it is. These are all very good things, and speak to a story that's actually going somewhere (unlike say the X-Files.) war_pug pointed out last night that my real problem with Battlestar Galactica is not with the show itself but with how its marketed. BSG is, he contested, basically about its characters, whereas Heroes is fundamentally about its plot. Take away the characters in Heroes and you could likely invent new ones to tell the same story. Perhaps it wouldn't be as good (and perhaps none of them would touch your heart as much as a certain time-travelling round-faced Japanese guy) but you could do it. Whereas in the absence of its compelling characters there really isn't that much to Battlestar Galactica at all.

Its an interesting point, and he's right to a certain extent (war_pug is, after all, a pretty clever guy.) I wouldn't be so bothered about the plot if all of the promos and advertisements for BSG didn't continue to promise plot development instead of focusing on what I actually enjoy about the show, the interplay between a cast of characters so diverse and deep that even when there are single actresses playing multiple different characters they all seem distinct and individual. Boomer Sharon is not Athena Sharon, and barring some intentional misdirection on the part of the series it feels like it would be hard to confuse the two. This is also a very good thing.

Studio 60 also made its understated return last night, and if it continues to falter then I find myself increasingly forgiving of it, because bit by bit its doing more things right. Wilson White has come to the foreground and become more than just a sketch of a character, bringing much of the gravitas demiurgent noted as being absent, even if good ol' Ed Asner insists on delivering his lines so slowly and deliberately as to nullify the snappiness of the Sorkin dialogue. Danny Tripp's tongue-in-cheek declaration, slipped in before the opening credits on the sly ("at least I'm back on television") can be forgiven because it was clever enough to make me smile. The plot involving Jordan McDeere and her new VP for alternative programming was admittedly pretty bad, but not so bad as to damn the entire episode. In the midst of good and interesting conflicts there are storm clouds on the horizon in the form of Simon's fight with Darius, but assuming the best that will not be awful and things are moving in an overall positive direction. Am I equivocating in favor of something I want to like? You betcha.

Finally I caught up on the first couple episodes of the new season of Rome. Lucius Vorenus and Titus Pullo continue to be wholly unstoppable badasses. And the series continues to feed my love for Octavian, who I am delighted to report they have not recast as I once foolishly feared, instead allowing the actor to age quite naturally into his role. war_pug refuses to concede to my description of Octavian as a "stealth badass," but does agree with me that he's badass in much the same way as Caesar was: even-tempered, manipulative and exceedingly shrewd in politics. And on an entirely different note the girl playing his sister, Irish actress Kerry Condon, is even cuter this season than last. Rome wins so hard. And there were promoes for the new seasons of Entourage and the last season of the Sopranoes this Spring. Too much television...