Tune In to TV: Trying new things

In the spirit of the New Year I have decided to give some shows a chance that I normally wouldn't consider watching. What did I learn from this? Be less open-minded.

"Cougar Town" is a show about a woman in her mid-40s (Courtney Cox) who is constantly whining about having "missed her twenties." My first problem with this series is that Courtney Cox is simply too good looking to be a believable cougar. The idea that she has trouble getting any is laughable. Framing her sexual escapades as "conquests" is problematic for one basic reason: Getting laid is not an achievement for an attractive woman (because it's easy). I admit that this is a double-standard, but often times, outside of the law, double standards make sense.

As icing on this very crappy cake, in a desperate attempt to have the audience feel bad for the woman, the writers have her paying alimony to her deadbeat ex-husband. Somehow, that seems an unlikely scenario.

I will concede that "Cougar Town" is leagues better than its older cousin, "Sex and the City," a show about spoiled vacuous whores.

"The Cape" is a poorly made superhero series on NBC. The characters are underdeveloped, the back-story is crammed into the first 30 minutes of the pilot, and the audience is thrown into the plot with no context or reason to care. If the writing and pacing of the show were better, this could be overlooked, but it isn't, so it can't. The show is mostly just special effects masturbation. To clarify: I mean the excessive use of special effects, not masturbation with a light show, which actually might be more interesting than the 86 minutes I wasted watching the first two episodes.

While I am on the subject of bad shows, I might as well mention "Glee." Some Gleeks have told me that I should give the show a chance, that it is actually a lot better than it seems on the surface. To those people: no it isn't, and I think less of you for suggesting it. I recently found out that "Glee" creator Ryan Murphy, on top of creating a crap show, is an arrogant ass. Now I can hate "Glee" based on premise, my preconceived notions and principle. Why is he an ass? Well, it seems that any time an artist refuses to allow "Glee" to use his music, Murphy accuses him of "hating on arts education." Yes, apparently "Glee" is synonymous with arts education. If you don't like "Glee," or don't let them use your music, then you want children to live in a repressive monochromatic world without music or the arts! You monster! What a self-righteous SOB.

Well that's my opinion, and if you don't agree with it then you're wrong.