Category: Television

By Katie Monigan

Arts & Life Editor

“The Big Bang Theory” is the epitome of nerd shows, but it’s more than just a showthat nerds watch—it talks about nerdy things, but also makes fun of them so it appeals to other people, too.

The show depicts the interactions between four researchers at CalTech, two of whom are roommates, and an attractive but dim-witted waitress from across the hall named Penny.

This season is not very different from the previous seasons, but it doesn’t really need to be. Where shows with children like “Two and a Half Men” or shows that have very dramatic plotlines like “Grey’s Anatomy” and “Desperate Housewives” need to constantly change to remain interesting, “Big Bang Theory” is pretty much the same every week: somebody messes up an experiment, has an awkward date or comes up with a brilliant idea that doesn’t work out, and by the end of the episode their lives are normal again. It’s a pretty childish way to structure a show, but it’s consistently pretty funny, so it works well.

Recently, Sheldon, the nerdiest of the nerds involved, is in a relationship with a woman, but their relationship is not even close to normal. She’s a neurobiologist, and he’s a theoretical physicist, so they’re both smart enough to be beyond any hope of social functionality. They text constantly but have no physical contact. They are planning to have children artificially to avoid ever touching each other. It’s so ridiculous, it’s hilarious.

The show is simple, but if it’s your kind of humor, it’s really entertaining. It’s probably going to burn out for lack of new ideas in a season or two, but for now, it works, and those of us that like to laugh at awkward smart people find it very enjoyable.

By Katie Monigan

Arts & Life Editor

Season seven of Desperate Housewives began in late September, but three episodes later, the writers have exhausted all possible ideas for plotlines.

The series has had some seriously surprising events in past seasons—tornadoes, planes crashing into lawn parties, murder and a few inconveniently-timed pregnancies—but this season is not just surprising, it’s plain strange.

Paul’s back from jail, where he’s been since very early in the series, and he’s married. The wedding took place while he was in jail, andhis wife refuses to have a physical relationship with him. She simply wants to cook and clean for him.

Susan and Mike had money troubles in season six, so Susan began teaching art to pay for her son’s education. This season, she’s taken it to a new level and now streams video online of herself cleaning the house in her lingerie.

Weirdest of all, Gabrielle and Carlos discover that a drunken nurse was working in Fairview Memorial hospital the day their daughter was born. The nurse switched Juanita with another baby eight years ago.

Desperate Housewives was, at one point, about a group of scandalous ladies with very interesting pasts who happened to live in the same neighborhood. Now everyone’s either married or just boring, and all the scandal is gone. Its family drama and unrealistic plot twists barely make sense.

Without Edie to spice things up, and now that Susan and Gabrielle are married with children, the sources of drama have switched from scandalous secret affairs to incredibly obscure character development, and the show is far less appealing. This is another series that has passed its prime. Six seasons was enough.

By Katie Monigan

Arts & Life Editor

In the season seven premiere, “Grey’s Anatomy” had a lot of loose ends to tie up. In the season six finale, a deceased patient’s husband came to the hospital with a gun and shot or tried to shoot just about everyone who matters, including, most dramatically, Derek Shepherd, through the heart. Cristina then performed his surgery on her own—at gunpoint.

The new season reveals that the surgery was a success, and that McDreamy has survived. Phew.

Everyone’s shaken, especially Cristina and Little Grey, who both have nevous breakdowns, but almost everyone is okay.

Although the shooting brought much-needed excitement to a dwindling plotline, as did occasional crossover episodes last season with “Private Practice” (an ABC network spinoff of “Grey’s”), “Grey’s” can’t sustain the same fanbase it once boasted. It’s most likely the simultaneous loss of George and Izzy, played by T.R. Knight and Katherine Heigl. They’ve brought in Owen, Teddy and Arizona, but the loss of two crucial original characters was a real blow to the series.

As usual, the medicine is ridiculous. In the second episode of the season, an entire flag football team gets struck by lightning, causing temporary paralysis and a variety of burns to the team members. Alex Karev has a bullet in his chest and wants to keep it inside him because he thinks it looks tough, but his body is physically pushing it out of his chest. It’s not very exciting, but it’s a little bit ironic that the quintessential tough guy’s body is physically refusing to let him be tough. If anyone pokes him in the chest, he squeals in agony.

Overall, the series’ luster seems to be dwindling. There’s still plenty of crazy drama, but without Izzy and George, in addition to the loss of Burke a while ago, “Grey’s Anatomy” is losing its gusto, and it will probably take a majorly exciting change to turn the series around.