Some tv things…

Well, I’m all caught up on “Angel” now, and am eagerly awaiting for more.

According to the tv guide and the commercials, this week’s “Star Trek: Enterprise” is back on a rerun, just when I was eager for it to push on already – and it’s a rerun that I didn’t particularly like (time-traveling episodes that rely on the reset button are never my favorites). Then again, feel free to check it out; the acting was good and the writing seemed all right. I just didn’t too much for the episode’s plot.

I actually watched more of “The Apprentice” last night – NBC’s shameless attempt to get viewers on a night that they cannot plug in with a mere movie. It’s scary watching office politics play out as a “reality gameshow” – eww. But, it’s hard to resist, much like most of reality gameshows. I need something else to do on Saturday nights, evidentally.

“Monk” on ABC – the return of Tony Shalhoub as the Defective Detective on network tv – yeah! a way to catch up on Season 2’s episodes when I lack cable at home. Good fun, even if I was able to figure out the murderer too easily. The fun is in watching Monk figure it out the mystery’s solution. The mix of drama and comedy is also solid as ever.

Guilty viewing television – “The Forsyte Saga”(Series 1) on PBS’ “Masterpiece Theatre” is engaging and addicting as a soapy/serious drama. Actor Damian Lewis (who was in “Band of Brothers”) is scary and empathetic as Soames Forsyte, a British 19th century lawyer who would do anything to stay with Irene Heron, a woman who didn’t want to be his wife and who has managed to enchant every Forsyte man.

The rest of the Forsytes, a Victorian English family making its way into respectable circles, has been no less dysfunctional. This isn’t as trashy as American soaps, but no less engrossing. I kept trying to avoid it, but avoiding hasn’t worked. Series 2 starts in February, right after PBS finishes re-broadcasting Series 1; Series 2 is where the Forsytes’ messiness in love and hate continues into the 20th century. I’d recommend it, especially if you don’t mind watching sumptuous historical pieces mixed with intense emotional stuff and classy British accents.