Cultural Conundrums: Shows We (Maybe) Wish We Were Watching

[Cultural Conundrums is a weekly column written for Always Watching by Myles McNutt. You can find Myles at his award-winning blog, Cultural Learnings]

When shows like The Office, 30 Rock or How I Met Your Mother returned from their writers’ strike hiatus, television viewers rejoiced; however, as these shows are given their swan songs until the fall, there are other shows returning in September that we haven’t seen anything from in quite some time. These are the shows that the networks are hoping you don’t forget when they relaunch in the coming seasoon, and the ones that we wish we were enjoying as May Sweeps comes to a close. Which ones do we miss, and which do we wish weren’t coming back at all? Let’s take a gander.

Pushing Daisies (ABC, Fall)
Why We Miss It: It was the fall’s most inventive new series, a wonderful combination of sharp-witted comedy, a dash of romance and a smart procedural framing that never quite got old due to the charm the writers brought to the table.
Most Missed Character: You mean other than Digby, the most adorable dog on television? That would be Emerson Cod, the cranky private investigator who knits and makes picture books in his spare time, and whose pragmatic approach works in great comedy with the series’ wackiness.
Where We Left Off: We had just found out a shocking revelation about Chuck’s Aunt Lily that could alter the series’ interpersonal relationships – we’ll see how that particular beat plays out in the fall.

Clip: Emerson and Olive, the Pie Hole’s assistant baker, discuss a pressing mystery she needs solved.

 

Chuck (NBC, Fall)
Why We Miss It: Sure, it never takes itself seriously, but the series has managed to match its charming portrayal of retail and nerd cultures with spy-related storylines that allow for the show to develop characters; it might not have Alias’ level of espionage, but it does have its heart.
Most Missed Character: While the eponymous lead is certainly key to the show’s success, and his handler Sarah is very attractive, it’s Adam Baldwin’s Casey that gets this prize. Whether it’s kicking ass and taking names, or sitting in his underpants listening to Neil Diamond, Casey is the kind of character that steals every scene even when he’s just looking angrily at someone.
Where We Left Off: Chuck’s present had proposals and happiness, but there were grave concerns over his uncertain future considering the government secrets found in his brain that could result in him being separated from his friends and family.

Clip: Chuck and Casey, tied together on a mission, have to fight their way to freedom. 

Friday Night Lights (DirecTV, Fall [NBC, 2009])
Why We Miss It: Say what you will about the show’s second season, but it certainly ended too soon – its last few episodes were a comparative return to form, and being able to see the show’s upward swing continue could have redeemed the series further.
Most Missed Character(s): Without question, it’s the most stable and realistic portrayal of a married family on television – Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton’s emotional connection as Eric and Tami Taylor is a beat the show hit with even in darker times overall.
Where We Left Off: Jason Street was about to become a baby daddy, and Smash was discussing his rise into college football – otherwise, the episode certainly didn’t feel like a finale, which makes it all the more unsatisfactory. 

Clip: In this hilarious cameo, Peter Berg mixes it up with Kyle Chandler in the Friday Night Lights season finale.

Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles (FOX, Fall)
Why We Miss It: Yes, it might seem as if this series was doomed to failure considering that it is a cheap ploy to play off the Terminator name, but at the end of the day the series had solid acting, a strong sense of mythology, and enough sense of dramatic pathos as an episodic series to overcome the stigma that faces it.
Most Missed Character: I wasn’t completely sold on Summer Glau’s emotion-less performance as a Terminator model sent from the future, but a late-season episode saw a moral ambuiguity (Using a ballet teacher’s kindness to find her brother, but refusing to stop her innocent murder) that attracts me to her character on a level beyond her ass-kicking nature, plus her subsequent dancing helped humanize her at a new level.
Where We Left Off: In an abrupt but satisfying conclusion, Cameron (Glau) was exploded by a car bomb planted by the person who might be in possession of the computer that could build Skynet, all set to the sounds of Johnny Cash.

Clip: A haunting late-episode scene where Cameron’s ballet contrasts nicely with her vengeful qualities:

Heroes (NBC, Fall)
Why We (Don’t) Miss It: After a strong if perhaps moderately inconsistent first season, Heroes’ second season gave us no reason to look forward to the third. It took its two strongest characters (Sylar and Hiro) and stuck them in awful storylines that zapped them of their interesting qualities, and the end of season cliffhanger didn’t give me hope that Tim Kring and Co. are capable of bringing the series back to its former glory.
Most Missed Character: Even with my complaints, I did miss seeing where they might have taken Hiro’s character. I can’t imagine anything could have been worse than his trip to Feudal Japan, so perhaps we could have gotten some classic Hiro to wash the bad taste from our mouths.
Where We Left Off: Nathan got shot, Niki appeared to be close to dying, and I didn’t care about either of them or the giant virus they stopped from destroying New York City.

Clip:  Nathan's speech, set to a huge pretentious recap that tries to make the season to be about something other than suck.

Private Practice (ABC, Fall)
Why We (Don’t) Miss It: What could make us long for a show where Addison Montgomery, once a strong-willed character on Grey’s Anatomy, turned into a neurotic mess and where every character talks incessantly about their feelings at an over-stimulated pace?
Most Missed Character: I care about none of these people, but I guess I’d say that it’s the Addison we once knew, even if she never existed in the series.
Where We Left Off: Wikipedia says there was office romance, uncertain romantic futures, and every kind of other dramatic cliché that you can think of.

Clip: Proof that, from the very beginning, the Ally McBeal-style murder of Addison’s character was in full swing.

24 (FOX, 2009)
Why We (Don’t) Miss It: Not only was the sixth season perhaps the series’ worst, but the plans for the aborted seventh season (Including Zombie Tony) weren’t exactly providing much faith in the show’s ability to bounce back.
Most Missed Character: While the plots and the supporting parts sort of fell apart in the past few seasons, Keifer Sutherland continues to make Jack Bauer one of the most fun to watch characters on television when he’s kicking ass.
Where We Left Off: We usual don’t get to know what happened right before the start of a season of 24, but this time around we’ll get an answer in November when FOX will air a two-hour prequel to the seventh season. So, that’ll be a nice point to judge whether or not season seven is worth our time.

Clip: Check out this extended British trailer for the show’s seventh season, and enjoy both the glorification of torture AND illogical resurrection in the same two minutes!