A look back at the best and worst of TV in the past week (Sept. 12-18), and a peek at what’s coming up.
Highlights
1. “No Reservations” (Travel Channel). A surprisingly interesting episode set in Sardinia with Anthony Bourdain’s wife’s family. I went in totally cold – I even had Sardinia and Corsica mixed up in my mind. But it was fantastically eye-opening: great scenery, amazing food and tons of local tradition and color. This was a shining example of what Bourdain does best – go someplace off the beaten path and get to the real heart and soul of its people. I’m not sure I’d want to go to Sardinia on my next vacation, but I do feel like I’ve improved my knowledge and understanding of the place by about 120 percent after watching that.
2. “Monday Night Football” (ESPN). Patriots vs. Bills and Raiders vs. Chargers: two games with mind-blowingly exciting finishes. Especially since the Pats’ and Chargers’ comebacks helped me win my weekend NFL pool. Nothing like a little money to make a game more interesting. Nice way to kick off football season.
3. “Archer” (FX). A great sick and twisted surprise. The animated spy spoof was the funniest sitcom on the best sitcom night of the week. I can’t wait until January for the other five episodes.
Lowlights
1. Kanye West at the Video Music Awards (MTV). Oh Kanye, stealing Taylor Swift’s spotlight was just mean. I actually felt embarrassed and awkward watching it. Of course, I’m kinda embarrassed to admit I watched the VMAs in the first place, but that’s a whole other story.
2. Ceviche on “Top Chef” (Bravo). OK, it’s official: Ceviche is this season’s scallops. No more ceviche, people! It’s already been done to death. I love a good ceviche, so don’t make me hate it through overexposure. As a side note, as much as Mattin and his nasty ceviche deserved to go home, Robin deserved to get the boot even more. Her shrimp sounded completely inedible and borderline nauseating. I’ve said it before to the cheftestants, I’ll say it again: STOP USING SHRIMP. Every shrimp dish this season has been awful. The frozen shrimp isn’t keeping well in the desert. Stop using it or go home. Note to self: Next time I’m in Vegas, avoid the shrimp.
3. “Gossip Girl” (The CW). A pretty weak season premiere. Waaaay too much exposition on what everyone did over the summer, and not enough snarkiness and scheming. Looks like we get more of that this week, though, when everyone starts back at their respective schools.
Looking forward to . . .
1. “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (9 p.m. Sunday, HBO). After a two-year (!) hiatus, our favorite misanthrope is back for a new season. Oh, and if you haven’t heard, the “Seinfeld” cast is reuniting. This will be awesome.
2. “Bored to Death” (9:30 p.m. Sunday, HBO). This new series starring Jason Schwartzman as an unlicensed private eye sounds intriguing. And anything with Zach Galiflanakis is comic gold.
3. “Flash Forward” (8 p.m. Thursday, ABC). So everyone in the world blacks out for two minutes and has a vision of themselves six months from now. Then they wake up and try to figure out what the hell just happened. There’s your plot summary. I’m a sucker for overly complicated shows like this (see: “Lost” and “Battlestar Galactica”). Problem is finding time in my schedule to watch it. It just sounds like a big commitment in time and brainpower. I’ll give it a try because it sounds pretty good, but I might drop it quickly if it doesn’t grab me.
