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I am done with Once Upon a Time. Maybe The Vampire Diaries too. We'll see how motivated to download I feel on Friday.

As for shows I still like: I FEEL LIKE THIS EPISODE OF THE GOOD WIFE WAS DESIGNED TO SPECIFICALLY CATER TO MY INTERESTS. IT WAS MAGICAL. ( SPOILERS )

Last night I had a thought: wouldn't it be great if boots were like four wheel drives?

Seriously. Think about it.

Press a button when you're off-roading in the country and suddenly you've got extra traction control and grip. The suspension gets firmer (or whatever) and you can go through, like, rivers and mud and sand dunes.

But then, you're back in the city and you don't need all those features. So, you press another button (or maybe the same button, I DON'T KNOW) and then you're boots become lighter and somehow more stylish because you don't need fog lights on in the city...



...this is the kind of thing I think about for more than five minutes.


::

The Good Wife is back. I liked it! ( Spoilers )

I didn't actually know that Being Erica was back this week - it was just there to DL in the comms - but I'm glad it's back. ( Spoilers )

The latest episode of The Dan and Blair Show was quite short and light on plot, but it's nice to know that it's still being made. ( Spoilers )

I tried out three new shows, all of which were light and fluffy and none of which I loved: The Secret Circle (which has one more episode to rise to the level of The Vampire Diaries), Pan Am (because shows with a ratio of four female main characters to two male are rare. This one will get an even greater grace period to get itself some depth), and Hart of Dixie (which was stupid in many different ways but somehow the most enjoyable). ( Spoilers for HoD )

I think my reaction to the latest episode of The Good Wife might best be summed up as: DAAAYYYYUUUUUM!

( Spoilers )

In other news: WHY HAS THIS NOT BEEN KILLED WITH FIRE YET? I DO NOT WANT TO SEE A NEW VERSION OF THE THIN MAN FROM THE WRITER OF BAD BOYS 2 AND STARRING AN OVERLY TANNED AND BLOATY JOHNNY DEPP.



I mean if they had to do it, may I suggest Sam Rockwell and Michelle Monaghan as Nick and Nora? Or, wait, new idea: an episode of The Dan and Blair Show where Dan is Nick and Blair is Nora. Actually, that basically is the premise of The Dan and Blair Show except without the marriage and the drinking and the dog.

So, I kind of want Off the Map to be cancelled quickly so that Caroline Dhavernas, Mamie Gummer (so good on The Good Wife!), and Zach Gilford can work on better shows. It's just some of the worst writing I've seen on TV in a while. Full of clichés and anvils and "LET'S TELL EACH OTHER OUR TRAGIC BACK STORIES RIGHT NOW". If it improves dramatically then please let me know and I'll pick it up again because I really do like those actors but right now I'm not going to download any more eps.

It's nice to have Community back but I am sick of the romantic plot lines. I think the show is much stronger when it focuses on the friendships and family aspect of the group. ( Spoilers )

The Good Wife continues to amaze and delight. These past two episodes have been less about using the law or evidence to get people off and more about the wheeling and dealing and rhetoric and manipulation, both inside and out of the courtroom - and that's fabulous. ( Spoilers )

Finally, Parks and Recreation is back! My joy is as great as Ron Swanson's moustache! This was such a feel-good episode (much more than The Office, this is a feel-good show) and I think it did a great job of reuniting everyone, humanising Chris, and introducing new viewers to the world of Pawnee. Speaking of Chris, I love that the reason he's funny is because he's so positive - there's nothing caustic or sarcastic about him - and I don't think the show is really mocking him because of it. No, his positivity and kindness is generally shown to be a good thing that also happens to be hilarious.

I had it in my head that The Good Wife was back last night (and thus I would be able to download it today) but alas, it did not, so I could not.

A shame, because I'm really, really hankering for some awesome female-centric TV right now.

By my reckoning, the new hour-longs (I'm not wading into sitcom territory) with the most critical buzz are: Boardwalk Empire, Lone Star, and Terriers. However, I haven't felt a strong inclination to check any of them out because they are all male-centric. My understanding (based mostly on short promos and reviews from people like Alan Sepinwall) is that they break down like this:

- Terriers: Focuses on two unlicensed male PIs. Apparently, one has a well-written girlfriend and the other has a cliche of an ex-wife, but both are supporting characters.

- Boardwalk Empire: Male main character, whole bunch of male supporting characters, and Kelly MacDonald, who is/will be romantically involved with a male character. Also, as it is set in the 20s, chances for empowered, independent females who have goals and achieve them are slim to non.

- Lone Star: Male main character, four supporting male characters, 2 supporting female characters, both of whom are love interests of the main male character.

[This meta could take a turn for the serious if I was to do more in-depth research into the cast make-ups of all of these shows, but, as my mother has informed me, most viewers don't read half-a-dozen blogs or check YouTube for trailers when deciding what new shows to watch. They catch a promo on TV, they read a blurb in the TV guide, and they need to be hooked on the premise by that. So I'm doing this largely from the POV of the average viewer and also, I don't want to research a bunch of shows that have already failed to grab me, which is kind of my point.]

Now, just scrolling through the my mental Rolodex of new shows, I can think of only three where a female is unquestionably the main character: Body of Proof (not airing for another month or so), Nikita, Hellcats.

If anyone can think of anymore, please tell me! Until then, let this thought fester: two of those shows are on The CW, which, yes, does skew towards a young female audience anyway, but still. The freakin' CW is telling more new female stories than any other network.

Now, there are shows where a female shares the lead with a male. Off the top of my head: The Whole Truth (as far as I know, they are old friends but are not romantically involved and they are opponents in court), Undercovers (husband and wife), My Generation (seems to be a fairly balanced ensemble but I can't tell if there is a lead or not largely because there's been barely any buzz, good or bad, about it), No Ordinary Family, and Chase (Daniel Fienberg says "Justified is a star vehicle for Timothy Olyphant and In Plain Sight is the same for Mary McCormack. Chase isn't built the same was for Kelli Giddish, who gets the most screentime, but definitely is part of the sort of ensemble you'd see going after serial killers on CBS", which I take to mean that this isn't her story they're telling nor that they are filtering it through her POV (also, he says she's poorly written as a character too)).

Other new hour-longs with male leads: Outlaw, Hawaii Five-O, Detroit 1-8-7, The Event (actually, I don't think this has a clear lead but Jason Ritter and Blair Underwood appear to be the protagonists, Laura Innes and Scott Patterson seem to be supporting, Zeljko Ivanek seems to be supporting anatgonist, and Sarah Roemer pushes the plot forward by disappearing), Blue Bloods (again, not sure if Tom Selleck is the lead, but it is a largely male ensemble), and The Defenders.

So, for the TL;DR crowd:

- Male leads: 9

- Female leads: 3

- Male and Female lead/largely balanced ensemble: 5

In conclusion: write more TV shows with women as the main characters, where they get to be multifaceted, have goals and desires of their own, and be successful in their jobs and relationships.

You know, this was going to be a quick rant before I talked about the amazingness that is Being Erica (for the things that I listed above) but now I am spent. I'll be back later.