Some endings, some beginnings

Most of the shows I've been following had their season finales lately. "Life on Mars", originally billed as a short 10-episode run, predictably enough, didn't actually conclude. It's going to go on for at least another "season". I haven't searched around to find out the whens and the wheres, but I'm sure I'll hear about it when it does.

But I was kind of hoping it'd end for real. It was a decently done episode, and the series as a whole has been entertaining, but I think it probably would have been stronger if it were a tighter and more-focused short run like I thought it would be.

I haven't blogged much about "Stargate: SG-1" since the beginning of the season, if I have at all. Compared to the classic episodes of the past, at least through the nostalgic haze that enshrouds those memories, it was a rather weak season. It predictably ends on a galaxy-threatening cliffhanger with lots of spaceships blowing up and whatnot. Yeah, fine... okay. Will I continue with the next season? Well, if I don't have anything better to do, I suppose.

"Battlestar Galactica" ended with a big 90-minute cliffhanger itself. And it was chock-full of "WTF". I mean, really; "One year later..." -- WTF?? Though that awesomely cheesy mustache Edward James Olmos was sporting almost made it worth it... Heh.

In the "beginnings" corner, after nearly 2 years after the last season ended, "The Sopranos" comes back for its "sort-of-final" season. And it comes back with all of it's classic ingredients intact. A little bit gritty, a little bit funny, a lot shocking, and the characters and situations and details all suck you in to one of those moments after another. When I found out that there was going to be this long of a hiatus from the show, I thought that by this time, I wouldn't have cared anymore and wouldn't have bothered watching it. But sure enough, even though I have a DVR and could record it to watch any time, it's still one of the shows I'll tune in for right when it airs, and on Sunday at 9pm, I was all ready to give it my undivided attention. And there go my Sunday nights for the next couple of weeks...

And "Deadwood" isn't even back yet...

HBO has started another series that they're hoping to hook "Sopranos" viewers on; something about a polygamous Mormon and his multiple households, called "Big Love". I didn't stick around for it, but it's on the DVR, and I figure I'll give it a chance. We'll see.