So it’s 2012. It’s a fresh new year and that means fresh new television shows all geared up to blow your socks right into orbit, right? Well, kind of.
Sherlock is back with another three episodes, the first of which has already aired and was incredible. It’s a shame that the show only runs in three episode spurts, but since each episode is the length of two regular episodes of television it might as well be six. It’s still not a full run, but thinking about in those terms is sure to help when I cry myself to sleep over the total lack of Steven Moffat television after the next two episodes air.
And as for what’s airing right now, that’s about all I care about. I could talk about the new season of Mob Wives or how Storage Wars has a new Texas spin-off, but both of those are complete garbage and anybody watching those should feel terrible about themselves.
But as for the recent future of 2012, there’s some big news. Eureka and Warehouse 13 are both spinning up again in the summer, with this season being the final season of Eureka. At the same time as those, sister show Alphas is bewilderingly returning for a second season, and Haven will be picking back up again for a third.
A little closer to relevancy, though, is the so-far excellent Justified, which is starting in mid-January. I’m particularly interested in that because it’s reached an interesting point for any television show. After such a strong second season it has to walk a tightrope of issues. If it backs off for a tamer third season it risks a plunge into irrelevancy, losing the momentum of season two. On the opposite side of that coin, however, there is a shark just waiting to be jumped.
Californication is another show launching back into action. I’ve never been a huge fan of that particular show, but it isn’t for lack of quality. I did happen to catch the last few episodes of season four, and I’m not entirely sure why a fifth season is even needed. But it’s happening, so fans can rejoice at the return of David Duchovny and crew.
Rounding off the list of shows I pulled from the top of my head, Game of Thrones is coming back in April for a second season. This is a personal favorite of mine for a variety of reasons, the most prominent being that it’s a television show based on a book series I can actually sit back and enjoy. I had the same issue with the Song of Ice and Fire books that I had with the Lord of the Rings; I found them to be incredibly long winded and exceptionally boring.
I had the same reaction to the Lord of the Rings movies as I did to (attempting to) read the books. I fell asleep. Game of Thrones has managed to condense all the bits from the books I found intolerable into minor details in any given episode while still providing the kind of action a fantasy series is supposed to bring to the table. It’s also got what is potentially the coolest theme song for a television show ever.
Let me be clear, here. I’m fairly excited for everything on this list, but there is a distinct lack of cool, new junk to feast my eyes on. It’s standard for television; keep with what works, but c’mon, guys. It’s 2012. This is the year the world is supposed to end, right? Let’s get a half-dozen pilots about that out there. One of ‘em will have to stick, right?
What about you guys? I know I only talked about a handful of shows, so there’s gotta be some stuff I either forgot or don’t know about. Hit the comments and let me know what you’re all excited about in 2012.
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