Tube Steak: Down Time Breeding Curiosity About the Future

Now that Burn Notice* is on six-month hiatus**--having given way to Psych on the USA docket (I know they're different time slots, but USA clearly only likes to have a few of its own series airing at a time) and leaving only Rescue Me on extended basic cable as must-see semi-serialized drama--I find myself rewatching the House season finale.

*It is a well-established view of this blog that Burn Notice is great fun while not being altogether light fare. This past season/half-season/whatever-it-was played well, and the ending points towards some much bigger things coming at Michael Westen. There were a few episodes toward the end of this run that lulled us into a false sense of security/hope after Michael opted out of The Management's offer, but The Management's warning about the consequences of his refusal would seem to carry some weight now. I'm already impatiently waiting for this winter to roll around.

**I can't imagine I haven't mentioned this before, but I really love that USA has started doing the two half-seasons a year thing. I don't watch a lot of USA programming, but it makes the time between new Psychs and Burn Notices less painful.

While marvelling at the adept muddling of House's perception of reality latent in the final episodes of this past season, I cannot help but wonder what is in store for the viewing masses for the next season of House.

My main concern is what is going to happen to House now that he has been hospitalized, as the point was made a few episodes prior that such an action would result in his loss of medical licensure? How can he return to the hospital? Will he have to answer to Foreman now?

Apparently Andre Braugher is involved in some capacity. No complaints on that front.

Needless to say, I really want September 21st to roll around.

Speaking of September, the fourth season of Dexter is set to being airing then. Dexter has gone from being merely watchable in its initial season to being intensely compelling. The second season* was superior to the first by leaps and bounds, and the third built upon the goodwill earned in season two. My confidence in the producers is so strong at this point that I have no concerns about the show's direction as its protagonist finds himself entering into fatherhood--the kiss of death for many a show (Growing Pains anyone?). With Dexter, I get the feeling that it will only feed into the tension as life gets in the way of Dexter feeding his homicidal urges.

*(I totally forgot to do this earlier) It is weird, but it seems like every girl I talk to who has watched Dexter fucking hates Lila so much that they think season two was worse than season one.

I really like the fact that I get to watch a show that allows me to type that sentence.

And let us not forget that Curb Your Enthusiasm is set to come back in only a few weeks. The TV landscape is about to get a lot richer.