Countdown Day 15: Methadone Television

What's this, you ask? Why am I only on day 15 of my countdown when it's clearly the 17th? Well, honestly, I've just been too busy to find the time and energy to post something for the last couple days. It clearly isn't taking me long to write these entries, and I barely even proofread them before posting, but I've had precious little time not at work the last week, and I don't always want to spend that time on the laptop. I guess that defeats the purpose of a marathon, but I'm not getting paid for this so I'm cutting myself some slack.

What day are we on, Sunday? Well, Sunday was another day without movies. I started watching The Innocents, but something came up and when I stopped the playback I also accidentally deleted it from my DVR. So, to at least meet my daily requirements for some supernatural entertainment, I watched the first a few episodes of Eerie, Indiana. The show was a childhood favorite of mine, and features the perfect mix of creepiness and humor while also being completely accessible for my own daughter.We're big fans of the new Disney show Gravity Falls in my house, and that show is a clear descendant of Eerie, Indiana. My daughter immediately caught on to the similarities as soon as the opening credits began, and wanted to keep watching, but I had to get to work after the first 3 episodes. For years the only Eerie, Indiana release was a 'best of' that consisted of those first three episodes, so I've actually seen them quite a few times. Still, it's fun watching old favorites next to someone who's unfamiliar with them, because it allows you to experience it in a fresh light.

That night, after work, I watched the third season premiere of The Walking Dead. I have some major problems with the show, as I've said, but I thought the premiere was a great hour of television. It felt more like the first half of a two-hour episode, because it lacked a beginning-middle-end storyline, but it seemed like an indication that the writers had smoothed over some of the problems with characterization and interpersonal drama. I came to the show not really liking many of the characters, but I didn't hate any of them in this episode. Not even Lori or Andrea(although Andrea didn't have much to do, so we'll see what happens later when she's more active). The show did a pretty good job of stating a maximum of story with minimal dialogue, getting us up to speed on the past 7 or 8 months in one wordless opening sequence.

I'm expecting some of the zombie action to die down over the next few episodes, if only because they seem to have gone all out with gore for this opening hour and might need to dial it back a bit to keep that stuff interesting. And, of course, we've got the long middle stretch of the season where it may turn out that those interpersonal conflicts are just as groan-inducing as always. But, we also have Michonne, who I'm very excited to see in the coming weeks.