When I heard a new vampire show was hitting CBS, I was pretty excited, and all the names flying around (Joel Silver, Jason Dohring, David Greenwalt) made it sound really enticing. After watching the first episode, I realize that it's shows like this that make it so difficult to convince people to watch Buffy. I can't believe this is actually on TV. The acting is the worst I've seen in a very long time, the story was stupid, little things made no sense (the reporter picked a deadbolt lock with a little piece of wire?) and the cheesy music montages were absurd. I hope this dies quickly before more people become tainted against vampire shows. WATCH BUFFY!

I really wish I didn't have to write this blog...but I'm a little afraid for the future of Veronica Mars. Not only because it literally might not be on TV next year...but more because I'm starting not to care that much.

I know, I know, a year ago I would have physically hurt anyone who made that statement about my then-favorite show. But Season 2 has been so unbelievably complicated, it's literally becoming a huge mental exercise to watch. There are just so many storylines to follow, with so many "clues" along the way, that I've really become completely baffled as to what's going on a lot of the time. Every time the word "Fitzpatrick" is brought up, I breathe an exasperated sigh. Some of these stories seem to have just crept in out of nowhere, and we are supposed to care about them. Last year the mysteries were very clearcut: Who killed Lilly? Who raped Veronica? Who is her dad? Where is her mom? This year they are solving mysteries I didn't even know existed.

I think a large reason for the show's poor ratings is a lack of defined audience. Who is this show supposed to be targeting? I still absolutely love the script and the dialogue, but I'm 24. Am I the target age group? Would high school students have any idea whatsoever what is going on? Plus, more than any other show I've seen, it is literally impossible to catch up on this show if you haven't seen every single prior episode, unlike Season 1 where each episode had a self-contained story (and a few Lilly Kane elements at the end). The episodic mysteries of Season 2 are always put on the backburner. In my opinion, this is great for storytelling, but terrible to rope in new viewers. Not to mention that the HUGE breaks in between make me completely forget what has been going on.

Of course, I am still looking forward to seeing Veronica Mars in a nice timeslot on May 18 when the CW schedule takes shape, but I'm wondering if I might just wait for the DVDs for this show to make any sense.

Since there hasn't been a new Lost episode since November, expectations for "The 23rd Psalm" were huge. I'm the kinda guy who loves to discuss last night's TV at work, and it's been a long time since something was so controversial as the revelation that the island "monster" is actually a cloud of black smoke.

Now yes, I know all about the flashes of dead people and things that Eko saw in the smog, but honestly, how many average people do you think paid any attention to that? Those are the kind of things that are stuck in there for the hardcore fans, like Sayid on the TV in the previous episode. We must go with the obvious when talking about the average TV viewer, so there was an enormous uproar. "That was so stupid!" "I thought it was a dinosaur!"

On the other hand, half the people thought it was really cool. Not that the visual effect was particularly convincing, but that's my take on it as well. Sure, it COULD have been a dinosaur, but then these people do not understand what makes Lost a truly great show. It's about the PEOPLE, it's about the MYSTERY, and the smoke is fantastic because now we can say that we've finally seen the monster, but even so, do we truly know what it is?

The producers are obviously going to want to stretch this show as long as they can, and while some people don't have the patience and spend all their time complaining about the flashbacks and the constant reruns, it's still one of the highest-rated shows on television. I hope that the majority of these viewers were more interested in finding out the mysteries of the island, rather than being angry that they weren't stranded on Jurassic Park. At least then we have some hope for the future of original, well-thought out scripted programs.

Man, there's so much good stuff on TV and DVD these days, going to the movies is beginning to seem like a ridiculous idea. Like many others, I've just discovered Battlestar Galactica and am almost finished Season 1 on DVD. Fantastic writing, but completely different from other current sci-fi stuff like Firefly. Boston Legal is getting better, in my opinion, and Lost has opened with some of their strongest episodes to date. Veronica Mars is still extremely enjoyable, but I find it a little off-track and unfocused compared to last year's tight Lilly-murder storyline. With shows like Survivor and Amazing Race (which are the only 2 reality shows I watch during the regular season) becoming a little boring this go-round, scripted TV has made a huge comeback. Looking at new shows, I'm very impressed with How I Met Your Mother and Kitchen Confidential in terms of comedies. Bones is fun, and Reunion is OK too, if not a little overly soapy. Can't wait for 24, and the next box-set of Battlestar.

The one show I absolutely do not get is Grey's Anatomy. What the hell? Why do people like this show? The characters are completely one-dimensional, stereotypical and lack any originality whatsoever. We've seen 'em all before. And the growing popularity of ditching a traditional musical score and putting full-length songs complete with vocals in the background is getting on my nerves too. Ever since Desperate Housewives hit it off, It's like every show has to prove how "quirky" they are. I'm completely willing to suspend belief for certain shows, but some of these plots are just so dumb. OK, rant over. Oh wait...Grey's Anatomy sucks. Now I'm done.

I've been a loyal follower of both American Idol and Canadian Idol starting with the second season of AI, and while I enjoy both shows, I have to say that watching this season of the Canadian iteration, I've been extremely impressed with both the contestants and host Ben Mulroney. While Ryan Seacrest is a better "TV host", the sincere emotion and unrehearsed praise from Mulroney makes him a much more likable host. He always cheers up the kids after taking a beating from the judges, and his playful banter with the judges just seems so much more real than Seacrest and Cowell's incessant gay jokes.

And then there are the Idols. Yes, that's right, the Idols. One big difference between the two shows is that the American show always refers to them as the "finalists", or the "top 10", or whatever. On Canadian Idol, when you reach the top 10, you are "the Idols". Yes, this somewhat dampens the impact of the individual winner, but seeing as how 4 of last year's top 10 have released albums, it's more a celebration of Canada's talent, as opposed to the uninhibited competition that AI is. And what talent. Most of this year's Idols are blowing me away, especially Suzi Rawn (vote for Suzi!), and they are so much more interesting than a lot of the clones that come year after year on AI.

And best of all...no Paula!