So when I first thought of getting back to writing, it occurred to me that I got to see a lot of REALLY good premieres of new shows while I was off with my ankle up in the air. One of the biggest surprises did come from the titular Elementary, but more on that in a bit…because to me that is the shock of the season…it’s actually pretty damn good. Unfortunately, with every good show that you find in a new season of TV, you also find one or you love that just don’t get the ratings they deserve…and the early end that never allows the stories to be completed.

So just before I started to write this, I saw the news that a show that not only was one I enjoyed, but one that I got to discuss with my dad as we considered the conspiracies of it….will be cancelled after 13 episodes. Good by Last Resort. We hardly got to know why the hell a looney US President nuked Pakistan for no apparent reason…maybe? Possibly? Dammit I wanted to know!

It’s amazing how many good new shows actually came out this year. Revolution, the JJ Abrahms inspired show about the world after something causes all power, everywhere, to just stop. I’ve only caught a few eps of this one and need to catch up, but so far I’ve been really impressed with how there is so much backstory to build from and grow into. Let alone some decent actors.

Then there was Arrow, the DC comics attempt at created a more “real” supper hero drama based on their Green Arrow character (why the Green was taken from the title is anyone’s guess…the hero’s costume IS green). I have to say this one I have loved from day one after a lot of trepidation about how it would work. Anyone remember the horrible TV version of “The Flash” with he rubber costume from hell? Well trust me Arrow isn’t that. It’s a hero story done in the more realistic Dark Knight Rises style of narrative that seems to work well with DC’s characters (Batman is DC as well if you didn’t know). Trust me, as a comics fan this is one I could go on about for a while…and usually I am having to explain little tidbits to the friends after each week’s show (Shan asks and then puts her hand up to say STOP! when I get a little too detailed). Let’s just say when I saw that mask of Deathstroke in the pilot I was jazzed…I am sure the island that they keep flashing to is one of the bases of the League of Assassins…but I’ll stop there before Shan or Arthur edits the post with a STOP!!! (come on the name is Geek on Wheels). Though one last point…ladies seriously…if the idea of it being a comic book show turns you off…just get a low of the Toronto actor who plays Oliver Queen, the Green Arrow. Trust me…I suspect you’ll be impressed. Just don’t mind the scars.

So what else is there? Well have you taken a peek at Elementary yet? This was the show I was perhaps the most sceptical about as it seemed to just be another blatant US ripoff of an AMAZING british show Sherlock. If you haven’t seen Sherlock yet, starring Benedict Cumberbatch (still one of the best stage names out there) then stop reading this right now and go find the first two seasons of it. There’s only three episodes per season, but each is basically a mini move…and if you don’t know how to find it, then talk to me and I’ll help you. Sherlock is one of the most brilliant shows on TV right now and its a shame that the actors have done so well and got so busy that chances are there will only be one more season. So with its success it wasn’t much of a shock that ABC went quick into production of their own version of a modern day Sherlock Holmes series, except in the more palatable to North American audiences one hour variety. I admit…I expected it to be a disaster, if not an outright copy of the Brit version…with the only real change being that Dr. Watson was now Dr. JOAN Watson.

Well surprise, surprise…Elementary is actually a very different show that really does work on its own merits. I’ve been quite impressed so far. While the Brit version of modern Holmes is described by himself as a “functioning psychopath”, this version….who is still British mind you…just transplanted to the US, is the son of a mystery rich man and recovering drug addict…with an incredible skill at deduction. The relationship with Watson is very different…and we’ve only had the barest hint of standard Holmes characters slowly coming in. Irene Adler was just introduced via old letters recently…and somehow I suspect that there is no hurry to bring Moriarty into the picture…let alone Mycroft Holmes.

This of course doesn’t get into the amazing shows that survived last year and returned with a vengeance. Haven, Grimm, the hilarious Castle, Person of Interest (my dad’s current fave), The Walking Dead (which is decent but sorry that really offbeat and emotional video game is way better than the series), right now is a great time for the hour-long drama with the slight to complete sci-i bent to it. A few years back we all thought that hour long’s were basically dying if it didn’t have CSI in the title. Thankfully that turned out to be a bad prediction.

I know I am missing a few that grabbed my eye, and Arthur was complaining to me about how many shows I’ve caught up on while nursing the foot that he’s never even heard of. Well as I get back into the real world and my more normal routine it will be harder to keep up…but here’s hoping that most of these won’t meet the fate of Last Resort. After all, many of us still hurt over the fate of shows like the beloved Firefly…which meant an end by stupid network hacks who just couldn’t get it.

Browncoats forever! (come on…go geek out for a bit…you’ll be glad you did).