Hart of Dixie: The Big Day

Lots happened in tonight's finale of 'Hart of Dixie', but before we go there, let's get to the good news: the show was renewed for a second season! Thank goodness, because with the massive cliffhanger we were left with a lack of renewal would have made the entire season feel like a huge waste of time.

In case you've missed other episodes, here's a quick recap of important issues that have been raised this season and were addressed in tonight's finale:

Monday Nights are Tricky

I just realized that I've been failing miserably at recapping two of my favorite shows. 'Bones' and 'HIMYM' have kind of fallen by the wayside, and I apologize for that. Monday nights are hard, y'all.

Actually, what's hard about Mondays is the fact that everything I want to watch (besides NBC's Thursday night comedy line-up, and the random assortment of shows I watch on all the other networks), is now relegated to Mondays. And it's the start of the week. And while I could previously watch almost everything I ever wanted (except for 'Castle') on a Thursday night, and not feel guilty about going to bed at an ungodly hour (who goes to bed at a reasonable time on a Thursday night? Not my frat-boy neighbors), now that's impossible. Because there's swanky new TV scheduling out there which makes my Mondays look like this:

8 pm: Quick, pick, do you want to watch 'HIMYM' (CBS) or 'Bones' (FOX)?
8:30 pm: If you watched 'HIMYM' this is now a half hour of free time to recap/discuss/debate that 'HIMYM' episode--but let's be honest, you probably went with 'Bones' and that's an hour long so...
9 pm: 'Bones' is over. Sometimes you might watch 'Hart of Dixie' (CW), except, let's be honest, ratings aren't so hot and it's probably going to get cancelled. Plus, you're hungry, and 'Castle' starts in 45 minutes. And you could have just spent this past hour recapping/discussing/debating 'Bones', but now it's an hour later so...
10 pm: Hey, it's time for 'Castle'. Sometimes commercials are used for writing a blog post, because (honestly) you feel kind of guilty about not doing anything else. <--This is how 'Castle' posts end up showing up every week, FYI.
11 pm: Well, that's over, and technically it's probably time to go to sleep, because there's this thing called work that happens in the morning. And will continue happening every morning for the next four days. Because it's only Monday.

I leave you with this, a song about hating Mondays. Which I feel kind of bad about posting, because I now realize (post Googling) it may actually be about some school shooting that happened in the '80s. But let's just focus on the hating Mondays aspect.

I admit it, I'm watching 'Hart of Dixie'

If you're read my blog for a while, you know that I went on a bit of rant about 'Hart of Dixie'. A lot of things about the show annoyed me to no end. And yet, after all of that complaining, I've watched every episode this season. I don't really care about watching it live (it's not that good), but I'll put it on in the background when I'm doing other things.

The more you watch it, the more interesting the characters become. I'm not enjoying it more because the writing has improved, in fact it's pretty standard fare, but the characters are likable people, with surprisingly realistic problems.

Zoe, the main character, is trying to find her place in a new town, get people to like her despite her cultural differences, and deal with estrangement from her father. Wade is dealing with a crush on Zoe, which he fears she will never reciprocate, and an alcoholic father. Lemon is thrilled about her engagement to George, but worried about how he'll react when he finds out about her past relationship with the Mayor, Lavon. Oh, and Zoe wishes that she could date George. And Lavon wishes that he could date Lemon. In a perfect world this would all work out, but the nice thing about 'Hart of Dixie' is that the world is never too perfect.

Unfortunately, many viewers seem to agree with my original assessment. The show has repeatedly had low ratings. On February 20th the show ranked 0.6 among viewers 18-49, with a total of 1.57 viewers and February 27th it was slightly lower at 0.5 among viewers 18-49, with a total of 1.41 viewers.

If (when?) the show gets cancelled at the end of this season, I sincerely hope that the writers will wrap up some of the many storylines.

(L-R) George, Lemon, Zoe, Wade, and Lavon.

New isn't always better than old

I have been less than impressed with the new shows this season. I haven’t stumbled upon a single one that I am going to be religiously watching. I suppose that’s good for the older shows, but it makes me a little disillusioned.

Out of the shows that I’ve sampled so far, I have found a few that I think have some promise.

‘Two Broke Girls’ (Monday, CBS, 8:30 pm) is one show that actually has a few funny moments in each episode. At the same time, a lot of its humor is crude and slightly obnoxious. But I think the show could get good, it just needs some work. Oh, and it might also prove to be one of those shows where the acting gets better as the actors gain experience. I’d recommend giving it a chance.

‘Hart of Dixie’ (Monday, The CW, 9 pm) marks Rachel Bilson’s return to television. It was all right, although if you read my review you’ll see that I had quite a few problems with both the premise and the creative direction it was taking.

‘New Girl’ (Tuesday, FOX, 9 pm) is a show that I’ve already hesitantly reviewed. I wasn’t thrilled with the premiere episode, and I’m not a huge Zooey Deschanel fan (something about her quirky personality disagrees with me), but I’m going to keep watching the show. Again…there’s potential.

‘Ringer’ (Tuesday, The CW, 9 pm) stars Sarah Michelle Gellar in her first return to TV since ‘Buffy the Vampire Slayer’. I quite enjoyed the first episode but didn’t love it enough to remember to watch the second episode. This is definitely a show that needs to be watched episode by episode, so I guess I’d better catch up online.

‘Revenge’ (Wednesday, ABC, 10 pm) is the show that I’ve liked the most this season. It’s a high-paced drama with just the right amount of intrigue and murderous intent. It’s something that ABC does well (‘Brothers and Sisters’, ‘Desperate Housewives’, etc.).

Are there any other new shows that I should be watching?

'Hart of Dixie' is a little familiar...in more ways than one

I'm only two minutes into 'Hart of Dixie' and I'm already annoyed. The time-line that they've set up for the main character's medical career is even more ridiculous than I thought it would be.

I'm also frustrated by the overdone flashback voiceover and the non-diegetic country music.

Now that I've complained a little bit I'm willing to admit that I may watch this show. If I have nothing better going on.

I love medical shows, and ones that involve big city doctors in small towns are usually amusing.

However, the plot of 'Hart of Dixie' is shockingly similar to the plot of the British television hit, 'Doc Martin'.

Martin is a surgeon from the big city who gets transplanted to a small town due to issues in his personal life. He's not very good with his patients or people in general. But he's really good with medicine.

Sound familiar?


'Doc Martin' is available on Netflix Instant view. 'Hart of Dixie' is on The CW Mondays at 9 pm.

What's Premiering on TV Tonight?

'Hart of Dixie', the new show starring Rachel Bilson (of 'OC' fame), premieres tonight on The CW at 9 pm.

If you can buy Bilson as a high-powered surgeon you'll probably be able to enjoy this show.

Personally, I'm a little confused by the casting choice since once you add in medical school and surgical residency Bilson's character would have to be at least 31 years old (and 34 is more probable), and at barely 30 Bilson doesn't look old enough.

What do you think?