The awareness that what they're writing is a series, rather than an endless set of stand-alone stories-- and the skill to make that work. And things that are meant to be funny that actually are!

Oh, yes. The Bashir-O'Brien friendship had some wonderful moments. I loved the scene where the two of them were in O'Brien's quarters, shit-faced drunk (on real alcohol, no less), and singing "Jerusalem." Their dynamic was one of the most believable guy friendships I can recall seeing on TV.

I've seen two episodes of DLM. It just isn't clicking for me

DLM has no uber-plot (that I can tell), and the voice-overs are overdone, but I still like it. It's funny and weird and the deaths are almost always bizarrely entertaining. Also I lurve Mandy Patinkin. I'm not obsessed with it, but I like it enough to watch it every week.

Also, the lead reminds me of Shrift a little bit. t hides under desk

Love the thread. I watch Smallville, mainly from a comic-book/mythology point of view. I agree that the show isn't what could be considered a "quality" show, but it does show potential. They seem to string together scenes or even a couple of episodes that hit the mark, then fall back to cheese pretty fast.

I think they can work around Tom Wellings inadequecies as an actor by focusing on the characters around him and how they react, but there is just no hope for Kristen Kreuk. Not only is she a bad actor, but her character just sucks the life right out of any scene that she is involved in.

(Also, go with the Deep Space Nine love. Best.Trek.Ever.)

Another DLM watcher here, though the addition of Daisy O'Dare, the sporadic subtraction of Roxy, and the wimping out on the affair subplot George's dad was supposed to have are all conspiring against my enjoyment.

Enterprise is a very bad show, but nothing on it is quite so bad as the AWFUL AWFUL REALLY BAD STUPID SONG!!!!!

And my oldest sister -- in whom there is not one ounce of sentimentality that I have ever detected -- likes the song. She admitted it to me one day as if she were confessing a mortal sin to a priest (only, I'm a girl, we're not Catholic, and, even though it should, I don't think a single instance of horrendous taste in music is, in fact, codified as a sin anywhere). It was mightily entertaining. "Why? Why would I like the song? I shouldnt' like the song. It's wrong." "Yes. Yes it is. Very, very wrong. Go listen to your old Bob Dylan albums or something."

Customers are too hypnotized by the wall-sized photos of pretty naked people to pay attention to the pricetags that tell them their "artfully distressed" jeans sell for $70.

I felt like a dirty old woman the last time I was in that store, being mightily distracted by the HUGE pictures of practially naked BOYS younger than the nephew for whom I was buying a gift certificate. I felt dirty and like everyone in the store was engaged in underage, group pornishness. Gave me the wiggins, the youngness and oversizedness of them, it did.

He is in a perpetual state of surprise. The world is shocking to a man like Tom Welling. One wonders if he has anterograde amnesia.

Perfect description.

Enterprise is a very bad show, but nothing on it is quite so bad as the AWFUL AWFUL REALLY BAD STUPID SONG!!!!!

Yes, this. And you know the worst part? I live in the same house as someone who likes it! I have to hear it, at least once a week.

strangled noise

claws ears off

A partner worthy of Worf (among many other fabulous traits). Amen.

Clever, funny, smart, pretty... oh, yeah. One of the best Trek characters ever.

Voyager and Enterprise. Compared to the wrong turns Voyager took, and pretty much everything on Enterprise, Ally McTrill on DS9 doesn't look like such a bad plot move.

The one who become something Dax after Jadzia died? Whose name I can't remember, though I think it begins with E? Who ended up with Bashir? Wrod.

(edit:

I think they can work around Tom Wellings inadequecies as an actor by focusing on the characters around him and how they react, but there is just no hope for Kristen Kreuk. Not only is she a bad actor, but her character just sucks the life right out of any scene that she is involved in.

I read this, and tried to remember if KK plays Lana or Chloe. I can't tell, probably because as far as I'm concerned, any character who isn't Lex or Clark isn't worth looking at. With the possible exceptions of Lionel and Pete. Yep. All about the pretty boys.)

though the addition of Daisy O'Dare, the sporadic subtraction of Roxy, and the wimping out on the affair subplot George's dad was supposed to have are all conspiring against my enjoyment.

See, now, I think the affair subplot will come back. Because it was mentioned in the pilot and then dropped for 9 episodes. And this week we got the "we should split up" line.

I don't hate Daisy as much now as I did when she came on board; especially since it's clear the undead can learn and grow. Mason won't be stupid all his unlife, and Daisy won't be utterly self-involved for all eternity either. I hope.

I missed Roxy this week, but then didn't she have a lot of screen time recently? There was the leg-warmers bit, and the business with the wackjob in the underpass.

Ezri. Ezri Dax. For some reason (that has nothing to do with Ezri) I didn't watch most of the last season of DS9. Even though it's the best Trek ever! I think maybe the local station that showed it was taken over by Trek haters or something. I'm not sure.

I did watch the finale. But I missed most of the last season.

I think it was Ezri Dax, or something like that.

The girl who played Ezri was in the intensely creepy Cube, and was also in the Dead Zone series for a while.

(x-posty with askye!)

See, now, I think the affair subplot will come back. Because it was mentioned in the pilot and then dropped for 9 episodes. And this week we got the "we should split up" line.

Yeah, but with Fuller gone it's likely that Clancy will be having an affair with George's friend from college rather than that guy he was hugging at the funeral.