Lord Byron, the chartered accountant

So, my TV schedule allows me to have no life, basically. SIXTEEN HOURS, PEOPLE!
( Behold, the shiny, colourful grid of MADNESS! )

Red: must-see TV
Orange: second picks
Yellow: DVR/see later in the week
Blue: guilty pleasures

Mad Men: Disappointed me thus far in the season, but I've yet to see The New Girl, so we'll see.
Entourage: Needs to pick up the pace this year. Last season spent far too much time on Billy Walsh's shenanigans; don't they know that we watch for Eric and Vince mooning over each other, and the gang having fun? And Ari and Lloyd bickering, obviously. :D
Desperate Housewives: I think this is one of the only shows I know that has improved exponentially over time. I loved last season; the plot, while overblown as ever, was actually compelling, and the girls got to hang out with each other a lot more than previous seasons. The phenomenal Dana Delaney really added a lot to the show, and I think I enjoyed Season 4 the most of any season of Desperate Housewives. I'm totally on board for the coming season. Time jump, yay!
Gossip Girl: I haven't forgotten The O.C.'s spectacular meltdown in the second season, and Josh Schwartz is really on notice. I'd say I'm cautiously optimistic, though I would love to be surprised into having as much fun as I had last season.
Heroes: I actually dropped out halfway through the last season, so I might be a bit lost at the start of Season 3. The promos look awesome, though, and I'm going to give it three to four episodes to see if it's improved over Season 2's blahness.
One Tree Hill: Oh, teenage guilty pleasure of my heart! How did you secretly improve, or at least hit my bulletproof narrative kinks this year? Brooke/Peyton bonding, and Lucas supporting Brooke in a completely non-douchey way, Brooke's bitch-queen mother... It's all good.
House and Grey's Anatomy: After almost a season, I'm psyched for both of them again. All the main relationships in both are at the forefront again (or they will be for at least the beginning of the season): House and Wilson, House and Cuddy; Callie and Hahn. Yay for Cristina getting her mojo back!
Private Practice: This show really exerts the 'can't look away, even though it's heinous' fascination for me. So many good actors wasted! Even Kate Walsh is depressing to watch. Addison's to spineless and dithery on this show; pale shades of The Mistress of All That is Evil. I'm giving it two episodes to inprove.
Friday Night Lights: The recent casting shakeup's made me re-think this show a bit, because it affects two of my favourite characters. I'll wait and see. :|

I'm looking forward to the rest; most of the other shows were either new and stopped at a good cliffhanger (Chuck, Pushing Daisies, Terminator), so I want to see if they can keep the momentum going in their second seasons, or were already consistently funny (30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother). I actually think 90210 will really suck, but I want to try something new; might as well be something that will get cancelled quickly so I don't get too attached, right?

Friday Night Lights: A Poor Man's Memory, by shrift. (Tim-centric; PG).
"My God, you are just not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you, Riggins?"
The banter feels like a deleted scene of the show. Her Tim is a thing of beauty and a joy forever. Go, read. And don't forget to leave feedback.

I couldn't make any caps in time, so you'll have to imagine the eye candy and the brilliance of the actors this week. :)

( What to do While You're Waiting )

To make up for the lack of pictures, have some recs:

• Friday Night Lights: As A Friend, As A Known Memory, by musesfool. (Jason/Tyra, R, spoilers up to Nevermind).
  

  Tyra's the only one who doesn't want anything from him.

  
  Note-perfect exploration of both Jason and Tyra, the ease and camaraderie between them. Plus, scorchingly hot awkward teenage sex. :)


• Friday Night Lights: My Best Friend's Girl, by hackthis. (Landry, Tim, Matt, PG).
  

  "It's always fun and games until people get killed with boulders," Landry said.

  
  Landry and Tim, on being alone without their best friends. It's seriously adorable, and exactly what we all need after the cruel lack of Landry on the show this week.


• Friday Night Lights: Dark Places of the Earth, by them0rgue. (Tim/Landry, NC-17).
  

  This is by far the most bizarre thing he’s ever done.

  
  Tim/Landry. With talking. Lots of talking. And with Heart of Darkness references. Go, go now!


• Friday Night Lights: Kyle Chandler Challenges the Television Hair Matrix, by puppetoflove. (Kyle Chandler's Hair, Rated L for Legendary).
  

  Certainly, it's some stiff yet springy competition.

  
  How to explain the sheer awesomecakes of this? The word 'picspam' is so woefully inadequate. puppetoflove shows how Kyle Chandler's not the only one making waves for his performance in Friday Night Lights; his hair is doing its bit by taking on the fearsome giants of follicle (of which, OF COURSE, John Glover is king). Hysterically funny.

People, how could you not tell me that Heroes was so awesome? You're all fired. I'm only up to episode four, so no spoiling. Reaction posts forthcoming...

Anyway. Once again, it that day of the week that isn't Tuesday, and we have no Friday Night Lights, so I come bearing links.

1. Recs, recs, recs:

• Friday Night Lights: A Little Bit of Paint-by-Numbers, by them0rgue (Matt, gen).

  He’s not like Landry, always ready with words of any kind. There’s not really an appropriate apology to give someone who will spend an entire Saturday afternoon with his grandma, even when that someone thinks he’s crossed over to the dark side.

  
  Gorgeous, gorgeous fic. Matt, and the people who love him best. them0rgue's grasp of details, the trivial minutiae that make up their lives, is what brings these people to life. Perfect, perfect, perfect.


• Friday Night Lights: Five Things Jason Street Was the First to Say, by hth_the_first ( Jason/Tim/Lyla, R).
  OT3 fic at its finest. With angst-fest that is canon right now, it's a relief to see such an elegant solution to the Jason-Lyla-Tim situation in fic.


• Friday Night Lights: Cross That Bridge, by poisontaster (Tim/Jason, PG-13).
  I have so much admiration for this fic. It's a drabble, but poisontaster perfectly captures Tim, and his feelings for Jason. Go and give her feedback here.


• Friday Night Lights: All The Trees of the Field Will Clap Their Hands, by hackthis (Tim, Jason, PG-13).
  Heat and boys swimming and illicit touching, oh my! Tim, Jason and the entire fotball team, trying to cool down between practices. Funny and bittersweet and hot, despite the rating. Oh, my heart.


• Vid rec, Supernatural: One Week, by ficbyzee (Sam, Dean).
  Brilliant, fun vid of Sam and Dean, their life on the road, and their relationship. The song choice is inspired, and Zee is a genius with the timeline: the quick cuts, the zigzagging narrative and the fast-forward style of the vid make this one of the most technically accomplished vids I've seen in a long time. Go and squee at her, for she is made of awesomecakes.

2. Masi Oka pwns everyone and everything. But then, you all knew that. The man drowned George Clooney! And he's a Brown graduate who can speak fluent Japanese and, seriously, there are little hearts where my eyes should be right now.

3. Speaking of fiendishly cool castmembers of Heroes, Congressman Hotass Petrelli canvassed on the Megan Mullally show. Oh, Adrian Pasdar, marry me. (Warning: this has some spoiler of the most recent episode, apparently. I fast-forwarded through it, but you have been warned.)

4. ...and to round off the set: Save the beef jerky, save the world? Doesn't quite have the same ring to it, but IF YOU SAY SO, MEGAN.

5. Okay, this is now the ANTHEM of slash pairings everywhere. *nod nod* I will it so.

Now, on to more Heroes...

Wow. I feel like smoking a cigarette. ( Was is as good for you as it was for me? )

OH MY SHOW. ( 'You know what I'm talking about. BOOM, baby!' )

In conclusion? Get people to watch this show. Pimp far and wide! Pre-emptive Season 2 campaign, guys, we have to think ahead!

Go read them0rgue's Fall Asleep in the Fast Lane. Gen, Matt-centric. The entire town has gathered for this and he doesn’t want this night to end.

It's Matt, the night of his first game: tired, elated and not quite believing his success. Go, read it now.

...and with that, I'm off to bed.