Mountain man

Folks, I need help. I'm in the hinterlands, and I need all you pop-culture sherpa-peeps (sherpeeps?) to shoulder my pack and take me home.

The last month has been a voyage into the wilderness. I just moved to northern Manhattan, where the nearest movie theater is 80 blocks away. I don't have cable, or a TV to hitch it to. I spent last week in a cabin in the Adirondacks, occasionally consulting my handheld to see if Michael Phelps had been named Secretary-General of the UN yet.

I've spend so much time in a nontelevisual cocoon that the onset of the Fall Season, a glorious time of rebirth that used to make me drool like an outpatient, now seems like taking a drink from a Jacuzzi jet. What's a boy to do?

Well, step one is to crack open all those back issues of "Entertainment Weekly." And step two is to ask an important question of this esteemed body of culture vultures:

... what do you anticipate most about the new season?

Movies have always been my thing, and the Fall has always been a refreshing shift from all the Tentpole Bilge that exists to get bored, heat-addled teenagers off the street. It's fun to watch the studios wheedle and moan for Awards, and Legitimacy. What films are you Jonesing for the most? Potter? Bond? De Niro and Pacino together again? HSM3 (the Merciful End)?

What about TV? I'm mostly a Lost fan, so I have to cool my jets until spring. Lucky for me, though, most of the shows I watch are available online, so my eyeballs will mostly be on Hulu and Comedycentral.com. I fear I might be on the wrong end of the bell curve on this one, since I have no experience with (or interest in) the 10 billion or so Teen Soaps that are infecting everything like Klebsiella pneumoniae. I mean, 90210 again? Wasn't it awful enough the first time?

Leave your 1) suggestions, 2) rants, or 3) directives for me to crawl back into my cave in the comments. I need to know what's what, in time to hassle the cable people to hook me up before Entourage drops on September 7.

Comments

[Laurie]

You should try Mad Men. It is in the second season, but I just started watching 2 weeks ago, and I am hooked. The AMC site is running a recap of the first season, so you can get utd. It is great, and I don't like very many TV programs!

[Karen]

I'm just trying to cling to life until the last half of the fourth season of BSG returns. Curse you, Ronald D. Moore and SciFi!

[Alison]

I'm super picky about TV so there's not much I'm really looking forward to. Lost mostly. Dexter. Pushing Daisies. Prison Break (yowza Wentworth Miller).

HBO has been running a viral campaign that's getting a lot of attention for its new show TrueBlood that rocks the house. The show is based on a series of books which I enjoyed, so I have high hopes.

As far as movies go, I'm really looking forward to Burn Before Reading. And then the Twilight movie comes out in November. Me and all my old lady friends are going to bust out our Lil Rascals and head on down to the multiplex for that one for sure.

[missbanshee]

Heroes is gonna rally this season. I can feel it in the sub-cockles of my heart.

[heels]

I'm looking forward to Bond and Harry Potter (though I guess now Potter is set for Summer of 09), but I really want to see Hamlet 2 and The Watchmen Movie. Sadly, Watchmen is not until March 09, but the previews already look promising as being pretty true to the comic book.

[Kizz]

My rant is on the Rescue Me "minisodes". Do you know about this?

The timing of the strike eliminated their summer season so they're do 6 minute minisodes at their usual air time and gearing up for a proper 22 episode season starting in "early 2009". A full season is great and I'm all for that and the minisodes are entertaining but flat. I wanted them to do 6 minute episodes that tied together or gave us information that would be important (though not vital, I know they have to keep these things out of the realm of the integral) to us in the new season. Instead it's like Rescue Me was hired to do an episode of SNL but it's airing over 12 long weeks. It's good, it's fine and all but it should have been better.

[AmyC@twcny.rr.com]

I heart HIMYM and New Adventures of Old Christine. The Office, always. Pushing Daisies, Grey's (can't help myself) and Lost, even though it frustrates the hell out of me most weeks.

[Snarky Amber]

Two words: PRISON. BREAK.

I am also stoked for The Office's return, even if last season blew. And 30 Rock. God, do I love me some Tina Fey.

[Ppiglett]

Mad Men!

[Jason]

Two words: KNIGHT FUCKING RIDER.

[Bonnie]

Doll House-the new series by Joss Whedon

[Femtastic]

Only because nobody has mentioned it, I must rant of great and serious love for "Life", the best thing to come out of last Fall HANDS DOWN.

I second the calls for Dollhouse (the new Joss Whedon show on Fox) and the new season of HIMYM.

[sweetney]

Entourage, holy crap. Only a couple of weeks away, baby!

Jason: that's three fucking words.... oh, nevermind.

[Brandi]

Yeah, Life is fantastic! I can't recommend it enough! Definitely our favorite network show. Californication is also great on Showtime. Mmmm...David Duchovny!

[verismo]

Congrats on moving to "Upstate Manhattan!" If you are in WashH, there is a theatre on 181 and Bdway, but I don't recommend unless you are truly desperate. It's an old Paramount and the sound and picture are crap. I spend the extra $4 to go to my favorite Empire Majestic on 42 and 8th.

I would recommend the excellent people watching here. On my block, the street vendors consist of cosmetics, shirts-and-socks, fruit-shaped-like-flowers-on-a-stick, and my personal favorite: The Wig Cart. It's a lady with a tricked-out shopping cart with a million really fake wigs on broom sticks. Funny enough, she runs a tight ship, and can be found weekdays on 171 and Bdway.

Other delights of living up here are the most beautiful park in NYC: Fort Tryon. Really, it beats CP for beauty and good louche-ing spots.

More importantly, if you need to know the good take-out places, definitely e mail me. I know them all, and will save you the agony of trial and error.