Hey Everyone! It’s that time of year again – the end of another season of tv is upon us and SB and I are here to give you our unsolicited opinions about all of the shows we were watching (even some that we don’t regularly cover on the site). We’re covering shows based on when they aired, so today we start with Monday shows and we’ll be posting a new edition every day this week. We’re each providing our opinions to get the discussion going, and it’s up to you guys to continue the conversation in the comments. We want to hear your opinions – and feel free to comment on shows that we didn’t get a chance to mention. This is your opportunity to air grievances and/or gush about the 2011/2012 television season, so don’t be shy!

As always, SB’s thoughts are in blue (follow her on twitter @offcolortv) and my thoughts are in purple (follow me @nicole_octv).

The Voice

I just started watching The Voice this year and I’ll TOTALLY be back.  I really only got into one season of Idol (Clay and Reuben, of course), and I’m just generally not usually a fan of singing shows or reality shows where America decides stuff.  Because, let’s face it–America is stupid.  But I seriously love this show–it’s funny, America doesn’t have THAT much control over the decisions (just enough to feel included), it’s generally very positive, except when Christina is being a bitch, it moves quickly, and there’s a nice variety in the competitions.  Plus, the judges have excellent chemistry, and it’s just kind of one of those things that’s either there or it’s not–you can’t fake it and you can’t force it.  Plus, I love the Blake and Adam bromance.  I am SO IN when this show returns in the fall.

I have never seen an episode of The Voice (my only exposure to reality shows comes from my weekly fix of The Soup, and they have too much to talk about re: Big Ange and Gold Rush Alaska to get into The Voice). I do know a bit about it though – spinning chairs, bitchy Xtina, Maroon 5, Cee-Lo’s evil mastermind cat – that about covers it right? I was more aware of the show this season however, only because of Tony Lucca who I first fell in teen love with when he was on Malibu Shores with Keri Russell. He also sang the hell out of ‘Devil Town’ for Friday Night Lights, so I was rooting for him. Especially after I heard that Xtina didn’t even remember him from their Disney days and was a total cooze to him throughout. Bitch.

Tons more shows after the jump:

Hart of Dixie

Oh man … well, this show started out super awesome and then took a hard left turn into steaming pile of shit.  It really had a total undoing over the course of maybe four or five episodes, where they really tried to push this whole “Zoe and George are soulmates” crap, and in doing so completely fucked over the guy that EVERYONE loves AND made Zoe into a horrible, selfish, irritating person.  It was a mess, and I’m still not over it.  I’m CLOSER to over it, thanks to the glorious sex scene in the last episode, but then George had to wander in and fuck everything up.  Seriously, how can someone so boring manage to ruin everything all the time and be completely uninteresting in doing so?  Yuck.  I’m going to keep watching this show next year (but not recapping it, as I said in my last post), but it’s going to be on the DVR until I feel like dealing with it, and let me tell you … while I love Lavon forever, if it weren’t for Wilson Bethel, this show would already be out of my life permanently.  Somebody give those boys better shows immediately.

I do agree that this show was one of my favorites at the start of the season (very surprisingly, I might add), and then it suffered some major problems towards the end. Well, one major problem – Zoe became almost totally unlikeable. I’m not against the protagonist of a show being an asshole (hello Breaking Bad, Weeds, Nurse Jackie and countless others), but when you’re doing something light and frothy like HoD it doesn’t work – especially because it’s clearly not the intention. While Zoe doesn’t need to be perfect, the audience should want to root for her. When they have her treating her friends like shit (Lavon), arbitrarily trying to break up impending marriages (George & Lemon) and breaking the heart of the world’s most adorable and sexay neighbor over and over again (Wade), why exactly are we supposed to hope that she gets what she wants? Because she’s pretty? Because she has (some) nice clothes? I spent most of the last stretch of the season wanting to slap her right in the mouth, and I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the intention. I’m hopeful that they can use the summer to figure out how to get back to the tone that they started out with and make us actually LIKE Zoe again. #1 on the list? She’s gotta start being nicer to Lavon, because Lavon is the best and it pains me to watch her dismiss him and his feelings over and over again. That sex scene with Wade though? That was great. Great enough to ensure that I’ll be watching the show again in the fall, because Wilson Bethel can make panties melt with his eyes alone. But it’s not enough to sustain a series (probably), so they’ve really got to get their shit together in the writer’s room by September.

Pretty Little Liars

God, it feels like this show never has an actual season ender–just when you start to realize it’s been off the air for awhile (awhile being like, two weeks), it’s back.  But I felt inclined to include it because since our last big round up post, we found out who A was.  And let me tell you, it was a bullshit reveal that, as Nicole pointed out, took away the entire meaning of A.  I am going to keep watching PLL, but it has practically nothing to do with PLL itself and everything to do with how much I love Nicole’s recaps and need to be in that loop.  Also, I will reverse every bad thing I’ve ever said about this show if it turns out that Ezra is the evil mastermind behind all of it, and I know Nicole will agree.  Come on, Show!  It’s what the “fans” want!

As those of you who read my PLL recaps know, I was really not sure if I would continue recapping the show when it comes back in June. It’s a fun show, but it’s fucking FRUSTRATING as hell in its absolute refusal to provide any actual information, even as the mysteries continue to pile up. And, as SB mentioned, it feels like it’s never NOT on the air, so I barely get a break before I have to get back into it again. They try to make it seem like crazy shit is happening constantly, but in reality the plots actually move as slow as molasses (I mean, Melissa has been pregnant for like two years at this point). Earlier in the year, we ‘found out who A was’, except we didn’t at all. The mystery only expanded to basically include every person we’ve ever suspected probably. But I will be back recapping the shenanigans at Rosewood High next month because I cannot let go of my hopes and dreams that Ezra will turn out to be the truly sick and vengeful psychopath that I know he can be, and I need to see that happen. I just can’t accept that he’s really supposed to be the world’s most boring pedophile and nothing more. Plus, almost no other show brings the cray-cray like this show does, and that is pretty endlessly entertaining. For now. At some point PLL is going to have to put up or shut up because there is only so long that the audience (by that I mean me) will continue to watch without some solid, non-bullshit plot developments. Clown dolls and fake-blind neighbors can only get you so far.

How I Met Your Mother

I actually don’t have a ton to say about HIMYM.  I feel like this has been a pretty good season and I love Quinn (so I’ll be sad to see her move on to her next show), but I am excited to see how Barney and Robin make their way back to each other.  And I liked the cliffhanger with Ted and Victoria, even though we know she’s not the mother.  As I said in the mid-year post, I don’t really know why critics have such a problem with this show.  It’s the same as it ever was, pretty much, but it’s a cute, fun, funny show that’s a nice little half hour on a Monday evening.  I don’t really NEED for it to be more, you know?

I agree with everything that SB said. It’s been a good season and they’ve managed to continue to make the most of those episode devices that HIMYM has used for a long time (flashbacks, flashforwards, lists, charts, rules, Ducky ties, etc). I love Becky Newton so I’ll be sad to see her go (but her new show looks good so yay!), but I admit to loving Barney and Robin together, so that ending made me happy. Now we get to go back and find out how it came to be, and I’m excited for that. NPH and Cobie Smulders just have great chemistry together, so I’m glad we’re going to get to watch the characters work through their shit. I’m also a big fan of Victoria (aren’t we all?) so I think it’s good that they’re going to (hopefully) explain why she is absolutely not the right girl for Ted. Otherwise when he ultimately meets The Mother, at least half of us would be still pining for the architect and the baker to make it work. I feel like whatever they have in store for this arc will finally put some closure on the relationship, for both the characters and the audience. The only real question mark is how will Marvin Wait For It Erickson affect the show next year? It could be done really well (think Emma on Friends) or it could reduce Marshall and Lily to boring nobodies who cease to have fun (or personalities) a la Jim and Pam on The Office. Time will tell.

The Bachelor/ette

Listen–there is truly nothing to be said about this show, because every season is exactly the same and nothing new or exciting really ever happens.  It’s all just silliness, bitchery, and stupid people crying, all of which I kind of enjoy.  Well, I don’t enjoy THAT so much as I do sitting on the couch and making snarky comments about it with Billy, who is much funnier than I am, and I just wanted to plug the fact that I am tweeting our conversations during the show (you know … as long as I’m home and there’s nothing better on and I don’t get bored doing it), and you should totally follow me on twitter @offcolortv.

I do not watch The Bachelor or it’s equally desperate and famewhoring sister The Bachelorette. So all I can do here is echo SB’s observation that there is truly nothing to be said about these shows. Except that these shows should require its contestants to undergo mandatory sterilization because there is no way that any of these people should be spawning, ever.

Okay, we showed your ours, now it’s your turn to show us yours. Talk to us about any of the shows above, or any other Monday shows that we didn’t get a chance to mention. What did you like, what did you hate and what do you want to see next season? We know our readers are not shy with opinions, so let’s hear it! And don’t forget to come back tomorrow when we’ll do this all over again!