Welcome, 2011. You’ve Got Some Work Ahead of You.

Except for tax returns, the book has pretty much been closed on 2010.  As has been chronicled here at TBTS, that’s mostly a good thing.  So what can 2011 do to atone for the sins of its father(s)?

OK, wrong V, but that's a good-looking "V," no?

1. Make V good again (it returns Tuesday, January 4).  Some of you disliked it from episode 1, and stopped watching there or soon after.  I understand that it isn’t BSG or SGU, and definitely not STNG, but I really thought the first four episodes were well-paced with an exciting narrative and interesting themes.  Then it devolved into a schlock-fest for the most part, complete with soft-lighting pseudo-porn screw-scenes followed by cannibalism; inexplicably unkillable super-soldier assassins who, though apparently ungirded by metal endoskeletons, can’t be stopped even with bullets or axes; and more terrible dialog and plot twists so predictable they can’t rightly be called “twists.”  Bring back the old writers or producers or show-runners or whoever had the most to do with the first third of V’s first season.

2. Keep The Good Guys.  I don’t even know when it runs, but like Law and Order it somehow happens to be on whenever I fire up the TV.  (OK, the “somehow” with Law and Order is because there are about 10,000 episodes that must be aired and re-aired.)  The premise of the show—a by-the-book young cop (Colin Hanks) paired with a loose-cannon veteran officer (Bradley Whitford)—mirrors that of almost every other buddy-cop series/movie ever made.  However, even though both characters are by design pretty one-note and the gimmick should have worn thin after a couple episodes, Hanks and Whitford just click.  The rest of the cast and even the cameos add to it all to make The Good Guys a fun, cute show.  **I just noticed that it premiered yesterday in a new time slot…at 11pm on Saturdays.  Goodbye, The Good Guys.  We hardly knew ye.

3. Please, God, make the prequel to The Thing, also known as The Thing, a worthy successor (or ancestor?) to Carpenter’s 1984 version.  I or someone will write a full piece about it eventually, but for now, just realize that this movie is important enough to me to include in the Halloween piece and mention in my Christmas piece.  The movie was supposed to open April 29, 2011—the same day as William & Kate’s wedding OMG!—but has been postponed indefinitely.  The folks in charge delayed the release to, at least officially, tweak the movie until it met their standards of quality.  Please please allow their standards for this film to meet or exceed my own.

4. This is a long shot, but something Terminator on TV or film.  Yes, Terminator Salvation and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles were last seen in 2009, not 2010, but the pain still lingers.  The movie because it was terrible, the show because it was awesome.  How about a two-hour T:SCC movie, like BSG’s Razor?  Or a six-episode mini-series?  Or a new 40-season run, projected on the moon?  As you can see, I am crazy with grief.  I just can’t stand the thought of a lifetime without another good non-comic book Terminator offering.

That should be easy, 2011.  You owe me at least three of those four.  Get to work.