Desperate Housewives

I have been holding off on writing about Season 4 of Desperate Housewives because I kept feeling like the best episode was coming up. The show has regained not only the mystery, but also the heart, that it had in Season 1. I'm glad that I stayed with it through its "sophomore slump" (I'm still calling it that even though it lasted 2 years...) because now I'm enjoying the story as much as I did when I first fell in love with the show. Well, last night finally brought the episode I had been waiting for. A tornado hit Wisteria Lane, but the weather wasn't the only thing that brought destruction. (Wow. What a line. I cannot believe I just wrote that.)

Mike's drug problem finally came to a head when Susan took his pills and he accidentally made her fall down the stairs. Then when he got her to the hospital, he's freaking out because it's taking so long for her to see a doctor and she's pregnant and he gets into a fight with a male nurse and ends up handcuffed to a chair. Turned out Susan only had a sprained ankle, but now Mike's going to rehab. I have to say- I miss the old Mike terribly. I guess that's part of drug addiction, that the addict becomes an entirely different person who lies and sneaks around and risks everything for some stupid pills. But I still have a hard time understanding how Mike could have gotten to this place. This is the same guy who proposed to Susan almost the exact second that she picked him over Ian because he didn't want to wake up another morning without her next to him. The same guy who started building a crib as soon as they found out she was pregnant ("But boy or girl, it's gonna be a Colts fan"). And now the pressures of being a suburban husband and father are so stressful that he has to resort to pain pills??

I don't exactly know what to think about Lynette's situation. I knew from the promo that somebody was going to die, but I felt sure that it wouldn't be anyone in Lynette's family. After all, she just found out that she has been blaming her awful childhood on her mother when the truth is that her stepfather, who was the only real dad she ever knew, left them because he was gay. After she had just beat cancer. After she had fallen in love with another man who worked at the Scavo's Pizzeria while Tom had a broken back. Apparently, though, I overestimated the humanity of the writers because the episode ended with her looking upon the demolished house that was the shelter for her husband and children during the storm.

The future is uncertain for Gabrielle as well. One of her problems was solved when the tornado drove a piece of wood through Victor's chest before he was able to inflict any real damage on her or Carlos for their affair. But what about Carlos? He got knocked out by some flying debris before he was able to get inside the house. I really hope he's okay. Like he said, he and Gaby are like 2 halves of the same person, and when they're not together, they just aren't happy. I've been waiting for them to get to this point in their relationship for a long time. He's gone from being the neglectful, jerk husband, to the jealous, scheming husband, to the forgiving, awesome husband, to the cheating husband, to a friend, to the love of her life.

My favorite part of the episode last night had to be the interaction between Katharine and Bree. They finally found some common ground. In the time that Bree, Orson, Katharine, and Adam waited out the storm, Katharine learned that her husband really did have an affair with one of her patients, and Bree was in a position to truly empathize with this woman who had been her enemy ever since she moved there. Bree remembered the shame she felt when she learned about Rex's infidelity, and she put her hand on Katharine's- a small gesture of kindness that was very moving nevertheless. (Even though it wasn't addressed in this action-packed episode, I'm still so curious about why Katharine and her daughter left Wisteria Lane all those years ago. What did Dylan's father do? And why can't Dylan remember??)

Dear Writers' Strike, please end soon so that Marc Cherry can get back to work and give me some answers. Thank you. That is all.

Big-athons

Everyone has their comfort movies- those that they watch when they're sad/stressed/sick/all of the above. I've got friends who watch everything from Finding Nemo and Moulin Rouge, to She's the Man (my sister) and Sleepless in Seattle (my brother). There's a girl in my dorm whose comfort movie is Transformers. Whatever. To each his/her own.

I often turn to Kate & Leopold or Dirty Dancing in my times of need. But sometimes, my cure-all is watching my favorite scenes of Sex and the City that have Mr. Big in them. I refer to these as Big-athons because I have to really commit to doing them before I start. After all, Big can only be truly appreciated in the scope of all 6 seasons. Each year adds something to his character until, finally, he is not only ridiculously charming but also a good man who is perfect for Carrie.


These are what I consider to be the must-watch scenes for the ultimate Big-athon:
1) Season 1, Episode 1- The scene where they meet on the sidewalk, and then when he gives her a ride home at the end. Carrie: "Have you ever been in love?" Big: "Abso-fuckin'-lutely."
2) Season 1, Episode 2- The scene when he comes to see her in the coffee shop. Big: "But the thing is, after awhile, you just wanna be with the one who makes you laugh."
3) Season 1, Episode 6- Their first date.
4) Season 1, Episode 7- The opening scene with them walking on the street. She's wearing this gorgeous pink dress and he's wearing a blue suit and tie. I do love a man in blue...
5) Season 1, Episode 8- The scene where she keeps imagining his ex-wife in bed with them. Then the scene at the end where it's just the two of them.
6) ***Season 1, Episode 11- The scene where they're eating ice cream in bed.*** (my favorite scene of the first season)

7) Season 2, Episode 5- Their date. And the scene at the end where he comes to her door to make sure that she's alive and then they go bowling.
8) Season 2, Episode 6- The scene where she sneaks away from her friends to go to his apartment. The end when they go dancing and officially get back together. Big: "I can tell you one thing- I sure did miss you. Officially." Carrie: "Did you cry?" Big: "No. But I did listen to a hell of a lot of Sinatra."
9) ***Season 2, Episode 7- The scene where she's writing a poem for a wedding. Big: "Love, glove, dove. Love is like a dove. Or a big fuzzy glove. Don't use that I might have stolen it from a greeting card."*** (my favorite scene from Season 2)
10) Season 2, Episode 8- The beginning when they go to the Italian restaurant and he sings to her. The end when he comes to the club to spend time with her friends.
11) Season 2, Episode 9- The beginning when she talks about saying 'I love you' to him. The scene at the end when he calls her. Big: "Well, I fucking love you, alright? You know I do."
12) Season 2, Episode 10- The last scene where she finds the picture of them in his drawer.
13) Season 2, Episode 11- The scene after all of their fighting when he comes over and they don't say anything.
14) Season 2, Episode 18- The scene where they have lunch. Their phone conversation when he says he would never hurt her on purpose. The end when they talk on the street. Carrie: "Your girl is lovely, Hubble." Big: "I don't get it." Carrie: "And you never did." (cue dramatic music)

15) Season 3, Episode 8- Their conversation on the boat. The scene at the end when he comes to her apartment.
16) Season 3, Episode 9- The scene at the furniture show. The final scene at the hotel.
17) Season 3, Episode 10- The scene where she calls him and then he comes over.
18) Season 3, Episode 11- The beginning with them in all the hotels.
19) Season 3, Episode 18- The scene where they meet for lunch, fall into the lake, and then go back to his place to talk about how they're like war buddies.

20) Season 4, Episode 1- The end where he's waiting in his car with balloons and champagne on her birthday.
21) Season 4, Episode 3- The scenes where they go out as friends.
22) Season 4, Episode 10- The scene where he calls her to talk about how depressed he is over a girl. The scene where he calls her in the country and then he drives up to see her and then he and Aidan get into a fight in the mud. Carrie: "Stop it! You're middle-aged!"
23) Season 4, Episode 16- The scene where she goes to see him at work and talks about her break-up with Aidan.
24) ***Season 4, Episode 18- THE ENTIRE EPISODE***

25) Season 5, Episode 7- The scenes with her in California. He comes to her book signing (Big: "This Mr. Big character. Does he have a real name?"), they go out to eat, she just wants to have sex but he wants to talk about the book, and then the morning when they wake up. Carrie: "What about all that talk? All those concerns?" Big: "Fuck it. You'll need material for the sequel."

26) Season 6, Pt. 1, Episode 3- The scenes where they talk on the phone.
27) ***Season 6, Pt. 1, Episode 11- THE ENTIRE EPISODE***

28) ***Season 6, Pt. 2, Episodes 7 & 8- The finale.*** Carrie: "Paris was a mess. I never should have come here. Everything fell apart. We had a big fight. And then I got slapped." Big: "You got what?!" Carrie: "No, no, it was an accident." Big: "He slapped you?!" Carrie: "No, it's not like that!" Big: "I will kick his ass!"

Big: "You know, I don't live here anymore. And the Four Seasons won't check you in until 1:00." Carrie: "Oh, did you wanna come up?" Big: "Abso-fuckin'-lutely." :-)


My favorite scene

What I'm Thankful For

My response to Kristin's Thanksgiving blog:

1) LOST coming back soon.

2) Everything that The Office has ever done and ever will do.

3) The Walker family and Rob Lowe's blue eyes.

4) Damon and Carlton's podcasts and
webisodes.

5) The Pie-maker and the girl named Chuck.

6) The boy named Chuck.

7) HRG being the best dad since Spy Daddy.

8) Coach Taylor and Dillon Panther football.

9) Excitement on Wisteria Lane again.
(Babies and drugs and tornadoes, oh my!)

10) The Closer special on December 3rd.

11) Battlestar Galactica: Razor and trying to guess
who the final Cylon is.

12) Beauty & the Geek parties and hoping that Dave and Jasmine win.

13) Looking forward to Joss Whedon's new show, Dollhouse.

My Guide to Surviving the Strike

As the new episodes are running out and the abyss of the strike is looming before us, I have to be prepared for the worst case scenario, in which the spring will be void of anything except reality television. It could be almost a year before some of our beloved shows return to us. All I can say is- Thank God for LOST. Those 8 episodes starting in February might be the only way that I keep my sanity next semester.

In light of all these things, I have started to think about what I can use this time to do in terms of reconnecting with old favorite shows and finding new ones. I enjoy my little television marathons a lot. Oh sure, when I'm done and finally emerge from my dark cave (I'm referring to my bed, which is the most comfortable place on Earth. It's on the bottom bunk, and my roommate's comforter hangs down over the side so that I literally crawl into it with my laptop and shut myself off from the outside world), it feels strange to go outside and see all the 3-dimensional people. But these marathons are like an amazing, all-consuming trip into another world. Since I started college, I have had marathons for Alias, The Sopranos, Battlestar Galactica, Friday Night Lights, Brothers & Sisters, Dexter, Heroes, and Firefly. A season takes me about week because I do actually have to go to class and eat a couple meals, not to mention taking time out at night to watch my shows when they come on tv, but I can watch probably 6 hours of something on a weekday, 10-12 hrs. on a Saturday. Yeah, I know what you're thinking: it is pretty awesome.

Here's my list so far of things that I want to watch:
--Seasons 1-3 of LOST- this is first on my list because there's no better way to get excited about Season 4 than starting from the beginning again
--early seasons (1-5 ish) of ER- used to watch this show until all the good people left/died, but it's been awhile since I saw an episode (oh, how I miss that Dr. Ross)
--Rome, Six Feet Under, The West Wing, House, The Wire, Band of Brothers, Oz, Wonderfalls, Deadwood, The Tudors, Prison Break, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Coupling (UK version), The Office (UK version), Doctor Who, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Veronica Mars

That should keep me occupied for a little while...But I welcome any suggestions!

The Strike

I am not a writer. I am a mere college student who loves television, to the extent that I call Wednesday "LOST-day" (even when it's not currently airing, which tends to confuse people...). Thursday is "Office-day," Monday is "Heroes-day." My shows give me something to look forward to, something to get my mind off whatever else is going on. If this strike continues, then Wednesday will just be Wednesday, and all I will have to look forward to is Mexican Lasagna day in my school's cafeteria. All this to say- my life is affected by the strike, and I support the WGA for as long as they need to negotiate to get what they deserve. I know that what I do has no affect on the networks, but for my part I have personally sworn not to download any episodes from iTunes and not to watch anything off the streaming players on ABC.com, NBC.com, etc. This may not be much, but it's what I can do for those who have given me so much. And I don't mean the network execs.

I have come to realize that the biggest problem here is not that there may not be any new episodes of The Office for a while, or that one of my new favorite shows, Chuck, might not get picked up for a full season because of this. The problem is that the entertainment industry is swiftly moving in a new direction. The internet has become a major medium for people to view television. That is a source of revenue for the networks because of the advertisements that play on their websites when people are watching, as well as the money earned from people buying the shows off of iTunes or Amazon. None of the writers are getting compensated for their work. It just isn't right. Networks don't make great television. Writers make great television. I mean, as inspiring as that little peacock logo or the abc-circle thing in the bottom corner of my tv is, I don't care what channel I'm watching. I'm there to hear Damon and Carlton's story about the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815. Or to see what else Dwight and Michael can do that makes me laugh so hard it hurts.

This situation needs to be worked out, however long it takes.

From what I've read, the last writers' strike was about 20 years ago. It lasted 22 months. If that happens again...Well, I guess I'll be forced to start doing all my homework.

Stay strong.

Pushing Daisies

I have a good friend named John with whom I share a very similar taste in television. When asked to describe this show, he responded, "It's about me smiling for an hour."
Thus far, that is the best explanation I have for why this show is so amazing. I love everything about Pushing Daisies, from Jim Dale's narration, to Ned's gorgeous golden retriever, Digby. I especially love how sweet Ned and Chuck are together and how much they care about each other. That's what makes the story so tragic- the condition of his ability to bring dead things back to life is that if he ever touches them again, they will be dead forever. Still, he and Chuck have managed to find their way around that rule a few times: dancing in beekeeper suits on the roof, kissing through plastic wrap, and installing a panel with a glove in it in between the front seat and the driver's seat so that they can hold hands.
Every episode centers around a murder mystery, yet the show feels like a fairy-tale more than anything, full of color and magical happiness. It really makes me want to spend some time in creator Bryan Fuller's imagination. I think that would be a fun place to be...

Friday Night Lights

My decision to start watching this show was based on some advice, or rather a command, from Kristin. I love her column for many reasons, but if I ever meet her, the one thing that I will make sure to profess my undying gratitude for was her urging me to watch Friday Night Lights.
I did enjoy the movie from a couple of years ago, and I have liked Peter Berg (writer/director of the film and executive producer for the show) ever since he was a guest star on Alias. But neither of those facts prepared me for the attachment I would feel for these characters, even from the very first episode. My favorites are without a doubt Coach Taylor and his wife, but everyone else, from Riggins to Matt Saracen's grandma, adds something special to the overall feel of the show. I have such respect for all of the actors because of how real they make the people and town of Dillon, Texas, which I'm sure has a lot to do with the fact that they often do scenes without following the script exactly. What comes out ends up being so genuine you just forget that you're watching television.
I do, however, agree with some of the criticism about Season 2. Ken Tucker, a writer for Entertainment Weekly, put it perfectly when he said, "Here’s the thing about Friday Night Lights so far this season: You have to pour everything you know and love about these characters from last season into these hollow versions of the same characters this season, because the show has become all about its melodramatic subplots, and not about people. Remember when we could happily spend whole segments just watching Kyle Chandler and Connie Britton debate, argue, make up, and crack each other up? Remember when a high point of an FNL hour was overhearing Landry and Matt (Matt Saracen! How much we miss you and your shy, halting talk this season!) bicker and joke about silly things? No one behind the scenes is writing that kind of dialogue anymore, or letting enough time play out in any given scene for us to become emotionally reinvested with these people."

Here's hoping that this season regains some of its old life- one that's full of heart. Clear eyes, full hearts, can't lose!


Last scene of Season 1

Viva Laughlin

I was so excited about this show 6 months ago. I mean, they showed all those cool previews during the Tony's, and Hugh Jackman was in it, which is pretty much all I need to know to watch anything. The premise of a musical crime-drama seemed...interesting. But again, Hugh was going to be singing, so I didn't really ask any questions. The reviews leading up to the premiere were horrible, but I chose to ignore them, hoping that the critics were wrong about this one. All I can say is- Oh NO. I could barely even get through the first episode. Hugh did sing, but I could barely even hear his voice because the original song was playing at the same time. Not cool.

I wanted so much for the show to be a success because even though Hugh was only going to be a guest star and not a member of the regular cast, it was produced by his company, Seed Productions. He is so amazing, and I want all of his projects to do well. But even I was glad to hear yesterday that the show was canceled. Maybe now people will forget that this ever happened, Hugh's career will continue to thrive, and Eric Winter (who played the police officer investigating the murder of that rich dude) can get his cute self back over to Brothers & Sisters. He belongs there with Kevin.

Now I'm going to go listen to The Boy from Oz soundtrack and be incredibly happy.

The Office

Last night's episode, "Money," was what I had been waiting for all summer. The first 3 hours of the season have been alright- I mean, they definitely had their moments of hilarity- but they just seemed inconsistent. I felt like by putting all 4 hour-long episodes at the very beginning of the season, the writers were having to stretch the stories out instead of packing the funny stuff in. But fear not! The Office is back.

My favorite parts from this episode:
1) The intro. Yay for Michael's Meryl Streep impersonation ("Get me Armani on the phone. Where is Armani? Too slow. You're not going to Paris. I'm so much better than you.") and yay for Pam figuring out what "manushka" meant ("Mo cuishle! He's watching Million Dollar Baby... He's gonna try to kill me."
2) The conversation about the correct usage of whoever/whomever. ("Nobody asked you anything ever, so whomever's name is Toby, why don't you take a letter opener and stick it in your skull?")
3) Jim and Pam. A night at Schrute Farms with a Harry Potter bedtime story. And the first AMAZING kiss we've gotten to see. Apparently, Jim is really passionate about Italian food. In fact, he's in love with Italian food.


"Whomever" scene

Brothers & Sisters

My new obsession is this amazingly beautiful show about the complicated relationships of the Walker family. It is so heartfelt and funny and well-acted that I fell in love with every single one of these people. This is not an exaggeration: Senator McCallister (Rob Lowe) is one of my favorite characters in all of the television that I have ever watched. Aside from the fact that he is absolutely gorgeous, he is so charming that I found myself replaying his scenes just because they made me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside. And extremely giggly on the outside, as my mother can attest to.

I really don't know how it took me so long to get around to adopting this show. I mean, its executive producer is Ken Olin, whose work on Alias as a director/producer was amazing. I think it might have something to do with the fact that B & S started last year at the same time as 6 Degrees, and they seemed so similar to me from all the promos that I saw. I decided that if I had to pick one, I would choose 6 Degrees because it was J.J. Abrams' show (this was at a time when my anger towards J.J. had not yet been fully realized-- *see previous post, "Rescue Me," for explanation). Needless to say since that show is no longer on the air, but I was disappointed.

Anyways...Partially out of my boredom from doing homework and partially because of the fortuitous and random nature of my moods to watch certain shows, I thought now would be as good a time as any to see how much I like Brothers & Sisters. If it's great, I'll have something to watch after Desperate Housewives. 7 days and 26 episodes later- I'm completely hooked. I love everything: from the sweet family moments that made me tear up on several occasions and the hilarious bantering between the brothers and sisters, to the insane drama that occurred throughout the season (Ohmygosh, I can't believe their dad died. And he had an affair. And he had another kid. And now she's living with Nora.) and the meaningful lessons about the importance of family and about living life to the fullest.

All of the Walkers bring something unique and wonderful to the dynamic of the show. Nora is the heart of the family. She loves all of her children so much but is constantly having pointless little fights with them. Sarah can be pretty moody, yet at the same time she is a strong and intelligent woman. Kitty, whom I personally adore, shares my love for Ronald Reagan (and my newfound love for Senator McCallister). She's brilliant and witty and reverts to this cute childish behavior when dealing with her siblings. Tommy takes a while to get to know, but now I've seen how sweet and mature and endearing he can be. Kevin is awesome. There's really no other way to describe him. All I know is that I would love to have him as a brother. Justin seems like such an idiot at first when he's strung out all the time, but he has grown so much since then that I almost forget about his moronic addiction phase. He's an amazing uncle to Paige and Cooper, a loving brother to his siblings, and a great son to his mother, even though he has to endure being treated like the child who always needs to be taken care of. The supporting characters- Saul, Joe, Julia, Rebecca, Robert, et al- sometimes get lost in the heat of the Walker family arguments and mayhem, but they each play a valuable role in the overall scheme of the show.

Okay, I realize how much I am rambling right now. I think I have made my point that I think the show is fantastic and engaging and deserving of all kinds of praise. In conclusion, I love Senator McCallister. He is dreamy. The end.

Reaper

I am very much inclined never to watch anything on The CW again, more as a matter of principle than because I believe they will actually get the message that they suck from my personal boycott of the network. After all, they made 2 big mistakes last year that solidified their place as the worst decision-makers in television programming history.

Firstly, they were unwilling to negotiate with Amy Sherman-Palladino for the last season of Gilmore Girls, meaning that the entire essence of the show disappeared. Not only that, but they couldn't make up their minds whether they wanted to renew the show for another season, or possibly a half-season. As a result, when they finally said no to any new episodes, there was very little time to give closure to the story and the series finale was a complete dud.

Their second mistake was with regard to Veronica Mars. I don't know if the network execs realized what a fan following that show had, or maybe they did but the ratings just weren't good enough. Needless to say- Kristen Bell and the rest of the cast could have continued to make great tv for longer than 3 seasons. Creator Rob Thomas even pitched the idea for a Extreme Makeover: Veronica Mars Edition that would have taken us a few years into the future with Veronica doing her thing for the F.B.I. From what I could tell during the deliberation period where the fates of shows are decided, the people at The CW considered it, wavered on it, and then pulled the plug at the last possible minute. Similar to the aforementioned situation, the end result: a very unsatisfying series finale.

Okay, now that I'm down off my soapbox, I will stop ranting about how anyone can possibly decide that The Pussycat Dolls are more worthy of being renewed than GG and VM (as my high school teacher, Mrs. Plosser, would say- this is the great dumbing down of America). Anyways, I watched Reaper in spite of my feelings for The CW and found it entertaining. Not amazing, not award-worthy, but funny enough that I will probably continue to watch it. The main character's best friend had some great one-liners ("Now you're this cool devil man with your Jedi mind trick!"), definitely showing the influence of Kevin Smith, who directed the pilot episode. I mean, it wasn't much of an original idea- the concept felt a lot like Dogma- but I enjoyed it.

Chuck + Heroes

There is a character on Chuck named Captain Awesome.
Nathan and Peter Petrelli are both alive.
All is well.

To elaborate:
I decided to watch Chuck because Kristin, my hero and television guru from E!, recommended it, as well as the fact that some of the previews leading up to the premiere compared it to Alias. It is definitely going to be added to the color-coded t.v. schedule on my wall. I thought it was adorably funny and was glad to see that it doesn't take itself too seriously. The characters are all very endearing and I really enjoyed the episode in general.
(P.S.- I was very glad to see Adam Baldwin again. There's so much of those Firefly boys going on right now! In addition to Adam on this show, Nathan Fillion is joining the cast of Desperate Housewives this season, which is super exciting, and Alan Tudyk did a great job as the doctor in 3:10 to Yuma.)
The season 2 premiere of Heroes seemed more like an ordinary episode than a get-pumped-up-for-the-new-season premiere. I liked getting caught up with all my peeps, but I didn't really get into it until the last few minutes. At least the end was freakin' cool- I was all like, *gasp* "HRG and Mohinder are conspiring to bring down The Company! Somebody just threw Hiro's dad off a roof! Peter's alive!!" That's how it went down. Hiro is still his cute, little, heroic self, and now he gets to run through fields with Sark. What could be better?

Not much.
:)

The Real Emmy Winners

I have a few theories about what happened to the Emmys this year. The members of the Academy of Television whatever-their-name-is A) have never watched television in their lives, or B) were abducted by some evil Commie agency and replaced by people that have never watched television in their lives. Or C) I was dreaming the entire thing and when I wake up tomorrow none of this will be real. The only parts of the entire show that I would let myself enjoy were Steve Carell's presentation and Stephen Colbert's and Jon Stewart's presentation. Congratulations, Emmys. Try though you did to ruin everything, you couldn't keep 3 of the funniest people alive from being funny. From Ryan Seacrest to the theatre-in-the-round stage to the mostly insane choices of winners, this was without a doubt the worst awards show I have ever watched. Therefore, I have decided not to accept them. That's right, denial is my only position with regards to this year's Emmys. If anybody asks me the results of a certain category, they will only receive the outcome from my ideal world. Here's how the 59th Primetime Emmy Awards really happened!
Host: Conan O'Brien
Stage: Rectangular (But I'll keep that little trapdoor thing, because that was pretty cool)
Supporting Actor- Comedy: Rainn Wilson, The Office
Supporting Actor- Drama: Michael Emerson, LOST
Supporting Actress- Comedy: Jenna Fischer, The Office
Supporting Actress- Drama: Sandra Oh, Grey's Anatomy
Actor- Comedy: Steve Carell, The Office
Actress- Comedy: America Ferrara, Ugly Betty
Actor- Drama: James Gandolfini, The Sopranos
Actress- Drama: Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer
Comedy Series: The Office
Drama Series: The Sopranos


Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert presenting the award for Best Comedy Actor

5 Greatest Television Relationships

Ever since I became obsessed with my first television series (7th grade- Scarecrow and Mrs. King), I have subscribed to the "Shipper Club." These are the people who become emotionally attached to certain couples within the shows that they watch. I am a girl. Therefore, I am (for the most part) unashamed that I have been a "shipper" in every show that I have ever loved. Granted, there have been times in my life when I have recognized that I have unrealistic expectations for what love should be like. My standards are high, but with these as my models for ideal romance, can you really blame me??

Runner-up: Denny & Izzie, Grey's Anatomy.
Why? Because she was gonna make his heart stop beating and it was brand new.
5) Luke & Lorelai, Gilmore Girls.
Why? Because he called her "hot plates." He soooo likes her.
4) Jim & Pam, The Office.
Why? Because he's in love with Italian food.
3) Mr. Big & Carrie, Sex and the City.
Why? Because, even though it took him a really long time to get there, she was the one.
2) Vaughn & Sydney, Alias.
Why? Because his father said he could set his heart by that watch, and it stopped working October 1st, the day they met.
1) Angel and Buffy, Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Why? Because, "Always."



Buffy/Angel music video


Syd/Vaughn music video


Jim/Pam music video (PLEASE DISREGARD THE COUNTRY MUSIC. THIS VIDEO HAD THE BEST CLIPS.)

The Closer

Today I never changed out of my pajamas. I woke up at 1:00 in the afternoon, relocated from my bed to the couch in the living room, and never really left. Did not set one foot outside. Why, you may ask? Because The Closer is awesome, that's why. An all-day marathon, followed by the premiere of Season 3.

I love this show very much, which rarely happens for me with any of these detective-type series. Couldn't care less about any of the Law & Order's or CSI's. Ok, granted, I did grow up watching Matlock. When I was a kid- cartoons? No, thank you. Ben Matlock was The Man. That's why it's so cool to have found another character-driven show where justice is served daily. Kyra Sedgwick plays Brenda Lee Johnson, a homicide investigator from Atlanta. She's got the Southern manners, the little personality quirks, and and the general bad-ass nature that intimidates murderers into confessions.

This episode had one of the most surprising twists in any of the cases to date. Opens with: mom, dad, and 12-year old daughter stabbed to death in their home. No broken windows or doors. Drugged out teenage son hiding in the attic. But, just like always, the first suspect is never the guilty one... Twist: father was a bigomist. His son from his other family found out about his dad's double life, decided to confront him, and things got out of control.

sidenote: Jon Tenney, who plays Brenda's boyfriend Fritz, is so cute. He is another example of one of those guys who gets better looking as he gets older. I never fully realized until I saw Tim Daly in the Grey's spinoff, Private Practice, but that's a pretty common thing. Now that I've thought about it, totally true. George Clooney, Patrick Dempsey, Paul Newman. To use a calculus term, the limit of their attractiveness does not exist. Unfortunately, it only works for guys... Thanks for being so fair, universe.

Rescue Me

After watching the premiere of Season 4, I am simply amazed by Denis Leary's talent. His acting/writing deserves some serious props. And while the show has great critical acclaim, it still hasn't gotten enough attention. I'm just hoping the Emmys bestows its awards on worthy candidates this year, like Leary and *cough* LOST *cough*. Last year was pretty disappointing. Except for Conan's incredible hosting. And Steve Carell winning. You know what, they should just let me pick the winners.

I digress. Rescue Me. Having seen all of the first 2 seasons but only a few episodes of the 3rd, I was slightly confused about what was happening. After the first scene, though...didn't really care. ("Don't think I didn't notice the pot. I can smell it. Pot and sex! I can smell both!!") Denis Leary is one of the guys who I think sets the standard for television today. The Season 1 premiere and finale are 2 of the best hours of television I've ever watched in my whole life. And this episode convinced me that Season 4 is going to continue to maintain the excellent quality of the show. Btw, totally love the new castmembers- Jennifer Esposito, who plays a volunteer firefighter who saved Tommy's life in the Season 3 finale, and Tatum O'Neal, who plays Tommy's sister and is now the wife of Garrity. Much better than that other girl from Season 2 (haha, the "twunt").

Shout-out to the other tv writers who are so amazing that they've made me into the television addict that I am:

1) Damon Lindelof and Carlton Cuse- I am aware that they are technically 2 people. But they're a team. A brilliant and glorious team without whose dedication, LOST would not be the same.
2) Ronald D. Moore- People don't believe me when I tell them that Battlestar Galactica is one of the best shows ever. It's cool, not nerdy, I promise!
3) Ricky Gervais- I am convinced that this man could take over the world with his wit if he wanted to. Creator of The Office. Enough said.
4) David Chase- He took a failed plan at a television version of The Godfather, combined it with his complex relationship with his mother, and created Tony Soprano.

Shout-outs, with a disclaimer-
As Stephen Colbert would say, these people are "on notice." This means that they are in time-out because they need to think about what they've done! But I can't forget all the magical things they've created in the past, even though they've betrayed me...
1) J.J. Abrams- He used to be my hero. Then he abandoned Alias. He didn't even come back to write or direct the series finale. So it wasn't the same Alias that it used to be. I will never completely forgive him for that. "Oh, look at me. I'm J.J. Tom Cruise wants me to direct Mission Impossible: III. Bye Sydney Bristow. Who cares that my vision for resolving the story of Rambaldi and all the awesome twists of Alias will never be carried out. Who cares that my name is on LOST as the creator when I don't do anything. Blah blah blah." I bet he says that to himself all the time.
2) Shonda Rhimes- She killed Denny. She made me love him, and then she took him away. But I stayed with her. Because she gave me Denny in the first place. And because I am loyal to my shows almost to a fault. Then the Season 3 finale shattered that loyalty, leaving me with the message that everything needed to go wrong for all of the characters to prove the point that there are no happy endings. Thanks for the depression and the disappointment. I'm gonna give her a chance to redeem herself next fall, just to see where she's taking the show. If I don't like it, Grey's Anatomy will be dead to me.


Opening scene of Rescue Me Season 4

The Starter Wife

I would be ashamed of the fact that I watch this show... But the summer is a desperate time for me as far as television goes. I have very little to look forward to, and I miss being invested in worlds and characters outside of reality. As a result, while I am anxiously awaiting the return of my favorite summer show, The Closer (premiering next Monday, June 18th- yay!), I am passing the time with this little Debra Messing dramedy about a Hollywood woman whose husband tells her he wants a divorce, forcing her to move into her friend's Malibu beach house, where she falls for the homeless, but hot, beach bum. Wow. That's quality, right there.

I enjoy this show, as long as it's not trying to be more than it really is- meaningless chick lit in tv form. That's why I get really annoyed when the show slips into dream-like sequences where the characters re-enact scenes from classic movies. Come on. Putting Chinatown and Silence of the Lambs in this fluffy show doesn't make it look smart. It's just out of place and annoying.

Overall, I find the show pretty entertaining. It's fun to watch with my mom and little sister, but I don't have high expectations for it.

Introduction + The Sopranos Series Finale

Hello. I've decided to create a place where I can share my opinion about all the shows that I watch. While my original idea for this blog was that I could save a lot of time having the same conversations with all of my television buddies (Because I have quite a few. But I guess that's to be expected since I am invested in quite a few shows.), I doubt that anyone will actually take the time to read this... Really it's just me talking to myself. Organizing my thoughts, if you will. After all, I have seriously considered pursuing a career as a television journalist. And this could be a nice portfolio. I'd hand in a very professional collection of my blogs so that they (whoever they may be) could see a sample of my writing.

Oh. And in case, you (you, the hypothetical person who cares enough to be reading these words) did not catch the reference: the title, "J.R.'s Television Thoughts for Your Everyday Life," goes back to my early, carefree tv-watching days. All That. Lori Beth Denberg's Vital Information for your Everyday Life. That's seriously how my mind works. In references to television. It's quite sad, really. But I love it.

Alright, so this introduction also doubles as my first entry. Thoughts on Sunday night's series finale of The Sopranos. Gotta say, at first I was like, "Excuse me, but I'm still waiting for my ending. My nice little conclusion that resolves the questions of the whole show. Will Tony be arrested for his crimes as the mob boss of New Jersey? Or will he get whacked? Or will one of his family members get whacked, thereby sending him over the edge?" I did not expect a cut to black in mid-scene, with all of this tension still in the air about Tony's ultimate fate. But over the past 24 hours, I have come to understand and appreciate David Chase's version of a series finale. The whole point is that life for the Sopranos is not ending with the last episode of the show. Tony still might have to go on trial for everything he's done. Somebody still might order a hit on him. He will still deal with and learn from his emotional problems. Just like when the show started way back in January 1999. I think the fact that the final scene took place to the music of "Don't Stop Believing" made this episode for me. Plus the fact that everything ended with the words "...don't stop." Brilliant, if you ask me. I'm pretty sure that if any other show had a finale like this, I would be furious. I expect such a satisfying resolution from the series finale of LOST in 3 years that I will cling to that show for dear life until the very last second, always in anticipation of the amazing answers to come.

For the past week, I have seen about 3 or 4 "Farewell, Sopranos" articles with the writer's personal top 10 favorite episodes. Because I agree with some of each of them but all of none, I am making my own list. This will mean absolutely nothing to anyone who has not seen the show. Oh well...
1) "The Sopranos"- Season 1, Episode 1. How anyone can possibly overlook the freakin' PILOT is beyond me, but none of the "Greatest Hits" lists included it. I mean, it sets up the whole show. And it had little A.J.'s line at the end when he discovers that his grandmother isn't coming to his birthday party- "What? No fuckin' ziti, then?!" Classic.
2) "Long Term Parking"- Season 5, Episode 12. Adrianna gets killed by Silvio for being an FBI informant. Seriously great acting in this episode from Christopher, my favorite character, when he learns what she has done and realizes what has to happen to the woman he loves.
3) "College"- Season 1, Episode 5. Seems to be everybody's favorite. I like it a whole lot, but I don't think it embodies the entire show. Although the concept is really cool- Tony is taking his daughter to visit all these schools while he is hunting down a former mafia guy who became a rat. Plus, Carmela's intimate evening with her priest really intrigued me in the whole scheme of Carmela-her religion-Tony-his affairs-etc.
4) "Made In America"- Season 6, Episode 21. The finale. Already discussed it above.
5) "Funhouse"- Season 2, Episode 13. Very cool dream sequences. Plus, Big Pussy finally gets what's coming to him when Tony, Silvio, and Paulie take him out on a boat and make him sleep with the fishes.
6) "Members Only"- Season 6, Episode 1. Great season premiere. Story has advanced quite a bit since the end of Season 5, in a good way. Johnny Sack is in prison, leaving a power vacuum in the New York family, and Uncle Junior has lost his mind, which is hilarious, until he SHOOTS TONY.
7) "From Where to Eternity"- Season 2, Episode 9. Just an all-around good episode. Christopher is in the hospital after having been shot. This contains my favorite Paulie storyline when he becomes paranoid about what "3:00" means from Chrissy's near-death experience visions.
8) "Whitecaps"- Season 4, Episode 13. INTENSE. Everything comes to a head between Tony and Carmela. Some seriously amazing acting.
9) "Join the Club"- Season 6, Episode 2. Everyone sitting with Tony at the hospital while he's in a coma. Very emotional and heartfelt scenes with Carmela, Christopher, and A.J. Meanwhile, Tony is in an alternate world where he's a business man who has lost his identity.
10) "The Second Coming"- Season 6, Episode 19. Tony has some real insight in his session with Dr. Melfi about his relationship with his mother, one of the few times that he could actually come to some substantial conclusions about that crazy woman. A.J. feels the pain of the world too much and tries to commit suicide. In the mental hospital where he's getting treatment, he talks about when his grandmother told him that life ended with you dying alone in your own arms, but the end when Tony goes to visit his son sends a deeper message about the love in a family.
Runners-up:
"Mr. Ruggerio's Neighborhood"- Season 3, Episode 1. Completely new perspective as the federal agents observe the Soprano family and track them so that they can sneak into their house and plant a listening device.
"Pine Barrens"- Season 3, Episode 11. Hilarious. Chrissy and Paulie get lost in the middle of nowhere in South Jersey. In the snow.
"Army of One"- Season 3, Episode 13. Just because of the scene at the end where Uncle Junior sings a heart-breaking Italian song that brings the tough mob guys to tears.


The final scene of The Sopranos