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.