I Love TV More Than You

Friday Funke - Your Weekly TV Recap

2012-02-10T08:57:00.000-08:00

This week had a lot of great shows. Let's take a look at the playback...

Best of the Week

My top 5 shows:

1. Pretty Little Liars - If you are not watching this show, what! what! what are you doing? Is it because it's on ABC Family? Get over it. I know the commercials for Joey & Melissa are painful, but this show, like Spanx, it is worth the discomfort.

Is it because they're teens? What, you'll watch them when they are singing but not when they are keeping life threatening secrets?

I'm just saying if you enjoy bitchy people, suspense, and some good ol' fashioned murder/teen drama get into it.

This week the girls had a slumber party in school, which made me wonder, does that really happen? I can't imagine there are enough chaperones in the world to handle a co-ed high school slumber party, but alas, it happened in the world of PLL. The best part of this week was the unexpected alliance of Mona and everyone's favorite lesbian swim team member, Emily. Their interactions made it seem like Mona was A more than ever, but at this point I could be A. Have you heard people think it might even be Ezra?

2. Top Chef Texas - This season promised it would be bigger and it is delivering. There's been really different competitions, and drama this season with the girls being edited as super catty (Which just begs for a reunion show, please Andy Cohen? Pretty please with Maker's Mark on top?). The best part this season though - Last Chance Kitchen. It was seemingly a throw-away at the end of each episode to drive traffic to bravotv.com. The chef that got kicked off was challenged by another former cheftestant in a short cook-off challenge, judge solely by Colicchio. Every week it was an awesome bonus to each episode. This week they let the winner return to the main competition and it was, of course, the most controversial chef - Beverly. While I wish she wouldn't cry so darn much, I really don't have anything against her. The rest of the chefs seem to have a beef with her - and it is not a delicious one. While I can't remember what they cooked, I do remember that this was the episode that everyone cried - it felt like a Michael Landon convention in the kitchen. I am bummed about who lost but still think the final challenges will be interesting and mouth-watering to watch.

3. Modern Family - Two of my favorite TV critics GMMR & Ducky of the TV TalkPodcast recently brought up a great point about this 3rd season sitcom - it's missing the allure of the first season since we were meeting all these crazy characters and didn't know all of their quirks. This week, in almost a way to combat that they brought together the characters in a new way foiling Cam and Gloria in the kitchen and bringing a new character onto the scene, Betty Luke. Greg Kinner's cameo was good, but it felt a little trite. Taking on mouth-kissers feels as though it's been done to death and while they tried to put a fun spin on it, it definitely wasn't the best part of the episode.

4. New Girl - Speaking of old conventions, New Girl took this week's episode out of the 90s cinema fad of threesomes, and made it hilarious. It resulted in wonderful uncomfortable humor that had me squealing with delight. I feel like it quelled some of the tension between Jess and Nick, which is good because while I wouldn't hate to see them together, I'd be totally cool with them drawing it out Sam and Diane style.

5. Glee - The sass off between Nene Leaks and Sue Silvester was so good I wanna make a ringtone of it. You honestly could just watch that clip, because other than that it wasn't all that thrilling. Ricky Martin was better at acting than I would've thought, in fact he kinda schooled Mr. Shuester in more ways than one. But was the world really missing Ricky Martin? I feel like he can go back to jet skiing with dolphins in Miami, we're good.

Something I Noticed

Wednesday night on ABC is what Thursday night on NBC used to be when it was 'Must See TV'. I have proof!

So, what made 'Must See TV' great was the stellar sitcoms. Just some to grace the mega ratings time slots were: Seinfeld, Mad About You, Friends, Fraiser, News Radio, and Will & Grace. The formula was - 1-2 strong sitcoms, 1-2 not as strong, but still funny sitcoms, and then ER would bring the drama to top off the night.

ABC has this formula playing out perfectly on Wednesdays, and if you're not on board yet set your DVR or put these in your streaming queue:

The Middle

Suburgatory

Modern Family

Happy Endings

and then the drama that tops it off, Revenge.

It's a mirror image to the formula of NBC's Must See Thursday, but now it's ABC Wednesday...and NBC is still trying to get that magic back on Thursday.

Disappointments of the Week

30 Rock - I love this show, I didn't need this week's to be an hour long. It felt stretched. I'm also feeling like Liz Lemon's character is becoming less inspiring. She used to be head of a show, stressing over writing and corralling all her crazy co-workers. I feel like it's now more about her just being an awful woman. Maybe it was just all the period references, but this week bummed me out a bit.

Real Housewives of Orange County - Over it! It just seemed like a build-up for more screaming. Can't you gals be classy like RHOBH and just say bitchy things and then point at each other with stern voices?

Guaranteed LOL Shows

Happy Endings

Modern Family

Shows that Need to Come Back Sooner than Later

Community

Cougar Town

Favorite Trivia of the Week

Madeleine Stowe of the fantabulous evening soap drama Revenge was also in the 1990 shitty movie also titled Revenge. It's not like a Buffy thing though, the TV show and movie do not share plot lines or characters.

TV Recap: Mob Wives

2012-01-09T07:28:00.000-08:00

It's Renee's birthday party/thank-god-that-plastic-surgery-didn't-kill-me-party.

She invited Sammy the Bulls Daughter Karen, and self-proclaimed face bashing expert Dritta.

Big Ang, a woman we assume is called that because of her freakish lips, tries to mediate a peace between Karen and Dritta.

This results in a giant brawl. Everyone is involved, including Renee's probi ex-hubby, even though Renee tries to be taken home several times by him.

Dritta thinks she's been set up, Karen explains that she needs to take bitches down whenever necessary.

Renee's ex doesn't fight, but does hit a car.

In the end everyone leaves, and Renee's husband says he doesn't want to lose her and she cries because she's finally "loved."

Aaron Sorkin is Coming Back to Us

2011-12-06T06:42:00.000-08:00

That's right American TV fans, we're getting a new show about cable news from Aaron Sorkin.

It's going to be on HBO and, well, it sounds pretty great so far. Check out this article.

Let's Talk Dexter

2011-11-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

I'm about to discuss season 6 of Dexter. If you haven't caught up, stop now, and go catch up. I can wait.

A Reaction from Season 6, Episode 6: Just Let Go

This season of Dexter is definitely very different than others. Instead of having his own "dark passenger" persona and a pal that is a personification of the dark passenger (his brother, Lila, Miguel, Trinity, Lumen) this season Dexter's friend is on the "light" side as a man of God. Brother Sam was introduced as a possible killer in the beginning of the season, but when he's cleared of wrong doings Dexter finds him useful in explaining faith, something Dexter never had. His religion was basically "righting wrongs" by killing.

This week's episode was exquisite writing with the choice of turning Dexter away from the light. When Sam sends Dexter to forgive his killer, Dexter seems rather genuine. He didn't bring his tools, he took him to the beach to remind him of brother Sam's teachings. But, when the killer won't repent, Dexter let's his dark passenger take over. This is a pivotal moment of rejecting the light is a huge turning point for this season. Not only did Dexter reject the light, but by doing so he's embodied even more of his own darkness. This is illustrated by the person that watches over Dexter from the beyond as he kills his victim. It is no longer his father, Harry, but rather his brother.

The new darkness that will encapsulate Dexter looks extremely manic. Perhaps the methodical, careful Dexter is now gone.

What an amazing choice by the writers and absolutely worth the build up. I know many have disliked the tone of this season, but I believe this about-face proves that these writers know exactly what they're doing, and I am buckling up and eagerly anticipating the rest of this ride.

Why Am I Watching These Shows?

2011-10-14T13:15:00.000-07:00

There are certain commercials that will come on every now and then for TV shows that you can't help but wonder, "WHO is watching that?"

Here's a short list:

NCIS LA - LL Cool J "acting"

Shark Tank -has nothing to do with sharks.

Desperate Housewives

Grey's Anatomy

There's no dash next to those last two because... I'm the one watching them.

I know, I know - look away from me! My poor-taste is too awful to watch!!

These shows are more played out than my Billy Joel greatest hits tapes (Don't look at me like that, I'm from Long Island), and yet I tune in week after week.

I'd love to say that I'm still riveted, or it's the investment in the characters --and even though those things do factor in -- it's more a matter of a need for answers.

For example...

Grey's Anatomy

Will they ever just kill Meredith?

How do male actors read this script and not say something about how completely unnatural it is?

What stupid medical procedure will they do for ratings/to remind us they still work in a hospital?

Desperate Housewives

Does it end up that it turns out to actually be the town I grew up in?

Will they ever learn to stop keeping secrets and just tell the police?

and with both of these shows...

How much longer must I wait for a man to take off his shirt and show off his killer abs?!

I could call these shows a guilty pleasure, but the ridiculous decline of both of these series seems to merit something worse. Perhaps we should just start calling the love of such shameful, poor-quality TV Jersey Shore Pleasures. Although in some ways, the writing for that is even better.

I'm excited to see how they conclude Desperate Housewives, although the road we're going down right now doesn't seem all that sunny. The current story-line is reminiscent to season one's suicide. Oh, those zany housewives!

And as for Grey's...I think I'm simply looking forward to how much more ridiculous it can get.

If you're looking for a sappy movie that is so bad it's hilarious, just try an episode out. I'm telling you, there are some quality, unwittingly funny moments in this show that are worth the watch...

if you're really bored.

I Totally Stopped Watching 'The Ringer'

2011-10-07T06:36:00.000-07:00

I know I said it wasn't that bad, but here's the thing - it wasn't good enough for me to remember what day it was on. The fact that I remembered that The Rachel Zoe Project is on Tuesdays but couldn't bother to recall that about The Ringer is a telling, albeit embarrassing, truth.

I am watching some great new scripted shows and hoping with my recent job-loss to get into some new ones that are getting great reviews. Here's my new-fall must-see list

1. Suburgatory - Totally off my radar, but really like it. Great casting, decent writing.

2. Up All Night - I know some have given up hope, but I am still trying

3. New Girl - It's a fun show, and I would also like a theme song at any given moment so it's relate-able.

4. Revenge - Haven't seen it but friends are raving that it's a great adult sitcom

5. Once Upon a Time - it hasn't premiered yet, but it looks way better than the other fairy tale show, Grim. I love the cast and premise. Here's the preview:

Review: 'Ringer'

2011-09-13T19:04:00.000-07:00

Not gonna lie, part of me wishes it was the movie "The Ringer", but that's mostly because the year that movie came out my family was obsessed with telling each other our name was Jimmy and we could count to potato.

I already am digressing.

My initial reaction to Ringer was that I didn't realize how much I missed Sarah Michelle Gellar. Growing up on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, SMG was like a BFF when I was a teen. I was happy to have her and her wonderful facial expressions back on my TV.

Then, I saw the boat scene.

I feel like they took the effects dude from Sharktopus to make that 'realistic' looking frantic swimming scene. It was awful, jarring, and hilrious all at once,

but then I remembered that we're dealing with CW budgets and this is a pilot so I let it slide.

The story line of Ringer is more compelling than it let on. Originally, it sounded identical to the ABC Family show The Lying Game which also happens to be about twins switching lives. And sure, it's still pretty similar. The thing I didn't expect is how drawn in I was.

I'm a multi-tasker when it comes to TV, but I couldn't keep my eyes off the screen because of the interest I had in the storyline.

It's still way too early to tell, but for a pilot that was supposed to be rather weak, I hope that Ringer continues it's path of a mystery with a compelling plot.

Also, I hope they stop doing that stuff with the mirror. Where each twin looks at the mirror like they are seducing/talking/channeling their twin. It would be ok if it were a second, but the lingering is just a little creepy in a lame way.

***

Looks like the CW is really luring me in this season - for the first time in history I will be viewing two shows on their line-up. Ringer AND America's Next Top Model All Stars! Am I there? Heck yeah I am.

Is it possibly because I performed in LA in front of Britney and Lisa?

a tad

But mostly because I can't wait to see Tyra act like these girls missed their chance at supermodeldom.

Oh! and the smizing.

What Shows Should I Watch?

2011-08-14T05:44:00.001-07:00

If you haven't already seen these series, you should put them on your watch list:

Six Feet Under - HBO's drama based in a funeral home sounds like it's depressing, but I find watching an episode of SFU makes me happy to be alive, and to know the Fisher family. While some may also argue that not all 6 seasons are great, I'd say it is a pleasure to watch and see it grow into greatness. This show, like all the shows listed here, is an excellent complete series.

Battlestar Galactica - Even if you're not a fan of sci-fi this show's humanistic themes will suck you in. Great storylines and heroes emerge and there a mysteries that are solved to boot. Hear that Lost? It is possible to create sci-fi mystery that gets solved.

The Wire - Well, first of all I'm biased because one of my favorite TV shows when I was younger was Homocide: Life on the Street. But this series is more than just a cop show. It's a great look at crime from beginning to end and all the players involved from criminal to corrupt politician. And while the acting is great, it's the storylines that will keep you coming back for more.

Friday Night Lights - I will occasionally watch football, and I have no real alliance to Texas or High School for that matter -- but none of that is necessary to enjoy FNL. It's a great family show with morals, that manages to never be saccharine.

'How I Met Your Mother' to Let Another Pop Princess Get Them Ratings

2011-02-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

How I Met Your Mother is worrying me lately. I'm starting to think they have some self-esteem issues. They're a great show, well-written, funny, amazing cast -- so can someone tell my why they're doing rating stunts like having yet another Pop Princess guest star? When you're doing well in the ratings -- have fun, not bad actresses. I love how BuddyTV summed it up in their photo gallery:

Perhaps they're doing this because the last two episodes of HIMYM were giant tear-jerkers.

I just find this pattern odd, and a little off-track. After two such serious episodes, they follow with a publicity stunt -- do we think they're building up to something big like revealing who gets married (The season opener showed Marshall and Ted discussing relationships and going into a wedding that neither of them were the groom.) or Lily being pregnant, or perhaps getting to the titular clincher and seeing once and for all how Ted meets someone that would marry him?

I hope so, because if not I feel like we need to send the writer's room some flowers and say - Hey gang you're great! Can we get back to you writing greatness for the main characters again? Thanks! Hugs, Your fans.

...I'll still totally tune in though. My dream is that Robin Sparkles and Katy Perry have a sing-off. (Team Sparkle, obvi)

Guilty Pleasures

2011-01-19T16:26:00.001-08:00

Some programs are so good, but so bad.

Here's my list of guilty pleasures I'm indulging in lately:

Pretty Little Liars

Why it's bad for you - It's on ABC Family, and I'm over the age of 13.

Why it's great to watch - It's Heathers meets Gossip Girl. You can catch up pretty quickly, it's only episode 13 as of this post. Oh, and for some reason, Chad Lowe is on it. Random, yet kind of great.

Biggest Loser

Why it's bad for you: It seems to make most women weep.

Why it's great to watch: It makes you actually want to work out. I can't tell you why I enjoy overweight people sharing their stories and being yelled at by trainers -- but it's become a show I'm excited to see on my DVR list.

I know most people are already all over, or over The Biggest Loser and I'm late to the weight loss party. But, if you've avoided it in the past, give it a shot -- but only if you have a DVR. Good lord, can someone explain to me why every episode has to be 2 hours long!?

Episodes

Why it's bad for you: It looks super awful. I mean, Matt LeBlanc?

Why it's fun to watch: I wouldn't say it's great to watch, but the supporting cast really makes this show enjoyable. The two main characters created an amazing British sitcom and are rewarded by being brought to LA son they can tear their original show to shreds in the name of 'Americanizing' it.

In short, Tamsin Greig is really the gem of this show. She gets the best lines, and delivers them wonderfully.

The Final Countdown

2011-01-04T17:08:00.000-08:00

Last night's How I Met Your Mother was a particularly heartbreaking one. It was also very Lost-esq with it's odd countdown that I didn't really notice through my tears.
Thank goodness for other awesome TV bloggers, eh?

Click here for more information on the HIMYM Easter Egg Countdown

Bad, But So Good: 'Celebrity Rehab'

2010-12-29T10:22:00.000-08:00

Dr. Drew has an entirely new crew of drug addicts on VH1, and if you can pull yourself away from Teen Mom or The Real Housewives, I highly recommend getting addicted to this season's group of washed up stars.

First of all, Leif Garrett is still alive! Who knew? He's trying to get off heroine and looking like an extra for The Walking Dead. But he's one of the more quiet contestants on this sobriety game show. The loud mouth, as always is Janice Dickinson. Kudos to her for getting better, especially after that Finland incident...

The true star though, has to be Jason London... or is it Jeremy? Darn twins...
It's the one who said he was kidnapped and forced to do drugs.
Um, hello, Six Feet Under did it years ago!

If nothing else, tune in for his tale of that wild ride. It's really amusing to watch 'actors' try and believe his crazy tales.

*UPDATE*
(OK, I really only like adding that because it makes me think of Unsolved Mysteries.)
The most recent episode where they're all really into withdrawal stages was when it stopped being fake, and started to get real. (Why, yes... I am too lazy to look it up that exact episode right now and decided to go with the cheap video clip joke.)
Best of luck to all of them on their road to sobriety.

The Importance of The Daily Show

2010-11-03T13:48:00.000-07:00

This could also be titled: Why I Went to The Rally to Restore Sanity

Each generation has their news man. (It's usually a man, sorry ladies.) A man that we trust to tell us the news in a fair and balanced manner. There was Cronkite, Rather, Brokaw... the Gumbels.

My generation has too many channels for there to be anyone to trust. It started with CNN, and that was a good idea. Sure, it helped keep us informed during the first Gulf War, 24/7...but then there came a giant flood of news stations. News stations have news stations. It's ridiculous, it's biased, it's sensationalized, it's hard to believe. But from this darkness a bright light shined, and it was hilarious.

A comedy program stepped up and became a news leader of the generation. Now, I'm not talking about The Craig Kilborn Daily Show - a lot of people don't even remember that. I'm talking about The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

It's purely satirical. It's an unbiased look at the news, because no one is spared being made fun of. Best of all, it brings important news stories to the forefront in a manner that isn't meant to cause panic, but informed action.

I'm absolutely not the first to realize the phenomenon that this show has become. But, I do feel it's important to call out that perhaps this show has become the Nightly News of my generation because the way we've been reporting news is so ridiculous. There was a reason it was called "The News Hour". Perhaps we don't need continuous reports every minute. If you wanna go 24/7 report local stories, not embellished stories full of fear and clashing opinions. It's frightening that 20% of Americans actually believe we'd elect a president that wasn't an American - and the story is being perpetuated by someone who isn't even American!

To stop insanity like this, and have my opinions be heard in a reasonable manner, I went along with some friends to The Rally to Restore Sanity. It was a long trip, full of hours of waiting, epic lines, and exhaustive walking to not even get near the stage. But it was fullfilling to see that there are a lot of people looking for calm discourse. For change without screaming, for news programs to return to news programs so comedy can just be funny again.

Speaking of funny, check out our signs...

In this photo left to right: Kambri Crews, Sharon Jamilkowski, Sue Funke, Jenn Dodd, & Will Dodd

The Best of Halloween TV

2010-10-29T06:29:00.000-07:00

This year television seemed to be more into the Halloween spirit. There were several shows that put forth Halloween themed episodes. The following are ones that if you missed, are worth going back and viewing.

1. Community - Season 1's Halloween episode was by far one of the most trippy episodes I've ever seen on network television. This year, they took it to the zombie level and created an episode that had me on the edge of my seat, and rolling off that seat laughing. While some critics complained that it was derivative, I'd argue that Community takes popular themes and twists them every week. I think the end result was an absolutely hilarious episode.

2. Chuck - Not only does our hero finally see his mother, Linda Hamilton, but there's also a Freddy Krueger cameo. Buy More gets a 'haunted' makeover. It's a great episode.

3. Modern Family - I don't think I've ever laughed so hard. Every single character in this ensemble has a moment to shine this episode.

Honorable Mentions:

Parenthood had a really nice episode about family celebrations and the hurdles for autistic children and parents that Halloween brings.
Cougar Town this episode, like many this season, have been surprisingly funny. If you gave up on this show because of the name, give it another try. Also, for Scrubs fans Dr. Kelso comes in for a cameo as Courtney Cox's dad.

A Week of Breaking Bad

2010-09-10T14:18:00.000-07:00

On Monday I walked by a Blockbuster Video (it was actually still open) and saw that they had all 3 discs of the first season of Breaking Bad. I had 7 hours to kill, so I figured - why not?

My first impressions: I get it. I get the hype. It's impeccably produced, it's exciting, it's bad-ass quality TV. AMC knows how to create a wonderful show with a creative premise and foster it, kudos.

What's it similar to: Part of my trepidation going into Breaking Bad is that it's a very similar premise to Weeds. Both main characters are parents in need of a way to take care of money and decide that drugs are the best way to make quick cash. The difference is that the main character, Walt, is nothing like Weeds 'heroine' Nancy Botwin. While they're both danger junkies, Walt's got brains and a bone to pick with the world. His anger, and it's escalation to erratic rage, reminds me of a favorite movie of mine, Falling Down.

Characterization: A good series is simple to spot because they've gotten it right from the very start. While pilots are often clumsy and somewhat offbeat, Breaking Bad season 1, episode 1 beautifully illustrates the pathetic character that is Walter White. A selfish wife, a low paying jobs, he's the pee-on for all around him - hell even his son with Cerebral Palsy thinks of him as a joke. But when Walt finds out about his cancer, he breaks down and finds within himself a bad-ass that was bubbling deep down. While he eventually becomes bat-shit crazy and obsessive - it's all fairly believable.

Walt's assistant, Jesse the lovable junkie, is pretty much a stalled, stubborn teenager. He's a great partner for Walt. Their relationship is a perpetual teacher/student back and forth. While Jesse seems to never learn, Walt finds it hard to give up his effort in trying to teach him. This makes for endearing moments, but more imbalance and madness that often make the show somewhat unbelievable, but hey, it's TV right?

What makes it great: Writing. The writing is excellent. I love the way they intertwine stories lines -even though at times it seems all too coincidental. In the world of Breaking Bad drugs are just as bad as cancer - once you've gotten into drugs it spreads into every part of your life until it literally and metaphorically kills you.

The casting is also amazing. I never feel like I'm watching someone act, which is helpful because the story pulls you into a world that's hard to pull yourself out of. The best casting call was putting comedic actor Bob Odenkirk into the dramatic world. While the character of Saul Goodmen is probably the best comic relief the show provides - his portrayal is noteworthy due to his ability to fast talk with the slime that he's written to be. (It would be obvious to say Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul are amazing. They won Emmys, we all know they're stellar.)

Best Episode: 'The Fly' - probably one of the best episodes of television.

Addiction: So, like I said this all started by me just having 7 hours to kill on a day off. I somehow ended up watching the entire series in less than a week. I couldn't take just one. I found myself tapping a friends computer desk nervously excited for the next hit... ahem, I mean episode. It's intense to watch so much of the show so quickly, and I started to feel like I was on meth towards the end of it all.

Verdict: I'm preaching with a giant choir, but watch Breaking Bad... Just don't do it all at once. I'm still feeling a little woozy.

5 Shows I am Loving Right Now

2010-03-26T13:32:00.000-07:00

Modern Family - I want to watch every episode over and over again. Great characters, comedic timing, and it reminds me of 'Arrested Development' in a very good way.
Community - I'm glad to see America is catching on to this hilarious show.
Chuck - According to The TV Talk Podcast, season 2 ended in a game changer and newbies like myself (I only watched the pilot, and liked it, but was tired of agent stuff because 24 burned me out.) can jump in and enjoy. I followed their advice and have been really happy that I went for it. It's a really fun show to watch.
Parenthood - I have to admit, it's not on my regular rotation, but I really find myself falling for this show...OK Peter Krause has a lot to do with that. The writing on this show is stellar though, I mean they even make Dax Shephard look good.
Nurse Jackie - I watched season two's premiere three times already. I really miss Momo, but this season looks really exciting - I just hope the trailer they showed at the end didn't give too much away.

The Golden Globe Winners: Did They All Deserve It?

2010-01-18T11:56:00.000-08:00

First and foremost let's get to the most important wins of the night:
Congratulations to Michael C Hall and John Lithgow for winning awards you absolutely deserve!!!

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series - Drama

Simon Baker – The Mentalist (I don't watch this show, so I have no opinion on it)

Jon Hamm – Mad Men (He's great, but his character wasn't overtly changed this season as previous, his life's shaken up but he's still very much Don Draper.)

Hugh Laurie – House (This last season, amazing job doing the recovery/withdrawl and his work with Andre Braugher was wonderful to watch.)

Bill Paxton – Big Love (He's good, but his character is also always fighting on the defensive and while he maintains an accent and emotion, I wouldn't say he was the best, he is believable)

Michael C. Hall – Dexter (WINNER!!!!!!!)
Why Michael C. Hall Won

The win for Michael C. Hall is long overdue. The character he portrays, Dexter, is a vigilante serial killer. Each episode demands a ton of work on Hall's part to depict a man that is void of emotion, full of rage, and has a hunger for killing humans. It's a psychological mind-f*ck to play this kind of role and Hall not only does it with great talent, but in season 4 he transformed into a man with a new found consciousness. This was a huge deal for the show, and he played the part masterfully.

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Michael Emerson – Lost (The role of Ben is complex, and extremely mysterious. One has to wonder how much Emerson knows about his character's motivations because they are so involved in the shows top secret story line. Whether Emerson knows how it all ends and if his characters actions justify the means he takes is unknown, but his acting is undeniably great.)

Neil Patrick Harris – How I Met Your Mother (It may be slightly controversial for me to say, but the fact that NPH is gay and plays a straight womanizer so well that you completely forget he's gay always astounds me. Aside from that his comedic timing and dedication to the continued characterization of Barny Stinson, Neil Patrick Harris is always a pleasure to watch.)

William Hurt – Damages (Don't watch it, have no opinion...yes, I do go outside and stop watching TV every now and then.)

Jeremy Piven – Entourage (Let's be honest, while we all adore Ari Gold, Piven's been playing this part a long time, and by other character's names. While Piven is fabulous at it, there's not a ton of stretching and flexing of the acting muscle here.)

John Lithgow – Dexter (WINNER!!!!!!!!)
Why I Was Going to Riot in The Streets if John Lithgow Didn't Win

I won't spoil season 4 for you and tell you all the magical evils that Lithgow embodied as 'The Trinity Killer'. All I can say is, it was one of the best performances I've ever seen. The transformation into a role so purely crazed, evil, and homicidally masterminded not only brought out the best in Lithgow, but also the best from everyone who acted around him. The show's writing should also be credited.
To see more about the psychological strain and creative acting skill Lithgow brought to this role, watch this excellent interview

(SPOILER ALERT, ONLY WATCH THIS VIDEO IF YOU'VE SEEN SEASON 4 of Dexter)

Best Television Series - Drama

Big Love - (Season 3 was well written, and a had spectacular ending. There was a lot of growth in characters and story development. While it belongs amongst the chosen, it was definitely not the best drama.)

Dexter (As you can see, I loved Dexter season 4. While it was wonderful as a whole, I think the actors and writers got the nodd they deserved, but ultimately weren't the best drama.)

House (Again, House was really good last season. It's a great drama, one that is worth watching, but I don't think I'd call it the best or even list it as an all time favorite.)

True Blood (The fact that this is even listed, is laughable. True Blood is a great way to spend an hour, but as for drama? That's like saying Buffy the Vampire Slayer was also a drama. It's well done science fiction/suspense.)

Mad Men (WINNER!!!)

Why Mad Men Deserved The Win

This is currently the best drama. It encompasses the best of so many characters that it does deserve the constant call outs - the costumes/writing/setting of this period piece, along with acting that never disappoints makes this show inexcusable to miss. This past season especially challenged all the actors with writing that really reflected the times, and the characters previous actions. Consequences were served up diligently and the result was compelling television.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Drama

Glenn Close – Damages (Don't watch it, have no opinion other than all that I read/hear about this show is that she's fabulous in it.)

January Jones – Mad Men (She's brought more to her character this season and her expressions/emotions of Betty Draper are purely fantastic acting skill. I also have to say, I'm a fan of hers and route for her because of the following story -
January Jones started out as a model, and during that time she dated Ashton Kutcher. When she told him of her desire to act he told her she was just a pretty face. Where's your Golden Globe Ashton? What's that? You're still trying to make amends for producing that awful show The Beautiful Life: TBL, we should hope so.)

Anna Paquin – True Blood (Oh, Sookie. What a fun character to play. While Anna Paquin is doing much better this past season with her accent, and her portrayl of the strong willed woman with the ability to read minds is rather good - it's not something that I'd say she's THE BEST at. With that said, I really do want to make it clear that she's wonderful to watch in this role.)

Kyra Sedgwick – The Closer (Never seen it, hear she's fabulous though.)

Julianna Margulies – The Good Wife (WINNER!)

Why I'm Not Terribly Thrilled

I feel like Julianna Margulies got this award because The Hollywood Foreign Press was just so happy that she came back to adult dramas. She's good in the role, but I still kind of always see her as Julianna Marguiles acting as a mother in a tough position. I don't think her work in the role demanded an award.

Best Television Series - Comedy Or Musical

30 Rock (Wonderful, funny - you are always guaranteed at least one laugh out loud moment, but I'm glad it didn't win. They've won enough, and this season they just kept on doing what they're good at which doesn't really merit a win - just hopefully more viewers.)

Entourage (It's a fun show, but it's not the best show. I don't think a show that does cut aways to women looking hot to set-up a scene when that's pretty much every scene is necessarily ever going to be "The Best" in my mind.)

Modern Family (While some people say that it's all about Ed O'Neil, this show is really an amazing ensemble. The writing is funny, but they really lucked out with having the perfect actors to fit the quirky characters this show creates. It is one of my favorites and I'm happy to see it called out with the nomination.)

The Office (Love it, but this past season wasn't worth awards. It's not as funny. Personally, I think we need to delve into on of the office workers more this season instead of focusing on the ones we've already seen more of - I'd like more Toby, or the shipping warehouse people's back story. We're still focusing on characters we've seen and it's a little played out.)

Glee (WINNER!!!!)
I Knew Glee Would Win and I'm Not Psychic

Let's be honest, for years it's been called in a comedy/musical, but there's never a musical. Glee comes along, and it's not only musical - but it's really fabulous at being a musical. It's a hands down winner. Creative, original, and something I can watch with my family. It's been a winner from first watch, and has won over millions of viewers to boot. I can't wait for the next season.

Best Performance by an Actress In A Television Series - Comedy Or Musical

Courteney Cox – Cougar Town (She's funny, but there's not a ton going on in that character that's challenging enough to make me say, "wow she's the best.")

Edie Falco – Nurse Jackie (I wouldn't call this show a comedy, and it's definitely not a musical - but I would say that Edie Falco does a great job in the role, and has wonderful writers and supporting cast. If you haven't seen this show, go get the season 1 DVD.)

Tina Fey – 30 Rock (...isn't she just playing herself? She's great, but I'm not sure it's great acting. I think it's a lot of great job being yourself, Tina Fey - which is something to be called out for as funny, but not really enough to merit an acting award.)

Lea Michele – Glee (Amazing voice, very good at being the perfectionist, but I think it's too soon to give her an award. I do think she has a chance of getting it next season though if she keeps up the stellar performances.)

Toni Collette – United States Of Tara (WINNER!!!)

The Woman Plays 4 Different Characters

And she does each of them convincingly well. Her transitions are amazing to watch, and she makes it seem effortless. Of course she won, she's fabulous. Go watch this show and try to tell me she's not the best actress you've seen on TV.

Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series -

Comedy Or Musical

Steve Carell – The Office (He's a great Michael Scott, but he's no David Brent.)

David Duchovny – Californication (His actions, and reactions are constantly a source of humor and make the show one that I love to watch, but he's also kind of playing himself. I don't see a ton of range in his portrayal of Hank Moody, but what you do see from him is quite good.)

Thomas Jane – Hung (Meh, it's an ok show, he's a decent actor, but I wouldn't necessarily shout about his performance)

Matthew Morrison – Glee (Adorable, fun, and did a stellar performance in the last two episodes. I was really impressed by his growth in the role.)

Alec Baldwin – 30 Rock (WINNER!!!)

Maybe Now You Won't Give Up on Acting?

I feel like he got this award not only because he's amazing - but also because he announced that once his contract is up with '30 Rock' he's going to retire from acting. It would be a sad day for several reasons - one being that he wants to go into politics.

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television

Jane Adams – Hung (She's perfect in this role. Her voice, her look, it's all dead on.)

Rose Byrne – Damages (Don't watch it, don't hear much about her.)

Jane Lynch – Glee (Fan-freakin'-tastic. Jane Lynch is one of the best people to watch. The role of Sue Sylvester is a comedic actress dream, and what Lynch does for the role is bring the exact amount of toughness/tenderness that the ball-busting Sue is written to be. I'm sad she lost out.)

Janet McTeer – Into The Storm (No idea what this even is.)

Chloë Sevigny – Big Love (WINNER!!)

There's Something About Chloë

It's weird, because while the character she portrays, Nikki Grant, annoys the heck out of me, there's no doubt that Chloë Sevigny is a fabulous actress while she's playing her. The character of Nikki is cold, conservative, and a little bit crazy. In season 3 she really brought a lot of wonderful emotion to the role, and deserves to be honored for her performance. I still kinda think Jane Lynch should've won though.

BEST MINI SERIES / MADE FOR TV MOVIE STUFF
Not huge into this category, can you tell?

Best Mini Series/Movie - Grey Gardens (My reasoning is, it won because it's the only one I watched, it was that good.)

Best Actress in Mini Series/Movie - Drew Barrymore (She was really great in the role, it was a wonderful performance.)

Best Actor in a Mini Series/Movie - Kevin Bacon (Well, at least someone in the family won the night...he's married to Kyra Sedgwick.)

Movie winners: yadda, yadda, I'd rather sit at home and be watching TV...

Best Picture - Avatar

Best Actress - Sandra Bullock

Best Actor - Jeff Bridges

Best Comedy/Musical - The Hangover

Best Actress Comedy/Musical - Meryl Streep

Best Actor in Comedy/Musical - Robert Downey Jr.

Best Supporting Actress - Mo'nique

Best Supporting Actor - Christoph Waltz

Best Animated Film - Up <---I'll throw in best of all time. Pixar tops themselves, again. Best Foreign Language - The White Ribon Best Director - James Cameron Best Screenplay - Up in the Air

Best Original Score - Up

Best Song - "The Weary Kind (Theme From Crazy Heart)" – Crazy Heart
Music & Lyrics By: Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett

I regret to say, I missed watching the awards live due to a friend's wedding (stupid love and joy celebrations pulling me away from TV). So, in award show fashion, I would like to thank the HFPA for posting all the winners on their site. Without them, I couldn't have written this blog today.

The Leno v. Conan Situation, Explained

2010-01-16T07:07:00.000-08:00

Ok pals, here's the scoop. There's this Team Conan, and Jimmel Kimmel destroying Leno, and a giant backlash against NBC that came up this week.

During the Haiti Earthquake, which you heard about as you were making dinner, and/or doing a thousand other things this week.

Good thing you've got a pal like me who's willing to explain it all out because I do nothing but watch TV, read about TV, write about TV (Oh, do you not get The Screening Room? You should.) and I've even made a habit of listening to TV podcasts (Does this obsession know any bounds? Not really.)

So, here's the slapdash rundown of what I like to call...

TALK WARS

A long time ago, during the last decade or so, Conan O'Brien was asked to negotiate a contract. He said during that time, that he'd like The Tonight Show eventually. The date was set, and ink went to paper, and Jay Leno was on a highway to retirement.

Then, Jay realized he was not yet ready to give up television, and NBC realized they to were not yet ready to part with a chin attached to a man that brought in decent late night ratings. They decided to put together a show that would run Monday - Friday at 10pm.

Yes, that's right at 10pm. The time slot that traditionally goes to adult dramas, sometimes dramadies. The shows that content is not suitable for children, and you can actually watch because the kids just got to bed. NBC's 10 pm time slot is something of a favorite for me. I am looking right at you mid 90's - I'm talking about Sisters, Homicide: Life on the Street, Law & Order, ER. Oh man, just listing those shows makes me happy.

The 10pm time slot is not meant for talk shows like Leno's not just because it's not an adult drama though. It's a hard sell to put something that runs regularly in that slot because it's against the local 10 o'clock news. See, affiliate stations, or what you know as your local NBC station, has a different schedule than major cities. We (I live in New York City) and other major cities only get the 11:35pm news. To juggle the time difference local stations usually would just throw on a Seinfield repeat or something until The Tonight Show comes on, but with the obligation to play Jay, it messed up their news schedule.

NBC solution to this issue? Spend MILLIONS on advertising Jay at 10 pm so people have it ingrained, are ready for it, and want it.

It didn't work.

While the ratings for Leno were decent, it was too much for the affiliates to manage, sell, and keep up so they were dropping the show, and NBC was losing money.

Now, Conan on the other hand on The Tonight Show was getting slammed, because of the 10 pm show as well. There's a rhythme of television watching that is called into play here. It's all about your lead in, if you've got a broken schedule it's like playing incredibly loud metal music before a show that involves piano music. You've tuned away from NBC because 10pm doesn't have what you want/are used to - drama, and other networks are cranking up their dramatic television and getting you involved in their shows. You don't switch back to see The Tonight Show, because of a thousand other possibilities.

They knew ratings would dip with Conan because people don't like new things. It would take at least a year to hit some sort of stride with new location, set, formatting - but it was likely that Conan would find an audience.

The trouble is, Conan's audience is a demographic that is 18-45 and that demographic is watching The Daily Show, and The Colbert Report - and once again isn't switching over to NBC for The Tonight Show.

So, the odds are stacked against Conan, but there had to be a built in belief at NBC that this ratings dip would occur - and the way to bring it back would've been to leverage The Olympics in their favor and promote Conan during it.

The only problem is - Leno failed his slot. So, NBC lost a ton of money on that gamble. Now, the idea that the audience that is watching The Olympics would fall in love of Conan is another gamble. In NBC's mind, it's time to go with a sure thing - and that sure thing is Leno. Leno will bring back their ratings, and possibly bolster audience as a lead in for Conan and Fallon. The issue here is - that's the old line up. That is basically demoting Conan for not succeeding in doing his job within a 7 month period, when he should have had at least a year to attempt before shutting down and rolling back.

Why people hate Leno in this, is because he doesn't have to take this position. Leno is a man that is worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He has been on the air for a very long time, long enough to become a parody of himself. He seemed to support Conan's move publicly, so for him to not step up and say, "Ya know what, the 10 pm show didn't work. I am going to retire from TV and go do stand-up and play with my cars," or something similar showing support and self awareness is an issue.

Now, you can argue, Jay's just going for the job he was the best at. Sure, he did great in that show, but he had a rough patch after Johnny left, too. The Letterman/Leno ratings battle was a fierce one and not always the best for his ratings, but he found his voice, and audience and eventually did great. But to leave a job you achieved greatness at, try something else, and then just go back - seems a little ridiculous. Especially when you don't need the money, and the person who has that job now moved his entire life, family, and all the people that worked for him away from New York and out to LA.

If you don't live in New York, you might not understand how huge that move is. It may seem like a great move up to some. Warm weather, fabulous lifestyles of the rich and famous and what not, but to a New Yorker it's a huge lifestyle change. You go from being you v. the elements - because in NY everyone pretty much takes subways or is generally just outdoors more in horrible weather than most people in America - to being in your car going everywhere. Also, anyone who's ever had a family with kids and had to move understands that going from one place to another can be a strain on the family.

But, I digress - Conan and Leno, where are they now? It seems to be a stale-mate at the moment. Leno seems to be winning NBC's favor to go back to The Tonight Show, and Conan seems to be stuck in a contract that will not allow him to work as a late night talk show host on another network.

In the current American job market, a lot of people can somewhat sympathize with being out of a job, being pushed out of a job, and just the overall despair that unemployment can bring. It's also horribly upsetting to see men with millions of dollars seem upset about job loss. At the end of all this, we know that Conan O'Brien will work again. He is a fabulously talented and a well known personality. His staff will probably be fine as well because the quality of the show is actually not in the issue.

The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien is well received by many critics, especially comedians. Conan's sharp wit and wonderful self awareness of his awkwardness is something that comedians embrace. It's not like the move from Late Night to The Tonight Show tarnished his talents.

Leno on the other hand, did have a quality issue. The Tonight Show with Jay Leno was wonderfully formatted, and while middle of the road in terms of comedy risk - it was funny. The Jay Leno Show on the other hand, was really cheesey. It was the Brady Bunch Variety Hour of television spin-offs. The quality of the show went down, and the humor went from middle of the road to pandering.

Both men though, have options at the end of the day. NBC has options as well, but what exactly happens next is subject to debate as well. There was a story on everyone's favorite pay-for-it journalism site, TMZ, that said that Leno has The Tonight Show back and Conan is out on the streets unable to do another late night show for now.

NBC denied this story.

BUT - NBC just bought @BreakingNews which is a twitter feed that used to relay stories from various news outlets at lightening fast speed. Seriously, I used to just follow it so I could bolster my "I knew it before you" in a news conversation. Since being bought by NBC it has turned into the NBC news twitter feed. It is obvious that all the stories are coming from MSNBC and other NBC affiliates, not just because it's a little slower (@nytimes is actually whooping them lately) but also because NBC is sited on most of the @breakingnews feeds.

How this plays in is- @BreakingNews submitted the TMZ story to the feed, my guess is there's a lot of truth, maybe not all truth, but at least some truth behind that story. If not, why would they tweet it?

Currently, it looks as though Conan is leaving, and Leno will get The Tonight Show back.

That's all I know about that situation folks. I hope this helped clarify some of it for you. I'll be back next week with more TV news. Till then make sure you follow me on the twitter -
@iluvtvmorethan
and -
@screening_room

Tabitha Salon Takeover Tuesdays

2010-01-04T19:38:00.001-08:00

I cannot wait for Tuesday night TV.

This is not a common feeling, and TV watchers know that. We will rarely get great programming on Tuesday. If there's anything at all, it's usually later on at night and dramatic (I'm thinking Rescue Me)

But lately, I find myself on Mondays jonesen for Tuesdays with Tabitha...

Even though Tabitha Salon Takeover is basically Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares re-purposed for beauty salon's, it's probably the best makeover show on television.
It has everything you want from a reality show:

Rags to Riches: They give salons that are in total debt money to restart their business
Ugly to Pretty: The salons are always, disgusting. Each episode without fail Tabitha will say in her charming accent that the salon she's in is, "Covered with dirt!"
Person with Accent Putting Down an American: We really love that. Pretty much every competition show has a judge with a charming, foreign accent.

What really makes this show fantastic though, is Tabitha. She's a lovable bitch, because she's always right - and she's fierce. I know it's so Project Runway to go there, but she is - I mean look at this:

I wish someone followed me around work shooting footage of what I do and then editing it to show that I'm just always right, always. Maybe, if I just learn an accent...hello? Fox? I've got an idea for a reality show...

Why I'm Stoked on Desperate Housewives Again

2010-01-03T15:51:00.000-08:00

You'd be hard-up to find someone who loved the first season of Desperate Housewives more than I did in it's premiere year.
I told everyone I knew about how great of an ensemble the cast was, and how quirky/mysterious the storyline was.

Then, season 2 occurred. What a difference time off made! It was horrifically boring, and instead of delving back into the characters we grew to love- it went the same way Heroes did and added characters no one really cared about with storylines that didn't really measure up.

This was a tough time for me and Desperate Housewives, until I was reunited with it via the Lifetime Channel's mini marathons. Three hours a day, while I had the flu, I caught up with this show as if it were my job, starting on season 3.

It was amazingly better, vastly improved, and the gang one Wisteria Lane was forefront again in the storylines.

Fast forwarding season 4 was absolutely genius. It added depth to all of the characters, and brought an interesting twist to every storyline.

Now, I feel like it's 2004 all over again. It's Sunday night, and I'm all psyched up for some DH. The show is coming back from it's holiday break - I'm once again hooked. I can't wait to see what will happen next - and really, isn't that what you want from a fun weekend show? (I'm looking at you Big Love to bring that in a few weeks... don't you go breaking my heart.)

Reasons to Watch Modern Family

2009-11-20T05:41:00.001-08:00

I'm going to confess that Modern Family is not a regular on my DVR. I do catch the show whenever possible online, and I have fallen for it. I think it's a great show, with some minor flaws.

Ed O'Neil - He's an older, richer, slightly happier about life Al Bundy, but the extra depth his character has makes him loveable.
Manny - This is Ed O'Neils hot wife's son. He's played by Rico Rodriguez. This kid is not only cute, but plays a wise beyond his years consultant to the family. He often steals the scenes he's in and you're happy he does.
Claire and Phil - played by Julie Brown and Ty Burrell they're marriage dynamic takes a back seat to their parenting skills which are honest and exaggerated which makes them very funny.
Mitchell and Cameron - The gay couple which show a lot more diversity in personality than other gay characters you see in primetime.

This show is consistently funny. The only flaw I personally have with it is I'm not really in the mood for a family show a lot and this is the quintessential modern family sitcom.

Reasaons to Watch Community

2009-11-20T05:23:00.001-08:00

It's no secret that I was looking forward to NBC's Community. Now that we're well into the season I figured it's time to write my reviews of the shows I was looking forward to here. First up, Community.

Joel McHale - His character is smooth talking but has enough hubris to be enjoyable.
Chevy Chase - A great secondary role, and he can still take a fall and make it hilarious
The rest of the cast - Everyone is awesome and I'd thank the writers. Not like the actors aren't talented, but the characters are well defined via dialogue, actions and story archs.
It's hilarious - I laugh out loud at least three times every episode. That's a very good average.

If you're already into Community and want to love it some more I've heard great things about the extras on NBC.com. I'd also recommend following the show's creator, Dan Harmon on Twitter. He's very funny and sometimes discusses the making of the show and gives episode teasers.

'Hung' A Reaction

2009-09-12T12:15:00.000-07:00

I just got around to watching the pilot of Hung.
Um, excuse me all you reviewer haters - it's not that bad at all!

It's actually very watchable. In fact, it's kind of fun.

Hung's story line is relatable and farcical at the same time. It's about a man, Ray, who is trying to fix his family and finances. Ray, is a guy who seems to be unable to catch a break, is costing as a teacher/coach and isn't terribly talented. He does however have all the right assessts any lascivious woman would want in a man.

He decides via a series of events stemming from the self-help 'make me a millionaire' convention that he is going to become a man-whore, with the help of this 38 year old poet chick he bangs.

Now, it's not exactly what you'd call a family sitcom, excluding the fact that this does center around a "modern family" (which basically just reads as family dealing with divorce and realistic teenage antics). I can't help but liken it to The US of Tara, which is another show that many don't like because it doesn't feel real that a family would be put through a mother with multiple personality disorder.

I find it oddly heartwarming to watch these shows where parents do ridiculously scarring things to themselves and their children, but then are able to come back looking to their children for forgiveness.

I know we've long left the world of Leave it to Beaver behind. The Happy Days where kids do something wrong and then hang their heads down low and say, "Aw shucks, Mom, Dad, I'm sorry for taking the car." The comfort in these shows was the ideal that no matter what, your parents love you.

Current premium cable shows like Us of Tara and Hung have turned this ideal on it's head and taken it for a spin in the back of a Cadillac. The parents go to the kids and say, "I'm sorry I took the car and had sex with a bunch of tertiary characters."

While it's a disturbing commentary on the way American families have changed, I I can't help but be entertained by these shows. At the end of the episode, they tell us all, "It's ok, you'll always have your family." Which is sweet, until you realize that they're also saying, "...and you got to see some naughty things done, too."

But what the hell, I'm a fan of them. I love seeing people with crazier lives than my own.

True Blood, Look What You've Done to Me

2009-09-12T10:08:00.000-07:00

For the past year I had given up on HBO.
It's not that I don't appreciate the quality of programming it's provided in the past.
It's that the more recent programs haven't been extra cable fee worth.

Let's take a look at what I'm saying:

Curb Your Enthusiasm - This is a wonderfully structured improvisational sitcom with great music, but the storyline is repetitive. Larry David accidentally offends, he won't apologize, hilarity ensues.

Entourage - This show reminds me of the Kayne West song Good Life. It's all about trying to keep those roots while moving on up. In this case, it's about being a movie star and livin' large in LA with fast cars and hot women. It was really fun the first few seasons, crazy parties and loud Ari, but it's not a show I miss watching.

Big Love - I used to love this show, first and second seasons were pretty enthralling. At times this show reflected the power of families working together in criminal activities more than The Sopranos. Yet, the show has somehow meandered about and lost some of it's allure.

Hung- The ads alone for this show turned me off. They took over bathroom stalls in NYC to show how 'sexy fun' this show is going to be. If you have to try to make me think that with intrusive campaigns, I'm not going to believe you.

East Bound and Down - Here's where I get controversial ... I hated Fist First Way. I haven't even tried this show, but I hear I should give it a chance. Perhaps I will overcome my mental block because ....

True Blood - My friend and I rented True Blood one lazy weekend and got hooked. It's hard not to fall for this fast paced thrilling story. It's also easy to see why some people are so easily turned off by it. The characters, in the beginning of the first season especially, are in desperate need for southern dialect couches. Each episode ends on an edge of your seat cliff hanger though, that makes you want to know what happens next to these characters you unexpectedly fall for again and again. By the third episode we were cheering the sounds of the opening sequence. We want bad things to be done to us you crooner.

The second season was just starting the weekend we finished the first season. This is when I realized we had gone mad for True Blood. My friend and I started seeking out the new episodes - on the net, at friends houses. We'd been doing pretty good catching up here and there with the season, until this weekend rolled around.

The finale occurs tomorrow night and we began trying to figure out how we could get HBO. "Maybe you could go out and meet a dude with HBO..."
No! I won't pimp myself!
"Maybe we could chip in and get a hotel room..."
Is it really worth $50 each?
Then, I came to ridiculously simple epiphany - I can just get HBO. For like $12 more bucks a month I'll get it just so we can see the end of this saga.

So, this morning, I called up and got the channels and I'm re-watching the season with bated breath waiting for tomorrow.
Perhaps I'll try these other shows again, or for the first time, to see if they'll change my mind. Who knows? They might be a fun way to pass the time.

Say Goodbye to Summer

2009-09-04T08:06:00.000-07:00

There are a lot of people who say summer is a slow season for television, and to those people I say,
"Get cable."

This summer there was some of the best TV going on, I hope you got in on it. If not, here's what you should catch up on this Labor Day weekend.

Nurse Jackie -I'm going to be honest here, I'm a little biased because the character lives near by me in Queens. There's a neighborly comradery I feel with this over-worked, drug-addicted, nurse. Edie Falco is wonderful, as always, but the supporting cast also shines. After viewing the entire season I think what makes this such a gem is it's ability to show chaos as a way of coping. Also, once you see the entire season, please note the call back of the last season of the season to the first scene of the season. A lovely call back.

Rescue Me - If you gave up on this show after the dark seasons that followed the first, I understand. But I insist you come back and give this season a try. The humor is back and Tommy Gaven is more responsible for his actions. The season finale didn't disappoint and left me, as always wanting more of this hilarious dark comedy.

True Blood - I cannot believe how addicted I am to this show. It's absolutely ridiculous, full of plot wholes, with eccentric characters and porn-like sex scenes. With all this said, the story line is still full of Alan Ball goodness with honest dialogue and beautiful choices for directors and cinematography. If you start this show, be forewarned, you will have a hard time stopping.

Weeds - Oh! The madness that is Nancy Botwin's life didn't get any easier this year, even though she did settle down, get married and have a baby. Her children, and career choices are still spinning out of her control, and while she doesn't have as much interaction with her friends: Ceila, Doug, and Dean their B-story was a little more zany and fun this season because of it. Overall, it wasn't the best season, but there were some fantastic episodes. If you ever had a problem with how Nancy seems to get away with everything unharmed, this season has retributions that are worth a second-go for this show and you.

Rachel Zoe Project - I always have to name one awful reality show, and this one is it. I think my absolute favorite part of this show, is that the things that Rachel flips out are almost always absurd life problems that you would never even consider as you're cooking up your tuna and pasta recession special. Oh no! I have a thousand dresses, but not the right one! Life is tough for you Rachel. Go buy some more turquoise and feel better... and remember food is for suckers. (They NEVER eat on that show.)

So, those are my favorites from this summer. What I'm looking forward to this fall:

Community
Modern Family
The Good Wife
Dexter
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
House

What did you love this summer? What are you jonesin' for this fall?
Leave a comment below!

Behold, The Wonderfulness of the Internet

2009-07-08T05:35:00.001-07:00

I woke up this morning with the "theme song" from the Family Guy cutaway My Black Son in my head and I couldn't get it out.
Then, I Googled it.
Then, I found this site.

New favorite site = TelevisionTunes.com
For those of you that love television and want to relive all the great theme songs, check it out.
They also will make the song your ring tone.
Fabulous!

In other news...

I found a new Law & Order and I can't wait to watch it.
Law & Order: UK is a new show that I have been frantically trying to obtain since I found out about it. Well, congratulations, search is over: http://circle65.com/lawandorder/

and now...

Summer show obsessions/confessions:

I'm in love with the new season of Weeds it took a couple of episodes, but I think it's the best character growth I've seen in a while from any show in a single season, and it's just begun!
Nurse Jackie is some kind of wonderful. It's as if America didn't realize how much we needed Edie Falco until she returned in another fabulous role.
I've become a big fan of How I Met Your Mother, and Robot Chicken. I feel like Robot Chicken is more shocking that I enjoy it. At first, I found the show overly juvenile, but after seeing other episodes, I find myself a true convert. I'm amazed at how the show is able to hit all levels of humor and culture.
....and last, but not least - The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien gets the honor of being the only late night show I've ever DVR'd more than once NOT based on guest. It's hilarious. He's doing a great job, and if you're not watching here's your chance to stop missing out.

About.com Newsletter

2009-06-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

Hey Pals!

I know I haven't been updating lately, but I've been working at the day job.
I'm an editor at About.com and I'll be writing their new weekly newsletter about TV and Movies called "The Screening Room".

If you're interested in getting this free newsletter, please sign up here:
http://talk.about.com/

(FYI, I also write for The Shopping List)

So, check those out!

And now, I leave you with this moment of Zen:

Not Yet Famous: Internet Shows to Watch

2009-05-27T15:47:00.000-07:00

Here's some stuff I've seen on the interweb lately that I've enjoyed:

A new web series from comedian Sean O'Connor and Jillian Federman, Sean and Jilly Move In is a funny look at when a couple in NYC moves in together.
Check it out by clicking here.
Don't want to commit to a new web page?
Here's the premier episode, you'll click on it after I bet to see more:

Sean and Jilly Move In - 1 from Sean and Jilly on Vimeo.

and another yet to be big time is MisGuided from writer/director/comedian Joe Brian Shell. It's a story about a reluctant guidance counselor (read: a guidance counselor). It's a submission for the NYTVF (New York Television Festival) that I'm hoping gets picked up because it's promising. Check out the trailer:

The Return of Scrubs?

2009-05-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

Here's some breaking news I'd rather not report on.

Apparently, even though they had an amazingly perfect final episode, Scrub stars Zach Braff and Sarah Chalke say they'll go for another season.

Really?

I love Scrubs. It's not a popular statement to make, but I think it's a great show with wonderful characters and reliable comedy.

With that said, it's done. We had a wonderful ending, we mourned together discussing the beautiful final moments, and we've accepted it's death.

Let's let dead be dead, ok ABC?

Have you not seen the advertisement's for Chalke's Maneater on Lifetime?
It seems to be the similar launch they did for Will and Grace's Debrah Messing's show The Starter Wife on USA. Billed as a movie event, but expected to be a series.

Chalke's show looks like another stupid estrogen comedy about a woman dumped who finds herself. Sure, it's trite, but it could still make it - why go back to Scurbs?

We know that Chalke loves the double duty though, with her work on and How I Met Your Mother and Scrubs this season. But will she really give up her own series, or was she dumped at the first-airing-alter and crawling back to the "reliable hit"?

I guess we're gonna have to put this in the hands of TV fate.

Scrubs Last Episode

2009-05-11T19:50:00.000-07:00

Verdict is in, it was a great last episode.

From start to finish it did all that a last episode should do.
Here's what you need for a good end:

1. Don't leave too many loose ends

2. Don't make it seem like it's going to just keep on going the same way, it should be an end.

3. Reflect on the great years of the show

4. Have a backstage moment afterwards

In honor of the last Scrubs here are my 3 favorite "Last Episodes"

1. Family Ties - The ending where everyone came out and took a bow was magnificent. From beginning to end you knew where it came from and that it was never going to be the same for the characters, and it ended at the right moment for the series characters and actors alike.

2. Cheers - To be honest, I think my favorite part of the ending was the LIVE feed from the "actual" bar in Boston where it was said that "Never were there so many genuinely drunk people on television." It was a fun farewell.

3. M*A*S*H - All of America was a part of Hawkeye leaving Korea (It remains the highest rated television show ever.) and it was genuinely an end of an era. I don't believe any other show was able to capture the dramedy quite as well. (Although, I wish the entire series was never given a laugh track.)

I hope that even though this is the end of Scrubs, we don't see the last of Randall Winston. He produces great sitcoms that have a fun twist, it would be a shame if he quits here.

Sarah Chalke Moonlights and Raises Speculation on Scrubs and How I Met Your Mother

2009-05-05T08:29:00.000-07:00

Spoiler Alert – giving away the ending of May 4th, 2009 episode of How I Met Your Mother

Last night’s episode of the CBS comedy that should be number 1, How I Met Your Mother, was a build up to the meeting of – the mother.

We think.

It’s an elaborate story that Bob Sagat unfolds for his character Ted Mosby (played well by Josh Radnor, though it doesn’t make sense why he doesn’t narrate as well… Are we to believe his voice just gets deeper and deeper with each child this so-called Mother bares?) goes out on a walk that could’ve gone several ways, but goes on one direct path, due to many factors, that leads him to –Sarah Chalke???!?!

Yes, Sarah Chalke aka “The other Becky”, or as more modern TV watchers know her as Elliot Reed from Scrubs. Fans of HIMYM know, that she’s also Ted’s ex, Stella. She returned last night, outstretched her arm and placed it on Ted’s shoulder and began what we’re led to believe is the final chapter of how Ted met his unenthused children’s mother.

There’s more holes in this theory than the Swiss’s cheese though.

1. On HIMYM they had a cut away that showed what it would’ve been if Stella and Ted got married and the kids were different.

2. Sarah Chalke’s on another show…though it is completely feasible that this season is the last for Scurbs. Zak Braff is leaving the show and if they continue on I fear it will be as entertaining as that last season of That '70s Show
without Eric Foreman.

So, I ask you fellow HIMYM watchers, do you think Stella’s the mother of Ted’s kids, or can we look forward to another plot twist?

Fall Preview: NBC Comedy Excitement

2009-05-04T10:34:00.000-07:00

Alternative title for this entry:
OMG Chevy Chase in something funny on television

I LOVE Joel McHale and I'm excited to see this preview, but it does make me a little worried about The Soup...
Can I have your job Joel? Please?

Also, please note comedian Donald Glover as part of the cast. He's part of the sketch group DERRICK, a former writer for 30 Rock and a hilarious stand up. Keep an eye on this kid, more hilarity to ensue for sure.

TV Theme Songs - Exciting and New!

2009-05-01T18:58:00.000-07:00

Ok, here's a new wanna be BFF folks...
Answering the question, when is that second "I'm no superman", the obviously gifted -
Edarem

...and in case you question the gift, check him out getting down to 30 Rock

Flashback Friday: Arsenio Hall

2009-05-01T14:12:00.001-07:00

Now, wave that fist in a circular motion and whoop it up like you just don't care about anything BUT Arsenio Hall.

I used to do my darnedest to catch Arsenio Hall, but I really don't recall anything more than us whooping up. I certainly forgot about this aaaahmazing interview with Vanilla Ice.

Oooh, Arsenio, you did get to the bottom of it. :(

and now, my gift to you - A clip of Michael Jackson with Eddie Murphy AND Arsenio Hall:

This was part of Michael Jackson Day on VH1...which I believe they now celebrate as molestation awareness hour.

Denis Leary Commercials

2009-05-01T08:18:00.000-07:00

New Hulu commercial with the theme of "Hulu taking over the world" is fitting for a Leary rant:

But let's be honest, it's no I want my Cindy Crawford MTV (God, remember House of Style?)

Kumail Nanjiani, Comedian

2009-05-01T06:21:00.000-07:00

In case you missed it last night, Kumail's appearance on Jimmy Kimmel.
It was hilarious, check it out:

When's the Next South Park?

2009-04-30T19:43:00.000-07:00

It's season 13 of South Park.
Isn't that nuts? Remember when they mocked the Simpson's for going on too long?

Well, I wouldn't say it's time to give up, in fact I'm asking - Where's the rest of the season?

We've only had 7 episodes, some of which were freakin' great...
I mean - will anyone ask you if you like fish sticks, without you responding with giggles, ever again?

So, where's the rest of the season?

Apparently, the Pirate episode (Fat Beard) was the "Mid-Season Finale" and the writers are all going on retreat to take a creative break.

Well, I guess that's ok.
But don't take too long.

I mean, we need your help with this swine flu! Jokes are awful and people are going nuts. I'm pretty sure Kenny, Kyle and Stan can figure it out...while Cartman profit's from it somehow.

Did you hear that South Park writers?
Make it so.

LOST and Jimmy Kimmel

2009-04-30T14:26:00.000-07:00

I rarely watch Jimmy Kimmel, but the other night I caught this hilarious sketch with the writers from Lost:

Apparently, I've been missing out on an entire series where Kimmel utilizes the secretive nature of the show and characters from it to unveil funny, quick "secrets"

Other favorites:
Hurley!

and Kate does one as well...

But the best are the ones with Ben. They fit actor Michael Emerson's creepy delivery perfectly:

Check out Jimmy Kimmel tonight, when he hosts one of my FAVORITE comedians, Kumail Nanjiani.

Rescue Me, Back to Season 1 Basics in Season 5

2009-04-30T05:56:00.000-07:00

How great was classic Denis Leary?
Comedian, Singer, Asshole:

Rescue Me -the first season was great because it took the Denis Leary character from his stand up, and heightened the character he played in The Job which if you aren't aware of or have never seen - it's Denis Leary playing a cop with most of the cast of Rescue Me. The difference is, in Rescue Me they are fire fighters coping with 9/11 and their crazy lifestyles.

The great thing about Season 1 Rescue Me was the sense of humor. It was definitely a dark comedy, but there was plenty of comic relief moments. As the series went on though, it got really bleak and Leary's character Tommy went off the deep end with booze, sex and other risky behaviors in a way that teetered between dark drama and Lifetime Original. It's still a wonderful series, and I recommend the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th seasons to people who love dramas - but it veered away from the great formula of black comedy that it did so well in the first season.

Season 5 has brought back the jovial firehouse antics, and the real moments of coping with loss, in a magnificently humorous way. Instead of tuning in expecting more death and sadness, season 5 seems almost like a rebirth of Tommy Gavin. He's off the booze and trying to deal with all the shit he's been through.

At the season premiere party that was shot for FX to play as bumpers between the airing of the premier on FX, many of the cast were taped saying, "This is the best season yet," and I am on board with this theory.

I mean, how could they be wrong with Michael J. Fox on the cast as a guy in a wheel chair that is dating Tommy's ex-wife and willing to kick Tommy's ass when need be?

If you're not watching this season because you thought it went too dark, I beg you to check back in on this hilarious dramedy.

Transatlanticism on Six Feet Under

2009-04-29T12:47:00.001-07:00

I miss this show and wish the complete series box set
wasn't so darn expensive.

Here's the link to the entire song:
http://www.jango.com/stations/118614337/tunein?song_id=8544

Hulu's Not the Only Game in Town

2009-04-29T08:56:00.000-07:00

Remember the days when all video was just on YouTube?

Then Hulu came around and got all these high quality videos from the studios and we were all so excited to have such access?

Well, there's more free goodness on the web lately.

FanCast, as my twitter followers have seen, is a new favorite of mine (speaking of new favorites, I LOVE How I Met Your Mother).

But the big news is that Sony's in the game with Crackle. Targeting men (isn't everyone though?) they have movies and tv shows. Get excited to watch all the Charlie's Angels you want this afternoon.

Dexter is Coming Back - Not Soon Enough

2009-04-29T08:25:00.000-07:00

I love Dexter and season 3 was pretty great. It proved that Jimmy Smits is pretty awesome at being a serial killer you fear, where as Michael C. Hall is one you root for.

According to a new site I'm frequenting, TVBuddy, filming starts in May and we can expect Dexter to return to his Robin Hood Serial Killing ways in the fall.

If you can't hardly wait, watch season 3 on demand, or buy it, it's a decent price for a great season of television.

Jeff Goldblum is the Perfect Fit for Criminal Intent

2009-04-27T14:39:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU!

Law & Order : Criminal Intent finally lived up to the very long hype.

On Sunday, April 26th the first Jeff Goldblum episode premiered making this season finally worth waiting for.

The episode entitled, “Rock Star” kicked off with a beautiful parade of hilarious Williamsburg stereotypes -they completely left out the Puerto Ricans though, have they become so extinct in this neighborhood that not even writers, that possibly live there, know they used to walk amongst the locals? The set up for the divide between hipsters, Orthodox and Bushwick natives was pretty priceless and dead on. It made me wonder if we can hope for an episode later this season where the Stuyvesant town Vets take on the Yuppie Off-Spring families.

The character Goldblum plays, Detective Nichols, was taken directly from a Law and Order generator:

-He’s a maverick genius

-He’s got a mysterious past

-He’s quirky

But the catch with Goldblum is that he has this Autastic* magnificence about him. He repeats things and says them with certain rhythms – and in one of the most campy L&O moments ever – he shows off his musical skills by sitting down and tickling the ivories with a pretty little ditty.

While Goldblum’s Nichols is charming to watch, and the writing and storyline far surpassed the season premiere, I couldn’t help but wish there was a scene that brought D’Onofrio’s Goren to match Nichols. I feel if these two were on the case it would be a magical symphony of sleuthing. I will stayed tuned in with eager anticipation.

*Autastic - hybrid of the words Austistic and fantastic

Dirty Desmond from LOST Accused of Sexual Harassment

2009-04-26T10:08:00.000-07:00

Oh LOST cast members, you constantly remind us how no one is perfect.
With all your DWI's we loved you still...even now that the DWI cast members are gone.

But now with a lawsuit claiming that Henry Ian Cusick molested a crew member that was subsequently fired, how do we feel?

Is this the end of the Desmond storyline? or are we going to have an old fashioned soap opera switch....

Yhe role of Desmond will now be played by...(insert non-sexually threatening actor here).

Bea Arthur Died, Saturday, April 25, 2009

2009-04-25T14:21:00.000-07:00

It is a sad story to write that today, we've lost another Golden Girl.

Bea Arthur died this morning at age 86. While many remember her for her wonderful portrayal as Dorothy, on Golden Girls, she was also known as sassy liberal Maude which aired on CBS during the 70's.

Maude was a spin off of CBS's other 70's hit All In The Family.

One of my favorite Bea Arthur television moments though was more recent in her role as the babysitter on Malcom in the Middle.

She often took roles where she played a tough woman, but Bea had a great sense for comedic timing and sense of humor about herself. Below I've put in one of my all time favorite parodies of Sex in the City. Bea did this with other classic TV actors for the TV Land Awards in 2008.

Bea Arthur you will be missed.

Oprah's 90's Headline Show

2009-04-24T08:09:00.000-07:00

I am going to admit something that I probably shouldn’t.

I’m not a fan of Oprah.

There. I SAID IT.

My sister will tell you that this is because I don’t like anything that everyone else likes. If there is something popular I hate on it and love the weirder, less commonly loved product. I hate Sex in the City, but I loved Two Guys, A Girl, …and a Pizza Place.

I don’t purposely hate all TV that most people love, I think it’s just that I consume more TV than most and have realized that Oprah kinda has the same show over and over and again. If it’s a good guest it might be worth a watch, but really it’s not something I’d ever DVR.

EXCEPT –

If she has my 90’s idol, Tanya Harding, on the program.

Ok, so I didn’t really idolize Tanya Harding, but I was a fanatic of her and the case brought against her regarding her involvement in the Nancy Karrigan knee-whacking.

So, when I saw the commercial preview of the interview I just had to watch Oprah.

I DVR’d it and watched it this morning and I have to say the interview with Tanya was everything I wanted it to be. She admitted her biggest mistake was to marry an idiot, and then said she’s sick of apologizing to Nancy Kerrigan.

Oh Tanya! You never did change. Well, she does seem a little older, and wiser.

The best part of the interview was when Oprah asked her, “Now, really what would you say to Nancy Karrigan if she were here? And, don’t worry, this isn’t the type of show that would bring her out to surprise you now.”

Silly Oprah! You should do a show about your show in the 90’s, because you totally used to do that.

I doubt there will be daily DVRing of miss O, but I have to say I do dig the older, wiser Oprah as well. I really liked her inspirational speeches about how we just have to overcome the fear of getting what we dream to be, and how we have to continue to move forward in life.

When it comes to life advice though, I still say I’m sticking to listening to RuPaul. Because honey – if you don’t love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love anybody else?

Can I get an Amen in here?!!

LOST Catch Up Show...is Anyone Falling For This?

2009-04-22T16:57:00.000-07:00

I came home early enough to catch Jeopardy today, which is always the sign of a nice night in.

And then realized that it's also Wednesday, so I can watch LOST
live tonight instead of tomorrow morning. (God bless ye, DVR)

But, I check the line up and sure enough there's a freakin' catch-up show.

Come on! Let's be honest ABC, you should know by now that there's no one jumping aboard at this point of the journey.

It's not that simple, I mean there were 4 seasons before this that we loyal fans didn't just "watch" we freakin' researched each episode and built charts and maps to follow it. We spent weekends of our lives re-watching it instead of going outside, drawing the blinds if it dare get sunny and glare the screen causing us to miss the most delicate clue.

Don't fool us by saying all you need is a clip show to catch up.

But...

I will say after watching the recap show in the beginning of this season my instant reaction was - I can't believe I've spent four years of my life obsessing when they just summed up all that shit in an hour.

So, if you ever thought about checking out LOST try a clip show.

But....

I still have to try....

ABC what if I made you a deal and promised to make like 2 friends watch LOST? And all of the LOST fans promised this, so you don't have to run these stupid filler shows and we can get on with the answers.

I'm just really pumped for the Faraday episode, and it sucks that I'll be watching the clip show tonight.

Oh, yeah, I'll still watch a clip show. I'm a LOST fan, we're all kinda nuts like that.

Law and Order Criminal Intent Overhyped

2009-04-21T06:10:00.000-07:00

For the past two months whenever I've been at home watching my Law & Order: SVU or CI, or Monk marathons on USA I've seen the commercials for the new season of Criminal Intent and gotten progressively more and more stoked.

Not only was the crazy-ass detective Goren (played by the equally crazy-ass amazing Vincent D'Onofrio) going to be back, but Jeff Goldblum was joining the cast!
Look at him, he looks like a wily detective - this had awesomeness all over it.

So, I patiently waited for the ability to program my DVR and watch this amazing debut. To psych myself up I watched the entire marathon of Criminal Intent all day on Sunday. While watching though the commercials seemed to hype Goldblum less, and less...

I still wanted to watch though, because they promised it would be disturbing. Although I hate scary movies, I adore creepy stories of killers being brought to justice - I'm aware that's a little odd.
Anyway, I deciced I was going to DVR Family Guy and watch Criminal Intent live because I had waited so long for it's triumpant return.

What a f'in let down.

It was a straight forward story, with a little bit of sexual abuse that SVU would've handled much better, and all-in-all a giant disappointment. It didn't even have a really break-down crazy interrogation scene. Boooooring.

I should've watched Family Guy instead. That had a better legal thriller afoot. The medical marijuana episode was way more epic than the Criminal Intent premier. Which proves again, I should go with my teenage viewing instinct and save my adult contemporary viewing for a rainy day.

Let's hope next week's episode is more Goldblumier, or even a little Goldblumy.

Importance of TV Show Themes

2009-04-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

I remember around the mid-90's my mother telling me that she had read an article stating that they were no longer to have theme songs on television shows.
"It takes up time for commercials, if they go straight into the show, it makes more money."

This was devastating to me. I love theme songs. I still do.
And to show the importance of good theme songs, I now present to you a clip I found from YouTube, called Disturbing Stokes.

It's as if Alan Thicke and all his composing glory never existed!

Creepy Commercial

2009-04-19T16:13:00.000-07:00

If your orgasm is like a fog horn, you really might need KY gel. There shouldn't be steam.

House M.D. Suicide Special, For the Good of the Nation?

2009-04-07T07:31:00.000-07:00

SPOILER ALERT

Loyal watchers of House know that last night (4.6.09) something absolutely inexplicable happened.

Kutner, was found with a bullet to the head by 13 and Foreman.

WTF?

The episode dealt with everyone's reactions and of course, House was inappropriate and self centered and Wilson tried to pull him through (sleep with each other already!)

But apparently this character self assassination was for a higher power. Apparently, the character is going onto the White House to serve the president.

That's right folks, Kumar aka Kutner aka Kal Penn is going to be President Obama's public relations guy.

Fine, you got a more important job, but was it necessary for the suicide, and let's not forget the memorial page plug??

Rescue Me from Trust Me

2009-04-03T18:41:00.000-07:00

Remember when I loved Trust Me?

Well, this week I realized I fell out of love with it when I saw on my DVR list that I had two hours of unwatched episodes and had no desire to watch it.

What happened? I really like the characters, and the concept is fun. So, why is it that I'd rather re-watch an episode of The Real Housewives of New York then sit through my Trust Me catch-up?

The storyline got a little too real. After finally getting the big deal from taking a big risk, the entire advertising firm is hanging by a thread with the threat of cutbacks due to the bad economy.
Ding, ding, ugh.

There's a reason why Paul Blart: Mall Cop swept the country as the number 1 comedy (but do we really have to do it all again?). People don't want to think at all about the horrible state of the economy. If I wanted to watch people work their asses off to keep their job, I would just go into the office for funzies on a "mandatory vacation" day.

It's not to say we don't want any realistic dramatic television. I can't wait for the new episodes of Rescue Me(April 7th...so close!!). I know this season will not be anywhere near as whimsical as season 1, in fact this show gets darker each season, but at least it's got the humor to match it.

I guess what I'm trying to say is, dramadies might be a little darker these days, but let's try to make them so real not that it loses the feel of entertainment. Trust Me had such promise for upbeat quirkiness, but now I am not interested in tuning in because it's going to be as upbeat a business report.

Do you know Spike Feresten?

2009-03-31T07:40:00.000-07:00

You should.

With all the news about Conan taking the Tonight Show, and Jay Leno's mid-life crisis at the Ten Spot, and Jimmy Fallon nabbing The Roots as his house band...it's easy to overlook the best damn late night talk show, but it doesn't mean you should.

Tape it, DVR it, or stay up late for it - it's Talk Show with Spike Feresten and it's hilarious.

Here's an interview he did with Carl Reiner:

And check out this link with his 99 year old cast member.

Trust Me, You Should Watch Trust Me

2009-03-01T16:43:00.000-08:00

TNT's dream duo, Hunt Baldwin and John Coveny, which gave us The Closer, have another hit to add to their IMDB listing with Trust Me.

Based on the advertising, you wouldn't think this show is a great program about advertising wizards.
I mean, their tag for the show, that is supposed to make you want to see the show is:

They'll Sell Everything But Their Friendship.

Barf.

What Convey and Baldwin should've done is write the ad campaign themselves. Because what Trust Me does is what Aaron Sorkin's Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip failed to do.

Eric McCormick and Tom Cavanagh are completely believable as a successful advertising duo.

Where as on Sorkin's show the leads were equally amazing Matthew Perry
and Bradley Whitford were never written as believable comedic geniuses that could pull of a successful comedy show. (To see how this is done, please see 30 Rock. Like, immediately. Right now.)

Ok, I admit it, I'm just still not over the loss of Studio 60. I love Aaron Sorkin's writing. I just wished he'd hire me to write the comedy aspects of the show.

Sidenote: NBC wants to forget Studio 60 was ever part of the family apparently: http://www.nbc.com/Studio_60_on_the_Sunset_Strip/

Anyway, Trust Me is the point here.

It's exciting to watch because it not only has a well executed premise, but the storylines are realistic and smart. While the show does center around the friendship of the two male leads, the supporting cast do a wonderful job creating a modern familial office feel. People are getting laid off, the agency is losing money, and everyone is working together as hard as they can on projects, while trying to have a personal life as well.

The nice thing is, they touch upon all of these real, trying problems with appropriate humor that you can't feel but feel a little upbeat after watching it.

Ahhh, relatability with humor. Dramedy done well is refreshing.
Thanks, TNT

Top Chef Season 5: And The Winner is...

2009-02-27T05:57:00.000-08:00

Hosea.

My reaction: zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

He's a nice enough guy, but can't one of the winners ever be a big personality?
Hosea is all fish, AND he wimped out on dessert.

Carla, man, what a heart break. Why did she not listen to her heart?
It's funny because you would think the bad pick was Hosea giving Stefan the alligator, but really the dud of the evening was Carla having to work with Casey. Her willingness to work with others' ideas was her downfall there.

I still would rather go to Alchemy Caterer's than Hosea's fish place. But either way, at least he showed Leah.

For more on Top Chef winner Hosea, read this interview where he basically admits that it's Richard that put him over the top.

TV's Go HD June 12

2009-02-23T12:40:00.000-08:00

Why not just get yourself cable now?

I mean, there's soooo many good shows.

Like Mad Men, which is supposedly returning summer 2009.

Ugh! I can't wait!

So, throw those bunny ears away pals, it's time to ring in '09. Hook it up!

Howie- Don't Do It

2009-02-20T14:19:00.000-08:00

Today a co-worker of mine brought up the show Howie Do It
and asked me, "So, do you know about that show?"

"No," I replied.

"Oh, ho ho really miss-I-love-tv-more-than-you? YOU don't know about a television show?"

"No, I only watch good tv."

I blocked this show from my brain after seeing the commercial. My question is, who was really longing for Punk'd and Candid Camera and decided, ya know who I can't get enough of? Howie Mandel.

It's not enough to watch him host the most pointless game show on television.
-Deal or No Deal is the equivalent of "How many fingers do I have behind my back?" except there's money. It's an hour long, and then a person that's not you gets money. I've literally optioned to watch paint dry instead.

Honestly, NBC, we have enough to fear on our minds right now, we don't need this...

LOST Bringin' it Back

2009-02-20T14:08:00.001-08:00

There's a lot of speculation regarding ABC's LOST. Many have doubted if it would ever go anywhere.
I believe this season pretty much proves all nay-sayers wrong.
I was really happy with this week's episode, 316.

For the past few season's LOST has given it's loyal followers a ton of information that has often left us with dumbfounded responses and confusion. Season 5's pretty much turned that around with time hopping through windows and character ties that are starting to really bind the story.

I'd give more information, but really, you just need to watch.

...or you can try to watch LOST: Untangled. Which, honestly is awfully produced to make you feel like you're retarded rather than a Guide to helping you understand.

If you want to take a quick route, try just buying Season 4
and watching some of the recap shows online.

Everything I Do, Family Guy, I Do It For You.

2009-02-16T13:04:00.000-08:00

Family Guy came back for an all new season this Sunday, February 15th and it was just what the doctor ordered.

There was pretty much everything you expect from a Family Guy episode: A song, a crazy scheme, funny random critiques of pop culture.

The best part, the part I think we all rewound and watched more than once was of course Stewie's song:

The Peter with Christian Bale tape ran too long, but was also good.

I think the most surprising part is that Bonnie finally had the baby. This was exciting for old timey fans like myself. It also makes the comment about the Bonnie/Louis sex tape a little more appealing, I guess?
Not sure what I'm talking about? You should watch more Spike Ferensten:

New in Comedic Variety

2009-02-16T10:55:00.001-08:00

There were three premiers this past week of new comedy/variety shows. I watched them all for you and have graded them on the class A-F scale.

The CollegeHumor Show - B+

Brought to you by the gang from the website CollegeHumor, this is a show loosely based on working at an Internet company with random sketches inserted in. As someone who works for a website, I enjoy the premise. A lot of the jokes made me sad though, mostly because I realized I am no longer in the "college humor" demographic. I'm 5 years out of college and I find a lot of these jokes out of my scope, but that doesn't mean it's not funny. It's a clever show that's definitely watchable, but if you're not someone who normallly watches MTV, don't bother switching over to this, you most likely won't be getting gauffaws.
If your channel surfing on a Sunday, check it out. It is definitely entertaining.
If you are in that demo - party on! (Do kids even say that anymore?)

Important Things with Demetri Martin - C+

I was skeptical of this show after watching Comedy Central's 2 minute preview last week. It didn't seem high energy and seemed to lack gut busting humor. I think this may be because I'm not a huge Demetri fan.

I tried to put all this bias aside and watch the entire premier with an open heart. I have to say, I feel as though he's an undeniabley talented fellow, but not really exciting to watch. The sketches he's in lack emotion, which was illustrated well in his sketch with Amanda Peet. I found the funniest sketch was one he wasn't even in which was a Diamonds are Forever parody commercial. Even this though, has been done.

This show was billed as the next Chapelle Show, and I have to say if that's what you're going for - it's a swing and a miss. If you're going for a sketch show, my suggestion is to downplay Demetri and add some high energy bit characters.

If you're a fan of the comic, you probably also enjoy other things I don't, such as Emo music and skinny boys with hair in their eyes. If that describes you, raise the grade to B+ and check this show out.

Delocated -A

Never heard of this show? Not a surprise. I beleive Demetri Martin bought all available ad space that this show could've been plugged in.

Delocated is brought to you by the very talented Jon Glazer, and the only downside is, it's only 15 minutes long. The premise is a family that is relocated via the witness protection program and willing to do a reality TV show. The catch is they had to have their vocal cords permenantly changed to disguise their voices and wear ski masks the entire time.

It's silly, but it's also laugh out loud funny. I think the best part so far would be Eugene Mirman's character as the Russian mobster that is after the Delocated character.

I found this show via word of mouth and am happy to spread it.
If you're a fan of Adult Swim definitely give this live action show a try.
If not, set your DVR's for this show, and tell your friends to check it out, too!

Reality TV Report February 2009

2009-02-15T13:38:00.000-08:00

There are a ton of new reality shows out there and some old ones that are interesting this year. Here's what's worth watching on the Sue Funke scale:

You HAVE to see this:

RuPaul's Drag Race - Do I really have to explain it after that tittle? Honey! It's hilarious tranny messes and successes at their bestests. Check out FREE Episodes by clicking here.

You Should Miss this:

Real Housewives of Orange County - Midlife rich bitches being catty. Here's your cliff's notes version:
Gretchen's fiance is wicked old, and dying. It's tough for her, and she claims not to get out of the hospital much but is never shown there except for some interviews taken in front of a sign that says HOSPITAL.

Tamra's a bitch. She also has a bizarre relationship with her son who obviously wants to bang a woman just like her. Oh, but feel bad for her because her parents got divorced when she was like 18.

I'm pretty sure if you put your ear to Lynne's you could hear the ocean. She's desperate to be the cool Mom, so her daughters are spoiled annoying brats. She seems to still be in love with her husband and vice versa, which is kinda sweet.

Jeana and Vicky? A little more crazy than previous seasons. It's a little disturbing how depressed Jeana is and Vicky's power hungriness has left her with no appetite at all for her poor good natured husband.

And Lauri left because even though she's got the story book life, her son's in prison and she wants to take care of her family. Wise choice Lauri. The ship is sinking. You got out!
Now, please add the f*ckin' E to your name.

If you haven't seen it by now...
You HAVE to see this season's Top Chef.

The characters that are cooking this season are THE best.
If you see one episode only make it Season 5's Kitchen Wars.
This regularly fan favorite episode of every season, pits two teams of 3 against each other to open a restaurant within a very limited amount of time.

Click here for the recap, and do yourself a favor and check out the next airing of this dramatic and fun episode.

Fun to watch if you're a chick

Jon and Kate Plus 8. The kids are adorable and the marriage squabbles funny, because it's not me.
If you ever felt your life was disorganized, Kate will make you feel worse.
Jon's reactions to Kate's understandable madness are also hilarious.

I don't understand the appeal, Ladies...
Of The Bachelor. I watch it and fear for that poor man's life. They all seem like crazy stalkers.
My pal Andrea blogs about it though and her humorous take aways almost make it seem worth while... I'd rather read her take though.
Click here to read Andrea's blog on the most awkward episode of the Bachelor.
Yipes. Mighty Awkward!

And, show of hands, who is still watching...

American Idol? It was on at a bar I was at (it was a very slow night) and I saw the judges sitting on thron-like chairs in a house setting. It was rather creepy. It looked like there was a rape room somewhere behind a wall facade.
That was probably the most exciting thing about Idol I have seen.

Girls Next Door? It's lost it's charm. We know the axe has fallen and they're going seperate ways, who cares if they go to New Orleans and realize Katrina still hasn't been cleaned up?

Let us know what you think, and if there are Reality TV shows out there I'm missing.
I'm guessing no.

Guest Blog- Mama Spell Loves TV, Too!

2009-02-15T13:28:00.000-08:00

While on hiatus due to moving I asked for submissions.

Here's my pal Sharon Mama Spell's take on TV:

I love television. I love the good shows and the not so good shows, and I even love the commercials. I mainly love how accessible it is for everybody, or at least it is until June 12th when the government mandates that all TV be digital. I'm not quite prepared for what comes next, as I don't currently have a cable subscription nor have I ordered the new converter box that will enable my current set to receive digital transmission.

And I must confess that as much as I love television, there have been times in my life where I lived without a tv in my home. The first time was when I was in college, you know, "the experimental years," and I had a friend who didn't have a television. I had never heard of such a thing as not owning a tv. He went so far as calling it a lightbulb -- a noisy lightbulb. That revolutionized my thinking, because I'd grown up in a house where the television was always on but light switches had to be off the second before you left an empty room.

After meeting that TVless friend in college I decided to live without it for a while. I technically did have two TVs still, but one was already broken and I took it apart and turned into an actual lamp, fashioning a stained glass screen for it. The second TV would turn on, but didn't pick up any channels, just "snow." I perched it on top of my refrigerator for an atmospheric night light in my kitchen.

I digress. I got back onto the television wagon when, for my 22nd birthday, my parents gave me a television set. After I'd expressly made a point to tell them I did not want a television set, my parents, actually my mother, decided that I did in fact need one. They showed up on my doorstep with the brand-new tv set still in the box, and I knew I was toast. I was able to pick up one, maybe 2 channels without cable, and that was that. I started getting hooked again. And in just a few short years I had developed full-blown cable. Again.

TV simultaneously isolates and connects us. You can be alone but not feel alone. I love tv as background noise while I work at home. I like having it on with the sound off during parties, or with the sound on at parties where I don't want to talk to people. I love tv!

But I got my love under wraps again after I moved to NYC, scaling back on my channel selection because my roommates and I don't have cable. And besides, I'm in NYC and I didn't come here to watch tv. But it is nice to come home to and unwind with.

And when I'm in that state of mind, I'll watch just about anything that's on. If I had cable, I'd probably never have watched Tyler Perry's House of Payne as it's pretty unwatchable. But it's on a lot and I do watch it. Oh, and my other guilty pleasure are those Sunday mornings when I can sleep in then catch the mini-marathon of DeGrassi TNG.

So here I am in the romantic phase of love again, and soon I need to decide whether to buy a TV converter box or not. I don't really like having to make a choice based on the order of a third party (unless it's community service to avoid jail time. That might not be so bad). I'd made the decision in the past to go without a tv set, nobody forced my hand. But now it looks like I'm facing an all or nothing agreement with the Feds. And after February 17th, if all non-digital tv fades to black, I'm not even sure if my current set would even work as a lightbulb. And on that note, if all non-digital cable fades to black, will future generations even know what tv "snow" is?

The big question is: if I love TV so much, why would living without a television even be a question again? Well as the saying goes, if you love something, set it free. If it's meant to be yours, it'll come back to you. No matter how many times I've tried to live without TV in my life, it keeps reentering, nestling itself into the crook of my arm saying, "I love you too, Mama Spell."

...My roommate and I just had a nice chat about getting cable.

-The above article was contribute by Mama Spell
She is not only a gifted writer, but she's also a comedian.
She hosts the FUN, FREE "Shrink" show at Otto's Shrunken Head EVERY WEDNESDAY at 8pm.
She's also a gifted artist:

Friday, February 20
I Love Paintings: An Introduction to The Art of Mama Spell
Closing Party
@ The Fall Cafe
307 Smith Street, Brooklyn, New York 11231
I’ll be showing old and new paintings at The Fall Cafe from January 16-February 25, 2009. More info TBA!
Free. 7-9 pm. (718) 403-0230

M.I.A Wins at Grammy's..

2009-02-09T07:20:00.001-08:00

Meanest Outfit Put on a Pregnant woman, ever.

OMG We're Talking Gossip Girl Here....

2008-12-16T08:25:00.000-08:00

Hey pals,

I am only one woman running this site, and I believe it takes a village to run a proper TV site. So, I've invited some pals to help make sure you see how much we love TV around here.

Today, we have a blog from Jen Kwok. She's talking about a show I've personally never been able to sit through but everyone talks about around the water cooler at work. Gossip Girl is all ova da place! I almost watched because of the OMFG posters which touted sexy romance, because I didn't have Showtime or HBO at that moment. But, the cable kicked in and I watched something creepy like Dexter (btw haven't seen the finale yet - don't you dare spoil it!)

So, enough of my rambling, here's some information about the show you may be embarrassed to love.
xoxo,
Funke

Gossip Girl: Season 2 Awards!

I’m because a) I had to miss the recent Ultimate Gossip Girl Summit III (UGGS3) on Saturday night, and b) this is the first night I’ve been in front of both a computer and a TV on a Monday night at 9pm in weeks, and it’s just a stupidhead rerun tonight!!!

We have to wait until 2009 for a new episode, so I thought I would take this time to reflect on Season 2 in my own miniminiminimini Gossip Girl Summit I (mmmmGGS1).

(click here to continue)

-Thanks to Jen Kwok for the story!

NBC Rocks Christmas Comedy in 2008

2008-12-14T11:58:00.001-08:00

It's been a long time coming, but the Christmas special did a comeback this year.

I don't know which I loved more, The Office or 30 Rock, but both shows made me laugh so hard.
See for yourself below...

The Office:

30 Rock

...and I have to throw down credit, even SNL had a Christmas skit that got a laugh from me, even though it ran a little too long (The dinner sketch/song sketch).
The saddest though, was saying good-bye to Amy Poehler:

We'll miss you!

Now go, watch these shows, they are TV Gods presents to you.

Happy Holidays :)
-Funke

Britney Documentary Live Blog Post 11

2008-11-30T20:00:00.000-08:00

And it's takeaway time...
what did we learn from Britney: For The Record

"...I love my babies. I work real hard."

"...I'll have a good book one day."

Um, what I learned is that Britney likes what she's doing, but really kinda hates her life.
Was that supposed to make me like her more?
Or buy her perfume?

And, the "after show"

How do you feel Britney?

"...ahh, good."

um, say it with me folks, cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching

Britney Documentary Live Blog Post 10

2008-11-30T19:52:00.000-08:00

...oh sure now you like your kids.
and your job.
Your life really is pretty boring.

Courtney and Laura Lynn BFF's seem similar to the planted old pal in Madonna's Truth or Dare tickets scene.

In all honesty, Truth or Dare is a great movie.
Do you think this documentary will parodied as wonderfully as this on SNL this Saturday??

Britney Documentary Live Blog Post 9

2008-11-30T19:44:00.000-08:00

Sad moment of tears where she admits she's so sad....
No one listens to her, because she's still not allowed to make choices for herself.

"I never get my way, ever.
...simple things that I should come naturally I don't get. And those are the things I want the most."

"There's no excitement or passion."

Well, that blows.

...um also she really didn't want those kids.
"My kids represented home, and I just didn't want to be home. I'd get into my car and drive anywhere."

Because as we know...

........
AND HOLY CRAP MADONNA CAMEO
...what the fuck is up with her eyebrow??

Britney Documentary Live Blog Post 8

2008-11-30T19:41:00.000-08:00

Britney's dad sounds like Boomauer from King of the Hill...

Britney Documentary Live Blog Post 7

2008-11-30T19:37:00.000-08:00

HA!

It's brought to you by...
her flippin perfume.

I'm lovin' it.

Britney Documentary Live Blog Post 6

2008-11-30T19:33:00.000-08:00

"My baby's daddy is there."
That's why Britney can't be in NY and has to be in LA.

She also sounds like she regrets having kids. Well, maybe not the kids themselves, but with Kevin.

Um, she also sounds kinda dumb.

But- let's not forget she's no Jessica Simpson.

Britney Documentary Live Blog Post 5

2008-11-30T19:25:00.000-08:00

OH! She had paparazzi following her on 14th street in NY right near where I work!
OMG!
New York minute!!
LOLZ

Seriously, it does look pretty shitty to be followed everywhere. That camera dude that went nuts was kinda scary.

I love the dramatic lighting during the "private person" discussion. Oh documentaries....let's bring back Behind the Music.
Who else is getting nostalgic for that?
Here's some memory lane for you.

Britney Documentary Live Blog Post 4

2008-11-30T19:18:00.003-08:00

-Her Dad crying about how pretty she is partially sweet/partially creepy cause you wonder if he's like,
cha-ching, cha-ching...
(Similar to this great SNL sketch with Tracy Morgan and Tim Meadows)

Britney Documentary Live Blog Post 3

2008-11-30T19:18:00.001-08:00

She talks about Justin!

Oh, America, how much do we love our gossip. We're like London with our paperazzi supporting interest.

But come on, it's Justin Timberlake.

We all love him.

And it's relatable how hard it is to get over first love.

Britney Documentary Live Blog Post 2

2008-11-30T19:09:00.000-08:00

I completely missed this video of hers that won best video?
I don't think I ever watched "You Want a Piece of Me"
Where was I?

...probably watching Pushing Daises.

Well, now I have more time for videos.

le sigh.

Britney Documentary Live Blog Post 1

2008-11-30T19:00:00.000-08:00

Oooooh you think you know but you have no idea,
this is the true life story of you having no freakin' idea

about Britney Spears.

Ok, so she wants to be Madonna, we all know this.

But don't say she's LL Cool J, she doesn't want to call this a comeback.
Apparently folks, what she wants us to know is she's been spoiled for years. I love the limo shot where she tells the driver to roll. Yep, this is every day, she's ordering the car to be driven...to where her dad wants her to go.

Britney Spears Documentary on MTV Event

2008-11-30T18:53:00.000-08:00

I am so excited.
I love Britney. I'm sorry, but I'm not even gonna lie here, I am excited about the new album.

And after the horrific performance of VMA 2007 tonight's documentary is supposed to pick up. In case you missed it, here's the clip:

CORRECTION: The documentary picks up after the 2008 redemption (let's be fair though, anyone looks better compared to that train-wreck host dude).

She's made what every American loves, a comeback and seems to be as good as she was in Toxic in this Womanizer video.
Here you can judge, I'll wait:
Video for Toxic
Video for Womanizer

And now she's gonna reveal the full story...let's see.

Favorite Fun Fact of the Day

2008-11-18T13:46:00.000-08:00

The guy who does the voice of Count Chocula,
is also the guy who does the voice of Lionel on Thunder Cats

AND
is Kerri Kenney's Dad!

...and now your moment of Kerri Kenney

W. Trailer Spoof from the Soup

2008-10-18T07:33:00.000-07:00

Cause it was a really great episode this week...another clip from the soup:

No need to thank me.

Britney's New Video: Soup Spoofed!

2008-10-18T07:24:00.000-07:00

I love the Soup, but I fell a little deeper after this spoof:

You're welcome.

Grey's Anatomy Jumps Shark, Then Stomps It to Death

2008-10-11T12:11:00.000-07:00

Let's see, when did the shark jumping exactly happen?

Was it when they had a prom in the hospital?
or
When Izzy resurrected the deer?
or
Was it when Christina fell after finally telling of Meredith and then an Icicle falls and stabs her?
Ding ding ding!

Seriously, what the fuck are these writers smoking. The great characters season 1 and 2 built have been killed by ridiculousness on Grey's Anatomy.

I'll tell you exactly when they shot themselves in the foot -
Meredith was almost dead, and then they let her live.
By far one of the most annoying characters in history, a flaw to the show she shares a titular name with, Meredith Grey adds nothing to Grey's Anatomy.
We could've had a great show without the whining, bitching, and indecisive moaning over her beautiful man and parental issues.

And then - you think, well maybe they realized all this when Christina tells her off (Episode 1 this season on ABC) and then they punish Christina's character with a falling icicle. Really? Really.

What happened writers? Did the strike make you insane. Why must the hospital face "black ice" and "floods" every week now?
Stop the tricks, tell the story about doctors and patients and relationships.
That's what people liked about the show. All this madness of elements is just a side story that is wasting time.
I am considering giving up that hour long silliness and find something else.

I hear the Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency has real drama.

FINALLY! A Family Show

2008-10-01T20:17:00.000-07:00

I had heard good things about ABC's Pushing Daises. So, I tuned in this evening. Perhaps it was the overwhelming saturation of subway ads that made me check in as well, but I figured- season 2 is the time for me to jump in.

It was super easy to follow. I mean super easy. Like narrator, director and actors take you by the hand and tell you exactly what's going on.

This show is fun. It feels a little last season X-Files hokey, but it's cute. I highly recommend it if you have a High Def television, because visually it's stunning.

The really exciting thing about this show - it's on at 8pm, and it's something the family could really all enjoy together without having to endure horrible cheesy triteness like, oh I dunno... 3 and a Half Men (WHY AMERICA? WHY?.. step forward and let me know how it's possible that you've watched more than 5 minutes of that show.)

Parents may be concerned that it deals with death (The main characters are detectives. One of them has the ability to bring people back from death for a minute to ask them how they died, but no longer, or else someone else dies.) but it's Disneyish death, so don't shelter your kids. Snuggle with them and watch this cute, quirky show.

If I haven't sold you yet on checking it out: Swoozie Kurtz (Sisters, Reality Bites) and Ellen Greene (Audry from Little Shop of Horrors!!) and Kristin Chenoweth playing a tough adorable blonde (shock!)

Seriously, next Wednesday at 8pm EST you should try Pushing Daises.

30 Rock Fans - Premier is THIS THURSDAY

2008-10-01T09:17:00.000-07:00

on Hulu.
Check it, to create buzz on this Emmy Award winning show, NBC is allowing the premier of the 3rd Season of 30 Rock to hit hulu first.

So, on Thursday, October 2nd check here for the newest episode!

This is pretty great stuff. They also premiered Knight Rider...and that shitty show Life on Hulu. Snooze.

The early premier is not uncommon this season. I watched Californication on Showtime On Demand before it's Sunday premier. It was decent. I'm into the new direction the show is taking now that he's got his love back. I definitely recommend giving it a shot.
But, if there's any show to get into this season on Showtime, it's Dexter. Good lord, worth the hype! Great new season, great new direction. I'm actually excited to see Jimmy Smits join the cast with a great character and surprising accent.
Check out the website, now with creepy overlay.

My Review of Heroes, as Texted to Arthur Carlson

2008-10-01T09:02:00.000-07:00

(SPOILER ALERT! This will reveal what happens in episode 3 of Heroes Season 3)

Sent at 12:02AM, Wednesday, October 1st

Watched heroes, my take: Hiro's plot is the cartoonish japanimation plot - the Dragon Ball to the darker plot line's Dragon Ball Z - if I may totally dork out.

Now, this new Sylar with the Petrelli Mom, is a little bit of a fun reversal of the "Luke I am Your Father", but I dig it.

Overall, I feel this season is all a comic book live action tv show which i love, but fear that at times it toes the line of adam west circa 68 batman that i love for its campiness but would hate to see heroes go that way because it has such potential.

Speaking of potential - why is it that tracy just abandons myka?

He has the power to talk to machines, not raise himself.

Thing I think probably bugged you the most:
a. The Peter on Peter action
b. The Dragon Ball plot
c. The Sylar Petrelli storyline
My guess is b.

....My apologies to Arthur's fiance, Andrea who most likely woke up to the sound of ten text messages coming in at such an hour.

Apparently, This is Offensive

2008-09-23T11:49:00.000-07:00

But, I'm more excited cause Kumail, an awesome local New York Comic, is in it:

SNL Makes Light of Incest Slur on Palin Family
Uploaded by bustergonad1

He's the second dude to be asked his name. He's got two lines! Congrats pal!

PS - Um, what happened to SNL's writing? Whew, hit it with the Palin thing last week and now nose diving to sketches that just go too long. My friend Gina put it best, "I watched SNL Saturday...where's the funny?"

Oh America, You Watch Such Crap

2008-09-23T11:39:00.000-07:00

Really? You watched Kim Kardashin's ass rather than Heroes last night.
Really?

Heroes was so freakin' good it would've melted your face off, is that why? You can't handle outstanding original story lines and really great acting.
I'm sorry but last night's return of Heroes was fun. It was two hours of television worth watching.
I'm at least happy to see that after a long summer hiatus from great network drama Heroes returned with an actual plot and characters I look forward to watching.

Also, this was the season to start watching as it's really heating up. The idea that it's called Villains was less appealing than watching people try to ballroom dance? Oh America, you used to enjoy action.

I sigh heavily and hope that NBC keeps this amazing season going cause for the love of God it was a good return.

Also, can someone please tell the Cheerleader that if you can be upset about not feeling pain, you're still human because you have emotion. That really bugged me last night. Everything else those, stellar.

Get into it people:

Scrubs wins "Best Music"

2008-09-21T06:38:00.000-07:00

In my personal award ceremony which is me on the couch, eating cheese and saying aloud to my cats, "Scrubs has the best musical integration of any comedy series I've ever seen."

And I figured I should back up this claim with some examples.
First we've got guest musicians, and when I say guest musicians, really it's Colin Hayes appearance I speak of, because it's awesome:

Then we've got the Turk's proposal to Carla, which has the Old 97's singing one of my favorite songs:

And, the most recent clip that I watched that really drove home how great they are with integrating music:

So congrats to Scrubs on me saying that about your music.
As you can see, the Funke awards are the least formal award event. In fact, I'm writing this in my sweat pants.

Stephen Schnetzern Resurfaces My Love of "Another World"

2008-09-18T21:44:00.001-07:00

Are you even old enough to remember Another World?
It was an NBC soap opera that ran from 1965 - 1999. (Not to be confused with The Cosby Show spin off, A Different World.)
It was also always the lesser soap opera in my mind, for it paled in comparison to it's back-to-back buddy Days of Our Lives (I mean Marlena was a freakin' demon people.)

Another World had one good thing about it, Cass. He was the male voice of reason on the show. This is part of the reason my mother and I loved him so, but the root of our love for him was his voice.

Cass was played by Stephen Schnetzern, and though you might not have seen for nearly a decade, you've heard his voice. He does car commercials, drug commercials...I hear his voice quite often. I'm always pretty sure, but never a hundred percent.

But tonight, I was validated. While watching SVU (seriously, it's almost always on.) all of the sudden dear ole Cass/ Stephen Schnetzern walks on plugging Aleve.

Good for you Stephen Schnetzern for still getting work. It's very good to hear :)

Fun Facts I learned while researching this article:
-Stephen Schnetzern is a Gemini with Capricorn rising, same as Paul Newman (interested?)
-Some ladies on the forums at SoapNet think he's "gotten even sexier.. if that's possible!"
-I have way too much free time on my hands

Tina Fei is Sarah Palin

2008-09-15T20:14:00.000-07:00

And Amy Poehler is Hilary Clinton...
and combined they make me damn proud to be a female comedian.
Seriously, this is television history, you must watch this:

Britney Introducing the VMA's...

2008-09-07T21:28:00.001-07:00

was better than last year's debacle.
She's still a Micky Mouse Club comedic actress.

I apologize to loyal readers, and thank you for your mail, even though you were pissed I wasn't updating.
My good pal and writing partner Joe Powers was in an accident. He's doing better day-by-day, life goes on, and well, he harped on me to start this blog in the first place, so I hope to be back to regular posting this week.

News on Mad Men and more on the VMA's and other TV dirt soon to follow.

For now though, please go enjoy some comedy from comedian Joe Powers

...for the record, I am wooing for the LOVE of America's Funniest Home Videos.

Isaac Hayes Sheds His Meat Body

2008-08-13T07:13:00.000-07:00

The death of Isaac Hayes is of course tragic, sad, and a little creepy cause one of his last appearances was in a movie called Soul Men which also starred Bernie Mac and Samuel L. Jackson (watch your back SLJ!!).

The world will of course miss Isaac Hayes, for he was a sexy mother
- shut my mouth?
I'm just talking about Chef.
You dig it.

That's right pals, as you know the Chef character of South Park was voiced by Isaac Hayes until a creative/religous difference came between South Park creators, Matt Stone and Trey Parker and the soul musician.

It was all over one of my favorite episode of South Park entitled "Trapped in the Closet" that explained actual Scientology beliefs, and of course, mocked them. Isaac Hayes believed in Scientology and was extremely offended and left the show, resulting in the episode "Return of Chef" where they wrote the character off in a bitter sweet/hilarious way. (The links in this paragraph link to South Park Studios where you can see every single episode of South Park for FREE)

Since Isaac Hayes was a Scientologist though, where does this leave him now that he's dead? Well, according to Slate he's shed his "meat body" and his spirit will inhabit another one, or just move on to an even higher state.

So, we here at I Love TV More Than You wish Isaac Hayes' spirit a safe journey to his new vessel, or beyond. Bon Voyage Soul Man!

It's Sunny on September 18th

2008-08-11T12:23:00.000-07:00

Get psyched It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia pals, the best insulting comedy is coming back for a fourth season.
Here's a great little cast interview with fellow TV dorks (head dork Damon Lindelof, creator of LOST, heads the panel...don't worry, we'll get into LOST here soon, very soon). at comic con:

Have We Won The Olympics Yet?

2008-08-10T08:17:00.001-07:00

Some people don't like the Olympics.
When I watched a lot of daytime TV it was my worst enemy. I'm tunning in to see what's up with Bo and Hope on Days of Our Lives and instead of hunky men and crazy story lines, I'm getting post pubescent girls looking like prepubescent girls jumping around my screen.
This year though, I'm actually quite into the Olympics. I even work up early to watch the "Redeem Team" do what they need to do to take our sport back...the fact that the games are also in HD and I have a lovely 46 inch plasma is also a nice bonus.

If you don't want to watch the game, but wanna know how we're doing, here's some help:

Olympic Medal winners at NBC Olympics.com!

Christian Slater the New Kiefer Sutherland?

2008-08-10T08:03:00.000-07:00

For a long time movie actors believed TV actors to be beneath them.
Then, Kiefer Sutherland rejuvenated his career by becoming Jack Bower in Fox's Die Hard serial action/drama 24. He pretty much single handedly made it ok for the cross over to occur.

So, it shouldn't shock anyone to see Christian Slater coming over to the small screen in this fall's My Own Worst Enemy on NBC. But, I admit, I was still a little surprised.

Slater hasn't been the movie star he once was, it's been a while...when was Heathers? Anyway, he's still someone who's in the Americana movie star love, so people will tune in out of curiosity. It sounds like adventure lovers will be pleasantly surprised with this show.

With a plot line that's ridiculous similar to The Bourne Identity, Slater plays a family man who is starting to think he's got an alternative personality that's a spy. The twist - he's going to a shrink to help piece it all together.

Many critics think it has promise, and I have to admit the commercials look good - but I'm on the fence about whether or not I'll watch this program. I'm also really disappointed that there's no new comedies being hyped. Do we really need another action drama?

Bernie Mac Dies at 50, Way Too Soon

2008-08-09T07:19:00.001-07:00

Sad news America, Bernie Mac has died.
Apparently, Mac had sarcoidsis which is a lung disease that makes having pnemonia deadly.

This is indeed quite a loss. Not only did Mac have a family sitcom sitcom where he and his wife took in his two nieces and one hilarious nephew:

Mac was also a gifted comic. He struggled for years before he became famous and spent way too few years living comfortably off of his talents.

RIP Bernie Mac

Family Guy Lovers- Don't Say I Never Gave You Anything

2008-08-08T12:05:00.000-07:00

Here's a treat I stumbled upon on Hulu- an interview with the people behind Family Guy.
This clip has a really good "failed joke" that I hope to see sometime soon...

Mad Men Season 2 Episode 2 Delivers

2008-08-05T19:27:00.000-07:00

psst...Mad Men Fans,

What did you think of episode two of the second season?

Me?

I'm waaaay more psyched about this episode than the premier.
From beginning to end all characters came out of hiding.

*SPOILER ALERT*
Don was stern, Roger Sterling was back to his sardonic reactions.
Penny's baby storyline was delved into, and Pete Campbell classically bottled (or should I say canned?) up the emotion about his father's death, and the way the new dude loops Pete in when Dan isn't there to be his father figure is just ruthless business that advertising knows best.

Well, I'm not going to recap the entire show. I just wanted to share the enthusiasm for the second season. I'm psyched for Sundays again.

(If you can't wait, check it out on SurfTheChannel)

Effective Promotional Advertising of a TV Show

2008-08-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

In Plain Site, a new show on USA Network finally caught my eye tonight as I was watching- big shock here, Law & Order SVU.

I've seen ads for the show before, it didn't really catch me as a show I'd want to watch.
Similar to ads for Burn Notice, there was an all-too-perfect Hollywoodesq lighting/dialogged/ "action-packedness" of it
-that was heightened by the fact that the star is not only always smokin', f'in, hot under pressure,
but she also has the same name on-screen and off.

Now, I love Tony Danza - Who's the Boss was a really great show. Taxi, far better.
(Daytime talk show? What daytime talk show?)
But it has long been told that his characters on those shows being named "Tony" was no coincidence.
See, Tony Danza was a boxer before a comedy star. It's been said that he had to have the same name as his character because he was hit in the head a few too many times and can only answer to that.
Now, that might be true, might be false.
But, you gotta admit, you could believe it.

Anyway, the main character on In Plain Sight is named Mary Shannon,
which is played by Mary McCormack
...I'm just sayin', perhaps she's not the brightest contender in the mental olympics.

Well, anyway in the most recent episode trailer she's no longer shiny sex machine safety monitor, she gets roughed up.
I'm not saying I want to see her get hit - but I am saying that she's finally not perfect looking, I'm talkin' walked off a billboard and ran after bad guys still looking that pristine, perfect looking.

And now, it actually seems like her character might have depth.
She's possibly a stronger character that's going to have to overcome adversity by using her mind.
And television that has that kind of character on it, I'd check out.

So, yes USA, you've reeled me into yet another one of your shows.
Let's see if you can deliver.

I'm Way Into Spoofisodes

2008-08-02T08:23:00.000-07:00

Psych on USA Networks 10pm on Fridays - Epsiode: Murder? …Anyone? …Anyone? …Bueller? Gus Does Not Spoof of- John Huges films/ Brat Pack

Why I Love It - Great homage to John Huges films. I recommend it for anyone who loves/loved/watched a lot of John Huges films, or ever had a crush on anyone in the Brat Pack

The episode was set at a High School Reunion, which is often a great set up for humor. The detective buddy show took the "murder at the high school" case and threw in fun John Hughes nods, and flat out obvious call-outs that led to great references:

Sean refers to suspects/ high school sweet hearts as Molly Ringwald, and Andrew McCarthy from Fresh Horses (Not a Hughes film, but a Brat Pack one)
Sean's "picture tag" is of Judd Nelson
Sean does a Breakfast Club style dance to solve crime
Sean introduces himself as Abe Froman and then asks "Andrew McCarthy" if he's taped Larry Lester's butt cheeks together.
In the car with his father, Sean mentions The Breakfast Club, Curly Sue, and Flubber, as all having a "Ducky" Character - then asks his dad for his underwear for a few hours.

Basically, the Sean character is desperately making this episode a Hughes/Brat Pack spoofisode.

The most hilarious part to me, the accident that leads up to the murder -
eerily similar to the Matthew Broderick accident that is rarely mentioned.

I was dorkily delighted the entire episode, but totally jumped off my couch with glee with the last scene of the episode...watch the whole episode, it's so worth it:

PSA's: Don't Do Drugs

2008-07-30T07:39:00.000-07:00

In a reminiscing moment my pal remembered this wonderful ditty:
"Users are losers,
and losers are users,
so don't do drugs,
Don't do drugs!"

I immediately went to youtube to try to find the 25 year old commercial with McGruff and stumbled upon this amazing PSA:

Thanks Pee Wee! (creeepy)
My pal's response -
"Remember when everyone thought little kids would get into crack? So whack!"

Anyway, here's the McGruff one:

For more ad council fun - check this out.