Instead of spamming my poor friends who follow me on Twitter for my personal life, rather than my tv obsession, I'll try to keep some of that information aside and post it here instead.
- It's a sad day for television writers, entertainment writers, television bloggers, and audiences alike. David Mills, the writer/producer behind many loved shows such as "NYPD Blue", "E.R.", and the upcoming HBO series "Treme" passed away from a brain aneurysm last night. An inspiration to any with interest in television, he and "Treme" co-creator David Simon have done what many of us wish we could for a living - write about television, then write for television, and leave behind a wonderful legacy. Even if you aren't familiar with his work, please visit What's Alan Watching? to read Alan Sepinwall's rememberance of his friend.
- Though not television related, it's still worth noting, especially because of the impact this film had on students and teachers alike. Jamie Escalante, the teacher who became the inspiration for the film Stand and Deliver, also passed away yesterday.
- If you haven't done so already, please make sure to visit Watch With Kristin's Save One Show campaign. The on-the-bubble show that receives the most support from fans will get an extra push from E! to try to keep the show from a premature cancellation. Get out and vote, and don't forget that you can also campaign for your favorite show on Twitter (just reply to @kristinalert and add the hashtag #SOS). If you feel some conflict over what to choose, consider visiting the TV Addict for some helpful advice regarding the choices (although feel free to disregard his suggestion to ignore "Better Off Ted" - I refuse to let that show die!).
UPDATE: Watch With Kristin has posted an update to the campaign, revealing the Top 5 shows thus far - thankfully both "Chuck"and "Better Off Ted" have a position there. As a personal plea, please vote for both of them.
- Can anyone explain why there is a dog featured on the cover of Rolling Stone along with the cast of "Glee"? Seriously. Is it a future plot spoiler?!
- Speaking of "Glee", if you live near one of these awesome cities, consider checking out the early screening of "Hello", the first new episode of the hit series (premieres April 13th). All the money from the screenings are being donated the Grammy Foundation's Grammy In The Schools. See "Glee" early and support a good cause. Win win win.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
The Evolution of a TV Slut
I have a bad habit.
I have many shows that I want to watch. I get half-way through them before I get distracted by another show. And then I get distracted by another show. And another. Which explains how I've gone through like 15 series since the beginning of summer.
I graduated this past May, and made a list of television shows I wanted to watch over the "summer" (summer being a loose term - since I wasn't going back to classes in the fall, I had no real time constraints). It was mainly to serve as a way to deal with my sudden aloneness and free time.
Let's see - from what I can remember, the original list included: Chuck, LOST, Grey's Anatomy, Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and I think one other.
I went with Chuck first, because I needed some humor in my life. As I finished Chuck, I was introduced to Better Off Ted. It was in the middle of its first season, so I didn't have much to catch up on. 6 episodes maybe? Quick and easy - I knocked them out in an afternoon.
Then I moved on to Saved By The Bell. Odd choice, for sure. But I had just signed on to Netflix, and this was around the time of Zack Morris' guest appearance on Jimmy Fallon. I took a brief break from SbtB to finish Season 1 of Eureka with my best friend (at the time) and to get them hooked on Chuck. He left me with Season 1 of Bones and Season 2 of Eureka to finish before he left for grad school at the end of summer.
As I finished Saved by the Bell, I came across What I Like About You. A cute show starring Amanda Bynes, who is the leading lady in many of my favorite movies. Sorry - it's impossible to hate her. She has a unique style of comedy that I find endearing. I'd watched a fair amount of What I Like About You while I was still in college (how I miss afternoons off from classes, when I'd park myself on the couch and watch ABCFamily for hours), and had the first season on DVD, but I never had a steady viewing of it. Now it was running every day on The N (shut up, I know I'm a giant kid), and I had a DVR in my new apartment. Score. Weekend marathons only served to help my endeavor.
So now we've reached July? and I still haven't hardly made a dent in my original list. I did sneak in a few episodes of Firefly during a slow work day. But then I got sucked into Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. Look, it's not that great of a show, ok? But it has Ryan Reynolds and Nathan Fillion in it. HELLO. That alone will keep me watching all four seasons...and it's funny. Ok. Get season one downloaded, and later seasons three and four, and wait over six months before I can get ahold of season two.
I make a brief return to Grey's Anatomy (a show I had dropped after the horrific third season), but gave that back up almost immediately. Somehow then I got into Psych. I make it through most of the first season, and fall in love. But yet again, before I can continue any further, I get distracted again - I think that was during October, which is honestly a blur of emotions and drama.
Of course, by this point, fall TV is in full swing. So I have plenty of television to watch and rewatch now - The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Greek, Gossip Girl, Glee, Modern Family, Cougar Town, The Middle, and for awhile, Community and The Office. I gave both of those up around November, for reasons of laziness and exhaustion.
Then the later return of Scrubs and Better Off Ted also throw me away from my original television goals. In December I finally get around to those Season One Bones DVDs, thanks to bestfriend/boyfriend's obsession with it. Bones and I bond over Christmas, and make brief reunions whenever Boyfriend visits.
Then in late January, I immerse myself in the project that started this blog - LOST. I take a detour back to Community during a weekend of boredom, and then after viewing the baby episode of The Office, I dive back into that, starting at the beginning and getting fully caught up.
In the last few weeks, I put my computer into overdrive, downloading shows to prevent headaches from rewatching the same crap over and over. Finally I get the second season of Two Guys and a Girl, and get caught up in What I Like About You (again - I know). That entertains me quite well till iTunes enters the picture, offering up the first two seasons of Daria (if you don't know what that is, you're too young to be here) for a reasonable price, followed by the first season of 10 Things I Hate About You for free (I will not say no to free television - it's how I got hooked on Greek and How I Met Your Mother). And that's where we are today.
So to sum up, here's my status on TV shows:
Chuck - finished
LOST - stuck somewhere in Season 3, with plans to return soon
Grey's Anatomy - forget it; I don't care enough
Pushing Daisies - ..hunh?
Firefly - only three episodes done
Better Off Ted - finished
Eureka - stuck on Season 2
Saved By the Bell - finished
What I Like About You - finished; currently rewatching
Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place - stuck in the middle of Season 2; currently watching
Psych - stuck on Season 2
Bones - stuck on Season 3; still need to finish 2 episodes from Season 1 and 5 episodes from Season 2
How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Greek, Gossip Girl, Chuck, Scrubs, Better Off Ted, Glee, Modern Family, The Middle, Cougar Town, The Office, Community - all caught up on, save for a few recent episodes of The Middle
Daria - in the middle of Season 2; currently watching
10 Things I Hate About You - finished
Told you it's a bad habit (and remember - this is just from the last 10 months. Imagine what all I went through during college!! Trust me - it includes most of the shows that are currently on, and then some).
Is it any wonder that 1) it took me months to start LOST, and 2) that I'm STILL on a break from it?
I think I should probably get back to the those that are stuck in the middle of season....
I have many shows that I want to watch. I get half-way through them before I get distracted by another show. And then I get distracted by another show. And another. Which explains how I've gone through like 15 series since the beginning of summer.
I graduated this past May, and made a list of television shows I wanted to watch over the "summer" (summer being a loose term - since I wasn't going back to classes in the fall, I had no real time constraints). It was mainly to serve as a way to deal with my sudden aloneness and free time.
Let's see - from what I can remember, the original list included: Chuck, LOST, Grey's Anatomy, Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and I think one other.
I went with Chuck first, because I needed some humor in my life. As I finished Chuck, I was introduced to Better Off Ted. It was in the middle of its first season, so I didn't have much to catch up on. 6 episodes maybe? Quick and easy - I knocked them out in an afternoon.
Then I moved on to Saved By The Bell. Odd choice, for sure. But I had just signed on to Netflix, and this was around the time of Zack Morris' guest appearance on Jimmy Fallon. I took a brief break from SbtB to finish Season 1 of Eureka with my best friend (at the time) and to get them hooked on Chuck. He left me with Season 1 of Bones and Season 2 of Eureka to finish before he left for grad school at the end of summer.
As I finished Saved by the Bell, I came across What I Like About You. A cute show starring Amanda Bynes, who is the leading lady in many of my favorite movies. Sorry - it's impossible to hate her. She has a unique style of comedy that I find endearing. I'd watched a fair amount of What I Like About You while I was still in college (how I miss afternoons off from classes, when I'd park myself on the couch and watch ABCFamily for hours), and had the first season on DVD, but I never had a steady viewing of it. Now it was running every day on The N (shut up, I know I'm a giant kid), and I had a DVR in my new apartment. Score. Weekend marathons only served to help my endeavor.
So now we've reached July? and I still haven't hardly made a dent in my original list. I did sneak in a few episodes of Firefly during a slow work day. But then I got sucked into Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place. Look, it's not that great of a show, ok? But it has Ryan Reynolds and Nathan Fillion in it. HELLO. That alone will keep me watching all four seasons...and it's funny. Ok. Get season one downloaded, and later seasons three and four, and wait over six months before I can get ahold of season two.
I make a brief return to Grey's Anatomy (a show I had dropped after the horrific third season), but gave that back up almost immediately. Somehow then I got into Psych. I make it through most of the first season, and fall in love. But yet again, before I can continue any further, I get distracted again - I think that was during October, which is honestly a blur of emotions and drama.
Of course, by this point, fall TV is in full swing. So I have plenty of television to watch and rewatch now - The Big Bang Theory, How I Met Your Mother, Greek, Gossip Girl, Glee, Modern Family, Cougar Town, The Middle, and for awhile, Community and The Office. I gave both of those up around November, for reasons of laziness and exhaustion.
Then the later return of Scrubs and Better Off Ted also throw me away from my original television goals. In December I finally get around to those Season One Bones DVDs, thanks to bestfriend/boyfriend's obsession with it. Bones and I bond over Christmas, and make brief reunions whenever Boyfriend visits.
Then in late January, I immerse myself in the project that started this blog - LOST. I take a detour back to Community during a weekend of boredom, and then after viewing the baby episode of The Office, I dive back into that, starting at the beginning and getting fully caught up.
In the last few weeks, I put my computer into overdrive, downloading shows to prevent headaches from rewatching the same crap over and over. Finally I get the second season of Two Guys and a Girl, and get caught up in What I Like About You (again - I know). That entertains me quite well till iTunes enters the picture, offering up the first two seasons of Daria (if you don't know what that is, you're too young to be here) for a reasonable price, followed by the first season of 10 Things I Hate About You for free (I will not say no to free television - it's how I got hooked on Greek and How I Met Your Mother). And that's where we are today.
So to sum up, here's my status on TV shows:
Chuck - finished
LOST - stuck somewhere in Season 3, with plans to return soon
Grey's Anatomy - forget it; I don't care enough
Pushing Daisies - ..hunh?
Firefly - only three episodes done
Better Off Ted - finished
Eureka - stuck on Season 2
Saved By the Bell - finished
What I Like About You - finished; currently rewatching
Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place - stuck in the middle of Season 2; currently watching
Psych - stuck on Season 2
Bones - stuck on Season 3; still need to finish 2 episodes from Season 1 and 5 episodes from Season 2
How I Met Your Mother, The Big Bang Theory, Greek, Gossip Girl, Chuck, Scrubs, Better Off Ted, Glee, Modern Family, The Middle, Cougar Town, The Office, Community - all caught up on, save for a few recent episodes of The Middle
Daria - in the middle of Season 2; currently watching
10 Things I Hate About You - finished
Told you it's a bad habit (and remember - this is just from the last 10 months. Imagine what all I went through during college!! Trust me - it includes most of the shows that are currently on, and then some).
Is it any wonder that 1) it took me months to start LOST, and 2) that I'm STILL on a break from it?
I think I should probably get back to the those that are stuck in the middle of season....
Friday, March 12, 2010
Scrubs - "My Driving Issues"
It's probably pointless to write about this show. As much as I really don't want to admit it, this is likely the second to last episode we're ever going to see.
I know people have been relatively divided over this season. Yes, it's not the same show we know and loved over the past 8 years (well, if you've been watching since the beginning). After I watched the first episode of the season, I felt...disappointed. But then I watched it again. And again.
It was hilarious. The second episode was even better. With each episode, they found their stride. The show really hit a high point once J.D. was out of the picture. Sure, Lucy can be quite annoying (but the running joke of her obsession with horses constantly kills). Sometimes Cole is too much of an idiot to bare. But overall the show is one of the highlights in my week.
I love the dynamic between Drew and Denise. You don't often see relationships like theirs - one that is so twisted that it works. And I mean that in a positive way. They are like the younger version of Cox and Jordan. It's twisted, it's illogical, but it works! And they are happy! It shows that not every relationship is based in flowers and mushy affection. Sometimes it's just mutual respect and the ability to understand one another and make the person laugh. In my mind, it's how all relationships should be portrayed. Then maybe we wouldn't have all these kids growing up with the idealistic fantasies (spurned on by years of Disney movies) of what love and a relationship is. *gets off preaching stool*
There's not too much that can be said about Cox and Turk that hasn't been explored in the past 8 seasons. They've grown up. I've loved seeing their interactions without being weighed down by JD (seriously, he was the major misstep in this season - he went back to being whiny and demanding and it dragged the season down). They serve as good mentors to the students.
Why am I writing all this about a show that will likely not be on after next week? Because. It's a good show. Unfortunately it's never gotten the audience it deserves, thanks to the missteps of NBC and ABC. I feel like the shows deserves at least a few more episodes, if not a full season, to give full resolution and understanding to these med students. I know next week's episode isn't a finale (series or season). It's just another day in these character's lives. Maybe that allows us to imagine what will go forward, but I'd rather know than speculate.
I've really missed my Tuesday night comedies (don't even get me started on the travesty of potentially losing "Better Off Ted"), so this episode back was a welcome relief. I got more of what I love about this season - seemingly heartless interactions between Drew and Denise, Cole and Lucy and their silliness, and Cox and Kelso relationship. I love the dynamic shift between these two - from enemies to understanding one another to full-blown friendship. It pained me to see Kelso dread getting older as much as it did him. I'm one of those people who hate when the weaknesses come through when you try so hard to keep them hidden. Kelso is a proud man, and to admit that his age was beginning to play a factor in his life was sad.
I know that wasn't much to say about the episode when I waxed on about the season, but really, doesn't that say it all? This was a solid episode in a season that I've really enjoyed while so many have harshed on it (or ignored it all together). Next week is the finale, and then most likely we will be waiting till May to find out its fate. This isn't like last year, when the series could have ended and everyone would have been fine with it. There are still stories to tell, and I'll be one of those people who keeps holding out hope for this show to pull out another miraculous recovery (ha, I made a medical funny!).
I know people have been relatively divided over this season. Yes, it's not the same show we know and loved over the past 8 years (well, if you've been watching since the beginning). After I watched the first episode of the season, I felt...disappointed. But then I watched it again. And again.
It was hilarious. The second episode was even better. With each episode, they found their stride. The show really hit a high point once J.D. was out of the picture. Sure, Lucy can be quite annoying (but the running joke of her obsession with horses constantly kills). Sometimes Cole is too much of an idiot to bare. But overall the show is one of the highlights in my week.
I love the dynamic between Drew and Denise. You don't often see relationships like theirs - one that is so twisted that it works. And I mean that in a positive way. They are like the younger version of Cox and Jordan. It's twisted, it's illogical, but it works! And they are happy! It shows that not every relationship is based in flowers and mushy affection. Sometimes it's just mutual respect and the ability to understand one another and make the person laugh. In my mind, it's how all relationships should be portrayed. Then maybe we wouldn't have all these kids growing up with the idealistic fantasies (spurned on by years of Disney movies) of what love and a relationship is. *gets off preaching stool*
There's not too much that can be said about Cox and Turk that hasn't been explored in the past 8 seasons. They've grown up. I've loved seeing their interactions without being weighed down by JD (seriously, he was the major misstep in this season - he went back to being whiny and demanding and it dragged the season down). They serve as good mentors to the students.
Why am I writing all this about a show that will likely not be on after next week? Because. It's a good show. Unfortunately it's never gotten the audience it deserves, thanks to the missteps of NBC and ABC. I feel like the shows deserves at least a few more episodes, if not a full season, to give full resolution and understanding to these med students. I know next week's episode isn't a finale (series or season). It's just another day in these character's lives. Maybe that allows us to imagine what will go forward, but I'd rather know than speculate.
I've really missed my Tuesday night comedies (don't even get me started on the travesty of potentially losing "Better Off Ted"), so this episode back was a welcome relief. I got more of what I love about this season - seemingly heartless interactions between Drew and Denise, Cole and Lucy and their silliness, and Cox and Kelso relationship. I love the dynamic shift between these two - from enemies to understanding one another to full-blown friendship. It pained me to see Kelso dread getting older as much as it did him. I'm one of those people who hate when the weaknesses come through when you try so hard to keep them hidden. Kelso is a proud man, and to admit that his age was beginning to play a factor in his life was sad.
I know that wasn't much to say about the episode when I waxed on about the season, but really, doesn't that say it all? This was a solid episode in a season that I've really enjoyed while so many have harshed on it (or ignored it all together). Next week is the finale, and then most likely we will be waiting till May to find out its fate. This isn't like last year, when the series could have ended and everyone would have been fine with it. There are still stories to tell, and I'll be one of those people who keeps holding out hope for this show to pull out another miraculous recovery (ha, I made a medical funny!).
Taking a LOST break
I swear the project isn't dead (despite the fact that it's been about a month since I've watched any episodes).
Promise!!
I've just...been distracted! I spent a week visiting New York and DC, where my television options were reduced to "Friends" and "Bones". I'm not complaining, fyi.
Since returning from my trip, I've been trying to "figure out my life" and "plan for the future", and other such annoying cliches as such. I've also been caught up with the resurgence of "How I Met Your Mother" (this week's episode was one of my favorites in the series), the short return of "Scrubs", and all my other favorites.
But!!! The project is not forgotten! I'm still hoping to be caught up before this legendary final season is finished. I want to be able to watch the finale with everyone else and know exactly what is going on. I'm halfway through the series - just need to get it done.
In the mean time, I'm going to try to be good and get back into television blogging again. It's a habit I've started and stopped way too many times, and I really need to maintain it (for my sanity - seriously). So hopefully soon I'll start getting some entries in for other shows.
Much love peep(s).
Promise!!
I've just...been distracted! I spent a week visiting New York and DC, where my television options were reduced to "Friends" and "Bones". I'm not complaining, fyi.
Since returning from my trip, I've been trying to "figure out my life" and "plan for the future", and other such annoying cliches as such. I've also been caught up with the resurgence of "How I Met Your Mother" (this week's episode was one of my favorites in the series), the short return of "Scrubs", and all my other favorites.
But!!! The project is not forgotten! I'm still hoping to be caught up before this legendary final season is finished. I want to be able to watch the finale with everyone else and know exactly what is going on. I'm halfway through the series - just need to get it done.
In the mean time, I'm going to try to be good and get back into television blogging again. It's a habit I've started and stopped way too many times, and I really need to maintain it (for my sanity - seriously). So hopefully soon I'll start getting some entries in for other shows.
Much love peep(s).
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