JT and Jimmy Fallon Rapping

Love this.

My Fall Hulu Queue

Fall's arrival may mean that True Blood is over, but it also means that network television is back with new seasons. Here's what I'll most likely be watching. (Click here for the unabridged fall television TV Guide listings.)

Shows that I may feel compelled to write about:

- Mad Men, obviously. There are still 4 more episodes in the season!

- Gossip Girl. Yes, I realize that I'm not 14. But a small part of my soul always will be. This show is wildly entertaining, soapy as hell, very funny, and the fashion is incredible. So whatever, judge me all you want. I love this show. I probably won't write much about it, though, because the Vulture recap says it all, and then some. Highly recommended reading.

- Glee. Another one for the 14 year old girl category. Overproduced a cappella renditions of classic and modern pop songs? Not one, but two will they? won't they?'s? Jane Lynch? Yes, please. I think the second half of last season dragged a little, but they did do an entire Gaga episode.

- Modern Family. I watched this at the recommendation of a friend about halfway through the season last year and was immediately hooked. This show is insanely funny.

- The NBC Thursday night comedy block: Community - 30 Rock - The Office - Outsourced. See my previous post about Community -- I think it's one of the best shows on television right now, along with 30 Rock. And my expectations are high for Steve Carrell's last season of The Office, which is definitely one of my all time favorites. I'm sure I'll watch Outsourced, too, because why not? I haven't heard anything about it one way or the other yet. And I'm looking forward to Parks & Rec when it's back on in January. Amy Poehler and Will Arnett just need to stop popping out children.

- SNL. The cast is shaping up this season and Jon Hamm is already slated to host again! I'm the kind of SNL fan who likes the show even when everyone else thinks it's bad.

Other shows that won't need recapping:

- House. I love Hugh Laurie, bottom line. This will be an interesting season with House and Cuddy together.

- Bones. I can't help it.

- Stewart & Colbert occasionally, though I rarely watch them anymore since they left Hulu last year.

New shows that I'll check out on a rainy day:

- The Event. I need a new Lost, and so does America.

- The new Will Arnett show on Fox. I have a bad feeling about this already.

Now, the question remains whether I'll physically be able to watch this much TV-- my old 4 day/week work schedule left my Friday mornings generally pretty open for catching up on the Thursday night shows, in particular. There's also the new season of Weeds, but those episodes are so short and so addicting that I usually cruise through an entire season in less than 24 hours when it's all over.

Mad Men S4 E7: That's Not True

All I can say is that this was an incredible hour of television. I don't think that an episode of Mad Men has ever been so moving, or so well acted. Not only was the episode smart, heartfelt, and visually beautiful, but it was the Don and Peggy episode that the viewer (me) has been waiting for for four seasons.

We know that Don and Peggy are kindred spirits, whether they (he) acknowledge it or not, but we finally see, for an entire hour, the culmination of all of the secrets that they've kept for one another in the small and huge gesture of Don briefly holding Peggy's hand. It was such a tender movement, but the look on his face was deadly serious. Somehow Don and Peggy have finally reached common ground -- during Don's steepest downward trajectory and Peggy's highest upswing.

I think that the thing that makes this episode most effective is the tension building between where Peggy wants to be and where she feels obligated to be. It's such a relatable feeling -- being exactly where you want to be, but being pulled elsewhere by other forces. Or knowing that what you want isn't what you're "supposed to" want. As always with Mad Men, though, the beauty is really in what goes unsaid -- except when Peggy says, "that's not true."

True Blood S3 E12 (Season Finale): About As Useful As Tits On A Turtle

The season finale managed to be simultaneously anticlimactic and too cliffhanger-y. Last year's finale was a total let-down, too -- but at least it tied up the season's major plot lines fairly well. To make things easy, I'm just going to list the things that I didn't like:

Plotline: Sam's family drama
Result: Sam shot at Tommy after Tommy stole all of the money from his safe after Sam got belligerently drunk and kicked him out of his rental.
Why I'm disappointed: This plotline was so boring to begin with, and after it all, Sam just ends up shooting at Tommy? I doubt he hit Tommy, but even if he did, is that the road that Sam's headed down -- heartless killer? It was nice to see the flashback into Sam's grifter past a few episodes ago, but this whole thing seems like a big dead end.

Plotline: Lafayette & Jesus' romance/drug use
Result: Jesus is a witch and so is Lafayette.
Why I'm disappointed: I'm not actually that disappointed with this one. It was really fun seeing L with a love interest this season and witches have lots of future story possibilities.

Plotline: Jason's career and love aspirations
Result: Jason is now the king of inbred meth capital Hotshot
Why I'm disappointed: The whole exploration of Jason's feeling like a has-been was uninteresting from the beginning because we've know that about him -- and he about himself -- since Ep. 1. He's basically a well-intentioned, dim-witted set of abs with blonde hair and always has been. It was interesting seeing him lose his mojo after shooting Eggs, but the whole blackmail-Andy-to-become-a-deputy plot was pretty lazy. And Crystal is so annoying, and her family tree so twisted, that it was hard to watch. I hope that Jason doesn't stay in Hotshot long next season.

Plotline: Tara's torture/rape/continued destruction
Result: She cuts her hair and blows outta town
Why I'm disappointed: I guess I'm not that disappointed about how this one ended up, either. A girl (Tara) has her limits. I hope she's on the upswing. My only complaint is that her hair transformation would have been MUCH more complicated than the scene in front of the mirror implied.

Plotline: Jessica and Hoyt
Result: Together at last!
No disappointment here. I'm not that concerned about Momma Fortenberry because Jessica's an effing vampire.

And finally, the important part:
Plotline: Bill/Sookie/Eric/Pam/werewolves/King/Queen, etc.
Why I'm disappointed: ERIC DIDN'T KILL EDGINGTON. What the hell?! As excited at first as I was to see Godric again, that was so far out of character, and left field, of Eric to weirdly temporarily imprison the king in cement. I'm not really sure how the logistics of that whole scenario even work. And if Eric could get out of the cement, so could Edgington. It was pretty badass of Bill to throw Eric in, though. And it was incredible when Sookie kicked Bill out of her house. So the whole buildup to the big "showdown" was for nothing. We'll have to settle for the showdown between Bill and the queen, which I have a sneaking suspicion that they'll gloss over next season. That last Matrix-y shot of Bill reminds me of that still from Lost of the polar bear that looked more like a Muppet than a scary animal. And now Sookie's off to fairy land. Snore.

Overall, I felt pretty unfulfilled by the finale, like I did last season. C'mon, True Blood! You've been nominated for a Best Drama Emmy -- let's act like it!

Hackey Sack That

Pretty cool, JJ.



For background:

Mad Men S4 E6: My Pencil is Dull

Victor Kiriakis!

I feel drunk just watching Don in this episode. The shit spiral continues. Though, those flashbacks were interesting -- it was weird to see Don acting so forward and eager... and then conning his way into Sterling Cooper. And I know that Holly will recognize Don/Dick's blackout hookup from JOAN OF ARCADIA. Hilarious.

Peggy was definitely the highlight of this episode -- what's the opposite of a shit spiral? Gold square? Whatever it is, Peggy's in it. Is this the first episode that we've seen this new art director in? I don't remember him from any earlier episodes, and he's obnoxious. Peggy wins in the end though -- like she's consistently been winning all season. Whatever happened to that journalist guy from the closet? Her reaction to Don's hiring Roger's wife's cousin was great.

The scene between Pete and Ken was wild. Pete is really drawing his line in the sand now that he has his name on the wall, in the most insufferable way possible. I always interpret Ken to be the nice, competent, easy going person who is so thrown off by Pete's out-of-left-field territoriality that he just shrugs him off. The transition from Pete's "we play by MY rules" speech to "how's your fiance?" was incredible.

Mad Men S4 E5: Christ on a Cracker!

This was a heavy episode. Betty is the worst mother in the history of mothers and Roger is a racist WWII vet. Don went out with the vapid blonde again, mostly to experience Benihana (a slightly different event than the Office's Benihana Christmas!) but then has a nice moment with the sociologist. I honestly hope nothing ever happens between those two. I loved last season how Sally's teacher knew exactly what Don was about -- and called him on it -- but went for it anyway. I don't think that they can really do that again with Dr. Whatsherface because a) she's smarter than the 25-year old teacher was and b) it's already been done. Hopefully she has a good lesson up her sleeve for Don, or something, because I can't believe that she's not involved in some greater plot arch.

Most of this episode made me feel pretty uncomfortable, honestly, so I'll conclude with the totally awesome image of Peggy riding the motorcycle in an empty soundstage. Though, based on my recent personal experience with learning to drive a stick, I have a hard time believing that she would be riding that thing so effortlessly unless she's a trained motorcylist.

True Blood S3 E11: You Know I Love You More When You're Cold and Bitter

In the words of Pam last week: Blah, blah, human drama, blah. Nothing surprising in the human world this week -- so let's skip to the point: Estonia saves Sookie and Bill comes to the rescue, and I have to say, it pained me to see Pam all chained up. She's a (hilarious) good guy! Eric baits Russell with the prospect of daywalking and they all end up back at Fangtasia. Eric and Pam share another really touching moment as he's saying goodbye, he finally gets a taste of Sookie's blood, and then lures Russell out into the sunshine. My question is, though it may be answered within the first few seconds of the finale, if Russell can upend a moving car without batting an eyelash, wouldn't he be able to simply rip Eric's arm off to separate from him? Can't wait to see the finale.

True Blood S3 E10: Blah, Blah, Vampire Emergency, Blah

So that's what Sookie is. And then it finally happened: Eric and Sookie kissed, while both of them were awake. Will that have long-term ramifications for Sookie and Bil's relationship? Who knows -- maybe not. But Eric's clearly checking items off of his bucket list in anticipation of the showdown with the king. I'm not sure if that scene did justice to all of the buildup -- it might just be their height difference.

Jesus and Lafayette's trip on V was pretty entertaining, and enlightening about their backgrounds. I guess it makes sense that Lafayette's got a little something supernatural going on. Poor Tara missed out on that gene. I forgot that she had been into Jason a few seasons ago, which in True Blood time is like 2 months ago. That was a really sad scene to watch. So was all of the Sam action. Did that backstory remind anyone else of anything?

It's about time that Jessica and Hoyt are reunited, in the same fashion that Sookie and Bill were united to begin with. And Russell staked a human prostitute lookalike. The cliffhanger doesn't concern me all that much, because I have a hard time believing that Eric would really sell Sookie out to the king, so I'll leave you with this:

SNL's New Cast Members

This Vulture post shows us the 3 new SNL cast members for the new season. Will Forte has announced that he's leaving, to which I say, Ohhhhhhhhh Nooooooooo! I'm too uninterested in any of the newbies to watch any of the embedded videos.

For the love of of all that is holy (and funny), please, Lorne Michaels, diversify the SNL cast. There's a whole lot of material that you're missing out on without cast members to represent it. Especially if Keenan leaves, as the Vulture post suggests.

(The picture is the 2008-2009 cast.)

The Emmys

The Emmy's are on on Sunday! What a way to kick off the new TV season. The show is being televised on NBC this year with Jimmy Fallon hosting. I have high hopes for his performance -- I remember his MTV movie award year being pretty good and I love his pop culture tilt. Maybe there will even be an appearance of an old SNL skit or two? Fingers are crossed for the Barry Gibb Talk Show or Robert is Bothered. It will be interesting to see how the Emmys writers/NBC non-address the whole late night debacle.

Here's the official Emmy nomination list, and here's an easier to read all-in-one list.

Here are my thoughts:

-DRAMA-

OUTSTANDING DRAMA
Lost - will Lost win for its last season? I wasn't that impressed...
Breaking Bad - People love this show, but I've never seen it.
Dexter - This is a good show but I think that Michael C. Hall's nom for best actor covers this base.
(09) Mad Men - The Emmys love this show and so I do I. I hope it wins, again.
True Blood - It's crazy that this got nominated!
The Good Wife - Never seen it.

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA (I don't really have a horse in this race.)
Julianna Margulies (The Good Wife) - NSI.
Mariska Hargitay (Special Victims Unit) - I love her but I haven't seen the past few seasons.
(09) Glenn Close (Damages) - NSI.
Kyra Sedgwick (The Closer) - I feel like she wins for this every other year, but NSI.
January Jones (Mad Men) - I don't like her character or her acting.
Connie Britton (Friday Night Lights) - NSI.

I'm having a hard time thinking of someone who got shafted in this category...

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
Jon Hamm (Mad Men) - Winnah, winnah!
Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) - I still think of Kyle Chandler as the guy from Early Edition. NSI.
(09) Bryan Cranston (Breaking Bad) - The dad from Malcom in the Middle apparently now plays a meth addict. NSI
Hugh Laurie (House M.D.) - My husband doesn't need any more Emmys.
Michael C. Hall (Dexter) - This wouldn't be sad.
Matthew Fox (Lost) - Best crier in the biz.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A DRAMA
John Slattery (Mad Men) - Silver fox of the year. See Terry O'Quinn.
Aaron Paul (Breaking Bad) - NSI.
Martin Short (Damages) - NSI.
Terry O’ Quinn (Lost) - Since this is his last year to be nominated, I hope he wins! Locke/Smokey was just about the best part of this last season.
(09) Michael Emerson (Lost) - Giving googley eyes a bad name since '04. This wouldn't be sad, I suppose. And I love the rumors that he and Terry O'Quinn are shopping for a show to co-star in.
Andre Braugher (Men of a Certain Age) - NSI.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A DRAMA
Sharon Gless (Burn Notice) - NSI.
Christine Baranski (The Good Wife) - NSI.
Christina Hendricks (Mad Men) - second to Peggy.
Rose Byrne (Damages) - NSI.
Archie Panjabi (The Good Wife) - NSI.
Elisabeth Moss (Mad Men) - YES! Sidenote: I was very sad to hear about her and Fred Armisen's divorce.

-COMEDY-

OUTSTANDING COMEDY - My choices are ranked 1-5.
Glee - 3. (This has a good chance of winning, I think.)
Modern Family - 2. This show is incredible.
Nurse Jackie - NSI.
(09) 30 Rock - 1.
The Office - 4. Don't get me wrong, I love the Office, but I think it's past its prime.
Curb Your Enthusiasm - 5. I can't take this show in large doses.

Missing: Community and Parks & Rec could easily be nominated if the Office was.

OUTSTANDING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Lea Michele (Glee) - 3.
Tina Fey (30 Rock) - 1. Recently overheard in a bar: after a USA! USA! chant, a small but devoted subset of TINA FEY! TINA FEY!
(09) Toni Collette (The United States of Tara) - NSI, though she's an incredible actress.
Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine) - NSI.
Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie) - NSI
Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) - 2. She kills this role.

OUTSTANDING ACTOR IN A COMEDY
Larry David (Curb Your Enthusiasm) - Meh. he's not really acting.
(09) Alec Baldwin (30 Rock) -1.
Matthew Morrison (Glee) - 3.
Steve Carell (The Office) - 2.
Jim Parsons (The Big Bang Theory) - This show drives me up a wall.
Tony Shalhoub (Monk) - Thankfully, this is the last year of Monk's existence.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTOR IN A COMEDY - I can't decide about this category -- I would be happy if anyone OTHER THAN Jon Cryer wins. I'm sure he's a lovely person, but Two and a Half Men is maybe the worst show that ever existed.
Chris Colfer (Kurt, Glee) - I read someplace that when Chris Colfer auditioned for Glee, they wrote a role specially for him.
Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother) - I love NPH and Barney is often the best part of the show.
Jesse Tyler Ferguson (Modern Family) - He is so damn funny in this show.
(09) Jon Cryer (Two and A Half Men) - Bleh.
Eric Stonestreet (Modern Family) - "This can't be your first moon landing."
Ty Burrell (Modern Family) - My top choice of the Modern Fam contenders.

OUTSTANDING SUPPORTING ACTRESS IN A COMEDY
Jane Lynch (Glee) - 2. Jane Lynch WILL win an Emmy for this role... but give it to her next year.
Kristen Wiig (Saturday Night Live) -1. Kristen Wiig is HYSTERICAL and super versatile. This would be highly unlikely, but my choice, nonetheless.
Jane Krakowski (30 Rock) - 3. I don't love Jane Krakowski, but she does really well in the Jenna role.
Julie Bowen (Modern Family) - 5. Julie Bowen must have the best agent in television -- she's been in some of the best shows on TV (Lost, Weeds, Modern Family).
Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) - 4. She is hilarious.
Holland Taylor (Two and A Half Men) - see Jon Cryer.

-REALITY- I am uninterested in this category.

-VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY-

OUTSTANDING VARIETY, MUSIC, OR COMEDY SERIES
The Colbert Report - 2. Give it to Colbert, already! Stewart wins every year.
The Daily Show With Jon Stewart - 3.
Real Time With Bill Maher - NSI.
Saturday Night Live - 4. This past season was pretty solid, overall, but not as solid as Colbert or Stewart.
The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien - 1. THIS WOULD BE SCANDALOUS.

-MINISERIES OR MOVIE - I hate the miniseries/tv movie categories because I have never seen any of them.

Let the best TV win! I may be so bold as to write a red carpet post tomorrow.

True Blood S3 E9: VOMpires

Yowza. This episode began and ended with Russell Edgington losing his SHIT. His southern gentleman decorum has slowly been cracking as the season has unfolded, and now he's really gone off the campy deep end. I didn't like the closing scene much; I thought it was too over the top, even for True Blood.

I am looking forward to the Eric/Edgington showdown, which I can only hope that Jason will somehow be involved in, because he's on a roll. We all knew that Tara's bludgeoning didn't actually kill Franklin, but Jason's wooden bullet sure did! Poor Tara. It's good to see her getting help. There's obviously something creepy about Holly -- let's just hope she's not a maenad. Also, computers exist in Bon Temps? When she pulled that laptop onto the table, I gasped at the sight. Do they know how to Google there?

I was bored with Sookie and Bill this episode -- I don't really care if he steals her light, or whatever. I was much more interested in Eric and Pam, and how Eric told "the authority" everything. And it was touching that Pam was so concerned for Eric. Also, I am really rooting for Jessica and Hoyt. I think the whole accidental trucker murder is kind of a weak device to keep them apart. The best couple action this episode, though, was by far Lafayette and Jesus. They are adorable, and I can't wait to see what kind of crazy Jesus turns out to be.

Oh right, Sam snapped, too. He's been repressing his frustration for far too long. Sorry, meth lab dad. I have gone so far as to fast forward through the Sam scenes this season because it's so boring. I am not invested in him or his family -- though maybe now that his story is overlapping with Jason's (who has finally found someone as stupid as he is) both plot lines will be worth watching. It's hard to compete with the vampire action this season.

After the last episode that was so good, overall this one felt slow and didn't move much forward, aside from the last 5 minutes. Only 3 episodes left in the season!

Mad Men S3E4: My boyfriend is renting my vagina

Peggy, you are my hero. Elizabeth Moss killed it in this episode. My connection buffered just as she was peeking through the glass into Don's office and I wanted to take a screenshot -- it was brilliant. Even more brilliant: John Slattery (Roger Sterling) directed (and Matthew Weiner is one of the credited writers). But back to Peggy, she stole every scene for me, which is saying a lot because Vincent Kartheiser was incredible as well. Pete is such a slimy "son of a bitch"-- well put, father-in-law -- but at least he's finally figuring out how to be good at it.

And I loved the closing scene of Peggy and her hipster friends separated by a physical barrier from Pete and his father-in-law and the agency mucky mucks -- and then Don with the elderly couple in the hall of his building. Am I reading it correctly that the old lady is creeped out by Don and doesn't want to speak in front of him, or was she just being cranky with her husband?

I love the possibility of Peggy getting deeper into the NY art scene -- but where does Don have left to go? I guess rock bottom... sleeping with Mrs. Blankenship? The thing about not watching shows on TV is that you don't see the "next week on..." trailer snippet during the credits or any subsequent advertising. I have a horrible sneaking suspicion that next week we're going to see Betty's return, which could already be confirmed at this point. I have immensely enjoyed her absence these past few episodes.

Overall, I loved this episode, and it was nice to see a character experiencing some positive forward momentum (even in the midst of revisiting her darkest hour) in a season that has so far been pretty dark.

Why I love "Community"

I just read this interview with Community creator Dan Harmon, and -- mission accomplished, NBC press team -- I am now even more psyched for Season 2. Community was one of my favorite shows last year, and it was also one of the shows that I would always want to talk about with someone (the paintball episode! the Goodfellas episode! John Oliver! the finale was TERRBILE!), but no one watched it. Hence, blog.

Anyway, here is my endorsement. When I saw the commercials for the premiere last fall, I rolled my eyes at the premise: fast-talking lawyer Jeff gets caught with a forged undergrad degree and has to return to Community College to be legit. Enter rag-tag group of misfits. Misfits teach Jeff that life is not all about money and spin. Hilarity ensues. It sounded so lame that I didn't watch the show for months. After seeing just one episode though, I quickly caught up. Here's why:

1. It's insanely, razor-sharp funny, similar to 30 Rock. It's reference-heavy, like Family Guy, which isn't for everyone but I happen to love, and it can cover a lot of pop-culture ground in one episode. (Read this earlier interview with Dan Harmon about his thoughts on the show's humor).

2. The cast is incredible. I have always had a strange affection for Jeff McHale in The Soup, so I was on board for him as lead, but Danny Pudi as Abed, Donald Glover as Troy, Yvette Brown as Shirley, Alison Brie/Trudy Campell as Annie -- rounded out with Ken Jeong as Senor Chang and CHEVY CHASE as Pierce -- all have serious chops and bring weight and depth to already well conceived characters. I linked their IMDB profiles for convenience and conspicuously omitted Gillian Jacobs as Britta because my jury's still out on her -- or maybe just the Britta character.

3. I love the way Community handles the Jeff/Britta will they? won't they? relationship. They're so meta about it from the beginning (and get a kiss out of the way early) that it's not the same old, same old (at least to me).

Hopefully Community will get the attention it deserves in its second season, or it will be another one of those well loved by a few, short lived shows like Freaks and Geeks. And probably Parks and Rec if it's stuck on Tuesdays.

Pacey Soup for the Teenage Soul

Pacey-Con with Joshua Jackson from Joshua Jackson

For anyone else who feels a tug of the teen-angst heart string at the sweet serenade of Paula Cole. We should all be so lucky as to end up on a couch with Pacey Whitter.

Also, in case you're wondering, the Dawson's Creek font is called "Notebook."

A blog about TV

Welcome to my blog about TV!

I love to watch TV shows. My friends and loved ones, however, do not always share my interest or enthusiasm for this particular medium. So here I am, creating an outlet with which to document and share my reactions to and affection for the various televised programs that cross my computer screen, or occasionally, my television's digital converter.

A few things to know about me as a television viewer (though if you're reading this, you're either an immediate family member or close friend who would know already) and take into account when you read future posts:

- I am not a writer or a critic; I am simply an audience member. I watch TV to be entertained.

- I don't have cable -- I have a TV, with a screen that intermittently turns everything green, that gets the major networks only. My new-to-me, old-to-the-world laptop doesn't support Netflix 'Watch It Now', so I no longer have Netflix. I watch most shows on Hulu and newer episodes of cable shows on other, less legitimate, online sources. I watch the rest on DVD, rented the old-fashioned way, or borrowed from my parents.

- I'm not a huge fan of reality TV, but I've been known to get sucked into a Bravo marathon or The Biggest Loser on occasion, and I absolutely love So You Think You Can Dance.

- I'm a sucker for a Will They? Won't They? story line. If you get impatient or frustrated by the Joey/Dawson, Jim/Pam, or Sookie/Eric relationships of the television universe, you'll likely be equally annoyed with my thoughts about how they unfold.

- I lean more towards comedy than drama, but I love shows from each genre and especially shows that simultaneously embrace both.

- And lastly, if you've stumbled upon this blog by way of an errant google search, I'm a 25-year-old female living in Portland, Maine.

Given the limited readership this blog will be subject to, I doubt that it will create any kind of dialogue in the comments, but please, leave 'em if you've got 'em!

Hopefully Everywhere You Look fares better than my New Year's resolution book club did. We met once in February, though I suppose it's not too late to resurrect. It was called The Finer Things Club.