I'm trying to take account of which shows whose fall seasons have premiered, and I have yet to write about. There are some shows which haven't aired yet (30 Rock, Flashforward, Modern Family, Dexter), but which I intend to watch, and as for Bones, I want to watch, but only if my TiVo remembers to suggest it for me, as I prefer that show à la Law & Order: SVU, which is, whenever I realize it's on, instead of following the whole season. The shows I have seen...
Bored to Death (Sundays at 9:30 on HBO)
Underwhelming. There wasn't much that appealed about this show except for the adorable Jason Schwartzman, and there wasn't a whole lot else I liked other than him once I watched it. I do hope they'll use Zach Galifianakis to his full potential, and Ted Danson carries no interest for me, but I'll try a couple more episodes to see what happens when Schwartzman's character starts taking on more cases.
How I Met Your Mother (Mondays at 8pm on CBS)
The show's latest season premiered last night, and it was a mild, if welcome episode in the vein of some of the series' less experimental episodes. The Robin/Barney relationship took a satisfying step towards a "real relationship," and we were once more tantalized with the reveal of the Mother (though I've heard that will be held for the series finale). Ted as a hapless first-time architecture professor was enjoyable to watch, but I hope for more from Marshall and Lily as the season goes on.
House (Mondays at 8pm on Fox)
Last night's eagerly-anticipated two hour season premiere was really all it was cracked up to be. After last season's hallucinations and Dr. House's Vicodin addiction reaching a fever pitch, the episode opened with him drying out and then followed him through his inpatient stay at a mental hospital. The episode boasted a wonderful guest starring role for Franka Potente, some of the finest camera work the show has had, and an excellent performance from Hugh Laurie. It was very cinematic, and certainly a diversion from the typical House formula, so I am eager to see how next week's episode will transition our antihero back into the world of Princeton-Plainsboro.
Gossip Girl (Mondays at 9pm on The CW)
Somewhere along the way last season, this show lost me. By the end of season 1, it was my obsession, my religion. I relished the ridiculousness of it, but season 2 seemed to drag on and hardly ever got interesting. It's now my "save it on TiVo and catch it at the end of the week show," as high school shows that go to college are hardly that exciting thereafter. I snoozed through most of the season premiere and haven't watched last night's episode, but I'll let you know if it gets good.
The Biggest Loser (Tuesdays at 8pm on NBC)
This here is a guilty-pleasure "game show" (if you can call it that) for me. What can I say? I love being heartwarmed! My interest in inspirational sports movies has proven this. The season's second episode will air tonight, and I look forward to seeing the contestants after they've made some progress, and after one of them has returned from the hospital. My parents and I all cried last week when one of the contestants shared her story about losing her husband and two young children in a car accident, and yet none of the other contestants' sob stories were at all devalued. This show fulfills for me what Extreme Home Makeover used to back when it was new.
America's Next Top Model (Wednesdays at 8pm on The CW)
Another show that my interest in is waning rapidly. I actually considered auditioning for this season, wherein the girls are all 5'7" or shorter, but I now think that if I ever had to be in a room with Tyra I would lose my mind and start fighting people or something. This season has almost no drama, except for a few disaffected girls for whom life is always difficult, but I got rid of my Season Pass last night. Maybe I'll catch a marathon on Oxygen some day.
Parks and Recreation (Thursdays at 8:30 on NBC)
Another show that I record and then watch when I have the time. The first season was lackluster most of the time (I simply do not get the Aziz Ansari fervor of all of my friends), which was disappointing, but given Greg Daniels' history, it seems smart to continue to pay attention this season, as The Office started out even more disappointing. This season's premiere, in which Leslie Knope accidentally becomes Pawnee's gay icon when she marries two male penguins in a fake ceremony at the zoo, was smarter than a lot of what the show has given us before, and I am hoping the show becomes more than just quirky characters plus a thin premise, because those characters would be well-served by some more substance in the stories.
Community (Thursdays at 9:30 on NBC)
While I am a fan of Joel McHale, host of The Soup (Fridays at 10 on E!), and frequent guest of the Adam Carolla show/podcast, I was certainly expecting more from the pilot of his new sitcom, co-starring Chevy Chase. I think it suffered in the way that a lot of smart sitcom pilots suffered, trying overly hard to establish character, mood, and situation, in 22 minutes, and falling flat on most counts. But I will definitely continue to tune in as it does seem like it could end up a more rewarding sitcom than most.
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia (Thursdays at 10 on FX)
I don't need to say anything about this show. If you get it, you love it, and if you don't, you probably hate it. The season premiered last week, and I will continue to try to get as much of this show as possible. "Wildcard, bitches!" (Note: that is not a line from the latest episode, but is still one of my favorites.)
Showing posts with label America's Next Top Model. Show all posts
Showing posts with label America's Next Top Model. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Saturday, September 20, 2008
"just a typical white girl"
Second blog shout-out to my dear friend Arielle in one day! It's thanks to an offhand comment she made when we were g-chatting the other day that season 11 of America's Next Top Model is on YouTube! Last night I treated myself to the first 3 episodes (!), and today I caught up with episode 4 (Makeovers!) so I am up to date! Are you ready for a bold statement?
I think this is the best season of ANTM that we've seen so far.
I know, that's a big statement when we've been exposed to Shandi, Jade, Anchal & the twins! But there is so much good stuff that has been packed into the first four episodes of this season already that I feel comfortable saying it.
First of all, the girls are actually hot and/or pretty this season! Joslyn's um...not the prettiest, and I don't really get the appeal of a girl like Clark, but they are way hotter than some previous girls from the show. Okay, and I know that those girls aren't necessarily fugly, but this is top model! You gotta bring it! Elina, Marjorie, McKey, and Annaleigh are my favorites this season in terms of looks, but there are some great personalities too.
Elina is a hot mess. I'm so glad she didn't get all Jaeda when they changed her hair so drastically, because she could rock a lot of hairstyles. She's a little thick for a vegan, but I love how much of a teenage rebel she is. Too cool to be bi/lesbian, she's "very sexual and has had relationships with women...loves bringing them to her side," she has a tattoo on her uterus-protection fat (who does that? She looks kiiinda like Angelina Jolie but at least Angie is skeletal), and she talks about how she hates her mom. Aw, she probably smokes cloves!
Marjorie bleeds homeschooled. She's so nervous and cute, but I preferred her blonde hair. Maybe she looked too much like Agyness Deyn. Sheena is totally hoochie, and I love it. I'm so over hers and some of the other girls' wild exaggeration of Hannah's personality. Hannah said something pretty stupidly, but saying she's a "typical white girl" does not a racist make, and they're picking on her unfairly.
And then there's Isis. I think I'm more interested in how she was one of the homeless models from last season, than the fact that she's transgendered. I think she has an outstanding sense of self and has been totally cool so far. Some of the girls have been nice, some have been mean, but I can see why they're threatened that someone genetically male is in the running because of the advantages of height, bone structure, and leg muscles. Of course a lot of these things are going against Isis, too, as she is not far enough along in her transition to have breasts, a feminine waist/hips, or round cheeks. I don't think she will stay long enough to go abroad, but I think she has been doing remarkably well.
I think the most impressive aspect of this season is that...I don't hate Tyra anymore! How funny that in a premiere dedicated to robotics and the future, Tyra seems to finally have become self-aware! Mr. Jay and Ms. J have always been cool with their status as living caricatures, and Nigel and Paulina have seemed bemusedly along for the ride, but I think Tyra might finally have swung past being obnoxious to being charming. She's like a child performing horribly at a family reunion but everyone smiles because of her enthusiasm. Her wig sucks this season, but it's not the worst she's had.
Can't wait to see what happens!
I think this is the best season of ANTM that we've seen so far.
I know, that's a big statement when we've been exposed to Shandi, Jade, Anchal & the twins! But there is so much good stuff that has been packed into the first four episodes of this season already that I feel comfortable saying it.
First of all, the girls are actually hot and/or pretty this season! Joslyn's um...not the prettiest, and I don't really get the appeal of a girl like Clark, but they are way hotter than some previous girls from the show. Okay, and I know that those girls aren't necessarily fugly, but this is top model! You gotta bring it! Elina, Marjorie, McKey, and Annaleigh are my favorites this season in terms of looks, but there are some great personalities too.
Elina is a hot mess. I'm so glad she didn't get all Jaeda when they changed her hair so drastically, because she could rock a lot of hairstyles. She's a little thick for a vegan, but I love how much of a teenage rebel she is. Too cool to be bi/lesbian, she's "very sexual and has had relationships with women...loves bringing them to her side," she has a tattoo on her uterus-protection fat (who does that? She looks kiiinda like Angelina Jolie but at least Angie is skeletal), and she talks about how she hates her mom. Aw, she probably smokes cloves!
Marjorie bleeds homeschooled. She's so nervous and cute, but I preferred her blonde hair. Maybe she looked too much like Agyness Deyn. Sheena is totally hoochie, and I love it. I'm so over hers and some of the other girls' wild exaggeration of Hannah's personality. Hannah said something pretty stupidly, but saying she's a "typical white girl" does not a racist make, and they're picking on her unfairly.
And then there's Isis. I think I'm more interested in how she was one of the homeless models from last season, than the fact that she's transgendered. I think she has an outstanding sense of self and has been totally cool so far. Some of the girls have been nice, some have been mean, but I can see why they're threatened that someone genetically male is in the running because of the advantages of height, bone structure, and leg muscles. Of course a lot of these things are going against Isis, too, as she is not far enough along in her transition to have breasts, a feminine waist/hips, or round cheeks. I don't think she will stay long enough to go abroad, but I think she has been doing remarkably well.
I think the most impressive aspect of this season is that...I don't hate Tyra anymore! How funny that in a premiere dedicated to robotics and the future, Tyra seems to finally have become self-aware! Mr. Jay and Ms. J have always been cool with their status as living caricatures, and Nigel and Paulina have seemed bemusedly along for the ride, but I think Tyra might finally have swung past being obnoxious to being charming. She's like a child performing horribly at a family reunion but everyone smiles because of her enthusiasm. Her wig sucks this season, but it's not the worst she's had.
Can't wait to see what happens!
Friday, May 23, 2008
it's been swedish...i mean, sweet-ish
As a very meager attempt to atone for how remiss I've been at posting these past few months, I just wanted to post an abbreviated review of this past season of TV shows that I've been watching. I haven't been able to follow all of them as religiously as I usually try to, but it's been an interesting post-strike stretch of episodes, that's for sure.
Gossip Girl (The CW)
Sometime between telling my then-uninitiated roommate that gossip girl "isn't a character, it's an entity," and haranguing Josh Schwartz on the picket lines about Rufus' backstory, Gossip Girl became one of my favorite TV shows of all time. Sadly, The CW stopped making the episodes available online, as it was more popular as digital media than its Nielsen ratings would indicate. So I've missed about three installments of the first season, which I lament more than you can know. However, Serena's juicy backstory reveal (I CALLED IT ALL ALONG!)*, the entanglement between Lily and Rufus, and for the love of god Blair and Chuck, all of these elements have come together in a show that is actually titillating and still makes me laugh. When a friend recently asked a carload of GG-obsessed girls what the big deal was, I think we held court talking about it for about 45 minutes. Choicest dialogue (paraphrasing):
(Serena is embarassed to tell her friends about her secret shame)
Nate: We've all done things we're ashamed of, Serena. I had sex with you!
Blair: (indicating Chuck) I had sex with him in the back of a limo. Twice!
Chuck: (pause) I'm Chuck Bass.
30 Rock (NBC)
This second season of Tina Fey's pet project managed to be even funnier and more ridiculous than the first, and has really become one of the smartest shows on the networks. In one recent episode alone, they managed to reference both the uncanny valley and the Mozart-Salieri conflict. The season finale ended on a couple of cliffhangers, which is a useful tool for a sitcom, as proven by The Office, but one of them was about Liz Lemon planning to have a baby, by hook or by crook. I've put the brakes on my eyes rolling, but just until proven wrong about season three having "buy Baby Mama on DVD Tuesday" tie-ins every five minutes.
The Office (NBC)
Bluntly put: while remaining one of the funniest shows on American television, the fourth season signalled a decline in quality that is troubling for fans. Jim and Pam seem cemented in their relationship, which moves their romance from the A storyline, but I could see the show breaking them up at some point, just to drag things out and elicit groans from everybody. Michael and Jan had reached a peak of awkwardness - so we thought - until the season finale shocker. There have been some unusual changes in Michael's character, whereby he seems to swing from lovable buffoon Michael Scott to harmful idiot David Brent tendencies, and I don't think that makes it easy for the audience to side with him. (Did the show jump the shark when Michael drove his car into a lake?) Ryan as a cokehead with no business ethics is no surprise, but seems like more of a gag than a character arc to tug at our heartstrings. The Dwight-Angela-Andy triangle, then, seems to be the most compelling storyline, but without a little more insight into Angela's state of mind, I don't know where to stand on that. If showrunner Greg Daniels is devoting time to both The Office and its unnamed spinoff next season, then I forsee bad things happening to the show. I stopped watching Alias when J.J. started working on LOST (though, thank god, because LOST is so much better!)**, I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy when Shonda started Private Practice (also when Izzie and George got ridiculous), and I hope I won't have to do the same for The Office.
Other shows, like Grey's Anatomy and America's Next Top Model, I have basically stopped watching. I've checked in on ANTM from time to time, and was very happy to see this season's winner be a plus sized model, but Tyra is so obnoxious that I can barely stand the clips of her they show on E!'s The Soup. I do watch Ugly Betty and LOST, but the latter's season finale hasn't aired yet so I'm reserving a post to discuss it then, and I'm in the midst of catching up with the last few episodes of Betty online before I do the same.
* (SPOILER) Really, anything too dark for her to tell Blair about in the first place had to be murder. But the show would never want our heroine to be so unrelatable, so I knew it would be either someone-was-going-to-be-sexually-assaulted OR Serena-was-a-party-to-an-accidental-drug-overdose. Imagine my surprise when it was both! (END SPOILER)
** To be fair, I started watching LOST on DVD two years ago, and only started watching Alias on DVD two months ago. But when I got to the season 4 Alias DVDs, which is the point in the show which aired concurrently with season 1 of LOST, I stopped caring about Sydney Bristow and stopped watching.
Gossip Girl (The CW)
Sometime between telling my then-uninitiated roommate that gossip girl "isn't a character, it's an entity," and haranguing Josh Schwartz on the picket lines about Rufus' backstory, Gossip Girl became one of my favorite TV shows of all time. Sadly, The CW stopped making the episodes available online, as it was more popular as digital media than its Nielsen ratings would indicate. So I've missed about three installments of the first season, which I lament more than you can know. However, Serena's juicy backstory reveal (I CALLED IT ALL ALONG!)*, the entanglement between Lily and Rufus, and for the love of god Blair and Chuck, all of these elements have come together in a show that is actually titillating and still makes me laugh. When a friend recently asked a carload of GG-obsessed girls what the big deal was, I think we held court talking about it for about 45 minutes. Choicest dialogue (paraphrasing):
(Serena is embarassed to tell her friends about her secret shame)
Nate: We've all done things we're ashamed of, Serena. I had sex with you!
Blair: (indicating Chuck) I had sex with him in the back of a limo. Twice!
Chuck: (pause) I'm Chuck Bass.
30 Rock (NBC)
This second season of Tina Fey's pet project managed to be even funnier and more ridiculous than the first, and has really become one of the smartest shows on the networks. In one recent episode alone, they managed to reference both the uncanny valley and the Mozart-Salieri conflict. The season finale ended on a couple of cliffhangers, which is a useful tool for a sitcom, as proven by The Office, but one of them was about Liz Lemon planning to have a baby, by hook or by crook. I've put the brakes on my eyes rolling, but just until proven wrong about season three having "buy Baby Mama on DVD Tuesday" tie-ins every five minutes.
The Office (NBC)
Bluntly put: while remaining one of the funniest shows on American television, the fourth season signalled a decline in quality that is troubling for fans. Jim and Pam seem cemented in their relationship, which moves their romance from the A storyline, but I could see the show breaking them up at some point, just to drag things out and elicit groans from everybody. Michael and Jan had reached a peak of awkwardness - so we thought - until the season finale shocker. There have been some unusual changes in Michael's character, whereby he seems to swing from lovable buffoon Michael Scott to harmful idiot David Brent tendencies, and I don't think that makes it easy for the audience to side with him. (Did the show jump the shark when Michael drove his car into a lake?) Ryan as a cokehead with no business ethics is no surprise, but seems like more of a gag than a character arc to tug at our heartstrings. The Dwight-Angela-Andy triangle, then, seems to be the most compelling storyline, but without a little more insight into Angela's state of mind, I don't know where to stand on that. If showrunner Greg Daniels is devoting time to both The Office and its unnamed spinoff next season, then I forsee bad things happening to the show. I stopped watching Alias when J.J. started working on LOST (though, thank god, because LOST is so much better!)**, I stopped watching Grey's Anatomy when Shonda started Private Practice (also when Izzie and George got ridiculous), and I hope I won't have to do the same for The Office.
Other shows, like Grey's Anatomy and America's Next Top Model, I have basically stopped watching. I've checked in on ANTM from time to time, and was very happy to see this season's winner be a plus sized model, but Tyra is so obnoxious that I can barely stand the clips of her they show on E!'s The Soup. I do watch Ugly Betty and LOST, but the latter's season finale hasn't aired yet so I'm reserving a post to discuss it then, and I'm in the midst of catching up with the last few episodes of Betty online before I do the same.
* (SPOILER) Really, anything too dark for her to tell Blair about in the first place had to be murder. But the show would never want our heroine to be so unrelatable, so I knew it would be either someone-was-going-to-be-sexually-assaulted OR Serena-was-a-party-to-an-accidental-drug-overdose. Imagine my surprise when it was both! (END SPOILER)
** To be fair, I started watching LOST on DVD two years ago, and only started watching Alias on DVD two months ago. But when I got to the season 4 Alias DVDs, which is the point in the show which aired concurrently with season 1 of LOST, I stopped caring about Sydney Bristow and stopped watching.
Friday, October 12, 2007
season premieres!
It is far past time for me to organize my thoughts about this season's new and returning offerings of primetime TV! So far, the one show that seems to have found itself on the cutting block is ANTM, which I just haven't been able to find the time for. The great thing about that show is that it has two "cycles" each season, so I don't have to wait a whole year to catch a new crop of skinny bitches. Also, I have to wait until February for more LOST, but at least there won't be a mid-season hiatus this time around.
Heroes
Mondays at 9pm on NBC
So far, I have been greatly impressed by the reintroduction to the Heroes-verse. Unfortunately, there was about a month last season when I really had trouble keeping interested in some of the show's many plotlines, so I feel like I keep missing out on some backstory now and again, but I feel like I'll catch up. As far as the Nakamura family is concerned, I'm sad to see George Takei go, but I am thrilled with the interaction between Hiro and Takezo Kensei. Not only does it reinforce how amazing of a hero Hiro really is, but it's nice to get a totally different perspective on the super powers. As far as Peter Petrelli is concerned, I like how much of a total badass he is, but I hope they just don't make him omnipotent and take the humanity out of him. That said, he looks a lot hotter this season. Claire is getting less annoying now that she's not a cheerleader any more, but I have to wonder how far they are going to take her abilities.
I Love New York 2
Mondays at 9pm on Vh1
So, my dear friend Evan and I became obsessed with Tiffany Patterson's search for love on the first season of I Love New York, and were sad to see that she didn't find it with Tango (personally, I think Mr. Boston would have been her best shot). So of course we more than eagerly tuned in to see the premiere of this second season. So far, it looks promising - plenty of fame-hungry 'mos looking for a shot to hook up with the living Bratz doll that has been on Flav. Now, don't get me wrong, I think Tiffany is great. I just think it's funny how these guys claim they've been in love with her ever since they tuned in to Flavor of Love for the first time. So far, no particular standout suitors, but I really hope Vh1's lawyers get Sister Patterson to stop being so hateful to self-named "Midget Mac."
Pushing Daisies
Wednesdays at 8pm on ABC
I'd heard good things about this show, which had gotten some buzz in recent months, but the advertising and word-of-mouth never really stuck with me. On a whim, I watched the pilot on abc.com last week, and became totally smitten! Lee Pace, from the late, great series Wonderfalls, and the beautiful Anna Friel (see The Land Girls if you ever get a chance) have extremely charming chemistry, made sweeter by the fact that they cannot touch. The character interactions are reminiscent of those on Dead Like Me, though there is less cynicism, and the show is so well-produced that it is like watching a high-budget movie fairy tale each week. Always a gem, Kristin Chenoweth is able to be physically comic and sing on the show, which I am very grateful for!
30 Rock
Thursdays at 8:30pm on NBC
The first two episodes of the season thus far have not been as hilarious as much of last season was, but I fully expect that the show will start delivering in a few weeks. It took me a few episodes to really get into the show when I started watching, and I'm sure it just needs to get back into the swing of things. That said, there have already been a couple of jokes which keep me giggling at inappropriate moments ("Oh no! Did a Korean person die?" and "Boys becoming men; men becoming wolves!"), and I just hope that the show doesn't start to rely on cameos and fat jokes for season two.
The Office
Thursdays at 9pm on NBC
With one major exception, I have been pleasantly surprised by everything that season four of this show has given its viewers. At first, I was really worried that a premature resolution of the Jim/Pam storyline would siphon all of the magic out of the show, but so far that hasn't happened. The Dwangela storyline seems to be filling its shoes quite nicely, and I look forward to Angela's character being given more room to breathe. The first four episodes of this season are hour-long, and so far that has worked sometimes, but last night's episode felt stretched too thin. The main problem I'm having with this season is that Michael's character has changed from a well-meaning idiot to a completely unrealistic buffoon. I can't really sympathize with him anymore because the things he does seem to be stupid for stupid's sake, like driving into a lake. It's almost Brentian. Hopefully things right themselves, because my impulse purchase of the first three seasons on DVD really made me fall even more in love with the show.
Grey's Anatomy
Thursdays at 9pm on ABC
Nah, not really. I hate to say it, but this show has really lost a lot of its charm. I couldn't justify spending the money on the season 3 DVDs because of the sour turn that the show took during the second half of the season, and so far season 4 has yet to draw me back in. I've decided that The Office gets my viewership on Thursday nights, and I will watch Grey's online when I have time, in the hopes that the writers can find a way to get back on the right track, but at this point I really don't even care what happens to the characters. I wish I could be as gung-ho about this show as I was for seasons 1 and 2, especially as a minority female hoping to become a writer someday, but it has gotten...boring. Characters making too many stupid mistakes and not getting out of their ruts is just...not doing it for me.
So, hopefully I'll have a chance to catch up on ANTM, Private Practice, and Gossip Girl (which I'm sure I'd love), but as I'm writing a first-semester thesis, that just doesn't seem too likely. Fingers crossed!
~Kat
Heroes
Mondays at 9pm on NBC
So far, I have been greatly impressed by the reintroduction to the Heroes-verse. Unfortunately, there was about a month last season when I really had trouble keeping interested in some of the show's many plotlines, so I feel like I keep missing out on some backstory now and again, but I feel like I'll catch up. As far as the Nakamura family is concerned, I'm sad to see George Takei go, but I am thrilled with the interaction between Hiro and Takezo Kensei. Not only does it reinforce how amazing of a hero Hiro really is, but it's nice to get a totally different perspective on the super powers. As far as Peter Petrelli is concerned, I like how much of a total badass he is, but I hope they just don't make him omnipotent and take the humanity out of him. That said, he looks a lot hotter this season. Claire is getting less annoying now that she's not a cheerleader any more, but I have to wonder how far they are going to take her abilities.
I Love New York 2
Mondays at 9pm on Vh1
So, my dear friend Evan and I became obsessed with Tiffany Patterson's search for love on the first season of I Love New York, and were sad to see that she didn't find it with Tango (personally, I think Mr. Boston would have been her best shot). So of course we more than eagerly tuned in to see the premiere of this second season. So far, it looks promising - plenty of fame-hungry 'mos looking for a shot to hook up with the living Bratz doll that has been on Flav. Now, don't get me wrong, I think Tiffany is great. I just think it's funny how these guys claim they've been in love with her ever since they tuned in to Flavor of Love for the first time. So far, no particular standout suitors, but I really hope Vh1's lawyers get Sister Patterson to stop being so hateful to self-named "Midget Mac."
Pushing Daisies
Wednesdays at 8pm on ABC
I'd heard good things about this show, which had gotten some buzz in recent months, but the advertising and word-of-mouth never really stuck with me. On a whim, I watched the pilot on abc.com last week, and became totally smitten! Lee Pace, from the late, great series Wonderfalls, and the beautiful Anna Friel (see The Land Girls if you ever get a chance) have extremely charming chemistry, made sweeter by the fact that they cannot touch. The character interactions are reminiscent of those on Dead Like Me, though there is less cynicism, and the show is so well-produced that it is like watching a high-budget movie fairy tale each week. Always a gem, Kristin Chenoweth is able to be physically comic and sing on the show, which I am very grateful for!
30 Rock
Thursdays at 8:30pm on NBC
The first two episodes of the season thus far have not been as hilarious as much of last season was, but I fully expect that the show will start delivering in a few weeks. It took me a few episodes to really get into the show when I started watching, and I'm sure it just needs to get back into the swing of things. That said, there have already been a couple of jokes which keep me giggling at inappropriate moments ("Oh no! Did a Korean person die?" and "Boys becoming men; men becoming wolves!"), and I just hope that the show doesn't start to rely on cameos and fat jokes for season two.
The Office
Thursdays at 9pm on NBC
With one major exception, I have been pleasantly surprised by everything that season four of this show has given its viewers. At first, I was really worried that a premature resolution of the Jim/Pam storyline would siphon all of the magic out of the show, but so far that hasn't happened. The Dwangela storyline seems to be filling its shoes quite nicely, and I look forward to Angela's character being given more room to breathe. The first four episodes of this season are hour-long, and so far that has worked sometimes, but last night's episode felt stretched too thin. The main problem I'm having with this season is that Michael's character has changed from a well-meaning idiot to a completely unrealistic buffoon. I can't really sympathize with him anymore because the things he does seem to be stupid for stupid's sake, like driving into a lake. It's almost Brentian. Hopefully things right themselves, because my impulse purchase of the first three seasons on DVD really made me fall even more in love with the show.
Grey's Anatomy
Thursdays at 9pm on ABC
Nah, not really. I hate to say it, but this show has really lost a lot of its charm. I couldn't justify spending the money on the season 3 DVDs because of the sour turn that the show took during the second half of the season, and so far season 4 has yet to draw me back in. I've decided that The Office gets my viewership on Thursday nights, and I will watch Grey's online when I have time, in the hopes that the writers can find a way to get back on the right track, but at this point I really don't even care what happens to the characters. I wish I could be as gung-ho about this show as I was for seasons 1 and 2, especially as a minority female hoping to become a writer someday, but it has gotten...boring. Characters making too many stupid mistakes and not getting out of their ruts is just...not doing it for me.
So, hopefully I'll have a chance to catch up on ANTM, Private Practice, and Gossip Girl (which I'm sure I'd love), but as I'm writing a first-semester thesis, that just doesn't seem too likely. Fingers crossed!
~Kat
Thursday, June 7, 2007
summer lovin'
This post brought to you by my never-ending romance with my television. "Kat love TV. Marriage?" (That's a UK Office joke, for you plebes out there...) I decided it would be unfair to the greatest season of all if I did not give a little insight about what I'm watching on TV this summer. Because I won't have cable again until the fall, I must continue to scour network programming. Luckily for me, Fox has completely taken care of all of my needs. Though the only reality show I watch with any regularity during the school year is America's Next Top Model, reality is pretty much all I go for during the summer. So here's a brief explanation about the three shows I've been following lately.
Hell's Kitchen
Mondays at 9PM on Fox
I started watching Chef Gordon Ramsay's quest for a new chef to hire last summer, and it became quite addictive. When I told a friend that I liked to watch it, he said, "Well, why? You can enjoy the singing when you watch American Idol, but you don't get to eat the food!" But alas - Hell's Kitchen has almost as much drama as ANTM, and a cast of contestants so frequently pitiable or scorned that I don't know why sadistic reality TV watchers don't pay closer attention to this show. This season just premiered this week, and is already promising to have better editing and drama than last year's. Besides, if seeing things onscreen that you aren't experiencing in real life wasn't pleasurable, the food network wouldn't exist. Let alone the porn industry.
On The Lot
Tuesdays at 8PM on Fox
I have been watching this show with, for some reason, not as much interest as I think I should have. Maybe because I do not (yet) have directorial aspirations, I cannot be as captivated by this show as other film students. But there's something strange about this show. I would think that enough people would be interested in watching short films once a week, but I think there's a formatting problem that makes it difficult to carry out. I have enjoyed a number of the shorts that have been shown, but I think the show lacks a personality. Garry Marshall is the most captivating person onscreen, and while he's quite a character, that's not really a good thing when there are enough talented young people around showing their work. I'd like to see this show get a little revamped for next season, because I think it could be interesting to apply the reality show competition to film.
So You Think You Can Dance?
Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9pm on Fox
I had really wanted to watch this show during its first season, and I can't remember why I was never available when it was airing. But last year I got a little obsessed. Produced by the same geniuses behind Pop Idol, etc., SYTYCD has pretty much the same format. There are three to four judges (Nasty Nigel and Mary Murphy being the most memorable), and each week contestants work with a different expert choreographer. Also, the early episodes of each season have both impressive performances and hilariously bad ones - sound familiar? Why I love the show, though, is that by and large the personalities are more fun to watch. Also, I love the dancing almost every time, whereas I am rarely entertained by the singing on Idol anymore. Plus, I respect the way that they make dancers from different backgrounds compete in other styles that will challenge them, proving who is a great dancer, not just a one-trick pony. Last night they picked the top 20, notable because of the presence of Lacey, sister to last year's winner Benji, and the return of Hok! Hok was a favorite of a lot of people's last year when he would have been put through to the top 20 if it weren't for his lack of a work visa. I'm looking forward to seeing who he's partnered with next week!
Hell's Kitchen
Mondays at 9PM on Fox
I started watching Chef Gordon Ramsay's quest for a new chef to hire last summer, and it became quite addictive. When I told a friend that I liked to watch it, he said, "Well, why? You can enjoy the singing when you watch American Idol, but you don't get to eat the food!" But alas - Hell's Kitchen has almost as much drama as ANTM, and a cast of contestants so frequently pitiable or scorned that I don't know why sadistic reality TV watchers don't pay closer attention to this show. This season just premiered this week, and is already promising to have better editing and drama than last year's. Besides, if seeing things onscreen that you aren't experiencing in real life wasn't pleasurable, the food network wouldn't exist. Let alone the porn industry.
On The Lot
Tuesdays at 8PM on Fox
I have been watching this show with, for some reason, not as much interest as I think I should have. Maybe because I do not (yet) have directorial aspirations, I cannot be as captivated by this show as other film students. But there's something strange about this show. I would think that enough people would be interested in watching short films once a week, but I think there's a formatting problem that makes it difficult to carry out. I have enjoyed a number of the shorts that have been shown, but I think the show lacks a personality. Garry Marshall is the most captivating person onscreen, and while he's quite a character, that's not really a good thing when there are enough talented young people around showing their work. I'd like to see this show get a little revamped for next season, because I think it could be interesting to apply the reality show competition to film.
So You Think You Can Dance?
Wednesdays and Thursdays at 9pm on Fox
I had really wanted to watch this show during its first season, and I can't remember why I was never available when it was airing. But last year I got a little obsessed. Produced by the same geniuses behind Pop Idol, etc., SYTYCD has pretty much the same format. There are three to four judges (Nasty Nigel and Mary Murphy being the most memorable), and each week contestants work with a different expert choreographer. Also, the early episodes of each season have both impressive performances and hilariously bad ones - sound familiar? Why I love the show, though, is that by and large the personalities are more fun to watch. Also, I love the dancing almost every time, whereas I am rarely entertained by the singing on Idol anymore. Plus, I respect the way that they make dancers from different backgrounds compete in other styles that will challenge them, proving who is a great dancer, not just a one-trick pony. Last night they picked the top 20, notable because of the presence of Lacey, sister to last year's winner Benji, and the return of Hok! Hok was a favorite of a lot of people's last year when he would have been put through to the top 20 if it weren't for his lack of a work visa. I'm looking forward to seeing who he's partnered with next week!
Monday, April 30, 2007
i am three thousand percent sure!
I suppose I can understand people being baffled by my love for America's Next Top Model, Dirty Dancing, or even Philip Seymour Hoffman. Even some of my closest friends still raise an eyebrow when I wax nostalgic about the sense of security that comes from being engaged in conversation with Professor M. But nothing gets criticized more than my awed respect for The Maury Povich Show. Almost every weekday, if I'm free at noon or 2pm, I turn on Maury.
Types of Maury episodes typically break down into the following categories: paternity testing, unruly teen girls, lie-detector tests, abusive husbands, makeovers, obese toddlers, and sensational events caught on tape. The first three categories form a sort of Venn diagram, and air more frequently than the others. Rarely, there will be an exceptional episode about people with debilitating deformities or strange phobias, but these are few and far between.
A lot of people think of Maury as base entertainment cashing in on the problems of society's trodden-upon -- perhaps going to so far as to liken it to a modern day race-unspecific minstrel show. I can't entirely disprove this, but I'd like to argue that most forms of mainstream entertainment which are popular with the same demographics as Maury's audience are the same way. A lot can be asked about the ethics of a show which parades the sorrows and tribulations of its guests for profit, but the women who bring their fatherless children and cheating husbands onto the show are deeply yearning for answers.
On a basic level, Maury is providing services to people which are too expensive for almost everyone in the population. A trip to NYC to answer the questions that have been plaguing them is very desirable to a lot of people (as evidenced by the show's continued success), at the cost of being exposed on television in moments of vulnerability.
I watch the Maury show for a couple of reasons: it entertains me, and it makes me feel better by giving me the perspective to understand that other people have worse problems than I do. I also tend to think that Maury highlights how chronic some of society's problems are, like infidelity, unprotected sex and the resulting unplanned pregnancies, deadbeat dads, abusive husbands, rebellious teens, obesity, &c.
As a result of the reach Maury has over so many Americans, however, I believe that he has a social responsibility. On a small scale, he helps the individuals on his show, but does nothing to address the problems his show gives light to. This is my one concern, and I am baffled as to why Maury doesn't stress the use of condoms or other forms of birth control on his show. I have never once heard him mention that people wouldn't be going through such trauma if they just took better care of themselves. And I don't know how much a trip to prison and a tongue-lashing by D West is going to help a teenage prostitute in the long run. So though I enjoy The Maury Povich show, I do think it is past time for his audience to recognize the trends they watch on TV every day.
Types of Maury episodes typically break down into the following categories: paternity testing, unruly teen girls, lie-detector tests, abusive husbands, makeovers, obese toddlers, and sensational events caught on tape. The first three categories form a sort of Venn diagram, and air more frequently than the others. Rarely, there will be an exceptional episode about people with debilitating deformities or strange phobias, but these are few and far between.
A lot of people think of Maury as base entertainment cashing in on the problems of society's trodden-upon -- perhaps going to so far as to liken it to a modern day race-unspecific minstrel show. I can't entirely disprove this, but I'd like to argue that most forms of mainstream entertainment which are popular with the same demographics as Maury's audience are the same way. A lot can be asked about the ethics of a show which parades the sorrows and tribulations of its guests for profit, but the women who bring their fatherless children and cheating husbands onto the show are deeply yearning for answers.
On a basic level, Maury is providing services to people which are too expensive for almost everyone in the population. A trip to NYC to answer the questions that have been plaguing them is very desirable to a lot of people (as evidenced by the show's continued success), at the cost of being exposed on television in moments of vulnerability.
I watch the Maury show for a couple of reasons: it entertains me, and it makes me feel better by giving me the perspective to understand that other people have worse problems than I do. I also tend to think that Maury highlights how chronic some of society's problems are, like infidelity, unprotected sex and the resulting unplanned pregnancies, deadbeat dads, abusive husbands, rebellious teens, obesity, &c.
As a result of the reach Maury has over so many Americans, however, I believe that he has a social responsibility. On a small scale, he helps the individuals on his show, but does nothing to address the problems his show gives light to. This is my one concern, and I am baffled as to why Maury doesn't stress the use of condoms or other forms of birth control on his show. I have never once heard him mention that people wouldn't be going through such trauma if they just took better care of themselves. And I don't know how much a trip to prison and a tongue-lashing by D West is going to help a teenage prostitute in the long run. So though I enjoy The Maury Povich show, I do think it is past time for his audience to recognize the trends they watch on TV every day.
Friday, April 27, 2007
boob tube
Being a student at a pretty rowdy party school, I go out fairly often, and though Thursday is generally a very busy night, I didn't feel like putting in the effort yesterday. However, I wasn't abandoning a big party on the penultimate weekend before finals because I was planning on studying or something (pshaw)...it was primarily because I had a date with my television. A few yards away from my dorm, girls were wrestling in jello with little people who'd been hired for the occasion (I shit you not - disgusting), while I curled up in bed with primetime.
Some may scoff at the third parent of America's children, but I think television's value is ineffable. So without even attempting to explain why I carve so much time out of my schedule to watch tune in, here's a brief overview of my must-see TV shows. One small disclaimer - there are quite a few quality TV shows on cable, but I just don't have that at college. Some, like Showtime's Dexter, I find a way to watch "on demand" when visiting my parents' house, but for the most part, my cable TV viewing is on hiatus until I move out of the dorms.
HEROES
Mondays at 9pm on NBC
My appreciation for this show could be described as sinusoidal. I started watching it because it had gotten so much hype, and at first I was unimpressed. The first few episodes, however, got me telling people about how it was at least much better than most of the crap that gets picked up for networks nowadays, and isn't that really the best endorsement a fledgling series can get? As the season went on, I got more and more hooked. Some of the characters, like Hiro and Claire and Matt, are pretty interesting. Hiro, of course, is the most original, but those three capture my attention far more than the others. Peter's powers are, frankly, bitchin', but as a character he's kind of boring. Then there's someone like Niki/Jessica whose storyline has taken too long to be explained, and as such I lost interest in figuring her out or paying much attention after a few episodes. In terms of the storyline, though, Heroes wins at creating suspense and adrenaline for a series which, at first, stole too much from X-Men to be that exciting. At times there are a few too many things going on and an episode will thin out too much, but there is almost always a great cliffhanger at the end of each one, and it keeps me tuning in every week! The mid-season hiatus isn't something I'm pleased about when it comes to a show's first season, however, and I admit I've been a little forgetful by the time these last couple of episodes have aired, but I look forward to the new developments of season two.
America's Next Top Model
Wednesdays at 8pm on The CW
When ANTM came out, I never would have expected to want to see it once, let alone weekly, year after year. I started watching about halfway through Cycle 2, then forgot about it for a couple of years. But Yoanna's great face, and Shandi's boyfriend drama were better than a lot of scripted TV (yeah, I get that "reality" TV is as scripted as anything else, but I plan to devote a whole post to that eventually...). When I got to college, I finally had less homework and more free time, eventually found a group of Top Model Enthusiasts, and I am more than glad to have reentered their ranks. You see...the "skinny bitches show," as my dad calls it, is completely addictive. Though I generally couldn't care less about the modeling industry, somehow this show sucks me in. I can't really explain it. I went to all girls' school for nine years, so you'd think I'd have had my fill of girl-drama, but these hungry women make me nostalgic, I guess. And when the judges critique their posing or walking, I just eat it up. "Oh yeah," I'll say, "she needs to be a lot more fierce. She's hiding her neck, and has dead eyes." Perhaps it's because I'm waaaay too short to ever entertain the possibility of modeling, but I get such a feral kick out of criticizing these poor girls. I think if I were a fashion photographer and a model was being too timid on set, I'd pull out a conch and yell, "Sucks to your ass-mar!" Perhaps most importantly, though, I really don't like Tyra Banks. I am far too tired of the girls squealing every time they see her, I hate how "helpful" she is all the time, and 75% of the time she makes herself look like shit even though she's gorgeous. I love this show in spite of Tyra. That's a pretty big deal.
LOST
Wednesdays at 10pm on ABC
Last summer I rented season 1 of this show, in the wake of The Lost Experience, which made me feel as if I'd missed out. Having been in some sort of bubble, I really didn't know what to expect at all. But I specifically remember being completely surprised by the tense mood that the pilot put me in. It was pretty damn cool. I ate up the entire season on DVD, and spent way too many hours during my boring summer office job scouring the internet for LOST theories, explanations, and recaps. Season 2 came out on DVD right before the premiere of season 3, and it was a very tense race to the finish line for me, but thank god I made it. Season 2 was really spectacular, and though the current season has not exceeded it in suspense, I don't think it's gone that far downhill. The only characters I actually care about are Hurley, Jin, Sun, and Sawyer, but dammit I want to know the WHY of the island! This is where the show's creators really did it right. They had a good formula with flashbacks, and a good concept, but in the first few episodes they set up a system whereby they can always keep the audience waiting for answers. And I will keep watching until it gets explained. For the record, the episodes since the mid-season hiatus this year have been far superior to the first few of the season (barring the excellent premiere).
The Office
Thursdays at 8:30pm on NBC
For far too long, I was determined to dislike this show. Mostly, the advertising just never drew me in, and I have too many traces of Anglophilia holding over from my days as a teenage Janeite to want to buy into the Americanization of what I'd heard to be superb British comedy. So, I set some time aside within one of my favorite pastimes - watching whole seasons of TV shows on DVD in one or two sittings - to watch the entire UK version, followed by the first two seasons of the US show, which were available on DVD at the time. By the end of the Christmas special of the UK version, tears of joy in my eyes, my resolve to hate the US version was firmly in place. What Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Martin Freeman, Lucy Davis, and Mackenzie Crook did was magical. And I can still watch the show on DVD over and over again and be entertained. Then I watched season one of the US version, and was disgusted. Frankly, I still feel like the first season is entirely not worth watching for fans of the original. I've come to realize this is because the humor and energy of the writers and actors was being stifled by their unreasonable attempt to poorly imitate the dry genius of their predecessors. Seasons 2 and 3, however, have completely won my respect and admiration. I feel that the actors have finally been given an opportunity to breathe life into their quirky characters, and I am very glad that Steve Carell is not in a show that I at first thought was below him. There is only one thing about this new iteration of the WernhamDunder-HoggMifflin universe that irks me, which is that the pacing of the original is incompatible with the US version's desire to stay on as long as is financially possible. Let's face it - Tim and Dawn only worked as a couple because we had to wait until the last possible moment for them to get together. The Jim and Pam relationship has already gotten stagnant and recycled too many times, and I just hope the show doesn't go too far, too fast.
Grey's Anatomy
Thursdays at 9pm on ABC
This was another show that I didn't watch during its time slot until having rented the first two seasons on DVD. To be honest, I don't have too much to say about this show's substance. I think Shonda Rimes & co. do a fantastic job of unrealistically witty banter that women love, and I'm okay with buying into it. I got obsessed with this show as soon as I started watching it, and it's nice to have a show which has made me cry (heart-wrenching medical emergencies), laugh (oh, that droll Cristina Yang!), and think (ew, I hope I'm not too much like Meredith). Plus, there's a ton of hot hot hotties on it. I suppose on a slightly deeper level, I appreciate the show's treatment of multiracial coupling and families - not making a big deal or very special episode out of a Jewish Korean-American dating an African-American, or portraying a Hispanic woman as being the more powerful, wealthy, and intelligent in her marriage with a white man. I attribute this to the impressive diversity among the writing team, and as an aspiring screenwriter myself, it's nice to see a minority female doing so well in this field. I know the blind casting on this show is unrealistic, but I'm willing to suspend disbelief for a show like this. Also, Sara Ramirez, Katherine Heigl, and Kate Walsh are just goooorgeous. I'd watch them sitting around making quilts for an hour... I mean, come on!
30 Rock
Thursdays at 9pm on NBC
I only just started watching the episodes of this show which were on the network's website, so I can't really say anything comprehensive, except that the absurdist comedy works so perfectly to balance the outlandishness of the Tracy Jordan and Jack Donaghy characters with the awkward realism of Liz Lemon. I am very much looking forward to watching the whole 1st season on DVD, as I've had to relegate my viewership to catching up online as a result of my previously existing appointment with Grey's. Also, it's nice to have a Tracy Morgan fix that isn't watching Brian Fellow clips on the internet. For the record, Tina Fey is also my idol. She's funnier than I could hope to be, and she champions hotness for bespectacled brunettes everywhere!
ETA: Since the season finale, NBC has put the entire series of 30 Rock online. I totally watched the whole thing when I was procrastinating, and I recommend it as a way to put off doing anything useful!
Some may scoff at the third parent of America's children, but I think television's value is ineffable. So without even attempting to explain why I carve so much time out of my schedule to watch tune in, here's a brief overview of my must-see TV shows. One small disclaimer - there are quite a few quality TV shows on cable, but I just don't have that at college. Some, like Showtime's Dexter, I find a way to watch "on demand" when visiting my parents' house, but for the most part, my cable TV viewing is on hiatus until I move out of the dorms.
HEROES
Mondays at 9pm on NBC
My appreciation for this show could be described as sinusoidal. I started watching it because it had gotten so much hype, and at first I was unimpressed. The first few episodes, however, got me telling people about how it was at least much better than most of the crap that gets picked up for networks nowadays, and isn't that really the best endorsement a fledgling series can get? As the season went on, I got more and more hooked. Some of the characters, like Hiro and Claire and Matt, are pretty interesting. Hiro, of course, is the most original, but those three capture my attention far more than the others. Peter's powers are, frankly, bitchin', but as a character he's kind of boring. Then there's someone like Niki/Jessica whose storyline has taken too long to be explained, and as such I lost interest in figuring her out or paying much attention after a few episodes. In terms of the storyline, though, Heroes wins at creating suspense and adrenaline for a series which, at first, stole too much from X-Men to be that exciting. At times there are a few too many things going on and an episode will thin out too much, but there is almost always a great cliffhanger at the end of each one, and it keeps me tuning in every week! The mid-season hiatus isn't something I'm pleased about when it comes to a show's first season, however, and I admit I've been a little forgetful by the time these last couple of episodes have aired, but I look forward to the new developments of season two.
America's Next Top Model
Wednesdays at 8pm on The CW
When ANTM came out, I never would have expected to want to see it once, let alone weekly, year after year. I started watching about halfway through Cycle 2, then forgot about it for a couple of years. But Yoanna's great face, and Shandi's boyfriend drama were better than a lot of scripted TV (yeah, I get that "reality" TV is as scripted as anything else, but I plan to devote a whole post to that eventually...). When I got to college, I finally had less homework and more free time, eventually found a group of Top Model Enthusiasts, and I am more than glad to have reentered their ranks. You see...the "skinny bitches show," as my dad calls it, is completely addictive. Though I generally couldn't care less about the modeling industry, somehow this show sucks me in. I can't really explain it. I went to all girls' school for nine years, so you'd think I'd have had my fill of girl-drama, but these hungry women make me nostalgic, I guess. And when the judges critique their posing or walking, I just eat it up. "Oh yeah," I'll say, "she needs to be a lot more fierce. She's hiding her neck, and has dead eyes." Perhaps it's because I'm waaaay too short to ever entertain the possibility of modeling, but I get such a feral kick out of criticizing these poor girls. I think if I were a fashion photographer and a model was being too timid on set, I'd pull out a conch and yell, "Sucks to your ass-mar!" Perhaps most importantly, though, I really don't like Tyra Banks. I am far too tired of the girls squealing every time they see her, I hate how "helpful" she is all the time, and 75% of the time she makes herself look like shit even though she's gorgeous. I love this show in spite of Tyra. That's a pretty big deal.
LOST
Wednesdays at 10pm on ABC
Last summer I rented season 1 of this show, in the wake of The Lost Experience, which made me feel as if I'd missed out. Having been in some sort of bubble, I really didn't know what to expect at all. But I specifically remember being completely surprised by the tense mood that the pilot put me in. It was pretty damn cool. I ate up the entire season on DVD, and spent way too many hours during my boring summer office job scouring the internet for LOST theories, explanations, and recaps. Season 2 came out on DVD right before the premiere of season 3, and it was a very tense race to the finish line for me, but thank god I made it. Season 2 was really spectacular, and though the current season has not exceeded it in suspense, I don't think it's gone that far downhill. The only characters I actually care about are Hurley, Jin, Sun, and Sawyer, but dammit I want to know the WHY of the island! This is where the show's creators really did it right. They had a good formula with flashbacks, and a good concept, but in the first few episodes they set up a system whereby they can always keep the audience waiting for answers. And I will keep watching until it gets explained. For the record, the episodes since the mid-season hiatus this year have been far superior to the first few of the season (barring the excellent premiere).
The Office
Thursdays at 8:30pm on NBC
For far too long, I was determined to dislike this show. Mostly, the advertising just never drew me in, and I have too many traces of Anglophilia holding over from my days as a teenage Janeite to want to buy into the Americanization of what I'd heard to be superb British comedy. So, I set some time aside within one of my favorite pastimes - watching whole seasons of TV shows on DVD in one or two sittings - to watch the entire UK version, followed by the first two seasons of the US show, which were available on DVD at the time. By the end of the Christmas special of the UK version, tears of joy in my eyes, my resolve to hate the US version was firmly in place. What Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant, Martin Freeman, Lucy Davis, and Mackenzie Crook did was magical. And I can still watch the show on DVD over and over again and be entertained. Then I watched season one of the US version, and was disgusted. Frankly, I still feel like the first season is entirely not worth watching for fans of the original. I've come to realize this is because the humor and energy of the writers and actors was being stifled by their unreasonable attempt to poorly imitate the dry genius of their predecessors. Seasons 2 and 3, however, have completely won my respect and admiration. I feel that the actors have finally been given an opportunity to breathe life into their quirky characters, and I am very glad that Steve Carell is not in a show that I at first thought was below him. There is only one thing about this new iteration of the WernhamDunder-HoggMifflin universe that irks me, which is that the pacing of the original is incompatible with the US version's desire to stay on as long as is financially possible. Let's face it - Tim and Dawn only worked as a couple because we had to wait until the last possible moment for them to get together. The Jim and Pam relationship has already gotten stagnant and recycled too many times, and I just hope the show doesn't go too far, too fast.
Grey's Anatomy
Thursdays at 9pm on ABC
This was another show that I didn't watch during its time slot until having rented the first two seasons on DVD. To be honest, I don't have too much to say about this show's substance. I think Shonda Rimes & co. do a fantastic job of unrealistically witty banter that women love, and I'm okay with buying into it. I got obsessed with this show as soon as I started watching it, and it's nice to have a show which has made me cry (heart-wrenching medical emergencies), laugh (oh, that droll Cristina Yang!), and think (ew, I hope I'm not too much like Meredith). Plus, there's a ton of hot hot hotties on it. I suppose on a slightly deeper level, I appreciate the show's treatment of multiracial coupling and families - not making a big deal or very special episode out of a Jewish Korean-American dating an African-American, or portraying a Hispanic woman as being the more powerful, wealthy, and intelligent in her marriage with a white man. I attribute this to the impressive diversity among the writing team, and as an aspiring screenwriter myself, it's nice to see a minority female doing so well in this field. I know the blind casting on this show is unrealistic, but I'm willing to suspend disbelief for a show like this. Also, Sara Ramirez, Katherine Heigl, and Kate Walsh are just goooorgeous. I'd watch them sitting around making quilts for an hour... I mean, come on!
30 Rock
Thursdays at 9pm on NBC
I only just started watching the episodes of this show which were on the network's website, so I can't really say anything comprehensive, except that the absurdist comedy works so perfectly to balance the outlandishness of the Tracy Jordan and Jack Donaghy characters with the awkward realism of Liz Lemon. I am very much looking forward to watching the whole 1st season on DVD, as I've had to relegate my viewership to catching up online as a result of my previously existing appointment with Grey's. Also, it's nice to have a Tracy Morgan fix that isn't watching Brian Fellow clips on the internet. For the record, Tina Fey is also my idol. She's funnier than I could hope to be, and she champions hotness for bespectacled brunettes everywhere!
ETA: Since the season finale, NBC has put the entire series of 30 Rock online. I totally watched the whole thing when I was procrastinating, and I recommend it as a way to put off doing anything useful!
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