XOXO...Zzzz

In the interest of full disclosure, I fell asleep somewhere around the last couple of scenes during Gossip Girl last night.  What do you want me to tell you - this episode was boring, and I get up early.  I guess there was some good stuff going on in the show, but I really hate when they try to make us care what hijinks they're getting up to at college.  Okay, I guess I don't know what I want.  I want it to seem believable that these kids are actually at Columbia, but when there is drama about profs and deans I just can't bring myself to care.


The best part about the episode is that everyone was shocked and outraged about a rumor that Serena has an STD, and Serena says Gossip Girl is usually too "classy" for this kind of filth.  Um, where has she been for the past four seasons, no it's not.  Statistically, Serena and the other UESiders all should have at least one strain of HPV.  Do you see Lily rousing herself from her heroin den long enough to get her kids vaccinated with Gardasil?  Plus Chuck and Nate at least have a history with sex workers, and I suspect, each other.  Now, I'm not saying that having X amount of sexual partners guarantees that a person will have a venereal disease, it's just that these characters are always swapping partners and never talking about condoms, so I assume they are exposing themselves to risk.  Especially since Dan and Nate seem to only have considered the notion of getting tested just now.  Heads up: you are supposed to get tested every time you are with a new partner, kids.

The whole storyline of Chuck plotting to take Columbia away from Blair, while Jailbird tries to take it away from Serena, and there are professors who can be bribed with dates made by 20-year-olds, and you can ask your friends to register you for classes...ugh, this was too much to handle.  It was funny seeing Chuck on campus, clearly disgusted but willing to do what it takes to bring down Blair, at least.  But why are Dan and Vanessa hanging out at Columbia so much?  Don't they go to NYU, the land of movie star threesomes and Lady GaGa performance art (same thing)?  Whatever.


I am so over Nate's mystery bitch.  Why does everyone trust her?  Vanessa, with her dead eyes, telling her "i am so glad u are with nate u make a gud couple REBOOT."  Isn't she constantly being outed as a seekret baddy?  I hope they don't drag out gaol guy all season, because it is so painful trying to care if bad stuff happens to Serena, when all I want is for bad stuff to happen to Serena.  So when she was almost expelled for sexting her professor, I kinda thought that was pretty great, especially at the fancy secret society party where the professors and the Dean and the NYU students get to attend.


I loved Rufus asking Vanessa to open up to him about his son's bad behavior.  Remember when Rufus (hot) and Vanessa (ugh) ran a coffee shop / art gallery together (the place where Dan lost his V-card to his now-sister Serena)?  I hope they hook up this season, as they've clearly been doing off-camera for the past two.


Joan's rapist husband the Vietnam doctor is on Gossip Girl now (I guess that means spoiler alert for Mad Men), as like, parallel-universe Chuck.  A well-dressed guy sending off a different girl in a cab every morning, and using it as an excuse to hit on a drugged-out homewrecker.  Serena is so terrible, I hope she and this guy date and then he recruits her into a pyramid scheme.  Gossip Girl season 5: Caged Heat: White Collar.  Or something.


Also, Chuck using a "pie" reference was as lame as Blair saying "hundys" last week.  You're better than that, Chuck.


Then I fell asleep.

Gossip Girl, Mondays at 9pm on The CW

Big Mistake. Huge.

Last night's Gossip Girl was a pretty good one.  There wasn't too much of the dumb storyline with Nate's new girlfriend, and the Chuck/Eva storyline faded out nicely into a rebirth of the show's best hand: Chuck and Blair feuding once more.  I liked that Blair assumed that Chuck would shun Eva upon learning that she was a former sex worker.  It's like, have you ever met Chuck?  Anyway I think I'll just share with you the notes I made while I was watching the episode last night, as they don't really need much context:

- Every time Ed Westwick acts real hard it just makes me giggle.
- What's with this weird shaky cam they're using to film S and B in their shared bathroom?  Is this supposed to mimic a Gossip Girl livestream?
- Blair Waldorf would never refer to money as a "stack of hundys."
- Dan's new hairdo makes him look like Brandon Walsh after an unfortunate experiment with Soul Glo.
- I can't believe this is the first time GG has had a Hooker With a Heart of Gold storyline.
- "We have lots of skeletons in our closets... and we have mansions full of closets." thx n8
- I love that Blair is willing to let Serena take one for the team by slumming it with Dan in order to "save the world from an Abrams-Humphrey spawn."
- "That dress is just unfair" is the gayest thing for a man to say to a woman, shy of any Usher lyrics.
- Thank god that the climax of this episode includes a line from Chuck's manservant about shining Chuck's shoes.  It makes me think that they have the kind of relationship where Chuck is always reminding him, "When I get home in the middle of the night after my gala/benefit, you'd BETTER have my pointy-toed ankle boots shined!"

I am pretty pumped to see Chuck and Blair antagonizing each other again, so that gives me hope for the season, even if we have to put up with some useless machinations by prison dude and his bland sister.  My eyes completely glaze over when Vanessa's on screen, so she may or may not still being dating Dan, but whatever.

Gossip Girl, Mondays at 9pm on The CW

Gossip Girl season 4 (ugh), episode 3

When Gossip Girl first came on, it was so addictive!  I lured my roommate Jamie into watching it by explaining that the titular Gossip Girl is neither Blair nor Serena, but is in fact more of an entity.  About halfway through season two this show went south pretty quickly, but most people I know still watch because it's a dumb soap opera with dumb characters in awesome fashion.  Bring on the judgment!

So this season started off with the aftermath of Chuck having been shot by robbers in Prague, Blair and Serena nursing their emotional wounds in Paris, Nate doing whatever, and Dan secretly raising Georgina's lovechild in his Brooklyn loft.  These are all normal, typical ways that Manhattan teenagers spend the summer after freshman year of college.

The third episode of the season brings us all back to the Upper East Side, where everyone but everyone is involved in Fashion Week for some reason!  Just like last week?  Chuck is hoping to make amends with his family, and Lily, who will never judge him because she knows what it's like to be a terrible person that everyone loves anyway, is sure that she can convince Rufus and Eric to give Chuck another chance even though he had sex with 16-year-old Jenny.

When he brings Fleur Delacour to the gala or whatever to help explain how some random poor beautiful French girl has turned him into the greatest person ever, he expects a warm welcome.  Except that Eric spills the beans to Rufus about that time in the pilot when Chuck tried to rape Jenny on the roof at Blair's Kiss on the Lips party (never forget), so Rufus is rightly upset.  He threatens to tell all of Chuck's terrible secrets to Fleur, but Chuck denies that he knows her.  "But Monsieur Chuck, you 'ave zee perfect life!  What possible secrets could zere be?"  Now, the show expects us to believe that Chuck unloads them all on her right then and there.  How the eff do you think that conversation actually goes?  "Well, after my mother faked her death, I grew up hating women.  When I lost my virginity to Georgina Sparks in the 6th grade..."  Anyway, Fleur forgives him because she sees a sweet life ahead of her in a bangin' penthouse.  If I were Blair I would be so pissed off.  You spend three seasons grooming Chuck into a somewhat-decent person and some Opera Rat gets all the benefit?  Oooh, girl!

Meanwhile Serena and Blair blah blah blah.  Everyone makes it very clear to Serena that she is not welcome in their friends group, or on this show.  There's some secret society where you get keys (for coke orgies, I assume) if you're a member, and only the most nepotistic get to join, and of course Nate's trick from like two episodes ago is in charge, because WHAT?  Does she even go to Columbia?  Also is this a real thing that Columbia students are doing?  Maybe because my school didn't even have a Greek system, I am having trouble comprehending to what extent normal college students are involved in secret societies, but there has been a bit much on this show.  I mean, they are in COLLEGE, and even say, "I expected college to be easy."  Hint: if you're spending all of your time at fashion parties and none of your time studying, IT IS.  Where are the all-nighters in pajama pants with no makeup?  Did I do college wrong?

So Serena doesn't get to join and Blair feels mildly bad about that, except no she wouldn't, and S is all "oh I'm cool with it, no big," and tries to get Nate to pay attention to her, but OF COURSE HE WON'T because after she took his virginity on a barstool and then skipped town and then came back and dated Dan and like a million other people INCLUDING HIS MARRIED COUSIN and then Nate again but then cheated on him with Dan but then was like "I CHOOSE ME" and left town, he has better things to do.

So then I kind of tuned out for a while.  I guess Lily did some investigating (thereby doing her annual experiment in paying attention to her kids) and discovered that by the Laws of Nepotism, Serena should have been invited to the secret society!  So clearly the new bitch is manipulating things, for some reason that no one cares about.  Blair and Serena (and Dorota, duh) stage a fake catfight and get Gossip Girl to livestream it so that all the bitches at the...wait is everyone at the same party?  Is this a fashion party or a secret society party?  I can't tell.  Everyone is reacting in some way to something.  But there is literally a curtain pulled and the secret behind it is...I don't even remember.  Then Blair and Serena are so happy to be friends that are both in the secret society, so Serena moves in with...Blair?  Doesn't Blair live with Eleanor and Cyrus Rose (and Dorota and Vanya and their baby)?  Why wouldn't Serena live with her mom and Rufus?  I'm pretty confused about this.

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn (ugh), Rufus has the results of the paternity test he snuck, and OMGWHAT Dan is not the baby daddy.  If there was one person surprised by this, they should be killed.  So (again, I kinda wasn't paying attention) Dan wants to confront Georgina, but she is on the beach somewhere being a deadbeat mom (Where does she get the money for this lifestyle?  Wouldn't her parents have cut her off after Christianity camp didn't take?), so he takes Milo (ugh) to an orphanage, but doesn't want to abandon this kid, so he decides to raise it as his own.  DAN HUMPHREY.  And Vanessa (VANESSA) is like, "Well, we did have sex that one time on your couch, so yes, I will move in and raise Georgina's baby with you."  NONE OF THIS WOULD HAVE ACTUALLY HAPPENED IN REAL LIFE.  But then Georgina comes back and takes this plot point away after a whopping 3.5 episodes, and Dan and Vanessa decide to live together anyway.  Good luck having a stable relationship without Hilary Duff threesomes, guys.

Ugh-ntil next time...

Gossip Girl, Mondays at 9pm on The CW

For Keeps

Lately I've been watching volume 4 of The Secret Life of the American Teenager on DVD. [Sidenote: I hate when TV shows are released as volumes in a manner irrelevant to what season you are watching.] I cannot stop watching this terrible, awful show no matter how hard I try. I caught the first half of season one on DVD a couple of years ago, intrigued by how ABC Family would handle teenagers having sex (this is before I started watching Greek), but the acting was so painfully amateur that I stopped watching.

A year or so later I was watching The Soup on E!, where they showed a clip of character Grace, whom I had remembered from the first few episodes as being strictly Christian and virginal. In this clip, however, she was pleading, "Dad died a terrible, terrible death, because I had great sex, and I will never forgive myself for that!" Whhaaaa? I was so intrigued that I put the show back on my Netflix queue, curious to see how the show had gotten to such a point. Surely the quality had improved as the show had gained popularity and experience.

I have to interrupt myself here to say that I love trashiness. I mean, I'm someone who has stuck with Gossip Girl after it got ridiculous (well, it was always ridiculous). I have segments of I Love New York 2 (season 2 > season 1, obviously) memorized. So, in wondering how The Secret Life would have gotten to the point I had seen it at in the aforementioned clip, my mind reeled. I tried to think of ways in which Grace could have killed her father with sex. My favorite was thinking that she and her lantern-jawed boyfriend were going at it so intensely, the bed fell through the floor and landed on the father who is just sitting downstairs reading the bible.

Look, suffice it to say, what actually happened was nowhere near that cool. I sat through however many discs of this dry, dull, and stupid TV show to get to that scene, and it was definitely not worth it. I decided to stop watching for good, until I heard that Bristol Palin was going to be guest starring in the current season, so here I am again, catching up on DVD, hating every minute, and hoping for some kind of payoff.

Now look, there has been a lot of derision geared towards Bristol Palin, before and since her appearance on this show, and that upsets me. Politics completely aside, a teenage girl made the mistake of having unprotected sex, and got pregnant. Like millions of others. She was placed in the public spotlight by no desire of her own, and tried to make the best of it. So she's not a good actress, fine, but I just wish people would lay off of her. Anyway.

So, here I am watching this show. I want to like it. I want it to be good. I'm a huge advocate for comprehensive sex education, and I feel that if children were taught more thoroughly about healthy, safe sex, it would improve so many things. Fewer unplanned pregnancies, STDs, healthier people, fewer unplanned-for children to care for, less sexual assault, better sex lives, happier people! I want there to be a popular, sex-positive TV show that teaches teens the real facts about the one thing they can't stop thinking about anyway. And if this is that show, why is it the worst? The writing and acting are awful, which is just unfortunate. But also, the messages about sex are so mixed!

Last night I watched an episode called "Just Say Me," in which the girls organize a Lysistrata-esque campaign to withhold sex from the boys, and to make doing so easier by promoting masturbation. This seemed promising! Teenage girls talking openly about masturbation, showing healthy sexual desire, and staying safe! And then they were all slut-shamed for doing something 'embarrassing,' even though it's okay for boys to do it, and they were pressured into feeling guilty for taking sex away from the boys. OH MY GOD. This, people, is rape culture. This is the pervasive attitude that women do not have sex for any reason other than to please men, and it is their obligation to do so.

I guess this would be a good show for teenagers to watch with their parents, to foster discussion about these things. Why I'm still watching it is a mystery. I mean, it's basically middle-class Gossip Girl, but with worse writing and acting. Worse writing than Gossip Girl, people. What is wrong with me? What is wrong with everything?!

Fall Season Partial Review

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.)

you know you love me

For the first week while I was in Australia, I felt confident that I could wait until I come home in January to catch up on Gossip Girl. Then I decided to tide myself over by rewatching season 1 on DVD. What a masterpiece this show is! Watching season 1 over really opened my eyes to a lot about the show. For example, what had previously been a mild annoyance with Dan blossomed into full-fledged loathing when I saw him again. What a loser. Anyway:

My wonderful and awesome sister gave me an iTunes giftcard as a going away present which was perfect! I've kept up with GG every week and have been given the ability to pause and scrutinise each new episode as I watch them on my computer! So far, I'm really happy with season 2. I think the show's writers realized that Chuck and Blair are the heart, mind, and soul (and libido) of this show. I think that Jenny's character is moving in a good direction. She had to be put in her place after the lame shenanigans from the end of season 1, but now I think that she has the potential to really rise to the top once school starts. Serena and Dan - meh, whatever. If they get back together every episode I'll be so peeved. Lily's on honeymoon, but I look forward to her return and inevitable sparring/loooovemaking with Rufus, the hottest guy on the show. Vanessa's become slightly less annoying (but doesn't she have any other friends?), and I am over the moon that Nate is in a ridiculous situation as the potential future stepfather of Lord Marcus, Blair's boyfriend of the horrible accent.

Now I'd like to share with you the emails that I sent to my former roommate Jamie (and fellow GG addict - I turned her on to the show when she saw me watching it and asked, "Is [Serena] the gossip girl?" to which I replied "Gossip Girl is more like an entity."). As I watched the latest epsiode (S02 Ep03, "The Dark Night"), about a day after she had, I sent her a blow by blow email with my reactions. Enjoy.

Subject: OMFG
• First email sent 6 minutes in:
J,
Okay, I'm only 6 minutes in to season 2 ep 3 of GG, but I had to share this moment of joy with you:
Blair sees via Gossip Girl that Serena and Dan are back together and goes "UGH I knew it."
SHE IS AMAZING BLAIR RULEZ DAN DROOLZ will email later with more updates, followed by skype call sometime soon!
Love,
K
• Second email sent 15 minutes in:
Theory: Gossip Girl is DOROTA. I have thoughts to back this up. Ask me about them when we talk.
• Third email sent 20 minutes in:
First of all, "You are not using Blair as sexual Drano!" I wish I could have that line as my ringtone. Also, Chuck is so amazing that his butler just says (verbatim), "A flight has arrived from Tokyo" and some random Asian stewardess just rolls up? WHO IS CHUCK Also this has to do with my Dorota theory.
• Fourth email sent 27 minutes in:
Y.E.S.
1) No one notices Chuck date raping Blair in the corner of the party even though she was obviously just talking to someone.
2) Chuck using sexuality as a weapon against vulnerable Blair brings out the best in both of them.
3) Chuck actually saying, "Have sex with me. Just once. It's all I need." HE'S CHUCK BASS.
• Fifth email sent 37 minutes in:
My eyes are rolling out of my face during every Nate/Vanessa scene. Also, still over Dan and Serena. PLEASE tell me that Blair is going to be waiting in the pitch black for Marcus to come do her but OOPSIE IT'S CHUCK BASS.
• Sixth email sent 42 minutes in:
OY. In the elevator:
S: "I can't change who I am."
D: "Neither can I."
No, LonelyBoy, you're missing the point. Serena can't change the fact that she's a rich, well-known, charming, albeit misguided young lady. She doesn't give a shit that you're poor and alternative, she gives a shit that you're a dick. That's what you can change, douchebag. And get your teeth fixed.
• Seventh email sent 53 minutes in (after the credits):
Okay, so they're probably gonna hook up again, but thank god Serena and Dan are split for now. As for Vanessa, I think she did the right thing. But now what? She can't date Dan, because then they're back at square 1 and have no Upper East Siders to interact with. Blair and Marcus are done - predictable, but I think they could have made it more scandalous for an episode or two. Can't wait to see what happens with her and Chuck. Mostly, I'm looking forward to school starting because I think Jenny has potential. She's made of stronger stuff now, and I think she has greatness in front of her if she plays her cards right. Lily and Bart need to get back from their honeymoon and Rufus needs a hotter chick to date. This one looked like Vanessa's aunt.
As for now, you know you love me, XOXO,
Katherine
• Eighth email sent 55 minutes in:
P.S. Chuck's British accent!

I hope you enjoyed that play-by-play. I will likely have one every week between now and the end of the season since Jamie and I aren't able to watch GG together anymore. I know you're interested in hearing about my Dorota theory, and I promise: it's good! But it's quite in-depth so I think I'll devote a more detailed post to it later.

"hell hath no fury...

"...like a Chuck Bass scorned."

Okay, so Gossip Girl's Chuck Bass (your favorite television character, and mine) has nothing to do with this post really. I saw Son of Rambow this weekend, and Ed Westwick, who plays the inimitable Chuck Bass, has a minor role in it as the older brother of one of the main characters. Before discussing Garth Jennings' small film, I would like to put forth a small sidebar discussion: creepy or English? One of the many ongoing debates in my life (gay or twins? gay or European? &c.) is "creepy or English?" Ed Westwick is a perfect example of someone who, when you look at his face, your immediate reaction is to be creeped out. But then, when you realize he's English, his face makes much more sense, and he's not as creepy anymore. As Manhattanite Chuck Bass, he's dripping in creep. But as a Brit, he's just douchey. Same thing happened to Jude Law in I Heart Huckabees, though his American accent did (well, as his British one does, I guess) skew gay in that movie.

Now, on to Son of Rambow. I was quite looking forward to this movie, which I'd had the impression of being a sweet little movie about two boys making friends, coming of age, learning a life lesson, blah blah blah. While that is, in the end, what the movie is about, there are a few more complications to that, some of which were welcome, and some which confused me unnecessarily.

As is par for the course in friendship / coming of age stories, there had to be a moment when the boys, Will and Lee, would turn against each other, only to find that they need each other after all. It happened at the appropriate intersection of plot points, but could have been written more smoothly. When (SPOILER!!!) Will pushes Lee out of the movie, and out of his life, it seems very impulsive, and far meaner than we ever would have expected Will would be. (END SPOILER)

The added wrinkle of Will's upbringing in a super-conservative religious sect lent a great amount of depth to the little boy's character, and was the impetus for quite a bit of action throughout the movie. It is because of how well Will's religious and family life is handled that I'm willing to forgive some of the irrational decisions he makes later on. When he gets in with the annoying French kid's posse, for example, it reflects the limited world he's come from, and how anything flashy can really impress him.

The film's tagline, "Make believe, not war" is a great indicator of how the movie idealizes the power of imagination and creativity in children's lives. There are some wonderful scenes of fantastic imagery, and I would expect no less from the director of Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. This was Jennings' first time as a writer, though, which explains some of the problems with the way the story proceeded, but all in all, it was definitely a much more enjoyable moviewatching experience than Indiana Jones, which I'd just seen the previous day.

The final sequence of the film definitely ranks pretty high up on the heartwarming scale, but if, after you see Son of Rambow, you are still looking for a film about children who love movies, with a heartstring-tugging ending, then please for the love of god rent Cinema Paradiso, which was on my mind after Rambow.

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.

xoxo, "you know you love me..."

A few weeks ago, my roommate Jamie and I excitedly bought the first book in the Gossip Girl series by Cecily von Ziegesar, so we could get in touch with the roots of our favorite show on television. (Did I tell you I met the creator? Coolest moment in my life.) So, finals finally over, I read it. Ehh, I guess I don't have much positive to say. I liked it well enough being familiar with the characters as I know them from the show, but on its own, I do not really understand how this series took off. Maybe preteen girls like that they can read about sex and drugs and fashion (with real swear words!) without having to suffer the consequences personally? Maybe it's because I went to an all girls' school with a lot of rich girls, but I was disappointed by how unrealistic the book felt. Maybe it's not supposed to be relatable, or maybe it's an East Coast / West Coast thing, but I just don't see myself reading any more of the series any time soon. I like my Vanessa a skanky Puerto Rican, my Lil' J a flat-chested blonde, and my Rufus a sexy ex-rocker. Also, the show has a kickass soundtrack. Call me vapid, but TV > reading in this situation!

gotta say, the chants could use a rewrite...

...Just because I don't think Norma Rae would be too impressed with, "How greedy can they get? They won't even share the net!" As for me, it just makes me think of Sandra Bullock getting her identity stolen.

Tuesday morning, Anderson Cooper came to speak at my school. The subject was about how we college students can move up in the world by "following our bliss," which was some advice his mother, Gloria Vanderbilt, gave him when he was our age. That, and to wear vertical stripes, which are slimming (just like these here mom jeans). Taking this advice, I left Claremont immediately after his speech was over, and made it to the picket lines at Universal Studios with just an hour before the day's picketing was scheduled to be over at 2pm. At first, I guess I really didn't understand what the strike line experience was going to be like, as I had only seen the supermarket strikes of a few years ago. I was expecting that everyone would be mingling around networking, and I'd just fit right in. Though that didn't turn out to be the case, the actual experience of supporting the strike and being a demonstrator became what I found I wanted to do.

Now, watching news footage of the strike, or the WGA's YouTube channel can be a little bit unusual. There are guitar-strumming SAG members and rich folk chanting "Union Power!" which is a little disconcerting when the conventional archetype of a union member is a blue-collar laborer. That aside, there are Union issues at hand here, and I think the interconnectivity of the WGA, DGA, and SAG is very interesting to watch. Certainly, there is a rank-and-file in the WGA, as not everyone is a head writer for a successful primetime show or a screenwriter making millions and winning Oscars. Maybe Tuesday was a unique day to go to the strike, as "Picketing With the Stars" day happened to coincide with my one afternoon off, so there was a different sort of feeling on Lankershim Blvd. And a lot more media attention.

Though I did have the chance to meet a few TV stars, I was particularly excited to meet Josh Schwartz, creator of what is quickly becoming one of my favorite shows of all time: Gossip Girl. I think I was a little obnoxious, actually, asking him about Rufus' backstory on the show...maybe it's because I look like I'm 14 that everyone I talked to was a little like, "why are you here?" but I think once I explained that I'm an aspiring writer who was there to support the WGA, I became a little less annoying. Also, I was walking around with my digital camera around my wrist, my borrowed camcorder in one hand, and my found picket sign in the other. Sometime in the next couple of days I should have finished editing the video I took of the strike (which includes a little Sarah Silverman, and a great moment in which Jack Black says simply, "Go. Writers." So sad I couldn't get the camera on quick enough to catch John Cho, too.

Oh, and does anyone know who this woman is? Ed Helms told me that she's a writer on The Office, and I have been racking my brain trying to think of her name! Speaking of The Office, it's a shame I missed out on Stanley and Creed's appearance earlier in the day, but that's life. I thought it was a great experience to meet the writers that I did, and really get a first-hand view of what this strike is really like. I would encourage any supporters of the WGA to make it down to the lines and help demonstrate, or to be one of the many people driving by, honking their horns in support.

Stay tuned sometime this weekend to see the video footage I got - it's pretty cool, if I do say so myself.

once more, with bitches!

I would just like to amend my earlier post about this fall's season premieres to say that I am now caught up on The CW's new series Gossip Girl. I never read the series of books that the show is based on, and I've never really been into the high school drama shows with age-inappropriate actors like Dawson's Creek or The OC, but this show did draw me in for two reasons. As an alumna of a very clique-y all girls' prep school, I think I'm craving more drama in my life, since this semester it has been spent entirely in a book, in front of a computer, or behind a camera. Also, it stars Blake Lively who was in The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants, one of my guiltier pleasures.

So far, it isn't the best show on TV, and even though it isn't that slowly paced, I am just not sure that enough happens in each episode. There's a lot of exposition, but not that much action. Of course, I'm not expecting it to be LOST or anything, but I think the show does have a lot of potential. Oh, and for the record: I was kind of on the fence about the show until there was a totally pointless a capella version of "Glamorous" performed in a church. Seriously.

I managed to catch up on the season's first three episodes when I accidentally noticed they were being replayed on MTV yesterday afternoon. I have a big gripe with MTV right now. Every commercial break starts with a clip of Rilo Kiley (one of my absolute favorite bands) performing, then the video transitions into an ad for one of their reality shows about rich girls or skateboarding teens. WHILE THE RILO KILEY MUSIC IS STILL PLAYING UNDERNEATH IT. I don't know why this bothers me so much, but it reeeeally does. Their new CD, "Under the Blacklight," is excellent, and I love hearing tracks "Silver Lining" or "The Moneymaker" every ten minutes when I'm watching MTV, but I'd rather not have to be distracted by some other show at the same time.

Anyone know why they do this?

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