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REVIEW: 2010-2011 Television Season

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I have always watched a crap-ton of tv, but this year seemed particularly heavy. I had at least two shows per day Monday thru Thursday and I discovered the brilliance of British television. It’s been a busy television season and on the whole, I’m satisfied with the finales we got.

Shows That Premiered This  Season…

After watching the pilot episode, I stuck with only four shows this year: Being Human, Shameless, Happy Endings and The Walking Dead. I always bitch about how much I hate American remakes of British tv shows…and yet two of them made the list. However, unlike Skins, these remakes are actually good. People have been listing Happy Endings on their comedy Emmy wishlists, and while I think that is a wee bit of a stretch, this show surprised me. Any sitcom revolving around a group of friends is immediately likened to, well, Friends. I found the overall premise of Happy Endings to be relatively weak, but the show definitely improved over the course of its short season.

FAVORITE NEW SHOW: Being Human, hands down. The show just gives such a fresh spin on the whole vamp-werewolf dynamic and it totally holds its own against the U.K. counterpart. Although, it’s official, I can’t stand the Josh/George character aka the werewolf in either version.

Discovered shows already on air…

This year, I discovered so many wonderful programs that are already on air. I love this, because then I have oodles of episodes to watch without an annoying hiatus. Thanks to blogs and mostly Tumblr, I had heard only high praises for the British shows, Misfits and Skins. Misfits is by far one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen and I kind of have a crush on Robert Sheehan. I also randomly stumbled upon The Big Bang Theory bloopers on YouTube and even those made me crack up, which gave me the incentive to blindly purchase the dvds. And it’s amazing. I am making it my mission to attend a taping before I leave LA.

While I am still making my way through Parks and Recreation & 30 Rock, I have to say, I love NBC’s Thursday night comedy line-up. I know I am so late to The Office party, it’s not even funny. Within a course of 4 days, I watched every single episode on Hulu. What can I say? It was a boring finals week. And unlike other fans, I don’t think the show has necessarily lost its mojo, I for one, loved season 6. I caught the last few episodes of season 7 on air and while I do agree that it will be a different program, I think the show has potential to be great without Michael Scott / Steve Carell. One of my roomies always sang the praises of Chuck, so I gave that a try, too. It’s a great dramedy and I kind of have a crush on Zachary Levi, too.

FAVORITE NEW SHOW ALREADY ON AIR: This is such a tough decision because I love each and every one of the programs shown above. But it has to be Community. If Glee gets an Emmy nod and Community doesn’t, there’s officially no justice in the world. Even Community‘s “weaker” episodes are better than most shows’ best. And it’s two-parter paintball season finale was damn near flawless. Community‘s comedic style is exactly my cup of tea and I am officially the biggest Jeff & Annie fan ever. I would normally find a relationship between a 20-year-old girl and a guy who is nearly 40 to be disgusting, but they are absolutely adorbs. And to think I only discovered this gem because it was on sale at Target…I have so much love for Target.

Returning shows…

FAVORITE RETURNING SHOW / BEST OVERALL SEASON: This was really not a tough call, as a lot of these shows had lackluster seasons, The Vampire Diaries. Now, I am not one of those crazy TVD fans who stakes out polls on Entertainment Weekly until TVD reigns supreme, but this season was very strong overall. I am such a fan of Tyler & Caroline and I cannot wait to see where the writers take this storyline. We finally saw some progression in the Stefan / Elena / Damon triangle and Jeremy finally got some lovin’ and a relationship I approve of. No sophomore slump here.

ONE TREE HILL: Much like Glee becoming the Kurt Show at times, One Tree Hill morphed into the Brooke & Julian Show. And I love Brooke and Julian, but it was overkill with the babies. If the network would have let Mark Schwahn & crew do the abortion storyline intended for Brooke in season 4, it would have added another dimension to the fact that she is unable to have children. It just seemed too easy to have Brooke get magically pregnant, with twins no less. I love me some Stephen Colletti, but I think the fact that he is now a series regular says enough. We all know that One Tree Hill should have ended after season 6, if not season 4. Although OTH never racked up high numbers, as a long-time fan, it’s horrible to see how its fallen not only in ratings but in quality.

LIGHTS OUT: I won’t divulge too much because it hasn’t aired on NBC yet, but I thoroughly enjoyed the finale. It was the perfect end to a nearly-perfect show. Can we get some Emmy love, pwease?

I generally enjoyed 90210‘s season 3. I think the first half of the season why stronger, but it overall was exponentially better than Gossip Girl. The only thing I really liked about Glee season 2 was the return of Fuinn and we all know how that ended. As for Grey’s, hopefully this season will be its last and it can go out on a high note. It’s already losing its magic, I don’t buy any article that claims Grey’s is having a comeback. Just limit the Calzona, give Alex a substantial love interest, bring back Addison and reunite Mark & Lexie and you’ll be back on track.

So what’s going to be my summer obsession? Well, So You Think You Can Dance, obvi, but I also started watching Six Feet Under today and I’m loving it so far. I am also planning to spend this summer checking out Fringe, Parenthood, Modern Family and The Good Wife.  All I can say is, thank God for Netflix.

Top 5 OMGWTF Lost Moments

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Lost has been off the air for more than a year now and I still miss its presence. I truly miss having my brain rocked every Tuesday and then having to immediately log on to Lostpedia to figure out what the hell happened. So, in honor of one of my most favorite shows ever, here are the moments that literally made yell, “WHAT?!” at the screen…and as always, click the banners for video.

5. Not Penny’s boat

I floved Charlie. So for me, watching him die was one of most upsetting moments of Lost. Especially since he didn’t have to lock himself in the room before Patchy launched the grenade.

4. Jin is “dead.”

The entire Ji Yeon episode tricked us into thinking that both Sun & Jin made it off the Island and they were going to live happily ever after with their little girl. But sadly, the adorably huge panda stuffed animal was not for his future daughter and Sun and Hurley brought Ji Yeon to his grave. Then watching Jin supposedly blow-up with the freighter in the season finale was heartbreaking. Sun’s scream seriously just echoes in your ears. Of course, he doesn’t die, but at the time it was still shocking.

3. “We have to go back!”

I never thought the Losties were ever going to get off the Island, and if they did it would be in the series finale. Obviously the season 3 finale shattered all of those expectations with the first flash-forward, which revealed a very chic-looking Kate and a druggie, beard-sporting, alcoholic Jack.

2. “Where the hell is the Island?!”

Ben turns a frozen donkey-wheel deep underground. There’s an eerie noise and a violently bright light and poof! The Island’s gone. WTF.

1. Locke in the coffin

I was so sure that in true Lost fashion, there was going to be a fade-to-black before we actually saw who was in the coffin. So yes, I was one of those people who stupidly followed the camera, leaning over the side of my couch, as if THAT would help me see who was inside. And when I realized they were actually going to show it and it was Locke, I was floored.

RECAP: The Vampire Diaries, Bad Moon Rising

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“If werewolves exist, where the hell are they?” Ah, the age old question. Well Damon, they’re chilling in the woods with body-con wife beaters and shorts. Apparently the wardrobe of the howlers of the night is consistent across the spectrum.

Damon, Stefan and Elena question Alaric about the Lockwoods and the “furry problem” that seems to affect the family males. Damon is skeptic but says, “If this wolfman thing is true, I’ve seen enough movies to know that’s not good.” Except when it’s 120 odd minutes of a shirtless Taylor Lautner. Damon does some references to Don Chaney and Bela Lugosi, he’s a horror film nerd too. This is so meant to be.

Elena heads off to Duke with Damon and Alaric to read up on Isobel’s research. Isobel’s former research assistant goes rogue and attempts to skewer Elena with an arrow. Damon takes the shot (sigh, how brave) and then tells Elena to pull the damn thing out. That’s what she said.

Damon reveals he does not have the power to read minds. This is one area where Edward Cullen reigns supreme. But if you want to see him naked, all you have to do is ask.

Meanwhile the teens of Mystic Falls are relaxing at the watering hole whilst throwing back hoards of illegal alcohol in the standard red cups of shadiness. It’s the full moon tonight. I’m sensing the fur is going to fly. VampCaroline can’t catch a break. She is forced to wear the tacky ring so she can venture into the sunlight, whose powers can be relinquished by her witchy-poo amigo, Bonnie, at anytime; Stefan instructed to hunt and feed on an innocent bunny rabbit; and now her powers of compelling have driven away her boyfriend. I guess she really is a “psychotic control-freak” on crack.

Stefan and Damon are giving the disheartening news that a werewolf bite is fatal to a vampire. Better not piss off the Lockwoods tonight. Lame. We don’t even get to see the transformation of Uncle Lockwood. I was expecting a cringe-worthy “An American Werewolf in London”esque scene.

A mysterious growl sparks Stefan’s attention. He stupidly follows the sound and finds the van of Uncle Lockwood where the alleged transformation took place. A werewolf jumps out of nowhere and runs off. Caroline and Matt are getting jiggy in the woods when he cuts himself. Of course Caroline consequently goes nuts and starts feeding off his blood. The growl continues. Stefan takes Caroline and they flee the scene. Lockwolf tackles Caroline and Stefan throws him into the darkness.

I’m impressed CW. The werewolves on the show look less CGI than the Twilight ones. Props.

Tyler finds the wreckage of his uncle’s car. And his pants. He turns up looking like one of the chimneysweepers from Mary Poppins. Tyler has an epiphany: he’s a werewolf. Congrats, we knew that since last season.

The inevitable Damon and Elena chat. And yes, he’s lost her for forever. It’s like Damon just got shot with the arrow again, his reaction was painful to watch. He tells her that she has more in common with Katherine than he thought. Ooh burn.

Speaking of Katherine, she appears in Caroline’s room. But don’t worry; they’re going to have a lot of fun together.

RECAP: The Vampire Diaries, The Return

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When I tuned in to The Vampire Diaries’ pilot last year, I was expecting a flop, or at least a few good laughs. When the end credits rolled I was shocked. I liked it. A lot. Ever since then I have been a devoted fan and have never missed an episode.

This day has been marked on my calendar for at least a month. The Vampire Diaries season premiere: September 9 at 7 p.m.  At 6:45 I started trolling the Internet for a new cookie recipe to try. I found one for peanut butter triple chocolate chunk cookies. Needless to say, I got a bit distracted. I randomly glanced at the top right hand corner of my lovely MacBook Pro…it’s 7:07. Crap.

Luckily, I don’t think I missed a lot in those first seven minutes. I tuned in just in time to see Damon confront Elena about their supposed kiss – a scene that I am ashamed to say; I had to replay on YouTube. Elena is confused, Damon gets defensive, Aunt Jenna actually has a few lines and then Damon starts to piece it all together. Katherine’s back.

Oh Damon, I’ve definitely missed you on my television screen. I’m glad the famous eyebrow raise and smart-ass comments are back in my life.

There’s some exchanges between characters I don’t particularly care about: Caroline’s all right, Matt is relieved, Uncle John is paranoid that Katherine’s back, Tyler’s substantially hotter uncle shows up, Jeremy is moping around as usual, Bonnie is off being a witch.

Stefan and Katherine have a talk. He drops the bomb that he never loved her. Ouch. Katherine whips a dagger out of nowhere and rams it into Stefan’s side. Bitch is pissed.

Melancholy music plays as Damon laments. Katherine appears. Halfway through the discarding of clothes, Damon poses the inevitable question.  He has a heart, ladies and gentlemen and it’s been shattered for over 140ish years. And the truth is: she never loved him. She loved Stefan. It was always Stefan. *cue the most heartbreaking expression ever* Man, the guy just can’t win.

A drunken Damon shows up in Elena’s room. What is it with vampires and bedrooms? He tries to get Elena to admit that there is something between them. In a complete déjà-vu Elena tells Damon that she loves Stefan. It’s always going to be Stefan. A double-whamy in one night. Can I just give him a hug now?

Tyler’s confused why he gets so hot and bothered easily. Hot Uncle tells him that it’s in his blood. It’s a curse. I think it’s safe to say he’s a werewolf. Can we get some original vampire storylines here?

Jeremy is resurrected after being seemingly killed by Damon. Katherine smothers Caroline to “death.” Never liked her, I’m okay with this.

I think it’s safe to say The Vampire Diaries is off to a good sophomore season. As long as Damon and Stefan don’t start sparkling in the sun, it’s all good. I think the world can only handle one glittery vampire.

RECAP: Lost, The End

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Congratulations Lost, last night I was reduced to a blubbering mass of salt water. This morning when I downloaded and rewatched the finale, I was once again drowning in a pool of my own tears. After the Lost end-title card faded away for the last time, I was numb with shock. Part of the temporary paralysis was from severe dehydration, but it was mostly from the knowledge that this was truly The End. After having a bit to stew in my feelings, I have come to grips with the following: Did every mythological question get answered? No. Was it the finale I was expecting? Not in the slightest. But did it bring the series to a satisfying end? Yes, “It worked.”

In the final moments of season one’s fifth episode “White Rabbit”, Jack Shephard speaks these profound words, “If we can’t live together, we’re going to die alone.” When Oceanic 815 crashed, the majority of the survivors were strangers to each other. In between battling smoke monsters and eluding capture from less than friendly island dwellers, friendships were forged and relationships were created. In the end, the losties shared an unbreakable bond that stood the test of time. When each found their untimely end, be it on the Island or off, they did not die alone. They created the “Sideways World” or the in-between, in which the losties were forced to live alone with the intent of finding each other so they could all “die” and move on together.

I’m beginning to buy into Lost ultimately being the story of Jack’s test, Jack’s search for redemption. Of course, the other losties each had their own test and search for redemption, but I think the fact that the show began and ended with Jack means something. There’s also the fact that everyone was waiting for him in the church to move on. Together they all finally passed over.

There were several moments in the finale that had me squee-ing and sobbing like a pathetic little fangirl, the biggest one being when the stupid love triangle was finally resolved. Kate. Chooses. Jack. Did my couple finally win out for once?! I think it did. The reunion of Jack and Kate made me so incredibly happy, I actually got a happy ending for the couple I was rooting for in the end. Pretty much all of the “aha!” moments made me teary-eyed: When Sun looks at Jin and says, “I remember,”; the way Claire said “Charlie” when he recognized her; and pretty much the entire Sawyer / Juliet scene. I hated Sawyer and I hated Juliet. They both tried to infringe on the epicness of Jack / Kate, and at first I wasn’t even thrilled that the third and fourth wheels hooked up. But the recognition scene and Juliet’s untimely death in the season premiere were so well acted that they melted my ice heart for Sawyer and Juliet.

The last ten minutes of the finale were as close to perfection as television can get (minus the Jack / Kate reunion, which was perfection…can you not tell how happy I am about that?!). Christian’s revelation about the fates of Jack and the losties, everyone finally settling themselves in the pews to pass on, Vincent laying down next to Jack, Jack’s face when he realized his friends made it off the Island, and the last shot of Jack’s eye closing were all amazing. No words were necessary, the scenes spoke for themselves…and they were perfect.

Yes, I still have questions…okay about a thousand, and yes it would have been nice to know what the hell was with Walt , who gave Boone his “aha!” moment, and who the skeletons were down in the Heart of the Island. But right now, I am content with having the mystery live on in my mind–or at least until the season six dvd is released on August 24. Lost has always been open to everyone’s interpretation, having it end like that seems fitting.

If I should ever find a frozen donkey wheel in the bowels of my basement, I would rewind these last six years. Thank you Lost for entertaining me, confusing me, and making me yell “WHAT THE …” at the screen too many times to count.

Namaste.

screencap from daydreaming.

RECAPS: Season Finales

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This past week of television season finales was fully loaded with break ups, make ups, hook ups, surprising and not-so-surprising pregnancies…and guns. A multitude of guns. Out of the four season finales I watched this week (One Tree Hill, Gossip Girl, 90210 and Grey’s Anatomy), a stunning total of eight main characters were fatally shot. Of course in Grey’s Anatomy there was a sheer number of the dead or injured by the end, but honestly there were only five we truly cared about. And okay, 90210 did not literally have fire arms on the show, but I think Matt Lanter’s guns are licensed to kill.

I’m going to start with One Tree Hill. On the whole, I found this episode to be extremely lack-luster. Brooke and Julian are engaged, great for Brooke (look at that honker of a ring), but I will always remain a loyal Brucas believer. Haley’s pregnant (nice work, Nate). The amount of screen time devoted to characters I could give a rat’s ass about is truly testing my patience. I don’t care about stubbly Grubbs trying to get into the British lady’s pants again, which I can only imagine would happen if he elected to wear a paper bag over his head. I loved Chase when he had a purpose aka Brooke’s boyfriend in season four, but now he’s a waste of screen time. In short, the following characters need to be given the axe for the final season of One Tree Hill: Grubbs, Miranda the Brit, Chase (unless he gets a more interesting and important story line), Mia, Alex, Alexander, Josh, and most importantly, Quinn and Clay. In the final minutes of the finale, PsychoKatie makes a comeback and shoots both Quinn and Clay. I have to admit, I flipped a lot of serious shit at that moment. Totally did not see that coming. Okay writers, you have a golden opportunity here. By leaving the fate of these two characters hanging in the balance, it would be too easy to kill them both off and make season eight entirely focused on the main characters we actually like. And on the same note, enough with all of the deranged and psychotic characters. I think PsychoDerek, PsychoNannyCarrie, and PsychoKatie have filled the quotient of crazies allowed to roam free in Tree Hill. I may sound like a broken record, but seeing a OTH finale like this just reminds me of how awesome this show used to be. Remember the season two finale with the dealership fire? Now, THAT’S a finale.

On to Gossip Girl…Damn. You. Jenny. Humphrey. Jenny and I definitely to do not get along, she messes with all the relationships I love on the show. Chuck and Blair almost had a happy reunion, but nooooo… Jenny HAD to be “lonely” and do the nasty with the one person she shouldn’t, Eric HAD to find out why Jenny is drowning in tears and running eye liner/mascara, Dan HAD to get all macho and deliver a complimentary knuckle-sandwich to Chuck, and of course this all HAD to happen at the moment when Chuck was presumably going to propose to Blair. FML. Then poor, heartbroken Chuck gets shot for protecting Blair’s engagement ring just a few minutes later. Chuck Bass is the only character that needs to be alive come fall. I don’t think the writers would go there, but still, my smooth-talking man-whore better be healthy as a horse in the fall.

I’m going to gloss over 90210 and  skip Glee/Lost since those weren’t season finales. Teddy and Ivy as regulars next season? Gag me. Silver and Teddy / Dixon and Ivy reuniting? Gag me. Teddy and Ivy need to crawl back into the holes they came out of and let Silver and Dixon realize they belong together. Also, the members of the 90210 gang are supposed to be juniors? Right and Lea Michele is supposed to be playing a character born in 1994.

Okay, Grey’s Anatomy. Holy hell. I have been on the brink of writing this show off my weekly schedule of television watching ever since the introduction of ugly ginger Owen, the merger with Mercy West and the break up of Mark and Lexie. But Thursday’s finale was insane. Meredith and Derek have never been a favorite couple of mine, but watching Meredith’s silent scream when Derek was shot (by the way, nice work Sarah Drew, you got McDreamy shot) and her plea to the gunman to kill her instead was unbelievably heart wrenching. Not to be insensitive, but I could care less whether anyone shot during Grey‘s finale lives or dies. McDreamy is obviously safe, no McDreamy = no program. Alex is getting in the way of my Mark and Lexie and I’ve hated Owen from the beginning. The deaths of Reed and Charles had no impact on me, other than a sudden jump when the gun fired (I hate loud noises). I just wish Gary Clark had taken down Arizona and April while he was at it. God, I sound like such a horrible person. Don’t get me wrong, I thought the finale was amazingly written, amazingly acted, and amazing in general. I was definitely shaken up by the end.

Hopefully the next batch of season finales will be tad bit lighter. I’m guessing Lost isn’t going to give that to me (SERIES FINALE SUNDAY! *sob*) but I’m assuming the regional show choir competition in Glee will not include a GSW, but who knows…I’m not one to question Puck’s bad-ass guns.

screencap from IMDB.