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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.

RECAP: Grey’s Anatomy, Song Beneath the Song

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I hope I am not the only one who cringed through the entire musical episode of Grey’s Anatomy. I haven’t been a Callie fan since the George-Izzie debacle, so an entire episode devoted to her didn’t make me happy to begin with. And just a note to writers and tv creators alike: just because you have cast members who can sing, that doesn’t mean you should do a musical episode. I sincerely hope no other shows jump on this bandwagon, I don’t know how many hours of this I could stand.

Okay, so the things that didn’t work:

1. Owen’s voice. As soon as he started singing in “Chasing Cars” I wanted to stuff a sock in his mouth. And after his intro into “How to Save a Life,” seriously, GTFO my screen.

2. Everyone was trying too hard. If you’re going to do something like this, it needs to be in jest. Take Scrubs for example. “My Musical” is probably my favorite episode of Scrubs ever. I distinctly remember choking on a mouthful of Diet Pepsi after the first line of “Everything Comes Down to Poo.” The intense burning in my trachea and soda soaked computer screen was worth it. The episode was hilarious. No one was trying to be a good singer and quite frankly (with the exception of the patient) no one was. But the cast of Scrubs still managed to pull off an entertaining musical episode. In this situation, I’d say that only Chandra Wilson & Sara Ramirez had tolerable voices, Chyler Leigh was middle of the road and everyone else…well, it’s a good thing they’re actors not singers.

3. 10 Songs. Glee won’t even do that many in a single episode. And THAT’S saying something. There was hardly any downtime between songs and when they are that craptastic WE. NEED. SPACE.

4. Callie lives. I hate when shows put characters in life or death situations when we already know what the outcome is going to be. Shonda would never kill off Callie, she’s one-half of a power couple. It’s like when Derek got shot last year. Sure, it was tragic and certainly surprising, but we all knew he was going to live. Grey’s ratings would plummet without its token McDreamy.

Was it a total waste of an hour? Meh. I guess I was pretty happy that Addison was back, I love Scott Foley and Lexie and Mark had some interactions that were just adorbs. But when I feel the impulsive need to tweet my opinions that are boiling up in my head, that is generally a bad sign.

My consensus? Grey’s, that was interesting, but for the love of God, do not do it again.

 

Top 5 OMGWTF Grey’s Anatomy Moments

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Remember when Grey’s Anatomy was the best medical drama on air? It’s definitely been a few years since its genuinely deserved that title. With a new episode airing in just a few minutes, I decided to pay homage to my top 5 favorite Grey’s moments that left me speechless, had me crying, throwing things at the tv or all of the above.

5. Body dysmorphic patient saws off his own foot. (5.4 Haunt You Every Day)

Long story short. Man thinks his foot doesn’t belong to him. Doctor thinks he’s crazy. Man steals the chainsaw of another patient (who has accidentally sawed off their finger) to self-amputate the ghost foot. That’s got to hurt.

4. Bomb squad guy blows up. (2.17 …As We Know It)

In arguably Grey’s signature episode, a chain of events has left Meredith with her hand inside a body cavity holding unexploded ammunition. With the help of a vision of Dr. McDreamy, she safely hands the explosive to bomb squad captain, Dylan, who is promptly blown to smithereens. Okay, we all knew this was coming, but it still was a shock.

 

3. Seth Green’s carotid artery blows (4.9 Crash Into Me, Pt. 1&2)

The removal of a tumor has left patient Nick’s carotid artery only covered by a thin layer of skin. While scheming with Lexie on how she should get revenge on Alex for cheating on her, his artery explodes, showering Lexie with a pool of his blood. It’s like Carrie. But worse.

2. Dumb ass April gets McDreamy shot (6.23 Sanctuary)

The husband of a former patient of Derek’s comes to Seattle Grace to extract revenge on everyone involved in the death of wife. Owen, Alex, Reed, Percy and countless others get wounded in the process. Gary Clark finally finds the neurosurgeon and Derek calmly talks him down, BUT THEN April distracts Derek for mere seconds and Gary takes the opportunity to fatally wound Dr. McDreamy. I have no idea why they kept April around. She’s probably the most hated character on Grey’s…minus Teddy, maybe.

1. Meredith realizes John Doe is George (5.24 Now or Never)

The now horribly disfigured young man who jumped in front of a bus to save a girl is finally able to communicate via palm writing the cryptic message: 007. Beat. HOLY CRAP. IT’S GEORGE! Yeah, that’s exactly what I yelled at that point. And the moment when Meredith realizes he is her long-time friend never ceases to give me chills.

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.

Greys, It’s Time for a Divorce.

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So it’s been only a few weeks into the new season and I am already let down by the former Golden Globe Winner for Best Television Drama, Grey’s Anatomy. My relationship with Grey’s began to falter back in 2006 when actor Isaiah Washington left the show. I in no way am condoning his behavior, but watching his character’s relationship with Cristina became a highlight of my week. Ever since his dismissal, I have not cared for any love interest that has been thrown Cristina’s way.

Like any devoted tv fan, I tuned in September 24 for the season premiere of Grey’s, and to say I was disappointed is an understatement. First of all, I pity any show that I watch after The Vampire Diaries, because any show lacking in creepy vampires will just be lackluster. But nonetheless, I attempted to give Grey’s an unbiased chance. My first problem with their sixth season happened in the first five minutes when executive producer/creator/writer/Grey’s God/ Shonda Rhimes decided to kill off my favorite character since day one, George O’Malley. If there is one thing that is guaranteed to make me mad, it’s getting rid of the reason why I primarily watch a program. So of course I was heartbroken, but in all fairness, I accepted the fact that Katherine Heigl is immortal in Grey’s land and continued to watch. But week after week of Izzie’s “woe is me” routine, I’m getting sick of the recycled storylines and lack of George.

I’m sorry Grey’s, but I’m afraid it’s finally time for us to part ways. These last four years have been stellar, but I’m afraid things haven’t been working out. I wish you all the best in the future, although I’m guessing you won’t be around much longer. Adieu. Adieu.