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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.

Four HBIC with Big Hearts

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Every television show has them: the bitchy popular girl a la Regina George who rules the school and makes the lives of others a living hell. They get what they want when they want and typically have a picture-perfect life from the outside. You’re meant to hate them right along with everyone else, but in the end, you can’t help but love them. Because on the inside, the part of them very few ever see, these girls are vulnerable, insecure and just want to be accepted like everyone else.

4. Blair Waldorf, Gossip Girl

at her bitchiest: Since we’re not friends anymore let me speak frankly, you’re not that smart. You lack focus and discipline. Charm is all well and good but in the real world knowledge is power. You wouldn’t make it past the first round of admissions at Yale no matter how hard you tried. Have fun in Providence.

at her best: I really need my friend right now. I’ve been acting like I’m okay, but I’m not. They say it’s a broken heart, but… I hurt in my whole body.

3. Mini McGuinness, Skins

at her bitchiest: I hope you die puking up your kidneys. Bitch.

at her best: I’ve been a complete bitch. To you all. Some more than others. And I’m really sorry. It’s just… well, you’re all so cool and alternative, and when I’m with you I feel like a bit like… Nicola Roberts. She’s the plain one in Girls Aloud.

2. Brooke Davis, One Tree Hill

at her bitchiest: Okay, guy in need of a clue. Here’s one. Women send signals. That was a brush off. Before you dip into your shallow pool of wit, let me paint us a picture and save us both the trouble. Here’s your evening. You are going to slink back off to your buddies, laugh this off, get wasted, go home, and make nice with yourself. But don’t be thinking of me, because even your fantasy of me, isn’t interested in you.

at her best: There’s a day when you realize that you’re not just a survivior, you’re a warrior. You’re tougher than anything life throws your way, and you are.

1. Quinn Fabray, Glee

at her bitchiest: Are you an idiot? How am I supposed to trust you to take care of our baby when you can’t even figure out how to sell a damn cupcake?

at her best: I can’t do this. This year is about me and don’t say that I am selfish because you have no idea how much I’ve been through. I’ve been down this path before, I know this feeling…like I need you. Duets don’t work for me and I don’t need you. What I need is to find a way to keep Santana off my heels, what I need is to find a way to torture Rachel and I need to start learning to ignore people.

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.

best of 09. part I

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So here we are, another year is coming to a close. I have compiled lists of the best in television and film in 2009. And because I enjoyed making the list, I also have the worst films of 2009. Here’s how it goes: yes, my choices are biased, which is pretty easily identifiable. I know what I like, and I like what I know. For criteria it’s pretty basic: actual acting talent, the actors, and originality in storylines.

TELEVISION:

3. One Tree Hill : Compared to the epicness that was Seasons One-Six, this season of One Tree Hill has been a bit downgrade. No Lucas aka Chad Michael Murray. No Peyton, which at first I thought was a plus, but it seems she brought more to the program than I thought. That pains me to say. Season Seven got to a somewhat rocky start but now that we have been fully introduced to the new characters, its been steadily improving. What the series has always has going for it is spontaneity in storylines. From a psycho nanny on a killing spree to a medic-dog eating Dan Scott’s heart for transplant, One Tree Hill has never let me down in that department. I have always thought the acting level on OTH is great and Sophia Bush has become one of my favorite actresses.

2. So You Think You Can Dance : As a reality program, So You Think You Can Dance obviously has different criteria, but this ranking is honestly because of bias. I’m a dancer, I like watching dance. Season Five (5Alive) which aired during the summer, easily trumped the fall season, Season Six (Season Sick). Season Five had much better choreography, more memorable routines, and in my opinion, a higher caliber of dancers. The best thing about SYTYCD is that at the end of the season, it’s amazing to see how much the final dancers have grown, for a fellow dancer, it’s pretty inspiring. And because I need to reiterate this, in terms of the winners of the two seasons, Jeanine > Russell. Auditions for Season Seven begin in January 2010 and Season Six also goes on tour sometime in 2010.

1. Lost : I think I should get major props here for choosing Lost as my number 1, as it is not my absolute favorite program on television. But taking in account all of the criteria and actual quality of the programs, it really was no contest. Lost owns. I can think of no other series that has me so utterly confused that I need to scour Lostpedia after each episode to make sure I fully understand what was going on, and yet completely enjoy the episode at the same time. Usually large ensemble casts annoy me because I feel like we never get to connect enough with each character, but because of Lost’s clever flashback/flashforward/time continuum episode style, we are constantly being given more information about the characters, plus the acting is superb. Lost begins its sixth and final season on February 2, 2010, and more than anything, I am hoping that it gets the proper send-off the show deserves…and Jack/Kate to be endgame. Thanks.

Runner Up:

  • Friday Night Lights : Seriously one of the most underrated shows ever. Check it out, it’s awesome.

>> part II : films of 2009. coming soon.

Gossip Girl Threesome

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The producers of Gossip Girl channeled Britney in last night’s episode, which included three main characters getting down and dirty in the same bed at the same time. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, a threesome. Before the episode began, the annoying press lady for KCWI came on and explained that this episode would contain content for mature audiences and that parents should make the decision now of whether their teens should watch the episode. Now, maybe it’s just me, but after hearing a disclaimer like that, I’m expecting something epic, even though watching three people bumping uglies on national television is not something I’m particularly interested in.

The episode was a let down in two main ways. First, why is Dan the choice male for the threesome? The only character on that show that would have been a worse candidate is Eric…or Rufus. Ew. Chuck or Nate would have been so much hotter, not to mention more believable. Tangent, but Hilary Duff needs to make her exit from Gossip Girl asap. I still see her as Lizzie McGuire and I’m pretty sure Lizzie would have never participated in a threesome with Gordo and Miranda. The choice of Vanessa, Dan, and Olivia was one of the more odd groupings I could have thought of. Second, the disclaimer wasn’t even necessary. We saw beginnings aka some mouth to mouth action (while a slower and softer cover of “Whatever You Like” played in the background) and then the morning after. I’m pretty sure they are allowed to show that content in PG movies. It’s not like I wanted a Gossip Girl reminiscent of a soft-porn movie, but if you’re going to start an episode with a warning like that, at least live up to it.

You let me down a little last night Gossip Girl. I am only hoping that the future will bring less Duff, more Chuck Bass, and no more menage a trois.

screencap courtesy of gossipgirlinsider.com