5 posts tagged “supernatural”

I still don't know what I'll be doing tonight, if I am hanging out with my dvd collection or heading out for a bit. Either way, I will not watch even five minutes of MTV's Very Miley New Year's Eve. Not ten seconds while channel surfing. Not to ruthlessly mock it. Not to play a drinking game. No no no no. If I were being forced at gunpoint to watch Miley (It's Miley! Thanks, Joel McHale.) ring in 2009 from the MTV studios with her closest BFFs that she just met, I would take that bullet. Suck it, Hannah Montana. Go. Away. Everyone over the age of twelve agrees your fifteen minutes were up months ago. Well, except for your father, a career vampire who is enjoying the ride on your designer coattails. (By the by, I remember when you had a teeny-tiny little forgettable role in Big Fish and you were called Destiny).

Actually, I am feeling very hopeful today. I know it may not seem like that after that opener, but I am. Things have been crap-crap-crappy for a while, one reason I had to neglect my blog, and it is one of the least festive holiday seasons I've ever had. But things are looking up. Just need a little patience. And nothing like the fresh start of a new year to add to that feeling of hope and promise. I even plan to find a way to get back to blogging because I really miss it (and I'm sure my audience of five will agree that life is not right without my blabbering about TV shows). So, in the spirit of things, a lovely New Year's quote:

Dean Winchester: Well, I think I learned a valuable lesson: Always take down your Christmas decorations after New Year's, or you might get filleted by a hooker from God.
 
Sam Winchester: I'm laughing on the inside.

There really aren't a lot of movie and TV quotes to choose from about New Year's. So, I went with the one that made me laugh the most during my quick search. Who better than the brothers Winchester? Supernatural rocked in 2008.

Happy New Year!

I'm in the mood to chat TV. I still don't feel as if I have immersed myself enough in all things television in order to really discuss as I usually do. But I feel the need to blog, and I don't feel the need to blog about anything else right now. So here it goes, The Good, The Bad(Ass), The Ugly on my idiot box:

The Good

Holly on The Office. Amy Ryan is awesome, that's not news. But she's perfection as the yin to Michael's yang (that's what she said). I love Ryan the Temp Receptionist. I'm tired of the Dwight-Angela-Andy storyline. And I thought The Proposal was lovely and that the out-of-the-blue reality of it taking place in a gas station parking lot on a lunch break made it more romantic then any schmaltzy scene could have accomplished. It just worked. Score one for the writers.

I still like Greek. I can't help it. It's escapist TV with likeable characters and good writing. Maybe not so much in terms of story because how deep can you explore the Greek life on a college campus? But the pacing and the wit, the dialogue and one-liners (Clark Duke delivers some real gems) combine to make an enjoyable show.

Okay, I was really reluctant to watch True Blood, especially after suffering through Moonlight, regardless of HBO and Alan Ball. It took about three episodes for me to really care about it, but it has grown on me. Yes, seeing Alexander Skarsgard on my television again, even rarely with that heinous wig and "Kermit the Frog" voice (TM Jacob on TWoP), dose provide incentive to keep tuning in. I don't love all of the B-characters, Tara has grown on me, Lafayette rocks, hate Jason, and I waffle about Sam, but I realized once they killed Gran, and my jaw hit the floor at the end of that mediocre episode, I was hooked on this campy wants-to-be-offbeat-but-not-quite show. Who knows if I'll stick around for season two, but right now, I at least want to find out the identity of the serial killer.

I have been reluctant to get into another JJ Abrams show. Mostly because they all start to feel the same (the score really doesn't help that), although not like David Kelley writing the same storylines into every single show he pens (you cannot have the same weekly tale on Picket Fences and Ally McBeal and The Practice and think people will not notice). I like Fringe, love the cast, but I haven't gotten heavily invested in it yet. And because of my past with Abrams' shows (the lost seasons of Lost, the frustration with Alias), I probably won't dig too deep. I'm taking my new Lost-approach: don't give a rat's ass about the minutia and it will continue to be enjoyable.

Chuck won me over last season. Just a fun show for a Monday evening. Fun is the watchword for Chuck. Zachary Levi remains as adorable as ever. I still don't see huge sparks between Sarah and Chuck. I love the relationship between Chuck and Ellie, Captain Awesome is more awesome, and even Morgan is not as grating. I won't start about Agent John Casey because Adam Baldwin cracking wise as a G-man every week on my television makes me so giddy, I might start gushing.

I like The Mentalist, don't love it. I am really not a fan of Robin Tunney's (even pleased with her demise on Prison Break before I stopped watching seasons ago). But give me Simon Baker (kooky and cool) and Owain Yeoman (skeptical and cool), I cannot resist. My Simon Baker swoon has been mentioned before, and I watched The Guardian, Smith (should've gotten another chance), and then there was Yeoman on Kitchen Confidential (also stellar as Eric Kocher in Generation Kill too), so how am I supposed to resist this one? It's decent, enjoyable, kind of predictable but not yet as obvious or bland as The Closer. And Simon Baker smiles more in one episode than he did the entire span of The Guardian. Did I mention Simon Baker? Sigh.    

The Bad(Ass)

This week on Gossip Girl, Blair threw her purse at Serena's head after outing her murder to the Dean's reception at Yale, all because Serena showed up at Rory Gilmore's former stomping grounds and Blair's dream school, and eventually stole her answer to the Dean's stupid parlor game, courtesy of sh*t-stirring Chuck (that should be his full name because (a) that's all he does and (b) he does it so damn well). Does it get any better than that? Oh wait, it does because now there's a bromantic triangle between Chuck, Nate, and Dan that is much more interesting than any other triangle that ever involved Vanessa and as much yay! as an old episode of Smallville. And all while Dan's little self-righteousness was exposed along with his abs after Chuck sent the angry Skull & Bones boys after fake-Nate, tying boxer-clad Danny Boy to a statue on campus. Danke, Chuck. This season got off to a good start, meandered a bit with the Lord and Duchess crap, but quickly returned to form. And I just found out that my friend S is now hooked too! Unlike Veronica Mars, I had nothing to do with this one, no dvd marathons, no obsessive chattering about it (hard to believe, I know). She alerted me last week with a one line e-mail: "I am obsessed with Gossip Girl." And on that day, leelee's heart grew three sizes.

Supernatural has somehow become one of my favorite shows. I've always liked it, usually recorded and watched it, but thanks to the CW starting its season of shows early, and the cliffhanger of Dean being stuck in Hell last season, I got hooked this season. I like the new Ruby even less than I liked the old Ruby, um, not so much (I watched half an episode of Wildfire once, and it was more than enough, horrible show, horrible acting, horrible horribleness). And I haven't read any forums or posts or visited any sites where fangirls may be going wild in happiness or anger because I am not interested in that point of view. I just watch. And enjoy, more and more every week. This week's bizarre black and white tribute to monster movies was weird, strange, and yet still awesome.

What is going on with Don Draper? This season on Mad Men, he's become a little less sympathetic for me but maybe it's because the women of the show are the true shining stars. And that's the point. I still do not look forward to a finale. The season just flies by too quickly.

How much fun is Michael Imperioli having on Life on Mars? I know, all of the actors are probably having a blast on that show. Harvey Keitel is obviously making the most of his time on the small screen. But every time Imperoli shows up, he just seems to be having so much fun. It has to be a nice change of pace after six seasons of playing Tony's little cousin Chirstopha. 

 

The Once Bad(Ass) Sometimes Good But Maybe Ugly

I cannot get into Dexter this season. I don't know why. Well, Rita drives me crazy, now more than ever (every time Julie Benz gives that shy Rita-smile, I want Darla to snap Rita's neck), and Deb annoys me again, so that doesn't help at all. I noticed my interest began to wane last season and thought it would pick back up this season. Michael C. Hall is reason enough to watch. He's just too-too-too amazing, regardless of what I think about the stroylines.

Same goes for Pushing Daisies. Well, I know what my problem is with it. I've known all along. I don't see a single sizzle of a spark of chemistry between Chuck and Ned. Never have. And the fact that Ned pined for Chuck so much after she moved out of the apartment, Do Not Care. They have fabulous "best friend chemistry," I just see no romantic chemistry, very rarely and hardly at all, if ever. I like all the actors, but I love Chi McBride and Kristin Chenoweth and Swoozie Kurtz the most, and I think it's tough to fall for a show when the B-characters often outshine the leads. I always wondered if this show would be able to sustain an audience weekly with it's whimsical wit. I think the Tim Burton-esque charm may be starting to wear off from the fantastical MotWs and the cracks in the show are starting to, well, show. But it makes smile and usually laugh, so I keep watching.

Every time I watch Heroes, I end up losing interest about half way through, and doing something else, get on-line, read a magazine, make a phone call. Now, I'm catching up on G4 later in the week because I realize I got distracted while watching. I was really excited about the premise for this season, really inerested in the villians-themed episodes. I still need to watch lats week's episode, which I heard is an improvement, so we'll see. I want to like it, I really do. But for every character I like, there is one I hate, and not in a love-to-hate kind of way. I also think it is still a skosh overrated and always feel a bit detached from it, like it lacks the necessary bit of heart every show needs, regardless of genre. Eh, next week, I could feel the opposite. 

The U-G-L-Y

Okay, 90210 ain't got no alibi. I know, there's talk that it will be better now that the Gilmore Girls pedigree has joined the writer's room, but I just don't see how it's possible. I tried it again, twice, on nights when nothing was on and I needed to noodle out on the couch to something mindnumbing. The characters are boring. The acting is often bland (Tristan Wilds, I hope you are making serious bank on this show because you are much better then it will ever allow you to be). The stories are recycled. And the Jessica Walter abuse (now bumped to recurring) just makes me ache for the snark of Lucille Bluth. It's like One Tree Hill without the Days of our Lives storylines. Which, actually, may make it more boring than OTH.

And those gone but not forgotten . . .

I was a fan of Life last season, but I haven't gotten into it yet. Damian Lewis is the only real draw at this point, I never really latched onto much else, but he's enough with that performance. I was hoping Donal Logue would help, but I don't really care for his character much, which is truly disappointing.

I'm glad that The Sarah Connor Chronicles got the back nine last week because I miss watching it, just haven't caught up with this season's episodes yet. I guess I don't fit any "average" audience demographic since I have trouble choosing between TSCC, Gossip Girl, and Chuck. It seems like for once, the networks programmed shows against each other without incredibly overlapping core demographics, and yet I watch all three of them. Sigh.

I know, last night we got the first part of a three hour finale from Lost (um, boys, that's just another episode, they're all of the "to-be-continued" variety) which was good and amazes me that I am still interested after almost an entire, although abbreviated, season. Not giving a flip really changed the way I feel about the show, made it enjoyable again. That and the genius of the flash-forward. Oh, and The Office gave us a new employee, a farewell, an arrest, a proposal, a thwarted proposal, a baby announcement, and cubicle sex, but I won't go into the details for fear of spoiling folks who may not have watched it yet. But I must say: poor, poor Phyllis.

What made the night for me, though? The season finale of Supernatural. I usually record and watch later. I know I don't say it a lot, and I do miss this show more than I should (got two episodes I still need to watch), but it can rock so hard. Yes, it can miss the mark, like all shows, but overall, it rocks.. And although I do really appreciate and enjoy the pretty, I'm not a squealing fangirl. Last night I actually said "damn, I love this show" during the previouslies, which set the stage for awesome. I realized then that all of the Moonlight fans who were super-upset over losing their show (yes, they actually do exist, check out the comments on posts about cancellation like Nikki Finke's) should just visit the Winchester brothers, if they don't already. It's darker than Mick St. John's world, which is a huge screaming plus for me, but well written, snarky, broody, fantastic core cast, damn fun to watch, not to mention the bitchin' ride with boss tunes, and they could always use the ratings boost. So, here are those previouslies that give a nice recap to the season before the finale and should be incentive to watch repeats this summer.

Holy crap. I haven't posted since last week's review. Suck-ass temp job. Sigh. Enough woe is leelee. Let's get to the telly.

The Good

To honor the casts suspended by the studios because of their support of the WGA strike, 30 Rock and The Office will get extra favie lines this week. I wonder how long it with take Tina Fey to whip up an episode titled "Force Majeure" when the strike ends. On with the show, first 30 Rock . . .

"That pita pocket could be a terrorist!" Liz referring to her neighbor, Raheem (the hilarious Fred Armisen), after swearing to Pete that she's not racist.

Jack: Wireless phones are just so popular, I accidentally grabbed one belonging to an acquaintance.
Liz: Well sure, cause that Verizon Wireless service is just unbeatable. If I saw a phone like that on TV I’d be like "where is my nearest retailer so I can get one?" (pauses to look directly into the camera) Can we have our money now?
Tina Fey didn't just tear down the fourth wall, she smashed it with her bare hands. And then stomped it into itty bitty pieces that should be sold on ebay with certificates of authenticity to benefit the striking writers.

A Dog Took My Face And Gave Me A Better Face To Change The World: The Celeste Cunningham Story. I bet that flick would steal the title of Best Lifetime Movie Ever from Mother May I Sleep with Danger. I'd trade the stellar Kristen Wiig for Tori Spelling any day.

Moving on to The Office and Kelly "Smack Talk" Kapoor . . .
"What has two skinny chicken legs and sucks at ping pong?"
"Were Jim's parents first cousins, who were also bad at ping pong?"
And my favorite, sung to Avril Lavigne's "Girlfriend" with a little smack-talk dance. . .
"Hey, hey, you, you. I don't like your boyfriend. Cuz, cuz, cuz, cuz. Cuz he sucks at ping pong."

Yes, there were great lines during the deposition, including a "That's what she said" joke gone delightfully wrong and Michael's XOXO diary entries about Jan and Ryan (heeee), but it was painful to watch. And a lot to transcribe, heh.

"That’s the most tragic story I have ever heard—notwithstanding the big-ticket items like genocide and famine. But tragic nonetheless." Pushing Daisies' Olive after Chuck blames allergies for why she and Ned never to touch.

"I succumbed to inebriation, performed in a speakeasy, and surrendered my virtue to a self-absorbed ass." Blair on Gossip Girl confessing her sins, even though she's not Catholic. Love her and her confession ensemble.

"I just pulled from different blogs on the internet. Mixed and matched. Presto manifesto." Dexter's voiceover explaining how he created the Bay Harbor Butcher's crackpot manifesto to lead the investigation astray.

"If I had a blog, this would be a really big day for me." Chuck after taking the deadly truth serum.

The Bad(Ass)

I love sweeps. And during sweeps one thing is certain: stunt casting!

Mercedes McNab as Lucy, a newly turned vampire, on Supernatural was gold. When I first saw her, I thought, "Harmony? Nah, they wouldn't." But then tied up in a chair, blood stained mouth, pleading with the boys to help her detox from what she thinks is a potent drug, definitely Harmony (of Buffy and Angel for those not Whedon-inclined). An entire episode of her vamping it up, too much. Five minutes to intro. the mystery, nice stunt casting, Kripke. Actually, the whole episode was an excellent return to form for the demon-hunting duo. Gordon became the monster he once hunted, even ripping out his sidekick's heart, and then was slowly decapitated with razor wire by Sam, his head popping off like a grape. Gross, gruesome, and very cool. And then a heart-to-heart ending with Dean being a big brother and teaching Sam how to keep the Impala in shape after he goes to Hell. Aw, you guys.

Joel McHale on Pushing Daisies. The Piemaker and The Soupmaker, two of my favorite shows collide. This week he made me laugh in two timeslots, even as a murdered dog breeding polygamist. My heart goes pitter patter for this show.

Kevin Weisman and Rachel Bilson on Chuck. Weisman must have had so much fun playing the spy for once. Marshall did a wicked backflip before Sarah shot him in the knee. Beats following Sophia Myles around with a camera on Moonlight. And I've missed Summer's fast-talking rambles. Bilson's quirky and cute deli-owner Lou has a shameless love of sandwiches, which I totally understand (thirty variations of the turkey sandwich and pie, best part of Thanksgiving) and a thing for Chuck, which I also totally understand. Mr. Schwartz, can we have some O.C. stunt casting on Gossip Girl? Wouldn't Autumn Reeser be the perfect van der Woodsen cousin? Any other suggestions? .

The Ugly

There was so much good on Friday Night Lights: Tyra and Lyla teaming up for Pantherama, Matt Saracen all adorable even in a sucky storyline, Buddy Garity giving shelter to Santiago (that kid, oh those puppydog eyes break my heart). And even though Julie seems to be out of her obnoxious phase, I am not thrilled with her latest storyline. A crush on the cute, young journalism teacher (Austin Nichols of John from Cincinnati). Wait, didn't they do that on 90210? Yeah, Andrea Zuckerman and Gil Meyers. No. Not on top of the Mini-Mart Murder and Saracen kissing Grandma's nurse. FNL better put a fresh, new spin on this tired tale. If not, the end could be near. Butchie says rehashed daytime drama sucks.

Moonlight was so ridiculously bad. No Coraline, no Josef, no words. One step forward, twelve steps back.

The Good, Bad(Ass), and Ugly

Few shows can pull off all three in one week. But Heroes really does go for the gold. First, the Good:

"I've lived in this building for sixteen years, ever since the shrinks diagnosed me a sociopath with paranoid delusions. But they’re just out to get me cause I threatened to kill them." Elle on Heroes. Kristen Bell nailed that monologue.

I really enjoyed this flashback-esque episode of Heroes. I appreciate when questions are answered, mysteries solved (lookin at you, Lindelof and Cuse). I adored that about Rob Thomas—all was resolved and within a reasonable amount of time. So much crammed into one tiny hour, so many answers and details dished out. It was pretty bad-ass.

So my problem? Elle grated my last nerve. I think KB is doing the best she can with the little sociopath. I know that Elle doesn't understand boundaries, and Milo is quite a tasty treat. But, sparky, quit petting Peter. He's not a Jack Russell terrier. That tiny blonde one actually did annoy me with the touching. I hope she dials down the nympho imp and turns up the wicked wacko. Although, I must thank her for cutting the emo bangs. (I did lurve how they worked Milo out of his shirt this week. All to explain how he ended up in that shipping container, so not exactly a new shirtless scene, heh.) Also, although I understand the life lesson of DL being killed by a random skeezoid, and not dying as the result of heroic act using his powers, he deserved a better death scene then that.

Strike links

Saturday Night Live staged amid strike
Members of the cast put on a  two-hour show at the Upright Citizens Brigade theater in NYC, complete with Yo La Tengo as musical guest and Michael Cera taking on hosting duties. Wow, I am Kermit-green with envy (and anyone who can catch an ASSSSCAT show in L.A. or NYC, go!). All proceeds go to staffers out of work by the strike. On Monday, the cast of 30 Rock will stage a performance too.

Pencils2MediaMoguls campaign
United Hollywood has details about a new fan support campaign to send pencils to the powers-that-be. I'm not a huge fan of these campaigns, but it is a symbolic sign of support, so if you want to learn more, follow the link.

Film, TV writers set negotiations date
They're going back to the negotiating table! On Nov. 26, the WGA and AMPTP will sit down and start talks again. Negotiations are going to be rough and an agreement won't be reached over night, but at least they're back at the bargaining table.

Writers are winning over the public
Variety reports about the support writers have received. IATSE president, Thomas Short, has an interesting perspective on negotiations, and what it will do to the thousands of below-the-line crew members who belong to his union..

Oh, issues aplenty this week, and among them, computer issues of the corrupt hard drive variety. Bad hard drive, bad. I get to personally replace said hard drive and rebuild my system this week (small print on my tech. assistance service warranty is so tiny that it's invisible). So, this is going to be quick just because.

The Good

You know the drill. The Good = Giggles Galore.

"Who's crazier: me or Ann Curry?" Tracy on 30 Rock when introduced to the network therapist. Tracy Jordan can be diagnosed as "off his rocker," but my vote's for Ann (every time she interviews a member of the human race, I cringe). If you can find the scene of Jack role playing with Tracy online, Alec Baldwin's hilarious and mesmerizing.

"All right, I killed him, okay? What is the big deal?" Elle on Heroes. Heh.

"I was born into a life of windmillery." Elsita telling Lefty Lem her life story on Pushing Daisies. I also loved Emerson's "Hand up!" when he found Lefty, and the entire scene with darling auntie darlings helping Olive repair Pidge's wing with a bedazzler or "bejeweler." 

The Bad(Ass)

Ever tripped through my blog before? Well, then Kristen Bell on Heroes being tops on my bad-ass list is a given. Eeeevil Veronica Mars with taserific jazz-hands is beyond awesome. Twisted, ruthless, snarky, and no need for Mr. Sparky because she is Mr. Sparky. The writers were very clever with how they deployed those sparks. I'm glad Peter is finally leaving Ireland; no West, yay; no Claire, a first?; Micah and Monica bonding over powers. Loved Parkman and Nathan working together, and the dueling nightmares were pretty cool. If things pick up, then it might not be a sophomore slump but a sophomore slow start.

I was a little horrified by the image of that hijacked crop duster crashing into a tall building on Pushing Daisies. Oh, dear writers, insensitive much? Then they soothed my soul with the Darling Mermaid Darlings on a roadtrip with Olive. As soon as Olive told Vivian to build a little birdhouse in her soul, I started humming. Kristin Chenowerth and Ellen Greene belting They Might Be Giants, perfection. Swoosie Kurtz's annoyance, brilliant. Jayma Mays and Dash Mihok made the windmill story so enjoyable. Bring them back when Lefty gets parole.

Dexter's voiceovers during the dinner with Rita's mother were hysterical. Actually, all of the DMVOs this week were particularly pithy and witty. Lilah grates but I like the contrast to Rita so I think she will be a nice twist in Dexter's twisted life. Her fascination with the butcher's handiwork instead of the expected revulsion was an interesting event for Dexter.

How I have missed half-hourlies of The Office. Darryl and The Dunder Miffilintones; Dwight's second Second Life; I want a Philly Jim; stalking Sue Grafton; Operation Fallen Angel; and the dawesomely bad yet endearing director's cut of Michael's commercial. He may be an idiot, but he's a loyal idiot.

The Ugly

I wasn't sure if I was going to watch Moonlight again, but I needed entertaining while I folded laundry today, so I hit play. It was fun, not as boring as last week, an actual improvement. Still feels like it should be sandwiched between Silk Stalkings and La Femme Nikita, but CBS thinks it's a keeper for now. Alex O'Laughlin was quite charming, and much more at ease, as was Sophia Myles. He even made me laugh with a line. Who knew?

Introducing a kink like Vanessa into the Dan and Serena relationship at this stage was a tad daytime for Gossip Girl. But if they were going to do it, might as well happen during a masquerade ball episode that reeked of rehashed daytime drama. And add a dash of The O.C. too. It's guilty pleasure time so I shouldn't dwell, but it was too predictable. I did love Jenny's revenge on Chuck. Actually, Little J reminds me of Caitlin Cooper a bit and I hope that continues. And Lily and Rufus are gold together.

Supernatural was such a snooze that I actually fell asleep. Yes, it was late at night when I eventually watched it but the boys have got to step up their game if they want to make it to season four. Can't afford to lose viewers. This is The CW after all.