85 posts tagged “television”

"So press your hands against the glowing box, feel it throb under your fingers, and get ready for a week of television appreciation - and mayhem."

This week io9 is celebrating the connection between television and science fiction. TV Ate My Brain week looks at what's coming up in the fall schedule, but also trips down memory lane to the shows that paved the way for the 2009-2010 newbies. There are some pretty cool posts, from a Who's Television's Biggest Badass? battle royale to TV Shows We Wish Would Swap Writing Staffs. 

I admit that I'm not a huge Sci-fi geek, but I am drawn to aspects of it, and I tend to geek out on specific shows or movies rather than an entire genre. I've followed io9 since it began, and like the variety that caters to hardcore fans but doesn't shut out those with more mild interests. Personally, I absolutely love the posts about Supernatural, maybe my favorites about the show because of how the editors/writers respect and view the show, but I'll save that for the post about the new season five promo!

According to television execs, we're supposed to be excited Excited EXCITED. Because it's Upfronts! week. Didn't ya know?!?! Was that a 'meh' I heard? Yeah, thought so. 

I know, I haven't been around for a while. Actually, I've written several posts just in the last week that I haven't made public because I wanted to proof (and edit out some rambling--I know, hard to believe). But it's time for the Upfronts! Which means very little but the network execs like to think the Upfronts! are thrilling and imperative to the world spinning right round, even though all the confetti-tossing is really to attract ad moola that will hopefully trickle down and keep them employed and out of personal bankruptcy. So the thrill is really just for network honchos to show their competitors what big money they can draw for mediocre programming on as little budget as possible. Huzzah for Hollywood! But it does offer a chance for tv-geeks to rant and rave about what the evil networks are doing to their precious couch-tater time. So I am going to jump back into blogging, despite being on deadline for a project, and post to my heart's content since it's time for the Upfronts! Upfronts! Upfronts! Well, except for NBC which had it's Infronts? two weeks ago (blogged about it but wanted to edit a tangent about Chuck, which got picked up this weekend! Yay for announcements made two weeks after the Infronts? to try and upstage the Upfronts! Silverman, you are so you.)

So, here is FOX's 2009-2010 lineup. Pairing Bones with Fringe makes superb sense, although Fringe is still opposite NBC's funnies and my Thursday-night-addiction, Supernatural, so still won't be watching it live (and still have to catch up on a lot of season one). Bones got two seasons. I've never really been a big fan although I do watch from time to time. It often falls flat for me and I don't see the chemistry between Boothe and Bones (think I'm just not a big fan of Emily Deschanel), but good for David Boreanz. Let's see, what else do I care about? They canceled The Sarah Connor Chronicles which is lame because the show really improved after limping along early on in the season, at least the finale was spectacular. And, as someone pointed out somewhere on a message board (don't recall, sorry), with Terminator:Salvation coming out this summer it would be perfect promotion for the show. I always hoped Sci-Fi (oh, wait, is it Sy-Fy?) would give it a good home after BSG ended. Let's see, what else? Dollhouse was picked up, which I am ambivalent about. I'm a big goofy fan of Whedon shows (Firefly has ended up being my favorite with Angel and Buffy respectively following, probably because I can still see Angel in syndication every morning on TNT), but I just cannot get behind the premise of this show, for many reasons, or believe Eliza Dushku can carry it on her shoulders. It's just often subpar, and that's disappointing. But Whedon shows do often get better with time, so maybe it will improve, I just don't know if I'll ever be on board. Alan Tudyk was the best thing I've seen on the show as Alpha, truly enjoyable to watch, but was that the actor or the show? And how often could he be back since ABC is going to pick up V?

As for the newbies, I have to do a little research, considering how FOX likes to yank shows that I enjoy. FOX did add six shows to the lineup, four pilots in addition to Glee and The Cleveland Show. I'm really interested in Human Target, FOX's attempt to cash in on graphic novels. As I recall, Mark Valley hasn't been lead in a show since (the truly underrated and unwatched) Keen Eddie. Add Chi McBride and Jackie Earle Haley, I'll give it a shot.

I was going to talk about season finales here too, but I kind of said all I wanted to say already about FOX's. I gave up on 24 a few episodes ago, although I will probably watch the finale to see how it ends, what happens with Alameda, how it sets up for the next season. A show I used to never miss for fear of not being able to catch up, now I have no trouble just jumping in whenever I wish. I guess my Lost:Don't Give a Rat's Rectum theory works for other shows as well.

So Gossip Girl took a trip down Lily's memory lane to when she was hellbent for teenage socialite mayhem just like her dear Serena. And in the same episode, the present-day kiddos went to prom. What a mess. Ugh.

The flashback, the present day, all of it was effed-up boring and useless. Kind of like Vanessa. And not even Vanessa with Chuck. Or Nate. Vanessa pining for Humphrey. Richard Lawson at Gawker summed up the dialogue of the flashback so well: "'Is this the part where you fall in love with me?' a@$#Q%Q$%$Q$#~!!! I wanted to throw something through the TV, but I would never actually hurt my lover."

[Now I wish that the parallel universes of Richard's recaps would cross paths. Picture it: Lily and NYC Housewife LuAnn, aka Countess Crackerjacks (read Richard's recaps now!), sharing a cigarette after dinner with Serena and her new role model, Kelly Bensimon. Over drinks, since Victoria has convinced Noel to run away with her to work in the Goodwill, Lunz convinces Lilz to hit the road because Jane's Addiction is touring this year. (Remember when Navarro tried talking us into a threesome and then passed out in the parking lot of that Circle K in Omaha!?!) With Rufus being Rufusy as a Rufus can be, moping because Lily is so very Lily, and the Count taking his little girlfriend to see Lady Gaga next week, why the hell not?]

My biggest problem with 80s shows is that they are usually anachronistic. Pop culturally, they are jumbled, often blending the late 80s into the mid 80s, the early 80s into the mid 80s--basically everything took place in a big ol' pop culture stew in 1985. This flashback was set "sometime in the 80s" which is just damn lazy, right? That's a decade, ten whole years to choose from, Schwartz. And big hair in 1982 was totally different from big hair in 1987, Ms. Savage. Pick a year, make a commitment! Think of the future of the show, past the pilot, past season one! Make continuity a priority! Don't be Rob Thomas! Anyway, I've never understood why things set in the 80s were always such a hot mess. It wasn't that long ago and the decade was captured by the media more than any prior generation. Get on the Internet and find out when that song was released, and for cheestastic pop songs especially, when it was on Billboard. Check out some actual yearbook photos from the chosen year, not the fashion mags, and see what people looked like. Do the damn research and make it right. Ugh.

Back to this Gossip Girl Flashback Fiasco. I missed Andrew McCarthy's thirty-two seconds, so that was strike one for me. Brittany Snow somehow lost the ability to act, making her performance in John Tucker Must Die (damn you, cable) seem shiny-gold-award worthy. So if this show were to pass The CW's stringent pilot policies (Two words: Hidden Palms). . . wait wait wait, that's Kristen Ritter and she's quirky and sometimes annoying but was endearingly goofy on the always-awkward-interview-segment of Chelsea Lately the other night, and most importantly played Gia Goodman on Veronica Mars. So being Lily's big sis/BFF/Blair will maybe work but, oh, holy crap, Schwartz! Is that Ryan Hansen with Val-Kilmer-Real-Genius hair doing the robot and all the charming doofus things that made VM fangirls totally forget Dick Casablancas was a date-rape-advocating-douchenozzle? (Sound like a certain character with a penchant for scotch and ascots, Schwartz? Oh, right, we're supposed to forget that Chuck Bass went from handsy and forceful in the pilot to smarmy but charming by the end of the season.) As conflicted as I was with what they did with Dick on VM (redemption often involves that head-scratching continuity again!), I did like Ryan Hansen. But, hey, hold the payphone, is that No Doubt? Ugh.

Back in the presnt day, behold it is spring! And the kids need a glamorous event-of-the-week. Let's forgo the fundraiser ball or the opera, such obvious choices for teenagers to don designer frocks, right? Let's throw a Prom with a capital P! Alas, Prom was dull. Serena and Dan delightfully did the dance of the dorky while Chuck secretly chucked it up to crown Blair prom queen, thus fulfilling her prom fairy tale even though he wasn't her king. Because Chuck looooves her. Blair realized she outgrew her scrapbooked fairy tale, though, and must dump King Nate, but not before they shared one last dance. Gag me with a spork. Double ugh.

HBO populates its comedy pilots (THR)

Just stumbled on this little lovely in my feeds. HBO is casting new comedy pilots (gee, things have shifted significantly with the changing of the guard, will be interesting to see the direction of new programming, although I'm still waiting to see oldies like Big Love and Flight of the Conchords).

Jason Dohring landed an HBO show, Washingtonienne (no, I haven't read the book, but I know of it, and it's author, and, um, yeah, this should be interesting). Sure, he was great as Josef on Moonlight, a non-woobified extreme "mature" vamp version of Veronica Mars' Logan Echolls, but not always on his game. I could never tell if that was him or the script, if he was working as best he could with what was he was given (with that show, I lean to the latter). Shannon Sossyman landed a role on How to Make it in America, someone I never really enjoyed but found her to be better on Moonlight. With her, I always wondered if she had improved as an actress or if I just expected so little, she didn't disappoint. Eh, who cares. That show is done (thankfully). Kate Burton also joins Dohring in Washingtonienne. I really loved her as Ellis Grey on Grey's Anatomy and thought her character, whether physically present or not, added a fabulous dynamic to that show (for me, it also helped that she caused great distress for Meredith) back before I lost interest in even snarking on it and gave up being a glutton for Shonda Rhimes' punishment. I just saw Empire Falls again and she did so much with that role.

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.

About my life? Pfffft. Those take me forever, and well, sometimes don't even happen, which is usually how I end up in a "How did I get here?" pickle. I'm working on that. Making simple decisions easily and swiftly can make you feel better when you make crappy choices that count in life. Like what to wear to an event, what to cook for company, what movie to see, what to watch on the telly. Simple, easy, nobody's future is riding on it.

Last night, my TV dilemma: How does a girl choose between Gossip Girl and The Sarah Connor Chronicles? I know, it's one time when counter-programming should've been in my TV-viewing best interest. Because I bet that's not a common dilemma among average core viewers of either show. I like my UES drama queens (looking at you, Chuck Bass) as much as I like my badass shitkickers from the future (Cameron is still my favorite). My solution really depends on my mood. Yesterday, it was time for some light, cheesy drama in the form of GG guilty pleasure and record TSCC for later. A sound decision!

And tonight we have another choice: 90210 or Fringe. It's okay to laugh because I know it's really not a choice. I mean, I heard Ann Gillespie was going to reprise drunk-and-deluded Jackie Taylor tonight, who I even once noted as my fave BH 90210 mom, but the good Reverend Gillespie cannot keep me from JJ Abrams's shiny new show. And really, she would be the only reason. I tried last week, actually recorded because I didn't think I'd make it through without the fast forward function. I had to see the pilot episode, for pop culture's sake. But I couldn't muster the desire to actually watch it. So I caught some of it when I noticed it being run in place of Supernatural repeats. But, well, totally forgetting their names already, with Perpetual Drunkface (TM Fug girls) and Wigged Out Drama Queen and the new girl, Smiles So Much I Suspect Brain Damage, and then add Lori Laughlin (Rob Estes, I generally like, despite his Silk Stalkings past), it just made me sad-sad-sad to see Jessica Walters answer to a name other than Lucille and Tristan Wilds out of Baltimore and in Beverly Hills. It was kind of lame and dull and cheesy, although the location shots were nice. Actually, Santa Monica pier at night may have been the highlight of the whole show for me. I didn't like the first episode of GG much, but this has a whole "I might watch if nothing else is on, and I have the flu, and I lost the remote" vibe, so never say never, you know. I may catch it at least one more time if they rerun it on Sunday afternoons. Oh, and I'm not a fan of FOX, but I love that they are sticking it to the CW by programming the most anticipated new drama against a show even FOX wouldn't think to bring back. Another sound decision! I'm on a roll.
 

So, I took a break for August. Well, I didn't so much take one as it just kind of happened. I've been writing and editing more lately, and that means I want to write and edit and read even less for kicks and giggles. I started a few posts but didn't get a chance to make them public (although I vowed not to revise-revise-revise any more or delete posts nearly finished, so I will make them public). To get back to posting regularly, here's another pop culture List of Lasts.

Last movie at a theater: The Dark Knight. I wanted to see it the week it came out, but that didn't happen. So I waited a bit and made it a Matinee Escape. So what can I say that hasn't been covered by everyone else in the Free World (although, evidently, it's not doing as well in Japan)? Heath Ledger went above and beyond and he elevated this character, this film, this genre. Check. Christian Bale is the best Batman ever. Check. Even though his over-compensating batvoice takes me out of the moment and makes me want to smack him in the batmask. Check. Maggie Gyllnehall was so much better than Katie Holmes could ever have hoped to be. Check. Okay, on that note, I was also grateful to see Maggie Gyllenhall (who I generally like as an actress but don't love because I've become annoyed by her simpering although it was still fabulous to see a film where her bare breasts don't deserve a co-starring credit) playing Aaron Eckhart's love interest instead of Mrs. Tom Cruise. After watching Thank You for Smoking many times, I don't think I could sit through that lack of chemistry again. And although I do love me some Aaron Eckhart, I felt his Harvey Dent was kind of hollow in spots, but then maybe that's the point. Or maybe Heath Ledger's Joker was just so powerful it sucked all possible depth from the atmo on set. My only real complaint was that it felt a bit too long but I am not sure where even ten minutes could have been cut, unlike The Incredible Hulk. So, yes, it really was all that and a bag of butter drenched popcorn, and is not only a great superhero flick, but also just a good film. Yet I think I enjoyed Marvel's Ironman more, which I wish I could blame on how I gravitate more toward Marvel's characters, but to be honest, it's all about Robert Downey Jr., no use denying it.

Last movie on the cable: On a Clear Day. A little British film starring Brenda Blethyn. Peter Mullan plays Frank, a Scottish metal worker who is laid off and decides to swim the English Channel in order to deal with his frustrations and depression brought on by unemployment. As he starts to train with the help of friends, it is obvious he also needs to work on strained relationships with his family, especially his son, a stay-at-home dad with twin boys. It's a lovely story, and if you have a deep abiding love of little UK films like I do, definitely check it out. 

Last episode of Insomia is a Bitch Theater: Bret Michaels now "hosts" the new infomercial for Time-Life's "Hard & Heavy" CDs comprised of "152 of the hardest and heaviest hits from artists like Poison, Whitesnake, Alice Cooper, Heart, Kiss and many more!" Oh yeah, bang your heads to the hardest and heaviest Top 40 songs Time-Life would pony up cash to pay for licensing rights. But that's not all, it gets worse! The nine-CD set includes a disc of cheesy power ballads that made fourteen-year-old girls in 1989 swoon and/or roll their eyes (I'm here to testify, sad but true). But, wait, it gets even worse! The set also comes with an "exclusive" bonus DVD "Hard & Heavy Confidential with Bret Michaels" featuring  masterpieces that changed the world including "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" and "Something To Believe In," played live and acoustic in the Time-Life studio. With no audience. Just Bret with a camera crew. Because that's totally natural (as if, you need twenty skanks who didn't make the cut at the podunk Hooters and thirty cases of Bret Brew for it to be natural!). I don't know what my favorite part of the infomercial is: Bret playing his soulful tunes like he's rehearsing for Rock of Love 3: Team Syphilis vs. Team Gonorrhea; the co-hostesses trying not to ask him if he gets his hair extensions from India or Mattel; or the testimonials about how this unbelievably awesome CD-set truly rocks at parties thrown by white Midwesterners knocking on 40!

Last scripted TV show: Mad Men. Because I do love it, but it is the only new show on (until tonight--I've missed Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass). The second season seemed to start a little slowly but it matched the pace of Don's life, how it had changed as he tried to reform his bad hubby ways, so it felt necessary and natural. I geek out over character development and the writers manage to give each character in a very large cast dimension. What I truly adore about it is that just when you think you've figured out how one character ticks, you find out he/she actually tocks, which adds a startling dose of realism while maintaining creativity.

Last time I watched the finale of Generation Kill : That would be last night when the repeat of the final episode aired. Even though the final two were maybe my least favorite episodes of the series, it still owned me. (As did Jacob's recaps on TWoP, and GK ended just in time to get him back to analyzing the kids of the UES--I love recappers who make it worth reading even if you've seen the episode). It's the best description I have for David Simon's shows. And when I talk about geeking out over character development, well this show is a prime example. It may have been about First Recon's experience at the start of (the later named) Operation Iraqi Freedom, but it was truly about characters. First, let me say, I do realize that these stories are based on one reporter's perception, which has been through many filters, from article to book to screenplays, so everything may not be 100% accurate. But no tale is ever completely accurate based on someone's perception of events. Unless it was recorded and then just transcribed, it never will be. It's not like we watch John Adams and wonder where they found transcriptions of the conversation between Adams, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Jefferson about the draft of the Declaration of Independence. It's called writing. And creative license. Just stay as true to the story as possible, get fabulous technical advisors, and tell the tale. If it's wrong, folks will speak out. However, many say it's as close to the actual experience of being in Iraq as possible for a television show. So it's based in reality, and not in a James Frey "Well, maybe it wasn't a million little pieces" way, or the non-reality of the unreal lives portrayed on shows like The Hills. Anyway, I've read several blogs or recaps along the way and it seems difficult to relay what happened in some episodes and keep it interesting. Although not as stagnant and bored as those waiting-waiting-waiting in Jarhead,  these guys were often waiting for a mission, or on the way to their mission, or having their mission changed, etc. But this is where character development comes into play. This story wasn't just about the mission, it was about the men carrying it out, the men giving the orders, and the dynamic between them, how they coped, how they worked, how they lived. And when they are in the middle of a mission, it all clicks into place, even when it seems all is going to Hell fast. I found it truly fascinating and enthralling, and although there are characters who shined, I still liked watching the characters who pissed me off for being assholes, idiots, and cretans because it still felt very true. And seven episodes was the perfect length to tell this tale without characters outstaying their welcome and the impact of it being lessened. Is GK as good as HBO's previous war mini-series Band of Brothers? Yes, but the two are so different in terms of storytelling, purpose, intent, events, culture, and character, they really shouldn't be compared. It's not quite like comparing apples and oranges, more like an M1 Garand to an M16.

Last time I grumbled about GK's Alexander Skarsgård being in True Blood: That would be every time I see the promo. I was planning on catching the first episode of Alan Ball's new show because I have a love-hate relationship with Six Feet Under and I generally like vampire tales (nope, haven't read the books though). Even though reviews for the pilot are wretched. Even though it sounds like it wants to be campy but doesn't stretch enough to accomplish it. Even though Anna Paquin is supposed to have a Southern accent worse than Kyra Sedgwick's in The Closer. So, I didn't exactly have high hopes for it. But now, dammit-to-hell, they cast Alexander Skarsgard. Yes, he is oh-so-pretty, but his talent as an actor is what makes him magnetic, so damn watchable. He's Stellan Skarsgård's son, for Pete's sake. Remember my Paul Walker Principle? Pretty doesn't matter in the long run if there are no acting skills to back it up. Skarsgård sweats skills.

Last book: I just started the Generation Kill book. Since I had already read the articles, I waited until the show was complete. I actually have a couple books going, but that's the last added to my pile. How long it will take to finish, who knows? I still have Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince only half-read (but in my defense, I figured out with Azkaban that I prefer to read them a few months prior to the movie premiere, and, well, it looks like this one may be half-read for a while now).

Last magazine: This week's Entertainment Weekly. So predictable, I know. Eh it let's me bring up Michael Ausiello's blurb about the possibility of a Veronica Mars movie. Or Mars 2.0. Which is kind of a misnomer considering she was proudly Mars 2.0 in season one, going from Veronica the Sweet to Badass P.I. Veronica. Anyway, I'm divided about the idea of a movie. I loved the show, even though the intensity of my love faded with each season. I still adore season one, can handle season two until previous plot points were retconned or forgotten, which takes me to tolerating season three because I clung to the hope that maybe in the next episode those characters would stop acting out-of-character and the show would be the little Noir show it once longed to be. Oh, and would stop retconning important events from the first season. Grrrrr. Sigh. Grrrrr. So, the prospect for a movie still has me hoping it could be badass again but history tells me it might be otherwise. Doesn't matter, I'm a glutton, so I'll pay to see it even if it is crap. However, knowing that Rob Thomas wants to keep it in Neptune, with the same characters and the crime-solving on the Hearst campus, really does help (although at this pace, by the time it gets made, will the young 'uns still look like college students?). Because the VM:FBI pitch was painful to watch and did not resemble the spirit of the show. And the idea that Veronica would make it in the FBI, with her run-ins with the law, issues with authority, and problems following rules, regulations, and laws, felt very unrealistic to me. I like her better dealing with the seedy side of Southern California.

Yesterday, while skimming my news feeds I stumbled past one with Bernie Mac's name in the headline and kept skimming. And then scrolled back up because there is no way I read that correctly. There had been stories during the past few weeks about the pneumonia that landed him in the hospital. Pneumonia is always a concern, obviously, especially if someone has compromised lungs. But I remembered a story a few days ago about how he was improving, on the mend, leaving the hospital. That's a good sign. So even though he had been ill, a headline about his death was still a shock.

In its early seasons, The Bernie Mac Show was a favorite. I've watched The Original Kings of Comedy so many times I used to be able to recite each act. That tour was masterfully put together. Four comics, each shine with their own distinct styles, perfectly balancing each other. It may not have been a revolutionary concept for a tour, but it has often been imitated since and never duplicated. I wasn't sure what FOX would do to Bernie Mac's comedy, how it would translate into a sitcom, one based on his own life caring for his sister's children after his own daughter had grown up. Although The Steve Harvey Show sometimes had its moments, it wasn't anything fresh or spectacular. But somehow, even being censored, Bernie Mac made it work. His chats with America from the inner-sanctum of his den were particularly smart, considering the popularity of reality TV formats at the time that employ the "confessional" concept with "characters." And when he was griping to America about those kids, it was because he loved them. If he didn't love them, he wouldn't be so fed up with whatever they had done to ruffle his feathers. On screen, on stage, he was a presence. Oh, America . . .

Widow of Aaron Spelling pays $47M for LA condo

You know, Candy Spelling is a single gal now. She doesn't need to be weighed down by that 56,000 sq. ft. mansion. Candy 2.0 doesn't need eleven bedrooms. She's not Krystal Carrington any more, she's Amanda Woodward now! Okay, maybe she's just more Alexis Colby these days. Wait, does that means she'll get in catfights with herself? Eh, just stay away from Moldavia.

Getting a condo to fit her new single-gal lifestyle seems like a fresh, kicky start for the billionaire widow. How about a $47M condo with a 4,000 sq. ft. master suite? I would really love to see how this technically falls into the definition and classification of a "condominium." Wonder what the monthly association dues are like? Does that include trash and water? What's sad, or frightening, is that in her world, and compared to the disgusting display of wealth she lived in before Aaron died, this really is downsizing. Who the hell needs that much room? Her master suite s bigger than many family homes. And how detached must you be from middle-class reality that this ever seems like a proper amount to shell out for shelter? Even as an investment, sheesh. She could bail out entire third world countries. Hell, she could do this one a solid and become Candy Mae and Candy Mac. All while over on Tori & Dean, Tori and her talentless husband scrape together their Lifetime-movie pennies (which reminds me of this, damn insomnia, although it did put me to sleep) and Oxygen-crap reality nickels to buy an overpriced home in an exclusive overpriced gated community "suitable" for their growing family. For the love of Capt. Stubbing, those kids are going to grow up without a gift wrap room! But I swear, I've never seen that show.