Just a quick post today…
Thoughts on last night’s really sensational Idol performances?
Who’s your favourite? Who are you betting on?
I’m really loving Haley Reinhart the past two weeks, and, to my surprise, Lauren Alaina is emerging as one of my favourites as well (I’m not so big on the country genre.)
Of course, my money is still on Casey Abrams.
Talk to me people. Who’s out tonight? Who’s in the finale?
In the interest of full disclosure, I had very low expectations for the much-hyped Grey’s Anatomy “musical event.” But I REALLY wanted to like it!
Sigh…
In the spirit of American Idol, I’ll start with what I liked about it:
Here’s the problem: Shonda Rhimes is not Joss Whedon. Allow me to explain…
On American Idol, contestants never fare well when they take on the heavyweights, because they will inevitably be measured up against the original recording and will always fall short. Fans of Buffy the Vampire Slayer know what I’m talking about – that show’s iconic musical episode was a brilliant piece of work against which any future attempts are sure to be measured; by comparison, last night’s Grey’s was to Buffy what Thia Megia is to Mariah Carey.
One of the huge issues was how the songs were woven into the episode. In the Buffy example, the characters were aware that they were singing and an explanation* was provided for the anomaly. Similarly, when Scrubs took on the musical challenge, the singing was part of the storyline** and the delivery was consistent.
Not so with Grey’s; Callie having an out of body experience offered some license to suspend our reality and provided an explanation - however weak – to allow for the singing. But that license was revoked shortly thereafter, with some of the numbers serving simply as the score for the ongoing scene, and still other songs used as dialog, an inconsistency I found extremely distracting.
I won’t get into the huge stretch they took to make the chosen songs fit into the narrative, because I was struck harder by the episode’s plotline, specifically the fact that Callie was facing a near-death experience. Let’s count the near-deaths among Seattle Grace’s surgeons, shall we?
Now listen, I’m no screenwriter, and I love Grey’s Anatomy, but maybe the writers could try some new material?
Despite the pitfalls, I am still a huge fan, and I will say that Sara Ramirez’s closing number was so fantastic it came close to turning it around.
And who isn’t a sucker for a happy – albeit predictable – ending?
What did you think of the episode? I’d love to hear from you.
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* Season 6, Episode 7 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, titled “Once more with feeling,” aired first in 2001. The premise of the episode was that a musical demon was summoned to the fictional Sunnydale in the hopes of bringing a little fun to the town in a particularly stressful time. The demon’s presence caused the entire town to burst into song and dance, revealing their innermost secrets along the way. The episode did a fantastic job of propelling the storylines forward through original music.
** Season 6, Episode 6 of Scrubs, titled “My Musical,” was this sitcom’s attempt at the musical episode, and the results were stellar. Once again, the music was cleverly woven into the plotline; a patient was suffering from a strange condition whereby everyone viewed through her perspective was singing and dancing. When she was not in the scene, the show reverted to its non-musical format.
Hello TV fans. We all have our favourites – those shows we look forward to all week, talk about the rest of the week. You know the ones.
I love TV, and I love lists, so I got to thinking about my favourite shows, and managed to pare it down to my top five so far.
Chances are if you ask me next week, the list will change, but for today, here are my faves. Note, these are not the BEST shows, just the ones that for one reason or another, I couldn’t get enough of.
So I give you my list, in no particular order. What are your favourites? I really want to know!
Law & Order
Any show that lasts 20 years must have something going for it. Ripped from the headlines, each week brought current topics to air in record time, always with a twist. It took a few seasons to hit its stride, but once Paul Sorvino joined the cast as Sergeant Phil Cerreta, L&A really took off.
The genius of the show was the focus on the story of the day, without getting into the characters themselves. The focus on the episodes meant leads could come and go without affecting the overall feel. The show was also a great training ground for basically any New York actor, and spawned three spinoffs and one superior Sesame Street parody.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
I have one particular friend (you know who you are) who straight-out MOCKS me any time I mention this show, but any fan of Joss Whedon knows that this series was the creative work of a true genius.
Whedon originally created and wrote the movie upon which the show was based, but dropped out of the project when it became obvious that it was going to… well, suck. The show was his chance to redeem the character and concept, and for seven seasons he and a great cast created a series that brilliantly threaded together teen angst, real-life issues, and vampire and demon mythology in a way that made it somhow believable and entertaining. Still watch the DVDs and reruns on TV.
Survivor Season 1
Note the Season 1 part. While the show continues to maintain a following and I can only imagine is still well-produced, I got tired of it sometime in the middle of the Australian outback.
But boy was that first season a fun ride. Originally airing on Wednesdays, I still remember waking up groggy and cranky those hump-day mornings until suddenly remembering it was Survivor night and subsequently being happy all day. The amazing casting of regular everyday people who turned on one-another with such zeal was a true guilty pleasure.
My Boys
Just got Netflix and am so happy to be able to see the final season of this buddy comedy set in Chicago. An original TBS show, My Boys centres on P.J., a hot tomboy who works as a sports columnist for the Tribune, and her close group of guy friends (plus one really girly girlfriend.) Nothing ground-breaking or original here, but the dialog is hilarious and the chemistry between the friends makes me fairly certain the group isn’t having a hard time acting.
My favourite episode has one of the guys turning into a shallow pretty boy; the friends stage a douchbag intervention, complete with a moderator and letters from the group. TBS’s tag line is “very funny,” and with this show, they’re right.
The Love Boat
So cheesy and predictable, but for four-year-old me, this fantasy cruise ship made Friday nights the highlight of my week.
For 10 years, they aired the same episode week after week, yet still managed to stay afloat. I am fully expecting a remake of the series next season, just wait. The only question will be which cruise line will get the honours.
Lame headline to be sure, since I don’t have any TV news to report…
But it’s been so long since I’ve written that I actually couldn’t remember my password. Sorry TV fans – I’ll do better.
Meanwhile, thought I’d throw a couple of topics out there for discussion.
PVR’d Off the Map, the newest offering from the creators of Grey’s Anatomy. Watched half, was tired, wend to bed… haven’t bothered to watch the second half of the debut. Not that it was BAD, it just wasn’t… well, good. Am I wrong? What do you think?
In the meantime, I’m increasingly enjoying the inaccurately named Cougar Town, although Courtney Cox’s character is getting harder to watch. But the supporting cast has great chemistry, making me wish I could be an honorary member of the “cul-de-sac crew.”
Any other Cougar Town fans out there?
First of all, my apologies; my keyboard doesn’t have a backwards “E” key.
Anyway, greetings fellow TV fans. It’s been a while, and for good reason. Has anyone else noticed that this season of TV kind of, um, sucks?
Can anyone name me a new offering from this season that stands out in any kind of positive way?
Sure, there is plenty of great stuff to watch. Favourites like Mad Men, The Good Wife, The Big Bang Theory and other veteran shows continue to entertain. The imminent return of Dexter is getting everyone excited.
But where is the new content? News this week that NBC’s The Event has been extended for a full season. So I ask you fellow junkies – does anyone care? I for one haven’t watched a minute of the show; it seemed like a very forced attempt by NBC to be edgy and interesting, and the lack of buzz tells me they haven’t succeeded.
Am I wrong? What am I missing? Are there any new shows this year that I’ve missed? Tell me what to watch friends. Who should be renewed, and who needs to be cancelled?
I need your help, or I may need to start reading books!
As a TV enthusiast and proud Canadian, I strongly dislike the concept of Can-con. For my global readers unfamiliar with this term, it is a government policy mandating that a certain percentage of material broadcast on Canadian airwaves must be of Canadian origin.
This meant that historically, Canadian TV, well, sucked. Though many of us fondly remember Degrassi Junior High and The Littlest Hobo, we must acknowledge the lack of production value.
But in recent years, greater investment has been made into Canadian programming, resulting in some quality programming, with a select few of the better offerings even being picked up in – gasp! – the U.S.!
I don’t know why I’m so proud when Canadians succeed in the States, but you can imagine my joy in learning that country’s latest export, Rookie Blue, my favourite summer series, has been renewed and is currently in production in Toronto on its second season.
The writing is funny and believable, the production value slick and stylised, and the storylines, though not always totally original, still somehow manage to seem fresh.
The show centres around Andy McNally (Heroes’ Missy Peregrym), the daughter of a disgraced alcoholic veteran of 15 Division. Peregrym plays the role believably and carries the show easily, but the focus on her comes at the expense of the excellent supporting characters. With another season in the works, here’s hoping the writers can create some opportunities to dig deep into the rest of the cast.
While I anxiously await the next episode, here are my Top 5 favourite things about Rookie Blue:
1. Ben Bass: As senior officer and unrequited love interest Sam Swarek, Bass is my new celebrity crush, and he can act too!
2. Gregory Smith: The former star of the WB’s Everwood, the veteran – and Canadian! – actor plays rookie Dov Epstein. Smith is an incredible talent and a great asset to the show, if the writers can figure out what to do with him. With a name like Dov Epstein, there has to be a good back story, and it would be a real waste not to create some better storylines for Smith.
3. Enuka Okuma: This Vancouver resume includes roles in blockbuster movies and some of television’s most highly-rated shows, including 24 and Greys Anatomy. Her storyline as rookie Traci Nash is promising, as a single mother having an affair with one of the detectives.
4. Matt Godon: As training officer Oliver Shaw, Gordon is one of those actors you know you’ve seen but just can’t place. But here, he shines through as the cynical Shaw, adding humour and truth to the squad room.
5. Toronto!: The show is loosely set in Toronto, which means that the City is not explicitly highlighted, but nor there an attempt to pretend it’s New York or Chicago.
I’m not a fan of the Emmy’s. My problem is not with people being acknowledged and celebrated for great work. I take issue with the fact that children go hungry while a bunch of Hollywood rich people spend insulting amounts of money to pat themselves on the back. Yes, entertainers make a contribution to society, but come on people! You’re not curing cancer here! A televised tribute to excess and frivolity – particularly on the fifth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina – just bothers me on a fundamental level.
However, since I write a blog about TV, I wouldn’t be doing a great job if I let this year’s pageant go by without comment.
I’ll be honest and admit I only watched about five minutes of the broadcast.
By all reports, host Jimmy Fallon surprised everyone by doing a good job. I did catch a segment where nominated writers provided pre-taped clips talking about the most memorable notes they ever received: “Is there any way you could make this suck less?” was my personal favourite.
I found it perplexing that the acting categories for dramatic series were raced through, while nominees in the mini-series and TV movie categories at least got a short clip shown. Seemed a bit anticlimactic, particularly since, aside from the people who actually worked on the nominated mini-series and TV movies, who really cares about the nominated mini-series and TV movies?
A bigger issue is the whole “apples to oranges” conundrum: I say, give each of the nominated actors the same script, have each act it out, THEN decide who the “best” is. Nonetheless, we work with what we’ve got, and those programs and players nominated were definitely a deserving bunch.
A big nod of approval for the following:
Comedy Series: Though I do love me some Tina Fey, winner Modern Family is one of the funniest sit-coms ever. Clever, believable and hilarious, this show’s win was well-deserved.
Supporting Actress, Drama Series: I suspect any woman who watches The Good Wife secretly wants to be Kalinda, the kick-ass investigator for the fictional Lockhart & Garner played with subtlety and strength by Archie Panjabi. Great to finally see a non-stereotypical, ethnic characters on TV as well.
Actor, Comedy Series: After being overlooked last year, the hilarious Jim Parsons wins this year for the Big Bang Theory. He somehow manages to make the humourless, a-sexual, robotic Sheldon seem believable and endearing. Glad to see him get the recognition.
Congratulations to all of the winners and nominees – whom I’m certain are reading this blog – and thank you for entertaining me!
Agree with the winners? Who got robbed? (other than Kyle Chandler, obviously!) Let me know what you think!
