Tuesday, June 1, 2010

Week in Review: 5/23-5/29

Yes.... this is incredibly late. Sorry. I had an insane weekend. But here it is now, in case anyone still cares! :) It's all about season finales (mostly) so they will be a little longer, but there are a lot fewer entries. At the end of the post, I'll mention the summer shows I will be watching.

10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU: Booooo, ABC Family. Not only did you cancel this show way too soon, you did it without giving Carter Covington proper notice so he didn't get a chance to make an ending. At least we got to see Kat and Patrick finally get on track. To bad that moment was ruined by dad walking in on their post-coital bliss. And then.... scene! End of series. Again I say: BOOOOO!!!!!

HOW I MET YOUR MOTHER: Well, we still haven't seen Barney's doppleganger (just don't tell Lily), but we have proven once and for all that despite how hard he tries, Barney is the heart of this show. He is the one that helped Marshall and Lily decide to get married. And now he is the one that has made it OK that Marshall puts a baby in Lily's belly. This season hasn't been the best ever (not enough Barney) but it's been solid enough. I look forward to the pregnancy fun of next season. I also hope that Alexis Denisof knocks up Alison Hannigan in real life just for the show. But that's because I love my Whedonverse couple!

24: As a season finale, I thought that was great. As a series finale, I thought it was OK. I understand that the theme of this show was never "happily ever after." And the moment Renee died, that went out the window, so I wasn't really looking for that. But really? He ends up just on the run from the US AND Russian government? That's it?? The man gave up everything for his country. His wife, his unborn child, his best friend went evil, his other best friend got killed, his favorite (everyone's favorite) president was assassinated, one girlfriend went completely insane, the other died 5 minutes after they finally got around to having sex, he lost years and years of time with his daughter. The man had almost nothing left - just Chloe, Kimmy and baby Terri. And then he had to give them up too. I hope the movie wraps it up a little nicer. I loved Jack Bauer and there was some great television stuck in those 8 years. I think we deserved something more for him, and so did he. Redeeming the finale as a whole: Mary Lynn Rajskub. Her greatest hour by far. Bye Jack.... I guess we will see you on the big screen. And by big screen I don't mean that insanely large screen in CTU: The Nightclub. I mean the movies.

CHUCK: Giving a lesson on how action shows should end a season, there is Chuck. A nearly perfect season ending with a nearly perfect finale. For those of you who are not members of Team Bartowski, I can not stress enough the importance of getting on board! Netflix season 1 & 2 and illegally download season 3. Just kidding. I didn't say that. (but do it!) I could write a novel about the perfection of these two hours of television. It simultaneously wrapped a 3 season arc dealing with The Ring, which was defined brilliantly by Morgan as "a nefarious organization hell bent on world domination." And while I think that Chuck should have just killed Shaw during their climactic fight at the end, I understand wanting to keep Brandon Routh available for a return. He was sorely underused all season, but made up for all of that with his evil "muah ha ha" laugh said slowly and without inflection. And then of course, with his reaction when Chuck used it back on him. Of course, as with every other season, it was unknown if Chuck would be returning next season, but thankfully it will be back - and aparently with the "Alias" storyline of the return of mysterious and thought to be dead mother. Possibly evil. Lena Olin, is that you?! (Seriously, any ideas on who should play Mama Bartowski?) And now everyone knows that Chuck is a spy... but not really, as he quit the CIA as a result to a promise to his sister Ellie. But a loophole was revealed. He can be a spy Papa Bartowski style - and so sets up missions for next season as well! Well played, Josh Schwartz. It will be a long summer without you. (Please don't rebuild the Buy More while we are gone!)

THE BACHLORETTE: Yep. This is one of my summer shows. Whatevers. Though I recently just saw what happens throughout the season until the final rose ceremony (just not which guy she chooses) and I am REALLY upset about part of it, so I'm not sure I am going to continue watching. Here is what I think about the show in general, though. The first 4-5 episodes are merely a psychological experiment in how men/women behave when sequestered together in a house. The last 4-5 are really just deciding who the next bachelor/bachelorette. And it is all one big casting call for Dancing with the Stars. For now that is all I have - more on this next week.

THE GOOD WIFE: This season there were a lot of great new comedies (Community, Cougar Town, Glee, Modern Family!!!) but not a lot of great new dramas. This one is my favorite of the new dramas hands down. And had there been a lot of great new dramas, it probably still would be. Like Bones, it manages to mix the procedural and serial storylines incredibly well, making the "case of the week" important to the season-long story-arcs, without making it seem like a stretch. This week's case involved Amy Acker, who, inevitably, "did it." And then got away with it. I only hope that she returns in the second season premiere. She was underused, and plays "sweet turned evil" incredibly well (Don't believe me? Watch Season 5 of Angel. Specifically episodes 15 and 16. She's genius). But back to the episode. There was so much I loved about this episode. Anything Will at all. Especially his final phone conversation with Alicia. (Pick up the phone, girl!) But, as always, the best of the night was Kalinda. Playing all sides, legally and sexually, she keeps things in her control at all times. And in those boots! The best part of the episode was so subtle, but summed up what I love about the show best: Kalinda and Alicia's friendship and how it transcends their work. When Kalinda called Alicia about something work related and Alicia told her she was having dinner with Will, Kalinda asked something we couldn't hear to which Alicia replied, "Nooooo" like a 14 year old girl. Loved his moment. Can't wait for more next season.

PARENTHOOD: This is one of the other new dramas of the season. While I think Good Wife is great, I think Parenthood is good. (funny) The finale played out like they weren't sure it was going to last, which may have been a possiblity. Every storyline was wrapped up in a nice little package, ending with their inevitable sporting event. Those Bravermans sure like their athletic activities! I'm happy with the season over all. Only major complaint: Kristina. Her character is uneven at best. Sometimes I sympathize with her - it's hard not to sympathize a little with the mother of a child with aspbergers. BUT, at other times I think she is a selfish bitch, highlighted in this episode when she wanted Adam to punish Drew because of her issues with Sarah and Amber. Poor Drew. Like he can help that his sister and mom are crazy. Though I don't think they are, and I could never think negatively of anything a Lauren Graham character did. She could kill them all and I would think, "well, they had it coming." Here is to more Lauren Graham goodness next season! (Small tiny little issue with the episode: Amber ran away to Gilroy but ended up at a truck stop diner that is used in every television show ever? If you go to Gilroy and don't know where you are, you end up at the outlets/In N Out. Everyone knows that!)

GLEE: It was the Lady Gaga episode!! Should have been called the Lady Gaga/Kiss episode, but you've got everyone's attention when you say Lady Gaga, so why bother. The performances in this episode were fantastic. Bad Romance? Wow. Poker Face? Tears. Beth? More tears. And that scene in the basement with Burt, Kurt and Finn?? Hello Emmy. I'd like you to meet Mike O'Malley! Wow. Lots o' tears. I will say this, while what Finn said was inexcusable, why they thought he would just be OK with all of this change is ridiculous. It wasn't really Kurt being gay that he was mad at. It was all of this happening as if he had no say in it at all. That was never acknowledged, and I felt for Finn a bit when it came to that. However it did NOT give him license to say what he did. Bad move, Finn. The greatest part of the episode was not a song, or a piece of dialogue... it was a part of a costume. When performing Kiss, Puck's "Paul Stanley" star over his eye was a Star of David as opposed to the regular 5 point star that Paul uses. Puck is very proud of the Jewishness. Love! (PS Gleeks, next week another mini-soundtrack "Glee: Journey to Regionals" is being released. It's available for pre-order now. When you see what 6 songs are on there, you will pre-order like me.)

JUSTIFIED: The path that is being taken during the season that will ultimately lead to a confrontation between Raylan, Arlo, Boyd and Beau has been a crazy ride. And a thrilling one to watch. Each episode is somehow better than the last. I can not wait to see how the season ends in two weeks and where they will leave it for next season. I'm not sure it matters what happens, as long as Raylan and his hat survive the day, I'm good!

SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE: I will actually blog this show weekly on it's own once we get to the actual competition. Until then there are way too many dancers to talk about. And we don't really know their names. It would be too much for me to take notes on. In the meantime: Hurray Mia is back!!!!!!! And to be honest, I don't really miss Mary.

FLASHFORWARD: This show never really found it's focus and ultimately succumed to the "too many storylines to follow and not enough connection to the characters" issues that come up with this complext mythology shows. They are never going to find another LOST, so I wish they would stop trying. However that being said, I wish they had kept this instead of V. Apparently shooting 60% of your show in front of a green screen is cheaper than using real life locations! What a shame. I would have loved to find out what everyones next flashforward was. I will say that the finale was well done, except that the assains sent to kill Mark were the worst assassains ever. Ever. Who would have been fooled by the elevator? Seriously! Also, it took me to the finale to realize the FBI office was the same set they used for Eli Stone. Hurray me!

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Tim Riggins is one of my favorite characters on television. Much like Barney on HIMYM, he is a womanizer, spends a lot of his time trying to prove he doesn't care, but ultimately is the one person everyone can count on. Coach, Saracen, even poor Becky. Riggins is there for them all. And like Barney, he is too adorable for words. I heard he is gone after this season. Please let him come back at least part time. Dillon, Texas would not be the same without him. I have heard a lot of great things about the next episode. I already have my tissues ready. I hope those Emmy voters have their ballots ready. I'm glad that episode is reairing right in time for their nomination process!


OK.... here is a (probably incomplete) list of what I will be watching/trying this summer. I will put a star next to the few I will blog individually. (And yes, Katie, this list is in order of premiere, based on Kristin's list. Thanks for noticing! LOL)

Bachlorette (I know!)
Saving Grace
SYTYCD *** (after Vegas)
Burn Notice
Royal Pains
Drop Dead Diva
Secret Life....
Persons Unknown
Pretty Little Liar
True Blood *** (duh)
Top Chef
The Gates
Leverage
Hawthorne
Memphis Beat
Boston Med (This is a follow up to Hopkins. Not sure if anyone watched that, but it was FASCINATING. It's an 8 part mini-series, and I highly recommend it)
Entourage
Hung
Make it or Break it
Warehouse 13
Covert Affairs
White Collar
Psych *** (maybe)
Mad Men ***
My Boys
Dark Blue

That seems like a whole lot. I guess it is. But the seasons are all so short that some will be over before the others even begin. If you are going to only watch a few, I suggest True Blood, if you have HBO. And Mad Men. If you've never seen that show, for the love of Madison Avenue, rent the first 3 season and get caught up. One of my favorite shows of all time. Can't wait to see what that crazy bastard Matthew Weiner came up with for this season.

Alright all.... comments!

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Yay a new blog!!!! I love that you watch all these shows! I am totally going to find a way to watch Chuck. So excited for your summer shows blog too!

I miss Bones and GW said...

I cannot wait for the Good Wife to come back.... I hate that these people think they need some sort of break- booo! I do not buy into that whole, distnace makes the heart grow fonder, I would still like it the same if it was new every week!. Answer the phone Alicia. I am stoked for SYTYCD, no surprise there. I really liked the guy from the bad side of tracks of Miami who is a contemporary dancer and the mexican guy who danced right after. The men are much stronger from what we have seen so far. I suck, I do not watch many shows on your list, I do not have all the channels, but I am excited for Lie to Me, not on your list to return. =0)