In past years, I've done posts on which shows I plan to watch in the new TV season. I never did that this fall. Now it's November, and basically everything that's going to air this fall has already started. So, I figured I'd do a post on what I think of the shows that I've watched. Some I've been keeping up with religiously, watching the first night it's available online. Other shows I've seen a few episodes of, and may watch more if I find the time. Others I may give up on. Mostly, I've been a bit disappointed with this year's freshman shows. We'll start with those.
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New Shows
Pan Am
I love this show. I'm a couple episodes behind, but only because it's not a show the Housemate watches (loser). See, most of my TV-watching time is during dinner (and lunch on the weekends) which I have with the Housemate, so any show that he's not interested in gets pushed aside, and I have to find my own time to watch it.
Pan Am is probably my favorite new show this season. I love the period setting, the world travel, the glamour of it all, even if it is exaggerated (I don't care). Of the six main characters, I loved about half of them right from the start, and the rest I've warmed up to in recent episodes. The show is funny and fun, but can also be surprisingly moving, as I found myself tearing up a bit on behalf of Colette in the Berlin episode. Anyway, if you're at all inclined to watch this sort of show but haven't given it a try, I highly recommend you check it out.
Terra Nova
I so wanted this to be good. I still do. It's just they keep being stupid about it. I'm no writer, I don't know how to fix it, but I can spot bad choices when I see them. First, they chickened out in the pilot by tacking on an awkward scene in which Mira (Christine Adams) and some other Sixer discuss Taylor's son, basically saying "See? We already have answers to our mysterious mythology, we promise." But that scene somehow managed to make the mystery both less mysterious and more confusing at the same time. Then you had that terrible conversation between Mira, the evil(?) Sixer leader(?) and hero Jim (Jason O'Mara) that went something like this:
Mira: You seem useful. Be on the right side of history. Make the smart choice. Join us.
Jim: But I like Terra Nova. It's a new beginning, and all that good idealistic stuff.
Mira: You're naive if you think that's really what Terra Nova is about.
Jim: OK, I'm listening then. What is it really about?
Mira: You know, you'd think I'd tell you because I'm trying to convince you my side is the smart choice, but the writers are telling me we can't give away too much of the mystery yet, so instead I'll just say, "You'll see."
Inexplicable. Side plots have been pretty lame, too, perhaps reaching a new low as Jim and littlest daughter Zoe spend the whole episode trying to get out of what is essentially a personal theater room. Why does that room only have an emergency door release on the outside? Is it a prison cell or something? I've been in walk-in fridge rooms, and they have emergency releases on the inside, because that is the more awkward of the two sides to get stuck on. And why would someone construct an access shaft that's only large enough for a small child to fit through? Did Hobbits build the place? And how many different scene cuts do you need to spend on these people figuring out how to escape that room? The only thing that could have made their plotline exciting would have been if there were ACTUAL spiders in there, trying to attack them.
OK, I should have saved my Terra Nova rant for its own separate post. Contrary to how it may sound at this point, I'm still enjoying the show, and I watch it every week. But I do so hoping that it will suddenly get better. They have a beautiful, interesting world to explore and some good characters. They just need to figure out what they're doing and use them intelligently.
Person of Interest
I like this show. I don't love it as much as I'd hoped, but I think they've been doing a pretty good job with it. I think my main issue is the cool, detached manner that Jim Caviezel gives hero Reese. It makes scenes with him that don't have any action a little...boring. Without more passion, I find it hard to really become attached to the character or the story. But I'll keep tuning in for now.
The New Girl
I really wanted to love this one, but after three episodes, I've just been a bit disappointed. There have been some good laughs, and I like some of the characters sometimes, but just not enough. Only if I find myself with a lot of free time, or hear that it's gotten much better, will I catch up with this one. I think Zooey Deschanel is a talented, funny actress. I just wish the material she got were better.
Revenge
I started this one late, but now I've seen three episodes and I have to admit, it's totally a guilty pleasure show. Watch beautiful people live extravagant, glamorous lives, and see the nasty ones take nasty falls. Like Pan Am, the Housemate doesn't watch this one, so I have to find time to catch episodes on my own. I may watch some more episodes at some point, but only if I'm caught up with everything else.
Once Upon a Time
I wasn't entirely sold after watching the pilot, but after watching the second and third episodes, I'm loving it. If any show challenges Pan Am as my favorite new show of the season, it's this one. The characters are fun (especially the Evil Queen), and the fairytale premise is intriguing. I just wonder how they can keep the plot going. I guess time will tell.
Grimm
Another disappointment. It's not bad, but it does suffer from characters being unbelievably stupid from time to time. It's also a bit hard to believe how many fairytale-creature cases Nick and his partner pick up. Does this reflect a universal percentage of perpetrators who are actually fairytale monsters? If only a Grimm is well suited to take out these creatures, does that mean that the rest of them, who get other detectives assigned to their cases, go free? It's one thing when a certain detective is well known for being good at "these sorts of cases", and gets called in from around the city or state to investigate. Alternatively, they could explain that this city is a fairytale monster haven. But they need some sort of explanation, because at the moment, it just doesn't make sense. There have only been two episodes, so I'm willing to give it some more time. If it gets better, great. If it gets worse, I may start tuning out.
Returning Shows
Fringe
Favorite show on TV right now. It's a bit frustrating at the moment (vague SPOILERS) with the new altered storyline, but things are definitely progressing in an exciting way. I love it.
Nikita
This was my favorite new show of last fall, and I think it's still going strong. The formula has changed a lot since the first season, and that took some getting used to, but change is good. It keeps things interesting.
How I Met Your Mother
Fun, lovable characters, and I've been enjoying Kal Penn's recurring guest star role this season. And, as I've already explained, I really liked their Ewok episode. Ted can take as long as he wants to find their mother.
Big Bang Theory
The other of the two sitcoms I watch. It's light and amusing, and I like the characters. They've had a couple good cameos so far this season, and they FINALLY admitted that maybe, just maybe, there might be one or two women out there who actually like comic books. Progress.
Glee
I think I've only watched the first episode, maybe two, from this season. The Housemate has given up on it, so I find it's a good one to catch a couple episodes of while I'm beading, since it doesn't exactly require my undivided attention. I'll have to see more before I decide what I think about this season.
Merlin
Yes, the Housemate and I are still hooked on Merlin. It alternates between painfully silly and surprisingly grim, and I really wish the characters would learn to recognize traitors (Look! He's smirking! All the time when bad things are happening! Why doesn't anybody see?????), but somehow I love it still. I like fantasy and Arthurian legend (even perversions of it), and I've fallen for the characters. Also, James Callis was in an episode this season. Oh, how I miss Baltar.
Walking Dead
This is a good show, but it's also distressing and depressing. If the Housemate weren't such a big zombie fan, honestly, I might drop it. It just never leaves me feeling good. At least it's staying interesting.
Chuck
This is Chuck's last season. We were lucky we got it this long, seeing as it was renewed only by the skin of its teeth the past couple seasons. I'm finding the current plot very frustrating. I understand why they wanted to switch up the Intersect a bit, keep it fresh, and didn't want to make things too easy for them, but it still pains me. Still, I've been with the show long enough that I'll see it through till the end, which I trust them to wrap up in a satisfying way, given that they have advance notice of the series finale.
Covert Affairs
I'm so glad we didn't have to wait until next summer to see more of this show. I love it so much. Annie, Auggie, and Joan are great, and the filming on location that Annie gets to do is beautiful and refreshing. So many shows try to make L.A. look like other cities in the world, who can blame the Covert Affairs folks for rubbing it in: "See? We really went to Paris! Not a set! And this? Yeah, we went to Venice. For real!" Fun, delightful show, and lighter and more realistic than my other two returning favorites, Fringe and Nikita.
******
Well, I think those are all the shows that I've seen this TV season. Any other shows I need to pick up this fall before I fall too far behind?
Showing posts with label How I Met Your Mother. Show all posts
Showing posts with label How I Met Your Mother. Show all posts
Wednesday, November 9, 2011
Friday, October 28, 2011
How I Met Your Mother and Ewok Appreciation
There are two sitcoms that I watch on CBS: How I Met Your Mother and The Big Bang Theory. Between the two of them, there's no question which is geekier. In fact, I think it's pretty safe to say that Big Bang Theory is the geekiest, nerdiest sitcom on television. Now, I love BBT's constant mentions of Star Trek, Lord of the Rings, the Justice League, Game of Thrones, etc. (by the way, Leonard was right to bargain down Stuart for Longclaw in a recent episode--his initial quote of $250 is $10 above the current price on Amazon). But Leonard, Sheldon, Howard, and Raj's nerdiness is kind of the main point of the show. The geeky references are expected.
The five friends on How I Met Your Mother, on the other hand, are not so obviously geeky. They have a wide range of professions: teacher, lawyer, architect, reporter, and whatever it is Barney does for Goliath National Bank. They spend a good chunk of their free time socializing at a local bar. The three who aren't married have a steady stream of relationships (though the frequency of romantic partners varies wildly). They seem like fairly normal people (except for Barney) that you might expect to meet in NYC. They'd be a really cool group of friends to hang out with.
That's why I love it so much when HIMYM lets its geekiness shine through. Ted is the only one of the bunch with a classically nerdy job, as the enthusiastic architect who perhaps overestimates architecture's universal appeal. It's a position I appreciate and relate to. I saw right through the joke when Ted, in response to Robin's question of what famous people would be at the architect's gala he was attending, answered "Lenny Kravitz. He's a rock star." (After an excited Robin manages to weasel her way in, it turns out he was actually referring to Leonard Kravitz, some wizened old--but famous in the architecture world, we are assured--guy). Yeah, we have our own "rock stars" in oceanography. You haven't heard of them.
Ted and Marshall both have strong geeky streaks. They have been known to hold the occasional sword fight, and to play with an Indiana Jones whip. In a recent episode, a photo of Marshall, Lily, and Ted dressed for Halloween as C-3PO, R2-D2, and "the robot Luke's Uncle almost bought from the Jawas", respectively, highlighted Ted's role as third wheel. There have been other Star Wars references before--I recall Ted calling "dibs" on a girl who compared the snowstorm outside to Hoth. Star Wars is, I suppose, a popular enough franchise to be only borderline geeky, though I'd say dressing as an obscure Star Wars character or naming any Star Wars planet crosses the line into true geek territory. Still, I don't think there have been any geeky references as ongoing and central to a HIMYM episode as in the recent "Field Trip", (Episode 7.5--I'm a couple weeks behind, I know).
It all starts when environmental lawyer Marshall complains that his boss seems to be going soft...like a teddy bear. Ted proposes that maybe his boss is being like an Ewok: "Cute and cuddly around the village but once the battle starts it'll smash in your metal skull with giant swinging logs." Barney's new girlfriend Nora enters to hear mention of Ewoks and declares her distaste for them, which leads Barney to conclude he can't date her anymore. This culminates in a slide show that Barney prepared all about Ewoks (anatomy, culture, etc.), ending with a graph explaining why he can't date someone who doesn't love Ewoks:
Return of the Jedi came out in 1983. Anyone older than 10 at the time found them overly cute and cloying. Anyone under 10 at the time loved them because they reminded them of their teddy bears. Thus, given Nora's hatred of Ewoks, she must be over 37, a far cry from the 29 she claimed to be, not to mention a bit old for Barney's tastes. Barney's Ewok Line slide:
As it turned out, Nora was in fact 29, she was just a latecomer to Star Wars, having not watched it until the previous year. So really, Barney's Ewok Appreciation Rule should be amended to account for this:
Anyone who dislikes Ewoks must have been over 10 years old when they first saw Return of the Jedi.
I wonder how often this actually holds up. I have certainly encountered both Ewok-hating and Ewok-loving people. Whatever their reasons for loving or hating them, I'm curious how many of them fit this rule of age when first introduced to Ewoks.
I certainly fit the rule. I've always loved Ewoks. I don't know exactly how old I was the first time I watched Return of the Jedi, but I was definitely a well-established fan by the time I went to Disney World at age 7 and rode on Star Tours (I remember posing for photos with someone dressed as Wicket, and my younger brother bought an Ewok stuffed animal). So I was at most 6 the first time my parents let me watch it.
What about everyone else? Maybe I should set up a poll, but at least sound off in the comments where you fall in the Ewok debate, and let me know whether you fit Barney's Ewok Appreciation Rule.
As an extra Easter egg for us Star Wars fans, there was also a scene in which Marshall's co-workers can be heard singing "Yub Nub" in the background during an office party. I laughed pretty hard when I recognized it. And here's a video of Barney's full Ewok slide show. During the episode he just clicks through most of it, but the kind folks at CBS put the full size images into a clip for your viewing pleasure:
I particularly like the "Ewok Styles" slide (some of them look familiar...), and the "Ewok Diet" slide, showing Han Solo. Also, apparently their average weight is 50 kg, but their average fecal deposit is 49 kg. Lovely.
The five friends on How I Met Your Mother, on the other hand, are not so obviously geeky. They have a wide range of professions: teacher, lawyer, architect, reporter, and whatever it is Barney does for Goliath National Bank. They spend a good chunk of their free time socializing at a local bar. The three who aren't married have a steady stream of relationships (though the frequency of romantic partners varies wildly). They seem like fairly normal people (except for Barney) that you might expect to meet in NYC. They'd be a really cool group of friends to hang out with.
That's why I love it so much when HIMYM lets its geekiness shine through. Ted is the only one of the bunch with a classically nerdy job, as the enthusiastic architect who perhaps overestimates architecture's universal appeal. It's a position I appreciate and relate to. I saw right through the joke when Ted, in response to Robin's question of what famous people would be at the architect's gala he was attending, answered "Lenny Kravitz. He's a rock star." (After an excited Robin manages to weasel her way in, it turns out he was actually referring to Leonard Kravitz, some wizened old--but famous in the architecture world, we are assured--guy). Yeah, we have our own "rock stars" in oceanography. You haven't heard of them.
Ted and Marshall both have strong geeky streaks. They have been known to hold the occasional sword fight, and to play with an Indiana Jones whip. In a recent episode, a photo of Marshall, Lily, and Ted dressed for Halloween as C-3PO, R2-D2, and "the robot Luke's Uncle almost bought from the Jawas", respectively, highlighted Ted's role as third wheel. There have been other Star Wars references before--I recall Ted calling "dibs" on a girl who compared the snowstorm outside to Hoth. Star Wars is, I suppose, a popular enough franchise to be only borderline geeky, though I'd say dressing as an obscure Star Wars character or naming any Star Wars planet crosses the line into true geek territory. Still, I don't think there have been any geeky references as ongoing and central to a HIMYM episode as in the recent "Field Trip", (Episode 7.5--I'm a couple weeks behind, I know).
It all starts when environmental lawyer Marshall complains that his boss seems to be going soft...like a teddy bear. Ted proposes that maybe his boss is being like an Ewok: "Cute and cuddly around the village but once the battle starts it'll smash in your metal skull with giant swinging logs." Barney's new girlfriend Nora enters to hear mention of Ewoks and declares her distaste for them, which leads Barney to conclude he can't date her anymore. This culminates in a slide show that Barney prepared all about Ewoks (anatomy, culture, etc.), ending with a graph explaining why he can't date someone who doesn't love Ewoks:
Return of the Jedi came out in 1983. Anyone older than 10 at the time found them overly cute and cloying. Anyone under 10 at the time loved them because they reminded them of their teddy bears. Thus, given Nora's hatred of Ewoks, she must be over 37, a far cry from the 29 she claimed to be, not to mention a bit old for Barney's tastes. Barney's Ewok Line slide:
As it turned out, Nora was in fact 29, she was just a latecomer to Star Wars, having not watched it until the previous year. So really, Barney's Ewok Appreciation Rule should be amended to account for this:
Anyone who dislikes Ewoks must have been over 10 years old when they first saw Return of the Jedi.
I wonder how often this actually holds up. I have certainly encountered both Ewok-hating and Ewok-loving people. Whatever their reasons for loving or hating them, I'm curious how many of them fit this rule of age when first introduced to Ewoks.
I certainly fit the rule. I've always loved Ewoks. I don't know exactly how old I was the first time I watched Return of the Jedi, but I was definitely a well-established fan by the time I went to Disney World at age 7 and rode on Star Tours (I remember posing for photos with someone dressed as Wicket, and my younger brother bought an Ewok stuffed animal). So I was at most 6 the first time my parents let me watch it.
What about everyone else? Maybe I should set up a poll, but at least sound off in the comments where you fall in the Ewok debate, and let me know whether you fit Barney's Ewok Appreciation Rule.
As an extra Easter egg for us Star Wars fans, there was also a scene in which Marshall's co-workers can be heard singing "Yub Nub" in the background during an office party. I laughed pretty hard when I recognized it. And here's a video of Barney's full Ewok slide show. During the episode he just clicks through most of it, but the kind folks at CBS put the full size images into a clip for your viewing pleasure:
I particularly like the "Ewok Styles" slide (some of them look familiar...), and the "Ewok Diet" slide, showing Han Solo. Also, apparently their average weight is 50 kg, but their average fecal deposit is 49 kg. Lovely.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Happy Autumn, Moon Festival, and Hobbit Day!
It is now officially fall, if you take the beginning of fall to be the autumnal equinox, which was at 5:09 pm Hawaii time (erm...11:09 pm East Coast U.S. time, and the rest of you will have to figure it out for yourselves). September 22 is also the Chinese Moon Festival this year, also sometimes called the Mid-Autumn Festival, but I won't call it that because I just said that autumn started today. I feel like a bad half-Chinese person, but I don't really know much about the Moon Festival, beyond that we get to eat mooncakes. Mmmm. Today also happens to be Hobbit Day, as September 22 is the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. So there are many reasons to celebrate today (though I realize that for most of the world it is already tomorrow, which messes up the alignment of autumn with Hobbit Day and the Moon Festival, but whatever). Anyway, happy autumn, happy Moon Festival, and happy Hobbit Day!
I don't have anything humorous or insightful or cool or geeky to share today, just some scattered thoughts. It has been a very long week, and I can't believe it's only Wednesday. Feels like it must be Friday. The Housemate is on the mainland this week for a workshop relevant to the research he is doing, so I've been having solitary evenings and nights. It's a lot less fun when there's no one to watch TV shows with me (especially considering that this week is the big pilot episode week for most TV shows), cook dinner with me, and dine with me. And cuddle with me. I think of it as practice for when he goes to Antarctica for over three months. But thinking that makes me sad.
My grandmother went to the hospital on Saturday night, just a couple hours after I had visited her at her apartment. She had seemed tired when I saw her, but I just assumed it was because I was visiting during afternoon nap time. I guess later she was feeling extra tired, and very weak. Turns out she had a very low red blood cell count, and low sodium. The MRI also revealed what the doctor told me were "mini strokes", which I thought sounded bad (even a mini stroke is still a stroke, right?), but he said they didn't seem to be causing problems, so it was fine. So every day this week, I've been driving my grandfather from his retirement home to the hospital in the morning, then going back after work to visit my grandmother, help her eat dinner (and make sure she eats well--she needs her strength!), and take my grandfather home. The last time she was in the hospital, there were other relatives that my grandfather asked to help out, too, but his brother is in China right now, and his sister-in-law just had an eye operation and can't drive... So it's been me. I'm happy I'm here to help, but it has made the days especially long. The good news is that they discharged her this evening, and I just drove her home. It will still be nice to visit, especially since she's in the special care wing of the retirement home, rather than her apartment, but at least I don't have to do all the driving anymore. And she's happy to be back at the retirement home, which is good.
Even though I'm going to wait until the Housemate gets home before I watch most of the TV shows this week, I will mention what shows I plan on following this fall. New show Nikita (CW, Thurs. 9pm) has already hooked me, after debuting two weeks ago with a pretty awesome pilot. I'm very excited for the return of Chuck (NBC, Mon. 8pm), How I Met Your Mother (CBS, Mon. 8pm), Glee (FOX, Tues. 8pm), Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thurs. 8pm), and Fringe (FOX, Thurs. 9pm), all of which are back this week. I'm still trying to catch up on last season of Castle (ABC, Mon. 10pm), which came back this week as well. I have high hopes for the Hawaii Five-O reboot (CBS, Mon. 10pm), as well as the new J.J. Abrams creation Undercovers (NBC, Wed. 8pm), about a married couple who return to the CIA, both of which debut this week. I also plan on checking out No Ordinary Family (ABC, Tues. 8pm, starting next week), about a family who suddenly get super powers, and The Event (NBC, Mon. 9pm, starting this week), which looks like "this year's FlashForward"--a confusing, mysterious sci-fi/conspiracy type thing. I actually watched about half the pilot of The Event before feeling guilty and deciding to wait for the Housemate, but I was pleased with myself when I recognized a couple of the filming locations to be here on Oahu, though I don't think the scenes were supposed to be in Hawaii. This got me all the more excited to see Hawaii Five-O, which is shot here in Hawaii and is supposed to be Hawaii. That should be fun.
OK, looks like it's time to end this rambling post. Sorry about that. Tomorrow I'll post the video I took snorkeling in Sharks Cove, which includes a glimpse of an octopus. I promise tomorrow's post will be decidedly less rambling.
I don't have anything humorous or insightful or cool or geeky to share today, just some scattered thoughts. It has been a very long week, and I can't believe it's only Wednesday. Feels like it must be Friday. The Housemate is on the mainland this week for a workshop relevant to the research he is doing, so I've been having solitary evenings and nights. It's a lot less fun when there's no one to watch TV shows with me (especially considering that this week is the big pilot episode week for most TV shows), cook dinner with me, and dine with me. And cuddle with me. I think of it as practice for when he goes to Antarctica for over three months. But thinking that makes me sad.
My grandmother went to the hospital on Saturday night, just a couple hours after I had visited her at her apartment. She had seemed tired when I saw her, but I just assumed it was because I was visiting during afternoon nap time. I guess later she was feeling extra tired, and very weak. Turns out she had a very low red blood cell count, and low sodium. The MRI also revealed what the doctor told me were "mini strokes", which I thought sounded bad (even a mini stroke is still a stroke, right?), but he said they didn't seem to be causing problems, so it was fine. So every day this week, I've been driving my grandfather from his retirement home to the hospital in the morning, then going back after work to visit my grandmother, help her eat dinner (and make sure she eats well--she needs her strength!), and take my grandfather home. The last time she was in the hospital, there were other relatives that my grandfather asked to help out, too, but his brother is in China right now, and his sister-in-law just had an eye operation and can't drive... So it's been me. I'm happy I'm here to help, but it has made the days especially long. The good news is that they discharged her this evening, and I just drove her home. It will still be nice to visit, especially since she's in the special care wing of the retirement home, rather than her apartment, but at least I don't have to do all the driving anymore. And she's happy to be back at the retirement home, which is good.
Even though I'm going to wait until the Housemate gets home before I watch most of the TV shows this week, I will mention what shows I plan on following this fall. New show Nikita (CW, Thurs. 9pm) has already hooked me, after debuting two weeks ago with a pretty awesome pilot. I'm very excited for the return of Chuck (NBC, Mon. 8pm), How I Met Your Mother (CBS, Mon. 8pm), Glee (FOX, Tues. 8pm), Big Bang Theory (CBS, Thurs. 8pm), and Fringe (FOX, Thurs. 9pm), all of which are back this week. I'm still trying to catch up on last season of Castle (ABC, Mon. 10pm), which came back this week as well. I have high hopes for the Hawaii Five-O reboot (CBS, Mon. 10pm), as well as the new J.J. Abrams creation Undercovers (NBC, Wed. 8pm), about a married couple who return to the CIA, both of which debut this week. I also plan on checking out No Ordinary Family (ABC, Tues. 8pm, starting next week), about a family who suddenly get super powers, and The Event (NBC, Mon. 9pm, starting this week), which looks like "this year's FlashForward"--a confusing, mysterious sci-fi/conspiracy type thing. I actually watched about half the pilot of The Event before feeling guilty and deciding to wait for the Housemate, but I was pleased with myself when I recognized a couple of the filming locations to be here on Oahu, though I don't think the scenes were supposed to be in Hawaii. This got me all the more excited to see Hawaii Five-O, which is shot here in Hawaii and is supposed to be Hawaii. That should be fun.
OK, looks like it's time to end this rambling post. Sorry about that. Tomorrow I'll post the video I took snorkeling in Sharks Cove, which includes a glimpse of an octopus. I promise tomorrow's post will be decidedly less rambling.
Thursday, July 8, 2010
2010 Primetime Emmy Nominations
The 2010 Primetime Emmy nominees were announced this morning. Let's see how "my shows" fared.Glee was one of the big winners of the morning, with a total of 19 nominations, including one for Outstanding Comedy Series. Apparently there are some Gleeks in the Academy. Matthew Morrison (Will Schuester) and Lea Michele (Rachel Berry) received nominations for Outstanding Lead Actor and Actress in a Comedy Series, and Jane Lynch (Sue Sylvester) and Chris Colfer (Kurt Hummel) got nods for Outstanding Supporting Actress and Actor in a Comedy. A few guest stars also got recognized, with Outstanding Guest Actor/Actress nominations for Mike O'Malley (Kurt's dad Burt) in the episode "Wheels" (where he argues for Kurt's right to audition for "Defying Gravity"), Kristin Chenoweth (April Rhodes) in "The Rhodes Not Taken" (the first episode she was in where April joins the glee club), and Neil Patrick Harris (Bryan Ryan) for "Dream On". Glee also got nominations for writing in the pilot episode, and directing in the pilot episode and the episode "Wheels". If you're interested in the other nine nominations Glee got, they were for casting, art direction, interactive media, costumes, sound mixing, and two noms each for hairstyling and makeup. All very well deserved.
Lost got some nice recognition for its epic final season. It was nominated for Outstanding Drama Series for the fourth time in its six-season run (it has only won the award once, for its first season). Matthew Fox (Jack) finally got his nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series and, as they have before, Michael Emerson (Ben Linus) and Terry O'Quinn ("Locke") were nominated for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama. Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet) got an Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series nomination for her role in final episode "The End". Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof were nominated for Outstanding Writing for a Drama for "The End", which also received nominations for directing, editing, sound editing, sound mixing, and music composition. Lost also got an art direction nod for episode "Ab Aeterno".
OK, now that I have the big ones out of the way, I'm just going to do a quick overview of the rest.
Big Bang Theory got a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy for Jim Parsons (Sheldon Cooper). It also got an Outstanding Guest Actress nom for Christine Baranski as Leonard's mom in episode "The Maternal Congruence".
How I Met Your Mother earned Neil Patrick Harris yet another supporting actor nomination for his role as Barney Stinson. But the show also got a nomination for Outstanding Original Music and Lyrics for "Nothing Suits Me Like a Suit" in the episode "Girls vs. Suits". Classic.
Canceled FlashForward got a tiny bit of recognition with a cinematography nod for episode "No More Good Days", as well as nods for stunts and music composition. My dear Fringe had to make due with a single sound editing nomination. A shame. Chuck also got one measly little nom, for stunt coordination.
Lastly, So You Think You Can Dance got two nominations for Outstanding Choreography: Stacey Tookey for her "Fear" dance, and Mia Michaels for "Gravity/Addiction", "Koop Island Blues" (aka "the butt dance"), and "One" (a group dance I had largely forgotten). The addiction dance gives me chills every time I rewatch it (which is a lot), so I hope she wins. No nomination for Sonya Tayeh, though--maybe next year. SYTYCD's Adam Shankman received a nomination for Choreography as well, for his work on the Academy Awards show.
Well those were the highlights of the nominations for me. I know there are lots of shows I should be watching that are also celebrating today (True Blood? 30 Rock? Modern Family? etc.). You can find all the nominees here, or a list of just the major category nominees here.
Winners will be announced in the awards ceremony on Sunday, August 29, hosted by Jimmy Fallon. Congratulations to all nominees!
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Golden Globe Nominees 2010
It's the hap-happiest season of all!
Ah, 'tis the season of giving--awards!
The Golden Globe nominees were announced on Tuesday morning. Golden Globes, awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are awarded to TV shows as well as movies and split some of their categories into both drama and comedy/musical categories, so there's lots of love to go around. The awards will be handed out on January 17, 2010 at a televised event hosted by Ricky Gervais. They haven't had a host at the Golden Globes in a while, but judging by his good reception when handing out awards at previous events, he should be a great host for the occasion.
Here I discuss some of the big contenders and laud the nominations of my own favorite movies and shows.
Up in the Air topped the movie nominations with six: feature (drama), actor (drama), director, screenplay, and two supporting actresses. Director Jason Reitman's last two features were Thank You for Smoking and Juno--he is on a great roll. I haven't seen Up in the Air yet, but I have every intention of doing so after it opens wide in the U.S. on Christmas day.
The Hurt Locker received nominations for best feature (drama), director, and screenplay. I've seen this at the top of many critics' 2009 lists, and I'm really interested in seeing it. It's being praised as perhaps the only Iraq war movie so far (and there have been many) that was actually good. It is an outstanding war movie in itself, but it is even more extraordinary in that it was directed by a woman (an extreme minority in directing film in general, but even more so in directing action/war films). I hope Kathryn Bigelow receives an Oscar nomination as well (and she has a good chance); if she does, she will be only the fourth woman ever to do so (there have been no winners among them).
Avatar received nominations for best feature (drama), director, score and song. Buzz has fluctuated for Avatar between positive and negative, so much so that I don't even know what it is at right now. But given that I am a fantasy/sci-fi geek, I am sure I will enjoy it, even if it's not the greatest thing ever. Neither was Titanic, which, if you've been living in a box, is the last feature that Avatar's director/writer James Cameron did--quite a lot to live up to. I intend to see this movie as soon as I can, though given my travels on its opening weekend, I will probably wait until after Christmas.
As you might have detected, I have not seen many of the movie nominees this year. This is somewhat surprising given that I like movies so much, but it is somewhat less surprising in that I am a grad student with little life outside studying. I am sad to say that the only Golden Globe movie nominees that I have already seen are District 9 (awesome, awesome movie), nominated for best screenplay, and Up, nominated for best animated feature.
And I wasn't that much better in the TV categories. Luckily, one of the shows that I love got a lot of love from the Golden Globes, too. Glee received four nominations, making it the most nominated freshman series of the year: TV series - comedy or musical (it's both!), actress (comedy or musical) for Lea Michele, actor (comedy or musical) for Matthew Morrison, and supporting actress for Jane Lynch. I think Jane Lynch is the standout actress, even if she is one of maybe two actors on the show who hasn't had to sing, but the supporting actress category is stiff competition given that it includes not just comedies, musicals and dramas but also miniseries and made-for-TV movies.
The other nominees from shows I love are Michael Emerson, nominated for his amazing role as Ben on Lost, and Neil Patrick Harris as the legendary Barney on How I Met Your Mother. Emerson has received three Emmy nominations for the role, finally winning for it this past year, but this is his first Golden Globe nomination. This is NPH's second Golden Globe nomination for his role.
Well, I'm pretty excited about the awards season, though I'll be a little more excited once I've seen more of the movies. Congrats to all the nominees.
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
A full list of the Golden Globe nominees can be found here.
Ah, 'tis the season of giving--awards!
The Golden Globe nominees were announced on Tuesday morning. Golden Globes, awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, are awarded to TV shows as well as movies and split some of their categories into both drama and comedy/musical categories, so there's lots of love to go around. The awards will be handed out on January 17, 2010 at a televised event hosted by Ricky Gervais. They haven't had a host at the Golden Globes in a while, but judging by his good reception when handing out awards at previous events, he should be a great host for the occasion.
Here I discuss some of the big contenders and laud the nominations of my own favorite movies and shows.
Up in the Air topped the movie nominations with six: feature (drama), actor (drama), director, screenplay, and two supporting actresses. Director Jason Reitman's last two features were Thank You for Smoking and Juno--he is on a great roll. I haven't seen Up in the Air yet, but I have every intention of doing so after it opens wide in the U.S. on Christmas day.
The Hurt Locker received nominations for best feature (drama), director, and screenplay. I've seen this at the top of many critics' 2009 lists, and I'm really interested in seeing it. It's being praised as perhaps the only Iraq war movie so far (and there have been many) that was actually good. It is an outstanding war movie in itself, but it is even more extraordinary in that it was directed by a woman (an extreme minority in directing film in general, but even more so in directing action/war films). I hope Kathryn Bigelow receives an Oscar nomination as well (and she has a good chance); if she does, she will be only the fourth woman ever to do so (there have been no winners among them).
Avatar received nominations for best feature (drama), director, score and song. Buzz has fluctuated for Avatar between positive and negative, so much so that I don't even know what it is at right now. But given that I am a fantasy/sci-fi geek, I am sure I will enjoy it, even if it's not the greatest thing ever. Neither was Titanic, which, if you've been living in a box, is the last feature that Avatar's director/writer James Cameron did--quite a lot to live up to. I intend to see this movie as soon as I can, though given my travels on its opening weekend, I will probably wait until after Christmas.
As you might have detected, I have not seen many of the movie nominees this year. This is somewhat surprising given that I like movies so much, but it is somewhat less surprising in that I am a grad student with little life outside studying. I am sad to say that the only Golden Globe movie nominees that I have already seen are District 9 (awesome, awesome movie), nominated for best screenplay, and Up, nominated for best animated feature.
And I wasn't that much better in the TV categories. Luckily, one of the shows that I love got a lot of love from the Golden Globes, too. Glee received four nominations, making it the most nominated freshman series of the year: TV series - comedy or musical (it's both!), actress (comedy or musical) for Lea Michele, actor (comedy or musical) for Matthew Morrison, and supporting actress for Jane Lynch. I think Jane Lynch is the standout actress, even if she is one of maybe two actors on the show who hasn't had to sing, but the supporting actress category is stiff competition given that it includes not just comedies, musicals and dramas but also miniseries and made-for-TV movies.
The other nominees from shows I love are Michael Emerson, nominated for his amazing role as Ben on Lost, and Neil Patrick Harris as the legendary Barney on How I Met Your Mother. Emerson has received three Emmy nominations for the role, finally winning for it this past year, but this is his first Golden Globe nomination. This is NPH's second Golden Globe nomination for his role.
Well, I'm pretty excited about the awards season, though I'll be a little more excited once I've seen more of the movies. Congrats to all the nominees.
It's the most wonderful time of the year!
A full list of the Golden Globe nominees can be found here.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
The Housemate: Part VIII - Definitions
Continuation of The Housemate: Parts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, and VII.
So things were seemingly smooth between the Housemate and me after Tuesday evening with his words and my apathy. Though I still cared about him deeply, the lust just wasn't there, and I was back to questioning whether he's right for me, whether this is wise because we're housemates and live with each other, etc. I didn't know what was going on in his mind. We acted like there were no problems. But there were.
Friday night comes along. It's the weekend. Time to catch up on TV shows. First Glee. Then FlashForward. Then I finally decide to introduce him to How I Met Your Mother with the Season 5 premiere. He hasn't seen any of the previous seasons, but it's not necessary. You may get some added enjoyment from knowing what happened in all previous episodes, but sitcoms are constructed to work even if you haven't watched them before. With a bit of explanation of the characters and what was happening at the end of the last episode, the Housemate was good to go (I was a bit vague, though, when describing exactly how Robin had tried to make Barney fall out of love with her--I didn't want him to make that connection to our own flagging relationship...) Anyway, the Housemate understood what was going on in the episode, and he really liked the show. Clever and hilarious.
The Season 5 premiere is entitled "Definitions". Robin and Barney have been sleeping together, but they lie to their friends about it until the others walk in on them making out on the couch. Lily is so excited when they admit to having been hooking up all summer--"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! You guys are boyfriend and girlfriend!" But Barney and Robin both think such a label is way too premature, much to Lily's confusion. Turns out, they still haven't had "the talk". After hooking up, they keep sitting down to have "the talk" to figure out what they are, what their relationship is, but each time they decide they don't like "the talk" and make out instead. Lily insists that they need to define their relationship, and she ends up locking them in the bedroom (not letting them out for breakfast) until they have "the talk".
The show ends, and the Housemate and I are sitting there on the couch quietly. I quickly break the silence with discussion (So, what did you think? It's pretty funny, I loved the part when Ted...). All while thinking Can we both ignore the elephant in the room? I'm going to try. I try pretty hard, actually, but it becomes clear that the Housemate doesn't want to watch another TV show tonight.
"I want to go to bed. I'm tired." (Horrible lie--it's not even midnight.)
"You sure you don't want to... talk?"
"Talk about what?"
"I don't know..."
Oh, so awkward.
Finally I say it. "You want to have 'the talk'." Not a question.
Oh, How I Met Your Mother. First the Mosby, and now it's forced us into having "the talk". So we talked about our feelings (yech!). I finally told him some of the things that I've put on this blog. And I arrived at a couple new revelations that aren't here yet.
I think that part of my problem with Tuesday night was that I was starting to feel like I was doing some things just because I was worried about disappointing him. As an inexperienced lover, I want to please him but I fear my skills are lacking. A couple times he had asked for a goodnight kiss when I didn't particularly feel like one, but he looked like he'd be so sad without one, so I did it. On Tuesday night, I had kind of decided for myself beforehand that we wouldn't do any below the belt stuff, but when he reached his hand down my back side, it wasn't uncomfortable... and I didn't want to pull his hand away because it might disappoint him. But it meant the rest of the time, I was worrying about whether he'd reach any farther and, if I couldn't bring myself to stop him for that first move, what else would I not be able to bring myself to stop him from doing. This revelation I kept to myself--I figured it would unnecessarily worry him.
The second revelation arose from conversation related to the HIMYM episode. Did I think of him as my boyfriend? Because he thought of me as his girlfriend. I said that I did not consider him my boyfriend. Why? If he's my boyfriend, then it means that I am no longer single. And strangely, that bothers me--I guess it's just so very foreign to me. It would take some getting used to. But ultimately it's just a word, right? Makes a certain Kelly Clarkson song come to mind... Miss Independent... Maybe that's my story.
Anyway, we had a good if awkward talk. We didn't patch things up perfectly, and we didn't fully define our relationship and where we think it's going. We didn't say everything. But I think we're both feeling better about it all. We're OK, and we're moving forward.
So things were seemingly smooth between the Housemate and me after Tuesday evening with his words and my apathy. Though I still cared about him deeply, the lust just wasn't there, and I was back to questioning whether he's right for me, whether this is wise because we're housemates and live with each other, etc. I didn't know what was going on in his mind. We acted like there were no problems. But there were.
Friday night comes along. It's the weekend. Time to catch up on TV shows. First Glee. Then FlashForward. Then I finally decide to introduce him to How I Met Your Mother with the Season 5 premiere. He hasn't seen any of the previous seasons, but it's not necessary. You may get some added enjoyment from knowing what happened in all previous episodes, but sitcoms are constructed to work even if you haven't watched them before. With a bit of explanation of the characters and what was happening at the end of the last episode, the Housemate was good to go (I was a bit vague, though, when describing exactly how Robin had tried to make Barney fall out of love with her--I didn't want him to make that connection to our own flagging relationship...) Anyway, the Housemate understood what was going on in the episode, and he really liked the show. Clever and hilarious.
The Season 5 premiere is entitled "Definitions". Robin and Barney have been sleeping together, but they lie to their friends about it until the others walk in on them making out on the couch. Lily is so excited when they admit to having been hooking up all summer--"I knew it, I knew it, I knew it! You guys are boyfriend and girlfriend!" But Barney and Robin both think such a label is way too premature, much to Lily's confusion. Turns out, they still haven't had "the talk". After hooking up, they keep sitting down to have "the talk" to figure out what they are, what their relationship is, but each time they decide they don't like "the talk" and make out instead. Lily insists that they need to define their relationship, and she ends up locking them in the bedroom (not letting them out for breakfast) until they have "the talk".
The show ends, and the Housemate and I are sitting there on the couch quietly. I quickly break the silence with discussion (So, what did you think? It's pretty funny, I loved the part when Ted...). All while thinking Can we both ignore the elephant in the room? I'm going to try. I try pretty hard, actually, but it becomes clear that the Housemate doesn't want to watch another TV show tonight.
"I want to go to bed. I'm tired." (Horrible lie--it's not even midnight.)
"You sure you don't want to... talk?"
"Talk about what?"
"I don't know..."
Oh, so awkward.
Finally I say it. "You want to have 'the talk'." Not a question.
Oh, How I Met Your Mother. First the Mosby, and now it's forced us into having "the talk". So we talked about our feelings (yech!). I finally told him some of the things that I've put on this blog. And I arrived at a couple new revelations that aren't here yet.
I think that part of my problem with Tuesday night was that I was starting to feel like I was doing some things just because I was worried about disappointing him. As an inexperienced lover, I want to please him but I fear my skills are lacking. A couple times he had asked for a goodnight kiss when I didn't particularly feel like one, but he looked like he'd be so sad without one, so I did it. On Tuesday night, I had kind of decided for myself beforehand that we wouldn't do any below the belt stuff, but when he reached his hand down my back side, it wasn't uncomfortable... and I didn't want to pull his hand away because it might disappoint him. But it meant the rest of the time, I was worrying about whether he'd reach any farther and, if I couldn't bring myself to stop him for that first move, what else would I not be able to bring myself to stop him from doing. This revelation I kept to myself--I figured it would unnecessarily worry him.
The second revelation arose from conversation related to the HIMYM episode. Did I think of him as my boyfriend? Because he thought of me as his girlfriend. I said that I did not consider him my boyfriend. Why? If he's my boyfriend, then it means that I am no longer single. And strangely, that bothers me--I guess it's just so very foreign to me. It would take some getting used to. But ultimately it's just a word, right? Makes a certain Kelly Clarkson song come to mind... Miss Independent... Maybe that's my story.
Anyway, we had a good if awkward talk. We didn't patch things up perfectly, and we didn't fully define our relationship and where we think it's going. We didn't say everything. But I think we're both feeling better about it all. We're OK, and we're moving forward.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
The Housemate: Part VII - Mosbied?
Continuation of The Housemate: Parts I, II, III, IV, V, and VI. I kind of decided that I didn't want to write specifically about my relationship with the Housemate anymore, that the last one would be the end of it (how unrealistic was that?). And I should be doing problem sets right now, or at least instead writing up posts about my visit to Germany. But this is what's on my mind, and it's got to get off of it. So here again I reveal what I consider too much (embarrassing, personal) information...
I hadn't really made out with the Housemate for two and a half weeks, ever since that first night. One of those weeks I'd been in Berlin, where I'd really missed him--more than I would miss a typical roommate friend, I observed. Another of those weeks, I'd been completely stressed out about preparing for Berlin. In any case, it had been a while. My body was telling me a little touch was long overdue. All day, I couldn't get him out of my mind. I had it planned. We had already decided we'd watch some TV shows after dinner (I had so many to catch up on from last week...). After the end of the show, while we're still sitting there with the lights out, it would be the perfect time for a make-out session. We wouldn't do too much, just the things we'd done before, and maybe just maybe I'd let him take my shirt off, though I'd probably wait until some other day for that; it was a school night, after all (I know, I'm too rational in these plans).
It's night. Things are going according to plan. We watch the TV shows, and afterwards we're sitting there with the lights off. We lie down and start to make out. But as we're going at it, for whatever reason, I'm not craving it so much. I try to recall that craving from earlier in the day, or how it felt the time we made out before, but it's not coming up readily. I have no idea why. Maybe it's that I'm concentrating too much, not entirely comfortable in my inexperience and trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. Maybe it's just the ups and downs of my hormones playing with me. But I keep going, going through the motions, concentrating on doing what I think I'm supposed to be doing. I'm gaining experience, getting better, at least, right? Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying it, getting bits of excitement and arousal, but not as much as I expected. Is this how it's supposed to be? Is this how it is? I let him take off my shirt because maybe that will make me feel something more. His stubble is too scratchy. It doesn't help.
I finally manage to wrap the make-out session up. We're sitting on the edge of my bed, I'm sending him off back to his room with one last kiss. As it releases, in a whisper, he lets slip three little words. Yes, those little words. It's WAY too early for that.
I keep thinking about what I should have said. Maybe something like "I love you as a friend--that, I know. But I'm not sure I know yet what it means to love someone as a lover. I think I'm getting there, and when I do I'll be sure to tell you, and you'll know that I mean it." Sounds awful when I write it out like that, but it's better than nothing. Which is what I said instead. All I did was give him another short but what I hoped would feel like a passionate kiss. I acted like I maybe hadn't heard him. Then I sent him off to bed. (At least I didn't say "Thank you"--right?)
As I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I kept thinking about that moment. It was so quiet--did he know that I heard him? Was he lying in bed wondering if I heard him? Was he lying in bed totally depressed that I hadn't said it back? How could he expect me to say it back? I don't even think he meant it. How could he? We haven't known each other long enough! He must not have been thinking straight. It was only the second time we were making out! He is a dear, dear friend, and I care about him a lot, but I really don't know whether "love" is an appropriate word yet, and until I'm sure I won't say it. But that whole time we were making out, he was concluding that he's in love with me, while I was just kind of going through the motions. I guess I must have been convincing. Was I just playing him? Acting? Does this make me a faker? A manipulative liar? A whore (without the pay)?
Today, everything was back to normal. If he was bummed about me not responding to him the night before, he didn't let it show. And I didn't act weird as if I'd heard him say it and hadn't said it back. All normal. My affection for him is no less than yesterday, but my desire for him is considerably less. Not gone, but I could almost see it being gone--if I chose to, I might be able to get over him (does that make sense?). Is this temporary or permanent? Is this just the vicissitudes of the female libido? Or have I been Mosbied*?
There is hope yet for the Housemate. Yes, he may have pulled a Mosby on me. But I frequently (well, to anyone who asks, which is usually just myself) cite Ted Mosby as the guy on TV I'd most want as a boyfriend.
* In How I Met Your Mother's pilot episode, Ted Mosby tells Robin that he's in love with her after their first date. Such a premature statement shocks Robin into being completely uninterested in Ted romantically (at least for a little while). This technique is dubbed "The Mosby" and put to use in the Season 4 finale "The Leap" when Robin is trying to make Barney fall out of love with her (and it works until he finds out that she was just Mosbying him). I tried to find a clip or a good quote but couldn't with the time at hand. But you should watch the show. My favorite sitcom on TV.
I hadn't really made out with the Housemate for two and a half weeks, ever since that first night. One of those weeks I'd been in Berlin, where I'd really missed him--more than I would miss a typical roommate friend, I observed. Another of those weeks, I'd been completely stressed out about preparing for Berlin. In any case, it had been a while. My body was telling me a little touch was long overdue. All day, I couldn't get him out of my mind. I had it planned. We had already decided we'd watch some TV shows after dinner (I had so many to catch up on from last week...). After the end of the show, while we're still sitting there with the lights out, it would be the perfect time for a make-out session. We wouldn't do too much, just the things we'd done before, and maybe just maybe I'd let him take my shirt off, though I'd probably wait until some other day for that; it was a school night, after all (I know, I'm too rational in these plans).
It's night. Things are going according to plan. We watch the TV shows, and afterwards we're sitting there with the lights off. We lie down and start to make out. But as we're going at it, for whatever reason, I'm not craving it so much. I try to recall that craving from earlier in the day, or how it felt the time we made out before, but it's not coming up readily. I have no idea why. Maybe it's that I'm concentrating too much, not entirely comfortable in my inexperience and trying to figure out what I'm supposed to be doing. Maybe it's just the ups and downs of my hormones playing with me. But I keep going, going through the motions, concentrating on doing what I think I'm supposed to be doing. I'm gaining experience, getting better, at least, right? Don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying it, getting bits of excitement and arousal, but not as much as I expected. Is this how it's supposed to be? Is this how it is? I let him take off my shirt because maybe that will make me feel something more. His stubble is too scratchy. It doesn't help.
I finally manage to wrap the make-out session up. We're sitting on the edge of my bed, I'm sending him off back to his room with one last kiss. As it releases, in a whisper, he lets slip three little words. Yes, those little words. It's WAY too early for that.
I keep thinking about what I should have said. Maybe something like "I love you as a friend--that, I know. But I'm not sure I know yet what it means to love someone as a lover. I think I'm getting there, and when I do I'll be sure to tell you, and you'll know that I mean it." Sounds awful when I write it out like that, but it's better than nothing. Which is what I said instead. All I did was give him another short but what I hoped would feel like a passionate kiss. I acted like I maybe hadn't heard him. Then I sent him off to bed. (At least I didn't say "Thank you"--right?)
As I lay in bed trying to fall asleep, I kept thinking about that moment. It was so quiet--did he know that I heard him? Was he lying in bed wondering if I heard him? Was he lying in bed totally depressed that I hadn't said it back? How could he expect me to say it back? I don't even think he meant it. How could he? We haven't known each other long enough! He must not have been thinking straight. It was only the second time we were making out! He is a dear, dear friend, and I care about him a lot, but I really don't know whether "love" is an appropriate word yet, and until I'm sure I won't say it. But that whole time we were making out, he was concluding that he's in love with me, while I was just kind of going through the motions. I guess I must have been convincing. Was I just playing him? Acting? Does this make me a faker? A manipulative liar? A whore (without the pay)?
Today, everything was back to normal. If he was bummed about me not responding to him the night before, he didn't let it show. And I didn't act weird as if I'd heard him say it and hadn't said it back. All normal. My affection for him is no less than yesterday, but my desire for him is considerably less. Not gone, but I could almost see it being gone--if I chose to, I might be able to get over him (does that make sense?). Is this temporary or permanent? Is this just the vicissitudes of the female libido? Or have I been Mosbied*?
There is hope yet for the Housemate. Yes, he may have pulled a Mosby on me. But I frequently (well, to anyone who asks, which is usually just myself) cite Ted Mosby as the guy on TV I'd most want as a boyfriend.
* In How I Met Your Mother's pilot episode, Ted Mosby tells Robin that he's in love with her after their first date. Such a premature statement shocks Robin into being completely uninterested in Ted romantically (at least for a little while). This technique is dubbed "The Mosby" and put to use in the Season 4 finale "The Leap" when Robin is trying to make Barney fall out of love with her (and it works until he finds out that she was just Mosbying him). I tried to find a clip or a good quote but couldn't with the time at hand. But you should watch the show. My favorite sitcom on TV.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Fall 2009 TV Season
Some TV shows have had an early start to their fall seasons (e.g., Glee's new episode last week), but for the most part, shows are just about to kick off for the year. Here's a list of the shows I'll be watching and when they'll air just in case you're interested, too.
Wednesday, Sept. 9
8/7c - So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
Dancers of all disciplines from across the country must salsa, waltz, disco, hip hop, contemporary dance, tango, jazz, etc. their way through the competition to win the title of America's Favorite Dancer.
Kind of like American Idol for dance, SYTYCD is a competition where unknown talented dancers (and um, not-so-talented dancers) audition, the 20 best (10 girls, 10 guys) are selected to compete on the show, and America votes on their favorite dancers, eliminating one guy and one girl each week until one dancer wins in the finale. The dancers perform in couples (1 guy/1 girl except on special occasions towards the finale), selecting one or two styles of dance to tackle for the week. For the first five weeks, dancers are voted on as couples, and the judges have the final say in who goes home, selecting one guy and one girl from the three couples with the least votes. Once it's been narrowed down to the top 10 dancers, though, dancers are voted on individually and it's all up to America's votes. Dancers perform solos in their own style of dance if they are in the bottom three couples, and also every week once they get to the top 10, but most of the competition forces the dancers to move outside of their comfort zones--ballet dancers do hip hop, break dancers do smooth waltz, etc. How the dancers adapt is always surprising and impressive. The choreographers, who are tasked with not only choreographing but also teaching the dancers their style of dance, are amazing. I love this show for exposing such a large audience to such different styles of dance, making true art in many cases. ANYWAY, SYTYCD has had five successful summer seasons (one just ended a month ago), and now FOX is bumping it up to "real season" status. As long as they keep the good dances coming, I'll keep watching. Actually, I generally skip the audition episodes and wait until the real competition (with the top 20) starts. That won't happen until Tuesday, October 27.
9/8c - Glee (FOX)
Misfit students in the high school glee club try to find success (and glee) in the face of their "cool kid" oppressors (i.e., cheerleaders and jocks).
I talked about this show last week. The new episode last week was even funnier than the pilot (in my opinion)! It's a really smart, hilarious new show, and the music is delightful.
Thursday, Sept. 17 (FOX)
9/8c - Fringe (FOX)
FBI agent Olivia Dunham investigates crimes and disasters relating to the fringe sciences, along with Walter Bishop, a scientist specializing in fringe sciences, and his son Peter.
This show started off a little shaky last year, but by mid-season it was going strong with exciting mysteries and a thrilling blend of suspense and ickiness. The metaphysics behind the storyline revealed at the end of the season is intriguing. FOX is moving it up to the big time--9PM on Thursdays is the prime time slot, shared by juggernauts CSI and Grey's Anatomy. It holds the title of "last season's strongest freshman in the 18-49 demo", but here's hoping it'll catch on even more and hold its own.
Monday, Sept. 21
8/7c - How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Ted tells his two kids the long, meandering story of how he met their mother. Many hijinks involving him and his four best friends ensue.
In my opinion, this is the best sitcom on TV right now. Hilarious, clever, and sweet. I still haven't seen most of the early seasons, but I didn't have too much trouble diving right into it at the beginning of last season. And we're getting closer to meeting the mother than we've ever been before. It's going to be legendary.
8/7c - Heroes (NBC)
Normal people, who have discovered they possess mutant superpowers, try to go about their normal lives but mostly find themselves fighting to resist (or assist) assorted bad guys and organizations hatching nefarious plots that only the Heroes can stop.
Like many, I loved the first season of this show, but in the two years since then, I've been disappointed. They keep saying they've learned from their mistakes and will make it good again, but they keep not delivering. I'll at least give it another shot. If it continues to be sucky, though... my schedule is pretty full.
9:30/8:30c - The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Nerds Leonard and Sheldon, along with friends Howard and Koothrapali, and their new "normal girl" neighbor Penny find that they can learn from each other. Hilarity ensues.
This show is definitely funnier for the nerds and geeks among us who can understand all the jokes. There are some jokes that even go over my head--it's that nerdy/geeky. But the quirky characters (who with the exception of Penny are triple-crown nerds, geeks, and dorks) are different and adorable, the writing is good, and the story is being taken interesting places (I loved last season's episode where the four nerds tried to muster the courage to talk to Summer Glau on the train). I'm looking forward to its return.
10/9c - Castle (ABC)
Popular murder mystery author Richard Castle tags along with NYPD homicide detective Kate Beckett for research and inspiration, much to her annoyance, but beyond explanation manages to be helpful in many situations.
This was a new show last spring, and I had to tune in because the main character Castle is played by dear Nathan Fillion. He's great, the female lead Stana Katic is also great. The show isn't brilliant or anything, but it is light and enjoyable.
Wednesday, Sept. 23
10/9c - Eastwick (ABC)
Three New England women discover that they have supernatural witchy powers.
I've heard very little about this show, and it might suck, but I will probably tune in to give it a shot. I like witches.
Thursday, Sept. 24
8/7c - FlashForward (ABC)
All at once, every human being in the world blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds and has a flashforward vision of what they will be doing at 10pm on April 29, 2010. Having people black out for over two minutes causes some considerable chaos to recover from, but there remain questions of why the blackouts and flashforwards occurred and what each person's vision portends.
This is the show ABC is hoping Lost fans will pick up while waiting for Lost's final season in 2010 and then stick with in following years. I had wondered at first whether they could continue the show after the first season (it seems that after April 29, 2010 it will lose some of its mystery), but apparently they've mapped out five seasons of FlashForward should they prove necessary. The cast includes Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love), Sonya Walger (Penny from Lost), John Cho (Harold & Kumar, Star Trek), and Dominic Monaghan (Lost, Lord of the Rings). This one looks promising.
Friday, Sept. 25
9/8c - Dollhouse (FOX)
Armed with technology that allows them to program a person's mind, an organization known as the Dollhouse rents out its "actives" who have been specially programmed to be suitable for their clients' tasks. There are weekly missions to complete according to the current clients, but there are also greater mysteries about the Dollhouse to uncover.
It took several weeks to hit its stride, but Dollhouse is good enough for me to tune back in. Everyone was surprised when it got renewed, since it didn't have the ratings--one can only assume that FOX was still regretting the way it ended Firefly (like Dollhouse, a Joss Whedon show) and wanted to avoid repeating that mistake (though Dollhouse wasn't as worthy of saving as Firefly). Guest stars this season include Summer Glau, Alexis Denisof (both Whedon alums), and Jamie Bamber. Can't wait.
Tuesday, Nov. 3
8/7c - V (ABC)
Aliens arrive on Earth claiming to come in peace, but some people know better and work to expose the aliens' evil plans.
A remake of an 1980s NBC miniseries, this looks like it might be a cool new sci-fi show. Its cast includes Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet on Lost) as an FBI agent in the resistance movement and Morena Baccarin (Inara from Firefly) as the alien leader. Sounds good to me. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a long time for this one.
So what is that? 12 hours of TV a week? (SYTYCD is a time hog with 3 hours a week once it reaches its 2-hour performance, 1-hour results episodes routine). I'll be busy this season...
Wednesday, Sept. 9
8/7c - So You Think You Can Dance (FOX)
Dancers of all disciplines from across the country must salsa, waltz, disco, hip hop, contemporary dance, tango, jazz, etc. their way through the competition to win the title of America's Favorite Dancer.
Kind of like American Idol for dance, SYTYCD is a competition where unknown talented dancers (and um, not-so-talented dancers) audition, the 20 best (10 girls, 10 guys) are selected to compete on the show, and America votes on their favorite dancers, eliminating one guy and one girl each week until one dancer wins in the finale. The dancers perform in couples (1 guy/1 girl except on special occasions towards the finale), selecting one or two styles of dance to tackle for the week. For the first five weeks, dancers are voted on as couples, and the judges have the final say in who goes home, selecting one guy and one girl from the three couples with the least votes. Once it's been narrowed down to the top 10 dancers, though, dancers are voted on individually and it's all up to America's votes. Dancers perform solos in their own style of dance if they are in the bottom three couples, and also every week once they get to the top 10, but most of the competition forces the dancers to move outside of their comfort zones--ballet dancers do hip hop, break dancers do smooth waltz, etc. How the dancers adapt is always surprising and impressive. The choreographers, who are tasked with not only choreographing but also teaching the dancers their style of dance, are amazing. I love this show for exposing such a large audience to such different styles of dance, making true art in many cases. ANYWAY, SYTYCD has had five successful summer seasons (one just ended a month ago), and now FOX is bumping it up to "real season" status. As long as they keep the good dances coming, I'll keep watching. Actually, I generally skip the audition episodes and wait until the real competition (with the top 20) starts. That won't happen until Tuesday, October 27.
9/8c - Glee (FOX)
Misfit students in the high school glee club try to find success (and glee) in the face of their "cool kid" oppressors (i.e., cheerleaders and jocks).
I talked about this show last week. The new episode last week was even funnier than the pilot (in my opinion)! It's a really smart, hilarious new show, and the music is delightful.
Thursday, Sept. 17 (FOX)
9/8c - Fringe (FOX)
FBI agent Olivia Dunham investigates crimes and disasters relating to the fringe sciences, along with Walter Bishop, a scientist specializing in fringe sciences, and his son Peter.
This show started off a little shaky last year, but by mid-season it was going strong with exciting mysteries and a thrilling blend of suspense and ickiness. The metaphysics behind the storyline revealed at the end of the season is intriguing. FOX is moving it up to the big time--9PM on Thursdays is the prime time slot, shared by juggernauts CSI and Grey's Anatomy. It holds the title of "last season's strongest freshman in the 18-49 demo", but here's hoping it'll catch on even more and hold its own.
Monday, Sept. 21
8/7c - How I Met Your Mother (CBS)
Ted tells his two kids the long, meandering story of how he met their mother. Many hijinks involving him and his four best friends ensue.
In my opinion, this is the best sitcom on TV right now. Hilarious, clever, and sweet. I still haven't seen most of the early seasons, but I didn't have too much trouble diving right into it at the beginning of last season. And we're getting closer to meeting the mother than we've ever been before. It's going to be legendary.
8/7c - Heroes (NBC)
Normal people, who have discovered they possess mutant superpowers, try to go about their normal lives but mostly find themselves fighting to resist (or assist) assorted bad guys and organizations hatching nefarious plots that only the Heroes can stop.
Like many, I loved the first season of this show, but in the two years since then, I've been disappointed. They keep saying they've learned from their mistakes and will make it good again, but they keep not delivering. I'll at least give it another shot. If it continues to be sucky, though... my schedule is pretty full.
9:30/8:30c - The Big Bang Theory (CBS)
Nerds Leonard and Sheldon, along with friends Howard and Koothrapali, and their new "normal girl" neighbor Penny find that they can learn from each other. Hilarity ensues.
This show is definitely funnier for the nerds and geeks among us who can understand all the jokes. There are some jokes that even go over my head--it's that nerdy/geeky. But the quirky characters (who with the exception of Penny are triple-crown nerds, geeks, and dorks) are different and adorable, the writing is good, and the story is being taken interesting places (I loved last season's episode where the four nerds tried to muster the courage to talk to Summer Glau on the train). I'm looking forward to its return.
10/9c - Castle (ABC)
Popular murder mystery author Richard Castle tags along with NYPD homicide detective Kate Beckett for research and inspiration, much to her annoyance, but beyond explanation manages to be helpful in many situations.
This was a new show last spring, and I had to tune in because the main character Castle is played by dear Nathan Fillion. He's great, the female lead Stana Katic is also great. The show isn't brilliant or anything, but it is light and enjoyable.
Wednesday, Sept. 23
10/9c - Eastwick (ABC)
Three New England women discover that they have supernatural witchy powers.
I've heard very little about this show, and it might suck, but I will probably tune in to give it a shot. I like witches.
Thursday, Sept. 24
8/7c - FlashForward (ABC)
All at once, every human being in the world blacks out for 2 minutes and 17 seconds and has a flashforward vision of what they will be doing at 10pm on April 29, 2010. Having people black out for over two minutes causes some considerable chaos to recover from, but there remain questions of why the blackouts and flashforwards occurred and what each person's vision portends.
This is the show ABC is hoping Lost fans will pick up while waiting for Lost's final season in 2010 and then stick with in following years. I had wondered at first whether they could continue the show after the first season (it seems that after April 29, 2010 it will lose some of its mystery), but apparently they've mapped out five seasons of FlashForward should they prove necessary. The cast includes Joseph Fiennes (Shakespeare in Love), Sonya Walger (Penny from Lost), John Cho (Harold & Kumar, Star Trek), and Dominic Monaghan (Lost, Lord of the Rings). This one looks promising.
Friday, Sept. 25
9/8c - Dollhouse (FOX)
Armed with technology that allows them to program a person's mind, an organization known as the Dollhouse rents out its "actives" who have been specially programmed to be suitable for their clients' tasks. There are weekly missions to complete according to the current clients, but there are also greater mysteries about the Dollhouse to uncover.
It took several weeks to hit its stride, but Dollhouse is good enough for me to tune back in. Everyone was surprised when it got renewed, since it didn't have the ratings--one can only assume that FOX was still regretting the way it ended Firefly (like Dollhouse, a Joss Whedon show) and wanted to avoid repeating that mistake (though Dollhouse wasn't as worthy of saving as Firefly). Guest stars this season include Summer Glau, Alexis Denisof (both Whedon alums), and Jamie Bamber. Can't wait.
Tuesday, Nov. 3
8/7c - V (ABC)
Aliens arrive on Earth claiming to come in peace, but some people know better and work to expose the aliens' evil plans.
A remake of an 1980s NBC miniseries, this looks like it might be a cool new sci-fi show. Its cast includes Elizabeth Mitchell (Juliet on Lost) as an FBI agent in the resistance movement and Morena Baccarin (Inara from Firefly) as the alien leader. Sounds good to me. Unfortunately, we'll have to wait a long time for this one.
So what is that? 12 hours of TV a week? (SYTYCD is a time hog with 3 hours a week once it reaches its 2-hour performance, 1-hour results episodes routine). I'll be busy this season...
Friday, July 17, 2009
Emmy nominees 2009
Hawaii vacation and I'm sitting inside with my computer at my grandparents' apartment. I guess it's not really a vacation, since I'm moving here, though it won't feel like I'm actually living here until I get a house. Working on that. Still, I haven't been to the beach or even gone walking around anywhere particularly picturesque. I will have photos at some point. I promise.
Anyway, the 2009 Emmy nominees were announced yesterday. I'd just like to give a quick shout-out to the nominees from "my shows"...
Lost was nominated for Best Drama Series, with Michael Emerson receiving a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Lost had a great penultimate season, and I have high hopes for an even more mind-blowing final season. Emerson's Ben continues to be one of the most compelling villains (?) on TV.
How I Met Your Mother was nominated for Best Comedy Series, and Neil Patrick Harris got a nod for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. This is certainly my favorite comedy series at the moment, though with Emmy favorites such as 30 Rock also nominated, I don't think its chances for a win are that high. And NPH is awesome. His Barney is hilarious, and he finally got to show some heart and vulnerability this season.
Kristin Chenoweth was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in Pushing Daisies. I miss Pushing Daisies so much! But of all the cast, I do think she stood out the most. A quirky character in an already quirky show. And whenever she burst in to song, I'd fall in love with the show all over again.
Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons got a nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. The nerdiest, dorkiest, geekiest character in a nerdy, dorky, geeky show. Some people think the show's a bit too much, but I love it. And his character is definitely the standout.
Last but not least, The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart were both nominated for Best Variety, Music, or Comedy Series. I love them both. Don't make me choose just one!
I know it was a short season, but I'm still disappointed that the Emmy voters have again neglected to include Battlestar Galactica in their nominations. Not surprised. Just disappointed.
The Emmy Awards will be presented on September 20. Neil Patrick Harris is hosting.
Anyway, the 2009 Emmy nominees were announced yesterday. I'd just like to give a quick shout-out to the nominees from "my shows"...
Lost was nominated for Best Drama Series, with Michael Emerson receiving a nomination for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. Lost had a great penultimate season, and I have high hopes for an even more mind-blowing final season. Emerson's Ben continues to be one of the most compelling villains (?) on TV.
How I Met Your Mother was nominated for Best Comedy Series, and Neil Patrick Harris got a nod for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series. This is certainly my favorite comedy series at the moment, though with Emmy favorites such as 30 Rock also nominated, I don't think its chances for a win are that high. And NPH is awesome. His Barney is hilarious, and he finally got to show some heart and vulnerability this season.
Kristin Chenoweth was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role in Pushing Daisies. I miss Pushing Daisies so much! But of all the cast, I do think she stood out the most. A quirky character in an already quirky show. And whenever she burst in to song, I'd fall in love with the show all over again.
Big Bang Theory's Jim Parsons got a nomination for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. The nerdiest, dorkiest, geekiest character in a nerdy, dorky, geeky show. Some people think the show's a bit too much, but I love it. And his character is definitely the standout.
Last but not least, The Colbert Report and The Daily Show with Jon Stewart were both nominated for Best Variety, Music, or Comedy Series. I love them both. Don't make me choose just one!
I know it was a short season, but I'm still disappointed that the Emmy voters have again neglected to include Battlestar Galactica in their nominations. Not surprised. Just disappointed.
The Emmy Awards will be presented on September 20. Neil Patrick Harris is hosting.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
That's the plan.
For my birthday on Sunday, my aunt and uncle and a couple family friends came over for a low-key dinner party. Their focus was less on my 24th birthday and more on my impending move to Hawaii for grad school. At some point over dinner, my aunt said to me, "Well, you are truly a woman of your convictions; you have always loved ocean things and here you are, going for a Ph.D. in oceanography!"
It's true. Ever since I saw The Little Mermaid at age four, ever since my first visit to Hawaii and Sea Life Park at age five, ever since my school project on sea otters at age seven, I have been fascinated by the ocean. I have been interested in science since elementary school, and I was probably in middle school the first time I decided that I wanted to become a marine biologist when I grew up. I played with the idea of other professions along the way--veterinarian, chemical or civil engineer--but it always came back to the ocean. I even majored in environmental engineering, but I would not have chosen that branch of engineering had it not concentrated so much on water and the environment. In college, I spent one summer interning at an aquarium and another summer doing oceanographic research. After graduation, I went back to doing oceanographic research, and now I am about to embark on a Ph.D. program in physical oceanography.
But does this make me a woman of my convictions, or just a woman who doesn't know how to change lanes? People tell you all along that you can always change your mind about what you want to do with your life: Don't like your major? You can change it! Too late to change it? Majors don't really matter anyway! But the fact is that it's always easiest to stay the course. Changing majors involves a lot of catching up on courses. Changing to a job unrelated to your major may involve post-bac courses or unpaid internships to introduce you to the field. And then there are the questions: Why are you switching? What didn't you like about the old field? What do you think you'll like about the new field? Are you sure? It is so difficult and stressful and overwhelming, unless you are completely sure it's the right choice to change course, it doesn't seem worth the hassle.
But how can you know what you want till you get what you want and you see if you like it?
All I know is what I want most of all is to know what I want.*
I don't know what I want. How could I? There is not enough time in life to try everything, and I can't know if I'll like something until I've tried it. If this is true, then the ability to do anything breeds the inability to choose. I can do anything! becomes How I can do anything? becomes I can do nothing.
The reason I am where I am today is that a little girl decided she wanted to learn about the sea. She chose this path for me and, unable to find anything better to do, I have been powerless to foil her master plan. Perhaps what I am is a woman who lacks conviction. A girl who holds onto something not out of purpose but out of bewilderment.
The latest season of How I Met Your Mother (Season 4) concluded with a conversation and revelation that I found profoundly moving. Following a very bad day that involved battling a goat for a washcloth over and over again and losing his latest (and only) commission to design a building to some rival architects, Ted laments his situation with his friends:
Here I am, about to move to a tropical paradise where I will be paid to scuba-dive around coral reefs. My childhood dream is becoming a reality. And I am whining. It's a bit ridiculous, I know. I should be happy. Really, aside from this tiny part of me, I am indeed very happy. After all,
Happy is what happens when all your dreams come true.
...Well, isn't it?**
* Cinderella, Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods
** Glinda, Stephen Schwartz's Wicked
It's true. Ever since I saw The Little Mermaid at age four, ever since my first visit to Hawaii and Sea Life Park at age five, ever since my school project on sea otters at age seven, I have been fascinated by the ocean. I have been interested in science since elementary school, and I was probably in middle school the first time I decided that I wanted to become a marine biologist when I grew up. I played with the idea of other professions along the way--veterinarian, chemical or civil engineer--but it always came back to the ocean. I even majored in environmental engineering, but I would not have chosen that branch of engineering had it not concentrated so much on water and the environment. In college, I spent one summer interning at an aquarium and another summer doing oceanographic research. After graduation, I went back to doing oceanographic research, and now I am about to embark on a Ph.D. program in physical oceanography.
But does this make me a woman of my convictions, or just a woman who doesn't know how to change lanes? People tell you all along that you can always change your mind about what you want to do with your life: Don't like your major? You can change it! Too late to change it? Majors don't really matter anyway! But the fact is that it's always easiest to stay the course. Changing majors involves a lot of catching up on courses. Changing to a job unrelated to your major may involve post-bac courses or unpaid internships to introduce you to the field. And then there are the questions: Why are you switching? What didn't you like about the old field? What do you think you'll like about the new field? Are you sure? It is so difficult and stressful and overwhelming, unless you are completely sure it's the right choice to change course, it doesn't seem worth the hassle.
But how can you know what you want till you get what you want and you see if you like it?
All I know is what I want most of all is to know what I want.*
I don't know what I want. How could I? There is not enough time in life to try everything, and I can't know if I'll like something until I've tried it. If this is true, then the ability to do anything breeds the inability to choose. I can do anything! becomes How I can do anything? becomes I can do nothing.
The reason I am where I am today is that a little girl decided she wanted to learn about the sea. She chose this path for me and, unable to find anything better to do, I have been powerless to foil her master plan. Perhaps what I am is a woman who lacks conviction. A girl who holds onto something not out of purpose but out of bewilderment.
The latest season of How I Met Your Mother (Season 4) concluded with a conversation and revelation that I found profoundly moving. Following a very bad day that involved battling a goat for a washcloth over and over again and losing his latest (and only) commission to design a building to some rival architects, Ted laments his situation with his friends:
Ted: This is a disaster. How am I going to come back from this?I am different from Ted because while he was struggling to succeed as an architect, I am cruising into this life as an oceanographer. I have not reached a point where anyone had to ask me "Do you really want to come back from this?" If I had... I have no idea what I would do. Would I take the leap? What leap would I take?
Lily: Okay I'm just going to ask this: Do you really want to come back from this?
Ted: What's that supposed to mean?
Lily: Architecture is killing you, Ted. And it's killing us to watch it killing you. You're like that goat with the washcloth. You want it so bad, and--and every time the world tries to take it away from you, you keep grabbing it. But you know what, it's just a washcloth. Why do you even want it?
Ted: Because I--I have to be an architect. That's...that's the plan.
Lily: Oh, screw the plan. I planned on being a famous artist. Marshall planned on being an environmental lawyer. Robin planned on being a TV reporter.
Robin: Uh, I am a TV reporter. I'm on every morning at 4am.
Lily: Is that still on? Oh, good for you.
Robin: --Hey, somebody watch it, please.
Lily: Barney planned on being a violinist.
Barney: Lily!
Lily: --Don't tell me things! Look, you can't design your life like a building; it doesn't work that way. You just have to live it and it'll design itself.
Ted: So what, I should just do nothing?
Lily: No, listen to what the world is telling you to do and take the leap.
Here I am, about to move to a tropical paradise where I will be paid to scuba-dive around coral reefs. My childhood dream is becoming a reality. And I am whining. It's a bit ridiculous, I know. I should be happy. Really, aside from this tiny part of me, I am indeed very happy. After all,
Happy is what happens when all your dreams come true.
...Well, isn't it?**
* Cinderella, Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods
** Glinda, Stephen Schwartz's Wicked
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
My TV shows from the 2008-2009 season
I made a post last fall about the various TV shows that I thought I might end up watching this season. Now that this season has happened, I feel I should report on what I actually ended up watching. So here are the shows that kept me busy this past year, and what I think of them. There are a few other shows, like House, that I watch on occasion, but these are the ones I've followed faithfully. "My shows", as I call them.
The Big Bang Theory - Yes, the four nerds are pretty outrageous, but they are all lovable in their own way. Sheldon is especially epic. I think being a nerd helps one enjoy this show, since nothing beats hearing Sheldon go on a rant and realizing, "That actually kind of makes sense!"
How I Met Your Mother - Best comedy on TV, in my humble opinion. The characters are all fun, the storytelling is fast paced and wild, and the plot lines can be pretty sweet. Neil Patrick Harris is just awesome.
Chuck - This one I catch the next day on Hulu because it conflicts with BBT and HIMYM and our TV gets CBS better than it gets NBC. Chuck's three Buy More friends are getting increasingly annoying (Morgan is okay, but Lester and Jeff just seem to be two geeky creeps without redeeming qualities), but the main storyline is staying interesting and amusing enough for me to keep tuning in.
Heroes - I'm hanging in there with Heroes. I think it might be getting back on track, but it's been a shaky ride ever since the great first season. Most episodes still go by with at least one "That really makes no sense" moment, but at least I'm starting to care again.
Castle - ABC's new procedural with the wonderful Nathan Fillion. I hope it stays around--that guy deserves a hit. The two leads (Stana Katic plays a good tough cop opposite Fillion's childish writer) are charismatic enough to keep me interested. It's an honestly funny procedural, which I'll take over David Caruso's stupid sunglasses any day.
Fringe - Every few weeks or so, they pull out something really disgusting (most recently, maggots bursting out of the stomach of a corpse, threatening to do the same from a live person's belly), but mostly the show is just creepy and riveting. They try to keep the show episodic so the non-faithful can follow, but it's best when addressing the big picture plot threads.
Pushing Daisies - Tragic casualty of the writers strike and poor scheduling decisions by ABC. This was a bright, funny, and unique show that I absolutely loved throughout. Occasional singing by Kristin Chenoweth and Ellen Greene made it even better. I can't wait to see the final three episodes when ABC airs them this summer, and I'll definitely be getting the full DVD set of Daisies' two brief seasons.
Lost - After so-so seasons two and three, Lost came back strong last year, and this year's season five has kept up the momentum, which I don't expect to break at all before the series finale next year. Season five has delved even deeper into the mysteries of the Island, reveling in the show's true sci-fi nature. Some fans might complain that it jumped the shark with the time traveling, but I think the smoke monster, ghosts, and future-seeing Desmond should have tipped them off a little earlier that this wasn't going to be a totally realistic series.
Eli Stone - Another mid-season cancellation. It was a legal show with heart... and musical numbers. Pretty delightful. ABC will air the final episodes this summer.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - It may not have always made sense, but it was always fun to watch, with appealing stars and exciting action. The season two finale, which has become the series finale since the show wasn't picked up for a third season, was a fitting end. It gave a great answer to the big mystery of season 2--what "Mrs. Weaver" was up to--and stepped into a new wild stage in its story. I think it's for the best that it got canceled, though, since maintaining main characters in two different times would have been too difficult not to mess up.
Dollhouse - It took a little while to hit its stride, but lately it's been pretty great. I hope they can keep up the mystery, since too many "regular mission" episodes could get old. I hope they also keep up the humor that's finally starting to come out.
Battlestar Galactica - They ended it on their own terms with an amazing final season that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The series finale was intense, wrapping up so many threads in surprising and clever ways. Its absence has left me feeling a little empty inside. I can't wait for The Plan, an upcoming TV movie, and I'll definitely check out the planned prequel series Caprica.
Desperate Housewives - Not as good as last season when I started watching this show (last year had Nathan Fillion, and Dana Delaney's Katherine was new and interesting, whereas this year she's been kind of sidelined). But it's still entertaining, and the characters have grown on me. And what else do I do on Sunday evenings?
Other shows I follow:
Jeopardy - It airs when I like to eat dinner. It's how my schedule works out.
The Daily Show and The Colbert Report - I started watching these during the fall election coverage. Now it's a habit. I still find them both entertaining; there's still material, even with out the elections.
I shouldn't have, but I just added it all up. Now, some of these shows never overlapped because some are new and some are over, but in recent weeks, I've apparently watched as many as 16.5 hours of TV in a week. Not very healthy. I don't know if I can maintain that next year when I become a student again. But it's been fun!
The Big Bang Theory - Yes, the four nerds are pretty outrageous, but they are all lovable in their own way. Sheldon is especially epic. I think being a nerd helps one enjoy this show, since nothing beats hearing Sheldon go on a rant and realizing, "That actually kind of makes sense!"
How I Met Your Mother - Best comedy on TV, in my humble opinion. The characters are all fun, the storytelling is fast paced and wild, and the plot lines can be pretty sweet. Neil Patrick Harris is just awesome.
Chuck - This one I catch the next day on Hulu because it conflicts with BBT and HIMYM and our TV gets CBS better than it gets NBC. Chuck's three Buy More friends are getting increasingly annoying (Morgan is okay, but Lester and Jeff just seem to be two geeky creeps without redeeming qualities), but the main storyline is staying interesting and amusing enough for me to keep tuning in.
Heroes - I'm hanging in there with Heroes. I think it might be getting back on track, but it's been a shaky ride ever since the great first season. Most episodes still go by with at least one "That really makes no sense" moment, but at least I'm starting to care again.
Castle - ABC's new procedural with the wonderful Nathan Fillion. I hope it stays around--that guy deserves a hit. The two leads (Stana Katic plays a good tough cop opposite Fillion's childish writer) are charismatic enough to keep me interested. It's an honestly funny procedural, which I'll take over David Caruso's stupid sunglasses any day.
Fringe - Every few weeks or so, they pull out something really disgusting (most recently, maggots bursting out of the stomach of a corpse, threatening to do the same from a live person's belly), but mostly the show is just creepy and riveting. They try to keep the show episodic so the non-faithful can follow, but it's best when addressing the big picture plot threads.
Pushing Daisies - Tragic casualty of the writers strike and poor scheduling decisions by ABC. This was a bright, funny, and unique show that I absolutely loved throughout. Occasional singing by Kristin Chenoweth and Ellen Greene made it even better. I can't wait to see the final three episodes when ABC airs them this summer, and I'll definitely be getting the full DVD set of Daisies' two brief seasons.
Lost - After so-so seasons two and three, Lost came back strong last year, and this year's season five has kept up the momentum, which I don't expect to break at all before the series finale next year. Season five has delved even deeper into the mysteries of the Island, reveling in the show's true sci-fi nature. Some fans might complain that it jumped the shark with the time traveling, but I think the smoke monster, ghosts, and future-seeing Desmond should have tipped them off a little earlier that this wasn't going to be a totally realistic series.
Eli Stone - Another mid-season cancellation. It was a legal show with heart... and musical numbers. Pretty delightful. ABC will air the final episodes this summer.
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles - It may not have always made sense, but it was always fun to watch, with appealing stars and exciting action. The season two finale, which has become the series finale since the show wasn't picked up for a third season, was a fitting end. It gave a great answer to the big mystery of season 2--what "Mrs. Weaver" was up to--and stepped into a new wild stage in its story. I think it's for the best that it got canceled, though, since maintaining main characters in two different times would have been too difficult not to mess up.
Dollhouse - It took a little while to hit its stride, but lately it's been pretty great. I hope they can keep up the mystery, since too many "regular mission" episodes could get old. I hope they also keep up the humor that's finally starting to come out.
Battlestar Galactica - They ended it on their own terms with an amazing final season that had me on the edge of my seat the whole time. The series finale was intense, wrapping up so many threads in surprising and clever ways. Its absence has left me feeling a little empty inside. I can't wait for The Plan, an upcoming TV movie, and I'll definitely check out the planned prequel series Caprica.
Desperate Housewives - Not as good as last season when I started watching this show (last year had Nathan Fillion, and Dana Delaney's Katherine was new and interesting, whereas this year she's been kind of sidelined). But it's still entertaining, and the characters have grown on me. And what else do I do on Sunday evenings?
Other shows I follow:
Jeopardy - It airs when I like to eat dinner. It's how my schedule works out.
The Daily Show and The Colbert Report - I started watching these during the fall election coverage. Now it's a habit. I still find them both entertaining; there's still material, even with out the elections.
I shouldn't have, but I just added it all up. Now, some of these shows never overlapped because some are new and some are over, but in recent weeks, I've apparently watched as many as 16.5 hours of TV in a week. Not very healthy. I don't know if I can maintain that next year when I become a student again. But it's been fun!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Golden Globe Nominees 2009
*It's the hap-happiest season of all...*
Ah, 'tis the season of giving: Awards Season!
A handful of movie awards have already been handed out, but the nominees for the 2009 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning. Before I discuss the nominees, let me first take a moment to reflect on last year's Golden Globes. Hmm, that's strange, I don't remember them at all. Oh, that's right--last year's Golden Globe ceremony was canceled and replaced with what was essentially a press conference announcing the winners, thanks to the WGA strike. No one really cared about whether the writers were going to be at the ceremony anyway, but since the stars whom people actually do care about weren't interested in crossing picket lines, the Golden Globe extravaganza was tragically called off. And where are we this year? SAG is now on the verge of a strike vote, with ballots to authorize a strike going out to members on January 2. Luckily for the Golden Globes (and broadcaster NBC), the ballots will not be counted until January 23, meaning that the January 11 ceremony is safe. Phew! The Oscars, of course, are not so fortunately free of worries in that regard.
Now as for this year's nominees. (They are listed in their entirety a number of places, such as IMDb, so I won't list them all but merely discuss whatever interests me.) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Frost/Nixon lead the pack with five nominations including Best Picture - Drama; Doubt also received five nominations, including four acting nods, but no nod for best picture. The five best picture nominees, which in addition to Frost/Nixon and Button were Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader, and Revolutionary Road, got the five nominations for their directors; all but Revolutionary Road also got nominations for their screenwriters (Doubt got the fifth Screenplay nod). Meryl Streep got nominations for both Mamma Mia! and Doubt, and Kate Winslet also got two with Revolutionary Road and The Reader.
Milk, which seemed to be among the front-runners for best picture, surprisingly only received a nod for Sean Penn as best actor in a drama. The Dark Knight only got a nomination for Heath Ledger as best supporting actor. James Franco got a surprise nod for his role in Pineapple Express, though no recognition for his praised role in Milk. Robert Downey Jr. got a deserved supporting actor nomination for his role in Tropic Thunder, but perhaps the funniest surprise of the morning was that Tom Cruise was nominated in the same category for his Tropic Thunder performance. I will be watching the results of that category with great interest.
The list of nominees, though, has made me realize just how little I have seen this year. The only nominees I have actually seen are
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
WALL-E, Best Animated Film
House M.D., Best Television Series - Drama
Hugh Laurie for "House M.D.", Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Neil Patrick Harris for "How I Met Your Mother", Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
That's it. House and HIMYM aren't even really "My Shows". I have been watching House this season because it stands between Jeopardy and Fringe on Tuesday nights and one of my housemates is a fan; I enjoy it well enough, but it is mildly annoying, and it never did let me in on the secret that it's actually that good. I have only seen this season and half of Season 1 of HIMYM, though I love what I've seen, especially Neil Patrick Harris' Barney, and if I had the time and DVDs I would happily make it one of "My Shows". Still, since I haven't seen even half of the episodes, I hardly count myself a true follower.
In regards to the TV nominees, I can somewhat fairly grumble about the lack of Pushing Daisies, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Battlestar Galactica, or other possible nominees, though not having cable means that I haven't been able to watch many of the actual nominees and thus can't refute their merit. But in the movie categories, I just haven't been to the theater enough. Beyond WALL-E and Dark Knight, I haven't seen anything that would really deserve a nomination.
Frost/Nixon is probably at the top of my list of movies I'd like to see. Milk and Benjamin Button are also high on the list, and I'd see Doubt if it were at a local theater. I would have seen Rachel Getting Married if it had come to a local theater. But it didn't. And there lies one of the problems. Our local four-screen theater only gets the most mainstream (and usually boring and bad) movies. Current offerings: Bolt, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Twilight, Quantum of Solace, Four Christmases. Those choices aren't really that bad, considering the dismal offerings throughout the fall. The next closest theater, 25 minutes away, has screens the size of some people's home theaters, and the only additional film it offers is Role Models. I have to drive nearly an hour to get to a theater that has any chance of showing Frost/Nixon. And my chances of finding a friend who wants to drive an hour to see something bleak like Doubt are, well, doubtful. All right, I'll stop complaining. I'll see some of these movies eventually, somehow, I hope.
Well, we'll see how this awards season plays out. Will I make it to the theater to see any of the nominees? Will a strike disrupt the Academy Awards? Will there be any viewers around to notice? Time (and I) will tell.
*It's the most wonderful time of the year!*
Ah, 'tis the season of giving: Awards Season!
A handful of movie awards have already been handed out, but the nominees for the 2009 66th Annual Golden Globe Awards were announced this morning. Before I discuss the nominees, let me first take a moment to reflect on last year's Golden Globes. Hmm, that's strange, I don't remember them at all. Oh, that's right--last year's Golden Globe ceremony was canceled and replaced with what was essentially a press conference announcing the winners, thanks to the WGA strike. No one really cared about whether the writers were going to be at the ceremony anyway, but since the stars whom people actually do care about weren't interested in crossing picket lines, the Golden Globe extravaganza was tragically called off. And where are we this year? SAG is now on the verge of a strike vote, with ballots to authorize a strike going out to members on January 2. Luckily for the Golden Globes (and broadcaster NBC), the ballots will not be counted until January 23, meaning that the January 11 ceremony is safe. Phew! The Oscars, of course, are not so fortunately free of worries in that regard.
Now as for this year's nominees. (They are listed in their entirety a number of places, such as IMDb, so I won't list them all but merely discuss whatever interests me.) The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and Frost/Nixon lead the pack with five nominations including Best Picture - Drama; Doubt also received five nominations, including four acting nods, but no nod for best picture. The five best picture nominees, which in addition to Frost/Nixon and Button were Slumdog Millionaire, The Reader, and Revolutionary Road, got the five nominations for their directors; all but Revolutionary Road also got nominations for their screenwriters (Doubt got the fifth Screenplay nod). Meryl Streep got nominations for both Mamma Mia! and Doubt, and Kate Winslet also got two with Revolutionary Road and The Reader.
Milk, which seemed to be among the front-runners for best picture, surprisingly only received a nod for Sean Penn as best actor in a drama. The Dark Knight only got a nomination for Heath Ledger as best supporting actor. James Franco got a surprise nod for his role in Pineapple Express, though no recognition for his praised role in Milk. Robert Downey Jr. got a deserved supporting actor nomination for his role in Tropic Thunder, but perhaps the funniest surprise of the morning was that Tom Cruise was nominated in the same category for his Tropic Thunder performance. I will be watching the results of that category with great interest.
The list of nominees, though, has made me realize just how little I have seen this year. The only nominees I have actually seen are
Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight, Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture
WALL-E, Best Animated Film
House M.D., Best Television Series - Drama
Hugh Laurie for "House M.D.", Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series - Drama
Neil Patrick Harris for "How I Met Your Mother", Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television
That's it. House and HIMYM aren't even really "My Shows". I have been watching House this season because it stands between Jeopardy and Fringe on Tuesday nights and one of my housemates is a fan; I enjoy it well enough, but it is mildly annoying, and it never did let me in on the secret that it's actually that good. I have only seen this season and half of Season 1 of HIMYM, though I love what I've seen, especially Neil Patrick Harris' Barney, and if I had the time and DVDs I would happily make it one of "My Shows". Still, since I haven't seen even half of the episodes, I hardly count myself a true follower.
In regards to the TV nominees, I can somewhat fairly grumble about the lack of Pushing Daisies, Lost, Desperate Housewives, Battlestar Galactica, or other possible nominees, though not having cable means that I haven't been able to watch many of the actual nominees and thus can't refute their merit. But in the movie categories, I just haven't been to the theater enough. Beyond WALL-E and Dark Knight, I haven't seen anything that would really deserve a nomination.
Frost/Nixon is probably at the top of my list of movies I'd like to see. Milk and Benjamin Button are also high on the list, and I'd see Doubt if it were at a local theater. I would have seen Rachel Getting Married if it had come to a local theater. But it didn't. And there lies one of the problems. Our local four-screen theater only gets the most mainstream (and usually boring and bad) movies. Current offerings: Bolt, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, Twilight, Quantum of Solace, Four Christmases. Those choices aren't really that bad, considering the dismal offerings throughout the fall. The next closest theater, 25 minutes away, has screens the size of some people's home theaters, and the only additional film it offers is Role Models. I have to drive nearly an hour to get to a theater that has any chance of showing Frost/Nixon. And my chances of finding a friend who wants to drive an hour to see something bleak like Doubt are, well, doubtful. All right, I'll stop complaining. I'll see some of these movies eventually, somehow, I hope.
Well, we'll see how this awards season plays out. Will I make it to the theater to see any of the nominees? Will a strike disrupt the Academy Awards? Will there be any viewers around to notice? Time (and I) will tell.
*It's the most wonderful time of the year!*
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