TV Thoughts....
Alias is over.
Will and Grace is over.
Arrested Development is over.
Desperate Housewives is over.
Oh wait. Scratch that last one.
Yeah, I'm not trendy so therefore I still enjoy the Housewives. Particularly Eva Longoria. I love my Eva Longoria. Wasn't she a hoot in her little tennis outfit with pigtails in the finale? OMG. I would die.
Season Grades:
Alias - A-
Fifth and final season marked Sydney looking into a new enemy organization: Prophet Five. People have been down on this show since the third season but some stuck it out. The show has always manage to finish a season stronger than it starts. If you give over to it, you'll get really caught up. New cast members included Rachel Nichols as the Syd standin while Jennifer Garner gave birth to the Affleck spawn. Balthazar Getty, an almost waste of space, was a new agent looking to find out about the murder of his wife. Elodie Bouchez was a former friend of Vaughn also looking to take down P5. Amy Acker - supreme badass - had almost no character to play. She was given no background and almost no personality. And she kicked serious ass. Two words: Rocket Launcher. The show's weakest season was the fourth. The opening stand alone episodes were enjoyable, if not overly satisfying. All that returned once ABC and the producers gave up the search for more viewers and just let the show play out as it should. Bravo to JJ and the gang for five wonderful seasons. Series finale review below.
Emmy Consideration: Best Actress - Jennifer Garner; Best Supporting Actor - Ron Rifkin and Victor Garber.
Arrested Development - A
Third and final season of the much loved, ratings maligned series. The best show on television 3 years running. Sad to see it go. Hilarious guest turn by Charlize Theron and great references to Alias, The Hours, Love Actually and many others.
Emmy Consideration: Best Comedy Series, Best Writing in a Comedy Series, Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series - Charlize
Desperate Housewives - B-
It started out okay. Then, it went downhill. Then, it pulled itself back up. Then, it had a decent ending that in hindsight brought everything back to where it began at the beginning of the season. Some look at that as a bad thing. I think it was probably for the best. Marcia and Teri's character really took a backseat this season and became very repetitive and dull. The high point for Teri was her Whitney Houston-esque hair in the flashback in the finale. Felicity is in a class by herself here. She seems to best balance the comedy and drama situation. That's perhaps where the season stumbled: too much drama with the occasional bits of black humor thrown in. Then, there was this show's kickass near saving grace: Eva. Longoria. I don't know where that came from but holy shit she was fanfuckingtastic this year. She had easily the best lines on television all year. The writers knew just what to do with her. Unlike Edie. What the fuck happened to her? She shows up for an episode, then is gone for three. She. Wasn't. Even. In. The. TWO. HOUR. Finale????
Emmy Consideration: Best Actress in a Comedy Series - Eva Longoria, Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - Nicolette Sheridan
Gilmore Girls - B+
It began strongly enough then semi pittered out. Too much forced plot. Sad to see Amy Sherman-Paladino go. Graham and Bledel were terrific as always. Who would have thought that keeping Lorelai and Rory mad at each other for a quarter of the season would have worked so well? The show's cast and its overall charm really brought up some of the questionable plotlines (Luke's daughter? Christopher? LOGAN? Fucking Logan?) Zach and Lane's wedding was the best of the season. I love these girls so much. Here's hoping the new show runners keep next season as solid as the six so far.
Emmy Consideration: I'd love to see Amy nominated for at least one writing award to honor her six years.
Grey's Anatomy - B
Wow, did this surpass the Housewives or what? That Super Bowl episode was just plain awesome. Certainly some of the best TV of the year. But here's the problem that they seem to have realized and ever so slightly corrected: Ellen Pompeo and her character CAN NOT carry this show. It's a bit like Ally McBeal meets E.R., so many have said. Luckily, the people behind the show realized what a strong ensemble they have and brought some of the other characters to the front. Now, instead of just being about Meredith and McDreamy, it was about everyone. It finally bordered on greatness.....till the last hour of the season finale. Meredith and McDreamy decided to fuck again and there was prom in the hospital. A prom in the hospital. A fucking prom in the fuc....eh, you get the picture. The Meredith and McDreamy thing, though, was probably more frustrating. They have a terrific confrontation an episode prior that was satisfying and made it seem like it was all over. But then they fucked. In the hospital. During the prom. Yes. The prom. Nevertheless, the first hour of the finale was terrific and got everyone enough Emmy clips to last a few seasons.
Emmy Consideration: Best Supporting Actress - Drama: Sandra Oh & Chandra Wilson
The Office - A-
Smart move, NBC. They stuck with the show and now they have their second highest rated comedy series. It branched out from its original source and found its own footing gracefully. Carell played up his 40 Year Old Virgin success to great measure, and the rest of the cast is equally terrific. Jim and Pam finally hooked up!!!!! My favorite moment of the season came courtesy of Angela and her timely question of what she would bring with her if she were ever stranded on a deserted island: "I'd bring the Da Vinci Code. So I could burn it."
Emmy Consideration: Best Actor - Comedy Series: Steve Carell; Best Supporting Actor - Comedy: Rainn Wilson; Best Supporting Actress - Comedy: Jenna Fischer
Saturday Night Live - C
Apparently, Tina is gone. She has a new show on NBC. I'd say most of the cast needs to go. The season started out as if Will Forte and Amy Poehler were the MVP's. Amy was in almost every sketch. Luckily, they've pulled back a little. It started out very uneven. There were terrible episodes (Dane Cook, Steve Martin), there were shows that had a decent number of sketches (Natalie Portman, Steve Carell, Scarlett Johansson) and then there was the Julia Louis-Dreyfus episode. It was the best episode in ages. Years. It was something SNL hasn't been for a while: consistant. Wow. Every sketch was good. The season finale was the best finale they've had in a long time. And here's what they did right: they have four current cast members who are billed as featured players. Their names are Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Kristin Wiig and Jason Sudeikis. They appeared in the majority of the sketches. I can say without question that this quartet is easily the strongest set of newcomers in ages. They can do dead-on impressions. Wiig completely nailed Drew Barrymore, Megan Mullally and Judy Garland. (Nice image in your head, huh?) Next season...well...let's wait and see. Samberg, in particular, could be the standout. He wrote most of the digital shorts - including the Natalie Portman rap video. "We love you, Natalie. I wanna fuck you, too!"
Will and Grace - C-
8th and final season of NBC's once invaluable sitcom. It limped to its finish with the show's worst season. Too much drama going on. Megan Mullally remained a force through it all. Sad. It should have ended a long time ago.
I also catch My Name Is Earl and The New Adventures of Old Christine when I can. I enjoy them both each time I watch them.
Emmy Consideration: Best Supporting Actress - Comedy: Jamie Pressly - My Name Is Earl
SERIES FINALES:
Will and Grace - B
The clipshow was good. It was a reminder of why I hate the conceited cast, particularly McCormick. The last episode was funny, sweet and sad. It could have ended much better. It went the way Mad About You went where they jumped into the future. There were hardly any futuristic gags, thank god. Will and Grace got into a fight and didn't speak for 2 years. They met again, and just lost touch. For about 18 years. Then, their kids - Will's HOT HOT HOT son and Grace's cute daughter - met when they moved into college. And so, Will and Grace met up again. This time for good. All went well for both of them at a personal level. Meanwhile, Jack and Karen stayed together and become their own Will and Grace. For me, the high point of the episode was when Jack and Karen sang. I've read a lot of people hated this moment. I thought they pulled it off so well. It was a nice send off. Given the unevenness of the past couple of seasons, I guess this is the most we could have expected. I found it oddly satisfying, however. Say goodnight, Gracie.
Alias - A+
(SPOILER FREE VERSION)
This, on the other hand, was just perfect. Fuck all the people who jumped ship. (Scroll down below for a diatribe on why I think some people can't last long on some shows.) You think you've seen Jack Bristow's ultimate Jack Bristow moment? You think you've seen Sloane at his most insane? You think Amy Acker with a rocket launcher was something? You ain't seen nothin yet. It was exhilarating, twisted, the ultimate Jack Bristow moment, Jennifer Garner's most dramatic moment, Vaughn hotness, great cameos by some past favorites, globe-trotting, edge of your seat action, heart stopping suspense. When this show is at its best, it is miles better than any action movie at the multiplex. It is ridiculous, reality bending, fun. The best series finale I've seen.
SPOILERS COMING!
(SPOILER FILLED VERSION)
Yes, fuck yes. JACK BRISTOW. Oh my god. His ultimate moment. His last moment. They killed off four characters. I loved the final battles: Syd Vs. Irina. Jack vs. Sloane. Vaughn Vs. Sark. I'm glad they let Sark live but they should have let the snake fucking kill Kelly. And oh my god. Amy Acker with machine guns>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.Amy Acker with a rocket launcher. She fucking DESTROYED Prophet Five. OMG. She was afraid of snakes. I loved that twist. Irina was behind it all. Big surprise. Not really. Flinkman was perfect? Balthazar finally served a purpose. Wow, I really wanted him and Rachel to get together. Nadia basically telling Sloane to fuck off and spend eternity alone trapped under the world. Ah yes. It was great. FRANCIE! Not evil Francie. But good Francie! So great. And Garner held it all together. How great was it they began this in Sydney. Hahahah. I love it. Carrie Bowman was back!!!! Oh my god. It was all perfect. The most satisfying, perfect ending to this show I love so much. The ending scene was overall predictable. Syd's daughter just hitting the puzzle though was a nice touch.
(SPOILERS ENDED)
Which brings me to this: People seem to only be able to last 2 seasons on a show. Does the quality die after that? Does it somehow lose its luster? Or could it be this: The show's quality remains the same. But new stuff comes on. New stuff you must watch. Because you are trendy. So then, when you see something you've enjoyed previously, it doesn't seem the same. Nothing has really changed about it, it's just there's more new and exciting things. Why does this seem to always happen with people bitching about shows losing their quality and "jumping ship"? And why does it always seem to be the same people bitching about the shows? Shows have to spice things up, bring in new people, try out new storylines to endure. It can't be the same repetitive crap over and over again. Hmm....Like CSI? Maybe now I know why that show is so popular. CSI will remain popular, as will American Idol. But I'm sure next season Veronica Mars and Lost will suck.
Any takers?
Did I lose my point?
Is anyone really listening?
I'm so Meredith Grey right now.
(Darren)----------------------->
Excuse me, McDreamy is waiting for me after the hospital prom.
A prom.
In the hospital.
Maybe I should be Amy Acker with a rocket launcher/DNA-changer/set of machine guns/snake.
Will and Grace is over.
Arrested Development is over.
Desperate Housewives is over.
Oh wait. Scratch that last one.
Yeah, I'm not trendy so therefore I still enjoy the Housewives. Particularly Eva Longoria. I love my Eva Longoria. Wasn't she a hoot in her little tennis outfit with pigtails in the finale? OMG. I would die.
Season Grades:
Alias - A-
Fifth and final season marked Sydney looking into a new enemy organization: Prophet Five. People have been down on this show since the third season but some stuck it out. The show has always manage to finish a season stronger than it starts. If you give over to it, you'll get really caught up. New cast members included Rachel Nichols as the Syd standin while Jennifer Garner gave birth to the Affleck spawn. Balthazar Getty, an almost waste of space, was a new agent looking to find out about the murder of his wife. Elodie Bouchez was a former friend of Vaughn also looking to take down P5. Amy Acker - supreme badass - had almost no character to play. She was given no background and almost no personality. And she kicked serious ass. Two words: Rocket Launcher. The show's weakest season was the fourth. The opening stand alone episodes were enjoyable, if not overly satisfying. All that returned once ABC and the producers gave up the search for more viewers and just let the show play out as it should. Bravo to JJ and the gang for five wonderful seasons. Series finale review below.
Emmy Consideration: Best Actress - Jennifer Garner; Best Supporting Actor - Ron Rifkin and Victor Garber.
Arrested Development - A
Third and final season of the much loved, ratings maligned series. The best show on television 3 years running. Sad to see it go. Hilarious guest turn by Charlize Theron and great references to Alias, The Hours, Love Actually and many others.
Emmy Consideration: Best Comedy Series, Best Writing in a Comedy Series, Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series - Charlize
Desperate Housewives - B-
It started out okay. Then, it went downhill. Then, it pulled itself back up. Then, it had a decent ending that in hindsight brought everything back to where it began at the beginning of the season. Some look at that as a bad thing. I think it was probably for the best. Marcia and Teri's character really took a backseat this season and became very repetitive and dull. The high point for Teri was her Whitney Houston-esque hair in the flashback in the finale. Felicity is in a class by herself here. She seems to best balance the comedy and drama situation. That's perhaps where the season stumbled: too much drama with the occasional bits of black humor thrown in. Then, there was this show's kickass near saving grace: Eva. Longoria. I don't know where that came from but holy shit she was fanfuckingtastic this year. She had easily the best lines on television all year. The writers knew just what to do with her. Unlike Edie. What the fuck happened to her? She shows up for an episode, then is gone for three. She. Wasn't. Even. In. The. TWO. HOUR. Finale????
Emmy Consideration: Best Actress in a Comedy Series - Eva Longoria, Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series - Nicolette Sheridan
Gilmore Girls - B+
It began strongly enough then semi pittered out. Too much forced plot. Sad to see Amy Sherman-Paladino go. Graham and Bledel were terrific as always. Who would have thought that keeping Lorelai and Rory mad at each other for a quarter of the season would have worked so well? The show's cast and its overall charm really brought up some of the questionable plotlines (Luke's daughter? Christopher? LOGAN? Fucking Logan?) Zach and Lane's wedding was the best of the season. I love these girls so much. Here's hoping the new show runners keep next season as solid as the six so far.
Emmy Consideration: I'd love to see Amy nominated for at least one writing award to honor her six years.
Grey's Anatomy - B
Wow, did this surpass the Housewives or what? That Super Bowl episode was just plain awesome. Certainly some of the best TV of the year. But here's the problem that they seem to have realized and ever so slightly corrected: Ellen Pompeo and her character CAN NOT carry this show. It's a bit like Ally McBeal meets E.R., so many have said. Luckily, the people behind the show realized what a strong ensemble they have and brought some of the other characters to the front. Now, instead of just being about Meredith and McDreamy, it was about everyone. It finally bordered on greatness.....till the last hour of the season finale. Meredith and McDreamy decided to fuck again and there was prom in the hospital. A prom in the hospital. A fucking prom in the fuc....eh, you get the picture. The Meredith and McDreamy thing, though, was probably more frustrating. They have a terrific confrontation an episode prior that was satisfying and made it seem like it was all over. But then they fucked. In the hospital. During the prom. Yes. The prom. Nevertheless, the first hour of the finale was terrific and got everyone enough Emmy clips to last a few seasons.
Emmy Consideration: Best Supporting Actress - Drama: Sandra Oh & Chandra Wilson
The Office - A-
Smart move, NBC. They stuck with the show and now they have their second highest rated comedy series. It branched out from its original source and found its own footing gracefully. Carell played up his 40 Year Old Virgin success to great measure, and the rest of the cast is equally terrific. Jim and Pam finally hooked up!!!!! My favorite moment of the season came courtesy of Angela and her timely question of what she would bring with her if she were ever stranded on a deserted island: "I'd bring the Da Vinci Code. So I could burn it."
Emmy Consideration: Best Actor - Comedy Series: Steve Carell; Best Supporting Actor - Comedy: Rainn Wilson; Best Supporting Actress - Comedy: Jenna Fischer
Saturday Night Live - C
Apparently, Tina is gone. She has a new show on NBC. I'd say most of the cast needs to go. The season started out as if Will Forte and Amy Poehler were the MVP's. Amy was in almost every sketch. Luckily, they've pulled back a little. It started out very uneven. There were terrible episodes (Dane Cook, Steve Martin), there were shows that had a decent number of sketches (Natalie Portman, Steve Carell, Scarlett Johansson) and then there was the Julia Louis-Dreyfus episode. It was the best episode in ages. Years. It was something SNL hasn't been for a while: consistant. Wow. Every sketch was good. The season finale was the best finale they've had in a long time. And here's what they did right: they have four current cast members who are billed as featured players. Their names are Bill Hader, Andy Samberg, Kristin Wiig and Jason Sudeikis. They appeared in the majority of the sketches. I can say without question that this quartet is easily the strongest set of newcomers in ages. They can do dead-on impressions. Wiig completely nailed Drew Barrymore, Megan Mullally and Judy Garland. (Nice image in your head, huh?) Next season...well...let's wait and see. Samberg, in particular, could be the standout. He wrote most of the digital shorts - including the Natalie Portman rap video. "We love you, Natalie. I wanna fuck you, too!"
Will and Grace - C-
8th and final season of NBC's once invaluable sitcom. It limped to its finish with the show's worst season. Too much drama going on. Megan Mullally remained a force through it all. Sad. It should have ended a long time ago.
I also catch My Name Is Earl and The New Adventures of Old Christine when I can. I enjoy them both each time I watch them.
Emmy Consideration: Best Supporting Actress - Comedy: Jamie Pressly - My Name Is Earl
SERIES FINALES:
Will and Grace - B
The clipshow was good. It was a reminder of why I hate the conceited cast, particularly McCormick. The last episode was funny, sweet and sad. It could have ended much better. It went the way Mad About You went where they jumped into the future. There were hardly any futuristic gags, thank god. Will and Grace got into a fight and didn't speak for 2 years. They met again, and just lost touch. For about 18 years. Then, their kids - Will's HOT HOT HOT son and Grace's cute daughter - met when they moved into college. And so, Will and Grace met up again. This time for good. All went well for both of them at a personal level. Meanwhile, Jack and Karen stayed together and become their own Will and Grace. For me, the high point of the episode was when Jack and Karen sang. I've read a lot of people hated this moment. I thought they pulled it off so well. It was a nice send off. Given the unevenness of the past couple of seasons, I guess this is the most we could have expected. I found it oddly satisfying, however. Say goodnight, Gracie.
Alias - A+
(SPOILER FREE VERSION)
This, on the other hand, was just perfect. Fuck all the people who jumped ship. (Scroll down below for a diatribe on why I think some people can't last long on some shows.) You think you've seen Jack Bristow's ultimate Jack Bristow moment? You think you've seen Sloane at his most insane? You think Amy Acker with a rocket launcher was something? You ain't seen nothin yet. It was exhilarating, twisted, the ultimate Jack Bristow moment, Jennifer Garner's most dramatic moment, Vaughn hotness, great cameos by some past favorites, globe-trotting, edge of your seat action, heart stopping suspense. When this show is at its best, it is miles better than any action movie at the multiplex. It is ridiculous, reality bending, fun. The best series finale I've seen.
SPOILERS COMING!
(SPOILER FILLED VERSION)
Yes, fuck yes. JACK BRISTOW. Oh my god. His ultimate moment. His last moment. They killed off four characters. I loved the final battles: Syd Vs. Irina. Jack vs. Sloane. Vaughn Vs. Sark. I'm glad they let Sark live but they should have let the snake fucking kill Kelly. And oh my god. Amy Acker with machine guns>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>.Amy Acker with a rocket launcher. She fucking DESTROYED Prophet Five. OMG. She was afraid of snakes. I loved that twist. Irina was behind it all. Big surprise. Not really. Flinkman was perfect? Balthazar finally served a purpose. Wow, I really wanted him and Rachel to get together. Nadia basically telling Sloane to fuck off and spend eternity alone trapped under the world. Ah yes. It was great. FRANCIE! Not evil Francie. But good Francie! So great. And Garner held it all together. How great was it they began this in Sydney. Hahahah. I love it. Carrie Bowman was back!!!! Oh my god. It was all perfect. The most satisfying, perfect ending to this show I love so much. The ending scene was overall predictable. Syd's daughter just hitting the puzzle though was a nice touch.
(SPOILERS ENDED)
Which brings me to this: People seem to only be able to last 2 seasons on a show. Does the quality die after that? Does it somehow lose its luster? Or could it be this: The show's quality remains the same. But new stuff comes on. New stuff you must watch. Because you are trendy. So then, when you see something you've enjoyed previously, it doesn't seem the same. Nothing has really changed about it, it's just there's more new and exciting things. Why does this seem to always happen with people bitching about shows losing their quality and "jumping ship"? And why does it always seem to be the same people bitching about the shows? Shows have to spice things up, bring in new people, try out new storylines to endure. It can't be the same repetitive crap over and over again. Hmm....Like CSI? Maybe now I know why that show is so popular. CSI will remain popular, as will American Idol. But I'm sure next season Veronica Mars and Lost will suck.
Any takers?Did I lose my point?
Is anyone really listening?
I'm so Meredith Grey right now.
(Darren)----------------------->
Excuse me, McDreamy is waiting for me after the hospital prom.
A prom.
In the hospital.
Maybe I should be Amy Acker with a rocket launcher/DNA-changer/set of machine guns/snake.
posted by Darren at 11:15 PM
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