REALLY ?!?!

It was so good to see Amy Poehler on Saturday Night Live this weekend. Her bit with Seth Meyers on Weekend Update was hilarious. The dynamic between these two is always great to watch. Good to see you, AMY!

Really?!?!?! THAT WAS AWESOME!




Some other highlights:
-Taylor Swift was funnier than I thought she would be.
-T.R.A.A.A.P.D. love it.
-The Twilight spoof was great, too. Gotta love it.

Yay! for a truly funny SNL.

you know what's always funny?

Brian Williams jokes! They are always funny, as evidenced by this week's 30 Rock, last season of SNL and many many Daily Show episodes.

Other 30 Rock highlights this week include:
- the Horberger system
- a Susan Boyle shout-out
- Tracy and Jenna working together
- a flashback to Liz's auditioning days
- facetious product placement
and
- everything about Dot Com!

Obsessions of the Week

Manny: the only truly great thing about super overrated ABC sitcom Modern Family is the creepily mature, naively proud and generally delightful stepson/uncle/brother Manny (Rico Rodriguez).

One Tree Hill: Julian's adventures into brohood, Nathan's willing decent from superman status, Brooke/Haley bonding time, some fun Skills moments and a good campfire nanny Carrie story= one very funny episode of a show that really should be considered a comedy.

Community: last week's episode was hysterical and it's been solidly hilarious for weeks now. Jeff is a fantastically engaging character to follow as he skulks through the college halls (and Joel McHale plays him impeccably), Britta is a surprisingly refreshing female lead, Annie and Abed are delightful and used with the perfect amount of restraint needed with such quirky characters, Troy is an absurdist foil to the high energy craziness and Shirly has quickly become one of my favourite characters to watch. The only weak point in the show at this point is Chevy Chase, who's over-hyped existence on the show was destined to be over-the-top. Here's hoping that viewers and critics alike get their heads on straight soon and abandon ABC's mediocre Wednesday comedy line up and get behind NBC's Community and CBS' Accidentally on Purpose before they get the freshman axe.

Wanda Sykes: with a talk show kicking off, a prime character on Old Christine, a great interview on The Daily Show and a stellar standup comedy special that aired this week, Sykes is, and deserves to be, on top of the world right now.

Dear Mark and Derek,

Stick to Dancing.

Your performance with "Ballas Hough Band" on Dancing with the Stars tonight was simply strange. You may be two of my favourite pro dancers on the show but your pseudo-boyband skills don't measure up to your ballroom prowess and performance charm.

Love,
Kelly

In other DwtS news:
-Rod Stewart is creepy, no one wants to see that! But it's great how they have pro couples dance along with the musical guests so it seems a little less like a waste of time.
- Why don't fans vote for Aaron Carter? He had the highscore of the week and was in the bottom 3. Is it because he's slimy? It's certainly not because he can't dance, because he's one of the best on that floor.
- Donny Osmond is still adorable. He seems genuinely surprised every week he doesn't get eliminated. That said, what was with that green outfit?
- Are Kelly and Aaron really close? They were being really cute at the end of the show.
and
- Michael went home after his best night of the season and Mark left after losing the dance-off to Aaron, having landed in the bottom because his partner (SYTYCD's Lacey Schwimmer) was sick.The eliminated couples danced a strange yet sweet little circle dance as the credits rolled, it was oddly endearing.

Farewell Koji

The worst thing about this week's Project Runway elimination of slow-talking hipster designer Logan was that his model was eliminated alongside him. Koji was my favourite model from day one with her edgy look, down to earth attitude, motherly nature and guitar playing, Irish brogue-ing, fun and genuine energy. It seemed that every single week Koji would be the last model saved from elimination, and every week I breathed a sigh of relief that the sanest girl in the house lived to walk another day. Sadly, with Logan's elimination, the last designer hip enough to work with Koji's look has left the show, leaving her as the odd woman out in a race filled with designers who are very loyal to their favourite models. Though Models of the Runway continues to be the perfect little post-PR treat, it'll be just a little less fun without Koji there to root for. So who to throw that support behind? I'm saying Go Katie Go!

Hey, 30 Rock's Back To Being Hilarious...YAY!

The Best Part? All of It.

- Tracy tries to kill Betty White by calling her and yelling "boo" then tries to bludgeon Jimmy Fallon after asking him if he's famous: "I did a movie with Queen Latifa once".
- Jack forces Liz to head down south instead of to Toronto or San Francisco to find the new cast member, prompting lots of fun about what's "real" America, what "real" Americans want and why that can't come from Canada or "the people's gaypublic of drugaphornia" (aka San Fran).
- Jenna forces herself on the writers and defends her actions to her gay friends: "oh, don't look at me like I'm a football game"
- Lutz, Toofer and Frank's pathetic Halloween party flashback complete with costumes
- Liz fights Jack's assessment of southerners with TV references galore:"stop calling them simple... sure some of these people are simple, but some of them are smart like Matlock; or wholesome like Ellie May Clampette; and some of them are skeezy dirt bags like the Dukes of Hazaard, driving around like maniacs, children use those roads".

Welcome Back Tina & Co. I've Missed You.

Is it Luck or Talent?

For the past several weeks Robin on Top Chef has somehow managed to avoid the axe. How? She is consistently in the bottom three; her dishes are deplorable; and her talent is sub-par compared to the rest of the contestants. This past week she outlived Mike Isabella. Sure, he's not the best chef on that show--but my problem is that the decision came down to Mike and Robin! Robin?!?! Robin has not demonstrated why she belongs on this show....Which leads me to this: is she really talented and we (the audience), due to editing, never see this talent? Or, is she just a victor in someone's misfortune?

Obviously, Robin is not going to win the show. It has been clear from the beginning who the top four chefs are going to be: Jenn, Bryan and his brother Michael, and Kevin. But how long are the judges going to keep her around if the audience never sees her produce anything worthy?

My belief: Robin is possibly one of the luckiest contestants that I have ever seen on a reality TV show. Hopefully, this streak of luck will end soon.

Oh Canada!... that's what she said?

How I Met Your Mother may have taken me and my American counterparts to a fictionalized accent-filled Toronto last week but it wasn't until I watched the latest from CBC's Being Erica in contrast that I realized what it really is that sets Canadian TV apart from its powerful southern neighbour's weekly offerings.

Canadian TV sports accurate Canadian accents and Torontonian locales; the people look more like really beautiful human beings than otherworldly supermodels; our reality show judges are fair and supportive; we air small human stories that resonate widely as opposed to broad melodramatic ones... Alright, I'll just say it, it's the sex.

Even the most scandalous of primetime American broadcast shows are heavily regulated by the FCC. The Gossip Girl kids are just misbehaving teens really, the prostitute on Melrose Place is never seen doing much more than leaving a room and the Oceanic 815 castaways generally haven't taken the "lost on a desert island" thing to the dirty conclusions one might expect. Cable's the place to find the shows that make me blush; I don't think I'll ever recover from that shot of inside the airport janitor's closet in the Six Feet Under pilot. But generally, on broadcast, they keep the nitty gritty off the screen and leave us viewers with the suggestion of what happened between edits.

And then there's Being Erica, a mainstream, primetime, network broadcast dramedy that set much of its most recent episode in a sex club. And the gratuitous shots that called to mind the reason that I gave up on The Tudors after only an episode and a half because I was simply embarrassed, made me realize something: this particularly fancy free episode wasn't a rarity, it was a norm on Canadian TV.

Whether it's a jazz number that makes even hard-nosed American hip hop choreographer Dan Karaty blush on So You Think You Can Dance Canada, the unintentional brushing hands of strict Muslims Rayyan and Amar on Little Mosque or the fact that Erica's job this season is to edit a sex book, Canadian TV always seems to be pushing the boundaries of modesty, wherever those boundaries might be.

So then, my question to Barney Stinson would be this:
1) Do you want to be Canadian?
2) No more questions. I thought so.

Good Bad News

It's bad news for her, but good news for the audience: Ashlee Simpson-Wentz will be moving away from Melrose Place as of January. Her and the hot chef guy have both been fired so the show can move in "a new direction", whatever that means. The Sydney mystery will be wrapping up and new characters will be introduced for the back half of the season.

In a statement released to E!, Simpson-Wentz said "playing a creepy, unstable character was something I always wanted to do"; what that sentence says about her mental state, I'll leave up to you to infer.

So with their weakest link gone and ratings ringer Heather Locklear scheduled to show up in the coming months, does Melrose Place actually stand a chance of making it to a second season? For the sake of the super adorable Michael Rady, I kind of hope so... did I really just say that?

The Blame Game

A few years ago I was obsessed with Grey's Anatomy. It was the number one show I looked forward to watching week after week. Several friendships were created over the show and I'm sure a few here or there were harmed by it (not being available on Thursday nights in college can be rather difficult for socializing). But then I lost interest. It was right after the whole GIzzie fiasco but I definitely don't blame that relationship for ending my love, I simply got busy.

The reason I haven't gone back is simple: I feared Grey's would inevitably turn into the new ER: new characters every season, over-the-top drama, a few good actors but overall just a medical procedural.

I was done. But then...George died (or so I heard). I just had to go back and watch the premiere to see how the original interns reacted...their reactions sucked by the way. But then something even crazier happened, Grey's really did become the new ER and a flood of Mercy Wester's joined the cast.

The crazyness continues: I kind of love it again....or at least did for (most of) tonight's episode. The whodunnit investigation kept me on the edge of my seat and the tension was so well played my heart was racing. The Chief actually scared me for once and typically I find him to be the most boring character in the series. Lexie was incredibly sympathetic with her emotionally inappropriate outburst. Yang showed a softer side when she saw the error of her ways and gave Reed some much needed back-up. Alex was heartwrenchingly adorable in his quest to contact Izzie and the ramifications of his hanging up on her. That big guy whose name nobody knows was annoying but in an incredibly watchable way. I also quickly fell in love with the adorable April who sort of exudes innocence and likability. I found myself easily interested in how these characters would continue to interact within the episode and the upcoming season. The only individual that drives me crazy is Reed. Granted, I may have an unfair bias against Reed and for April. Sarah Drew was one of the favorite actresses in Everwood and her portrayal of Hannah was spot on, while Reed was one of my least favorites in both Everwood and Heroes (she always comes off as a bit too bitchy).

So this brings me to my major problem with tonight's episode: after 10 minutes I knew the ending would piss me off. The mystery behind whose fault it was for killing the patient was solved from the beginning, at least for those viewers who have any intelligence. April's painstakingly obvious failure to check the patient's throat was clearly always going to big the big mistake. And if you are anyone who ever reads television blogs (which clearly you are) then you probably already knew that someone was getting fired on tonight's episode. So the amazingly talented Sarah Drew is no longer on the cast, and quite frankly I now dislike Reed even more for giving up her friend and also being just as distracted and calling attention to what initially distracted April.

DAMN YOU GREY'S!!!! Way to get rid of the most exciting new character.

Granted, I still liked the episode even knowing the end of the mystery so I suppose that's saying something...I'll be back next week.

A COMMUNITY I Really Want to Join

Community may just be the best written show on television. The lines in Community could be the most quotable, loveable wonderful television shows on the air. Emotional breakdown that starts with a teary eyed, "I've peed alone my whole life?" Check. Fun, only slightly-dated popular culture references that also serve as character analysis? "Annie also said she found Benjamin Button compelling. She's a smart girl, but sometimes she's JUST wrong." Double check.

So far, they've walked a brilliant line between caustic satire of ridiculousness, hearty gooey typical televisiony-ness, and wonderful, lightning fast one liners that are at once topical, witty, and completely unexpected. With a show that is so interested in just tossing jokes out at the speed of light, it would be easy to lose sight of the plot. Yet every episode thus far has deepened one of the supporting players, shown us fascinating new sides of Jeff, and also provided some surprisingly timely satire.

Take for example this exchange:

Annie: You're right, I could never be as good [at manipulating people] as you, probably because I actually care.
Jeff: True, but technically meaningless. And don't try and do that thing that girls do where they walk away and try to make you feel like crap, because it won't work... Crap.

It was at deeply funny and witty and served as a brilliant character moment for both characters. Annie realized the depth of her feelings for Troy, and Jeff had a defining moment of breaking through his own crap and giving up his own selfishness.

In summary, Community is the kind of brilliant that where it's almost unfathomable it made it on the air.

EXTRA QUOTE-Y GOODNESS:

• "I think not being racist... is the new racist." (Jeff about the attempt to make a Human Being mascot)


• "Bing Bong sing along. You're teams Al Gores cause your views are wrong." (Troy's ridiculous conservative rap)


• Every part of the discussion of Jeff's hair.


• Jeff: I just think we were both wrong.

Annie: Really? Because I'm an 18 year old girl and you made me cry in public.

Jeff: Okay... maybe I was a little more wrong.

• "We solved racism. What's next?" "Maybe we should do something for little people."

Best Restaurant Wars Restaurant EVER?!?

1) That quickfire challenge was COOL

2) I Love Restaurant Wars! It's always one of the best episodes of the season.

3) The splitting up of the teams was brilliant; putting the Voltaggios together on the same team as Robin (the weak link) and pitting them against Jen and Kevin (the other two frontrunners) was great. The concept of "picking teams" is always fun and competitive and to make the two team captains Michael and Jen really made for dynamic groups. It also meant that the top 4 (Michael, Bryan, Jen and Kevin), 2 let-downs (Robin and Laurine) and 2 middle-dwellers (Mike and Eli) were all divided equally, giving each team a solid chance at the win and guaranteed that one of the 2 worst chefs would deservedly go home.

4) The editing around the Michael Volt sequence was flat out mean. To edit in scenes of him yelling and stressing out around an interview where he declares the importance of calm leadership and decorum in the kitchen seemed like a blatant attempt by producers to cut down the obvious fan favourite (the younger/cuter of the two genius brothers). That said, it was kind of hilarious, in a sad kind of way. And they had a point, Michael's intensity is even getting to cool-headed big-brother Bryan.

5) Aww, Michael split the money with his team. The mean editing did NOT work- bah, he's awesome!

6) The right person went home. Laurine did the worst job this week. Even though the general consensus among the chefs is that Robin shouldn't be there anymore, she did well this week. Her dish was among the most successful of the night (though Michael V did help her out a lot), it didn't hurt, though, that she was on the better team (has Bryan ever been in the bottom? Ever?). But why was Kevin so upset? Did he think someone else on their team should have gone home? Or was he just upset about having screwed up at all?

All in all, fantastic episode! I think this may not just have been the best restaurant wars restaurant ever on Top Chef, I think this may just be the best season of Top Chef, period. It's certainly not hurting for talent, drama or character (three characteristics each Voltaggio has in spades on his own, put them together and you've got one hell of a TV show. Did someone say Food Network?)

Two Bouts of Extroardinarily Glee-ful News

The first bit of news is that Broadway's beautiful leading man Jonathan Groff is scheduled to appear in an upcoming 4-5 episode arc of Glee as the lead singer of a competing glee club. Spring Awakening's golden-voiced golden boy may be a potential love interest for his former co-star Lea Michele's obnoxious character Rachel. Alright Glee, here's where you really earn your stripes as a quality phenomenon: there's a lot at stake with a matchup like Michele and Groff but, succeed and you'll have my heart forever, fail to 1) develop his character in an interesting way and 2) give him the vocals those pipes deserve and you'll have lost me forever (and all My TV coverage along with me).

However, failure or no failure on the Jonathan Groff front, there's at least one episode of Glee's back 9 episodes that I'll be watching no matter what- the one directed by a man who makes the term "cult icon" look like an officer appointment in a Facebook group. Joss Whedon, the man whom we at My TV consider to be one of the greatest creative minds of his generation, has signed on to direct an episode of the flawed show (which apparently he is a big fan of).

If Glee hadn't achieved cult status by now, the additions of Broadway's most popular wunderkind and TV's most popular poohbah certainly won't hurt.

Hey Robin, It's Tough Living in the States, eh?

As a Canadian living in Boston, tonight's How I Met Your Mother made me giddy. What made it so funny? IT'S ALL TRUE! Well, most of it. Torontonians by no means have funny accents like the lady in Tim Hortons, I have no idea who the Quebecois guy Robin mentioned in the first scene is, she is still using "eh" in the wrong context and Toronto is really not the place to find lumberjack types like the ones who beat up Barney (especially not at Yonge & Front St).

But the rest of it, totally on the ball. I couldn't tell what was weird about what Robin was saying until I read the subtitles and realized that in the states it's called an electric bill, not a hydro bill; I got made fun of endlessly last week when I kept complaining that my garberator was broken; Canadians really do call it "The States" while Americans call it "America"; people mock the funny money in my wallet all the time; and we really are known for "please" and "thankyous" when getting our coffee at Tim Hortons, or anywhere else for that matter.

So now I'm homesick, thanks a lot HIMYM. Not only did you have a Canada-centric episode, you brought Robin all the way to my hometown to prove your point. Barney enjoyed the perks of universal healthcare, Robin sang "O Canada" and Tim Hortons coffee was enjoyed by all. Meanwhile, the episode mercilessly mocked Americans for their narcisistic and selfish ways, which is always fun, especially when you consider that said jokes were written by and for good-natured Americans who are willing to laugh at themselves.

So, thanks to HIMYM, tonight as I sit in my lovely Boston apartment, watching American network TV, I'll think of how I can't wait to be home again, in Canada... for American Thanksgiving.

How Glee Won Me Over

The day has finally come when I can count myself among Glee's many fans. The biggest hit and most buzzed about show of the season, Glee just never sat right with me. Months ago I reviewed the pilot, an episode that had me wanting to turn off my TV part way through. But here we are in mid October and the Ryan Murphy show has finally worked it all out. They've given hearts to the kids they villified in the pilot, they've given the spotlight to the sidelined characters that deserve it, they've even managed to turn Matthew Morrison's flawed but aggravating hero into someone I want to see on the screen (all the time, in fact).

It was slow at first; Rachel (my least favourite character) was still dominating the episodes, Finn was being treated as a god and not as a directionless oaf and all the other characters were little more than their outer appearances (Mercedes as the diva, Quinn as the bitch, Puck as the bully, Kurt as the flamboyant victim). But the progress was starting. Quinn's storyline picked up, and the additional screentime meant that both her and Puck were given more dimensions. That story didn't hurt Finn either, he was taken off his pedestal and communicated to the audience just how clueless he was, creating pathos where once there was none.

As for Mr. Shue, I don't know how they did it but he got cool. Not cool in the "he's the young hot teacher and he radiates cool" kind of way but in the "he's actually really endearing and can look like a fool and still make it work" kind of way. Matthew Morrison's easy charm started to shine through and the downplaying of the role of his wife was greatly appreciated (because she is not very funny and basically just in the way, a plot device if you will).

The musical numbers are still dubbed to within an inch of the their lives but, for the most part, they're a hoot. And the show does a good job of getting a ton of numbers into each episode.

So, finally, I get to like the show I've always wanted to like. It just too a little longer than I thought.

To read the progression of My TV's Glee coverage, click the "Glee" tab on the right hand side of this page.