A New Feature: My Top Ten Obsessions of the Week (maybe TV related, maybe not)

10. My epic facebook TV debate with Rachael from "I watch movies then talk about them". Daily we exchange ideas on topics ranging from our favourite TV sidekicks to which female characters make the best case for feminism. 

9. Late Canadian stage legend William Hutt's performance of King Lear in the series finale of Slings & Arrows (seen here opposite Oscar nominee Sarah Polley's Cordelia) 

8. Re-reading the last installment of the Harry Potter series. The story only improves with age and attention. 

7. World Series winning manager Cito Gaston returns to the Toronto Blue Jays after the dismissal of the detestable John Gibbons. Gaston's first home game since returning to the Jays was a massive success as they crushed the Cincinnati Reds 14-1 with 22 hits and a well pitched game from AJ Burnett. 

6. The second season of My Boys, which began last week with a happy resolution of season 1's cliffhanger and a hilarious subplot involving the world's greatest Matthew McConaughey impersonation. Is there anyone out there not in love with Kyle Howard? 

5. The triple chocolate coconut caramel cookies I baked the other day. That's right, you heard me. 

4. Entertainment Weekly's latest issue featuring the "new classics" of TV, Film, Music, and more of the last 25 years. 

3. Tom Hanks in Big. Could he be any more charming?

2. Project Runway re-runs on Slice. I thought I'd missed out on all the fun of the first 4 seasons but Slice saved me by airing old episodes every night at 4am. My PVR is currently working on capturing season 3. 

1. Michael C. Hall. Making my way through season 1 of Dexter on DVD I can't help but mull over the incomparable genius of the man who flawlessly embodied the socially awkward but golden hearted David Fischer then flipped impressively to portray a charismatic sociopath. 

The Dancing Finally Sways Me

I think this week's episodes of So You Think You Can Dance deserve applause. After last week's disappointing turn and the uninspiring auditions that proceeded it I was sure that this would be the year I didn't care. I liked one couple (Twitch and Kherington) and admired one other (Joshua and Katee) but that was the end of it. The dances seemed slower and less challenging and there were more mistakes than I was used to seeing. The judges seemed to always be wrong. There was too much Dan. There was no Shane. They even sent home the wrong girl last week (though they got the right guy).

and then this week happened.

Last week's only truly successful dancers (Joshua and Katee) topped their spectacular hip hop performance with a wonderfully entertaining Broadway number. They also stepped up as people I actually want to cheer for.

Twitchington re-emerged as not only the most likable couple but stunningly beautiful and surprising dancers with a sentimental Viennese Waltz.

Odd couple Mark and Chelsie proved to be a hilarious pair who are genuinely likable each in their own right and who work as a seamless team.

The couple I thought got the least credit for their work last week didn't get much more this week but proved that they can bounce back and sparkle even under unfair scrutiny. Matt and Kourtni seem to have so much faith in each other and themselves that you can't help but have faith in them too. After this week's superb foxtrot and fun behind the scenes footage, they're near the top of my list

AND, the best news of all, this week not only did America get the bottom three right (Susie and Marquis, Comfort and Chris, Chelsea and Thayne) but the judges finally said sayonara to the one contestant I really couldn't stand, Susie. Her partner Marquis left as well, leaving all the couples in tact.

This week topped all the low expectations I had going into it. Even Gev (who I had thought to be this year's hip hop one trick pony) stepped up with a completely respectable contemporary performance while other poppers Joshua and Twitch defied the standard and blew the roof off the place with styles that weren't their own (Broadway and the Viennese Waltz respectively). Quirky Mark threw us a sexy Argentine Tango. Tall girl Kourtni proved that grace isn't always petite. Matt and Chris taught Nigel that they have personalities. Mia was on the judging panel. Shane choreographed the group number. Nigel demonstrated Krumping. Cat helped Chelsie with her shoes... all was right with the world again.

The Dancing Finally Gets Going... slowly

I couldn't have been more excited for the first week of the real competition on So You Think You Can Dance. There are only so many trannies with bad lipstick and "I pulled a muscle" sob stories you can watch before you're aching for the top 20. I've been wishing for the start of the real competition for weeks and tonight I finally got my wish... well, sort of.

Though the talent on the show has been more and more impressive every season, tonight's episode left me feeling as though this group has nothing to offer that hasn't already been brought by the amazing dancers of years past (the breathtaking technique and complicated character of Danny, the optimistic energy and confidence of Sabra, the goofy and talented surprise of Neil, the sweetness and easy-going nature of Pasha, the exuberance and charisma of Benji, the strength and beauty of Travis, the courage and dedication of Donyelle, the growth of Ivan, Jaimie's smile, Dmitry's abs, Nick's pirouettes, Anya's outrageous outfits, Hok's entire being,... the list goes on and on).

This year's contestants are (to date) unimpressive and uninspiring. The routines were plagued with a monotony, lack of energy and lack of precision that seemed like a complete let down after last season's spectacular lot.That's not to say they won't prove me wrong, but at this point last year I was already standing up and cheering the dancers on as opposed to the yawning and fast forwarding. Early favourites Twitch and Kherington provide a breath of fresh air as the only contestants I really care about so far. Charismatic and jovial, what Twitch called "twitchington" is already gobbling up all my love and attention.

The show has even left behind fan favourite judges/choreographers Shane Sparks and Wade Robson (Robson will choreograph a group number for tomorrow night's results show but is not listed as a recurring fixture for the season) while choosing to premiere their top 20 with the worst choreographer/judge of the lot (Dan Karaty) sitting in the 3rd seat. And for the most part, this week, I thought the judging panel was entirely wrong. I never think this panel's wrong (Adam Shankman and Dan Karaty's foot-in-mouth existences aside). Nigel is always tough without being rude and is consistently constructive while Mary's crazy antics never fully distract from the fact that she knows exactly what she's talking about. Tonight, though, they were forthcoming with praise on routines that I thought completely unenlightening and sloppy (and let's not even get me started on their love affair with Susie the slutty school teacher).

The only really great routine of the night was performed by likable though not memorable couple Joshua and Katee. The pair mustered lovely emotion and balanced it with perfect synchronicity and precise technique in their hip hop routine. The routine, a wonderful blend of sentimental and cool, was choreographed by the show's greatest assets at the moment: husband and wife team Napoleon and Tabitha. Perhaps the saving grace of an otherwise so far disappointing season, Napoleon and Tabitha proved to be excellent judges throughout Vegas week and have now proven themselves to be talented choreographers as well, easing slightly the pain of the loss of Shane.

So, as the season progresses I'm hoping to find that the contestants step up their game and give me something I've never seen before. For now, though, my thoughts are as such (in order):

FAVOURITE CONTESTANTS:

Twitch
Kherington
Joshua

LEAST FAVOURITE CONTESTANTS:

Susie

Comfort

Gev iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii

THE SHOW'S GREATEST ASSETS:

Cat Deeley

Mia Michaels

Tabitha and Napoleon

Nigel Lithgow

A TV Movie: Sex and the City hits the screen

I just saw the Sex and the City movie. I watched the whole series again in anticipation (a retrospect review to come shortly) and... (ALERT: SPOILERS AHEAD!!!) ... I had many of the same problems with the film that I had with the series; mostly that the men got a tough deal. My brother came home from the movie and the only thing he had to report was that the men got completely beat up for 98% of it.


For some part, I agree with him, mostly on the Big front. Just like in the TV series, every time Big (aka John James Preston) experienced a human moment of doubt or fear, Carrie would dump him and blame it completely on his "inability to commit". After the plentiful examples (given above) of this in the show, the movie managed to somehow embellish this annoying tradition with some turquoise feathers, a lot of white flowers and a dab of over-acting. Big was a villain in Carrie's, Samantha's, Miranda's, Charlotte's, (writer/director) Michael Patrick King's and the audience's eyes. Luckily, Carrie has a moment of realization when audiences are given hope that perhaps she has found a way to see Big as something other than a villain and herself as something other than a victim. This "I let the wedding get bigger than Big" moment of truth, however, is instantly drowned when Carrie finds a way to somehow blame Miranda for everything. It does allow for the inevitably predictable yet rushed "happy ending", but one brief and quickly forgotten moment of realization can hardly make up for Carrie's (and the film's)completely unfair treatment of Big. The man must really love her if he keeps coming back for more after that much blame being thrown his way.

As for the other 3 leading men, I didn't have a problem at all with how they were represented.


Yes Miranda overreacted to Steve's infidelity, but the film made it clear that she was overreacting and the other characters knew it. Carrie's response to Big's mistake was treated with the reverence of a judge handing down a life sentence to a heartless killer. Miranda's was acknowledged to be unfair and was a response very true to her character. Steve may have been put through the wringer but it came from an honest place.

I really liked how Smith came off in the film (not that he ever came off as anything other than perfect throughout the series). This is, I think, where my brother got the wrong idea. To the unfamiliar eye it may seem as though Samantha's feelings of unhappiness are being blamed on Smith. She resents that he has become the centre of her life. But Smith is never anything but sweet and considerate towards Samantha. In actuality, Samantha's antagonist in the film is Samantha; she's allowed herself to be pulled too far from who she really is. Sam knows this, and while she may resent Smith for being the centre of her life she never blames him for his being there, she knows it was her who put him there and it's her who has to change it. Samantha's is, I think, my favourite story-line in the film. She breaks Smith's heart but she does it not because she's blaming him for everything that's wrong with their relationship (like Carrie) or because she's afraid of trusting someone who's hurt her (like Miranda) but because she is being true to herself.


and as for Harry... well, Harry hasn't been anything but perfect since he got the tea bag situation under control and learned to put something between his ass and the white couch. In fact, Harry (though he is drastically under utilized in the film) is the sole voice cheering for Big. Harry doesn't say that Big didn't do anything wrong and he certainly doesn't say that Carrie did, but he does suggest that, perhaps, Big is worthy of a little forgiveness.


Now, on to my only other real pet peeve about the film... Stanford and Anthony. All I'm going to say is 1) why did bit player Anthony get twenty times more screen time than Carrie's final best friend and sidekick Stanford? and 2) the fact that they are the only 2 featured gay men on the show does not mean that they should be thrown together in the end. In fact, that is incredibly irresponsible character development on the part of a usually relationship-conscious show. Not only did Stanford and Anthony hate each other (as of the end of the series) but Stanford was happily dating the man of his dreams, they even had a summer home in the Hamptons together. If the writers felt the need to throw together the unlikely pair of Stanford and Anthony they should have at least given the story a little more time to be explained.


I didn't like the predictable nature of the writing. I didn't like the exposition and clips from the show at the beginning. I didn't like that Samantha had moved away. I didn't like Carrie (but I almost never do).


I DID like Carrie's apartment makeover.


I liked the callbacks to the series.


Jennifer Hudson? I liked her, and I usually don't like her. I liked St. Louise from St. Louis and I liked what she did for Carrie.

I liked Charlotte's storyline about feeling like she can't simply be happy when her friends' lives didn't work out as well as hers.

I LOVED the sequence when Carrie tried on old outfits from her closet. I loved the line "it took 4 friends 3 days to pack 20 years into 38 boxes".

I liked the wedding dress sequence for the photo shoot.


I liked seeing Enid (Candace Bergen) again.


I liked that there was meaty Miranda-Carrie stuff at the heart of the film.


I liked it, it worked. I loved seeing the girls again and knowing that they can still make me laugh and cry. I only wish that, after years of wishing this film into production, they could have found themselves a better script that could have really made a splash.

Dear Damon and Carlton

You've lost me again (forgive the pun).

You had me after season 3's finale, I was hooked. You had me through the beginning of season 4, I had my questions but I was still on board. You began to lose me for a couple episodes in the middle there but I held on through the penultimate episode of the season. And there I was, ready to love you again as I went into tonight's 2 hour season 4 finale. and for the first time in Lost season finale history, you let me down.

I'm not saying that the episode was devoid of excellence. Desmond's reunion with Penny and his goodbyes to the castaways were lovely. He's one of my favourites (if not my favourite) castaway and I'll be very sad to see him sail off into the sunset and away from the show. But he's happy and he's alive and that's good enough for me. The callback to his early scene with Jack ("see you in another life brother") was wonderful. And Jin's death, though expected, still earned an emotional response (mostly a credit to the genius of Yun Jin Kim).

But that was it.

Sawyer jumping out of the helicopter was nice. But the second he got on the helicopter in the first place I predicted he'd whisper to Kate, kiss her, then jump. There are enough shows that don't surprise me, I don't need to add the usually enlightened Lost to that list.

As for the rest, I don't care: I don't care that Michael's dead. I don't care that Walt looks like he's 35. I don't care that the boat blew up. I don't care that Ben moved the island. I don't care that Ben can't return to the island. I don't care that he says the rest of them have to. I don't care that Kate wants nothing to do with Jack. I don't care that Hurley thinks he's playing chess with Mr. Eko. I don't care that corporate Sun is contacting Mr. Whidmore. I don't care that Sayid is shooting random people. I don't care that Jack is a junkie. I don't even care that it was Locke in the coffin or that he was using a different name. I simply don't care.

All Lost has become is plot. It is brilliantly constructed, nerds will be dissecting it for decades, go down in history alongside Star Wars kind of plot but it is still nothing but plot. And until you give me something other than strictly plot, I will continue not to care. I will continue to watch. But I will never care again, not like I did when Jin spoke his first words of English or when Charlie sacrificed himself to save Claire or when Jack first began to fall in love with Kate.

Give me something to care about and maybe I can learn to love you and your show again.

and then they all makeout

There is a grand tradition of Grey's Anatomy season finales. Addison's arrival left millions of viewers speechless and uncertain. Denny's death is remembered as one of the most emotional moments of television in years. Christina's wedding should have earned Sandra Oh an Emmy and sent Burke off on exactly the right note. So when last night's season finale rolled around I couldn't wait to see what brilliance Shonda and co. had prepared to throw my way. But after sitting through the 2 hour episode, however, all I was left with was the simple question "what was that?".

Firstly, there was no stunning moment of cliffhangery goodness. There was no Emmy-worthy emotion (except perhaps from Justin Chambers, who continues to be the most underrated actor on TV) and nothing that I really cared about. If Alex had broken down about Eva/Rebbecca last year I would have been invested but she'd grown so tiresome by the time Izzy finally sent her to the psych ward that I'd lost all interest and thus couldn't sympathize when Chambers delivered the performance of the night.

Secondly, Meredith and Derek are back together and we've been promised that they'll stay that way. But their final moments together of the season seemed so incredibly forced that I lost all interest. It takes a lot for me to invest in these 2 in the first place, but I had by the end of the episode, and then it got ruined by the over-romanticizing that went on instead of a subtler and sweeter coming together.

Thirdly, there are 2 friendships on this show (Meredith and Christina, Mark and Derek) that's all. If Meredith and Christina hadn't kicked off the show with a brilliant "you're my person" scene this rant would be way longer than it is but why can't anyone be friends? I understand Izzy and Alex, it was always about them in a way and it wasn't so much a romantic hookup as a comfort one- psychologically more complex, OK Shonda, I'm on bored. But what about George and Lexi? Once this thing plays out the man will have slept with more of the principle cast than anyone else, why can't he keep a friend? and Callie and Erika- a little more complicated. I'm fine with it, they have great chemistry and it's nice to get a homosexual couple on the show who are featured in more than 2 episodes. But I have the same issue with this storyline as I had when Willow was an all-of-a-sudden Lesbian on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. We've already witnessed Callie fall for "her McDreamy", George. If the seeds of her homosexuality had been planted a little sooner I'd be a little happier. But hey, Callie is a little more understandable than Willow because of her close friendship with Hahn, the questions brought up by Addison and the flames fed by Sloan. This is the last you will hear of me complaining about that slightly out-of-the-blue story line.

As for the week's cases, I found cement guy traumatizing. I was freaked out by the thought of it more than by any case we've seen so far. Lola was horrid and the kid would have been so much more sympathetic without her but the story line served its purpose I suppose. The other case was much more interesting. Meredith and Derek's 2 tumor patients and their love story were very endearing (even if completely predictable).

Oh, and good on Christina. Way to learn from Hahn's bad example and teach Lexi. A very good Christina episode in all.

So in the end we fade to black as everybody (Meredith, Derek, Alex, Izzy, Callie, Erika, Richard and Adele) makes out, Sloan is left alone and Lexi pictures George naked. Comparatively, not exactly their strongest ending to date.

A Veronica Moment

The Strategic Hissy Fit

A Light Chuckle

With Back to You cancelled and the genuinely hilarious Aliens in America gone I found myself panicking that I had no sitcoms left to watch. Yes How I Met Your Mother is still chugging along and the usually unfunny Office and Scrubs still exist. Samantha Who, Big Bang Theory and 30 Rock all claim a couple of laughs a week but gone are the days when a good sitcom could have you laughing out loud and wanting to watch it over again. In fact, I've gotten used to being slightly amused and settling for that when watching television comedy.

I got so used to not laughing at the TV that a couple weeks ago I turned on a sitcom, that I had accidentally taped on my PVR, while wearing a face mask that would crack if I smiled. Much to my surprise, it cracked. Lack of skin care benefit aside I was so excited that I hadn't been able to control my laughter that I started taping the sitcom whenever it was on. That sitcom was Rules of Engagement.

At first glance Rules of Engagement is nothing more than a 'Til Death meets sleazy single guy mashup. But it's not. I do advise you, however, to ignore David Spade entirely as he has not been funny since Just Shoot Me and seems to be simply the butt of "he's sleazy and short" jokes. The rest of the main cast, however, is hilarious. Oliver Hudson (known to audiences as Joey's hot and enigmatic boyfriend on Dawson's Creek) is apparently very funny. He mixes a sweet childishness and naivete with maturity so well that the engaged Adam is adorable and funny yet never over the top. He is idealistic, quirky and romantic and yet somehow believable. Adam's fun, open sweetness is foiled perfectly by cynical, emotionally stunted, sarcastic and cheap Jeff (as played by Patrick Warburton) whose marriage is comically perfect in all its flaws. Jeff's self centered and ambitious yet thoughtful and sentimental wife Audrey (Megyn Price) is his perfect match as they muddle their way through married life in their own dullset version of Mad About You. Patrick Warburton's comic timing is as close to perfect as you get. Bianca Kajlich (who's character Natasha dated Dawson while Oliver Hudson was romancing Joey) plays Jennifer, Adam's counterpart, well. She balances out his quirks with her own groundedness but somehow manages to keep away from the boring zone (a real danger for her type of character). And every once in awhile, Russell (Spade) makes a funny joke as well.

Completely underrated, Rules of Engagement may not be groundbreaking but it fills the void left by Back to You five times over. Give it a shot, it's certainly enough to break a face mask.

Freaks and Geeks

Here's the thing, Judd Apatow's high school comedy Freaks and Geeks is a good show. It's cited as one of the greats among the "brilliant but cancelled" elite, sparked a ton of young actors' Hollywood careers and is considered one of the most painfully accurate portrayals of high school life ever on television. It has real, honest and multi-dimensional characters and believable yet humorous story-lines.

But I don't really get it. Or at least I thought I didn't get it.

I didn't go to that school. I didn't know those kids. The stoners I knew sang tenor and spoke Latin. The geeks I knew published comic books and were on the improv comedy team. The religious kids I knew still knew the realities of the world instead of being completely sheltered by their faith. The drummers I knew all took lessons and I simply didn't know any mathletes.

But then I watched more. I started to see pieces of the Shakespeare quoting, squash playing, show tune singing, website designing freaks and geeks I knew in the kids on the show. and what's more... I started to see me.

When Sam was forced to adhere to the sibling code even though he knew Lindsay's party was a mistake, I completely understood. When Nick gave Lindsay a speech about how he lives for drumming, I saw one of my best friends. When Daniel proved to be a slightly nerdy nice guy beneath his sleazy exterior, I realized that I know at least 5 real-life Daniels. I saw my own parents when the Weirs helped out Nick, I saw my friends when Kim and Daniel fought and I saw my newly cool big brother when Barry Schweiber came home from college. And when Lindsay worried that her friends didn't inspire her I got a little concerned that Judd Apatow had been reading my diary. (yes I'm kidding. I do know that this show was made in 1999. I also do not even keep a diary. but you know what I mean).

But even after I began to relate to the characters I couldn't quite grasp what was so remarkable about this show. For every uniquely wonderful moment such as Ken falling for Tuba girl because she was sarcastic and mean and thus perfect for him, there was something that reminded me why I'm pretty consistently not an Apatow fan (like Lindsay ditching her mom to go drive around and smash pumpkins like a real rock and roll loser). Luckily I have a few friends who believe so strongly in this show that I was forced to watch it the entire way through. It turns out that once you wade through a lot of the "I'm an idiot teenager and thus must rebel" crap near the beginning, you're left with some really great episodes of TV. The Neal-centric episode when Barry returns and Daniel finds his way back to Kim was incredibly touching. Anything involving Ken and the Tuba Girl is magnificent. You've got to love Kim, Daniel, Ken and Nick for showing up to cheer Lindsay on at the mathlete scrimmage. Nothing says friendship like when Millie bails Lindsay out when she has to babysit when stoned even though she doesn't approve. What's better than Sam dumping the prettiest girl in school because she's boring? And few things can rival a good helping of "Carlos the Dwarf".

So while the first couple episodes and the last couple minutes simply made me wonder why a girl as smart as Lindsay can be such a moron (even at 15), Freaks and Geeks turned out to be a pleasant surprise. and while my love of Jason Segal didn't gain any ground from his turn as Nick, Seth Rogen's role as Ken earned him serious points that maybe just maybe may redeem him for Knocked Up.

How I Met Your Mother's season finale

Ladies and gentlemen, that is how it is done.

FRIENDSHIP: Barney can womanize, gamble, cheat and manipulate all he wants and will always remain a sympathetic character because the audience has always known (and he proved in this week's episode) that he would scale mountains for his friends.

and

LOVE: Neil Patrick Harris didn't say a word but HIMYM fans everywhere didn't need him too, his gaze said it all. Since they first bonded as bros in season 1, Robin has been the only person who made sense for Barney to fall for. She, and only she, has the power to melt him and his controlled "awesome"-ness. And with that one look from the incomparable NPH it's become clear to fans that she has.

We Interrupt this Broadcast to advise you...

to see Young at Heart, a new documentary (and Sundance hit) now playing in theatres.These rock and rolling seniors will make you laugh, cry and cheer as they sing their way into your heart (and the hearts of millions, including an audience of prisoners who give them a standing ovation after a performance in the film). There hasn't been a film that touched me as much as this one in many years and I think it's worth taking time off of TV talk to make sure you don't miss out on experiencing it too.

Found

Lost returned this week with an exceptional episode. Not only were the Oceanic 6 given their "we just got rescued" flashback which cleared up a lot of muddy plot but the episode was a return to the time when Lost wasn't just about the next big plot twist. Though always full of shocking developments and revelations (like last night's dynamite on the boat and Claire's mother revealing her paternity to Jack), at its roots, Lost was about character. The showrunners always took the time to show small, subtle character moments instead of just biding time between plot developments. This feature fell off a bit towards the middle of this season, and I've really missed it. Last night was a return to form. The touching moment when the Oceanic 6 greeted their families and Kate was left alone was extremely poignant. I almost cried when Sayid was reunited with Nadia and I literally jumped up and cheered when Sun stood up to her father. Last night Lost found its way back to being not only a thrilling mythology but an emotional character study as well.

Betty Babble

In honour of this week's fabulous installment of Ugly Betty here are my favourite quotes from the episode.

MARC:

"Mandy! You're going to be a reality TV star! It's what every pretty girl with no specific talent dreams of"

"Marc and Amanda, we're so funny together, everyone says so"

"If it isn't Miss Fancy Pants Celebrity back among the muggles... where's your posse? where's your hybrid? where's your inappropriately named baby?"

"I love this, you're back and Wilhemeaner than ever"


Justin:

"It's still the gym. It's like putting lipstick on a pig"


Gio:

"I don't want to be the rebound guy. I want to be the guy"

This Week on TV

For some reason all the TV worth watching is currently on either Sunday, Monday or Thursday. This means that I tend to watch things all at once. Thus, I will now write about them all at once.

I apologize for the lack of posting this week and hopefully can make up for it with one jumbo review.

Here we go.

SUNDAY

Desperate Housewives- is it sad that I can barely remember what happened in this episode? Kayla is severely creepy and I remain, as always, firmly on team Lynette though I understand why Tom is fooled by his seemingly sweet daughter. I'm already tired of Gabby and Carlos again though am kind of enjoying Justine Bateman's turn as the friendly tenant/coke dealer. As for the Mayfairs, I really don't like Dylan and anyone who couldn't tell that she wasn't the same kid as used to live on Wysteria Lane clearly was paying no attention at all. I'm slightly intrigued though also very bored. I'm also already bored of Susan's baby (who has been born about 30 seconds at this point). But hey, not only does Edie know the truth about Benjamin Hodge, she used it to blackmail Bree. This resulted in an always awesome strut down the lane as Bree told her friends the truth and the four ladies marched up to Edie, proclaiming that from that moment on, Edie doesn't exist. Overall an uninteresting episode with a few good moments.


Brothers & Sisters- meh. The wedding was sweet. Nora was Nora. I've come to terms with Justin and Rebbecca. I'm not sure how I feel about Sarah. I don't care about Sol. or Tommy. or Holly. or Ryan (the new twist of a long-lost brother) for that matter. I do, however, care a great deal about Kevin and Scotty and though their wedding was nothing in comparison to their engagement it still makes me smile to see them together and happy. This show, even when mediocre, is consistently one of the best shows out there.



MONDAY

Samantha Who?- Funny. Quite funny. Not my favourite episode but Samantha's first birthday party was entertaining and sweet. There were some great Andrea moments (Jennifer Esposito is fully in character even when she's in the back of a scene- watch her, she's hilarious), some awkward Dina stalkage bits and some really great moments for Sam's dad (who doesn't usually get much screen time).


Gossip Girl- The last few episodes of this show have really frustrated me (since Georgina arrived). I was totally behind Gossip Girl. It knew what it was and it did it well. The character motivations always made sense and the plots, though outrageous, were far from frustrating. But recently the main plot of this show has been driven entirely by the intelligent characters acting stupidly. If people would just tell Dan the truth ever once in awhile none of these problems would exist. The writers need to come up with storylines strong enough that the characters can be rational and intelligent and still have roadblocks instead of having to create them through idiocy. See Desperate Housewives' Bree this week; when confronted with a blackmailer she didn't shudder at what her friends would think were her secret revealed. Rather she strode right up to them and told them everything, thus reclaiming her power from Edie. Serena- stop worrying about stupid things, prioritize, stop making bad life decisions and tell your mother and your boyfriend the truth every once in awhile. Dan- don't be an idiot, why would you a) trust Georgina and b) believe that Serena would cheat on you. Nate- don't date Vanessa, I don't like her. This show aggravates me but I still really like most of the characters (even when they are acting like idiots) so I always enjoy this show. I just need them to get their stories back on track and get rid of Dawn, the world's most annoying person.


One Tree Hill- haha. It is comical that I still watch this but I can't stop now, I have to see what happens. All I can say is a) Hayley is dumb, she handles the Dan thing wrong every single week. b) though Brooke's storyline is completely predictable (I was literally saying the lines before they came) I still care somehow, and that doctor is way hotter than Ethan so I'm excited for that inevitable love story. I'm also slightly confused by/really liking that they are bringing Brooke and Lucas back together as friends taking care of the baby. That friendship never really recovered after their on and off screen breakup. c) I can't stand Mouth, he's the worst reporter EVER. d) I love Skills, end of story. e) Jamie's the cutest kid ever. f) What was with Nathan dragging Jamie up the hill like he was a horse? that was soooo strange. g) Dan is so going to kill that reverend. h) go away Lindsay and Lucas SMARTEN UP, you love Peyton, its not her fault Lindsay left. and most notably i) Peyton keeps getting stomped on. I don't even like her very much but she keeps taking hit after hit. First Brooke doesn't want her at the hospital then Lucas says he hates her (and that's not even including 2 dead mothers, an absentee father, a gunshot wound, a psycho stalker and definite sexual harassment in LA). OK maybe I had more to say than I thought.


Big Bang Theory and How I Met Your Mother- do to some sort of stupid "breaking news" that centred around a man sitting in a truck for a very long time, the channel that these 2 shows were supposed to record on didn't air their entire Monday night lineup. Thank you very much man in truck.



THURSDAY

Ugly Betty- I loved this episode!!! This was exactly what the show needed- to get back to its roots. Wilhelmina's return to Mode was no disappointment after all the anticipation. I knew she'd get Alexis on her side in no time, it was perfect. It's fun to see her manipulate the media as well... and Larry King is always fun on these types of shows. Marc and Amanda were also reunited with Willy's return to Mode and they were back to their usual brilliance. Marc had so many fabulous one- liners I can't even remember them all. Michael Urie and Becky Newton's chemistry is irreplaceable and they've been apart too long. Amanda's reality show with her "father" Gene Simmons was hysterical!!! There was also some great Suarez household stuff (who wouldn't want "juice ala Hilda"?) and some really nice Betty/Gio moments as well. I admit I didn't like Gio at first but he's really grown on me and with his final line of "I don't want to be the rebound guy, I want to be the guy" I officially hopped on the Betty/Gio train. I love Chris Gorham but now is the time of Freddy Rodriguez. The true star of the episode though was Justin. Consistently one of my favourite characters, Justin really got to shine in this episode, showing off his fashion sense, sweetness and maturity as he worked the school dance and fed the flames of his mother's sparking romance with his gym coach. Mark Indelicato has impeccable comic timing and is one of the most underrated actors in this outstanding cast. What is all comes down to is a simple statement: Betty is Back.


Grey's Anatomy- The same cannot be said, however, of its ABC Thursday counterpart Grey's Anatomy. Though, since its post-strike return, Grey's has been better than ever, this week's installment fell short. First let me say that there is no way Meredith's therapist should be allowed to keep her licence, she's so far past the line that she can't even remember what it looked like. Derek and Mark had some great moments (though its hard to go wrong with Mark Sloan) and I even liked George (something I NEVER do) but I simply didn't care at all what happened in this episode. Unlike last week when there were multiple engaging and heartrending medical stories, this week bored me (even though the medical stories were, in many ways, tied more closely to the characters). I like Christina acknowledging Burke's absence and letting it get to her for the first time, I like Callie questioning her friendship with Hahn and her sexuality, I like George's quest to be recognized, I like Bailey's desperation for reconciliation in her marriage, I like Izzy's new found maturity, independence and strength, I like Alex's sweetness and commitment to helping Rebbecca. I like Mark's attempts at being a deeper human being and I even like Derek and Meredith attempting to come to terms with the kind of relationships they want in life. I like it all but for some reason, this week, it just didn't work.


The Office- halfway through last night's 4th season finale I turned to my friend sitting next to me and said "this is a REALLY good episode" and I jinxed it. The first half was great. Better than great, it was some of the best the show's been all season. I laughed out loud many times. I loved Phyllis planning the party, I loved Michael asking for the anti-gravity machine, I loved Pam asking how much potion he wanted with a straight face, I loved Pam getting accepted to design school, I loved her saying "perfect" in her talking head interview, I loved Jim planning to propose, I ADORED Holly thinking Kevin was mentally handicapped, I loved Michael falling in love with Holly, I loved the Holly is really perfect for Michael. I loved Toby wanting a picture with Pam, I loved Jim fighting back against Ryan, I loved Ryan getting arrested and Oscar saying that the true crime was the beard, I loved Creed trying to remember what he does for a living and accusing Holly of asking too many questions. And then it all stopped. Once that painful scene in the conference room started it all went downhill and my hysterical laughter turned to what has become the norm for any 4th season Office episode, annoyed sighs. There was WAY too much zany Michael and Andy idiotically proposing, thus preventing Jim from proposing was nothing but annoying. It broke my heart a little to see how sad Pam was that Jim didn't propose and though the final moment when it was revealed that Angela went back to Dwight was a nice touch, it had nothing on the previous 2 seasons of cliffhangers. This week The Office broke my heart by building me up and then letting me down really badly.


*Lost review to come separately

30 Rock: hahahahahahaha

This week's 30 Rock was yet another example of why this show is considered one of the best comedies to come around in a long time.

Jenna finally got some screen time this week when she made Kenneth a hilarious video essay to include in his application to be a page at the Beijing Olympics.

Tracey's quest to create the perfect porn video game was hysterical.

Jack attempting to get fired from his government job was great- a perfect opportunity for fun political jokes and Bush-bashing. Matthew Broderick is always great as well.

and Liz is pregnant... well not really, but she thought she was. This episode was the perfect exploration of Liz and Jack's friendship. With Jack not around the office anymore Liz realized how much she depends on him as a sounding board. And audiences got to see how much Jack really cares about Liz when he showed up at her doorstep to give her moral support without needing to be asked. The friendship between the two is central to the show and seeing them work together to adopt Liz a baby will be a ton of fun. I can't wait for more 30 Rock.

2 for 2

Grey's Anatomy was great for the second week in a row.

Some really great Sloan stuff, awesome Bailey-ness, some good Callie/Hahn, long-awaited spectacular Christina story (brilliant Sandra Oh acting and the writers finally acknowledge that Preston Burke was once a part of the show), an incredibly touching patient story, tolerable Mer-Der scenes, some great Alex stuff, an interesting Izzy conflict, non-corny voice over and a great episode theme.

Keep it up Shonda and Betsy!!!

My Favourite Mad About You Moment

Jamie's speech to Paul is the perfect representation of what makes this show so beautiful

Ross and Rachel's First Kiss

The beginning of everything and one of the best TV kisses there is.

Rachel and Ross- I Got Off The Plane

The final connection for TV's most famous couple.

Chandler and Monica get engaged

One of TV's most romantic moments ever!!!!! I apologize for the annoying subtitles, it was the only version available

Slings and Arrows Season 2

The New Burbage Festival puts on a production of Romeo and Juliet. Beautiful.

CJ and Josh Throwdown

To all of you who don't watch The West Wing because you think it can't possibly be funny- eat your words.

President Bartlett on Homosexuality

This scene is a perfect example of what makes The West Wing amazing. The Sorkin genius is simply inarguable.

Izzy and Denny

Ask anyone what their favourite moment of Grey's Anatomy is, more likely than not it will be this one.

Scrubs Musical -- Dr. Cox's Solo Rant

A Tribute to my love of Dr. Cox and the brilliance that was the Scrubs Musical episode.

Brothers And Sisters Pool Party

The Winner of The 2007 My TV Award for Best TV Moment

TV MOMENTS

In honor of this week's Brothers & Sisters Tivo Moment I've decided to post videos of some of my favourite scenes in TV history. Starting with the below post of the 2007 My TV Award winner for Best TV Moment, I will be periodically posting these videos. 

Keep your eyes open for more great TV moments to come. 

My Ode to Kevin and Scotty

Last night there was a Tivo scene. It was one of those scenes that you save forever on your PVR or your DVR or your Tivo or whatever fancy TV contraption you have. It was a scene that you play over and over again. It was a scene that makes you buy the DVD box set just so you can watch those moments again even if someone accidentally erases them from your PVR/DVR/Tivo. It was the final scene of last night's Brothers & Sisters on ABC at 10pm. 

It is no secret that Kevin Walker is my favourite character currently on TV. His heart of gold gets ripped to shreds every time he works up the courage to wear it on his sleeve and yet he continues to fight to break down his steel walls because he's terrified of being someone he doesn't want to be. He's cold and closed off, bad at relationships, paranoid, stiff, insecure, cowardly, and selfish. He's also loving and generous and brave. He would do anything for his family and wants little more than to be loved. Kevin Walker brings a humanity to the television landscape that is uniquely honest. He is a walking contradiction, and in being so he makes perfect sense. 

Early on in the series there entered a man. A man named Scotty. From their first confrontational encounter the chemistry between the two was palpable. Kevin hated what Scotty represented. Scotty pitied Kevin's insecurity and coldness. Naturally, they fell in love. Naturally, there were too many obstacles in the way of said love. Naturally, Scotty disappeared from Brothers & Sisters. 

Kevin had a series of boyfriend after Scotty and with each one he learned a little bit more about being the person he not only wanted to be but the person Scotty had always believed he could be. 

Flash forward to Season 2.

Scotty returns to the show. A stroke of fate, some may say, when the actor playing Kevin's then boyfriend Jason was cast in another show and a character was needed to fill his void. So Scotty returned. Just friends at first, Kevin and Scotty both began to see how the other had grown into a fuller and brighter version of their former self. Personal obstacles that had once stood in their way lessened with the maturity that time had wrought, and Kevin and Scotty tried again. 

 

Certainly not free of obstacles, flaws and fights, Kevin and Scotty's relationship took on the very qualities that they themselves possess as characters: honesty, beauty, humanity and love. They have petty arguments and random jealousies but revel in each others' imperfections. Kevin continues to misunderstand Scotty's romantic nature and make stupid mistakes. Scotty continues to overreact and be, on occasion, accusatory. They are perfectly human, they are perfectly flawed and they are perfectly perfect.  

And as for the Tivo scene? 

***SPOILER ALERT*** 

Kevin and Scotty are engaged! 

Kevin, after dealing with his hysterical family in the throws of some of their most dramatic hysterics yet, returns home to Scotty, who has replaced all the light bulbs with eco-friendly ones. Kevin, in his beautifully understated and incomparably romantic way just looks at Scotty and finally truly recognizes everything he wants in life. The rest is beautiful, heartrending, tear inspiring television history.