Greek: At World's (And Season's) End

I love the television show Greek. I love its soapy ridiculousness. I love its good natured adoration of ridiculous theme parties and fraternity pranks. The more it (like Cappie) relies on its charm and smarts to help it coast through a television season, the more I love it.

Which is why I can't wholeheartedly endorse this season's finale "The End of the World." One of the things that distinguishes Greek from Gossip Girl is that on Greek, the ante doesn't have to be continually upped. Things don't need to get more ridiculous and Dramatic every week. In other words, Serena doesn't have to kill anybody.

And while the season finale didn't exactly go to that extreme, it did over-focus on Casey/Cappie/Max dom, which, on top of being predictable, was also a little dull and really off tone for this fun show. Casey and Cappie are at their best when they're engaged in witty repartee, not melodramatic monologues, and Max is such a good guy (I mean, seriously, he remembered her damn lipstick while he was away!) that I had a hard time enjoying any of the Casey and Cappie stuff before she fully ended things with Max. It was, to quote from the shows parlance, a "douche move" on Casey's part, and showed disrespect to both Max and Cappie. That being said, Spencer Graham is consistently fantastic as Casey. Her huge eyes near-constantly on the point of bursting into tears all episode, she really helped to undercut the poor decisions and selfishness of Casey all episode.

Some other developments in the Season Finale had me all sorts of happy. Specifically, Ashleigh. Too often, Ashleigh is only a sidekick to Casey's drama (one need only look at her episode ending perch on a rooftop with Cappie to know that she is often only important in what she can do for Casey). But this episode showed her verbally asskicking Frannie (not quite a roundhouse kick to the face, but still pretty bad ass), and finally, mercifully, telling off Casey for acting like a loser who can't stand to be alone for five minutes:

Ashleigh: Now you're someone who sits around pining and making lists and second guessing your choices. God, paging Dr. Grey... no wait you are more like Joey Potter. No you're worse. You're the F-word.

Casey: Don't say it.

Ashleigh: Felicity.

Casey: You bitch.

Ashleigh: See? That's Casey Cartwright. Toughen Up!

While I still wish that Ashleigh would get a more compelling love interest (her current boytoy just seems to show up and tell her how awesome she is and then make out with her for a few moments), it was nice to see some character development in a girl who's too often shifted to the side to make way for her more melodramatic cohorts.

On top of that, nearly every scene with Dale and Calvin was brilliance tonight. As the two joined a two-man purity pledge (Dale: You'll be the first gay purity pledge! Calvin: Sure I will...) to keep them from the embrace of their respective tempters, we not only got to see hot Dale-on-Cougar action, but also Dale trying to pretend to be Calvin's boyfriend. The show continues to thrive on the strength of its subplots.

Cappie and Evan's budding friendship is also a nice change of pace. There's no reasons for these two guys to be enemies anymore, and Cappie brings out the absolute best in Evan's character (even when they were fighting, Evan was never as much fun as when he was trying to out think Cappie).

Exhibit A:

Evan: Great party douchebag.

Cappie: Thanks numbnuts.

Oh yes, Rusty also had a storyline tonight. It turns out all this girlfriend-having, party-throwing, Liberal Arts-exploring has really put a crimp in the resident nerd's academic style. The show set the groundwork for next season, with Rusty skipping out on a necessary all night study session to go and enjoy the end of the world with Jordan. I find it hard to enjoy this storyline, and although I like the idea of Jordan, I really hope they don't keep up this "girl or school" dilemma for too long. For one thing, it's a false choice, and I truly believe Rusty could do both. And for another, it's basically the same storyline Rusty had all first season between school and the frat, so it already seems stale.

So where does this finale leave us? Max and Frannie are departing, seemingly for good. Cappie better man the hell up and put an actual new development in his epic love story with Casey. Rebecca hasn't done much more than look hot and help Casey and Ashleigh scheme for about three episodes (or since she was a lesbian). Evan's enjoying life sans trust fund. Casey might actually have to be (GASP!) alone. Rusty's facing academic meltdown. Dale's looking pretty close to breaking that purity pledge. And Calvin? Calvin's enjoying some ill-advised face sucking with his roommate/frat brother.

Oh CRU. I'll miss you!

Gay and Greek

Since I'm 22, and therefore have mostly semi-mature 22 year-old friends, watching Greek has been a fairly solitary affair. It's hard to convince these friends that a show on ABC Family about Frats and Sororities is worth our time. Frankly, we couldn't be less interested in the Frats and Sororities on campus, so why spend our precious tv time watching them? I can cite witty dialogue, intriguing characters, and engaging, true-enough plot lines as much as I want, but it's an uphill battle.

But tonight, I got to watch the show with a gaggle of 19 year old boys who, for reasons unknown to me, have become infatuated with the lightly-angsty, bubbley, good-natured show. And it was kind of an eye opener.

There's lots of "cool" within Greek. Evan is cool in a douchey, rich frat boy kind of way. Rebecca is cool in a bitchy, well-groomed, intelligent kind of way. And of course Cappie embodies cool in his every shaggy haired, slacker-smart, Full-house referencing molecule.

But who did I hear praised as cool and awesome repeatedly and often from these heterosexual white males? Calvin.

See this is one of the main reasons that not only do I love Greek unabashedly, but I have no problems touting it as a sign of great popular culture to come. Calvin is goddamned unparalleled in youth culture. Not only is he an out-and-proud gay man who's never a stereotype, always funny, and consistently one of the best parts of the show, but he's given legitimate and equal storylines to his heterosexual counterparts. He's neither a Will nor a Jack, in that he's not a slutty gay guy (Jack) nor an often-sexless gay guy (Will). He has had three main love interests thus far on the show, each one as cute, awesome, and unique as the last, none of which were stereotypes. While Gossip Girl, for example, also features a gay character (Serena's brother, Eric), he's consistently secondary, his love life more-often-than-not serves merely as a vehicle towards larger, heterosexual drama, and Eric himself spends most episodes having to counsel Serena like a magical-gay-boy. Calvin is never a means to an end; his story is always just as important as Ashley's or Evan's or any of the other secondary (read: not Cappie, Casey or Rusty) character's.

This episode in particular, called "Isn't It Bromantic," focused on a fledgling relationship between Calvin and Grant, a fellow Omega Chi whose just started the long process of coming out. Sure it's a bit convenient that Calvin just happened to end up rooming with the one other gay guy at Omega Chi (besides possibly Marco*), but I just loved the way that this allowed Calvin and Grant to play slapstick romantic comedy in the best Sandra Bullock/Hugh Grant kind of way. And giving equal play to this type of goofiness, and not turning Calvin and his love life into either a source of cheap punchlines nor an angst fest, makes Greek damn near unparalleled.

Which brings me back to the horde of hormones with which I watched this week's episode. In a week that also brought us news that the California Supreme Court refused to overturn Proposition 8, it was unbelievably heartening to watch them laugh and enjoy the awkward antics on screen, and to be able to identify with Calvin without making them feel like there masculinity was in question. These aren't uber-liberal, politically correct, NPR-listening, birkenstock wearing activists, either. These were just normal guys, who could apolitically enjoy the story of two different individuals falling for each other. And it was kind of awesome.

*Although the Marco-angle allowed for a few cheap gay jokes about shoe collections and clean finger nails, it's also what keeps this show seeming real and not like it's trying to make some grand political point. Even if I am.

Heading Back to Greek

I'm probably too old for Greek, but then again I'm probably too old for Gossip Girl and to hang up pictures of Zac Effron on my wall. I'll live. Plus, Greek speaks pretty directly to the heart of my current life: this season is all about seniors like Casey and Cappie not quite ready to give up on the fun of college, but needing to move on and start having a post-CRU life.

Greek is pretty much the anti-Gossip Girl (and I mean that keeping in mind completely that I love both shows): it's sunny and light where Gossip Girl is dark and dramatic. The stakes on this show tend to be tiny (sorority rushes, Cameron Diaz's bangs) as opposed to GG's (murder, drug abuse, college), but the characters take them super seriously, even when the show does not. It's got deeply moral characters, who never lose their ridiculousness. Even the seemingly "bad characters," live by their own code and would never turn on a friend. Aside from all that, it's actually a lot like it's New York cousin: it has a deep entrenched wit and parade of great and great-looking actors filling out its characters.

The show has grown a lot since its inception: for the first few episodes, Cappie was an Animal House throw back with little in the way of real character, Casey was an empty vacuous jerkface, Evan was an evil playboy, and Rebecca was a "ho." This could pretty much all still be applied, but the beauty of Greek is the way they've grown their characters without ever losing what made them awesome in the first place. Cappie is terrified of growing older and maturing, so he's taking time having fun and playing hacky sack (and watching Jon and Kate Plus 8) until he's forced cruelly out into the adult world. Casey is a deeply ambitious but deeply lost girl trying to find her place in the world in a way that doesn't compromise who she is (she also has a pretty damn Cappie-esque side that she tries to fight against). It's a decent character, but it's Graham who really makes her shine. She grounds the perky optimism and determination to do good in an intelligence and love of fun that helps us get through storylines that just have her trying to outdo her social rivals. Plus, the Casey and Ashley girl love is a nice equalizing force. The two actually have fun together in a way that too often female friendships on television shows aren't grounded in. This week, for example, saw them teaming up to take down the newly formed IKI house (how much do I love that name?) and giggling manically as they do it.

Evan is still kind of an evil playboy, but he's also fiercely loyal to his gay Little, Calvin, and deeply hurt by all his "poor little richboy" angst. And Rebecca... well Rebecca is a revelation. From loving Cappie, to moling for ZBZ, she's a complicated, brilliant, amazing character whose never stopped being interesting even as she's gotten less overtly bitchy.

The heart of the show, though, is Rusty, the geeky, awkward, and yet inexplicably cool littlest Cartwright, who brings out the best in all the characters around him. Cappie is never so endearing as when he's mentoring his Little, and his genuine affection for Rusty is what makes us able to put up with all his manwhoring and questionable meat eating. The Casey and Rusty relationship has grown so much since the first episodes embarrassed indifference, and some of the best Casey beats over the season have been with the little bro. Rusty, Calvin, and Dale (the nerdy KT, ambitious and gay Omega Chai, and southern uber-Christian, respectively) make for the strangest of strange three amigos, but it works, and it brings out the best in all three of them.

It'd be disingenuous to pretend that Greek is a perfect show. It's ultimately pretty light and fluffy for my taste, and they tend to flipflop on secondary characters whenever it's convenient (Franny, for example, has gone from unapologetic biyatch to reformed good girl to biyatch to uber biyatch as the story has called for it; meanwhile Evan has gotten tantalizingly close to real growth as a character just to be thrown back into the position of jerk because the story calls for it). But the Season Premier illustrated clearly: Greek is one of the most consistently entertaining hours in the business, and the writers haven't lost their grasp on what makes life at Cyprus Rhodes University fun.

Random Fun:
Dale: My roommate is Canadian. How am I supposed to sleep at night when some foreigners waving his flag around in what is clearly an act of aggression?

Franny: You girls are playing with fire.
Casey: We know, that's how you make smores.

Casey: (about her Washington Internship peers) And worst of all... they called me Elle Woods.

My Tv Crushes (and my Triumphant Debut on My TV)

Howdy blogland! My name's Rachael, and I'm pretty obsessed with movies. I even have a whole blog about it (http://rn4-8-7.livejournal.com/). But I'm also pretty obsessed with it's small-screened cousin, television, and am incredibly excited to be invited by Kelly to start blogging here on My TV about all things TV-related.

I've decided to do my first blog post as an addendum to Kelly's earlier Crush list, because there's some tv-shows that even the great Ms. Kelly hasn't gotten into and I think there are certainly dream-worthy boys deserve some crushing-love.

So without further ado, my TV Crushes (in no particular order):



First and foremost, one of the most glaring and sad-making holes in Kelly's TV repertoire: Chuck. When Chuck started last year, it was a by the numbers tv action-comedy with a strange-sounding premise. But this season, it has advanced into full-fledged must see tv goodness. And most of the reason for that is the eponymous Chuck, Zachary Levi. Not only is he consistently funny, goofy, and noble, he manages all this while in Buy More uniform and without any notable demonstrations of physical dominance of any kind. He's an unrepentant geek who'd get along with the stunted boys over on Big Bang Theory better than he gets along with his hottie super-spy love interest, Sarah. And he's 100% dreamboat.


There's really no excuse for my love for Mac (Rob McElhenney), one of the four truly awful human beings that run Paddy's pub over on It's Always Sunny In Philadelphia. Here's a guy whose closest friends think that it's likely he's a serial killer, and who once banged his best friends Mom. But something about his earnest evilness wins me over every episode. Add in a real life romance with show costar Kaitlin Olson, and you'll have to forgive me for this truly deplorable TV crush. Plus, as my ongoing Logan Echolls fascination can attest, I have a bad boy problem.


Special Agent Seeley Booth is every girl's dream, whether or not she knows it. He's a devoted dad who thinks sex should be reserved for those you love, who's witty and sexy and reads comic books in the tub. He spends his days catching murderers and practicing chemistry with his sexy, in a nerdy brilliant kind of way, partner, Temperance Brennan. And he's got just enough of a dark past and troubled soul that he's got that extra spark without being an actual badboy. Plus, he's played by David Boreanaz.


Conrad Shephard (Romany Malco) is probably the closest thing to a good person on Weeds. And he's still a drug dealer who carries a gun and occasionally sleeps with married women. But his (somewhat undeserved) devotion to Nancy Botwin (Mary Louise Parker) and the fact that he is smoking hot earns him his place on this list.





Cappie (Scott Michael Foster, from Greek) is another guy in the bad boy mode, but what college girl doesn't dream of that elusive frat guy prankster who's basically a character from Animal House but who's also smart enough to pass, dare I say ace, all his classes while still hung over from last night's kegger AND have series of monogamous relationships with interesting and intelligent female protagonists? Sure he stole Zac Effron's haircut, and for the first couple episodes was little more than a one note cool guy, but as the show has progressed (as far as a TV-show about fraternity and sorority dealings on ABC Family can progress), Cappie is the rock, both morally and comically. And his kindness to uncool Rusty is as much as an advertisement for awesomeness as I've ever seen.


Captain, General, Attorney Lee Adama (Jaime Baumber, Battlestar Gallactica) on top of looking super dreamy is often the heart of the series constant moral dilemmas. He sticks by his guns, even when that means laying his guns down and going into politics. In his personal life, he's rarely so stalwart, but his romantic entanglements with Starbuck (only the all time coolest and most badassiest female in cable TV history) are probably the sexiest thing I've ever seen. Although in the past season we didn't get the intense privilege of seeing our boy in his flight suit as often, he rocked the suit and tie lawyer look just as hard as any of those boys over on the Practice.


My ultimate TV crush is also the only one I took from a show Kelly also gave crush'ed love to. But Malcolm Reynolds is the TV crush that defines all the others. Sure, I love me some Seth Cohen, but would I take him over Malcolm Reynolds? Not if you paid me. Malcolm Reynolds is and will remain my semi-silent, often-nude, pistol carrying space cowboy love, and the romantic saga (made only more romantic by the fact that it never comes to anything resembling fruition) between him and Inara will remain one of my favorite all time epic love sagas.


Looking forward to future blogging goodness, and for all things movie related, check out I Watch Movies and Then Talk About Them.