Star Pitchers and their TV Taste

Chicago White Sox pitcher Mark Buehrle brought some insight to David Letterman tonight with his list of
“The Top Ten Things That Went Through Mark Buehrle’s Mind During His Perfect Game
[on Thursday]”

Why is this at all interesting?
Number 5 on the list was: “Did I remember to TiVo So You Think You Can Dance?"

That's right men, even sports superstars love a good Mia Michaels contemporary number. Your macho excuses are no longer relevant, hop on the hot tamale train now!

Must-See Sports TV

It's rare that I would ever direct you lovely readers towards watching sports instead of regularly scheduled programming but I will make an exception for tomorrow night's event.

Even if you're not a baseball fan, tomorrow night's All-Star game is sure to be worth the watch. Starting at 8pm on FOX, tune in to see the best of the best battle it out for the World Series home stadium advantage.

You, as a My TV reader, are obligated to root for the American League team. Not only does their starting lineup boast 2 of my favourite athletes of all time (Blue Jays Roy Halladay and Aaron Hill will be pitching and playing second base respectively to start the game) but 3 of my fantasy league players are starting: Aaron Hill (again, he's my favourite), Derek Jeter (Yankees shortstop) and Evan Longoria (Tampa Bay 3rd baseman). Not only that, but with me as an avid Jays fan and Rachael as a member of Red Sox Nation, we at My TV are ALEast all the way- so you should be too.

Doc takes the mound at 8pm on FOX- watch it!

Another Dose of Obsessions This Week

- Ryan Reynolds

- Big Love season 3 (with special love for Amanda Seyfried and Chloe Sevigny)

- Neurotic Reid, puppy dog Michael and magnetic Kiptyn on The Bachelorette

- Blue Jays shortstop and leadoff batter Marco Scutaro

- So You Think You Can Dance's Kupono, Jason, Caitlin, Jeanine, Phillip and Evan

- Gabby and Tom's friendship on Desperate Housewives

- Network TV on summer weekends

- Bell and Starbucks team up to provide everyone with 2 hours of free wireless everyday

- Lots of comments on the blog, our new facebook ads and a new writer (Tim)

Obsessions

Emma Stone- She was the saving grace of the underwhelming Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, a highlight of The House Bunny and played one of the only relatable characters in Superbad. The girl is a serious talent and she's here to stay.

Dubbed Disney- the mad editing skills of "Fantachan" make the Random Disney Crap YouTube videos a scream.

Enver Gjokaj (Dollhouse)- I'm obsessed.

Justin Chambers (Grey's Anatomy)- I've been obsessed for a while.

Re-watching Alias- It really did have one of the strongest premiere seasons of all time.

MLB Fantasy Baseball League- I'm leading my division with a 4-0 record!

Rules of Engagement- funnier than you think it is.

Understanding why everyone's always loved Sawyer (Lost)- it took me 4.5 seasons but I'm finally on board.

Early Obsessions

There's lots to be excited about this week, so I'm getting a jump on "Obsessions" (as well as making up for almost never writing this feature, when it's supposed to be weekly). 

MY BOYS: last week's episode had me in stitches. I couldn't be happier that it's back. 

BETTER OFF TED: still loving it. 

THE BLUE JAYS: a 6-2 record right out of the gate. So much for low expectations!

EASTER CANDY: yum. 

SEINFELD on DVD: it's a refreshing show to come back to once in awhile. Oh how I love the 90s. 

THE BACKSTREET BOYS: and speaking of the 90s, my favourite 90s boys are all over my facebook page with frequent updates for their fans, reminding us that they might still be relevant. 

FANTASY BASEBALL on MLB.com: The List Draft gave me tons of great players according to my personal rankings and after only 1 game I'm more than 20 points ahead of everyone in my league- boo ya. 

THE UNITED STATES OF TARA FINALE: it was lovely- go watch it. 

MARIA SCHNEIDER's "THE PRETTY ROAD": her whole repertoire is lovely but this one will always be my favourite. 

ADVENTURELAND: I went into it with an open mind and no expectations and found it to be moving, honest, timely and unique. 

SETH ROGEN: easily the best thing about Monsters vs. Aliens

ROBIN & BARNEY: Marshall and Lily think it's perfect... because it is. 

RE-WATCHING ALIAS: Man, that was such a cool show. 

JOHN CORBETT: United States of Tara+ Sex & the City reruns+ my rediscovery of how much I love My Big Fat Greek Wedding= serious Corbett loving. 

THE DUCK CHEER: may I remind everyone how fun it is to quack like a mighty duck. 

MACKERS: how do I love the Scottish Play? Let me count the ways. 

SICK IZZIE: let's call it a character renaissance for Izzie, Alex and even George. 

LOST IN THE 70s: for some reason I find this very engaging. 

THE GLEE PROMO: "Don't Stop Believin"- I already love this show soooooo much. Why does it have to be on FOX?

TOM AND KARA ON HIGH SCHOOL REUNION: my two favourites reunited, how sweet!

THE CHILDREN OF EDEN SOUNDTRACK: Steven Schwartz is a god. 

SAM & TODD: I like where this is going and how long it's taking to get there

PAM BEASLEY: way to move up in the world, next time try moving out of the paper industry. 

Obsessions

Tara's Family

supportive husband Max, somewhat rebellious daughter Kate and sweet son Marshall are the perfect compliment to the central craziness in United States of Tara. 

Scrubs

The new season is very sweet. The 8th season comedy also deserves some serious thanks for being one of the only shows with new episodes this week. 

Captain Awesome

I'm watching season one of Chuck on DVD and I have to say that Captain Awesome is pretty awesome. I love that Chuck calls him Captain Awesome. When he taught Morgan how to tuck in his shirt- priceless. 

The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty

Buster Olney's book about the 90s Yankees and their demise at the world series 2001 is a seriously fascinating read for any baseball fan. 

Obsessions/Complaints of the Week: Oct 30-Nov 5

OBSESSIONS OF THE WEEK

BARACK OBAMA, The Presidential Election and The American People

I'm the proudest Canadian you will ever find, at least in Boston. But last night I found myself insanely jealous of my American friends. Not only was their election a celebration the scale of which Canada has never seen, but they now have a leader unlike anyone has ever seen. I wished that I could live under Obama's inspiring leadership and I wished that I'd had a vote in electing him. And I was proud, I was proud of the country I live in 8 months out of the year, the country who can't even seem to vote for the right person to win So You Think You Can Dance, I was proud that they got it right when it really mattered. 

COMPLAINTS OF THE WEEK

THE CANCELLATION OF VALENTINE

The world (The CW especially) needs Valentine, if only to combat some of the unromantic, cheese-less ideals that are so prevalent on TV today. I resent the modern notion that if it's corny it can't be good, isn't cool or deserves to be laughed at. Sentimentality is vastly underrated and I will miss Valentine dearly for the its sweetness. 

AJ BURNETT

How dare he opt out of the final 2 years of his contract with the Jays! We need AJ, he's tough and talented and cool and entertaining as hell and with the fates of Marcum and McGowan up in the air medically, we need someone with AJ's strikeout power on the mound come the spring. 

NO MARSHALL

Why didn't Marshall get to tell a story in this week's episode of How I Met Your Mother. We got to hear from Barney, Lily and Robin but Marshall got left behind. I miss my favourite 6 foot 4 Minnesotan. 

Angry Objections of the Week

I'm not very impressed with the world at this very moment. So, though I am slightly obsessed with Chuck Bass, Netflix and BU Shakespeare Society's Twelfth Night this week, I will instead be handing down a list of complaints and grievances. 

So, my big objections of the moment are as follows: 

The People Who Run the SYTYCD Tour

What's the wrong way to cap off a great concert? Telling fans who have been waiting outside in the cold to meet their favourite dancers that they won't be allowed to take pictures with them. These dancers will only get a couple months of fame, that's it, why not let them and their fans enjoy it while it's there? So, instead of getting to meet Katee, Twitch and Mark and having a giddiness inducing new album of photos, my friend Lauren and I left the rope line at 11:30, cold and empty handed.*

The World Series Results

While shivering in line only to be later told that the dancers wouldn't even make it outside until after midnight, Lauren checked her iPhone and reported that the Philadelphia Phillies had won the World Series. While I'm happy for former-Jay Matt Stairs, I'm pretty disappointed in Philadelphia's win. I was avidly cheering for the Tampa Bay Rays to win the series; they came back from years of last place finishes to win the toughest division in the majors (American League East) by a pretty big margin. They have a great young team that's up through the farm system, not bought and sold, and they played the best season of anyone. A team like that deserves a World Series win. 

*a positive review of the So You Think You Can Dance concert to come. 

A New Batch of Obsessions

Dylan Moran

Known to most as the guy with the book down his trousers from Notting Hill, Dylan Moran is probably the best standup comedian I've ever heard. My friend Mack, who is often feeding me obscure comedy I don't enjoy, forced me to watch Moran's brilliant britcom Black Books then an hour and a half of his standup material (both available online); he pretty much had me at his dry and unfriendly "hello". I even bought the entire series of Black Books from Amazon.com. Funny, funny man. Trust Me. 

PS: the Governor of California got where he is today by lifting things... think about it. 

Samaire Armstrong

As many of you know, I try and make a point of watching every show that made a big cultural impact, even if it doesn't appeal to me. This is how I learned to love Grey's Anatomy, learned the monotony of CSI and learned why the fans of Lost are so... fanatical. This tradition inevitably led me to the show that defined the youth culture of my high school days: The OC. It's been rocky at times and completely enjoyable at others (I'll be sure to share a full review either in post or podcast form once I've finished the series). Season 1 is by far the funniest, though possibly also the most ridiculous plot-filled; it had too much fighting, too many wardrobe changes, too many scandals, too many villains and too much indecision, but it also had good humour, cute faces, a believable teen character or two, great TV parents, a few sweet stories and Anna. Anna was my favourite; spunky but sweet, individual but not rebellious, fun but not goofy, wise but not preachy and selfless but not saint-like. I loved that she fell for Seth. I love that her and Seth made all the sense in the world but didn't fit. I love that he still loved her, even when it had nothing to do with romance anymore. I love that she understands him better than even he does. I love her wardrobe, her haircut and her simple and honest advice of "confidence Cohen". I love when Summer lets Seth go to the airport to stop Anna from leaving, without more than a hint of jealousy, and they have their final goodbye through airport security- I literally cried, it felt like my best friend was leaving. I love Armstrong's ease, I love her grace and I also love her on Dirty, Sexy Money (which I'm catching up on online before the Oct 1 premiere). 

Heath Ledger on DVD

With perhaps his best film still drawing crowds at the multiplex, the late great Heath Ledger is still very much alive today. But even when I'm unable to deceive myself into believing that there may be more Ledger genius hitting theatres any day now, there are always my personal favourites A Knight's Tale and 10 Things I Hate About You (perhaps not his most prestigious, but pretension was never Heath's thing). 

BB10's Dan

I may not like the guy but after the most recent episode I officially love him. I've written endlessly about my respect for Dan's Big Brother game play but have always ultimately been routing for Memphis, who I like a whole lot better. But as of right now I would vote for Dan. In this most recent episode his manipulation and strategic exploits reached an otherwise unparalleled Will Kirby level of excellence while he had to actually put effort into NOT winning the crucial POV- that's useless reality show skill right there. Here's hoping Jerry is ousted next (it was a good idea to keep him over Keesha this week but I'll cry if he makes the finale) and Dan deservingly wins over my beloved Memphis. 

The Blue Jays' 10 game winning streak

The Doc fell tonight, ending the almost history-making streak but The Jays had me believing again there for a minute- something I always love them for. They now sit 7 games back from the wild card spot with a tough schedule to come but all the morale in the world. 

Obsessions of Two Weeks

OK, after a week off for a family emergency, I'm back and trying to make up for lost time with a double dose of weekly obsessions...

Avenue Q

I just came home from seeing the touring production. I haven't laughed that hard in a long time- go see it. The lead plays both Princeton and Rod perfectly, I swear he almost never leaves the stage- it's amazing! Heartfelt, lovely, hysterical and honest. 

Sandy and Kirsten Cohen

I've just started making my way through The OC. I've seen bits and pieces of it before but this is my first time committing to it fully. Other than "Mischa Barton really needs to learn how to act", all I have to say is "the Cohen's are awesome". They may be the coolest parents ever but they still manage to embarrass their kids in hilarious ways- perfect!

Beating the Yankees

I was in the park last night as the Jays squeaked out a win against their formidable division rivals. The Yankees may be my second favourite team but there's something awesome about watching them fall to 13 strikeouts by AJ Burnett and the best bullpen this side of the league. 

Charlie Bartlett

This movie is awesome. I saw it twice in theatres and recently bought the DVD. Whoever said that Robert Downey Jr.'s big comeback year started with Iron Man clearly didn't see this gem. Anton Yelchin in the lead role is reminiscent of a young Tom Cruise and Michael J Fox mixed together.

Rules of Engagement

In the latest Monday night rerun Oliver Hudson was mocked by a grade-school bully for having girlish good looks while Patrick Warburton dealt with unfortunately timed standing ovation problems. Always good for a laugh, this show is uber underrated. 

Fall TV promos

What's more exciting than constant reminders that in a couple of weeks you'll have no time for work, studying or having a non-fiction life?

10 Things I Hate About You

I watched this movie the other day for about the 20th time and it was even funnier than I remembered. Shakespeare references at every turn, a stellar cast headed by the late great Heath Ledger and Julia Stiles (a personal favourite of mine), a plot stolen from a fabulous play (Taming of the Shrew), fun 90s nostalgia, Allison Janney, the perfect balance of heartfelt cheese and one of the greatest first kiss scenes of all time (Heath and Julia playing paintball)- what's not to love?

The Stratford Festival of Canada

A couple weeks ago I saw an outstanding Romeo and Juliet. Last week I saw Hamlet featuring the always brilliant Adrienne Gould as Ophelia while her father Polonius stole every scene, played by an actor who Slings & Arrows fans will remember as season 2's haughty Macbeth Henry Breedlove. 

Vivah: fine Indian cuisine

The best butter chicken in the city is at the corner of Yonge and Heath St. (near St. Clair). 

Mad About You 

The best couple ever on television and a story about being in love not just falling in love, Mad About You is the counterargument to every Sam and Diane theorist out there. The perfect blend of adorable neurosis and committed understanding makes every fan want to be in love like Paul and Jamie. Seasons 1-3 are available on DVD as well as "The Mad About You Collection DVD". 

and...

Caroline in the City available on DVD

Malcolm Gets' pitch perfect Richard is enough to make me love this show. Add Amy Pietz and you've got me lined up the second season 1 became available. 

a forgotten obsession

I forgot to add one of the most important obsessions of my week...

Justin Timberlake hosting the ESPYS.

Now I'm not a particular Justin fan and there's really only 1 sport I care about at all (baseball) but I got caught up watching the annual sports award show because he could not have been a better host. He was incredibly funny, really engaging and somehow made me enjoy watching the boring awards more than I enjoy watching most things.

Don't get me wrong, I love Jon Stewart, but I'd love to see Justin get a chance to host something really big like the Oscars. Dry political humour works great on late night TV but a tedious awards show needs pizazz like back in the days of Billy Crystal... and Justin's job hosting the ESPYS was the definition of pizazz.

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.