Archive | February, 2012

Why Parenthood is the Best Show Nobody’s Watching

21 Feb

As Parenthood ramps up to its third season finale (February 28th at 10PM on NBC), I thought it was about time for me to write about just how much I love this (in my opinion) criminal under-appreciated show. The show is among my favorites currently on TV, and I hope NBC  brings it back for a well-deserved fourth season. Here are a few reasons why I love my weekly visits with the Bravermans:

Amazing cast – Lauren Graham. Peter Krause. Dax Shepard. Mae Whitman. Craig T. Nelson. I could go on, but I won’t. From top to bottom, the ensemble cast on this show is incredible. Every week I manage to be impressed by a different cast member – last week, it was Miles Heizer’s heartbreaking portrayal of Drew’s misgivings about his mother’s relationship and plans to have a baby. The week before, it was the always excellent Lauren Graham, as Sarah Braverman struggled with aspects of the rather large age difference between her and her boyfriend. It is a joy to watch these actors have such amazing material to work with every week. Which brings me to…
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“The List”

15 Feb

As I mentioned earlier in the week, I figured it was time to post my entirely-too-long list of shows I plan to/hope to watch someday. Not in any particular order, aside from the fact that I listed dramas before comedies. Take a peek:

  • Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
  • Chuck
  • Supernatural
  • The Wire
  • Dexter
  • Mad Men
  • Six Feet Under
  • Rubicon
  • The Shield
  • Leverage
  • Tru Calling
  • White Collar
  • Eureka
  • Game of Thrones
  • Sherlock
  • Deadwood
  • Doctor Who
  • The Vampire Diaries
  • Undeclared
  • It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
  • Parks & Recreation
  • Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip
  • Cougar Town
  • Justified
  • Louie
  • Wilfred
  • Bored to Death
  • Suits

Any must-see shows I’ve left out? Anything I shouldn’t waste my time with? Let me know in the comments!

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Thoughts on Cougar Town

13 Feb

I should start out by saying I am not a fan of Cougar Town.

Let me explain – I don’t dislike the show. Despite my love of Bill Lawrence’s previous work on Scrubs, I was just not at all interested in the supposed premise of the show when it premiered, and wrote it off from day one. I’m pretty certain I’m not alone. I recently watched a random episode on Hulu, though, and really enjoyed it despite a lack of context, and the show earned itself a spot on my ever-growing “Shows I Plan To Watch Someday” list (which I will have to post here eventually). So why the sudden change of heart?
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Monday Night Round-up

7 Feb

There were a handful of interesting things on last night – premieres, special episodes, and the like. Here’s my take:

  • I haven’t been a regular House viewer since the end of last season (that whole House-drives-his-car-into-Cuddy’s-living-room bit was just ABSURD), but the commercials for last night’s episode piqued my interest enough that I decided to tune in. All in all, I’m really glad I did. I’ve always thought the show is at its finest when it steers away from the formula for more intense, character-driven episodes focused on House and his team. While it was pretty easy to tell something happened to Chase before we even saw the stabbing scene – I turned to my boyfriend about 5 minutes before that and pointed out he had yet to be interviewed, so something had to be up – the impact was still pretty great. Jesse Spencer did some great acting work in his lone scene with the investigator, and I’m sure he’ll have plenty more juicy scenes in the upcoming episode. It was also fascinating to see House apologize in the final scene, something we so rarely (if ever?) have seen earlier in the series. My biggest complaint is that an episode of this magnitude somehow found a way to completely leave out Wilson, who in my opinion is the best character on the show. I’m sure he’ll have plenty of opportunity to weigh in on the situation in the coming weeks, but it felt like an oversight to have him not around in the midst of all that was going on.

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Episode Review – Fringe 4.11, “Making Angels”

5 Feb

Last night’s Fringe was the long-awaited “Astrid-centric” episode showrunners Jeff Pinker and Joel Wyman had promised fans earlier this season, and it did not disappoint. It was easy to see why Jasika Nicole, who plays Astrid, said she cried 5 times reading the inital treatment for this episode, as the interactions between Astrid and her alternate were, at times, heartbreaking.

There were two main stories running simulataneously in this episode (for better or worse, but I’ll get to that in a second) – the case of the week, and the Astrid(s) story. The case of the week involved a former MIT math professor who has apparently developed the ability to tell the future, and is using it to kill random strangers with particularly – shall we say, bleak? – futures. Meanwhile, Alt-Astrid has travelled to the blue universe to meet Astrid after the death of her father.

The interactions between the Astrids were by far the strongest moments throughout the episode. Jasika Nicole had a daunting acting challenge this week, and she handled it beautifully. There have been times in previous episodes when both versions of a character have been on screen at once and the effects haven’t been perfect (although I tend to be extra critical of special effects, one of the hazards of studying graphics work in college). This was not one of those times. The scenes with both Astrids were simple and fluid and that really added to the feel of the episode.
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