T^2: If you could be...

M: If you could pick a TV show & character whose life you would take (with all the good and bad storylines), whose TV show life would you choose? (Doesn't have to be a main character.)

Mira: After thinking long and hard about this question, and even contemplating changing the question to make it easier, I've decided I would want to be... Well, first here are some characters I considered:

• Buffy from BtVS (too much dealing with yucky bad guys for my taste)
• Rory Gilmore from GG (too annoying, plus her sleeping with Dean storyline still pisses me off); Joey Potter from DC (also annoyingly perfect and kinda boring)
  
• Sydney from Alias (exciting and cool life but she woke up to Vaughn married to the annoying lady!)
• Veronica Mars from VM (too much angst, if only she stayed with Logan...)
• Casey from Greek or Lizzie McGuire from LM (this was tempting and fun-sounding, but kinda superficial)
• Pam from The Office (just to be part of PB&J, but then she works with crazy people)

So I choose instead... Liz Lemon from 30 Rock. It's funny because I don't even watch this show (well, I'm a season and a half behind) but I really, really love Tina Fey and often think when watching her on this show or on anything else, "I want to grow up to be her." Except, I'm in my late 20's and I guess I'm maybe too old to grow up to be someone. ::sigh::

Jennifer: This is a tough question! It took me awhile to decide what about a character's life would make me want to take their life. Job/lifestyle? Boyfriend/husband/family? But then of course TV characters generally have quite a lot of drama/angst/trauma in their lives that I could probably do without...

In the end, though, I came up with two options that are maybe cop-outs because they're both in the sci-fi genre: Liz from Roswell and Jaye from Wonderfalls.

Ok yeah, Liz had a lot of ridiculous drama in her life but somehow I find the alien secret thing and becoming part alien(?!) to be pretty cool. And in the end she's with her soul mate (and if you want to count the post-season 3 book series ending, everything gets "reset" with everyone back in Roswell and the aliens no longer being "hunted").

As for Jaye, I think I more want to actually BE her rather than just take her life. I like her family, I like her one friend, I like her love interest, and I guess I kind of like her approach to life. As stated in one of the episodes, she's created this "stressless, expectation-free zone" around herself. Of course getting talked to by animal figurines and getting involved in all sorts of crazy hijinks is also kind of ridiculous but she kind of makes it seem fun...

A few odds and ends

• You've likely heard this elsewhere, but Joss Whedon reportedly has a new deal with Fox for a show starring Eliza Dushku, called Dollhouse. Incredible, right? Kristin from E!Online did a short interview with him about more of the details. I'm not sure I really get what it's about yet, but I'm definitely excited.
  
• TV and movie writers are going on strike starting Monday. I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more about how this going to affect production, but it definitely doesn't sound good.
  
• I got the new My So-Called Life DVD set over the weekend, and it's wonderful! The packaging is really beautiful, with a great booklet with little essays written by Winnie Holzman and some others (including Joss Whedon, who's everywhere lately) and tons and tons of extra features and commentaries. I love that the series obviously had such an impact on everyone involved that they were willing to come back 10 years later to reminisce and make this box set happen. I had rewatched the entire series two years ago but I'm so glad I now have my own copy.
  
• I also got the Veronica Mars season 3 set this weekend, and there are a few good extras, including the Season 4 presentation that I blogged about earlier, and a series of interviews/commentaries with Rob Thomas and Dan Ethridge that are pretty interesting. Rob's always talking about the fan's reactions to things and it's kind of nice to know that a showrunner takes those things into consideration. But it's an interesting contrast to what Winnie Holzman said in the MSCL extras about how part of the magic of the series was they really made the entire series kind of in a bubble with no outside inputs or pressures which gave them the freedom to do things exactly as they wanted...
  
• I watched a couple of random episodes from VM season 3, and I was surprised to see that Sam, the male beauty from Beauty and the Geek, was a guest star in the third episode of the season! He's actually an actor that's been in quite a lot of things. Is it just me or has Beauty and the Geek really not mentioned that at all? I believe they're tagged him as a "party promoter." Hmm.
  

AUGH the Veronica Mars FBI "pilot"

So earlier this year, when Veronica Mars was teetering on the bubble of cancellation, there was this rumbling that if the show returned for a fourth season, they would skip ahead 5 years or so and make Veronica an FBI agent. I didn't really like this idea. But apparently they actually shot a "trailer" for this reworked version, and it got released on the season 3 DVD (which I've ordered but haven't received yet).

But of course it's on youtube.



Part 2 is here.

And man, this is an unpopular opinion, but I am SO GLAD that they didn't go ahead with this version. I know Kristen Bell is in her late twenties in real life, but after 3 years of Veronica the teenager it's just too much of a mind jump to think of her as a real FBI agent. And of course they have her go undercover at a high school, which makes it even more confusing. It's just too weird! And for the life of me I don't know how this was supposed to attract new viewers. It cuts out the backstory of the first three seasons I suppose but I don't know, teen detective sounds a lot cooler than snarky FBI agent.

I've had my peace with Veronica Mars being over, so man, it was really weird watching this. But it really just made me miss the old Veronica Mars of like, first season. And Logan. Augh, I miss Logan! Haha, yes, I am pathetic.

Last post on Veronica Mars ever?

So as episodes of Veronica Mars go, I thought last night's were really pretty good. The mysteries were much less lame than they have been lately, there wasn't an excess of relationship angst, there were good doses of all the main characters, and there were lots of first and second season references and faces.

But as a series finale? Really ultimately disappointing. I mean, I don't know that I was really expecting more, since for some reason Rob Thomas was convinced that he could somehow brainwash the CW to renew his show and didn't seem to want to prepare for the possibility of cancellation, but...this wasn't a cliffhanger. This wasn't purposely leaving things open (like Gilmore Girls did). This was just plain "to be continued." And since it seems we're not getting any continuation...it's just so dissatisfying!

I guess there's really no point in overanalyzing anymore, but I'm going to interpret the way things ended between Veronica and Logan to be positive. Her "I want you out of my life" statement was really just her being overdramatic, and at the end where Logan beats up the guy she just minutes ago tells not to, I think she finally realized that no matter she says and does Logan's still going to want to defend her. And I feel like she has to respect that because of her own thirst for revenge. Just like Parker, I think Piz has got to realize that he doesn't really have a chance.

As for non-LoVe things, I'm really glad we got to see Weevil again. I actually think that the Veronica-Weevil dynamic with their constant "owing eachother" has been one of the best developed relationships on the show. The fake ID mystery really reminded me first season with all the assorted students being involved. I also liked the secret society mystery, even though they already did that back in first season too. I'm still kind of unclear about why the Castle set up that sex tape of Veronica, and I'm even more convinced that Veronica would make a really horrible FBI agent the way she keeps thinks she's so much more clever than the law, but overall it was a lot more interesting than the past couple of mysteries. Still, I liked that it got both Wallace and Jake Kane and Clarence Weidman involved. And I liked seeing the portraits of Lily and Duncan as well.

I mean, I guess we did get the best of all our characters: Veronica, the angry, vengeful outcast; Keith, the sacrificing father; Wallace, the loyal best friend; Mac, the all-powerful computer whiz; Dick, the horrible human being who maybe isn't completely horrible after all; Weevil and Veronica helping eachother out; and the Logan who's going to beat up anyone who he thinks has done Veronica wrong.

But with Veronica having really crossed the line and totally screwed up her father's election, the ending was pretty depressing in itself, made even more depressing by the fact that that was it.

Sigh.

Upfronts -- Another take

I think what surprised me most about this year's upfronts were how few returning shows I'm going to be sticking with this fall. There's only Brothers & Sisters, How I Met Your Mother, Heroes, Ugly Betty, the Office, Scrubs, Beauty and the Geek, and Friday Night Lights. There are plenty of new shows, though, and it seems that there are two trends: sci-fi twists, and glamorous rich people...

NBC

• So glad Friday Night Lights is renewed, but are they really putting it on Friday? I know, it's kind of fitting because of the title of the show, but Friday at 10PM? Not sure how that's going to work out.


• Chuck sounds like Jake 2.0, so I might like it.

ABC

• SO EXCITED for Pushing Daisies. I recently watched the full Wonderfalls series on DVD and I'm a huge huge fan of Bryan Fuller and I'm so happy to see Lee Pace back on TV. I'm still kind of worried though, because it really seemed like it could be too quirky for network TV.


• I'll probably check out Big Shots because Michael Vartan is in it, haha.


• Still can't really believe that they're actually doing the Cavemen show.


• Dirty Sexy Money might end up being a guilty pleasure?

CBS

• Really really surprised and pretty upset that Jericho was cancelled. More on that later though.


• Um, Moonlight is Angel. Is it not?

FOX

• New Amsterdam seems to be another version of Angel too. What the heck?


• Kitchen Nightmares. Gordon Ramsay. I am so there!


• The Search for the Next Great American Band. This seems to be an extension of American Idol, but is this for rock bands or just like singing groups? I'd much rather see Rock Star come back...


• The Return of Jezebel James, scheduled for mid-season. Amy Sherman-Palladino, Parker Posey, and Lauren Ambrose? Kind of sounds like the dream team, but early reports say that it was a bit disappointing. Will definitely check it out anyway though.

CW

• Pretty relieved that Veronica Mars was cancelled, because all the talk about the show coming back in all sort of different incarnations was just ridiculous and worrisome. I'm pretty eh about the state of the show right now, considering how much I LOVED the show first season. But more about that later with what's now apparently the series finale.


• Yeah, like Mira, I will not be able to resist Gossip Girl. Yes, I read some of the books. Yes, they're trashy. Yes, I'm too old for it. But yes, I will watch it. I also hear that Kristen Bell will be narrating the show as Gossip Girl. She's one of the few actors that I can take hearing voiceovers from, so that's a good sign.


• Life is Wild sounds like it's going to crash and burn like Runaway.


• Reaper could be good. Is this the return to teen genre TV that I've been waiting for?

Veronica Mars - The End is Near

So now that Veronica Mars has been cancelled, I have somewhat mixed feelings. On one hand, I'm disappointed because I really love this show. The first season was one of the best seasons of TV ever, I think, and even though things have gone kind of downhill from there, I'm still going to remember it as one my favorite shows of all time.

But on the other hand, all the talk of how the show was going to come back five years in the future with Veronica as an FBI agent and with none of the supporting cast? I was definitely not of the opinion that I would have taken the show in whatever form it was in.

And honestly, these past couple of stand-alone episodes have not been that great. The mysteries have been pretty lame, Logan and Veronica with other people is uninteresting, and there's no suspense left at all. I do like that they're bringing back old characters like Leo and Dick's father and the Fitzpatricks, and I liked that they finally addressed Cassidy's death and had Paul Rudd on the show and such, but overall things have been kind of...lame. I'm not as annoyed with Piz and Veronica as I thought I would be, but they're just pretty boring, and Parker, who I originally kind of liked, is evidently that girl who becomes annoying once in a relationship. I'm glad that we're seeing more of Mac, but her relationship dramas seem kind of petty. And why can they not find Wallace anything to do?

Hopefully this week's double episode and series finale will end things on a good note. It looks like Weevil will be back, and I've heard spoilers of a few other old faces returning as well. And dammit Veronica and Logan better end not badly. I'm not even looking for a happy ending here. As long as there's hope I'll be ok...

2007 upfronts

Since Jenn's not around to blog about the Upfronts, here is my opinion of it in short:

NBC

• Yay for giving Zach Braff & co. the opportunity to end Scrubs right.
• Yay for giving Friday Night Lights another season, but they deserve a full one, not just 13 episodes!
• Yay for another season of Heroes, though that is no surprise.
• Boo for canceling The Black Donnelly's and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip (though I know that perhaps I'm one of the few people that LOVED that show).
• Unsure what I think of Las Vegas without James Caan and with Tom Selleck instead, but we'll find out next year!
• None of the new shows particularly excite me. So... meh, we'll see.
  

ABC

• No surprise on the renewals of Ugly Betty (which I still need to catch up on), or Grey's Anatomy.
• Yay for them giving October Road one more shot. I really liked it, but it might be just cuz I like Jake from One Tree Hill.
• It's cool that the Lost creators decided to set a deadline for the show. But really, do they need 5 more years? I guess, I won't be starting that show anytime soon...
  
• Surprisingly I'm excited about the Grey's spin-off, Private Practice.
• So what happened to that Traveler show?
  

CBS

• Not surprised by How I Met Your Mother's renewal, but yay!
• Glad to see NCIS, Numb3rs, and Shark will be back.
• May give Cane and maybe Kid Nation a try.
  
• Sad but not surprised to see The Class is gone.

Fox

• Not surprised but glad to see House back.
• Kinda want Prison Break to be over already. Okay, okay, I like the show, it's just inane that he escaped prison in Season 1, he continued to escape prison in Season 2, and now he's captured and is going back to prison.
• Amy Sherman-Palladino making a new show? Yeah, I'm there. The Return of Jezebel James(working title apparently) will get at least a few tries by me.
• Ending The O.C. this past year was the smartest thing Fox could've ever done!

The CW

• One Tree Hill needs to go.
  
• Yay for FINALLY ending Seventh Heaven and Gilmore Girls.
  
• Boo for completely screwing up what WAS a great show (Veronica Mars) by going so back and forth on how many episodes it was getting this year. And now by not making a decision on whether it's getting renewed. UGH. I don't think I will be buying Season 3.
• I probably will not be able to keep myself from watching Gossip Girl, unfortunately.

Has anyone noticed the number of shows about three or four friends of the same gender who bond together to take on the world? Very Sex and the City.

• Lipstick Jungle(NBC)
• Bigshots(ABC)
  
• Carpoolers(ABC)
• Cashmere Mafia(ABC)
• Cavemen(ABC)
• Women's Murder Club(ABC)

Oh wait, it looks like it's mostly an ABC trend!

Veronica Mars: Confessions of a LoVe shipper and Spoiler Addict

Confession #1. I've turned into a diehard LoVe ("Lo"gan/"Ve"ronica, for those you who have no idea what I'm talking about) shipper. I mean, I've always been into them, but this season has turned me a bit rabid. Like last season, I was really okay with them being apart, but now? I know that there's a million reasons why they're a recipe for disaster and I know that they're both kind of screwed up and I know that it's not interesting when the main couple on a show stays together with no conflict, but dammit if I want them to be together no matter what! I really just can't get onboard with this Piz thing, especially he was pretty much specifically brought onto the show as the "anti-Logan" love interest for Veronica and I've really been dreading this all season. It's kind of a shame, because in another situation I think I would have really liked Piz. I'm usually all for the dorky guy secretly pining for the awesome chick and finally getting up the guts to go for it. But not when it messes with Logan and Veronica! Ok, ok, so Logan's already dating someone else anyway. But somehow I don't seem to have as much hatred for the Parker and Logan pairing than I do for Piz and Veronica. Maybe because I feel like he kind of took a lot of shit from Veronica and I greatly prefer this Logan to the mopey Logan we had for what seems like the entire season up until now. I don't know. But Piz and Veronica = no.

Confession #2. I really need to stop reading spoilers. I remember back when Buffy was on, at some point I decided that reading spoilers was really interfering with my enjoyment of the show and I just stopped. And it totally worked. No more dreading, no more false hope, every week was a surprise and it was just really good. But I think it's too late for me to try out that tactic this season on VM. I've already read too many spoilers. Plus add onto that all the renewal/cancellation rumors and it's just left me kind of pessimistic about the end of the season. This ties into Confession #1, but what I'm really afraid of now is that the season ends with Logan and Veronica in a bad place and then the show gets cancelled or get renewed with that preposterous FBI concept that Logan logically shouldn't have a place in. But you know, at the same time, they can't keep ending EVERY season with a LoVe reunion just because of fear of cancellation. So....GAH.

Confession #3. You know what I hate about Veronica? Like, really really hate? I hate it when she bursts in on people, guns blazing (kind of literally, in this episode) and starts harshly accusing them in that know-it-all voice she does so well. HATE.

Confession #4. I don't know why, but somehow I seem to be inclined to think that any couple involving Mac is cute. I thought Mac and Beaver were cute, before you know, he turned out to be a murderer. And I thought Mac and Bronson were cute. And now I think Mac and Max are cute??? But seriously, do we really need for her to have a love triangle? Why not give Wallace something to do instead of just being supportive of everyone else's problems?

Confession #5. I kind of wish Keith wasn't the sheriff. I know it's what he wants to do and I kind of liked his little crusade this episode and him firing all the people that didn't respect him and weren't doing their jobs, but I guess I kind of miss Mars Investigations. How sad was it this episode when Veronica told that client that they were "closed for awhile"??

Veronica Mars, FBI Agent?

So if you care about Veronica Mars, you've likely heard the very strange reports that there's a possibility that the show will come back next season in completely new form, skipping 4 years ahead to Veronica as a full-fledged FBI agent. (The other possibility is that the show will be cancelled.)

I don't get this at all.

I mean, true, Veronica Mars has crappy ratings. It hasn't ever done well and it's not likely that that it'll ever do well in its current format because new viewers just aren't being attracted. And since its audience is so small to begin with, they might as well basically start all over with a new concept. But this? Really?

Basically this would be a spinoff. Except it would be a spinoff with the main character. It's assumed that none of the current cast besides Veronica will remain, even Keith, which I suppose makes sense because she'd be an adult, and you don't expect her dad and her high school friends to be around all the time. So it'd be Veronica, a whole new cast, and...what? Some kind of hip, young, crime procedural? I mean, yeah, we've seen Veronica solve some real murder cases and such, but mostly she's been doing quirky favors for her classmates. And her style has been kind of anti-establishment: she's very much PI, going behind the Sheriff's back at least. I'm not sure I can see her having to do everything according to proper protocol...

I guess that's what's confusing me about this new concept. I know that Rob Thomas and co. have said that they really just want to keep making the show, no matter what form it's in, but it seems to me that this would really be an entirely new show. Really, they might as well give the show an entirely different name. But I mean...will it be the same Veronica? 4 years is plenty of time to change, I suppose, but the old viewers are still going to have 18-year-old Veronica fresh in their minds and that's going to be a weird adjustment. Yes, other shows have done the jump-ahead-in-time thing, but I don't know that any of them have been all that successful...

I don't know, I'm conflicted. Despite my disappointment this season, I'm still pretty invested in the show, and it's probably going to be hard for me to not watch it next season, if it gets renewed. Of course I can't rule out the possibility of it actually being good, but without Keith, without Logan? I'm not sure cancellation would be such a bad thing.

Edited to add: I found this blog post that talks about the implausibility of Veronica becoming an FBI agent. She makes a lot of really good points. VM has always required a good dose of "suspend your disbelief" but this just might be too much to swallow.

In related news, it's looking more and more likely that Gilmore Girls will not be returning next season. I really hope that's true, because this is really the perfect time to end the show. Luke and Lorelai are on the road to a reunion and there won't be any time to mess it up again, and Rory's graduating from college and probably moving onto some fabulous, unrealistically perfect job. Seriously, just leave it be.

Veronica Mars: a very mixed bag

This week's episode of Veronica Mars was kind of a weird one. I really liked the mystery-of-the-week and really thought it was one of the best in a long time. I loved that Tim turned out to actually be a good boyfriend, that Rev. Capistrano turned out to actually be a real, geniune Christian and not crazy or hypocritical like televangelists are often portrayed, that Keith and Veronica posed as Carson and Nancy Drew, that Dick was being, well, Dick...it was all really really great.

But the rest of the episode? Kind of sucked. I feel like the mystery would have worked a lot better had Veronica not been going through her own pretty serious drama that she was completely not dealing with. Besides which, I really hate this twist in the LoVe saga. I'm not that upset that they broke up, because face it, it was inevitable, but this is why? I feel like it was totally out of character for Logan to sleep with Madison. Yeah, he's capable of plenty of stupid stuff, but he's been known to be extremely protective of Veronica and pretty harsh with people who've wronged her, so Madison, of all people? I guess the writers wanted to come up with something that Veronica would find unforgiveable, but to me it's just not believable at all.

I also kind of had a problem with Veronica wanting to crush Madison's car and getting Weevil to do it. I know she's into vengeance, but Weevil really doesn't need to be getting into any more trouble and she knows that. Also, as much as it was nice to see Weevil (and he did have some great lines), can we please bring back Mac and Wallace? I don't understand why Rob Thomas has his supporting cast for less time than every other show on TV...

Oh, and there was also a little more progress on the Dean O'Dell murder front. I'm not sure how many episodes are left in this mystery, but it's moving somewhat slowly. It almost seems like we've already moved onto the standalone episodes thing.

Veronica Mars returns!

You know, I have to admit that my love for Veronica Mars has dwindled a bit since the first season, but it's still one of my must-see shows and I was super excited to see it back last night and I'm happy to report that it did not disappoint. I felt like it was one of the more tight episodes in a long time and I loved nearly every minute of it. I think the reason for that was that the mystery-of-the-week was closely woven with Mac's storyline. I think the show suffers a little from the mysteries that are brought in by random people and that have only Veronica talking to other random people. I know it's impractical to have one of the main cast looped into every mini-mystery, but it really makes a huge difference, especially when it's some we really love and care about, like Mac.

Anyway, there were so many good moments in this episode. I'm loving Parker more and more, and Mac's whole storyline with Bronson was super cute. (Of course I thought she and Beaver were super cute too and we know where that went...) I like that they didn't forget that she would be nervous about liking another guy. I don't know if he's going to stick around but I liked him.

And you know, this was also the first episode where I really started to feel for Piz. I mean, I never hated him at all but I didn't feel too much sympathy towards him about his crush on Veronica. But now I get it, and a tiny bit of me is rooting for him. Especially since we all know that Veronica and Logan will probably never really be over. That kiss and Logan kicking the door shut was HOT though. Too bad this reunion seems like it's going to be short-lived. It's weird, I really think that they're meant for eachother but they're really a lot better at being angsty than being cute and happy.

Also loved the scene with Keith and Landry. Poor Keith thought he was being all smooth and then Landry calls him on it. Don't know where this who-killed-the-Dean thing is going but I think it's supposed to be wrapped up in 6 episodes, and rumor has it that it's not going to be one of those Veronica-in-mortal-danger things, which I'm glad to hear. That was getting a bit much.

Anyway, after this mystery is over, there will be 5 stand-alone episodes to finish up the season. I kind of have mixed feelings on this one. I understand that season-long arcs are hard for both the writers and the viewers as things pretty much have to be really convoluted in order to stretch out that long but I don't like the idea of having no overarching mystery at all. Rob Thomas has said that this will really just be a trial, but that they have considered going to that format permanently if the show is renewed for a fourth season. I guess I shouldn't make any judgments now, but the prospect definitely has me a little worried. Rob says that this format would make the show more accessible to casual viewers, but Veronica Mars is a cult show. Cult shows don't attract casual viewers. And I feel like changing the format isn't going to attract new viewers, it's going to turn off some loyal ones.

If you have some free time, there's a very long but interesting interview with Rob Thomas up on TWOP.

midseason review

Since I have effectively posted on NO tv this entire 2006-2007 season, I thought I'd take opportunity of the midway point to do so. (Even though some shows ARE back from their holiday break.) So without further ado, here is my current TV lineup, regardless of whether or not I am actually in the process of watching 'em...

Sunday:
(old) Desperate Housewives: Have yet to watch a single episode of Season 3. Am expecting it to be absolutely awful. (So why bother planning to watch at all you might ask? Good question.)
(new) Brothers & Sisters: I watched this for like 3 episodes, but kinda forgot about it. I liked it as a family drama with the typical complex relationships.. Is it still on air? Should I continue to try to catch up? Or has it gotten cancelled already?

Monday:
(new) Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: Love it. Loved the Christmas jazz ensemble. Love Harriet and Matt. Really like Amanda Peet in everything. Love Matt and Danny. Miss the West Wing.
(new) Heroes: I am astounded by extremeness of people who either LOVE this show or HATE it. It's definitely my most enjoyable new show of the season. It just fulfills me 100% on the entertainment scale. And I love Milo. And Hayden. But when did multiple-personality disorder become a superpower?
(old) How I Met Your Mother: Though I don't know why the writers are incessantly continuing with the Robin-Ted relationship, this season has been as fun as ever. I adore the "Grinch" episode, I adored married Lily-Barney, and of course Barney and his brother. Same old quirkiness, same wonderfully lovable cast.
(new) The Class: This is a show that I thought was possibly the worst thing ever to air on primetime tv and was planning on dropping. But with prodding from Jenn saying that it got better, I've continued watching and I'm STILL watching! It's nice to have 30 minute sitcoms in my schedule... Light, quick, and fun.
(old) What About Brian: I forgot to watch this show this season and I'm thinking maybe it's best left forgotten...

Tuesday:
(new) Friday Night Lights: Agree fully with Jenn on this show. Matt and Julie are the best tv couple of the season, hands down!
(new) My Boys: A late season show on TBS. My roommate complains about the neverending sports analogies, but I enjoy it a lot. I like PJ, I love that the dorky guy from Grosse Pointe is on it, and it's just fun!
(old) House: I was kinda annoyed at first, but I think it's interesting where this season has been heading. I thought the police detective hard-balling Dr. House was REALLY annoying, but now I'm starting to see how his drug addiction to Vicodin could be such a huge issue. It's a really interesting character analysis of Dr. House, and it's also interesting to see how the other doctors need to really step it up to fill the big void the possibility of not having Dr. House around could leave. But in all reality, didn't they cope without him for a few months after doing that crazy surgery thing to him and his leg after he got shot last season? Oh well, I guess I'll just have to see what happens.
(old) Gilmore Girls: Haven't REALLY been watching all the episodes, but watched enough to keep up and BLECH. Hate it. Just get rid of Christopher already and get Lorelai and Luke back to gether again already! (Do like Rory-Logan a lot more now, though!)
(old) Veronica Mars: Again a show I just accidentally watched a few episodes of this season (I was going to wait for it to come out on DVD...), but man... I love Logan Echolls.

Wednesday:
(old) Top Chef: The new season has been alright for me. I hate Marcel, along with everyone. I really like Ilan, Sam, and Cliff. Are Marcel and Elia an item by the way?
(old) One Tree Hill: Haven't actually been watching, but, eh it sounds kinda crazy. This show needs to be cancelled already. Haley preggerz and run over by a car? Nathan with a loan shark? Peyton and a stalker boy? Brooke best friends with Rachel?!?! and all because... PEYTON AND LUCAS? Ridiculous.

Thursday:
(new) 6 Degrees: This didn't get too far on my watch list. Actually I saw all of one episode. And decided it sucked. It went from depressing to even more depressing. If you happen to know it got better, or that the show hasn't been cancelled yet, please let me know. Perhaps I'll give it a second, or third look.
(old) Grey's Anatomy: I love Callie. Meredith and McDreamy simply need to stay together and stay put because their drama when not together is just BORING. Christina and Burke are at yet another hurdle, but I hope they make it through it because they are such a well-suited couple! I still miss Denny like crazy. :-(
(new) The Nine: I *think* this show was on Thursday but I'm not sure. I started watching it and REALLY liked it. But am disappointed to find that it's been shelved. ::sigh:: People! Why aren't you watching the GOOD STUFF?!?! But I'm glad to see some things have been righted with...
(old) The OC: I haven't watched any of this new season (cuz I never finished last season), but the news of show cancellation were gladly welcomed by me. Enough so that I might actually make the attempt to catch up! I'm glad to hear through Jenn that this has been a good season, though. On a related note, I'm still extremely upset about the breakup of Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody off-screen. :-(
(newish-old) The Office: My roommate watches and it's amazing that I managed to stay unhooked on this show until so recently -- but I really like it! And even though I'm a new watcher, I seriously adore Pam and Jim, separately and *hopefully one day* together.

Friday:
(old) Numb3rs: I like this show. It's a good solid show. :-)

COMING UP:
24 -- Can't wait! But two 2-hour premiers in a row? Craziness. That's 1/6th of the ENTIRE season. GEEZ.
Scrubs -- Musical episode! Though it just makes me want to go back and watch Buffy... :-) Now that was a Musical episode extravaganza...

::geez that was long::

The Veronica Mars mystery: stick a unicorn in it

This week's episode was the finale for the rape mystery and also for the year, and it definitely didn't disappoint. I'm pretty pleased with the outcome of the mystery, and I love that the prisoner experiment had something to do with it. There were a bunch of red herrings in the beginning of the episode, including Tim the TA, but then the reveal with Mercer was entirely too early for that to be it. (That was a bit of a bummer too though, I'd kind of started to like him.) So when Veronica was in Moe's room and he said that she'd be safe, I totally yelled at my TV, "it's the tea!!!" (Yes, I was watching it by myself in my apartment). Also love that Parker was brought back into the mix and saved the day. I was a little afraid that it was going to have to be Logan yet again, or worse, Piz.

I have to say, though, Veronica, will you never learn to take backup into obviously dangerous situations??

The ending was a bit of a shocker. I was just starting to kind of warm up to the guy, even though he really didn't seem to have a handle on the college or his personal life. Nice setup for the next mystery, as there are definitely tons of suspects and motives arounds.

Finally, we get to the Logan and Veronica breakup. It was inevitable, and really well done. Definitely fitting that Logan was the one to do it, and I liked that it was different from last time in that neither of them was angry at the other for it and their feelings are obviously still there. The later scene at the party confirmed to me that Logan/Veronica angst is just so much more compelling than them actually being together. I really do want them to be together in the long run but maybe they need to both grow up a little. Was really happy to see kickass Logan back at the end of the episode, though. We haven't seen that side of him recently and it's definitely a welcome return. Mercer, you've so got it coming to you.

In other news, the show got picked up for a 20-episode season, which is 2 short of the standard order. This is a bit weird, it's good news in that it hasn't been cancelled, but it doesn't exactly show confidence on the part of the CW. I kind of feel bad for Rob Thomas...he has to keep writing each season as if it could possibly be the last.

Veronica Mars - what happened to you?

I was trying to multi-task and do some homework while watching this episode, which is never a good idea during Veronica Mars, so I will probably re-watch it again this weekend, but what I do want to say is that Veronica kind of sucks. I know there have been people saying it for a long time, how she's basically a smart-ass, judgmental bitch, but for almost as long I kept defending her as just being regular smart and snarky. I'll admit that she'd been getting on my nerves a bit more this season, but this week was the first time I was really like, man, she's just MEAN. And the problem is that I don't feel like it's all that warranted. At Neptune High she was an outcast and her attitude was kind of a defense mechanism. This season, she's definitely making enemies at Hearst, but I feel like there isn't really as much reason for her to have that chip on her shoulder. I'm not saying she should go back to being the vanilla Veronica we saw in the Lily-era flashbacks, but does she have to be so unpleasant?

This makes me pretty sad because I was a huge fan of her during first
season. I mean, check out this post I wrote back then. I'm not going to say her recent behavior is out of character, but it's just gotten way too extreme and the writers need to lighten her up. I'm far from Rory levels of hatred, so hopefully something will change soon.

Veronica Mars - A note to Wallace

Can I just say how excited I am that Wallace is studying engineering? Okay, it maybe doesn't make a lot of sense since he didn't seem too interested in his physics class in high school, but it's kind of refreshing to see college kids on TV taking classes other than English and psychology and chemistry. And it was nice to see that Wallace is actually studying, unlike Veronica who seems to have massive amounts of time to do all her sleuthing and working for her dad. Anyway, that said, I'm really disappointed that he resorted to cheating. I did know a lot of kids that breezed through high school and then faced a bit of a wake-up call in college, especially if they were taking engineering classes, so that part was realistic, but dude, walking out of the test that early? I guess we don't know if he actually cheated or just gave up or something else, but the indication is that something not so good is going to result. Wallace, if you really want to be an engineer, go make some friends in your classes and work together! Go to office hours! You don't have to cheat!

Veronica Mars, college detective

First of all, LOVE that Weevil is back. His whole storyline was awesome. Loved that Veronica still feels kind of an obligation to help him. Loved his hilarious idea of work clothes, loved that he turned out to be a pretty good detective only to be fired because of his classic anger management issues (Ryan Atwood much?), loved that he's going to be working at Hearst College. I totally called that he was going to fix the air-conditioning. Yay Weevil!

As for the mystery of the week, it was alright. I was a bit distracted by the girl who played Trish because I spent the entire episode going back and forth on whether it was the chick from Saved by the Bell the New Class (it was, she just looked really different with dark hair). It made for some good moments though, and I like how Piz brought Veronica the case because he wanted to suck up to his radio producer to get his own show. Can I also say that it's awesome that Piz is doing a radio show about politics and things like that? I realize how bizarre it is that I'm saying that because when I was in college I was kind of annoyed by all political commentary but it's just a really accurate portrayal of college, as was the gambling and poker playing.

Now we get to Logan and Veronica. I'm a huge LoVe shipper, but I think I almost enjoyed their flirty-snarky banter from when they weren't together more. I did like that the MOW made Veronica realize something about her own life, but while I agree that Veronica was being paranoid, I don't think Logan was completely in the right either. So Veronica's apology at the end seemed off to me. I guess I just find it weird actually seeing them in a relationship I guess, since we've never really seen that before. (I always felt kind of cheated that they were always together over the summers which we don't see, but maybe that was a good thing because we didn't get a chance to not like it?)

Veronica Mars sorority style

So on the night we get a classic Gilmore Girls episode, we get a classic Veronica Mars also! I loved how this episode delved deeper into the rapist mystery but was still mostly fun. And while the whole "rookie reporter writes a scathing story and learns his/her lesson" thing is old hat, I liked VM's take on it because it was just hilarious to have her do the whole sorority rush thing and actually get voted in. Although is it just me or did that room seem to have way more marijuana than to just be used for medicinal purposes? I liked the Wallace and Logan subplot too. For some reason I still think it's great when they have scenes together. I'm glad Wallace figured it out, Veronica has obviously rubbed off on him.

Another fun thing about this episode were all the familiar guest stars! Of course there was Rider Strong, aka Shawn from Boy Meets World, and Samm Levine from Freaks and Geeks. But then there was also Robyn Richards, who played Maxie on General Hospital, Keri Lynn Pratt, who seems to have finally graduated to playing a college rather than high school character despite being close to 30, and I swear I've seen that actress who played Marjorie somewhere else but I can't put my finger on it. Also I'm glad that they aren't pushing Piz down our throats. I do like him, but VM has never been strict about having every character in every episode (except Veronica of course). I thought Parker's portrayal was perfect though, I could totally see how Mac felt sorry for her and wanted her to stay.

I'm really liking the new approach to the mysteries. I still loved the show last year but the bus crash thing was just entirely too complex. I'm glad they're keeping this mystery more in line with "college stuff" and not so much the mob families and the mayor and all that.

Veronica Mars!

I'm so happy this show is back! This first episode was, as Rob Thomas has stated, kind of a re-introduction to the show. Nothing too heavy, nothing really that crucial that new viewers wouldn't understand, but enough for the old fans to appreciate.

First off, Piz. Everyone knows and hates that he's kind of a new love interest for Veronica. But he's just so damn likeable! He's actually funny, unlike Duncan who was only just trying to be funny but not succeeding (in my opinion anyway), and I think I'm really going to like him. I also liked what I saw of Mac's roommate, Parker. Did I say how excited I am that Mac is now a regular on the show? I'm still pretty bummed about Beaver because honestly I still think that they were really really cute despite the whole, you know, murderer thing. Anyway, Parker is annoyingly peppy but I can tell that she's going to grow on me.

Ahhh Veronica and Logan. So good! I know that they're headed for some trouble this season (it's inevitable) but it's good to see them happy. Logan is so hottttt.

Oh, but I HATE the new opening credits.

Season wrap-ups Part 2

Veronica Mars: Don't want to give away too much as Mira has yet to watch this season, but this is a tough one for me to sum up. The first season was one of the most brilliant things I've watched on TV in awhile but I think this season they became a little too ambitious. Still better than most of what's on TV but this year's mystery suffered by being too complicated and by being wrapped up too quickly. There's still stuff that I don't understand, and I'm waiting for the DVD to come out so I can re-evalute everything. But tons of good stuff this season. Lots more Mac. Tons of wonderful Keith-Veronica moments. Weevil and Logan working together. Dick = comic genius. Duncan leaving. Logan and Veronica dancing. Veronica's graduation dream. Aaron Echolls finally getting his. "I thought our story was epic." !!!! Next season is reportedly going to be structured a bit differently, with three sections/mysteries to the season, which I think will help viewers keep up better.

Alias: A fittingly uneven end to an uneven series. I loved Alias when it first premiered: it was different and fun and it had a great premise with the whole double agent thing. And while I agree that something did have to happen with SD-6 in order to move the story along, I feel like things really did start to go downhill when SD-6 was destroyed, and then the Rambaldi nonsense just took over and the rest is history. I mean, there was definitely a lot of good stuff, especially in the first two seasons. All the intrigue with Irina in second season was excellent and the development of the Jack/Sydney relationship is still a highlight. Lots of great supporting players with Marshall and Dixon and Nadia and Anna Espinosa and Sark and even Rachel and Tom this final season.

But there were just too many horrible things. The 3 year time jump and Vaughn's terrible wife (most hated character ever). The Francinator. The stupid big red ball and the zombies. The Allliance. Prophet 5. And Sloane. Ugh Sloane. The number of times he flip-flopped between being evil and being evil but claiming to be good makes my head hurt. And over time, Sydney just became less sympathetic. She started out as this tough ass-kicking chick who also has a big secret and a lot of parental issues and angst, but great supportive friends and co-workers. But when some of those elements went away, she became cold and robotic, maybe with good reason, but it just didn't help the show very much.

That said, the finale had its moments. Liked the flashbacks. Liked that Sark escaped, because that's just what he does. Liked that Syd and Vaughn ended up happy together. Liked that Carrie made an appearance and that Marshall ends up having 4 kids. Liked that Sloane ended up buried alive for eternity. LOVED that Jack put him there as his last act. Was disappointed that Irina was involved and pretty much evil after all, and that Tom died in the subway just as I was starting to hope he and Rachel could be the next Syd and Vaughn. But let's just leave it at that. I'm glad it went out when it did because any more would have just been adding salt to the wound...

24: Maybe I didn't quite pay enough attention this season but I'm still pretty confused about what was going on and what everyone's motivations were. I'm really fuzzy on what Logan's plan really was and who Dr. Romano's little group was supposed to be and what they wanted and what Bierko wanted and what Christopher Henderson wanted...it was all just a bit too much. But unlike Alias and Lost, the plot intricacies don't hold the show back from being just completely kick-ass. Jack Bauer is definitely going to go down as one of the most distinctive TV characters of all time, especially as he gets more and more ruthless as the seasons go by. Glad to see Audrey back to soften him up though as she's definitely my favorite among Jack's many doomed loves. Chloe was also even more awesome this season, loved all the snark and the tasering and (sob) Edgar. (And what was up with her ex-husband??) Bill Buchanan, best CTU boss EVER! Also glad that Karen Hayes wised up and saw what was going on. And I loved the ending because come on, we were all waiting for the Chinese to resurface.

But ultimately this season was all about President Logan, and man, what a twist. The weak and incompetent man we hated from last season is suddenly the archvillain, but through it all he somehow still manages to be weak and incompetent. And gotta love Martha Logan, and her little smirk to her husband at the end of the season. Completely awesome that the one person with the power to bring down the President started off the season completely loopy. Was also glad to see that Aaron Pierce and Mike Novick weren't fooled either (and that they didn't die).

It's funny, 24 is definitely an action show first and foremost, but no matter how crazy and ridiculous things get, I still love it. Lots of my co-workers and other people I know have recently gotten into the show, which is awesome. I'm proud to say I've watched it from the beginning though!

jenn will be proud of me...

After putting this off for AGES, I have finally, finally, finally watched all of Season 1 of Veronica Mars!!! And oh my gosh, it was just as good, if not better, than I imagined it would be! SOOO good. Seriously, if this is a show you have even for a split-second contemplated watching, follow those instincts and watch it!

I'm officially a big Veronica-Logan fan. Ohmigosh, am I a Logan fan. *sigh*

Now I just gotta wait for Season 2 to come out on DVD so I can fully catch up. :-)