NBC Thursdays...the balance has shifted?

Sometime this season I came to a realization: I like Community and Parks and Recreation a lot better than its older and more acclaimed Thursday night companions, 30 Rock and The Office.

On first examination, the premise for Community seems a little too pat: take all the different stereotypes of people who go to community college, stick them in a Spanish study group, and they all become friends. But by hiring some really incredibly funny actors and combining the zany humor with a surprising amount of heart, the show somehow just really works. The Abed/Troy dynamic is hilarious and Alison Brie (Annie) has proven to be one of the funniest actresses around. (And how awesome that she's on 2 hit shows at the same time--she also recurs on Mad Men as Trudy, Pete's wife. There was a reference to Mad Men in an episode of Community a few weeks back that felt really meta.) I think part of the show's success is that it realizes how absurd some "everyday" things actually are and takes them to extremes. Like I love how Greendale's mascot is the "Human Being" in an effort to be totally, completely sensitive and correct. I sometimes do wonder if this is what community colleges are really like--I've always thought of them as more commuter campuses where people are more just in and out without dorms and events and sports teams, but I could be wrong?

While I was hooked on Community from the very beginning, Parks and Recreation took awhile longer for me to get into. At first there was some confusion about whether it was actually an Office spinoff or not and I felt like the similarity between Amy Poehler's Leslie Knope and Michael Scott was strange and I just wasn't that into the whole crusade about "the pit." But something changed in the second season and it just started to get a lot funnier. They incorporated Ann and Andy into the cast a little better, with Ann dating Mark and Andy becoming a shoe shiner at City Hall and flirting with April, and I think Leslie's been toned down a little. She's still a little crazy but it's much more believable that she's a government employee that's actually kind of good at her job. The supporting cast has been allowed to shine more too, especially Ron and Donna. And um, I really love Aziz Ansari. He kind of does the same sort of thing in every role I've seen him in but so far I'm totally okay with that.

My love for The Office has been waning for awhile now. The show has always been somewhat inconsistent...there are incredibly funny moments or occasionally whole episodes, but sometimes things just fall flat or go too far. Michael and Dwight are too often just stupid and preposterous and cringe-worthy and Pam and Jim have become kind of smug and annoying. They're still one of my favorite couples when it's just about them, but around everyone else they can be almost mean. I know that the rest of the Office characters are crazy but I don't like seeing Pam and Jim think and act like they're so much better than everyone else. I mean, there are still some high points: I still like Andy and Erin and I did like the Michael Scott Paper Company from last season. I'm still watching but I'm not laughing as much.

The situation with 30 Rock is a little less clear. It took me a little while to get into this show too...at first I didn't "get" it. But after hearing some good things, I caught up with the first season in a Netflix streaming marathon and I officially became a fan. Tina Fey is awesome and Alec Baldwin is doing the best work of his career but somehow I feel like the show has lost steam a little. There are still plenty of funny moments but I've been underwhelmed by the huge amount of guest casting (I cringe just thinking about Julianne Moore and that Boston accent...and I like Julianne Moore!) and I don't know, maybe this isn't the right expectation for a show like this but I sometimes wish there'd be a little more development in characters like Jenna and Tracy and Kenneth. I feel like they're still basically doing the same schtick as in the first season and maybe I'm getting a little tired of it.

So maybe it's just inevitable that after a few seasons things start to decline? I'm totally loving Parks and Recreation and Community now but perhaps that won't last either?

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...

Catching up with...

Ugly Betty: Sometime last season I started to kind of dislike Betty. I mean, her optimism and such has always been a little annoying, but with the Henry-Gio love triangle thing, I started to just not care as much about her. I realize she's the protagonist and we're supposed to be rooting for her, but honestly I find her love life to just be uninteresting and maybe a little unrealistic. Yeah, she's spunky and good-hearted and all that but I think the three episodes of this season so far has been the longest we've seen her without a boyfriend. And they've already set up her new neighbor a potential new love interest. Geez! I'd like to see Betty do a little more with her career...all her attempts to move along with becoming a writer just get trumped by all the other stuff going on, like the flip-flopping of power at Mode. I'm glad things are more or less back to status quo with Daniel as editor and Wilhemina as creative director. We do need more Marc and Amanda though. Overall, it's still entertaining but I'm not quite so much in love with it like I have been in the past.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles: This show gets like no buzz whatsoever which makes me fear for its survival. I thought the first two episodes this season were kind of boring, but then things started to get a lot more interesting. The episode with Charley's wife getting kidnapped was really gripping (and I kind of that Dean Winters), and then the one with Cameron recalling memories of the girl that she was modeled after was an interesting departure. Summer Glau did pretty well differentiating the machine Cameron from the actual human Allison and Cameron thinking that she was Allison. (And Leah Pipes from Life is Wild was in the episode! That girl needs to be in more stuff, I really like her.) And then this past week's episode with more of Derek's future with Kyle and John was really well done also.

I'm not sure why Sarah seems to be stuck in these more boring B-stories lately though. Spending time in the hospital with the pregnant neighbor (played by Busy Phillipps from Dawson's Creek, who actually was pregnant). Helping a little kid with a book report? I think Lena Headey is one of the more convincing female action heroes on TV of late so I guess I kind of like her kicking butt and not just sitting around. This show is like a total career-changer for Brian Austin Green though...he's GOOD. Who woulda thunk, right?

Brothers and Sisters: I'm still kind of annoyed that they de-Walkered Rebecca last season only to reveal that there's ANOTHER potential Walker out there. And I'm still having a little trouble with the Justin-Rebecca relationship. It's still a little creepy to me. And like, what do those two, um, DO? Is Justin still recovering? Does Rebecca have a job? Go to school? Does no one care? I'm glad that Kevin and Scotty are happy together and they seem to be laying off that relationship drama for awhile. And I'm also glad that Robert's no longer running for president. But the all-out family fights every week are getting a little old...

Bones: Sometime last season I started to really love this show. But then they kind of ruined it with Zack turning out to be a murderer. And then they continued to ruin it by randomly breaking up Angela and Hodgins for reasons I still don't really understand. But I guess the show is still essentially the same...Booth and Brennan are still entertaining, the different interns every week in Zack's spot are amusing, and the cases continue to be wacky and creative.

The Office: Jim and Pam are engaged!! I love that this show has managed to keep this couple really cute and natural and TOGETHER without adding unnecessary drama. I'm not so much a fan of the bizarre Andy-Angela-Dwight situation. I just...don't get it. And I kind of hate that Ryan is back as the receptionist. The direction they went with his character was funny, and we all know Michael still has a man crush on him, but giving him a reboot seems unnecessary. Michael and Holly are fun though, and it's funny seeing Michael try to take the Jim approach and become friends with her first. I thought the weight-loss episode was a bit dumb, but did like the ethics one a lot better.

Jennifer's season mega-wrap-up: Questionable

The Office: I was really starting to almost dislike this show this season, which was sad considering that a year or two ago I would have named it as my favorite sitcom. I don't know, sometime over the season I just started to be really not amused by it anymore. Michael's just been getting harder and harder to tolerate. I know he's always been cringe-inducing, but I mean, getting obsessed with a chair model? Really? And I did kind of like that Jan spiraled into craziness but I think they took that too far too. The dinner party episode was almost unbearable for me.

And while I'm glad that Pam and Jim are together, I've been kind of perplexed by the storylines they were getting near the end there. I mean, I guess the episode where they lock everyone out of the building and in the parking lot was meant to kind of say, hey, they do stupid things too, but it just wasn't entertaining to me. And having people make fun of Pam for an entire episode because of her glasses? Having Ryan give Jim a warning about his performance and then having to watch Jim desperately try to win a client on a golf trip?

And speaking of Ryan, how awkward was it to see him being basically a cokehead in the episode where Michael and Dwight go to New York? And then get arrested for fraud?

I do have to admit that the finale did kind of make up for things though. Amy Ryan was a nice addition as the new HR rep (though I am going to miss Toby) and the running gag with her thinking that Kevin's slow was kind of genius. I'm hoping this means things will get back on the right track next season.

Brothers & Sisters: I've pretty much known all along that they weren't going to let the relationship between Justin and Rebecca just stay uncomplicated. I did think that it was totally awkward having them pretty much be brother and sister one day and then jump suddenly to kissing the next, but I think I'm less bothered by all that than them bringing up the possibility of another illegitimate Walker out there. Do we really have to go through this again?

And I'm not such a fan of the new development with Ojai and Holly being the new CEO. Poor Sarah just can't catch a break...after all the terrible divorce stuff and all, now she has to deal with this?

There are still good things though. For one, I'm really glad that Kevin and Scotty had their commitment ceremony too. They're so cute and perfect together and it made for a nice spot of happiness amidst all the other angst. And I'm kind of glad they've sort of pushed Tommy and Julia's problems to the side a bit (sadly I think they're just better as background characters). I'm a bit relieved that they kind of quickly moved to Robert losing the nomination because I didn't find him to be that believable as a candidate anyway and I was tired of all the campaign stuff. The fertility stuff with him and Kitty is a little boring too but at least their story ended on a happy note for the season too.

Reaper: FINALLY Andi and Sam get together and he tells her the truth. It took way too long to get to this point, I think, which is kind of still the problem with the show...its pacing. The post-strike episodes were really big improvement though, especially with the addition of Steve and Tony (the always awesome Michael Ian Black and Ken Marino) and with the suspicion that Sam's not even human. And Sock continued to crack me up every time. I'm glad it's coming back for a second season and I hope it continues on this upward path.

Bones: I've always had trouble keeping up with this show because Fox seems to love switching its timeslot back and forth and putting it on hiatus and bringing it back, etc. But because it's on Hulu I've actually watched this entire season and I was really enjoying it. I liked the addition of John Francis Daley as Sweets, the psychologist, and I liked the ongoing Gormogon mystery too...that is, until they decided to reveal Zack as the apprentice killer. Our Zack! I don't know, I guess they tried to explain how Zack could have justified the murders to himself but I don't really buy it. I'm kind of sad thinking about what the show's going to be like without him. The Zack-Hodgins dynamic was one of my favorite things. Who's going to do the experiments with Hodgins now??

Oh, and the fake-out with Booth's funeral was just terrible.

Playing catch-up

I know, I know, I've been a bit delinquent with the blogging lately. So here's some random stuff on the shows I've been watching:

Gossip Girl: My favorite new show of this season, hands down. And I'm not afraid to admit it. New York Magazine loves it too, and their weekly recaps are totally hilarious. I'm kind of disappointed in what they did with the Vanessa character though. I might be completely making this up but in the books I thought she was a bit more...dark and sullen and edgy. The TV Vanessa is positively sunny, and she's not different enough from Serena to really be a good alternative for Dan. And the way they've set up Dan and Serena to be the like "it" couple for the series...I'm kind of not sure what she's even doing there besides giving random sage advice to Jenny. Oh well.

Friday Night Lights: I'm so glad Coach Taylor's back in Dillon. I thought the first couple of episodes of the season were just kind of too depressing but they've returned to more of a balance. I'm kind of meh on the whole Landry storyline...both Jesse Plemmons and Glenn Morshower are acting the hell out of their roles but I liked Landry better when he was the comic relief. And I'm sort of meh on him being on the football team...the episode where he saved the game and everyone was chanting his name was a bit much for me. I am glad that Julie has gotten over her heinous rebellious stage and apologized to Matt. But I'm also glad that Matt hasn't given into her. That new cheerleader is so just a random rebound though. Loved Smash inviting Riggins over for dinner, though I kind of wished we got some wisdom from Mama Smash. I don't really know what they're doing with Jason though...he keeps diving into things that he thinks will give his life meaning: first quad rugby, then coaching, but I guess he's still looking for something else. I did kind of like him as a coach though...

Ugly Betty: Soo....as much as I like Henry, all the Betty and Henry angst is getting kind of boring, and I almost want him to just go away so that Betty can get over him. I mean, that whole Wicked episode was kind of just terrible. (I'm actually still waiting to see Wicked on Broadway but I really didn't need to watch all those clips of the show.) Otherwise though, the show is still pretty awesome. I LOVE Marc and Cliff! It's just so cute and sweet and I'm just eating it up. And Victoria Beckham was actually pretty funny in this past week's episode. Oh, and did anyone else flash back to Caleb Nichol when Bradford keeled over at the altar??

The Office: I know that Michael's antics are kind of like the basis for this show, but I have to say that it's almost always the other stuff that I enjoy more. Sometimes the stuff that he and Dwight do is just so preposterous and stupid that I don't find it terribly funny. That said, I really liked the little tag at the end of this past week's episode where Michael and Jim have that really normal conversation. It was really refreshing to see that Michael's not insane all the time, and it was still funny.

Heroes: Finally got somewhere last week. And interestingly, Tim Kring, the show's executive producer has gone on record admitting that the beginning of the season pretty much sucked. Let's hope things get better from here on out. Although with the writers' strike thing there's a possibility of no new episodes after December...

Chuck: This show has really been growing on me these past couple of weeks. I don't know why nobody, including me, can stop comparing it to Reaper, but while Reaper's been suffering from bad pacing and repetitive storylines, Chuck's been getting more enjoyable by the week. Each episode has Chuck and Sarah and Casey going on some mission or whatnot, but the variety so far has been pretty great. Even the B-stories at the Buy More have been entertaining. This past week's episode we got to flash back a bit to when Chuck was at Stanford and how he got kicked out, which I really loved. I remember in the pilot I was having trouble buying Chuck as this socially inept person but now I totally see how he was really a pretty happy average guy at Stanford and it was him getting kicked out that just messed him up. I mean, I know that we've been told this all along but now I finally believe it.

The Amazing Race: It's back! I can't believe how long it took for me to get hooked onto this show...NINE seasons aired before I starting tuning in. This season has some interesting pairs, including those requisite bickering dating couples that you wonder how they ever decided that going on the race would be a good idea, and a pair of Goths who I wonder how long are going to keep up with their makeup. Fun times.

And finally, Project Runway Season 4 premieres this week! Am excited beyond words.

Thursday night favorites

The Office: So how cute are Jim and Pam? (Or as Kevin has dubbed them, PB&J.) I was a little surprised at how the camera crew got involved to get them to reveal they were dating, but I liked how after awhile Pam just figured she had to admit it. I don't know where they're going with this, I read in some interview somewhere that it's not going to be exactly what we expect, but for now the shipper in me is happy!

Outside of all that, I think that what makes the Office so great is all the bits and details, but sometimes I'm kind of iffy on the main storylines, especially when it revolves around Michael doing something stupid and Dwight backing him up. So I really don't know about these hour-long episodes because they just kind of seem dragged out. Oh well. I can't possibly remember all the little things that made me laugh in the episode to recap, but I liked it. I am hoping that Darryl gets more screentime this season though because he really cracks me up.

Ugly Betty: During last season's finale, I thought it as pretty much a foregone conclusion that Santos was dead, so I was really super happy to find out that he was alive. I thought that it was a bit odd that Hilda and Santos were just like holing up in her room for weeks, but with Betty and Justin acting pretty much normal I kind of brushed it off. But then as the episode progressed...I knew it was a sort of dream sequence fake out thing, and man. That was sad. And I felt just a little bit manipulated...

I mean, it almost made the rest of the episode seem a bit...weird. Like Justin (the fashion elf, haha) was totally adorable as usual and I wonder if he's just not dealt with the fact that his father died just a few weeks ago. And all of Betty's moping over Henry...the little telenovela bit at the beginning was hilarious but the rest of it was a bit overdramatic, especially her little outburst at the fashion shoot. Shrug. I did love the parts with Amanda and Marc, of course, and I really always love the friendship bits with Betty and Daniel. And there was a classic Ugly Betty-esque twist at the end involving Alexis which should makes things interesting. But I hope we're done with the emotional wringer for a little while and get back to the wacky fun that we all know and love.

On a side note, I just discovered that Becki Newton (Amanda) and Michael Urie (Marc) host an official Ugly Betty podcast. They're completely awesome so I figure this podcast has to be as well. Are there any other TV-related podcasts out there that I should be listening to?

2007 Emmy nominations - surprisingly not horrible!

Sooo...every year I claim to not care about the Emmys but every year I pay attention to them anyway. This year, though, they changed the whole nomination process in hopes of fixing the problem of having all the same shows nominated every year and color me surprised but it kind of worked!

The awesome:

• Jenna Fischer for Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series!!!
  
• Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series - Jeremy Piven, Kevin Dillon, Neil Patrick Harris, Rainn Wilson?! This is so the dream category!!!

The good:

• Nods for Sally Field and Rachel Griffiths on Brothers & Sisters.
  
• Writing and directing nods for Battlestar Galactica (and some other technical ones). Nothing in acting, but we'll take whatever we can get.
  
• Top Chef and Project Runway face off in the Reality Competition category!
  
• Tons of nods for Jane Eyre, which I totally fell in love with earlier this year.
  
• Haha, Mia Michaels and Wade Robson both got nominations for Best Choreography on So You Think You Can Dance!
  
• A bunch of nice Ugly Betty nominations. I wasn't really surprised by this though, the show is pretty Emmy-friendly.
  
• Everything Comes Down to Poo and Guy Love from the Scrubs muscial both nominated for Original Music and Lyrics

The bad:

• Grey's Anatomy for Drama Series, really? Even people I know who love the show agree that this season was pretty bad.
  
• At least Friday Night Lights got a directing nomination, but that's all. Sigh.

The weird:

• What is up with all the love for Boston Legal? I honestly didn't even know it was still on and people were actually watching it. And I mean really, Boston Legal over Friday Night Lights???
  
• Studio 60 got a few nominations as well. I mean, truthfully I did like the pilot but uh, talk about a show that lost steam.
  
• Ugly Betty for Outstanding Main Title Design. Um, if I'm not mistaken, don't they not have main titles? They just follow up an unattractive shot of Betty with a yellow screen and UGLY BETTY in huge caps. I mean, yes, it's extremely effective, but didn't seem like it was really a lot of work...

Finale report, Part 2

The Office: Jim and Pam! This season's moment perhaps doesn't top last year's glorious finale, but in a way, it was much more satisfying because it was so simple and relatively angst-free. I feel a bit bad for Karen, but she knew what she was in the middle of, especially after last week's beach confession. Which, by the way, was really incredible. Pam is awesome! Also, usually I get a little worried about the main couple on a show getting together, but somehow I think this will be fine. I think they'll be sort of Lily/Marshall-esque--back to their old chemistry but with an extra boost of cuteness. After 3 years they don't need any more conflict for awhile.

As for the rest of the hourlong episode, it was chock-full of really great moments. My favorite was probably the very end where Ryan, of all people, gets the job at corporate and immediately breaks up with Kelly. Poor gal, but Ryan definitely needed to get out of there. I was also highly amused at how Michael and Jan have pretty much exchanged roles and Jan is now the one with the crazy antics. Melora Hardin's always put a little bit of the manic in her portrayal of Jan and she's done a really good job at gradually bringing it out full force. I also loved Michael calling all the women in the conference room for advice while Jan was in the office. And I'm glad that Michael didn't make a big deal of not getting the job at corporate and realized that Scranton was really where he belonged.

Jericho: Wow. I really was not expecting this to be cancelled, and I'm pretty upset about it. I mean, I know earlier in the season I described this show as kind of mediocre and silly in many respects, but the story started to really get interesting by the end of the season and a lot of characters were really growing on me. And with the way the season ended...I'm really bummed that we won't get to see what happens. The writers really came up with a lot of really interesting stories to keep the story going, and I thought the Jericho-New Bern conflict was actually kind of awesome. Despite the fact that they were dealing with plenty of heavy stuff before, at some points it seemed to me that life in Jericho was getting a little too normal. The New Bern stuff injected a new sense of urgency into the show and I loved it.

Anyway, this last episode was really excellent. I had heard that a major character was going to die and I was kind of devastated that it was Johnston. At least he and Jake had come to a better place in their relationship. Truthfully I don't know how much I would have liked the show without Gerald McRaney in it, so maybe in that respect maybe cancellation isn't so bad? I also liked that they gave Stanley and Mimi and Bonnie that moment at their parents' graves, and oh, and the Jake/Emily kiss was kind of hot. I'm not into them at all, but the way Jake just went over and kissed her after getting the message from Hawkins that the second round was coming was yeah, hot. And Heather! I KNEW she wasn't dead. I wish she'd have been reunited with the Jericho crew, but it was great seeing her. Oh, and minimal Dale and Skylar = good.

The ending was a cliffhanger but I thought it was actually pretty awesome. It actually kind of reminded me of the final moments of Angel, with everyone just ready to fight their hearts out.

Best moment of the show, when Jake tells Constantino "Nuts!" and tells him to stuff it.

I think a lot of people are upset about this one, and I believe there's already a "Nuts" campaign to try and save the show. I'm honestly not sure what can be done at this point, but these things are always worth a shot.

Heroes: I haven't written all that much about the show this season, not so much because I haven't been enjoying it, but because I sometimes find it to be a bit of a chore to watch, especially when it gets really bogged down in all the angsty emotional stuff. The only character that's really been having any fun at all pretty much EVER is Hiro, but with him being much more serious these past couple of episodes, the show has just been a really big downer. I know, I know, saving the world is stressful and serious business but I feel like a show like this needs a little more balance. It's kind of draining to watch EVERYONE with their pained desperation ALL THE TIME. They really need to bring back a little more fun next season.

Anyway, as for how the season ended...I found the final action sequence to be much too short. There were some unexpected things, but everything happened so quickly and easily. And with D.L. and Mohinder and Parkman and Niki and HRG and the kids just watching and not really doing anything...it was kind of bizarre. And of course all these questions remain: what happened to Peter and Nathan? What happened to Sylar? Where the heck did Hiro end up? Is D.L. going to be ok? Is Ando off the show now? Are Claire and HRG and Parkman really just going to just go back to their families? Is Mohinder going to like, adopt Molly?

I don't know, I don't really want to get myself too obsessive over the show, but I'm really unclear about how all the season's events led up to this, and I don't understand what everyone's roles really were. But maybe it's better that I don't think about that stuff?

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?

The Office does the impossible

Am I crazy or am I not really a Jim/Pam shipper anymore? Last I was just constantly itching for something to happen and I still think their scenes from last season's finale were some of the best ever, but this season, somehow I just don't feel the urgency anymore. I was sort of indifferent to Karen at first, but now I think she's great. She's really normal and isn't being painted as the "other woman" because she has no idea of Jim and Pam's history. I mean, I'm really glad that Jim is dating someone who actually admits to liking him. Maybe Jim and Pam are meant to be together, and maybe they're not. If they are, then it'll happen eventually. But for now, I think it's kind of fitting that their situation is reversed and now Pam is the one who's going to have to be secretly pining for Jim.

Geez, the Office is so brilliant that they've gotten me to stop shipping! And not out of bitterness!

As for the rest of this "super-sized" episode, I have to say that I'm starting to agree with Michael Ausiello and Dwight is just getting to be too much. I don't know, for some reason I can buy Michael as genuinely just being crazy, but Dwight is just way over the top. And you know, I think Angela's getting to be in that same category. I used to think her uptight-ness was amusing but now she's just plain mean.

I thought Andy was great though. He's Dwight-ish, but we know his reasons behind it: he's a huge suck-up. Oh, and I loved that thing with the other black guy trying to buddy up with Stanley and Stanley rolling his eyes. And Kelly saying that celebrity news was her news. And Kevin getting too excited over the paper shredder and shredding a credit card. And Pam tricking Dwight into running around the building.

The Office is back!!!!

The funny thing about cliffhanger season finales is that you're always left thinking that something HUGE has to happen to resolve it, but that's really rarely the case. The Jim/Pam kiss from last season's finale had me itching all summer to find out that was going to happen but what happened was actually...not much. But I'm alright with that because ultimately I wouldn't want Jim/Pam to be EVERYTHING on this show. So I'm glad that Jim went to work in Stamford. And of course I'm glad that Pam didn't go through with the wedding but didn't immediately go for Jim. The scene where they revealed that was pretty genius, though, with Roy bringing Pam lunch as if they were married but then Pam not looking all that happy and then Roy's earnest small-talk and then the flash of Pam's hand and then the reveal. It's also interesting that neither Pam nor Jim mentioned eachother once during the episode. I definitely like how this is playing out.

Actually the thing I'm most impressed with about this show is how many great moments they can pack into a half hour (really 20-something minutes). Ryan's "I'm no longer a temp", Phyllis is engaged (yay!) to Bob Vance (of Vance Refrigeration), the girl in Jim's office imitating his camera face, Dwight's fake "I miss Jim" act, Pam trying to laugh at Michael with Ryan but Ryan not getting it, Roy's mugshot, Stanley's two toasters story, "Big Tuna," the stapler in Jello...and that's not even getting to the main plot of the episode. That stuff was seriously cringe-inducing and completely inappropriate, but had me cracking up like no other by the end. I really thought Oscar was going to leave the office for a minute there but I'm glad he didn't and that moment where Oscar forgives Michael was really believable because Steve Carrell pulls off that offensive-and-rude-but-really- just-clueless thing so ridiculously well. And not to mention the Michael/Oscar kiss that followed. Most uncomfortable conference room ever! And the ending with the gaydar!

Yay for the Office!