What to Watch this Fall!
So this is one of my favorite times of year: the fall TV season. All of my favorite shows return, cliffhangers are resolved and once in a blue moon a new show steals my heart.
When looking at my excel spreadsheet where I have my shows outlined, I find that only two new shows from last season made the cut: Better Off Ted and Parks and Recreation (both mid-season mind you). That means its been two years since the networks came out with any good new shows. However this season looks very promising! From what I’ve read and previewed, here are my picks for what new shows to watch this Fall.
CBS – The Good Wife – Tuesdays 10 PM. Now I don’t watch a lot of one-hour dramas but this show starring Julianna Margulies from ER and Chris Noth from SATC (among others) looks interesting and covers a topic that has yet to be tackled on TV: the wives of politicians who find themselves in the middle of a sex scandal. Margulies plays a woman who has to solely care for her family and re-enter the workforce after her politician husband lands himself in jail. I’ve always wondered about the wives of these skeezy and immoral men and I give kudos to CBS for attempting to delve into this unknown character and sparing us from another cop/detective show.
ABC – Modern Family – Wednesdays 9PM. For those of you who think the sitcom is dead: you are wrong. The genre has merely gone through many stylistic changes. However, after Everybody Loves Raymond ended in 2005, it was my and many others understanding that the family sitcom was dead. ABC is making a bold move this season in attempting to revive the family sitcom in many different ways. The first two hours of their Wednesday prime-time schedule has been dubbed Comedy Wednesday featuring four new family-oriented sitcoms. I had the privilege to watch the pilot of Modern Family two weeks before its scheduled to air and I can surely say that the family sitcom has been successfully revived. The characters are incredibly realistic, funny, and endearing. I laughed outloud many times which is a rarity for me. And the kids (all of them) are adorable and terrific. I’m also really happy to see Ed O’Neill (Al Bundy from Married With Children) back on TV!
NBC – Community – Thursdays 8 PM. I love Thursday nights on NBC and now with Community I can predict that this year I’m going to enjoy Thursdays even more. NBC has been struggling to find something that could fit on the same night as the Office and 30 Rock for some time. They failed miserably with the disappointing Kath and Kim last season and reverted to airing a special 30-minute version of SNL’s weekend update to round out the night. However, with the successful mid-season premiere of Parks and Recreation, it seemed as though NBC needed just one more show to round out their Must-See TV Thursday schedule. And I’ve believe they’ve done that this season with Community. Joel McHale from the Soup stars as a lawyer who has had his degree revoked and is forced to go back to Community College. He then joins a band of misfits in a study group which include Chevy Chase (!) and Alison Brie (Pete’s wife on Mad Men) and Ken Jeong (from Role Models and The Hangover). This show looks smart and funny and like it will fit in perfectly with the NBC Thursday night lineup.
Others to look out for:
- The Beautiful Life – Wednesdays on the CW – for fans of Gossip Girl and ANTM, goes behind the scenes of the world of modeling. Bring on the trashy goodness!
- Glee – Wednesdays on Fox – if you haven’t heard of this show already than you have been living under a rock. The pilot aired in May and was met with acclaim from critics and audiences alike. Funny, smart, emotional, uplifting, musical – this show has it all!
- Bored to Death – Sundays on HBO – I don’t know much about this show except that it stars Jason Schwartzman, Ted Danson and Zach Galifianakis and is supposed to be good. Its about a Brooklyn writer who decides to act out his dream of becoming a private eye. Sounds promising…
May the Best Chef Prevail!
My apologies for not updating in so long. I’ve had a case of writer’s block. Summer TV = lack of inspiration. Luckily things seem to be looking up.
Top Chef premiered last week and I couldn’t be happier. Top Chef combines food, tv, and competition; three of my favorite things. (So does Iron Chef America; the source of this posts’ title)
This season seems to be heading off on a good start. There are a ton of chefs (more than on any other season) which means that while the season will be longer, it will also take more time to figure out all the chefs and make judgments. Here are some initial opinions:
- The brothers are not only totally gorgeous, but also seem like they are going to be tough competitors. They are two of my faves.
- Shout out to cheftestant Mike Isabella, the chef at Zaytinya which is an awesome restaurant in DC. Yes, this first episode he came off as a sexist, arrogrant mush but I’m not writing him off just yet.
- Did anyone catch Colicchio’s face when what’s-her-name won the quickfire and gave him a hug and a kiss? PRICELESS
- My other initial faves include the guy who won the first challenge, the French guy (!), and the bitchy blonde who worked for Eric Ripert
- I’m just gonna say it right now, a female chef HAS to win this season. No excuses.
Please keep in mind that when it comes to reality shows, the people I like tend to get voted off in the first few weeks. It will be very interesting to see how my opinions will change in the coming weeks. I can’t wait to watch what happens!
Note: Michael Pollan (author of In Defense of Food) just wrote an article about food and television in a recent issue of the New York Times Magazine. Read it Here! It’s really great.
The Art of Jumping the Shark
![200px-Fonzie_jumps_the_shark[1]](http://tivothisblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/200px-fonzie_jumps_the_shark1.png?w=490 "200px-Fonzie_jumps_the_shark[1]")
On a late episode of the classic TV series “Happy Days” (boy do I miss those reruns…) the Fonz attempts to jump over a shark whilst on water skis. And with that odd and out-of-character scene, a television idiom was born.
Jumping the shark is when a good television (or film) series veers off course into incredibly bizarre and uncharacteristic territory. Usually this happens when a show has gone on for too long and the writers/producers have run out of new, inventive storylines. However this isn’t always the case. There have been shows that have had long lives and never jumped the shark [see: The West Wing, Seinfeld, Friends, and Gilmore Girls]. And, there have been good shows that have jumped the shark very early on in their lives [see: Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip]. Nothing makes me sadder as when a show I truly love loses all of the qualities that made me love it in the first place. I rarely abandon shows midway through their life. I like to see programs through til their end. But right now I am grappling with doing just that, yet again.
I didn’t start watching Grey’s Anatomy until midway through the second season when a special episode aired after the Super Bowl in 2006. I knew the basic premise because my mom had watched it from the beginning, but I stayed away initially because I wasn’t a huge fan of doctor shows. But after the Super Bowl episodes (which were the bomb episodes with Kyle Chandler and Christina Ricci for all of you GA fans), I was hooked. I spent the following months sequestered in my friend’s dorm room watching all of the episodes we had missed. It quickly became my favorite show and Sunday nights at 10p became a sacred time for me and my college girlfriends. However, something tragic happened halfway ![images[1]](http://tivothisblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/images1.jpg?w=490 "images[1]")
through season three. When Dr. George O’Malley’s father dies, he irrationally decides to deal with his grief by marrying his girlfriend Callie. And thus began the downward spiral. It was amazing to me how a show could go from the best television I had ever seen [see: season two finale] to something I could no longer take seriously [see Izzie resuscitating a deer]. Once Izzie and George started banging and Denny’s ghost was appearing I knew I was out. I couldn’t take it anymore. The once brilliant Shonda Rhimes was slowly killing her show and I wasn’t going to stick around to watch it flatline. At the end of season three when Dr. Burke left the show so did I. And I have no regrets. It saddens me that a show so young could get so bad, so fast.
Which brings me to my current dilemma. The first three seasons of Weeds were awesome. ![w[1]](http://tivothisblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/w1.jpg?w=300&h=195 "w[1]")
The show was dark, funny, suspenseful, intriguing and wonderfully acted. The season three finale put the show at a crossroads. The show was changing locations and losing some cast members and it was unclear as to which direction the show was going to take. Unfortunately, it took the absurd and unwanted path. Nancy Botwin went from a suburban pot dealer to the pregnant drug mule of a Mexican politician. Some of the best characters are gone and I am sorry to say I rarely laugh during an episode. However, I haven’t stopped watching yet. I guess its because I need to find out what happens next. Nancy and her family keep getting deeper and deeper into danger and I just have to find out how it all ends. Damn you Jenji Kohan. Your show became bad, but I still can’t stop watching. However, if you ever get rid of Uncle Andy, the silver lining on this dark cloud, I will stop. So, what should I do? Stick around or bail? Feel free to leave a comment! And if you are not sure, get the first three seasons then watch the most recent episode. Chances are you’ll be able to relate.
I Don’t Need No Emmy in My Life to Make Me Happy
[The title of this post comes from the beautiful and touching "Emmy Song" written and performed by the one and only Ellen DeGeneres.]
So I know I’m about a week late with this but I wanted to give my take on this year’s Emmy nominations. The Emmys are my favorite award show for many reasons. 1) They deal exclusively with TV 2) They have recently fallen on my birthday weekend and 3) My cousin has won a few 
Therefore I am more invested in the Emmys than any other award show. This year I was surprised, shocked, happy and dismayed by what I saw when the nominations came out last week. Let’s delve deeper into these emotions, shall we?
Surprised
- Many categories have been expanded to include as many as seven nominees which is quite a lot more than the requisite five. I bet the nominees are upset that they have to compete with more people and to me it makes the award less prestigious if it is open to more nominees. This system also allows for seemingly mediocre or undeserving shows/actors to be nominated. (For more see: Shocked) Are the Emmy’s trying to be like the Oscars who recently announced there will be TEN Best Picture nominees this year?
Shocked
- FAMILY GUY!?! I know I am not the first one to express shock over this one but COME ON. Family Guy is the first animated series to be nominated for Best Comedy Series since The Flintstones in 1961. I mean The Simpsons has never been a Best Comedy nominee. I don’t hate Family Guy, but at the same time I’m not one of their crazy cult fans either. Its a fine show but definitely does not deserve an Emmy for Best Comedy. What comedy would I put in its place? It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Without a doubt. However, despite this, the rest of the Outstanding Comedy category is great. (For more see: Happy)
- TONY SHALOUB AGAIN!? Monk has been on the air for eight seasons and lead actor Tony Shaloub has been nominated six times for Best Actor in a Comedy Series and won twice. I mean I don’t doubt that Monk is a good show and Shaloub does a good job, but again there are much funnier and deserving actors in this category. GIVE THE OTHERS A CHANCE FOR ONCE.
- JENNIFER ANISTON?! 30 Rock has perfected the art of the celebrity cameo. It astounds me the caliber of stars they get on that show. And it seems that nearly every one of this season’s guests were nominated in the Guest Appearance category. However, Salma Hayek who had a multi-episode arc was missing from the list and Jennifer Aniston who gave a forgettable (while over the top) performance made the cut. I just don’t get it.
Happy
- This has nothing to do with the nominees, but I am beyond happy that Neil Patrick Harris is hosting this year. He did a great job at the Tonys in June and as far as I’m concerned he can do no wrong. The only way I’d be happier would be if Ellen was hosting. But thats sooo 2001.
- Jeremy Piven isn’t nominated! Now don’t get me wrong. I love Entourage and think it would be nothing without Piven and the brilliance of Ari Gold. However, he has won many times in a row now for Best Supporting Actor and the torch needs to be passed to someone else. Like for example, Neil Patrick Harris? His portrayal of Barney Stinson in the wonderful “How I Met Your Mother” is LEGEND (wait for it) DARY. Hopefully this will be his year.
- The entire Outstanding Comedy Series category (minus Family Guy). Finally Two and a Half Men is gone from the category and each of the shows nominated are funny and brilliantly written and acted. Flight of the Conchords is deservingly getting Emmy recognition and How I Met Your Mother is finally being regarded as more than just the Barney Stinson show. Although that smells like a spin off to me.
Dismayed
- If you were to ask me what my favorite show on (network) TV was it would hands down have to be Friday Night Lights. It is the only show where I consisntently laugh and cry at least once during the course of an episode. The acting is unreal, the stories are compelling and realistic and I think part of the reason why is does so poorly in the ratings (besides its Friday night timeslot) is the fact that the Emmys have not recognized its quality. I know that Emmys can’t always aid ailing programs (see: Arrested Development), but I think it could help a little. Thank goodness it was renewed for two more seasons. Maybe by then the Emmys will have gotten their act together.
Feel free to comment on your feelings on the nominees if you have any. The awards are Sunday September 20th (the day before my birthday) and they are sure to be entertaining if nothing else. (Especially if Family Guy wins…)
Disappointment: Only by Bravo!
I think the honeymoon phase between me and Bravo is over. For a long time they could do no wrong in my book. Sure they have shows I don’t watch (ie Kathy Griffin, Flipping Out, Top Design, Make Me a Supermodel) but I have no doubt these shows are good, they are just not my style. However, in the past month Bravo debuted two shows I felt would be just my style. Following around people richer, prettier, and snobbier than I will ever be. Eating and shopping at the most fabulous places. Living a life I’m ashamed to admit I want. So until I get to the point in my life where I can shop at Verve and Blue & Cream and eat on Lincoln Ave I can watch other people do it on TV, right? WRONG!
The first of this summer’s Bravo disappointments is NYC Prep. The attempted reality version of Gossip Girl. What could be better? However, I think execs at Bravo failed to realize the fact that teenagers, no matter whe![493px-Bravo_TV.svg[1]](http://tivothisblog.files.wordpress.com/2009/07/493px-bravo_tv-svg11.png?w=209&h=155 "493px-Bravo_TV.svg[1]")
re they live, have pretty boring lives. Shows like Gossip Girl aren’t meant to portray reality. They are a vehicle through which teenagers can escape the banality of their lives; not see their lives reflected. So needless to say, the private school biddies portrayed on NYC Prep are very annoying because they think they lead fabulous lives, but they don’t. Sure they go out on dates at fancy restaurants and have their own credit cards and shop in expensive boutiques, but that’s it. Just because they wear expensive outifts and go to parties at clubs instead of houses does not mean they are worthy of their own reality show. I’m bored. And I don’t get bored by TV easily.
Last night came the second of Bravo’s summer belly flops: Miami Social. The Hills for the older set. The show follows a group of seven fabulous, fashionable Miami party people who are constantly sunning themselves, partying, hooking up, breaking up, and throwing up. However once again I’m BORED. These people are poor excuses for adults. Two of them have even already appeared on other reality TV shows (Big Brother and The Apprentice). I mean its been 24 hrs since the show aired and I can remember maybe two or three things that happened during the whole hour. And I don’t forget things easily.
So what does this say? I think maybe this life of wealth and opulence isn’t for me. It’s boring and shallow and not as fabulous as Bravo would like us to think. Sure there are certain restaurants I wish I could afford and stores I want to be able to shop at, but I definately do not want the life of Miami Social nor do I wish my high school experience was like the one depicted on NYC Prep. However, until ANY other network schedules something of worth on Tuesday nights, I am sorry to say I will keep watching. Yep, my honeymoon phrase with Bravo may be over, but we haven’t broken up yet.
It’s Officially Summer! Entourage is Back!
So as promised, as part of TivoThisBlog! (TTB) I will be recapping episodes of my favorite shows. My inaugural blog post will be a recap of last night’s season premiere of one of my fave summer shows: Entourage!
Last night’s premiere opened with a bit of a role reversal. Hopeless romantic, sensitive, serial monogamist E walks a girl (who he has just engaged in a one-night-stand with) out to her car and kisses her goodbye. Usually it is movie star Vince who has the ladies doing the walk of shame; never E. But it seems as though the time that has passed between season 5 and season 6 has brought on a lot of changes for the guys.
When we last left Vince and the gang, Vince had just been cast in Martin Scorsese’s new movie adaptation of The Great Gatsby right after he nearly fired E from being his manager. Now, in the interim between seasons, the film has been shot and the premiere is forthcoming. The film is getting a lot of hype and great buzz and it seems as though things are finally looking up for the guys.
So besides E “getting more pussy in the last month, than in the past 29 years” (as Drama puts it) what other changes have occurred? Well one thing hasn’t really changed. The guys have moved back into their old house. Other than that, changes are everywhere. Vince has been cast in a movie about the life of Enzo Ferrari and therefore needs to learn how to DRIVE! After, E shows his latest conquest the door, he joins the rest of the gang who is helping Vince study for his driver’s test. E is more focused on Vince’s preparedness for his appearance on Jay Leno that night, but Vince cares more about his driver’s test. During the discussion of what Vince is gonna say to Leno and what he’s gonna leave for Conan, E’s phone rings and the guys obviously assume it is one of E’s various women looking for seconds. In fact its E’s ex-girlf Sloane. Now not like I have anything against Sloane, I like her and I liked her and E together but I thought her storyline was long over. I want to see E with someone new and I feel like the writers just need to let Sloane go. BUT ANYWAY…
Sloane calls to tell E that one of her friends is looking to sublet her house for a year and thought he may be interested. This forces E to decide whether or not he finally wants to live alone for the first time in 30 years and whether he’s ready to strike out on his own. He agrees to see the house. After a botched attempt at parallel parking, Vince, Drama, and Turtle leave for Vince’s test. E tells the crew he’ll meet them over there as he has an errand to do, but the boys beat it out of him and he admits to be going to meet Sloane for coffee. (He doesn’t want them to know he is considering moving out).
MEANWHILE at the Miller-Gold Agency everyone’s favorite agent Ari Gold is surprisingly all smiles, but not for long. It seems as though another major change is about to occur. Ari’s wonderfully Gay-sian assistant Lloyd is looking to move up in the world. He attempts to capitalize on Ari’s good mood and have a serious talk about his future at Miller-Gold. At first Ari brutally rebuffs Lloyd as usual using the requisite racial and homophobic slurs. Lloyd persists and in a “stand up and cheer” moment, Lloyd stands up to Ari and threatens to leave him if he isn’t promoted. As we know, Ari doesn’t take crap from anyone, especially his subordinates, but after he reems out Lloyd he starts to seriously consider promoting him. I would just like to say I love Lloyd. He is easily my favorite character and his relationship with Ari and the entire Gold family is precious and one of the best parts of the show.
MEANWHILE, E looks at the house with Sloane. He seems to love the house but is incredibly conflicted about “moving out of the frat house” as Sloane says. He says he’ll think about it and leaves for the DMV where Vince is in the process of bombing his drivers test. As the guys watch Vince hit cone after cone from the window they are certain that Vince has failed but Vince comes in with a piece of paper saying he’s passed. The mystery is solved when Vince admits to giving the tester two tickets to the Gatsby premiere in exchange for a driver’s license. While Vincent Chase is now a licensed driver, one thing hasn’t changed; his movie star status can still get him anything he wants.
Then the boys, along with Ari and new Miller-Gold agent Andrew Klein (played by a really old-looking Gary Cole) roll out to the Leno taping where they are greeted by who else than Vince’s long lost publicist Shauna (played by Debi Mazar who has been on the longest maternity leave in history). Shauna and her foul mouth seem to be back in full force but Mazar seems to only be a guest star this season (her name has been removed from the opening credits). Vince kills Leno (not literally, I mean he does an awesome job) and his star seems to be on the rise once again after an embarrassing year.
During the taping, Sloane calls E to tell him that someone else is interested in the house and that he needs to act quickly if he really wants it. He agrees to meet Sloane and the owner of the house for a drink that night. Now on a typical episode of Entourage, all the boys would all go out together as the four dudes rarely go anywhere apart, however, once again, ch-ch-changes. Drama has a night shoot for his TV show, Turtle has a date with his now serious girlfriend Jamie-Lynn Sigler (who plays herself). [ Side Note: If you don't already know, the explanation for this plot line is that Jerry Ferrara who plays Turtle is dating Jamie-Lynn Sigler in real life. I guess they are so in love they feel as though they have to work together too. Cute? Gross? Weird? You decide.] Vince, all alone, decides to tag along with E to meet the Sloane and the homeowner Amy. This forces E to tell Vince that this meeting is about him potentially moving to his own place. Vince gives E his blessing and tells him not to worry. Vince will be fine. So he says.
On the way home from the Leno taping, Ari and Andrew discuss Lloyd and his potential to be an actual agent. Ari admits that Lloyd is the best assistant he has ever had but he thinks he may be too weak and emotional to be an agent in the cutthroat world of Hollywood. Andrew tells Ari that he has made the mistake of not promoting assistants who subsequently made it big and now won’t take his calls. Andrew advises Ari that Lloyd could end up being a really great agent and he could end up really regretting it if he lets Lloyd go. Ari then calls a morose depressed Lloyd and tells him to be on Ari’s front stoop at 10 pm.
10 pm rolls around and Lloyd punctually appears at Ari’s home and sits on the front step til 1:30 AM when Ari finally comes out. He tells Lloyd that he has 100 days to prove to Ari that he can be an agent and if he passes, he’ll be promoted. Ari tells Lloyd it may be as painful as getting his (certain type of) cherry popped. I can’t wait for the next 100 days. Lloyd is gonna rock it.
What was supposed to be a meeting, becomes a short of double date with E, Sloane, Amy and Vince. As to be expected Vince ends up banging Amy in the backseat of his car; a first for the newly licensed star. Somethings never change. E who seems to have realized old feelings for Sloane convinces her to let him come into her house for a drink once their “meeting” at the bar ends. However, the final scene of the episode foreshadows what seems to be the theme that I identified at the very beginning. Vince comes home to an empty, dark house. E is at Sloane’s getting ready to move out, Turtle is sharing a joint and a bubble bath with Jamie-Lynn, and Drama is on the set of Five Towns doing what he loves. The boys all seem to be happy, successful and sadly starting lives seperate from the Entourage. Change is a-coming and I can’t wait to see what else is in store!
Greetings TV Lovers and Others
Welcome to my new television blog! This blog will feature episode recaps of my favorite shows, program recommendations, as well as news and anything else I find interesting. I hope you enjoy and if there is anything specific you want me to write about, post a comment! Thanks for reading. I hope you will continue to do so.
