For the record, I HATE TV episodes that are "to be continued." They are such a tease! Now that I have gotten that off my chest, let me start at the beginning.
As ABC has been teasing since last week, tonight was supposed to be the "crossover event" that brought together Grey's Anatomy and Private Practice. While I never expected this mix to work smoothly, I was, at the very least, expecting it to actually happen. The crossing over tonight probably made up a total of one minute between both shows; It was a shared phone call between Addison and Derek. The real action happens... NEXT WEEK. So basically, all that build up was for nothing. Tonight they were, as per normal, two completely different shows. I will write my thoughts on each here:
Grey's Anatomy
- Of course much of this episode was centered on "love" with Valentine's Day only about a week off. There was the second sex inflicted injury in two weeks; Owen and Cristina shared multiple romantic moments complete with classical music while walking the hallways of the hospital; Derek prepared to propose to Meredith; Cristina is reading Meredith's mom's diary, which includes her romantic happenings with the Chief; etc. But the one part that stood out to me, and not in a good way, was Callie being depressed about being single: "Alone people don't like to hear about together people." Seriously? Can anyone at this hospital survive if they are not in a relationship?
- I am worried about Bailey. She is usually such a capable doctor, but the last few episodes she has been having a hard time working on children because she is afraid they will die. But I'm hoping that helping her patient tonight will allow her to get back to normal. Especially after the Chief proved he has faith in her, I am waiting for her to once again hit her stride.
- I am glad there was not much focus tonight on Izzy. I am really over her and her storyline. Unless something important and real is going to happen, then keep her in the background.
Private Practice
- I am glad Violet finally faced reality and told Sheldon and Pete that she is pregnant. Now she can be the adult that she is and deal with it.
- It was also good that, as the episode came to a close, Dell finally realized he may actually be a good midwife.
- I don't like that Cooper and Charlotte cannot seem to get on the same page. I hope they can finally find happiness together sooner rather than later.
- As the episode went on (and while I was waiting for the "crossover" to start) I found myself feeling really bad for Addison. She really loves Archer and she is honestly doing everything she can think of to make sure he is OK.
So I guess next week is when the REAL crossover happens. The previews for next week showed that some of the Private Practice cast will actually be in Seattle and it seems like there will just be one show that lasts two hours. The preview seemed intense and, though I am truly pissed about the tease this week, I do find myself looking forward to next week. But, again, what about the viewers who only watch one show? Are they going to be left out and confused next week? We'll have to wait (another week) and see.
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Digital transmission date maybe delayed? They can't seem to all get on the same page
At this point there just seems to be a lot of back and forth. I have already posted about this, but the latest news is that, yes, the date will most likely be pushed back to June 12 to give those not yet prepared time to get the digital converter they need. Here is the latest Boston.com blog post about it.
Tuesday, February 3, 2009
Spoiler: 90210's see-saw of emotions
Tonight's episode of 90210 had many highs and lows. Here are some thoughts.
- I am really upset that we find out Ethan is absolutely fine 30 seconds into the episode after all of the build-up following the car accident.
- I'm happy Silver finally came to her senses and realized she loves Dixon too.
- The writers are trying too hard with the Ethan/Rhonda storyline. We get it, Ethan is the stereotypical jock who never leaves his bubble, but do we really need some plain Jane character stirring up trouble?
- I have a lot of problems with the Adriana/Ty pregnancy dilemma, so let's start at the beginning. Why did Adriana think it would be a good idea to tell Ty he had fathered a child while at a party? Also, how dare he immediately say, "you'll just get it taken care of." Since when is that something he can demand a woman to do? On that same note, I can't believe his parents drew up a contract essentially telling Adriana how to live her life. I am so happy she stood up to Ty's parents (with help from her mom). And the last scene of the episode, where Adriana broadcasts to the entire school telling them all she is pregnant was such a brave thing to do. I am proud of her.
- And just a tiny, minor problem I had with the episode. I hate when the writers of shows think the viewers are idiots. In the last episode, which if you follow the timeline should have only been a few days before the action of tonight's episode, Adriana was on a beach in a bathing suit. So we are supposed to believe that in the span of a few days she starting showing? And more than just showing, but really, really showing.
Best line of the episode: "I just got finished being rehab girl and now I have to be pregnant girl."
What did you think of the episode? Any highlights you would like to mention?
- I am really upset that we find out Ethan is absolutely fine 30 seconds into the episode after all of the build-up following the car accident.
- I'm happy Silver finally came to her senses and realized she loves Dixon too.
- The writers are trying too hard with the Ethan/Rhonda storyline. We get it, Ethan is the stereotypical jock who never leaves his bubble, but do we really need some plain Jane character stirring up trouble?
- I have a lot of problems with the Adriana/Ty pregnancy dilemma, so let's start at the beginning. Why did Adriana think it would be a good idea to tell Ty he had fathered a child while at a party? Also, how dare he immediately say, "you'll just get it taken care of." Since when is that something he can demand a woman to do? On that same note, I can't believe his parents drew up a contract essentially telling Adriana how to live her life. I am so happy she stood up to Ty's parents (with help from her mom). And the last scene of the episode, where Adriana broadcasts to the entire school telling them all she is pregnant was such a brave thing to do. I am proud of her.
- And just a tiny, minor problem I had with the episode. I hate when the writers of shows think the viewers are idiots. In the last episode, which if you follow the timeline should have only been a few days before the action of tonight's episode, Adriana was on a beach in a bathing suit. So we are supposed to believe that in the span of a few days she starting showing? And more than just showing, but really, really showing.
Best line of the episode: "I just got finished being rehab girl and now I have to be pregnant girl."
What did you think of the episode? Any highlights you would like to mention?
Spoiler: GG took a turn for the worse
Here is the link to New York Magazine's rundown of last night's episode. And below are my own pluses and minuses as well as some other thoughts.
Positives
- Plus 2 for Serena being jealous of Miss Carr and Dan right from the beginning. At the start of the episode when she sees Rachel and Dan eating breakfast and Rachel mentions what a wonderful writer Dan is, Serena says, "Believe me, I know."
- The New York Magazine list had this as a negative because of the stereotype it implies, but I think it should be plus 3 for Nelly wanting to check the Dow when she finally gets her hands on a cell phone. At least her priorities are in the right place.
- Plus 1 for Jenny writing the GG post headline on her hand so that she could show it to Dan as evidence and since cell phones were taken away, this was the next best thing.
- Plus 2 for Dan following Blair into the women's bathroom.
Negatives
- Minus 5 for Rachel and Dan bonding because they are both "outsiders." They have already proven that they aren't real outsiders, only people who fit in and like to pretend they are outsiders.
- More specific about Nate and Chuck not being at school, minus 1 for Nate being in uniform but not at school.
- Minus 10 for Blair being so selfish during the episode. I understand that she hates Miss Carr, but when she starts the rumor about Dan and Rachel, why isn't Blair thinking about how this will potentially hurt her best friend? Serena was willing, later in the episode, to put Blair first and get the evidence needed to get Blair reinstated at Constance, but Blair only ever cares about how things affect her.
- Minus 10 for Constance's headmistress saying they were reinstating Rachel because a scandal would hurt the school. Seriously? You'd rather have a student/teacher affair happening? I think that is more of a scandal by itself.
- I also think we should minus hundreds because of the stupid Chuck storyline. Where is that going?
Thoughts
- Now that Rachel and Dan have had sex and we know that Rachel is in the process of being reinstated as a teacher, she can't come back, right? There is no turning back after having sex with a student. Writing it into the show that she would then once again be a teacher is an awful idea. She cannot accept her position back.
- I hate how Dan and Serena are constantly getting together and breaking up. They don't trust one another, as was made obvious in the episode last night, so I hope this break up lasts longer than usual. I want to see these two characters flourish on their own for a change.
- I want to see more of the Nate/Vanessa storyline. Right now they are always mentioned in the background, but never the center of attention. I hope their storyline is expanded in future episodes.
- I am over all of the "this is for Yale" references. In the books this was a problem too, but not nearly as bad as it has been in recent episodes. If they (Blair in particular) just continue to act as they did the previous three years that helped them get into Yale in the first place, then maybe there wouldn't be any problems? Or is that wishful thinking? I'm glad they got into college, but let's focus on the here and now instead of continually referencing something that isn't going to happen until next year.
So what did you think about the episode? I obviously had more negatives than positives, but maybe things in coming weeks will begin to look up. Feel free to leave comments and rate some other moments from last night's episode.
Positives
- Plus 2 for Serena being jealous of Miss Carr and Dan right from the beginning. At the start of the episode when she sees Rachel and Dan eating breakfast and Rachel mentions what a wonderful writer Dan is, Serena says, "Believe me, I know."
- The New York Magazine list had this as a negative because of the stereotype it implies, but I think it should be plus 3 for Nelly wanting to check the Dow when she finally gets her hands on a cell phone. At least her priorities are in the right place.
- Plus 1 for Jenny writing the GG post headline on her hand so that she could show it to Dan as evidence and since cell phones were taken away, this was the next best thing.
- Plus 2 for Dan following Blair into the women's bathroom.
Negatives
- Minus 5 for Rachel and Dan bonding because they are both "outsiders." They have already proven that they aren't real outsiders, only people who fit in and like to pretend they are outsiders.
- More specific about Nate and Chuck not being at school, minus 1 for Nate being in uniform but not at school.
- Minus 10 for Blair being so selfish during the episode. I understand that she hates Miss Carr, but when she starts the rumor about Dan and Rachel, why isn't Blair thinking about how this will potentially hurt her best friend? Serena was willing, later in the episode, to put Blair first and get the evidence needed to get Blair reinstated at Constance, but Blair only ever cares about how things affect her.
- Minus 10 for Constance's headmistress saying they were reinstating Rachel because a scandal would hurt the school. Seriously? You'd rather have a student/teacher affair happening? I think that is more of a scandal by itself.
- I also think we should minus hundreds because of the stupid Chuck storyline. Where is that going?
Thoughts
- Now that Rachel and Dan have had sex and we know that Rachel is in the process of being reinstated as a teacher, she can't come back, right? There is no turning back after having sex with a student. Writing it into the show that she would then once again be a teacher is an awful idea. She cannot accept her position back.
- I hate how Dan and Serena are constantly getting together and breaking up. They don't trust one another, as was made obvious in the episode last night, so I hope this break up lasts longer than usual. I want to see these two characters flourish on their own for a change.
- I want to see more of the Nate/Vanessa storyline. Right now they are always mentioned in the background, but never the center of attention. I hope their storyline is expanded in future episodes.
- I am over all of the "this is for Yale" references. In the books this was a problem too, but not nearly as bad as it has been in recent episodes. If they (Blair in particular) just continue to act as they did the previous three years that helped them get into Yale in the first place, then maybe there wouldn't be any problems? Or is that wishful thinking? I'm glad they got into college, but let's focus on the here and now instead of continually referencing something that isn't going to happen until next year.
So what did you think about the episode? I obviously had more negatives than positives, but maybe things in coming weeks will begin to look up. Feel free to leave comments and rate some other moments from last night's episode.
Monday, February 2, 2009
Spoiler: OTH episode didn't disappoint
First off, this episode was directed by Bethany Joy Galeotti. TVGuide.com has an interview with her about her experience. And I must say, I really enjoyed it. This was the episode where they were casting for the movie based on Lucas' high school experience. I knew going in that this was going to be a good episode and I wasn't disappointed. There were many extremely humorous scenes and even more humorous lines.
But before I get to what I liked about this episode, I have to go on a slight rant. As a feminist, I had a few problems with tonight's episode.
- Was it really necessary for everything out of James Van der Beek's mouth to objectify women? "Audiences like boobs." Seriously? All he talked about was sex and sex appeal while they were trying to cast for the movie. At times it was funny, but at what point is it pushed too far?
- When Peyton and Mia were trying to put together the crib, Mia immediately says, why not just have Lucas do it? Peyton says back that they are two strong women and can do it themselves. But then they fail. They can't put it together. What is that saying about their ability to care for themselves and do "manly" tasks like put something together?
But enough with that. Here are some of the highlights of the night, many of which are examples of why I love this show.
- Jamie tonight was too cute. I love that he wanted to ask a girl over "to play" and when she showed up it was his teacher. And then there was the scene where Jamie thinks Dan is trying to steal her from him. He says to Dan, you're making fun of me. And even when Dan says he isn't, Jamie continues. "You are just trying to make me look bad so that she'll like you better." And he then shouts, "He was in prison!" and stomps out of the room. All he knew was that he wanted his teacher all to himself and would stop at nothing to get it. (As adorable as this was, would a 6-year-old really know anything about this? They write lines that are just too mature for him sometimes.)
- When they are casting for the movie, are they really expecting the person they are casting to look exactly like the original? It was almost too eerie when the camera panned Tric and there were dozens of people who all looked alike. And on a similar note, it was cute to hear the people auditioning reciting lines from past episodes.
- I can't believe Lucas threw a temper tantrum. I don't get why he is being so indecisive. He is making too big of a deal out of making a decision and it honestly annoyed me throughout most of the episode. But lucky for him he won my heart back at the end when he made it to Peyton's sonogram.
- Nathan truly is a team player and I'm glad the coach made him the starter. But I also feel bad for Mr. Tough-guy Basketball player who got fired and actually has, not only a softer side, but also a family to support.
- I'm glad Brooke stood up for herself. As she said, there is so much more to her than just sex and I was happy to see her and Julian work things out at the end.
- When Peyton pointed out to Brooke that they have now shared three guys, I couldn't help but thinking GROSS! With them, the girl code really is shot at this point, huh?
- Hailey, and at the same time Bethany Joy Galeotti, really are the stars of this episode. I didn't realize Hailey was in charge of the school newspaper, but I am so happy she stood up to the principal and stood by freedom of the press, instead of simply cutting the essay and saving her job. She didn't want to take Sam's voice away. She did what she knew was right and didn't care about the consequences. Good for her!
The last few minutes of the episode were especially great. I loved how they spliced between past and present as the "new" characters completed a table read of the movie script. When put into this perspective, we realize the characters actually haven't changed all that much.
Here is the link to another TVGuide.com post that has a few clips from tonight's episode. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
But before I get to what I liked about this episode, I have to go on a slight rant. As a feminist, I had a few problems with tonight's episode.
- Was it really necessary for everything out of James Van der Beek's mouth to objectify women? "Audiences like boobs." Seriously? All he talked about was sex and sex appeal while they were trying to cast for the movie. At times it was funny, but at what point is it pushed too far?
- When Peyton and Mia were trying to put together the crib, Mia immediately says, why not just have Lucas do it? Peyton says back that they are two strong women and can do it themselves. But then they fail. They can't put it together. What is that saying about their ability to care for themselves and do "manly" tasks like put something together?
But enough with that. Here are some of the highlights of the night, many of which are examples of why I love this show.
- Jamie tonight was too cute. I love that he wanted to ask a girl over "to play" and when she showed up it was his teacher. And then there was the scene where Jamie thinks Dan is trying to steal her from him. He says to Dan, you're making fun of me. And even when Dan says he isn't, Jamie continues. "You are just trying to make me look bad so that she'll like you better." And he then shouts, "He was in prison!" and stomps out of the room. All he knew was that he wanted his teacher all to himself and would stop at nothing to get it. (As adorable as this was, would a 6-year-old really know anything about this? They write lines that are just too mature for him sometimes.)
- When they are casting for the movie, are they really expecting the person they are casting to look exactly like the original? It was almost too eerie when the camera panned Tric and there were dozens of people who all looked alike. And on a similar note, it was cute to hear the people auditioning reciting lines from past episodes.
- I can't believe Lucas threw a temper tantrum. I don't get why he is being so indecisive. He is making too big of a deal out of making a decision and it honestly annoyed me throughout most of the episode. But lucky for him he won my heart back at the end when he made it to Peyton's sonogram.
- Nathan truly is a team player and I'm glad the coach made him the starter. But I also feel bad for Mr. Tough-guy Basketball player who got fired and actually has, not only a softer side, but also a family to support.
- I'm glad Brooke stood up for herself. As she said, there is so much more to her than just sex and I was happy to see her and Julian work things out at the end.
- When Peyton pointed out to Brooke that they have now shared three guys, I couldn't help but thinking GROSS! With them, the girl code really is shot at this point, huh?
- Hailey, and at the same time Bethany Joy Galeotti, really are the stars of this episode. I didn't realize Hailey was in charge of the school newspaper, but I am so happy she stood up to the principal and stood by freedom of the press, instead of simply cutting the essay and saving her job. She didn't want to take Sam's voice away. She did what she knew was right and didn't care about the consequences. Good for her!
The last few minutes of the episode were especially great. I loved how they spliced between past and present as the "new" characters completed a table read of the movie script. When put into this perspective, we realize the characters actually haven't changed all that much.
Here is the link to another TVGuide.com post that has a few clips from tonight's episode. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did.
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Jennifer Hudson singing the National Anthem
In case you missed it, Jennifer Hudson sang the National Anthem at the start of the game tonight and it was amazing. The hair on my arms stood up and I got goosebumps. I found it up on YouTube already, so here it is. I don't think she was lip syncing, do you? Her performance seemed so genuine. After all she has been through, the murder of her family members a few months ago, this was the first time she appeared publicly and I think she shined.
(The YouTube video I had posted was taken down but you can still see the video of Hudson singing if you go here, to UsMagazine.com.) And that post was even taken down. So hopefully you got to see it while it was up.
(The YouTube video I had posted was taken down but you can still see the video of Hudson singing if you go here, to UsMagazine.com.) And that post was even taken down. So hopefully you got to see it while it was up.
Super Bowl ads
I work at Northeastern's student newspaper, the Huntington News, Wednesdays and Sundays so I did not get to devote my full attention to watching the Super Bowl tonight, though I truly would have enjoyed watching the game both for the action on the field and the commercials. As the game comes closer to the end, I want to hear from you: What did you think of the commercials? Any favorites?
A few standouts from the ones I did see include the Doritos commercials where every time the guy in the commercial crunches a chip something great happens to him, yet when the bag is empty he gets hit by a bus and the Pepsi Macgruber commercials that also aired last night during Saturday Night Live and are based on a recurring SNL skit. Pretty funny stuff!
A few standouts from the ones I did see include the Doritos commercials where every time the guy in the commercial crunches a chip something great happens to him, yet when the bag is empty he gets hit by a bus and the Pepsi Macgruber commercials that also aired last night during Saturday Night Live and are based on a recurring SNL skit. Pretty funny stuff!
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