The L.A. Complex – “Help Wanted”

September 11, 2012 Leave a Comment

This show is going so many great places, and I’m terribly sad for it to end (for the season or forever? Who knows at this point). Tonight we got something that I felt the show had been lacking this second season – certain characters have been too far off in their own worlds and not connecting, and finally, we see Kal meet up with Abby and Raquel with Beth (boy is that character irrelevant). I loved both of these scenes.

Kal’s deal with Abby went way too slowly, but the payoff at the end was worth it – Abby naturally freaks out over knowing the truth about Tariq. I’m really, really hoping this leads to Tariq’s return. I don’t necessarily think that Kal and Tariq should be together again (anymore than I would for any abusive relationship), but I think that the way things ended were horrible for both characters and they deserve some resolution. Also, I enjoyed Tariq as a character – not near as much as Kaldrick, but Tariq was an interesting guy that was actually starting to become successful in a unique business.

That’s another deal we faced in this episode – that everyone, and I mean everyone, who succeeds on this show ultimately screws things up or has things screwed up for them. Entourage, this is not. I loved Nick in the writers room (yet another unique part of Hollywood that we don’t see on TV very often), and the appearance by Paul F. Tompkins was hilarious and added some legitimacy to the show (my roommate, forced to sit through this episode with me, actually perked up and paid attention after Tompkins showed up and brought the coke and the jokes). I should have seen it coming that Nick would be fired for taking the blame for his bosses’ coke problem, but I thought that maybe some twist would set it right. It didn’t, Nick was fired, and so I guess we will be forced to sit through more of his awful stand up once again. Which I love, don’t get me wrong.

Raquel was just an amazeballs waitress. That’s really all I have to say about her. More service industry for Raquel, please.

Finally, we come to Conner, who has not been the most interesting character this season, but now you better believe he has my full attention. I loved the plot with his sister and I was really, genuinely excited for him when he got the DNA test results at the end. That is, until the plot thickened!!! She’s into Scientology “Scienetics”!!! And then, suddenly, everything I found charming about their blossoming family relationship was suddenly called into question in my mind, including the test results themselves. I FREAKING LOVE THIS SHOW.

 

The LA Complex on The CW

Tonight’s Quotant Quotable: “This is not the ‘70s. It’s not the mid-‘80s. It’s not various portions of the ‘90s. You are not day traders. This is not a high school or a discotheque in Monaco. You are pale, miserable, uncool writers who should not be able to afford this much cocaine. You’re lucky you get a writers’ bathroom!” – Paul F. Tompkins

Filed Under Recaps, Recommendations, The CW Tagged With Andra Fuller, Cassie Steele, Drama, Firefly, good shows, Jewel Staite, The CW, The L.A. Complex

Whoa!!! Did that REALLY just happen?? The CW’s L.A. Complex goes there.

May 2, 2012 Leave a Comment

Last night I watched the second episode of The L.A. Complex on The CW, and it was RIDICULOUS. Oh god, it was totally cray-cray, and from Canada, fine purveyors of one of the craziest dramas ever to air, Degrassi. Wait, what is that you say? The same people who made Degrassi made The L.A. Complex? The show stars MANNY MOTHERFUCKING SANTOS? I’m there!

And this episode ended with a DOOZY of a surprise that is going to guarantee my return next week (will discuss more later). L.A. Complex, don’t let me down in subsequent episodes like I’m thinking GCB has done.

So I have not yet had the time to sit down and watch the pilot, but after watching the second episode, I’ve gathered that it’s something like a dirtier Melrose Place – a group of young, struggling wannabes live in a filthy apartment building together, and sex, drama and catfighting ensue (well, they did bring Manny Motherfucking Santos in to star, so of course there’s catfighting). Speaking of the HBIC, Cassie Steele is here playing basically a version of her old character, only this time her name’s “Abby Vargas” ….Sure, okay. We’ll go with that. She’s an illegal Canadian immigrant and a struggling actress.

Cassie Steele and Jewel Staite in The L.A. Complex

And the producers have wasted no time finding an excuse to get her in a hooker costume.

You might notice that Manny’s hooker compatriot in the photo about is none other than Jewel Staite, another Canuck gal famous for a beloved character she played – Kaylee Frye from Firefly and Serenity. Jewel plays a bitchy, brazen woman whose career (not personality, of course) might mirror her own – Raquel Westbrook had a hit TV show, but now she’s older, jobs have dried up and everyone only remembers her for that one part. In the episode, they both audition for the same guest part on a TV series – Hooker #1, apparently – and in the end, Manny MF’in Santos wins the role. Raquel is pissed… and little does she know that Manny has already hooked up with her favorite boytoy, too!! I sense a little All About Eve going on here, but Raquel should watch out – Manny’s a hair puller.

So, blah blah, there’s some other stuff involving two people working on a doctor drama show (including Radio Free Roscoe‘s Kate Todd, for all you fans of other classic The N shows), and somethin about this other dude that looks like the dopey version of James Franco from the first Spiderman wearing Peter Parker’s glasses (think this guy has a crush on Manny, but then again, we all do).

And we finally arrive at the storyline that made me go WHOA. This omgsupercute young guy from the complex named Tariq, who’s a little bit French Canadian and from Montreal (which should have given me a hint, honestly), finally gets his first big break as a producer – he’ll be making beats for this gangster rapper dude who a Wikipedia search tells me is named Kaldrick King. But we’ll just call him Gangsta Gangsta. They have this whole Training Day thing going, where they are driving around LA together and occasionally Gangsta Gangsta hollers at Montreal for no reason. And then, (and dear god if only this was the real ending to Training Day), Gangsta Gangsta puts on a smooth soul record and the two of them look like they are going to punch each other, but instead the just start DOING IT.

It's a Cinderella story - boy meets boy, only one's on the downlow and is really angry about it.

So far this is a show that has only made waves for breaking the record of the lowest-ever premiere for a network show. But my suggestion is that anyone who’s a sucker for Canada, DRAMAAAAH, or The N network alumni, to give this show a chance. Oh yeah! And they said “tits” on this show. It was edited out by CW. What’s not to love?

Filed Under Recaps, Recommendations, Television Tagged With degrassi, Firefly, new shows, Shows That Will Probably Get Canceled, The CW, The L.A. Complex

Why are they still making this show?

April 25, 2012 Leave a Comment

I watched the newest episode of Glee last night, and all I could think was WOW, there is clearly a star on this show and it’s not Lea Michele.

Darren Criss steals every scene he’s in, every song that he sings, and is clearly meant for better things than High School Afterschoolspecial Musical.

While I think that Chris Colfer’s quite the budding starlet as well and I truly believe he’s got a huge future ahead of him, Kurt and Blaine have zero chemistry and I’m sick of St. Hummel as a character. It would be smart for this show to graduate Kurt, Rachel and the other seniors and start a fresh slate, using the old favorites for guest spots in the future, but unfortunately the makers of Glee love shooting themselves in the foot.

It’s difficult to remember that this season started out great: full-time addition of Blaine, truly excellent story lines for Santana and Mike (Mike! Where was he last night?), the awesomeness that was the Troubletones.

But the past three weeks haven’t been able to keep my interest at all, and even what previously could save a horrible Glee episode – a mesmerizing musical performance – has not helped. Last night’s versions of “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” and “It’s Night Right, But It’s Okay” were good, but not episode-saving.

Better than any critique I could offer, however, is the one from my boyfriend as we sat on the couch watching the show. While I’ve forced my musical-loathing beau to watch many an hour of Glee before, he usually appreciates the quick humor and stomachs it quite well. But last night, all he could say was, “I thought this show used to be funny.”

I did, too, darlin.

On a positive note, MVP of the Week goes to Puck and Sam, who offered some much-needed humor (“I can be super helpful, but when you ask me stuff, you’ve got to be real specific.”) Thanks, guys.

Filed Under FOX, Rants, Recaps, Uncategorized Tagged With Chord Overstreet, chris colfer, darren criss, fox, glee, lea michele

The Game of Thrones Lady Power Ranking, Week 3

April 16, 2012 1 Comment

This week two very  important new ladies were introduced to the series – two I was VERY pumped to see – thanks to the shift in focus to Robert’s youngest brother, Lord Renly Baratheon (now King Renly, as he calls himself). And the first you might have guessed already…

Margaery Tyrell, Game of Thrones, HBO

She knows what's up.

1. My main bi-yatch, Margaery Tyrell – Many were confused when news broke that Natalie Dormer, who’s 30, had been cast in the role of 16-year-old Margaery, but now it’s all starting to make sense. Margaery was presented as a very clever girl in the books but she was very good at putting on the face of naivete and it took the reader until book 4 to realize how intelligent she truly was. Now they need her in the TV series to be more openly sharp witted from the get-go. My theory is (MINOR SPOILER ALERT) that the producers are going to combine the characters of Margaery and her grandmother, the Queen of Thornes (Olenna Redwyne), which book readers will know means making a pretty drastic change to a couple of plot lines down the road, but they are changes that I welcome! Long live Queen Margaery!

Brienne of Tarth, Game of Thrones

Yao Ming ain't got nothin'.

2. Brienne of Tarth – This was hands-down one of the most anticipated additions to the new cast and I’ve got to say they nailed it. As many have pointed out, Gwendoline Christie is indeed prettier than Brienne (who is mocked as “Brienne the Beauty” and “The Maid of Tarth”) was described in the books, but they’ve done a good job of making a striking model into a homely warrior. This episode saw her wrestle the great Ser Loras Tyrell to the ground and win a place in Renly’s Rainbow Guard. She also seemed to have made an impression on Catelyn Stark, a woman who by all means is hard to impress. I’m excited to see her progress in the series.

Princess Myrcella Baratheon

She's just too cute to be related to Joffrey.

3. Princess Myrcella – We only saw little Myrcella for a few minutes onscreen, but her mere existence fueled much of the episode’s plot and one truly great meltdown from her mother Cercei Lannister. This was one of those times when Cersei gets super crazy, but we understand because, like many mothers, she rarely demonstrates logic when her children are concerned. Tyrion used the prospect of brokering a marriage for Myrcella as a ploy to test council members Pycelle, Littlefinger and Varys. He told each of the tricky men that he was planning to send Myrcella to foster in three different families with prospective suitors – the Martells of Dorne (which he told Pycelle), the Arryns of the Vale (to Littlefinger) and the Greyjoys (to Varys). He begged each not to tell Cersei of his plan. Only Pycelle told. Tyrion lopped off his beard and threw him in a dungeon, to everyone’s amusement.

"These are the knights of summer, and they can't even defeat a girl. Hmmmmm."

4. Catelyn Stark – Lady Stark can sometimes make major mistakes that can change the whole story (like when she took the Imp and started a war), but her actions always come from a place of intelligence and love for her family. This week brought Cat to treat with Renly, and while she hasn’t yet convinced Renly to side with her son and agree to be “the King in the South” (which doesn’t quite have the same ring to it as Robb’s version), she did impart wise advice to Renly as to why his massive army could still fail – “These are the knights of summer, and winter is coming.” The young fighters of the Stormlands and the Reach are young, untested and hungry to prove themselves, but they have not seen war like the men of Ned and King Robert’s generation. This could be Renly’s Achilles Heal further on down the road.

Sup bitch.

5. Yara Greyjoy – This week we saw Yara do a recap of everything she did last week – glaring with that creepy stare, being all tough and butch and daddy’s-little-seafaring-girl, teasing Theon, more glaring. Though I’m enjoying the Greyjoy storyline as a whole better than I did in the books, the Greyjoy’s one saving grace – the beautiful, badass Asha – I’m enjoying a whole lot less. Yara did point out her reason for allowing Theon to get all-up-ons last week – she wanted to know who he was after all those years, and she found out. Theon had a pretty bad week, thanks to his family, and after Yara’s taunts we see he’s finally given up Robb Stark – probably the only person who’s ever really liked him, by the way – in favor of a bunch of Ironborn assholes. Verrrry interrrrrresting.

Be careful she doesn't pray for you next.

6. Arya Stark – Only making her appearance at the very end of the episode (as she seems to do), Arya is seen learning from Yoren about the ways of the world and revenge. Unfortunately we had to see the last of Yoren in this episode, and Arya loses yet another mentor that died trying to protect her. She showed her strength and intelligence at the end of the episode, when she fingers the dead Lommy Greenhands as Gendry to protect her bastard friend. It was an anti-climactic way to end an interesting episode, but I suppose the producers are trying to end every episode this season with a child getting murdered, so when Lommy was stabbed the viewers should have known there was little left to go in the hour.

Shae, Tyrion's whore

Shae the Funny Whore

7. Shae – Tyrion’s whore, whom he is going to some extravagant means to conceal, managed to convince the otherwise cunning Imp into letting her work inside the castle as a handmaiden to Sansa Stark. Tyrion originally meant for her to go to the kitchens, where she would be better hidden, but Shae was having none of it. “I am no kitchen wench,” she told him. It’s interesting to see this weakness in Tyrion, a character we see week in and week out to be so mentally strong. Shae is his soft spot, and we see this week that she knows it. A similar scene happens in the books, but since Shae’s character has been drastically changed for the series and she was not paired with Sansa in the books either, I’ll be watching very keenly to see where this new relationship goes, especially since Sansa was so impatient with her.

8. Sansa Stark – Another bad week for poor Sansa. Still beat down by life in general, Sansa’s still being forced to dine with the family that killed her father and parrot the Lannister family talking points. You can tell it’s killing her inside, and it’s a wonder the girl hasn’t she threw herself off a tower yet. Watching Sophie Turner’s performance is really heartbreaking, too. However, the Show!Sansa has always been more of a bitch than Book!Sansa, so it was no surprise when she was horrible to Shae. You can argue that the whore deserves it, but Sansa doesn’t know that had no reason to be harsh to her other than to take her frustrations out on someone who couldn’t argue back. Dick move, Sansa. Dick move.

And last but not least, my other main bi-yatch…

9. Cersei Lannister – Damn girl. You crazy this week. Bested by your little brother yet again, you let Tyrion seal the deal to send your kid away, and then don’t even see the logic in that she will be safer when she gets as far away from the capitol (and you) as possible. You can yell and scream all you want, sister, but Jaime’s still locked away, Tyrion is still ruling the kingdom without you and Joff is still a little asshole. You always understand what’s going on, but you never quite get the point, do you?

The crazy bitch Melisandre doesn’t get a power ranking this week because she wasn’t around – wherefore art thou, Stannis? – and of course we didn’t see any of our Khaleesi Daenerys, but next week’s promo looks like a promising episode for the dragon mama – the khalasar arrives in Qarth! Let’s hope they keep the traditional costumes.

Filed Under Lady Power, Parental Guidance, Recaps Tagged With Game of Thrones, HBO, Lady power rankings, recaps

Game of Thrones Week 1: Jack Gleeson for Emmy

April 10, 2012 Leave a Comment
Jon Snow and Ghost on the Iron Throne from Game of Thrones

Hmm... Just like his father?

And we’re back! HBO’s Season 2 of Game of Thrones premiered, and I high tailed it to my parents’ house to watch with my friends and family. I feel sorry for those watching that haven’t finished the Song of Ice and Fire book series (i.e. everyone who was watching with me last night), because this opening episode was a bitch to keep up with.

I have so many thoughts on this episode, but the first one is that “The North Remembers” will likely not go down in history as the best episode of this series. Much like the first episode of Season 1, Season 2′s opener just had too much ground to cover in too little time to build a strong narrative in any of the zillion plotlines this series will follow this year. When we got to Gendry at the end with the reveal of Arya, it felt like the show had only been going for 20 minutes (my boyfriend, who has graciously committed to watching the show with me despite his distaste for fantasy: “God, that felt like two hours!”). I think that Game of Thrones fans will just have to get used to the fact that the first episode of each season, much like the prologues of the books, will not be quite as enthralling as the rest of the series.

–So with that said, the rest of the episode was pure (Arbor) gold. First, we open the episode not on Dragonstone with new characters Stannis (Stephen Dillane) and Melisandre (Carice Van Houten), as I assumed it would be, and instead right back at King’s Landing on young King Joffrey’s (Jack Gleeson) nameday (that’s Westerosi jargon for birthday). King Joff is having knights battle each other to death for his own sick pleasure and even tries to drown one guy, Ser Dontos, in wine when he shows up to the fight drunk. (Note: not trying to give out any spoilers, here, but remember Ser Dontos. He will be back.) Thankfully, Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) – who’s looking more like a Lifetime Original Movie victim with every breathe – speaks for the man and surprisingly, the Hound backs her up, so Joffrey keeps him alive to serve has his new jester.

Jack Gleeson is such a magnificent bastard here, and his swagger and evilness really steals the whole episode. If the Emmy awards are looking to honor another actor besides Peter Dinklage, I really think they can look no further than Gleeson’s beyond-his-years performance.  If anything, Gleeson’s sneers have made my dad reeeeally hate Joffrey. My pops, who’s the kind of guy who used to imagine ways he could kill Osama bin Laden himself, has already asked to be transported to Westeros so he can tell the characters “that somebody ought to kill that little punk.” At least Dad didn’t volunteer to do it himself.

-Meanwhile, Joffrey’s mama Cersei is in hot water over Ned Stark’s beheading and her apparent lack of control over her boy-king, so Tyrion is sent to reign her in. Here is a place the show deviates from the books – in the series, Cersei is pulling all the strings, but here, Joffrey is shown to have a mind of his own and tries to exert his own authority over the Queen Regent. Whether that will continue is up in the air, but it seemed that it was the King, not his mother, that ordered the death of Robert’s bastards on the show last night.

–Daenerys Targaryen (whoa, I haven’t had to spell that in a while) is beautiful even when she is dehydrated a covered in sand. She’s trying to feed her dragons, but they won’t eat anything she’s giving them. The last time we saw Dany it seemed like everything was going to be awesome all the time for her – there were dragons, boobies and people bowing at her feet. But the dragons are still babies, so they are not going to be conquering anything anytime soon, and could be stolen if Dany’s khalasar runs into the wrong people. She sends out the blood of her blood to go find help. I think she’s finally starting to think Jorah ain’t lookin’ too bad anymore.

-Jon. WTF is going on with Jon? He’s hanging north of the Wall with the Black Bros and Craster, he-who-marries-his-daughters, but I am bored. Jon’s one of my favorite characters from the book but I was more pleased to see Samwise Gamgee- I mean, Samwell Tarly – than anything. I just missed that dopey face of his.

Samwell Tarly from Game of Thrones Season 2

I think he's thinking about taters.... Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew.

On a side note, surely we’ve all noticed that Jon’s loyal sidekick Sam is the most direct analogue for a Tolkien character in the whole series. Probably the second most directly inspired character would be Theon Greyjoy for Smeagol-Gollum. Meak, rhymes with weak, rhymes with reek, rhymes with My Precious.

-And finally we come to Arya and Gendry, one of my favorite team-ups in the series. We only get a brief glance of the young wolf but it was an exciting way to end the episode and only proves how vital she is to the series, that merely her appearance onscreen would be enough for fans to end the night on. So happy to see the adorable Maisie Williams again. And did they change the actor for Gendry, or does he just look different without the soot all over his face? I’ll have to check on that.

Stray thoughts:

-Peter Dinklage, you’re a badass. Please work on that accent, though, kay? It takes me out of the scene every time.

-Richard Madden, you are killing it. You might be stealing my love away from Kit Harington this year. Robb Stark was just dripping with sexiness. It was coming out of his ears. Damn.

 

Filed Under Featured, Parental Guidance, Recaps Tagged With Emmy worthy, For Your Consideration, Game of Thrones, HBO, Stuff I Watch With Mom and Dad

Butters, you’re a genius!

March 19, 2012 1 Comment
Reverse Cowgirl

Buckle up for safety!

As I’ve already mentioned with my post on Community, this week was about triumphant returns, the second of which was South Park! Obviously I’m super excited, so let’s get right to it.

The season premiere of South Park (which I was able to watch the next day, thanks to Trey and Matt’s dedication to southparkstudios.com) was, similar to this week’s Community, a return to the basic formula instead of something high-concept. Again, I love high-concept South Park. Some of the most interesting, weirdest episodes ever – “The Coon” episodes come to mind – have been crazy high-concept endeavors. But I love it when the boys are just the boys, and there was a lot of that during “Reverse Cowgirl.”

First of all, my mother has always hated South Park because of what she calls “toilet humor,” while I have tried to convince her for years that the animated series is much, much more than that. Unfortunately had she watched this episode, she would have been completely confirmed in all of her judgments over the years. The episode was literally all about toilets – man’s inability to put the seat down, Clyde’s mom dying because she fell in, and the man who invented the toilet coming back as a ghost to explain that humans have been sitting in the wrong direction on the toilet for years. (Duh! Why else would there be a little shelf for your comic books? Butters is truly a genius. When he pointed this out, prior to the reveal at the end, literally, my mind was blown.)

But, as usual, the writers have found a way to subvert what amounts to the silliest of ideas and turn it into a critical look at TSA security regulations. When Clyde’s mom dies, government regulations are installed to ensure that no American ever falls in the commode ever again, ordering safety belts and TSA – “toilet security administration” – guards to oversee everyone’s bathroom proceedings, leading the government to literally lend itself to wiping the ass of its citizens. There’s also a less funny bit about lawyers and our overly-litigious society, which was a good point but not told in an amusing fashion.

The episode ends with Clyde giving the finger up to heaven, because dammit he just wants to pee the way he was born to.

Anyway, the whole episode did everything a good South Park should do – it had over-the-top humor, social commentary, and kids being kids. I give this one a B+. (Should I start using a grading system? Let me know in the comments.)

What did you think about “Reverse Cowgirl”?

 

Filed Under Recaps Tagged With comedy central, Matt and Trey, new episode, new season, south park, southparkstudios.com

Best New Bitches

March 5, 2012 Leave a Comment
Kristin Chenoweth on GCB

Plottin', schemin', and up to no Good.

GCB (aka “Good Christian Bitches”) premiered last night on ABC, and for every cowgirl (or cowboy!) that loves a good country-fried cat fight, this is where you need to be every Sunday night. No joke. This show is great.

GCB tells the story of Amanda Vaughn (Leslie Bibb… remember Popular??), a Dallas-bred Californian whose Ponzi-scheming husband just died in a rather spectacular and unsavory fashion (I won’t spill the exact details; it’s too funny not to enjoy the surprise). She’s got to move back to Texas, where she previously ruled the roost as the resident Mean Girl, and deal with the Good Christian Bitches she used to torment.

The story starts off quickly and, like many pilots, the setup is a little rushed and formulaic. But the second the script shifts to church and we meet the Bitches, the good stuff starts!

First up is Carlene Cockburn (oh lord yes that is her name), played by a delightfully evil Kristin Chenoweth, who has had more surgeries than Meg Ryan and bends the meaning of Biblical quotes a little too liberally. Next is Cricket (Miriam Shor), who’s married to a hot piece of smokin’ gay cowboy (played by Mark Deklin – seriously, this guy is charming as hell). Then there’s Sharon (Jennifer Aspen), who used to have the best body in school and now…. doesn’t, and Heather (Marisol Nichols), who is the town gossip but perhaps the only nice one of the bunch.

I can see so many ways that the premise of these Jesus-loving hellraisers could go wrong or get stale, but I’m seriously hoping that doesn’t happen (for at least four seasons or so). This show mixes the perfect cocktail of over-the-top ridiculousness (what else could you expect from the likes of Darren Star?) and Southern realness (same to be said for Robert Harling, writer of my favorite story of the South, Steel Magnolias). I’m definitely hooked – for now, at least.

What did you think of GCB? If you missed the show, watch it here at hulu.com!

Filed Under ABC, Hulu, Recaps Tagged With abc, GCB, good stuff, Kristin Chenoweth, new shows, the South, women

The Oscars Were Really, Really, Really Terrible this Year

February 27, 2012 Leave a Comment

The Oscars were last night – the one night a year where the wonder of Hollywood comes to the small screen. The stars! The Old Hollywood Glamour! The nip slips!

For me, all that I saw last night was more proof that this is a tired, archaic institution that, instead of adapting with the times, has actually become worse for the wear.

For the record, I know that all awards shows are totally pointless and only exist so that rich people can pat each other on the back (and see who can get the most free crap from the swag booth). But there has always been something I liked about them, too – maybe it’s because of the thrill of watching live TV, I don’t know.

Some shows have adapted over the years to suit a new audience. Look at the Grammys – most of the awards are handed out before the broadcast airs, and instead the whole show is like one big concert, with varied acts and elaborate sets and big-name collaborations. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t, but it usually produces moments worth talking about and re-watching the next day. Same with the Golden Globes, the Oscars red-headed stepsister – hiring Ricky Gervais two years ago demonstrated the dangerous and fun element a good host can bring to an otherwise dull affair. Also they serve alcohol. Good choice.

But alas, the Academy Awards are nothing but the same old drivel. While I thought Eddie Murphy would have been a capable host this year, I didn’t see anything exciting about him in particular, and I thought that when he dropped out, the show had a unique opportunity to get someone really out-of-the-box (NOT out-of-the-blue like Anne Hathaway and James Franco, might you). Someone like a Gervais, you know? Or like Joel McHale, or Aziz Ansari, or Tina Fey. Someone who can improvise, someone who can make fun of the room and still get a laugh. Or if you wanted to play it safe, get Neil Patrick Harris! He’s proven himself to be a great host of other shows, he’s well-liked and respected by peers, and just like most of the Oscars viewing audience, he’s gay – instant appeal!

So, needless to say, Billy Crystal was not my first choice. He’s hosted the show nine times, so by now, he’s on auto-pilot, pulling the same shtick as the previous eight goes. Plus, he added nothing to the night with his constant jokes about old people, how things “used to be,” and “what the kids are doing these days” – which is, if Crystal is to be believed, texting and using iPads and liking Justin Beiber. Though I remember Crystal from my childhood as being witty and quick, when I read his pre-Oscar interview in Entertainment Weekly where he made a crack about movie theaters these days “glow” from all the phones that are being used during the movie, I knew we were in trouble.

Additionally, on a note unrelated to the broadcast, I haven’t seen any of these movies that were being honored. Nobody has. It’s hard to get emotionally attached to something that you’ve only been told in a commercial that “critics adore.” It wasn’t THAT long ago that films like Gladiator, Braveheart, Titanic and The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King were best picture winners. People freaking LOVED those movies, and they made gajillions of dollars, and they were still amazing pictures that all Americans have in our collective consciousness (yes, even Titanic). In 2010, the Academy said they would widen the Best Picture nomination list, partially to make room for animated films like Up or action tales like The Dark Knight. This year there were nine nominees, but only two – Moneyball and The Help – were popular, and neither were near Gladiator levels.

Thanks to my mom, who provided sangria while my family watched the telecast. It really helped me make it through.

Here were the only two highlights of the night:

Dean Pelton strikes a pose.

Jim Rash won for his work on the script for The Descendants, which not only was great for the fan-favorite Community star, but it was also hilarious when he mocked Giada DeLaurentiis’s Angelina Jolie’s ridiculous pose she struck throughout the night.

The Prince of (Oscar) Parties

Flight of the Conchords star and adorable Kiwi Bret Mckenzie pick up a win for his “Man or Muppet” song from The Muppets. His speech was charming. Perhaps he and Jemaine could host next year’s ceremony? Now THAT I would watch.

 

Filed Under ABC, Parental Guidance, Rants, Recaps Tagged With abc, community, Flight of the Conchords, The Academy Awards, The Oscars, total crap

Never Diss 90s R&B

February 26, 2012 Leave a Comment

I finally got caught up on Parks and Rec this week, marathoning “Operation Ann” and “Dave Returns” on hulu before tuning in for Thursday’s new episode, “Sweet Sixteen.” Obviously the big news from these three episodes is that Tom and Ann have (kind of) started dating, and apparently a lot of people have responded negatively. (The New York Post’s headline was “Tom and Ann need to break up immediately.”)

I am going to through my hat in the ring of “like it.” I mean, if these were real people, this relationship would be a trainwreck. But it’s TV! Sometimes you just put people together because you like to see them argue – the Xander/Cordelia effect, if you will.

Right now, Tom Haverford is one of the most popular characters in comedy. He’s a one-man catchphrase machine and Aziz Anzari plays him to perfection. However, he spent all of the first half of the season at his Entertainment 720 company, being awesome, and this character is inherently goofy. He needs to be less awesome for a while, more of a bumbling idiot, and that’s why the Ann Perkins thing needed to happen.

What didn’t need to happen? Louis C.K. returning! I think we were all really stoked about Officer Dave coming back, especially with all of Louis C.K.’s success in the past year. It seemed logical to bring him back, but I wish they didn’t. It wasn’t bad, but his arrival was just frivolous, and I didn’t laugh as hard at Dave’s invented “police jargon” as I did to the Pawnee police at the pizza party in “Ron & Tammy Part Two.” I love Louis, but unless that episode is going to lead to moere appearances in the future (maybe he’ll get the chief job?), we didn’t need to see him again.

The most surprising thing about Parks continues to be the stellar supporting cast – Donna, Jerry, and even Champion. I love learning that “the Meagles are a cold people,” and that Donna is not just pretending to be wealthy with her Mercedes. Donna really did just have one joke in early seasons – “My Mercedes!” – and she’s now become a fan favorite, thanks to the phenomenon of “Treat Yourself.”

One last thing I’ve gotta say – it is truly a treat to watch a series in its prime. Sometimes we don’t appreciate a show until it goes south, and it ALWAYS goes south, in some way or another. Look at 30 Rock – still great, but past its best days. Now, the bitchin and the moanin comes out. Seriously, people, just appreciate it while its great. Parks and Rec won’t be awesome forever. Enjoy this.

Filed Under Hulu, NBC, Recaps Tagged With Aziz Ansari, Louis CK, NBC, parks and rec, parks and recreation, Thursday night comedy, Tom Haverford

Dammit!

February 12, 2012 Leave a Comment

zooey dechanel snl

#IguessIdonthateZooeyDeschanelanymore

#stillkindahateher

#SNL

Filed Under #hashtagreviews, NBC, Recaps Tagged With It's really your fans I hate, New Girl, Saturday Night Live, SNL, Things I Hate, Zooey Dechanel
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