Not ready to say good-bye...

I made a mistake today. I had heard on the radio that the song's from tomorrow night's Glee tribute to Cory Montheith were available on You Tube. I watched them. It was a big mistake. I have been dreading this episode since Cory passed away over the summer, and now the music confirms I will cry through the entire episode. If you haven't taken a listen, I won't give anything away - but I will say they are excellent choices and the performances are heart-wrenching. I cried and it was just the audio.

Glee has never been shy about confronting the tough subjects. How they plan to address Cory's death is still unknown, but I have faith in how they will write it in to the show. Since I woke up that Sunday morning to the news, it has broken my heart. Not only is a favorite character gone from a favorite show, I immediately thought of the cast. They will have had to grieve twice - once for Cory and again for Finn.

I don't want to get in to the issues surrounding Corey's death. Although I am glad that it seems Finn will not have the same cause of death as was previously discussed. Although that worked for other show's facing a lead actor's death - John Spencer's heart attack being the same thing to happen to Leo McGarry comes to mind.  When John Ritter died of an undiagnosed heart condition, his character on 8 Simple Rules was killed in a car accident. I don't think this would have worked for Glee. Finn is beloved and his fans feel as though they know him personally. It would have seemed out of character for Finn, at least in my opinion.

It will be a tough hour to watch for so many. I might not be able to blog right after, but check back here in the next few days for my thoughts on the tribute.

Why I hate reality TV

There. I said it - I hate reality TV. But let me be clear - Im not talking about competition shows like The Voice or Project Runway. Im not talking about cooking shows, home improvement shows or documentaries.

Im talking about shows where people who are previously famous for nothing get their own show to display the intimate details of their lives. There are some shows that aren't so bad - I've been known to laugh at Si on Duck Dynasty when my husband is watching, and I enjoy TLC's The Little Couple. But for the most part, the whole concept makes me cringe. I don't mean to single out any particular show, but in many cases I feel like we are watching these shows for laughs and the "stars" have no clue we are making fun of them. It is true that most are compensated quite well for opening their lives up to the cameras. And perhaps they do know that we are laughing but the money is so good, they don't care. But what does that say about our society? We are actively watching programs because we enjoying watching others and thinking about how we are better than them. And we wonder why bullying is such an issue in our schools...

Many years ago I was a communications major. My concentration was in Public Relations, but my love of TV led me to a few electives in the radio/tv/film concentration. While reality TV was not what it is today then (MTV was the biggest producer with Real World, Road Rules and The Real World/Road Rules challenges), it did come up in a few classes, so here is what I remember....

Reality TV is cheap to produce. Despite the crazy amounts of money some "stars" get per episode, they rarely get that in the beginning of a show's lifetime. There are no sets to create and in many cases  no wardrobe or makeup artists. They can make a reality show for far less per episode just because they have no writers to pay. Once the "stars" are making fees closer to what actors make the shows are in the position to be pulling in that money from advertisers or product placement deals.

In my house we watch mostly network TV and scripted cable shows. We DVR new episodes as they air. Most people - those who are not addicts - no longer do that. I have a friend who is also a huge Big Bang Theory fan. One day I asked her about what she thought of the most recent episode. She had no clue what I was talking about. The fact is, she didn't even know that BBT airs on CBS. She thought it was a TBS show because all she's ever watched is the repeats there. When I asked her what she normally watches on a given night she informed me that she normally just channel surfs till something catches her eye. She admitted its generally a cable reality show. I don't think she's alone. The voyeur in us is taking over, and because of that so is reality TV.

And I can hear all the comments - so what? I like it and I should be able to watch what I like. And yes, you should. But I don't think reality TV is good for us. I think it makes people feel like they have a right to know all the details of everyone's lives. If I get to know these things about the Kardashians and the Duggars and Honey Boo Boo then why shouldn't I know it about my coworkers, my neighbors, even my family. But guess what? Its just not your business. The people with reality shows are making a choice to let us in. Your friends and family are not so its not OK to ask them certain things or comment on certain things. I recently overheard this conversation between acquaintances:

Woman 1 - So you'll be married 10 years soon then. Don't you want kids?
Woman 2 - Umm....
Woman 1 - Well, there is no shame in infertility. Guilana and Bill struggled with it too. They got a surrogate.
Woman 2 - Oh, ummm, yeah...
Woman 1 -  I know they are expensive, but you both have good jobs. Would you like me to make some calls? See if I know anyone else who has used one?

Woman 1 just dropped the names of two famous people as if she knows them personally. And she feels like she does, because she steps into the day to day of their lives once a week.

This is a TV blog, so I wont get political, but in the last week some pretty major things have been going on in our country. Next time you watch the news or visit a news website, take a minute to check out the stories, really look at them. Don't just scan for what you are looking for. I think you will be shocked at how many stories are about reality TV stars and minutia from celebrities lives. Then take a look at how many of them are above the fold.

Reality TV is cheap to produce and if we keep watching it, they will keep making it. I think we need to stop watching.

Farewell, Ziva....

I'm just going to come out and say it - although I LOVE NCIS, I never loved Ziva David. I liked her a lot, but I did not love her.

Perhaps its because I always liked Sasha Alexander so much. I loved her on Dawson's Creek and I love her now on Rizzoli & Isles. When Kate died, I was heartbroken. I think Tony still is too...did you catch that his fish is named Kate? But I digress.



I liked Ziva and  I accepted her as a part of the team. I just never saw her with Tony. To me, it always felt a little forced. I wont compare Kate and Ziva, because that's not really fair, and I think I truly would have felt that way about Tony and Ziva even if Kate had never been on the show.




Ziva's story lines aside from Tony never really interested me. I just couldn't get in to the whole Mossad/bad father thing. I think the other characters on NCIS have far more compelling back story's, which also fit in more with the show's other stories.


When it was announced that Cote de Paulo was leaving the show over the summer I was very curious how it would play out, especially when closure was promised for all those who had waited so patiently for the Tony/Ziva relationship to take off in the direction of permanent. I immediately thought Witness Protection was in her future. I was wrong, but I also didn't love how they ended it.

It still felt forced to me - she loves Tony but she's still leaving. I get it, she thinks she needs to go so those she loves can be safe. But as the show closed, I mostly felt relief. I feel hopeful that the person who joins the team next won't just be dumped in as a new love interest for Tony. I hope she will be a well developed character who fits in with the team and brings more to the table in the humor department (because that's a part of what sets NCIS apart from every other procedural on TV). I also hope we can now get back to my favorite NCIS couple, Abby and McGhee. (BTW - Pauley Perrette also appeared on Dawson's Creek. Bonus to anyone who can say what role she played...)

Identity Crisis

I remember going to see Apollo 13 in the movie theater. So many scenes had Tom Hanks doing a voice over - and I felt myself thinking..."No wonder they didnt succeed, Forrest Gump is flying the space shuttle".



There was nothing on TV tonight, so I decided to try some of the new stuff I missed this week On Demand. I'd heard some great stuff about Trophy Wife, and since Bradley Whitford is just awesome, I thought I'd check it out. But, here's the thing....Josh is without Donna. In the scene where he cant get the easel opened. Would definitely not be happening if Donna was there.




Some characters are just so iconic, so memorable - when the actor takes on something new its hard to shake the identity of their previous role. It took me about a season and a half to stop thinking of Sarah Braverman on Parenthood as Lorelei Gilmore (although her scenes last week with Mae Whitman had all the charm of her scenes with Alexis Bledel back in the Gilmore Girls days).

When I was a kid and Highway to Heaven was a popular show I kept asking my parents what killed Mr. Ingalls and Mr. Edwards. I couldn't figure out how they had both become angels.

I feel for the actors. They need to work. As the old saying goes, when one door closes, another opens. So here they are trying to walk through a new door and make a go of it. And all I can think about it their previous success. Have you ever watched a show and had that happen to you?

Oh, now I get it....

A few years ago during the terrible awful which shall not be named (the Writer's Strike) Lifetime started airing How I Met Your Mother - two episodes back to back on Monday nights. My husband and I were not HIMYM fans. When it started airing we didn't have a DVR and there was something else that conflicted with the show, so we never watched it. Two episodes in and we definitely got what all the fuss was about.



We spent the strike catching up on all the previous episodes. This experience inspired us to look at other shows we'd never watched but heard so much about. We spent that summer watching NCIS.
Since then we have also discovered Big Bang Theory, Downton Abbey and my new personal fave, The West Wing thanks to Netflix. All of these shows were shows people talked about, told me Id love, insisted I watch. I ignored them. See, I tend to not like things that are surrounded by a lot of hype. My dad told me I'd love The West Wing.




 Actually, everyone I knew told me that. But the more they told me I'd love it, the less I wanted to watch. Plus, I'm a little OCD about TV. I don't like to watch things out of order. I don't like coming in during the middle of a show. I want all the awesomeness from the beginning, in the order in which the writers intended. So this summer when my regular programming went on summer break, we were searching for something on Netflix to fill our evenings, and up popped West Wing. And as soon as Jed Bartlet fell off the bike and Sam realized he spent the night with a call girl, I was hooked. I watched the whole series straight through, completely riveted. As I approached the last season, I found myself sad. What was I going to do when I finished? I would miss CJ, and Josh, and Donna....so I started it all over again. I plan on asking for the box set on DVD for Christmas. But, I digress.....



Netflix and TV on DVD has changed things - we no longer have to wait for shows to arrive on Nick at Night to catch up on a gem we somehow missed. Now that I've discovered Aaron Sorkin I've added Newsroom and Sports Night to my list of shows to watch. I know my husband wants to check out Boardwalk Empire.

Any other suggestions for me? I'd love to know what shows I've missed out on, or what's on your list of shows to check out.

Everything old is new again

I was recently asked an interesting question :If I could bring back one TV show, which would I choose. This, for me at least, is a very hard question. I have so many favorites,but not all can make the cut. And then I think of the disastrous remakes (90210 anyone?) and I know to make it happen right would take just the right set of circumstances.  I narrowed it down to a "few" great ones:

1. The West Wing....I think this one, under the absolute perfect conditions could recapture the magic. The premise of the White House leaves us endless possibilities and gives the opportunity to totally re-work the show every four or eight seasons. And honestly, who isn't dying to see Josh and Donna happily ever after, if only for a few minutes?

But the show was more than just that....moments like this one are so rare on TV....

 2. Friends

I was a sophomore in college when Ross said "I, Ross, take thee Rachel"....and in every room on my floor I heard a collective gasp.....moments like that don't come along all the time. Friends was funny, but you also loved those characters. They really did feel like your friends. I don't know about you, but I have no doubt they are all still funny ten years later.

3. The Golden Girls

While this one would require some doing since Betty White is the only Girl still with us (RIP Sophia, Blanche and Dorothy) who wouldn't want to see them continue to eat cheesecake and laugh together. I hope that someday I have friends like that.

Scenes like this one prove this show was ahead of its time. Not only was it one of the few shows on TV with a strong all female cast - it tackled issues not normally addressed, many of them (such as this one) are still hot topics today.

4. Gilmore Girls

Like many fans of the show, I felt robbed by how this series spent its last season. The abrupt departure of Amy Sherman Palladino and Dan Palladino - after they had written Lorelei into a corner no less - took new show runner David Rosenthal half a season to write his way out of. This left us with only half a season to wrap things up and give our girls a proper send-off. While I think Rosenthal did a remarkable job considering the obstacles, I wish it had been different. I wish we could have seen Rory in the real world. Lorelei and Luke married and dealing with all those challenges. There has been much online chat about a reunion movie....where do I send my check to make it happen?

5. Friday Night Lights

The beauty of this show was Coach and his relationship with his players. I personally would have loved to have seen him working with kids for years to come. I think the story had plenty of possibilities, but unfortunately it wasn't given the opportunity to grow from the beginning. Too much emphasis was placed on the teens lives and not on the team relationship. And honestly, some of the stories tried too hard to be "edgy" in a way the show was never intended to be (cough..Landry the murderer...cough). I think it deserves another shot...

If you could bring back a show, which would it be and why?

Its the most wonderful time of the year.....

Its almost that time...the air is getting crisper, football has kicked off their season and school is back in session. What comes next? New fall TV. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year. We've waited since May to find out what's going to happen on our returning favorites and the new shows are getting promoted everywhere you look. Here are the shows I'm most looking forward to:

Returning Faves:

How I Met Your Mother - kicking off their final season, I'm waiting with baited breath to get to know the long-awaited Mother better. While I'm a little skeptical about the whole season taking place over the course of Barney and Robin's wedding weekend, I am hopeful that this long time fave will get the send off it deserves.

NCIS - As if the season ending cliffhanger wasn't enough, the news over the summer that Cote de Palo wasn't returning this season as Ziva is making this a can't miss season opener. I have to admit, as much as I love this show, I am not a die hard Tony-Ziva fan. I am very interested to see how they resolve the storyline without making half the audience mad.

Glee - The tragic death of Corey Monteith this summer still makes me tear up. Its going to be hard to watch this season....

Grey's Anatomy - Where do I begin? Spending the summer waiting to learn the fate of Dr. Webber has been tough. The promo's ABC is now airing make me nervous for how this all turns out. Looks like the season opener will be as action packed as the finale.

Big Bang Theory, Scandal, Parenthood - I just love these shows and cant wait to see what happens next :)

What's New? 

Lots of new shows look good to me. I'm mostly anticipating NBC's Thursday line up. Parks and Rec has been a long time fave of mine, and it looks like its going to be kicking off a promising evening. Welcome to the Family (what a cast - Mary McCormack, Mike O'Malley and Ricardo Chavira), Sean Saves the World and the Michael J. Fox Show all look great. Parenthood is also a long time fave of mine - I think must see TV might be back!

ABC's The Goldbergs and Super Fun Night look, well, super fun and are on my must watch list.

Mom and The Miller's on CBS have very funny promo's. Plus, Allison Janney back on TV every week? I'll take it.

What's on your watch list?