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Is it possible to go through writers block when it comes to blogging? It's such a struggle for me to type up anything these days. But if I don't force myself to sit down and start doing it, then I fear falling off the face of the blogsphere. My trip to LA seriously screwed up my TV viewing. The days I was gone were some of my heavy TV viewing days. I gave up on posting as I watched and have opted instead to lump a couple weeks of viewing together. I’m one episode behind with Friday Night Lights and with another airing this week I think I'll just wait until I'm completely caught up. I will say the first two episodes of the season pleased me far more than I expected. Cast shakeups are worrisome, but the show, thus far, is handling them well. And I’m working on a rather lengthy White Collar post. Let me tell you, people, I’ve fallen hard for that show. In the meantime, here are some thoughts on the last two episodes of House and Bones. ( House: Known Unknowns/Teamwork ) ( Bones: The Tough Man in the Tender Chicken/ The Dwarf in the Dirt ) Thursday night is my busiest night of television and it will soon be busier, but that's OK because I think this could be a very good move. From The Futon Critic:USA is about to give "White Collar" a new partner - "Burn Notice" - and a new home - Thursdays. The news was confirmed to the site exclusively this morning. The Jeffrey Donovan-led drama will return for the back half of its third season on Thursday, January 28 at 9:00/8:00c. "White Collar" will then follow at 10:00/9:00c. The series wraps the first half of its freshman run on Friday, December 4 at 10:00/9:00c.The one "Oh, No!" in this is that I'll have to go nearly two months without my show. :( And, finally, I may be giving up on V. I'm not caring about any of the characters, nor that the earth is in grave danger, and the plot twist I saw coming from a mile away. Tags: bones, house, white collar
Current Mood:  accomplished
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I'm really hoping the big shocking twist in next week's House finale is that House has been in a coma the last few weeks and everything that has happened has been in his head. Otherwise, nothing I've seen on my screen makes any sense. And could the writers, after five years, do a tiny bit of research and realize that people who have to live with chronic, debilitating pain need pain medication and are not all drug addicts? The only reason I'm still hanging in (barely) is Hugh Laurie's consistently excellent work and feeling as if Chase and Cameron are actually part of the show again. NBC had their "Infront" presentation today. How that differs from their "Upfront" I'm still trying to figure out. Maybe this is infront of the Upfront during which they will actually reveal a schedule? We didn't learn much today. Chuck remains on the bubble and it's fate seems to lie with it's studio and what kind of deal they are willing to cut with NBC. Same may hold true for Medium and Law & Order. It doesn't seem Life was mentioned until after the presentation when someone asked about it's chances and was told, "Oh, it's not coming back." So, yeah, Life, as suspected, is done. :/ I watched the extended promos for NBC's new series airing this fall. My reactions were as follows... 100 Questions: A 'Coupling' ripoff, but I did laugh at a couple of jokes. And remember Elliot's poor bastard of a boyfriend on 'Scrubs', Keith? Well, Keith's portrayer gets to play another poor bastard of a boyfriend here. Community: Chevy Chase stars in this as does the guy from 'Talk Soup'. I didn't laugh once. Not to mention, I could see people who attend community college taking some offense. Day One: I've read the producers of 'Jericho' may have cause to sue. The promo consisted of clips of the filming of stunt sequences and green screen work. I don't know why NBC bothered. Parenthood: Good cast and it's a Ron Howard/Brian Grazer production, but I saw the film and didn't see anything to get excited about. Trauma: ER/Third Watch/Rescue Me hybrid. Anastasia Griffith (Jamie Bamber's sister for those who don't know) stars and Peter Berg is a producer so I'll probably give this a shot. Mercy: Snarky nurses who know more than the doctors bond with each other while hitting on every cute guy they see and dealing with their own personal dramas (one nurse served in Iraq). If that wasn't bad enough, Michelle Trachtenberg stars, and still looks about 14. I'll pass. In other news, I checked the Dragon Con guest list (as I do every day :) and Karen Allen has been added. I'm sure I'll end up with a conflict, but her panels have the potential to be interesting. I wonder if she'll trash George at all? One can hope. ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) danceswithwords, you're going to love one of Rick's comments on Castle tonight. ;-) ( And one spoiler from the episode. )Tags: dragon con 2009, house
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I still haven't watched this week's Law & Order: UK. I'm a bad Jamie fan! In my defense I wasn't home Monday or Tuesday night, Wednesday night I was exhausted for some unknown reason and pretty much dozed on the couch until it was time to go to bed, and last night there was other TV to watch. At this point, I'm considering saving it until tomorrow so I'll have something lighter to watch after what I am sure will be another emotionally draining episode of BSG. I'm coming close to breaking up with Chuck. If Season 3 is going to involve watching Chuck and Sarah run around in relationship circles than I'll have no issue with NBC axing it. I really shouldn't be surprised by the turn the show has taken. After all, Josh Schwartz seemed to think people actually cared about Ryan and Marissa. ( House: The One From Two Weeks Ago )( Burn Notice: Lesser Evil )To any Leverage fans living in or around Portland, be on the look out for Tim Hutton, Christian Kane, and the rest of the cast - Season 2 is being filmed in your city. Mark Verheiden posted his regular Friday, This Week On BATTLESTAR GALACTICA.... he doesn't post anything spoilery, but I'll put his synopsis and my thoughts (in parenthesis) ( under a cut, just in case. )And, finally, sabaceanbabe put together an AWESOME and very funny Lee/Laura vidlet for my birthday, 'Tell the Girl'. Take a minute out of your lives and check it out. ;-) Tags: battlestar galactica s4.5, burn notice, chuck, house, leverage
Current Mood: working
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I promise to stop spamming you all after this. :) First of all, for those of you who are not as enthralled with Jamie Bamber as I or check out ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) bamber_news, I feel compelled to point you in the direction of this post by the awesome elzed. On Monday night, BAFTA had a screening of the premiere episode of Law & Order: UK followed by a Q&A with some of the cast and creators. elzed attended both and typed up a detailed report. Yes, it is very Jamie-centric, but she also provides a balanced review of the series and what we can expect to see. The highlight of which was finding out Jamie's casting was a selling point to NBC. :) The first episode 'Care' premieres Monday, February 23rd at 9:00pm on ITV 1. And, yes, I will be providing weekly reviews within a day or two (hopefully) of the episodes airing. ;) In other (brief) TV news.... I finally saw last week's episode of House. It wasn't bad, though I was distracted by a tumor that apparently can grow in 24 hours and disappear almost as quickly. O...K... The Mentalist - Just when you think Patrick Jane can't be anymore adorkable he utters the line, "There's no business like Chobusiness." Hee! Scrubs - Surprisingly, the phone gimmick worked. ( Leverage: The Juror #6 Job )Life - One of the more successful (and humorous) episodes of the season, though I will never hear the words "Uncap the Sharpie" in the same way again. Tags: house, jamie, leverage, life
Current Mood: accomplished
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A few Battlestar Galactica links of note: The LA Times talks with the final Cylon. I don't know what kind of spoiler warning to put on this. The person does not give away any specific upcoming plot points, but does put the kibosh on a couple of theories I've read. ( And one thought about the article... )The TV Addict talks with Ron Moore and the final Cylon. The same warning as above. And some behind the scenes photos from 'Sometimes a Great Notion'. Why couldn't I wander onto a BSG set? As for other TV shows... I totally forgot House returned Monday night. I got home around 8:30, turned on the TV, which happened to be set to FOX, and realized I'd missed half the episode. I was upset for about two minutes, then I started watching the episode and realized I hadn't really missed anything. It hit me how the show is stuck in a rut and I just don't care anymore. I caught the premiere of Lie to Me which was OK. Yet another well made procedural on the air. I didn't check the ratings, but I wonder if it will be hurt by The Mentalist premiering first. The acting is good on both series. The production values about the same. But I'd actually give Lie to Me the edge in writing. The plots are much better conceived, imho. However, while I can definitely see myself watching the show again, if I miss it, that's fine. The problem is I've already grown to like the cast of characters on The Mentalist so why should I go out of my way to watch their copies on another show? I'm going to lump together my thoughts on the last two episodes of Leverage. ( Cut for potential spoilers. )( Burn Notice: Do No harm )Did anyone watch the second episode of Bones last night and go, "Kendra!"? I also caught a commercial for Dollhouse...and cringed at one point. I know, the FOX marketing monkeys cut the commercials, not Joss, but, still, I worry. Tags: bsg, burn notice, house, leverage
Current Mood:  chipper
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Between it being a crazy week and me seeming to be going through posting lethargy, it just occurred to me it's been about a week since my last post. I did have some TV thoughts and hopefully I can recall what they were. ( House: Joy to the World )I watched Law & Order: SVU to see Michael Trucco's guest turn as a serial rapist. I was really impressed by his performance and saw the sleaze he was playing rather than Sam Anders. But I was a little distracted by all the high collared shirts they had him wear to cover the scar on his neck. ( Leverage: The Homecoming Job )( Friday Night Lights: The Giving Tree )( The Office: Morrocan Christmas )( I watched the first BSG webisode and... )TV Guide interviewed Jane Espenson about the webisodes. Surprisingly, she does give away a spoiler. The Battlestar auction print catalog is now for sale. It's limited to a run of 5,000. I'm number 113. :) And I'm not going to backtrack where I saw it, but Bryan Fuller has revealed that the thirteenth and final episode of Pushing Daisies will no longer end with a cliffhanger. In post-production they've added on a new beginning and ending and, according to him, the ending should be satisfying. Tags: battlestar galactica s4.5, friday night lights, house, leverage, pushing daisies
Current Mood:  cranky
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I hope everyone had a pleasant Thanksgiving Day. I took the opportunity to sleep in late, after falling asleep as soon as Pushing Daisies ended, which meant I slept for almost thirteen hours. Eep! I’m assuming I needed that much sleep for some reason. And I didn’t get online at all yesterday, deciding to take a little break from the interwebs and figuring you’d all be too busy to post. You failed me people! :p I do have to share a little pre-Thanksgiving Day story with you all. One of my co-workers had a birthday this week, I baked cookie bars, and, as we sat around eating them Wednesday morning (yes, morning, it’s how we roll), another co-worker decided she wanted us to share what we were doing for Turkey Day. At this point, another coworker cut her off, stating, no, it’s Thanksgiving Day and chastised her for calling it Turkey Day. Seems she’s tired of people forgetting the "true meaning of the holiday". So, thinking she was about to turn this into a religious holiday, I said, “You mean that we came here, stole the land, and slaughtered the indigenous people?” Let’s just say there was a moment of silence after my comment. :) I’m a wee bit behind in my TV comments, but if anyone is still interested in my two cents: ( Why I must ask if the writers of ‘The Mentalist’ are on crack. )( I’m not sure what the ‘House’ writers are thinking either. )For some TV I really, really enjoyed! ( TSCC: Strange Things Happen at the One Two Point )( Chuck versus the Gravitron )NBC has announced it's Midseason schedule...and it sucks. Howie Do it? Seriously??? On the Brightside, I have time to catch up on DVD viewing and my BSG rewatch. Tags: chuck, house, the mentalist, tscc
Current Mood:  hungry
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I'm back home and miss danceswithwords and the beautiful southern California weather already. Sigh. I do recommend to anyone going on a lengthy vacation to clean your home before you go. It's absolutely wonderful to return home to a clean and organized place. And to maintain the appearance I unpacked already! I even went so far as to sort the laundry and put my suitcase away. I just finished going through my work email which will save me some headaches tomorrow. Amongst the many questions, I had a follow up email to a request I forgot to take care of before I left. Oops. However, why wait a week for me to come back when someone else could have pulled the paperwork from the file and sent them a copy? And why is my boss sending me requests to take care of when he knows I'm not there? The good news is my DVR recorded all the programs I set it to record. The bad news is I have A LOT of TV to catch up on. I did manage to watch House last night and ( cut for potential spoilers )( Oh, 'Life', What Shall I Do With You? )I actually watched Stargate: Atlantis and Sanctuary last Friday. It was late, we were tired, we were at a con, and it seemed like the thing to do - that's my excuse. My opinion of both shows hasn't changed, but for those who care SciFi has picked up 'Sanctuary' for a second season. Now, I shall attempt to get some sleep. I seem to have adjusted to west coast time just as I'm back on east coast time. Tags: house, life, work
Current Mood:  thirsty
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Today is one of those days that makes you think, "Thank God I have a vacation coming up." I've been contemplating doing something with this LJ other than just talking about TV and movies (I'm complex, damn it! ;p) and the Green initiative is of interest to me. Still not sure what I could do here other than posting links, which is not a bad thing, but I'm working on it. In the meantime, I saw an article earlier today about California's First Solar Thermal Plant in 20 Years. It looks pretty awesome and while Arnie has his faults, he's been doing quite a bit to aid the environment. As for entertainment news... Robert Downey Jr. will star in two 'Iron Man' sequels and 'The Avengers'. Just stay off the drugs Robert and don't blow this! In Ausiello's latest column he has some very exciting casting information for Pushing Daisies - ( possible spoiler alert ) He also spoke to Mary McDonnell about the end of BSG. Awwwwwww. The Mentalist continues to be enjoyable mindless entertainment with good eye candy. That's about all I have to say on that. ;) ( House )Oh, and I'm also contemplating not sending out holiday cards this year. Let me state this crappy economy is not hurting me financially like it is others. I have job security and no debt. However, I was calculating how much it costs me to make and mail the cards and thinking I could put the money to better use this year. That's not to say I won't be doing anything. One of the radio stations here has already begun playing Christmas music, I kid you not, and that lead to me formulating ideas. So, yes, there will still be holiday cheer from me, but it may be in a different format this year. Tags: house
Current Mood: working
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The Sarah Conner Chronicles will have the opportunity to tell their story this season. Woo! And what makes this news even better is the person who first reported that his sources had informed him the show was on the verge of cancellation (and whose name I won't mention because his Google alert will bring him here) has been proven wrong yet again! Hee and Hee. TV Squad covers some of the reasons why the show was saved. I'd also add that this has been an abysmal season for all the networks with ratings down across the board. It's not that people aren't watching TSCC, they aren't watching as much network TV. And the likelihood is FOX would have replaced a low rated show with an even lower rated show. Maybe FOX has learned from their past mistakes and realizes that while TSCC has a small, devoted audience, it is one willing to tune in each week. My apologies for not replying to comments, not commenting much period, and being absent much of the week. My cold kicked me in the ass midweek and if not barely functioning at work I was curled up on the couch. I did manage to sleep for ten hours straight last night and then another three this afternoon and I am now feeling about 90% of my normal self. Some interesting links I accumulated during the week: Zach Gilford talks about 'Friday Night Lights'. I really appreciate his honesty about last season and his disappointment with his storyline (though I'd argue his arc wasn't the worst). He doesn't share any major developments for this season, but does express the show is back on track. I'd agree given what I've seen in the first two episodes. TV Squad asks if this TV season is totally lame? Like the writer, I find myself caring less about certain shows and giving up all together on others. But while a drop in quality has caused my disinterest in some cases, I also am feeling we now have too many choices. It used to be we'd have a break from TV and now, with more and more cable networks producing original programming, we are watching new shows year round. Also, because of DVRs, TIVO, Itunes, Hulu, etc we are no longer compelled to watch a show when it airs. Last week, I realized I forgot to set the DVR for Life and fretted about it for all of five seconds before remembering I could watch it on Hulu in a day or two.
Don Cheadle is replacing Terrance Howard in 'Iron Man II'. Normally, I'm not happy about recasting. However, Terrance Howard had a relatively small part in Iron Man and didn't blow me away. I've also read the guy is an ass and it sounds like he was holding the studio up for money. Sorry, but the only actor they have to worry about keeping is Robert Downey Jr. And I'm a big fan of Don Cheadle. The idea of seeing he and Robert work together...EEEEEE!!! So, yeah, I'm pleased by this news. :) Because I'm trying to catch up on many things I'm only going to share some brief thoughts on shows I watched this week: ( House )( The Mentalist )( Pushing Daisies )( Life on Mars )( Life )OK, Sarah Palin just impressed me.....with her acting. Which kind of scares me. A VP candidate that can act. Tags: house, life, pushing daisies, tscc, tv_musings
Current Mood: hungry
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I didn't realize until last night Wednesday night is a potentially killer TV night. Six TV shows! Well, one of those is Friday Night Lights and I don't have Direct TV so, uh, I'll have to wait to DL. And as I sit here watching it I think I'll bid Private Practice adieu. Having watched this series last season and Grey's Anatomy off and on over the years I'm really shocked that Shonda Rhimes believes she writes strong female characters. Yes, they have brains, but they are all emotional wrecks who act like 15 year olds in the presence of a hot guy. I also find it insulting that a woman can't possibly feel complete and happy unless she is in a relationship. As much as I like Tim Daly, this is just too painful to watch every week. And don't even get me started in the lawsuits they open themselves up to! Earlier, I watched Pushing Daisies and enjoyed it. The show didn't seem to suffer due to the long hiatus, but there was a considerable amount of time spent recapping last season. Given the somewhat complicated storyline, I can't say I blame them. And I have to admit I even forgot a couple of significant plot points. So, I suppose it was a smart move and they blended in the old bits with the new bits as seamlessly as they could. Emerson and Olive still remain the standouts for me. I like Ned and Chuck, they're a cute couple, but if the focus of the show was on them it would get tiresome. And without getting into too many details so I may avoid doing a cut, the relationship forming between Lily in Olive is quite interesting and entertaining. Obviously in the the Pushing Daisies vs Bones fight for my attention at 8:00pm, the former won. I finally became one of those people who has altered their TV viewing habits thanks to the internet. I didn't even bother to record Bones knowing I could watch it on Hulu tomorrow. At 10:00pm we have Round 2 in the Wednesday night fight - Lipstick Jungle vs Dirty Sexy Money. Yeah, you read the correctly. I ended up watching the first season of Lipstick Jungle on Hulu a couple weeks ago and I think it's become my guilty pleasure. The shows not great. I don't care about Victory and Joe at all and Wendy and Shane are made enjoyable by the presence of Paul Blackthorne. But then there is Nico and Kirby - an attractive, smart, successful older woman and a hot young guy. The damn show had to hit one of my kinks! Well, I just finished watching Dirty Sexy Money and it didn't hold my attention. ( Cut for spoilers. ) As for Tuesday's TV... ( House: Adverse Events )( The Mentalist: Red Hair an Silver Tape )Tags: house, pushing daisies, tv_musings
Current Mood:  tired
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I’m woefully behind in TV posts. I won’t bore you with the details as to why I haven’t been posting as much, but I decided to sit down and at least type up some brief , general thoughts. ( TSCC: The Mousetrap )Fringe - I officially quit watching at 9:36pm on September 15th. Yes, I looked at the clock to note the time. Up until that point I had spent most of the episode either covering my eyes, shaking my head, or laughing. I never thought of Chris Carter having a lot of subtlety as a writer until I watched 1.5 episodes of Fringe. One of my favorite Fox Mulder lines came back to me, “If coincidences are just coincidences, then why do they feel so contrived?” ( Heroes )( House )The Mentalist - I spent most of the episode wondering if xwacky was enjoying it? ;) Personally, I liked it. I wasn’t blown away, but it’s promising. It’s like Psych only less screwball. Simon Baker carries the show, but they’ve assembled a supporting cast that shows signs of developing a good chemistry. The backstory feels a little heavy-handed. TV series now seem to believe that in order for a character to have a dark streak they need to have a tragedy in their life. ( Bones ) I also watched the season premiere of Chuck on Hulu this morning, but I'll wait until tomorrow to post thoughts on that. I will say that I liked it, A LOT. :-) And now I think I’m caught up! Phew! What to do next? Perhaps more fall cleaning (I skipped it in spring ;) or laundry. Or ordering more clothes since I’m trying to replace all the stuff I gave to Goodwill this summer. Tags: house, tscc, tv_musings
Current Mood: accomplished
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I think I cursed SG-1. Seriously. *Just* as I start getting into the show, look what happens? The signs were all there today. First, I'm talking to my mom about the show and how I'm catching up. Then I get home to watch the 6pm ep that I taped only to discover I taped an hour of the Comcast screen saver (I have NO idea how that happened). Finally, with a few minutes to kill I hop on line and discover the show has been canceled. Which totally distracted me from the premiere of Prison Break. (Yet, I was still able to follow it so what does that say about that show? They did surprise me with one thing though, but I shall say no more since I don't want to bother with a cut tag. ;) I'm not really so much bummed that SG-1 got canceled, (hey, they had ten years) but that it will no longer provide a relatively mindless, light hearted counterpart to the BSG angst and that the Sci-Fi monkeys couldn't have chosen a better time to do it. They have a mid-season break coming up, would it have killed them to wait? Doing it right after the 200th episode does show a lack of class. Yet this is the same network that is trying very hard to get BSG out there to a wider audience. Then again, they own part of that show. In addition to Prison Break, I watched Vanished and it was...OK. It seemed more than a little over wrought and Rebecca Gayheart continues to show she doesn't know the meaning of the word subtle. But it wasn't horrible so unless something better premieres at 9pm est I'll probably continue to watch. For the time being. At lunch today, I went to the bookstore and picked up the September Maxim with THE pictures in it. Silly me didn't realize that the scans 'cut' some of the images in half so it was a thrill to see the photos as they are meant to be seen. All the guys together? Wow. And Jamie in leather sitting in the Raptor? Guh. Also picked up the latest EW with House/Hugh Laurie on the cover. Yes, I have a subscription but you think I could wait? Surprisingly, no spoilers unless you haven't seen the second season finale. Mostly it was a recap of how Hugh got the role and why the show is as popular as it is. Nice shot of the entire cast accept Lisa's head looks disproportionately large. Tags: bsg_pretty, house, stargate s10
Current Mood: sleepy
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