So once again thanks for returning, I promise I’m working hard not to dissipoint.  If only I knew how to read CSS code:)

That’s why I was delighted to find out that Peter Casey, creator and executive producer of the show had posted a 3 part column at Ken Levine’s  blog.  He talks about how Frasier made it on to the air, the pitch and the casting(the Lisa Kudrow debacle).  As someone who loved the show, I read the articles with a massive smile on my face.  If you’ve never read Levine’s blog I suggest you do so.  He’s a comedy veteran and without a doubt produces one of the best TV blogs on the interwebs.

Levine’s blog

Daniel: Alright, we both may have loved the episode, but, there’s one clear and distinct difference worth debating between Diana and I. You see, I contend that I have greater man love for Matt and Danny, than Diana. She says that her love for Bradley Whitford is unparalleled, I say, that her love of the mullet-haired wonder is nothing compared to my admiration for Perry and his buddy. I’ve always been a fan of buddy comedies and Studio 60 is yet another incarnation of this love. She can claim her love is above and beyond mine, but since the days of Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte in 48 Hours, Tom Cruise and Anthony Edwards, in Top Gun…I have professed my man love to the world.

Diana: Ok you did not just say that. Mullet-haired wonder? I feel like that comment is worthy of a bitchslap. Here’s my defense of why I love Bradley Whitford more. 7 years of West Wing. SEVEN YEARS. If you had watched West Wing I could describe the awesomeness of Josh and Donna but alas you have not. I could describe to you the amazing man love that was Josh and Sam, but alas you did not. You probably didn’t even know Whitford played the asshole ex-boyfriend in Adventures in Babysitting. Why do I think the only other time you saw Whitford before S60 in your life was in Billy Madison? Am I right or am I right?

But I think the easiest way to discount your opinion is the fact that you listed Top Gun, Top fucking Gun as the best man love movie. Only girls and gays have the right to like Top Gun. Do I need to get you the Youtube link of the Cruise/McGillis love scene to prove my point? Although the idea of Tom Cruise and man love isn’t exactly a shock.,,,,what? I never said he was gay.

Daniel: Alright, let’s just make one thing clear: Top Gun, a.k.a. the greatest piece of American military propaganda since Annapolis, allows for man love of all kinds. Hetero, homo and even threesomes – Tom Skerritt, the dude from Picket Fences also had a kind of patriarchal man love for Tom Cruise in Top gun.

I have no idea what the hell I’m getting at. Look can’t we both just have equal man love for our favourite Studio 60 duo? Amazingly, no, want to know why? Because the only people who can truly understand the glory of buddy comedies and duos are guys. You have Thelma and Louise, I have Kirk and Spock, you have Wynona Rider and Angelina Jolie, I have Seinfeld and Costanza, Niles and Frasier…

So you take your lady friends, and I’ll take my buddies, and we’ll both stand at our respective sides of the proverbial dance floor!

Diana: I love how you think you have Niles and Frasier. Funny. So what, I get left with Cagney and Lacey? That just doesn’t seem fair. And don’t make me think about Thelma and Louise, I’ll start to cry. When they drive over that cliff….I can’t talk about it.

Daniel: Yeah, that was sad. But, and you’ll kill me for this. Maverick losing Goose, in Top Gun was far worse. It pains me to even think about it. Oh man, when he throws the dog tags into the ocean, I might cry.

Diana: Thelma and Louise are an epic tragedy. Thelma was almost raped. RAPED. They discovered who they were because of a tragedy. Plus they blew shit up. And you’re trying to tell me that Maverick and Goose are more tragic? Thelma and Louise KILLED THEMSELVES so they could be free. They died so they could live. Can you think of anything more poetic than that? I think not.

Daniel: Have you ever lost your flight partner in a Jet Wash, Diana!? Has your F-14 Tomcat ever spun completely out of control? It’s Man Love, Diana. You could never understand it. *Hums Top Gun theme*

Diana: Fine, I’ll concede this battle just because I’m terrified of getting deeper into the Tom Cruise man love debate.

That’s it folks, let us know what you thought of this little trial run.

Short recap below:

Matt wanted to do a holiday themed show, all the writers plus Simon and Tom had channeled the Grinch and were just being sourpusses.  Tom and Simon both apparently have crushes on Lucy and compete for her affections by insulting one another in front of her.  Oh boys.

Jack’s just been handed down a near $400,000 per affiliate fine by the FCC for a soldier who curses on air during a bombing. Jordan convinces Jack to lawyer up and depend the network but he thinks he should step down so that Wilson doesn’t lose the Macau deal.  Wilson refuses his resignation and lets him know that he plans to fight the FCC as long as it takes.

Harriet’s been offered a huge movie deal by an ex-boyfriend.  She accepts.  Matt’s happy that she got the part but thinks the director just wants to sleep with her again.  Later the director admits he does want her back but that’s not why he hired her.  Then Matt decides to kiss Harriet causing her to screw up her first line in Studio 60.  It’s obvious the director does not stand a chance.

Danny is obviously crazy about Jordan and is starting to get attached to the idea of a kid.  Matt realizes this immediately.  After some awkward conversation Danny finally admits to Jordan that he’s in love with her.  She’s in shock.  His response, ‘Get ready Jordan because I’m coming for you.  You might wanna swallow that sandwich,’  It’s totally adorable.

The show ends with musicians from New Orleans playing a Christmas song with photos of the devastated city behind them.  It’s extremely poignant.  For the whole story about how the musicians ended up in the show check out this article.

1.  A years subscription to tvtracker
2.  ED on DVD.  Screw music clearances just give me my Stuckyville!
3.  Janel Maloney to guest star on Studio 60.  Must snark with Danny.   I don’t care if he’s with Jordan by then.
4.  Veronica Mars to stop sucking.
5.  Christopher off of Gilmore Girls.  STAT.
6.  Bree Van DeCamp to go crazy, get a lobotomy and take of her wig…..
7.  Grey’s Anatomy to start actually punishing their Doctors when they do things that should have their licenses revoked.  I can only suspend my disbelief so much.
8.  90210 Season 5 DVD’s.  TvTropolis only has the rights to syndicate 1-4 here and has therefore deprived me of Valerie.  No one deprives me of Valerie.
9.  X-files Seasons 4-9.  Yes, even 8 and 9.  I don’t care that it sucked.  I NEED them.
10.  Luke and Lorelai back together.  It’s just not fair.

Additional wishes:  Stanley to get more screentime on The Office; Betty to finally dump Walter’s ass for Henry(he makes her palms sweat!); Pam to admit she wants Jim even if it’s too late; FOX Canceling The OC;  Death of the Aerie Girls; CW realizes what a giant mistake it is, drops the green and reverts back to The WB.

To say ED was a quality show would be an understatement. Every character had shining moments. The citizens of Stuckyville were crazy but not Stars Hollow crazy. The chemistry between Ed/Carol/Mike/Molly/Nancy was great, it really felt genuine. How can you beat a bowling alley lawyer? You can’t. Plus there was Warren, the antics of Phil and the $10 bets. It was brilliant. The show however ended up being destroyed by the one thing that kept it alive: Ed and Carol.

I was definitely one of those people that wanted Ed and Carol together and cheered when it happened at the end of season 3. Season 4 was incredibly wonky due to NBC’s influence in the writing. The network wanted all Ed and Carol. The show ended as naturally as it could have with Ed and Carol’s wedding.

Here’s hoping it makes its way to DVD one day, until then here’s the final scene of the show courtesy of YouTube:

But I’m a realist and looking at the Box Office numbers shows exactly why a studio would want Zellweger back. Edge of Reason cost $40 million to make. It grossed $40 million domestically(US) and was perceived as a bomb. HOWEVER the film grossed over $220 million, yes $220 million internationally. Add to that the home entertainment profits and the sequel was a cash cow for Universal. The studio would probably offer Zellweger at least $20 million to reprise the role, something I doubt she would turn down considering her career has been rather quiet lately.

Here’s hoping the rumour is just that, a rumour. The idea of seeing Bridget have a child with Daniel Cleaver as she does in the column makes me want to scream.

Rumour Link Here.

Why Sorkin’s Studio 60 is not only pleasing to the eye – it’s a glimmer of hope

By: Daniel Zaiontz

“IT’S NOTHING BUT REHASHED WEST WING,” says Diana Earle as she fervently types a response to me on instant messenger. Not one to regularly resort to Caps Lock when making her points, Diana is clear in terms of where she stands when it comes to matters of Sorkin.

“This is just horrible,” she writes the next Sunday of my new favourite show.
“It’s not!!!” I respond, with an impassioned plea. Three exclamation marks being the universal sign of “impassioned plea” in the instant message universe.

You see, challenging Diana in the arena of television’s “Hot or Not” game is not a task, I would ever choose lightly. As regular readers of this blog know, Earle knows her TV.

And yet, sometimes the television elitist needs to realize that the simpleton has a say too.

I am not an elitist, no. I, Daniel Zaiontz am a television idealist. And that is why I love Studio 60.

Call me naïve, call me what you will, but when American commercial television leaves its viewers with such titillating options as Two and a Half Men, and Reba, the viewing subject is forced to take a stand. And that’s what watching Studio 60 means to me. It’s a vote for something – anything – that isn’t bland, meaningless, empty crap.

This might just be the old bitter Jewish man(tvdork note: HE’S 21) in me talking but, I grew up with television like Roseanne (save for its last season), Sisters (no, I’m not gay), That 80’s Show (just kidding) – Sports Night, M.A.S.H, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Cheers, Seinfeld – television that at the very least made me feel something. Anything. Characters, with depth, and emotion. Stories about ethics, and morality. Writing with quick wit. Shows shot with live studio audiences, not laugh tracks (damn you, first few episodes of Sports Night) and writing that was not nearly as contrived as your prototypical episode of…I don’t know…The War at Home.

A vote for Studio 60 is a vote against crap. It’s television that may just be rehashed West Wing but it’s equally, better than any other filler you could be watching on your Sunday Nights (or Monday nights for you Americans).

Maybe, I’m just a simpleton. Maybe I know less about TV, than Diana, but I do know what I like. An attempt, even if it fails to provide audiences with programming of an IQ level, above that of a Neanderthal. Sorkin’s Studio 60 is at the very least – an attempt, albeit, one that appears to be failing to raise the bar above the stench of Charlie Sheen and whether he can score a date and baby-sit his nephew in the span of 22 minutes.

Studio 60 may be a colossal failure. It may even be rehashed West Wing, but it’s all I have left. And it’s worth another look.

Gilmore Girls is slowly improving but that’s not saying much. The Lorelai/Christopher marriage has turned out to be a disaster for the show. Having a scene where Lorelai isn’t with Christopher is so rare now. Last night actually seeing her with the townies was jarring. Obviously the show is building up to what I can only hope will be a fulfilling end to this relationship and a jumping off point for the rest of the season but right now it’s painfully boring. Until that happens in Feb sweeps there is little incentive for me to stay tuned to the show, not even the return of Luke with a spine will do it. However Paris dancing with Doyle made me smile. Oh how I miss her crazy antics.

I didn’t have a problem last season with Veronica Mars, sure it was padded but no more than your average Lost episode was. Veronica is the type of show that picks up steam half way through the season and then hits it out of the park. This season is different. After the conclusion of the 1st of 3 mystery arcs I’m feeling unfulfilled. In previous years when I found out that the culprits were Aaron and Beaver I was more involved in storylines. The Hearst rape arc did nothing for me, neither did finding out it was the tag team of Mercer and Moe. Seriously, could Logan have worse judgement with people? The boy is a crazy magnet(and I include Veronica as one of the crazies). The highlights of the episode were the return of Mac(what felt like old school Mac with witty t-shirts in tow) and the return of pissed off Logan. I could care less that he dumped Veronica, she deserved to be dumped but when Logan bashed the car to get in jail with Moe and Mercer I was so happy. That’s the Logan Echoll’s I spent 2 seasons loving, not the stupid Duncan carbon copy he’s been most of the season.

Here’s hoping both shows pick up when they return in the new year(Gilmore has one new episode remaining). Veronica is still way better than Gilmore could ever dream of being but much like Gilmore this season it has been a pale imitation of its former self.

It’s nearly a decade later and I finally understand what my friend saw in the show. A few weeks ago I bought Season 1 of Melrose Place on DVD. The first few episodes were definately rocky(and by rocky I mean HORRIBLE) but since then oh how it’s picked up. I’m addicted to the show. I’m 10 episodes in and I’m already starting to ration the remaining 22 episodes. SOAPNet isn’t available here in Canada so I’ll either have to wait until the later DVDs come out or find some other way of getting my hands on them. If anyone has any suggestions let me know.

I’m so excited for the upcoming episodes. Kimberly and Amanda have yet to be introduced, Sandy’s still around and Michael and Jane are happily married. I can’t wait to see the show fulfill its true soapy potential.

We go backstage where the entire cast is getting B-12 shots. Turns out everyone’s sick. Martha O’Dell is back and Danny apparently wasn’t pleased with her last article. As they cut to commercial Danny gets a note and when asked by Martha what’s happened he responds ‘real life’. I unfortunately can’t see what’s on the note because I’m watching the show on a very small and cheap tv.

When the show returns Tom is doing a Bachelor skit. It’s not funny. Apparently there’s been a hostage situation that resulted in death so the show had to cut their hostage skit. Cut to the writers room where Darius and Lucy are terrified and nervous as Danny talks to them. He assigns them a sketch and they get to work.

They cut back to earlier in the week where Matt and Danny are chatting about a new writer who Matt kinda wants. At the end of the conversation Matt admits it’s a pity hire. He’s such a mensch.

Harriet’s practicing a really horrible joke, well she’s the terrible one. Apparently she’s incapable of telling a joke yet she’s a brilliant comedienne. As they make their way to Danny it’s revealed that there’s a hostage situation in Michigan(thanks Justin!) that doesn’t look good. I remember this plot, it’s from the West Wing.

Mark McKinney! YAY! That’s all I have to say. McKinney plays Andy the new story editor. He’s dull but in a funny way. Or at least I hope it’ll be funny. I love McKinney. He also acts as story editor for the actual Studio 60 so it looks like Sorkin loves him too.

Jordan’s pissed at Jack for going over her head about a pitch. This leads to a fight about how Jordan is the next Paris Hilton. I didn’t try to make sense of it. To make a long story short Jordan agrees to give an interview to Time Magazine. Also, Peet could not look more pregnant here.

Danny hires Suzanne to be Matt’s new assistant because his old one left to be with Ricky and Ron. She mentions that Danny and Matt need D12 shots so they don’t get sick, Matt then makes a continuous joke about how Danny is pregnant and therefore can’t get the shot. It’s meant to be a joke but it’s really a giant anvil for the inevitable reveal that Jordan’s pregnant.

Andy goes to Matt and Danny and says that there’s no way Lucy and Darius can write a good sketch because they’ve never made it onto the air. There’s no element of fear to motivate. He wants their sketch to play in dress to scare the living daylights out of them.

Jordan arrives for her interview with an obvious Joe Stein copy. It’s funny, the guy even has the same vocal tone. Jordan bitchslaps the guy so hard when he asks her how she feels about her job being in jeopardy. Seriously, I want to be Jordan McDeere when I grow up.

Andy’s put his plan into action and Lucy and Darius’ sketch does indeed bomb. They’re scared shitless but motivated just as Andy predicted. They end up writing a good sketch. So good that Andy takes it to Matt and Danny who agree that it’s ready for air. Darius and Lucy say thank you profusely. Have I said how much I love Lucy Davis before? I have? Well she rocks. They go to call their entire family to let them know they’ve got a sketch on the air. Unfortunately the guy in Michigan has just killed his entire family so the sketch now has to be cut. Matt gives them the new assignment to write a sketch in 20 minutes to make it for the end of the show.

Turns out Jordan’s interview has hit the press and it’s nasty. The reporter of course went after her. Rule #1 never piss off a reporter, they’re essentially children and love to attack on the page. No fear of reprisal. Jack’s pissed and it looks like more and more of a possibility that Jordan is gonna get canned.

The sketch shortage is solved by Matt(what a surprise) who comes up with the idea that everyone should just spit at Harriet for 2 minutes. I am so glad the show within the show isn’t actually on the air.

Last scene. Jordan’s in the VIP room crying. In the most obvious turn of events ever Danny enters and he and Jordan talk about the piece. He’s on her side. Jordan collapses midway through the conversation, obviously with the same illness that’s struck the cast. Danny tells her to relax and he’ll get the nurse to give her a B12 shot. Jordan yells that she can’t get the shot. It takes her a few times of repeating it for Danny to finally get that she’s pregnant. The show fades to black on that reveal.

Here’s hoping the remaining episodes(if they don’t make it to air) will make it online and then to DVD. There’s no doubt in my mind that The Nine will make it onto Brilliant But Canceled in the next few years.

I guess Raver can go back to 24 now. Damnit.

I honestly can’t think of a single highlight tonight aside from Lucy Davis. I applaud the Studio 60 crew for giving her an actual character rather than a cameo like the Ugly Betty folks did.

But who am I kidding, you don’t want to hear me bitch about the show.  Odds are you found this blog by searching Studio 60 so without further ado here’s the full recap of The Option Period:

Cal rips Ricky and Ron a new one for printing the script in the wrong format, this causes Danny to ask Jessica Simpson to fill the missing 40 seconds in her wrap. She tells the audience to pray for peace in the mid-west. This of course happens off screen.

Matt once again feels like a failure. I think it’s obvious by now that the fate of the world relies on Matt’s writing skills. He sure thinks so. Jordan enters having been at the show again. I wonder why TMG wants to fire her, she spends all her time at Studio 60 making eyes at Danny. Speaking of, Danny and Jordan flirt. I feel like I’m supposed to care about these two and their relationship with one another but I really don’t.

Harriet goes to her dressing room and undresses only to be interrupted by Simon and Tom who refuse to leave because they’re staging an intervention. If this is another Harriet is religious bits I will scream. Turns out Tom and Simon know about Harriet appearing in some elusive(ie offscreen again) magazine. She runs to bitch out Jeannie for telling them about it. Harriet huffs her way back into her dressing room ranting about how she should have joined the CIA because they wanted her. Are the writers even trying anymore? Simon and Tom appear at her dressing room door telling her it’s not a good time in her career to pose in a magazine like this. So it’s obviously a take on this photoshoot. Sorkin needs to start paying Chenoweth for these ideas.

Jordan/Matt/Danny debate the hypocrisy of both the religious right and Hollywood liberals going after Harriet for her comment to the Post. They really expect the audience to still care about that, after two freaking weeks of it already. Jordan then tells the boys the deal in Macau has gone through and because of it every show on NBS has to face budget cuts. Danny apparently has to fire 15 below the line employees. He refuses and Jordan goes on a rant about debt to equity ratio that immediately puts me to sleep. Is this show just making fun of itself now? I really can’t tell. Matt apparently shares my feeling and puts a fake gun to his head. Jordan then says they should consider product placement. Wait a second, I seem to remember another show on NBC basing their episode around product placement this week. When Sorkin looks like he’s starting to rip off 30 Rock you know things have gone horribly wrong at NBC. (Have I mentioned how much I love Snapple?:)

Cal interrupts and the conversation returns to Ricky and Ron and the script snafoo. Turns out they’re writing a tv pilot and that’s why they forgot to change the format. Jordan tells the guys no one is leaving the room until she gets 15 names of people to fire. Wow, no wonder she’s so popular.

Matt and Danny want Jordan to find out if it’s legal for Ricky and Ron to shop around another pilot. I would think it probably is since Sorkin shopped around West Wing before dumping Sports Night on its ass.

Tom and Simon are trying to convince Harriet not to pose in the lingerie spread. Apparently Harriet turned down the offer before but only recently accepted. Simon wants to know why. We’re 20 minutes into this episode I and I don’t care about any of the plots. Yay! Turns out Harriet lost a movie because she wasn’t sexy enough. Simon and Tom tell her the magazine is paying for money shots of the Church Girl and she won’t exactly get a sexier reputation from them.

Danny is complaining to Jordan about product placement which leads Sorkin to go on his product placement is here, get used to it rant through Jordan. She then goes on about the levels of production integration. I’m not kidding. She actually goes step by step. My first year media communications professor was better at pitching Product Placement. The hysterical thing about this is that this entire scene is one giant series of product placements. Sneaky Sorkin, Sneaky. I liked the Snapple better.

Turns out Ricky and Ron are exclusive to Studio 60 with the exception of Peripheral Vision Man. Just so happens the copyright on that skit is expiring in an hour and a half. So looks like the show might be able to solve it’s budget crisis just by letting the two dumbass writers go. You know it won’t do that because that would just be too obvious. Instead we’ll get an intricate series of scenes with walk and talks discussing completely irrelevant and annoying subjects until someone has an epiphany, an epiphany that took the entire viewing audience 10 seconds to reach. And we’re the idiots.

Lucy Davis is back! This makes me so happy. Studio 60 is not worthy of her talents. Matt asks Ricky and Ron what’s up with Peripheral Vision Man. Turns out Fox has bought 6 episodes. Look at that, Sorkin’s making a comment about how horrible tv shows on Fox are. Matt rants a bit and then throws in a Final Draft product placement. Man I love the hypocrisy on this show.

Simon and Tom are still boring me over Harriet. Turns out she lost her movie to Debra Messing. Seriously, has Sorkin watched tv in the past five years? Debra Messing getting a movie is like Lauren Graham winning an Emmy. It may have a chance in the past but it will for sure as hell never happen now.

Danny and Jordan rant again about product placement, just enough to get in an iPod mention. Then a Sony and Samsung one. Matt enters and tells Jordan she need to pick up Peripheral Vision Man’s option to protect his reputation. I love how Sorkin thinks that basing Matt on himself was a good idea and not a horribly stupid self destructive one. Danny then tells Jordan that Jack’s about to fire her. Her face drops. I once again don’t care. They then discuss it. I’m not repeating what they say because it’s boring.

Back to Harriet, Simon and Tom. She gets bored with them and leaves. She then runs into Matt where they talk about religion. It takes Matt a second to realize Harriet is really doing the photo shoot to get back at the religious group that tried to silence her. They once again don’t kiss.

Lucy’s back! And she kisses Matt to piss of Ricky. Turns out Ricky and Ron are taking the entire writing staff minus Lucy and Darius. Matt wants Ricky and Ron to stay because Peripheral Vision Man is gonna suck. Matt then decides to let them out of their contract. Ricky fights and stomps off like a child. Ron is more mature about it and leaves on a good note. Lucy and Darius get to keep their jobs. Yay!

Jordan and Danny have a horribly boring conversation about only having a year to live. Danny gives her advice about press. The writers are trying really hard to make these two have chemistry. Peet is not Janel Maloney, they need to learn that.

Cal finds a way to save the budget by designing the set after the Sunset Strip which is conveniently full of billboards. Matt lets everyone know about the writing changes and then they buckle down to watch where he went wrong with the show.

Chuckle Worthy Skit of the Night:
‘Quentin Taratino’s Hallmark Movie: Turkey Won’t Die.’

We don’t see the wedding. We do however see Lorelai and Chris arriving home where he says what is destined to become an infamous line, ‘Welcome Home Mrs. Hayden.’ He leaves the room and Lorelai plays with her ring, suddenly looking different.

Also Lorelai does mention that Rory should be there when they get married but Chris quickly talks her out of it. This moment alone shows how not-Lorelai, Lorelai is right now. I hope there’s some serious angst on Rory’s behalf regarding this.

Here’s hoping the writer’s can dig themselves out of this one. Lorelai Gilmore doesn’t exist anymore. It seems fitting. Tragically so.

The Failures:
I loved Smith but it was gone in 3 episodes.  Raved about the pilot of The Nine but it’s failing horribly in the ratings.  I blame The Nine’s failure entirely on ABC’s programming department.  At first glance putting The Nine with Lost must have seemed like a brilliant idea but Lost is exhausting.  I love both shows but after Lost I want to do either one of two things; sleep or rush online to figure out what I just saw.  Scheduling another detail heavy serial with Lost just doesn’t work.  The Nine would probably fair better on a night with a mismatched lead-in.  Sometimes opposites do attract.

I’ll refrain from commenting on Studio 60 here because it’s got a full season and is definitely improving after every episode.  I have a feeling it’ll be one of my tv favourites by the end of the season as long as it doesn’t take itself too seriously.  Matt and Danny are saving the world, they’re making people laugh.

The New Favourites:
On the opposite end of the spectrum 3 shows that had pilots I was blah on turned out to be the three shows I enjoy the most.  Heroes, Men in Trees and Brothers and Sisters all turned out to be great surprises.  Heroes had an uneven pilot, probably because only pt 1 of 2 was given for review.  Nothing about the show hooked me, not even Hiro.  However after episode 2 and episode 3 all that changed.  I’m addicted to the show now and love the attention to detail and utter geekiness about it.

Men in Trees and Brothers and Sisters were fun, but nothing exciting.  I was surprised that I didn’t hate shows starring Anne Heche and Calista Flockhart, but I didn’t love them either.  Once again after a few episodes each show grew on me.  I love that the writers of Men in Trees really divide the screen time among all the townies.  It’s Heche’s show but Marin often ends up as a secondary character while the supporting cast gets to shine.  It’s refreshing.  Plus the show is adorable and Jack and Marin have awesome chemistry.  Patrick’s shtick hasn’t annoyed me yet but I feel it might be coming.

The Brothers and Sisters pilot made me laugh, unintentionally.  It had corny writing, hysterically cheesy music and a family dynamic that wasn’t quite there.  Plus it was all about Kitty and not about the rest of the Walker’s.  That’s certainly changed for the better since the pilot.  Nora, played delightfully by Sally Field gets as much screen time as Kitty and the cast have hit their groove.  They have great chemistry as a family.  Plus the dramatic subplot continues to be interesting and I find myself asking what did PapaWalker really do?  Certain characters are getting lost in the shuffle, especially Tommy who works in the Office Walker environment but whose relationship with his wife is boring as hell.

First came official news that Weeds and Dexter were picked up by Showtime!  I know both those pickups were obvious but getting confirmation that the amazing Weeds is coming back definitely soothed the nerves.

Then came the rumour that Studio 60 wasn’t dead but on its way to a full season.  Studio 60 started off great then nearly self imploded.  However in recent weeks the show has been steadily climbing in quality.  A full season should more than allow it to become the show it deserves to be.

But personally the best news of all for me was the banishing of Six Degrees off of Thursday at 10pm, only to be replaced by Men in Trees!  I suggested ABC take this step in my blog a couple of weeks ago.  Men in Trees has proven to be beyond reliable to ABC on Friday nights.  Now it has a chance to shine on Thursdays with the help of Grey’s.  I think it’s a great timeslot for the show since it’s a light and fluffy alternative to ER and Shark.  Here’s hoping it immediately does better than Six Degrees in the new slot.

CBS has now posted the final 4 episodes on their website.  But that’s not the best part.  Apparently CBS also got the producers to write what would have happened with the show.  How awesome is that?
It’s always sad when a show gets canceled but I really like how the networks are providing closure to both the show and the fans.

The episodes are here and are FREE!  Yay to CBS for doing this.

“I love doing sequels. This without any doubt is my favourite.”

That my friends was just too good not to post.  California could not be more entertaining.

According to Entertainment Weekly Milo Ventimiglia hates Peter Petrelli’s hair on Heroes too. Creator Tim Kring thinks it’s cool. Tim Kring is no longer cool.

Veoh has started to post exclusive clips of Veronica Mars every week. They have the first 4 minutes of tonight’s show posted.

Variety

As great as this is for Graham I wonder what it means for Gilmore Girls. It’s no secret that Graham has wanted more control on the show in recent years and rumours have been flying that in order to get her back for an 8th season the CW would offer her a producer credit. Now that she’s got a full slate of shows in active development I wonder what the odds of her returning to Gilmore Girls will be.  She’s working with the WB which produces Gilmore so maybe she’ll stay with the show.

While I understand the show is not what it once was, it still deserves an 8th season to reunite Luke and Lorelai and have one final season that doesn’t focus on annoying relationships.

I will however say that tonight’s episode was my favourite of the series because it focused entirely on the characters.  There was no comedy present except for a single sketch integral to the plot.

Good cast interaction.

It’s tragic that Lucy Davis of The Office had one line of diologue since she’s freaking Lucy Davis, but alas I don’t have time to do my usual ‘I hate Sorkin’ spiel.

Oh and I hate To Be Continued’s.  Freaking sweeps.

An article in Saturday’s Toronto Star asked Chenowith how she felt about her life ending up on tv. She’s surprisingly cool about it and continues to support Sorkin and the show. Honestly if I were in her position I’d be a little bitter, and by a little I mean I’d want to kill him. Even though Harriet is a great character that is just such a breach of trust.

Other interesting tidbits in the article, Chenoweth used to do Nancy Grace impressions at home with Sorkin…Harriet’s best impression so far has been Nancy Grace.

The first time I ever saw Chenoweth was as a Jr. Agent on Frasier. I wasn’t exposed to Broadway as a child so I knew little about her singing abilities until Wicked became popular. Then she ended up on The West Wing, one of my favourite shows of the past decade.

Chenoweth goes against the modern stereotypes of Christianity and she makes her opinions clear. She seems like a genuinely cool person, especially when it comes to religion.

1. I don’t care about the new Losties. I also think you’re treating the viewers like idiots by just subbing them in. I loved Kiele Sanchez on Related(mock away) and Rodrigo Santoro could not have been prettier in Love Actually. But keep in mind pretty people need to have some substance to keep me interested in their characters.(Insert Kate insult here. I won’t insult her myself because I love Kate. Love her.)

2. When you kill someone could you make it a little less obvious. Try not doing it in their flashbacks. The only truly shocking Lost death was Libby because no one had a clue that was coming. I remember yelling out loud. Please, more moments like that.

3. Put the teams back together. The action on the island is BORING compared to what’s going on with The Others.

4. The cast needs to be purged. You added two new Losties plus The Others and delegated so many regulars to cameo status. There’s just too many characters. Feel free to have a massacre soon. Just save Jack, Kate and Sawyer. Hell if it’s a good death feel free to kill Kate or Sawyer too.

HOWEVER you still rock. Here’s two reasons why:

1. Benry. Totally awesome villain. I wanna know what he did to Kate before she ended up in that fertility cage with Sawyer.

2. Juliet. The best addition to this season. She’s my new Libby, the one person I NEED to know about. I could not be more excited for the Juliet flashback that better come after the break. Also note, if you kill Juliet I will be pissed. PISSED. She’s just such an interesting character. Even though she looks like she wants to help Jack I don’t believe her one bit. I think she wants control of The Others for herself and that she’s crazier than Benry. Remember what Sawyer said to Kate, Juliet would kill without a second thought. Not a normal fertility Dr. if you ask me. Her emotions surrounding Colleen’s death were so faked to gain sympathy with Jack. That being said I love them together. Even more than I enjoyed Jack and Kate. Juliet can bring the fast food banter and Jack totally trusts her. He’s such a chump!