Fox, I want my 19 minutes back

Sunday's Fox lineup has been a staple in my house for years. It isn't Sunday without Family Guy and the Simpsons. It is possible that these are the only shows my husband remembers to watch. In support of the Sunday line up I attempted to watch the new Fox comedy Sons of Tucson...uggh.

This show is HORRENDOUS! The main character played by Tyler Labine is clearly a wanna be Jack Black. Much like Jack Black he is NOT REMOTELY FUNNY!


The premise of the show is that the father of three young boys is arrested for banking crimes. In order to avoid being placed in foster care, the three boys hire a dad. The hilarity is meant to ensue. In last weeks episode, which I can only handle 19 minutes of, the main character smuggled viagra in llamas and had to figure out how to get the drugs back. UGGH!

The three "kids" are also horrid. They are three unknown child actors and...let's hope they stay that way.

Please do not watch this show.

As a side note, the only time i chuckled during the show was when they said the llamas were named bella and edward.

Drinking the Kool-Aid.

Ah, there's a certain satisfaction that comes from getting your friends hooked on something, isn't there? This past weekend, I found out that two of my friends have become addicted to Avatar: The Last Airbender since I made them sit down and watch it. And I'm not sure why, but sharing my love of certain shows just seems to result in a warm fuzzy feeling. Maybe it's because there's some kind of pay-it-forward thing happening. After all, some of my favorite shows were discovered based on word of mouth. Example: Doctor Who (Caroline), Gossip Girl (Chris), True Blood (Rachel), and even Avatar: The Last Airbender (Monkey), and on and on. So the more shows I recommend to other people, maybe the more awesome shows I will have recommended to me? There must be some kind of mathematical equation for this thing.

The more people who discover the awesomness of Appa, the better.

Things I learned on my latest work trip...

Another day, another week-long work trip. This time to Reno, which is turning out to be kind of awesome and I really suggest that you come visit. Especially in the Spring.

But as with most travel, this one has led to a few life lessons:

1) Having a television in the bathroom is weird. I'm staying at one of the casinos here in Reno, and because of the government rate was able to snag a pretty swanky room (but swanky in the casino sense which means it is ridiculously gaudy). It has an HD tv in the main room...but also a smaller one in the bathroom which is just strange. Do people really need to watch television while brushing their teeth? What about when peeing? There's also a phone by the toilet which, ok you may be a high-powered business man, but do you REALLY need to conduct a business call while sitting on the john?

2) Supernatural is now part of TNT's "prime time in the day time" line-up airing from 7-8 am. Score!

3) I spent an entire afternoon watching Star Trek: The Next Generation reruns on SyFy on Monday. And this came days after having an impassioned discussion about the merits of the show with Selvi and Kristin. It was fate.

4) Unlike Central time (where shows air an hour early), shows air at their regular time here on the West Coast. Which means everyone got to see Lost three hours before me. Which kind of sucks and makes me feel like I missed out. Well, I actually did miss out because it turns out I went to bed before 9 when Lost airs...I was jet-lagged, ok? But when it was 7:00 in the evening here and I realized that all my friends had just finished watching Lost, it made me feel like I was late for the party.

5) The sun never sets on NCIS. I used to think this saying only applied to Law and Order and CSI, because there is ALWAYS an episode of those shows on one channel or another. But apparently NCIS has now joined the endless rerun brigade.

Coming up next: Maggie spends the next 10 years trying to watch everything her DVR recorded this week while she was gone! Exciting.

Dude, I'd watch that show.

Spoilers for Lost episode "Recon" below!

Lost was kind of ho-hum last night. The episode was solid, but there weren't a lot of big reveals. Well, Sawyer screwing Charlotte, throwing her out, and her being awesome and not forgiving him and his big puppy eyes was kind of a surprise. Go, Charlotte!

But the best part was seeing Sawyer in the sideways flash. He's a cop. And his partner? Miles! As soon as I saw them together the only thing I could think of was, "I would totally watch that show." I'm not a fan of cop procedurals in general, but Sawyer and Miles: two smartasses out to clean up the mean streets of LA....sign me up. If ABC was smart they would have these two signed for a new show to take Lost's place ASAP, because you KNOW people would watch.

And who knew Miles would look so cute in his cop gear?

This could be the next big buddy cop show, y'all.

Parenthood

Since we no longer have traditional tv “seasons” this month the major networks are launching new shows. Each network has put all their chips into one new show. For NBC it’s Parenthood. For our readers not current on their late 80s movies, Parenthood was a parenting angst movie starring Steve Martin with EXCELLENT cameos from Keanu Reeves (pre the bus). The movie was all about the hardships of being a parent from late developing kids, to kid geniuses, to teen angst and even adults with childlike tendencies. It was a great movie and I assume Ron Howard is trying to capture the chemistry in his new show. (For the record they tried this in 1990 and failed)


I have to admit Parenthood (the tv show) is well thought out, constructed and even well written. It is clear that the writers spent time developing the family dynamic and characters. It is a family of two sisters and two brothers and each of their extended families. In the first two episodes, the teens got arrested, one of the kids was diagnosed with Asberger’s and an illegitimate child has shown up. The plot, though predictable, is also well put together. The family dynamic is there.

The high point in the show for me is the return of Lauren Graham to television. I know Gilmore Girls is a hit or miss show with readers, but for me it was a staple. Her character is charismatic and Lauren is doing great so far. The original pilot starred Maura Tierney in Lauren Graham's role, but due to her ongoing breast cancer treatment she couldn't continue. Though Maura will be missed, I am certainly happy they filled the role with Lauren. I also am loving Peter Krause (Six Feet Under) and Sam Jaeger (Eli Stone). Both are complimenting there “marital” counterparts well and making me chuckle. The low point is CERTAINLY Dax Shepherd. Why anyone would cast him in a real role perplexes me. His comedic role is lacking and his general presence annoys me. Hollywood continues to cast him in movies and shows despite his poor line delivery and lack luster emotions. Additionally, Erika Christensen is not holding up her own. Erika plays Julia, a high powered attorney trying to get to know her daughter, and its just not getting there for me. Perhaps there will be room for growth.

Overall, I have added it to the list. Plus I could sell it to my husband since Craig T. Nelson is in it. Try Parenthood tonight at 9.

It's about frickin time.

One of the perils of DVR is that you sometimes fall behind on stuff. I can often fall a full week behind in watching some shows, including Chuck (I can hear Jeff's gasps of unbelief even from several hundred miles away).

So imagine my surprise this morning when getting ready for work I discovered that Morgan has FINALLY learned that Chuck is a spy. To which all I can say is...

HALLELUJAH! Also, Morgan is kinda badass. Who knew?

I think this is going to be great for the show. I've been whining/complaining/bitching that the old "I have to keep this secret from all my friends and family" route was getting old. And I always thought that Morgan would be great to have in on the whole spy thing. And look at that, I was right!

I'm so glad that instead of blowing up at Chuck for lying to him for 2.5 years he was thrilled to learn Chuck's secret. It was an unexpected twist, but fits perfectly with the character. And seriously, who wouldn't want an awesome international spy for a best friend? Chuck's mad Duck Hunt skills will definitely come in handy.

So cheers to Chuck! This season is moving right along at a good clip, and I really like the addition of Brandon Routh to the show (a.k.a. Superman). I know a lot of fans didn't like the idea of a new romantic interest for Sarah, not to mention Hannah, but I actually like the execution of both. After all, you need to come up with some reason to keep Sarah and Chuck apart. But now that Chuck has admitted to himself that he loves Sarah (to himself at least), who knows what the future holds?

Oh, and Chuck producers, writers, and directors?

Thanks for the many shirtless Captain Awesome shots. It definitely made my Monday.

Is this the end for our intrepid heroes?!?

Heroes hit the airwaves in 2006 among a tremendous media blitz, soared through a stellar first season, and eventually hit upon the rocky shoals of viewer discontent. Yeah, I realize that sentence mixes three or four metaphors. Deal with it.

Now, the scuttlebutt around the web is that Volume 6 (Brave New World) may not come to pass. As a fan who's stuck with the show for this long, I was of two minds about this news. On one hand, when Heroes was good, it was amazing. On the other, it hasn't been amazing for four seasons. Then it occurred to me - a simple way to save the show in its purest, most awesome form.

Kill every-damn-body.

Peter Petrelli? Gone. I've had enough of his stroke-victim face and his weirdly (even for me) close relationship with his brother. Mohinder Suresh? Outta there. As much as it pains me to say it, this show hasn't needed my darling 'Hinder for a long while now. Noah Bennett? He made the show when we only knew him as HRG, but now he only gets to be bad ass once in a blue moon.

And none of this half-assed dying that's been going on so far. It robs character death of its emotional resonance. Nikki Sanders' death was major, but then the actress shows up again as Tracey Strauss. There's another triplet out there, too - Barbara. God knows when they were planning to bring her in. Same with Nathan Petrelli. Maybe they thought having two death scenes (one where he physically dies, one where Sylar's personality pushes Nathan out of their shared brain) would make us twice as emotional. Actually, it just made sure that when Nathan was gone, I was glad to be done with him.

What I envision is a spin-off show focusing on Claire Bennett. Maybe 1,000 years in the future, when everyone around her has either been blown to bits, eaten by sharks or just died in their sleep. Is she a hero - or a villain? Does she have a sidekick? An arch nemesis? I want all the usual comic book tropes, but turned on their heads. That was the promise of Heroes - that it would bring something new to television.

Well, Tim Kring? I'm waiting...

--

Maggie Cats, I feel like you've proposed this solution before. Anyway, it bears repeating. Kill! Kill!

Bonekickers

I had never heard of Bonekickers until Netflix recommended it a few weeks ago, but I decided to give it a try since there's pretty much no British show I won't check out (which trust me, does not always work out--Demons, I am looking at you. But more about that in a future post).

Bonekickers is pretty easy to sum up: it's a BBC show about a group of archaeologists. I thought it would be a pseudo-Indiana Jones type thing, with archaeologists traveling around the world investigating supernatural objects and having incredible and often wacky adventures. But there's really nothing supernatural about it, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. It's more like CSI meets...well, it's really just like CSI but with really really old stuff instead of murders.

It's only got one season, but I was pleasantly surprised with the overall quality of the program. Each episode investigates a different period in history: ancient, medieval, colonial, WWI, etc. etc. and it's not just limited to British history. The characters are a team of archaeologists who work at the fictional Wessex University. The show tries to drum up interest in a season long arc as every episode contains a reference or clue to a certain ancient sword. A sword that the main character, Dr. Gillian Magwilde, is convinced is the sword of King Arthur. I'm 4 episodes in out of the total 6, but honestly right now I am kind of meh on the whole magical mysterious ancient sword thing.

Overall, it's a solid British procedural with an interesting twist and tells some pretty interesting stories with its characters. I can't speak as to the authenticity of the science and archaeological techniques, but I do appreciate how the show doesn't flinch from showing that most of what archaeologists do is dig in the mud and look up shit in really old books. It's kind of refreshing not to depict archaeologists as running around the globe having ridiculous adventures all the time.

Oh, and the best part of the show is Hugh Bonneville, whom you might recognize from Notting Hill. He's kind of hilarious, and yes, he wears a fedora. Apparently all male archaeologists do.

All in all I give the show a solid B. If you like history, old stuff, and socially awkward people, consider giving it a try.

NB: I would just like to point out that I spelled the word "archaeology" wrong every single time I typed it in this post. That takes talent, people.

LOST: Recent thoughts from around the interwebs

There's a lot of information out there about Lost. You could scour the Internet for hours trying to track it all down, but why bother? That's what I'm for, right? As soon as I've finished the most recent episode of Lost, I hop on the Internet and visit my favorite sites. Here are some of the best comments and thoughts from around the webs for this week's episode, "Sundown."

Liz Kelly and Jen Chaney over at The Washington Post have a weekly Lost "dueling analysis" column as well as an online chat.

Plano, TX: I think we'll look back on this episode as the one where we really understood what the sideways universe was all about.

It's not sideways, it's not flash-forward: It's Sideways/forward. The choices that the Losties make in this war indicate what happens to them in the alternate universe. Choose Flocke, you're damned to repeat the same cycle you were in (Re: Sayid and killing, Kate and running). If you chose Jacob, you'll find some resolution of your issues (Jack and his daddy-issues/son- issues). Thoughts?

And of course, any Lost trip around the world wide web isn't complete without paying a visit to Doc Jensen's column over at Entertainment Weekly.

"For years he has been trapped, but now Jacob is gone. He is free. This man will not stop until he has destroyed every living thing on the Island. ...He is evll incarnate.''

"I'm thinking Dogen was getting it wrong, too, either because he's misinformed or biased because of what Jacob did for his son: spared him from death. In fact, think about the wondrous things associated with Jacob. Richard's eternal youth. The resurrection hot spring. And, if you believe Ben from season 3, a cure for cancer. Jacob isn't ''good,'' per se — he's just capable of giving life. Put another way: Jacob is the god of beginnings. He is The Alpha. The Man in Black? Not evil — he's the god of endings. He is the Omega. The beginning and the end. Polar, warring opposites, but absolutely necessary for life to bloom (Alpha) and to have form (Omega). Both are necessary for anything to have meaning. Jacob unchecked leads to chaos; Man In Black unchecked leads to annihilation. Both need to exist in balance; both need to be equally weighted rocks on the scale."

USA Today's pop culture blogger, Whitney, rounds up the 10 best Lost thoughts from the comment threads of Pop Candy every Friday. :

froglegggz: The flash sideways are showing us what happens if they "take the deal" from Flocke/Jacob. Dogens deal w/jacob was that he would take his new job... keepin the temple safe... and he would be rewarded with his son never having died... his sacrifice would be that he was never allowed to see him/leave... So i think it was very clear tonight that we saw Sayid after he took Flocke's deal... Nadia would be alive...and his sacrifice was HE COULD NEVER BE WITH HER?

What if someone had never seen Lost and was working their way through the final season? They would probably be pretty confused.

When I went to start last night’s episode I noticed Said was spelled Sayid in the cable guide description. Fine. I was using the spelling a college friend uses, but it’s their show so I am going to honor their wishes by adding another letter in there. I’m not counting this on my ignorance tally. It’s pretty high already.

And finally....bonus music video! Miley meets Hurley.

So close, and yet so far.

Oh, Evan Lysacek. You were this close to being my secret boyfriend of the week, and then I had to go and read that you are appearing on Dancing with the Stars. How you intend to do that and train for the upcoming World Figure Skating Championship, I don't know, but that is neither here nor there.

YOU ARE AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL WINNER. AND YOU ARE APPEARING ON ONE OF THE TACKIEST SHOWS EVER.

Now, I know people who watch and enjoy this show. It's cheesy good fun. Who doesn't like seeing celebrities" (and I use that term loosely) with ostensibly little or no dance experience take on the challenge of ballroom dancing, all while wearing sparkly, feathery, and ridiculous outfits. People who should be on the show: Kate Gosselin. Shannen Doherty. Pamela Anderson. People who should not be on the show: OLYMPIC GOLD MEDAL WINNERS.

Apolo Ono I am also looking at you. The fact that you won your season does not mollify me.

Oh, who am I kidding. Figure skating is half-way to the ridiculousness of most ballroom dancing anyway.

This picture alone makes my argument a loser.

You know who would be awesome on DWTS? Johnny Motherfucking Weir. He and that show were MADE for one another.

Jason Hates a Canadian

Here's something you don't see on the blog very often. A post about sports! Guest-blogger Jason weighs in on the Canada vs. USA match-up at the Olympics on Saturday and has some...shall we say...strong feelings for one of the Canadian players. Not those kind of strong feelings! Get your mind out of the gutter, people.

In the aftermath of the Olympics, that biennial event designed to bring the world together in staunch but healthy competition and international friendship, I’m just going to come out and say it: I hate Sidney Crosby. The centre for the Pittsburgh Penguins has got to be one of the most over-hyped hockey players ever. I mean, he's talented, but he rarely ever delivers for Pittsburgh, usually only providing assists rather than out-in-out goals. He believes his own hype, however, and will now have more reason to believe it because he actually managed to score the final tie-breaking goal over the USA hockey team last night playing for his native Canada.

For the official record, I'm wicked fine with Canada winning as many gold medals as they want. They kind of deserve to have a medal for something other than modesty. Which doesn’t even get a medal because if it there was one, who would wear it?

So wherefore my ire? As a die-hard hockey fan, I somehow cannot get behind the spirit of cooperation that the Olympics are all about the second the puck hits the ice. I think this is because hockey is the only sport I know of where bad sportsmanship is actually encouraged. It’s kind of why I love it, actually. I have the worst cognitive dissonance watching the Olympic hockey matches because while I’m trying to get behind What It All Means, all I really want to do is yell things about the mothers of the opposing team’s players doing amorously inappropriate things with moose. The Olympics is about healthy competition. Hockey is about bloodsport.

And frankly, Canada fascinates me. I grew up in one of the only places in the entire continental United States where you had to drive south (yes, south) to get to Canada. A love for our neighbors to the north is not an easy one to nurture – one who is obsessed with England is an Anglophile, one who loves all things French is a Francophile. Even those with an affinity for the Irish can be called Hibernophiles (Never heard of it, but I like it --Maggie Cats). So far, we’ve yet to come up with a similar concept for those of us who have a predilection for the witty, modest folk who share our borders. Of all the people competing, surely these are the ones that we can all agree not to be angry with because they played hard and fair, right?

Yeah, you’d think that. And then I remember that up until these games, the USA was the only team to ever win the gold in hockey while as the host country for the games. And we did it twice. And Sidney Crosby wasn’t even born the last time it happened. And suddenly I’m right back to the old hockey fan that I have been bred over 30-odd years to be.

Thank God the regular NHL season can now go back to its standard programming and I can go back to insulting players without my brain hurting.

Closing thoughts on the 2010 Winter Olympics

Tonight (actually, right now) the closing ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympics are taking place. And HOLY CRAP YOU GUYS CANADA WON HOCKEY GOLD.

Sorry, for the all caps, but seriously, how awesome is that? I mean, I know that I should have been rooting for the US to take it, but silver is nothing to scoff at and it's such a great end of the story for the host country. And y'all know this isn't the first time I was rooting for Canada.

I think NBC's closing ceremonies might be my favorite part of the whole shibang. Not only are they showing the actual ceremony, but highlights and stories from throughout the entire Olympiad. So for someone like me who only had the time (and really desire) to watch the figure skating coverage, it provides the chance to see all the other incredible moments that I missed. And I don't have to wade through hours of aerial jumps, cross-country skiing, or half-pipe snowboarding. Or the endless commercials. Dear god, the commercials.

But with all this Olympic coverage, no matter how awesome it may be, the one burning question in my mind has not been answered.

Why are the medals this year so fugly? I mean, damn.

More Sue For You

Hold on to your butts, Glee fans. Our guest-blogger Jason is back with some harsh words for our beloved show...but he also makes a good point. Check out his thoughts on the show in general, and everyone's favorite Cheerleading coach.

It’s probably going to get me shot to admit this, but I kind of can’t handle Glee. I know, I know. Everyone loves it. It’s about hope and joy and sunshine and tiny, tiny puppies. It just never grabbed me, despite its popularity and a clear yearning to be a dark comedy. So I tried to figure out why it is that I’m not a fan, aside from my usual contrarian tendencies.

It certainly has a lot going for it that I like – witty dialogue, smart characters, and it’s not another reality show, which I’m always in favor of. Somehow, though, I just haven’t been able to get into it. To borrow a phrase, there just isn’t a lot of there there. After much soul searching, however, I figured it out – the show has too much emphasis on the singing and not nearly enough Sue Sylvester.

I know I’m not alone in loving the show’s resident Big Fish/Small Pond power-control freak. And while I really don’t care about any of these kids with their jazz hands and hipster-chic show tune-y style pop numbers, I seriously want to see more characters on television like Jane Lynch’s masterful creation.

But the reason Sue Sylvester works so well isn’t because of how well the character is written or the brilliant acting behind it, it’s because she’s wisely used sparingly. Sue is at her most icily brilliant when she gets to let loose a couple of quick zingers dripping with disgust and then saunters off into the hallways to yell at some cheerleaders off-screen.

So how can people like me get more out of Glee than what the show’s creators are clearly able to give? Clearly it’s time for Ms. Lynch to star in a collection of webisodes called The More You Know with Sue Motherfucking Sylvester. Modeled after the public service announcements of the 1980s, those of us who are fans of the biting social commentary of the show but don’t want to have to sit through the music numbers could finally have our due.

Try opening an adult video store in Salt Lake City. That’s hard.

Think about it – any old star can give you unwanted advice in commercial form. It’s all rather drab and overdone to hear yet another Heroes cast member talking about being nice to each other and not sticking foreign objects into our bodies. Now lie to me and tell me that you wouldn’t give real money to listen to Sue Sylvester tell you about the hard-learned life lessons of bullying, anorexia, drug use and national security.

We can’t have an entire show about her, but damn if we can’t get a couple of two-minute manifestos starting with, “you think that’s hard?”

Because that’s how Sue sees it.

Big ups to Monkey Sri for inspiration.

Can they take my citizenship for this?

Like most Americans, I've been watching the Olympics. Unlike most Americans, I am very selective about what I watch. Specifically, I only watch figure skating. Apollo Ono is the most decorated winter Olympian ever? That's nice for him. US Curling team not doing so hot? Oh, well. Women's snowboard half pipe (or whatever) is on? Have fun with that!

Basically, I am only in it for the figure skating. I love it all: pairs, men's, women's, ice dancing...if it's on skates with toe picks I'm there*. The rest of my Olympic viewing consists of fast forwarding through all the other events in a valiant search to find the figure skating coverage. Because NBC ain't no fool, they know people want the figure skating so they allow tantalizing glimpses throughout the evening but make you wait until 11 o'clock through midnight for the good stuff. Thank god for DVR, because you know I can't stay up that late.

Last night was the conclusion of the ice dancing competition which has usually been my least favorite of all the figure skating events. But this year, things got more interesting. Maybe it's because the routines were better, or the costumes less crazy (although did you see those Russian aboriginal outfits?? Yikes.), but I was really into the ice dancing this year.

And I wasn't even rooting for the Americans. Actually, let me rephrase. I was of course rooting for the Americans. Davis and White were my top pics and I adored their Bollywood-inspired original dance so I was hoping for them to go all the way. But there was just something about the Canadian couple, Virtue and Moir, that had been cheering for them too. They were on their home ice, the crowd adored them, and they were both so darn attractive. Even though I didn't find their free skate as engaging as the Americans, I just wanted them to win. And they did!

Awwwww.

So this morning, while putting on my coat to walk out the door to catch the bus, I saw the Canadians stand in the center of the medal podium, the judges put gold medals around their necks, and the crowd went crazy. And when the Canadian national anthem started playing...I got a little teary-eyed.

How can you not love them? Look how adorable they are!

Does this make me a bad American? I was still really happy we got the silver medal. As with most things in life, I think the appropriate response is just to blame Canada.

Eh?

* Tooooooooooooooooooooe pick!

Addendum: I know there has been some kerfluffle about a few Canadian announcers making homophobic remarks against my secret boyfriend Johnny Weir, but they have apparently apologized and I refuse to let the nastiness of a few taint my view of a whole. Everyone knows Canadians are, with a few minor exceptions, some of the nicest people in the world. So we'll just move on and pretend this whole gross thing never happened.

Really? Ugh.

Just popping by to share a link from the LA Times - The Kardashian phenomenon. Click for a lengthy article about how the Kardashians became idols for the cult of celebrity without having any skills or talents whatsoever.

Depressing quote:

"There's an aspirational quality to somebody who has become a celebrity for -- and I don't say this in an offensive way -- but for not doing anything celebrity-worthy," said Matt Delzell, an executive at Davie Brown Entertainment, a company that helps corporations choose celebrity endorsers. The young women to whom the Kardashians appeal, he said, "tend to think that's pretty cool. That's something I might be able to achieve."

Is it just me, or is this guys saying that Khloe, Kim, and Kourtney are role models? Shoot me in the face.

Sophie's Choice

If you haven't been watching Make It Or Break It over on ABC Family, you've been missing out. Of course, you would probably only agree that you are missing out if you are a girl who once dreamed of becoming a gymnast. And enjoys stories of high school aged girls and the drama that follows them around.

Drama, like a love triangle!

You see, our young heroine, Emily, has found herself in the middle of a classic dilemma. She is trapped between two adorable boys and doesn't know which to choose! It's a standard plot of every television show, book, and movie aimed at a female teenage audience. And the reason why it's a standard plot is because it works. All you have to do is look at rabid fans arguing about Team Edward and Team Jacob to get an idea of how seriously people take this shit.

But let's come back to Emily. She's an independent smart girl, with a bit of an attitude. She might even be a little bit too independent since she's kind of the wild card at the gym. She's a great gymnast...when she can focus and listen to the her coach, but she's often inconsistent and then flies off the handle when she doesn't succeed. She's also seen her Mom date a near constant stream of losers who have abandoned them so she has definite trust issues.

There are two guys vying for Emily's affections. The situation is further complicated because the two guys are best friends. Awkward!

In this the red corner is Razor.

Pros: Lead singer of a band. Smart. Adorable. Goofy.

Cons: Terrible name. Bad hair. We're talking "Egon on the animated Ghostbusters" type of bad hair. Also possessive. He made his initial attraction to Emily clear, but then left town telling his best friend to "keep an eye on her." When he came back and found out they had begun dating, he was majorly pissed. It was like he had peed on her and marked her as his own or some macho crap.


And in the blue corner is Damon.

Pros: Lead guitarist of a band. Aspiring songwriter. Badboy vibe. Sexy. Pouty lips.
Cons: Whiny. Low self-esteem and needs constant reassurance of own self-worth. He also needs to grow a backbone; he has no problem playing the guitar and writing songs, but gets paralyzing stage fright if he has to sing in front of people. Seriously dude, just get yourself to a bar with karaoke and work it out. Also questionable loyalty. He made a move on his best friend's crush and then lied to Emily about his lack of success when he ran off to LA to "make a name for himself."

So there you have it. Neither guy is perfect. And they tend to fall into the classic good guy vs. rebel cliche. And yet...I'm hooked. There's just something about the love triangle that draws us in. Will Kate choose Jack or Sawyer? Is Guinevere a giant slut for sleeping with Lancelot when she's married to and also loves Arthur? Should Joey have ended up Dawson or Pacey? Who is right for Lorelai: Luke or Chris? Was Andi right to choose Blane over Duckie? Chances are you know who all these people are and have an opinion as to who was the "right" choice. And dare I say it...Edward or Jacob?

So who will Emily end up with? Tune in on Mondays at 9 pm on ABC Family to find out! And you get a bonus Kaylie/Carter/Lauren love triangle for good measure. Although that one is far less interesting because Carter kind of sucks.

Blood, Sweat, T-Shirts & Bratty English Kids

Planet Green, in their attempt to enlighten us to the conditions in the garment sector of India, has begun airing Blood, Sweat & Tshirts. Originally produced by BBC, Planet Green is currently airing on Monday nights.

The premise of the show is something that really appealed to me. Having read "Travels of a T-shirt in a Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli, I am quite familiar with the conditions and lifestyles that people endure in order to bring me my cheap tshirt. However, seeing it first hand and getting to experience it along side twenty somethings like myself, really caught my attention. Unfortunately, the show is more about 6 BRATTY SELF INVOLVED British kids "coping" with living in these atmospheres.


In the first episode the kids had to sew in a REALLY NICE sweat shop. Within hours, one had quit, and another had had a mini temper tantrum. I was so embarrassed to have been a Caucasian watching these kids openly mock the workers and their lifestyles.

Now, if you are interested in how a tshirt in India is made, the show is somewhat informative. The kids are living in conditions similar to the workers and are trying to get by on the working wage. Additionally, you do get to see the cotton mills, and sewing shops. However, I just watched 5 young adults argue over who was going to clean the squat toilet they stopped up, so my spirits are low.

If you are interested check out the listings on Planet Green for Blood, Sweat and Tshirts....

Reincarnation... you're doing it wrong

Past Life stars Kelli Giddish as Dr. Kate McGinn, an expert in past life regression, who teams up with former police detective Price Whatley (Nicholas Bishop) to solve crime. As soon as I heard that, my eyes started rolling around in my head. Memories "recovered" under hypnosis have proven specious time and time again. From my POV (admittedly biased by being Hindu), past life regression is nothing more than a ruse designed to prey on the emotionally vulnerable. But then I figured I shouldn't dismiss the show out of hand, and decided to give it a shot.

... in the face.

From the start, an essential weakness in the plot becomes apparent. "Regressions," in which Dr. McGinn's client has flashbacks to their former life, would never be accepted as evidence in a court of law or the basis of a criminal investigation. And it wouldn't be enough that they find, for example, a bloody knife with the suspect's fingerprints on it. Because they can't prove chain of custody, and the lawyers out there can correct me if I'm wrong, anything like that would be inadmissible. So "regressions" have to uncover something that, in and of itself, proves the killer's guilt/the victim's innocence. In the episode I watched, a girl's memories lead them to the video testimony of an eyewitness, recorded hours before he met an untimely end. That's great an all, but how many different ways can you find incontrovertible evidence like that?

Furthermore, Dr. McGinn comes across to me as what fangirls would call a "Mary Sue." This is a character so perfect that even her flaws are flawless. She's beautiful enough to seduce information out of a man half her age, she's feisty enough to kick in doors, and she's caring enough to cry when her patient's crying. She does wildly inappropriate things, like yelling at her patients and taking steam baths with them, but no one bats an eyelash. Basically, it seems like she can do no wrong - and if the hero's always right the story gets to be hella boring. It's mentioned in passing that, instead of being in a relationship, she lives with her mother. Really? That's the best you can come up with?

If we were talking about a show where a plucky con-woman used her skills in observation to help the police solve crime (a la Psych or The Mentalist), I might have been able to stomach it. As it is, too many things in this show ring false to me. The presence of the beloved Richard Schiff from The West Wing and my homeboy Ravi Patel (apparently he was on Scrubs?) notwithstanding, I think I'll give Past Life a pass.

Avatar: The Last Airbender

Last week, once again, we were snowed in. This has been a record-breaking winter for snowfall in the DC area, but luckily I had something to keep me occupied! Specifically, watching Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Now, Monkey Sri covered this show extremely well in a cartoon round-up about a year and a half ago. You can find it here. If you want a great discussion of the show's themes and hilarious commentary, I'll refer you to her post. All I really want to add to the conversation is this:

The Last Airbender is completely badass.

Other than reading Sri's post, it was never really on my radar until recently when I saw the trailer for the live action version coming out in July (and directed by one of my favorite people, M. Night Shyamalan) and thought "that looks awesome." I then mentioned it to a couple of friends who were fans of the cartoon and they recommended I watch it. A quick check of Netflix revealed that the first season (or "book") was available for instant viewing. And from that point on, my fate was sealed. In the sense that I was hooked and spent the next 2 days watching all 20 episodes of the first season.

But seriously, you guys, this show rocks. It's got amazing action and fight scenes, is really funny, and, as noted by Sri, is surprisingly deep for a children's show. It's got something for everyone, most importantly of all, it has a ten-ton, six-legged, giant flying bison with an arrrow on its head.

His name is Appa and I love him. He might possibly be my favorite part of the whole show.

I cannot recommend Avatar: The Last Airbender more and I really hope all of you get a chance to check it out. The live action movie also looks completely amazing, but please note that it simply called The Last Airbender to avoid confusion with the recent James Cameron movie. Here's the trailer (with cutie pie Dev Patel from Slumdog Millionare) and although he's not in the trailer, the movie has Aasif Mandvi from The Daily Show! But what's up with them casting an American kid as Ang? I guess they just figured they can shave his head and call it a day. Of course, his mad kung-fu skills might have something to do with it...

What have they done to Chuck?

So this weekend amidst the Blizzard of 2010 and its sequel, I caught up on back episodes of Chuck. Unfortunately they lined Chuck up against House this season and for me there is no contest. Though I thoroughly enjoyed Chuck's past seasons, the wit of Levy is no match for House. Additionally, since I am not technology inept I am tivoing HIMYM on CBS while watching House. And we KNOW the cast of Chuck can't compare the with Cast of How I Met Your Mother.

That's the beauty that is the Internet. I have spent some time catching up and....I would like my time back. The premise of this show was nerd thrown into spy world. I know characters have to grow and blah blah blah, but they have worked it so its just another spy show. The pizazz of Chuck is gone. It is boring and I am fighting to get through each episode.

I give it one more season max. It can't hold its own in the time slot AND its slipping fast...

Poor chuck :(