Being Sick has its Advantages: Being Human

So the trend in TV continues to be "find something that works in England and then rip it off American style." This was successful with shows like the Office, and even MTV has ventured into it with the latest version of Skins. However, given the horrible state of sick I am currently in, I decided to check out Syfy's latest endeavor, Being Human.


In a time plagued with Twilight rip offs and with television saturated with vampire, ghost and werewolf dramas, I was reluctant to dive into yet another. However, I was pleasantly surprised by this tale of young twenties angst. Being Human follows the saga (and yes saga) and three "monsters", a stunningly sexy vampire, a quirky werewolf and a mopey ghost. I was shocked by the depth to these characters. Each "near human" battles their inner angst and struggles with their "monster within."

The actors are actually really good. Sam Witwer, famous for nothing really upon my research except a brief stint on Smallville, was actually shockingly impressive. He plays the vampire torn between the desire to feed and the need to be accepted by humans. In a non-Robert Pattinson fashion, he doesn't make me want to punch him in the face. Sam Huntington (the perv from Not Another Teen Movie) is our quirky comedic element. This bumbling spaz makes the perfect ironic werewolf, add to that for some reason he rocks the Star of David. Finally, Meaghan Rath (who appears to be completely unknown) is our third and final monster, constantly fretting about her once fiance (and the motley crew's landlord) can't see her and they will never be together. Personally, I disliked this character completely.

The show really isn't trying anything we haven't seen in Vampire Diaries or Trueblood. Vampires gaining power, and the struggle to remain neutral. However, the acting was good enough that I will probably check on it again. Though to be honest, I would suggest checking this one out on hulu.com when you catch the miserable flu going around. I wouldn't set my tivo to record. Apparently it runs Monday's on SyFy. Though I am contemplating checking out the British version online too.

The Art of Bitchface

In the past few years, bitchface has had something of a renaissance on television. Guys, girls, unaffiliated genders, everyone is shooting bitchface left and right.

Proper bitchface is not always easy to pull off; it's more than just a simple "you're kidding me" or "bitch, please." Typically, the character shooting bitchface has just been told that they are not getting their way and this is either very very normal or very very abnormal. Example: Dana Scully is used to having to go on what she considers a wild goose chase with her partner, Mulder, and thus gives bitchface; or, NOBODY should tell Santana from Glee what to do, and when someone does, bitchface is the result.

But I wanted to give a shout-out to some of the best bitchfaces, past and present.

The latest and greatest bitchfaces comes to us courtesy of two classic television actresses. In an attempt to get the cult fans excited about the new V, the show has brought back the queen from the original series, played by Jane Badler. Some people's faces are born for bitchface, and Ms. Badler is definitely one of them. On the show, she was supplanted by her daughter, Anna, and sent to live in the basement of one of the V's huge ships. She appears to have spent the last 2o years skulking about in the dark and sitting in her hammock, but her hair and makeup are still perfect. You know why? Because she is an alien queen, and don't you motherfuckers forget it.

The bitch is back, y'all.

Another great example of bitchface (from this past week) was demonstrated by Candice Bergen, aka Murphy Brown, aka awesomeness personified. On House, she played Cuddy's mother and was just....well, horrible really. She took every opportunity to put her daughter down (in front of her friends no less) and even made House speechless with her bitchery. Near the end of the episode, House walked into his office and saw her sitting at his desk, and he was defeated by her massive bitchface.

You want me to get up from your chair? I don't think so.

And now for some classic bitchface, just because I think it's fun. As I stated above, almost nobody got more opportunities for bitchface than Dana Scully. With just a crook of the eyebrow, she could lay waste to mere mortals, but somehow, Mulder always seemed immune to her powers. Which is a good thing, because she shot him bitchface almost every single episode. But so would you if you had to run off and investigate icky alien stuff every week. And don't even get me started on the genetic mutants (including that dude who ate people's livers and the fluke man) that she had to deal with.

If I so much much as twitch my eyebrow, this entire building will explode.

Yes, it's true that the ladies tend to give good bitchface. But even they must bow down to the master. For this character, bitchface is a way of life. It must be hard being the younger brother to one of the most perfect specimens of humanity, and our top bitchface-giver is constantly being harassed by his older bro. So it's no surprise that bitchface is his number one defense mechanism. That and whining. And crying.

Ladies and gentleman, the true master of all bitchface......

Sam Winchester.

Game, set, match. Bitches.

Secret Boyfriend of the Week: Native American Edition

This past week I have been watching Big Love. Non-stop. In the morning: Big Love. In the evening: Big Love.

And trust me, that's a lot of Bill Paxton. It might even be more than one person can take. But the show is just too addicting, and with the Season 5 (final season!) having just started, I needed to make sure I was caught up with the happs of Season 4. And then of course, it doesn't hurt that Season 4 includes some aaaaaawesome eye candy.

I give you Adam Beach:


You might also know him from the film Windtalkers and Law and Order: SVU. I know him from being hot.

According to IMDB, he is from Manitoba, Canada (we'll forgive him that), is a Saulteaux Indian and a member of the Ojibwa Nation. And not only is he adorable, but he also does speaking engagements all over North America with Native American and First Nation youth. See? Socially responsible. Love him.

But who really cares about all that? I mean, sure that's nice, but this is what matters.


Sadly, IMDB does not indicate that he is in Season 5 which is a damn shame.

Who is the Hollywood Foreign Press anyway? Oh, wait, I don't care.

Sunday's Golden Globes held very few surprises. For the most part, all the big winners were projected in advance (The Social Network, Glee, Colin Firth, Natalie Portman, etc), and there didn't seem to be a lot of fun in the evening. The big highlights for me were Tina Fey and Steve Carrel, Chris Colfer, and Jane Lynch, but other than that, meh.

Of course the big talk of the night is host Ricky Gervais and whether he went "too far". While watching the recorded awards with my Mom last night (she had already watched it Sunday but rewatched it with me because she "enjoys hearing [my] colorful commentary."), I was initially a bit taken aback that Gervais was "going there." You know what I mean; making jokes about the nominated movies just being bad (The Tourist), closeted Scientologists (clearly Tom Cruise directed), and helping the aging President of the HFPA off the toilet before the show. My Mom found him "disgusting"and "rude," but I had to admit that I laughed at most of the jokes. Well, first I gasped but then laughed.

The HFPA issued a statement on Monday to Entertainment Weekly, basically saying that they hired Ricky Gervais because they knew he would push the envelope. While my Mom is convinced that he will never be asked to host the show again...come on. The Globes won their time slot and the demo of younger viewers, and the networks and HFPA ain't no fools--most of the time. People are talking about their award show. Not the actual awards, of course, but they want people watching that show and Ricky Gervais is going to deliver.

Not that I think he was a particularly good host. Sure, some of his lines were shocking and kinda funny, but he didn't really do a lot to move the show along and keep the audience warmed up. Whenever he came out, it was more of a "oh God, here we go again" feeling rather than "hurray, jokes!" I read a CNN article where they said he was rude but honest and I think that's pretty accurate. The things he said may have been true, but it's usually not the kind of things one says in polite company. But not that I feel sorry for the people Gervais was targeting. These are the wealthiest and best looking people in the world. Just because most people don't have the balls to call them on their crazy shit doesn't mean they don't deserve it. So basically, everyone should stop clutching their diamonds (pearls are so old fashioned) and try to be good sports.

Besides, everyone is just watching to see all the pretty dresses. My pick for best dressed? Anne Hathaway:


And worst dressed: Christina Aguilera. Get your shit TOGETHER, girl. You look like an old tramp and you are still in your 20s. Also? Try wearing a dress that actually fits your boobs.

I Watch Dead People

Netflix (aka the all-seeing-eye of your television and movie preferences) has been recommending I watch Dead Like Me for several months now. "Huh," I thought as I gave Pushing Daisies a five-star rating and added Gross Pointe Blank to my queue, "Netflix thinks I am morbid and creepy." Finally, I caved and started watching this long-dead (see what I did there?) Showtime series. Besides, Mandy Patinkin!

Suddenly, a wild Mandy Patinkin appears!

Sri uses Resist. It's not very effective.

The story begins on the day that Geogria "George" Lass (played by Ellen Muth), our protagonist/narrator, dies. She becomes an undead "grim reaper," tasked with removing people's souls a few moments before death, sparing them the trauma/pain. She is assigned to the Accidental Death Division, which gives the writers free license to kill people in the most Rube-Goldbergian, ironic, and/or amusing ways possible.

Guess which main character was a dancer

who was strangled with a leg warmer. Go on, guess.

George, being a surly teenager in life, continues as a surly teenager in death and, at first, refuses the responsibility. But under the stern guidance of her supervisor, Rube (let's see how many times I can write 'Mandy Patinkin' in a single blog post), she eventually comes around. As she assumes the role of a reaper, she explores various aspects of death - of the deaths she witnesses, as well as her own.

The show was nominated for a number of awards, including two minor Emmy's. TV execs (how we hate/love/envy them) claimed that the show didn't have the ratings for a third season, and cancelled it. A direct-to-DVD movie, Dead Like Me: Life After Death came out in 2009, but no one optioned the TV series. Sad panda.

Or, you know. Terrifying panda.

Gingers II: The Revenging

Seth Green

Gillian Anderson isn't the only television ginger with the ability to call up a rabidly excitable fan-base at a moment's notice. Noted ginger Seth Green is easily as accomplished as Ms. Anderson, even if his career choices have been more along the lines of body humor and melodrama to her English drawing rooms and corsets. Sidebar: Seth Green actually once guest starred on a very early episode of The X-Files, cementing the linkage between these two actors in a Kevin Bacon kind of way. You can see a shot of him in all his early 90s glory illustrating how the UFO his character saw resembled a hamburger here.

Green is probably most known for his role as Oz, the ironically calm werewolf on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, although savvy television watchers in the know will also recognize him as the voice of Chris Griffin on Family Guy. As Oz, Green got to play to every musically-inclined nerd-girl's fantasy as the guitar player for cool, hip in-show band Dingoes Ate My Baby who just also happens to be a werewolf and dates a witch. He's considerably less accomplished as Chris Griffin, and yet the character still somehow manages to come off more respectable than his sister, Meg.

Approximately 93% of all Seth Green's time is spent being this cool.

Where he really earned our love, however, is in his work on the terminally awesome shows Greg the Bunny and Robot Chicken. The former was sort of an adult version of the muppet show – Greg, the titular bunny, was a struggling entertainer who also happened to be a puppet. In the show, puppets were treated as though they were real, although second-class minority citizens. The show moved back and forth between being truly edgy (Greg loses his virginity as a result of prison sex after mistakenly being arrested for being a pedophile) and trying to maintain a network television audience without paying a bajillion dollars in FCC fines. Robot Chicken, likewise, is an unorthodox attempt to mix stop-motion animation with sketch comedy. And a lot of Star Wars jokes. Further proving his dominance over television and nerd-life, Robot Chicken was for a long while the highest rated show on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim and the second-highest for the network in general. The only show that was ranked higher? Family Guy.

The really creepity thing about Seth Green, though, is how much he comes off as a cool guy. As unabashed in his nerdiness as he is about his small stature, he easily fits the mold of that friend that would just be cool to hang with. And probably watch a lot of TV together.

Seriously. He's wee. That's his wife and that image isn't photoshopped.

Love to the Gingers

Please find below yet another ginger fan-service post by our own guest blogger, Jason (aka Jayowolf, cause apparently animal nicknames are becoming a thing). If you are a lover of gingers, as so many of us at TV Sluts are, feel free to suggest your favorite fiery-headed fox for adoration and squee.

--

Not long ago, I wrote a post here that someone in my life called "gushingly" positive about Christina Hendricks. The word "gushingly" was used with that same kind of faux constructive praise, sort of like the tone of voice you use when you're trying to find something nice to say about the business contractor who just sold your house out from under you.

Now, I don't think I'm being too unfair in saying that part of the bite to the word had something to do with jealousy. And while there are probably a number of things that could have inspired said emotion, I'm going to go for the most obvious one, or at least the one that I want to believe is most true:

HOLY F*#KING SH!T CHRISTINA HENDRICKS IS A REDHEAD!!!

Don't hide from the truth, dear readers – in one way or another we're all a little intrigued by the coppertops in our lives. To that end, I offer what will hopefully become an ongoing feature on this blog – Television's Favorite Gingers.

Just in time for the New Year!

Gillian Anderson

Long before Christina Hendricks fled the sci-fi world for period dramas, Gillian Anderson had that territory mapped, charted and sold to Rand-McNally. Easily the world's sexiest doctor-cum-scientist-turned-FBI agent (granted, it's a small pool), Anderson skeptic-ed her way into our nerdy hearts as Special Agent Dana Scully from The X-Files.

While she could easily have become a staple of Comic-Con and other social-skill challenged gatherings, she skewed classy instead and opted for "serious" roles in adaptations of Dickens' Bleak House and Wharton's House of Mirth. Basically lots of time spent in corsets and drawing rooms without having to ever look at a surgical scalpel again.

Yeah, Gill – We thought the X-Files 2 script
was a little suspicious, too.

Anderson was labeled at the time the "thinking man's sex symbol", a phrase that kind of carries all the same bite as the aforementioned "gushing" when you really think about it. In any case, it may have contributed a little bit to her publicity off-camera. Although far from the train wrecks of today's modern pop culture starlets, Anderson was noted for purposefully cultivating a far raunchier image of herself in real life than she portrayed on television.

This actually was probably a smart, not to mention lucrative, move considering the last thing a serious actor wants is to be typecast. By being unafraid of showing herself as the opposite of the staid, buttoned up Agent Scully, she was also able to stick to being identified as an actress and not just the former star of The X-Files.

Also? This. Just because.

And yes, we know she isn't a natural redhead. It was out of a bottle. That why this is called "Television's Favorite Gingers" and not "Real Life's Favorite Gingers Because a Bunch of Killjoy Nitpicks Had to Get All Wicked on Our Asses."

--

Next time: "As unabashed in his nerdiness as he is about his small stature, he easily fits the mold of that friend that would just be cool to hang with."

Getting in the spirit.

Just a few Christmas-themed moments to brighten your day...


It is the season of the heart, a special time of caring.




Rock on, Linus.



Remember, no man is a failure who has friends.



(that last one had me tearing up. Damn you, Jimmy Stewart!)

Tastes great, less filling.

Unless you are a total Grinch, you probably have a soft spot for holiday movies. Some of my favorites include White Christmas, Home Alone, Love Actually, Muppet Christmas Carol...I could still list about 5 more, but that's not the point of this post. No, this post is actually more of a confession. One of my favorite holiday movies is basically a lame bit of Hallmark Channel fluff, but I can't help it. I love this movie. What is it?

A Boyfriend for Christmas.

I can feel you cringing from here. In fact, you've probably never heard of it. It aired on the Hallmark Channel back in 2004, and has become a perennial cable channel favorite. So when I noticed it was airing last night on the Lifetime Movie Channel I got really really excited.

Here's a little taste of the plot:

As a 12 year old, Holly Grant meets Santa and as she thinks she is too old for traditional gifts, she tells Santa she wants a boyfriend for Christmas. He leaves a gift under her tree with a message: she will receive her requested gift in the 20th year "when two hearts are ready". 20 years later when Holly is working for a non-profit and has given up on love. Santa hasn't forgotten his promise and arranges for Ryan Hughes, to be Holly's gift for Christmas. For reasons that are too involved to go into here, Ryan initially hides his true identity from Holly, and agrees to "pretend" to play the role of her boyfriend at her family holiday gathering. But of course they start to like each other blah blah blah then hijinks and misunderstandings occur, etc, but everything works out in the end.

I know. Sounds kind of lame, right? It's full of B stars, and nothing about it is really that great, but for some reason, I just love it. It's got just the right amount of Christmas magic with Santa, a happy ending (spoiler alert!), and Holly wears this really great blue coat throughout the movie that I've always really liked. When it aired, the TV Guide reviewer said it was, "sweet but full of empty calories." Fair enough. But sometimes I want empty calories. And wouldn't it be nice if Santa could be your match-maker?

Santa, Holly, and her pretty blue coat.

So judge away, I can take it. I'm not ashamed of my love for this movie, and I bet if you did a little soul-searching, you can find some really embarrassing holiday movie that you love. Also, it's airing again on Christmas Eve on the Lifetime Movie Channel, so I suggest you set your DVR. Trust me, it's like the twinkie of Christmas movies.

The good old days.

A few weeks ago I randomly decided to start watching Alias. Like a lot of shows (Gossip Girl, Heroes, etc.), Alias had an awesome first season and then made a gradual decline in drekitude. Its mythology got too complex, the characters and plots got too ridiculous...things just went off the rails. But I have very fond memories of the first season, so I decided to give it another watch. And of course I got hooked again.

While rewatching there were lots of things that I was reminded of. And since I am such a nice person, or because I needed to come up with something to blog about, I decided to share them with you.

1. The wigs were really cool. The iconic pink one from the pilot is my favorite, but Sydney was truly a master of head and hair disguise.


2. Victor Garber is a) incredibly awesome and b) can say more just by pursing his lips than most actors can say in an entire monologue.

3. David Anders (aka Sark) is smoking.

4. The Rambaldi foolishness may have been present and planned from the beginning, but I pretty much had no idea what was going on even from the second episode. And you thought it just got complicated in the later seasons.

5. Bradley Cooper! I always felt kind of superior to everyone that I discovered how neat he was back in 2001, way before The Hangover came out.

6. Sydney's friends' social lives were always annoying. I mean, really. There are wigs and asskicking to hand out--do you think I really care about lame Francine and her relationship troubles? NOT.

7. Sydney cries at least once in every episode. Every. Single Episode.

Will I keep with my rewatch through the other seasons? I can't say for sure right now. I seem to remember Season 2 had some pretty cool moments and one hell of a cliff hanger, but do I want to waded through more of the Rambaldi stuff to get there? I dunno. Until then, I still have lots more wigs to enjoy.

Can't blog...too full.

Turkey, stuffing, potatoes, green beans, Hawaiian rolls, cranberry sauce...all these things were on my plate. And then there was the pie. My aunt makes the BEST pumpkin pie I have ever had. Oh, and the pumpkin crisp that my stepmom made. My point, is that there was a lot of food to be had. And now you expect to blog about television??

Oh, fine.

Like most American families, television plays an important part in my family's Thanksgiving tradition. I headed over to my aunt's house a couple hours to early to help prepare the dinner and she and I worked to a soundtrack of various holiday tunes. Of course, then my Dad showed up and then it was all, "why are we listening to this crap when we could be watching the Law and Order: SVU marathon?" So the music went off and the television went on. And yes, through our Thanksgiving dinner, we had SVU in the background. An episode with Chevy Chase, maybe? Still--it could have been worse. They all really like NCIS which I cannot stand.

After dinner, we all retired to the family room where the negotiations began. I say negotiations because we had to try to get 6 people of differing ages and temperament to agree on a movie to watch. Action, drama, comedy, classic, animated, musical...all genres were considered and all were rejected. So we went for the stand-by: Harry Potter, baby. Order of the Phoenix, to be exact. We may be a family and we may have our differences, but we all love Harry Potter.

Through the movie my aunt lapsed into a tryptophan coma, my Dad surfed his online Porsche forums, my stepbrother-in-law Scott and I pointed out various bits of HP related trivia, my stepmom played with her netbook, and my stepsister studied and read the newspaper. But the important thing is: we were gathered as a family. And without the television, it probably wouldn't have happened.

What you expect us to sit around and actually talk to each other? This was Thanksgiving, not an intervention. Yeesh.

I've got some Bones to pick

...see what I did there?

Now, I'm a fan of Bones. The mystery, the science, the sexual tension between the brainy gal and the hunky guy (it could totally happen), and of course the LOLs. Plus, I'm a late convert (I couldn't get over my David Boreanaz = Angel 4eva!!1!!11 fixation for a while), so the formula hasn't started to bug.

HOWEVER. There's always a 'however,' amirite?

The one thing that constantly sticks in my craw is how stone cold the killers always are. The first time Bones and Booth question the killer, inevitably he or she seems like a totally normal person who is not shifty or sweating or, I don't know, already halfway to Paraguay, bitches! Spoilers for last week's episode follow. (Can they still be called spoilers? Catch up on your Hulu queue and quit whining!)

Por ejemplo, this week the killer was a "chocolate engineer" who shoved his lying girlfriend into a vat of chocolate that was to become the World's Largest Chocolate Bar. He then proceeded to stick around for the ceremonial unveiling and cutting of said chocolate bar, upon which her putrefied corpse was discovered (yum!). And then, when the FBI came snooping around he was nothing but helpful, going so far as to provide the personnel file that eventually cracked the case.

Already I can think of several ways he could have been a better murderer. Maybe he couldn't have planned it any better - it was a crime of passion kind of thing, I get that - but you gotta follow through. Like, I don't know, pull the damn body out of the chocolate! And if you don't, leave town! And if you can't, do whatever you have to do to impede the investigation until you can! C'mon, guy, show some initiative.

Obviously, I'm not mad at the character. He's going to spend the rest of his life in prison and is also imaginary. I am a little disappointed with the writers of the show, cause this is not a one-time thing. More like an every-time thing. I realize it's tough to come up with plots week after week after six seasons of weeks. But completely neglecting the psychological impact that murder has on a person (while having a psychologist as one of your main characters/plot drivers) is just. Plain. LAZY.

Nevertheless, it's still an enjoyable hour of television. I will continue to watch the show and allow it its foibles. Also, Mr. Nigel-Murray is totally my type (British and slightly anemic).

Ryan Cartwright, CALL ME!

Blasphemy! Well, not technically. But still!

Once upon a time, there was a camptastic movie about a cute blonde fighting monsters and falling in love with Luke Perry. This fluffy bit of teensploitation would have passed unnoticed into the annals of goofy movies, trotted out only to fill late-night airtime during the week before Halloween. But the writer of this movie had a vision - a vision so powerful it would become the gold standard for SciFi/Fantasy television for years to come. And so, Buffy the Vampire Slayer was rescued from the very jaws of banality by its creator, one Mr. Joss Whedon.

Even after the cult favorite cum damn near best show ever was canceled after seven seasons, Joss continued his brilliant work in the form of the Season Eight graphic novels. Now however, Warner Bros has (in a characteristically original move) decided that the ongoing series needs a reboot - sans Joss. I will pause, to give you time to clutch your pearls in horror.

I guess it only makes sense. Buffy still has a rabid avid following, so a major motion picture makes sense. However, they can't/won't have the original actors for the roles. For example, David Boreanaz doesn't look like an ageless, immortal vampire anymore - he looks like someone's dad (mostly because he is). So if they can't extend the franchise, they'll just start from scratch. Why not a fresh view? Why not a new writer?

Here's the thing - Joss Whedon is Buffy. I'm not saying he dresses up in short skirts and goes out staking vampires every night. Though that would be kind of cool, I don't think he really has the legs for it. What I mean is, if Warner Bros goes forward with this project - and it looks like they will - they should count on exactly 0% loyalty from the previous fanbase. The reason we love Buffy is not because she's "witty, tough and sexy." It's because Joss was a helluva writer who created fantastic characters in a richly developed world, and always always kept us guessing.

So by all means, try your best Warner Bros. I sincerely hope your new writer, Whit Anderson, does right by this concept. But realize that, before you have selected a director, before you announced your cast picks, even before a single reel of film has been shot, you are facing an uphill battle. Because Buffy fans know what we want out of our teenage vampire hunter dramas. And we want Joss.

For your reference...
Point: Joss who? Meet the writer of the new 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' film (LA Times)
Counterpoint: The Ridiculous Quest for a Joss-Less Buffy Movie (TV Overmind)

Updated to add...
Email from the blessed keyboard of Joss Himself: Joss Whedon Reacts to Buffy Movie News

Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown.

It shouldn't be a surprise that my geekiness extends beyond television. So I am sure that the sentence, "Maggie loves fantasy novels" is not shocking to you. After all, I am right in the middle of an epic reread of the entire Wheel of Time series (a series so long that the author actually DIED before he finished it) and that takes some serious commitment. So I'd say I'm more than a casual fan of fantasy.

So imagine my delight when I learned that one of the best examples of the genre, The Song of Ice and Fire series by George R.R. Martin, was being made into a television series. And not by just any crappy network. We're talking HBO here. Which means three things are guaranteed: adult language, adult situations, and nudity. To which I say: WOO!

Because Martin's novels are not your average medieval fiction. Sure there are knights, kings, big fights, but there's also extreme violence, plot twists, and a delicious depiction of political jockeying. There's also a bit of magic here and there with witches, and did I mention the dragons? No? What about the incest? Everyone loves a good incest subplot! And don't even get me started on the under-age marriage.

The thing that's truly great about the novels, and what I hope they retain for the show, is that NOBODY is ever safe. Any character can die at anytime. Oh, you really like that character right there? Too bad! He/she just got an axe to the face. Or were horribly poisoned. Or had their throat slit. Or any other manner of delightfully gory death. I've heard this levied as a criticism of the novels, but to me, it's what steals the show. The constant surprises are why I stick around. Even though the latest book has been pending now for...let's see...five years. Seriously, get a move on, Martin. But you know I will preorder that shit as soon as a release date gets updated on Amazon.

HBO has been rather stingy with teases of the show (titled Game of Thrones and premiering in early 2011), but there is some interesting content up on the show's homepage, and EW.com just showcased an entire gallery of pics from the series and a set report. Instead of just listening to me blather on about it, I thought you might be interested to hear from some other fans of the books.


From my co-worker, Bill: What struck me most about the photos was the sense of grit. Martin stressed the poor, brutish, nasty, and short aspects of life in his novels, and I loved how no one quite seemed fully cleaned up. The photo of Jon Snow (pictured on the left) really brings that home. He has that pale skin our Shakespeare professors assured us was a good thing (Look ma, no syphilis!), and appears to have not bathed in a week. This photo of Jon Snow and Sam Tarly (pictured middle), presumably at the Wall during training for the Night’s Watch really jumped out at me. THAT was the world I had envisioned when reading the series.


From fellow William and Mary grad, Dorilyn: So far, it looks awesome to me. HBO shows have a really high production value, so I know the costumes and sets will be top notch. Normally I worry when the cast is largely unknowns, but I understand HBO's thinking and George R. R. Martin had a say in who was picked. I think Jaime and Cersei (pictured) look fantastic.

Regarding Cersei, Bill also had to say, "she looks, well, scary." Don't underestimate her just because she's blonde, y'all. Also, don't tap that. People who sleep with Cersei tend to have horrible things happen to them.


More from Dorilyn: I'm a little concerned about Daenerys (pictured) because I know they had to age the character because of what happens to her. Avoiding spoilers, part of the reason she is what she is, is because of the horrible things that happened to her in her formative years. I know the book deals with a lot of very adult themes (and again avoiding spoilers), I hope that HBO manages to convey all of them. I'm concerned about what will be left out to make the show suitable for a wider audience. Some of the adult themes are essential to the plot and I think the show would suffer if they were left out entirely. I also hope that "fantasy" label doesn't scare people off. From the previews I've seen, I think they're going for more of an intrigue/action slant than the magic and dragons slant, which is probably good for attracting viewers. I think that the people who tune in for the pilot will be hooked.

Thanks, guys! I think you hit the nail on the head. To respond to Dorilyn's comment about the adult themes, as I noted above, HBO is famous for adult themes and has never really shied away from something before (anyone who has watched Deadwood can tell you that) so that was kind of the one thing I wasn't worried about. I think part of the appeal of pay cable shows is that we can get all the violence, sex, and foul language we want and not feel as guilty about it because it's a little more classy in the presentation--and we are choosing to have it in our homes, unlike broadcast cable (of course, you could always just CHANGE THE CHANNEL PEOPLE but I digress). Game of Thrones is definitely not going to be for everyone, but as for me, I say bring it on!

Another Glee Post

Last night marked another episode of glee devoted to spotlighting a guest. Last night was the "Gwyneth Episode." Gwyneth Paltrow played a spanish speaking, singing substitute who is "down with the kids" in last night's new glee. I personally am getting sick of the guest spotlights. I get it that celebrities want to be on glee, ie Olivia Newton John, Britney Spears, John Stamos..the list continues, BUT do we have to devote an entire episode to them.


I will be the first to admit that the music in last night's episode was good. The episode began with an fun rendition of the School House Rock classic "Conjunction Junction." I thought that was uber cute. Though Gwyneth, who "sang" most of the episode's songs, voice randomly changed throughout the episode. Go back and listen to the music, you can almost pinpoint the notes they used "another" voice. It actually made me laugh at the television. We all know Whitney loves her some musical theater so I thoroughly enjoyed the Hot Honey Rag from Chicago. Lea Michelle was ok and Gwyneth can't really dance, but I love the song so it is hard to mess up. Additionally, I ADORED the Umbrella/Singing in the rain mash up. The dancing and water was really nice and I thought the mash up was put together well.

Now on to the most bizarre moment in glee history, the dream sequence. Dear Glee, please STOP DOING DREAM SEQUENCES. I have picked up on this, how have they not. For some reason in last night's episode they decided to do "Make'em Laugh" (also from Singing in the Rain). Mr. Schu in his flu ridden state has a crazy dream where him and Mike Chang ran around doing the cheesiest physical comedy bits. I get that it was suppose to be cheesy. But stuff that would be cheesy on stage, doesn't come off that way on TV. It was awful, didn't fit and seemed stupid. NO MORE DREAM SEQUENCES.

The plot was ok. Kurt got further into his relationship with the new boy, who is super cute. That was some good character development. Than there were some silly sub plots involving tater tots, sue being the principal randomly, and Mr Schu getting fired for two minutes. It is ridiculous that Glee can't extend any plot line across multiple episodes. In most cases each, plot is tied up really nicely by the end of the episode. Right now, the only plot ongoing is the Kurt and the gay footballer. Maybe they will shock me in upcoming episodes.

What were your thoughts?

On a side note, lots of people ask me (and other tvsluters) "why does whitney still watch glee." And after months of BSing an answer I finally have one. I love the music from season one. When I am in a horrid mood, nothing picks me up like "Don't Stop Believin'" and "Defying Gravity." I do have some favorites from Season two and I am slowly learning to love some show stoppers from season three. I truly do love the idea of glee and there are some great songs behind it. That is all! :)

Priorities

Being a fan of both television and travel is hard. When you're doing one it's hard to do the other (at least if you're me). When traveling, it's difficult to keep a routine or schedule so that you can get catch all your prime time favs, which can sometimes mean having to wait days to see the latest episode of your favorite show. But the one good thing about coming home from a long trip? Your DVR is full of new episodes of your programs!

But then you encounter the classic dilemma. What to watch first? After all, television shows aren't like children, we can and do pick favorites. So I present for your reading pleasure, Maggie's "back in town priority viewing" breakdown:

1. Glee: despite the kvetching about the show, Glee still remains appointment television for me. Sure it has flaws, but it's just so fun, and when the time came to actually fire up the telly upon my recent return from vacation, Glee was in the first position. And yes, I did enjoy the episode "Never Been Kissed." At times the dialogue and situations lapsed into cliche, but the performances were so strong, I bought it. Also, the Warblers are adorable. They're my teenage dream for sure.

2. The Vampire Diaries: This show has no business being so awesome. I remember watching the pilot last year and thinking it was so so, but since then, it has been more consistently amazing than any other show on television. The plot moves along at such a furious pace it seems the writers are in danger of running out of ideas, but they never do. On so many shows it seems like NOTHING ever happens, but on Vampire Diaries, secrets don't stay hidden for long and pretty much anybody could bite the bullet at anytime. Each episode has OMG moments, and you can never predict what's going to happen. Who would've thought Vampire Diaries would be so fucking cool?

3. Supernatural: this show has also had its problems this season, mostly with pacing, but I can't help it. I can't resist the pretty.

4. Masterpiece Mystery: Sherlock: And as I write this post, I am watching my fourth television program of the day, BBC's Sherlock. I've already raved about the show, so it shouldn't come as a surprise that I couldn't wait to catch up on the most recent episode. Brilliant brits running around solving puzzles? Perfect for a first day back.

What's the first thing that you always watch when getting home?

It might take more than a rally to restore my sanity.

Have you been living under a rock? If so, then you are probably one of 3 people in the country who have not heard about The Daily Show's upcoming Rally to Restore Sanity taking place this Saturday on the National Mall.*

Wait, you haven't been living under a rock? Good for you! That means you are well aware that Jon Stewart, the whole cast of The Daily Show, and even Stephen Colbert and his peeps are descending on DC tomorrow to restore our nation's sanity and keep fear alive. Probably more of the former rather than the latter though. The media has been all over this, seeing how it seems to attract everyone's favorite age group (the elusive 18-49 year old demographic), and the nation's hippest politic satirists. Plus, this is kind of the coolest thing to happen in DC in a long time.

If you're planning to attend the rally (along with you friendly neighborhood tv sluts), you can find the break-downs of dos and don'ts and the rally's website here. You can also upload a picture of the sign you intend to carry and take a gander at all the photos people have put on the site. AND you can print out your official rally badge. Fun, right?

If you don't really give a crap about the reality of the rally and just want to see some good old fashioned satire, check out the Washington City Paper's memo on employees attending the rally. Apparently, to be non-participatory you have to chuckle at ALL the jokes, even if you don't really find them funny. No outright laughing...just chuckling. Except for jokes about terrorists...those are fair game.

Lisa de Moraes over at the Washington Post has also clued us in on the proposed schedule for the event, based on the National Park permit obtained by the show. The website may say noon, but don't be fooled! Things aren't really going to kick off until 1:00. Until then, we'll have to sit through the pre pre pre show. No skin off my back, I'll have homemade mac and cheese courtesy of my pal, Chris, to keep me busy. The article also includes information on watching the rally from home for all you lazy people out there.

Finally, USA Today wants to know, does any of this really matter? Do people think the rally is going to actually change anything or even spark any real political discussion? To which I say, yes. Sure, a lot of people are showing up to see some celebrities and have a few laughs, but I think they are going to be surprised by how serious a lot of people are about using this forum to have a frank discussion about our current political situation. Sure, Jon Stewart can do funny, but he can also do real, and I think we are going to get some serious discourse going here. In between all the terrorist jokes, of course.

See you all on Saturday!

* Btw, the other people who have not heard of the rally are a housewife in Kansas whose husband doesn't allow her any access to the media since it might "put ideas in her head," and a 20 something white male serial killer who drives America's lonely highways 24/7 trolling for foolish young women who hitchhike. His XM radio is broken.

Oh, yeah? Well your idea about how to end the economic crisis is STUPID.

Ah, elections. What should be a forum for the exchange of differing ideas of how to best improve our country and localities through mature political discourse has clearly devolved into petty feuds and people SHOUTING at one another because they are RIGHT and you are WRONG (can you tell I'm a little bitter?). Our guest-blogger, Pete, whom you might remember from his past posts sent from Switzerland, weighs in on the current state of political ads. Also, Happy Birthday, Pete!

It's that time of year again. The weather jumps back and forth between summer and fall (in Virginia at least); the world series is about to begin. And I can't watch 20 minutes of tv without seeing a stupid political campaign ad. The ads have even invaded Hulu! Now I don't mean to start a discussion about partisan politics (the congressional race here isn't even close), rather I want to vent about the dreadful tv spots. For instance check out this gem (note the sarcasm):



This ad clearly states that Tom Perriello supports "Threatening Hospitals & Seniors" and "Over 50,000 Jobs Lost". Gimme a break. They really should be focusing on this guy's lack of a neck.


Seriously where is it? And it's not like the other campaign is any better. Watch this ad where they literally make fun of the other candidates name at the 0:27 mark.



C'mon who does that? Are these "men" running for federal office or 4th grade class treasurer? I just can't wait for this nonsense to end.

Rocky Horror Glee Show

Last night Fox aired the Glee Version of the Rocky Horror Picture show. For those not in my family, and therefore have not grown up with the RHPS, its a musical which gained popularity in the 80s. Most famous for the thousands of live performances around the country, the RHPS introduced us to a young Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Tim Curry (though he still denies it) and Meatloaf! The musical movie really has a nonsensical plot and focuses more on sex and whimsy. So needless to say, I was stoked when I heard Glee would be doing an all Rocky episode for Halloween.


Let's begin with the good. The musical numbers and the costumes were some of the best of the season. Each musical rendition was true to the musical (despite ridiculous word changes I will address later) and left me dancing or singing along. For me this is the sign of a true good glee episode. The costumes were both true to Rocky, appropriate for high school and made me giddy (Sam in those skimpy gold shorts made the night for me). It was also nice to have a non Rachel based episode. In fact, I was shocked at how little she sang in this episode.


My favorite number, hands down, was "Toucha Toucha." I liked how it fit the show plot AND was an homage to the brilliant Susan Sarandon performance. The number done by the Emma character is about a woman letting out her sexual desires. Plot meshing well!. I also loved the sub-element of Britney and Santana watching (just like Magenta and Colombia in Rocky). The end of the number was a mash up of all the other characters like the movie too. I thought it was the perfect Glee plot/ Rocky honoring balance.

Now for the not so great. I am a Rocky fan! Ive seen it live SEVERAL times and even support GW's FPP performances (shout out to GW student theatre!). Therefore, I was able to keep up. Though I am curious if non Rocky fans had any idea what was happening. The plot for the movie was never really explained and there were several insight jokes. For instance, the toast throwing reference Sue Sylvester made probably went right over the average persons head. Additionally, I thoroughly enjoyed the Barry Bostwick and Meatloaf cameos, but how many non rocky fans knew they were even in the regular flick, making their presence kinda silly. Please non rocky fans comment on if you were able to follow what was even happening in the show.

Now plot...**Spoiler Alert**. Oh wait nevermind, I couldn't even tell you the plot of this episode. Its like they have truly given up on plot. Let's see...there was Finn's ab insecurities, Mr Sch putting on what truly is an inappropriate play just to get with Emma, and sue exploiting that for an Emmy. None of these make a solid show or plot point. I am disappointed. In fact, at what high school would random adults and teachers just enter production. I did theatre all through hs and college and that never ever came close to happening. Also speaking of reality, after the amount of money they put into costumes and sets, how could the not put on the show...Bellaire High School would have put on the show just because of the expense the program already endured.


My final complaint is on LINE CHANGES! Uggh. Look there were some made complete sense, FCC and all. In toucha toucha they changed "heavy petting" to "heavy sweating" and "seat wetting" to the "deep fretting." As much as I loathed the latter change they made perfect sense. But the one that PISSED me off and had me yelling at the tv was the removal of the word transexual from "Sweet Transvestite?" Early in the show several people referred to tranys. And what is wrong with the word transexual?

That is it for your friendly glee hating reviewer....Comments are always welcome

Boo! And not in the fun Halloween sense.

I just popped over to Entertainment Weekly while taking a little break from work, and DAMMIT. ABC went and canceled The Whole Truth. I know it wasn't doing stellar in the ratings, but it was actually one of my favorite new shows from this season. Monkey Sri mentioned it in her post about ABC's Wednesday night line-up and I wrote about my love for the show in the comments, so I am kind of upset.

The thing that the show did really well, that a lot of other legal dramas don't seem overly concerned with, is showing the why of how certain evidence ends up before a jury in a trial and other evidence is excluded. For a show called The Whole Truth, it's not really concerned with the truth: only showing how advocates on both sides build and present their case and what version of the truth appears before a jury. It's only in the very last seconds of the show that the "whole truth" is revealed...and that's what made the show so interesting!

So poop on your, ABC. You can mitigate the damage somewhat by choosing to air the remaining 13 episodes.

But wait! Glee is releasing a Christmas album on November 16, and having a Christmas themed episode on December 7! Ok, now I am somewhat cheered.