TiVo catch-up
Due to the impending disconnect from my much beloved TiVo and switch to a (hopefully functional) TiFaux, I've been playing catch-up with several of my shows. (Some, like Supernatural, I'm so far behind on that I have been transferring them to DVD for later viewing). As such, I am mostly up-to-date with Chuck, CSI, Gossip Girl, and Friday Night Lights. A few thoughts on each...
Chuck: With every successive episode of this show, I love it a little bit more. Who would have guessed that the same person who played irritating plot device Madison on Everwood would be so awesome as Ellie? Sarah Lancaster is great in the role, even though I'm still not used to her as a brunette. While Chuck can't quite compare to the sublime awesomeness that was Firefly, Adam Baldwin is an absolute treat as Casey. It helps that they give him so many fabulous deadpan lines, but his timing is always impeccable. I howled with laughter when he heaved a microwave at a bad guy and made a crack about "moving merchandise."
Morgan, on the other hand, is best in small doses. Oddly enough, even though he's Chuck's best friend, I tend to prefer his scenes away from Chuck. Outwitting Harry Tang? A beautiful thing. Being needy, whiny, and annoyingly codependent? Not so much.
While the chemistry between Sarah and Chuck is certainly believable, I just don't find myself all that invested in their potential relationship. The UC 'shipper in me can't help but think it would be all sorts of fun for Casey and Sarah to hook up, but the reality is that I'm not really watching the show for the romance. It's a fun action comedy, and that's all I really need it to be. I enjoyed Rachel Bilson's stint as Lou the deli chick, and really, any scene that allows Zachary Levi to be even MORE adorable is okay by me. But I honestly don't care if Sarah/Chuck is the endgame or not. I'm fine if it is, and I'm fine if it isn't.
That said, due to my love of the tragically short-lived Traveler this summer, I'm totally in favor of Matthew Bomer becoming a regular as Bryce Larkin. Such pretty, pretty eyes.
CSI: For so long, this was my favorite show. Now it's not even my favorite incarnation of the franchise. Non-memorable cases, irritating insertions of personal issues (no, I really don't want to know about Sara's abusive past, or her relationship with Gil, or Catherine's daddy issues, or Warrick's absentee wife), and a completely unbalanced use of cast members (Eric Szmanda got more face time when Greggo was just a lab tech) have all caused my love to fade. I still enjoy the show, but if a couple episodes stack up on my TiVo, I'm not all that concerned. Even the Miniature Killer case, which was so damn cool, devolved into The Tale of Gil and Sara and Their Secret Love That Makes Me Want to Spork My Eyes Out. Needless to say, I'm not exactly choked up about the departure of Jorja Fox as Sara Sidle. I don't really have anything against the actress, but the character was so consistently mopey and damaged that watching her was exhausting. I haven't actually watched the last episode, but I can only hope that the Sara-free era means we won't be stuck with thirty seconds every episode of Gil staring into the middle distance, lamenting his beloved. And can I just say, Least. Romantic. Proposal. Ever.
Personally, I would love it if characters like Nick, Greg, and Warrick got moved to the forefront more often. I've read rumblings about some disturbing character developments for Warrick, and they're not exactly what I had in mind, but it will be nice for Gary Dourdan to get a chance to show off his acting chops.
Gossip Girl: I have to say, this is totally a guilty pleasure show for me. I'm not sure it's reached the great heights of, say, The O.C. season 1, or even Dawson's Creek season 3, but it's a heck of a lot of fun to watch. Pretty people wearing crazy clothes and having inappropriate sex--what's not to love? It is interesting to note, though, that aside from Chuck and his Parade of Random Hookups (and, of course, Blair), none of the teens are actually having sex. Dan and Serena decided to wait, Jenny is totally virginal, Eric doesn't even get screen time, let alone any action, and Nate is too bust pining over Serena to even deflower his girlfriend.
So let's talk about that Chuck-Blair hookup. LOVE. From the pilot, Ed Westwick as Chuck was easily the most compelling character. It was such a pity that they chose to turn him into an attempted date-rapist. Since the pilot, he has continued to be intriguing, and really, Chuck and Blair are the two characters who have had the most development. For all his faults, Chuck has been shown to be a pretty damn loyal friend to Nate (well, aside from nailing Blair, but I'm not sure Nate would even care), and it's clear that he's smitten with Blair. I pretty much melted when he gave her the necklace. And the shoulder kiss? Guh. Meanwhile, Blair initially came off as just another rich bitch. Since then, though, we've learned she has a pretty serious inferiority complex when it comes to Serena, and a domineering mother who GAVE her that complex. She's still a rich bitch, but at least she's interesting.
Sadly, Serena continues to be a character that just doesn't click for me. Blake Lively is beautiful, and seems sweet enough in the role, but she's just sort of there. It's nice that she loves her brother, and she and Dan are cute, but beyond that...what is there? Why did she go away to boarding school? What compelled her to sleep with Nate in the first place? These are things that could conceivably make me care about her.
Friday Night Lights: My God, how I love this show. Over-the-top Tyra/Landry plot? Yeah, I don't care. Coach Taylor off at TMU? Forgiven. Because no matter what, Eric, Tami, Matt, Tyra, Landry, Riggins, Street, even effing Buddy Garrity...they are fabulous. This is a rare show for me, in that I'm not all that concerned about the 'ships. Sure, I'm working on a Tyra/Jason fic, because it's fun. And Matt/Julie were beyond adorable in the early days. But this show is about so much more than who is hooking up. Jason/Lyla, Tyra/Landry, Tim/Lyla, whatever...the only couple I need to make the show work is Tami/Eric. I love the Taylors SO MUCH, even sweet little alien baby Gracie. Julie needs to be slapped a couple more times, but she's still a good kid at heart.
It just blows my mind that this show can take a character like Buddy Garrity, who is still an obnoxious blowhard most of the time, and stick him in a plot with a stereotypical Poor Hispanic Boy Who Did a Stint in Juvie and Whose Parents Were Deported, But He Just Wants to Play Football, and totally BREAK MY HEART. That scene, where Santiago told Buddy that it was his first real bed? The look on his face? The look on BUDDY'S face? Wow. Just...wow.
It's the little moments this show does so well...Tyra grabbing Julie's hand as she cried over Matt, Mr. Clarke embracing Landry after he confessed to the killing, Riggins telling Jason he loves him...
Chuck: With every successive episode of this show, I love it a little bit more. Who would have guessed that the same person who played irritating plot device Madison on Everwood would be so awesome as Ellie? Sarah Lancaster is great in the role, even though I'm still not used to her as a brunette. While Chuck can't quite compare to the sublime awesomeness that was Firefly, Adam Baldwin is an absolute treat as Casey. It helps that they give him so many fabulous deadpan lines, but his timing is always impeccable. I howled with laughter when he heaved a microwave at a bad guy and made a crack about "moving merchandise."
Morgan, on the other hand, is best in small doses. Oddly enough, even though he's Chuck's best friend, I tend to prefer his scenes away from Chuck. Outwitting Harry Tang? A beautiful thing. Being needy, whiny, and annoyingly codependent? Not so much.
While the chemistry between Sarah and Chuck is certainly believable, I just don't find myself all that invested in their potential relationship. The UC 'shipper in me can't help but think it would be all sorts of fun for Casey and Sarah to hook up, but the reality is that I'm not really watching the show for the romance. It's a fun action comedy, and that's all I really need it to be. I enjoyed Rachel Bilson's stint as Lou the deli chick, and really, any scene that allows Zachary Levi to be even MORE adorable is okay by me. But I honestly don't care if Sarah/Chuck is the endgame or not. I'm fine if it is, and I'm fine if it isn't.
That said, due to my love of the tragically short-lived Traveler this summer, I'm totally in favor of Matthew Bomer becoming a regular as Bryce Larkin. Such pretty, pretty eyes.
CSI: For so long, this was my favorite show. Now it's not even my favorite incarnation of the franchise. Non-memorable cases, irritating insertions of personal issues (no, I really don't want to know about Sara's abusive past, or her relationship with Gil, or Catherine's daddy issues, or Warrick's absentee wife), and a completely unbalanced use of cast members (Eric Szmanda got more face time when Greggo was just a lab tech) have all caused my love to fade. I still enjoy the show, but if a couple episodes stack up on my TiVo, I'm not all that concerned. Even the Miniature Killer case, which was so damn cool, devolved into The Tale of Gil and Sara and Their Secret Love That Makes Me Want to Spork My Eyes Out. Needless to say, I'm not exactly choked up about the departure of Jorja Fox as Sara Sidle. I don't really have anything against the actress, but the character was so consistently mopey and damaged that watching her was exhausting. I haven't actually watched the last episode, but I can only hope that the Sara-free era means we won't be stuck with thirty seconds every episode of Gil staring into the middle distance, lamenting his beloved. And can I just say, Least. Romantic. Proposal. Ever.
Personally, I would love it if characters like Nick, Greg, and Warrick got moved to the forefront more often. I've read rumblings about some disturbing character developments for Warrick, and they're not exactly what I had in mind, but it will be nice for Gary Dourdan to get a chance to show off his acting chops.
Gossip Girl: I have to say, this is totally a guilty pleasure show for me. I'm not sure it's reached the great heights of, say, The O.C. season 1, or even Dawson's Creek season 3, but it's a heck of a lot of fun to watch. Pretty people wearing crazy clothes and having inappropriate sex--what's not to love? It is interesting to note, though, that aside from Chuck and his Parade of Random Hookups (and, of course, Blair), none of the teens are actually having sex. Dan and Serena decided to wait, Jenny is totally virginal, Eric doesn't even get screen time, let alone any action, and Nate is too bust pining over Serena to even deflower his girlfriend.
So let's talk about that Chuck-Blair hookup. LOVE. From the pilot, Ed Westwick as Chuck was easily the most compelling character. It was such a pity that they chose to turn him into an attempted date-rapist. Since the pilot, he has continued to be intriguing, and really, Chuck and Blair are the two characters who have had the most development. For all his faults, Chuck has been shown to be a pretty damn loyal friend to Nate (well, aside from nailing Blair, but I'm not sure Nate would even care), and it's clear that he's smitten with Blair. I pretty much melted when he gave her the necklace. And the shoulder kiss? Guh. Meanwhile, Blair initially came off as just another rich bitch. Since then, though, we've learned she has a pretty serious inferiority complex when it comes to Serena, and a domineering mother who GAVE her that complex. She's still a rich bitch, but at least she's interesting.
Sadly, Serena continues to be a character that just doesn't click for me. Blake Lively is beautiful, and seems sweet enough in the role, but she's just sort of there. It's nice that she loves her brother, and she and Dan are cute, but beyond that...what is there? Why did she go away to boarding school? What compelled her to sleep with Nate in the first place? These are things that could conceivably make me care about her.
Friday Night Lights: My God, how I love this show. Over-the-top Tyra/Landry plot? Yeah, I don't care. Coach Taylor off at TMU? Forgiven. Because no matter what, Eric, Tami, Matt, Tyra, Landry, Riggins, Street, even effing Buddy Garrity...they are fabulous. This is a rare show for me, in that I'm not all that concerned about the 'ships. Sure, I'm working on a Tyra/Jason fic, because it's fun. And Matt/Julie were beyond adorable in the early days. But this show is about so much more than who is hooking up. Jason/Lyla, Tyra/Landry, Tim/Lyla, whatever...the only couple I need to make the show work is Tami/Eric. I love the Taylors SO MUCH, even sweet little alien baby Gracie. Julie needs to be slapped a couple more times, but she's still a good kid at heart.
It just blows my mind that this show can take a character like Buddy Garrity, who is still an obnoxious blowhard most of the time, and stick him in a plot with a stereotypical Poor Hispanic Boy Who Did a Stint in Juvie and Whose Parents Were Deported, But He Just Wants to Play Football, and totally BREAK MY HEART. That scene, where Santiago told Buddy that it was his first real bed? The look on his face? The look on BUDDY'S face? Wow. Just...wow.
It's the little moments this show does so well...Tyra grabbing Julie's hand as she cried over Matt, Mr. Clarke embracing Landry after he confessed to the killing, Riggins telling Jason he loves him...