The Season in Review
This has been a unique year for me, as I've never watched so much TV before in my life. It's been really fun to have new episodes to look forward to all the time, and good episodes to think back on and squee over. That said, I'm really glad summer's here, because it's also very tiring to keep track of all the drama. (Grey's Anatomy about killed me.) I need a break, and for that break to take place in fandomland, where the streets are paved with fic and icons and meta, and the company is funloving and friendly. Our shows may be on hiatus, but gosh darnit, we had fun watching them, and no plans to end the party any time soon.
So beneath the cut is a picspam homage to the good, bad and ugly of last season. Fandoms include: The West Wing, Without a Trace, CSI, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Supernatural. Please note that this post contains major spoilers and is not dial-up friendly.
Homage to Last Season
(or, In Lieu of Getting a Life)
Blasts From the Past
Alan Alda as Arnie Vinick on The West Wing.
Not a guest at all, but the star of her own show in its fifth season, Jill Hennessy. I fell in love with her as Claire Kinkaid in Law & Order but never knew her career continued after that role. She is amazing.
It's Joe from Highlander, playing an anthropologist on Supernatural (Bugs)!!!
Martin Landau as Jack's father on WaT. I could watch him in this part for hours, he was so good. He and Jack had serious acting chemistry. A shame his char died.
Christina Ricci showed up in two eps of Grey's Anatomy. A memorable guest role for a memorable actress.
The Straw Hat of Middle-Aged Gayness (SHMAG for short), as christened by the folks over at oh_no_nicky. It appears several times this season.
Memorable Moments
Danny charging off to (briefly) save the day. Whoever's responsible for putting loose-fitting jeans into style, Thank You.
In the season premiere of Desperate Housewives, Bree's mother-in-law insists on having Rex buried wearing a tie from his old private school. Bree disagrees, but when the funeral service begins, she looks into the casket to see her husband wearing the old tie. Her mother-in-law got to him somehow! Bree fumes throughout the service, but what can she do? This is the moment I fell in love with her: As the service ends, she stands up, calls a halt to everything, and finds a man wearing what she considers an appropriate tie--which she demands to have. Then she walks up to the open casket, removes the old tie, and replaces it with the new one, at one point actually lifting him up by the shoulders. Way to go, Bree! And the sincere, teary-eyed smile she gives her dead husband when he is back in order. *sigh* She did it as much to stand up for what he would have wanted as for her own say in the matter.
Danny and Martin are shot at in the series premiere.
Danny and Martin say an awkward hello, their first time speaking since the shooting. And maybe the last time until the addiction storyline, they had so few scenes together all season.
Martin steals meds from missing person's medicine cabinet. Major low point for him and his fangirls.
Martin meets Danny at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. Good for the soul, I tell ya.
Under the evil influence of a crazy ghost, Sam shoots Dean in the chest with a shotgun loaded with rock salt. He then tries several times to shoot him with a handgun he doesn't know is not loaded. Memorable for the shock itself, for the pained look on Dean's face, and for the turning point in the brothers' relationship, leading in to the eps Scarecrow and Faith.
Jack, now retired, drops in on Daniel and the following dialogue ensues: Daniel: We are so screwed when it comes to these new bad guys." Jack: "I'm hungry. Wanna go?" In the world of slash subtext, food always equals love. SG1 isn't the same without Jack, but I'm happy knowing he's still sleeping with good friends with Daniel off-camera.
Nightmare. Sam is creeped out by his new powers, and through the episode, it's clear Dean is too. But when Sam voices his concerns, Dean responds with, "As long as I'm around, nothing bad's gonna happen to you." Or something very much like that.
In an attempt to move Denny to the top of the transplant waiting list, Izzie gives me a heart attack.
Catherine learns Warrick got married. I felt major pangs for her.
Hee! Forget the trauma of Grave Danger--watch out for the underwear, Nick!
Not a specific moment, just an observation: Wherever Rodney was this season, Sheppard was close by. A lot of times, it looked like he was just hanging out for the company. Friendship or slash, it's sweet.
Couples That Made me Go 'WTF?'
Warrick and his sudden wife, whose name I can't remember. True love, or a ploy for drama? If I have to ask, the answer should be clear.
Susan and her Ex. What was she thinking?
I don't really have an opinion as to who should wind up with Derek, his wife or Meredith (though some of his behavior recently has me thinking they could both do better). However, given the classy way Addison has treated Meredith, it seemed tacky for them to "give in to their burning passion" in the season finale.
Jack and Anne. They reconnected when her husband went missing and eventually died. They got together as Jack was arranging a final resting place for his father. They work together. Haven't watched the finale yet, but I hear there's an unplanned pregnancy in the mix? Even leaving out Jack's track record and extreme dedication to the job, this relationship doesn't have a lot of good omens.
One of the things I love about CSI is that you can more or less pick two characters at random and have the makings for a good love story. Gris and Sara certainly have that going for them, but I'm kind of shocked to see any pairing given canon status on CSI. Besides, what about Nick?
Sorry, but I read Danny as thoroughly gay. Not bi, but gay. And with Martin. I even gave serious credence to the idea that EM purposely plays him that way. And besides, Elena? What, because she's handy? They have some great meeting of the minds? No. Sorry. Yikes.
Canon Couples I Rooted For
Josh and Donna. I'm not a shipper in this fandom (lots of alternate pairings would work for me), but this was a long time coming, and had a firm basis in canon, and felt so right.
They would have been this amazingly happy, cheerful couple. No wonder they killed him off.
I like relationships that force people to grow, and watching Christina grow is by turns entertaining and frustrating. Plus, Burke is hot. Stay the course, Christina!
Gabrielle and Carlos have a combative, challenging relationship that has also forced upon them amazing growth. Well, upon Gabrielle at least. Carlos has a ways to go.
I know I rooted for Denny/Izzie, but I can't help but also enjoy the chemistry between Izzie and Alex.
Excellence
The West Wing's deft and touching handling of the death of the late John Spencer's Leo.
Supernatural, for Dean and Sam, who grow and reveal themselves throughout the season, and who have amazing chemistry together. You don't get consistency in and attention paid to the relationships between male characters like this in just any show. Also, they're hot.
CSI's episode Gumdrops. A chilling and poignant story that came together visually, thematically and emotionally.
Pic Sources
Grey's Anatomy Insider
Wisteria Lane
Pretty FBI Boys
The Source
craftymonkey.com
misdirection
Stargate Caps
CSI Screencaps
NBC
So, what would you have placed on this list?
So beneath the cut is a picspam homage to the good, bad and ugly of last season. Fandoms include: The West Wing, Without a Trace, CSI, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and Supernatural. Please note that this post contains major spoilers and is not dial-up friendly.
Homage to Last Season
(or, In Lieu of Getting a Life)
Blasts From the Past
Alan Alda as Arnie Vinick on The West Wing.
Not a guest at all, but the star of her own show in its fifth season, Jill Hennessy. I fell in love with her as Claire Kinkaid in Law & Order but never knew her career continued after that role. She is amazing.
It's Joe from Highlander, playing an anthropologist on Supernatural (Bugs)!!!
Martin Landau as Jack's father on WaT. I could watch him in this part for hours, he was so good. He and Jack had serious acting chemistry. A shame his char died.
Christina Ricci showed up in two eps of Grey's Anatomy. A memorable guest role for a memorable actress.
The Straw Hat of Middle-Aged Gayness (SHMAG for short), as christened by the folks over at oh_no_nicky. It appears several times this season.
Memorable Moments
Danny charging off to (briefly) save the day. Whoever's responsible for putting loose-fitting jeans into style, Thank You.
In the season premiere of Desperate Housewives, Bree's mother-in-law insists on having Rex buried wearing a tie from his old private school. Bree disagrees, but when the funeral service begins, she looks into the casket to see her husband wearing the old tie. Her mother-in-law got to him somehow! Bree fumes throughout the service, but what can she do? This is the moment I fell in love with her: As the service ends, she stands up, calls a halt to everything, and finds a man wearing what she considers an appropriate tie--which she demands to have. Then she walks up to the open casket, removes the old tie, and replaces it with the new one, at one point actually lifting him up by the shoulders. Way to go, Bree! And the sincere, teary-eyed smile she gives her dead husband when he is back in order. *sigh* She did it as much to stand up for what he would have wanted as for her own say in the matter.
Danny and Martin are shot at in the series premiere.
Danny and Martin say an awkward hello, their first time speaking since the shooting. And maybe the last time until the addiction storyline, they had so few scenes together all season.
Martin steals meds from missing person's medicine cabinet. Major low point for him and his fangirls.
Martin meets Danny at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. Good for the soul, I tell ya.
Under the evil influence of a crazy ghost, Sam shoots Dean in the chest with a shotgun loaded with rock salt. He then tries several times to shoot him with a handgun he doesn't know is not loaded. Memorable for the shock itself, for the pained look on Dean's face, and for the turning point in the brothers' relationship, leading in to the eps Scarecrow and Faith.
Jack, now retired, drops in on Daniel and the following dialogue ensues: Daniel: We are so screwed when it comes to these new bad guys." Jack: "I'm hungry. Wanna go?" In the world of slash subtext, food always equals love. SG1 isn't the same without Jack, but I'm happy knowing he's still sleeping with good friends with Daniel off-camera.
Nightmare. Sam is creeped out by his new powers, and through the episode, it's clear Dean is too. But when Sam voices his concerns, Dean responds with, "As long as I'm around, nothing bad's gonna happen to you." Or something very much like that.
In an attempt to move Denny to the top of the transplant waiting list, Izzie gives me a heart attack.
Catherine learns Warrick got married. I felt major pangs for her.
Hee! Forget the trauma of Grave Danger--watch out for the underwear, Nick!
Not a specific moment, just an observation: Wherever Rodney was this season, Sheppard was close by. A lot of times, it looked like he was just hanging out for the company. Friendship or slash, it's sweet.
Couples That Made me Go 'WTF?'
Warrick and his sudden wife, whose name I can't remember. True love, or a ploy for drama? If I have to ask, the answer should be clear.
Susan and her Ex. What was she thinking?
I don't really have an opinion as to who should wind up with Derek, his wife or Meredith (though some of his behavior recently has me thinking they could both do better). However, given the classy way Addison has treated Meredith, it seemed tacky for them to "give in to their burning passion" in the season finale.
Jack and Anne. They reconnected when her husband went missing and eventually died. They got together as Jack was arranging a final resting place for his father. They work together. Haven't watched the finale yet, but I hear there's an unplanned pregnancy in the mix? Even leaving out Jack's track record and extreme dedication to the job, this relationship doesn't have a lot of good omens.
One of the things I love about CSI is that you can more or less pick two characters at random and have the makings for a good love story. Gris and Sara certainly have that going for them, but I'm kind of shocked to see any pairing given canon status on CSI. Besides, what about Nick?
Sorry, but I read Danny as thoroughly gay. Not bi, but gay. And with Martin. I even gave serious credence to the idea that EM purposely plays him that way. And besides, Elena? What, because she's handy? They have some great meeting of the minds? No. Sorry. Yikes.
Canon Couples I Rooted For
Josh and Donna. I'm not a shipper in this fandom (lots of alternate pairings would work for me), but this was a long time coming, and had a firm basis in canon, and felt so right.
They would have been this amazingly happy, cheerful couple. No wonder they killed him off.
I like relationships that force people to grow, and watching Christina grow is by turns entertaining and frustrating. Plus, Burke is hot. Stay the course, Christina!
Gabrielle and Carlos have a combative, challenging relationship that has also forced upon them amazing growth. Well, upon Gabrielle at least. Carlos has a ways to go.
I know I rooted for Denny/Izzie, but I can't help but also enjoy the chemistry between Izzie and Alex.
Excellence
The West Wing's deft and touching handling of the death of the late John Spencer's Leo.
Supernatural, for Dean and Sam, who grow and reveal themselves throughout the season, and who have amazing chemistry together. You don't get consistency in and attention paid to the relationships between male characters like this in just any show. Also, they're hot.
CSI's episode Gumdrops. A chilling and poignant story that came together visually, thematically and emotionally.
Pic Sources
Grey's Anatomy Insider
Wisteria Lane
Pretty FBI Boys
The Source
craftymonkey.com
misdirection
Stargate Caps
CSI Screencaps
NBC
So, what would you have placed on this list?