Archives for February 2007
TheTVaddict Previews THE OFFICE
A GILMORE GIRLS Nightmare
I wonder if any of my fellow TV addicts picked up on the subtle (note sarcasm) juxtaposition between our favourite (or not so favourite) couples on last night’s episode of the GILMORE GIRLS? Logan sure has evolved into the perfect boyfriend, choppering (that’s helicopter speak for you) to the hospital to be at Rory’s side. While Christopher was once again MIA, much to the chagrin of Lorelai who had to spend the entire day alone with her mother. But more on that later.
Focusing on Emily, Kelly Bishop delivered yet another knock out performance as she tried everything — from cancelling Richard’s classes to ordering every type of fish on the eastern seaboard — to keep her mind of the fact that her husband is having an emergency bypass surgery. Once again Mrs. Bishop delivered an Emmy worthy performance — particularly the scene where she broke down and cried — that will no doubt be completely ignore come nomination time. Damn you Emmy Voters!
Finally, on to everybody’s favourite pairing, Luke and Christopher. Once again Luke came through in the clutch, doing the most menial of errands for a raving Emily. While Christopher was nowhere to be found. Frankly I couldn’t believe that Christopher would even have the audacity to ask Luke to leave the waiting room when he finally arrived at the hospital. His lack of support for Lorelai is just another nail in the coffin that’s become their marriage.
How great does next week’s preview look? Could Valentine’s Day in Stars Hollow really unite the couple that was destined to be together? Will we actually get a scene with Paris? Where has Kirk disappeared to? Stay Tuned…
Is TWO AND A HALF MEN Funny in HD?
On Monday, I put forth the theory — after having watched my first Super Bowl in its entirety — that high definition television (HDTV) makes anything on television more enjoyable. Last night I tested my theory on the CBS’s hit sitcom TWO AND A HALF MEN. Would my beautiful Sharp Aquos make Charlie Sheen funny? It didn’t.
Oddly enough, the improved picture on my television didn’t translate to the screen. In watching the entire episode of TWO AND HALF MEN I was subjected to a predictable story (Charlie and Alan fight over a girl), juvenile jokes that only an eight year old would find funny and worst of all Jon Cryer (possibly the most unappealing actor on TV). The lesson here: Just because it’s in high definition, doesn’t mean you should mindlessly choose to watch it.
Tune in next week when theTVaddict gives ACCORDING TO JIM a try in widescreen HD. Will Jim be funnier, or just wider? Stay tuned…
Amrie’s Take on TV: Save These Shows!
“Don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone….”
Are you one of the people who discovered “Freaks and Geeks” on DVD and wondered “Where was I when that show was on?” or the slightly more to the point “Why didn’t I help ratings by watching this awesome show when it was actually on the air?”
How about “Wonderfalls” or “Undeclared” or “Invasion”?
Things could have been different for those shows if more people had realized, a lot sooner, that these shows were wonderfully written, acted, directed, produced, etc.
It’s that line of thinking, about gone-too-soon shows, that gets me worried about the rest of the season, and what’s going to happen in May when season picks up are announced, and we’re left to pick up the pieces of our broken hearts when the shows we love aren’t given the green light for another season.
I implore you as fellow TV-addicts – watch the following shows (1 new drama, 1 new comedy, two old and perfect dramas that aren’t quite ready to be over). Don’t just watch them – love them, talk about them with your friends, tell your family that you won’t speak to them until they watch these shows with you. Long story short, help these shows get the second (or in some cases, 4th) season that they deserve!
HEROES: Surprises
Last night’s episode of HEROES managed to do something that television rarely does anymore — surprise me.
Claire’s Father: Even though all the previews leading up to last night’s episode pointed to Nathan Petrelli as the most obvious choice for Claire’s biological father, I honestly didn’t see it coming. I truly thought Nathan was far too obvious a choice (especially with the revealing promos), and that Claire’s father would be someone far more unexpected (Mr. Linderman perhaps?). Guess that puts to bed all the Peter and Claire hook up theories… ewwww.
More importantly, Nathan being Claire’s bio-dad brings up some really interesting questions. Having known about Claire and being in contact with Claire’s mom, it stands to reason that Nathan knows a lot more about these super-powers then he’s been letting on. Is his knowledge of this ‘secret world’ why he’s so against Peter getting involved. Is he simply trying to protect his brother? Or is there something far more sinister afoot. From episode one, I’ve always thought that there is a lot more to Nathan Petrelli then meets the eye. The ease in which he cheated on his wheelchair-bound wife certainly said a lot about his character. I have a feeling we’ll be seeing a far more evil Nathan Petrelli in the future.
Claire’s Mother: Aside from having one awesome power (the ability to control fire), I really enjoyed the moment when the long-lost mother and daughter shared their secret. It was a nice surprise and a great moment — watching Claire finally realize she isn’t alone.
Hiro’s Dad: Talk about serious over-hype. Is it just me or was anyone else seriously under-whelmed by how small, and so far inconsequential George Takei’s role was. Thankfully he’s coming back in two weeks for what we can only assume is a more pivotal role in the show.
In closing, I’ll leave you with a question. Any guesses to who Mr. Linderman is? Do we think HEROES will pull an ALIAS and make him Nathan and Peter’s thought to be dead father?
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS Free on iTunes
The obvious question, what took so long? NBC has finally made FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS available for download on iTunes. The better news, you can now download the series premiere for FREE!. Click here to head on over to iTunes and discover what you’ve been missing.
A HEROES Shout Out to STAR TREK
The Backlot 9: Super Bowl Sunday
Emily VanCamp Talks BROTHERS & SISTERS
Damn you Ausiello! Once again, the TV Scoop God snags a fantastic interview with Amy Ab.. er Emily VanCamp, who PLAYED Amy Abott on theTVaddict’s dearly departed favourite show EVERWOOD. Ausiello does a great job of covering all the basis with regards to Emily’s new role as Holly’s mysterious daughter on BROTHERS & SISTERS. But here’s Emily’s answer to whether she misses EVERWOOD? (umm, of course she does)
I do. It was such a tremendous experience. And I love everybody on that show so much. That was the hardest part — saying goodbye to all those people. We still see each other, but it’s not the same. We’re not all in the same place all the time. That part was really hard. And letting go of our characters that we’ve been playing for so long… you get really attached to those people that you’ve created, and suddenly they don’t exist anymore. It was very, very hard. But the response from all of our fans was incredible. I couldn’t have asked for a nicer way to leave. It’s not like we dwindled away and people got sick of the show. People really were left wanting more, and I think there’s a lot of value to that.
Emily also talks about her upcoming guest starring role on LAW & ORDER: SVU (Feb 13, NBC)
That was crazy. I played this girl who’s a bit of a drug addict, and [I’m led to believe] that I killed my mother. I was high the evening that it happened, so I had no recollection of the evening, and I convince myself that I did it. It’s really, really intense, and totally different from anything I’ve done before, so that was really fun.
For the entire interview, click here. And be sure to tune into the fall’s best new show, BROTHERS & SISTERS this Sunday at 10PM on ABC. Emily’s first episode is February 18.