Posted May 17th 2008 12:25AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Episode Reviews, Moonlight, Reality-Free
(
S01E16)
"Leeroy Jenkins!!!!"-- Logan Griffen
I deliberately chose a humorous quote to help us say farewell to
Moonlight, rather than a more somber one. But other quotes in the running were: "Can my code name be Lando Calrissian?" and "It's going to be a freaking vampire apocalypse." It is not a spoiler but a fact that
CBS decided earlier this week not to pick up
Moonlight for a second season. The fat lady hasn't finished quite singing yet, though: Our own
Brett Love reported that Nikke Fink thinks the CW might pick up the show after all. So, keep your eyes pealed for that possible announcement.
In the meantime, however, we have the season (and, thus far, series) finale to contend with. I don't know whether the writers suspected that the series would be ending, but surely they knew (along with everyone else) that the show was on the bubble. So, they ended the season in a manner that would provide some closure for us all, while also keeping things open in case it was continued. I, for one, appreciate that.
Continue reading Moonlight: Sonata (series finale) - VIDEO
Posted May 13th 2008 4:20PM by Jen Creer
Filed under: Industry, OpEd, Cancellations, Moonlight, Reality-Free
This is it,
Moonlight fans. Vampires might be immortal, but this cult favorite is not. Today, sources at CBS have confirmed (though this is "not truly official" yet): The bubble has been popped, and
the network has decided not to renew the series for a second season. You can't say the fans haven't tried to save this show, hosting nationwide blood drives and showering the network with garlic cloves. But according to The Hollywood Reporter, the show couldn't sustain viewers after
Ghost Whisperer on Friday nights. Rabid, repeat viewings by diehard fans don't really count as multiple viewers, I guess.
This will cast a pall at this month's
Moonlight Convention, I'll bet.
Continue reading Moonlight done, say CBS sources
Posted May 13th 2008 12:15AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Bones, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S03E14)
"I am deceptively strong." Dr. Zach Addy
"I'm... deceived." Dr. Cameron Saroyan
This was a very lighthearted and playful episode, particularly after the gravitas of last week's trial. Not only was it a great send-up of FOX's sister show,
American Idol, making light fun of the show and its contestants, but there was also a lot of joking around and funny moments, reminiscent of the best of
Bones' first two seasons with the Squint Squad. It was nice to see them back in full force this episode. Simultaneously, there were plenty of clues from the beginning of the episode about what was going to happen. But I'll talk about that in a minute. Can we talk about Eric Millegan first? Did you know that
he actually is a cabaret singer, and he has an act in LA, as well as a Broadway history pre-dating the show?
Continue reading Bones: The Wannabe in the Weeds - VIDEO
Posted May 12th 2008 8:41AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, Brothers and Sisters, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S02E16) Rebecca: "I don't know what to do next."
Justin: "Me neither."
I cried twice during this episode. Maybe more. I cried when Nora told Kevin he deserved to have a beautiful wedding just as much as anybody else. And I also cried at two more points, but I'll talk about them below the jump. This was a beautiful episode of television. Even though I don't know that I have written about the music used in episodes, I thought the use of "Can't Find My Way Home" for the last two scenes was profoundly moving. Last year, I thought the season finale was a disaster because it ended with grand hijinks and everybody jumping into a pool. This year's season ended quietly on a beautiful sunny hillside, and it just about broke my heart. I am going to go out on a limb here and hope that this show wins an Emmy, because when they do it well, they really nail it.
Continue reading Brothers and Sisters: Prior Commitments (season finale)
Posted May 10th 2008 2:21PM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Moonlight, Reality-Free
(S01E15) "What do you think of Elliot for a boy?" Beth to Mick about their imaginary future children, kidding.
This was a great episode, with a twist! But the twist can wait until after the jump. One of the most interesting things about this episode was how Mick's longing to be human (with Josef hilariously teasing him about blood oranges and how confusing that must be) was the bread at the beginning at the end that sandwiched the rest of the episode. His longing has always been there, but it has become more pronounced in some ways because of his short stint as a human, and also because of certain revelations from this episode.
We also got to find out Josef's one regret about being a vampire, which I don't think he admits to very often. But first things first: There is a little boy missing, and Mick is going to find him.
Continue reading Moonlight: What's Left Behind
Posted May 6th 2008 12:52AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, House, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
[
S04E14]
"You don't deserve to be happy." House to Wilson.
"And yet I am. You?" Wilson to House
House treats the symptoms, but he doesn't treat the whole person. He doesn't even claim to. He often makes a clear point that he doesn't care. House likes medicine because he likes to solve puzzles, and what greater consequences can a puzzle have than a human life? But ultimately, even someone dying doesn't matter unless House can't figure out the puzzle.
So, if the above paragraph is true, then why does House go out of his way to kidnap a soap opera star he believes to be dying in order to save his life? Is it really because he can't stand the idea of not watching his soap? I don't think so; he even encourages angsty actor Evan Greer (
Sex and the City's Jason Lewis) to quit if he's not happy... well, sort of. But, back to the question: If House doesn't care, then why bother? Because it's a puzzle he can see daily, right in front of him, and he has to solve it. Apparently he has made multiple calls about it, because the actor knows who House is, so House simply takes matters into his own hands because that is what House does. House lives a life without consequences.
Continue reading House: Living the Dream
Posted May 5th 2008 10:42AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, Brothers and Sisters, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S02E15) "We should ask ourselves: 'What's the right thing to do?'" Holly Harper to Tommy Walker
So, what are we to think of Holly? Is she a pathological liar and a scheming manipulator? A greedy opportunist? Or is she genuinely trying to do the right thing as she sees it, affair with William Walker not withstanding? Honestly, I can't make up my mind, but I am leaning toward seeing her as a flawed person who is doing her best. Lord knows, she could have taken her inheritance from William Walker and kissed the entire clan goodbye. Perhaps some see her as unable to let go, unable to stop until she has revenge on the Walkers for having William in ways she couldn't. But that seems a rather extreme pathology. It's much more interesting to view her as a complicated human being, which has certainly been supported on the show.
Continue reading Brothers and Sisters: Moral Hazard
Posted May 3rd 2008 12:51PM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Episode Reviews, Moonlight, Reality-Free
(
S01E14) "T
hen you know how I'm going to handle this."
Josef to Beth about Dean Foster
Things are really starting to heat up in important ways. I know that a lot of fans thought last week's episode was phenomenal, especially because of the scene between Josef and Mick, but this episode was even better. There are two reasons for this: First, that the plot really worked, moved quickly, created suspense, and second that the plot actually had ramifications for Mick's future (and Beth's, and their possible future together). That's called synergy, and I like it.
Let's also talk about what was better this week: Jason Dohring wasn't stiff at all. He was both funny and dangerous, just exactly what he needs to be. Eric Winter was also better, pensive, and not such a prick. But everybody looks stupid with those bluetooth earpieces. Why can't all actors wear the wired earpiece like Jason Bourne? I am just not even going to comment on Beth's wig apart from saying that I suppose I am just going to have to live with it. I am going to be Switzerland about the wig.
Continue reading Moonlight: Click - VIDEO
Posted Apr 28th 2008 8:21AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, Brothers and Sisters, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
[S02E136 "That was weird, wasn't it?" Justin Walker
I am starting to feel like Siskel and Ebert every week. Oh, that was a great episode! Oh, that episode sucked! It doesn't seem like there is any in between with me. Does that mean I'm too picky?
You know, it's funny because sometimes I don't even know how I feel about an episode, really, until I start writing about it, so my actual experience with watching it isn't necessarily negative, even if I write up a critical review. But tonight, I am pretty sure I know how I feel about it: That was a great episode.
Lots of things going on this week: Things are definitely heating up and charging down the runway toward May Sweeps and the end of the season, but they are things that have been set up for so long and so well that their very inevitability feels natural, unhurried, unforced, like a cart careening down a hill, picking up momentum, and heading into rush-hour traffic. And I'm not going to talk about it before the jump, so let's get going, shall we?
Continue reading Brothers and Sisters: Double Negative
Posted Apr 26th 2008 1:11PM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, Video, Episode Reviews, Moonlight, Reality-Free
(
S01E13)
"Forgive me." Josef to Mick (for you-know-why)
Whew, boy, a lot going on in this episode! Mick might have to consider going to see a shrink for vampires to wrap his mind around all of the whirlwind changes in just one episode. There was a lot to like in this episode-- Mick as he dove into a chili dog, Mick eating a strawberry on the beach, Mick devouring a doughnut, and we'll talk about more things after the jump. But there were also some things that just bugged the hell out of me. And I am going to talk about those too.
Mick is human now, and it's all the more precious because it is fleeting. He doesn't take for granted the things that we all do: orange juice and coffee in the morning, sleeping in beds, mortality. I don't think that most of us walk around with a strong sense that our lives are fragile simply because we are mortal: We simply have no choice. If we thought about it too much, it would cripple us.
Continue reading Moonlight: Fated to Pretend - VIDEO
Posted Apr 24th 2008 7:02PM by Jen Creer
Filed under: Celebrities, Moonlight, Reality-Free
Everybody's talking about CBS's vampire private investigator show
Moonlight.
Moonlight's fans are sending garlic to producers and conducting blood drives in an attempt to force executives to knock the show off the bubble and into a second season. AOL's Kelly Woo had a chance to
interview Alex O'Loughlin and Jasoh Dohring (Mick and Josef) at New York Comic Con recently, and both stars reported being overwhelmed (in a good way) with fans' dedication to the show. Dohring reported that he's sign up to give blood himself, because it's such an important thing to do anyway.
I got a chance to talk to Jason Dohring, who plays 400+-year-old vampire Josef on the show, last night when he appeared on
Shaun O'Mac's internet radio show on BlogTalkRadio (Bob Sassone from TV Squad appears on the show each Wednesday evening to talk TV, and Shaun is a great host-- you should definitely check out the show!).
Continue reading Moonlight's Jason Dohring woos fans on BlogTalkRadio
Posted Apr 23rd 2008 10:03AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: Cable/Satellite, Celebrities, Reality-Free
As our own
Jonathan Toomey has reported, Miley Cyrus, age 15, has signed a book deal with The Disney Book Group.
The book is said to be focused on Cyrus's relationship with her mother, and to emphasize how important Cyrus's family is to her. This is surely gripping material that can fill an entire book. Why, with the exception of some books by a little-known author named Laura Ingalls Wilder, I don't think we have any books about teenage girls and how important their families are to them.
Some have questioned what a 15-year-old girl could possibly fill a memoir with at such a tender age. Let's take a look at some possible book chapters:
Continue reading Possible book chapters for Hannah Montana memoirs
Posted Apr 23rd 2008 8:01AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: Industry, American Idol, Watercooler Talk, Ratings, Predictions and Trends, News and Gossip
The
LA Times ran a piece yesterday stating that
American Idol's ratings are down for the first time in its seven-year run, with a 7% lag this season. Hmm, seven years and a 7% lag-- does that mean the show's viewers are showing signs of a seven-year itch?
The
Times story reported that shows typically show signs of a crack in the ratings veneer between seasons five and seven, which means that it is probably really smart for shows like
Lost and
Battlestar Galactica to determine their own ending dates, well before their ratings start to drop. Granted, a 7% decrease is not really anything to write home about. Simon, Paula, and Randy don't have to start paddling quite yet.
Continue reading Idol's ratings down; what does that mean for TV?
Posted Apr 22nd 2008 12:07AM by Jen Creer
Filed under: OpEd, Bones, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(
S03E12) Brennan:
"I don't know what that means." Angela: "
Are you serious?" - When Cam reveals that both seminal fluid and saliva were found in the basketball player's shorts...
Rich Keller asked me to cover
Bones tonight. Rich and I have also co-reviewed
House. I am a bit late to the
Bones parade: I started watching it this winter during the writers' strike. I bought the first two seasons on iTunes, and I was completely hooked. It's now one of my favorite shows. Now that the show comes on at 7pm Central Time, I was happy to have TiVoed the show tonight and that my kids were in bed when I watched it. It was one of the grosser episodes-- or maybe it just seemed that way because of the earlier time slot.
Continue reading Bones: Player Under Pressure
Posted Apr 21st 2008 1:21PM by Jen Creer
Filed under: Industry, Casting, Reality-Free
Late last week,
TV Guide's Michael Ausiello reported that Khandi Alexander is leaving
CSI: Miami at the end of the season. Alexander is know for her fierce but tender Medical Examiner alter ego Alexx Woods. There is no word yet about how the character will depart, but Ausiello hints strongly that the reason for the departure is some issues Alexander has with an aspect of the show.
Who knows? Cast members are leaving
CSI, too (first Jorga Fox and now Gary Dourdan), so maybe there is just a limit to how long you can do this kind of show (intense, lots of blood and gore, often depressing). I haven't followed the plots on
CSI: Miami, so I don't know what kinds of issues Alexander would have with the show.
She is a terrific actress; one of the standout episodes for me was her grief over working on the body of a child, and how she combined tears with professionalism during the episode. She will have no trouble finding other work out there.
Reportedly, there is a search for a new medical examiner, and this one will be male.
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