Posted Jun 3rd 2009 5:01PM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Other Sci-Fi/Supernatural Shows, Animation, Celebrities, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
OK, so she turned evil and veiny and almost destroyed the world after someone murdered her hot lesbian lover. But at heart, Willow Rosenberg was always a computer-hacking, research-loving nerd.
The
Buffy the Vampire Slayer character landed at number one on Topless Robot's list of
"Pop Culture's 10 Greatest Nerds." I was surprised by the pick at first, but I can't think of a better choice to top the list. Willow was a great character, and will probably always be actor Alyson Hannigan's best role (sorry,
HIMYM fans, but it's true).
Continue reading Buffy's Willow tops list of pop culture's greatest nerds
Posted May 20th 2009 10:59AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Industry, The Amazing Race, CSI, Survivor, How I Met Your Mother, NCIS, Upfronts, Reality-Free, The Mentalist, The Big Bang Theory
Coming off a strong 2008 season, CBS is taking some bold moves with their new season program schedule. As we wrote earlier, there are four new dramas, a sitcom and a reality show in the mix.
The big news is how it's shifting around some hit shows on Monday and Thursday, while standing pat on Wednesday. Here's what we know right now...after the jump.
Continue reading The Upfronts: CBS
Posted May 13th 2009 7:04PM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Programming, OpEd, The Amazing Race, The Apprentice, CSI, House, Lost, Smallville, Grey's Anatomy, The Office, 30 Rock, Reality-Free, Fringe, The Big Bang Theory, Parks and Recreation
Do the American people really like watching their favorite shows this way? Assuming you have more than one or two shows you enjoy following, this week is daunting to say the least and beyond exhausting. Just last night I had a three-hour finale of
The Biggest Loser and that awesome
Fringe finale. In the past few days we've said goodbye to
The Amazing Race,
The Apprentice,
Cold Case,
The Unit,
Brothers & Sisters,
The Big Bang Theory,
House and
Castle. And that's just on the major networks.
Over the next two days we have
America's Next Top Model,
Lie to Me,
Lost,
Bones,
My Name Is Earl,
Smallville,
Parks & Recreation,
CSI,
Grey's Anatomy,
Hell's Kitchen,
The Office,
Supernatural and even
CSI: NY on a special night. And it goes on through the weekend. In an era where ratings are slipping, how can it make good business sense to put all of these finales on against one another all within a few days of each other. I know they've always done that, but I just don't think it makes sense anymore.
Continue reading We're barely halfway through and I've already got finale fatigue!
Posted May 12th 2009 12:26AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
(S02E23) Buzzinga! This episode, which is the season 2 finale, kind of blew my mind. Sheldon is almost a real boy! Not only was he able to correctly identify emotions not once, but twice, but he has started pulling honest-to-goodness pranks. Funny ones, at that! The whole bedtime conversation between he and Leonard about Penny wanting him carnally? You know that wouldn't have happened a year ago.
Speaking of Penny, there was one glaring thing about this otherwise enjoyable episode -- she was practically non-existent! Granted, she played a big role in the over-arching storyline if not the episodic one, but nonetheless, her absence was definitely noticeable.
Continue reading The Big Bang Theory: The Monopolar Expedition (season finale)
Posted May 5th 2009 8:44AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
(S02E22) Space poop! That's really all you need to know about this episode-- oh, and Penny still totally has the geek hots for Leonard. But mainly, this episode came out of the writers' desire to see how many poop jokes they could fit into a half-hour show. The answer? A lot.
The whole thing about Wolowitz's toilet for the space station was kind of great, because it showcased Sheldon's continued evolution. He actually recognized that jokes were being told! And he thought they were funny! In fact, other than the whole "breakdown of the social contract" thing with regards to Leonard's voicemail, Sheldon really wasn't his usual nitpicky, neurotic self. Instead of making everything about his compulsions, he actually managed to fit in and become a member of the group. Sheldon has had a lot of personal growth throughout this season, so it was nice to have it showcased in this episode.
Continue reading The Big Bang Theory: The Classified Materials Turbulence
Posted Apr 28th 2009 1:18AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
(S02E21) It's not often where you have an A and B story that are both hilarious, but
The Big Bang Theory pulls it off in this episode. It sucks that she didn't make an appearance, but I'm glad the show didn't completely forget about the whole Howard and Leslie thing and wrapped up that storyline tonight.
It was a little weird that Sheldon was the one who suggested that they all go to Vegas, but I loved how he didn't even consider for a second actually going himself. I also loved how Leonard didn't even try to convince him. When Raj and Leonard were immediately approached by a prostitute when they got there, I assumed it would be a one-off joke about Raj's inexperience with woman. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be quite a funny storyline.
Continue reading The Big Bang Theory: The Vegas Renormalization
Posted Apr 17th 2009 11:08AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: The Office, 30 Rock, Chuck, Reality-Free, The Mentalist, The Big Bang Theory, TV Squad Ten
If we all lived in the box -- you know, the TV box -- life would be a hell of a lot easier. Taxes would be paid with ease. Mortgages would be managed. And even the lowliest job would be more than enough to maintain a respectable lifestyle, one that looks quite comfortable in fact.
Despite the grim economic news we hear every day, the characters on television have been able to survive -- indeed, thrive -- in some of the crappiest jobs in the universe.
An editorial assistant at a fashion mag, like
Ugly Betty, finds a way to keep a Manhattan studio apartment, and commute home to Papi in Queens. Running a gym is a breeze for
Old Christine, because she doesn't really work. And even without an income,
Samantha Who? is never without her Jimmy Choos.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Low-paying jobs that apparently pay great on TV
Posted Apr 14th 2009 12:48AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
(S02E20) Don't you hate it when a show is so great for the first 29 minutes, but then in minute 30 it all seems to fall apart? That's what happens on this episode of
The Big Bang Theory. Penny falls for a comic book guy and all of the characters show actual growth and development -- until minute 30. That's when they go for the fat joke.
The joke, which was basically just a sight gag that had Raj making out with a rotund woman in a tight pink dress, was obvious and lazy. In and of it self, it makes me roll my eyes, but doesn't really bother me. What bothers me about it is
BBT is better than that. Why would a show that spends so much time humanizing and making us love a group of people who generally gets made fun of, make a thoughtless fat joke?
Continue reading Big Bang Theory: The Hofstadter Isotope
Posted Mar 31st 2009 12:38AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
The Big Bang Theory continues to impress me. With only a few exceptions, it's been consistently strong and is quickly becoming one of my favorite sitcoms. One of the things I enjoy about it so much is that it answers a lot of questions the viewers have in the back of their mind: "What would Sheldon be like if he got a girlfriend?" and "Is Wolowitz just a perv, or is there something more?" And in tonight's episode, "Does Penny realize she's a user?"
Penny having to come face-to-face with a more successful version of herself was a brilliant way to address her relationship with the guys. Even though it's evolved over the past few years, there is still a very definite social hierarchy upon which she finds herself on the top. But now that Alicia is on the scene, she's forced to take a look in a mirror: a very hot mirror.
Continue reading The Big Bang Theory: The Dead Hooker Juxtaposition
Posted Mar 18th 2009 9:45PM by Brad Trechak
Filed under: Video, Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
CBS
has given renewals to both
The Big Bang Theory and
Two and a Half Men. Anybody tracking the ratings of either show shouldn't be surprised at this news. In fact,
Two and a Half Men was picked up for three more years and
The Big Bang Theory for two. I guess CBS' Monday nights are taken care of for the next couple of years.
While I haven't been following
Two and a Half Men (I don't think I'm the target demographic), I do catch an episode of
The Big Bang Theory time to time and get a good chuckle out of it. A recent favorite of the show involved the guest appearance of the delicious and shiny Summer Glau as herself (video follows after the jump).
Continue reading Renewals for both Big Bang and Two and a Half Men - VIDEO
Posted Mar 17th 2009 12:12AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
(S02E18) As much as I love Leonard, tonight's episode of
The Big Bang Theory only further proves that Penny and Sheldon are meant to be. Maybe not in a romantic sense (I still have a hard time picturing Sheldon in a relationship with any woman), but in a platonic life mate sense.
Proving that there is, in fact, a market in everything, Penny manages to start selling her Penny Blossoms, which are really hideous flower barrettes. This obviously means that the guys are going to get involved and geek it up, which they do in a splendid fashion that somehow involves charcoal.
I also learned an important tip: If you're looking to sell something to the gay/lesbian/bisexual/transgendered market, design your website like a 13-year-old girl's MySpace page. They are apparently attracted to the same graphic design sensibility -- which Leonard apparently possesses.
Continue reading The Big Bang Theory: The Work Song Nanocluster
Posted Mar 16th 2009 2:30PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Reality Shows, American Idol, Desperate Housewives, Lost, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, Judges, Gossip Girl, The Big Bang Theory, TV Squad Ten
You've gotta admit: tramps are fun. Their boozy, often promiscuous antics are the life of any party. Whether you're cheering them on or witnessing their antics with horror, tramps make any situation interesting. The same goes for TV shows. From Blanche DuBois to, well, most of The Real World cast members after season 3 or so, the television landscape has been filled with entertainingly trampy characters.
They may steal your husband, dance on a bar, or just generally leave a path of destruction in their wake. Whatever it is, it's sure to be memorable. For this reason, TV tramps are not to be looked down upon; they are to be revered. So consider this list a tribute: a tribute to TV's biggest tramps. May they never reexamine the path their life has taken.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: TV's biggest tramps
Posted Mar 10th 2009 3:02AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
This was a crazy episode. Basically, it seemed like a half-hour long ad for
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Summer Glau guest-starring and the guys not being able to keep their fanboy-ness at bay makes total sense, except for the fact that
Big Bang Theory is on CBS, and
Terminator is on FOX. It's rare that you see that much cross-network love going around, so that was strange, but interesting.
Now, I don't watch
The Sarah Connor Chronicles, but I did see the pilot, so Summer Glau's robot affectation on that series made some sense to me. She's playing herself on this show, though, so what's her excuse? She wasn't given very many lines, but everything she said was so flat and emotionless that it would have made more sense for the plot if they had just explained that she's really Method and never breaks character. But they didn't, so it was just... bad.
Continue reading The Big Bang Theory: The Terminator Decoupling
Posted Mar 3rd 2009 1:28PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: Pickups and Renewals, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
How happy is
Chuck Lorre this morning? I'd say on a scale of one-to-ten, he's an eleven. According to reports,
CBS wants more of its Chuck Lorre sitcoms. In particular, they're talking three years more of
Two and a Half Men and at least two for
The Big Bang Theory.
While other shows sweat out the word of renewal or cancellation, Mr. Lorre seems to be CBS's prime time player they count on the most. Okay, second-most.
Jerry Bruckheimer is numero uno with the
CSI franchises,
Without A Trace, Cold Case, Eleventh Hour and
The Amazing Race.
Continue reading CBS sticking with Men and Big Bang
Posted Mar 3rd 2009 2:02AM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, The Big Bang Theory
(S02E16) I wouldn't quite call this a Wolowitz-centric episode, but he sure was featured pretty heavily this week. Surprisingly, he didn't creep me out! It always seemed as though a Leslie/Sheldon match-up would be a logical choice, so I was kind of surprised to see Leslie and Wolowitz get together, but it worked for me. She's of course using him, as that seems to be her personality, but instead of just using him for sex, like she did Leonard, she's using him, as she says, for sex
and arm candy.
In exchange, she gives Wolowitz new equipment and a trip to Geneva. I find this interesting, because with Leonard, she seemed to believe that sex with her was enough. He didn't get any extra perks. Does she really have to try harder to win Wolowitz over? I mean, it's Wolowitz. Maybe she's just becoming more generous as she matures.
Continue reading The Big Bang Theory: The Cushion Saturation
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