JulieBowen-related stories
Posted Nov 26th 2009 11:30AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Modern Family
(S01E09) You've gotta love the use of the dramatic flashback to lead us into the saga of Luke's birthday party. Not only was the affectation utilized well, it again showcased the love and support at the heart of this family saga. Opening us at the hospital the way they did also nicely gave the whole episode that feeling of inevitable dread.
At the same time, they smartly kept the number of people involved in the hospital conversations very small at first so that we would have no choice but to speculate which member of the cast would wind up there, and via what means.
Then, they just sat back and let events unfold as Phil and Claire put together one of the coolest -- and lamest -- parties in the history of television. And still they found a way to let everyone shine for at least a scene or two.
Continue reading Review: Modern Family - Fizbo
Posted Nov 19th 2009 11:31AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Modern Family
(S01E08) I don't know if enough credit is being given to the child actors on this show. All four are doing top-notch work... five if you count Lily. We already knew that Rico Rodriguez is amazing as Manny, but so little is being said about the Dunphy children. They haven't had as much screen time, yet, as really anyone else on the show, but who can deny how funny it is watching Ariel Winter as middle daughter Alex just torturing her dimmer siblings.
Sarah Hyland is channeling her best Mila Kunis in the role of eldest daughter Haley, who's just so tortured by how mean and horrible her family is. This week, she matched wits with her grandfather, only he'd been down this road so many times with his own daughter, and to a lesser extent his son, that he knows all the tricks by heart.
I was laughing so hard I had to rewind and watch the whole scene again when Haley got up from the table and stepped outside, only to find Jay out there already changing a light bulb.
Continue reading Review: Modern Family - Great Expectations
Posted Nov 16th 2009 12:40AM by Isabelle Carreau
Filed under: OpEd, Desperate Housewives, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free
(S06E08) "I could see shooting someone over you." - The judge to Mike
This week, Susan had to face the fact that she accidentally shot Katherine a few weeks back. Sadly for Susan, she had to face a judge who had humor when giving sentences and who allowed Katherine to say a few words before sentencing Susan. As expected, things didn't turn out the way Susan would have wanted them to turn out. However, Susan got exactly the type of sentence that offered us some fun war scenes between Katherine and her.
Continue reading Review: Desperate Housewives - The Coffee Cup
Posted Nov 5th 2009 1:50AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Modern Family
(S01E07) I love more and more every week that we have these three different families we can pull from for our main focus. On most family shows, you're limited by the one family dynamic you're dealing with, and by the age of the kids involved. Here, in one show, we have a gay couple with a baby, a traditional couple with kids ranging from pre-teen to teenager, and an older man married to a younger woman with her young son.
That's like at least three different shows worth of material they can pull from each week. How can they possibly not find simply tons of moments of funny with that much to work with? So far, they've managed to pack every minute of each episode, and this week was no exception.
The main story was Manny's fencing tournament; of course it would be fencing Manny would excel at ... why not? From there, we extrapolated into the general parenting desire to have children who are great at something, and the desire of children to receive praise from their parents.
Continue reading Review: Modern Family - En Garde
Posted Oct 29th 2009 1:30AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Modern Family
(S01E06) Once again, the three families on this show needn't interact at all for the series to work. Maybe if someone were tuning in for the first time, completely unaware that the three families were all related, they'd be confused as to why we're following these three separate storylines. Even then, though, I suspect they'd still laugh at Lily's costumes and Manny's Colombian pan flute.
As a parent, I'm not to the teenage years yet, so can't relate as well with the experiences of Phil and Claire, but I do remember the fear and panic you have with your first child. Every little bump is a crisis, as we saw. And, I'm ashamed to admit that I committed the same "horrible" crime they perpetrated on Lily later in the episode, as well.
As for Jay and Gloria ... oh, my son is in the fifth grade. Sometimes I feel like they're living my exact life. Maybe all fifth graders are equally off-the-wall, or maybe my child is as special and unique as Manny.
Continue reading Review: Modern Family - Run for Your Wife
Posted Oct 22nd 2009 12:38AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Modern Family
(S01E05) I'm glad this issue was finally addressed. No matter what you see on the surface, if your older father marries a stunningly beautiful piece of... well, you know... like Gloria, then you're going to have some concerns. Especially if the old man looks like Ed O'Neill. Let's not mince words here, I love O'Neill but he's no Cameron!
As usual, there was a lot going on in this episode, but still plenty of rooms for laughs. We're five episodes in now, and
Modern Family hasn't laid an egg yet. That's a pretty impressive performance out of the gate for any show. This week, we got the extended family together again, where they could work out some of those unresolved issues.
Continue reading Review: Modern Family - Coal Digger
Posted Oct 8th 2009 12:20AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Modern Family
(S01E03) After last week's installment of
Modern Family where each family stayed within their own little nucleus, this week saw the intermingling of two of them. Cameron and Mitchell didn't have time to get involved, because the somewhat snobbish Mitchell discovered the joys and wonders of Costco. "What is this place?"
I remember my first time in Costco. You do have this strange desire to grab all the carts and flatbeds and go crazy. Who doesn't need 5,000 gumballs and a five-pack of VCRs? I've still got two spares in the garage. But Mitchell and Cam's shopping spree was the B-story.
This week, the show explored relationships between parents and their children. We got to see Claire's husband Phil try to bond with Jay in a model airplane flying expedition. Meanwhile, Claire and Sofia swapped kids and shared growing and learning experiences with them. And it all worked. Everything about this show is working right now.
Continue reading Modern Family: Come Fly With Me
Posted Oct 1st 2009 12:35AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Modern Family
(S01E02) Let all the doubters stand and face the wall in shame. This cast is not too big and this is absolutely the funniest new show of the season. Tonight, rather than have the characters interact directly (except for one small scene), the connection between them was thematic. And tonight it was all about fatherhood.
When they opened the show with the fathers talking about what they thought fatherhood meant, I knew this show was going to become a huge hit. They absolutely get it. They've got something really special with the three family dynamics they've set up. Something that represents almost every facet of modern America all in one show. And one by one they can talk about anything through these families.
It's brilliance in its simplicity, brilliantly executed. Not only did we get so many funny moments throughout, but if we paid close attention, we learned several lessons about life and parenthood between the laughs.
Continue reading Modern Family: The Bicycle Thief
Posted Sep 24th 2009 2:18AM by Jason Hughes
Filed under: OpEd, Episode Reviews, Reality-Free, Modern Family
(S01E01) It's so simple. All you need to make a great family comedy is have it be funny. I must have laughed out loud at
Modern Family more than I have at any recent television show, including the much-hyped
Community. Bar none, this had some of the sharpest one-liners and zings flying around, as well as sharp characterization and top-notch acting across the board.
I don't even care that ABC "spoiled" the first episode by revealing that these three very different families were all actually one big family. I think I would have figured it out by then anyway. What I did care about was that I found myself interested and enjoying all three families equally. Combined, they're going to be able to mine great comedy from this ensemble for years to come.
Continue reading Modern Family: Pilot (series premiere)
Posted Aug 26th 2008 8:37AM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S04E11) The truth hurt almost everyone this week. The stress of having both a deflowered son and knowledge of the tunnel's other uses took its toll on Nancy. Harsh reality set in for the others as well. Doug's faults weren't lost on Maria, Celia's lack of insurance affected her recovery, and Bob Odenkirk made me lose confidence in commercial airline pilots. Where's Jimmy Jam when you need him?
Continue reading Weeds: Head Cheese
Posted Aug 12th 2008 1:32AM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S04E09) It appears that Nancy is growing up, and it only took four seasons for it to happen. She dealt with mature relationship issues and had a calm, romantic moment with Esteban. I was thrilled that she finally made good on her promise to be more available to her family, going MILF-a-MILF with Lisa and dealing with Shane's kinky flea-scratching. Her responsible behavior also made up for Celia's descent into coke-fiendom.
Continue reading Weeds: Little Boats
Posted Aug 5th 2008 2:21AM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S04E08) This episode definitely belongs in the "mixed bag" category. Some things worked for me and others didn't. Nancy's extended lunch date with Esteban and Shane's prison-style lunch confrontation were both enjoyable. On the down side, Celia's drugged-out craziness and Silas' scenes with Lisa didn't entertain me.
I expected something more at this point in the season, but it looks like things are set up for a better episode next week. Don't give up,
Weeds fans!
Continue reading Weeds: I Am the Table
Posted Jul 30th 2008 1:24PM by Kona Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Programming, Casting, Reality-Free
When
Law & Order: SVU returns on September 23, it's bringing a trio of guest stars with it.
Luke Perry (90210), Sara Gilbert (Roseanne, 24), and Julie Bowen (Ed, Lost) are all set to make appearances. Perry and Bowen play a couple accused of abusing their foster child. Gilbert is on board to play the child's biological mother.
In addition to the main foster-child abuse storyline, the premiere is going to deal with Benson's (
Mariska Hartigay) attempted rape a the end of last season, as well as Fin's (
Ice-T) possible transfer out of SVU. The premiere also marks the debut of the new ADA played by
Michaela McManus (
One Tree Hill).
Continue reading SVU packs its premiere with guest stars
Posted Jul 29th 2008 12:26PM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S04E07) Nancy hasn't completely left her old self behind, has she? After only a short time at Maternity World, she was ready to take on her old operation. Many of the pre-Ren Mar folks emerged from various parts of California. I was strangely excited to see the Botwins' old housekeeper, Lupita, along with Sanjay (now a father to Clinique's baby) and Marvin (10 pounds lighter).
Have the good old days of pot dealing returned, or will Nancy have trouble working within someone else's organization?
Continue reading Weeds: Yes I Can
Posted Jul 22nd 2008 1:28AM by Erin Martell
Filed under: Episode Reviews, Weeds, Reality-Free
(S04E06) Everyone was finding love--or lust--this week on
Weeds. The presence of guest stars Julie Bowen and Demian Bichir just made the show significantly hotter. The Botwins and their tenants focused more on their personal lives, with mixed results. Celia developed her maternal side, Andy and Doug pondered their next move, and Silas got to know the neighbors.
Continue reading Weeds: Excellent Treasures
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