TvSquadTen-related stories
Posted Oct 28th 2009 10:56AM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: OpEd, House, How I Met Your Mother, The Office, 30 Rock, Dexter, Reality-Free, Mad Men, The Mentalist, TV Squad Ten, Glee
Rules are meant to be broken... especially for these ten television characters. For them, the rest of the world has one standard to live by and they have another. It makes them interesting and fun to watch... you just wouldn't necessarily want to be the person having to deal with them because they could drive you to distraction. Here's my ten pack of characters who live in a world of their own, according to no rules except their own. From the not-too-bad to the really bad.
10. Patrick Jane, The Mentalist
You would think that as a consultant to the CBI -- California Bureau of Investigation -- Patrick Jane would be compelled to uphold the rules and regulations of the department. However, Jane is a free spirit when it comes to office protocol. He does his own thing. For instance, bugging the office of a CBI higher-up is definitely not kosher. Jane doesn't care; he did it anyway and will probably get away with it.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: TV's biggest rule breakers
Posted Aug 31st 2009 11:05AM by Mike Moody
Filed under: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten, Dollhouse
Before pondering the meaning of identity on
Dollhouse, Joss Whedon gave us some great shows featuring iconic heroes and some really nasty but unforgettable villains.
Unlike
Dollhouse, most of Whedon's earlier shows featured a "big bad," a major villain who caused trouble throughout an entire season, or series, for the heroes and their friends. Luckily, Whedon's heroes always managed to outwit these evildoers, but they couldn't stop them from stealing scenes and making the Whedonverse a very, very dangerous place to live.
Let's take a look back at some of Whedon's best "big bads" that made life a living hell for Buffy, Angel and Captain Mal.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Joss Whedon's big bads
Posted Apr 20th 2009 2:05PM by Danny Gallagher
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, Other Reality Shows, 24, Scrubs, The Shield, TV Squad Lists, Reality-Free, TV Squad Ten
The TV is a weird beast. Your show can have ridiculously high ratings, receive greater critical claim than the Mona Lisa and achieve a cult following not seen since the People's Temple, and the network can still pull the plug on you.
TV Land doesn't work like Reality Land, if the Reality Land is in fact reality and not some bizarre reality land where meat-hungry producers are the gods of fate. TV has a different equation for success.
Here are the ten telltale signs that your new show will spend eternity shining in the pantheon of the cosmos and the rest of its life on Best Buy's DVD shelves.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Signs your show has made it
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 Feb 18th 2009 11:30AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Other Drama Shows, Other Comedy Shows, OpEd, 24, American Idol, Scrubs, How I Met Your Mother, Heroes, TV Squad Lists, TV Squad Ten
Bromances have been around, well, forever really, but you'd never use the term for say, Eddie Murphy and Nick Nolte (
48 Hours) or Paul Newman and Robert Redford (
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid). That just wouldn't be right! And besides that, when do "buddies" turn into "bromantic pals"? Would love to hear your thoughts on that.
At any rate, "bromance" is part of our language now, and it's even the title of
an MTV show starring Brody Jenner and his buds.
I'm not ashamed to say I have girl-crushes on a few TV babes (
True Blood's Sookie Stackhouse springs to mind), so it's not unfeasible for a guy to have a man-crush on another guy. I don't know if that's true for all these pairings, but since I'm writing this, we'll say it is. Take a look at my top ten bromances on TV right now:
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Top Bromances on TV right now
Posted Feb 9th 2009 2:28PM by Allison Waldman
Filed under: CSI, How I Met Your Mother, 30 Rock, NCIS, Reality-Free, Mad Men, Burn Notice, The Mentalist, TV Squad Ten
What is cool? Can you define that thing, that quality that makes certain characters seem like they're more with it than everyone around them? Maybe cool is a state of being, not a thing you can pick up by wearing Armani or drinking Grey Goose or driving a BMW.
As I was looking around the current crop of television shows, I found ten characters who seem to capture the essence of cool -- whether they know it or not. After the jump, we count them down.
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: The coolest characters on TV now
Posted Jan 28th 2009 8:10AM by Jane Boursaw
Filed under: Programming, OpEd, American Idol, Judges, Contestants, Host, News and Gossip, TV Squad Ten
Is this season of
American Idol everything you dreamed it would be? Or are you thinking it's the same-old-same-old we've all seen before? I fall into both camps, so decided to put together my list of ten reasons you should be watching
American Idol this season. Feel free to add your own in the comments section!
10. Ryan Seacrest and Girls in Bikinis. Despite all the flak he gets, Ryan is still great with the contestants and either genuinely cares about them or does a good job of pretending he cares. And I thought he handled the awkward kiss from Bikini Girl with as much grace as possible under the circumstances. Did she take her five minutes of fame and make the most of it or what? Hey, use what you've got, right?
Continue reading TV Squad Ten: Reasons you should be watching American Idol
Have any questions for Rich Sommer of Mad Men? Ask them here!
Syfy's Alice -- An early look
The TV Squad Podcast: Surprising shows, decade-end lists, and the Commenter of the Week!
