Give These Actors a Take Two!

By on Aug 1, 2009 in Tinseltown | 1 comment

The following post was originally published on my old blog on March 29, 2009. The following actors are all alumni of some of my favorite shows, and I want them back on television. Post haste! Merrin Dungey Dungey is one of my beloved Alias actors and probably one of the most under-appreciated. She spent two seasons playing Francie Calfo and then made a couple of repeat performances later in the series. She spent two seasons on the sudsy, frothy mess known as Summerland. And then good news! She was cast as Addison Montgomery’s best friend Naomi Bennett in the backdoor pilot for Private Practice. And then bad news! She was replaced by Audra McDonald for the actual series. Even though McDonald seems perfect for the part of Naomi, Dungey needs a role elsewhere. Gillian Anderson I don’t care if she’s playing Dana Scully or not, Anderson should return to American...

The Sarah Walker Switcheroo

By on Aug 1, 2009 in Inanities |

The following post was originally published on my old blog on March 3, 2009. Just for the frivolous, hypothetical fun of it all, let’s theorize what would happen if the gun-wielding, Intersect-protecting Sarah Walker from Chuck swapped places with the upstart-starting, family-tending Sarah Walker from Brothers & Sisters. In the world of Chuck, Sarah Walker from Brothers & Sisters would get totally overwhelmed by the treacherous spy missions, call her family members for support, and then rally to get through it. She might have a fling with Chuck for the self-esteem boost and then break it off abruptly and clumsily. She would have no patience for Chuck’s best friend Morgan—she’d deem him immature and promptly put him in timeout. She would totally hit it off with Chuck’s sister Ellie—they’d call each other for life advice. She would object to John Casey’s attitude of superiority,...

The Hierarchy of Obsessiveness

By on Aug 1, 2009 in Inner Monologues |

The following post was originally published on my old blog on February 4, 2009.  Updates to this post are noted below. Under some pretense of being an organized person (ha!), I keep a very meticulous list of the episodes I have yet to see for all the shows I follow. And I’ve noticed definite trends regarding my level of addiction to certain shows—or the lack thereof—as shown in the following categories. (I should point out that this is nowhere near a comprehensive list!) Must-See TV I want to see it, and I want to see it now. Battlestar Galactica Lost 30 Rock Grey’s Anatomy Chuck Will-See TV I love it, but I might be a few episodes behind. 24 Heroes (Update: Lo, how the mighty Heroes has fallen.) Mad Men Damages Californication Might-See TV I’ve liked what I’ve seen, but I have a serious backlog. Pushing Daisies Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles True Blood...

Busting a Recap

By on Jul 31, 2009 in In Production |

The following post was originally published on my old blog on January 24, 2009. I wasn’t going to watch the hour-long recap before the season premiere of Lost Wednesday night, but my mom wanted the refresher course. (And actually, I probably needed it, too.) I have to say, I was impressed. Not only did the recap distill four seasons of Lost into one hour, but it did so comprehensively and smoothly—with natural progressions and seamless segues, no less. And I realized why it was so successful: it didn’t burden the viewer with synopses of storylines and profiles of characters that don’t play a part in the upcoming season. It just gave viewers the essential info for the characters that are still around and the storylines that are up in the air. With a show as plot-heavy as Lost is, the recap was essential. And, luckily for us, it did the show proud.

The Sophomore Slaughter

By on Jul 31, 2009 in Tinseltown |

The following post was originally published on my old blog on January 22, 2009. For some reason, I’m always surprised when shows are cancelled in their second seasons or later. To me, cancellation seems like the gauntlet that first-year shows run, and once they’re past that trial, they’ve earned the right to end on their terms—or, at least, end with a little advance notice. No such luck. ABC reminded me of this misconception a couple of months ago with the sudden (and simultaneous) cancellation of three sophomore series: Pushing Daisies, Eli Stone, and Dirty Sexy Money. I hadn’t gotten into Dirty Sexy Money, but I was a big fan of the other two. And this move by ABC—cancelling three series in one fell swoop—struck me as particularly ruthless. At least when shows are cancelled individually, I can pretend like it was a hard decision for the network to make. But when three shows are...